the forest

[pinkprismstaff]

On early Saturday morning, anyone near the forest will hear a strange noise. It's animalistic in a way you can't particularly place, not a howl but also not exactly a roar.

The leaves rustle in the breeze.

Would you like to check it out?

Comments

[birdysnatcher]

[Shade’s here, decked out in Flamingo Sunglasses. She hears the sound and tries her own call and response as she checks it out.]

Chirp?

[pinkprismstaff]

[ There's a lot of sounds for an island that had previously only had you guys, especially in the forest. Including some chirps back! They may sound... off, but they're there. ]

[birdysnatcher]

[Promising! Some fellow feathered friends here - she tries repeating the sound more closely this time:]

Chiiirp.

[Stepping foot into the forest, can she spot any of these birdy buddies?]

[pinkprismstaff]

[ As Shade walks further in, she can't quite see anything just yet, but she's definitely not alone- the trees rustle now and then, and there is something in the bushes. If she looks up, she'll see a couple... well, they're birds- or bird-like enough that it counts- of some sort, but they don't look like anything she's seen before. If anything, they look positively ancient. ]

[ghostinmichelle]

[ Well, Misaki wasn't super near the forest, but after hearing that... whatever that was, she really doesn't feel like hanging out by herself anymore. Picking herself up from her beach chair and kicking on her sneakers, she hoofs it towards the nearest group of her fellow islanders. Which unfortunately brings her nearer the forest, not further away. ]

Okay, all my instincts are telling me not to go toward the scary animal noise. Anyone else?

[birdysnatcher]

[Can’t listen to reason, too busy engaging in Bird]

[ghostinmichelle]

...Yeah, okay, I knew that would have been too easy.

[ With a sigh, Misaki moves to keep within yanking-back distance of Shade, just in case. She can tell where this might end up going. ]

Can you actually talk to birds, or are you just good at making the noises?

[birdysnatcher]

I’m an Avian. It’s like talking to my own kind.

[In case her situation didn’t already warrant suspension of disbelief enough.]

[oceanicbutterfly]

That's a good instinct. Hopefully when all this is over you'll still have it.

[Doing the stupid thing is the solution way too often, in Karen's opinion.]

[ghostinmichelle]

I don't think you need to worry about that, Minazuki-san. If it hasn't been stamped out of me by this point, I think I might be stuck with it.

[ Misaki didn't sign up to be the only sane one in most groups in which she finds herself, but she's accepted her lot in life by now. ]

[oceanicbutterfly]

I'm putting you in charge of telling us we're being stupid, then.

[...she's serious.]

[photoning]

This better not be one of those situations where "someone has to look at what changed for it to stick, but also be the one to get hurt"...

[Mahiru was wondering when it would be a good time to hang out with Shade and instead has ended up in the situation where, a lot of Castaways are in the same place and must be looking at something significant. She made a Mistake the other day (Wednesday) walking out on the beach on her own for too long.]

[ghostinmichelle]

[ Yeah we're all just congregating near the spooky murder forest now, it's cool. ]

Oh, Koizumi-san. Sorry, I don't think I'm following. What kind of situations are those?

[photoning]

You know... Someone locks you all in a room, and you hear a hook knocking on the door. The first one to answer exposes the killer's face while also being right within his reach... Something like that.

[She's saying it seriously but not uncasually enough.]

[pinkprismstaff]

[ There's a distinct howl in the distance, and it sounds closer.

In probably less-concerning news, she can also see prehistoric avians occasionally flying above the forest, before diving back into the trees again. ]

[ghostinmichelle]

[ scooting very definitely back from the treeline!! ]

...Something tells me those aren't the same kind of birds we have back home, are they.

[baskins]

Yeah, between that and "wait for the scary animal noise to come to us," I'm picking the second one. I think I'm now the only person I know back home who would make that choice.

[ghostinmichelle]

I was kind of hoping for "the scary animal noise loses interest in us and wanders off". But I guess it wasn't ever going to be that easy, was it?

[reresurrected]

[Well, Baldr is a knight and has two swords on hand, so he is probably a reasonable choice for investigating strange, animalistic noises.

He'll start making his way cautiously into the forest, eyes peeled for any sort of signs of life as he goes...]

[pinkprismstaff]

[ There's signs of life, alright. Being able to enter deeper into the woods than before, Baldr will find that there's rustlying in the foliage here and there- something flies overhead but seems to ignore him, and there's chirps and the occasional low rumble. ]

[reresurrected]

[Interesting... where were all of these creatures earlier, he wonders? So far they all just sound like ordinary birds and animals, though, so he isn't going to pay them too much mind as he continues on deeper in...]

[pinkprismstaff]

[ While some are encountering dinosaurs in the woods, more and more curious sorts are also approaching the resort. If you aren't careful, you might find something in the hallway or on the balcony scratching at the glass.

Otherwise, there's more and more heavy footsteps from the forest. Trees shake occasionally. Some of the creatures are herbivorous, but huge in size and no less dangerous. They won't attack first unless appraoched, but they aren't too keen on you bipedal visitors, either.

Others are less... "friendly". Especially whatever's making that gutteral howling. It's definitely getting closer, too. ]

[an0therbitesthedust]

[Motoi is not interested in going to those mosquito-ridden forests islands are famous for and sticking to the resort. Which means he is not so keen on letting dinosaurs attack it?? Hopefully they're no more intelligent than Noise, being animals in the end. Typing something on his laptop, large strings of bright pink barbed wire materialize around the building. They are electrically charged and capable of paralyzing most things that come into contact.]

[pinkprismstaff]

[ Motoi says, "no solicitors". The dinosaurs outside quickly realize that the building isn't great to approach... but there are already some inside, and that doesn't stop them from roaming the beach curiously, or sitting in the pool. The water tastes gross but it's nice and cold, so that's pleasant at least. ]

[shoveltalks]

Motoi-san? Did... you do that...?

( she's given up on making the others make sense to her after karen turned out to be a literal magical girl, but it's still surprising. after a moment, she looks out the window.

there's a giant lizard in the pool. )

... This place is insane.