March Intro: The Night Begins to Shine

[lifeaftr_mods]

INTRO LOG: MARCH

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: March 4th to March 9th
Where: Ensō
Warnings: Mark as needed!

The Birds: Talk 'Til Dawn
As promised, the Storyteller has withdrawn to see your path to the island you chose. It is for this reason that their presence may be somewhat less evident than usual, even at the site of their temple. It may take some time to reach them whenever you should require something or another, and it seems that they might not be paying attention to what is occurring on the island at all.

This is not necessarily a good thing.

After the firebird's flight in January, the sun has assumed its regular position in the skies of LifeAftr, warming and lighting the archipelago with a reassuring regularity following the horror of the continuous night. And with the Storyteller's intervention, a fresh wave of cloud has come to blanket the floating islands that travelers last month had the brief opportunity to explore. However, come March, little dollops of gray-white may occasionally come streaking from the sky like ashen comets; the firebird's sheer distance from LifeAftr has delayed their arrival somewhat, but it has come nonetheless.

LifeAftr's sun has begun to molt.

The phoenix's fiery red plumage is more of a dulled-out gray by the time it drifts down to the sands and treetops of Ensō, but that's not the only peculiar quality about it. No; the real strangeness is the fact that the molted feathers aren't really feathers at all. They're chicks. Tiny and slate-gray to start with, cheeping feebly in heaps of ash, they'll nonetheless start to sprout yellow-orange pinfeathers within a day. Other than being rather passive, miniature versions of the great firebird that swarmed into the sky in January, the chicks are rather simple creatures - they require no food or water aside from the sunlight cast from their cousin in the sky, and they mature into lean, fiery birds the size of ospreys within a matter of weeks.

What is notable is their rather unpredictable capacity to burst into flame. Oftentimes they'll simply regenerate from the ashes and begin the cycle anew, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's pleasant for whoever might be nearby - or if someone happens to be holding them.

In fact, it seems that the risk of this occurring seems significantly higher when someone initiates physical contact. At least now you'll stay toasty!

The Bugs: You Would Not Believe Your Flies
Come the night, the island has one more surprise for you, dear adventurers. Your new avian addition to Ensō's ecosystem sleeps during the night, much like the sun in the sky above, and thus is not much use for lighting up the dark. However, something else is. Something that perhaps many of you might recognize. These fireflies are much more luminous compared to the typical variant, and a good deal more sluggish too, as it's quite easy to catch them and store them in jars. Unfortunately, they don't last long in contained environments; they flourish in open spaces, and as long as they are not caught and contained into extinction, will continue to light up Ensō's nights for weeks to come. They hover in lazy droves, stirring into the sky in the occasional luminescent spill.

---

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

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

karma

[hyperlit]

[They might not know very much about those that others refer to as "human" - those of the unfurred, unscaled, unfeathered skin, who come in different shapes and shades - but they know that this particular look is far from healthy. They recognize burned, charred skin as an incorrect pallor for one to possess.]

[Hence, the Drifter stoops quickly to study Eichi apropos of nothing before setting about rummaging in their pack for something that might be of assistance. It's not every day that you get a silent, blue-skinned traveler fussing over you without so much as a word in your direction, but that looks to be precisely the sort of thing they're doing.]

[In a moment, Eichi will have a blanket unceremoniously draped across his shoulders. That ought to deal with the cold, yes?]

[finethanks]

[The movements startle him briefly, but somehow, this stranger being so silent is less scary than someone he knows coming in loudly. He stares, uncertain as to what this person(?) is doing until there's a blanket over his shoulders and the sharp stab of the cold is muted.

He breathes out his surprise, hands clutching at the edges of the blanket as he stands.]

Ah... this...? Is that alright? [He looks at it over his left shoulder, his right, and then back at the Drifter.] These sort of things are difficult to come by, aren't they?

[hyperlit]

have 3

[Though they did use one up on Ichimatsu last month - he bled all over it. Better that such things be used now, however, for those that might appreciate them. The Drifter has very little use for ephemera such as blankets.]

can spare 1

[finethanks]

...Thank you very much.

[He appreciates it, he needs it, but as he pulls the edges of the blanket around himself, he has to think. He has nothing to give in return, no value that he can put forward. Even if he's thinking a bit better than he did before, being in debt is still uncomfortable.]

Please let me know if there's anything I could do for you in return. Ah... but that's right, we haven't actually met. Who... [Or what, but he doesn't want to say that, peeking over at them.] ...are you?

[hyperlit]

drifter

[The only title they need. They have met and encountered other drifters, others of their ilk, but none who define themselves as such in a specific manner, and so that name will suffice.]

[The first statement is neglected in favor of the far more pressing matter, which they indicate with a tilt of their head.]

you're hurt

[finethanks]

Thank you, Drifter-san. My name is Eichi Tenshouin.

[They didn't ask, but they didn't seem to be a person of many words, so Eichi offers it anyway. He keeps smiling, even if it thins out at the latter comment, looking down at a burnt hand.]

There was a small chick on the ground, so I got a little closer in my curiosity. It burst into flames.

[hyperlit]

[It's true. They've not yet assimilated that instinct to ask for the names of others by default. Their head tips to one side as they digest that information silently, before they venture the only conceivable option they can imagine would be possible, given what they've seen thus far.]

fire bird?

[finethanks]

Yes. I thought it was lost and might need some help, but as I neared, even speaking to it seemed to upset it somehow.

[Or he just rolled a 1, but whatever.]

[hyperlit]

[This bodes poorly. They are not well-versed in the treatment of burns, or injuries that are not their own. They have a healing pack, but that will do little besides take the edge off, if Lup was any indication. Still - it may yet be better than nothing.]

[A brief moment of rummaging through their equipment, and the Drifter extricates a thin glass vial from the folds of their cloak, its needled tip gleaming in the half-light. A greenish liquid sloshes faintly inside.]

may help

[finethanks]

[He reaches for it, gently taking the vial into his hand.]

It's not as though I mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I was told never to take drugs from strangers. [He tilts his head a bit.] Does this have interactions? I take a heavy medication, so if it might be dangerous...

[hyperlit]

[...ah. They actually have no idea if it would interact poorly with something already in the bloodstream or not. The Drifter's head tips to one side in apparent confusion, caught off guard.]

do not know [they must admit at last, which is possibly the closest to sheepish that they've ever gotten in their life.]

[finethanks]

Well... Drifter-san, if I fall unconscious, please find me medical attention, okay?

[That's the only warning he gives before he just downs this mystery vial. Hopefully magic doesn't interact with real medical pills.]

[hyperlit]

[The Drifter immediately sits bolt upright, eyes snapping open in apparent horror.]



[Health packs are not applied orally.]

[THEY'RE INJECTED. THEY'RE INJECTED, EICHI. INTO THE BLOODSTREAM, EICHI. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE. THEY HAVE NO IDEA. THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS MIGHT DO OR HOW IT WILL AFFECT HIM. THEY CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'VE DONE THIS.]

1/2

[finethanks]

[Oh??????]

[finethanks]

[Well, it may help that it apparently tastes horrible, as he immediately turns to the side and coughs it right up. Which, in turn makes him hurt even more, and now he's just crouching with a blanket around his shoulders lightly trembling.

The tide pod challenge was a bad idea.]

[hyperlit]

[They've killed him. They have killed someone, completely without meaning to. Put them in jail. Put them behind bars. They have committed an unspeakable sin. How could they have done this? How could they have allowed this thing, this absolute horror, to transpire?]

[The Drifter's shoulders slump in defeat. They're apparently waiting for him to perish on the spot at any moment now.]

it is injected

[THEY ADD, EXTREMELY BELATEDLY]

[finethanks]

I-I see... there is a needle, isn't there?

[He's so ashamed... He's so ashamed and his mouth feels funny? How much further can his pride be buried? He thought he was going to feel better, but now he feels worse, and slowly he pulls the blanket over his head and hunches forward.

Leave him here to rot.]

[hyperlit]

[A miserable nod.]

[They did not explain this adequately at all, and now he's in an even worse state than when they first encountered him. How can they possibly make this better? What can they do to ease this, now?]

[...perhaps, if they are fortunate, he won't die?]

can you breathe

[finethanks]

For the most part.

[Ugh, he finally sits up, but the blanket is still over him like a robe, and his face is red more than just from the burns. It's rare that he's at a loss for words, but now is one of those times.]

[hyperlit]

apologies

[They did not explain this very well, now, did they? They did not explain this very well at all. They are the one at fault, for failing to inform him in full. Now he is worse off.]

did not help

[finethanks]

[Ah... wait, he doesn't know how to deal with this? Eichi tugs the blanket more around himself, still cold but craving its warmth, and frowns at Drifter. They feel bad? They didn't do anything wrong...]

You helped plenty, Drifter-san. This blanket is proof enough, isn't it? It's only that I have this fragile body of mine that's causing so many problems. It isn't your responsibility at all.

[hyperlit]

[Fragile body of his.]

[They touch at the center of their own chest with the tip of one gloved hand, regarding him with a newfound...perhaps "curiosity" is the incorrect word. But their interest has certainly been attracted.]

sick?

[finethanks]

[He touches at his own chest, a mirror image.]

Yes... Since I was born. It's as if this body wasn't meant to live.

[hyperlit]

[Since he was born. That sobers them up somewhat. They were not so unfortunate as that. But they raise their hand to their throat, tapping at the fabric swathed there, around their neck and across their shoulders, in solemn solidarity.]

was not born sick
but came to be so

[finethanks]

[Eichi tilts his head a bit, watching Drifter.]

Is that why you can't speak? Or is it something else? Ah, if it's too invasive for me to ask, then please don't feel as if you must answer. I'm only curious.