lifeaftr | November Intro: Red Sun Rises Like an Early Warning

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November Intro: Red Sun Rises Like an Early Warning

INTRO LOG: NOVEMBER

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

The New Arrivals: Hold My Hand
When you wake, it will be to the lapping of waves, frothed with foam...pulling at your hair, your skin, your clothing. The sand is soft and wet beneath you, but it's several inches submerged. And the longer you stay here, the more obvious it will be that the water level of the ocean ringing this strip of island has begun to to rise, and not merely because the tide has started to come in.

And what's more? You can tell that something else about this entire situation is horribly, horribly wrong.

Perhaps you've lost some special power. Perhaps some piece of your memory is freshly and disconcertingly blank. Perhaps you've just discovered that one of your senses is missing, or that you've been rendered unable to speak, or you've been struck by a debilitating fatigue. Not only are you stranded in some unfamiliar place, stuck on a rapidly flooding beach, but you aren't even doing it in full possession of all your faculties.

For those who agreed to put themselves at a disadvantage for a stranger, these are your consequences. If you're unclear as to the handicap your character has been assigned, if any, please check your initial acceptance notice!

All new arrivals will additionally awake with knapsacks, their names stitched to the front. The contents of said knapsacks can also be found in your acceptance notices!

For All: It's a Long Way Down
The water isn't a problem for the newest arrivals, either. It seems that the waters all over Ensō have started to rise, slowly at first, and then with a steadily increasing rate. At first, you might be forgiven for assuming the tide must simply be unusually high, or maybe that the island's begun to sink. But the longer it endures, the more obvious it becomes that neither is the case.

The water has begun to rise. Something is wrong with the island itself, or the being living on it, and now there is nothing preventing the water's inexorable approach as it steadily washes over and over the mainland. In fact, if you listen closely, you might even be able to hear a peculiar sound tearing over the cold rush of the coastal wind; something akin to a desolate wailing.

Either get to high ground - and quickly - or find out what's causing this. But either way, we suggest you hurry...because there are a great deal of newly arrived, very disoriented folk on the beach that could really, really use your help.

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.

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 )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Seriously? Well, it's good waking up on the beach isn't too bad for you then.

[He's ready to ask what could be worse than washing up face down with a throat full of seawater. That's before the all too familiar scent of blood hits his nose. He might be having trouble remembering what he is exactly, but his wolfskin sense of smell is still there.

Keaton makes no attempt to hide he's got the scent of something as he helps Asch up. He sniffs the air, ears flicking up and down curiously as he looks the other man over.]

Then again, waking up on the beach with a wound? That's pretty bad. Yeesh, just thinking about it kinda stings. [...] Unless that's not your blood I'm catching a whiff of.

[There's a number of holes in his tabard and the shirt underneath - holes the redhead presses his hand to at the question.]

No, it's... It's mine, I think. There were...

[He turns, and startles a little at the sight of the swords that were underneath him. Blink, blink.

They look about the right size for the holes, though there's only two instead of three.]

Those.

[A wince, and he pulls the hand away from his chest.]

[He looks carefully between the holes in Asch's clothes and the swords... And then takes a step back.]

Waaait-- Wait! What do you mean those? Were you stabbed by your own swords or something? [And more importantly-] Should I try and find a healer?!

[There are vulneraries in his pack if needed! Keaton already looks a little frantic as he stares as Asch's chest, trying to see if there's any actual blood or wounds to go along with the scent.]

Not mine.

[A pause.]

Well, they're mine now, I suppose.

[He presses a hand into his chest again, as much to try and get the guy to STOP STARING AT IT as anything.]

If I was still wounded, I wouldn't be talking or standing up.

Maybe you're just one of those guys who can take a lot before they're kept down! Anyway, if you're fine then fine. I wasn't worried or anything.

[Which is made all the more convincing when his ears flatten down slightly against his head. Maybe he was a bit worried. Just a little.]

But uh, if you're okay then I've got a question for you. What are you? [...] I mean you're a human, you look like one. But do you know that? [There is a reason for this odd line of questioning, really.]

[Actually, he kind of is. But multi-punctured lungs aren't one of the things you live through without immediate medical attention.

The question gets a frown.]

I'd say 'why would I be anything else,' but...

[Here's looking straight at your ears, buddy.]

But?

[It takes him a solid few seconds to actually catch on.]

Oh! Yeah, these. [His ears perk up and bounce up and down a few times as though they're reacting to the attention.] See, I'm not a human. Thinking I am just feels wrong. But I'm having trouble remembering exactly what my thing is and... Well, I figured maybe someone else waking up here might be in the same boat as me. Yeah?

Not in that regard, sorry. And I've never seen one of whatever you are before.

[No help here unfortunately.]

[Way to be useless Asch, he was banking on you helping him here.]

See, you writing me off as a whatever really bothers me. But I can't get mad about it when I don't know I am in the first place! [And now he's getting mad that he can't get mad.] Maybe this is all some bad dream still and I'll wake up on Mount Garou later...

[With a huff he kicks at the ground, sending a clump of damp sand flying as his ears hang low. Coupled with the down, frustrated expression he's wearing he looks like... Well, like a kicked puppy really.]

It's not writing you off if I have no idea, either.

[Huff!!! If he's trying to be insulting he'll be more obvious about it.]

Fine, it's not writing off. It's more like... You're not being helpful. [In his opinion anyway. That sounds so much better.] Wait, no, you can be helpful!

[In the blink of an eye his ears perk up and his tail begins a slow wag behind him.]

With hair as long as that, you must get some interesting stuff trapped in it, yeah? [... Yup. This is the question that is helping to turn his mood around.] C'mon, you can tell me.

[WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL]

I do not!

[His hair is straight and well groomed it doesn't snag on things! If it did it'd be impossible to fight with!]

Yeah, sure you do! [You can't fool him man, no way can that hair be flawless.] If you're walking through a forest you're gonna get leaves and branches and-- There's so much stuff it could get caught on!

[He takes a moment to bring a hand up to his own hair. It's knotted. And scraggly. If you asked for the definition of a brush it would have no idea what you're on about.]

Man, maybe I can get my hair to be as long as yours. Every time I go sleep I could roll over, check out my hair and see what awesome finds I've snagged up during the day. [This isn't gross. Not at all.]

[This is terrifying. Asch wants a refund on this entire interaction. He is slightly tempted to get his brush out now on principle.]

It's straight hair, it just slides through.

[He pulls his fingers through it to demonstrate. Even wrecked by the tide, there's not much resistance.]

[This interaction is non-refundable, thank you for your patronage.]

Mine is straight too! [...] Well, it was at some point I guess. Don't worry, your hair will end up looking way more rugged and cool in no time. Just imagine it all gritty and red like that.

[Is that not a great image? Gross, disgusting hair? You bet it is.]

[FULL BODY SHUDDER. He doesn't want this!]

Thank Lorelei that will never happen.

[Look you can do as you like with your own hair but Asch is going to very pointedly set about straightening his into something resembling neat. Because he is a person who cares about that.

~~Who in their right mind would S rank you gross wolfman.~~]

[Now was that a shudder of disgust or a shudder of excitement for gross hair because really it could be either.]

Wow, you're just gonna start grooming yourself right now huh. [SIGH. Some people just don't have good taste.] I'll give you like three days tops before it looks a mess. Unless you got like... A brush? Or something like that with you. All I woke up with is some worthless stuff.

[Worthless being not his usual collection of treasured junk, which might as well be worthless really.]

[There's only a brief moment where Asch reaches into the small pack at his waist, checking...

And then, with a victorious smirk, lifts and waves a somewhat waterlogged folding brush between his fingers.

SUCKER.]

It pays to be prepared for anything.

... Huh. I really don't have the words for that.

[WHO JUST HAS A BRUSH WITH THEM LIKE THAT who is that level of prepared and bothered about their own hair and-- Hey Asch. There's a certain kitsune and sky knight you would get along really well with.

Keaton stares hard at Asch with the most bewildered expression... But then he ends up reaching back into his own little pack round the side of his waist with a grin.]

Okay, let's see here. Vulnerary? Nah, not that. Plate shard? Ooh, sharp, that's a plate shard... Ah, here we go! It really does pay to be prepared.

[He'll see your waterlogged brush and present Asch with a dust bunny. A sad, damp lump of a dust bunny. Sure its wet, but the saltwater smell just adds to the appeal now.]

[Someone who literally lives on the road, dude, what do you think? His possessions are what he can carry with him and not much else.

Anyway, Asch has nothing nice to say about that poor drowned dust bunny, so he's going to say nothing. And just. Stare at it. That's what he's gonna do.]

[But it's not even broken or really old looking it's just a brush. Who carries such junk with them??

Not like this dust bunny. Which isn't junk. With the way Keaton marvels as the little lump of wet fluff and dust it might as well be priceless.]

Speechless? Yeah, don't blame you. This guy is a real beaut. Way better than some boring brush. The handle on it doesn't even look busted or anything.

[Unless that brush is full of wet red hair in which case HEY NICE that's better than nothing okay.

... It's at this point it might become very obvious that the ocean is splashing past them as the water starts coming in further up the beach. So that's not great. But this dust bunny though.]

[Yeah he's gonna just. Grab that knapsack before it gets any more soaked. Yoink. Brush gonna get put away now too.]

You... enjoy it.

Yeah I will! You enjoy your brush I guess.

[Not that there's anything to enjoy about a brush to him, but ah well. Those humans and their wacky taste in things functional and not gross.

He ends up putting the damp mush of fluff and dust into his pocket of all places before looking back up at Asch with a grin.]

So. Now we've gone over the what's and checked out each others collections, who're you? I'm Keaton.

[He will ABSOLUTELY enjoy his brush ~~it's not like he fusses with his hair as a self-soothing thing or anything~~.]

...Luke.

Gotcha. Well it's good to know you Luke. [Good to know that flowing red mane too. There are red hair balls in his future if he sticks around 'Luke' clearly.] You got anything else with you? I got a bunch of other things but none of them are really crusted up or have started flaking yet.

[Which most people would consider good really, but not Keaton.]

November Intro: Red Sun Rises Like an Early Warning

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this is the closest I have to a disgust icon

im sorry its come to this

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