[ORP] Catching Fire's Haunted House: Entrance

[theCorniest]

The sun was setting over the swamp, and Double-Stripe, being almost entirely diurnal, was looking for a place to bed down for the night. She'd been traveling in the area before, and remembered the cave nearby - mostly dry, relatively small, some glowing fungi dotted around to keep it from being too claustrophobic. It was with some great surprise that she heard voices echoing up out of the entrance of the cave, shrieks and laughter and animated discussion. All thoughts of sleep banished, she slipped on in and watched, for a moment, the small crowd in the main chamber of the cave.

There were a couple of kimeti who looked pretty different - more different than normal, anyways, small and with large, no, huge horns! A word drifted out of her memory at her - Acha. Kin, Acha! They'd come back to the swamp, like the Kiokote had before them. So that's what they looked like? Well, sans the mud? How cool!

And, if the stories about the Acha were true, then this was probably a really awesome party - way better than the stodgy old ceremony at Ghost-Thistle's mound this time of year! As her foxbun Twostep hopped off her back, Double-Stripe pranced forward and addressed the crowd, hoping to discover the organizer of the event, "Nice little shindig you got here! Should I have worn costume?"  

[phoenix kiss]

That was all Catching Fire needed to hear -- shaking off the now-dried mud and the remaining muck and weeds from his horns, he bounded over to the newcomer as if he were lighter than air. This haunted house was going far better than he could have hoped, if the shrieks and laughter were any testament to it. So much better than standing around some grassy, boring mound and talking about death and life, right? Right.

The acha beamed at her -- either the acha were small, or this was a particularly dainty specimen. "--it's not too late! Oh, you could go as anything you like!" He all but shooed her farther into the cave. "Test your mettle in the haunted rooms!"  

[theCorniest]

Double-Stripe laughed and capered along in the direction the little Acha guided her. "I can't wait to see what creepiness awaits," she said. She paused before the entrance to the steamy room, thinking, then flashed a grin at her host and proclaimed, "I think I'll be the ghost of me!" and bounded in.  

[Vesperiie]

Little did Catching Fire know that it was about to be his mettle that would be put to the test, for the amber-eyed doe that had so carefully hidden herself in the shadows had decided this would be the perfect opportunity to meet one of her desert cousins, and have the fun this cave was promising. The acha had just turned his back, shooing an orange kimeti further into the cave, looking quite satisfied at his handywork, and a devilish grin slid over her features. Her tail flicked one last time, then her coiled haunches released, sending her bounding out of the shadows, the one leap enough to close the distance between her and the acha.

"GRAWR!" she roared, oblivious to the clamor she'd inevitably make, and then her hooves shot out and scrabbled with the rocky floor as she caught herself and skidded to a stop, her muzzle hardly an inch from her desert cousin, amber eyes fixed on him, intent not to miss a moment of sure to be splendid reaction.  

[shortcutt]

Calming down once the acha had reached the canine's side, Blind had to actually take a few deep breaths to make sure his heart wouldn't beat right out of his chest before he introduced himself, his head nodding in the direction of Sing's voice. "I am Blinding Light. I... I take it Cuddles is bonded to you..? I am sorry... I just have a little bit of a fear of canines... And... In this cave, your sanddog is rather loud." Trying to smile, Blind backed away from the acha, actually bumping into the wall. It wasn't like him to run into many things, but when he was upset, or in this case, nervous, the buck was prone to accidents. He needed to get away from the two before he dragged them down with him.

"I will be heading inside, now... Please excuse me." Turning away from the acha, he began making his way toward room two, though... He wasn't quite sure which one he really wanted to go into, and what each room would hold. Pausing for a moment, he prayed to the Motherfather that Sing wouldn't attempt to follow him-- He didn't want to cause the acha accidental harm like he knew he undoubtedly would.  

[Ruriska]

“Blinding Light, such a wonderful name.” The Acha had not quite figured out that he was blind yet and remained quite oblivious to the fact even as his backwards attempt to escape her sent him into the wall a few times. “Afraid of Cuddles? Oh…” Sing You Home looked down at the sanddog. Cuddles was wriggling with her belly on the cavern floor, trying to lick Sing’s hooves. Then it occurred to her, this must be his attempt at humour. “Oh, that is quite a good one! You know, Acha invented jokes. I even heard that there was no laughter in the swamp until we arrived. It must have been quite depressing.” She smiled at him.

“You know I didn’t really want to come to the swamp at first, not at all but… come along Cuddles!” She followed after him towards the next room, chattering all the while. Cuddles bounded along beside them, occasionally running in between Blinding Light’s legs as if it was the most amazing thing she had ever down, while Sing looked on proudly.  

[Ruriska]

[And because Sing has officially moved on out this thread, in comes Bang]

Shot Me Down was not afraid. If pressed, she would have a difficult time coming up with anything that she was afraid of. Fear, she had decided long ago, was a foolish emotion. Completely unnecessary. Anger was the key. Anger was the one you wanted to keep, to hold onto.

Bang slipped into the cave with slow, measured steps; every line of her body oozing meek femininity. As always she was on the search for the perfect male, the one who would not break her heart as so many had before. But it was not her only goal in coming her today.

No, Bang had been… curious. She had thrown away fear, but how would she be when faced with something frightening? It was a test of sorts.

A grew shadow prowled into the cave after her, disappearing from view almost as quickly as he appeared. Bang did not look his way, but she knew he was there. Awful Sound was always there.

She paused, looking between the four rooms. Choosing one at random, she continued on.  

[Akkhima]

Lil finally decided she had watched enough bucks and does trot past her that she was certain she understood how this whole deal was supposed to work. She took a deep breath and entered the cave fully, looking on to the passageways ahead. It didn't seem to be important which one she picked, as she'd seen some Kin enter into each one. Room 2 seemed the quietest currently, and to her that felt safest, so she proceeded inwards.  

[Maxx D]

It wasn't too far to the entrance - Pieces burst out of the caverns, halting as he was blinded by the light. He took a few reeling steps, blinking, and as he settled his senses, he realised that he had left his sister.

The only sibling he knew existed.
In a cave of angry, swarming bugs.

And as he regained his vision, he sighed and charged back in.  

[Jun D]

"Come on, Kisses! Come on, Sunshine!" Rouge sang as she loped through the tall grasses. Word had spread about the haunted cave, and she could not wait to see it for herself. How fun would that be?! Kisses bounded right at her heels, all energy and excitement, while Sunshine trailed a little farther behind. While Kisses was easily convinced of the merits of anything his beloved owner was interested in, Sunshine was rather more anxious. Rouge had been very animated. Very very animated. She had spun and danced and spoken a lot, explosive words that suggested to Sunshine there would be blood, like when they went hunting. A lot of blood. She did not like blood much.

Her anxiety did not alleviate as they finally reached the cavernous mouth - though a very familiar scent was floating out of one of the caves within. Her sister was in there, she could tell...but she could also keenly hear a strange hissing, and smell the staid scent of long-dead things. Sunshine was not happy. Her father, though, did not have such reservations. He pawed at his owner with delight, scarpering around the entrance of the fourth cave, tail wagging furiously.

"Ooh, is somebody we know in there, Kisses?" Rouge perked up, "let's go, then! Come on, Sunshine!" This would be fun, fun, fun!  

[fluorescein]

Following the undeniable black wings, Albatross ended up in a cave. A busy one pulsing with frenetic energy. White noise. Lots of others. Soft, giving grounds, other openings but not what she sought. This was an unexpected development in her hunt for the raven. Well, easy come, easy go.

Looking around, she noticed the shadows first and then the others. They talked about everything and nothing. Apparently there were four rooms to venture in. And right there a new adventure blossomed on the spot. Time to hunt for something new. It’s not like she ever forgot about birds anyway. Stepping up to the crux of the entrance, she debated which path to take.
 

[Sinbari]

Fashionably late. That's how Shiver always described it when he arrived somewhere long after others had. Never mind the fact he had good reason anyway, as he lived in a rather quiet area far from others, and he didn't often hear rumors quickly.

But for once he'd been further from his den than usual, and eventually he'd heard the talk of the 'spooky' cave run by a rather odd Acha cousin. He decided he had to see this for himself. Having finally found it on the fringe of the swamp, he moseyed up to the entrance, listening to the murmurs of those who had already been inside.

"Well, here we go," he said aloud with a slight look over his shoulder, although apparently to no one in particular, and with a light flick of his long tongue, he stepped inside to the cave's main room.

 

[fluorescein]

Was he talking to her? It was memorizing, watching the insanely long tongue slip in and out of his mouth when he spoke. It reminded her of promises to come. Whoa, where did that thought come from? If she were more aware of her feelings and they were in a different time and place, she would recognize the predominant emotion as desire and lust, but as it was, they were in a cave orchestrated by a crazed and hyper acha.

In keeping with her method of operation, she walked until she stood abreast with the black and red tongue with the sinfully long tongue and thumped her tail against his side flank. "What are you waiting for?" and headed toward an entrance all willy nilly. Perhaps the birds flew in this way.  

[Sinbari]

Shiver had spotted the doe when he came in the main room. Honestly, how could he not, with that tangle of white hair resembling a bird's nest? It was when he'd glanced away, to examine the four entrances into other rooms, that she'd come up aside him. Rather sneakily, as he jumped when her tail thumped against him. He recovered rather quickly though, as a sly grin formed across his face. Before he could retort, however, she'd already bounded off into one of the rooms. He immediately gave chase.

Oh, but he liked this one.