ORP - Strange finding

[Matope]

[Feel free to post replies--when the thread gets busy, I recommend splitting it into separate threads if you need to. I may or may not come in and post again--this may be all you get! Think of it as a prompt, and take it where you will.

For sanity's sake, I am limiting this opportunity to the first FIVE people who come in and post ICly. Feel free to break off into other threads and invite new people to continue the plot in other parts of the swamp. Just title the thread appropriately (such as "Strange Finding continued).

If your Kimeti is of a forensic turn, post accordingly about what they are investigating, and answers may be provided.

Good luck!]

In the muck and mire, close to the edge of the swamp, there is a strange and startling thing.

The cracked, dried mud stretches far away, with that tantalizing hint of green lingering on the hilly horizon. What utopia lies beyond this heat-blasted plain? What strange place is in the valley beyond those grassy hills? The grass waves on the distant ridges.

Here, in the border where the trees begin to thin, where swamp gives way to plain, the thing lies in a shallow ditch.

Flies are clinging to a rotting body. The stink is amplified in the heat here, but not so much as it would be in the humidity in the inner reaches of the swamp.

The body faces the hills, as though it was striking out for them. But the body is... strange. The bloated corpse is at first glance a Kimeti's--but it is a curiously thin Kimeti, with curiously slender legs. It lacks a Kimeti's protective thick fur. Its limbs are torn and caked in dried blood from maneuvering through the thorny growths of the swamp; its scale-less shoulders are smooth and covered in scabbed scratches. The few spikes on its back are smooth and rounded; its horns are small and sleek. A long-haired tail is knotted at its rear and a long mane caked in mud, like the manes occasionally seen on unusual Kimeti, is plastered to its neck. Its tongue lolls from its mouth, and there are no signs of a vicious attack. Perhaps the creature died of heat stroke, or perhaps of simple exhaustion.

In the mire near the body are footprints like a lynx's footprints, in a way, but with pointed claws making indentions, and with a strange, long stride. Some are quite old, and half-dried; others are unnervingly recent, as if the thing has been waiting nearby. There are no marks suggesting that carrion birds--or the lynx-thing--have been at the carcass. Just those footprints, too broadly-spaced, a little alien. The thing has been walking in circles around the body, and then disappearing into the shade of the trees, where the tracks fade off into the water.

A dead Kimeti's eyes lose their glow; although they remain translucent, with the barest suggestion of a pupil, the light dies, and there remains a solid-coloured, eerie orb, like a bead of coloured water dropped into the eyesockets. Even dark-eyed Kimeti have this trait; even those with more visible pupils have what is known as The Swamp's Eye, as opposed to an animal's eye. Pale. Empty.

This Kimeti has died with its eyes open. And its eyes are dark, and clear, and glossy. An animal's eyes.  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

Immortal stretched his neck forward, nose working furiously. His eyes were closed, and he stood still, focusing on the smell that had drawn the two kimeti out here. In truth, the scent had only picked up a short while before, and it was the call of the sun that had drawn them out here first. Both Immortal and his brother, Memory, heard a strange sort of calling from the edges of the Swamp. Sometimes they were whispers, sometimes it was dreams, but more often than was thought healthy, the two brothers would venture out into the stretches of sand beyond the green that was the home of the kimeti.

There he stood a few more moments, nose twitching, until he was confident that it had in fact come from the tan expanse. The smell was not a particularly pleasant one, but it had intrigued the green buck. He wanted to know what it was, and if it was out here in the sunlight, then it would give him just one more reason to venture places he had not been before.

He opened his eyes, lifted his head and began to walk towards the cracked mud plains ahead. He only takes a few strides before his wandering thoughts are interrupted, though.

"Brother!" The light brown buck calls out. He had been walking several strides behind his darker, stronger brother and had caught sight of something strange. There were footprints in the mud... and they led towards a ditch... "Look!" He flicked his head, muzzle pointing to the darker recess and the mass of limbs within it. As he cautiously walked closer, he asked, "What do you think..." He reaches the body first and stops short by the sheer oddness of the situation. Sure, he'd seen dead things before, but nothing like this. He had never seen a dead kimeti before, and he knew... he knew there was something off about this kimeti... Something was strange and different, but he couldn't place what. So he stared, mouth firmly shut and creating a dark line across his features, trying to figure it out.

His thoughts were cut off by his brother's outburst. Whipping his head around, Immortal saw that Memory was pointing to something and was oddly enough investigating. That was not like Memory, to be instantly interested in something and venture in to see. Memory was usually rather shy and needed convincing to try something new. Immortal smirked to himself at this sudden change in his brother, thinking, 'Must be something in the sunlight...', but when he trotted over and lay eyes upon the sight in the ditch, that smirk disappeared.

What was a body doing all the way out here at the edges of the Swamp? And why did this kimeti look so funny...? Immortal's brow furrowed and he leaned in closer to his brother to have a better look at the body. "The eyes!" He said rather abruptly, causing Memory to jump slightly. "Look at it's eyes! They're so... dark..." The last word cause a shiver to run down his spine, and with a glance at Memory, he could tell he felt just the same. Immortal drew his head back, tail twitching nervously. Normally he would have hopped to the opportunity and set to burying a creature of the Swamp properly, but now he wasn't so sure... Not only was this kimeti funny looking, but it's eyes did not shine. What had they stumbled upon?

 

[elufae]

Nightmare-of-Roses padded towards the edge of the swamp. She could not tell why, but she was drawn towards the edge, drawn past the dunes. It was a tiring journey, being a less-than-athletic kimeti, but soon she came across a grassy landscape. She looked around, unfamiliar with this land, and saw three kimeti. One, a strange looking doe..and two..bucks..She sneered at them, far enough to be sure they didn't see. Then she stopped, put on a pleasant face, and stood tall as she approached.

She couldn't help but wonder what they were doing this far. Perhaps the same reason as she? Then came the smell..the smell of death. It harkened back to a time she wanted to forget, and dread washed over her face, but she composed herself before being able to see what caused it. Behind the group now, she could make out a kimeti..a strange one at that...Speechless, she simply stared at the finding..  

[[.Lady of Shalott.]]

Rabbit had been pacing through the swamp restlessly. Many things were changing, and everything felt different. Almost alien. Even his own family felt different. He felt some guilt for bringing in so many young to a swamp that felt so...wrong.

And then he smelled it. It was terrible, awful, and running with the wind. Deciding against his fears, Rabbit went to investigate. There couldn't be much danger since whatever it was had to have been left for quite a while to have such an awful stench. He stalked the smell carefully, finally arriving in the borderlands to see three kimeti, two of whom looked familiar, and a dead...something.

Walking closer, he heard the third one ask what had happened. Rabbit doubted that the two bucks knew, unless they had actually committed the crime and returned to the scene, but that was rather doubtful.

"Yes, I must ask, what happened here?" For some reason, Rabbit had the insane urge to know.  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

Immortal heard something approaching, and his ears flicked back to listen to the stranger, but he needn't have looked to be sure, as soon enough there was a doe's voice exclaiming, much like they had a minute earlier. Though when he did look, his eyes fell upon a beautiful doe that was almost as odd as the body before them. Almost.

She had a fluffy and full mane & tail, no ridges on her back, no horns, and strange shoulder scales. Had she been lying beside the other doe, dead, she would surely have been just as interesting, but Immortal's mind was dwelling on the deceased, and was about to respond when more kimeti joined their company. First a doe with long cascading hair and a rose in her mouth, followed by a buck. Immortal scanned the gathering party and opened his mouth to say something, but merely closed it once more.

Memory, on the other hoof, was switching between looking at the dead one and then a live kimeti. There were suddenly so many in their company, that Memory began to shake a little. His voice came out strangely calm though, when he spoke aloud, "She died, of course! The poor darling must have run so fast that her limbs stretched! So skinny though... and so... so very dark..." That word caused another shiver as he thought about the lack of glow in the eyes. His gaze made it's way there and brought sadness back into the buck. His shaking calmed a little, and he fell quiet once more. He had not really taken a look at the rest of the party, as he was much too busy concentrating on the story unfolding before them.

 

[elufae]

Nightmare-of-Roses moved closer, slowly getting used to the smell. She looked into the dead one's eyes. No...that wasn't how a dead kimeti's eyes looked. She shook her head. Normally the happenings in the swamp didn't matter much to her, but now that something strange was presented to her, she was concerned. Surely there was a reason these kimeti were gathered her...even if three of them were males...she and the other doe were outnumbered...

The blood-patterned doe looked around them. There were strange prints encircling the corpse, yet no wounds suggesting it attacked..perhaps it was unappetizing? Perhaps the creature lost interest? Was scared away? Questions and possibilities raced through her mind. But she was unable to find answers.

And those eyes...her own firefly-lit eyes were locked in the empty, dead stare.

"Matope gave us Firefly eyes, did she not?" she said, finally speaking. "Perhaps...she can take them away as well..." and with those words, she looked in the direction the deceased faced. What could lie beyond?  

[[.Lady of Shalott.]]

The eyes were strange, agreed Rabbit in his mind. They weren't the eyes of Motherfather, that was for sure. They were the eyes of the speechless animals of the swamp. It was curious how they had come to be then. What had this kimeti done to deserve her eyes taken away? Or perhaps it wasn't deserved, but a gift?

"My friends, maybe her eyes were not taken as a punishment, but given as a gift. It would be strange indeed to see as the crocodile.

He felt his theory confirmed since no other animals had feasted on the dead flesh. Perhaps it was poisoned, though. It would be hard to smell out any kind in this wretched stench.

"Perhaps her body was preserved from the beastlies because she was so gifted with other-sight?"

Of course, Rabbit could just be blinded by his own affinity for his namesake creature. Clever little devils!  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

Immortal stood still, merely turning his head to watch the most active kimeti in turn. He was gathering this information and piling it up in his head, trying to sort it all out and make sense of it all. But nothing was clear. In fact, he might even say all the more theories muddied his thoughts even further.

He cleared his throat and offered, "All that has been said could be possible. But the biggest question that still remains, is whether or not the creature before us is a kimeti, and closely following that, what she died doing." Here, he stopped to lick his lips and draw his gaze out over the plains to where the deceased's head pointed. That was obviously the way she had been going, but why? "It seems that getting there," his nose pointing, "Was her main concern. Either it was so important to get there that she didn't eat or take care of herself, or she was being chased, hunted." With that last thought, he stamped his foot, indicating the marks all around the area without looking down. His eyes were focused on the horizon, but his thoughts ran wild.

Surely these tracks meant something was following her at the very least.

Memory had clammed up, staying silent and listening to the others' theories. When he turned his gaze to his brother, he got lost in other thoughts: thoughts of delicious berries and crunchy leaves. He swallowed hard, and shook his head to rid himself of such thoughts. This was not the time!

He looked back over to the party and jumped at what he saw. What were all these other kimeti doing here? One.. two.. three... Three others! Where had they come from? His brow furrowed as he looked from one to the next quietly, trying to remember.

Just then, something tickled his foot and his head jerked down... to see a blade of tall grass bending over and tickling him in the light breeze. Tracks! Now what could have formed these? He ducked his head down to sniff at the imprints in the mud, but couldn't pick much out over the stench of the body. Wait! When did that get there? A few glances over at the dead animal, until Memory became a little dizzy, at which point he sat down. What was going on?

 

[Rejam]

Whatever may come next, the moment is shattered with a ferocious, howling cry--a sound to make hair stand on end. It is an animal noise filled with pain and suffering and indignation, and it is coming from a thing emerging from the treeline and heading towards the crowd around the body.

The thing moves with a speed almost impossible to comprehend, body streamlining into a golden-yellow blur. In the instant it takes for it to check at the crowd around the corpse, it is clear that it has dappled sides, and is catlike, in a sense--resembling a lynx if a lynx were stretched and stretched and had very little fur. Two dark lines descend from its round, golden eyes to encircle its snarling muzzle.

It rears up onto its hindlegs--and at this height could easily reach a Kimeti's shoulder--and strikes out with one long-clawed paw at the nearest Kimeti, who happens to be Nightmare of Roses, limbs darting as if to chase her away from the body. Its blow barely grazes, leaving the smallest of scratches, and it repeats its shrieking, desperate cry as it suddenly bolts away from them, wheeling to dart back into the treeline. The sound of splashing fades as it leaves.

The thing moves so fast the whole ordeal has taken less than a handful of seconds.  

[elufae]

Nightmare-of-Roses continued to look at the horizon. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to -listen- to the buck. She muttered under her breath, "I am no friend of yours, buck.." though she had to admit his theories were interesting indeed. She then turned to the other two bucks. At least the sandy one was smart enough to keep quiet.

Then there was the shriek. The blood-splattered doe flinched at the sound. It was unlike anything she had ever heard before. And truly, she was afraid. But she mustered everything to remain, at least on the outside, calm. Her eyes searched for the source, hair whipping around. The rose in her hair loosened, so she slowed her movements. Then she saw the creature. Lynxes were trouble enough, but this was much faster. Before she even knew it, the creature struck at her.

Luckily it was just a scratch, but it stung none the less. She winced, expecting it to be worse, but watched as the creature left. She could have sworn...there was something in its cry. Desperation? Protectiveness? She couldn't grasp it though, surely that -beast- wasn't caring for anything? Were its young nearby? Had they stumbled on its nest? No...they only stumbled on...the corpse..and the doe looked to it once again, more questions racing through her mind.  

[theCorniest]

Wildflower Breeze, a wandering storyteller, and his son and companion, Motes-in-Moonlight, had come again in their wanderings to the edge of the swamp. They seemed to be lingering along her borders of late, the normally comforting closeness of the trees suddenly seeming to have become claustrophobic. Out on the edge the air was clearer, and so were their minds, and so on the edge they stayed.

In their wanderings, they happened upon a certain familiar, terrible odor - the stench of death. By the strength of the smell, Breeze thought, the source was fresh, and a relatively large creature - a crocodile? No, too far away from the waters. It may have been, then, one of their own - Kimeti were some of the largest of the swamp's creatures, being her children. Breeze felt compelled to follow the scent, and led his reluctant son closer to its source. As they came closer, another, alien scent became just barely apparent under the smell of decay.

They came at last upon a strange sight - at some distance, several Kimeti standing about a ditch in the mud flats. They seemed preoccupied with what was in the dip of it, which was hidden from their eyes but not their noses. Breeze and Mote held back a while to observe.

As they watched the others, a horrible, mournful cry rent the air about them. From several lengths to their right, a lynx-shaped creature erupted from the undergrowth on the dying echoes of the cry. It raced towards the grouped Kimeti, slashing at a white doe among them, and turned to return to the safety of the swamp's leafy cover, likely realizing it was outnumbered.

Mote, ever curious and shy of death or injury, decided in his capricious way that chasing after the not-lynx would be preferable to finding out what was making that horrible stink. Diving through the trees and shrubs and plants with the ease of practice, Mote called back over his shoulder "Stay here, father, I'll be back by sundown!" He had the physicality and sense of direction to make good on that promise, so Breeze was not worried.

Suddenly alone for the first time since finding his hatchling son, and doubtless made the subject of scrutiny by his son's call, Breeze stepped out of cover to the group of others. "Salutations," he said, uncertain for once how to begin. "My son - the fellow who just yelled - and I have been following this smell all day. Might I inquire as to who or what has been... he hesitated, frowning, "... calling us here?"  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

Immortal's ears perked up at the cry and his he lifted his head higher into the air, scanning the treeline. The entire process slowed in his eyes and he caught just about every detail that happened, from the yelp, to the running, to the attack and the escape. Having made up his mind, or rather, his legs had taken over, Immortal whispered to his brother, "I'll be back for you," and with that he was off.

He tore after the creatures, a mere second after it disappeared into the treeline. As he hit the treeline, he saw another buck, smudged in all colors, a few long strides off to his right. Just that glimpse - and the shout he gave his apparent father - told Immortal that this buck would be joining him on this endeavour.

Head ducked low, eyes trained forward, he fearlessly weaved in and out of the trees, gaze set on the catlike creature running away from him.

Memory, on the other hoof, saw only a blur of movement when the cat came out of the swamp and was definitely not ready for what his brother whispered to him next. He exclaimed, "What do you mean?! Where...?!" His head whipped around to follow his brother but by the time he was about to stand up, Immortal was already disappearing into the brush of Mother Swamp. He grumbled something angrily under his breath, but caught what the newest stranger had said and replied with a gruff, "It's all her fault!" He said, pointing with an extended hoof at the dead, "She stole from the cat, and now it's angry at us!"

Now, he was making this up, as he had lost the thoughts he had earlier gathered, but this much was obvious:" he was uncomfortable, he was alone, and he did not know anyone here.