T̷h̷e̸ ̵G̶a̴m̸e̵ - A VR Role-play

[Cluckcluck1215]

"What?" Zayne blinked, taken aback by their direct question. "Oh. Nothing, sorry. I guess I'm just a little on edge," he replied with an awkward chuckle, wiping his finger on his pant leg.
He shifted between feet, casting a nervous glance over his shoulder. "I think we should keep walking," he said. The atmosphere in the forest changed in seconds, going from light and welcoming, to something much more threatening.

Xavier gave Zayne a long stare, watching his anxious body language. It hummed slightly, before continuing the way they were originally going. Dapples of sunlight had faded from the forest floor, and it was much more quiet then it had been previously, the air stilling and thickening.
Like the forest was holding it's breath.
They continued further, fingers clasping an arrow against the bow, but it's posture didn't change. There was no sense in letting Zayne pick up on fear.

Squish, squish, squish.

Dry forest debris beneath their feet turned to thick, horrid smelling marsh-land. Tall, looming oaks thinned out into sickly, thin-needled pines. Ferns fading into thick patches of almost neon green grasses, and ugly red-brown peat moss.
What the hell..

They had very little experience with any sort of nature or forests, but it certainly wasn't normal for it to turn from a sunny, light-filled forest, to a threatening marsh.
It paused, gagging as the mud slipped over their shoes and up to it's ankles. Gross.
A loud, slopping sound made them turn quickly, owl-wide eyes darting around to find the source of the noise.
Mud beneath a V of two fallen trees was moving. Rising. Something was coming out of the mud, something large, something dark, it was-

"A horse?"

Xai's mouth dropped open, and it snorted at the sight. It was a strange, dark color horse with matted hair, but a horse nonetheless. But...
"Why's there a horse in the middle of a swamp?" It turned to look at Zayne, curious if he had any further knowledge on the territories of horses. "I thought they lived in like.. the wild west, or something."
Oh.

They were all cocky and calm, until they turned back around to look at the horse, only to find it a mere few inches from it's face.
The horse was, in fact, not a horse.
It was an abysmal looking creature. Pale, bulging, soulless eyes staring at them, it's lower jaw and jowl hanging by a thin scrap of rotting flesh. Crooked, decaying teeth flared out, edges appearing sharp and jagged. It's mane was made of what resembled seaweed, and the rest of it's frail body was clearly decomposing. "Oh shi-"

The blonde hob-goblin stumbled back quickly, mud squelching in a way that made it want to be sick. It tripped, nearly landing face-first in the mud when their hand made contact with Zayne's leg.

Before either person was aware of what was happening, they both materialized in the branches of one of the less sorry looking pine trees, with Xavier dripping in mud.
And the strange, rotting horse pacing below them.
"Well," Xavier rasped, watching the horse place two overgrown hooves on the trunk of the tree. "That was new."

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Jack’s eyes widened. He reached into the pockets of his pants, then pulled his jacket off from where it was loosely tied around his waist. He rummaged rapidly through the various pockets, but again, couldn’t find anything.
He came to a glum realization. My phone’s gone, stolen, or.. it’s at home.
Jack tied his jacket back around his waist slowly. He trudged after Phaedra, wincing as his sweaty sock-less feet rubbed against his shoes.
Jack stood beside her, squinting at the endless dunes of sand that rolled into the distance around them. He didn’t answer.
After a few more moments of silence, Jack started trudging down the dune, the sand slipping around his shoes like some very dry mud. Which, I guess, it was.

Phaedra followed after Jack, keeping alert. Swords definitely weren't as heavy as they appeared, but it wasn't light, either. Having to swing it quickly, or carrying it for miles in the blazing heat might pose a problem, however.

It was weirdly quiet in the desert, aside from the skittering of small creatures and their footsteps. Too quiet for comfort, if she was being honest.
"How do you think.. we get out of here..?" She murmured to Jack. Where ever.. here.. is...?
Whether Jack had answered or not, Faye didn't hear. A crashing, thundering noise made her pause in her tracks, looking around wildly, sword clutched tightly in her hands. Something large and dark was bolting towards them from the horizon, but her poor sight was unable to grasp what. To her it looked like a mix between a huge cat and an elephant, so the possibilities were quite literally unless.
"Hey, uh, kid." Faye said.

...

"Run."

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

After an indefinite stretch of time passed, Pickles decided her pain had been sufficiently grieved and sized up her offending knee.
"Alright, sister, here's the dealio."

She tugged her faded Miami Dolphins tee -merch for a team she'd never even seen play, let alone rooted for- up over her head and began working it around her knee. Could you splint a bad knee? Seeing as how it wouldn't take any more than a fourth of her weight as it was, it was worth giving a try.

"You're going to make like you're functional and I'm going to fetch that bag."

She gave the lopsided balloon of fabric an affirmative nod and, without further adieu, heaved herself up.

It was by no means a fix. The misaligned, fractured ends of her patella and femur put in no uncertain terms just how utterly wrong they were set together. Even after her expertly attempted brace, her ankle was still, by far, the lesser of the two evils.

But she stayed up.
Though the bandage wasn't about to get any credit.

Not about to sit around any longer and allow the reality of her invalidity kick in, Pickles hooked the firmest grip she could muster onto the most local prominence and got herself in motion.

It was rough going. For every inch she advanced upward, she'd fall another five upon her next movement. Curtains of hazing blackness threatened to descend every time she jarred her forsaken right leg.

But, somehow, she made it to the perch from which the the infuriatingly irresistible bag had gloated at her all the while.

The outcropping upon which it sat was more significant than she'd supposed prior; for what she could get out here, it would do nicely as a hospital bed.
"I'm...just...gonna..." Pickles wheezed as she inched herself across the home stretch, only to collapse a foot short of having Holy Grail of Bags in her grasp. "...minute...need a... minute..."


Not formerly aware of having lost consciousness, being awoken by a deranged chortle was an experience.

Immediately, by instinctual reflex, she hurdled forward to seize the knapsack.
Her sigh of relief when her hands met material and hugged it to her chest was a mighty gust fresh out of a tornado.

Only now was she ready to face this...

Pickles only had to shift onto her lift hip to see her company.

Expertly situated upon the incline itself sat a bizarre-looking dog.
Covered in white shaggy hair.
Standing on hard, rounded little feet.
With horns.

No, that couldn't be right.

Pickles squinted at it in a grab for clarity.

It laughed again. With unmistakable malevolence.

No, that wasn't a laugh.

"Goat," Pickles ascertained aloud.

The mountain goat hopped neatly onto her ledge in affirmation.
Pickles backed up against the rock face accordingly and gave it her most cordial smile. Did goats read facial expressions? This one certainly looked sentient enough to feel animosity.
"Nice goat," she pleaded as it started closing the distance between them with a stalking march. "Nice goat."

Troll's beard swaying, it kept on coming.

Pickles forgot all of her pain as it locked gazes with her.

Endless, soulless blackness penetrated her psyche in all the worst places.

She now knew no other fear, no needs, no uncertainties.
Who even was she?
What was an identity in the face of goat?

Nothing else remained.

Only goat.

And she was entirely at its mercy.

Aside from your occasional daring bird, you hardly saw any sign of life in the skies floating above the mountains. Except for the dragons, when they decided to rouse from their slumber, and search the skies looking for the next victim of their sateless hungers. Which would make those birds more suicidal than daring, really.

It wasn't a place to roam if you wanted to survive longer then a few hours. Unless you were small, quick, and smart. Birds lacked those smarts.

However, the small creature gliding through the clouds did not.

The small, winged creature had survived countless years in the mountains alone. Not without run-in with the dragons, though. It was obvious by the scars riddling its smooth wings.

If one were to look up, they would see what appeared to be a shadow lazily floating in the pale blue sky, with only the slightest movement every few seconds. That was, until it spun midair, swooping lower to the ground, floating in circles like an eagle hunting poor mice in a field.

An incredibly neon yellow shape pressed against a rockface caught its eyes, and it momentarily paused its floating to hover midair. Out in the plain open? Do they have a death wish?
It only took it a moment to realize that something had the neon creature trapped against the cliff, with no escape. A.. goat. Seriously? The goats again?

Tucking its wings in, it all but dropped from the sky, face first. It swooped down with grace, however, flying by the neon creature at top speed and taking the goat with it.

And.

Throwing the goat off the face of the cliff, hovering in midair, watching it gruesomely fall to it's demise, bleating helplessly all the way. That's what you get for being a di- a jerk. The dragons are supposed to be the problem, I thought. No, it's goats.

Goats!

How utterly stupid is that?!

Realizing that there was still the other creature to take into account, the dark-winged creature flipped backwards, back-tracking.
It landed, water droplets gliding off of it's smooth, dragon-like wings. It was much, much taller then it appeared in the air, so much taller that it indeed must have shape-shifting abilities of a sort. It had long, almost fluffy, dog-like ears protruding from the sides of it's head, and they twitched every so often. Grey horns raised from the shaved sides of its skull above each ear, though they weren't very big. The top of its hair was pulled back into a bun, starkly black against the creatures mostly pale skin.
Dark blue-green irises stood out from the rest of it's huge, owl-like black eyes, blinking at Pickles expectantly, a long, thin reptilian tail swishing back and forth.

It crouched, seeming to shrink as its wings wrapped around it's body, cautiously approaching Pickles on its hands and feet.
One, skeletal, slightly scaled, and long clawed finger reached out, eyes widening further as it touched her nose lightly for a good ten seconds in utterly silence. It blinked at her, making intense, uncomfortable eye contact. Its mouth fell open, revealing a set of razor sharp teeth and a strange, dark, forked tongue. "A..are..you..." It spoke very slowly, voice broken and rasping. "A..human..?"

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Recoiling her hand back to her side, Zulema tossed the crossbow into the metal desk with a loud ‘clang’. “Yeah.. thanks” she said with indifference shortly before yanking her cloak up and over her head, revealing her more comfortable gothic leather attire with complementary fishnet leggings. Fixing her fuschia colored bangs, she effortlessly dropped the cloak on the couch beside her. She plopped herself down on the couch and lifted one of the cushions to retrieve a small metallic cylindrical container. Unscrewing the cap, Zulema dabbed her fingers in the practically empty drum, only to retrieve the slivers of medicinal residue.

This has do something.

“If you get cut by it, it’ll paralyze your entire body.” she explained, returning to Theodore’s question about the knife they were previously holding haphazardly. “I would try to avoid anymore glowing knives.” she advised with a bit of humor in her tone as she focused on tending to her injuries.

Biting her lip, she cautiously brought her fingertips down on the burned flesh of her right hand. With little area she was able to cover, there was slight signs of skin regeneration after the application but not significant.

Cursing under her breath from the poor results, Zulema looked up at Theodore, as if she was searching for something on xyr face as she thought back to how they encountered one another. Certainly no one would come purposely where the Reapers roamed, unless they were sent on a high-stakes quest— but from Theodore’s lack of proficient equipment, xe was not prepared for any sort of quest.

“So... what were you doing out here exactly? Did you get lost...? Or..” as silly as it sounded to Zulema, it needed to be asked. “Did you just spawn in?”

Spoiler: the outfit 👀

for those who have not seen already:

View attachment 2766689

Theodore flinched at the clang of the bow, xyr long ears twitching. Zulema removing her cloak was enough of a distraction, though, his brows raising slightly. They wolf-whistled lowly, but quickly diverted their gaze from her after doing so.
Xe preoccupied himself by observing her bus, but didn't dare to move much, just barely hearing her describe what the knife would do. "Yes, ma'am," they murmured, smirking.
The desk he had run into was less of a desk, and more of a work bench. Bladed weapons were strewn across it. Machetes, swords of several styles, more glowing knifes of different colors, some with engravings. Beside the desk there was a baseball bat, pelted with several rusty nails.
A wooden shelf danced precariously above it, seemingly built with pieces of scrap wood. It was overflowing with papers, tins of what seemed to be tea.
And jars.

Lots. And lots. Of jars.
Filled with what looked like animal eyeballs, and even something that slightly resembled a mutated pig head.
Why are the hot ones always the weird witch chicks?

Apart from the alarming jars- the weapons intrigued him. I wonder if she'd teach me to use them!

However, thinking of the fact they had almost stabbed themself with a cursed knife-

Probably not.

Theo looked down at her abruptly when she cursed softly, and he noticed the burn on her hand, and the sad amount of salve smoothed across part of it.
Xe were suddenly aware of the bag they had found still thrown over his shoulders. Wasn't there a weird tin of something in here?

He promptly dropped himself to the floor of the bus by her feet, facing her. Removing the bag from his back, they started unzipping the pockets, searching. Xe paused briefly when she mentioned spawned in, but didn't look at her.
"Spawned in," they replied, their ears twitching with every small noise he heard. "Last thing I remember.." Xyr hand paused in the bag, fingers brushing over the small, round metal tin. "I was.. stacking books at my.. uh, guardian's shop, and then.. I woke up under a tree in a field. Here. I don't even remember going to sleep."

He chuckled softly, retrieving the tin, and opening it. The cap read 'HEALING SALVE' and it smelled safe enough.
Hopefully it was.
"Who am I kidding?" They shook xyr head, looking up at her and outstretching one hand, beckoning for her to give him her burned hand. "I'm probably delusional. Maybe because I didn't sleep, maybe none of this is real, or it's all a dream."

He peered at her curiously, brows narrowed as he gaze flicked back and forth between hers. "It would be a shame, but maybe you're not even real."
After another second of silence, he beckoned for her hand again. "Give me. Your hand, I mean. Please."

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Phaedra followed after Jack, keeping alert. Swords definitely weren't as heavy as they appeared, but it wasn't light, either. Having to swing it quickly, or carrying it for miles in the blazing heat might pose a problem, however.

It was weirdly quiet in the desert, aside from the skittering of small creatures and their footsteps. Too quiet for comfort, if she was being honest.
"How do you think.. we get out of here..?" She murmured to Jack. Where ever.. here.. is...?
Whether Jack had answered or not, Faye didn't hear. A crashing, thundering noise made her pause in her tracks, looking around wildly, sword clutched tightly in her hands. Something large and dark was bolting towards them from the horizon, but her poor sight was unable to grasp what. To her it looked like a mix between a huge cat and an elephant, so the possibilities were quite literally unless.
"Hey, uh, kid." Faye said.

...

"Run."

Jack had untied his jacket and once again stuffed it into his bag. How it had come to be tied about his waist, he had no idea.

Jack was almost panting as they trudged along, the sheathed blade of his kiem knocking against his leg with every step. He felt as sweaty as someone who had just ran a marathon.

Damn. I hate the desert.

As Jack was thinking about how much the heat sucked, some part of his mind realized that Phaedra had spoken. Too distracted in his own miserable thoughts, he didn’t hear her quiet question.

The sound of something like thunder and huge footsteps combined finally snapped Jack out of his thoughts.

Jack turned around to stare at Phaedra. “I’m 17!” He protested, somehow momentarily forgetting about the distant thundering to give her a mock-offended look.

Wait. Did she say run?

Jack turned back around and finally spotted the.. creature. Before he could take in its features, he whipped around and started running.

 

[FrankieDoodle]

Xavier gave Zayne a long stare, watching his anxious body language. It hummed slightly, before continuing the way they were originally going. Dapples of sunlight had faded from the forest floor, and it was much more quiet then it had been previously, the air stilling and thickening.
Like the forest was holding it's breath.
They continued further, fingers clasping an arrow against the bow, but it's posture didn't change. There was no sense in letting Zayne pick up on fear.

Squish, squish, squish.

Dry forest debris beneath their feet turned to thick, horrid smelling marsh-land. Tall, looming oaks thinned out into sickly, thin-needled pines. Ferns fading into thick patches of almost neon green grasses, and ugly red-brown peat moss.
What the hell..

They had very little experience with any sort of nature or forests, but it certainly wasn't normal for it to turn from a sunny, light-filled forest, to a threatening marsh.
It paused, gagging as the mud slipped over their shoes and up to it's ankles. Gross.
A loud, slopping sound made them turn quickly, owl-wide eyes darting around to find the source of the noise.
Mud beneath a V of two fallen trees was moving. Rising. Something was coming out of the mud, something large, something dark, it was-

"A horse?"

Xai's mouth dropped open, and it snorted at the sight. It was a strange, dark color horse with matted hair, but a horse nonetheless. But...
"Why's there a horse in the middle of a swamp?" It turned to look at Zayne, curious if he had any further knowledge on the territories of horses. "I thought they lived in like.. the wild west, or something."
Oh.

They were all cocky and calm, until they turned back around to look at the horse, only to find it a mere few inches from it's face.
The horse was, in fact, not a horse.
It was an abysmal looking creature. Pale, bulging, soulless eyes staring at them, it's lower jaw and jowl hanging by a thin scrap of rotting flesh. Crooked, decaying teeth flared out, edges appearing sharp and jagged. It's mane was made of what resembled seaweed, and the rest of it's frail body was clearly decomposing. "Oh shi-"

The blonde hob-goblin stumbled back quickly, mud squelching in a way that made it want to be sick. It tripped, nearly landing face-first in the mud when their hand made contact with Zayne's leg.

Before either person was aware of what was happening, they both materialized in the branches of one of the less sorry looking pine trees, with Xavier dripping in mud.
And the strange, rotting horse pacing below them.
"Well," Xavier rasped, watching the horse place two overgrown hooves on the trunk of the tree. "That was new."

Zayne picked over fallen branches, swatting at flies as together they walked deeper into the forest. Xavier's calm demeanor was comforting, but he still noticed when they tightened its grip on its weapon.
Not like I can blame them.

He wrinkled his nose as more tiny bugs flew at them, slapping a mosquito off of his calf. God, I hate this. There's no way it can get worse.
Almost like the universe heard and was offended by his thoughts, it did, in fact, get worse.

He coughed, a sewer-like stench filling his nose, making his eyes water. It smelled like death, or like one of the rotting animal corpses left on the side of the road to bake in the sunlight for a few days, before eventually being eaten by something larger, or being taken away by whatever poor person was in charge of cleaning it up.

"Please don't tell me we have to go through there," he groaned, hiding his face in the hem of his shirt and giving Xavier a pleading look. When it didn't acknowledge him, he sighed, slowly making his way through the mud.

He shuddered as the sludge oozed into his shoes, moistening his socks and getting trapped between his toes. He considered taking them off right then and there, but the damage was already done, and the fear of stepping on something much, much worse than mud persuaded him to keep them on.

He followed Xavier's gaze to the lump rising from the tree, his eyes widening as it got bigger.
"A horse?" He heard his companion say, "Why's there a horse in the middle of a swamp?"

Zayne shook his head. "Just when I thought things couldn't get weirder." He gagged again, hiding his nose in his shoulder. "Dude, the thing stinks."

When he regained his composure to find it a mere few inches from Xavier's face, a foot or two from his own, he yelped, falling backwards as Xavier knocked into him. He cursed, something far from PG, as he fell rib-deep in the mud. He yelped again when something wrapped around his ankle, and before he had time to process what happened, they were both sitting in a tree.

"That was-- I don't know what that was," Zayne spluttered, inching closer to the trunk. "New? You think?" he shook his head, looking down at the "horse."
"That's not normal. Why's it so fast?" after a moment of hesitation, he added, "I bet it would make a really good racehorse, though. Assuming it's not hungry."

He drew his legs closer to himself and away from the creature below with a grimace, flicking the mud off his hands and onto the ground. "So. . . I'm going to assume that was you who beamed us up here, and not that thing," he said nodding his head at the horse.

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Jack had untied his jacket and once again stuffed it into his bag. How it had come to be tied about his waist, he had no idea.

Jack was almost panting as they trudged along, the sheathed blade of his kiem knocking against his leg with every step. He felt as sweaty as someone who had just ran a marathon.

Damn. I hate the desert.

As Jack was thinking about how much the heat sucked, some part of his mind realized that Phaedra had spoken. Too distracted in his own miserable thoughts, he didn’t hear her quiet question.

The sound of something like thunder and huge footsteps combined finally snapped Jack out of his thoughts.

Jack turned around to stare at Phaedra. “I’m 17!” He protested, somehow momentarily forgetting about the distant thundering to give her a mock-offended look.

Wait. Did she say run?

Jack turned back around and finally spotted the.. creature. Before he could take in its features, he whipped around and started running.

Phaedra could run fast.
Faster then most she knew, truth be told. Easily overtaking most track runners, though she had little interest in joining herself.
That was, however, on flat or mostly even ground.
Sand was an entirely different terrain, especially while carrying a back-pack, and a weapon. While the weapon wasn't quite heavy, it was awkward and made running even more of a task than it already was.


The ground shook beneath her feet, the terrain making a drastic drop downhill.
Her shriek was shrill as she slid down the hill, Jack nowhere in her sight. Struggling to her feet, she whipped her head around, searching her surroundings.

The thundering stopped.

At the top of the hill, features nearly erased by the sun, stood the creature. It resembled an elephant sized horned lizard. It's jaw hung open as it panted, purple tongue lolling out between its large teeth.
It's tail swung, akin to a dog, orange eyes narrowed on her.

Faye was paralyzed in fear, wide eyed and clutching her sword tightly.

Until the massively lizard easily cleared the hill in a single leap, sand spraying in every direction, including directly into Faye's eyes.
She stumbled backwards, rubbing her eyes furiously with one hand, other clutching her sword. Throat too tight to even scream, she staggered blindly backwards, the lizards hot breath surrounding her.

The world dark, her sword flailing blindly in attempt to rid of her attacker, the earth was suddenly removed from beneath her feet.
A ragged scream escaped her throat, pressure constricting around her waist. Tears poured down her pale cheeks as she struggled to open her eyes. She managed to make out what was happening.

Currently, she was dangling midair, clutched in a massive lizards tail, and likely seconds from becoming said lizards lunch.

And her weapon?

Conveniently stranded in the sand several feet below her.

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Zayne picked over fallen branches, swatting at flies as together they walked deeper into the forest. Xavier's calm demeanor was comforting, but he still noticed when they tightened its grip on its weapon.
Not like I can blame them.

He wrinkled his nose as more tiny bugs flew at them, slapping a mosquito off of his calf. God, I hate this. There's no way it can get worse.
Almost like the universe heard and was offended by his thoughts, it did, in fact, get worse.

He coughed, a sewer-like stench filling his nose, making his eyes water. It smelled like death, or like one of the rotting animal corpses left on the side of the road to bake in the sunlight for a few days, before eventually being eaten by something larger, or being taken away by whatever poor person was in charge of cleaning it up.

"Please don't tell me we have to go through there," he groaned, hiding his face in the hem of his shirt and giving Xavier a pleading look. When it didn't acknowledge him, he sighed, slowly making his way through the mud.

He shuddered as the sludge oozed into his shoes, moistening his socks and getting trapped between his toes. He considered taking them off right then and there, but the damage was already done, and the fear of stepping on something much, much worse than mud persuaded him to keep them on.

He followed Xavier's gaze to the lump rising from the tree, his eyes widening as it got bigger.
"A horse?" He heard his companion say, "Why's there a horse in the middle of a swamp?"

Zayne shook his head. "Just when I thought things couldn't get weirder." He gagged again, hiding his nose in his shoulder. "Dude, the thing stinks."

When he regained his composure to find it a mere few inches from Xavier's face, a foot or two from his own, he yelped, falling backwards as Xavier knocked into him. He cursed, something far from PG, as he fell rib-deep in the mud. He yelped again when something wrapped around his ankle, and before he had time to process what happened, they were both sitting in a tree.

"That was-- I don't know what that was," Zayne spluttered, inching closer to the trunk. "New? You think?" he shook his head, looking down at the "horse."
"That's not normal. Why's it so fast?" after a moment of hesitation, he added, "I bet it would make a really good racehorse, though. Assuming it's not hungry."

He drew his legs closer to himself and away from the creature below with a grimace, flicking the mud off his hands and onto the ground. "So. . . I'm going to assume that was you who beamed us up here, and not that thing," he said nodding his head at the horse.

"You like to assume a lot of things." Owlish blue eyes pinned on Zayne, their head tilting slightly. "And you ask so many questions."

It watched the creature paced, grimacing. They didn't have a plan further then the tree, and the tree was never even in the plan in the first place: it just happened.
"Yeah, definitely new. Yeah, definitely not normal. No idea why it's so fast."
Xavier paused, scraping mud off it's leg. "You're probably right in that last assumption." They murmured, regarding Zayne's last sentence. "I think."

They shook their head, shifting their position in the tree. they balanced on their toes, crouched down and holding their bow- almost cat like in their posture. "I didn't have a plan past this." The strange horse whinnied, stamping the ground and sending mud spattering. "Okay, I actually had no plan." It admitted honestly, stringing an arrow onto the bow. "I guess I have to.. shoot it?" For once in Zayne and Xai's encounter, it was finally showing some sort of hesitation.

It pulled back the arrow, fingers quivering. "I have no idea how to use this thing." They murmured under their breath, hoping they were aiming correctly.
Breathing out slowly, it released the arrow.

Watching it sink into the mud about a foot away from the horse, Xavier cursed sharply and loudly, instantly pulling put another arrow.
It only had so many.
They had to make it count.

It waited. A good five minutes or more passed with them sitting in silence, arrow drawn. Watching the horse intently. Waiting until it strayed a bit from the tree, though it didn't go too far.
The horse reached its strange head down, neck far too long for a normal horse. They knew nothing about horse anatomy- but they had to hope it was similar to a humans, and that there was a vital artery in its neck.

One...make this count, Xai...two...we might die if you don't....

.....


Three.

The arrow shot from the bow in a blur, and by some miracle it landed in the horses neck.

But the horse didn't react in pain. It didn't even spook. It just lifted its head, red eyes boring into Xavier's soul, before it led out a blood-curdling shriek.

"Oh." Xai said, fear tinging its previously calm voice. "That's not good."

 

[FrankieDoodle]

"You like to assume a lot of things." Owlish blue eyes pinned on Zayne, their head tilting slightly. "And you ask so many questions."

It watched the creature paced, grimacing. They didn't have a plan further then the tree, and the tree was never even in the plan in the first place: it just happened.
"Yeah, definitely new. Yeah, definitely not normal. No idea why it's so fast."
Xavier paused, scraping mud off it's leg. "You're probably right in that last assumption." They murmured, regarding Zayne's last sentence. "I think."

They shook their head, shifting their position in the tree. they balanced on their toes, crouched down and holding their bow- almost cat like in their posture. "I didn't have a plan past this." The strange horse whinnied, stamping the ground and sending mud spattering. "Okay, I actually had no plan." It admitted honestly, stringing an arrow onto the bow. "I guess I have to.. shoot it?" For once in Zayne and Xai's encounter, it was finally showing some sort of hesitation.

It pulled back the arrow, fingers quivering. "I have no idea how to use this thing." They murmured under their breath, hoping they were aiming correctly.
Breathing out slowly, it released the arrow.

Watching it sink into the mud about a foot away from the horse, Xavier cursed sharply and loudly, instantly pulling put another arrow.
It only had so many.
They had to make it count.

It waited. A good five minutes or more passed with them sitting in silence, arrow drawn. Watching the horse intently. Waiting until it strayed a bit from the tree, though it didn't go too far.
The horse reached its strange head down, neck far too long for a normal horse. They knew nothing about horse anatomy- but they had to hope it was similar to a humans, and that there was a vital artery in its neck.

One...make this count, Xai...two...we might die if you don't....

.....


Three.

The arrow shot from the bow in a blur, and by some miracle it landed in the horses neck.

But the horse didn't react in pain. It didn't even spook. It just lifted its head, red eyes boring into Xavier's soul, before it led out a blood-curdling shriek.

"Oh." Xai said, fear tinging its previously calm voice. "That's not good."

“Yeah. . . I get that a lot,” Zayne muttered, looking away. “I’m a nervous talker. I’ve been told it’s really obnoxious, but I’ve been trying to get better.” Right, now’d be a good time to stop talking.
“Sorry.”

He pulled his over-shirt off, giving a feeble attempt to remove the mud. While the black and red fabric might’ve hidden the soon-to-be stain, there was no hope of saving the white t-shirt he wore underneath. Well, this sucks.

He dropped the shirt on his lap, hands falling to clutch the side of the branch they were sitting on as Xavier stirred. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"Oh." Zayne really wasn't sure how to respond to finding out they didn't have a plan. As concerning as it was, he still wouldn't have made it this far without them.

"Y'know. . . I can see into the future, sometimes. Nothing too special, just bits and pieces, certain outcomes in alternate realities, you know, that kind of thing. So maybe I can see how this plays out," Zayne said hopefully, carefully watching Xavier to see its reaction. "I mean, the migraines I get from it are nasty, but better that than dying up in a tree, amiright?" He shook his hands, closing his eyes as he adjusted his seating. "C'mon, let's get this started."

"I have no idea how to use this thing."

Zayne opened an eye, his brows almost leaving his face. "Wait, what? Then why'd you point it at me earlier?" He spluttered. "You know what, it doesn't matter, I don't like to hold grudges. You focus on killing it, I'll focus on a plan." He closed his eyes, relaxing his body as he let out a long, slow breath. Only to cough, giving a shake of his head. "Yeah, no, I can't focus with the smell."

He opened his eyes in time to watch the arrow miss its target, landing in the mud with a soft plunk. “Yeah, I think you missed there, buddy.”

He didn't meet Xavier's gaze, to afraid of seeing what kind of look his comment earned, instead peering over its shoulder as it strung another arrow. As they took a deep breath, Zayne bit back another comment, drumming his thumbs in his thighs. Don't speak, don't speak, don't speak--

The string thrummed as the arrow was released, hitting its target in the neck. Zayne held his breath, waiting for the moment the creature would fall and they would be safe once again.

But that didn't happen.

As it let out the soul-crushing scream, Zayne almost fell out of the tree, wrapping his legs around the branch as he covered his ears. "You were supposed to kill it, not provoke it!" He exclaimed. “Shoot it again, make it stop before it calls a friend!”

 

[TamingMaster]

(@TamingMaster @Thing2 )

The sound of the never ceasing hum from the electricity running through the train was the only sound that kept Evan grounded, that assured him that he was being safely being relocated from the dangers of the Distant Lands. He didn’t want to think about the chances of him being taken somewhere much worse as much as it was in his nature to do so.

No.

If it’s called the Safe Zone. It has to be safe.

Anywhere but out there.. in the forest.. the desert.. there were things out to get me.. and they got Lyra.

Evan messed up his face and shuddered, leaning his back into the bench. He glanced at either end of the aluminum tube then towards the windows for any change of environment. It was like he was just traveling in an endless void with no clear passage of time. Only seeing the reflections of the interior on the windows, he let out a sigh and figured he’d finally open food bar to get something in his stomach.

As he ate small bites of the vanilla-y flavored bar, he took out his four silver coins and fidgeted with them.

“They came while you were asleep” she explained “I found them, they washed up so I split them between us. Four for me, four for you”. She held out her four to show him that she had four too, Lyra grinned.

“This must mean somehow we can spend these.”

Evan shoved the rest of his food bar into his bag and threw himself forward in a hunched sitting position. He inspected the silver coins closely, looking for some sort of monetary significance but all they held was an odd circuit board-like texture on its surface that wasn’t noticeable unless you seriously looked.

They.. have to be worth something right? Maybe it’s like a cryptocurrency? But in a tangible form?

The floor of the train jumbled and noises of metal shifting echoed throughout the tunnel. The gears maneuvered and initiated its breaks for the upcoming stop.

It’s blaring horn once again rang out, and following out into the opened space.

It wasn’t long until complete white flooded in through the windows, forcing Evan to shield his eyes from the bright atmosphere of the Nucleus. Then with ease, the train slowed to a complete stop and a hiss from the doors opening.

“Arrived at Safe Zone, please exit through the nearest doors.” the automated voice informed over the intercom followed by a subtle alarm that awaited Evan’s departure.

Evan hesitantly lifted himself up from the bench and started out of the car. Once his feet were firmly planted on the platform, the doors abruptly closed behind him in the upmost urgency as it’s air brake released. Startled, he moved far from the train and watched as it departed the brightly lit and empty station.

Damir paused a few meters away from Evan, his jaw dropped slightly as he quietly observed the newcomer.

Even when the metallic doors slammed shut and the train whizzed away, he didn't announce himself, he just stood silently, watching as Evan backed away from the tracks.

His chest tightened and his heart threatened to pound through his chest. He could feel the anxiety crawling up through his throat as he waited.

He was hoping for some sign or behaviour that proved that Evan wasn't just another fake person, that he was actually real.

He couldn't bring himself to talk to him, to another NPC, just to get a repetitive conversation, or even nothing at all. He had to be sure that the guy standing in the station was actually really real.

Through all of the anxiety, Damir didn't even notice that Nina hadn't followed him down the glossy steps, into the station itself. She probably wasn't even outside of the station anymore. But, all of his focus had been drawn solely to Evan.

Damir took a deep breath, letting it trickle slowly out of his mouth, mustering up all courage he had. He took a single step forward, towards Evan.

He stopped almost immediately, clutching at his leg as a sudden sharp pain shot through it.

He'd been wearing his prosthetic for much longer than he usually did, and it was starting to get uncomfortable. But, he knew that he was going to have to put up with it for just a little longer.

With another deep breath and gritted teeth, he took a few more steps towards Evan, before stopping a few paces away; trying to see if he could see a tattoo or any indication that he was a player too.