estoria | « 020 ⇢ EVENT020

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« 020 ⇢ EVENT020_FIRE.EXE »

Who: All characters with fire as their element
When: OOC: 10/15 - 10/22 ; IC: 3/22 - 3/26
Where: It's a volcano. No, really.
What: It's time for the legitimate reward -- a safe place to live for the rest of your happy, contented lives
Rating/Warning: PG-13: Some scary images, some violence. Please let the mods know if the rating goes up or the log needs to be locked!

//event020.EXE

It’s been a few days in the jungle now and hopefully you haven’t managed to die just yet – after all, the fun’s just begun.

On the seventh day of trekking the wilderness, each character who has Fire in their heart will suddenly find themselves pausing in the middle of the day. Something in their chest feels warm and it’s heating up quickly. It spreads from their chest to their fingertips, down their legs to their toes. There’s a bark of laughter against their ear, but it seems that it’s one that only they can hear.

Then without warning, there is a bright light that encompasses their sight entirely and the ground beneath their feet seems to suddenly open. At least they don’t have time to be scared as they suddenly lose consciousness after falling for a few seconds.

Don’t worry. It’ll get better. When they wake up, they hear the following message – and then they hear it again, and again, and again as it echoes echoes echoes.

You’re all spirited, aren’t you?! You wouldn’t be one of mine if you weren’t.

So c’mon, look alive, look alive! I’ve got something I want to show you all. Stay close, stay close, I can't wait until you see where you'll be living!

//SCENARIOS.EXE

PHASE I

[ day one ] It’ll admittedly be hard for Ardeo to show you anything though. When you wake up, you see darkness. Blink a couple times and it’s – yeah, it’s still darkness. Oh, that’s not good. But after some mumbling around in the dark, perhaps you’ll find another. Better hold on so that you don’t lose each other as the steps on smoothed rock, the resounding quality of the noise you make, and the faint sounds of dripping make it clear that you’re in some kind of cave. Probably.

All you have to guide you is the occasional glimmer of light as Ardeo flicks his flaming tail and then pads off in one direction.

But try not to run too fast after him since it’s dark and that’s danger--holy shit. Follow Ardeo enough and finally you'll reach the edge of a cliff with no indication of how deep that drop goes. It won't be a fear of tripping in this cave, but rather a fear of running straight off the path Ardeo set you on. Hope you're good at cliff scaling because, good luck. You're now stuck on some very high cliffs, and if you peer over the edge, deep, deep down in the darkness, there's the faint, warm glow of what might be lava. You probably don't want to fall down there.

Of course in response to your yelps of fear, there’s only the same bark of laughter. Damnit, where the hell did that fox go?

PHASE II

[ day one ] Who knows how long Ardeo has been playing this crazy game of hide and go seek, but eventually you hear a faint buzzing. It’s fine, probably. No one ever said that you were alone in this cave but it’s better to be dealing with a fly than a bear, right?

So you see a firefly. Or maybe a firefly sees you. That single hope of light and not being doomed to eternal darkness comes over and says hi, floating around you for a moment. It really is quite dazzling, isn't it? Then, apparently deciding that you’re ~~an idiot~~ safe to land on, it settles itself on your clothes and-- ow.

That burns. Maybe you even caught fire a little.

But before you know it, more of them are coming. Little specks of light all ready to land on you and warm you up a little. You must be cold in this cave. Try not to die from their thoughtfulness, because they're really all over the place.

It’s like this happens a lot or something.

PHASE III

[ day two ] Maybe you threatened him or maybe you asked nicely, but it seems that Ardeo is willing to take pity on your poor souls. Every few steps, there is now a will-o-wisp conjured to guide you away from the sudden, steep cliffs and keep the insects away.

However you’re deeper in the cave now and it seems to be getting… hotter? You hear the water more and more now. Eventually you reach a flat surface and see an arrangement of craters in the ground. The surface beneath them glows with heat, apparently reaching high enough temperatures to emit a white glow.

The brave may wander close, curious about what lay inside the craters – and they may lose their faces as the water suddenly shoots up without explanation, a geyser erupting suddenly and burning anyone who got stuck in the splash zone.

However, there are signs of people here. Small housing constructions made in tucked away corners, built of stacked rock and supplies clearly from this very spot. However, there's...nobody here to greet you.

In fact, it seems as though a certain event has been reported to them, and so the natives who clearly are still living here won't be making an appearance. You may feel them watching you, and if you poke around in their homes, Ardeo will make a quick appearance to warn you away, but they're far too wary to step out and say hello.

PHASE IV

[ day three ] Finally, after however many miles, Ardeo’s done walking. He walks up the steps of a shrine – or the remnants of one. Broken statues of animal-like creatures lay in shatters and he wanders around the area once, circles quietly, and then lays down, curled in on himself. A second later, he disappears in a flash of smoke.

However the will-o-wisps remain as you’re free to explore. You’re now able to see that the walls of the cave are decorated with paintings. However unlike those of Earth, the humanoid-type people in these images all have different modifications on them. Some appear to have fins, others are plant-like themselves, but the most prominent ones all appear to be on fire. It’s kinda creepy, especially since they’re still smiling – and upon further inspection, you’ll find that some of these images aren’t made with paint at all, but rather they’re intricate scorch marks left on the wall. Oh.

However for the children exploring with us today, Ardeo seems to have pilfered some things from the colony that he liked. There’s paint lining the cave walls, as well as the occasional bundle of sparkly puppy stickers.

Seems this is where he lives, and now you can join him here too. It's a great reward! It's really just too bad about the difficulty breathing and the general difficulty finding food in a place like this that won't spit fire back at you.

Welcome to your new home.

[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ]

//RUN.EXE

Welcome to Cerealia's October event! Please visit the OOC information here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. This event will last for the month of October, or IC 3/15 to 3/30. This log will last from 10/15 to 10/22 or IC 3/22 to 3/26. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here.

There are 71 characters with the element of fire.

Thank you!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ and a second after she says that, he realizes that the soles of his shoes are getting really hot.

he jumps back off of the smoldering fireflies. ]

We need to - [ focus. ] - draw them together and trap them somehow! [ distressed or not, dipper would deal with a monster - or magical bug - problem. ]

Hold on. First, is there a hole in your shoe?

[The fireflies are still laying there for the moment, floundering a little bit under their crushed wings. They'll get up soon enough...but there are more immediate concerns.

She's going for something in the gym bag she had on her when she'd been grabbed, too, but her attention is more focused on Dipper, waiting for an answer.]

[ dipper lifts his foot to check the bottom of his shoe with his flashlight. ]

No. Just a little...melted. [ but after a week in the jungle, his shoes were already basically beyond repair. ]

Good. Now, take a step back from those things. You don't want a real burn.

[Better to have some covering on your feet than none at all. Shoes are important, even if they're hanging by a thread.

Rei breathes out, the hand not in her bag calling up a ball of fire. Hope you aren't freaked by obvious magical displays, Dipper.

Still fussing with the bag, Rei makes a pleased little sound as her hand closes around what she'd been looking for. She draws out a stick and a ratty, filthy towel that she proceeds to tie around it.]

They're good for something, at least. We can use them to make you a torch.

[ he does take a step back, more than willing to put distance between himself and those buggers. rei's display of magic is unexpected, but no, dipper doesn't freak out - instead his eyes go wide, the use of elemental power calling his mind away from his frustration and distress. ]

That's great, but - [ let's talk about the important thing here. ] I didn't know you're a mage?

[She sticks the torch into the firefly's faces, making sure to crush them with the end as they catch the thing ablaze. Rei herself looks at Dipper with a wry smile.]

You didn't know because I'm not a mage. [She draws herself up straighter and offers him the end of the burning stick.] Remember what I was wearing when we met? [A miko's hakama]

I'm a priestess of a fire kami. [Totally not a magical girl and reincarnated goddess, no sir.] My powers are a gift from the spirits that live in my shrine.

[ 'fire kami' doesn't ring a bell - he definitely hasn't read about a spirit like that in the journal, in any case. which, of course, makes it all the more fascinating and the urge to ask about a million questions surges up from within -

but then he remembers where they are. what his circumstances are. what he's lost. and he can't muster his usual, investigative zeal.

at least those fireflies won't be bugging him anymore... ]

Huh. That's...pretty interesting. Maybe you can tell me more about it - sometime.

[ sometime. not now. ]

[Rei nods at that, and the sense of emotion she's getting from Dipper...it's not pleasant. Even if she wasn't a psychic, it was obvious.]

Yes. Another time. When we're all safe again, of course.

[She tries to sound encouraging, even if her words are a little dull, slurred by shortness of breath.]

Dipper-kun. I'm sure she's okay. Just...stick close to me, and I'll make sure you get through this, okay?

[Hopefully that won't cause an explosion. She doesn't want that...

ooc: and Bayley, I don't want to assume too much, but could you hit Rei's permissions for her psychic stuff?]

[ dipper doubts that there's any kind of safety in their future. he had a callous disregard for his own safety at the best of times, and now that mabel was gone, returning to the relative comfort of their apartment in the colony was a far thought. he wants to go home, but he knows that isn't going to happen, so he doesn't bother wishing for it.

he glances up at rei. he doesn't have the heart to correct her. ]

...Yeah, okay, sure.

[Rei shoulders her gym bag again, passing the torch to Dipper and offering her free hand if he'll take it. She definitely felt that loss there, but now's not the time. They have other things to worry about.]

I promise, okay? I know that you don't know that much about me, but trust me. I've been in worse situations, and at the very least I'll be able to drive away those flies and keep back the dark.

[ he takes the torch, but not her hand. he already felt useless enough here, especially lacking the usual reassurance mabel's presence gave him.

he just has the journal tucked in his vest now to guide him. and its message was clear: trust no one. ]

Look, I appreciate the torch, but...I can handle myself. [ just forget how obviously not-well he was handling it back there. ]

[Rei lowers the hand and looks down at Dipper for a moment. She doesn't...want to just leave him alone here. Especially when he's obviously not well.]

Dipper-kun, I'm not saying you can't. But I'd certainly feel safer if there was someone with me who could watch my back? I don't know what's lurking in these caves, and going it alone isn't wise. Can you do that for me?

[It's about as diplomatic as she can be.]

[ putting it that way is more something he can agree to. maybe there's something in the journal he can use to help out in a pinch.

and mabel trusted rei. mabel was far more trusting than dipper was, but that still counted for something, didn't it?

he sighs, but nods. ] Okay. I've got your back.

I appreciate it.

[She starts going on ahead, when a thought strikes her. he'd been holding that book awfully hard.]

Do you want to put your book in my bag? It's waterproof, at least, and I don't want your things any more damaged than they already are.

[ without even considering it, he shakes his head. ]

N-no, that's okay. I've got it. [ with mabel gone, this is the last piece of his family he has left. ]

If you're sure. I can at least give you something to wrap it in if you like. I was on my way to the gym when all this hit, so I have a few towels.

[She sweats a lot. And the book is obviously important to him.]

[ that's a much better option. he'd like to keep the journal safe as much as he can while its in his own possession. ]

I'll take you up on that. Thanks.

[Then she'll pull out her last clean towel. The other two are filthy...]

Here. What's it about, anyway?

[ the question sets him on edge, both his posture and tone tightening as he takes the towel. ]

Oh, uh...it's just my old journal. It's sentimental, you know?

[ well at least that's mostly truth. ]

Right...of course.

[That was awkward. Okay, no talking about the book.]

So. Have you ever been spelunking before?

[ thank goodness that topic of conversation is dropped. dipper quickly wraps the towel around the journal and tucks it back into his vest. ]

Actually, yeah. Buuuut never for this long. [ and never this deep. he didn't know enough about caves to figure how far they'd gone or what the signs might be that they were close to their destination, wherever that was. ] What about you?

[The first rule about D-Point is that you don't talk about D-Point. Especially not with kids. But...in an effort to make herself seem more dependable?]

I have, yes. A few places that went really deep in the mountains around Kyoto.

[Which may have connected to portals to the north pole.]

Definitely not my favorite hobby, but this isn't so bad, now that we have torches. And it's at least not so humid as the jungle.

Those fireflies definitely weren't as bad as the last monster I ran into in a cave.

[ given the choice between a shape-shifter and fireflies...yeah, he'll take the fireflies. ]

But where do you think we're going? Does Ardeo really expect us to live at the bottom of some cave?

And what kind of monster was that?

[She's taking you completely seriously too, Dipper. There's genuine interest behind that question.]

And...as for that? I have no idea. Ardeo probably does, but he doesn't think like we do. He...it...is definitely not keeping our well being in mind.

[ he doesn't see the harm in sharing this particular story - if she's a shape-shifter, then she'll know he can handle her. ]

It was a Shape-Shifter capable of changing into the form of anything it saw. Things got a little tricky when it took on the form of one of my friends.

[ yeah, that was...good times. ]

Yyyyeah, no kidding. He might, you know, consider asking us.

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