Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Yeah, s'all good. I can make my way around it. No worries~ x3))

"As if things weren't already complicated..."

Hearing the sad note in Harada's voice, Miyumi could only nod in understanding. "It seems like things get a little crazy this time of year, every year...but this year was different from the usual, that's for sure." People were actually sacrificing others permanently? They were chasing those who didn't agree with their opinions out of their homes? It was all hard to believe, yet frighteningly easy to imagine, too. For a moment, she sighed; she hadn't been a major figure in the war, not by a long shot, but she hadn't made her alliances secret, either. Could that have called down trouble on others? I hope everyone's okay...maybe I can get in contact with them, find out how they're doing...

She brought her mind back to the here and now after a moment, belatedly realizing that she had been asked a question. "Me?" Out of habit, she pointed to herself while asking, head tilted to one side even as her tail formed a question mark shape behind her. "Well...I can agree with you about things getting out of hand. It's bad enough when Gaians are fighting one another, but sometimes we need to compete with each other, I guess." She shrugged a shoulder; that didn't really make sense to her, but others said it a lot, so perhaps there was something to it. "But this was completely different, so I waited a while before getting involved."

Her lips quirked into an almost rueful smile as she said that. "This might sound weird, but..." She paused then, ears flickering as she strained for any noises. It didn't sound like anyone was nearby, though, making it relatively safe to say what was on her mind. "I thought about being a SINner too," she admitted quietly. "But I almost didn't join a side at all. Gods tend to be...extreme, you know? They don't keep things in balance very well. And as much as I don't want to see too much chaos, too much order is just as bad. So it seemed like no matter who won, everyone would lose..."

Realizing how all of that must have sounded, she let out a short, embarrassed laugh, shifting uneasily from one paw to another. "Ah, this probably isn't what you expected to hear in a place like this, huh? I hope I haven't made a bad first impression or something...!" She managed not to stammer, but just barely. Miyumi knew her opinions were probably not shared by most in the Order, but if the green-haired girl was willing to be honest despite the risks, it only seemed right that she do the same.

"But that's okay. I'll still do my best!"

((OOC: It's night time now? Does that mean that we're doing the time warp? :3))

It was a clear shot into the palm trees, nothing but beach ... and a flock of vicious clam-hungry sea gulls between him and the island's forest. He sighed in exasperation, his head bowed and his arms shook with fatigue. Unsure of how long he could hold himself suspended over the pool of water gathering around his boots, it seemed too far to outrun the birds, too difficult of a challenge to surmount.

The shot of adrenaline was quickly fading away, and as a cruel parting shot from the ocean, a particularly large wave crashed up over the black rocks, drenching him once again. The man yelled out in sheer frustration and shook his fist at the uncaring ocean. He quickly realized the futility of it and let his head hang again in defeat.

But the wave of water had driven off the sea gulls for the moment. Quickly realizing this, it was now or never. Gathering up the last energy from his reserves, he was really scraping the bottom of the barrel, he bolted out from between the rocks. The sea gulls hanging overhead on the wind chased after him and he scrambled, dived and ran past the palm trees and into the forest. With a not-so-very-heroic trip and roll, he tumbled into the thin branches of a bush.

It seemed that was enough. The gulls were unable to fly through the dense foliage, and fearing larger predators hiding in the trees, the flock dispersed to bother some other poor soul. He took a moment to catch his breath and felt something itch against his neck. When he touched his skin, his fingertips came back stained red with blood. Baffled, he staggered up to his feet and continued his foray into the island, searching for any signs of civilization or life.

(( ohgod


I'm so tired

will make a post in the morning, maybe

cant wait to see what happens in that time ))

The treck through the forest had to be halted for a moment. Turning his head slightly away from the ocean breeze, the man thought he heard the sound of someone yelling from a distance. For awhile all there was were the calling of gulls - the filthy rats with wings, and then he heard the yelling again distinctly. It was a wordless shout of rage, followed by a tirade he couldn't quite understand, but it meant someone was nearby.

Pulling back a large leaf, he looked out over the beach and caught a glimpse of someone walking some distance away from him into the vegetation! "Hey! Hey, you ... wait, please!"

He followed as best he could towards the shape he thought he saw walking farther in under the trees, and he feared he was going to lose him because he was slow - for every other step was a stagger. The cold, cold night before had sapped whatever endurance he had for the element's punishment, and he was shivering again from the douse of sea water.

"You there! Stop."

Finally, he had found someone on this godforsaken isle - a heaven sent occurrence after a rough night and morning best forgotten. A moment of warm relief gave him some peace of mind when he saw that Bapp was in no sore state himself - suggesting he must live somewhere nearby or knew where to go. The man's thoughts turned to remembering soft blankets and beds, until the young man asked him two relatively simple questions, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"I ... uh, B.O.O.? No. No, I am not."

... Which was altogether puzzling considering he wore their signature colors, albeit his damp robes and scarf was in poor condition, disheveled and dirty. Though he was comfortable in them, and at least from what Bapp could see this one wasn't one of the S.I.N. either, no glimmer of a demonic presence.

Now he shot back a question of his own, hoping he could cut the conversation short before it came to more awkward questions. "Do you know where the nearest habitation is?"

... Food. At first the man was hesitant to accept Bapp's invitation of generosity. He had a expression of a faint grimace, repulsed at the thought of crawling into a stranger's small tent. And realizing from the offer to get him cleaned up, it brought the man's attention to how unimpressive and unpresentable he looked at the moment. He straightened his back and squared his shoulders, regaining a semblance of noble bearing, a flash of a vision of the regal Overseer he couldn't be.

Then Bapp offered him food, handing him a strip of dried meat, and the mere sight of something edible had him salivating at the mouth. The show of bravado was a fleeting memory. He might have made a soft whine under his breath, or that was the grumbling of his empty stomach.

Crossing his legs to sit, he nearly collapsed on the outside of the tent, his equilibrium no good. The food vanished into his mouth before he even sat, and it was going down rough judging by the bout of dry coughing and wheezing. The man cleared his throat, looking nauseous and he swallowed hard a few times.

He managed to say, "Thank you. I have gone many days without sustenance. Please, I won't stay long. You said there were more people in this direction? Can you tell me how many and anything else about them?"