Realistic or Modern SMITED [Mission 1: Team Bravo]

[Fable]

Local Time Plane Lands: 12:30pm in Knock
Local Time Arrival at Hotel: 1:30pm

Both teams took the same flight, their destination was the same after all. The plane, which was a smaller military craft, transported the agents easily to Knock, Ireland. The airport itself was very small compared to the larger commercial ones, resulting in curious stares from travelers. The plane didn’t connect directly to the terminal, instead it slowly came to a halt on the tarmac - not in the path of any other planes - and halted. Once security checks were done, the bay doors opened to allow the agents to exit the plane, three large SUVs drove onto the tarmac, the drivers clearly identified as agents of SMITED, presenting their IDs to Mara and Rosalia.

“We’ve been given orders to drive your team to the hotel,” one of the drivers said to Mara. “Base of operations at the hotel is good to go, nearby locals, guests, and employees of the hotel have been evacuated as HQ requested. We’ll leave when everyone is loaded into the vehicles.” With that, the drivers opened up the doors to allow the agents of Team Bravo to get in. Once all the agents were seated in the SUVs, the team was driven the 45 minute trip to the castle turned lavish hotel.

The hotel was eerily empty save for a few agents that had been placed there to set up everything for Team Bravo’s arrival and to keep civilians out of the way. The base of operations was set up in a grand ballroom, terminals beeping as a satellite observed the forest for any changes as well as those who were wandering too close to the edge of it. There were large crates of supplies; MREs, handheld radios, camping gear, first aid, and so forth. The agents manning the area were clearly armed and ready for whatever threat may come.

One of the agents, once Team Bravo was inside the hotel in the ballroom, approached Mara and gave her a small nod, “Everything here is secured. I hope your team got some rest on the way here.” He held out a piece of paper with orders to proceed into the forest as quickly as possible with the SMITED seal. “The room we’ve secured for the portal for your team member is located in one of the rooms of the hotel under renovation.”

 

[C.DEX]

Micha Ao
Agent
Bestial | Harpy
Hit: 10

Micha had been entrusted with their one emergency call out to the Headquarters of SMITED, and despite his tiredness and the jetlag he'd gotten from flying - which had turned out to be a less glamorous thing than he'd expected but still fun nonetheless - he had stayed up throughout the ride there, his eyes glued to the pendant. It was small and quartz, ridged edges inside the polished thing shining white and fascinating the harpy as he thought about it on the way there. He played with it in his fingertips, wondering just how much force it would take to smash it, and if he could even handle the responsibility. He went over scenarios in his head, stilling the ones where he had reacted too quickly or jumped the gun for little to no reason, and wondered briefly if he could entrust it to someone else. After all, it would make sense for their Team Leader to have it, wouldn't it? Or maybe it was a test.

With a drawn sigh, he tucked it into the front of his shirt and tried to forget about it. The longer he thought on the subject, the more anxious he had grown. He thought instead to their mission: they were going into a forest, possibly deadly, that little to no one had escaped from. It didn't seem to calm his thoughts, and by the time they had gotten out of the van into the hotel where SMITED had set up, Micha's feathers were comically flat against him.

He looked to Mara, wondering briefly if his team leader would have anything to say to quell his fears. "Hey ..." he said, speaking up in an attempt to catch her attention. "Uh ... they wouldn't really put us on a mission that's likely to ... kill us, right? This is my first mission. Should I -" he glanced over to an armed SMITED guard, who had been stoically guarding the entrance to the ballroom. "Do you think ..." he paused. "Do they have extra guns? Should I have brought a gun? Do you ... think they'll give me their guns?"

With utmost seriousness, Micha looked to Mara for an answer.

StoneWolf18

 

[Tarmagon]

The plane ride had passed quietly for Rill, mostly since she had been asleep for the entire trip. Once her pack, bow, and quiver had been safely stored away, Rill had ensconced herself in a seat and gone to sleep. One thing her training had taught her, was sleep when you could, because you never knew when you'd have to stay awake for days on end. Once they had landed, she began to pay attention to her surroundings, especially as the little convoy approached the castle/hotel. Unfortunately, nothing stood out to her eye.

Once inside, Rill began to check over her gear as the rest of the team assembled. There seemed to be a large amount of supplies available, so Rill supplemented the rations she had brought with a few MRE's. They tasted horrid, but they would keep the body moving. Everything seemed to have survived the flight intact, and Rill sat down and began to peruse the book her mother had given her. A late addition to the team, a harpy?, seemed to have some questions for Mara concerning firearms. Rill managed to suppress a shudder. Such inelegant things. Darting the occasional glance at her team leader to see when their final briefing would start, Rill returned her attention to studying what was available for sustenance in the area.

StoneWolf18

 

[StoneWolf18]

Mara Poecilia
Mascot Agent
Merfolk
Hit: 10​

So... this was actually happening.

Yes.

It was.

Right?

Mara was in a slight daze, even though it wasn’t readily apparent unless someone had tried to interact with her. It taking a few tries to get her attention. This lasted throughout the entire flight, she focusing somewhat when they landed and were loaded into the SUVs.

Hotel was an understatement to say the least. The surreality of the situation once again causing her to zone out almost entirely, functioning on autopilot when they had arrrived.

This is why wheb the new member of Bravo began to speak to her after she had received the file, it took Mara a moment to realize that she was being spoken to in the first place. Facing him she would blink a few times, her arms crossed as she considered his words. “If you weren’t ready to potentially risk death, you should’ve asked to be seated at a desk. Don’t try and speak to the guards, it’s a waste of breath. You’ll be armed when we’re about to leave.” And upon saying that, she’d glance about the room, raising her voice somewhat. “I want to leave as soon as possible. Take the gear you were given and prepare to head out.”

 

[Fable]

Lacily Lufaren
Agent
Vystarian Elf
Hit: 10

StoneWolf18 C.DEX

Lacily had remained silent during the briefing, knowing she was only supposed to really observe and assist the team she was assigned as needed. Thus far, the selected leader of Team Bravo seemed very lacking. Lacily had already been prepared for this mission as any decent agent worth their salt would be. Lacily always had her gear packed and ready to go at a moment's notice. Sometimes missions were so urgent you were barely given any time to just grab a change of clothes.

She had already been in the plane, seated and ready to go before any of the other agents had managed to arrive. She idly toyed with a white fan, a magical weapon that was a family heirloom. When the other agents were on the plane and they set off to their destination, Lacily closed her eyes to get in a short nap since the urgency of this mission made her expect they'd not have any downtime once they reached the hotel.

Once they finally reached their destination, Lacily wasted no time. She grabbed her tactical pack and filled up the two litre water bladder, grabbed a few rations of MREs, a handheld radio, and a small first aid kit. She'd brought a few other things of her own, a flashlight, a rather large swiss army knife, a change of clothes, and travel-size toiletries. She slid her arms through the straps of her pack. It was heavy, but not so much to cause much of a hindrance.

Lacily moved over to where Mara was, overhearing the male harpy inquiring about getting a firearm from one of the agents manning base camp. Mara's reaction was dismissive of the rookie agents's concerns. "I am already prepared," she stated to Mara before turning to Micha. "What type of weaponry are you familiar with Ao?" Lacily inquired, "There are more than just firearms in those crates. I'd suggest grabbing what you need from them and shoving them into a pack and then concern yourself regarding being armed."

 

[One Mean Ghost]

​

Cerin spent a good deal of the flight asleep. Really, he wasn't awake except for liftoff and touchdown, knowing full well sleep may be a luxury in the coming days. The ride over was pleasant. If nothing else there was a decent view. Once they arrived, though, Cerin seemed to shift from lazy feline to a predator preparing for the hunt. Wheeling his suitcases near a vacant section of wall, he opened up the larger of the two and began his preparations based on what he'd observed on the way over.

First, his, for lack of a better term, utility belt was slipped around his waist. From there, he looked over the various tools and gadgets he had at his disposal. "Glass cutter probably won't do shit for me here, besides, not really trying to be sneaky..." he purred, his tail swishing with delight behind him as he carefully selected tools for his belt. One pouch, in particular, held his lockpicking equipment. Some of the equipment he carried looked suspiciously like carpenter's tools, such as a hammer, wirecutters, and the like. Other items, like a crowbar strapped to his lower back, were most definitely tools of a more nefarious kind. Basically, Cerin was inclined to carry everything that could likely be needed.

The single sling backpack was loaded with the essentials, like a hydration bladder, a sleeping bag(strapped to the bottom of the bag), rain gear, a change of clothes, and toiletries. Last, but not least, Cerin snatched up a half dozen MREs and opened the packages to divide up the contents. Main courses were put in the main pocket of his bag. Smaller items, such as crackers, bread, and other such snack items were put in outer pockets where he could more easily get to them on the move.

Slinging this onto his back, he pulled a small, wireless radio earpiece from his pocket. He picked up one of the handheld radios that were being handed out, switching the station on the earpiece to the station being used for the mission before slipping it into his ear. Normally, he used this little device to monitor local law enforcement radio chatter when he was on a job. This was probably the first time he'd need to actually use the thin little microphone that traced his jaw before ending at the corner of his mouth.

"Do they have extra guns? Should I have brought a gun? Do you ... think they'll give me their guns?"

Cerin stifled a laugh behind his hand, his head turning towards the others. He sauntered up behind the nervous lad as the elf tried to help him out. "Careful now... Judging by the sound of it if you give the little birdie a gun he may just go off prematurely on us" Cerin purred as he dragged a nail slowly along the harpy's shoulder. "A word of advice... The time to try new toys is in practice, not in the field when you're expected to perform under pressure." Cerin remarked his voice still in that distinct feminine tone he adopted for his more feminine appearance at present.

"As for me, I'm ready to go whenever you are, dear" He cooed, directing his speech and attention at Mara now, though he did give the elf a once over before doing so.

 

[C.DEX]

Micha Ao
Agent
Bestial | Harpy
Hit: 10

Micha looked to Mara, blinking twice. Of course, he had expected his team leader to be a little ... kinder? Maybe not kinder, but at least willing to answer his question. His face tinged red in embarrassment as Mara had put him in his place, a slew of questions mulling around in his head that he wasn't entirely willing to ask anymore. That was until Lacily had approached the slightly dejected harpy, indicating that he was free to take from the crates as he had wished. "Well ... my flock used bolas and nets. Not really guns. I guess I just assumed that was what everyone used. Sorry." he said. "Still learning how this all works."

He sighed, lowering his voice for a moment, and allowing Mara to round up her crew without bothering her any further. Instead, he looked again to Lacily, who seemed to be much more receptive toward his questions. "Bolas, nets. I'm happy with whatever I can carry, actually. Maybe I'll grab more than I need." he said, his eyes shifting toward the crates. His bags had been packed with the bare neccesities, meaning he still had room for what he had needed to bring. "Grappling hooks, uh ... I shot a bow and arrow a few times, but I'm not very good with it." he answered, giving the elf more information than probably what was necessary. As he turned to go to get his supplies, however, Cerin had crept up behind him.

"Ah, well... No worries, then. I decided not to go with a gun," Micha said, the innuendo Cerin had put out flying far above the harpy's head. "Thanks for the advice. I'm new to the agency, so I haven't been through much practice, but assuming we get back from this - seeing as we're more likely to die than I thought we were - then I'll do that. I'm Micha, by the way! Don't think we've met. Better get ready, though." he said, glancing to Mara once more. "Uh ... Don't want to make the Leader any madder than I did." he said, through a sheepish grin.

With that, the harpy briefly left them, taking a moment to arm himself up. While there certainly had been firearms, there had been a fairly significant array of weaponry that had actually been familiar to the harpy, something he appreciated. He reached into the crate, finding a sleek net-gun and a set of modern-looking (and also painful-looking) metal bolas. He pulled them out, not keen to test them out in front of everyone. He was naive to the operations of SMITED, but he wasn't stupid. He was done soon enough, proffering a grin and a thumbs-up toward Lacily.

He sealed his pack up and slung it back over his shoulder, approaching the group again. "Ready."

One Mean Ghost Fable

 

[Tarmagon]

“I want to leave as soon as possible. Take the gear you were given and prepare to head out.”

Mara's words caught Rill's attention, and she closed the book, carefully stowing it back in the pocket in her pack. Rising, she considered the situation for a moment, then quickly bent her bow, stringing it in seconds, her motions practiced and sure. Before donning her pack, Rill wandered over to the mound of supplies and picked up several small, sealed water pouches. She hated carrying water, it was heavy, but a little could mean the difference between life and death, so a little wouldn't hurt. Shouldering her pack, Rill thought a moment before clipping her quiver to her belt. Normally she would have slung it beside her pack, but doing so would have interfered with her ability to quickly draw an arrow, and in unknown territory that was unacceptable. Drawing two arrows, she clipped them into the ready retainers she had added to her bow, then approached the little group gathering around Mara.

The harpy seemed to have solved his weapon dilemma Rill noted, glancing over the rest of the group. Some she had seem briefly at the formal briefing, but since only Mara had taken part in the 'training' exercises, she really didn't know much about them. There was an elf, from the vystarian tribe by her looks, and a feline shifter who couldn't seem to make up his/her mind about what gender it wanted to be.

"At least it's not a bunch of humans," Rill thought sourly. "Though I'm not certain this is going to be a lot better."

Rill thought briefly about mentioning the magical artifact she had tucked into the hard case on the bottom of her pack, but decided not to. Best to see what kind of plan Mara had.

"Ready to depart," Rill said crisply. "Do you have an entry point and search pattern in mind?"

StoneWolf18

 

[Slop]

Marvelous! Absolutely marvelous! A brilliant display of refined architecture indeed! Incredible!

Usof couldn't help himself. He had always admired rustic architecture and the likes - namely stone castles. Some of the others were mildly impressed as well, but none of them eyed every single square inch of the place with the lustful eyes Usof had. Not to mention, he kept on mumbling to himself how the castle was a perfect settlement home for him should he retire one day.

Resisting the urge to harass every single stone brick that made up the castle, Usof trailed his teammates into the operation room. He felt rather puzzled; uncertain as to how he should react to the conflation of technological and architectural marvels presented before him. After some time, Usof finally broke free of the odd trance-like state he was stuck in.

Oh, how could I have forgotten! The Irish whiskeys! I wonder if-... Right.. Nevermind-

Unfortunately for him, his daydream was interrupted by the fairly loud and assertive voice that boomed throughout the room. Mara had commanded the team to have their gears prepared, as departure was imminent. Fortunately, Usof did not plan on bringing much. His gears consisted of only his (water) flask, cane and communication device.

He then eyed everyone else in the room - some loaded and ready to leave, some still fiddling about their equipment and whatnot. It was mildly reassuring; seeing how confident and well-prepared most of his teammates seemed. This was Usof's first time as a proper field agent rather than a lab rat. As he wished to perform and actually contribute to the team, first time for everything, no?

"Say, where to now, lads?"

 

[One Mean Ghost]

​

It seemed that there were very different ideas of what constituted being "ready". Cerin's tail flipped disapprovingly as the Harpy showed up with nothing in the way of food or water. Not much better off was Usof, who seemed to have forgotten where exactly they were going. It was one thing to joke about the guns, but frankly, this underpreparedness had stopped being funny and now was just plain sad. Thus, Cerin made her way back to the supplies.

First, he grabbed a quick-release bag and proceeded to fill it with the sorted contents of a half-dozen MREs, a field medical kit, a water bladder, and a few canteens. It was a bit hefty, but they had to realize they were going into a forest where only one person was known to return. Given the current company, he elected to pack an extra med-kit himself in addition to the small one strapped to his belt. They had to anticipate the possibility of getting stuck in there. Last, but not least, he clipped a flashlight to the outside of the pack. As an added measure, he stuffed a few paracord bracelets into the bag, putting one on each of his own wrists as well before adding a couple more to his own bag. Those things were always devilishly useful, after all..

Then, grabbing another half-dozen MRE's, another water bladder, another flashlight, a small first aid kit, and a canteen, he made his way back to the group, throwing the full pack at Usof with hardly a word of warning. "Since you don't seem overburdened... you can carry extra supplies" he quipped, even now sticking so perfectly to his female persona and voice that it would be nearly impossible to see through to realize his actual gender even if one were, for some unknown reason, suspicious.

"We're going into a forest where people regularly go missing. Even if we don't plan on staying, you shouldn't be so stupid as to go in thinking this is some nature hike." he continued, shoving the items he was carrying towards the harpy. "If you go in without food or water now that you've been reminded..... I won't be saving your ass if you starve." she concluded, dusting off her hands before turning her back to the group.

"Take a good long look boys. Notice I don't have any wings. That means I ain't your guardian angel and I ain't your fairy fucking godmother. So I suggest you start using that empty space between your ears and start thinking ahead." He remarked, crossing his hands over his chest. They could, of course, choose to disregard what he just said, but if they did, they'd be on their own when the hunger hit.

Giving his belt a once over, he made sure he had his personal flashlight and that his headlamp was in its pouch in case he needed his hands free. Satisfied he had everything ready now, he turned to Mara, tail swishing behind him as he watched her. Given she was in charge, he didn't go so far as to pack her bags for her, figuring she'd take care of that shortly. If she couldn't even take care of her own stuff.... well..

They were likely properly screwed.....

 

[C.DEX]

Micha Ao
Agent
Bestial | Harpy
Hit: 10

Micha's brow furrowed as Cerin shoved the MREs toward him and then proceeded - in more words - to call him stupid. The innuendos had flown over Micha's head, but that certainly hadn't. Instead of reacting virulently - something he was sure another person would do - he instead walked back over to the crates, placing the MREs down and slinging his bag down and unzipping it. Inside had been the necessities he had brought from his house at the barracks: toiletries, the sheets he had taken from his bed and pillows, trash bags, clothes, and at the end of it all, the canned contents of his cupboards, cheap grocery store soups, and a few bags of what had looked like pet-store brand birdseed. He quietly placed the MREs into his sack and zipped them up, returning to the others soon enough.

"Well ... I do have wings. I'm willing to help with them, though. I guess that's where we differ." he said, dragging an empty bag to Usof for him to place his supplies into. "No one is asking you to be a guardian angel, by the way. I think we're all adults here and we'll be okay. Good for you to show concern, though." he said, somewhat sarcastically. Then, he turned away from Cerin and looked to Usof, who had gotten the blunt end of Cerin's tirade. "I'll help you carry whatever. I got a strong back." he said optimistically. Then, he hushed his voice.

"Is it just me, or ... does everyone seem a little bit too uptight here? I mean, I've asked like one question and have gotten yelled at twice." he whispered, dragging the bag to the crates as he talked to Usof. He began to pack what extra supplies he could, pulling out flashlights for them, first aid kits, ropes, firestarters, and so forth. "I'm Micha, by the way." he added, grinning at Usof. "We can share the load."

The harpy glanced back to Cerin again, put off by just how quickly they had seemingly switched from giving advice to being positively toxic. He made a mental note to leave the annoyed cat-person alone, preferring to stick with friendlier company. If he could even find it, that was. It seemed like most were stuck on the incompetence of others. With a sigh, he zipped the bag up.

"Just scream at me sarcastically if I'm bothering you." he said to Usof, with a shit-eating grin.

One Mean Ghost Slop

 

[StoneWolf18]

Mara Poecilia
Mascot Agent
Merfolk
Hit: 10​

Without saying anything else, Mara would move towards the supplies and grab her mostly prepped bag. It was full of what everyone else was bringing, MREs, canteens, flashlights, a bit of rope, and other such necessities. However there was one small problem. Hopefully they weren't expected to stay in the forest for too long, but she had stowed away a few extra canteens, rather large towel, and extra pair of pants just in case.

Finally getting ready, she would grab her own pack and move back to where she had been standing previously. All agents except two were prepared. "Agent Hawthorne, Shinoda. I would like to leave sometime today." Her tone was entirely stern, effectively concealing the anxiety she currently felt.

Kloudy Alterius

 

[Kloudy]

Janus

Janus had been late for the meet up simply because of his extra role in the mission. After having been shown the room for which the portal was needed, and after manifesting said portal, Janus had made his way to the designated location. Naturally, he was behind on getting his gear together and that earned the undeservedly unsympathetic hurried ushering of their team leader, Mara. Turning to her, he gave the mermaid a curt nod before returning to his equipment.

Two of his pistols, two more backups, his sword, general supplies, phone... It seemed as though he wasn't missing anything of great importance. Glancing about, he realised everyone was just about set to head off. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Janus leaned against a nearby wall and awaited the go ahead to start heading off.

StoneWolf18

 

[Fable]

( StoneWolf18 )

The agent that had given Mara the message from HQ earlier approached her once again, this time with a message regarding Agent Shinoda. HQ was pulling him from the mission for an undisclosed reason. It indicated that due to the issue of time, that no replacement agent would be sent. After the message was relayed, the agent shouted for Agent Shinoda to grab their things and that a car was going to be driving them back to the airport shortly. He left as instructed by the message, reducing the size of Team Bravo.

 

[StoneWolf18]

Mara Poecilia
Mascot Agent
Merfolk
Hit: 10​

Mara would sigh, frowning deeply. At least most of her team was still here. Not wanting to lose anyone else, she would gesture for them to follow her. “Lets head out.“

The walk to the garden felt much longer than it should’ve, Mara’s nerves only growing. It was her first abrupt mission and as a leader to boot, so if anything went wrong she feared it would condem her from ever getting a chance like this again. Yet somehow she felt that this wasn’t going to be going off without a hitch, for that wasn’t much too simple.

Arriving at the border of the wild and cursed forest, she would take a breath before being the first one through and entered..

 

[Fable]

( C.DEX Slop Tarmagon StoneWolf18 Kloudy One Mean Ghost )

Half of the expansive gardens on the backside of the castle estate had already been overcome by the ever expanding forest. The paths still remain, but the fountains have ceased to function and the flora that would have usually been in pristine and maintained condition appear to have been untouched for months. The statues, while not showing signs of decay, have become covered in ivy and moss, leaving barely any of the original stone surface exposed.

Anyone who stepped past the threshold and into the forest would still be able to follow a stone path of the garden, appearing more like they've encountered a forgotten ruin. The trees themselves do not seem odd except that the deeper into the woods you go, the larger and older the trees seem to become. The edge of the forest had tiny saplings, but walk ten minutes in and the trees are mature.

Turning back after this ten minute trek you'd see nothing but endless trees and unable to catch even a glimpse of the castle or any opening to show a route of escape from the forest. The canopy is dense and blocks out the brightness of the sun, not even a breeze can be felt, nor any animals heard; only pure silence. The only signs of life coming from the flora and the agents who entered.

Compasses, should they be used, seem to work. The handheld radios also seem to be functioning normally as the agent in charge at base camp calls in to check their status once they were out of sight.

 

[Tarmagon]

Rill managed to suppress a curse as her team leader basically bulled straight ahead into the mysterious forest. She didn't know what Mara was trying to prove, but in Rill's mind all she was proving was that she was letting her own insecurities cloud her judgement. The encroachment of the forest onto the edge of the gardens was obvious, and while ivy was fast growing, a covering such as she was seeing on the stonework took years to form. As they moved ahead, small abundant saplings quickly gave way to older trees, and she could see what appeared to be fully mature titans just ahead. This was not how a forest expanded naturally. After they had traveled a short distance into the woods, Rill moved up beside Mara and tapped her shoulder, making a 'hold' gesture before darting about twenty yards ahead of the small group.

Once she was away from the rest of the team, Rill went to one knee and opened her senses to the forest around her. Nothing. Except for the clink of gear and the scuff of shoes on ground, there was nothing. The floor of the forest was dappled with dim light filtering through a dense canopy even here, but nothing moved. There was no breath of wind to rustle the leaves, no twitter of birds, no chatter of squirrels warning others of their kind that two-legged intruders were about, just an unnatural silence. The squawk of a radio check startled Rill out of her communion with the forest, causing her to stand and look back at the rest of the team.

Beyond her teammates, something wasn't quite right. It was almost as though the path they followed had faded away, vanishing into pristine forest just a hundred yards behind them, leaving the stretch they were currently on the only clearly visible section. Both ahead and behind, things got indistinct rapidly. Rill closed her eyes, spinning slowly in place. Whatever was making the path vanish, it didn't seem to be affecting her sense of direction. That way was deeper into the forest, while that direction was back to the hotel they had left not so long ago. Interesting. Returning to the rest of the team, Rill shook her head.

"Something is blurring the path behind us," she reported neutrally. "I can detect no creatures about us, though the unnatural stillness of the forest may be masking a veritable horde for all I know. Obviously our communications are as yet unaffected, nor is my sense of direction. I do not recommend that we leave line of sight of each other. There could very well be a glamour about this forest that would prevent us from reuniting. How do you wish to proceed?"

StoneWolf18 , C.DEX , Slop , Kloudy , One Mean Ghost , Fable

 

[C.DEX]

Micha Ao
Agent
Bestial | Harpy
Hit: 10

Micha had gone silent as they had entered, looking up and around the quiet, creeping forest. His hand once again threaded around the quartz pendant, wondering if he'd have to use it. Nothing about the forest had seemed immediately malicious to him, but the stillness had set him at unease. While the harpy hadn't spend that long in any sort of forest, period, he had just imagined that there would be more life. More sound. He took his hand off of the emergency pendant as he walked, and had just caught himself before bumping into one of their teammates that had taken a knee.

"Blurring the path...?" Micha asked, in slight wonder, gazing backwards to where they had come from. Lo and behold, there had been nothing recognizable behind them. He looked up to the canopies, finding that the brustles of leaves had blocked any indication of where they had been in accordance to the sky. Of course, Micha was more than relying on his team leader to tell them what to do, without the knowledge that she had been nearly just as new to field work as he had been. His hesitance to talk to her had come from her sharp replies earlier, but he finally broke the silence.

"I can ... possibly see where we are by going up." Micha said, deliberating. "If we cut a hole through the canopy we should be able to see where we're at, right? In accordance to the sun. Shouldn't be able to get lost that way. It's a short climb if you can fly." he said, a hopeful smirk coming onto his face at the suggestion. "I can just come back down through the canopy hole, since everything seems to be cut off - see if there's anything we should be moving towards, as well. We've been walking for a while, so if I look back and the hotel's right there, well, something's wrong."

He took in for a moment Rill's comment about not losing sight of one another.

"Won't go too far."

Tarmagon StoneWolf18

 

[One Mean Ghost]

​

Cerin had been, well, remarkably quiet since they had moved towards the forest. It was almost like night and day, how he had gone from highly vocal and extroverted to almost dead silence, like a switch had flipped in him. His ears turned every which way on his head, listening for anything, but all he could hear were their own footsteps, and he couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary either.

More disconcerting, however, was how the path behind them seemed to swallow them whole. They hadn't walked very long, but the hotel behind them was all-but vanished now. One of the elves moved forward to inspect the surroundings, clearly coming up with similar analysis as Cerin did. There was most certainly something off about this forest.

Even as the Harpy mentioned taking to the canopy, one end of Cerin's Kusarigama shot high into the air before latching to the tree and pulling him up, giving the impression that he was jogging up the tree itself before he stopped some thirty feet off the ground to look around, standing perpendicular to the trunk of the tree. Even from this vantage point, he couldn't see the hotel, but he could see the path below that they were on. Cerin, given his nature, wasn't exactly one for waiting for orders or asking permission. Communication with a group, unfortunately, was one of his weaknesses in this type of a scenario.

He pressed the button on his headset so that those below could hear his distinctly feminine voice, "No sign of the hotel from up here. No sign of anything really in all directions." He paused, walking around the trunk of the tree but staying in sight of the group still supported by his magical weapon. "I'll stay up here to keep an eye out for anything that looks valu- I mean... anything that looks suspicious..." Cerin smirked as he realized he slipped up a little to his old habits. Basically, he'd be looking for anything that looked like it didn't belong in the forest, as well as keeping an eye out for potentially fight-hungry fauna.

Of course, there was also the benefit of not needing to worry about any ground based traps while the feline trap was in the trees....

 

[StoneWolf18]

Mara Poecilia
Mascot Agent
Merfolk
Hit: 10​

It didn’t take long for the unnatural feeling of the forest to begin to grate on Mara’s nerves, although there wasn’t much left for it to fray. Despite keeping her visible composure more or less stone-faced, the woman was an anxtious mess within her worrying thoughts that had only been encouraged by them entering the forest.

She wasn’t the only one to notice how odd it all was. Her team members soon stating the obvious that the path behind them was now under some sort of glamour meant to confuse anyone who would enter the forest. The fish was considering a reply but faced towards the harpy with a muted glare after he spoke, his suggestion not to her liking.

“I understand you are new.” She began, her force not nearly as forceful as it had been in the castle. “But please, think for a moment. If this forest is as magical as we told, which is more than a glamoured path, trying to fly out of it might piss it off more than do any good.” Mara wasn’t hostile in the slightest. Her tone more closely akin to a fatigued and stressed middle aged mother than an aggressive SMITED agent leading a team to possible danger.

 

[Fable]

Lacily Lufaren
(Law-sa-lee Lu-far-en)
Agent
Vystarian Elf
Hit: 10

C.DEX Slop Tarmagon StoneWolf18 Kloudy One Mean Ghost

Lacily was frustrated by her role as observer. She already spotted issues within the team, but had been directed to not interfere unless it was a serious danger. Mara was the team leader and she was to observe how he dealt with this new role. She didn't agree with letting her lead a team on her first field mission, she didn't know why anyone in HQ was insane enough to allow this. She wasn't against Mara being a field agent, Lacily just felt that she wasn't prepared for a leadership role based on her body language and speech.

But, Lacily remained silent.

Eventually Mara did order for the team to begin heading towards and into the forest. Lacily checked her handheld radio a few times with those at base camp. She walked with the team into the forest, knowing full well the risk of entering and possibly not being able to leave. It was a normal risk for most field missions, so if during this mission the weight of that possibility began to affect the others, they most likely wouldn't be going on any other missions for a while. That was if they managed to successfully complete this one.

Lacily watched as Rill went a bit further from the group. From what she had read on the elf's file, she was probably the most suitable of their team in concerns of dealing with survival. Lacily wasn't shocked when Rill shared her observations about the forest. It was quite unnatural. Even though Lacily was a Vystarian, her intuition was screaming this was all wrong for a forest.

The harpy suggested they could fly above the canopy to try and see where they were and where the hotel was. Lacily wasn't sure that was the best idea since they didn't know the nature of this forest beyond what was explained in the briefing. "Base, you have a few drones available?" she asked on the handheld radio, getting an affirmative reply that they had brought two drones for use.

Mara replied to Micha's plan, rejecting the idea, but not offering or giving the team any direction. Lacily sighed to herself and wondered how long they were going to be wandering aimlessly before their 'leader' was going to actually pause, think of a plan of action, and then inform the team. They didn't have time to waste and that is all that was currently being achieved.

While she was inquiring about the drones, Cerin used his weapon to ascend a tree. She wasn't shocked when he called out that he was unable to spot the hotel. What did shock her was when there was a small tremor that caused her to stagger. The tree that Cerin had climbed upon began to twist and move, the branches moving to swat him off its trunk. "Cerin, descend now!" Lacily shouted up at him.

 

[C.DEX]

Micha Ao
Agent
Bestial | Harpy
Hit: 10

Micha flippantly gestured up to Cerin as he immediately took to the tops of the trees whilst the harpy was put down for the mere suggestion of it, his face a mixture of awe and frustration, like a sibling taking the blame for something that the other had been in the process of doing. With a small, conceding, frustrated nod, he went quiet again. "Well, you know, if you want anyone to carry the bags, I can at least do that." he muttered, a rookie agent that had only wanted to help only for every word he spoke to be annoying to someone.

With a light sigh, he continued on, wondering briefly how long they would continue walking - seemingly lost - until they had decided to take another course of action that wouldn't be exactly that; walking. He wondered if it would ever change, and if this was why there had been people disappearing with no real trace of them since. Things had been quiet, of course, until the forest began to rumble, the trees seemingly coming to life amongst a normally silent forest. It was hard to believe as he watched it happen; the branches Cerin had climbed amongst peeling backwards to smack him down.

He stepped forward, dropping the long rucksack that had been draped around his shoulder in reflex, the stuffed pack falling to the floor with a weighted thud. As much as Cerin had irritated him - both the cat-hybrid's toxic temperament and his hastiness to act - as the branch leaned back to smack him, there was something in the harpy that had moved him to try to help regardless. He stood near the trunk, his wings extending as if he were prepared to take him off of the forest floor. A small gust of wind trilled underneath him as a result, representing a portion of the little stirring that had occurred in the confused forest.

StoneWolf18 One Mean Ghost

 

[Fable]

Usof Phillipe
Agent
Magician
Hit: 10

Usof had been ready for this mission, well as ready as he could be, or he thought he had been until Cerin threw a full pack of supplies at him rudely. He had been excited about the ancient castle, the tapestries, and all the other artifacts of interest. When everyone else had begun to grab items for the mission, the reality began to set in. They were going into a forest of no return and there was only one person recorded as having escaped. He thought over the probability of them getting out of the forest a few times in his mind, appearing to be standing and staring blankly into space.

He wasn't going to go. He had wanted to be a field agent, but not in this manner. He wanted to assist, but not without such high risk. He went to the agent in charge of Base and requested to call HQ. The conversation was Usof requesting to be relieved from this mission. He explained his reasoning, after after a long back and forth, eventually he sighed in relief as they stated they would permit him to leave Team Bravo, but he would likely never go on a field mission ever again due to a lack of dependability.

Kypher "Janus" Hawthorne
Agent
Magician
Hit: 10

Janus silently followed after his team, intently focusing on keeping the escape portal open. He needed to be careful about expending his energy or he's lose control quickly and they'd be trapped within the forest. He listened as the others discussed the strangeness of the forest, Agent Ao suggesting he could fly up to get an idea of their location. Mara quickly shot down that plan, only for the criminal in their party to ascend a tree to scout what he could see.

Janus felt the tremor just as all the other did as the tree began to try and smack Cerin down from his position. As much as he didn't want to save a criminal - which why would SMITED HQ permit such a person to join as an agent was bothering him greatly - it was more troublesome to let him fall to his death. Janus would wait to see how the shifter would deal with the situation and go from there. Micha already moved to prepare to catch Cerin. If Cerin was going to fall to his death and the bird was too slow, Janus would have to teleport him to safety.

 

[Tarmagon]

Rill stifled a curse as the feline shifter used its unusual weapon to basically leap up into the trees, even as Mara expressed her disapproval of the harpy's idea to fly up and have a look.

"No sign of the hotel from up here. No sign of anything really in all directions." came over the radio. "I'll stay up here to keep an eye out for anything that looks valu- I mean... anything that looks suspicious..."

Before anyone could reply to the infuriating creature, the forest seemed to twitch, like a dog that has just felt the bite of a flea. Up in the canopy, the limbs of the tree began to move, reaching out to swat at the figure crouched them. The official 'observer' shouted out for Cerin to descend immediately, and the harpy shed his pack, taking up a position under Cerin's, his wings spreading as though he was going to leap into the air.

Rill dropped her own pack, her bow leaping into her hands as though it had a mind of its own. In seconds an arrow was on the string, and she was scanning for a target. Nothing presented itself as she turned in a full circle, though high above the branches seemed to be getting more and more aggressive in their attempts to dislodge Cerin. Taking her bow in one hand, Rill reached down to her pack and pulled out the magical divining rod she had been given. Extending it one handed, she began to turn in a slow circle, watching the bare branch she held for any signs of sprouting leaves.

Fable

 

[One Mean Ghost]

​

Cerin's ears perked up as the forest started to make noise. A feline grin graced his lips as he watched the tree start to sway, the branches turning as it to try and swat him away from the branches. He heard a voice below ordering him to descend, and he would, eventually. First, however, he wanted to test a few things. Giving his chains a tug, he rose up over the first swing, kicking off the tree to flip through the air as he pulled his anchor free. If anyone was able to test the limits of nature here to figure out just how much danger they were in, it would be the agile feline.

He watched with an amused gleam in his eyes as the branches still sought him. Twisting his body carefully through the air, he just narrowly avoided the swinging branches as he let him self nearly freefall for fifteen feet. At that point, he threw both ends of his Kusarigama to catch onto different trees, suddenly launching himself to change his angle of descent. Rather than a striaght drop, he was now "falling" horizontally such that, if he hit the ground, he'd simply skid across the ground. What he didn't account for, as his eyes stayed on the tree to see how far it would follow him, was for someone to actually try and help.

Thus, when he realized the tree was not pursuing him and thus turned his eyes back towards where he was going, he was shocked to see a certain bird in his path all too late for him to even try to avoid him.

Well, hopefully the bird was stronger than he looked, otherwise this was gonna hurt..