lifeaftr | January Intro: I Know the Winter's Getting Colder

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 )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Mickey is cold. Mickey is SO COLD. But he's trying to hide it under smiles and cheer, not wanting anyone to worry about him. Today, his overconfidence mixed with humility may kill him. He's out on the ice, thinking that because he's so small, it won't crack under him.

He was wrong.

As he hears the first little cracks, he stops where he is, and then tries to inch away.]

... Uh-oh.

[Mickey, you are far larger than any mouse normal people have ever seen ever. Ammy isn't terribly close, but even through the wind, and splintering sounds of ice under her own paws, she can hear the voice of a friend. That little 'uh oh' doesn't sound at all promising, and Ammy scrapes her claws on the ice as she tries to whirl herself around on her previous path.

She slips, she skids, she rolls a few feet, but she manages to change her direction and head toward the place where Mickey finds himself. The ice spiderwebs under her even more than before, and Ammy learns that this portion of the ice is...a whole lot thinner than even the place she chose to look. Great. If only she had enough ink to freely use her Blizzard ability...and refreeze the ice, allowing them both to rush to safety. Alas, but her supply has been cut so far already... They just have to be quick, it seems.

Ammy has to stop a few yards away from Mickey. If she gets any closer, they'll both be swallowed up by the freezing waters. She barks furiously, pacing back and forth on the sturdier ice, whimpering and trying to get him to inch toward her. Gods, if only she could use Vine, or swapped to her rosary...she could just flick her head, wrap up the mouse's arm or leg with the whip-like weapon, and pull him to safety. It's not exactly a gentle solution, but it's the best one. Again, foresight is not with her...hah. The one time she would have liked a useful look into the future, it alludes her. Of course.

Come on, little friend, you need to be brave and be fast...she knows you can do it.]

[He hears the barks, and sees the webs. Oh man, this is going to cut it close.]

I-I'm comin', girl!

[One day he's going to need to find a proper name for her. Anyway. Now that he has a target, he also has a goal! He takes a deep breath, and then picks up the pace, walking slightly faster - slipping as he does so...

... What if the slipping could be a good thing? If he could time it right...

He scoots a little faster, and then, feeling the sleekness of the ice underneath his feet... he jumps ahead once, and uses the smoothness to slide forward! Think Risky Business (piano dun dun dun dun) except ice instead of a wooden floor, and no music, and possibly death if this gets screwed up.]

Whoo-hoo!

[That's...actually a pretty good solution, and Ammy's ears point right up as she hurries out of his trajectory. Sliding across the ice isn't as perilous as trying to walk or run across it, and having an already built up momentum...it's dispersing weight on a surface evenly...or simply gliding across it. Clever little mouse. ♥

She follows after him as he slides farther past her a few feet, huffing out puffs of air as she pants and barks. Once Mickey begins slowing down, she gives him a gentle bump on the back with her head to keep him going, waiting a bit, then following to alleviate the stress on the thin ice - she probably weighs just as much as Mickey does, give or take.

It works, astonishingly enough. There are indeed cracks and snaps that Ammy can still hear under her paws, but the concept itself works, and he's close enough to the shore where he can safely wade through the water even if it does break. It'll be cold as heck, but Ammy can get him up to the Jormun camp to dry off and get warm again in no time. Besides, it'd probably only be his ankles that'd get frosty anyway.]

[A part of him can't believe the plan actually worked, and so he laughs loudly, delighted - and this is kind of fun, especially doing with a dog.]

Ha ha ha ha!

[He picks up a little speed juuust before he hits the shore... as in literally hits the shore. His timing was just a smidgen off - when his feet hit sand, it causes him to fall face forward into the snow. Not painful, but it probably wiped away that cool moment he just had.

He lifts his head, shaking it, his laughter now an embarrassed chuckle.]

... Well, I don't think that landing would earn me a perfect ten anywhere...

[Ammy, skidding to a halt by Mickey, snorts loudly and begins to wheeze out an odd sound - like a hyena's laugh, and she most certainly is laughing at him. She means it affectionately, but...I mean, come on! When someone plants it, no matter who they are, it's pretty darn hilarious. Her tongue hangs from her mouth as she continues her wheezy laughter, shaking her head as she pads over to her little friend to make sure nothing on him is hurt or damaged.

Other than his pride and dignity, that is.]

[He sits up, wiping snow and sand off her face.]

Yeah yeah, laugh it up... I'm just glad you can't exactly go around telling people my slip-up.

[Amaterasu's smile ad laughter doesn't falter, though there's a hidden glint in her dark eyes as she passes by Mickey - he seems to be fine - that'd suggest she's more than capable of telling the whole island he kissed the dirt just now, but...well. She won't. For one, Ammy doesn't enjoy talking if she can help it, and two...she's not that much of a bully. She could very well put up a drawing of what happened to avoid the former, but, again, she's not that much of a bully. And she likes this little mouse, even if it is fun to tease him.

She shakes her head and clambers up the slick rock-face of Chol, looking back at Mickey to make sure he's coming. It's about time they both got back to the safety of the camp. They've had enough excitement for one day, and the elements aren't exactly in their favor out here.]

[Once all the sand and snow is off his clothes and his hat is properly adjusted on his head - the hat is the most important part of the outfit - he jogs to catch up with Ammy, nodding once. It's time for serious stuff now.]

Let's get going. We've got newcomers, monsters, and cold everywhere we look... We have to be prepared for anything and everything.

January Intro: I Know the Winter's Getting Colder

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