Private Edge of the Abyss

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

The moment he knew something was wrong was when he was practically thrown... clinging to the railing was smart... the railing and him were like glued, fused together practically as he was moving though the mud and rain. Down the hill and he barely had time to register before he felt weightless again and then heard a splash. For a moment it was warm, muddy and water soaked as he heard a muffled voice and backed away realizing... There was embarrassment but he hadn't had control of his landing as he rolled over and leaned back. Testing for a moment his jaw as he spoke. "Yes. I think." He said it and looked at his hand as he was still holding the railing.

He leaned back as the water was going over his face and vest, washing the mud away and two figures were above him. Aya with several bags and the large shark who did seem more happy. "You going to just lay there?" The woman said it and he held up the railing he was clinging to. "I saved some." Aya laughed and looked at AAna as they were offering arms to get up and Mistral rose getting given a bag of weapons and some supplies that they would be abel to use. Aya looked at them and spoke. "I am going to kill seastone when we catch up with her." She said it and mistral looked at the rest of the ship had and was still sliding along the mountain kicking up a trail of dirt with lights.

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana lay there for a moment longer after he rolled away, rain and runoff sliding down her hair and collar, soaking her clothes until they clung uncomfortably to her skin. Mud streaked her cheek, her jaw, the edge of her neck, and she barely seemed to notice as she stared up at the canopy, trying to convince her lungs to remember how breathing normally worked.

Her chest rose once. Twice. Okay. Still functional.

When Mistral answered, she let out a quiet breath that was half relief and half disbelief.

"Good," she muttered faintly. "That's…an excellent start."

She shifted an inch, immediately regretted it when something in her lower back protested sharply, and froze again with a small hiss between her teeth. One muddy hand lifted slightly, then dropped back into the wet leaves.

"Mm. On second thought," she added dryly, eyes still on the blurred green above, "I am officially recommending that neither of us stands up for…at least ten seconds."

Her gaze flicked sideways toward him. "Just to make sure nothing is…cracked, dislocated, or about to surprise us in a very unpleasant way."

Aya's voice drifted over them, and Ana turned her head just enough to see her standing there with the bags, looking far too upright for someone who had just survived that.

"I am performing a very important medical assessment," Ana called back mildly. "Also known as…lying very still and seeing if anything screams."

She took another slow breath, testing her ribs, her shoulders, her legs. Nothing felt broken. Everything felt sore. Progress. Finally, she let her head fall back into the mud again with a tired little huff.

"So far," she added to Mistral quietly, "I think we survived." A beat. "…But I am never agreeing to 'there is a chance' again."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

Mistral gave a nod as he still held the railing and Aya looked at him. "You going to let that go?" SHe asked it more with some sympathy. He shook his head no for the moment as they were moving and Aya spoke. "Seastone managed to keep most of the boast intact, it was dumb to agree and we lept to find you two. She said she was going to get the boat into a safe place... just side of mountain doesn't really seem all that safe in any case." She said it while they were following but had a look while Mistral. "Yeah makes sense, we don't know the area." He said it and the shark looked at him. "First crash." Her smile was literally all teeth and he shook his head. "No, just not as visceral... you crash in a ship you don't see it, you are strapped to a chair and there is impact foam... crash in a boat you get thrown out and around."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana shifted carefully onto one elbow, wincing a little as she tested her weight, then let herself settle back down again when her shoulder complained.

"Mm. Yes," she said dryly. "This one definitely earns points for…emotional involvement."

Her eyes flicked toward the ruined trail of mud and debris they'd carved down the mountainside, then back to Mistral and his death grip on the railing.

"I'm with you," she added quietly. "At least in a ship, you get to pretend physics is someone else's problem."

She took a slow breath, then finally pushed herself up into a sitting position, brushing wet leaves off her sleeve.

"Next time," she muttered, "I'm voting for the option that involves fewer waterfalls and fewer uncontrolled flights."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

He gave a nod to that as Aya was leading the way for them. "Neither of you are wrong but there was a risk no matter what we did and better to crash here then in the ocean with the waves at least we aren't going to be slammed into the rocks." She said it and continued to move along the path that they were taking through. THe mud was thick and Mistral could see a lot more but there was the benefit that what they were following was a wide path through the dirt... really helpful he had to admit as Aya stopped only for a moment but was pointing. "The storm isn't going to let up and we are avoiding the ruins. You saw what was happening when we went up the chute. They were fighting the things in the ruins... which we are going to avoid." She said it and Mistral gave a nod of his head while they were walking with his body ready to move just not ready for more crashing.

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana pushed herself fully upright this time, rolling one shoulder carefully before stepping forward to follow Aya. Every muscle protested in small, indignant ways, but nothing felt broken. Just bruised. Damp. Slightly offended by gravity.

The mud sucked at her boots as she moved, the path wide and churned enough to make footing easier, if not exactly pleasant. Rain threaded down through the canopy in steady sheets, turning everything slick and shining.

"I'm very comfortable with 'not the ocean,'" she said, brushing a smear of mud from her cheek with the back of her wrist. "Drowning while being smashed into rocks feels… excessive."

Her gaze shifted briefly toward the darker line of the ruins beyond the trees, where the fighting had flashed in lightning moments earlier.

She nodded once at Aya's assessment.

"Avoiding the ruins sounds like the most intelligent sentence I've heard in the last ten minutes," she added, dry but sincere. "Whatever's fighting in there clearly has more experience with this terrain than we do."

She adjusted the strap on her pack and stepped around a deeper rut in the mud, eyes scanning automatically now, alert but quieter than before.

"Wide path means traffic," she murmured more to herself than anyone else. "Recent, too. So we're not alone out here."

Then, glancing toward Mistral with a faint, tired smile:

"No more flying boats, though. I think we've met our quota."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

Haahaha laughed to that and held his chest for a moment as there was pain... he didn't feel anything broken but this was not going to be good for them as he was traveling in the rain and everything was wet... mostly. Thankfully his boots and leggings sealed so socks wouldn't get wet which would aid them in terms of trench foot or problems. He was looking at ruins but also looking at the mountain. "The ruins are dangerous but the jungle will be wet so aside from one of us." He looked at the shark woman who was more then happy seeing it as she was walking and had taken off most of her clothing she had which was minimal.

Her skin made for swimming so going through it so the rain was likely fun for her. She looked at him and nodded to that. "Water is fine and there is blood in the air from the ruins." She said it but was looking at more of it while Aya moved. "Well we aren't going in them, the dangers out here we'll be able to see coming at least." She said it before they were heading now and deeper into the jungle she started going up the hill. The gouge of the boat was there as she followed it with a light going through the water for a moment. Her attention leading Mistral as Seastone was there at the remains of the boat with several water proof packs and spoke. "That was totally awesome... did you see how high we went up."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana paused for a moment at the edge of the gouged earth, looking up at the scar they had carved into the mountainside. The churned mud, the broken branches, the exposed roots. It looked less like a landing and more like a violent argument with gravity that no one had technically won.

Rain slid down her face, mixing with the last streaks of mud she hadn't bothered wiping away. Her boots sank slightly as she stepped forward again, following the path Aya illuminated.

"I saw," she said evenly, though there was a thin thread of disbelief under it. "I was unfortunately present for the entire altitude portion of the event."

Her gaze flicked briefly toward the remains of the boat, then back to Seastone, who looked far too pleased with herself.

"And yes," she added, brushing wet hair away from her eyes, "it was…technically impressive." A beat. "In the same way that surviving a lightning strike is impressive."

She stepped closer to the waterproof packs, giving them a quick visual once-over, checking for tears or ruptures out of habit more than distrust.

The jungle felt different here. Heavy. Close. The rain masked smaller sounds, but not the larger ones—the drip of water from broad leaves, the distant crack of branches shifting somewhere deeper in the green.

When the shark mentioned blood in the air, Ana's expression tightened slightly, though she didn't comment on it directly. She simply glanced toward the ruins and then away again.

"Avoiding the ruins still feels like the most rational decision we've made today," she said quietly.

Then she looked back at Seastone, one brow lifting.

"Next time," she added mildly, "let's aim for 'awesome' without structural damage."

It wasn't anger. Just…preference.

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

"Ehhh lightning doesn't strike twice." The twi'lek said it as she gave Aya and Mistral packs of weapons and equipment but she had a grin. "And I've already been struck so I am like statistically the safest one to be near." Mistral took the pack and held it for a moment as he was checking it and spoke. "I don't think that means what you think it means." He said it and Aya looked at him for a moment as Seastone shrugged. "Maybe, who knows... I just drive things and they get demolished eventually. Nothing has been able to handle my skills." She was walking and the large shark woman seemed to be face palming and followin her while Aya shooked her head. "See why I like having normal people like you two."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana took the pack Seastone handed her, adjusting the strap over her shoulder before glancing toward the Twi'lek with a slow, skeptical expression.

"That is not how probability works," she said mildly. "That's…aggressively not how probability works."

Her gaze drifted briefly, purely coincidentally, of course, toward Mistral as he checked his pack. More specifically, toward the way rain had plastered fabric to muscle and the way he moved with that steady, ready tension.

She looked away a second later. Very casually.

"And who, exactly," she added, lifting one eyebrow toward Aya, "are you calling normal?"

There was the faintest hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth.

Her eyes flicked back to Mistral for half a heartbeat, just long enough to make the tease intentional, before she continued walking.

"Also," she added lightly, "lightning absolutely can strike twice. Especially if you insist on standing on top of mountains in the middle of storms."

She adjusted the strap of her pack again and stepped forward into the jungle path.

"Which we are currently doing."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

She seemed to look at her for a minute. "I am on a boat for sometimes two days with her." Aya pointed towards the twi'lek who was talking to the large shark woman. "Trust me, your quirks are normal." She said it but was leading the way as they started moving and Mistral gave a nod as he walked. "I have a feeling, Seastone makes anything crazy we do seem easy... but she is a good pillot I am sure. We did manage to get here." He said it and offered a hand to the shoulder for a moment while adjusting the pack and moving as he checked his blades and blaster. Aya was leading them into the trees as the canopy worked to protect and lessen the rain but she was looking around. "Watch for movement, the canopy being thicker is by design and it is where predators gather to get out of the rain."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana stepped in closer as the canopy swallowed more of the storm, the rain softening from a punishing sheet to a steady, muted patter above them. The air felt heavier here. Humid, thick, alive in a way that made the back of her neck prickle.

At Aya's comment about normalcy, she gave a faint, crooked smile.

"That is…deeply concerning," she said lightly. "If this is your baseline, I'm afraid to ask what qualifies as unusual."

She adjusted her grip on the strap of her pack and moved a little closer to the others as the trees pressed in. Mistral's hand briefly touched her shoulder while he shifted his gear, steadying, grounding. She didn't comment on it, but she didn't step away either.

Her eyes lifted automatically toward the canopy when Aya warned them.

"Thicker canopy means concealment," she murmured, scanning the branches. "Less noise from rain, more shadows. Good for us…and better for anything that hunts by patience."

She slowed slightly, matching Aya's pace more deliberately now, gaze moving from branch to branch rather than the ground.

"I'm watching above," she added quietly. "If something drops, I'd prefer to see it before it decides I look edible."

The jungle felt closer here. Quieter. And that made her focus sharpen.

"Let's just not become the easiest prey in the area," she said softly.

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

Mistral looked up but he was monitoring all over and checking his footsteps as Aya spoke. "It is. I don't imagine you saw what they were shooting out but they are big and they live on the islands. At least some of them near the ruins." She said it while going but looked at Seastone as she was on the front with a wave. "The descent to the fortress will be easier and they have likely been able to keep it secured. The rocks in front and around it are impressive for handling most threats from the water and then there is the storm so the best approach from the island was all that they had to secure against." She said it while walking but stopped at the edge of the jungle and pointed towards the ocean and obsidian structure further down below. "Luckily I had some time to think about how to get in and there is a way.. you won't like it, but it is the least secure section."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana stepped up beside Aya at the edge of the jungle, following the line of her finger toward the dark structure below.

The fortress rose from the black rock as if it had grown there. The obsidian angles cut into the stormlight, and waves crashed white against the jagged formations that shielded it from the sea. Even from this distance, it didn't look abandoned. It looked prepared.

Her eyes traced the natural defenses first. The rocks. The elevation. The storm cover. Then she looked for the flaw.

"Least secure," she repeated quietly, studying the layout. "Meaning structurally vulnerable…or socially neglected?"

She shifted her weight, rainwater dripping from the edge of her sleeve as she narrowed her focus.

"Because those are two very different kinds of 'weak.'"

Her gaze flicked sideways toward Aya. "If it's poorly guarded, I can live with that." A faint breath escaped her.

"If it involves climbing something wet and vertical again, I reserve the right to complain the entire way down." There wasn't fear in her tone. Just realism. She looked back at the fortress, analytical now. "Show me."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

Aya pointed as it was a smaller section that went over the wall. "Socially neglected, there are a lot of place hard to get into that don't need to be monitored or defended. The fortresses are made like that, most of the ships from these erras were made like that. The best way to sneak aboard was go where no one wanted to." She said it but wasn't making it the only choice and Mistral spoke. "You don't mean?" He said it and she gave a nod of her head. "Yes, when infiltrating a ship no one watches the freshers still... just old forts and ships had holes instead of pods." Mistral looked at it as Seastone was going with the shark woman and she was sitting in her lap like a sled so they could slide down the mountain. "We are ready for this."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana followed Aya's gesture and leaned slightly to get a better look at the section of wall she was indicating. Her expression stayed thoughtful right up until Aya explained exactly what that neglected section was.

Then one eyebrow slowly lifted.

She looked from the fortress…to Aya…then to Mistral.

"You're telling me," she said evenly, "the grand infiltration plan is to enter through the medieval equivalent of a drain pipe."

There was a beat.

Then she sighed softly and adjusted the strap on her pack.

"Of course it is."

Her attention shifted when she noticed Seastone already sliding down the slope with the shark woman, apparently treating the entire operation like an amusement ride.

Ana watched them for a moment, then looked back toward Mistral.

A faint, wry expression tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"So," she said, tilting her head slightly, "am I sitting on your lap, or are we improvising our own sled?"

The tone was dry, lightly teasing rather than embarrassed.

She glanced back down the slope.

"Because if we're committing to this plan," she added, "we may as well commit efficiently."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

Mistral looked at her and spoke. "As a plan it is both disgusting and better in places. Older facilities that weren't self contained relied on disgust more then massive defenses in areas like that." He said it less as defense then as a 'I've crawled through worse' "At least we have the benefit of thousands of years and rain washing everything away." He said it but was watching and adjusting only to look down as he turned to Ana. "We could try but my skin is not nearly as smooth as her for going through the mud." He said it with a small smile though as Aya laugh but was grabbing larger brranches to pass around. "Here." SHe said it and Mistral was taking one though as he offered his arm and dug the branch into the mud to steady himself. "We can chain ourselves down and control exposure in case they do look out and up."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana accepted the branch Aya handed her, testing its weight before driving the end into the mud beside her boot. It sank in a few inches with a soft squelch, enough to give her something stable to lean on.

She glanced down the slope where Seastone and the shark woman had already started their improvised descent, then back toward the fortress walls below.

"Disgust as a defensive strategy," she said thoughtfully. "I suppose if it works, it works."

Her mouth curved faintly.

"At least this version is mostly rainwater and mud. I appreciate the historical upgrade."

When Mistral offered his arm, she didn't hesitate long. Her hand settled lightly around his forearm as she planted her branch further down the slope for balance.

"Chaining ourselves together isn't a bad idea," she added, looking down toward the path they'd take. "If one of us slips, the others might keep them from sliding all the way into the ocean."

Her gaze flicked briefly toward the fortress again, measuring distance and angles the way she measured machinery.

"And if anyone does look up," she said quietly, "I imagine they'll be too busy wondering why three people are deliberately sliding down a mountain to assume we're infiltrating anything."

She shifted her footing, tightening her grip slightly on his arm.

"Ready when you are."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

He gave a nod as they continued going down, Aya rotating with each moment so they would have a staggered approach but it got them down eventually.. the fortress walls impressive as Mistral was remaining quiet for a moment and listened. He shook his head that there was nothing and moved along the wall as Seastone came with them and she was pointing but she also had a piece of cloth wrapped around her mouth... not to protect from anything but because it was almost gagging her from being able to speak. The large shark gave a look but it was clear she had done it purely for stealth purposes as the twi'lek had proven talkative and excited in most situations.

Mistral shrugged when he was moving with it and looked up as Aya checked the wall. Her hands going to her bag as she grabbed a hook and some axes for prying. Mistral slid two daggers out and gauged it while he was given one of the axes and cable. Aya looking up but he got the idea and motioned for Ana to wait a moment. His dagger pressing to the stone as he tested it and dug it into the grooves for a moment. The clink of the axes were there as he and Aya started climbing towaards the two alcoves on the side. The waves were higher and crashing but didn't reach up to the side for now. Mistrals attention went towards them free climbing up as he was finding the perfect places rather then speedy.

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana stood at the base of the fortress wall with her branch planted in the mud beside her, watching the two of them begin their ascent with a mixture of admiration and mild disbelief.

The wall loomed above her, slick with rain and sea spray, carved stone worn smooth by centuries of storms. Mistral and Aya moved with careful precision, their axes biting into old seams and grooves while the rope line trailed behind them.

She tilted her head back a little farther. Still climbing. Still climbing.

Her gaze dropped back down, and she folded her arms loosely across her chest, one eyebrow lifting.

"Alright," she called up quietly, careful not to raise her voice too much in the wind and surf. "Before you two disappear entirely into the storm…"

She gestured vaguely at the sheer stretch of wet stone above her.

"How exactly do you expect me to get up there?"

Her tone wasn't panicked. Just practical.

"Because I'd like to point out that my skill set involves circuitry and diagnostics. Not scaling ancient sea fortresses during a lightning storm."

She rested a hand on her hip and glanced briefly toward Seastone, whose cloth gag was doing an admirable job of preventing commentary.

"I'm very open to suggestions," she added dryly.

Mistral