MASKTOURN

ace wakes

Ace wakes laying on a bedroll in a small room. It’s hardly comfortable, but it’s something. There’s no sign of the Lifebringer- or anyone, really. He'd soon realize his clothes have been changed- gone is whatever they were wearing before, replaced by a simple, robelike outfit entirely in black. He's still got his amethyst and sodalite earrings, though. Morning light filters in from the window, casting the entire small room in a dewy haze. The room is tiny- big enough only to fit the bedroll, a small basin for washing, a chest at the foot of the bedroll, and a low, small writing desk, on which is a folded piece of paper, labeled with Ace's name, a clay tablet, and a porcelain face mask. The entire room is furnished in plain black tile, and opposite the window is a stone-paneled door leading out. The letter on the desk is written in small, neat script, reads as follows:

Welcome, Ace Lao-Jiangyauro Lao.

You have been invited to compete in the Lifebringer’s tournament, in this, their hallowed domain. Not only have you received this honor, you have also been selected to compete alongside the Birds, under my leadership. If you have any concerns, or anything suspicious to report, please alert it to my presence. I will be watching you. 

Please wear the mask provided, as it is part of your uniform.

Your Leader, 
Kairas Krosanyouri

The mask was of black porcelain, and would sit on Ace’s face without falling, held there by some kind of magic. It only covered his eyes and upper faced, and mirrored the look of a bird’s face. Despite no eye-holes, Ace would be able to see clearly even with the mask on. The clay tablet was just too big to be held in one hand, and was accompained by a small stylus for writing. Its surface displayed the #group-chat, and would update magically as more messages were sent. If Ace investigated the chest, they’d find something curious. The chest is filled mostly with linens- bedding, towels, spare outfits, but at the top is his glasses, neatly folded on a towel. (edited)

@Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

Ow. "mm," Ace groaned, opening their eyes to see absolutely nothing but shapes and colors. Glasses. "fun." Wherever he was now, it felt only slightly less eerie than where they were before. From what he could tell from being mostly blind, it was a rather small room, with a rather uncomfortable bed...roll. He traced his hands along the floor in hopes of finding his glasses, only for his hand to bump against a chest containg their glasses and several spares of this robe. Wonderful. Excellent. Brrravo. Nausea lingered in their stomach, and their body just felt...sore all over. Readjusting their glasses, they began to examine their room- small, mostly basic -and skimmed over the sheet of paper on the desk. Near instantly, their face twisted into a grimace at the mention of his father's name, and they skimmed through the paper quickly after that. Honor. Funny. "Kairas," Ace repeated, their gaze falling down to the porcelain mask beside the letter. "...and birds." They felt naked. They felt exposed. They felt nauseous, itchy, sore, and just overall awful. It felt...wrong. With a quieter groan, Ace made his leave, porcelain mask in hand. They'd put it on later.

ace goes to the gala

Thankfully, Ace didn't bump into anyone on their return. They saw a few people getting ready for this 'gala', yes, but apart from them, no one tried to start up a conversation. Good. It'd be hard to explain why he got bit and was carrying around a mysteriously bloody and...weedy bag. As soon as they were alone and in their room, Ace flung that stupid bag down on the table with a wet, sort of meaty thud. "puk gai," he hissed, trying to wrestle himself out of his robe. "Fucking- ow-" For some reason, Ace felt worse than before. Maybe hiking, training, and getting your blood sucked out wasn't the best thing to do while still sick. They needed to patch themself up before going anywhere. He didn't care if Roman couldn't carry diseases- there was no way he was going to win this death tournament if he was to die of an infection before it even started. And they were Not asking them for healing. It took only a few minutes for them to get ready, but once they'd cleaned up their wound, covered it properly, and put on the 'formal attire' laid out on their bedroll, they seemed more than ready to go. They weren't touching a single bit of that jewelry. They had better jewelry; their earrings. A single, small amethyst, and a round little sodalite. It's nice. They're all matching. They're out the door before they can linger. Headache medicine wouldn't hurt. (edited)

ace does arts and crafts

Did it look like a dog? It- it looked enough like a dog, right? [Was Evan going to laugh at him??] Oh, gods, he couldn't take a kid laughing at him. While their strengths laid primarily in archery, Ace was still rather good at stitching- but in this specific instance, it felt like his skills were...lacking. The fabric was so incredibly fragile to work with, and it didn't help that they were used to creating needles intended for sutures. Sharper needles. Pokier needles. Ace frowned as they turned the plush over in their hands, palms stained a dusty yellow hue. Little Toaster-but-not-really looked...fine, if not a bit deflated. Ellie had given him an extra robe on the one condition that he help her make a penguin plush for Evan, too. It wasn't too difficult staining the white fabric; a bit of turmeric, a soak overnight, and it was the perfect toast-colored hue for a sledding dog. The basin was definitely going to stain, though. They just hoped their hands didn't. The penguin, already finished, sat politely beside him. It was filled to the brim with stuffing from the bedroll, and at a glance looked absolutely seamless. The only hint of it being handmade was when the seams shimmered faint gold in the sunlight. Despite Ellie's claims that it'd help him make the penguin, he hadn't really spoken with her since the volcano fight. She'd stop when they bumped into each other, briefly, and say that she was heading out to talk to Kyrie, or talk to Gale, but she never stayed longer than that. It was...relieving to see that she was doing well, at least. Better than he was, really. [Ah- he saw her at Kyrie's fight, though. She was with Gale, and looked...she looked stressed, didn't she?] Argh. They were getting distracted again. Ace held the glowing golden thread between their teeth as they manifested their needle again, trying with great effort to make it a bit more dull. He didn't want to tear little Toaster when he'd gotten so far already.