The Heroes of Light vs. The Sakura Forest (round 1)

[littlemhigan]

Who: Everyone who signed up!
When: October 10
Where: The Sakura forest
What: There's supposed to be an Eidolon here! Lets go find it!
Warnings/Notes: it's October and there are supposedly mimics in here.

This morning is damp and foggy, lingering swaths of mist a testament to the rapid changes in temperature that always seem a hallmark of the fall season. The sunlight is still too new to burn it away, and the world seems hazy and lavender.

It would be beautiful, if it wasn’t so eerie. Perhaps it’s simply the morning chill, but skin prickling up to gooseflesh seems to be a common occurrence amongst the gathered crowd, and Castor herself, standing at the head and sorting people into teams, is not immune to this.

Behind her stands the southwestern edge of the Sakura forest. The fog within seems particularly dense, and as it diffuses the morning light, the forest seems almost otherworldly; a glimpse at something fey and unknowable and eternal. It’s likewise eerily quiet; even accounting for the fog smothering all but the closest noise, there are no audible signs of life from within the forest’s boundaries.

If the hair on the back of your neck is slowly raising, you’re probably not alone in that, either.

“Alright!” Castor calls, once she’s finished organizing people, “That should be the lot’ve ye! We don’t know what all’s about in there, and I’ve had word that the local wildlife has been ornery of late, so keep yer wits about ye, and stay close te your mates!

“I’ve given each of ye a handful of ribbon…” she pauses to hold up a handful of her own, a cheery red that somehow looks ominous in this atmosphere. “A colour te each team! Use ‘em to mark yer way in; I don’t want te have te go fishin’ fer lost souls when all’s said and done, and if ye find somethin’ ye’ll leave an easy way back.

“I’d advise ye sort someone te keep an eye on the Slates. Twelve willin’ they work more’n ten fulms into the wood, stay in touch best ye can over the network. And don’t hesitate te turn back if ye feel things’re goin’ poorly fer you an’ yours. I’d rather ye come back alive and emptyhanded.”

Here she pauses again, seeming to count something out on her fingers. “I think that’s the last of what I’ve got te say. Try and be back ‘fore sundown, yeah?”


[ooc: And go! I will be endeavouring to reply to each party at least ONCE daily, regardless of who’s posted in the meantime (we’ll see how it goes)!]

Comments

MINGLE THREADS

[littlemhigan]

[ Talk amongst yourselves, or to Castor! ]

PARTY ONE!

[littlemhigan]

Party one consists of Shiro, Riku, Angeal, Naomi, Serge, Ashelia, Vax and Castor, and have red ribbons. This party is heading east within the forest.

[chatwithdeath]

[Reaching behind her back, Naomi brings around the bag she kept resting on her back, eyes watching the seven people she'd been assigned to. Opening her satchel, she dug momentarily through the endless supply she happened to have, drawing out vials shortly. With them in hand, she approached each person before someone decided to take the lead, giving them each a Hi-Potion.]

I have more, but let's try not to resort to them... at least, not anytime soon if they have to be used at all.

[It's a vote of confidence... sort of.]

[spaceforged]

Alright, once everyone is ready we'll start heading east.

[He thanks Naomi, sliding the potion into his belt where it could easily be accessed at a later time. Shiro checks his sword to make sure he can easily draw it from his back.]

With the fog like this, I suggest we stick close together.

[timecrash]

Serge accepts the Hi-potion with a grin. "Whoah, nice! Thanks, uh. Don't think we got introduced properly, actually." He places the item delicately in a pocket, resting both hands on the long oar across his shoulders. The red ribbon's tied around his left arm, plainly visible. "I'm Serge. And yeah, sticking together seems like the best idea. We'll work better as a team, anyway."

[desertbloomed]

[ Naomi gets a polite nod in thanks for the potion before Ashelia slips it into a pouch hanging from her sword belt. She deposits the ribbons in another pouch before sizing up the rest of the party. She's only passingly familiar with Naomi - everyone else is a complete mystery to her. ]

I am the Lady Ashelia. [ A quick wave of her hand in front of her carries a Vent spell along its arc, clearing a good amount of fog in front of the young queen. ] Perhaps those with wind spells should take point?

[angealwings]

Angeal Hewley. Thank you for the curative, [ a small nod towards Naomi, ] and, if necessary, I can switch to Scholar to assist with any necessary healing. Unfortunately, not much in terms of wind spells. Has anyone taken up residence near enough to have already been in this forest before - the current shift in behavior of the creatures?

[ Because all information is important information. Not that he hasn't read up on the place, what he could find, but still. ]

PARTY TWO

[littlemhigan]

Party two consists of Marinette, Lance, Madhuri, Red, Baiken, Adrien, Ena and Beastboy, and have blue ribbons. This party is heading northeast within the forest.

[songbird_slayer]

[She gave a nod to her moogle, who went ahead with the Asterisk swapping. Considering they had difficult monsters to attend to, her fully-mastered White Mage abilities may be just what the doctor ordered. A flash of light and a little flourish later, her fingers closed around an ornate staff that materialized out if thin air.

At her next opportunity, she gathered a little white magic and raised the focus crystal, bestowing a Protect over the party in case of ambushes.]

Well! Let's get going, then, fellow blue-bestowed brethren.

[modelcivilian]

[If he could, he would say she could've just said bluestowed... Maybe one day, but that day wasn't it. Feeling the effects of Protect fall over him, he nodded to his group with a hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He might've mastered the job, but that only further enforced the idea of using it while they were here.]

Right! Let's head out, and make sure to stay close. The fog's going to linger for a while so let's remain vigilant.

[He doesn't mind taking the lead for their march out.]

[mech_and_mutt]

[Adrien could take the lead; Red was a little too preoccupied to shoulder his way to the front, muttering and grumbling while tugging at a big blue mass in his mitts.]

Doggone it, my ribbon's all tangled up...!

[At least feeling the Protect spell come over him is enough to snap him out of his struggle and offer up a nod of thanks. It had been a few months since he'd had a big group adventure like this, but this time around he's working along a few familiar faces that he already knows can--

UGH, was this thing a blue ribbon or a Mobius strip?!]

[garyoutensei]

[ Baiken remained silent, remaining relatively close to Adrien, given he was the only one she knew well enough. Oddly, she stayed a pretty good distance *away* from Madhuri, which was probably weird. For reasons. Either way, she kept her eye peeled ahead of them, hand resting on the hilt of her sword. ]

[littlemhigan]

The forest is...not welcoming per say, but the path this party is on is fairly clear, and the sun cuts through the very worst of the mist. The grass and ferns here are tall, coming up waist-high in some places, and likewise aggressively dense, requiring no small effort to push through.

There are signs of life here, and some muffled birdsong. Every so often, there's an odd post of wood, like a sign that can no longer point the way, old and cracked as the forest works on reclaiming it.

Listen closely though, because soon, the birdsong....just stops, and whoever's in the lead might find themselves tripping over a very peculiar rock. Odd, it almost looks like a squirrel made completely of stone...

PARTY THREE

[littlemhigan]

Party three consists of Naoto, Futaba, Finn, Kanji, Terra, Ann, Bonnie and Keith, and have yellow ribbons. This party is heading north within the forest.

[topgun_textiles]

[He swung the warhammer high, an arc over his head, and let it fall across a shoulder. This wouldn't be like the last time, with him lying on the ground covered in his own blood on the floor. No, damn it, he was a nearly-two-maxed-out-tank-class big boy! He's got backup plans and more moxie than before.]

A'right! Time to find a friggin' Eidolon!

[With a roaring War Cry, he amped himself up and hunched, prepared to charge into the woods... unless someone wants to help him pump the brakes a bit.]

[pishirogane]

Kanji-kun, not so fast. We need to keep the party together.

[It's a little too early for his rambunctiousness after the past week - not to mention the haunts about - and Naoto felt like she hadn't had enough coffee for this. And while she does have a thermos, it was only by habit... and it had Kanji's tea in it.]

[Looking past the ghostly serpentine form of Leviathan swimming around her head, Naoto looked back at the rest of their group, nodding to them.]

Stay close. Let's try to maintain a partner system in the event the forest conditions change.

[ladytakamaki]

Yeah, Naoto's right - let's not split up, okay?

[ she's pretty much ready to go, too, but she knows better than to run off by herself. but she gets it. kanji's just...a little excited, that's all. ]

Partner system? I've got Futaba pretty much covered there.

[ she's not letting futaba out of her sight. phantom thieves gotta stick together, after all. ]

[wheretheresawill]

[Terra raises a hand.]

Does anyone fragile need a partner? I can take a couple hits.

[More than a couple, with luck, and he hoped it wouldn't come to that, but he wouldn't hesitate if it was needed.]

[kuposcreed]

[Bonnie gently tugs on her ribbon. It's a shame that it doesn't have the enchantments of its more mythical kind, but it was still stylish and a good marker too.]

Kupo~

[Bonnie raises her paw at Terra's question.]

I won't make you take all the hits, but having someone bigger than me to back me up would be nice, kupo.

[Dragoon and Ninja weren't the least sturdy of jobs, but moogles were a mite softer than humans.]

PARTY FOUR

[littlemhigan]

Party four consists of Uendo, Kuja, Klonoa, Papyrus, Frisk, Chara, Pidge, Tidus and Snow White, and have white ribbons. This party is heading northwest within the forest.

[zanarkandian]

[As the group gets their assignment, he pipes up. He's never one to stay quiet for long.]

'Sup guys! I'm Tidus. I'm good at...uh, sneak attacks and hasty retreats, and hoarding the stuff I steal.

[On that note, he's quick to gesture to his potion stash.]

I grabbed a ton of antidotes. These forests always seem to be full of poison, and we do not want to be dealing with that when we're so spread out.

[wind_in_my_ears]

A lone figure, clad in billowing white robes, steps onto the scene. He surveys his surroundings, the hood obscuring his features, short, but not without an imposing stature.

And then Klonoa takes off the hood, letting his ears breathe because sheesh was it stifling in there, especially when he's still wearing a cap underneath it. It looks like he actually has the white ribbon tied around one of his ears. It's pretty visible, at least.

"Hello! I'm Klo~oa. I guess I'll be the one healing you guys today?" He says, looking around. Actually, he knows a lot of these guys. Maybe they hooked them up for familiarity?

"Anyway, good to meet you!"

[whirluendo_of_puns]

[Uendo is only casually acquainted with one or two of his teammates, but he's seen some of the others around in passing. Better than being with complete strangers, he supposes.

Klonoa's introduction earns a friendly grin. What a cute little guy.]

Glad to see we've come prepared! We'll be counting on you.

[He then greets the rest of the team with a brief bow.]

I'm Uendo, your resident Summoner. If we come across the Eidolon, you can leave the translating to me.

[acapriciousreaper]

Kuja steps forward, accepting the ribbons and stowing them. He's rather pleased to discover he knows everyone here. That will save on introductions. "Ah. Tidus, Klonoa, Uendo. Good morning, all. Do let me know if we need additional healing. I likely haven't been focusing on it as much as Klonoa has, but I am at least mildly competent in White Magic."

[einspine]

[Papyrus is... difficult to miss, in part because he's a gosh darn skeleton, but also because it's not long before his loud, piercing voice chimes in.]

AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM PLEASED TO MEET YOU ALL! BARRING THOSE I ALREADY KNOW, LIKE KUJA AND KLONOA. BUT!!! ANYWAY, I'M NOW A MASTER CHEMIST AND SLOWLY WORKING MY WAY THROUGH THE GLORIOUS CLASSES OF MAGITEK KNIGHT AND GOURMAND!

[He pauses, whipping out a potion bottle.]

AND, GIVEN MY JOBS, I HAVE A GREAT STOCKPILE OF ITEMS.

[He pauses.]

OH. AND I CAN DO SOME... ELEMENTAL SHOOTY THINGS, TOO.