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

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

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)!]

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[He growled under his breath. Fine. He'll swing at the shadows for all he cares, if anything to coax out whatever was causing them-

The called name was like a knife through the red mist that began to creep over the edge of his vision. A blink, and Kanji turned. Was something up with the little water noodle? Whatever it was, it had Naoto break off from the group.

Jaw set, he swept his gaze over the others and hoped to catch a few before he headed off to follow his partner. Something had the eidolon's attention, but it didn't necessarily mean anything good.]

[ Heh, Score. ]

Heads up guys, looks like there's something up ahead in the fog. Nothing moving - maybe buildings.

[ She doesn't point out who else has clearly spotted it, and what that might mean. The others can figure that out for themselves. ]

Could tell him he's in the wrong place.

[He was going to make another witty remark but then he watched the watery danger noodle float (fly? hover?) off and moves to follow, careful not to step on the poor skeleton. If it's that rusted over, then they've been dead a long time.

Thank you, laser focus problems.]

[Terra does not like this, not one bit. This place is full of corpses! That's not okay!

[But they don't seem to be going anywhere, and the golden eyes are, resolving into...humans? Can Heartless be human shaped? The ones he studied weren't...

[On alert, he trails behind the others, trying not to step on anyone without taking his eyes off the shadowy figures. He feels like he doesn't have enough eyes for this.]

[ Finn watched the others walk away, including his partner, and frowned down at the skeleton. Rust attaches to and degrades metal quickly. He knows well after scrubbing it off enough things on Starkiller Base. The body, even as a skeleton, could have been here for less than a year. Maybe not, probably not, but-

He hated this.

Finn held his gun close with both hands, catching up to the group and sticking by Keith. Maybe his first assessment was right. Maybe this forest was just creepy. Regardless, he kept an eye out for more bodies as well as whatever Futaba found on radar. ]

[All of those eyes. They were so chilling. Bonnie was reluctant to turn her back on them and for a moment she had herself spinning around trying to watch them all at once. It took her a moment to realize that everyone was moving on ahead after Leviathan and with a small yelp she fluttered doubletime after them.]

Ahhh~ Wait up, kupo~

Whatever Futaba picked up comes into view soon; round stone structures, hollow in the middle, about 10 feet tall, and made of old, worn stone. The forest has overgrown many, and no small few are partially collapsed under the weight of the overgrowth.

As they approach, the yellow-eyed stalkers seem to simply...fade away into the mists, leaving only darkness and silence where they once were.

A few more corpses litter the space between the structures; all off them bleached bone and similarly rusted over. A few seem to be holding weapons still, though they're in a similar state of decay, and the flora along the ground of the forest has long since worked it's way in and around the bodies, vines and flowers growing within the crannies and crevasses.

This is old.

The air here is heavy and almost oppressive. Don't be surprised if your hair starts standing on end.

[When it all comes into view, Keith pauses, too-sharp eyes looking over what once was carnage. It likely says so much that he doesn't react so much to the death itself as he does the air. While the other sets of glowing eyes disappear, it almost feels heavier without their presence.]

What happened here? [He voices aloud, voice softening a little behind the slight growl. Even though the numbers are relatively few, there are too many for any of this to be natural. He's seen enough battlefields in his life to know as much, even if it's so old the forest has claimed them.

He glances to Ann with too-violet eyes.] You can let go now, you know. [He sounds calm, but he's terrified and not having a free range of motion because she's still clinging is n o t h e l p i n g.]

[ Finn takes in the scene with a grimace. The events here happened a long time ago, but there are too many bodies for them to not have been collected or picked over. It didn't even seem like animals came this way. ]

Maybe we should go back, get reinforcements. [ His suggestion was more than likely to get brushed away. After all, they were after an Eidolon. No one went into this thinking it'd be easy. But it took a lot more people than this to tame Leviathan and she had been willing to listen. This was different.

But the air- Perhaps it was already too late to turn around. ] But whatever's going on, I think we're getting close. [ Obviously. If the corpses didn't give it away. ]

... Yes, I believe we are.

[Perhaps the others would find their way here. Though they may have separated, it seemed as though they'd been guided this way - or lured. It was curious what sort of conflict may have occurred in this place, but something has settled here since.]

Leviathan? What were you sensing earlier?

Considering we got somethin' like Bahamut lookin' to kill us, I guess it ain't a stretch to figure others got a taste for blood too.

[He set his jaw. Going back for reinforcements sounded smart. But what if more illusions just erase their progress and they're back at square one?]

...What if we've been tested and backin' out means it'll take us out?

[A thought, and he'll try and fire up the iMog network from his tablet. Give him one second. Trying to contact the other groups.]

Hm...

[ She doesn't have all that much yet to add herself. As soon as Area Scan becomes available she'll use it again, even if it means overlapping a lot of the area she's already covered (kinda sucks her range is so short in Vaikuntha). But once that's done, she'll be examining the map in closer detail, keeping an eye out for anything notable or unusual - including in the air above them and possibly underground - and also being lookout for any enemies that might appear ]

[Hair being on end is one thing, but Bonnie is positively floofed up right now. Any more and she's liable to give someone an accidental static shock. The vanishing of the eyes is less than comforting, especially with the increased number of bodies laying about. Her moogle instinct is just about screaming that the owners of the eyes are just hiding now, waiting for the right moment to attack.

But she swallows hard and fights her instincts, at least for the moment. But the way she's clutching her weapon, it's probably best not to touch her at the moment. Even for soothing pettings.]

I ag-gree with K-Kanji. I-if we leave w-we might n-not be able to c-come back.

[Or worse, what if they're punished for their hesitation?]

[Getting backup isn't that bad of an idea. It was enough to get him to pause as he took a couple steps forward. Shoulders square and hunched forward slightly, like a caged lion pacing in metal bars. The way the air hangs around this place; heavy, ominous more so than the plethora of eyes had been. It set his teeth sharp, hair on the back of his neck bristling. It would be so easy to slip back into old habits; to let the dark bitter anger seep through.

He had to be decisive. He had to lead.] We don't know what would be waiting for us if we do. [He looked to his partner then, gaze almost feral yet contained.]Lingering too long in one place will only make us sitting ducks if anything is out there.

[He looks to Necronomicon, deferring to Futaba within it. What he would give for the scanning program Pidge helped to improve in their suits; her own especially. Or Kosmo's nose. He'd left his trusted wolf companion to help look after the house in their absence, and he's been regretting the decision since they entered the treeline.] Do you see anything?

[The vanishing eyes do not reassure Terra in the slightest. The corpses only make it worse. At least no one new has died here for a long time? That's not. Not helpful.

[Terra stays at the back of the pack, looking behind them, which at least means his back is to the relative safety of the group. That's a nice thing about not striking out on his own; he doesn't have to watch his own back. He'll take comfort where he can find it.]

Kanji's message seems to go out without a hitch, but there's no immediate response. Check back soon!

Futaba finds nothing immediately concerning, but many things of interest. The ruined structures are full of things, though they'll require a more personal investigation to identify properly. There's at least one up ahead that seems to be rather full.

Leviathan moves back towards Naoto, seemingly content to resume her vigil. The eyes do not return.

Hmm, damn... maybe we're too far apart. No error message, though.

[Well, that's all he could think of. He tucked away the slate and nodded to Naoto.]

Looks like Leviathan's stopped.

[He paused, looked ahead. Then he sighed, braced, and broke away from the group.]

I'm gonna get closer.

It seems that way...

[Though, Leviathan was also hovering fairly close again. The actual integrity of the structure was questionable... and what might be waiting for them inside it. She looked back towards Futaba, wondering if she picked up on anything.]

Right... Be careful.

[She would be following him anyway.]

They may be preoccupied. [He supplies as an answer. Considering how they were a little on edge all the way here and now dread is settling around them...

Keith takes a deep breath, and his eyes and teeth lose their edge. Just enough to send his own messages to his team before he follows.] Until we hear something, we keep moving. Stay with your partners.

[Maybe his ninja skills will be useful for something other than just pranking Lance for once this month.]

[ Well. That's interesting. ] Looks like there's... a lot of interest in the structures. Can't tell what anything is from here though.

Nothing hostile in the immediate area though. And there's a pretty big one up ahead.

[ Structure, that is. Meanwhile... Keith made the comment about partners so she. Sends down one of Necronomicon's tentacles. It pokes between Keith and Ann's heads gently. Like a curious danger noodle. ]

Here Ann, you can grab this while I'm up here.

[ ... it's possible this may not be the most helpful way of going about this. It's also possible Futaba knows this. ]

[Well, if Futaba had meant to get a reaction, she succeeded. It is barely noticeable to the untrained eye, but he does jump up slightly; a centimeter at most. The sliding away from both Ann and Necronomicon's tentacle before he realizes what it is is far more telling.

What did he get himself into this time?]

[ Finn had been tagging alongside Keith (and Ann, subsequently) when the tentacle came down. He stopped, eyes wide. Aren't there enough weird things today? But he doesn't say it, too grateful that she managed to break the tension. That, plus Keith's reaction-

He follows after Kanji, a hand hiding his smile. You guys totally didn't hear a quiet laugh. ]

[Terra jumps when he catches sight of the tentacle; it takes him a second to realize that it's just Futaba.]

Ah! - Uh. C'mon, Bonnie, let's stay together.

Do we want to spread out to explore more things, or stay in one group?

BWAHH~ [Bonnie lets out a strangled shriek at the sight of the tentacle, having a flashback to Ultros for a moment. She's halfway to Terra already as he encourages her to join him, only realizing it was Futaba all along once she's safely behind him.]

Ah...r-right. Let's go, kupo. Um, we probably shouldn't split, but if we do it should probably be no more than two groups, kupo.

[Maybe they could get by with three but the more they split up the more of a disadvantage they were risking putting themselves at.]

As they approach the largest of the structures, Kanji's slate pings with an answer from Naomi. Oops.

Within the walls is a veritable armoury - rusted swords and spears and shields lay against the walls and litter the ground. There doesn't seem to be a forge nearby, so this might have been a storehouse? There are certainly a few crates about to suggest so and...

Is that a treasure chest?

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futaba sakura is a menace

she really is and have fun with this blackmail I GUESS...

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