lifeaftr | September Intro: The Fields Are Painted Gold

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September Intro: The Fields Are Painted Gold

INTRO LOG: SEPTEMBER

Who: New arrivals, and you!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: September 4th and onward
Where: Primarily Ensō, though Umui is also likely
Warnings: Mark as needed!

The Beach: And the Sun is Coming Through
When you arrive on the archipelago of LifeAftr, it is on the shores of Ensō - turquoise waves dragging through the pale sand of the beach. The breeze carries the tang of salt on the tropical sea spray. The sky overhead is a blue to rival the aquamarine surf. All told, the atmosphere is almost...pleasant. Not far from the cream-colored beach, the jungle beckons.

Above the treetops, however, something seems to be drifting overhead.

Bright spots of color drift on the wind like motes of dust. On further inspection, one might be able to discern what, exactly, is the cause of this lazily wafting, brilliantly colored confetti.

They are flower petals, being funneled up into the sky. Petals of every color and shape imaginable, thickening the air with golden currents of pollen, being lifted from one specific point. They are streaming freely from the Storyteller's Temple, as it happens, though this may not be clear to the newly arrived. The Temple has at last begun to shed the floral trappings that have ensnared it since the end of last month, and the breeze carries this out across the ocean skyline.

There's no mistaking it: it is very beautiful. Unless you have allergies.

Inland: The Trees Are Filled With Memories
This influx of flowers on the breeze, aside from being a potential source of unpleasant reminders to those who died choking on said flowers last month, have had additional consequences. The creatures rescued from Ziziphus flourish in such pollen-rich environments, which has led to a fresh budding of their young. Baby mosslings crawl like lumps of lichen over the trunks of trees, and the loud peeping of arboreali chicks can be heard in the branches above. Most of these creatures are not tameable, but some, such as flowccus, can be kept as livestock.

Just take care, when venturing into Ensō's verdant jungle. If Ziziphus's prey animals have begun to spring forth, then its predators have begun to reproduce as well. Young spindlanks and rootwyrms are not nearly as vicious as their adult counterparts, but you may have a bit of trouble getting rid of them without killing them - you did, after all, bring them here to preserve them.

Most notable, however, are the fresh litters of tigerlilies that have begun swarming all over Ensō.

Tigerlilies can be tamed and kept as pets, though despite their fearsome appearance, they not terribly vicious. They subsist in much the same way any other plant would; off of water and sunlight, primarily, though they might also graze like an herbivore from time to time.

If you're interested in keeping one for your own, bear LifeAftr's companion limit in mind - two per character, and no more. The process of trying to tame a tigerlily is not always successful, either. We recommend use of a d10, with the following guidelines:

Rolling a 10: Critical success! This tigerlily will follow you to the ends of the earth.
Rolling 6-9: Taming and training this tigerlily will be like educating a stubborn housecat, but will be nonetheless successful.
Rolling 2-5: Failure. You get sprayed with soporific pollen, which will affect you for several hours.
Rolling a 1: Critical failure. Not only do you get sprayed with soporific pollen, but the tigerlily in question decides that you're their new cat toy. Tigerlilies are not carnivorous, but their teeth and fangs are still very sharp, and not highly pleasant to contend with.

Bear in mind that these are only guidelines; you are free to predetermine successes or failures as you'd like, presuming your character can sustain the companion! Our discord channel has a room for dice-rolls, if that's your speed.

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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[It's not much but she's not running so he'll take it as a win. Even if it hurts a little, he doesn't want her to be so upset, of course, and the fact that he's the cause of it just...]

I know... I'm sorry, I'll be more careful about opening my stupid mouth next time.

[Because he hadn't thought before he spoke, at all. This whole mess could've been a lot less painful if he'd been more careful with his words.]

It's not your fault.

[ It's an automatic response, but also, she means it. How is she possibly supposed to be friends with Gladio if he has to watch every word he says around her?

CT sighs, pushing her hair back from her face only for it to immediately fall back into position. ]

I just...

I don't want to ruin everything.

[ Their friendship. Her relationship with Varric - indefinitely postponed though it may be. Her own sense of basic human decency.

If she betrays him, she'll never forgive herself. ]

[He's not going to watch every word but going on about the romantic meanings of his name was... less than brilliant. There's being paranoid and then there's just not being an idiot. And sometimes he's just an idiot.]

There won't be anything left to ruin if you keep running away.

[At least as far as their friendship goes.]

C'mon Cee, at least lemme help you with your kitten, yeah?

[ He's...got a point, and it's enough to make her smile a little, a quiet huff that's almost a laugh. ]

I didn't run away.

[ This time. But it's quiet, rather than defensive, and after a moment she nods hesitantly. ]

...I've never had a pet.

[ Military life hadn't exactly been conducive to adopting a furry friend, and neither had been being dead. ]

[It's only because she's not being defensive that he doesn't actually call her on the running away thing, though he does raise a brow and give her a Look for it.]

Well I guess that's the first question. You want her to be a pet or you want her to pull her weight? Cause lemme tell you these guys are notoriously lazy.

[He shifts a little, turns to stroke a hand down Leo's side. For as relaxed and sleepy as he seems though, he is working, he's doing his job, making sure no one comes up and startles either of them, his weight a reassuring pressure against Gladio's back.]

You should see Laurent's boy.

[ CT ignores that look. She could have run away this time, she almost had, but she'd resisted. She deserves some credit for that, dammit.

She frowns instead, stroking the young tigerlily gently. She hadn't considered the possibility of a working animal, and honestly, she's not sure how she feels about the idea. ]

I...what would she even do?

[She'd resisted.... and thought Leo was going to eat her.

If she decides it's mean to make animals work they're going to have so many more problems.]

Leo helps me hunt. They're not carnivores but they're big and they have the tools to defend themselves. They're cats, they like playing with things. I've spent months turning his natural play behaviors into commands.

He drives prey towards me so I don't have to go tromping through the jungle chasing the little shits down.

[And she's seen some of Leo's other tasks but... talking about those tasks means talking about his PTSD, and Iggy's, so that might... wait a bit.]

[ She doesn't think it's mean. CT's never been a bleeding heart. She'd just...been looking for a pet, that's all. A companion. Not necessarily anything else.

After all, a companion is maybe what she needs the most right now.

What Gladio says makes sense, but she can't imagine herself actively hunting either. Much less with a tigerlily by her side. She eyes Leo, still leaning heavily against Gladio's back. ]

He's a pet, too, though.

He lives with you. He has a name. [ They're snuggling right now, for pete's sake. ]

[They're doing more than snuggling, though. Gladio can relax, let the hypervigilance of 10 years of Darkness ease, because Leo is at his back. He knows he can trust his lily to warn him (and anyone stupid enough to do it) if someone comes up behind him.

The warm, soft weight of him is also a steady reminder of where he is.]

Yeah, I mean he crawls into bed with me and Iggy most nights. [Quiet for a moment, unsure how she'll take that bit of information even as he sinks his fingers into Leo's mane.]

Wakes us up from nightmares a lot. [That much he can admit to at least.]

[ She's not bothered by the reference to Ignis sharing Gladio's bed, at least. She knows they're dating, after all. And she's not jealous. More the opposite - hyperaware of her own feelings and wanting, more than anything, to not feel them.

If she had one wish, she wouldn't wish that Gladio was with her instead. She'd wish she could just erase the whole thing from her mind. From her heart. Just...be his friend, without all the awkward, embarrassing emotions messing everything up.

Maybe there never would have been a chance, in any case. Even if her feelings for him had been completely real, and not mixed up with her feelings for Varric. Even if Ignis hadn't been in the picture at all. Boyfriend, after all. Maybe she's just not his type. Somehow, weirdly, the thought makes her feel a little better.

So she just nods, nonchalant, tilting her head a little in concern at the reference to nightmares. ]

He...uh.

He can tell?

[ Somehow, asking about Leo's reaction to the nightmares seems a little safer, less personal, than asking about the nightmares themselves. ]

[Now that he knows he'll probably never actually admit that she is exactly his type. Fierce, powerful in her own right, the type that takes no shit from anyone. But also someone that hopes, whose spirit is bright and enduring. Soft grudging smiles and hair so soft it almost seems unnatural.

He'd had no idea how perfectly she'd fit with him that first day when he'd flirted with her on the beach.

But if it made her feel better than far be it for him to destroy that particular illusion. She'd never hear otherwise from him.]

Yeah... he can tell. And he'll make sure we wake up to him instead of waking up screaming.

[They're all soldiers, they all have things that haunt them.]

[ Oh. Her expression grows sober, worried and sympathetic almost, before she nods, looking away. It's not her business. She knows he'd escaped from something bad back home, and that's all she needs to know. She's certainly not about to pry.

After a moment, though, she raises her head again, looking thoughtful. ]

Is that...something you can teach them?

Yeah... some of it is learned behavior, some of it is natural instinct.

[He offers her a smile, lifts his hands out in front of him for a moment. See? Nothing in his hands, nothing wrong, he's perfectly fine.

And then he curls up, tension coiling through him, knees coming up to his chest, curling his hands into fists and he only has time to suck in one hard breath before Leo is moving. The lily doesn't get to his feet but he does shimmy and squirm his way around from Gladio's back, shoving his huge head under one of Gladio's arms. The cat weighs nearly as much as the man and it's clear Leo knows exactly how to use his bulk, pushing in against Gladio until he can nibble gently on his hand licking and nosing his way into Gladio's palm until he can force a single stroke through his fur.

Which has Gladio laughing, grinning and wrapping hismelf around the lily, petting him hard, a few scritches in his favorite places.]

Yes! Good job, Leo! Such a good boy, yes. [Gladio tugs a small pouch from a pocket, reaching in to offer the lily a lick of sweets that makes him rumble happily.]

You can't train if you're freaking out so you've gotta fake it, see how she responds, reward her for the desired behavior and ignore the rest. She might do it, she might not. It's hard to say.

[ Even knowing it's an act, CT still can't help tensing a little herself when Gladio stiffens and curls in on himself. Maybe the other lily does sense it, because she looks up at CT in query, though she doesn't move to do anything more.

Leo does, though. He moves almost instantly, pushing himself insistently into Gladio's space, dragging him back to the present. That must have been what he was trying to do to her, CT realizes, when she'd panicked before. He hadn't been trying to stop her, he hadn't been about to attack. He'd been trying to help.

She smiles when Gladio leaps back into action, wrapping his arms around the tigerlily and praising him. Then she glances over at her own cat - or the cat she wants to be hers - thoughtfully. Playacting isn't really her thing, but maybe... ]

And that...helps with nightmares?

Nightmares... flashbacks...

[The closest he's come to admitting how badly he and Iggy both are affected by their past. Even Prompto though his response to panic is motion, rather than shutting down the way Gladio and Iggy do so he's not as effective at noticing it from him.]

Even the way he positions himself when we're not actively doing something.

[And now that Gladio's "okay" again Leo's laid himself firmly against his master's thigh, head laid out over his front paws, facing Gladio's back, his tail flicking lazily over one ankle.]

Knowing he's watching my back makes it a little easier to not be so on edge. Your friend Wash might benefit from that. Hyper vigilance... yeah.

[ Wash is exactly who she'd been thinking of, of course. But even so, she looks surprised and maybe a little gratified that Gladio had paid enough attention to Wash to pick up on it and suggest it himself. That he cares that much, if only by proxy. ]

Yeah.

[ If she can train her tigerlily to do what Leo does. If it actually helps Wash and doesn't make things worse for him.

She's quiet for a moment, reaching out to pet the cat at her side. ]

...I'm glad he helps you.

[ It's all she can think of to say that doesn't venture too far into things that aren't her business, and she says it carefully. ]

Hard to get too lost in the past when you've got a giant fuzzy space heater vibrating in your lap.

[He shrugs a little, offers her a weak smile.]

Dunno if she'll pick up on any of it but the only way to find out is to try.

[ That makes sense, and she nods, smiling back. ]

I'll try.

[ It's worth the effort, if there's any chance it'll help Wash. ]

Thanks, Gladio.

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September Intro: The Fields Are Painted Gold

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