[day 13AUG] wake up, you're a drama queen

[ichininyaanshi]

Who: Ichimatsu + ota
What: A man goes looking for cats. He gets one... in a sense.
When: August 13
Where: Enso D6
Warnings: Catastrophe, warnings to be added if appropriate

--

"I'm going out," he had told whichever of his brothers had been listening at the time. It might have been both, or perhaps it was neither -- if he were to guess, it would be the latter. Maybe it would have seemed a little odd to hear from the reclusive Ichimatsu, let alone in the middle of the day, when the sun was out and bearing down without relief. If so, Ichimatsu had likely shuffled off into the jungle without opening the floor to questions.

The truth is, he can't stand it anymore. It's been nearly two weeks of nothing but his brothers and a whole lot of strangers for company.

Ichimatsu needs to know if there are cats on this island.

He doubts it. Other than the fierce wildlife variety, that is -- tigers or leopards or whatever, he'd take it. Ichimatsu isn't picky. He'd just like to spend time in the company of something that won't force him to talk, or look at him like the sweaty garbage he is. If that means getting eaten by a leopard, well... no pain, no gain.

He begins at (i.) the pools south of the Storyteller's temple, to bottle and purify some water for his trip. From there, he picks a direction and goes. West, as it would so happen. With his hoodie tied around his waist and his knapsack drawn over one shoulder, he sets out on his search.

To be honest, it's all right with him if he doesn't find cats. He just needs some time to himself.

Ichimatsu spends some time simply (ii.) exploring the jungle. His knife finds its way through several trunks of trees to mark his path, and once or twice, his fingernails might be employed to do the job instead. Yes, really. A nap under the shade to escape the heat for an hour or so, or to hell with it: perhaps he simply sits on a rock, whittling away at a hunk of broken-off branch to ease his boredom.

It's just barely getting dark when Ichimatsu gives up his search for cat-kind, with less than half a bottle of water left, and begins searching for his nearest marking to follow his path home. Funnily enough, though his eyes catch a streak of clawmarks in the bark of a lush tree, something feels like it's pulling him in the complete opposite direction.

(iii.) Literally.

It's with a startled grunt that Ichimatsu jerks away from the physical pull, slamming into the jungle floor. He scrabbles at the grass, looking over his shoulder just in time to see one of his sandals come loose. A mass of black energy pulsates in an open clearing just a short distance away; a miniature, billowing cloud, a typhoon contained in its own vortex. He's never seen anything like it. A gravitational pull pounds through his skull like a sharp, sucking beat of tinnitus, and suddenly Ichimatsu registers what's going on.

Shit. He's gonna die.

That's fine, he thinks. He doesn't care. And yet he digs his fingers deeper into the soil, dragging himself forward inch by grueling inch until he can sling one arm around a tree trunk and hold on tight, his eyes screwing shut. What the hell is that thing? What'll happen if he lets go? He figures he'll find out eventually, but...

Yeah, he'll admit it. He's sort of scared to find out. So he grits his teeth and he holds on, weighing his options to the last.

Slowly, evening begins to fall across the island.

Comments

iii

[manasponge]

"Hellooooo?" A voice floated up over the jungle canopy; leaves rustled and parted. Marcille, having returned to the general area of the campsite, had decided to poke around the region some more.

Of course, she was mainly on the lookout for victuals -- not actual black holes.

[ichininyaanshi]

Shit, it got worse.

Ichimatsu cringes upon hearing the unfamiliar voice call out. Not enough that his bad luck literally opened some kind of death portal in time and space... but he's had to go and drag some stranger into it too.

He's a little breathless from crawling his way to the tree, but he raises his voice as best he's able through the chatter of the jungle.

"H-hey, idiot! Get the hell out of here!"

[manasponge]

"Whoa...!"

Marcille felt her feet began to leave the ground and snatched at a tree trunk, pulling herself in the opposite direction. "What the heck is this?! A vortex?"

She wasn't precisely familiar with the idea of black holes, but certainly she could feel its pull, even farther away from its center as she was.

[ichininyaanshi]

"How should I know?!"

Ichimatsu manages to locate her by sound, and... damn it. Too late; it's got her too. He snarls and resists the temptation to look over his shoulder at the black hole again.

"It's probably all my bad luck... tch, why didn't you beat it when I said to?!"

[manasponge]

"How was I supposed to get away when it pulled me right off the ground? Did you cause this somehow?" She looked scrutinizingly at him for a moment before deciding that he probably wasn't the root cause, though he might have somehow set it off.

"Well, whatever. What have you tried so far? Do you know anything about it?"

[ichininyaanshi]

"Like I said, I don't know!" Seriously, he's just been minding his own business all day... what a pain in the ass. A potentially fatal one.

But, shit, if it's not just him then he can't exactly just lie down and die. He has no idea what'll happen if that thing sucks the both of them up, but it's probably not good. He doesn't hate this total stranger enough to wish that on her.

"Look... can't you just get out of here on your own already? It's fine if you leave me."

[manasponge]

"Well, it's not like I'd mind, as long as I can figure out how to do it safely!" Marcille wasn't married to the idea of risking her neck for a stranger, but just up and trying to run for it didn't seem like a feasible solution.

"All right, I'm going to try a fire spell. Don't look directly into it!" Clutching her staff, she aimed for the black hole and began to chant. It wasn't like it seemed to be magical in nature, so she wasn't too worried about blowback...

A violent explosion ensued right by the phenomenon, sending light and radiant heat sizzling out from the epicenter.

ii

[karabor]

The Draenei are no strangers to the wilderness. When the Prophet Velen led the exiles far away from Argus, many draenei followed the path of the Naaru and the Light. They became vindicators, righteous servitors of justice. Others resolved to master the unfamiliar wilds of every new planet they happened upon. These unconventional draenei became the Rangari, the "Eyes of the Prophet."

The Rangari study the natural world and use nature to their advantage as they gather intelligence. They are indispensable allies on hostile worlds. They were integral in overthrowing the Gorian Empire and destroying Blackrock Foundry, and served in the destruction of Hellfire Citadel. Without the Rangari, Draenor would be a fel-ravaged wasteland.

With every step Yrel takes through the forest, her silent prayer for a Rangari to appear grows louder in her mind. She learned much during her time in the inhospitable jungles of Gorgrond, including how difficult it is to navigate undergrowth with little experience. She has to tread carefully to avoid anything catching her armor, her hammer, her cape and, most importantly, her horns. They are one of her most burdensome aspects, she believes, and wishes at times that they were smaller. Then she would not bring so many pieces of shrubbery back to her camp.

The jungle grows denser with every step Yrel takes. Despite her height, she is unable to see what is ahead of her. Nevertheless Yrel persists and marches forward to learn the lay of the land. The greenery around her shivers with her advance, alerting everyone and everything in her path to move. Everyone save for the sleeping human. As Ichimatsu naively snoozes on the jungle floor, Yrel and the sound of her clanking armor near. The noise swells until it, and Yrel, momentarily pause just before him.

And then, without further hesitation, the draenei emerges from the vegetation and stamps her heavy hoof into the ground, inches from Ichimatsu's skull.

[ichininyaanshi]

Naively snoozing, he is no more.

There's a sound like a firecracker that explodes into his ears, and Ichimatsu flops his way into wakefulness with a strangled sound that resembles both a screech and a snort of terror. Scrabbling at the thick grass, he manages to get all his extremeties beneath him and springs back several feet, landing on all fours with a wild, feline-like hiss that arches his back.

The gray cat ears flattening across the back of his head complete the effect.

He's hissing and yowling at the giant figure without really seeing her, but it seems to register a moment later that he's glaring at a whole lot of nothing but her waist. Slowly, Ichimatsu's narrowed pupils trail up her torso until they find her actual face, his eyes widening ever so slightly the entire way. By the time he makes eye contact, he's gone completely silent.

What the fuck.

[karabor]

Yrel jumps at the sounds of a terrified creature frenziedly trying to fend her off from its territory. She swiftly raises her hammer and points the crystal mass in the animal's direction. She holds it low to keep something between herself and her enemy. She braces herself for an attack; no expedition through a jungle would be complete without a fight and a little bloodshed.

But no attack comes. Her adversary is frozen and simply stares at her. She glares back, daring it to make a move. While it is still, the draenei examines her opponent. To her surprise, she isn't in a confrontation with a monster. Her enemy isn't even an animal. It is a human dressed in unusual clothing with a head of dark hair and... saberon ears...?

She can roll with this. Yrel classifies his appearance and reaction as behaviors of a lousy druid, and extends a hand palm-out to him. The other hand grips her hammer in anticipation of a delayed strike.

"Are you alright?" she inquires, daring to shuffle one hoof in his direction.

[ichininyaanshi]

The goat lady points her weapon at him, and he's pretty sure he's just about done. He braces himself for expiration with a bristle of his tail. Then she suddenly stops, and Ichimatsu is still so addled by shock and sleep that he forgets to be disappointed, allowing relief to flood through him instead.

Quickly, he wheels back up onto two feet, wiping his grass-covered hands off furiously on his shirt. His glare is a little bit weak, and the fact that his feline features haven't retracted in the slightest betray the fact that he's still greatly shaken by the situation. As she steps forward, he steps back, eying her palm with suspicion.

One of his ash-gray ears twitch irritably. With a willful burst of calm, he seems to compose himself enough for the fur on his tail to lie flat.

"Y-yeah... if you were trying to crush my head, you missed."

[karabor]

The stranger displays a basic grasp of verbal language. Believing he is not a risk, Yrel confidently lowers her hammer and drops her hand. She looks over him again, intending to explain herself and make a friend. However, she begins scrutinizing his feline features instead with obscured sympathy.

The poor man. He seems old enough to have studied druidism thoroughly and mastered some sort of animal form, but he can barely manage ears and a tail. He is certainly no archdruid. Perhaps he was too terrified to complete his transformation? This is the best explanation Yrel can conceive that does not discredit the man's competence. Her devotion to thinking well of others is both a strength and a weakness.

"I'm very sorry. I did not mean to startle you," the exarch asserts, "Or crush your head. Actually... I am lost." Sheepish, Yrel gives Ichimatsu a self-conscious, disarming smile. "What is your name?"

[ichininyaanshi]

As she talks, Ichimatsu gradually relaxes. Her stature and appearance are intimidating, but her manner of speech is friendly and... a bit self-conscious? Maybe he's not reading that right. In any case, it goes a long way towards disarming Ichimatsu in a slightly more literal sense -- his ears fold away with a flick, and his tail isn't long behind.

She's lost, she says? Somehow he wasn't expecting that, but he guesses he can understand how anyone would get lost in an endless panel of trees like this. He could start asking her a bunch of questions, but that's not really his style. He prefers to feel people out first. Especially, uh... big goat women. She's sort of pretty, in her own way, actually.

He regards her with a much calmer tone as he tucks his hands into his pockets.

"... Ichimatsu."

iii

[achievementhunter]

They just want to be alone. Is that too much to ask for?

Apparently so. A deserted island should make escape fairly easy, and yet, Chara's found it difficult to achieve such isolation. When they pull themself away from Frisk, they're bound to wander across someone else in the wild. It's grating.

But it certainly doesn't call for an abrupt shift in gravitational pull.

Their first indication that something's wrong is the tugging. Something that has them staggering in a specific direction, eyes narrowing as they pull their knife from it's sheath. The staggering becomes a stumble, which becomes a blind run.

Really, they're not even aware Ichimatsu is there until they've been completely swept off their feet, uncharacteristically cursing up a storm as they fly past his face, clawing for purchase on the back of his jumper.

In other words- hey. Sup.

[ichininyaanshi]

Sup.

Except Ichimatsu is so wrapped up in his own peril that he fails to notice anyone else until they're a screaming, cursing blur flying past his head -- though he definitely notices when Chara's hands catch purchase on the back of his undershirt, nearly choking him to death with a violent yank. Sputtering out a few colorful words himself, Ichimatsu fumbles at his collar with one hand as the other tightens against the tree, straining to look over his shoulder at whatever's trying to suffocate him.

It's some freaking -- kid.

Are you serious? His luck must be the biggest asshole to grace the planet. It's gonna kill him and some random kid.

He can't exactly shove the brat off or tell them to let go of him, as tempting as it is. Shit. He's got to do this. With a growl, he lets go of his collar to try and twist enough to throw his arm around Chara's waist and brace them a bit more steadily against his side. Sorry, kid -- he knows it sucks having to be this close to him, and he doesn't like the physical contact either, but if he dies from asphyxiation then you're going too.

But since we're getting familiar with each other...

"Who the hell are you?!"

[achievementhunter]

They can acknowledge, in some small part of their mind, that his arm about them may be the difference between discomfort and actual demise. It's that small part that ensures he doesn't get stabbed- but it doesn't stop them from snarling, attempting to single-handedly pull their way up his shirt to take hold of the tree.

As it stands, they also blame him. Trust an adult to screw up something as simple as walking around without getting into trouble.

"What did you do, you stinking idiot!" Seriously, he's almost as musty as Sans, which is...really saying something. It's called...soap.

[ichininyaanshi]

By all means, get the hell off of him. Ichimatsu is only all too glad to boost them to the tree as much as he's able, and he snarls indignantly the entire way.

"I was just walking by, you little..." He bites his tongue down so hard on the insult that it hurts. Ugh, he hates kids. Not only did they not answer his question, they give a response like that as thanks for saving their ass. If this were just some random asshole, he could tell them to screw off and die. Maybe even kick them off the tree himself.

Whatever. It's a pain, but he doesn't want to have a kid's demise on his dead conscience, even if it's a little snot like this. He grinds his teeth for a few moments before gritting out, in a much leveller tone.

"Look, shut up and listen. Can you reach my backpack?"

[achievementhunter]

It's a good thing he shut himself up, because he's three seconds away from them stabbing his hands and sending him off to his doom. Chara's a little less inclined to feel guilty over contemplating his demise- if anything, they have things to do. Someone they must ensure they get back to.

If they have to make a sacrifice to do that, they will.

Twisting their head around, they peer over at his backpack- in comparison to his flailing body, it's disconcertingly still. Which makes this judgement easier. "Potentially-- why?"

[ichininyaanshi]

It's amazing, how giving up on the convenient release of death instead leaves Ichimatsu to rely on one simple fact: he's the most sensible Matsuno alive on the island right now. What a horrifying responsibility. Still, he knows he can probably get them out of this if he thinks about it hard enough. If they can just drag themselves far away enough from this black hole...

"Big pocket. Get the rope out."

Only about four feet, but it's better than nothing. Ichimatsu is fumbling in his sweats pocket for something, and lets out another bitter curse upon realizing that it's no longer there. Must have fallen out... shit. He glances sharply around the jungle floor.

And there's his knife... about five feet away.

"Dammit... I need that."

ii

[ishotyouuu]

Unfortunately, the NEET's nap is about to be interrupted.

To be fair, she hadn't expected to stumble on someone resting against a tree-- she had merely broken away from Wade for a few seconds to do a little exploration of her own. Her eyes wide and full of confusion, Tibia gingerly makes her way over to where the sleeping man lies, her bone club clenched tightly in one claw in case he turns out to be hostile. He could have easily been mistaken for a corpse if it weren't for his heavy, even breathing and the fresh sheen of sweat coating his face, and after a while Tibia gives in to the urge to poke his cheek lightly with her bone club.

Wakey wakey, Ichimatsu.

[ichininyaanshi]

Sorry, Tibia -- this man has grown up sharing a room with five others, all of whom have punched, kneed, elbowed, kicked, and performed any other imaginable violence on him in his sleep. Under average circumstances, her gentle prodding would have as much effect as it would on a corpse.

However, the discomfort of the humidity means that his sleep is a bit more restless than usual, so the man does end up stirring. Just a little; enough to swat weakly at the sensation and scratch at his cheek. He flops over on his stomach and stretches with a feline-like arch to his spine, giving a wide yawn.

Looks like he isn't quite there yet.

[ishotyouuu]

Oh... that's actually pretty cute.

Tibia sinks back on her haunches, wraps her arms around her knees in a startlingly human gesture, and watches with interest as this very strange purple-clothed man-cat goes through the motions of waking up. The casual way he stretches and yawns means he probably isn't sick or injured, which is good. Perhaps he'd just needed to rest-- she's been around humans long enough to know that they don't adapt as well to intense heat as she does. Still, she observes him carefully for any signs that he might be in distress.

She won't be able to carry him, but at the very least she can go get Wade to help if this man needs it.

[ichininyaanshi]

Ichimatsu more or less thrives on being alone. Maybe it's his hard preference for solitude, or his more catlike discretions -- either way, something crawls at the periphy of his sense before he can get comfortable enough to drop back off again. His patchy eyebrows furry irritably, and he pries one eye open to search out the presence.

The... tiny, out of focus.... presence.

Ichimatsu blinks. The hell is that.

"Huh?"

[ishotyouuu]

He still looks sleepy. And cranky. Tibia feels a tiny rush of guilt for interrupting this man's nap. She ducks her head sheepishly as if the man had chastised her and takes a few steps closer, her claws working swiftly to sign out a greeting.

Hello. Are you okay?

[ichininyaanshi]

He keeps blinking, and the little creature is slowly coming into better focus, but that still isn't answering the question of what the hell it is. It's like... a tiny dinosaur? Wearing a skull on its head? Messed up. And it's carrying around a bone too. Creepy... but sort of cool, in a way.

At least it's not trying to eat him.

It's flailing at him sort of weirdly, though. Grunting, Ichimatsu sits up, rubbing the loose jungle grass off the back of his head with one eye squinted shut, the other fixed on this weird little creature. Wait a minute... that looks more like gesturing than some random flailing. And almost familiar. He's seen it before, back in high school, he thinks.

Sign language?

... nah. No freaking way is this little animal signing at him. That's ridiculous.

"What're you?"

It's also ridiculous to actually talk to it, but that doesn't stop Ichimatsu's usual brand of bluntness.