lifeaftr | August Intro: You Think...You Wink...You Do A Double Blink...

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August Intro: You Think...You Wink...You Do A Double Blink...

INTRO LOG: AUGUST

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

Part I: Get Wrekt
You rouse to a splash of sea salt drying on your skin. A haze of glass-white sand glitters in your vision, dappled by lush palms and thick, curling foliage that disappears into a jungle of deep jade. From behind, crackling wood and sawing rope groan from a mangled life raft ran ashore. A petering wash of tide over pebbled sand fills your ears as you struggle to gain your bearings in a vast portrait of tropical color…

No...no, no, that’s not precisely how this story starts.

Why don't we start over?

You rouse to a splash of sea salt, spraying across yourself and the wooden floor beneath you as it breaks across the edge of the platform. The light as it dances across the sea is blinding, dappling white spots across your vision as you slowly come back to consciousness and realize that - this is not where you last remember being.

The middle of the ocean is likely not a place most recall being at all. As you struggle to fully comprehend the new scenario in which you have found yourself, three things become quickly apparent. The raft you find yourself upon barely constitutes as something that should float, never mind a boat. In the distance, perhaps a few hours away at most, a large island beckons to you, a wide strip of beach surrounded by cliffs making it very clear where the most fortuitous of directions shall be.

Lastly, of course, you’re not alone. Hopefully your new companion(s) are just as keen to get ashore before nightfall as you, or voyaging together will not be the most positive experience. At your side you will find a knapsack, one to every member of your raft party, and upon inspecting its contents, you will discover any rewards you may have accrued - as well as a few other items to give you a fighting chance.

A note to those who participated in the Test Drive Meme: 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.

Part II: Choose Your Own Adventure

By fortune (or misfortune, as it were), you eventually find your feet meeting sand, blessed shore to stagger upon as you shake off your newly found sea-legs. There are those that may find this place familiar, as though it appeared in a dream, though the expanse of shore certainly seems larger. The beach stretches off into the distance on both sides, curving around sharp ridges and cliffs, mist obscuring the view the farther along it goes.

So here you are. You’ve found land. Company. Supplies. The sun is now beginning to trek rather low upon the horizon…spending the night outside in such an unfamiliar land is unappealing at best and outright dangerous at the worst.

There is one silver lining in the midst of this mess. Directly ahead, the beach curves up a gentle slope until it meets forest, some manner of building visible through the trees. Further exploration of this area will reveal a dilapidated building of sorts; the architecture is indiscernible to even the most skilled eye. Despite looking as if it has seen better days, there are areas that offer some form of shelter...and who knows what else. Just because it appears uninhabited doesn’t mean you won’t wind up pleasantly, or unpleasantly, surprised.

So what shall you do from here, traveller? There is land to be explored, strangers to meet, friends to reunite with. Supplies to inspect and plenty of questions in need of being said aloud. Choose your path, make haste, and above all else: survive. And whatever you will, take heart.

Your story is about to begin anew.

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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[You're going to drown us and calm down are words that should have made her understand the gravity of the situation-you know, being stuck with two strangers in the middle of the ocean on a dingy raft. Except, all it does is make her want to cry. This is all too sudden and even though it's apparent the two other guys are just as confused, she can't stop bringing herself back to Seto. Where is he? Why is she here without him? Even in her dreams, they're together. None of this makes any sense.

At the least she makes the connection between her movements and the rocking, halting her steps to sit back down on her knees. She watches one of the, rummage through the sack and the other one hold onto the raft. The latter has a good idea and she finds herself copying him, tightly gripping the edge of the raft to keep herself steady. Nothing else to do but hold on.]

I don't know this place.

[This isn't home. There's no red tower in the distance and nothing remotely familiar near this expanse of water.]

Seto has a map.

[He thinks about the knapsacks, stitched so carefully with all of their names. He thinks about Nyoi-Cho, and being stuck under a baby-blue sky with people who have never heard of his homeland. The sky now is a screaming bright blue, with not a cloud in sight, and as his eyes scan the horizon all Laurent can think of is how little sense it makes. To methodically set this up just to drown them immediately; no, they're probably not meant to die that easily.]

What I think is… this is a place none of us have heard of. We're likely going to be stuck a while.

[Goodness, ‘here’ better not be this raft with an upset kid and two guys with no parenting instincts???? He only has one plan for consoling upset kids. It's not even consolation, it's distraction.

To Ren:] Do you… want to see a magic trick?

[Kid isn't good at the comforting thing, either. The girl crouches back down, but she looks on the verge of tears. Well, most would be, waking up on a raft with two strangers.]

[This Seto person has a map, though. That's heartening.]

[He points toward the island in the distance.]

'E might be there.

[He glances at the light-haired man and nods slightly. Makes sense. You wake up somewhere as far off course as this, and it's no doubt going to be awhile before anyone finds you.]

Hafta survive til' then.

[But how? There's no food or water on the raft, or at least there's none in his own pack--and from a glance, there's none in the light-haired man's pack either. He catches the name stitched onto the front, but can't read it. Never was much for reading.]

[At least the other guy seems to be trying to calm the girl down a little. Kid busies himself with scooting toward the oars instead. They...use these sort of things to steer boats and such, right? To make them--go.]

[Gods above, he has no idea how any of this works. He pushes an oar toward the light-haired man, and one toward the girl. The third he picks up, turning it over to to try and figure out how one is supposed to hold it. Sort of like a pike, maybe?]

Gotta paddle. No engine 'r sails.

...Magic? What's that?

[Distractions work on her and she eyes the guy that offers up a magic trick. It takes her mind off the raft, the rocking ocean and the fact she's stuck on a boat with two strangers. What's a magic trick? She has no idea what that is, but he doesn't seem threatening. It might be safe and if it's not, there's nowhere to go.]

Okay.

[The oar presses against her hand and she latches onto it, more for balance than to help, though she looks around for cues on how to do this. When they make it to land, she can find Seto and they can deal with this together. Time to be brave!]

[Oh, an oar. Laurent pauses digging in his pockets to examine the wooden tool; he’s done some reading on boats, and has some idea on how they're about to be used.

He looks over and notices that the other man is puzzling over it. It must be that none of them have boat experience, which is truly disheartening.]

The wider side goes in the water, I think.

[He’ll join the man later. Right now Laurent finds his wallet, and from it a single coin. He holds it out to Ren.]

Watch this.

[This is a well-practiced trick. He waves it in front on her for a bit before setting it on his open palm, making sure she knows it's there. Now he closes his fingers and turns his hand over.

He taps his closed fist once with his other hand before turning the hand back over and uncurling his fingers. The coin has disappeared!!

It's a simple sleight of hand really, but he's secretly really proud of it.]

[It's curious that the girl hasn't heard of magic, but it's not much of a concern right now. That island sure isn't getting any closer.]

[Wider end goes into the water. Yes, that makes sense. He can't imagine getting a very good grip on the wide end. So it really is sort of like spearing something, except...using the flat side of the spear? Something like that.]

[He pauses when the light-haired man holds out a coin in his hand. He's seen this trick before--plenty of street performers back when Caelondia existed--but it's a classic. He smiles faintly behind his bandanna when the coin vanishes. He knows the point is to lighten the mood, and it's working.]

Not bad.

[In her life, she's seen plenty of amazing thing-sunsets, sunrises, fields of flowers and everything in between. This though. This rivals every experience, short of meeting Seto, and her eyes go wide. Fingers still wrapped around the oar, she leans forward to get a closer look at his palm. Then she looks down to the raft. To the each side of Laurent and even behind her.]

It's gone.

[Away. Poof. Just like that. She looks back to the other guy, notes his response, and assumes he's in a similar state of shock at this amazing feat. Holding the oar close to her body now, she has to ask both of them-]

Where did it go? Did it fly away?

It's gone! Where did it go?

[He echoes back in the same surprised tone, turning his hand back and forth to prove the point. For dramatic effect he's turning to the Kid as well- look at that, it's gone!- and the youth’s quiet approval sparks something in the air between the three of them.

Laurent might be smiling.]

I can bring it back if you’d like. Actually, how about this- if you can help us get to shore safely I'll teach you how to do it. Would you like that?

[She must truly have never seen this magic trick before. Or any sort of magic trick at all. He's getting the sense that maybe she's a little bit sheltered. He glances to the light-haired man, but it seems the guy is reading the situation even better than he is. Neither of them want her to get upset again.]

S'a good idea. Good talent t'have. Makin' things disappear an' come back.

[Would that there were real magic like that.]

[He dips his oar into the water and intuits how the rest of this is supposed to work. Right, if you move the flat end through the water, it'll move the raft forward. He gives it a try and the raft does indeed move forward a few inches, though it also starts to turn just slightly.]

One 'f us on each side...one in front. Zat seem right?

A good talent. I want to learn this.

[Because she has a grand total of 1 in her arsenal and somehow, learning magic, seems like a good extension to her internal cat radar. For the first time since she woke up, a smile tugs at the edge of her mouth and she stands up.

Time to get to shore.

Attention back on the kid working with the oar, she watches his movements. When he suggests where to move, she stays put. She doesn't trust herself to not rock the raft again. Might as well keep where she's at. It's close enough to the edge.]

This is my side.

[Her eyes are off the water and stares intently at the oar handle in her hand instead. Looking into the ocean is too stressful. A constant reminder of how she can't swim and how easy it would be to tip over in this thing. Regardless, the flat end is in and she looks ready to try some teamwork exercises.]

Alright. I'll teach you when we reach land.

[Good girl. She's even picked a side to row on, though Laurent's not sure something her size can match the Kid in rowing strength. But he's not about to protest her newfound motivation, so that leaves him to…. the front?

He picks up his oar and looks to the front of the raft. Boats don't have anything to the front, as far as he can remember, and he can only imagine a paddler in that position messing things up.]

I'm taking the back instead.

[Something does exist at the end of a boat, a shaft of something that goes in the water. Rubber. No, rudder. He has no idea how that works, but a third oar sounds more helpful here compared to the front.

And so begins Operation How Many Idiots Does It Take To Sail To Shore?]

[The girl has calmed down and is even smiling. Seems the three of them are ready to cooperate. She stays where she is, while the other man seems to debate for a moment.]

Alrigh'.

[Back probably makes more sense than front, to be fair. That was always where they kept the engine on the riverboats and such. Something about steering? He's not sure.]

[He starts rowing, and after a few moments it becomes clear that they are in fact moving through the water in the general direction of land. They're rotating a little and rocking just slightly back and forth, but Kid thinks maybe he can compensate for it by holding the oar still in the water for a moment to reposition them. It sort of works. Kinda.]

...What're yer names?

[It's a miracle there's someone capable on board. At the end of this, they'll all owe kid a giant thank you. Ren paddles the oar slowly, mimicking the movements of the guys around her. It's tiring work though.]

Our names?

[That's a question she's not used to and it takes a second for her to spit it out.]

I'm Ren.

[And she waits to hear the other two introduce themselves, slowly paddling along.]

Laurent.

[He busies himself with figuring out how best to paddle from his position. Like the others? No. The boat rocks, and keeps rocking, but eventually he finds a position that keeps it relatively steady.]

... what's that?

[In the distance. Other dots on the ocean.]

Ren. Lauren...t. [He frowns vaguely, not sure if he's pronouncing that one right.] Nice t'meet ya. Even 'f it's onna raft fer some reason...

[Reasons he's trying not to consider yet. There's no point thinking too much about it until they're out of immediate danger.]

Call me...Kid.

[It's what everyone else had been calling him. His real name just...doesn't seem important anymore. Never carried much weight to begin with.]

[He squints when Laurent indicates something else on the ocean. What sort of things live in an ocean? Fish, mostly. Whales. Bigger fish, the man-eating sort. It's hard to make out what those other dots might be without a spyglass, but there's a certain...geometrical quality to them.]

...Other...rafts? Y'think?

[Kid sounds more like an age than a name, but her attention drifts to what the guys are staring at. She stops rowing to take in the scenery and squints her eyes to get a better look at the objects. It's hard to tell, but she doubts there are other rafts. It's wild enough to have two people alive on this one. She can't imagine anymore around.]

It might be something scary.

[From her position, she's unable to make out much. That's her guess.]

[He only nods in response to the names, his attention on the dots on the horizon. Squint as he might, Laurent can't discern any details of those shapes on the water. The Kid’s guess makes sense- rafts?- but he can't imagine much else that could be on the waves like this, and he's frustratingly aware of the gaps in his knowledge. It could very well be some sea-structure he's never heard of.]

It doesn't look like they're getting closer.

[Unspoken is the question: do we do anything about it?]

[The girl--Ren--has got a point. The dots in the distance might be something dangerous. There's all kinds of threats in the ocean.]

[Kid frowns slightly, tightening his grip on his oar. The oar would make a pretty good improvised weapon; he also has his hammer and shield. Laurent is right, though--whatever they are, they don't seem to be coming any closer. Which means they might be going in the same direction.]

[It might be that all of them are heading for shore.]

...Le's get t'land, firs'. Yeah? 'F they mean harm, ain't much we kin do 'til we get t'land.

We can find somewhere to hide there.

[The idea that something dangerous could be heading for the island is enough to reinvigorate her and put her back at oar, ready to paddle the rest of the way there. It's a blessing and a curse she can't make out the objects on the horizon. At least everyone is on the same page.]

Far away from that.

[Whatever that ocean monster is.]

Mm.

[That settles it, then. They'll keep rowing- but how long it'll take, he doesn't know. He's having some anxieties about getting to shore in one piece, at the rate they're bobbing along.

He sets down his oar for a moment, digging into his knapsack.]

Does anyone have material to make a sail?

[He hopes to hell they aren't enemies. Or that if they are, they'll be kind enough to wait until they're all on shore to start any fights.]

[He shakes his head at the question.]

'Nless we wanna cut our packs t'bits. But that seems shortsighted.

[If they're stranded on that island for any amount of time, these knapsacks will come in handy.]

There's one more bag. Over there.

[It's hers and she can sorta make out the name from her position. Guess she better wobble her way over there, oar in hand to keep balance the whole way. Sadly, as she rummages through with her oarless hand, she isn't able to spot anything useful for this sailing situation. A rope, a multi-tool, toothbrush, baking soda-fun stuff like that.

To her credit, she does pull out each item and sets it on the raft floor. Can this work for...something? She doesn't know what to do with any of this.]

Does this help?

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August Intro: You Think...You Wink...You Do A Double Blink...

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