HALLOWEEN 2017: INTO THE WOODS CYOA

[Chrystali]

D: I'm out here for Supplies.

"Picking up supplies for my future work," Catwalk replied, unimpressed that their only lead on the hoopla had run off in a twinkle of LED lights. She pat her bag for emphasis. "Though if someone is experimenting on animals, I have four hooves that would like to speak with that individual's knee caps."  

[Biblioburro]

D: I'm out here for your heart

Riot had been entirely ready to tell the two suits to buzz off after ruining her sweet rave, except there were complications. Gorgeous auburn complications that made her knees go a little weak. Well HELLO, didn't think her crushes on staunch authoritarian ladies in suits would rear it's head in the middle of the woods and yet here she was, making heart eyes over at one of their new special agent friends.

"Well we sort of were out here for the sake of running into spooks and specters but honestly I'm inclined to agree with L'eggs over there." For a brief moment Riot's life flashed before her eyes, except it wasn't her life, it was the life of a hardboiled (ba dum tish) 20s noir detective, aka literally the only type of person who would casually call a lady 'legs'. Didn't matter if it was her name, there was no not-weird way to say it.

Though, she did have nice legs.

FOCUS RIOT! FOCUS!

"Hate to break it to your friend here, Miss Over Easy, but the creepiest thing we've seen are a couple bats and our gung-ho guide running off into the woods. But if you want I'd always be happy to give you a personal account."
Riot held her hoof gently, and when she pulled away there was a scrap of paper with her phone number on it. She winked, and mouthed the words 'call me' before joining back up with the group.  

[Dragon Berri]

2A: I'm out here hunting cryptids.

Caramel Crisp swallowed hard as the official looking phonies looked their group over. Why were they talking about aliens? "Oh uh....I'm here looking for cryptids. Or what passes for one. Could be some trick." She shrugged a shoulder. Maybe she should have said she was looking for her friends... She hoped everyone was okay.  

[Gl!tch~]

D: We've heard rumors of a cryptid in these woods. Is the Mothphone real?

Night Scout watched the weird exchange with the teenage gang and the old werewolf (!!!!) with a lot of confusion but also some growing excitement. Especially once it seemed that this was, in fact, a bona fide werewolf. He should have brought a camera! He knew it! He knew they were real! And if that was real....anything could be. Like...like...

He jumped to pull attention to his small self. "IS THE MOTHPONE REAL, TOO?"  

[theCorniest]

2A) I'm out here hunting cryptids.

Friend-Ship was just getting sort of acclimated to the colorful party people when a pair of honest to god federal agent phonies scared them off. The forest got a little darker and a lot quieter when the party people left, but now there were two impressive authority figures there to protect them, and that made him feel a lot better.

"I don't have much to add that other folks hasven't already said," he said sheepishly to the agents. "We're out here looking for a strange creature. Maybe the moth thing the um, dancey guys mentioned, maybe something else. None of us have seen anything yet, so we don't really know. There's also another group of us in the woods somewhere, and we have a campsite over, um..." he scanned the sky through the thinning leaves for the column of smoke, and pointed to it. "Back that way. That's about everything, I guess."  

[Tristam Lockhart]

A: I'm out here hunting cryptids.


Bokeh stared at the 'agents'. He snapped a photo of them two before answering. He really didn't see a reason to lie. "I am here looking for the mysterious creature that is said to live in these woods!"  

[medigel]

2 - D: I'm out here for a good time~ (and so far it's working)

Was it really hard to find a sane phony? Well, he supposed sane did mean normal... And Hooked frankly thought he was pretty boring compared to everyone else -- but then, this was before the FBI Agents appeared. And started talking about evil geneticists with super cat bosses or something.

Now he felt positively non-existent. Was this where all the fun had been this whole time? By following random social events? Maybe he shouldn't be out on the lake by himself so much!

Phonies were already asking the important questions about the supposed Mothpone, or whatever it was galavanting about the woods right now, so he sidled back up to Catwalk, half to ask her a question and half so he could hear the answers. "What sort've supplies?" he asked curiously. It was a little odd to be looking for them in the middle of a cryptid round up.

Chrystali

 

[Ac.Wings]

D. I'm out here for TREASURE!!

What was up with gatherings scattering like cockroaches around here?! One minute they're dancing away all their fears and the next the cybergoths are fleeing into the night. Golden Doubloon was both frustrated and confused about who it could be that ruined their good time.

She was ready to buzz away into the woods with a little phony babben under her arms incase these new challengers were dangerous. Instead they were just...comical? Huh. So much for things getting scary.

Just hearing their names made her stomach growl. She should of eaten a hardier dinner instead of just a bowl of golden oats.

Golden Doubloon arched a brow when the talk turned to a deranged housecat. How were they gonna be able to find a cat when it was so darn out?

"Well I'm out here for treasure! As a pirate we crave bountiful booties! The kind you can just lay on and sink into."

And she would take all forms of treasure. Maybe it was shimmering gold? Glistening jewels? Or weird creatures that would fit perfectly in the boat and act as the mascot. By now she'd take anything!  

[wasluxy]

G1: E. ) [Something else- Are you ok?]

Here he was, trusting this big adult phony… AND HE FREAKING ATTACKED HIM WITH A FREAKING BAT. Ok well, not really attacked… and not really an actual bat… But STILL. Spider squeaked and fell back on his tail, rolled backwards, got tangled in his own hooves and mane and took a minute to get upright again. Chest heaving, eyes wide, he stared at the bigger phony in shock and horror. "You… you're… GAH!" He huffed, and caught back up to the phony. "That was evil and uncalled for, but well executed and I suppose I had that coming, but… UGH." Still trotting beside him, he shot him a pointed look. "UGHH." With one last huff, he settled back into the mission that lay ahead of them, still mentally grumbling about the nerve of some phonies…

The colt's emotions ended up all over the place with this mineshaft thing. First, he was on edge for OBVIOUS REASONS. Then he was concerned. Then puzzled. Then amused, but also curious? And then they were the ones being chased. That was a turn of events, and he found the batty phony's cape useful to hide in… Finally, though, Spider Eyes' emotions settled on straight up sad. This poor guy, living out here alone, no other of his kind in sight, and his own grandkids didn't even know him when he wolfed out. Worse, they straight up harassed him…

Spider never thought he'd be feeling pity for a werewolf, or even that he'd actually meet an actual werewolf, but here he was, in the middle of a mineshaft in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night in the middle of a hunt for some bug-like creepy thingy… feeling pity for a werewolf. He allowed himself a moment to wrap his head around all of this… And then he offered possible answers for the phonies.

Most of them asked about the monster… A couple asked about his story. While he was curious about both of those things, there was something more heavy weighing on the young colt's mind…

"Are… are you ok? With… all of that? And out here alone?" Spider stepped forward a little, his voice soft and filled with genuine worry and sadness. He knew there were tons of phonies who didn't have families, but they all had each other. They all had the park. Who did he have? Who was out here that he could talk to, who knew who he was no matter what kind of moon was in the sky? Spider had never really thought about other species or creatures, aside from bugs of course, and he'd never known anyone who was all by themselves because they had to be. He didn't like feeling this soft mushy feeling, but he found himself making a silent promise to find Old Man Jenkins again in the daylight, so he could come visit him whenever time allowed. Nophony should be that alone. Even if they weren't actually a phony.

Fea Line

 

[Scaramouche Fandango]

. Round 8: Reunification! .

Group 1
The friendly werewolf chuckles. "So many questions! We'll start with the cairns- those are just hikers' marks. There's a trail leading up to the Lonely Cliffs, and those trail markers will take you there. Glad you didn't find yourself up there- it gets real foggy at night, and it's a long way down to the bottom. Nothing but industrial waste down there. But spooky monsters? Mothphones? There's all kinds of spooky critters out in these here woods- and that's coming from a werewolf! Which by the way, ain't heriditary, and even if it was, my kids are all adopted- I didn't get bit until me an' my husband were on a trip for our anniversary. You might have heard him howling in the woods earlier, he's a lot more active than I am. Gotta say, it's been pretty nice. My fella's a photographer- he did calendar shoots before the arthritis hit, you know those nature calendars you see at bookstores? If there's even bookstores anymore, what with that newfangled Amazoom or whatever. I can't figure it out. Anyways, we used to travel all over the place and he'd take his pictures and I'd help carry the tripod. But now we're retired- and the ol' boy's a lot more... well, don't tell him I told you, but he's a lot more feral than I am. It's pretty hard to take pictures when you don't got thumbs and you're running around on all fours. I ain't alone, little fella, don't worry 'bout me.

There's been some strange things in these woods recently. But now that you mention it, I did see something quite like what you're describing flitting about- kind of a flighty fella. Me an' the lake monster tried to invite him to play pinochle with us, but he just darted away, all shy. 'Course, the lake monster's eyesight ain't so great, so maybe he was just shouting at a tree stump or summat. Why don't I take you topside, show you where we saw him last." Old (Wolf)man Jenkins smiles gently- pretty impressive with those pearly whites of his- and ruffles the manes of some little ones as he leads you out of the mine- and to your surprise, back towards the campsite!

And rounding the corner you see...


Group 2
The agent seems pleased with all of your responses- even Fireflight's. "Good to see you again, Roger Roger- how's Agent Jessica Rabbit doing?" she asks with a wink. She also seems especially pleased with Riot's, quickly pocketing the phone number. "It's..." she purses her lips. "I'd say it's dangerous to be running out here in the woods at night, what with all the strange happenings, but you seem to have come prepared- and in numbers, which is always good. It seems that many of you came with the same goal that we did- we have reason to suspect that these "cryptid" sightings may be related to what we're after.

"ALIENS," shouts her companion. "With flying saucers!" He laughs to himself as she rolls her eyes again. "And you see what I've been saddled with. Honestly. But- since you're all out here, why don't you come with us? That way I know you're safe, and we can get more eyes on the scene. Something's out there, and whatever it is, we need to find out so that appropriate actions can be taken. If it is an illegally bioengineered animal, we need to capture it and protect it- make sure nobody tries to use it as a weapon. If

"And if it's aliens?"

"It's not."

"But what if it IS???"

The mare heaves a sigh. "Benedict, if it's aliens, then I'm going to put you on the mothership personally. Come on," she says, gesturing to the group. "Let's keep moving."

Agent L'eggs leads you through the woods. Things start to look familiar, and before you know it, you're back at the campsite. And rounding the corner you see...

The other group!

Well, most of them at any rate. A few faces are missing, including your guide- but the other group seems to have picked up a new friend (or two) along the way, and none seem to be worse for the wear.

The camp, however, is trashed. The fire still burns, but the tents are in shambles, the coolers are overturned, and you can see what looks like pieces of the trail cams scattered about the clearing. There's hoofprints all over the place, and... are those letters? Yes, they are! Somebody's taken ashes and written "GO AWAY" in a few different places. Worst of all, all the marshmallows are gone. ALL of them. There's no sign that anybody's been there recently.

Something bad happened here. But what?

You need to investigate, so you're going to...

A: Check the tents.
B: Check the ground- the lettering and hoofprints.
C: Check for any surviving trail cams and footage
D: Check something else, and that is [what?]

In this round, you need to roll a 20-sided die at the top of your post. If you forget or roll the wrong die, don't delete your post- just roll in the main thread and link here! This die roll has no effect on your score and isn't an elimination method- it's for SEEKRIT THINGS.

Please bold your choice at the top of your post and don't forget the RP!

show spoilerhide spoiler

Syrcaid

purplerosesbeauty

SilverLutz

Fea Line

Biblioburro

Astraea Pandora

zippedsiren

Strawberri Stardust

Byagane319

cursedandwandering

lux_rayne13

Ruriska

Huni Pi

Kitty Sprightt

Chrystali

Tristam Lockhart

ex o ex Snoof

LizzyMoo

Luafien

Yushika

medigel

Rapidashtrainer

-Yasha Alchemist

Jun D

Maxx D

Gl!tch~

Ac.Wings

thyPOPE

 

[SilverLutz]

C: Check for any surviving trail cams and footage

Rising Sign wasn't too sure where this night might continue to go, but as the group reunited with the Phonies that had charged off she felt a bit better. There was strength in numbers, after all! She stuck close to the center of the group as they made their way back to the camp and her little ears fell as she saw just how trashed it was. Well, whoever was here wasn't too happy that they were snooping around in the woods.

"Maybe they didn't get all the cameras," she said hopefully, trotting over to where she remembered leaving her own. Hopefully one of them caught something worth while.  

[zippedsiren]

B - check the ground

"Well that was enlightening, thank Mr. Jenkins, " Torchwood was glad they were all able to ask such varied questions. It was nice to know the old werewolf wasn't alone. Yet... Torchwood had a hard time of letting go about the cairns, the fog and chemical waste just made it all more intriguing. He'd have to investigate in one of these days, it sounded like a breeding ground for the mutants and spooks.

Upon seeing the campsite, Torchwood was surprised at what a mess it was. What he was interested was the hoof prints, where the led to and from, but also the lettering. The letters were ash and Torchwood wondered how the vandal has made the letters, did he just use a stick from the fire or pull ashes from the fire pit? He hoped that the poor creature didn't burn itself.  

[NymiiNym]

C: Check for any surviving trail cams and footage

Kiwi Kiss was delighted to meet up with the other half of the group. Now that they were a full team they could cover more ground. Except... where was their guide? And why was their campsite trashed? Her nose wrinkled at the scene, hooves gently placing on the ground as she trotted about. Awful, just... awful! After all that work, too!

Her eyes trailed towards the cameras. Maybe something had survived the wreckage. If this was a horror movie, then there'd totally be one spare piece of footage left behind for the campers to find!  

[Luafien]

D: Check something else, and that is THE MARSHMALLOWS!!!!!

Boysenberry Pie, friend to all, highlighter blonde of lore, stared at Roller Riot as she rolled right up to the group proper. Yellow eyes narrowed- in curiosity? Accusation? What wrath dost she intent to inflict?

No, it was so much worse. It was the gaze of a friend.

"You having fun over there, Miss Riot?" Cunningly, the mare circled around her buddy, her noodle companion, her pasta pal, "You making a... special friend?" The gleam in her eyes was wicked. There would be no escape from the interrogation about to commence about Riot's New Lady Friend.

Well, at least until they reached camp. Kind of hard to grill a good good buddy over their heart's twitters when there was a mess to handle. Sudden and cruel heartbreak to weep over.

"The travesty! The horror! Who could have done this?" Boysie bowled over the fluttering remains of tents, tearfully clutching a shredded, empty bag of marshmallows to her chest, like somephony might clutch a tear-stained Dear John letter, "Not to even share? Were they even roasted first? The phonamity! It is one thing to share, but to st-steeeeal?" Stricken with abject despair, Boysenberry Pie threw herself to the ground, much more pathetic blubbery blob than tragic bodice-ripper heroine.

Biblioburro