stellafortunalogs | Memshare/March Catch-All!

[After the first few trips into memory lane, Jun was starting to get used to what was going on. So when another Seelie leads him and Minako to a black flower on the ground, Jun doesn't immediately reach for it. Instead he examines it as he puts a hand on his hip]

... I don't recognize this one. [In other words, it won't be one of his memories. Thank God] Do you?

[He liked Minako, so he rather not invade her privacy ok]

Nope.

[She still crouches down to get a better look at it anyways, tilting her head.]

This is more like some kind of decorative piece than a real flower. And all those iron parts...it kind of looks like a badge? [She glances up at him.] Should we take it with us?

Mm, you're right. It does...I wonder what it means.

[It was curious, that's for certain. But at her question, he hesitates. He's touched enough items on the ground by now to know what this could mean]

Maybe, but we'll probably see someone's memory the moment we touch it.

Might be an important one from Teyvat's past. It could be helpful with figuring out everything that's going on right now.

[Waiting for his okay!]

[Ah damn, that's a good point.] That's true...

[he frowns, he really isn't a fan of these memory shares]

...Alright. But if it's another outlander's memories, can you be the one to tell them? [Because boy. Those are AWKWARD conversations]

[She gives him a small, knowing smile.]

Sure.

[Without further ado, Minako reaches out and folds her fingers over the flower

and then she blinks. Fine bits of dust and ash have been stuck in her eyes and throat for a good while now. Her hands and armor are tacky with dried monster blood, and the fires raging around them will ensure that there's no end to the smoky air they keep trudging into, searching for some unknown heart of the enemy territory. But it doesn't matter. As long as she can still see the enemy, still see her commander's back in front of her, then there's no need, no use, to give herself the small comfort of clear eyes.]

Sir.

[The monsters behind them are all dead after many hours of slaughtering them, so the only sound to overlap her strained voice is the distant wailing of the scant few survivors, and the crackle of burning bodies.]

Sir, a moment. Ellias reports that he saw a group of the beasts head off towards the right. Shall I scout ahead?

[Jun watches her reach to touch the flower, bracing himself for what to come.

But there's no bracing for this memory. Instead of Jun, this mysterious commander was at the helm. His body ached from the hours of combat, of roaming the land searching for survivors. But even so he knew this was no time to rest. Hell itself had broken out o this land they once knew, and his soldiers needed their commander now more than ever.

He turns to look back look at his subordinate. Like his own uniform, her once white uniform had been so stained in blood, dirt and ash that it now looked closer to black.

He doesn't want to send her alone, not with the numbers these beasts travel in, but they have so few soldiers left that there was no one else to spare.]

Yes, but take care to keep your distance so they not get the jump on you.

Yes, sir.

[She salutes him, and with a nod to her fellow soldiers, entrusting their commander's back to them, she darts off to follow the traces of the monsters.

She sticks to the shadows and plumes of smoke from the wreckage littered all around her, the heavy black stains on her uniform keeping her hidden from sight. The stench of blood masks her presence more effectively, though, thick in the air and cloying all the senses of both human and monster alike. She's confident they won't scent her.

As the monsters amble down a steep hill, she ponders the area they're heading into, frowning tightly. It's not anything like where the beasts usually like to rest. They prefer clearings with tall grass, nooks and crannies in the hills and mountains. Any place where it's easy for them to hide and lie in wait like apex predators to assault unsuspecting soldiers and villagers. But this...this is...]

A completely flattened field, sir. Not unlike farmland prepared for planting, though why it's sitting so deeply in the earth, I couldn't say. [She salutes as she ends her report.] What would you have us do, sir?

[he waits for her to return, checking on the other men and keeping his eyes peeled in the meantime. It's a relief when she returns, still in one piece. There's been some scouts that haven't at this point.

He finds her finding as strange as she does. Why were they there? Was it some sort of trap. He considers what to do, what risks they can check

Ultimately, he knows his troop can't handle taking on every monster horde. They need to prioritize.]

Any chance of survivors nearby?

[It definitely has the scent of a trap to it. Which is why, despite their sworn duty to protect the weak, she hesitates to answer.]

Not in the immediate area, sir. But I saw fresh human remains in the pit, and evidence of a struggle near the entrance before the slope down. The beasts are most likely stalking the encampments of the survivors nearby and taking them to this place.

[he goes quiet for a moment, knowing full well it's a difficult call. If they went after it, they'd be at a disadvantage. But were they to succeed, it'd eliminate a dangerous threat to the area.

...]

Is there any higher ground we can use? Any advantageous spots we could use to lure them out?

There are some overhanging clifftops that we could glide down from or station archers at.

[It goes without saying that there are barely any archers left in their troop in the first place.]

But otherwise, it's a very enclosed space, sir, with only the one entrance in by foot.

[...]

Very well.

[He turns towards the rest of the troop, addressing them.]

Archers, head to the cliffs and fire to draw them out. The rest of us will position ourselves at the entrance and take cut down any that try to leave.

[He looks around at his men. Loyal until the end, but clearly worn down.]

I know you're tired, but we need to do everything we can to give the survivors a chance to reach safety. It's our duty to protect them.

[She joins in the chorus of "yes, sir!" along with her comrades. Steels herself, like always, before the fight, and prays to whatever gods are listening that everyone will make it out alive.

At first, things are going well. These beasts have tough bodies, so the archers are little more than distractions, but luckily they're all well-accustomed to fighting this type of enemy. The Vision users strip away their defenses with elemental reactions before the other soldiers go in with their shields and blades, cutting at the monsters' arms and sides, then backing off and bracing against their attacks. Despite their exhaustion, they're quick and efficient.

They take out two of the smaller ones in swift succession, but one of the larger ones manages to grab Ellias and wrestles with him, moving them deeper into the pit. That's when it all starts to unravel. Two soldiers closer to Ellias team up to fight off the monster and take their friend back, but it only leaves them open for attack. They're staggered with heavy blows, and the monsters descend on them.

She can barely see it happening from the corner of her eyes, because she's staring down the maw of her own opponent, her sword in its mouth the only thing stopping it from snapping her head. But she still shouts out.]

Hang on, I'm coming!

[Their captain fight alongside them, as he always had. At first it goes well, but it's not long before it starts to unravel, and the line they had made threatens to break. He swears under his breath, but as a seasoned commander, he knows his men well. He knows she would rush in. So as she yells that, he'll yell a counter command]

No! Hold the line! I'll go!

[A commander had a duty to his men. Before he can be stopped, he cuts down a monster in front of him and rushes into the fray to recover his men. When he's close enough, he uses the Geo Vision granted to him to create a shield - the force of it knocking back the monsters and giving the men a slight opening to get away.]

Get back to the line!

[The men might've had some hesitancy, knowing they'd be leaving their commander behind. But they were trained and loyal, so they know to follow his orders. With a quick "yes sir!" they carry each other back up towards the entrance, Elias in tow. The captain remains behind - holding off the monsters.

Any seasoned commander knows even the best laid plans won't survive contact with the enemy. But he had one last plan up his sleeve.

As his shield starts to break, he uses his vision one last time to extend the length and strength of his blade with geo energy. But instead of using it to knock back the enemy, he swings the blade to slice into cut into the rock of the overhanging cliff. The geo energy resonates with the ones in the rock above and gives it a clean slice causing the portion of the cliff above him and the monster horde to break and slide down- impacting and burying everything, and everyone, in its path.

Captain!

[The remaining soldiers can't afford to look away from the monsters they're still fighting, but all of their voices rise up as one, shouting for him. The man they've followed for years. The man who saved them and inspired them to be better people. He can't have— he can't have—

Spurred on by desperation, she wrenches her sword away from her enemy's mouth. Before it can bite off her head, she lodges the blade through its exposed throat. Blood spurts everywhere. She's gone before it finishes falling to the ground. She must keep the others safe. She must get to the captain.

But doing so takes too long. They take care of the monsters with no casualties, but by the time they're done, close to ten minutes have already passed. Gathering at the edge of the mountain of rock, they all stare at the pile of rubble for a moment, as if expecting their captain to heroically burst forward, perfectly shielded, alive and well. No such thing happens. Thus, with grim determination, they start moving the rubble by hand, their last Anemo user carefully blowing away gravel and dirt in hopes that a hint of him might be seen.]

There!

[He's only visible from his shoulders up, bloodied and battered. Everything else is buried under rock. She scrambles forward, dropping to her knees next to him and ripping her gloves off to feel for his pulse. The others immediately throw themselves into moving the rocks pinning the rest of his body down.

She's never seen him look so frail, and she feels so small in this moment, voice cracking.]

Captain. Captain. Sir, please answer me.

[Truth be told, even if they had dug him out right away, his chances would've been slim. The sheer force of the earth collapsing had been enough to crush his body more than what could be healed in this situation.

By the time he's found, he's fading. His pulse is weak, and his breathes shallow. He's only scarcely aware of his second-in-command by his side. But like a true captain, his first thought isn't to his own mortal peril - but to his men]

The...battle...?

[Tell him, how did the battle go. Did they lose men, did they save what they could of their fallen home? ]

[She inhales sharply, grits her teeth against the emotions that threaten to overtake her voice, the ones he always told her to keep in check. But they betray her, as they often do, and hot tears start dripping down her face.]

Everyone is safe and the monsters eliminated, sir. All thanks to you. There is nothing else that should pose a threat to the nearby survivor camps.

[One of the others hand her the captain's sword, unearthed from several feet away. Hands trembling with the weight of it, she sets it next to the man, and wipes the dust off the blade. It's only right to have the symbol of his unwavering determination with him in his last moments.]

Captain... [It's been an honor to fight with you, but he already knows that.] Please rest now.

[Despite all the pain he was in, the words seemed to bring relief to the captain. There was no telling what would come of their people in the coming days, but he could move on, knowing...knowing he gave them a glimmer of a chance.

He feels the blade being placed next to him. It would be nice to hold it one last time, but his hands and arms were too broken and pained to move. He'll just have to settle for it being near him, giving one last look of gratitude towards his second-in-command and the rest of the soldiers. There had been no greater honor. He would like to tell them that, but he knows what words he has left are few.

So...with his last breath, he'll utter out the words he hopes conveys his feelings]

For...Khaenri'ah....

[With that, his eyes close and he loses consciousness. It's a few more minutes before his breathing finally stills and the life leaves his destroyed body. Yet despite everything, he seems to be at peace as he passes on]

[Unlike Jun who is very much not at peace when the memory ends. He doesn't know when he fell on the ground, but he's loudly gasping for air as he sits right up, his eyes wide.

He's rattled enough that he slips into italian without thinking about it as he mutters to himself, mostly a mix of profanity and exclamations. Jun's used to enduring a lot of pain thanks to his training and field experience, but even that's not the same as having a very vivid experience of being crushed to death by rocks.

So uh yeah, he needs a moment here. ]

Edited (I gave up trying to figure out italian ok. and then i failed at grammar in english too) 2021-03-27 22:25 (UTC)

[He has plenty of time to pull himself together, because Minako needs it too. She's on her knees just as the second-in-command had been, tears pouring down her face and clutching at Jun's shirt, eyes still glassy and lost in herself. As he bolts up, she retracts her hand as if burned, and digs the heels of her palms into her eyes.]

S-Sir— Sh-Shinj—

[She swallows hard and shakes her head.]

Jun. Are you— [okay? What a dumb question. She crawls over and looks him over, trembling.] Can you stand? Let's get you off the ground.

[Fortunately while it felt like he'd been crushed, Jun's body was actually just fine. Eventually, his brain catches up with that fact, allowing him to slowly calm down from the panic. He starts being aware of his actual surroundings as Minako pulls her hand off his shirt.

She's crying? And what name did she just call him? That's...]

Sì- [Wait, dammit, wrong language. He shakes his head just a little as he switches to Japanese] -Y-Yes, I think so. [He swallows as he moves to try to stand up, collecting himself. He's shakey on his feet, but more out of being rattled than any injury.] That was...much more intense than the other memories.

Are you...okay...?

[She scrambles to stand with him, gripping his hand and supporting him as he staggers up.]

Not really. [An exhausted sigh. She's going to have nightmares later tonight.] But it'll pass.

[Focus up, Arisato. Her eyes land on the artifact, and she frowns, nudging it with her foot.]

Do you think it'll give us the memory again if I pick it up?

[Jun, being a stranger to physical contact, has no idea how to properly hold a hand. So he doesn't pull away, but his hand just kinda hangs there like a limp noodle.

He can't blame Minako for that answer. That memory was disturbing. Even he was going to be shaken up by it for awhile. At her question, he eyes the artifact]

...I don't know.

[And he doesn't want to chance reliving it, so he falls back on his usual strategy of dealing with magic items he doesn't like--]

Perhaps we should destroy it.

[WHEN IN DOUBT, SET IT ABLAZE]

[That definitely jolts her out of her mood, an indignant sound exploding from her throat, made raspy from her earlier crying.]

What! No! [She starts patting down her pockets.] That's just inviting bad luck. Or a haunting. Or both. And besides, it ended up being an important memory after all, right? Ah!

[She raises her hand in triumph, showing off a handkerchief. Kneeling to the ground, she scoops the artifact up in the square of fabric, tying it up in a neat bow.]

What was that place he mentioned? Khaenri'ah? We should look into that place, see if it has anything to do with what's been going on in Mondstadt.

Memshare/March Catch-All!

Bloodstained Chivalry (Closed to Minako)

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1/2

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i love you for trying

ty it's appreciated

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