001 - If I Keep Looking Forward I Won't Fall Back [Vault]

[purplexing]

I. The Armory
Donnie hasn't talked about the last mission. He hasn't talked much to anyone. Not entirely strange, but then nor is his preoccupation with work. At the moment he's taking a break from fixing up the armors that had been acquired during the taking of Hesaeth, working instead on more personal weapons. Or in this case, repairing them.

His staff is in pieces. Normally it collapses into something discreet enough to carry, but some of those pieces have very obvious indentations, damage sustained from the encounter with Lord Gundhir's son. The turtlekin picks up one of the cylindrical segments, holding it up in closer inspection. Repairing it would be possible although he'd likely have to reforge some pieces, but what good would it be if it would still essentially break under pressure?

...

Pushing aside an errant thought, Donnie sets the piece down, pulling out his notebook and a folded sheet of paper from within, flattening it out. The original designs for his collapsible staff, and extra notations for other additions to it. It still needs to be sturdier, but lighter too, especially if he plans to include more capabilities.

He doesn't look up at whoever approaches, only barely hearing the footsteps thanks to the mufflers he always tends to wear, especially down here where there's just so much noise. "Hey, know if there's any scrap titanium I can use?"


II. Subterranean Farms
Tucked away from the main fields and nestled in a smallish nook along the carved out walls, the little garden can easily be overlooked if one isn't paying attention to the strange, spiraling growth of vines dotted with small purple flowers that have started to crawl along the edges of the rock there. That's as far as Donnie's allowed them to grow, always taking care to trim them back before they can get out of hand.

He's rigged his own little light source here, simultaneously taking advantage of where crevices throw shadows across the space to allow for all kinds of plants to be cultivated. At a glance they're definitely more of a decorative sort than to be used for food, but he wouldn't advise eating most of these anyway. There are many flowers and herbs, and even a few types of fungi that grow within the natural rock 'shelves' of the flanking walls.

The turtlekin can be found tending to his beloved plants, removing any dead leaves, carefully watering the flowerbeds or tilling a patch of dirt in preparation for planting something new.


III. The Library
The library's become as much of a retreat as any, and in particular Donnie liked to hide away here because of how much quieter it is compared to other areas of the Vault.

He had come here to do some research but the peacefulness of the area paired with poor sleep has managed to lull him into an unscheduled naptime. Hopefully you didn't need that book he's currently using as a pillow, but be forewarned; he's a drooler.

Comments

II. Subterranean Farms

[newmemorywhodis]

Donnie's little farm hasn't gone completely unnoticed. As he works, Link comes up beside him. Crouches down, so he can get a closer look.

Not a vegetable garden, he can tell - though of course, Link still wonders if any of these plants might be useful for an elixir or as a nice little seasoning...there's lots of ways that plants can be useful.

But these are nice. He likes the little purple flowers, and reaches out to touch one.

"Pretty," he says.

ii

[singlemilletgrain]

At some point as he tends to his plants, a shadow thrown by the artificial lights momentarily falls over his flowerbeds. Shu has approached soundlessly with a hefty plastic bucket held steady with both hands, dressed once again in a pair of work overalls. ...Absent the bloodstains.

"Fertilizer."

The contents of the bucket are largely unspeakable and also, frankly, do not smell very appetizing. But nose blindness works wonders, and if he can tolerate it for a minute or two, the passage of time will lessen its offensiveness. If questioned, she will murmur something about waste, bone and blood meal, nitrogen, and phosphates. If unquestioned, she will simply kneel down with a trowel and begin to apply the mixture evenly.

III

[minorinasskicking]

The library is one of Gohan's favorite places to be, as well. When he isn't training his body, he's in here, reading what he can. As time has gone on, it gets easier for him to read as his vocabulary in the language grows, which just makes him crave more knowledge.

This time, though, he comes upon Donnie, currently snoozing over a book. Gohan is no stranger to that himself; sometimes a book is so dull that it just leads to him nodding off. Of course, that doesn't help with getting anything done. So he walks up and very carefully and gently taps Donnie on the shoulder.

"Psst. Hey, Donnie. Can you hear me?"

I. The Armory

[fish4science]

Angelika almost drops the box of spares and parts she is holding to stare at Donnie. She blinks twice.

And then she pulls something out of the box and yeets it at him.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! Pick another metal, and do your work with that! 'I need titanium, I love to work in an unbreathable atmosphere and to destroy every machine tool that touches my project' said nobody ever!" It seems that Donnie has touched a raw nerve with his choice of materials.

Armory

[relentless_sentinel]

After that latest Planning phase, Nephenee's down a lance. Sure, she got her best lance back, but she's never been one to just toss one to the wayside...more options is better. And her starter lance has had it bad...she's never had one shatter on her before!

So she's come down to the armory, looking to see if it can be repaired, or at least if it can get a new head on it. Worst case, she'll have to just weigh it down properly to use as a quarterstaff...honestly with the damage to it, that's probably the best option.

As she comes down, she spots Donnie, and wonders to herself if he might be able to help with that. But before she can greet him, he asks her about...something called 'titanium'? She blinks in confusion.

"Uh...sorry, Ah don't e'en know what that is."