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 Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 9:16 am
Chibi Sailor Aquitania practically skipped through the autumn leaves. It was almost Halloween, she'd mostly narrowed down her choice of Halloween costume, and, for the first time in months, was going out on a patrol. Better still, it was with her cousin, who was now a knight, her cousin, a knight! Sure, neither of them could do much against the forces of chaos as of yet, what with Aquitania being the Chibi Senshi of Courage, and, therefore, having emotion-based magic that had a certain likelihood of misfiring, and Green Chapel being a page with only a holly branch to her name, but, still, it was very exciting! All three children in the family had Powered up, her cousin last month, and this was their first patrol together, her second, Green Chapel's first ever.
All of this made further possible by Khaz needing to stay late at school for a project, and Green Chapel therefore being in charge of walking Aquitania home. Sometimes, being in a close-knit family group with other magical warriors could be very kind.
The brightly-hued leaves crunched underfoot, the sun was shining, it seemed nothing could possibly go wrong as they talked.
"I think I wanna be a princess, I'm just not sure which one. Or maybe a witch. I'm still not sure which."
Green Chapel followed her enthusiastic younger cousin, apple green eyes alert and watching for any sign of danger. According to her cousins, she'd feel the presence of a youma or person aligned with chaos in her mind before she sensed it physically, unless she wasn't paying adequate attention, so, consequently, she preferred to watch for any signs of youma or people aligned with chaos. She shuddered a little. Sensing their presence with her mind sounded really unpleasant.
Watching her cousin, her mind drifted back to her current problem as a knight. Sylvain had seemed particularly distressed over the loss of the ring. He hadn't been willing to say much about the other artifacts of the Green Chapel, simply that the ring was one, the branch was another, and the branch was a weapon that would grow over time. The rest apparently fell under the category of "when thou art more experienced, and have earned thy spurs." Which, a little frustratingly vague, but there seemed to be a lot Sylvain didn't want to say about the Chapel at this point.
In the meantime, she'd found a chance to ask her dad the other day about some of the family heirlooms, since they didn't live particularly close to her dad's side of the family, who were mostly living in the New Orleans area, and had claimed she wanted something she could wear on the daily to help her feel closer to her dad's side of the family. Her father, touched, said he'd ask if there was anything her grandparents would be willing to pass along for her, and, unless something went sideways, he'd try to get them to send it to her for Christmas. She just had to hope that what they sent was the ring.
Her attention wandered back to her cousin, and she considered thoughtfully. "I don't think you should go as anything that might look too close to your senshi fuku. Maybe do something witchy? Why, what princess costume were you thinking?"
Aquitania slowed down to match Green Chapel's stride. "I was thinking finding a dress and tiara that looked a bit like Lucy from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," she said shyly. She knew it wasn't the best book she'd ever read, but it had been something she had fond memories of from when she was smaller.
Green Chapel cast about for memories of what the youngest kid in that movie had worn. It was somehow stuck in her head that it looked a little bit like Aquitania's fuku. "That's...probably a little too similar to your fuku. What were you thinking of for something witchy?"
"Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service," she responded promptly. "I just need the red hair ribbon, a simple black dress, some black flats, a basket, a broom, and a black kitty, stuffed, because I don't think Neith will want to go trick-or-treating with me, and she definitely can't go to school with me."
The stone she kicked in disappointment over the family cat not being able to go with, despite looking perfect for the role made a weird, hybrid sound of wood and crystal thudding down the pavement. Startled, Aquitania hurried over to look at it. A humble little die of stained and weathered wood, with fossilized opal peeking through. Who had lost such a pretty thing?
Bending down, she picked it up, unaware that the rest of the patrol was going to involve learning why most other Powered folk were very, very careful about doing much of anything during the month of October.
Green Chapel nodded as Aquitania dashed ahead to look at the rock she'd just kicked. "That sounds like a good idea." She caught up to her younger cousin, and peered at what the chibi senshi was picking up, right as the light suddenly went out of the world, depositing them in endless blackness. Just as abruptly, lights snapped on below their feet, one square at a time, leading toward a distant finish line.
Backing away, Green Chapel found she couldn't leave the square, and, somehow, she now had a die that matched the one in her cousin's hand. No one else here, no way but, presumably, forward, with a game to play that, insofar as she knew, would probably run just like Jumanji. Oh, no. No no no. Those movies hadn't been horror, but they'd been terrifying to her. It had been a fantasy she never wanted to participate in. And now she and her cousin, a chibi senshi no less, had to play a round of Jumanji, because the universe had a nasty sense of humor, and had tempted them with pretty dice. Note to self, ask Khaz later this afternoon if he had any idea what was going on, and any notes about certain times to be more careful than others. After all, he'd survived nearly a year of being a senshi.
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elfstar89 rolled 1 6-sided dice:
5
Total: 5 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 9:22 am
Quote: Space 5: A dog barks, fierce and frightening. You can hear its growl and the hackles stand up on the back of your neck. You can practically feel spittle on you. It’s close. And it’s big. And it’s angry. If this beastly dog could reach you, no doubt it would try to tear you to shreds.
And now there was a game to play. Reaching forward toward the rest of the squares, her hand immediately met invisible resistance. Same going to the side. No way but forward, probably after rolling the die. Which made a lot of sense, assuming this was a real life game, with the universe lending whatever forces it had to enforce complete and utter fairness. Much as this seemed like an unfun use of an afternoon, the chibi senshi had to respect the universe being firm about not trying to cheat.
Kneeling on the ground, she rolled her die, and promptly started moving forward. She moved briskly enough that she almost missed the subtle pressure at her back, propelling her forward.
Reaching her first square, she heard barking, followed by a snarl. Aquitania froze. It's just a dog, she told herself. It's not that electrical youma you met when you Awakened, you can't even see it, it's probably not even there, the gameboard's probably messing with you. Even so, it didn't help. Not much, anyway.
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elfstar89 rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 9:29 am
Quote: Space 3: A strange fog rolls in once you land here. You lose sight of nearly everything, including the game board. If you want to roll, you’re going to have to get close to the ground to even see where you’re supposed to go next. Hopefully nothing sneaks up behind you.
Once she stopped in the designated square, too far behind the chibi senshi for comfort (though, in all honesty, only two squares back), a fog rolled in, concealing her cousin from her, who seemed to have frozen the moment she arrived. Getting even this close, she heard the fog-muffled sound of a dog barking angrily, but saw nothing. However, no screams accompanied it, no sounds of panic or struggle. "Aquitania! Are you all right? Answer me!" Green Chapel called out anxiously.
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elfstar89 rolled 1 6-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 9:41 am
Quote: Space 9: The smell of saltwater fills the air, and you can hear the water lapping against the shore. You hear boards creaking, and bells in the distance. And then, a song. Haunting. Ghostly, and calling you. For a second, you fall in love. And then, water fills your lungs. You’re choking, you can’t breathe. The song is loud and seems to caress you, even as a wet chill gathers in your square. Scaly hands reach for you, you gently caressing, and try to lure you into an endless sleep.
Wait...did that mean they might miss out on the effects of certain squares, including some very unpleasant squares? That didn't mean they wouldn't roll some incredibly unpleasant squares to land on, but they could miss some that were far worse than unseen dogs barking and strange fogs.
Finding her voice as she began rolling her die, Aquitania shouted back, "I'm okay! I'm going to keep going, and I think you should, too! I think we have to finish the game to go home! But when we get out, can we get ice cream?"
A goal as silly as that should help give them something more fun to do afterward. Their respective mothers and Aquitania's Uncle Tyriq would say the two girls had spoiled their appetites, since tonight was a combined family dinner, and the kids normally didn't like to spoil their appetites on a night like this, given how good Uncle Tyriq's cooking was, but, after this, something sweet seemed like a good idea.
The die stopped rolling, the golden digit gleaming in the strange light from the board, indicating her next stop on this gameboard gauntlet.
Positivity seemed harder to find as she stepped into the square, and was immediately enveloped in the smell of saltwater. Watery bells rang, boards creaked, and an unspeakably beautiful, haunting voice sang a wordless song so sweet she wanted to hear more. Her throat unexpectedly seized up, but not with emotion. With water. Water that could not possibly be there.
Cold dampness soaked her skin, and a sensation like scaly hands tugged at her ankles. Panicked and angry, she scrabbled at her throat and kicked her legs against the hands that seemed to be trying to pull her ankles down below.
Her only hope was that Green Chapel rolled quickly so the chibi senshi had an excuse to roll her own die, and escape this square.
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elfstar89 rolled 1 6-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 9:50 am
Quote: Space 4: Something smells rotten. You can’t see very far into the darkness, but if you squint closely a dark form seems to be dragging itself along the ground. Sometimes you see a pale hand almost close enough to grab you–or, maybe something does grab you. It’s cold, and frightening, and it’s trying to drag you out of bounds.
Still, the silliness was welcome as she rolled her die.
Moving beyond the fog, she was disappointed to only be moving one square forward. This afternoon was clearly not going to go quick as she hoped, particularly given how far ahead her cousin was.
The smell of rot assailed her nose right as she realized that the chibi senshi had gone silent...and seemed to be struggling. "Hang on, Aquitania, I'm coming!" she called, right as she felt something cold and clammy clamp onto her ankle, and try to haul her off to the side of the square. Looking down, she saw a pale, disembodied hand trying to pull her off the side of the board.
"Oh, no you don't," the page snarled angrily, galvanized by her cousin's plight to ignore her fear. Brandishing her little branch of holly, she bent down and began stabbing with the butt end of the branch at the sensitive flesh between thumb and forefinger.
The hand flinched, but kept pulling in the growing darkness of the square.
"Aquitania, keep rolling!" she called out, struggling not to find over as she made a particularly hard stab, breaking the rotting flesh and weakening the branch a little. Sluggish black blood pooled at the surface of the skin as it let go, preparing to launch itself back at her ankle. Thoroughly pissed at knowing that it was wrong on multiple levels to roll her die again before Aquitania had made her next roll, she stomped on the hand, grinding her heel into the bloodied, almost web-like flesh connecting thumb to palm. The hand spasmed unpleasantly as she waited for her next turn.
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elfstar89 rolled 1 6-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 10:07 am
Quote: Space 11: You hear a frantic flapping above you, but that’s all the warning you get before a hoard of bats descend. They scratch and slap and screech, but you avoid getting bitten. For now. You’ve invaded their space and they seem keen to defend it. You can try to fight them, but the only way to escape them is to roll again.
The chibi senshi rolled her die, and the water immediately exited her lungs. The hand puffed away into a cold, wet mist, and she shivered as she picked up the die and whirled around, aware of the pushing sensation from the gameboard.
Forward only, not back. Kind of like life.
Her cousin was struggling against a disembodied hand, and seemed to be winning. That was...rather comforting. On multiple levels. Right. Good. She laughed unsteadily. Voice a little ragged from the saltwater, she called back, "Or we can go get hot cocoa. I think we could both use a cocoa. With jumbo marshmallows. Or Peeps. Can we get some Peeps to put in our cocoas?" she asked as she began to make her way forward as the gameboard grew increasingly insistent on forward motion.
Which fortunately wasn't a very great distance.
But the new square was filled with something rather more physical, in this case, the sound of flapping wings, followed immediately by actual bats, screeching and mobbing her in a frenzied panic. Ducking with her hands over her head as she curled up in a corner of the square, the chibi senshi huddled, avoiding getting bitten, which was probably a good thing. The bats probably didn't mean her any harm, they were probably incredibly frightened of her, and very startled at having someone invading their square.
If nothing else, it eased her own anxiety. and the bats seemed to, after a little bit, mostly stick to the far corner from her, mostly swarming much closer to a theoretical ceiling. She just needed to not do anything to make the situation any worse before next turn.
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elfstar89 rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 10:16 am
Quote: Space 7: Something is twitching and flapping above you, and while you might be minding your own business, something is a little too invested in what you’re doing. You can’t see them, but you suddenly hear shrill, high pierced noises that are disorienting and confusing. They can bring about dizziness and pain and can cause vertigo if you’re stuck in them for too long.
"Okay, hot cocoa makes more sense, but Peeps? That is a special category of No. Jumbo marshmallows, cool. Peeps? Excessive levels of nope," she replied, scooping up her die and proceeding forward.
Still visibly lagging behind her cousin, but at least getting closer now. For a certain value of "closer". Four squares behind was still a lot.
As she reached her new square, she became aware of something watching her to a creepy, voyeuristic extent. A shrill, high-pitched shrieking began, rather like a fire alarm with a dying battery. They seemed to pierce her cranium just like a fire alarm with a dying battery, bringing a headache with it. Also, a sense of disorientation that was not normally associated with a fire alarm with a dying battery. Whatever it was, it needed to go away. Or she could leave. Leaving would be favorite.
"You're good to roll, Aquitania," she shouted too loudly, misjudging the volume in a subconscious attempt to drown out the weird shrieking sound.
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elfstar89 rolled 1 6-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 10:25 am
Quote: Space 13: At first, the square is quiet. Nothing seems amiss. It’s unnerving in how safe it seems. But then, it only takes a few seconds before you understand why. It’s just taken a moment for them to get to you. The patter of tiny feet is rapidly approaching. There’s no light to see them, but there’s a reflection in their beady eyes. Rats. Thousands of them. Chittering, frothing in the mouth. These are strangely grotesque, mutated abominations. They’re running at you like they haven’t got a fear in the world–only, hungry. And rage. If they get to you, they’ll eat you alive. The ground is trembling with their weight. You’d better roll quickly if you don’t wind up a meal.
"Okay, we won't put Peeps in the cocoa, but can we please put rainbow marshmallows in the cocoa, and also get some Peeps?" she asked as the die rolled. A purely whimsical argument about how best to comfort themselves after this ordeal was a far better thing to focus on, under the circumstances.
The next square seemed like a relief when she arrived. "Good to roll," she called out quickly, wanting to keep them moving. It seemed...narratively improbable to still be more than five squares from the platform at the finish line that matched their dice, and to only then have a peaceful square. Nope. Both too close, and too far, from the finish, to have earned this kind of peace.
A series of squeaks, followed by the reddish glint off tiny, beady eyes, soon proved her right. Rats. A swarming multitude, a horde with numbers greater than she cared to try to count. And looking to attack her at slightest provocation.
"Please tell me you've rolled your dice!" she called to her cousin. The bats may have not elected to push their attack, but the rats clearly would not hold back. Progressing quickly would be her only option.
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elfstar89 rolled 1 6-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 10:34 am
Quote: Space 8: Something slithers across your foot, so fast that you might have thought you imagined it. Except, a few seconds later, it happens again. And then, again. Snakes keep moving across your space. If you move, they see you–and they might bite. Some of them hiss, some are capable of spraying a poisonous liquid that can cause itchiness or burning.
Only one square this time. The die seemed to hate her. Still too far to go, and back to lagging behind, once again.
The sound and the disorientation stopped, thankfully.
Only to be replaced by the sensation of snakes crossing over her foot. Freezing, she held very, very still as she watched the sinuous bodies slither over her feet and around her ankles, but mostly doing nothing to really threaten her. A couple hissed threateningly at her, but most seemed to ignore her.
On the one hand, aggressively not good, not safe, not fun, could not roll the die on the floor, would have to roll it onto her open palm next turn. On the other, at least she was pretty thoroughly clothed, so if there were any spitting cobras, they wouldn't make as direct contact with her skin. Not a very comforting thought, but better than nothing. At least the argument about the cocoa was something to focus on.
"Make your next roll fast enough, and we'll discuss getting something else to go with the cocoa. I was thinking apples." If the conversation was helping her...was it helping the chibi senshi, too?
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elfstar89 rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 10:47 am
Quote: Space 16: As you step into your square, something cracks. At first, you can’t tell what it is, but as your full weight moves onto the square, the ground shifts beneath you. It’s cold, and it’s ice, and a hole falls underneath you, plunging you into frigid waters. There’s enough floating ice that you should still be able to roll the dice to get out of here, but you have to go quickly–you’re soaked, in chilly water, and something just swam by your feet.
"Caramel apples? With sprinkles?" she asked with more merriment than she felt. Good. The sheer silliness of the conversation seemed to be helping enough that her cousin was starting to make her own moves.
Stepping forward to the new square, she felt something crack beneath her feet as a chill filled the air, and the ground turned slippery.
The chibi senshi froze as the world opened up from beneath her, plunging her into freezing cold waters below an ice sheet. Scrabbling, she kicked toward the edge of the hole in the ice, glad that her cousins were both on the swim team, and had been working so hard on teaching her to swim. Clutching at the edge of the ice, idly shaking the die as she began to shiver, Aquitania felt something swim past her feet.
"Actually, can we do a hot fudge brownie, instead of a caramel apple?" she asked. Sure, she was starting to realize Powering up came with a certain degree of less vulnerability to the effects of temperature, but freezing water when the world outside was well into autumn with ribbon sleeves to keep her upper arms warm...yeah. No. Not enough. Hot food and drink right now would be favorite, even though the food would absolutely ruin her appetite.
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elfstar89 rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 10:56 am
Quote: Space 11: You hear a frantic flapping above you, but that’s all the warning you get before a hoard of bats descend. They scratch and slap and screech, but you avoid getting bitten. For now. You’ve invaded their space and they seem keen to defend it. You can try to fight them, but the only way to escape them is to roll again.
As she moved to the new square, and freshly triggered the flock of bats she'd seen her cousin startle, she heard a splash, more plashes, and a request for hot fudge brownie. Whatever was happening from beyond the flock of startled, angry bats, the page's best guess was that it involved cold waters, if the chibi senshi was requesting something hot.
"No, fudge brownies will absolutely ruin your appetite!" she called back, swiping at the bats with her small branch. She didn't hit them, but the less aggressive ones retreated from the sudden counterattack from below, someone clearly above their weight class. "We can find one of the food trucks by the nearest library and pick something small and hot there, your choice, it just has to be small and as healthy as possible, you know how good my dad's cooking is!"
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elfstar89 rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 11:06 am
Quote: Space 20: The end; once you have arrived here you are free to leave. You will see be basked in the glow of a beautiful, opalescent aura that will take you back home. If you arrived with a guest, you can leave without them or choose to stay until they make it to the end as well. When you arrive back in Destiny City, you may choose to keep the six sided die–if nothing else, it’s pretty! Though, it doesn’t seem to have any magical qualities, that might be for the best.
"Awww, what's the fun in healthy?" she asked as she scooped up her die and started forward, idly noting that the gameboard seemed dissatisfied with their slow progress, and seemed willing to push them faster toward the end.
Not that the pushing seemed necessary.
Aquitania scrambled forward, cold, wet, shivering, onto the platform on the final square, and was rewarded with a shining opalescent portal that presumably led home. It glowed in shifting colors, shimmering in her die's fire opal tones. She could go home. She wouldn't. She didn't want to. The chibi senshi wasn't leaving her cousin behind. She couldn't help the page, but she could wait patiently, and play cheerleader.
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elfstar89 rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-6)
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2025 11:37 am
Quote: Space 20: The end; once you have arrived here you are free to leave. You will see be basked in the glow of a beautiful, opalescent aura that will take you back home. If you arrived with a guest, you can leave without them or choose to stay until they make it to the end as well. When you arrive back in Destiny City, you may choose to keep the six sided die–if nothing else, it’s pretty! Though, it doesn’t seem to have any magical qualities, that might be for the best.
The gameboard seemed to sense it, too, and seemed to push harder at her, pushing, pushing, pushing, until she joined her cousin on the platform. The opalescent portal shifted its tones to work in greener tones alongside the fiery ones.
"So, what were you thinking?" she asked as she took her cousin's soaked and freezing hand, and moved toward the portal. If they hadn't gone far, there was a public bathroom they could use to transform into dry clothes without any bloodstains on them. That thought alone was appealing."There's a Mexican food truck that's usually there today until sometime this evening. They do Mexican hot chocolate and churros."
The two girls stepped through the portal together, reappearing where they had left off, close to a public bathroom, and they walked toward it as a normal autumn breeze kicked up.The girls stepped into the bathroom, into the handicapped stall, to transform, pausing on the way out to wash their hands as Keesh considered the suggestion.
On the one hand, it would quite likely ruin their appetites. On the other hand, given the afternoon they'd just had...and how cold Yasmeen still seemed to be...maybe they could get away with being bad. Just this once.
Besides, Mexican hot chocolate and churros was extremely tempting.
"Okay, we can see if they're there. But one churro each, smallest one they have available, and we tell nobody. Got it?""Got it!" Yasmeen chirped excitedly. As pleasantly warm and dry as her school uniform was, she probably wouldn't be warm for a bit longer. Reaching into subspace, she pulled out a big scarf and heavier coat, which Khaz had recommended she start carrying as they got closer to winter. She burrowed into the warmth of both, glad that her brother's protectiveness was paying off. She'd thank him later, once she'd finished thawing."Good," Keesh replied, helping Yasmeen put on her coat and taking Yasmeen's hand, rubbing it to help stimulate blood circulation to restore heat.
"Now, let's go see about that hot chocolate and churros, and I think we can agree, no more picking up dice around Halloween."
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