October Aftermath: Crystal Clear

[lifeaftr_mods]

Who: All!
What: You're back, for better or worse. Time to recover.
When: Backdated to the 24th and beyond.
Where: The Monkey Compound, Islets, etc.
Warnings: Mark as you go.


No matter where you are on the morning of the 24th, things will very abruptly go dark.

Unless you're dead. In which case, things are already dark. And you do not see this.

For the rest of you, however, the Storyteller appears only briefly. Gone is their seemingly indifferent nature; as the rabbit hops too and throe, the pages of their tome flick back and forth in an erratic pattern, stopping on a blank page for only a moment, before continuing on. Despite the pages always turning in the one direction, there seems to be no end to them, not at all.

"I'll keep this brief, for the moment. All of you have now been removed from the caverns below," A haggard sigh- and a reluctant addition. "Those of you still alive.

"Your efforts have allowed me access to what lies below. I have sealed off the entrances- from now, the responsibility of cleaning up the mess is upon me."

And that appears to be it. Darkness returns, along with the sensation of lying upon the sand. Birds call out from the jungle, joining the rhythmic shift of the waves. No matter where you were on the island; underground, or above, you awaken upon the shoreline near the Storyteller's temple, along with the rest of the survivors.



"For what it is worth, I am truly sorry."

---

[[If you have yet to do so, make sure you confirm your character's death here!]]

Comments

[demonpuppy]

[On a slightly more secluded part of the beach, Chip sits near the shoreline with their knees pulled up to their chest. The water laps at their feet, starting to soak through their shoes, but they don't care, really.]

[People...died, down there. They died, and even if the Storyteller has promised they will return somehow...it's a hard thing to truly realize. They'd been helpless to do anything, to fight back...they're nothing but a burden here.]

[They don't hear Muffet's approach, but she might hear a tell-tale sniffle and notice the red shot to Chip's eyes, even if most of the damp has been wiped away.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[She sees them and approaches quietly, stopping just far enough away to give them a little space and just close enough to make it clear they weren't alone.]

[She doesn't say anything about their tears, knowing that sometimes one just needs to cry. But when they next look up they'll see Muffet standing there, her expression wearily sympathetic, holding out a small square of cloth for them to wipe their face on.]

[demonpuppy]

[Chip is still for a moment, their cheeks flushing red in embarrassment that someone's come across them in this state. They'd come out here to be alone, but...well, that's been shot down, hasn't it?]

[They swallow thickly and reach to take the cloth, scrubbing away the last trace of tears from their eyes.]

...th-thanks.

[prettypurpleparlor]

You're welcome, dearie.

[Muffet sounds tired, the cave expedition wearing on her as it did everyone else, but her tone is gentle. She'll leave if they ask her to, but she suspects that being alone might not help as much as they might think right now.]

[demonpuppy]

...what're we supposed to do?

[Despite everything, they really have no idea. They've never had to deal with death at all before, except in the abstract, but now it's real and palpable and all they want to do is run away and hide. But they can't, and they know they can't.]

'Re we...do we need to make a funeral?

[prettypurpleparlor]

I'm not entirely certain- with so many people from so many different worlds, it's hard to say what customs would be appropriate.

[She knows how to do a proper monster funeral, and has a vague idea of a human one, but beyond that? Not so much.]

There's a more pressing question, however. The Storyteller claims they can restore our dead to life. We'll need to keep watch for them, I think, and see if they've kept that promise.

[demonpuppy]

[Chip sniffles and wipes again at their eyes, looking down over the beach with a worried expression.]

Will they be...here? Like we were?

[prettypurpleparlor]

They didn't elaborate much, I'm afraid. Given what we heard them say when we were taken out of the caverns, I suspect it might not be an immediate revival- although how long we'll have to wait, I couldn't say.

[She looks thoughtful, focusing on practical matters to avoid the emotional ones.]

It might be wise for us to check back here regularly, just in case. Keep a... vigil, of sorts. Somewhat appropriate, under the circumstances.

[demonpuppy]

...okay. I...I can do it.

[They can handle the dark, always could. They never had trouble seeing, and they can run back to get people if the dead do start to reappear. ...what would that even look like? Would Chip see it, or is it one of those magics you can't be looking at for it to work?]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[She nods solemnly, not trying to tell them they can't do it. Muffet can understand the need to do something, to have some task or piece of useful work to focus on in order to keep yourself from getting dragged down.]

You won't be doing so alone, either- I plan to keep an eye out, myself, and I'm sure many of the others have people they want to watch for.