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 Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 8:09 pm
Stepping up to a small pedestal, the six foot two man in his early sixties clapped his hands loudly to get everyone's attention. When everyone's eyes were on him, he began to introduce himself. "My name is Jeremiah, you can call me Jeremy." The group was just the right size for his voice to reach when he speak loudly, so he don't need to use a megaphone. "I am a close and long time friend of Kyou's, and I am the one who organized this search party."
"According to the villagers, Kyou departed from this village heading due north. So we will be heading in the same direction." He pulled a map from one of the pockets of his hiking vest before he continued. "I've marked down seven search grids on this map." Unfolding the map, he pointed to the seven areas he marked with a blue pen. "We will be divided into seven teams, each team will have four people and we will search according to our grids, all heading north. This is so we cover as much ground as possible."
Folding the map back up again, he motioned to a pile of supplies stacked up next to a black board. "You could pick up the map - two for each team at the supplies area over there later. Along with the following to aid you in the search."
One Lightweight portable tent
Two compasses
One lighter and a box of matches
One hunting knife
One Multitool
Some Tinder
Two flashlights
A basic first aid kit
A sewing kit
Four bandanas
A few fish hooks
A survival guide for newbies
"Of course, if you brought along sufficient supplies, you could opt to drop a few things from your supplies package if you want to." Then from a utility belt on his waist, Jeremy pulled out a bright orange flare gun. "This is going to be the only way we could communicate between each team. When your team is in peril danger; when a man is down, fire a red flare and the rangers and villagers over here will come to your aid. You have six red flares, including the one already loaded in the gun, just in case. The green flare." He said the following parts more loudly as he lifted the green flare up. "Only use it when you had found Kyou!! This is important, DO NOT GO NEAR KYOU when you found him, even if he seemed like on the verge of death. WAIT FOR ME!!! I will head on over as fast as I could."
Even though he worries for Kyou's life, Jeremy also worries for the safety of the participants. He is the only one here that had went on fel hunts with Kyou before, and only he know for sure what to do if they really did found the fel essence with Kyou. Which he thinks is the most likely scenario right now.
"This is how you load the flares." Jeremy went on to demonstrate how to c**k the barrel open, taking out the red flare within and replacing it with another red one, then cocking it back in place. "To fire it, just c**k back the hammer here like this, then pull the trigger while aiming at the sky." He further demonstrated without actually pulling the trigger, then he gently clicked the hammer back.
"It's late afternoon now, only a few more hours until night. When it's dark, it's best to find somewhere to make camp. Do not wander around at night!! It's dangerous." He could not emphasize that enough in this case. Since he had already heard some stories from the villagers.
"Okay, now you can go and pick up your supplies. The team info is on the blackboard next to the supplies, you can depart into the forest when you're ready. And uhm... what else.?" Jeremy thought for a moment before speaking again. "Oh remember to bring lots of water! There's a well at the edge of the forest, you could fill up your bottles there."
"Stay safe everyone!! And God speed!"
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WHO: LuLu + Prajna + David + Luka
WHERE: Kahadlok
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Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 9:07 pm
As Prajna and David listened to Jeremy instruct the small crowd, the two, as many others, couldn’t help but scan a somewhat organized pile of what looked like supplies nearby. As the older man explained where the teams were going, Prajna’s eyes fell upon the team board while David’s steel colored eyes focused on the flare gun in the man’s hands. You have got to be shitting me… David thought suspiciously as Jeremy proceeded to perform a demonstration of how to use the gun. David wasn’t stupid, he could easily figure out how to use the damned thing but the man scolded. This is definitely more dangerous than I thought… Good think Namini’s home safe and—
“David” came the disgusted hiss. The man looked over at his charge, partially disinterested in whatever the Star could say at the moment but then the redhead continued in a hurried yet soft voice. An angry whisper. “We are with pretty boy’s ugly rabbit. And …Luka.”
As the androgynous soul crossed its arms over its chest, the crowd dispersing into their teams already, examining supplies and discussing plans with their assigned teammates, David’s eyes shot over to the board. Oh you have GOT to be shitting me! David felt his stomach do some hateful sommersalts as he read the names. Luka, he didn’t recognize but Lulu? As he scanned the crowd for whoever remained, he spotted her almost immediately. She seemed…different and yet the same. Ah. She had gotten a torso now. She had grown and perhaps… David looked at Prajna, who angrily “hmph”ed and floated past him towards the supplies pile. Perhaps that was why Prajna was so on edge. If David’s memory served him correctly, Lulu belonged to Josh, the bratty teenager who had tried to woo his sister.
Cringing himself, David followed Prajna to the supplies pile, waving for Lulu to come over. He hadn’t spotted Luka yet but perhaps he would find them amongst the supplies. Instinctively, an odd paternal feeling kicking in, David picked up the map and told Prajna to grab one of everything, aside from the flashlight.
“We’ve got your extra ones and the matches. I think that would be enough,” he stated, flipping quickly through the survival guide. “Falling trees and branches are the biggest killers of people in the jungle, so if you have to make camp, find clear ground.” Huh, thought David. That’s when he turned to Prajna. “Wait. You know Luka right? Which one is that?”
Prajna only looked up for a moment to scan the crowd and then nudge its head in the direction of the Satyr, “White hair. Pretty face. Is of light. Warm. … Do not be rude to Luka, David. Is Prajna’s friend understand?”
David shot the Star a dirty look and it was returned. Already he could tell this exploration was going to suck.
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Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 9:22 pm
Luka's eyes were immediately on the board as soon as it was revealed.
LuLu + Prajna + David + Luka
The names read, and Luka found himself heaving a huge sigh. The search mission had only just begun and already it was going to be a headache. He didn't know who this David was, but Prajna and LuLu...
LuLu probably wouldn't give him a hard time, but Prajna... The star was his friend of sorts but their relationship was weird at best. He scanned the crowd before spotting LuLu, and then the brightly colored red hair of Prajna's bobbing as the star headed towards the pile of supplies.
The pile wasn't too impressive, but there were some necessities he'd forgotten and he was quick to grab them. The compass would be useful to make sure that they were maintaining the right direction, and the knife would be useful for anything cutting or on the spot inventing if necessary. The others like matches, flashlights, first aid kit, and tinder were of no interest to him. He'd packed his own for those, and he had been proven that his things were reliable. He could not trust the reliability of these these items, ones he'd never touched.
As he spotted Prajna only a few feet away, he approached the Frei. "Prajna! It's been a while. Are you ready?" He asked, slipping his wrist through the band cord of the compass. His amber eyes quickly settled onto Prajna's partner, the young man whose face reminded him of Namini. "Are you David?" He asked slowly.
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Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 10:24 pm
All of this ruckus and hullaballoo seemed almost unreal to LuLu. Someone had actually deemed it a good idea to be force her into a small group and expect them all to fend in the wild as they looked for a man she had never even met before. The girl could not help but watch the demonstration with a glazed over expression as the weight of her surroundings finally settled in. The rabbit sighed to herself. So long as Zul was here, there was at least one thing to look forward to. She made her first stop the team assignment board.
That was when she got the first inkling that things were going to go very poorly for her on this trip. Not only was Zul not in her group, she had also been placed with the ugly, yappy crow. That was two strikes in one. Though not as irritating, Luka was still an uncomfortable addition. LuLu was unsure just how to behave around the satyr. She felt like each second with him involved her tap dancing to avoid stepping on toes. It was unnerving enough knowing that the frei detested her whenever he laid eyes on her. On the bright side, maybe there was a muzzle in the supply kit and maybe she could make further amends with Luka on this trip. As for David, who was he?
The pile of supplies would need to be her next stop. To be honest, the girl had never given much thought to supplies in a the forest. She had managed to survive a week in Aekea’s forests on her own. She had even been half crazed at the time, too! A jungle did not seem that much harder. Still, she grabbed a knapsack from a pile and filled it with one of each item. To the satchel she added her own personal additions: her coloring book, a set of ink pens, a few blankets and a small makeup bag. She was sad to see that the rest of her items were probably too large to drag along with them.
It was only then, after she had skirted around the ordeal in every way possible, that LuLu decided to band together into her dysfunctional little quartet. It was easy enough to spot the frei. She floated over and looked between the two of them, a smile was offered to Luka, “Afternoon. I hope the bus ride was restful.”
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Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 11:23 pm
Though it seemed as if Prajna was concentrating on stuffing its small bag with supplies, its constant sideways glancing told another story. It almost let the lighter pass through its fingertips, a slight stumble David noted and admittedly, was surprised by. When Luka finally approached, openly and warmly, David had to question the relationship between the Star and the Satyr. Prajna kept quiet, only nodding to Luka in response and smiling a bit. Luka did not seem all that threatening and when he asked the man his name, it didn’t seem as if there was any hostility in him, “Yes. I’m David Nao, Prajna’s guardian and Namini’s brother. You may have met my sister before?”
Before David could analyze the body language between Prajna and Luka, however, a rare Sigel approached. This had to be Lulu. As David took in the new details of Lulu’s physique Prajna had acknowledged as they were getting off the bus, the older Nao had to admit… the bunny girl seemed pretty fit. Tribally strong, to say the least. Prajna tensed at Lulu’s approach and then David remembered. Ah, this has got to be from that one date Namini went on the man thought but kept silent. The two Nao’s continued to pack in silence, allowing the other Raevans to adjust and play catch up. Once David finished packing as much water into his backpack as he could, though, he had to break the awkward tension in the air. He hated taking on this much responsibility; he felt like he was babysitting, even despite Lulu’s apparent strength, Luka’s hidden talents and Prajna’s… Prajna-ness. David knew the Star was more than capable of defending itself but in a group? David had to wonder if the Star was going to bolt the second they ran into any trouble.
“Okay, I don’t know if any of you guys mind but I can direct us with the map” David waved his copy in the air suggestively. “If one of you can lead the way with a flashlight. Any volunteers?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 7:27 am
"You don't need to be so wary, LuLu." It was said softly, words for just the sigel following by a small smile. And while he was still not comfortable being around LuLu, his left of comfort was not the primary factor in this rescue mission. The focus was finding the doctor, and the fastest way to do that was if they were all cooperative with one another. In a gesture of peace, he reached out to touch her hand only to pull back as he felt David's attention on him.
"Nice to meet you, David. Yes, Elai and Namini took us to the zoo before."
When David brought up the map, the Frei nodded. "That should be fine. And, I also brought extra flash lights." And although he could form little orbs of light to light their path, the Satyr wasn't sure if he wanted to start using his powers so early on from the start of the search. "David, I'm not good with combat but I camped a lot and I'm good with starting fires, finding water, and setting up tents."
"And, perhaps I should carry the flashlight. I will be able to see better than most of us in low light as well, so I can warn beforehand of any roots or animals."
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 7:53 am
LuLu caught David's introduction and seemed somewhat disappointed. So she was teamed up with two Nao's then. She looked between the two of them, Praj already looked like a chihuahua on its guard. Her mood was deflating quickly, until...
"You don't need to be so wary, LuLu."
LuLu accepted the reassuring smile with a nod. Her fingers clenched slightly as Luka touched her. The feeling lingered for a moment, radiated and tingled in a way that a simple brush of skin shouldn't. The sigel brought the afflicted hand up to toy nervously with her necklace. She mouthed a silent 'okay' to the satyr.
Already David was proving himself useful on their team. Luka as well. Both seemed more than fully capable. Her hand tensed against one of the teeth strung around her neck. Maybe there was more to this survival thing that she first realized. Did the rules change when you were on a team? LuLu thought about making a brief account of her skills for the group, but her mouth was left half agape. Nothing worthy of mentioning could come to mind. The sigel quickly snapped her jaw closed. Well, she would find something she could do. If her keen ears picked up on a task she felt capable of the rabbit would be sure to offer her assistance.
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 12:16 pm
David smiled at Luka’s proposal then nodded firmly, “Sounds like a plan then, Luka. Well, if you all are ready?”
The man’s eyes caught sight of a fidgeting Lulu, a slightly odd sight given Lulu’s bold appearance and suggested age. Perhaps she just wasn’t one for the dark? David hadn’t caught Luka’s kind reassuring words, so he extended a hand to Lulu, still smiling, “If you don’t like the dark, you can hold my hand or backpack strap so that we don’t get separated. Everything will be fine, kiddo.”
Ah.
It seemed as if David had become unable to resist the “older brother” role. The situation had been too tense and this position seemed inevitable. Now it really did feel as if he were babysitting and a part of him wanted to stop before committing any further…but as he watched other teams start to spread out and enter the edges of the jungle, he realized he was too far in. That’s when his eyes left Lulu and Luka for a second and scanned the area for his troublemaking redhead. When had Prajna even left the group? David looked back up to find Prajna floating patiently by the edge of the darkening forest. Its expression was neutral, a rare sight. But instead of dally, David adjusted his bag once more before offering his hand again to Lulu, a new, albeit forced smile on his face. Had to keep calm. He had to keep calm. They had just started…
Prajna stared into the brush, yearning in its eyes. It just wanted to get in and then ditch these idiots, perhaps find its way to another team where it could have more fun, where it could be more involved. The second Luka had shown Lulu some kind of kindness, some remote attention, Prajna had become done with the group. It didn’t want to participate yet it still wanted to try and be the hero of this whole ordeal. The Star was torn in between wanting all of this to be over and for it to already start. It gripped the strap of its bag tightly. It bit its lower lip in competitive fury. God! It just did not want to be here.
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 12:43 pm
Luka gave a nod to David. He also hadn't missed the interaction between LuLu and David as well. If LuLu was afraid of the dark, he could pass her a flash light as well. "Let me know if you want a flashlight LuLu."
Floating towards Prajna and the edge of the encroaching forest, the Satyr flicked on the flashlight before turning to the others. "I guess this is it. There's no turning back now."
He turned the beam into the foreboding darkness before floating in. Hopefully, Prajna, David, and LuLu would stay close. He had the feeling that in the event they got separated, things would end swiftly for them.
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 4:53 pm
LuLu's attention perked to the older Nao. Her ears quirked forward just a bit as he spoke to follow his voice. Then one flicked to listen to Luka. Both their comments struck her as funny. So she giggled airily as she waved the offers away. "I will be fine. Thank you." Since when had she been afraid of the dark? In reality, she did not give it much thought. Darkness was just another occurrence to the sigel. In fact, she enjoyed a pitch black room when she slept.
LuLu supposed that gentlemen would be gentlemen though. She was somewhat relieved she had two on her team. It might provide a balance to the narrowly focused Prajna. Already, the crow was rushing them forward into the jungle. Their would be no lollygagging around for them it seemed.
LuLu noticed tension flooding into the human's face as they drew closer to their departure. The rabbit quipped, her voice jingled like a small bell, "If you get scared you can come hold my hand, too, Mr. David." Her mouth suddenly poised into a coy smile. She floated onward towards the forest. As she moved her hips swayed with her a bit out of rhythm as though she was still adjusting to their swing. Her hand brushed along the first tree dotting the entrance to the jungle. So it would begin.
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Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 8:46 am
It was surprisingly peaceful as you enter the forest. The sun was still shining bright in the sky, but most of the forest was shaded as the tree canopies are rather thick, so it wasn't very hot. The use of flashlights are quite pointless right now when the sun is still up. There is a certain amount of humidity in the air, which suggested there was recent rainfall or there's a source of water nearby.
If you look around, you will still be able to see people from other teams entering as well, but they will soon be out of sight once they enter their own search grids. All in all, the forest just seemed normal at the moment, nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps that would change slowly as they move deeper into the forest. It would be a good idea too, if the participants could spread out a little in pairs or singles. But it is important also to keep a close enough proximity that every team member is still within sight or shouting distance.
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Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 11:38 am
Luka did not have to tell Prajna twice. As soon as the Satyr flicked his flashlight on, zig zagging the light amongst the brush, Prajna was already floating on ahead, though not too far in front of the cream colored Frei. Once deep and settling into the vines and bushes, Prajna decided jungles were not as fun as they looked on television. A disgusting humidity resided here and Prajna felt slightly nauseous, that sticky feeling one gets in their mouth right before they vomit. Its skin never felt so clammy, the air so congested. The Star did not like this. Again, it just wanted to find Kyou and get the hell out.
Suddenly the Star let out a hiss as its ribbon caught itself on a curious branch. Frustrated, Prajna bent over and haggled with the bush, its impatience becoming more and more prevalent. It had noticed Lulu had grown and it felt frustrated that it was so behind, physically. And Luka seemed so mature now or had Prajna just not noticed before? The Star let out another curse as the branch scratched its skin. Prajna watched as small beads of blood showed up on the back of its hand. The b***h of a branch!
As Lulu “stood up” and chuckled, David felt a bit foolish for having offered his hand. Perhaps she was not as nervous as he thought. He merely shook his head at her proposal though, softly saying “No thanks” before joining her side as the quartet entered the forest. He heard other rustling and saw familiar faces such as Anita enter the fray and hoped everyone would come back safely. Including Kyou. He was so preoccupied by the thoughts of others and yet, he had not noticed his own charge had become entangled in some petty argument with a bush.
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Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 12:37 pm
Luka had been expecting something completely different when entering the forest. He'd been expecting low visibility and lots of underbrush, but there wasn't even an need for the flashlight at this moment. Flicking it off, he turned to the others behind him. "Jeremy said each group gets a specific area right? Well, there's four of us. So maybe we can cover more ground quickly if we split up into a smaller group again. LuLu and David could go one way, while Prajna and I go the other." Given that LuLu was a sigel and David a human, it seemed like a balanced combination. Luka and Prajna could probably dish out quite a punch if they encountered something dangerous, but what could David do?
"Unless someone has objections or a better idea?" Luka reached over into his bag and pulled out the second copy of the map they'd received. "If you look, even just between the four of us, we still have a lot of ground to cover. But, if we split up, we can go faster. And we can check on how far we are from one another every 5 minutes or so by giving out a shout."
He watched as more Raevans and guardians entered into the jungle further away from them. "What do you think?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:19 pm
The forest was immense and seemed like its own alien environment with its lush vegetation and green filtered light. LuLu was already becoming distracted by the vast scenery around her. A small palm continued to brush along the trunks of trees or tangle in low hanging branches as she pushed them away. The muggy air clung to her skin and she found herself drawing the zipper of her jacket up to protect her from the humidity and whatever insects it carried with it. The sleeves cut off right at the beginning of her bracers and provided an adequate enough shield. LuLu returned her attention to Luka. One of her hands rested upon a thick green vine. She noted it cool slick texture that did not feel quite like wood. The jungle was certainly full of interesting thing, wasn't it? The rabbit responded to the satyr with a resolute nod of her head, "That is a good idea. David, you can take the map. I will keep an eye out." Handling the map was yet another task the sigel was not comfortable accepting. She could walk around for days on her own, but her path often deteriorated into circles rather than anything defined. For this trip, it would be wiser to have a planned route. It would conserve energy and that was a major concern with teammates. Especially the more delicate ones. LuLu eyed the human. Suddenly a sense of vertigo overtook the sigel as she felt the vine slipping in her loose grasp. Was she moving? The rabbit looked upward to investigate. Her eyes grew wide in shock. No, it was moving! The jungle had unique shrubbery, but moving branches seemed like a large stretch of the imagination. She did a double take and noted it was, in fact, slithering around her hand. LuLu felt a weight on her shoulder and turned around in time to see a bulbous head pointed in her face. The snake's tongue flicked forward and brushed along her cheek. The sigel did not even try to contain the scream that ripped from her throat as she flung the snake away from her. LuLu panted harshly to bring air back into her lungs. She traced the path she had thrown the snake in to take account of where it was now. Her ears shot up as realization hit. She had thrown it at David!
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Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:46 pm
Prajna’s attention was redirected for a moment and it seemed the calm convinced the branch to release the Star’s ribbon. As Prajna recomposed itself, Luka’s words repeated in its head. Ah. Teams. Prajna turned around to face Luka, nodding in agreement, “Sounds good. Give Prajna flashlight, Luka. Will hold if needed. Just say where to go.—Ah. Lulu…?”
Prajna stopped itself, indifferent to Lulu’s troubles. If she didn’t realize that this was a jungle and there were going to be troublesome things like camouflaged snakes and man eating spiders and poisonous frogs, then that was her problem. The Star was only responsible for finding Kyou, not caring for dumb little rabbits. As the Sigel unknowingly grasped the snake, the reptile dropping its weight onto her shoulder, Prajna turned back to the front, brushing its bangs aside. Ugh, this wretched humidity… the Star thought, curious to how cool the night would turn out to be in a jungle.
Suddenly a scream caught Prajna’s attention again and it turned around just in time to see Lulu fling the snake at David! For a moment, the Star wanted to jump in and save the reptile, its love for animals taking over yet Prajna’s logic kicked in and it realized… the snake could be poisonous. So it watched, half amused and half concerned for the creature’s well being. David had been reviewing his map again when he felt a heavy weight suddenly thrown against his ********!” his curse wasn’t as loud as Lulu’s scream but it held the same kind of passion. David felt like he had just been struck with a small branch but when he opened his eyes, he was met with the panicked eyes of a simple boa. Quickly, the vet assistant’s mind raced with the proper procedure of how to handle the snake. But as the snake slid from the man’s head to his shoulder, moving at a slow but determined pace, David remembered that boas killed through asphyxiation. Upon this realization, David jumped back, causing the boa to drop heavily to the ground, though it looked completely unfazed. The man felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest.
He looked up at the surprised Lulu with an expression that read “We have been in this forest for 2 minutes… and you are trying to KILL ME?!” Yet the rabbit’s wide amethyst eyes reminded him of Namini whenever she got spooked at night and so he relaxed. He dropped his head, trying to keep his voice calm, “Lulu… I am not mad but…”
He looked up, his brows furrowed in deep concern for himself and the others, “Can you please try not to touch everything? I don’t think the other groups are going to be all that relieved to hear your screaming…”
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