caveofsapphires | smaller patch of fading sky [ open ]

WHO: EVERYONE. All PCs thus far will be in this log, through active tagging or implication.
WHAT: THRILLS. SPILLS. Hiking trip toward the Diamond City.
WHERE: The Overworld.
WHEN: Forward-dated to May 1st (Tuesday) through May 7th (Monday).
WARNINGS: May contain violence or other mentions of physical harm. This is not summer camp.
NOTES: More information can be found on the OOC post here. Please read it!

Gathered in the morning haze, Sleepers were brought to the mouth of the Cave with plenty of supplies and equipment. Compasses that would point them toward the City. Backpacks full of clothes and food, medical kits, tents and even weapons. Stun rifles and knives — to fight off any unwanted company, they said. ("Watch out for their bite," Ryan had commented. "Those fuckers are downright feral.") The straight and narrow path would get them there in six days if they kept a good clip. They were sent off just like that. Refusals to leave were met with a wall of guard force officers blocking the entrance back into the cave city. No way to go but forward, unless someone was particularly stalwart about remaining.

From the exterminator's station near the mouth, leaving the Cave was as simple as a short hike upward into the fresh air of the Overworld. Dust and an uncomfortable sort of heat pervaded the atmosphere, light winds stirring up the sand and teasing the meager bits of vegetation that had grown. No matter what direction you looked... it was all wasteland, cracked ground and desolate emptiness. Jutting up from scarred ground were boulders and small spires made entirely of glass and patches of stone; instead of reflecting the harsh sunlight, they seemed to absorb it and only add to the muted loneliness of the atmosphere. As far as the eye could see, there was no life to be found.

With no other option, the Sleepers eventually made their way onward.

Jonas was tired. In fact, he didn't remember ever being this tired in his whole life, not in Kelowna, on Earth or on a mission with SG-1. And looking at the ravine in their path only caused him to be more so. He wished Sam was here, she'd know what to do.

But as for himself, not even his alien brain could help him in this moment. "Anyone have any ideas?"

A ravine. After everything, the only thing keeping them from the tantalising spires of safety across the way was a ravine. Gabriel laughed. He had to; it was so simple. The laugh wasn't even bitter; it was tired and genuinely amused. A ravine.

The simplicity of nature. Really.

"As a matter of fact, I do," he said with a sigh and a grin. He strolled to the edge of the cliff, scanning the gap and mentally building a bridge in his mind. It wasn't the Golden Gate, or anything so noteworthy; he had enough imagination that it would be easier for him to build something from scratch than try and replicate something he didn't have details for.

One he had a proper image his lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. And in the air over the ravine there appeared a bridge, stretching from edge to edge, sturdy and thickly built but simple. He didn't want to over-extend himself, after all. It didn't build itself slowly so much as seem to pour out of the sky, like something dissolving backwards. Either way, for a second a bridge spanned the length of the ravine, unmistakably solid.

Gabriel didn't get a chance to feel smug. The bridge wavered like a mirage in the desert and pain spiked behind archangel's eyes so hard and sharp that it took all the air out of him. His hands instinctively shot up to clutch at his temples; his knees buckled and they hit the ground a moment later, the archangel curling in on himself. It felt as if someone had shot him in the head--something he'd had done before--except that he couldn't heal himself, couldn't die, and the pain didn't disappear. The light blaring even in his closed eyes made it even worse.

He tried, very hard, not to whimper, and couldn't tell whether he succeeded or not.

[ ooc: pls be tagging this permissions, yes? :3]

Aziraphale had been trailing behind a bit; his legs felt like lead and he had no desire to hurry on his way by the end of this very long week. But he caught the movement of Gabriel's fall out of the corner of his eyes and started, looking up with a hand over his eyes to block out the sun. When he saw Gabriel collapsed at the end of the ravine, he ran as fast as he could manage.

By now this was not very fast, but it was the effort that counted.

When he reached Gabriel, he crouched in front of him, removing his pack and setting it on the ground. He hovered, hands outstretched as if to cover Gabriel's on his temples, all ready to heal him of whatever the problem was, when he realized that of course he couldn't. Helplessness struck him like a board. This was absurd.

"What did you do to yourself, Gabriel?" he said, nerves making him exasperated. He let his hands fall to his sides and looked over his shoulder at Jonas. "Did you see what he did?"

At first Jonas was skeptical when Gabriel said he had an idea and then proceeded to stare at the ravine before snapping his fingers. But then he couldn't believe his eyes when a bridge actually appeared. In fact, he was staring at it in surprise as it vanished and missed the man's fall until he heard him hit the ground.

But he was already heading over to check on him when Azriphale spoke to him. "He...he snapped his fingers and a bridge appeared across the ravine." He waved in the general direction, which not contained empty air. "It disappeared a moment later and that's when I heard him fall." He almost asked how Gabriel had done that...but then thought better since he still didn't know how he'd projected that shield a few days ago.

Aziraphale's voice came loud and invasive; it made Gabriel's head pound and swim in a way that made his stomach want to come up to meet it. Jonas's voice was the same. The archangel actually did whimper this time, swallowing once and then again against the bile.

"Little--softer please--Azzy," he whispered, hardly audible. He could feel the heat and light off the sand, drilling into his eyes even with them closed, and he covered them with the heels of his palms. It was only then that he realised he was--they'd been watering.

Swallowing down the urge to panic, Aziraphale stared at Jonas as he spoke, brow furrowing in confusion - I thought we couldn't do that anymore, I thought we were human now - and then his attention snapped back to Gabriel when the other whimpered. "Sorry," he said, as quietly as he could, and surreptitiously tried to heal him anyway, just to see if he could.

No good. Whatever this was, for whatever reason, Gabriel had recovered and he had not. Although 'recovered' was a bit of a strong term for the man who was curled up in pain on the ground before him.

Sitting back on his knees, Aziraphale looked up at Jonas again, frustrated and helpless. He didn't know how human bodies worked, so he had no idea what might be wrong with Gabriel right now. "Do you have any experience with this?" he asked quietly, gesturing to Gabriel. Who was crying with pain.

Sliding across the sand, he pulled open his pack and began feverishly pulling it apart. Where was the first aid kit, and the - the aspirin, that was right, wasn't it?

It was times like this were Jonas was glad he observed things a bit faster then most. He took in the situation quickly and channeled a bit of Colonel O'Neil as he took charge. "What hurts exactly?" Jonas asked Gabriel in a soft voice as he gently urged him to lay down in the sand. He dropped his pack and stripped off his jacket to put under the man's head, then strategically moved himself so he was blocking the sun.

Then he looked to Aziraphale and gave him a small smile in reassurance. "Take a deep breath and find me the pain killers okay? Look for analgesics over aspirin, if there is any. If it's not in yours, check mine."

Gabriel couldn't have resisted Jonas's direction if he'd wanted to. The shift in gravity made his stomach lurch and he swallowed hard, keeping his eyes covered, but once he was down ... well, it made things more tolerable. Sort of.

Except for the part that, Jonas's shadow notwithstanding, he could still feel the prick of light in his eyes.

"My head," he grumbled as well as he possibly could in a whisper, and then added, equally softly, "Temples. Eyes. Stomach's being a bitch."

He couldn't exactly oblige by calming down, but he was able to start pulling the pack apart in a more organized fashion. He found a bottle of pills - ibuprofen - handed it off as quietly as he could manage without rattling the pills about, and continued rooting through the pack just in case there was something stronger.

Of course, he felt helpless, but at least he was doing something, even if it was only looking for a temporary relief for a pain that he had absolutely no control over. He kept glancing over at Gabriel, a deep frown between his eyes.

smaller patch of fading sky [ open ]

May 6th

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