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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[Ren understands cats. That's what she thought before arriving on the island and this guy is proving her wrong every step of the way. She expects him to take the blades and have a munch. Maybe even play with them.

Although, in a sense, he is playing with it.

She watches him fall back to the ground and listens at-what the heck is that noise? It's a sound she can't place. It's just weird. Eyes falling back onto the pile grass, she kneels to pick a piece up, holding it up to her face. It looks normal and yet-

Well, she holds it up to her lips and blows.

Nothing.]

How do you make that sound?

[Let her audition for this bluegrass band too.]

[Ichimatsu smirks around the blade of grass, muffling his reply.]

Heh... you like that? I guess kids are easy to entertain, after all.

[He doesn't mean it as an insult, honest. He can't remember the last time he's played around with a stupid grass whistle; he may as well pass the useless talent along to someone who might be able to enjoy it. Shoving his hoodie off into the sand, Ichimatsu sits up straight and pinches the blade between his thumb and forefinger for her to get a better look.]

Fine, then I'll teach you. You'll need a thicker blade of grass than that.

[No one can say she isn't serious about this lesson on grass whistling. Easily entertained is right. She grabs a few pieces from the pile and leans forward, holding each one up to his. The ones that don't make the cut go back to the pile.]

This one!

[Finally!! She finds one that's close and pushes in against his blade just to be sure. Looks good enough.]

Okay, I can learn this. I'm ready.

[Ichimatsu is surprisingly patient as Ren searches for the perfect piece of grass. Well, it's more like he doesn't have much else better to do. When she finally finds one, he leans in to inspect it with a low hum in his throat.]

Yeah, that'll work.

[Now, let's see. Who was it that taught him how to do it, back when they were kids who cared about this stuff? Was it... Shittymatsu... ? He can't remember, but he recalls the instructions well enough.]

All right. Um, well... the way I did it was kinda hard. Try the easier way first, I guess. Try holding it like... this.

[Carefully, Ichimatsu pinches one end of the grass between the fatty heels of both palms, allowing it to rest lengthwise across the small slit that forms betwen both thumbs.]

[Grass, up! Hands, together! This is fine. So far, it's easy enough and she feels like it's something she can manage to do. All she has to do is mimic his movements, which she attempts to do carefully.]

Is this your favorite game to play?

[He's intently watching her form the whistle, so her question catches him a little bit off-guard.]

Hm? W-well, not a game, but... it's more like... [He pauses.] ... something me and my brother used to do together.

[He and Karamatsu were pretty close, once, he guesses. But that's not important right now.]

Anyway, now you just do this.

[Ichimatsu brings his hands to his face, pressing his lips into the hole formed between his palms. As he blows out, the blade of grass vibrates against his thumbs and create a similar sound to the one he produced earlier.]

A brother? Is he like you?

[Read: a cat. The vagueness of her question doesn't help though and she doesn't feel the need to clarify. It should be obvious, right? Sure.

Her attention goes back to the whistle. Again, it looks simple. This way is easier than before and yet every attempt she makes ends in failure. That's fine. In the dead of night while all the building inhabitants are asleep, she can practice this grass whistle. The silent toot will lull everyone into a peaceful slumber. Still, there's a smile on her face the whole time. Failing doesn't make it any less exciting.]

This is fun! Very fun!

[Holy crap.]

[To be blunt, Ichimatsu knows this won't last. Some cute, innocent girl like this? He's the last person she should be hanging around. The very last. If he cared at all about that dorky smile, he would have run her off a long time ago. What good is he going to be for her?]

[None. None at all.]

[He knows this, and he keeps telling himself this as he watches her attempt to coax a noise out of her grass whistle. He should chase her off. It's not too late. Even the fact that she's a cat person is just further proof that there's a kindness in her that shouldn't expose itself to him.]

[Instead, he smiles and chuckles.]

Ah... it's fine. It might take a while before you can make any sound. Just keep trying.

[Oh, right. She asked about his brother. Ichimatsu tries not to let the comparison to Shittymatsu sour his mood... because as much as he hates to admit it, being identical twins does mean that they're at least a little bit similar. He bites his tongue on the instinct to insert the expletive into his brother's name. God damn it, maybe he should use his actual honorifics around her... ? He'd rather die, but as long as Shittymatsu isn't around to hear it.]

K-karamatsu-niisan... is...

[You can do it, Ichimatsu. Come on.]

... blue.

[The bizarre description of his brother isn't what causes her to pull the grass away from her mouth. It's the use of niisan and feeling like that's a term she's heard before. Maybe read before. The memory is too difficult to place and shoves it to the back of her mind for now. There's no way this cat is from her world. She would have known about him.

Instead, she decides to focus her full attention on the random color he sputtered out. Blue. Karamatsu is blue. Is she understanding that? The wheels are turning Ichimatsu. She's doing Her Best.]

He's blue.

[Blue...furred? Or maybe something else. She points a finger up to her eye.

Blue here?

[And then quickly adds onto her guess, raising her hand to point to the top of her head.]

And here?

[Embarrassed, Ichimatsu clicks his tongue in a soft tsk and looks away, scratching the back of his head. She's really not gonna let this cat-ear thing go, is she? ... it kind of makes him regret that he doesn't know how to do it on command. It's not that he's ever tried to hide his cat instincts, but this is the first time they've been on demand.]

[Worse than that is the fact that he has to figure out a way to describe his most embarrassing brother without falling back on coarse language. Though honestly, if he's already decided not to get attached, shouldn't he be doing exactly that? Ugh, too complicated -- before his thoughts can drag the silence out too long, Ichimatsu reaches for his sweater, tugging a purple sleeve into the air.]

N...no. Like mine... [A faint red burns over his ears.] M-murasaki.

Seto and I wear those colors too. He likes blue and I like purple.

[Not that it means anything and they're certainly not siblings like Murasaki and Karamatsu are. It's just a parallel she noticed and can't help to point out. The top of her hospital gown is slightly exposed from the oversized kimono and she brings a hand up to point at it, her grass wielding hand pointing down to his jacket.]

We match!

[She missed having a a cat friend so much. Look at how happy she is?? Unfortunately, she now assumes purple is his favorite color, since he chose a different outfit from his brother. Maybe she can find a purple flower for his hair so they can match even more. He never asked for this. I'm sorry.]

I'll find more purple things for Mursaki.

[Ichimatsu pulls the sleeve into his lap and worries it between his thumbs, trying to hide his embarrassment. He looks up just in time to see her point at the flash of clothing underneath her kimono, and though she then points at him, Ichimatsu's eyes stay focused there. His eyebrows furrow. He hasn't seen one in a while, but that thing looks like...]

[He's snapped out of his confusion a moment later by her declaration. She's not wrong: he does like purple, though he can't remember if he started out that way or if he just grew so used to being color-coded that liking it became a necessity. Identical children tend to latch onto anything that will distinguish them from their siblings.]

[If she wants to match with him -- even if it means Karamatsu has to be involved -- he guesses he doesn't mind that much.]

[What really interests him is that name.]

Who's Seto?

My friend.

[There's a warmth in her voice as she speaks and despite the lackluster description of who, the fondness in her voice shows enough. What else is there to say? He's her only friend and the reason she's alive right now.

Even if he's not here yet. She has no doubt in her mind he's canvassing the island, searching for her. All she has to do is be patient.]

He's good with cats too. They trust him. He's safe.

[It's the best way she can think to prime her new friend to meet Seto, whenever he shows up. She can't wait.]

When Seto finds me, I'll come find you. We can play together.

[Ah. Her friend. Of course, for a brief moment, Ichimatsu wonders exactly what kind of friend he is to her. The warmth in her tone is as palpable as the sun bearing down on them. He isn't jealous, exactly -- he barely knows her, and whoever Seto is, he obviously has a history with her.]

[It's more that... it's easy to call someone safe. Ichimatsu, if stripped of his stubbornness, might be convinced to call his brothers safe. That doesn't mean they haven't stood by and let him hurt before. And maybe it's the glimpse of the hospital gown underneath her kimono, but Ichimatsu is slowly putting together an idea that Ren is not entirely a stranger to hurt.]

[He also knows he has no business, a total stranger, going around questioning a teenage girl about her friend's goodness. But she seems like too nice of a kid not to worry about.]

... Seto... has he always been like that?

[That's a hard question to answer. They only began traveling together recently and she's learned enough about him over the weeks to know the type of person he is now with great certainty. There's no one in the world she trusts more and there's nothing that could sway her opinion. She's reluctant to part with her answer, only because she wishes he could meet Seto for himself. To see how good a person he truly is.]

I don't know that.

[She plucks at the piece of grass in her hand and brings it up to her lips to try once more. Nope.]

But I know his heart is good. I think it's always been that way, just like Murasaki's heart. I can tell that kind of thing.

[He rolls his own blade of grass back and forth between thumb and forefinger. Just like Murasaki's heart, huh?]

[What a low standard.]

[Ichimatsu can't bring himself to truly draw a poor impression of this person, though. She's a nice kid. Maybe too nice for her own good. If she's really that close with him, then it makes more sense for Seto to be a genuinely nice kid, too. Ichimatsu just hope's he's not as nice -- for both of their sakes.]

[He brings his grass up to his mouth and gives it another soft whistle.]

... then you'd better pick this up fast. So you can show him.

Yes, and then we can show him together.

[Can you imagine it? A boy brought in from the ocean, greeted by two cat lovers on the beach with their grass whistle aria. It's going to be amazing.

Murasaki does have a point. She has to practice now and prepare for Seto's arrival, which should be any day now. Any moment, really. All she has to do is wait patiently and he'll come like he always does.

With a smile, she lays flat on the sand and cups her hand over her mouth, blowing away.]

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

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