December Intro: Don't Come Home for Christmas

[lifeaftr_mods]

INTRO LOG: DECEMBER

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: December 3rd and onward
Where: Monsun
Warnings: Mark as needed!

The Overview: Uncharted Waters
Stay alert, new adventurers; instead of the white-sand beaches of Enso, you will instead be coming to on one of two sides of the relatively uncharted lands of Monsun. Most of the information regarding this peculiar land can be found in the informational post linked, but as a quick-and-dirty rundown: Monsun's western side is a hot wasteland of a desert prone of disasters and mishaps, but will affect your character's emotional and psychological state in a positive sense, while its eastern side is a verdant forest filled with endless resources...as well as a tendency to bring out the absolute worst of your character.

To start with, all new arrivals will be showing up in one of two squares that characters uncovered last month! We are leaving it up to player discretion as to which side of the island your character arrives on, but bear in mind the psychological repercussions!

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

Monsun, C4: These Are Your Good Years
You wake to the hot sun steaming overhead, rapidly drying your clothes and belongings, waterlogged from washing upon this desolate shore. The heatwaves shimmer at your vision, distorting your view of the horizon. But if you really squint, it looks like there might be something dark green fringing that pipecleaner skyline, like a lush woodland awaits you on the other side of this desert nightmare. A mirage, maybe?

Whatever it is, you don't get very long to contemplate it. Beneath your feet, the ground has begun to shake as a many-headed horror erupts from the earth. Great streams of pale sand slough from its dry, scaly hide as multiple horned heads unfurl in a hissing inflorescence. The creature's eyes are all pale as grubs; it is quite blind. But that does not mean it cannot smell you. Boasting both a thick hide and a chitinous coat of sandy-colored scales that blends them perfectly with their surroundings, Sand Hydras sleep several feet under the sand until they sense the vibrations of potential prey aboveground. While they are significantly smaller than their mythological counterparts - they can only span eight to twelve feet in length - Sand Hydras are cunning creatures nonetheless with a number of heads that can vary from one to as high as ten. Their weakness, on the other hand, is simple: water burns them like acid. It seems they may flourish only in any moisture-poor environment.

Assuming your character lasts that long, remember: as physically destructive as Monsun's west may be, your character's most admirable traits will be amplified to their fullest potential by the twenty-four hour mark.

Monsun, D3: Before You Bury Yourself Alive
Those waking on the eastern side of the island, on the other hand, will face a far more pleasing tableau. The temperature is perfect, the sun shines modestly through the canopy of deciduous greenery above your head, and the air is thick and sweet with the smell of fresh fruit.

That's right - within minutes of their arrival, your character will discover several plants laden with fresh wild blackberries. Should that temptation arrest their attention, should they be vulnerable to the foibles of greed or hoarding or paranoia, your character may very well wish to keep this treat to themself. Or...perhaps not. Perhaps they'd much rather search out a fight, or try to steal someone else's supplies, or embark on a poorly-advised mission to swim out into Monsun's surrounding waters.

For that is, after all, the catch: as physically soothing as Monsun's east may be, your character's most hateful traits will be amplified to their fullest potential by the twenty-four hour mark.

---

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!

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[hyperlit]

Their reaction to the suggestion is not strictly obvious, but they stand a little straighter and their gaze snaps to her with unblinking fierceness. Perhaps it is not apparent, subdued as their expressions usually are, but their immediate response is one of muted shock.

True, they are perhaps not very heavy - small and lithe, wasted in most areas of their muscle structure, pocked with blood sores in others. But surely she cannot think to simply throw them like a rag doll?

high risk?

[shineinside]

Hmm... Admittedly, it was a pretty long shot, even for her. Kyouko could probably clear it easy.

"It's not zero risk, but I think I could make it. Worst case scenario, you'd land in the shallow part on the far side, and just be able to wade to the shore. Beyond that, it's just a question of how well you can handle landing at that kind of speed..."

[hyperlit]

It is not the speed that concerns them. They are not fond of the water, to be certain. The water where they come from usually spelled death, or injury, or worse. They are far from eager to embark upon an experiment to see if the waters here are of the same persuasion.

Still. The alternative is stranding Yuka here, alone and potentially unprepared.

The Drifter holds up a finger - wait. They shuck off the pack strapped to their shoulders, winding carefully back before hurling it across the river in a high parabolic arc. It lands in a dusty tumble on the other side.

They turn to her next.

ok

They're ready.

[shineinside]

Whoa, they're pretty strong, too, if they can throw their pack that far. The landing shouldn't be a problem.

"All right, then, with your permission..."

Yuka picks up the Drifter as comfortably as possible, and takes aim. She's had practice with throwing Kyouko at monsters before, but this person's bigger and balanced differently, so hopefully that won't cause any problems...

With a yell, she throws with all her strength, launching the Drifter into the air and - ideally - to the far side of the river.

[hyperlit]

It is, to be certain, uncomfortable. She handles them deftly, as though they are not disgusting, as though the tint of their skin does not unsettle her. It should. It ought to. It unsettles most people, with a handful of notable exceptions, and yet there is no indication of that. There is only -

The rush of air, similar to a dash but far less controlled, as they go sailing in an arc similar to their pack. They land in a tumble of dust and limbs bracing against the ground. The impact rouses a faint splash from the river, and they scramble away from it as though burned.

A cursory check of their vitals via their sprite - no permanent damage sustained.

Good.

They stick a thumb straight up in the air in a gesture they know means something generally positive, a little dusty and bedraggled, but otherwise unhurt.

[shineinside]

Yuka exhales when they indicate success - looks like she's still got it. She gives a wave, then sets about crossing the river herself. She stops, though, before getting to the deeper water, the Drifter's safe traversal giving her a better idea.

Taking a few steps back, she stops out of habit to do a couple pre-sprint stretches. Then, she launches herself forward at full speed and jumps, hurtling even higher than the Drifter did when thrown. She lands still a bit short of dry land, and stumbles awkwardly when she lands, but it's better than getting soaked in this outfit.

"Sorry had to deal with that." It doesn't take a genius to tell that the Drifter isn't fond of water. "Do you know where we're going, or is this just another wilderness that's slightly more hospitable than the desert?"

[hyperlit]

She is nothing if not adept and adaptable. They watch her clear the water under her own power with something like admiration, though it may be far from obvious, given their lack of apparent emotion at nearly any given time.

The other side is indeed rich with green, as though the wasteland preceding it were sliced away from this point on.

unknown
only traversed west region

[shineinside]

"So it's still down to exploring..." That's just great. What would be the smart thing to do from here? They might be here for a while.

"...Sorry for asking a weird question, but do you need to drink water to live? I don't know how long we'll be out here, so it might be worth risking the river..."

[hyperlit]

It is a preferable question to the manner they keep bracing themself for; queries as to the tint of their skin and the reason they cover their face, or why they cannot speak or why their blood is the bright pink hue it is, or why they cannot seem to stop coughing it up when the days and nights are truly untenable.

Do you need to drink water? It is innocent enough.

i do
purity of water unknown

you?

[shineinside]

As far as Yuka's concerned, their race might just look like that normally. She has no frame of reference, after all.

"Yeah. I've been out in the desert for a while, so I'm already pretty thirsty..."

She weights her options for a moment. The water looks clear, but there's no way to be sure. If she gets sick, there might not be medicine available. Maybe a Reflector body is resistant to disease, too? It's pretty tough in other ways, but it's never come up.

Ultimately, what it comes down to is this: Neither of them knows how to check for safe water, so any other water sources they find will be just as uncertain as this one. So, Yuka kneels down by the edge of the water to drink. Alphine fresh bottled water it isn't, but she's thirsty enough that she isn't about to complain.

"...It's bitter, but that's about it. I don't know if that means it's unsafe or anything, but that won't really matter if we get dehydrated later."

[hyperlit]

Perhaps. The Drifter, on the other hand, evidently chooses not to risk it. Far better for one of their number to be stricken with some foreign contaminant or illness, they reason, than both of them.

wait for effects

In the meantime, perhaps they can stay in proximity to the river. Flowing water makes for a relatively stable landmark. Ordinarily they might mention this to her in a visual sense, but their goal is in sight, and with it comes a single-minded persistence to see it yield.

They start trotting along the flowing strip of water in an effort to see where it may lead, without so much as an acknowledgment in Yuka's direction.

[shineinside]

She nods, and follows. At least if she gets horribly sick, maybe they can carry her to safety. Or... to something, at least.

Yuka doesn't feel especially compelled to break the silence, so she spends it trying to sort out what she's learned about her traveling companion. Name, unknown. Gender, unknown. Motivations, unknown. Species, unknown. That's not much to start with.

Not nothing, though. They're quiet, but strong. Some kind of health problems. Seems pretty in his element exploring a strange wilderness. Hates water. What does that add up to? Some kind of wandering desert warrior?

She could ask directly, but she suspects they wouldn't have much to say about it. Whatever their background, they seem like someone she can trust.

[hyperlit]

The water fosters dense vegetation, sprouting in bursts of unfurling green in a verdurous display completely at odds with the dry yellow of the desert on the other side. The division is stark and so complete to be unnerving, in some respects - but they have witnessed peculiar landmarks before.

They cannot be certain, but from the position of the sun, they would venture that they are currently heading north. Eventually, the Drifter stops to consult their sprite, opening a secondary HUD. A patchwork of squares with abstruse, squarish markings denoting meanings they've not seen fit to label or explain.

With a soft chirp from their sprite, they begin marking the river's weaving presence on their map.

[shineinside]

The chirp shakes Yuka out of her thoughts, and she leans over to peer at the HUD. She had seen plenty of fantasy in her life, but not so much sci-fi.

"Is that a map? That thing seems really useful!" Hopefully it isn't a living, sapient companion that takes offense at being called 'useful'.

[hyperlit]

It is not sentient, but a standard tool - though plenty seem to call it "fairy" or "friend" or any number of things that the Drifter does not wholly understand, but will not contest nonetheless. The reminder that they are not braving this land alone seems to have been required to shake them back into a state where they can converse.

They are not well-versed in such things, it seems.

yes
most territory unknown

[shineinside]

Looking at the map, she doesn't understand a lot of it - it seems fairly abstract, mostly empty, and missing a key to explain what all the different symbols mean. All she gets from it is a sense that this island is pretty big.

"Say, is this your first day here, like me? Or have you been around longer?"

[hyperlit]

The Drifter blinks slowly as they register what it is she's suggestion. She...would be new, then. And being new, she would not understand that this is not the typical land that new travelers face.

They close one HUD in exchange for another map - this one larger, of different shape, and significantly more filled in.

new land
old traveler

[shineinside]

Yuka stares at the map, gradually realizing what they're saying. New land, old traveler. The other people, the ones who already know this place, they also aren't from this island! Both groups are new to this one!

"So... this other island, that's where the others are living? That's where we need to get, right?"

[hyperlit]

chart new land

So...no, actually. They have no intention of leaving or finding a reason or means of departure just yet. There are still manifold possibilities and resources to be gained here, and they intend full well to make the most of that.

[shineinside]

Oh.

The problem with staying silent, even if it's a comfortable silence, is that it can lead to misunderstandings.

"...You're not looking for safety, are you? You're doing the opposite, heading out into the unexplored places to map them out."

[hyperlit]

yes

A prompt response. They are not the least bit inclined to do anything beside that which beckons at them instinctively. These lands are unknown. They must know more. Here, it may be the only thing that may yield what they search for.]

important

[shineinside]

Well that's that, then. With a small sigh, Yuka bows deeply.

"Thanks for all your help, but I'm going to go back to the desert after all. I don't think I should join you in exploring until I know I have a safe place to come back to."

[hyperlit]

The urge to ask if she requires guardianship briefly wells up in their thin chest, but the thought dies in the same moment it forms. She can clearly take care of herself, and there would be little point in the endeavor.

Thus, they will part ways.

The Drifter dips their head in a brief nod without much hesitation. Or, indeed, without much external emotion at all.

ok

[shineinside]

Ultimately, she has no idea what kind of impression she made on this person, or who they are. But still, she appreciates their help, such as it was, and silently wishes them good luck.

With a small nod of her own, Yuka turns and heads back towards the desert. The camp Ascn mentioned - and possibly Kyouko - is over there somewhere.