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!
|
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. ] |
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! |
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
[There weren't any mirrors in here, so Hiro couldn't fully grasp what he looked like. But from the reactions of a few people and the strange sensations in his body were enough to give him a message. Either way, he'll move a pair of tentacles in some carefree wobbly gestures before letting out a defeated sigh.]
Maaaan, I was trying to use my powers to try and turn the heat down to increase our chances for survival... But this is what happened. I'm still new to the whole "not entirely human, but still human at heart" thing.
no subject
[Seriously, how could someone screw up that badly? Though, if anything, it made Kazuya worried. If Hiro managed to mutilate himself like that when performing something so trivial, could Kazuya do the same? Could he turn into a Belberith meatball from hell? God, he hoped not. Hopefully this just a human-alien thing, rather than a human-demon thing]
You know what, never mind. I don't really want to know. So... [he tilted his head] You stuck like that forever, then?
no subject
[He'd definitely find a way even if there wasn't one. The issue was figuring out how... Maybe it was all about picturing how he used to look? He'd really have to ask Alcor or anyone else with experience with more tips on shapeshifting.]
Just... shit... [Awkwardly, he moves his body around.] ... hate the fact that it feels like I've got twenty arms instead of two. How do squids even move around like this?
no subject
[Though, that wasn't all that helpful, really, unless Hiro decided to change his brain to a squid-brain, but then he suspected his transformation into the Giant Alien Squid From Beyond The Stars would be complete, and Hiro would cease to exist. Hm. Which one would he prefer...]
But, maybe you'll get used to it eventually. Hell, you might have to. I mean, who knows how long you'll be stuck like that. It might be days, or weeks... maybe months... years...
no subject
[Which came up much more sharply than he wanted it to be. Really, Hiro was trying to see a bright side to this... And there certainly was, but Kazuya wasn't helping this at all. Strangling him with these tentacles wasn't a half bad idea.]
Anyway... You've got a lot of nerve poking fun at me seeing what you are. You might end up with horns and stubby looking bat wings someday, y'know.
no subject
[Hiro's words had struck a chord, however, and Kazuya had to keep a tight lid on his bubbling temper. He didn't want to get into a snippy argument with this walking piece of calamari - he was determined to think positive and happy before the end of days came. Pointedly, he looked down and back to his sparkly dog stickers]
Whatever. Anyway, which one do you think looks cuter? The beagle or the corgi?
no subject
Weeeeeell.... Corgis are always cute! [Beagles were cute to him too, honestly. It was just easier to pick one than be indecisive.] So what'cha doing with those stickers, anyway? You were saying some names too.
["Like a complete loon" which goes unsaid. But the thought was certainly there.]
no subject
I'm thinking of my friends back home. [He didn't care if it was considered strange or childish. Kazuya felt homesick, damn it, and it was... weirdly making him feel better] So I'm matching them up. This one is Yuzu, by the way. [the Corgi, of course]
no subject
That's pretty awesome, Kazuyan. Just goes to show you how awesome friendship is! I can go on all day about it...
[And he'll be waving a tentacle at that Corgi.] Hi, Yuzu! I'm Hiro... Annnd... [Another tentacle from out of nowhere shows off the same beagle that was next to the Corgi. He totally was using the talking as a distraction to sneak away a sticker.] This is my best friend, Daichi. We've been together since forever.
no subject
Ah, same. Me and Yuzu have been friends since we were little. She's like a sister to me. [Somewhere across the universe, Yuzu's heart will be breaking at that proclamation] Eh, she's looked after me so much too. I was so timid when we met, but she didn't care.
[Kazuya looked fondly at the corgi that represented his childhood friend. He had been timid, nervous at being out from under the protective wing of Naoya, but Yuzu had been so cheerful and talkative, and they had been fast friends. It was a friendship that remained all through their lives, with Yuzu being the one to ingratiate him into various social circles and keep him up to date with current fashion (which he didn't care about, but he dutifully helped her shop for outfits and gave her honest opinions about what looked nice on her, and what didn't, which she always seemed to appreciate). Ah, he missed her keenly...]
Ne, how 'bout Daichi? I bet he had his hands full looking after you and your... general weirdness.
no subject
[He was pretty sure that they were right. His parents barely paid him little mind minus his good grades. Those lonely days of gray were distant, but still fresh in his mind. He still remembered coming home with bruises and cuts on his face from being the local punching bag. The kids looking at him those eyes. Sneering behind his back on what they were going to do with him today. The various things that they wrote on his desk and the messed up shit that they'd put inside his locker... Kids- No, human interactions were truly hell back then. School was simply survival on its own... The strong kids were the herd and he was the ostracized one. And home was simply another story...
He grew to tolerate it all in time... But something in him grew empty and dull as the days went by. Even Hiro started to believe that he was a walking blank slate. There's a solemn smile on his face as he looks at the Beagle.]
Daichi was really the only kid who talked with me. And I usually helped him out with studying with stuff he didn't get in class. Then he always stood up for me when the bullies were kicking my ass... Around that time, we became total buds.
no subject
[For the first time, Kazuya actually felt some sort of connection with Hiro. A very tiny one, and only for the briefest of moments, as they fell into a sort of semi-companionable silence. Finally, Kazuya pushed the remaining sparkly dog stickers towards Hiro]
Here, you can have these, then. It won't help with your current squid-face, but maybe talking it out with your friends'll make you feel better. Positive thinking and all! Even if the conversations are fake, it makes it feel like they're really here, y'know, and that raises the spirits!
[It's his attempt at being... considerate/nice???]
no subject
[It catches Hiro off guard for a good minute. His attempt to actually look out for him was bizarrely encouraging, so he couldn't help and appreciate it. Maybe he had to reevaluate his thoughts on Kazuya just a little bit... When it came to positive thinking, Hiro considered himself an expert at it. And in a sense, he certainly did understand what Kazuya was getting at.
He did plenty of stupid things to keep everyone (and himself) together in desperate times. So a few of tentacles will be grasping some of the stickers. He had so many friends now, Hiro didn't know where to start.]
Hm hm... Thanks a bunch! ♪ [He's looking a little more chipper than few minutes ago.] Okaaay... So I've done one for Daichi, then next is Io! Then good ol' Joe!
[It's been a while since he's legit interacted with some of his friends... This actually did feel pretty fun!]
no subject
Io and Joe? Ah, they sound interesting. Tell me about them! Gimme all the dirty details~
no subject
[Pondering on it, Hiro will move a tentacle to grab a poodle for Io. That felt like a alright fit. And now for Joe...]
And Joe's like an older brother. He's one of the weirdest adults that I've ever met... But he's probably the only adult I know who can level with me when it comes to funny jokes or talking shop about manga or video games.
[He was a bit on the irresponsible side, but Hiro didn't hesitate in helping him straighten up. Sometimes, he had to wonder if he end up like that if the whole she-bang involving demons and aliens never happened. In any case, he'll be taking up a Boston Terrier sticker for Joe.]