chatsville | Text

Confirming I got your message. Heading to the village in five minutes. Bringing clothes and blankets and some other supplies.

Are you somewhere safe right now? Are you comfortable enough to keep texting or do you need to move somewhere else first?

I can bring a lighter from home. But first I have to find a way to get there.

Is the village closed today?

[Once he has everything put together, he'll start opening a bunch of doors. Huaisang isn't a close friend, but he's a cool guy and Okuyasu can spare a bit of light.]

inside the ornament shop. trying to start a fire. no electricity??

[Huaisang has only the vaguest idea of how electricity works, and he doesn't understand why there just isn't any in the village at the moment. Is magical energy not just stored in the walls?? A mystery.]

it's empty and dark. the lights don't work. [He understands light switches, so he'd tried that to no avail. Unfortunately, his understanding of electric current is limited to "turn a switch" or "plug it in", and he doesn't know where the power comes from before it takes up residence in the walls.]

[ okay, daylight knows where that is so his initial fears of running around are squashed. ] There's probably an outage of some sort. Don't force yourself to start a fire but, if possible, get one set up and I'll do it for you.

Right now, I need you to focus on keeping the center of your body warm: Chest, neck, groin, and head. Keep yourself tucked in and preserve as much heat as possible in those parts. I'll be there as fast as possible, promise.

okay. trying.

[Huaisang's pretty dress is soaked through and starting to freeze, and he wishes that there were any kind of blankets or coats or practical things at this place other than plastic and glitter. At least there are plenty of cardboard boxes around and some actual pine wreaths. Huaisang empties some of the boxes out, making them into a pile and then curling into himself and shivering miserably. He's accustomed to winter, but he's not accustomed to being dropped into frozen lakes.]

you okay?? i am not sure i have access to a car, or i'd try and come get you, storm and all

i can try and find some blankets and open and close doors until i end up there... hopefully not underwater, because it'd defeat the purpose

-Anyone here?

[ the moment he gets a visual of the ornament shop, daylight hurries over to it, growing exhaustion be damned. he quickly pushes through the door, slamming it shut behind him to keep the biting cold out of here.

by stars and light- he can feel the cold biting through the layers he quickly gathered up. he can't imagine what it must be like to have fallen in the lake. the second he sees the pile of wreaths and boxes, he hurries to it and tries to get it going with one hand. the other hand is dropping the collection of blankets, towels, and other supplies to the ground, trying to untie it and lay it out for easier access. ]

You okay? [ he looks up and he thinks he sees him- curled up, shivering. poor guy. ] Give me a sec and I'll a towel and blanket on you. Are there any signs of frostbite on your fingers? Your nose?

some other people are on their way, i think i'll be okay but i want this place to be better set up for emergencies. if this is going to keep happening. we have blankets but no heat. can you chop wood?

"Don't know," Huaisang mumbles through chattering teeth. Every part of his body stings, skin singing with pain. "Just... fire."

He feels as though his eyeballs are going to freeze, and all he can do to help with that is to curl up. If he still had his golden core he could heat himself with the energy, but all his magic has been cut off. He's an ordinary human, and helpless to his fate.

His tears are freezing on his cheeks, but all that matters is getting that fire going so that there's a source of heat to start to thaw his frozen extremities.

( this would be a lot easier if he had superpowers, but... )

i mean, i've never done it before
but i think i could figure it out. just hit logs with an axe, right? can't be that hard

( it can be that hard, and he is going to be miserable after, but that won't stop him from trying... )

Daylight hisses under his breath, refocusing his efforts on getting the fire started. Thank good third time’s the charm and, soon, a roaring fire is in the store. In the back of his mind, he knows the owner of the store wouldn’t be happy with what’s happening but fuck it.

They can handle that in the future. Right now, let's get the threat of frostbite and hypothermia out of the way.

With the issue of getting a fire started now settled, Daylight shifts his attention to pulling out some supplies he had brought with him. Grabbing a few, in particular, he nudges them towards Huaisang's direction. “Here— A bathrobe and towels. Sweaters. Socks and scarves. Layer up much as you can handle. You need to get out of your wet clothes. If you need me to help, let me know.”

it's pretty hard, but we're in desperate need of it. if we're going to keep getting dropped into the lake or even just marooned out here, we need to have a station for people to warm up again so we don't all freeze to death. if you're willing to chop and bring wood, it would be an enormous help.

"Help," Huaisang agrees. His usually delicate and careful hands are shaky and numb. Shifting to his knees, he lifts his chin for help unbuttoning the buttons of his sodden coat, then gingerly turns around for Daylight to lower the zipper of his dress.

Once his wet things are removed, Huaisang's eager to bundle in the dry bathrobe and sweaters, shivering heavily as he huddles near the fire. "'m Huaisang."

Daylight is still a little uncertain of how the heck human clothes works - never had to worry about it when you're a mechanoid, after all - but he thinks he gets the gist of a zipper.

... he thinks.

As he fumbles with the dress's zipper and helps him out with getting bundled into something warm and dry, all the while trying his best to not irritate the cold skin, he almost misses out Huaisang's introduction. Almost, thankfully.

"Oh! Um. Daylight. Daylight vis Lornlit." He flashes an apologetic grin as he now stirs the fire, trying to keep it roaring. "Sorry we have to meet like this but I'm glad I could help you out."

if it'll help, then i'll do it. do they already have a setup there for chopping wood, or is it a byoa sort of situation?

( he feels like buying an axe at the hardware store would be difficult. Peter would be surprised how not difficult it actually is. )

As he very slowly starts to warm up again, Huaisang wraps a towel around his wet and half-frozen long hair. "I'm glad to meet you," he replies through teeth clenched to stop the chattering. "Grateful."

Huaisang's always been physically delicate, unused to hard living and considered soft and spoiled even by other wealthy nobles. He's never suffered any pain or discomfort to compare with the misery of hypothermia, and he can't help the way that he sniffles and cries a little about it. "We should keep warm things out here. Ways to start a fire."

He's determined not to go through this again. Even if he gets dropped into the lake again, he intends to plan ahead next time. There will be firewood, matches, and dry towels waiting, even if he has to organize the whole thing himself.

there's nothing here to chop wood with. I've been breaking apart the Christmas village setup as best I can, but i need an axe. what is a byoa?

you know, like, bring your own beer, only with an axe?
you don't know, probably. okay. bad joke, it was a bad joke
i'll... try and find an axe.

I don't know what beer is either thank you for your help

yeah no problem, i'm on it
but also, really? not even beer? it's like... the alcohol. usually in a can?

Daylight looks surprised but pleased to hear the suggestion if it means what he thinks it means. “Yeah. I agree with that. I can probably make, like, a chart to explain what to do or expect if you come in. Probably make a sign to show you can go here in the first place.”

Looking around, he’s already having some ideas about how to set up a camp/shelter for others who might wind up here. "Towels. Kindle and matches. I can leave the extra stuff here to start the stock. Do you have suggestions of what goes where? I can start moving things around."

oh, alcohol! I know alcohol. it must just be a kind i've not heard of. i think i saw some cans at the liquor store, those must be what you mean. we should bring alcohol, too. it's very helpful to warm people up when they're freezing.

Huaisang smiles weakly as Daylight starts coming up with such practical ideas to help. He's deeply grateful to have such a helper, and he knows that others will be grateful too once they have a camp set up. "I think here is good, it's the closest building to the lake. Even though it's more open, I think it's most important to get people to the fire quickly."

He's still shivering heavily, but at least he's not freezing to death. Shifting around so that his other side can benefit from the fire, Huaisang settles on his knees. "We need to get volunteers. People need help if they get dropped in the lake, and building a fire takes so long. I was lucky that you were fast. We should take shifts to keep the fire burning. Stockpile firewood."

"Has anyone else responded to your message?" That's where Daylight's thoughts immediately go to when the subject of volunteers comes up. He continues to talk as he begins to clear some baskets and boxes out, eyeing them up for possible storage. "You can mention the idea to them, see what they can do to help or if they know anyone who can. I have a feeling this is going to be a... thing for a while."

However long it'll be. He hopes it won't be for too long or they'll need to think about expanding the grounds and... Let's shelve those thoughts for a later day. Right now, he turns to Huaisang, expression softening into concern. "You holding up better? I can grab another blanket for you if you want."

actually alcohol just makes you feel warm because it moves the heat to the surface of your skin and then it all just escapes

( ok nerd nobody asked. anyway, )

but i'll see if i can find some thermoses for hot cocoa or something?

Huaisang had been distracted from the messages for a time due to nearly dying of hypothermia, but he checks now and nods. "There have been some other responses. And hopefully if other people fall victim like I did they'll be more willing to volunteer afterward. We should be able to set up a camp here for as long as this unpleasantness lasts."

He's still shivering, but the shivers have eased somewhat and he's starting to feel himself again. He checks his fingers and toes, reassured that the skin is all pink and white as it should be.

Daylight notices the huddling and feels sympathetic for the guy. Getting dunked into a freezing cold lake in the middle of the blizzard isn’t exactly something someone can shake off, after all. What can he do to help though?

After something thinking — he could almost hear his Auntie Ruby and Auntie Eps groaning at him for debating this long — Daylight offers, “Do you want to huddle together while we plan stuff out? If you’re not comfortable with the idea, it’ll only have to be a bit. Just to help you get warmer faster.”

Because that’s what humans do to share warmth, right? He thinks he remembers that in his past lessons of how to help humans avoid frostbite and stuff.

[Interesting to know. Huaisang blinks for a moment and then stores that information away, though he's still going to drink when he's cold unless it's significantly unwise.]

That's a really good idea. Thank you for helping.

Huaisang lifted his head with a shy smile, nodding gratefully at the offer. "That would be nice. If you don't mind."

Wiggling a little in place, Huaisang opens the layers of blanket so that Daylight can cuddle close with him, with only clothing between them.

Daylight is quick to shuffle closer to Huaisang and huddle closer, taking the time to take off his own jacket and throw it over him. He's going to need it more between the two of them, let's be frank.

"Glad you're doing better, buddy." He smiles at Huaisang, giving him a thumbs up. "I don't know a doctor, personally, but we'll look for one when we get out of here. Just to make sure you're doing alright for sure."

no problem. least i can do.
i'll try and be there soon. stay warm til then 👍

thank you. I look forward to meeting you in person.

The body heat is immediately soothing. Huaisang nestles close, tucking himself against Daylight's chest and hooking his legs over Daylight's lap in order to absorb as much of his warmth as possible. "Thank you."

He fusses primly with the blankets once he's settled, making sure that Daylight is warmly tucked in. "I don't usually need doctors for little things like this. I can normally heal myself."

Daylight doesn't miss the nice gesture and grins, flashing another thumbs up as a sign of thanks. The mobility is a good sign, in his opinion. "Glad to see you're doing better already. With a bit of luck and time on our side, we should be able to head back out in-"

Oh hey wait a second- What did he just say? "You can heal yourself? As in-" He pauses, looking up at the ceiling like he'll find the words there. In the end, he goes with a very redundant, "Heal heal. Remove injuries and the like from yourself? With no medical assistance at all?"

"Mm," Huaisang says, nestling his head a little cozier against Daylight's shoulder as he considers the question. "My golden core allows me to assist and speed healing, but it's currently blocked to me. I don't think it has been removed, but I can't access it at all. Medical assistance depends--I can't heal just anything. I can only speed the body's inherent healing processes. Serious injuries might still leave me abed for weeks."

"Oh! That's so cool." Daylight whistles, clearly impressed by what he's hearing. "I mean- Being able to accelerate the healing process is a big deal. I remember my boyfriend talking about it a lot whenever he was studying new texts and works. He always went on about it like it was one of these big breakthroughs we've got to tackle sooner rather than later."

The cheer on Daylight's face and in his voice flickers when he realises who he brought up and, for a second, sadness is clear in his expression. Then he shakes his head, trying to shake off the funk, and attempt to steer the conversation back to the original topic: "Sorry to hear about your core being blocked. For what its worth? You're not alone in it. Can't access any of my abilities either."

"My sympathies," Huaisang murmurs. He doesn't know whether that boyfriend is dead or simply missed in this strange place, but Huaisang knows very much what it's like to miss someone, and he doesn't intend to press the issue. "It seems to be all of us. All of us who are abducted here. We're just normal humans now, no matter what we were before."

He lifts his head a little, watching Daylight from up close. "What kind of abilities?"

Daylight laughs and needs to do a bit of maneuvering to rub the back of his neck. Honestly, it's a miracle that he didn't cause both of them to topple backward and end up giving Huasiang a new thing to worry about.

"A lot of weird stuff," is all he can get out in the end, as he struggles to figure out where he could begin. "All of them focused on technology, I guess? Maybe electricity would be a better category. I can generate it and manipulate and use it to, um, do technology stuff."

"Oh, how interesting!" Huaisang lifts his head cheerfully, interested at this new topic. "I don't understand electricity at all. It's a wonderful kind of magic that lives in the walls, but that's about as much as I know. It doesn't react to me or my golden core at all." Not that anything is reacting to his dormant golden core at the moment, but he can remain optimistic.

"Have a feeling that would change if we gain access to our stuff again." Daylight pauses at that point, considering his words. He then says with a bit more conviction, "When we gain access to our stuff again. When. Even if it's just a select few and you happen to be one of them, I'll be happy for you, buddy. It's fun and all to play 'normal' but getting back to real normal would be nice."

"Do you think so?" Huaisang's eyes widen, rethinking everything he knows about this 'electricity' stuff. Perhaps electricity is to Daylight what spiritual energy is to Huaisang, every bit as nuanced and complex. "You think I'd be able to interact with electricity? Is it made of spiritual energy of some kind? What does it feel like?"

"Yeah!" Daylight nods in confirmation, pretty confident. "Anyone can interact with electricity if you have the right tools and materials. It's a force of nature - everything else, more or less - but it can be controlled. Takes a lot of finesse and control, though."

From his experience, it's one of the most volatile things out there and he runs on it. (In his real form.)

"Huh." Huaisang blinks as he thinks about this. It is true that some cultivators can manipulate fire and even lightning, though Huaisang has never been one of them. Perhaps some cultivators could learn to manipulate electricity. Huaisang does not expect to be one of them.

"I look forward to learning more about it. And about your powers over it, once they return."

“Yeah! I’ll be happy to teach you if you express an interest in doing it for real.” It’s the least he can do for the poor guy. Let’s have his most memorable times here not involve falling into a lake during a blizzard.

Hmmm. He pauses in his chatting, listening for the weather outside. “I think it’s safe to start heading out now. Doesn’t sound too bad.” And, if it might be, Daylight will do what he can to bear the burnt of cold. Huasiang’s been enough as is, poor guy. “Can you move alright?”

"I'd like to try that," Huaisang agrees, nodding thoughtfully. He doubts he'll dedicate any real discipline to the skill, but it would be interesting to try.

Wiggling his fingers to test, Huaisang finds that he can feel all his extremities and he's no longer shivering. "All right."

Kissing Daylight's cheek briefly in thanks, Huaisang gets up and starts to dress himself more sensibly for the outdoors. His own clothes are still sodden, so he leaves them with a sigh. "Might as well come back for those later. We'll need to come back to help others, after all."

Checking the fire to make sure it's under control and will burn for at least a while in case anyone needs it, Huaisang finally heads over and takes Daylight's arm, pressing close against his side. "I'm ready."

Daylight feels bad that they need to leave behind the outfit — looks expensive — but it’s probably for the best it’s left behind. The less weight bogging them down, the better (and faster) it’ll be for them. Let’s hope no one makes the mistake of using it as a kindle for the fire.

He happily links his arm with Huaisang, doing his best to look confident and able as possible. It’s going to be a trek out of the village and that’s even before they consider getting back to town proper but… Daylight will do what he can to make sure they get home safely.

After the long day they’ve been through, a warm place is what they both deserve.

“Ready.” He gives Huaisang one last smile before helping escort him out of the house, bracing for the cold. “Let’s get going. We’ve got a long way to go.”

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@daylight, text.

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@PARKOUR

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we can wrap it up here! i really loved this thread and can’t wait to tag huaisang some more!!