lifeaftr | Long, Long Ago....

Long, Long Ago....

Who: Our intrepid heroes
What: Newt's merry band of volunteer explorers take a stab at examining the ruins from tip to toe.
When: Evening of the intro log- and onwards!
Where: The Ruins
Warnings: Mark as you go!

You haven't been wasting too much time at all, have you? With the search parties arranged, four groups set off to cover the ruin grounds- what surprises could await them? What monsters lurk around every corner?

That's up to you to discover, isn't it?

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There's a moment of tension as the dog stares at him, silent, and Newt can feel his spine stiffen further, something in him tensing, fingers starting to reach for the knife in his jacket pocket, just in case---

--except, then he's completely doused with ice water. Newt can't help but shriek, loudly, both from the sudden shock and the temperature of the water, and jumps about half a foot in the air. Unfortunately, this also means he takes a mouthful of water as it's dumped on him, sending him into a bit of a coughing fit, as his mind catches up on the fact that he just had a whole bunch of water dumped on him from literally nowhere. Newt glances up above his head as he coughs and...yep, no bucket. No waterfall. Nothing.

He turns a glare on the dog in front of them, teeth grit into something like a snarl. Well, as much of a snarl as he can manage while he's still coughing. "Considering the circumstances--" hold on, pause for coughing. "--It's no surprise that I'm suspicious!" It's snapped, but it's very hard to take this soaking wet nerd seriously now that his hair is plastered to his face. He starts to wring out the edges of his shirt, still scowling darkly, now muttering: "Still haven't answered any questions, either--"

Why is Wade the one who has to be the voice of reason here? Isn't this supposed to be anyone else's job? The powers that be certainly have a sense of humor. Regardless, Wade attempts to stop Newt's tirade before it picks up steam by placing a hand on the back of his (wet) neck, squeezing slightly in an attempt to ground him.

"Whoa there, babycakes. Slow your roll. Gonna get a nasty kink in yer spine if you keep this up. In my experience gods have always been infuriatingly obtuse, y'know? And honestly... you probably coulda done with a cold shower right about now."

Seeing a man shriek after being doused with ice water nearly causes Asriel to jump out of his fur - but after a few seconds, it seems that Newt isn't seriously harmed. Just very wet and angry. Seeing him flail a bit is... kind of funny. A little. He tries not to show it.

Whoever this dog was, they don't seem to be in be in a mood to play around.

"Who was using these tents, if you don't mind us asking? Did something happen to them?"

Asriel tries to be polite, but braces himself just in case he gets the cold water treatment too.

"See? Look at this one. He has manners." The dog says approvingly- and if Asriel doesn't mind, he'll be trotting over to give him a brief sniff.

"Adventurers, much like yourselves- people who came and left this island as they pleased. Much like you can. When people come from the ocean, they can return to the ocean, if my home is already so boorish..."

Clementine has been keeping quiet in their conversation so far, peeping out from behind Wade curiously with her gun held tightly (just in case, but also a little raised in the short seconds between Newt yelling and getting covered in icy water).

Now, a little more relaxed, she pipes up, "We're sorry if some of us seem kind of mad, it's just 'cause we're confused. This is all really new." And to be fair to Newt, this dog did seem to be kind of weirdly avoidant... not that she's gonna say that though. The cold water didn't look fun.

"Do you know where this island is?" she asks. "I think we're all from really different places..." That's definitely what it's seemed like anyway, to say the least.

Honestly, it's a good thing Wade stepped in when he did, as otherwise this entire conversation might've gone a lot differently. As is, the squeeze at his neck grounds and centers, and takes his snarl down to a scowl. He does elbow at Wade anyway for that cold shower comment though, and narrows his eyes at that dog as it wanders over towards Asriel.

"I'm not sorry." It's muttered, as Newt starts to wring out his shirt--but he's glancing sharply at that dog, trying to parse it for any sort of reaction to Clem's question...not that he's ever been good at reading facial expressions on humans, muchless dogs.

Good boy, Newt. Let your elders take care of this situation.

Like Clementine, for example.

"Understandable, yes. I believe I'm beginning to see..." Hm. The pages of the tome flutter; a rustle of hands not there. "Yes. Yes, I see."

With a curious tilt of it's head, the dog examines them all in turn. It is, however, a dog- there's nothing to parse from it's expression, body language mostly the same as when they entered.

"This place is given many names by those who live here; some that make sense, some that do not. The simplest translation for this archipelago is 'LifeAftr'- in fact, that may very well be the best name for this world, as well."

There's a good boy. Newt, not the dog.

Wade feels the muscles in the man's neck relax under his touch, and once he gets a sense that Newt's not gonna fly off the handle again, he moves his hand to his shoulder. The scars around Newt's mouth may have faded, but that doesn't mean Wade's forgotten speaking to him in Morse Code when he sassed at the wrong people and wound up missing his lower jaw. You don't really forget something like that.

Wade finds his attention diverted from that oh-so-pleasant memory by the dog's words, and he crosses his arms over his chest, looking at the animal-god-whatever with a skeptical eye.

"LifeAftr, huh? That supposed to be some kind of a pun? Like... are we actually in an afterlife or what, here? 'Cause I'm not seein' Bea Arthur sunbathing in a two piece anywhere."

Rude.

The dog cocks it's head to the side, as if Wade's question is seemingly incomprehensible.

"I did say one of many names, didn't I? Do you feel as if this place is the afterlife? Some kind of limbo in which your dearly departed selves should be judged?" A huff. "Does your culture often ruminate such callous ends for children?"

"Sometimes they do."

It's said, a little bitterly, under Asriel's breath. He's unfortunately seen - and experienced - quite a lot of child death. He was poisoned before he came here. It'd make a lot more sense if this was some kind of aterlife...

Though it's a bit more peaceful than what he imagined.

"And sometimes they do not." The dog responds, somewhat impatiently. "My word, you are a very pessimistic bunch. Perhaps we should try this discussion at a later date."

An unsatisfied chuff; it doesn't look too pleased with this conclusion.

"At the least, you can use these tents as you will."

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Long, Long Ago....

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