Character:Guadalupe Current Square: 7 to 12 Response: "These jackalopes can't talk, you twit!" Lupe scowled as the one at his heels gave a vicious n** at him again. If they were he was sure that this kid would be gnawing at him more. Not like the animal has seen an alien. Not only would that be weird, but that would be unheard of. How could an animal talk to a damned extra terrestrial being? The whisper that Mao did to the other went unheard of to Guadalupe. He couldn't even see his face.
"They aren't big bites but it still hurts! You come over and get bitten and see what it feels like." he hissed underneath his breath as another nibble came at his ankle. This jackalope had too much energy. "Get it off of me, I do not want to be it's friend. This isn't how you show friendship!" The prat needed a lesson of getting it's a** kicked. Maybe then it'd stop biting. Guadalupe didn't have the heart to actually hit a jackalope though. It was just a tiny little critter....
That was a pain in his a**, but still. He was better than that.
Guadalupe whipped around at his name...and the jackalope got a mouth full of the other side of his foot. Great. "What is it?" he grimaced, peering over his shoulder. Just a note? What good could that do us? He snatched it and threw it in his pocket, crumpling it up. "It's not nice to litter." He seethed. "Let's go somewhere else." And maybe find the person who decided that littering was a good idea. [wc: 264]
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 2:42 pm
Prompt for Square 1
You come across a pile of charred wood with a few piles of twisted, melted metal here and there. Upon closer inspection the scene becomes clearer - these were the carriages of the first expedition, burnt and destroyed on the edge of the plains.
You have found a Clue!
Green Minuet
Prompt for Square 9
There seems to be a small circle of stones with nothing of interest in the middle. Mysterious, but probably not significant.
iMoony
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iMoony
Prompt for Square 10
You hear a crunch under your foot. Whoops. Upon closer inspection, you can see you have trodden on a pair of reading glasses that now sport a distinct crack across the glass. They are stained with grass - there's no way those stains are fresh.
You have found a Clue!
Lural
smolderingskies
Prompt for Square 12
You can see a narrow stream ahead, with a cute little frog sitting on a lilypad. Nature is beautiful. But wait, that's no lilypad! You quickly pick up the piece of paper, much to the frog's dismay. It’s a page from Dr Horn's journal! Thank goodness most scholars enchant their paper to be waterproof.
"Day Thirteen. I spent some time examining the wildflowers nearby. Most of them are common weeds, but some of the brighter specimens were new to me. I have never heard of a flower that sticks to your flesh and slowly burns it away, emitting a sweet scent as it does so. Of course Alexander was less intrigued and more infuriated, so we quickly rushed him to some water. The wound seems to be healing with the aid of Carlotta's magic. Interesting experience, but I think we shall leave the wildflowers be for now."
You have found a Clue!
- Mynsed -
Porcelain Pinch
Prompt for Square 18
You come across a small stream, barely more than a trickle. Are there many rivers in the area?
You do not find a clue.
Avid_RPer18
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 3:34 pm
Character:Saiph Current Square: 9 to 14 Response: Saiph made their way methodically through their current area. They looked and shoved every stone or pile of dirt they found. It was a lot of time spent in one spot but it made Saiph feel more assured that it was given a proper search. The idea of someone missing really hurt Saiph's heart if they were honest, even if the person was already an adult.
There really seemed to be nothing, though. Or maybe there was something and Saiph wasn't able to tell. Were they not giving things the proper inspection like they thought? Was this a comment on the lack of skills Saiph had? Were they not cut out to be a detective, let alone a cop?
"Knock it off," Saiph told themselves with a firm shake of their head. It's just cause they were going at this alone and it was their first time on a real case. Plenty of their professors said Saiph had a keen eye and good heart for this job. It wouldn't do well to start doubting themselves now. Just to be sure, though, Saiph promised to give things an extra good look if it seemed out of the ordinary.
The circle of stones they came across did seem a bit mysterious so it got a thorough check out by Saiph. They lifted every stone and rolled it around in their hands to look for any markings or things that were not natural. It felt a bit silly, but it was the only way Saiph was going to feel like they put a full effort into this search. When Saiph had replaced the last stone they continue forward to a new section of the plains.
After a moment, Eir noticed the glasses that Jin had found, and she looked at them herself. "Oh." She wondered how new they were. Did they belong to the professor? She hoped not. "There has to be more near by. Let's… let's keep looking." She might have been feeling a little worried now that they found those glasses. Was the owner of them alright? How long ago had they passed through here? She couldn't help herself as her hand reached for her dagger. "I wonder if there are any other clues around here?" She started walking around, not wanting to walk too fast or too far away from her … group? Friends? She wasn't sure what to call Jin and Tabi at the moment.
"If either of you find something… call it out?" She looked at her companions seriously. She started walking, moving carefully, looking in the tall grasses for anything else. She crouched down, looking around as she walked a little to the west. Eventually she got on all fours, could she catch the scent of any of the other explores? Not likely, but she was trying. She sniffed some grass, and a loose piece tickled her nose. She sneezed, standing up and rubbed her nose to try to stop the tickle. "Ok that was a bad idea." She stood upright again and looked over to where her friends were supposed to be. "Guys?" Wait, did she wander too far away from them? No wait, she could still see Jin over the grasses.
(wc 254)
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 5:04 pm
Character:Jin Current Square: 10 to 15 Response: Things were heating up a bit. They had been finding things that he hadn't expected. Part of him had naivety thought they would go out, find the professor easy enough. Just walk out, find some tracks, and walk a bit till they found the group and then go home. This was getting a bit beyond his pay grade of knowledge. Jin hummed slightly, considering. Could they have been Hilda or Nathaniels? Could they have been the Professors? Really how many people were they looking for out here? He really was starting to feel that they could have used a lot more information. Like face sheets for the entire party. That way he could go through the pages and find who those glasses belonged to and go hmm.. So that who these were. Hopefully they weren’t too blind.
He lifted the glasses up, peering between the lenses trying to not get distracted by the cracks. Okay, so they were true readers and not high prescription someone was wondering about mostly blind in the woods. “We should be close by to something I think…” They had found a note, a stone, and then these cracked glasses… so something up ahead to lead to the people they were looking forward. “I think I’m going to keep going north.” He felt that they were getting close to something and that north would be the most lucky in finding what it was about.
Hopefully everyone was still alive and kicking… he really didn’t want to find a body… or well parts. Bones were okay… it was just when they were still… juicy.
Trinket claimed!
clues
"Day Nine. There were a few mishaps along the way, but we've finally arrived. The rumours said this area was dark and twisted, filled with monsters and whatnot. Nonsense! This area is nothing but beautiful plains and flowers - I am sure the most sinister thing to happen here is a bee sting. Most of the team and myself will camp here tonight, while Hilda and Nathaniel ensure the neighbouring forest is safe."
You have found a Clue!
You hear a crunch under your foot. Whoops. Upon closer inspection, you can see you have trodden on a pair of reading glasses that now sport a distinct crack across the glass. They are stained with grass - there's no way those stains are fresh.
You have found a Clue!
Lural
smolderingskies
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 7:07 pm
Character:Maoli Current Square: 12 to 17 Response:Maoli rolled his eyes. Man, and ‘lupe said he had a temper? ”It was probably from that on professor’s journal, you idiot. Something must have happened to where all the notes flew out,” he pointed out before smiling. It kind of reminded him of those video games he used to play when he was younger, about gathering all the collectables of someone’s journal. Except, this wasn’t a video game and it was highly possible the professor had been abducted by aliens.
A ribbit caught his ears and he turned his head, ears twitching uncertainly. He did not like frogs. At all. They were slimy. Their growth cycle was weird. And their eyes were just… no. Sure, some would say they resemble aliens or that aliens could look even weirder, but Maoli refused to believe that. Cringing, he had planned to just ignore it… until he saw what it was standing on.
A paper. Same looking parchment as the journal pages. But there was a frog on it. He swallowed before looking at his companion. ”You’re a slug, go get that paper for me,” he told him, arms crossing. His lack of love for frogs was not unknown… he had pretty much had a huge meltdown when one hopped on his foot while he had been hunting clues with ‘lupe when they were freshlings. And that fear and disgust still lingered there. So instead of waiting around to watch Guadalupe waddle into a frog infested stream, he scooped up the still following jackalope into his arms and proceeded ahead, sure that the nixie would catch up.
”I guess we should give you a name,” he mused. He figured he may as well keep the attached Jackalope.
Forzai breathed deep the scent of the plains. The warm earth and wind-swept grasses gave her plenty to contemplate as she roamed deeper into the fields. It had been a long time since she had gotten the chance to go scouting. Now, the wide sky was open overhead, far brighter than Below. These were the skies she had grown up under, and the smells of this place were awaking dormant memories long-since pushed away. Irritated with herself, she kept them stubbornly at bay. Now was no time to be distracted with reminiscences.
She scanned the horizon, feeling the unadulterated warmth of the sunlight on her horn-branches. The plains felt still, perhaps too still. Though the gnats and the occasional dragonfly zipped across her line of sight, she could catch no movement or sound of any other creature. Where were the denizens of the burrows she stepped over? Where were the birds that should have been startled by the explorers moving through the grass?
She paused, her bow held out, but her arrow slack against her thumb. The forest behind them had swallowed the majority of their group, and a roughly equal number as her own party had taken the flowering meadow adjacent. She felt cautious, but alive. There might be danger lurking; after all, the man they sought had disappeared. A part of her thrilled for the hunt, but the rest of her was cautious. Forzai did not know these other volunteers or what they were capable of. While she kept her senses primed for potential dangers, she also kept them primed for the fellows in her group, unsure of what to expect from them.
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 7:30 pm
Character:Guadalupe Current Square: 12 to 17 Response: "It's still littering. He still could have picked everything up instead of leaving it all over. It's not like it's that windy out here." Guadalupe huffed, crossing his arms irritably. What were they supposed to do? Look for all the professor's trash? "It probably doesn't say anything important on it anyway." The nixie rolled his eyes. So much for finding anything worth value.
"If something did happen, it better have been good."
Croak
A--A frog?
The nixie's ears quivered, a sly smirk on his face. "Gladly." He sauntered over, before pouncing hands cupped together as if he was doing a dive and tried to catch the frog. Unfortunately, the frog moved just as his face planted into the soft...mush and water below. "Blech" He lifted his head up, wiping his face with his already dirtied shirt. "Disgusting." Not the frog though. Never the frog. Honestly, he didn't understand Maoli's fear about the little critters. They were quite cute.
And a great asset when not wanting any bugs around them. "Why do you want the paper?" He picked it up, flapping it in the air. It got rid of some of the dirt, but it was hardly enough to get rid of all of it. "It's just trash." Much like the other one in his pocket. Honestly, stuffing it in there and forgetting about it would be ideal.
...But Mao would probably wrestle him to the ground for it. Whatever. "Here," he gave it over to the bakeneko, eyeing the other frogs. Maybe he could catch another one... [wc: 257]
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 8:10 pm
Prompt for Square 8
You feel around a small hole of dirt and sticks in a hillside, hoping it would have clues. Instead, you are jumped by an irritated jackelope. It seems you've found a burrow - not a source of clues but perhaps of friendship. Look at that jackalope's cute nose.
Cerl Temius
Prompt for Square 9
There seems to be a small circle of stones with nothing of interest in the middle. Mysterious, but probably not significant.
Lural
Prompt for Square 14
Two trees sit on the top of a hill, offering welcome shade. At the trunk of one of the trees you see a book, most likely abandoned by a member of the first expedition. You look at the cover and- oh. I suppose only adults came on the first trip, too.
iMoony
Prompt for Square 15
In the bright sun you see a glint nearby. Lying on the soft grass is a sharp, flat blade attached to a spear that has been snapped in several places. You don't recognise the craftsmanship of the weapon, but there are a few feathers tied to the polearm.
You have found a Clue!
Shaddadling
Prompt for Square 17
You find a patch of grass that is slightly softer than the rest. Nice.
Tabi shook her head at Jin, chewing her bottom lip nervously. "I don't remember if he wore glasses," she admitted. "Those could belong to anyone." She and Dr. Horn had only met a few times, in passing, and she wasn't exactly one to remember the small details of someone. She was more about environments, silhouettes. The general feel of a thing. Glasses were... they were transmutable objects, they could be there one second and gone the next. And these ones, well... there was no way of knowing. Tabi shook her head. "I hope it hasn't rendered anyone too sightless."
Again, the area didn't show signs of a camp, which was... at the very least, concerning. Again, there were no collapsed structures on the horizon, very few signs of footprints. What were clues doing so far away from any actual indication of a group moving through here? It was easy to assume that the worst had happened here. She realized after a moment that Jin and Eir had taken different paths, and she nervously hovered between the two directions for a moment. Eir could take care of herself - but Jin, she wasn't so sure. "I'll go north with you," she announced, taking up a place behind Jin. There wasn't anythinig to the west, anyway, and to the east... there was a vast expanse. No, she'd much rather keep to the edges of the plains, at least for now. Hopefully they'd find a clue of use sometime soon.
She came up behind Jin, peeking at what he had found. "It's like you've got a nose for this stuff," she teased. "What is it this time?"
A rustling in the grass caught Forzai's attention and she froze, sinking into her bent knees, eyes riveted on the movement of the grasses. She could hear something scrabbling at the soil, caught scent of a furred creature. She notched her arrow and half-drew the string, just in case.
The grasses wavered as something pushed through, drawing nearer. She caught a flash of tawny grey-brown. And then a pair of antlers not unlike her own. Forzai blinked.
The jackalope nosed its way out, and drew suddenly still. She was downwind, but it had caught sight of her. Their eyes locked: its shining black, and hers harvest moons glowing from night-black sclera. Carefully she released tension on her string, un-notching the arrow to free her pulling hand. She sank the rest of the way into her squat and kept herself motionless. She took calm breaths, watching it carefully.
The jackalope nosed forwards, sniffing against the wind to suss her out. It took a hopping step closer, rising up, ears still pulled back. Ever so slowly, Forzai reached into her pouch and crumbled off a bit of granola. Gently she held it in her palm, not pressing towards the familiar, but lowering the offering to its eye-level.
At last the creature looked away from her face, down to the offering, up again. It crept forward cautiously, moving much like Forzai herself had been creeping short moments before. And then it snatched the largest clump of honeyed grain and scattered back warily. It hunched over its catch, munching happily. When the whole morsel had disappeared between its paws, it scrubbed its whiskers and sat back on its haunches as well, cocking its head.
"Hello little one," she said in a low voice. "Perhaps you can show me the way through the plains? I'm looking for someone. And I'll pay you well in more to eat." So saying, she took another handful of granola from her pouch and held it out.
The jackalope tensed as is to run, but when it saw her palm open with more of the sweet treats, it hopped forward, more boldly, and began to eat.
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 8:41 pm
Character:Maoli Current Square: 17 to 16 Response:Gosh, ‘lupe was such a baby and a mess to boot. Rolling his eyes, he decided to take a break. They needed a small break, anyways. ”Come here, you slug,” he said, plopping down on a patch of grass. Woah… the grass was actually pretty comfy. He pulled out some more crackers for the jackalope before rummaging in his bag for their lunch. Holding out a sandwich for ‘lupe, he continued to dig for his little first aid kit. Time to treat those itty bitty wounds.
”Lemme see those bite wounds,” he muttered, opening the case, not realizing the jackalope decided to go inside his bag… to eat the rest of the food and eat at his journal. He pulled out an antibacterial cream, extra moisturized for a nixie’s skin, and some bandages. He really wish he had paid more attention in classes for magic, specifically for simple healing; it would have come into handy right about now.
While he waited for ‘lupe to sit, he went ahead and read over the page. Suddenly, he was eyeing the plants nearby. None of these would burn their skin off… would it? He frowned before folding up the paper and shoving it in an outer pocket of his bag. ”I think I’ll name my jackalope Spacey,” he decided, really proud of the name he picked out. ”You should name yours. Maybe it’ll like you more if you do. Do you think they’re siblings?” he mused, enjoying the small rest they were getting. They wouldn’t be able to sit long, however; there was a professor to find and aliens to discover, after all.
[wc: 270]
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 8:58 pm
Character:Ligeia Current Square: 18 to 19 Response: Narrowing her trio of eyes, the hybrid sucked her teeth as she pondered. Right, so north wasn't really panning out for her, aside from picking up a little buddy to take along with her. Grassy rolling hill after grassy rolling hill. The tiny stream was genuinely almost surprising. "Huh! Was this where you and your colony were getting your water, Udara?" Shifting the bag back to her front, she carefully fished the jackalope out and set him at her feet, walking slowly with him to the water source. "Get a bit of drink, do any business you need to. I think we're changing direction after this, just to try it out. Never know what we'll find out here, huh, Udara?"
The jackalope drank, only really answering her by turning an ear in her direction. Eh, at least he was listening, hopefully learning his name. Ligeia figured if she used it enough when addressing him, interacting with him, he'd get the picture that 'Ah, I am Udara. Udara is me.' He seemed a smart boy, looking fully or mostly grown compared to the few other jackalopes she'd seen back home. "Could use a little filling out though. Wild living's got you looking really lean." Udara sat up and peered up at her after sniffing around the stream for a few minutes. "No offense. You do look plenty healthy." Dropping back down into a squat, she tipped her open bag to him. "Ready to go? Come on, Udara. Let's see what else there is to see." Her little buddy moved close and jumped into the offered shelter. "That's my boy! Let's go."
And so, for a change of pace, the pair headed eastward.
Eir could hear Tabi speaking behind her. She couldn't hear what the naga hybrid said, but she saw her following after Jin. They would be ok, she was sure of it. As she was looking over at her companions, she nearly tripped over a ring of stones. Was… was this the remains of a fire pit? She touched the stones, and the soil inside the ring before bringing it to her face to inspect. Rings of stones didn't happen like this naturally… did they? She spent a few moments more looking around the ring of stones, but didn't find anything else of interest, and so she moved on. She glanced over to where she could see Jin… damn, his brown coloring made him blend in kind of well with the grasses. She frowned, but at least he looked safe. She turned her eyes ahead of her.
There was someone in front of her. "Hey!" She called out to the strange… fey? As she got closer, Eir wondered if she had seen this fey with the group as they were boarding the carriages, or maybe when they disembarked? Surely she wasn't lucky enough to have stumbled upon one of the missing people from professor Horn's group. "Looks like you found something?" She called to the blue fey in front of her. She wanted to call out to Jin too, but didn't want to worry him or Tabi. There was nothing of importance here, after all. She jogged a little to catch up to the mysterious blue figure, hand at her side, ready to pull her dagger if this person was actually hostile.
(wc 271)
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 9:45 pm
Character:Saiph Current Square: 14 to 19 Response: Saiph was glad to see a change in scenery as they approached the trees. It also perked their senses into wondering if someone might have come across here. The trees were rather noticeable and different and probably would've caught the eye of anyone from Dr. Horn's expedition. The spot had shade and anyone feeling tired would have felt the draw to sit for a while.
Even Saiph felt tempted to rest. The hybrid had been on the move since they had chased around the jackalope. It wouldn't be so bad to lean against one of the trees while they inspected the trunks for anything.
At the base of one tree's trunk Saiph saw a rather dirty book. Saiph picked it up carefully and brushed off the dirt. Instantly the hybrid knew what type of story this was. The good news was that it had to come from someone that had wandered out here as this was a relatively modern story. Saiph almost felt embarrassed to be holding it but relaxed when there was no one nearby.
Of course that was when the sound of someone approaching and a shout caught Saiph's ears. Of course, the hybrid thought before turning to acknowledge their new companion. They stepped out from under the trees to meet the red Grimm sooner. "Yeah, um... It's a book that I think was left here from Dr. Horn's group." Saiph felt their cheeks warm at having to show the book but at least they pushed the blame onto who it belonged. "Here, you can look for yourself." They were almost too willing to hand the thing over to the Grimm.
Saiph went back to the trees to continue searching but found nothing else worthy of interest. "I'm going on ahead," Saiph stated. It felt wrong to stay put and converse and Saiph felt uneasy about acknowledging the book further. They definitely weren't about to read it hoping for notes or anything. Not with an audience, anyways....
Much to Saiph's disappointment, they saw someone else had already started to inspect this next section of land. No bother, Saiph had to tell themselves. They nodded at the Hallowed hybrid but decided it was best to keep their nose to the grind and search rather than converse.
[[ word count: 377 ]]
Lural
I think if Saiph had found anything other than a romance novel, they would have been fine discussing it with Eir. As it is, though, despite them practically ditching Eir, she is free to follow/talk with Saiph. They're just embarrassed.
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