[CURRENT] eels, eels, give it up now

saving the eels

The Two Moon Soakhouse had been a Drench establishment for longer than most people living in the Neon Alley had been alive. With an entrance found at the end of a long, skinny alley and seemingly endless halls of pools, saunas and other wet delights, it enjoyed a patronage raging from old women wishing to soak their muscles to young men hoping to do the same, but in other young men. It's logo, two moons positioned together in a fashion that might be suggestive if one wanted to take it that way, had long faded on the swinging sign above it's door.

And now, after years of seeing the Drench get clean and relaxed, it was going to take on a new life - as an Eel sanctuary. The little creatures were going to be the key to defeating the illness that had gripped Kotoll as of late and unfortunately for Dr Tetya Prestod, nervous biologist and fresh-out-of-training Intern, they had been put up for their supervision. One gleeful comment about how exciting this development could be had immediately seen the job landing on their shoulders, exactly where they didn't know how to handle it.

Well, the best way to get through something was to just do it, right? So with their large glasses pushed up, sleeves rolled to the elbows and heavy wading boots mostly hole-free, they had begun to orchestrate the moving of equipment into the Soakhouse in order to make it into somewhere the Eels could be safe while their gills were cleaned of beetles, the plants were introduced to the water and (hopefully) the Drench's algae problem was solved. The owner of the Soakhouse had given a full approval for anything that needed to be done, probably helped along by the heavy payment in his pockets.

So, with a loud pump draining away water from a pool behind them, Tetya stood and waited for volunteers to come in - not all the Drench were sick, after all, and this was not something they were going to be able to achieve on their own. As they waited, they checked the smudged list written on their wrist, the tasks on there hopefully achievable within a few hours (otherwise, the Eels waiting in captivity were going to be very mad).

--

Anyone can join this post to make the Soakhouse into an Eel sanctuary!
There is no limit to the amount of participants.

Please post by 10/05/2023 if you want to join, with your character entering the Soakhouse.

Iara

If it keeps on raining, levee's going to break

I had been fortunate enough not to get sick from the algae. I probably owe it entirely to the fact that my water heater had broken months ago. Because of the rainy season coming in, orders in the shop had been wild, so I hadn't gotten the chance to fix the damned thing. As a result, I've been boiling my water for baths and the like. I also learned a long time ago that you boil any water you're trying to drink or cook with, since my ma had gotten since with some waterborne illness when I was younger.

I have had a few unfortunate rashes from just getting soaked while traveling through the city, but thankfully without repeated exposure, they cleared up pretty quickly. So, it's only right that I find myself trying to help everyone else get better.

I'm dressed up fairly safely today, with some work-boots and overalls covering my body. I have a ribbed tank top on underneath because it's still quite warm. My hair is tied up and back away from my face the best I can manage. I heard that we were going to be converting the old Soakhouse into an eel sanctuary. Wildest thing I'd ever heard, honestly. I thought the broadcast was a joke.

However, I'm not afraid of animals, even if the eels are more slimy than the type I normally encounter on my hunting trips. I walk in with an air of confidence and congeniality about me, striding up toward a bookish looking figure glancing nervously toward the door. "Are you in charge around here?" I ask, a warm smile on my face to try to set them at ease.

When the levee breaks, I'll have no place to stay

You said I could fly so go on then, fill my eyes with fire, I set my sails with desire

She should probably be resting, or at the very least take some care of her non-algae related breathing issues before the gradual advance of the imminent pneumonia got a proper hold of her. Instead, this talk about possible solution for this new illness going around steals her attention enough to take her outside and away to Light's Edge. Since she's not completely unaffected by it either, she can count it as doing something for her own health for once. Though she might mostly do it because it will also help people she cares about from getting sick or more sick.

The Soakhouse is not a place she has visited. Ever. She's seen it many times, especially that sign is easily recognized. So she's getting a quite inaccurate first impression of the place when stepping inside, with the pump busy draining water from the pools and the absence of bathing patrons. She's not too sure yet about the idea of handling eels if that's what they'll end up doing, but if she could hunt for toads in a mud pit, this might not be impossible either. As long as she can avoid doing anything too physically taxing, or she might just send herself into a coughing fit until she passes out.

The woman who came in just before her asks a person standing there if they are in charge, and Ira quietly drifts a bit closer to listen in.

IRA

The reader of this text has standing permission for responsible powerplay and to use physical/magical force against this character.
Instant killing and permanently maiming not included.

CIAN

First toads, now eels. For not being a nature-person, Cian questions himself why he keeps signing up for these things involving slimy animals. He's not getting paid, so why? Just being helpful? Showing that he can be a good person? Probably all true, but he also really wants to be rid of the so called rust rashes and all the other nasty things these algae bring with them. He's still dealing with some of the milder symptoms, as it's quite difficult to stay away from getting into contact with anything wet or damp down in the Drench and that pesky red grime seems to be everywhere.

The suggestive sign is being met with a frown, then studied with a raised eyebrow for a brief moment before Cian shakes his head for himself and heads inside. Joining the gathering by the biologist, and after offering everyone a smile and nod as greeting, he takes the time to look around while waiting. A clean bath would be a wonderful thing, if it wasn't for the fact that he's already mighty tired of water in general at this point

you never know what temporal days may bring

Maven is familiar enough with the Drench that the Soakhouse isn't too difficult to find, and she hurries through the rain-filled streets toward the establishment with a spring in her step. She is tired of seeing patients who have become ill thanks to the algal bloom, and if there is anything she can do to hasten along the cure, she will happily donate her time to do so. She arrives behind a handful of others and joins the growing crowd eagerly, sharing a kind smile with those who have come to help prepare the bathhouse for the eels.

The Soakhouse is about what she's expected, despite the fact that she's never set foot in its halls. A loud pump drains water from the pools in preparation to house the eels. Maven wonders what their tasks will be, exactly - she never stopped to ask. It's strange to think that such simple creatures will be their saviors, but there it is.

Maven

hey mr. trailblazer, spare you a joint paper
it's strange how the days layer, and weigh on you years later

He’s late to the party, but all in all it ends up being okay. His lungs hurt and he tries to keep his coughing under wraps, but if this eel thing has anything to do with helping the public down here, well, he’s automatically going to get involved. What he doesn’t expect to see is @Ira standing there amongst the crowd in the Soakhouse, immediately drifting forward to stand beside her, letting his hand brush by her arm as if it might be enough to give her the idea that he’s there to help too.

Uldren tries to focus half on how well Ira’s holding up while also trying to listen to what the person in charge has to say, and he can’t help but to glance around at the others that have gathered, just to see if he recognizes any of them. Ultimately, however, he returns his gaze up to the person in charge, mentally preparing himself to get started helping out wherever he could.

Uldren

kill your demons, kill 'em dead; in your mirror, in your bed
in your heart, in your head. don't you look good in red?

Is it wise that he shows up here? More than likely not. But Sunjata had come down here with the only purpose to help when the sickness began and Drenak seemed to flood every corner of the Drench – so much worse than what he’d been told. He does his best to keep himself covered, having already shaved the sides of his head to get rid of the gavel shaved in there, as well as bundling up head to toe it seemed.

He wears a mask over his face, something made of cloth that helps to keep the majority of his face hidden with the added benefit of trying not to catch the sickness that goes around – having made it so far without feeling sick, though he doesn’t know if that’s from his own precautions or the fact he’s now currently living with a doctor.

Either way, he stands nearer to the back of the Soakhouse, gaze entirely trained on the biologist up front, trying to determine where he might be able to help out where he hopefully won’t have to talk all that much nor shed any of the layers that keep his identity hidden.

SUNJATA

questions of science, science and progress
do not speak as loud as my heart

The first post got eaten, so we're gonna skip the niceties, yeah?

You show up to Operation Eel Rescue ready to work. Work boots, work overalls, work shirt. The works. There's a smattering of scabs on your hands and arms, scars from your own war with the Great Algae Plague that you wear openly not so much from pride, buy because if you cover them up the sweat makes the itching absolutely unbearable.

You slide in next to Iara, who appears similarly ready to work. Enthusiasm lights your eyes as you look around the converted bathouse: "Eels, huh?" you posit to nobody in particular, eyebrows wiggling in a ridiculously facsimile of those notoriously wriggly beasts.

ZEPH

saving the eels

"Oh, um, yes!" Dr Tetya had not expected the first person to come in with a question and a difficult one at that. They were probably the closest thing to in charge here, but that certainly wasn't a position they were used to. Still, trying to look confident, they adjusted their glasses and nodded, trying to continue the charade as others came in.

More than was expected, really. The Drench was known for it's community spirit, they supposed, but they'd pictured everyone but a few being sick zombies.

Once they had all gathered, a veritable cleaning crew before the scientist, they cleared their throat with a soft, quiet noise and stood on a ledge to try and make themselves taller. "Oh, wow. Thank you for coming everyone. This is um, indeed, to do with-" They glanced to Zephyr. "-Eels!"

"So...you may not know this, but these eels are the secret to ending the epidemic down here. Um, they currently have beetles in their gills that feed on their dead skin and scraps of their food and so on, but those beetles, they actually used to eat the algae thats causing the sickness." Nodding, pushing their sleeves up, they motioned towards one of the crates. "So here we are going to bring the eels somewhere they can be without the beetles. And the beetles, with no alternative....should go back to eating the algae. Problem solved."

Nothing in science was certain, but it seemed like a decent plan.

Dr Tetya gestured to the three pools before them. "So we need to empty these pools of their..um...debris. So we can put in a specially formulated water for the eels. Something the beetles will not like." They snorted out a laugh that ended awkwardly fading into silence. Clearing their throat again, they motioned to each pool in turn. One was filled with what had once been petals but was now a pink-brown slurry, that without the benefit of water and perfume smelt like rot. Next was what had been a salt pool, now a spiky pit as crystallised knives of salt stuck out from between grooves in the tile. Finally there was a pool that appeared to have been some kind of mud bath, the remainders of which were bubbling ominously on the floor tiles.

All three pools, in addition to their seasonings, had revealed all kinds of other junk in their emptyings. Ancient clothing, trinkets, tissues, whatever else one could imagine.

"All three of these need to be squeaky clean for our eels. When you're cleaning, use this!" Dr Tetya lifted up one jar of many of a noxious blue cleaning fluid, brought down from the Plates. "This should get all of...that out."

---
Choose whether you want to help clean the petal bath, salt bath or mud bath!

Please post by 15/05/2023.

You said I could fly so go on then, fill my eyes with fire, I set my sails with desire

With only being able to take short breaths, just standing up for a while soon gets tiring enough and her whole body aches from a light fever. However, for as long as she can get out of bed at all, she's going to try doing things.

She feels a touch against her arm and is about to step aside in case it's someone wanting to go past, and is surprised to see Uldren standing there. Her expression briefly changes to guilty, at if she's caught doing something she's not supposed to and her brain spends a second out of habit thinking she'll be dragged back to the apartment. When nothing happens, she relaxes again and leans closer to speak in a low voice for only him to hear. Getting the words out between the strained breaths.

"Sorry for just going without saying anything... Too used to come and go on a whim and not staying with someone I actually want to talk to." She gives him an apologetic smile and realises they could have gone together from the start if she had remembered that communication is an option now, compared to when she stays with her father. She had also assumed Uldren would be resting since he's ill, never mind that she's in the same position.

Her attention turns back to the scientist person when they start talking and explaining the situation, and what needs to be done. Each pool receives a frowning look from her and the more she sees of the leftover trash on the bottom, the happier she becomes over never having visited this place before. The mud one is out of question right away; she's had enough of mud for the rest of the year. The nasty rose mush reminds her too much of mud, so that leaves the salty one. With a small sigh, she carefully selects one of the jars of suspicious-looking cleaning fluid and heads for the second pool.

---

Ira chooses the salt bath.

IRA

The reader of this text has standing permission for responsible powerplay and to use physical/magical force against this character.
Instant killing and permanently maiming not included.