Realistic or Modern GENEPOOL - OPEN! - full

[smooshie]

Hidden away from the public eye rests Xenos: a highly confidential and maximum security research facility that specializes in genetic engineering. Which government is funding them, and exactly who is in charge, remains unknown, but their mission has always been clear: optimize the human genome. With an entire planet thriving with biodiversity at their disposal, the genetic possibilities are endless and researchers are confident that they can bring an end to human limitations. Through what means was never formally disclosed, but every good intention- every desire to change the world- is not without sacrifice.

Or sacrifices.

Our eight unsung heroes and heroines are the successful products of ground breaking research and experimentation. They are the essence of time, money, and innovation; invaluable to those who created and funded them. Such priceless resources would never be jeopardized; never allowed outside of the Lab’s impenetrable walls.

So what happened?

It’s the question that plagued all eight when they opened their eyes to find themselves sprawled out on the sandy shores of Isla Nera. There wasn’t a boat, plane, or other soul in sight except for one another and their hazy memories offered no answers or clues. Without the familiarity of the Lab or the figurative leashes around their neck (for some), these beings were face to face with something they had never encountered before.

Freedom.

Whether that’s a curse or a blessing will be discovered as the group bands together in search for a way off the island or to mold it into a safer place to settle permanently. The choice is their own, but it would be wise to pool their strengths if they want to ensure the best chances of survival. For while Isla Nera may appear to be a safe haven, it is evolving in ways an island should not.

Spoiler: - THE RULES -

THE RULES
• TOS - Respect the website's terms and conditions please. This story will be rated 18+ due to mature themes, but cast members are expected to incorporate these elements tastefully. Don't use or overuse explicit language unnecessarily (it's ok to have a potty mouth as long as your character isn't swearing every other breath). Nudity and romance may be mentioned, but please do not go into graphic detail for the sake of the story (and your account) remaining open. Gore and some horror elements will be involved, but again, be tasteful about what you write and don't go overboard.

• Activity - Cast members will each be expected to post weekly (1 post minimum in a 7 day period). It's a very doable deadline, especially since you may write as little or as much as you desire (but absolutely NO one liners please). As long as you give your cast members enough to work with for their posts then the story should progress nicely. If you're someone who struggles with meeting posting deadlines or finishing their CS Sheets/Profiles on time, then this will not be the story for you.

• OOC - Discord will be used for all OOC chatter, planning, and organizing. A link will be sent only after members and their completed CS Sheets/Profiles are are accepted. The same rules will apply in the Discord as they do this story (be kind, be mindful, be mostly appropriate).

• Roles - Will NOT be first come first serve. I will keep track of who is interested and in which role, but completing your CS Sheets/Profiles will be the primary factor in securing your spot in the story. Once we have enough interest I will generate the CS Sheets and then switch the 'interested' list to 'accepted' and fill in with approved members. Please note that you will primarily be in charge of creating your own CS sheet, but will need to include the required information I will provide once ready.

• Characters - Will need to range 18-40 in age, no exceptions. Minors will not be accepted and characters can't be so old that they barely stand a chance at surviving long in the story (death may happen in due time though, prepare yourself). Anime or art will be the only face claims I accept, so if you prefer using realistic faces then this is not the story for you. Likewise, I expect face claims to be of good quality and please avoid using direct art of characters from shows or stories (as in please do not use an image of Sailor Moon straight from the show, but if you find nice art I may accept). There is a supernatural/ superpower element to this story due to the cast members being genetic experiments. Their DNA has been spliced with a combination of two creatures (more will be explained in the CS once posted) so they will have physical/cosmetic modifications and be able to do things normal humans cannot. Limitations will be expected, but there will be more talk of that in the CS as well.

• Disclaimers - This is a safe (for us, maybe not our cast) environment where mutual respect, patience, and communication are expected. If I feel anyone is violating the rules or causing conflict then I have the right to remove as seen fit. New rules may also be added as needed and old ones removed at my discretion. As for aesthetics, I apologize that things aren't pretty, but I'm still relatively new to this website and learning the coding. You may make things as pretty or as simple as you please, but please do not judge myself, others, or this story if your cosmetics standards aren't being met. At the end of the day, it's the writing and a trustworthy cast that will help this story prevail!

 

[smooshie]

Chapter One - Day 3: ‘Easing In’​

Time: 8am
Temperature: 71F/22C
Weather: Cloudy with warm, gentle breezes
Special Notice: The Rhinoceros Beetles are plentiful, but restless today. Be careful if you come across one…


Two sunrises have passed since you first woke up on the sandy shores of Isla Nera. The questions that have been hanging over your heads are still just as hazy as they were when you first woke, but the initial shock has worn off some. Enough to begin organizing yourselves and settle into your new task of gathering food and building shelter. For while it’s still uncertain how you arrived on this island and how long you can expect to stay stranded, it’s clear your survival rests in your own hands. Grouping together seems to be the most efficient route, but some of you are reluctant to part with your trust under these suspicious circumstances.

Wherever you stand, it’s a new morning and there is plenty to be done. You have the beginnings of a shelter, but those flimsy leaves can hardly protect you long term. Gathering supplies from deeper within the jungle might be a viable option; you’ll need whatever you can find to store for future projects anyway. Others might be more focused on food and making sure they can find enough to keep bellies full for another day. Perhaps you want to explore the island by yourself or with a companion? The choice is your own today, but be mindful of the unknown.

 

[123]

Chapter One - Prome's Inquietude

Unease stemming from the mysterious circumstances of their situation disallowed any hope of rest. In the three days they've been on the island, Prome hadn't allowed himself to slip into the sandman's palm and it was starting to show. Dark bags claimed the under portions of his eyes, and his movements - while sluggish in periods of stability - were erratic and impulsive. It wasn't uncommon to see him clutch the handle of his haphazardly-crafted knife whenever something unusual happened. He'd even grabbed the handle when some of the other survivors got too close to him. The blade was made from flint sharpened to a lethal point while the handle was made from a meticulously trimmed piece of durable wood. He used a portion of cloth he ripped from his undershirt to tie the two pieces together; creating a sizeable and, to some members of the group, threatening weapon. Though aside from the times people invaded his personal space, Prome didn't give off the intention of using it against anyone just yet.

If the other members of the group shared any semblance of his restlessness, they'd see him sitting underneath his minimalistic shelter with a stern and tired look. He kept his knife held tightly in his left hand while he gazed at the edge of the island. Countless thoughts were clearly running through his head. Who exactly were the people he was stranded with? What could they expect from this new place? But above all, he couldn't help but wonder why they were here in the first place. Theories ran through every corner of his wild imagination and an observant glare brushed over the people in his immediate vicinity. He was looking for something- anything that could help him make sense of the situation, and as he searched a few more ideas sprang into existence. However, since he didn't have any evidence to back his private thoughts, he didn't do anything else that could make people more skeptical than they probably already were. All he did was watch and wait.​

 

[AKULA]

The Spider had been busy lately.

And she was glad for the distraction. Between the empty lifeless cellar they called a room the lab coats kept her in and this sunny green and sandy… Paradise? No, she won’t call it a paradise. Not yet. She remembered why she was busy then. Yes, it was to keep her mind off the others.

Others.

The lab coats lied and lied again; now her cautiousness was warranted. They hadn’t told her anything about anyone else with her condition. Though, saying that would mean they have a semblance of similarity aside from being human--if she was still one, if they all were.

As if to convince her own mind, she conjured the image of the brown haired woman who’d been taking to the seas more frequently than the others. It’s not that Aranae hadn’t tried, she did and found nothing too riveting about a large body of useless water that pulled her in if she strayed too far from the coast. But that woman, she took to it like a spider to a web. Don’t think Aranae hadn’t noticed the woman would disappear below the water and not emerge for minutes on end.Truthfully, she stopped counting after fifteen minutes, she was building a shelter for one of the more reclusive males and didn’t want to take too much time.

That woman wasn’t a spider, Aranae would know.

And so were the others. They were more difficult to observe actively, but there were other ways to tell. She bent down then, and ran her fingers along pale bark. Her knuckles rapped on the solid wood. She knelt and wrapped her arms around the log and began dragging it back to the beach head, leaving a trail of crushed plants behind her.

The smaller girl had an honest to God bushy tail, not too dissimilar from the squirrels she’d seen Brazilian spiders eat in the books she read. Spiders didn’t have tails; Aranae certainly didn’t. But the bright colours of the girl matched her exuberance, as did the darker brooding colours of their leader seemed to match his own protruding tail and ears.

She worked her jaw in thought.

Aranae didn’t trust them, not by any means and she certainly wouldn’t say she trusted them as far as she could throw them. Because she could possibly throw the smaller girl farther than the others. Oh, maybe Aranae did trust the sunny child more. She wouldn’t be caught dead saying it though.

But what now? There were so many questions, and it didn’t look like any of them had the answers. But so far, they were content. She was content with just getting out of the box and doing her own thing. Even if it was at the whim of others. She felt needed, like she was using her mutation for something else than tripping lab coats and getting a quick laugh.

And… She sort of loved it.

She broke the clearing through the beachhead then, the warm ocean air blowing past her face and locks. She dumped the log beside her makeshift tent. A crude affair, but she never claimed to be an architect. She just went into the forest on the first day and started collecting branches and leaves and went on building a bed--because if she’s dying then she's dying at her leisure. Then somehow it turned into a vertical and upright structure. And it went on and on until she’s suddenly aware she was building for the star-child and then the others.

They all had their own part to play, and she was satisfied with the arrangement. Aranae didn’t envy their responsibilities as her own mutation fell in seamlessly with her own assigned tasks.

Now, what to do with this log.

Sitting on it and giving it a few light taps, she had an idea for stronger and well-built shelters. But it just wasn’t possible without the right tools--she was strong but not slap a tree down strong. As her eyes wept across the pale sandy beach and rolling tides, her eyes caught a glint in the sunlight--a glint that kept moving and shining. Without realizing it, her feet were already up and striding towards the phenomena and abruptly to a halt to another makeshift tent. The glossy green banana leaves covering the top as intricately possible, branches crossed and tied with a white substance only she would know.

And there it was, the source of the glint. In the hand of a man she’d made shelter the last. Not out of contempt or anything but they seemed to be passively avoiding each other.

She cleared her throat, “You have a knife.” She remarked. His gaze was that of a glare from her angle, brows curved and eyes sharp. She was looking down at him, but it was rather out of character for her to kneel down to his level at this rate. So she kept his hands open and observable. She knew how it felt to be paranoid and she had played that game to the last piece.

Spoiler: Tags

123

 

[smooshie]

location: Beach
mood: Shooketh
interactions: N/A
mentions: N/A

THE FISHER.

It was bound to happen eventually, but nothing could have prepared Phara for her first encounter with a predator.

Palms pressed close against the rosy coral she was hidden among while wide, golden orbs watched a gray and white figure pass over her. Its size was so massive that it blotted out the sun rays filtering down to the reef and cast her in a cold shadow whenever it circled overhead. A pattern that seemed to be happening more frequently as the creature tried to zone in on where she had disappeared to. Something so large and with so many teeth had no right to be such a silent stalker; its presence had only been made known when the fish in the area had suddenly scattered. If that colorful little creature painted like a rainbow hadn’t distracted her then maybe she would have remained vigilant in keeping a closer eye on her surroundings.

‘Being smarter would also have helped.’

Or less curious; however you wanted to word it. For if she hadn’t decided to pester that particular little shrimp then it wouldn’t have struck out and startled her, causing her hand to scramble against the jagged coral wall and split her palm open. The gash was deep and stung tremendously, but she thought she had managed to bind it well enough with some kelp leaves; well, but not quickly enough. The crimson plumes had traveled through the water and alerted the sensitive snout of the Great White who could still smell the fresh wound nearby, but his target was unseen. The fine layer of scales that covered Phara’s flesh shimmered against the background she was pressing into, blending in almost perfectly. She was a mix of hues and textures, but if the shark knew better it would have been able to notice that the coral bed had a high knot bun of dark hair and a pair of yellow eyes that were watching its every move. Not only that, but a white cloth squirming with freshly caught fish was suspended mid water, strapped loosely around her camouflaged waist. The cord was a kelp stem and the cloth was the majority of what remained of the white sundress she had arrived in on the first day. The rest of it laid in wait for her on the beach, useless to her mission beneath the waves.

‘Just…don’t…move.’

It was a warning she was beginning to repeat more frequently as the shark drifted lower, brushing against the top of her bun and once more along her shoulder. Its skin was as sharp as the teeth looming overhead and she wondered if her heart was beating just as loudly in its ears as it was in hers.

‘Don’t…move…’

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A sputtering cacophony broke the silence along the beach as Phara’s scaled body dragged over the powdery sand. Her glittering almond body was bare and trembling, but unbloodied; reassurance that she had escaped unscathed. The sack of fish was even still by her side, more restless than before now that the food within it could no longer breathe. Tossing the sack over to where her clothes lay in a pile, she didn’t stop until she dragged herself beneath the safety of the green canopy. With something solid against her back, she hugged her knees tightly to her chest and lowered her face behind them. The beast's gnashing teeth at her heels replayed through her mind; soulless eyes and gaping maw burning deep into her memory. It was a nightmare that would haunt her for nights on end, no doubt. Terror gripped her like a vice, tightening until it threatened to squeeze out the tears burning behind her eyes. Too many of those had fallen over the last three days and she couldn’t afford to waste more. Not only because every droplet brought her closer to dehydration, but she was also on the verge of sinking further into a pit of despair. A debilitating state to be in when she needed to be alert and vigilant; as the lesson with the shark had taught her moments ago.

‘It would be easier…with a weapon.’

But what good would one do in the hands of someone untrained to use it? Not to mention far too afraid. Wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand, Phara allowed herself a few more shaky breaths before she forced herself to get up and walk back to her belongings. There would be no more going into the water for her today, but at least she wasn’t empty handed. Four sizable fish, an array of sea stars and slugs, and a few medium sized crabs; better than nothing. Once she was dressed in her rags again- enough to just wrap around her breasts and hips - she would shoulder the sack and make the short trek back to the place on the beach she shares with the rest of the stranded. Maybe someone there would be able to do something about the cut on her hand, but then again, they were all trying to do their best with what little they had already. Bothering someone over something that had nothing to do with them…maybe she would keep it to herself after all.

 

[SavannahSmiles]

Location: Forest || Interactions: AstroBunny || Mood: Excited
{I will add the code later ^^}​

________________________________________________________________________________​

When Autumn had gone to bed that night at the lab, she had not expected to wake up to a light so bright it had been blinding and a warm ground that shifted underneath her as she leveraged herself upwards. She had not been expecting to wake up wearing a pair of shorts and a shirt that she definitely had not gone to sleep in. But what had surprised her the most was that she had not woken up alone on that stretch of beach she had found herself on. Some of the faces she recognized, like Bee and Phara, but most of them were unknown to her.

That first day Autumn had spent exploring the small area that would eventually become their camp, familiarizing herself with her surroundings. She had quickly come to find out that even though the ocean water looked like the water she had seen in the lab, it did not, in fact, taste like it at all and she immediately regretted the mouthful she had swallowed.

The second day saw Autumn venturing a little further into the unknown forest that surrounded them, having been given a task and a role to fill within the group. Now here she was on day three, ears twitching as she contemplated the situation she had found herself in.

Her first attempt at climbing the tall tree had been met with little success, her fingers and toes slipping before she had even made it to the halfway point, sending the small girl tumbling back towards the ground with a small cry of surprise. Thankfully though there had been a helpful bush located below to help break her fall and Autumn emerged from the foliage with leaves and twigs tangled in her hair and a new-found determination to climb the obstacle before her. With flattened ears and a narrowed expression, she huffed as the objects of her attention swung tantalizing in the breeze. She didn't know what those round, brown things were but she was going to get one if it took her all day and she only returned to the camp with one.

Examining the bark of the tree, she experimentally sunk a claw into the rough surface, a delighted grin breaking over her expression at the secure hold. With a new plan of action now in place, Autumn reached up and sunk the claws of her left hand into the tree, using her feet to leverage herself upwards until she could sink the claws of her right hand a little ways above where her left was positioned. She waited a few moments and when gravity didn't drag her back to the earth, she repeated the steps over and over, eyes fixed on her prize. Despite how high up she was going, she didn't waver in her ascent; heights had never scared her before and they weren't going to turn her away now.

Eventually she reached the top, her claws sinking in further as a breeze caused the tree to sway. Autumn clinging to it with all her strength. When it settled, she risked releasing the hold of her right hand and reaching for one of the brown orbs dangling within her reach. The initial brush of her fingers against the rough surface caused Autumn to let out a soft squeal at the texture, hand jerking away on reflect. The fuzzy surface gave her pause and she squinted at it, wondering if it was some kind of animal but after several minutes and no sign of movement, she reached out again and yanked the brown orb free.

With no where to store her prize, she peered downwards at the ground to make sure she wasn't about to bonk anyone on the head before she released her grip on the brown thing and watched as it fell to the ground with a solid thump. She left the remainder of the brown things where they hung, she wanted to make sure this was something the group could actually use before she harvested more.

Her trip back down was the same as her climb up but in reverse, slowly descending one clawed grip at a time until she could safely release her hold on the tree and drop the remainder of the distance to the ground. The second her feet touched the ground she was scooping up the brown orb and turning it this way and that as she examined it. A quick shake revealed that there was liquid sloshing around inside of it, but the mystery remained of how to get to it.

Thinking that she could rip it open with her fangs had Autumn clamping her mouth down onto the rough surface only to rear backwards with a splutter as she remembered that the thing was covered in some type of hair. A furrow creased the space between her brows as she stared down at the thing, shaking it again for good measure. A quick swipe with her claws revealed that was just as ineffective, which left Autumn stumped.

Could she maybe bang it against a rock?

She was broken from a scan of her surroundings by the sound of rustling off to her right. Autumn instinctively dropped into a crouch, ears perked and eyes fixed firmly in the direction of the noise. She generally wasn't so cautious and wary, but she had seen a very big, slithering thing on her second day that looked like it could swallow Autumn whole, so she wasn't going to take any chances.

As the wind shifted, it carried to Autumn a familiar scent, one that had her standing and rushing forward with excitement. "Bee! Look what I found! I don't know what it is, but it has some type of liquid inside, listen!" Autumn shook the brown orb to show her friend that it made a sloshing sound, nearly bouncing in her excitement. "It's really hard to open though and its got some kind of hair or fur on it so don't bite it." She babbled, extending the orb towards Bee with a beaming smile.

 

[123]

Spoiler

AKULA

Out of everyone in the group, Prome made it a point to watch two people in particular. Needless to say, darkened hues weren't happy to see one of the two approaching him. His free hand slipped to the ground and propelled him to his feet while his other tucked the weapon into the backside of his pants. It was out of sight, but Prome made sure to keep his fingertips just a few inches away from the handle. After all, Aranae's demeanor didn't just seem more refined, but more calculated too. Someone as paranoid as him could easily tell that she'd been very observant of the others, just like himself. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem, but the fact that he didn't know her intentions made Prome see this woman as nothing more than a potential threat. When she finally stopped and spoke, the experiment created an analytical and almost judgemental moment of silence.

He scanned her from head to toe, furrowed his brows, and then slowly moved his hand away from the handle of his knife. "A knife?" he couldn't help but shake his head at her statement. "Congratulations. You know that I have not a fork, not a spoon, but a knife." Monotoned sarcasm laced his words like poison on a dagger. "Do you want something or did you just come here to state the obvious?" Why he was so irritable was up for speculation. Maybe it had something to do with his weariness. Maybe it was a vocal decree of his distrust as if he were asking, "What are you up to?"​

 

[AKULA]

The man shot up faster than she’d expected from his position, clearly semi-comfortable before but also obviously ready to spring into action. Another fact to file away and discern later. He stood an inch or so higher than her, he made a movement to hide the item of the discussion, albeit, poorly--or deliberately to make a statement. ‘I’m not afraid to use this, and I’ll show it.’

She watched silently as he shook his head, his voice devoid of emotion but telling her enough where they both stand in this heartfelt tête-à-tête. Brow arched, she briefly wondered if pursuing this course of action was wise. Of course it is, it’s the only rational option. You do not have an inkling of where to start with tools. Aranae didn't miss the scanning gaze. Was he sizing her up? He was, and not an effort to cover it.

“I do.” She answered the question at the end of his monologue, his words were obviously made to hurt, and it tried to find purchase in her psyche but she’d been bored with one way questions from lab coats she’d yearned for something that fought back, at least verbally. And this man obliged. “You’re welcome by the way.” She glanced at his tent then back at him. It took her longer to build his just because she would slip away whenever he came back. Some thanked her, some hadn’t. She didn’t care, but she realised she can use it as ammunition to guilt trip and she wasn’t above such tactics if it meant getting to where she wanted.

Crashing waves broke whatever awkward silence that settled between them, and there in the distance the sound of something breaking through water. She spared a glance over her shoulder, not a second more and then back at the man. It was the brown haired woman, back from her trip into Atlantis. Aranae didn’t get to admire the sprinkle of sunlight bouncing from the woman’s skin like she sometimes did. It was… Unique. She’d never seen it before. If given the chance, Aranae might even want to touch it. Crazy thoughts. Banish.

The one thing plausible in this reality that she could look forward to from the woman was the upcoming seafood. Oh, Aranae absolutely loved it. The fresh sea bounty just tasted so right--so juicy and she couldn’t get enough. She hoped there were those flat gold fishes. She never got their name, she’ll ask later, obviously not before running the brown haired woman through hula hoops of unrelated questions before getting to the main one. Because what Aranae liked or disliked was her business and she wasn't about to give a mermaid a figurative trident to gut Aranae later.

"You made the knife." She said. "I want something made. To cut trees." She pointed over her shoulder at the general direction of her camp. Hopefully he could see the benefits of Aranae having such a tool and perhaps overlook the probable drawbacks of her owning it. She wasn't under the illusion that it'd be an easy sell to someone who's acutely paranoid as he was. She pursed her lips, already figuring out her points to counter argue; IF he argued. He's more liable to shut her down there and then. Probably.

Let's try looking at the best side of a person for once yes, Aranae?

Spoiler: Tags

123

 

[AstroBunny]

Name: Bee
Location: Forest
Interactions: Autumn SavannahSmiles
Mood: Energetic/upbeat

Welcome to Bee's post

Though the shock was mostly worn off by now, he still couldn't help but feel shaken up. Yes, he looked on the bright side and was excited to have more space to run. Yet.. He feels something is wrong. As if this world wasn't real. But honestly, everything he knew was a lie. So it's hard to tell. He was alone though, and he was searching for one person. The only person he knew more about. Autumn. He smells her scent, yet it seemed far. Luckily it didnt seem to be moving, so he took his time to explore.

He walked through the forest, doing his best to stay in the sun for even if he's never actually been to his 'natural habitat'.. He still is made to fit warmer temperatures. But, he's also human. So it's not like he can't find a way to live. He hummed as he strolled along, his tail swaying slightly in the air, a small smile on his lips. He felt more free, yet also had this horrible feeling he was just more trapped. He wonders why. Yet he doesn't wanna find out.

Bee skipped into the forest, taking detours to explore a bit. He's not as cautious as he should be, but they just haven't spotted a threat yet. So he doesn't know why he should be. He has been hunting a little, carrying some fresh meat in his hands after he had cleaned it in the ocean. He was hungry of course, but wanted to save some to see if autumn wanted it! Deer was pretty good, he found out. And it wasn't hard to chase it, nor pounce and kill it. He wasn't hesitant to kill animals. They need to survive. he just needs better tools to attack with cause I must say just his teeth isnt good enough.

He was wondering closer to Autumns scent, but slowed down when he heard movement just in case. And when he saw a excited girl come bouncing at him, Bee chuckled and raised a brow. He immediately sniffed it, "interesting- OO! That juice or- whatever liquid will go great with this deer I found! Lets smash it!" He grinned, excited and jumping on his toes. He examined it, chuckling at the other's bright smile. "Does seem hairy, wonder what it could be. Here, lets just get a rock and bang it! Gotta be careful though, don't know if its deadly or poisonous.." he said, gently taking the rock thingy and going towards a boulder shaped rock. One that seemed old yet sturdy. He smashed it roughly against the rock a few times, finally until it cracked. Did cause Bee to flinch slightly, but immediately he tried to rip it open. But stopped when a drop of liquid came out, not wanting to waste it. "Hmm.. Should we drink it?" he asks his friend.

 

[smooshie]

location: Camp
mood: Anxious
interactions: 123 AKULA
mentions: SavannahSmiles coffee min

THE FISHER.

The trek back to camp was one without incident; a welcome reprieve from the excitement in the water minutes ago. Phara hadn’t ventured too far to begin with and the dots that aligned the distance soon turned into familiar faces; most of them. Autumn was the only one she knew by name and had seen more than a handful of times. A sweet, small girl who Phara felt the most comfortable being around in an unfamiliar place. The next person she could identify had ash blonde hair and a scowl darker than she last recalled. He was someone without a name in her memory, but boasted a strong presence nonetheless. A ‘rival’ as Dimitri had explained once. Someone who would meet her in the pool arena and compete against her abilities in the water. They wanted to see who was faster; more ‘evolved’ as she heard. There had never been any words exchanged between them and even now he kept his distance; making it clear he wanted nothing to do with anyone else. Phara would still spare him a fish when he wasn’t looking; leaving it near his small shelter and scurrying off before he would look her way.

Then there was…Teddy.

He was the last face she recognized and not one she would ever forget. A quick scan revealed that the giant wasn’t in her line of sight, but Phara picked up her pace nonetheless. They had only met once for just a few, brief moments, but that encounter scarred her in more ways than one; the sharp line across the left side of her face was a testimony to that. Though he had yet to demonstrate the same hostility as he had all those years ago, Phara couldn’t bring herself to lower her guard. Instead, she left the largest portion of fish near him as a ‘peace offering’ of sorts and then usually spent the rest of the time avoiding him. As long as she and the other two in charge of finding food kept him fed then there was no reason for him to attack anyone…right?

Glancing around nervously again as she stepped into camp, the bronze woman made a beeline for the nearest bodies. As much as she didn’t trust everyone in the group, Phara still despised being alone and found some comfort in their presence. The other female with white hair- Aranae, as she had revealed on the first day - was someone who particularly exuded confidence and felt like a safe space to be around as long as you didn’t tread too close. She had also been kind enough to weave a few shelters together; enough to block out the harsh sunlight and offer some solace in the night. The company she was keeping was with the Scowler; a brave choice, considering the weapon in his hand. Eyeing the blade warily, Phara stepped around them to give the blonde a wide berth before coming to a stop on the left side of where Aranae stood, several feet still between them. Crouching down to balance on the balls of her webbed feet, the brunette unwound the steam from her sack to lay it open on the sand. There were still some signs of struggling from the fish, but they were weak now and wouldn’t last another minute most likely. The other treats she had captured were hardly moving at all and Phara wondered if that was because they were dead or if they never moved much to begin with.

Golden eyes glanced up from her wares to dart between the other two bodies before returning down between her feet. If she had better social skills she would have just called out to them by now, asking if they were hungry or even a casual question as to what they were up to. Alas, she was only awkward. Shifting from one foot to the other for several long moments before eventually picking up a medium red fish by its tail. It only squirmed once as she carefully stepped closer towards the other two, eyes darting even faster between them to analyze their reaction to her presence.

“Um.”

Her voice was soft and barely audible over the waves crashing against the shore behind them. Feeling anxiety begin to set in, Phara stopped only a few steps between the man and Aranae, head tucked as she knelt down again and laid the fish on a rock positioned closer to the blonde. It was clearly an offering, bolder than any she had made thus far. However, she was still unable to look him in the eyes and there was only another soft mutter of “For you.” before she scuttled back to where her wares lay. It dawned on her too late that she would have to go back, guilty that she hadn’t offered Aranae some food at the same time. Heat gathered across her cheeks, staining them red, and she screamed silently while bending down to pick up one of the sea stars. Would this be satisfactory or would the other woman find it offensive? Uncertain, Phara decided to bring a smaller fish along with it as a precaution. She had to save the larger options to quell the beast that was patrolling somewhere nearby so hopefully this was enough to show a little good will to someone whose good side she wanted to be on.

Oblivious to the kelp bandage still wrapped around her angry wound, Phara made the humiliating steps back to where Aranae stood before extending both creatures out for the woman to accept or slap to the ground if she so wished.

“And you.”

Another meek mumble, but as Phara waited to find out what her fate would be, something vivid caught her eye. It was as dark as some of the rocks that dotted the shore and wielded impressive ‘horns’, if it was accurate to call the protrusions from its head that. Insects were foreign to someone who lived their life in a lab, sheltered from most forms of life and knowledge. Fish and a few other sea creatures she knew about because she had been exposed or educated on them specifically, but anything that crawled or flew was new to her. It was fascinating, especially it’s size, and crawled slowly across the sand with a mission in mind.

That mission was the Scowler’s shoe.

Since it was coming from behind where the man sat he must not have noticed the bug’s presence as it drew closer and closer. Unsure if the creature was harmless, Phara lifted one of the fingers on her uninjured hand and pointed it down for the other’s eyes to follow.

“H-Hey…”

Before she could say anything the beetle made contact and mounted the rounded toe of the shoe, no doubt mistaking it for a female it was interested in mating with.

 

[123]

She did want something. Of course she did. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone asked him for something on account of his knife. It was just a matter of comfortability, necessity, or fear. Honestly, Aranae could've stopped talking right there and walked away. She was smart enough to tell that from the look on Prome's completely uninterested face that she probably wasn't going to get a thing from him. At least, that was before she brought up his shelter. Prome's stern expression was still ever-present, but mentioning it did make him take a short glance over to his side. That minimalistic shelter helped make the bone-chilling nights a little bit warmer and offered a cool shade to fend off the sun's intense assault. He never asked for it, but maybe in the back of his mind, he was relieved to have someplace to rest. Maybe a thank you was a deserved response to the spider's snide comment. Maybe, but she wouldn't get it. Not from Prome.

Aranae didn't get a verbal response to the shelter comment. Instead, he skipped over to her request. "Then you want an axe. I can make that for you but I need to know something first." Prome stepped just a foot closer. Enough to still have some breathing room, but close enough so that she could look right in his tired eyes and realize she was talking to someone who hadn't the slightest shred of remorse left in his body. His words came out in a low growl. "What kind of experiments did they do?" It was a simple question, but everything from the way he stood to the tone of his voice indicated that if he didn't get the right answer, she wouldn't get her precious tool.

He was so preoccupied with Aranae that he hadn't noticed Phara sneak over to his shelter, but it was impossible not to notice the anxious woman slowly set a fish on a nearby rock. Phara's presence nudged him out of the aggressive stance he took with Aranae, but he did give her a side eye before he took a step back. His almost confused look was evident that he didn't hear whatever she mumbled, so he just put his hand on his hips and took a look at her gift. A hint of disgust crept its way over the folds of his mouth. He may not have said anything, but oh boy, did he remember Phara. Those scientists knew what they were doing when they did the test. They knew for a fact that Prome stood no chance against her in the water. He knew they just wanted an excuse to put him through even more torment.. all while she thought it was just some little game. Just a playful little race. She had no how much pain he had to endure because of the loss, and that's because she was too preoccupied with a pleasant life in the lab to give a damn.

A vein protruded over his temple just before he snapped over to Phara. His bloodshot eyes were suddenly wide and full of energy! "I don't need a thing from you." He spoke calmly despite how visibly angry he was. And yeah, he was hungry, but his hate towards the gullible fish girl would never allow him to accept her kindness. So, he turned back over to Aranae and patiently waited for her answer. He completely ignored Phara's attempt at getting his attention, and thus didn't even feel the beetle crawl onto the toe of his shoe.

Spoiler

AKULA smooshie

​

 

[Entity.Eclypse]

Four

Location: Beach (Walking along the Forest's edge)
Mood: Concerned/Anticipative
Mentions/Interactions: Just talking to myself / Open

Remember to Scroll!

The warmth of a gentle caress enveloped him as the rays of the sun sought him out. The ocean's whispering echoed as waves lapped against the shore, in a desperate effort to soak up some of the sky’s scattered warmth. In a word, it was… serene.

Today marked the third day that he'd been in this place, an astonishingly vast landscape unlike anything he'd ever known. Under normal circumstances, waking up in a place you've never heard or seen before would probably be rather frightening. Yet, in spite of those circumstances, Four found himself lying on a relatively flat slab of stone by the shore, with his tail dangling lazily above the shallows of the seemingly endless expanse of water. His eyes mirrored this endless pool as they wandered the horizon, remaining oblivious to the fish darting away from what they had perceived as a looming predator overhead. On that first day he was somewhat bewildered by it all, the rapid onslaught of hundreds of scents and the strange gritty surface beneath him which attempted to cling onto his skin. But he didn't hate it, the 'sand' which clung to his body was bathed in the sun's warmth and generously shared it with him. While the scents were strange, he soon found familiar ones among them. Some of these scents felt more familiar than others, but there was one thing they all shared, the unnatural stench of that lab. Judging from what he assumed to be their confusion, along with their general appearances, he guessed that they were like him.

Lifting his gaze from the horizon, he glanced towards the burning sphere in the sky for but a moment before expelling a heavy sigh onto the heated stone beneath him. "I should head back before it gets too late... I guess." Using all the strength he could muster, Four overcame his urge to remain in that comfort and peeled himself from the slab beneath him. Pulling his now-dry shirt back onto his body, he began the short trek across the rocks back to the sandy ground. Today's journey had begun with him setting off along the coast, keeping the forest in sight as he attempted to see just how long the shore went on for. It might come across as a means of scouting, or even estimating a rough size of the land they'd found themselves on. But in truth, Four had just wanted to see more of the land and this curious wandering served as a means to do so. Any benefit this held to future survival was entirely coincidental.

But in its own way this wandering had bore fruit. As the sand compressed beneath him, he started to approach the figure which swayed gently from the low-hanging branch of a tree.

The beginning of his journey had been filled with watching small crabs skitter into the surf and disappear into the waves, but at that time he had only been focused on watching them rather than trying his luck at catching them. This idle observing continued until he stumbled across a strange item half-burred in the sand, a somewhat curved dish from the looks of it. After pulling it free, he identified it as a turtle shell. Although it had been damaged around the edge, it seemed mostly intact. Deciding that someone back at the camp could find a use for it, he brought this shell with him on his journey. Various stones had littered the sand, and he'd collected quite a few of them by now. The shell acted as a bucket in this case, storing both the smoothly rounded and sharp-edged rocks. Though, as a result, it had become less convenient to move.

He'd walked quite some time at that point, and the sun had notably shifted its position in the sky. Giving up on finding the end of this shore, he started back towards 'base' when another sight caught his eye; a large green creature resting on the beach. Four stared at it intrigued for a moment, but it simply sat there. Approaching it closer, the creature stood and turned it's head to look at him, giving off a low hiss. Despite realizing it was a warning to what the creature saw as an aggressor, something in his mind felt like it was challenging him. Brows knitting slightly at the unpleasant reptile, Four rested his makeshift bucket in the sand and attempted to catch it. A sudden lashing bit into his arm with a stinging pain, the creature had used its bullwhip of a tail to startle it's opponent as it sprinted towards the water. Though he had been caught off guard, Four quickly recovered from his initial shock and pursued it into the surf, though after he'd grabbed ahold of it's hind legs, the battle had already been decided. A wet thud broke through the serene sounds of the waves before fading once more.

Reaching up, he unwrapped the iguana's tail from the low-hanging branch he'd found, taking caution not to step in the red-stained sandy dirt beneath it's body. After coming back to shore, he had decided to exsanguinate his catch to keep the meat from spoiling on his way back, and the downtime gave him an excuse to bask for a bit while his clothes dried. But now the smell was enough to make him ravenous, his tail batting the ground in anticipation as he swept up a small cloud of sand behind him. After a moment of thought, he settled for nibbling a small portion of the end of the tail, deciding that risking anger from his camp-mates wasn't worth the short-term satisfaction. Placing it atop the stones in his shell-plate, he couldn't help but to find its weight unruly. As he had begun walking back along the sand, the body would shift about and risk tipping out from its unsecured location. So he chose to venture into the lush jungle to try and find a vine or another way of holding it in position.

Shade overtook the sun as he travelled deeper into the forest, frequently maneuvering himself to avoid animals which were hidden on the forest floor. He'd been walking for a few minutes now and still hadn't found a suitable vine. Sniffing at the air, something caught his attention "Is that... water?" He asked the forest, which chose to respond in the form of insect chirps and the distant chatter of birds. Pursuing the scent of freshwater, he continued his trek a bit deeper into the forest, ever watchful of the contents he was carrying. The humidity seemed to increase as he continued forward, and had it not been for the leaf litter along the ground he might've noticed what was unfurling in front of him. The slight depression of the earth, accompanied by the strangely squishy feeling just beyond the leaves would register just a bit too late as his foot set down.

An ear-piercing whistle could be heard ahead of him, and instinctively he jumped back and moved onto all-fours. The ground he had just laid footfall upon milliseconds ago seemed to crumble away as the earth suddenly sunk and found itself replaced by a large hole. A log had fallen alongside the thin veil of stone and dirt only to find itself shredded against stalagmites before falling into a rather shallow pool of water. Four's heart was pounding in his chest, involuntarily his tail batted clean the forest floor as it swung back and forth, had he moved any slower and the same fate awaited him at the bottom of this pit. While he had narrowly managed to avoid that fate... that didn't mean there wasn't a victim in all this. As a result of Four's jarring movement, he had unintentionally thrown the turtle shell filled with the fruits of his labor to the side, which sent the unsecured iguana and the majority of the stones he'd procured careening into the pit below. The splashing noise had been the last indication of where they may have been before they had been covered in untold amounts of soil.

"I don't suppose they'd want that for dinner-" Musing sarcastically to himself, he felt a sense of defeat beginning to settle in. A second high-pitched whistle tore him from that thought process, his sight turned to look towards it's origin, only to find himself taken aback by what awaited him. Standing a short way off was a short-statured animal that appeared quite similar to a pig- with the exception of the short trunk that led into it's nose. The brown-furred creature was strange enough, but stranger still was the item held in it's mouth- the shell which Four had flung away in his short-lived panic. This animal, a tapir, was responsible for saving his life. Wait- this was no time to be feeling thankful for a random chance! As their eyes locked, the Tapir turned and began to run off into the forest. "Huh- Wait!" Calling after it, he began to give chase. The winding pattern of the odd creature's movement meant he couldn't move at full speed, but he kept his pace as best he could. Abruptly, the creature came to a stop in front of a tree and dropped the shell at it's base before moving away.

Slowing his hastened breathing, Four stopped next to the tree as well, glancing between the tapir and his dropped shell as the game of keep-away had come to an end. The tapir whistled to him once more before looking up at the tree and whistling again. He glanced at the creature for a moment, it appeared astonishingly unguarded despite being so close to him... had it been exposed to people before- or maybe this jungle had some hidden rule about repaying kind things done to you? Shrugging off his naivety, Four turned to look up at the tree the creature had been motioning to. Jutting from its branches and body were strange yellowish-green growths hanging from small stems. It's shape was like those almonds he'd seen the observers eating behind the glass, but they were much larger. Pointing up at the object, he turned to look back at the animal "This?" he wasn't expecting an animal to understand him, but this whole thing was causing his curiosity to itch... though that could've been one of the mildly poisonous plants he'd touched on the way over here. Another whistle answered his question, though affirming or denying it was beyond him. So he simply reached up and plucked two of them from the tree's branches before tossing one down to the creature. While it hungrily began to bite into it, Four observed as it chewed loudly. "Do you enjoy that kind of thing, Dinner?" He'd never had many chances to socialize in the past, given that the only conversation partner in isolation is the wall, but even he could tell it didn't make any sense to jest with a... pig?

The tapir seemed enraptured by the thing it was eating, so Four grew curious as well. Tapping his claw against the leathery outside of the produce, he decided that he needed to cut into it. Looking down at the shell, he noticed that two of his prized stones had remained- a perfect tool. Lifting the rock with the sharpest edge, he attempted to drive that edge into the "yellow almond", a fibrous tearing sound was accompanied by the stone being driven between the ridges of the fruit. Pulling the rock free, he reached a finger inside and attempted to pry it open, and with continual tearing a groove split open to reveal a lumpy white pulp. An immediate aroma hit his nose, faint as it was, an almost peach-like melon scent invaded his headspace. It wasn't meat by any means, despite how grub-like the innards of this fruit appeared, but he felt a hint of his prior ravenous hunger creeping back in. So he pulled a piece of this pulp, which peeled free from the larger pulp with surprising ease, and popped it into his mouth. The scent from before was amplified easily one-hundred times, as an impossibly sweet flavor filled his mouth accompanied by faint undertones of sourness.

Glancing back at the Tapir, Four felt his lips curl into a small grin as the sweetness lifted his mood a bit. Only now did he notice the small spots of white on the creature, along with a slightly larger patch of white coloration between it's shoulder blades. "I take it you have a bit of a sweet tooth. Don't you, Patch?" Unlike before, the Tapir looked up from it's meal and gave another whistle, caught off-guard by the response. Four bit down on the white pulp. As a faint crunch rang out, the prior sweetness was replaced by a deeply bitter earthy flavor which quickly resulted in the remnant of the pulp being spat onto the forest floor. "What was that?" Mumbling to himself, he took another piece of pulp and tore into it with his claws, it would seem that wrapped within this candy-like exterior was a darkly colored seed- one that Four found quite unpleasant, much to the disappointment of numerous unknown people in the world.

Since he hadn't felt any adverse effects from this, Four continued to harvest these 'Sweet Almonds' from the tree, a variation of colors with a bright yellowish-green slowly transitioning into a reddish-brown. In total, he managed to pluck twenty of varying sizes from the tree, most fit into the shell he'd acquired earlier- but the last four were secured in his pockets. Learning from his prior mistake, he tore a palm frond and wrapped it around the shell, twisting the stem around itself as a temporary way to hold the fruit in his make-shift vessel. "Alright... uh- Thank you for your help today, Patch. You... watch out for predators, and maybe I'll see you around!" Lifting the end of his tail slightly, he waved to the preoccupied creature before walking away with his bounty in tow.

After a short trek back to the beach, in which he was careful to prod the ground in front of him with his tail, he started back in the direction he'd left from early in the morning. The shell had gotten significantly heavier, but Four felt strangely renewed after the pick-me-up that strange animal had provided him. That was probably why he was bringing so many of those fruits back to camp with him, that or the curiosity to see if anyone else knew what these "Sweet Almonds" were supposed to be. Stopping in his tracks for a moment, he could feel something creeping back into his mind, a shadow of doubt. 'Is being tasty enough to make this worth bringing back?' At this point he'd been walking back with this shell full of sweet fruits without considering the usefulness of his harvest. Thinking about it now, most of them were gathering protein-rich foods or building up the supply and security of the base camp. Inevitably, this would make sure they could live to see tomorrow despite the strange conditions they'd found themselves in. Would they find such meager contributions lacking? Had he stayed back and helped whenever asked, or managed to bring back the protein-heavy green reptile, would the contributions on the path he chose pale in comparison?

No. Pressing that looming concern to the back of his mind, he chose to focus on what he did know. That sweetness was enjoyable, despite offering next to no nutrition, so if it brought enjoyment to someone else, then gathering it would be well worth it. At this point, he had finally noticed the sound of footprints crunching in the sand as they approached him. Turning to look over his shoulder, he readied his tail to lash out towards any potential threat. "Why are you following me?" Posing the question would be meaningless, but he asked it anyways. As expected, the response was- a high-pitched whistle, the same undecipherable sound he'd heard earlier.

Narrowing his eyes towards the Tapir, he slowly lowered his tail from it's defensive position. The unfazed tapir stared back at him with wide eyes. Hanging his head slightly he let out another sigh, "Don't blame me if they try to eat you then, and try to run if it happens. Let's go, Patch." Pulling one of the fruits from his pocket, he held it out towards the creature, which eagerly began to chew on it. Continuing forward, an unenthused-looking Four, and a Tapir bearing a large white-patch continued their trek along the beach back to the encampment.

​

​

​

​

 

[AKULA]

For a brief moment, Aranae had thought he’d reject her request. But for once, her optimism paid off. Not really, but it did get her foot in the door. Not sure if she wanted her foot inside this man’s vicinity. Closer, his face was more discernible. His gaze weathered with fatigue but behind them hidden a coiled snake. She held her ground despite her body screaming to react, and in a brief moment of oversight, her lip twitched. No. No weaknesses! She reigned in her instincts. If you die, you die. But at least die on your feet, Aranae! Don’t let this man intimidate you. Have some pride, for heaven’s sake.

Exhaling, her gaze landed briefly on an approaching Phara, the brown haired woman, as she approached Aranae and the Man. The light scattering off the woman’s odd skin like a thousand miniature mirrors. She brought something over: a fish and meekly set it down like an offering before them–No, before the man. Who was he to her? Aranae furrowed her brows.

“Welcome back.” Aranae said offhandedly as a distraction, then focused her attention back to him.

It was a welcome distraction, it gave her a few moments to think. “A few dozen check ups. Shots here and there and the occasional interview.” She answered. Damn did she absolutely abhor the shots, made her feel like some sort of… experiment. That line of thought only brought more questions and she wasn’t prepared to pursue it.

She must’ve been focused on remembering the details of her ‘stay’ with the lab coats because Aranae didn’t realise Phara had gone and came back now with a… starfish and another fish, smaller than the one she gave to the Man. She wasn’t going to begrudge the woman, perhaps this was her way of gaining traction around the camp. Some weren’t going to play their cards as forward as Aranae did.

Only… The gesture was responded with an outburst. Honestly, Aranae couldn’t tell why. Perplexed, the spider exhaled sharply as she looked over to Phara. “What’s wrong with your hand?” She asked, attempting to steer the heat away from the woman.

Tsk, what a troublesome situation she found herself in. She needed to be on both sides’ good graces. She could live without tools; but could did not equate with want .And food was food, she couldn’t be arsed to go dipping in the ocean or traipsing in the God awful sweltering forest.

Spoiler: Tags

smooshie 123

 

[smooshie]

location: Camp
mood: Anxious
interactions: 123 AKULA
mentions: Entity.Eclypse coffee min

THE FISHER.

When those red rimmed eyes swung away from Aranae to fixate on her instead, Phara physically blanched beneath their scrutinizing stare. The man whose name he had yet to part with had never looked more agitated than he did with her in his sights. Before a sound even left his lips she was already backing away, flinching as her outstretched finger recoiled back to her side. She was the one with fangs, but his words struck her like hot venom; no matter how calmly he spoke them. This wasn’t just about the fish, but she could fathom no other reason for warranting his wrath. A small part of her had hoped that he’d feel the same relief seeing a semi-familiar face as she had, but there had never been a clearer message than the one that just came out of his mouth: he wanted nothing to do with her.

Shirking behind Aranae who chose not to comment on the figurative arrow that had just been shot through the air, Phara kept her gaze glued to her bare feet as she tucked both hands behind her back and nervously wound her fingers together.

“Nothing. It’s nothing.” she quickly assured and just as quietly. The gash still stung, but her expression was impassive. There was no telling what would happen if she demonstrated weakness. An injury was the last thing the group needed to deal with and if they deemed her unfit to contribute then what would happen? It would heal, surely, as long as infection didn’t set in. If she kept it soaked and wrapped with kelp then maybe that would help?

“Sorry.”

A brisk turn on her heel and she was returning to her haul from the ocean. There was nothing good left that would come from trying to interject herself into their space. She would keep busy by taking the rest of the food to Teddy’s empty shelter and then whatever leftovers remained to the main circle of rocks where the food was usually stored. While she hurriedly tried to wrap the fish back up Phara remained oblivious to another returning member from their group and the odd animal that followed behind. The beetle on the Scowler’s shoe was also ignored, left to continue its attempts at mating. Unbeknownst to those around it, pheromones began to flood the air as a result of the insect stirring it up with its frantic movements. The invisible chemicals wafted into the surrounding jungle, spreading from each male of the same species to the next; infecting and alerting them to the happenings on the beach.

 

[123]

Spoiler

AKULA smooshie

He made it a point to pay attention to every move she made, down to the slightest twitch. In doing so he realized that, behind her layer of elegance, there was a glimpse of uncertainty. Perhaps even a glimpse of fear. She was telling the truth, but the look on his face only became more rhadamanthine. More investigative. As if he were looking for something other than a few quick shots and routine check-ups. In the end, an audible exhale dismissed his pressuring gaze as he slipped back into an almost indifferent posture. Dissatisfaction laced his body language, but for now, he'd learned enough about her to feel comfortable accommodating the request. "A big rectangular stone slab and a strong branch that's just thick enough to wrap your hands around. A lot of plant fibers, and whatever you can find to make a small fire. That's what I need for your axe. In return I want you to make my shelter waterproof and coldproof."

He tucked his hands into his pockets when Phara left. He hadn't noticed the injury on her hand until Aranae mentioned it, and judging from how it looked, it seemed pretty bad. She must've gotten it when she was out fishing. Maybe there was something out there that startled her, or maybe she was attacked by some animal. Regardless, he was fully aware of how much danger she was putting herself through for the sake of the group. Despite knowing this, all he did was look back at Aranae and speak. "Watch her. I don't know how she got that cut. If she starts acting like she's sick or anything then let me know. I don't want that shit spreading." He really didn't give a damn about her.

It wasn't guilt, but something made him look down at the dead fish Phara put on the rock. "You can have-" Prome stopped mid-sentence once he noticed something else. He fell to a knee and looked at some sort of insect wiggling over the end of his shoe. He didn't know what it was, but he was somewhat familiar with bugs because he'd seen a few in the corners of his cell on occasion. Slowly, he took his hand out of his pocket and plucked the bug up with his index finger and thumb. It wildly flailed its legs around and released its wings from underneath its hard carapace. As it tried to escape, it released an almost menacing buzzing sound. The experiment just curiously watched it for a bit before flicking it on the ground and stomping on it. The squelching sound of its organs bursting underneath Prome's foot were surprisingly loud, but he thought nothing of it.

"Anyways, you can have the fish."​

 

[AKULA]

This man apparently wore his emotions on his sleeve, because it seemed like it pushed the mermaid to take cover behind Aranae. If Phara wasn’t behind Aranae and sending her instincts into red alert, Aranae would’ve laughed at the irony.

Likely story, she thought. “Right.” She told Phara and decided not to push the matter further, not yet.

The woman’s footsteps retreated behind her. The deep and dark part of her stirred; Pity ? Empathy? Perish the thought. Aranae made a mental note to thank Phara somehow. Because on her own, she wouldn’t have persuaded the enigma. She needed to throw off the heat and the mermaid unwittingly served that part.

“Consider it done.” She said without missing a beat. Though internally she’s writhing at the items listed. Rectangular stone slab? Where in bloody hells was she going to get a cut of rectangular stone? What was she going to use to break the stone in the first place? The other items seemed doable though. “Waterproof and coldproof.” She deadpanned, arms still folded as she placed her weight on one foot. That was a step up from banana and coconut leaves. An engineering feat for an amnesiac. They should slap her with a nobel prize if she managed to pull it off.

“I’ll keep an eye.” No promises. Seeing as the woman had a penchant for disappearing under water and Aranae’s subsequent disdain of said water, he can promptly forget about it. But his ‘worries’ were warranted. She had half a mind to ask him what he was going to do to Phara if she was really sick. Probably cut her hand by the wrist. Aranae thought with a smirk pulling her lips. Hope not.

Aranae tried not to show too much curiosity when the man got down to retrieve something. What the hell is he doing now?. A giant bug–bigger than anything she’d ever seen–held between his fingers and promptly flicked away and crunched under his boot. In the span of a few seconds, he perfectly summed up his outlook on life. Observe, push and destroy.

And her observations crumbled the next second when he offered his share of the ocean bounty.

She tried to look unsurprised. “Thanks, I suppose.” She said warily. “I’ll consider it a deposit.” She said again, retrieving the slippery things by their tail. “I’ll have them by… later today. If not tomorrow.”

Aranae let out a breath, the anxiety of confrontation finally leaving her. She massaged the bridge of her nose, fingers smelling faintly of the fish she held. She supposed she should give the Man’s share back. But that wouldn’t look too good if he saw the same fish back in the community pantry. A feast fit for a queen. If a feast for a queen consisted of two different fishes and one starfish. Were starfish even edible? She can’t ever remember eating these things.

She heard something break the forest edge, a man she recognized from their camp had come back. His hair was brown and messy. They hadn’t interacted before, only she knew him to be independent, doing little oddball jobs here and there. That was fine, as long as he kept his distance. She missed the sight of the black and white creature trailing behind him.

“Phara.” Aranae greeted as she caught up to the mermaid. The tails of her oddly revealing dress swaying behind like a slithering snake. “Your hand.” She said matter of factly. “Suspiciously looks like a banged up patch job.” Aranae eyed the bandaged hand lazily as Phara worked to collect her day’s catch.

“The rest will be worried–for a good reason.” She added before Phara could protest. Aranae kept her posture straight, eyes front but glancing sideways to make sure the woman was listening. “My point is: Will you let someone look at it?” Suddenly the weight of the fish she held in her left hand was noticeably more pronounced. Damn it.

Fine.

After a few moments, just enough to let her previous point fly over their heads and into oblivion. Aranae inhaled, eyes shut. “I’ll take a look at it, if you don’t mind.”

Spoiler: Tags

123 smooshie

 

[SavannahSmiles]

Location: Forest || Interactions: AstroBunny || Mood: Excited
{I will add the code later ^^}​

________________________________________________________________________________​

Autumn trailed after Bee as he carried the brown orb over to a large rock, eyes alight with a curious light at what her discovery could be. She hoped that it would be something that the group would be able to use, otherwise her collection of it would go to waste. She had been given an important task after all, and she didn't want to waste time with foraging for items that would useless for their survival. Since Bee was stronger than her, she let him handle smashing the thing open, leaning forward slightly and nearly bouncing in excitement when a crack formed along the hard shell. When the crack was big enough for Bee to wide the opening, a curious scent drifted from the brown ball.

"I'm not sure, we don't really know what it does or what it is yet." She replied as she leaned closer, sniffing the air as she inhaled more of the scent drifting up from the opening of the orb. Her brows furrowed as she realized that the smell was familiar to her, though she couldn't place where she had smelt it before. Grabbing the hairy orb, she brought it closer to her face, all but shoving her nose into the opening as she inhaled deeply.

As she did so, a distant memory drifted to the forefront of her mind, of her standing in the lab kitchen pouring small, white flakes into a measuring cup while a pie crust was baking in the oven. Face scrunching up in concentration, she struggled to remember what those white flakes were called before the name suddenly came to her.

She nearly dropped what she held as she swung towards her friend. "Bee, Bee! This smells like coconut!" She exclaimed, "Though it doesn't look like coconut I used back at the lab, those were little white flakes in a bag." Shifting, she peered into the opening, her vision just barely able to make out a glimmer of white on the inside. Raising the orb high over her head, she brought it down at the rock as hard as she could, watching in satisfaction as the orb slip and fell into two halves in her hands.

Some liquid spilled across the rock, but not as much as she might have found in a greener version of the orb she held in her hands. The sight of the white interior caused a wide grin to break across her face, displaying her fangs. "That looks like the coconut I used! I wonder if this is where it came from. Bee, this means its safe for us to eat! Should we collect some more?" Her gaze swung to the tree she had climbed, plenty of coconuts still nestled among its leaves.

 

[smooshie]

location: Camp
mood: Panic
interactions: AKULA
mentions: 123

THE FISHER.

“Phara.”

It was with record speed that the swimmer’s scales shimmered and disappeared into the shoreline. To the untrained eye she was practically invisible- aside from the cloth on her body -, but the more observant would have noticed her warped silhouette. Blending in open areas was more difficult than when there was foliage or walls to slink along and the sand would still give her footprints away if she bolted. If it had been Prome calling out to her she would have risked it and attempted an escape into the water; another run in with a shark would have been preferable over facing him again so soon. Instead, she stayed. There was a power in Aranae’s voice that compelled her to remain rooted in the sand, knees crouching still over her bounty. The brunette dared not cast a glance over her shoulder, still too embarrassed and nervous from what had occurred moments ago.

“Your hand.”

There was relief knowing no one could see how she flinched and tensed further as she anticipated the worst.

“It’s only a scratch. I can still catch fish.” she insisted, for once louder than a mumble or a ‘meep’. Was that what the group would be worried about? Starvation? Even if an injury did put her out of commission, she would never allow herself to be the type to sit around and benefit from everyone else’s hard work. She would do anything to guarantee a place among them; on her own she would surely die. Lost in her anxiety, Phara was abruptly pulled from it at the sound of an unexpected request. It wasn’t a warning or the condemnation she had been waiting for; it almost sounded…concerned?

Cascading color parted the curtains of reality as the young woman reappeared between the floating folds of her clothing. Her eyes were turned over her shoulder, aimed directly upwards at the striking features of the shelter weaver. Aranae’s face gave nothing away and Phara envied how in control of her emotions the other woman appeared to be. Had they come from the same Lab? The ivorette carried an air of authority that Phara had only seen around scientists; certainly not other subjects such as herself.

Dewy orbs of gold fell from the weaver’s face to inspect the curious shiny protrusions decorating her wrists. They might have appeared off putting for some, but the first thought that came to Phara’s mind was:

‘Lovely.’

Curiosity and simple pleasures pushed Phara to her feet, though albeit reluctantly. There wasn’t much distance between her and the other woman, but she crossed what remained in order to stand directly in front of Aranae. Keeping her gaze lowered and fixated on the black armor she was itching to touch, the brunette began to slowly peel back the kelp from her palm when vibrations suddenly filled the air. They were low at first, almost like a hum, but then escalated gradually into an amplified roar that reverberated throughout the entire island. Such a sound had never pervaded her ears and she snatched both hands back in an attempt to cover them.

“What is that?!”

Only her lips mouthed the words, all sound drowning beneath the angry droning. None of them had to wait long for an answer as the culprit- or culprits, in this case -suddenly broke through the cover of the jungle. It was the same species as the insect on the shoe earlier, but instead of one or some, there was an army. A solid black mass glinting in the harsh sunlight as the clouds decided to part and spotlight this impressive anomaly. The black blanket crawled towards Scowler and their flattened comrade on the sand, but they weren’t on a mission for revenge. Normally docile and solitary creatures, anyone with knowledge on these beetles would know this behavior was completely unnatural for them.

Some of the swarm crawled along the sand towards where the blonde human stood while others flew. Their heavy bodies bobbed in the air, but they moved with surprising speed and precision as they dove at anything that moved. One of those things was Phara who initially had been rooted in place; eyes and mouth wide with bewilderment until a few beetles flew too close for comfort. At first she attempted to swat at one, but when it hit her tender palm she winced and hissed at the surprising amount of force it carried; akin to getting hit with a rock. A few more of those would hurt, but hundreds…Phara didn’t want to stick around to find out. She was ill equipped for a battle like this and her flight instinct was kicked into overdrive. There was a redeeming moment when she reached out and tugged on Aranae’s sleeve, only a brief attempt to coax the other woman into following her before she spun on her heel and sprinted towards the ocean.

 

[123]

"Your only deposit is my help."

Prome's sleepy gaze drifted away from the two women when he was left to his own devices. He tucked his hands into his pockets and began to trudge away. Now that the 'excitement' of the situation was over, he could feel the almost overbearing weariness settle back into place. He could feel the weight of his eyelids grow. He could feel how much his body craved for any semblance of rest. "No, no. It doesn't matter..." Prome thought. He held onto the belief that the moment he fell asleep, he'd be a prime target for whatever lived on this island AND the people who were supposedly trapped here with him. He couldn't give them the opportunity to get one over him, no matter what. Unfortunately, a severe lack of sleep notably dulled all of his senses. He didn't feel the distant vibrations and he barely heard the ungodly droning. Sluggishly, he turned to see where the noise was coming from, but by the time he turned all he could see was an onslaught of darkness. The beetles rammed into him like rocks; battering into his soft skin and creating a volley of fresh wounds. From an outside perspective, it'd look like Prome was completely devoured by the mass of insects - as if he were completely removed from this plane of existence. If it weren't for the deafening bombardment, the group could hear pain-induced grunting and agony-fueled groans. One could only speculate what he was being put through right now.

As prepared as he tried to be, there wasn't a chance in hell he could've known this would happen. His heart thumped like crazy and a million thoughts ran through his head. Somehow amidst all of the chaos, the experiment managed to grab the knife tucked away at the back of his pants. He flailed the edge at the beetles, but their hard carapaces were too strong and the flint knife was nowhere near sharp enough. All it did was bludgeon and stun a few bugs. Nowhere near enough to do any actual damage. The collective force that these creatures carried was eventually enough to violently knock the man on his back. The knife he was oh-so protective over slipped right out of his hands upon impact, embedding itself a few meters away in the dirt. His now bloodied hand clawed at the ground in a desperate attempt to pull out of the assault, but it bore no fruit. It didn't even take two seconds for his arm to be yanked right back into the thick of it all. The only trace of its momentary escape were the lines left in the dirt by his scratched-up fingertips.

Like a hivemind, the beetles unanimously decided that scrapes and bruises weren't egregious enough. They needed more, and they seemed to understand Prome was effectively powerless to stop them on his own. They stopped their droning for a moment to tightly lock themselves on the fabric of Prome's clothes, then immediately began to engage their wings once more. The sheer amount of insects meant they could lift Prome without much hassle. They did just that, lifting him higher and higher and higher until he had a bird's eye view of the entire camp. He saw Phara running into the ocean to escape, and he saw the beetles following close by. Droplets of blood snuck from his nostrils and dyed bits of the sand sanguine. If they weren't too preoccupied with their own lives, they'd see the horrific state these beetles put Prome in: arms outstretched and body heavily wounded. Mainly bruises, but there were noticeable cuts littered across his entire body. The injuries combined with his general exhaustion meant all he could do was softly tug away from their grip. He was in a terrible position, but he couldn't help but wonder why? Why did these animals decide to lift him into the air like this? Why were they even here in such a large volume in the first place? Where on earth would they take him if he didn't find a way to escape?!

That final question struck fear inside of him. Through gritted teeth and nails dug into his palms, Prome found the hysterical strength required to rip away from them. He escaped, but now he had to handle an entirely different problem. The fall. "Shit!" was the only word running through his head, and for good reason. At around fifty meters high, it was not a small fall. When he released himself, his perception of the world fell to a crawl. He could feel everything from the wind's increasing breeze to the lightness of his body. He injudiciously thrashed his limbs around and extended his fingers as if he were reaching for something to grab onto, but there was nothing there that could help him. The only truth in his world right now was the impact, and it arrived with due diligence. He landed mere inches away from Phara with a disgusting series of cracks, pops, and snaps. It was sudden but clear that the very first thing that hit the ground was his head. His expressionless, dead face unnaturally twisted out of place from his forward-facing body and his glazed-over eyes stared daggers at the poor girl. His legs were both broken out of place and a piece of his fractured shin bone poked out of his torn leg. Blood from sliced arteries in his left leg audibly spurted, creating a trail of red that led right to several small pools. There wasn't a twitch. There wasn't the slightest movement aside from the ever-growing blood puddle. Whether the beetles decided to gather up his corpse was a mystery, but if they didn't hurry then the tide that occasionally enveloped his body would outright claim him for the sea.

With one down, their chances of survival grew even slimmer.

smooshie AKULA

 

[Entity.Eclypse]

Four

Location: Forest nearby camp
Mood: Indescribable
Interactions: N/A
Mentions: 123 (Prome), smooshie (Phara), and AKULA (Aranae)

The majority of the walk had merely been small 'talk' from Patch, with the shorter creature waddling out-of-step with Four and whistling towards him. Responding to it with simple retorts, they continued on, but towards the end of his trek back to camp a distinct aroma had found its way to him. It wasn't much, but the richness of the slightly sweet scent immediately caused the tip of his tail to twitch slightly. "We're almost back to camp now... keep your senses sharp-" A warning not to the seemingly unaffected Tapir, but to himself. The familiar metallic taste of the air had continued to tease his senses, and with each step closer to the camp it had seemed to grow stronger. His claws had begun digging light grooves in the shell he carried, as he could see where the sandy-soil reverted to its prior beachy texture ahead of them. Knowing better than to bite his tongue, he tried shifting his attention from that smell to the leaf-litter below him. Thin trees and other vegetation fought against the nutrient-deficient soil in a desperate attempt to survive. He even made note of the broken twigs where the immediate vicinity of the campsite had been marked as 'safeish'. Still, that wriggling worm of temptation rang louder in his head, slowly writhing and coiling and in an attempt to make him bend. "Instinct, I find more fascinating than what's 'Rational'. By comparison, it's marvelous to witness something so... primal." 'Glasses' words were accompanied by feelings of discontent as the edges of his vision seemed to blur slightly, a jittery excitement creeping along his spine.

A sudden startled sound was accompanied by a heavy impact on his right side. Ripped from his blurring rationale, he dropped the 'Sweet Almonds' to the ground before falling against one of the nearby trees. Turning to the thing that impacted him, Patch skittishly stumbled back to their feet before blankly staring at him, as though nothing had ever happened. "What was that for!?" The only reply that the Tapir could muster was another of its infamous whistling noises before it continued moving ahead. Shaking his head, he picked up the shell once more, quickly reconfirming the number of fruits he'd collected before following the short-statured animal.

Lifting an arm, he pushed through the thin vines and drooping leaves as he finally broke free from the forest's edge. Standing before him now was the makeshift camp that had been assembled over the past three days, accompanied by the blissful heat of the sun and the scent of sea-breeze he'd recently become acquainted with. Patch delayed its exit from the forest for a moment, but shortly trod up beside Four under the assumption of safety. Glancing down at the curious creature for a moment, he heaved a light sigh, "This is it. Cozy, right?" He spoke under his breath but the tapir merely cocked its head slightly in confusion. The ghost of a smile almost took over his features, but he quickly subdued it. If the members present at camp had seen him making friends with something they likely perceived as food, they'd likely be even more wary of him. He had barely spoken with anyone other than the bare necessity over the past three days, and often he'd feel eyes on him when he was on his own. 'Wait-! Friends?' This thought rang in his head. He glanced down at the Tapir again as he pondered it for a moment. Was this what a 'friend' was supposed to be?

The sound of disrupted sand pulled his gaze back to the other members of the camp. He could recognize each of them almost immediately, despite the fact he had barely uttered a word to any of them. Naturally, his gaze drifted after the, now stronger, scent of blood he'd picked up earlier. This had led him to 'Fish-lady'. He didn't know much about her outside of the fact that she brought fish back to the camp and seemed to glimmer in the sun. From the looks of it, she was distracted by something in the supplies. A second figure entered his view from the side. Another immediately identifiable individual, though that might not be much of an accomplishment considering half of them had tails or other easily identifiable features. Catching the presumed sidelong glance from the white-haired woman, he simply observed where he was. Her sharp gaze, and glares, had made it abundantly clear over the past few days that she probably didn't enjoy the company of strangers.

It seemed she had startled the fish-lady, who had briefly panicked before they continued on with their day. Deciding he would wait until they left the storage area, he scanned for the other members who typically hung around the base camp. It hadn't taken long to see the blonde-haired man, another individual who he'd seen glaring more often than anything else. Combined with the looks of the aforementioned examiner, the duo gave him an unnervingly similar feeling to those lab coats. But by giving them a wide-berth, and keeping to himself, they didn't seem to pay him any mind. Though he couldn't quite forget the sensation of being watched the past two nights as he gazed up at the skylights... or 'stars' as he heard them being called.

Patch's ears shot up as the creature let out a panicked whistle to Four, but shortly after, it was drowned out by the clamor of buzzing wings. Dropping the shell on the ground once more, he covered his ears as the onyx tide erupted from the forest all around them. Chitinous forms collided against his back, a mote of heat spreading from the point of impact as the stinging sensation rang out. Thanks to his thickened skin, and the presence of his scale-based 'armor', he would be able to resist a short-lived onslaught at the very least. But being caught off guard had caused his eyes to open wide in shock. Wide-enough to notice as Patch had begun to sprint to the forest on the other side of the camp, and the sudden mound of night-black beetles that enveloped the space where the blonde had once stood.

"What's going on?" Even if he had yelled, the layered sound of constant droning would've rendered him inaudible. Everything was bewildering, to the point where the barrage of stone-like beetles felt like dull pings of pain. Or at least they did until one struck him in the back of the head. Reflexively, his hand wrapped around and grabbed ahold of the beetle before flinging it against a nearby tree. The popping sound of the beetle's body shattering against the wood was rendered mute as well, and its presence was quickly replaced by a dozen more. Lifting his arms, he wrapped them around his head to try and reduce any impact the onslaught would make on him. Among this scent of insects was a much stronger one, the potent scent of iron returning once more- spreading with its infectious nature to the surrounding area. But a portion of this beetle storm had broken away from the skies. Pressing his back against a tree, he kept his arms up, guarding the sides of his head from the swarm which eagerly searched for something. His gaze followed the others on the beach, it seemed they might make a break for the sea- maybe the swarm was unable to swim?

Then came the figure from the sky, crashing into the sand below and dyeing it with beautiful crimson colors. He was a short-distance away, but it was nearly impossible to miss the corpse's unnaturally warped form- and the fact that it seemed to suddenly stop reacting. Unless, of course, your gaze was wandering similarly to Four's. His mind was torn in numerous directions, but for a moment he settled on the cloud of black beetles which had begun lifting another figure into the air. The blackish-brown and white figure known as 'Patch' had made it about halfway to the other side of the forest before the cloud had come after it. Now being lifted towards the canopy, the cloud, which was more beetle than tapir at this point, continued towards Patch's destination. Before he'd realized it, Four was starting to run after the cloud. The blonde looked injured, but he was right next to two other members of their camp- so surely he'd be alright. On the other hand, he felt that he needed to preserve his strange companionship with the creature that stopped his imminent impalement in the forest. A means to complete his repayment to the jungle's prior kindness.

There wasn't any time to stop and think though, things were moving way too fast to even consider delaying. The storm of these seemingly infinite beetles was disorienting, and their droning had devoured any sound besides their own. The now overbearing rusted scent of blood swelled in his mind, a vortex of sensations swirling about and clouding his judgment. Eyes forward. Pain. Keep moving. Wait. Endure it. Mixed signals rang out like mismatched alarms, each shouting over one another to make their demands heard. Movement seemed to be the trigger for them to attack, and the next barrage of bugs slammed into him. A glancing impact struck his face accompanied by a small spattering of vermillion droplets staining the sand, a slight stumble which had nearly cost his balance. The gritty surface beneath his body seemed to vanish as the familiar sensation of ground clutter and dark soil took its place.

Occasional glances towards the canopy proved to be in vain, and trying to follow the sound over the deafening cacophony was equally useless. The attacking insects had lessened significantly since he had moved into an area that would be harder for them to maneuver in the air, though the reduced number that kept pace reminded him of their presence. The best method he could think of was prediction, flawed and impractical as it may have been. Beyond his sight, Patch was almost certainly thrashing its weight around in an attempt to break free from the portion of the swarm who gripped it. But where that would lead them was beyond him... or at least it was until a hole opened in the upper level of the canopy and the pig-like figure began its rapid descent.

How the insects had managed to lift the nearly six-hundred pound creature into the air was a mystery in and of itself, but one thing was for certain- Patch was falling. Fragments of sound had entered the forest, the familiar noise of branches snapping was rendered nearly inaudible but it managed to split through the hundreds of wing flaps residing above it. Four had glanced up just as the light made it's sudden entrance to the shaded forest floor, the sound of droning flooded into his surroundings now that its dampening barrier had faded away. The trickling of warm blood from the wound near his cheekbone, the scent that beckoned him back to the camp, even the bruising on his arms and back, there were so many sensations trying to stake a claim as his primary focus. But it all felt distant as his eyes focused on the sight before him, a singular tapir crashing through the upper layers of the canopy.

Spoiler: Patch

He could see it, the extension of the trunk-like nose as it fell. Patch was calling out to someone... No, he was certain it was calling out to him- he just couldn't hear it. Dozens of branches had blocked the pathway to the ground, but the weight of Patch seemed too much for them to bear. Splintering free from the trunk of the tree, they continued to snap and fall, each consecutive impact doing little to slow Patch's descent, and merely caused the creature to writhe more as it barreled towards the ground. The tapir had certainly tried calling out several times more, but the buzzing of insects covered any sound it had made. A spray of bloodied spittle flew from its mouth as it continued downwards, helpless against gravity's influence.

As branches were progressively broken through, the Tapir's appearance continued to worsen. Crack. Crunch. Snap. Sounds that fell on deft ears, but would undoubtedly be heard by the victim. Shattered limbs flailed meekly as the final part of the descent grew nearer, a spray of red coated the nearby foliage from a plethora of fresh gashes as the blackened fur shimmered with freshly reddened hues. But, as if to perpetuate this torture, an oddly angled branch presented itself- one that provided more resistance than the rather uniform horizontal branches. This time it had been audible to Four, a pain-ridden shriek- a stark contrast to the somewhat joyful whistling he'd heard coming from the Tapir all this time.

A cascade of crimson splattered on the ground below as Patch was impaled through the side, before the branch gave way and snapped. On the last branch between the Tapir and the ground, the tree had taken vengeance for the limbs it had lost. With a final thud, Patch made contact with the ground below, and came to a stop.​

Four approached the creature and fell to his knees beside it, ignorant of the blood-filled mud that clung to his pants. Eyes full of shock stared down at the broken creature, Patch continued lifting its head before slumping back down into the mud. With each shallow, rhythmic breath, it looked up at him with eyes full of fear- panicked by the misfortune that had fallen upon it. Another string of reddened spittle came from its mouth as a weak whistling sounded from it. Four slowly lowered his hand down to Patches neck, "Don't look at me like that... Here." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled another of the 'Sweet Almonds' ; its exterior shell had been crushed amongst the assault of beetles. Wrapping his arm around the tapir's neck, he lifted its head to try and help it eat the fruit. Unpleasant sensations had begun to well up inside of him. He knew it was pointless but he didn't know how else to help. His tail rested atop the side of the creature to help hold it still, careful not to probe the obvious wound.

The fear in Patch had lessened, even if it was only slightly, and it made an attempt to grab at the fruit. The beetles above had thinned out considerably, likely heading back to the main portion of the swarm- or flying off to terrorize other denizens of the island. Those who crawled along the ground towards him found themselves stuck in mud, while the few who continued their attempts at assaulting him were simply ignored. Four could only hope that eating was enough of a distraction, but he knew that it would all return once the food ran out- then suffering would come right back. "I'll stop your pain now, and I'll stay right here-" Closing his eyes tightly he increased his grip on the Tapir, tightening around the creatures neck before he twisted, in a singular jerking motion the resistance he felt in his arms went slack as crackling pops returned to silence. Opening his eyes, he looked down at the still body. Any sign of breathing had stopped, as had the small movements being made in a feeble attempt to get up. The only repayment he could give for saving his life was to end Patch's, in this unfamiliar world maybe that kind of cruelty was considered a kindness. Unsure of how to progress all he could do was sit there and hold what remained of his 'friend'. "Even if that means being left alone again."

​

​

​

​

 

[AKULA]

“Disgusting.” Those were the first words that came out of Aranae’s mouth at the sight of the black brood coming over from the forest. Beating wings signal the impending arrival. The mermaid swatted away one, but seeing her reaction afterwards told Aranae these were no ordinary critters. Unlike those she’d seen lingering around in her room.

She felt a tug on her shirt sleeve. It was Phara and she was pulling her towards the ocean. Aranae suppressed a scowl. So it was hell or highwater then. Phara didn’t wait for her, a smart decision, as the mermaid broke into a sprint towards the water, white sand kicked up behind her as she made the wild dash. Aranae had seen spiders burrowing in sand before, hiding from predators and lying in wait for prey. She doubted she could hide herself without spending the whole day digging though so highwater it is.

It must be a pretty sight, Aranae mused, watching from an outside perspective of herself running towards the sea. Disgraceful and insulting at the same time. Running away from insects. But there was wisdom in it, and wisdom always came hand in hand with tactical retreats.

Her ears rang, the million thudding wingbeats drowning Aranae’s senses, her chest felt like it was being pelted by fist sized rocks. She cursed, trying her damn best to keep Phara’s retreating back in sight, then something fell from the sky, a dark cloud, but it landed with a sickening crunch, like twigs and bones. It looked like bones, her face scrunched in pain and disgust at the sight of twisted mass of clothes and…a recognizable face, contorted, twisted in an unnatural angle. The face that moments ago promised her a tool.

She packed, stuffed and stowed away the haunting dead expression in the back of her mind to be recounted later. Her right foot dug into the sand as she swerved hard to avoid the body, Phara had stopped. Why was this fish stopping in the middle of a crisis?The green weed she’d used as a bandage coming loose as she stretched out her hand towards Prome’s body. This idiot!

Gritting her teeth to numb the pain, she bent low as she came barreling towards the stationary Phara and scooped her up by her waist and slung the woman on her shoulder fireman style. Immediately, Phara’s close proximity made her abundantly aware how strong the woman smelled like the ocean, almost pleasant if it weren’t for the thudding headache. Aranae breathed through her mouth, graceless, but the pulsating pain in her chest made breathing through the nose unbearable.

Her pristine white shoes splashed harshly at the mouth of the beach, she spared no thoughts, not even as the sea began rising up to her waist, by that point she’d let Phara go, swimming or whatever the mermaid did and let herself be claimed by the ocean like a rock. Standing on tiptoes, the water came up to her lips, she raised her chin, with a hopefully indignant look as opposed to panic.

She would’ve apologised to Phara for manhandling her, but the woman was asking for it. Infact, she should even thank Aranae. The land looked calm from here, the swarm of insects orchestrated flight guided by an unknown force. She exhaled, it hurt. “I’m dying.” Aranae said, the sky was bright overhead, she took a moment to bask in the sun’s rays.

She wasn’t dying. Aranae would never forgive herself for dying in this state: wet, ribs hurt, and out of breath. But it was a relief to say the words, to remind herself of her mortality. This was real; the wet locks matted to her face, pressure of the sea pulling her away, the dead body at the beach. This wasn’t some test and she could’ve easily been another body.

She wanted to scream, to lash out, but the weight of the ocean chained her limbs, and screaming would’ve hurt her ribs even more, so she schooled her features into an uncaring impassiveness.

She breathed, closing her eyes. “Putain de mer.” The words seemed right on her lips, a second nature. She didn’t know what it meant. But it was right.

Spoiler: French

Putain de Mer : Fucking sea.

Spoiler: Tags

smooshie

 

[smooshie]

location: Ocean
mood: Mostly Panic
interactions: AKULA
mentions: 123 SavannahSmiles

THE FISHER.

More beetles rammed into Phara’s frame as she continued sprinting towards the sea, but their battering bodies only motivated her to move faster. Nothing would break her focus on the sapphire sanctuary just an arm’s reach away. Nothing, save for the sudden body that dropped in front of her. Sand sprayed the mangled mound of flesh and bone as the woman skidded to a stop. Death was foreign to her and an innocence Dimitri had gone out of his way to protect for twenty years began to splinter and crack beneath the glassy gaze of Scowler’s eyes. Even lifeless he exuded such a spite that shook her to the core, only in this state it did so much more.

Lips moved soundlessly as fingers and frame trembled, the former tentatively reaching out towards what was presumed to be their companion’s corpse. All the while more beetles pummeled her shoulders and arms, but the pain was dull compared to the shock and terror that gripped her now. She may have continued to stand there, dumbstruck and shaking until the swarm decided to make her their next victim, but a heavy impact quite literally swept her off her feet. From one moment to the next, she had that twisted body in her sight and then nothing; only water. It had been her original goal, but the cool, cerulean liquid only triggered what it should have soothed.

Bubbles poured from Phara’s screaming mouth, submerged after rolling free from her rescuer’s shoulder. Webbed fingers gripped at her face as she hoisted her legs against her chest, suspended in a fetal position. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t blink. All she could do was stare and scream soundlessly as Scowler and the shark from earlier flickered between the other repeatedly. Was that going to be her? A torn and lifeless mess for someone else to find one day? Or worse, to never be found? Never wept over or spared another thought?

Oblivious to Aranae’s plight in the water, Phara would have continued to scream and cry beneath the waves were it not for the sudden vision of Dimitri’s face. Surely he would miss her? Even now he must have realized she was missing and doing everything in his power to search for her. Therefore she couldn’t die; couldn’t afford to disappoint him if he did show up, only to discover that she was gone. For once the urge to fight overrode her dominant flight instincts. Enough to at least settle her panic long enough to identify the struggling body above her.

‘Aranae!’

The ivorette wasn’t in any danger of drowning yet, but there wasn’t less urgency in Phara’s movements as she swam upwards to replenish the air she had wasted. A single deep inhale and she was submerged once again, this time easing herself between the other woman’s legs. Draping each over her shoulder, she effortlessly carried the weaver through the water until neither of their toes could touch the bottom. The excitement from the shore had scared away the fish and it was easy for Phara to scan for any other surprises lurking about. As far as she could see they were alone, and in this depth it was easier to pull
Aranae’s head below the water whenever a stray beetle aimed for it. Most weren’t flying out this far, incapable of swimming as the unfortunate few demonstrated as they flailed on the surface. It was unclear for how long they would have to ride this out, but at least the both of them stood the best chance in the water. Phara quickly thought back to their other companions wandering about and shuddered at the image of their bodies twisted like Scowler’s; especially sweet Autumn’s. Feeling her panic begin to seep back in, scaled fingers wrapped more tightly around the knees in their grasp; the pain of her palm paling in comparison to the trauma this day had wrought upon them all.

 

[AstroBunny]

Bee’s post…​

Interactions: Autumn​

Mentions: SavannahSmiles ​

Bee was just as excited to see what this- brown orb was. He was a curious and adventurous cat, who just loved to find new things and see what they can do with it. Bee let Autumn take the brown sphere, subconsciously moving into a fighting stance just in case something popped out. They watched her sniff it, narrowing his eyes and inching closer. His instinct was to protect anyone who he deemed as good. So autumn was certainly one if them, so he wanted to make sure she didnt get hurt. He perked up at the way she grew excited, a smile widening on his face as he immediately grabbed one if the halves and smelled it. “Woahh! Yes yes, We should get more! Here put that by my deer then we can find more- wait.. theyre on trees?! Oh no I cant climb well!” He pouted dramatically, before placing the coconut down and looking up at the trees. He hummed and tapped his foot, before snorting as Autumn already made her way up the tree. “Or you can just do it, You and me the coconuts from up there then!” He called, smiling gently as he watched his friend. He tried to keep a good mindset, yet part of him wanted to close off and only focus on survival. Thinking that having fun was going to kill them. He ignored that part of his brain though, not wanting to be that type of guy.

He grabbed some coconuts and placed them by their pile, excited as he tucked his hair behind his ear and organized it a bit. As he was distracted though, the beetles came. He only noticd when he heard the buzzing. He tensed at the sound of Autumn, screaming or just shouting, immediately looking up to see his friend being ripped from her spot in the tree. His eyes widened, immediately his fight or flight mode kicked in and he forgot about the food. He didnt hesitate to start running after them, “Autumn! Keep punching!! Mayne grab onto some branches to stop them!” He wanted to see if her hanging onto something would stop them from carrying her away , Bee easily running after them to chase the swarm. He would never leave his friend. He whined as the small rocks and sticks he was throwing barely phased them enough to drop her, still chasing after it. He hissed subconsciously at the way they sounded and looked, finding them rather disgusting and scary. He chased and chased, finally finding a little rock to jump up on and pounce onto Autumn to grab her and bring her down and away from the flying beetles. So thats what he did. Eventually collapsing with Autumn in his arms, letting his back hit the ground harshly so Autumn didnt get the pain from the impact. The air was knocked out of him, gasping and coughing before looking up. What just happened? I mean, at least they were flying away..

 

[SavannahSmiles]

Location: Forest || Interactions: AstroBunny || Mood: Beetles are mean​

________________________________________________________________________________​

Filled with excitement, Autumn was scampering over to the tree and scaling it before Bee could voice his opinion on the matter. She didn't fall this time on her trip up the tree, remembering how she had climbed it earlier. She scooted up to the top and yanked a coconut free. Peering down at her friend, she waited until he signaled he was ready and then she carefully dropped it off to the side, taking caution to not drop it on her friend; she didn't want to bonk him on the head with a coconut.

They soon found a rhythm, Autumn pulling the coconuts free and then dropping them down for Bee to collect. Now that her friend was there to help and she knew what it was she had found, she had no qualms about pulling as many from the tree that she could.

As she reached for another fuzzy orb, her ears perked up as a strange noise filled her ears. She straightened, trying to twist this way and that to see if she could spot anything unusual. Soon she spotted what looked like a black cloud, but her eyes widened as the sound got louder and she realized that the cloud was moving in ways that a cloud should not.

Autumn tried to scramble down from the tree but the black colored insects descended upon them before she was able to unhook a single claw from the tree bark. High-pitched yelps tore from Autumns throat as hardened bodies collided with her small form, the girl freeing an arm to try and swat the swarming insects away but they would not be deterred.

More and more of the beetles circled her, clinging to any inch of clothing they could. Eventually, the sear volume of insects ripped Autumn away from the tree she clung to, a small scream being drowned out by the noise of their wings.

Her stomach dropped to the soles of her feet as her arms and legs flailed through the air. Though she wasn't afraid of heights, climbing something and being suspended in the air were two very different things and she found she didn't like flying as much as she thought she might.

She could barely hear Bee over the droning that filled her ears, the fuzzy appendages pinned to her head as flat as they would go in her attempt to block out the noise that was grating on her eardrums. She lashed out with the hope of being able to grab ahold of something anchor herself with, but all she was able to snatch was a fist-full of leaves.

Another small scream escaped her as something collided with her body, gravity claiming her once again. She tensed, eyes squeezing shut as she braced for her body to hit the ground but the harsh impact never came. When she eventually regained her wits, she was sprawled across Bee's chest, her own chest heaving up and down with fearful little pants.

She pressed close to him, afraid the beetles were going to come back to try and reclaim their stolen prey, but they were flying away, off to terrorize another poor, unsuspecting soul. It took several moments for Autumn's racing heart to settle back into a somewhat calm pace, her breathing smoothing out as she collected herself.

There was a long beat of silence from her end before her small, slightly shaky voice filled the air. "Do you think they were mad I was taking the coconuts?"

 

[smooshie]

Chapter Two - Day 17: ‘Out of Place’​

Time: 1pm
Temperature: 107F / 42C
Weather: Sunny and stifling; high humidity with very little wind
Special Notice: Some of the mushrooms on the island are releasing thick clouds of spores today, even when undisturbed. Be wary of inhaling these, for while not deadly they may still cause unpleasant side effects.


Two weeks have passed, marking today as Day 17 on the island. By now you and your companions have begun to fall into the rhythm of daily tasks and survival. The start of a wooden barrier has formed around the encampment on the beach and flimsy shelters have been replaced with sturdier log huts; one for each of you. Only two deaths were confirmed in the aftermath of the swarm: X31Z78 and Zev, whose body had been found days later beneath one of the rocky overlooks. Teddy is also presumed dead on account that he has been missing without the slightest trace since before the beetle outbreak. The bodies the group did have were buried side by side on the farthest shore of the island and mourned by some.

Two new faces washed ashore the mornings of Day 4 and 5 in an identical fashion to their predecessors; only the clothes on their backs and no answers or memories for what happened. Over the last couple of weeks they have adopted the empty roles of Leader and Guard, but other than the occasional predator and storm, there hasn’t been as much excitement since the beetle attack. A few individuals have begun to hear strange noises in the night, almost like whispers, but haven’t been successful in pinpointing where they’re coming from. No doubt it’s been unnerving, but be careful if you wish to share what you’ve heard with the others; losing one’s mind is a strong sign of weakness.

While the flow of food remains steady, there’s always more to be found deeper within the island as well as other useful materials and resources. The jungle’s canopy is too thick to survey it properly from the air, so it’s up to a select few to traverse it by foot today. Weapons are limited without Prome or another skilled Crafter in their group, but sharpened wood and stones serve as useful spears and knives. For those venturing out, keep your wits about you and eyes wide open. The jungle is quiet today with every creature seeking refuge from the sweltering heat, but danger and death are only a misstep away. You’re on the lookout for anything potentially useful, but the more observant might stumble upon something truly astonishing…

And for those remaining at camp, don’t let your guard down. You’re more vulnerable than ever with the group split up and scattered about. Attend to your responsibilities, but don’t forget to always keep one eye on the jungle.

Spoiler: Who are the voices haunting?

Autumn • Phara • Kane