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 Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 6:15 pm
Quote: 3. You awaken on a briskly-cold but brightly sunny day on a rocky slope. The vegetation is sparse and the wind is biting, but the air is invigoratingly fresh. If you are a native Totoma, you recognize this as the foothills of your homeland. A strange, smooth-sided tower of black stone rises in the distance. Native Totoma may or may not recognize it as a landmark.  Lost shivered in her sleep. Too cold, she thought dreamily. She tried to wiggle deeper into her earthen hollow, but her limbs only found a hard, cold surface. The doe opened her eyes and looked down to find herself lying on a rock. “Where’s my mossy soil,” she wondered aloud. Looking around, Lost was confused more to find herself out in the open and not in her vegetation-covered hollow.
Debating whether to stay curled to keep warm or to get up and look for a warmer spot, Lost decided the cold stone would suck away her body warmth if she stayed. Rising to her hooves, she felt a little stiff from the cold. Surveying her surroundings, she found herself on a rocky slope. A cold wind whipped around her tugging at her tail fluff which was tucked down between her legs. “Lost is Lost,” she said mournfully. “Lost wants to go home.” But which way was home?
Looking in all directions, Lost spotted a black tower in the distance. Curiosity overrode her mournfulness for a moment. She decided that 'there' might be better than 'here'. At least it’s something to break the wind blowing up her backside, she thought. Her hooves moved to start walking and she lost her footing on the slope. Scrambling to maintain her balance, she failed and landed hard on the stone. “Not happy.”
Rising once again, she stepped more carefully to maintain her footing while she walked.
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Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 6:55 pm
Quote: 3. You awaken on a briskly-cold but brightly sunny day on a rocky slope. The vegetation is sparse and the wind is biting, but the air is invigoratingly fresh. If you are a native Totoma, you recognize this as the foothills of your homeland. A strange, smooth-sided tower of black stone rises in the distance. Native Totoma may or may not recognize it as a landmark.
 Tang woke up with a start. Not being a trusting soul, he didn’t sleep soundly. He was always alert to anything that might pose a danger. Something was wrong and he was concerned that he hadn’t woken up sooner.
Jumping to his feet, his hooves slid on the unfamiliar stone surface. Gaining his balance quickly, he held himself defensively should he need to protect himself from attack. Not finding an enemy close at hand, he relaxed a bit and looked around.
“There’s no way I was moved while I slept,” Tang said. “The swamp must have changed around me.” Looking around, the buck wondered what climatic event could have happened to alter his world.
“What in Mother Swamp is that?” Tang said when he spotted the black tower. With another glance around to see if anyone was lurking, he determined it was his duty to investigate the tower.
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Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 7:08 pm
With motion to warm her limbs and a bright sun to warm her back, Lost’s mood was slowly returning to her usual curious nature. The sparse vegetation didn’t leave much choice for a breakfast, but to still her rumbling tummy, Lost sampled some of the grasses growing in pockets around the rocks. Not as tasty as what she’d normally find in the swamp, but they would do for now. She continued walking, grabbing a hank of grass here and there as she went.
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Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 7:11 pm
Always alert to what was around him, Tang noticed the skittering of small critters disturbed by his passage. “Such a barren place to live,” he said as if he had a companion. After the words came out, he realized that he’d spoken aloud even though there was no one around. He wasn’t one to talk to himself like that. It concerned him that this place might be having an effect on him that he wasn’t aware of. He shuddered in his skin, partially from the biting cold, partially from the unseen force that he didn’t know how to guard against.
A motion to his right caught his attention. He stopped and stood very still. It was his usual reaction to potential danger. It would normally serve him well in the viney growth of the swamp, but here among shrubby growth no taller than his knees, he couldn’t even be mistaken for a tree. He could only hope that he spotted a potential foe before they spotted him.
It was only a doe eating grass, not a great threat to him. He felt relief wash over him. That was an odd feeling. Certainly not because he was concerned about defending himself against a creature he might not have encountered before. That wasn’t him. Was he relieved to find that he wasn’t alone, he wondered. The golden colored doe saw him. She stopped with a mouthful of grass and stared at him.
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Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 7:16 pm
Startled at first, by small creatures skittering out from the scrub brush that she passed, Lost soon realized they were no threat. It then became a game to try to chase them. When they escaped beyond her sight, she’d grab another mouthful of something to chew on. Finding a particularly tasty bit of greenery, Lost stopped to look around. The scenery hadn’t changed much, except… Did her eyes deceive her? She wasn’t alone. A dark buck stood several yards away, watching her. Without a second thought, Lost spit the grass out of her mouth and trotted on over.
“Hello, hello,” she hailed. Stopping in front of the buck, she said, “Lost is Lost. Are you lost?”
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Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 7:19 pm
Tang watched the doe trot in his direction. Her friendly greeting put him at ease. Slightly. His ears swiveled to listen around and behind him even though there was no place for anyone to hide and sneak up on him.
She stopped in front of him saying, “Lost is lost. Are you lost?” Then she stood looking at him expectantly.
Tang wasn’t sure what she meant by the first, but he understood the second. “Yes, it would appear that I’m unsure of where I am.” Eyeing her carefully to gauge if she posed a threat of any kind, Tang asked, “How did you get here?”
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Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 7:21 pm
“Woke up here,” she replied. Standing still, the cold wind began to bite again. “Woke up cold,” Lost added in grumpy tone. Up close to the buck, Lost noticed the unusual horns on the his head and the spikes on his back. She was mildly curious about him, but the cold wind was more insistent. “Lost going to the tower to get away from the wind. You come too?” Lost turned towards the tower, then looked back to see if the buck was going to follow her. He nodded at her and they continued walking towards the tower together.
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Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 7:24 pm
Being suspicious of everyone, Tang wasn’t sure what to make of this doe. She seemed friendly enough, and she didn’t seem concerned about any dangers that might lay about. Her main focus seemed to be finding a place out of the wind. He was in agreement on that part. Tang wouldn’t mind finding a place out of this cold wind as well. Besides, if she did prove to be a threat in disguise, it was better that she was here where he could keep an eye on her. No chance of her sneaking up on him later.
The doe continued to talk and ask questions. He explained how he woke up here, even though it wasn’t where he went to sleep. Tang deciphered from her clipped phrases that she too had woken here in the same fashion as he had.
As they got closer to the tower, Tang kept looking around to see if any others were making their way towards the structure from other directions. At the back of Tang’s mind, the idea that they might not ever make it back to their warm swamp, tried to creep into his thoughts. He pushed it away. He wouldn’t bother with thoughts that might make him doubt himself.
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Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 7:28 pm
Chatting with the buck kept Lost’s mind off the cold for a time. He didn’t seem to be much for conversation, though he did answer her questions. Lost wondered if he might be a little loose in the head since she had to repeat a few of her questions for him. Sometimes he didn't seem to know what she was talking about. No matter. It was better than being out here alone.
While Lost’s main focus was getting to the black tower, she did notice that the buck seemed to be looking for something. She wondered if he knew something about where they were that she didn’t know.
When they reached the tower, Lost walked around it checking all the sides. Looking up at its height, she didn’t notice anything unusual about it. Other than it didn’t look like anything made by a Kimeti. Lost touched it with her nose. “Cold,” she said sadly. The doe moved to stand on the leeward side of the tower with her tail to the wind. “Still cold.”
While Lost did what she could to stay out of the wind, the buck continued to pace around. She wondered what he was expecting to find since there was nothing to be seen for miles. Lost missed her swamp hollow.
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