January Intro: I Know the Winter's Getting Colder

[lifeaftr_mods]

INTRO LOG: JANUARY

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: January 5th and onward
Where: Chol and surrounding waters
Warnings: Mark as needed!

The Overview: New Lands
New arrivals will not be waking in the typical hub of activity; instead, they will find themselves coming to on the small island of Chol. While the island's fringes are little more than an unforgiving spread of craggy, canyon-like rock and coastal cliffs, the island dips down to form a fertile divot of edenic woodland in its center. The people living there will even be helpful and polite to you, should you inquire after them.

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!

Icebreaker: This is the Winter of Our Youth
Unless you're someone with a fondness for the cold, you'll undoubtedly be waking with more than a slight chill in your bones. The appearance of the island of Chol has signaled a coming event of great import in LifeAftr, and unfortunately, the signs of that event's approach have already been set in motion. The temperature has begun to drop as the sun's rays begin to die, faster and faster, leading to an impressive cold snap in the ocean waters - particularly those surrounding Chol.

It is for that reason that you won't be waking on Chol, per se. Instead, you'll be waking on a thick crust of ice that's mantled itself over the ocean waters, freezing solid enough to bear your weight...for the most part. The ice won't hold forever; it isn't meant to. If you happen to be particularly vivacious in your waking, or especially active in general, thick cracks will start to spiderweb out from underneath those impacts with low, warning chunks and wrenches of fracturing ice. Better hurry to land soon, unless you care to take a little dip into those freezing cold ocean waters.

Mainland: When We Pick Over the Past
Should you make it to the land of Chol, braving the iced-over waters surrounding its craggy shores, you'll encounter something at least as startling - the people who have elected to set up a rudimentary encampment upon its lands. While a bit on the scalier side, the Jormun are nonetheless allied to you land-dwellers, and will welcome you to the island. Most will be preoccupied with preparations for an approaching siege, but many will comment idly that the cold is a sign of the coming battle. Some may point you to their leader, known to most as Munin, but others will venture hospitality based on the actions of those land-dwellers that came before you, who were successful in allying themselves to this sea-dwelling people.

Those who might have braved the cold a little too fiercely will quickly be offered some rather rough blankets - perhaps more on par with burlap sacks in terms of texture - as well as a hot brew that the Jormun call brrkshavak. Heated to a boil just prior to being served, the drink will be more than adequate in warming your weary bones, though it bodes mentioning that it is both scalding hot and made with a fleshy kind of undersea herb that is akin to crushed chili pepper in taste.

It'll warm you up, all right.

---

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 )

Comments

[unpurify]

[And again the Batter is out of his depths. Once again, guess who has two thumbs and still isn't good with understanding and dealing with children? This guy. But he does get what Otus is doing.]

It's not mine.

[Getting that out of the way...]

I don't think it can be fixed.

[pallidscops]

[ it isn't his...it's relief and some form of anxiety that creeps into his facial features. Oh no, then...it must belong to someone else? Aww, man. This person states what could only be a more knowledgeable observation, and Otus lets out a sad little hoot. Well...

...it gives him a chance to look up at the Batter again. It really is a cool hat. Normally, he'd have someone here to help him introduce himself, but Geddy isn't here. Maybe they're still up in the sky. Maybe this is just a lower island. He's never been to the surface before. It's cool like up in the islands...

...but that doesn't apply to the situation, now. He's not sure what to do with this broken barrel, and every sound has him on edge. Maybe his teacher, around the corner, preparing to scold him for so poorly representing their kind.

A nervous child. ]

[unpurify]

[Otus naturally isn't aware the Batter's standards for this sort of thing are in the negatives. As long as the child before him wasn't hostile, everything was fine. On the other hand, from Otus's point of view, if he thinks he can see the red eyes staring at him then he can. Otherwise there's a convenient shadow blocking them out.

There's a level of awkwardness on both sides, even if it's subdued for the Batter. For all the progress he's managed to inch towards he was still terrible with children. It's just him, the child and a broken barrel. He can recognize the fact that Otus is nervous, he just doesn't know what to do with it. So...]

Are you new here?

[It's part subject change, part wanting to know. The Batter can't remember seeing him after all.]

[pallidscops]

[ he can see no red eyes. Just a shadow...and no eyes at all. But Alphonse was the same-- no eyes to speak of, just a shadow.

Maybe the Batter is a robot?

Maybe the Batter is a Pirate??

He speaks and Otus straightens up immediately. If it were a pirate, he'd probably have done something by now. Relax. After stiffening, he slouches his shoulders just a little and brings his hands together to hold that poor piece of barrel still being held onto. A little nod. Much new.

He points to the Batter curiously. Are you new? ]

[unpurify]

No.

[And the Batter still isn't keeping track of the time so he can't give Otus an accurate amount of days or months he's been here.

Also he's coming to the conclusion that the child either is too nervous to speak or can't do so to begin with. So he's going to cut to the chase.]

Can you not speak?

[Yeah he's that blunt. Sorry Otus.]

[pallidscops]

[ a somewhat sensitive topic, but that's ok, Batter. You're not laughing at him-- though to be fair, you're not really emotioning much anyway. It's oddly comforting.

Otus shakes his head a little bit, pulling his cloak around him a little more. He huffs out a small breath of air and watches his breath wisp away into the sky. Th-that was nice.. ]

[unpurify]

[The whole emotions thing is still in a work in progress. But that answers a number of questions. Time to shift gears.]

I am called the Batter. What is your name?

[There's no particular demand for this answer. If Otus doesn't want to figure out a way to respond, they don't have to.]

[pallidscops]

[ Batter. Quiet and reserved, but...not a bad person, Otus thinks to himself. He's going so far as to introduce himself, after all.

It makes Otus thinks about how he's mostly been introduced to others his whole life. Not being able to speak to other has been a problem on top of other problems, and while he knows it won't happen, he can't help but wish for an easier way to express himself.

If just to not burden anyone else with the job of introducing him.

He leans down and writes his name in the cold ground. O t u s. Handwriting befitting a small child. Enveloped in his cloak, Otus looks up at the Batter hopefully. Any other questions? ]

[unpurify]

Otus.

[He's not sure if he's pronouncing that correctly. But the Batter is fine with this manner of communication. He knew the Drifter after all. A lack of a voice wasn't an issue when there's many other ways of getting a message across.

That and the Batter was nothing if not good at rolling with things.]

Do you need help?

[The barrel is still a thing, now that he thinks about it.]

[pallidscops]

[ Batter says his name, and Otus can't help but smile a little. Yes, that's it! A reaffirming and somewhat light whistle from the owl child hopefully reaffirms the Batter's discovery.

With his mind in a better place, Otus simply hands the Batter the broken panel of wood, and moves back to the barrel to move it out of the way. I-it's okay...probably. He'll stay near it for a while to see if it belongs to anyone nearby. Maybe he'll write a little letter of apology in the snow. Regardless, his wings fly out to either side and he pulls the heavy looking item from the ground, creating gusts of wind beneath him as he starts working again.

He looks pretty focused, though. Just...trying to be careful, after all. ]

[unpurify]

[A smile usually means good things so apparently the Batter got it right.

He takes the panel of wood from Otus when prompted to and watches the child fly with the barrel, following close behind.]

If it is too heavy, just place it back on the ground.

[Since Otus can't vocally tell him that there's something wrong, that's probably the easiest way.]

[pallidscops]

[ he seems to have no problems with it now, though he does give it a solid toss at the end that makes the barrel tremble against the ground...but not come apart. Otus looks quite proud! That's what he had intended on doing initially!!! Yes, good, excellent.

He lands delicately, cape falling around his shoulders as he shivers. Can't fly for too long in this chill...it's cold. But he'd never give up his cloak for anything...so Otus will just have to make do. He stands in front of the slightly busted barrel, looking back at Batter with some pride!! Look!! Look, he did it!! ]

[unpurify]

Good.

[There are probably other words to congratulate someone for doing a good job, but this is the best he can offer, mostly because the Batter still sucks at it.

He'll place the panel of wood from the barrel right on top of it.]

It should be fine here.