lifeaftr | October Intro: Louder than Sirens, Louder than Bells

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October Intro: Louder than Sirens, Louder than Bells

INTRO LOG: OCTOBER

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: October 3rd
Where: Ensō
Warnings: Mark as needed!

The Beach: For All the Rest
The shores of Ensō are far from the tranquil, almost idyllic tropical backdrop that they should be. And so it is that while you fish, or perhaps as you go about your daily business on the islets, the first thing you will note is the persistent sound hammering at the back of your skull.

A drumming.

And it's growing louder.

The source of the drumming will, like it or not, soon become apparent. At the fringes of the trees, wielding slings and hollow, wooden pistols, is a group of large and very displeased simians who have every intent of claiming this spot of beach - yes, traveler, this spot of beach you're standing on right now! - for their own, and by any means necessary.

And they certainly don't look interested in diplomacy.

If you came armed, you might be in luck, because this conflict will require your steady hand in its resolution. If you did not...well, you may be better suited to run, or risk capture at the hands of warriors skilled, cunning, and incredibly vicious. Laugh at their monkey business all you like; they are ingenious fighters and, what's more, they're just as good at killing as they are at capture.

For the uninitiated, this particular brand of chaos doesn't usually sweep across the entire island the way it has. But those who have been here for some time will recognize the monkeys in question, and might even recognize this for what it is: revenge.

Group I: The Squeakquel
Looks like your monkeying around last month has landed you and everyone else in a spot of trouble. The monkeys in question certainly weren't happy to be confronted with others on their lands, nor are they willing to share their territory. While you may have triumphed last time you confronted them, the apes have been planning their revenge in the meantime.

Some of you were unlucky enough to become targets. Overnight, a great deal of them silently invaded the islets. Their blow-dart guns are equipped with a fairly powerful sedative that is more than capable of knocking most living creatures out - and those that were immune were simply snatched up, gagged, and bundled away.

However, it seems that some of their prisoners didn't suit their purposes, for one way or another, and thus weren't retrieved with the intention of long-term capture. Which is why a number of you will awaken in regions of the island that you've already explored.

...the really, really dangerous ones.

Whether it's a Center of Gravity, a parade of centipuppies, a contingent of Lungblossoms, a Fustercluck, or something else entirely, one thing is certain: the monkeys wanted you out of their way.

So get ready to fight for your life.

Group II: Ape Escape
If you're not one of the slightly luckier newcomers that materializes on the shore, then you're one of the unlucky ones that's managed to materialize square in the middle of the jungle. Or rather, in the middle of one of the denser, more populated parts of the jungle. The abodes woven into the canopy are crude, built of mud and sticks, but they're nonetheless sturdy.

And, as an important note - they are also swarming with monkeys. Snarling, baying, armed monkeys. Perhaps they'd be more hostile toward an interloper...if you weren't already in a cage, along with several others.

Fortunately for the newbies, they've all got something the monkeys didn't anticipate, aside from the element of surprise. Most prisoners don't arrive with knapsacks full of newly-acquired gear, and it's a good thing, too - you may very well need it, and the help of the new arrivals, to escape this place. You could always wait for the cavalry to come, but are you really willing to take that risk?

Group III: Pot Luck
As for you, you terribly fortunate third group?

You'll find yourselves suspended in wooden cages as well, though this time, to the hot curtain of whitish steam clouding your vision. It smells an awful lot like smoke down there. An awful lot like something...burning? Unlike your fellows over in the second group, these cages aren't simply a means of containing you, no. These cages are currently hanging over what might be the largest cast iron cauldron you've ever seen. All of this is, of course, for one simple reason:

Some species of monkeys are carnivores.

The acrid scent of smoke is already hot and rancid in your nostrils; the pyre beneath you has been lit, and the hungry flames are beginning to boil the water below quite eagerly. We'd suggest you hurry up in freeing yourself and your fellows - being boiled alive is not a particularly pleasant way to go. At least the monkeys weren't expecting quite so many main courses so soon, which allows you the element of surprise.

As a final note to those who participated in the Test Drive Meme, bear in mind that those threads, if all parties involved would like, can be game canon in the form of dream-like memories involving a place very much like this one, though the layout is considerably different.

All new arrivals will awake with knapsacks with their names stitched to the front. The contents of said knapsacks can be found below!

Feeling a tad adrift? Make sure to check the Locations Page, which has details regarding the starting areas and a handy map for those who feel better with a bird's eye view!

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

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Mercy stares at the wolf, letting herself adjust to the idea that - somehow - it caused that bar to break. It was no ordinary animal, that was a certainty. The rising din of the bludrocs draws her attention away and she shakes herself out of her reverie. Using a tie to imitate a snake. Clever, if a little silly.

At the question, Mercy looks around, biting her lip in thought. There's not a whole lot to work with here...Except. The knapsack. It isn't hers and she's guessing it isn't Hinata's either. She reaches out and takes the strap gingerly in her hand, examining the bizarre symbol.

"Is this...yours?" She poses the question to the wolf, feeling a bit stupid for talking to an animal. "May I?"

Why is she asking permission as if the animal can answer her? She doesn't know, but it feels like the thing to do, no matter how silly.

Edited 2017-10-04 18:48 (UTC)

Ammy wags her tail to the thanks, huffing happily with a wiggle of her rump. Hey, not a problem at al--oh my, now that is a neat trick! Ammy watches as the one flustered hen sets off a chain reaction - the others becoming far more agitated and screechy. The monkeys try to corral them back into their coop, but that seems to be a poor idea. There's feathers, fur, and beaks going everywhere...and the irate Bludrocs begin to turn on their captors, pecking and scratching at them and caterwauling for backup, which comes en masse. Holy smokes would Ammy not want to be between those angry birdies...

Flicking her ear to the woman, the white wolf blinks as she finally takes a look at her discarded bag. Or, really, the symbol - or a patch, it seems like - that's been sewn into the top. It's her mark, that of the Sun. Ammy's ears perk up slightly in surprise - she doesn't recall ever having owner such a thing before...all her tools, items, and weapons are held in her Fan Menu or directly on her person at any given time. This rucksack seems more of a hindrance...unless it, too, can be magicked away into her Fan Menu. It is hers after all, though, um...i-if that lovely lady wants to take a peek inside, is welcome to do so. ♥

However, Ammy is curious herself and hovers slightly as she sticks her nose forward to sniff at the contents. Ooh, something smells decidedly like food in there...which is mainly what she cares about; Mercy, however, may find the medical kit and the multi-tool very useful items.

How odd that a wolf would get them. Ho-hum. 'w'

Hinata glances back to see just what name is written on the bag. But there isn't one. "...a sun?" Why a symbol and not a name? He'll have to revisit that later. They just don't have the time. He turns back to the chaos below. It isn't showing any signs of stopping yet.

Keeping his red eye on it, he turns his attentions to inspecting the cage itself. The cage itself is fairly sturdy. No solid kick or rush is going to break it. Even trying would alert someone. He scrubs at his face. "It looks like our distraction will go on for a little while." They have time, but just how much?

"We're in luck." Mercy states, pulling the multi-tool out of the bag. As she suspects, a flick of a switch and a little blade comes popping out of the top slot. The medical kit is a fantastic find and she makes a note to transfer it to her supplies when this is all said and done. After all, what's a wolf going to do with it, right?

The cage is both anchored by rope and partially constructed of it. Thick coils of it tie the edges together and reinforce the corners. Crude, basic construction - Mercy does wonder where they got all of this rope, though. It could be natural fibers braided into tight cords, or the Storyteller could have given it to them, or perhaps there was a third option she hadn't considered yet.

"It will take a little time to do so, but I believe I can saw through the ropes holding this cage together." She picks the side opposite the bludroc pen, where less apes are gathered. Adding over her shoulder as a formality: "My name is Mercy, by the way. I don't believe we've met?"

The peculiar tool has Ammy's attention in and instant. Once the blade is flicked out, she yips, ears up and moving closer to sniff at it. What a bizarre weapon...she's never seen anything at all like it before. It's certainly useful, and while she, uh...is incapable of using it, so many others would benefit from it. Mercy is free to use it, of course, but while the medical kit is free to keep, that tool Ammy would like to hold onto. She should be able to whisk it away into her Fan Menu and call on it when needed, so others could benefit from it as well.

Sadly, she cannot offer too much assistance in the ways of, erm...sawing anything, but she can keep a good lookout. Using another Powerslash may be pushing her limits, and while a strike from her glaive could indeed tear down the beams...she's feeling that first attack pretty bad. Which is odd. Normally a level one Powerslash like that doesn't exhaust her so. Huh. Best to leave these humans to it, then, and save her energy. Something tells Ammy that she's going to need if once they're free...

The ways of introductions, sadly, are lost on her. Feel free to call her whatever you like - she'll even respond to 'you there, dog'...p-probably.

The sun symbol bothers him. He's seen it before. But he doesn't remember where. Story for another time, he guesses. "Hinata, and we haven't. I've been getting my bearings here. I'll keep an eye out and alert you if they get things under control." He sets himself to block the apes sight of Mercy's work and to keep an eye out.

"Um," Hinata glances to the white wolf unsure what to say. Finally, he chooses. "Miss...wolf? Could you help keep watch? If we're both sitting facing them they'll have a harder time seeing Mercy's work." He is a tall man, even if he has no idea he's a man and not a teenager. It's been low on his priorities to openly think about his different physical age.

"Sorry to meet you under such strange circumstances, Hinata."

Mercy gives Hinata a bemused look as he speaks to the wolf. It's...just an animal, right? An intelligent, possibly domesticated animal, yes, but could it really understand speech like that? On this island, Mercy wouldn't be all that surprised. She would and she is.

The tool is small and the ropes are thick, but she's making decent headway. It's mostly a matter of figuring out which ones are vital to the cage's construction and which ones are there for good measure.

Oho, the youngster there actually managed to get her gender right on the first guess - not bad! Many people don't manage that right away, it takes time and bit of, uh...privacy invasion (was he looking? for shame) for them to get it right. Her tail wags, and Ammy yips quietly, shuffling towards where he was seated and taking her spot beside him. She remains quiet, nose pointed to the monkeys as they hilariously try to scoop up the crowing Bludrocs one by one and attempt to calm them and get them back into their coop. It's quite comical, and she wheezes a few laugh-like pants as her til thumps the ground.

Hopefully they don't, ah...call for back up, though. That'd actually be a bit of a blot on their escape plan if more of those apes come to the aid of their comrades. Ammy could probably hold off a few, but not a whole horde on her own...and she doesn't know how well these humans can fight. Most of them, or the ones she's met, aren't the greatest combatants... Well, they'll cross that bridge when they get there. For now, Ammy keep her eyes peeled on the two that are here, and her body is still and silent. If anything happens, she'll sound the alarm by barking.

It had been a guess. All he can think of right now is making sure they get out of this alive. His eyes sweep over the apes below and he leans forward just enough to get a better view. Below is absolute chaos. The birds might be tame but they don't take well to being scared. They're even less impressed when their offspring get snatched up. Hinata winces when a few of the birds mob one unfortunate guard.

The chick is freed and ambles off under something else much to the hoots (he assumes it's their swearing).

It's distracting, you know. The clamor of birds and apes, the heat of the jungle, the stench of it all. When Mercy finally saws through the last bit of rope holding the side of the cage together, freedom can't come soon enough. There's a bit of a catch, of course, in that she's unarmed and has a person in tow. And a wolf.

God what the hell is she going to do about this wolf? It's intelligent and domesticated to some degree and she can't bear the thought of leaving it to be torn apart by angry apes. But can she really put the well being of an animal above the well being of a person?

Ultimately, she doesn't have time to think about it. She can't accept a zero percent survival rate for all parties involved. Holding the bars in place so as to avoid attracting attention before they have a plan, Mercy looks over her shoulder at her charges.

"I'm through. How should we go about this?"

Oh my, but those birds certainly can do damage when they want to. Ammy winces a bit, folding her ears back when the apes make the poor decision to approach the fledglings and the nests. She's a bit impressed, and wonders how entirely domesticated these hens actually are, if they're capable of such, uh...brutality. Really, Ammy as a bit scared they'd be injured in an attempt to be corralled back into their coop, but...uh. Th-They're holding firm!

Or, well, they were. Ammy's suddenly up and on her feet, growling as she spies a trio of simians rushing to the aid of the two who were wrestling with the Bludrocs. Two hold spears, and a third has one of those strange wooden canons. Its the one with the canon (coconut gun) that spies them, shrieking something to the two toting spears. Looks like the jig is up - better come up with that 'plan' fast, guys! Ammy sounds the alert, looking over her shoulder.

"Yarrp!! Yarp!"

What to do? His mind races as he turns, scanning the area. The cages? His eyes narrow and he stabs a finger at empty cages clustered near by. "We need to move now. We can slip out and put anything we can in their path. We really need cover from that gun."

They need to move fast or the apes will catch them. The gig might be up, but he can bet they don't know they're about to escape. "The more chaos we cause the harder time they're going to have coming after us." He's thought about this for a long time. Murder islands will do that to you.

Mercy doesn't have a better plan - or any plan at all, really - so throwing cages at them to trip them up as they escape will simply have to do. It's fairly non-violent and she likes that aspect of it, but there's no time to dwell on morality. Normally she'd do some sort of countdown to make sure everyone was ready and on the same page, but the apes are already moving in and, well. They might not have three seconds.

She shoves the loosened cage door open, stumbling out onto solid ground and spreading her wings as if making herself look larger might do something. It does startle the apes a little, the sudden flash of glowing yellow light and the loud whoosh of air. Perhaps just enough to let her companions get out unscathed.

As soon as they're out, she's running. For now, she stands her ground and tries to serve as a distraction.

[Amaterasu is just as startled by those wings by the apes are, perhaps a bit more so. What in the world?! This woman is a Celestial? Is...is she still on the Celestial Plain? No, no, that can't be...those poor people were all slaughtered by the darkness that crept in the Ark of Yamato, and the destruction caused by Orochi many years ago. And yet the figure does give Ammy a bigger sense of purpose - she couldn't do much back then, even with all her powers, but not this time.

You need a distraction? Well, Ammy has been told that she can be very distracting.

She has no qualms about being bait, and rushes headlong towards the apes. A coconut flies from the one simian's gun, aimed right at her, but collides only with Amaterasu's reflector as she throws it up to shield herself, claws digging into the ground as she gets a bit of kickback from the impact. Water and bits of coconut rebound off the reflector that both humans cannot see, and the wolf races again towards the so-called Eye of the Storm, followed by a trail of colorful flowers. Thankfully, the apes are good on their instincts, seeing the wolf, a natural predator, as the most threatening. Their attention seems to be drawn on the approaching beast.

Good, that's what she was hoping for. Hopefully that will last a while longer, and the two humans can escape. She's got the megapower and artillery to deal with these things...so long as she doesn't waste her ink. Ha...hahaa.]

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October Intro: Louder than Sirens, Louder than Bells

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Feel free to skip him next time and I'll tag back in on the next round.

I mean I don't mind waiting, I want to make sure everyone gets their turn in n.n

I'm fine with waiting, too!! C:

Okay cool. My tags will speed up now that stuff is finished.

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