lifeaftr | June Intro: Let's Sea How Far We've Come

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June Intro: Let's Sea How Far We've Come

INTRO LOG: JUNE

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr as the island of Ziziphus begins to crumble
When: June 4th and onward
Where: Ziziphus and Ensō...and Monsun
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Ziziphus: At The Start Of The End Of The World
Since Bliss's destruction, the extensive root network they've threaded throughout every inch of the island of Ziziphus has begun to crumble. June 4th marks the beginning of the inevitable collapse of the island as it starts to sink into the sea...coincidentally coinciding with the arrival of LifeAftr's newest adventurers. Between the dead trees surrounding Bliss's empty husk, great cracks in the earth start to widen, the dead god's absent root system leaving vast gaps underground which simply cannot support the life above.

It almost sounds like thunder rupturing from the ground itself, wild tremors preceding each vicious boom until gaping chasms lay between venturing parties and the safety of the mana pool - only water waits below, for those unlucky enough to lose their footing.

And if the immense pull of mile wide chunks of landmass sinking beneath the waves isn't enough to suck you down, the heavy rain of debris from Ziziphus's rapidly destabilizing edges will certainly help. Want to avoid a watery grave? What you need to do is simple:

Escape.

Sorry, newbies. If you showed up on Ziziphus, you're in for a very athletic entrance to LifeAftr.

Monsun: Just Like Every Other Morning Before
Adventurers aren't the only creatures on Ziziphus attempting to outrun its collapse. Creatures great and small, from the largest spindlank to the smallest tigerlily will be heading south in an attempt to escape the worst of the quakes. Unlike offshore adventurers, however, these poor creatures don't have a mana pool waiting for them to escape through. Their extinction, it seems, is imminent.

Unless you have something to say about it.

Already exhausted from their attempts to get through to and then actively dispose of their fellow god, the Storyteller will break their traditional manner of communication to announce a potential solution to this problem with a single broadcast to the Stones of Far Speech in a strained, weary tone:

"The mana pools on Monsun are now open. If you are willing, save what you can."

True to their word, characters will discover that the island of Monsun will be accessible once more for a short period of time. From prey to predator, obstruction to catastrophe - multiple species of flora and fauna can still be preserved, should you choose to do so.

Be wary of the psychological effects of both sides of the island. Those who are new to our setting and wish to explore, the island of Monsun has a peculiar side effect to its stark divide: the eastern half is rich in resources, but brings out the very worst of you, while the western half is a tumultuous wasteland that accentuates your best qualities. More information on said island can be found on its entry on the Locations page, or its introductory info post.

Due to these efforts, the Storyteller will not be available for contact from the 4th to the 18th of June. Item Requests will also be unavailable at this time. They will, however, make a rather strained announcement to ensure all are aware that access to both Ziziphus and Monsun will cease on June 10th.

Ensō: I Wonder What It Means If It's Gone
The native fauna of Ziziphus aren't the only ones on the move, it seems. Those who wander the shores of Ensō will be delighted to witness the appearance of creatures akin to both turtles and dugongs drifting through the waters, gravitating around the island's eastern coast, rapidly gaining in numbers over the following days.

Kaleidoshells have been unlocked in the bestiary!

With spring close to ending in the archipelago, these peaceful creatures are looking to make good use of their natural nesting areas; hope you're open to sharing the beach for a little while. While a few braver individuals will make their way to the shores between C4 and D1 to begin digging nests, the vast majority won't be coming to shore quite yet.

They do, however, make a very fine sight around the waters of Ensō, especially in the evening. Luminescent, their rainbow patterns glow underwater, drifting mood lights for the increasingly warmer evening breeze.

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 )

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Yellowfang watched him undo the flap with his weird long ape fingers and ventured forward to sniff each of the items in turn. Soap? Useless. Rice? Smelled like nothing. Stick with a rock on the end? Weird. Party popper? Looked like Twoleg garbage from the Carrion Place.

She thought and thumped her tail against the sand.

"In return for getting me out of the lake, I will let you have these things," Yellowfang decided aloud. "But..."

She squinted at the backpack again. She'd hated wearing it when she couldn't see it but now she could see its use. She was going to fill it with SO MANY DEAD BIRDS.

"I will keep the bundle."

"You sure?"

But then he glanced down. "Ah, yeah, you probably can't use a lot of this, can you? That happens sometimes. Cats can't even eat rice, can they...?"

He was pretty sure they were super carnivores. He gathered up the items, placing what he could into pockets.

"A lot of people hunt for food here, so even if you can't eat the rice we've got meat back at camp. I'm sure Iggy would be happy to share. Oh, you, uh, want me to help you get the pack back on?"

Working with a cat was going to be so strange. Hopefully she didn't end up hunting their many pet birds.

"I've never heard of rice," she said, sounding agitated but not really knowing why. Yellowfang moved closer to inspect the backpack's opening and stuck her head right in. Yes, optimum plant and fresh-kill room. A thing with which to carry other things. Oh, what she would have given to have this back in ThunderClan.

Yellowfang withdrew her head and said,"Show me that again, with this bit here." She pawed at the backpack's flap. She was sure Ceaderstar was scowling at her from Silverpelt as she asked this Twoleg for one of its tricks, but if there were other cats on this island, she was going to continue her duty. Once a medicine cat, always a medicine cat. She'd made an oath.

A thought struck her suddenly and she looked up at the blue sky. There was no sign of Silverpelt at the moment and the Twolegs had mentioned 'world's. Could you really go so far away that...

"Does night fall in this place?"

"How to do the flap?"

Asking about such basic stuff had him double checking before he nimbly closed it again. Perhaps he did that too fast? He decided to slow down, opening and closing it. He had no idea how to teach something like this to a cat.

"Night? Yeah, but the daylight comes back. There was about a week where it was gone, but I don't think that'll happen again, so no worries about endless night."

Night meant daemons at home. None of those here usually, either, except the fedora-wearing one.

Once she had watched him do this a few times with big round pupils, she dared to reach out a paw and try to flip the flap open and then back down again herself. She knocked the bag onto its side, digging her long claws into the fabric. Gravity pulled the lid open again. Yellowfang pushed her whiskers forward in frustration.

Prompto's story of the long night brought another question to Yellowfang's mind and she looked up at him again.

"How long ago were you taken from your home?"

He wondered if a cat would really be able to do it. He couldn't imagine trying to do it without his thumb.

"Oh, ummm... 'bout 10 months now? I was in the first group that arrived."

He was sure of that now. They'd never found anyone who'd arrived earlier, and he recognized the people who arrived at the same time.

"We've been told that stuff back home is in like, stasis or something, so if you had stuff going on it's paused."

If only Velcro existed in the archipelago! Yellowfang kept fiddling with her backpack flap. She was nowhere near making a knot but she was managing to twist the strings together in a way that wouldn't just immediately dump all her things out on her head the moment she leaned down with it on her back. It would take a little more practice. Maybe some sticky sap...

But she was listening.

Yellowfang offered up a bitter little laugh which sounded incredibly weird coming out of a small ugly cat. "I'm afraid I didn't have anything going on. My story's finished."

"Huh? What d'you mean? Were you on a quest or something?"

Squatting nearby, he watched quietly, not wanting to be rude, but it did seem like it'd be something difficult for her to use.

"...Y'know, there's a seamstress on the island. I bet she could change that so it would be easier for you to close. I think these are made more for people with, you know..." he flexed his fingers and thumb.

"The last thing I remember is the forest burning down around my ears," she said as though she were just describing the weather. Prompto started spouting off more Twoleg words and it was starting to make her ears burn. Yellowfang was used to being the one dishing out wisdoms and facts about the world. Now she was having to ask why this and why that of a Twolegs of all things.

It would be a course in humility if anything.

"Don't flash your nasty Twoleg paws at me. So a seamstress is someone who changes the way things are. I'm thinking I will need her services."

"Oh man, I'm sorry." He frowned. "Did you lose your home?"

Finally he stood back up, placing his hands on his hips. This was... still really strange. He had to look down quite a bit to talk to a cat.

"Yeah, I bet she could do something with it. She's pretty skilled. Her name's Tataru and she's a lot shorter than I am, maybe about..." he lowered his hand, "this height? With pointy ears. She's really nice, I'm sure she'd help you out."

"Tataru..." Yellowfang repeated the unusual name. As she commits the description to memory, a thought strikes her and she gives the wild-haired youth another curious look. "And what are you called?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm Prompto. What about you?"

He could only imagine the type of name a cat might have.

The bedraggled beach cat drew herself up and puffed out her skinny chest, head back in attempts to look down at Prompto though she were smaller.

"I am called Yellowfang--medicine cat of ThunderClan."

Are you impressed, Prompto? Please be impressed she's running out of confidence in this weird place and fast.

He reached out a hand and then let it hang loosely. Cats probably didn't shake. A dog, maybe.

"Uh, nice to meet you. I've never met a medicine cat before. This might be a little weird to ask but, umm, are you a dude or a chick?"

That got a tilt of the head from Yellowfang. She had first shied away from the extended hand. NO TOUCH! But his question was just as boggling as her sitatuion. She was no baby bird! And she had never heard the word 'dude' in her life.

"What do you mean?"

"Umm, boy kitty or girl kitty?"

He took back his hand, instead squatting and resting his arms on his knees, trying to get comfortable.

Yellowfang's ears slowly perked up. Dude and chick. Boy and girl. Twolegs were so stupid. Why would they use words like that?

"I am a she-cat, thank you for asking."

But then Yellowfang was faced with a thought. Did she...for sure know if Prompto was a boy or a girl? He had a scent to him that gave her an idea but...she didn't know a whole lot about Twolegs.

"Which are you?"

"Oh, heh, I'm a dude. I mean, a guy. A boy."

While it was strange having to explain that, he figured maybe it would be hard for a cat to tell. "...Do we all look alike to cats or something?"

He had no idea how a cat would perceive them.

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June Intro: Let's Sea How Far We've Come

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