lifeaftr | February Intro: Stuck in the Sunshine Riptide

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February Intro: Stuck in the Sunshine Riptide

INTRO LOG: FEBRUARY

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: February 3rd to February 9th
Where: Chol
Warnings: Mark as needed!

The Overview: Aftermath
The small island of Chol won't be present for much longer; its fertile center has been singed into a husk of brown-red canyon, and what's left of the rudimentary encampment and defenses set up during the nightly siege from the month prior have started to be disassembled in earnest. The sea-dwelling, serpetine Jormun have already started trickling back into the depths of the ocean below, though some stragglers remain, including the leader known as Munin.

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

Daytime: Dancing All Alone in the Morning Light
Still, the Jormun are doing their best to say their goodbyes with style. Those who wake on Chol's shores may quickly find themselves drawn to the noises of celebration at the island's craggy center.

At the dip in the middle of the island, the remaining Jormun have taken to mourning their dead and celebrating their own survival in the manner traditional to their culture: with a solemn send-off, paired by an exuberant celebration of who the fallen were in life. It does no good for one's final memories of the deceased to be ones of sadness and mourning, and so they see fit to raise their voices in utter jubilation, to sing to those who have passed on that their sacrifice was not in vain.

Newcomers and oldcomers alike will be greeted with a bittersweet joviality and invited to join the festivities. The Jormun's tents have been converted into impromptu picnic blankets upon which much of their unique cuisine has been arrayed: smoked oysters, salads of multicolored seaweed, and kebabs of spicy pickled kelp, to name but a few. Those who arrived on Chol the month prior may recognize the bloodred, piping-hot brew known as brrkshavak, capable of warming you right down to your bones with only a few sips, even if its taste is more akin to liquified chili pepper. Those who prefer something with a little less kick won't be left out, however: they specialize also in a rich, plum-tasting wine known as rakvrhak, as well as moklavarr, which might be familiar to many as a very rich variant of hot chocolate.

The Jormun will also be seen happily picking up some of the charred black-and-red feathers shed by the firebird when it took flight into the sky. Some might even take to threading them to their fins and gills, or offering to do the same to your hair, if you like. They insist it's for good luck, though they'll also be affixing them to round pebbles and pretty shells to give them out as talismans.

The festivities will last until February 9th. At that point, the Jormun will gladly give over whatever supplies they have not packed away at this point - cloth from their tents, as well as the leftover food that they're certain would spoil on the return journey to the seafloor, and warn everyone they see that they really ought to be getting back to the mainland before the next morning.

However, they won't be abandoning you forever. Munin is certain to leave a gift on Islet 4: a Schovskal, which looks to be some sort of large conch shell. Exceptionally large.

This five feet high and seven feet long mammoth of a shell now glimmers on one end of Islet 4, both as a reminder of the alliance struck between Jormun and story-walkers and as a means to call upon the Jormun for aid.

Nighttime: Don't Tap the Glass
Each night, as darkness falls, the Jormun are certain to light several fires encircling their encampment as a precautionary measure. For if you wander outside that protective circle of flame, you might discover that some of the beasts from the week of the siege upon the sun have decided to linger in hope of some easy prey.

Most notably, some might glimpse a Nighthook advancing to extinguish whatever light source might be in the vicinity, a silhouette of a hooked claw of a hand that is more an annoyance than a legitimate threat. Others might see the odd Grimling or two loping about like a deformed, undersea dog. Those who stray into the shallows surrounding Chol will almost undoubtedly glimpse a Murk that will eagerly draw near, hoping that you might relieve it of its burden. And if the plaintive cry of a sobbing child tugs at your heartstrings, you might find yourself lured to the hunched shape of a Rathm, curled up in all its lonely misery, right up until the moment where you, shall we say...startle the Witch, at which point it will stop being so very approachable after all.

Stay in the light, or risk facing a little taste of what January was like; all four of these remaining creatures is more than capable of making your life something of a misery.

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 )

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While enjoying the food or perhaps afterward when Shion has returned to looking for Xion, he will catch sight of a familiar face sitting a short way away from one of the fires, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Ignis isn't wearing the sunglasses Shion would remember him wearing from their previous meeting, but the scars on his face are hard to forget even when only viewed in part.

Oddly enough, Ignis doesn't seem anywhere as energetic or put together as he was during that first meeting. He almost seems lost. Like something's missing from who he was before.

One can't help but wonder what happened in that short time since their last meeting to cause such a change.

At what seemed like his fiftieth scan of the crowd Shion spotted another sort of familiar face. Like Dagger this man had been one who Shion had only met in a dream.

This man had saved him, Shion didn't know his name but he knew that he would have probably been killed or at least injured by sharks if this man hadn't helped him. He had no idea what happened if you died in dreams that were not really dreams, but he was glad he hadn't needed to find out.

He does notice that the man seemed less energetic, less... everything. This battle that is being commemorated must have been a harsh one. He approaches and gets about half way there before he remembered that this man couldn't see. Though it hadn't hampered his fighting skills any.

"Hello! Are you alright?"

[Ignis turns his head in Shion's direction, the feathers that have been threaded into his hair drifting into his face and then away as the turn completes.]

You made it.

[He seems happy about this, though it's obviously a struggle for him to bring the small smile he does to his face. After fighting to untangle his hand from the blanket, Ignis gestures the young man over.]

You're unhurt?

[And he is just going to subtly (or not so subtly) avoid answering the question about his own health.]

I did. [This man wasn't new then, not someone who had just woken up like him and Dagger. More like Xion someone already here but who had ended up in the weird dream place.]

Thanks to you. [He blushes a little bit] You saved me, I'm glad I found you here so quick so I could thank you.

[He raised an eyebrow, because that wasn't really subtle at all] Did you get hurt? In the fighting?

~~He's got like negative 100 to all his bluff stats right now. He shouldn't even be trying.~~

"You're most welcome. I'm glad I could be of assistance, even if my rescue was not quite as smooth as I would have liked," Ignis has come a long way in dealing with his blindness, but he still has a long way to go.

When Shion asks about if he was hurt, Ignis nods slightly, gesturing clumsily with one hand for the young man to take a seat if he would like, "I'm afraid I ran afoul one of the creatures that was roaming the darkness. It's messed up my senses, made it hard for me to connect thought to action. It's getting better, but it's been a slow process."

Smooth or not it had been a rescue and Shion was grateful for it. At the gesture he sat down next to the man and tilted his head as the man explained about the creature. Messed up his senses?

"I'm sorry you were hurt." Difficulty to connect thought to action, that sounded terrifying. Awful and terrifying.

"Do you need any help?" Shion isn't sure what he can do to help as it doesn't sound like the problem is physical, not an injury he can tend to. "You saved me so if there is anything you need please let me know."

"I'm afraid time is really all that can help me, but thank you." Time and patience is what he needs. Unfortunately, his patience is worn rather thin right now.

"If it grows too late, I may ask if you will help me back over to Monsun, but that is a worry for another time," Ignis frowns slightly, realizing he already feels tired. Probably from having to focus so hard to carry even a simple conversation. It's frustrating for one so used to using words so easily. Before he lets himself get caught in another round of frustration and anger, he shakes his head slightly and changes the topic.

"What do you think of all this? Quite the interesting experience, no? Being snatched from home and brought somewhere else."

"I can do that." Shion nodded though actually he had no idea what or where Monsun even was or how to get there. But he figured if it got to that then someone would be able to give him directions.

He blinked sadly at the question because he had mostly not been thinking about this. It was not an easy question to answer.

What did he think of this? He was furious and saddened and terrified all at the same time. He was bitterly disappointed that after everything he had worked for, everything they had done, everything they had fought for some other power had just snatched him up. For a moment he was silent before he realised that Ignis couldn't see him so he would have speak.

"I..." He started, "I wasn't home. I never got back, I was somewhere before... a bit like this and we were going home... but I woke up here instead."

Facts. They were easier than what he thought and felt about the situation he had found himself in.

"Thank you."

Ignis is quiet for a moment sorting out his words and then he gives Shion a look that is both comforting and apologetic.

"You're like Xion then. I apologize if I've hit upon an emotional topic. Sometimes, it's still hard for me to accept being brought to a different world once, let alone multiple times. I know she has much she wants to do once she gets back home. I hope that once this place releases you, you are able to do whatever it is you need to do back on your world as well."

"Xion?" Shion blinked. Asch had of course told him that Xion was here somewhere and Shion was trying to stay put, be where all the new people were gathering with those already here rather than rush of and try and find her. Because there was a bigger chance of her finding him.

"You know Xion?" And if he knew that much, then he would guess that he was a friend of hers. That was good, he seemed kind. Xion needed kind people around her.

"I do. We met at the camp we have over on Monsun. She is a wonderful young lady. She reminds me of someone very important to me," Ignis sounds fond as he speaks of her, though his voice rapidly becomes curious. "You know her as well?"

There is a sudden pause as pieces click together despite how slow his brain is to process things since he was hurt, "You're both from the same place, aren't you? The place that you were heading home from when you were brought here."

Shion smiled, not at all surprised that Xion had made friends here and that they cared for her. He was glad. Glad that she had not been alone.

He nodded, "We are. I saw her in my dream as well and Asch told me she was here so I believe she is the Xion I knew there."

"She will be so excited to know you are here. She seemed so lonely and lost when we first met," Ignis nods, prepared to do what he can to make sure the two are reunited soon. "If we don't find her here, I'm certain she will show up at the camp sooner or later. The mana pool is there so even those who have no plans of staying at the camp pass through it on their way to explore or gather resources."

Shion hated the idea of Xion being lonely and lost. Ever. Any Xion, especially this one. His sister. She should not be alone. Ever.

He's not sure what camp Ignis means but he figures it is where people are staying here. It is different from the Tower in that regard, he woke up here on a beach, in his own clothes. Not in a bed that was really a pod, it didn't seem like he was required to stay anywhere specific.

"Hopefully, you remember me from your dream so hopefully she will remember the dream as well and know I'm here." And if he knew her well, which he did, she would be looking for him as much as he was looking for her. "I'm hoping if I stay were the new people are we will have more chance of her finding me than us both wandering around looking for and missing each other."

"If necessary, I can send out word to let her know where you are. Last I heard, she was staying in the shack of one of my...friends." Ardyn, to be precise, and oh does Ignis not know exactly how to refer to the man anymore.

"We can send someone over there to check for her as well. Don't worry. We'll have you two reunited soon enough."

Have you figured out this man like to make contingency plans for contingency plans yet? Please forgive him.

Shion smiled in gratitude that this man who didn't even know him that well would be offering to help so much. "Thank you."

Knowing that Xion is here makes him a lot calmer, even if he hasn't seen her yet. Knowing she had friends and people who are willing to help her makes him feel less awful about the fact she's been here without him, without anyone from the tower.

She shouldn't be here, she should be home. But at least she was not alone.

"I'm Shion as well by the way." He smiled again, realising that he still did not know this mans name.

"Ignis," his name comes out in an oddly distracted manner, though his follow up questions does clarify that a little. "Your names are the same. Is that by chance or design?"

Normally, this would make Ignis suspicious, but neither Xion nor Shion have given him any reason to doubt their sincerity. Besides, aside from being terrible, he knows so little about this place they came from before. The name thing may have been some kind of necessity.

No matter the cause, it is going to making calling for one or the other just a tad difficult.

"It's nice to meet you Ignis." He smiled and then shook his head.

"It is chance, we come from completely different worlds, we met in the place we were before and it was not unusual for people to have the same names there."

Or even look exactly the same. In fact him and Xion were probably unusual in that they were different, from different worlds with no similarities.

"Likewise. I suppose as different as worlds can be, I shouldn't be surprised at the idea of some names still being common between them," Ignis falls quiet then, mind drifting toward another reason why names could be similar across worlds--different versions of the same person.

What would it be like to meet another version of himself? Might there be an Ignis out there who retained his sight after Altissia? One who found a way to save Noctis from his fate?

One who died that day next to Lady Lunafreya?

Ignis holds back a shiver at that thought. He's honestly not sure if he's ready to deal with meeting another version of himself. Not when he as so much he needs to work through already.

"It is surprising what is the same." Shion smiled, "Many worlds have similar animals, many had the same countries as each other. Even some of the worlds that are not almost exact copies of each other have many things in common."

He never met anyone apart from the version of Rat in the Tower that was from a world similar to his. But despite being different in many ways Xion and Reno's worlds had had similarities.

"It is really interesting to think about." Even if it was also sort of terrifying, the idea of infinite worlds. He had had a couple of years to get used to the idea, he imagined it was worse for Ignis. After all he's assuming the man would have mentioned if he had also been somewhere else before here.

"Interesting, but also a little terrifying," Ignis gives Shion a small, slightly uncomfortable smile. There's no reason for him not to be honest is there? What point is there in hiding such a normal reaction? Especially when he's so tired.

"Does your world have horses? From what I've been told of them, they are something like our duplicorns, but without horns and with much more pleasant personalities." As Ignis speaks, the unease drifts out of his expression, "Of course, from what I've found it seems your worlds don't generally have chocobos either and I would much prefer a chocobo to a horse."

"Just a little bit." It was clear by his voice that that was an understatement. The impossible didn't terrify Shion anymore but that was mostly because he had come to learn that there were many things so much more terrifying than the multiverse being so much more huge than even someone with as much knowledge as Shion could even comprehend.

"It did." He nodded, "I've never seen one and there are not many left. My world was mostly destroyed a long time ago." Long before it was actually destroyed by the virus, that's fixed now but his world is still mostly wasteland.

"Horses used to be very common. I've never heard of duplicorns, we didn't have chocobos ever in our history but my... Reno's world did."

He's never seen one of those either save from pictures on the playing cards they had made.

"Reno? Your...?" Ignis gently prods Shion to continue, curious both because of how the boy cut himself off, but also because this man's world had chocobos. Does that mean his world is something like Eos?

He doesn't let the silence last for long, though, just on the off chance that Shion really doesn't want to speak more on the topic.

"You should talk to my friend Prompto. He has a chocobo. It's only a baby, but seeing one in real life beats just hearing about them."

"My dad." The only reason he had cut off was because he thought it could be confusing to someone who was only getting used to multiple worlds that his family came from different worlds than him and from each other.

"A baby chocobo. I'd love to meet them! I've always wondered... Reno's stories had chocobo's in them a lot and it's hard to imagine them when you've never seen them in real life."

It might be obvious from Shion's tone, he loves animals. A lot.

Ignis nods and is silent for a moment before seeming to come to a decision, "I'm starting to grow tired. If you don't mind helping me back to the Monsun camp..." Don't worry Shion, he can direct you for the most part, "...Prompto will likely be there and you can meet his little feathered friend then. Once you've had your fill, you can always return here to continue your search for Xion."

February Intro: Stuck in the Sunshine Riptide

[Festivities] (As I arrive a million years late. X.x)

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Oops! Flipped the format. Sorry about that!

No worries!

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probably start to wrap?

Yep, I think that's a wrap!

yup!