[ORP] The Hole

[Baneful]

It is a day much like any other in the swamp. Spring has come, and the world has stirred awake with a nuanced combination of life and hayfever.

However, something unlike life in the swamp is the hole.

It is in the middle of a clearing, which is otherwise unremarkable and definitely did not have a hole in it before.

It is too perfectly circular.

It appears to be bottomless and dark. Against all logic, it doesn't seem to have any sides but opens onto what looks from a distance like nothing.

Sometimes, snow swirls up out of it and melts on the ground, which is definitely not very normal. It began with one kin, but like many things in the swamp, word always gets around.

Quote me if you are crazy enough to interact with it.

[Beejoux]

Happenstance took Whispers of Death to many places, and this day happenstance brought her to the clearing and the hole that rested squarely in the middle of it. She eyed it curiously from the treelone for quite some time, Omen croaking uneasily above her in the branches.

Finally the dark mare approached, slowly, cautiously, but with interest. Her ears angled forward and mismatched eyes wide and bright as she crept towards the edge of the thing and peered down into the darkness.

The snow that swirled up from within was surprising, had her drawing back a step to watch it flutter down to the ground where it quicky melted. Then she inched her way up to the edge again, peering inside. "Hello?"

Still, listening keenly for any whispers from down below.

[phoe]

The hole is not far from Beetleshell's home range, a familiar stretch of territory to the doe. She is aware of every bush and flower, at least in terms of what insect can be found where. Overhead there is the familiar drone of a giant wasp as it circles high above, keen eyes fixed on its mistress.

A hole yawning in the middle of the clearing, a circle of nothing stamped out of reality, is not -- normal.

She stands a few steps from the edge of it, expression in a vague sort of frown, not bothering to get any closer. It wouldn't be helpful to be sucked in. As a cold breeze swirls up from the hole in front of her, she inhales deeply -- there is the scent of snow, of cold air, the type that burns the lungs.

Not helpful. Her frown deepens.

She tilts her head to the side, considers, and then in one swift motion kicks a small, round rock into the hole.

(When the other doe speaks, she jolts into a wider awareness and nods to her in a facsimile of friendliness.)

[Baneful]

Peering into the hole doesn't seem to reveal very much; it feels almost unnaturally dark, as though it pulls in light rather than lets it out.

Listening closely, Happenstance would hear something laughing far away.

[Baneful]

The rock pings into the hole, but there is no sound of it hitting any sort of floor.

And then, after far too many moments, it careens back out of the hole as if hurled, pinging off of Beetleshell.

It is now bright, unnatural pink.

[phoe]

The rock pings into the hole, but there is no sound of it hitting any sort of floor.

And then, after far too many moments, it careens back out of the hole as if hurled, pinging off of Beetleshell.

It is now bright, unnatural pink.

Beetleshell yelps as the pebble hits her in the shoulder, hard enough to sting but not to cause any lasting damage. It tumbles to the ground at her feet, arrestingly pink.

She looks at it, then to the hole, and then to the doe that stands nearby.

"Should I toss it back in?"

[Beejoux]

Whispers of Death didn't immediately notice the other doe, too enthralled by the voices she could hear, trying to decipher what they were saying. The sudden kick of the rock was startling, and she jerked her head up, wide eyes turning to stare at the bright green doe that'd come to investigate the hole as well. After a moment Whispers nodded a greeting.

When the rock reappeared -- or a rock appeared -- she retreated back a few steps to the alarmed squawks of Omen abandoning her branch to fly over and land on one of Whisper's horns, nipping at her ear to try to get her to retreat further.

She paid the bird little mind.

"That's very curious." Whispers considers the question, looking at the rock, then the hole. "Yes. I wonder if it will throw it back again." Or throw something back again.

[phoe]

She considers for a moment, and then nods. Something unspoken seems to be communicated between the doe and her wasp and it lands next to her, wings whirring a warning. It is, frankly, massive; it's big enough that whatever might crawl up out of the hole might consider it a deterrent.

She looks from the rock, to the doe, and then with a look of determination on her face she kicks the rock back into the hole, hard enough that in theory it would bounce off of its walls. Curiosity gets the better of her after a moment and she takes a step forward to observe, the wasp buzzing angrily in protest.

[rexcorvus]

In retrospect, the best thing to do would have been to stay at home.

Leaving home, in Sleepy Time's opinion, was always the best thing to do. It was the safest thing. The most relaxing thing. The most ideal thing. The thing that, disregarding everything else in the swamp, could be most relied upon, at least in Sleepy Time's little world. Staying at home meant not interacting with anyone, not expending any unnecessary energy, and not running the risk of terrible things happening.

And yet, most unfortunately, he had decided to venture out because the supply of soft leaves that currently made up his sleeping area was running thin, and while he could have gotten along just fine with the way it was, he had grown complacent. Reckless.

This is what Sleepy Time told himself as he was slowly (in his mind) tipping into the hole thanks to a wayward branch that had caught one of his hooves.

[Dizzy_Kat]

It was no decision to seek out the hole once Bite heard the whispers. He sought answers that existed beyond the confines of the swamp as they knew it. If something strange was happening... he might get another glimpse of the broader world beyond. Already kin were gathered and chattering amongst themselves. Bite approached silently. Looking in the hole felt like looking at the cracked orb of light. Opposite in every way but stirring up the same emotions of longing and the thrill of something forbidden.

Near him, Bite's attention was drawn by a zikwa that tipped over the edge of the hole... how easy it would be to push them that last inch. Would they scream in fear? Would they ever come out?

[Baneful]

On the other side of the hole for Sleepy Time is a sheer fall from thousands of feet up towards a snow-dusted mountain peak, with nothing between him and it but air.

And he falls for a very long time.

[Baneful]

The rock does this same thing, falling into the hole for a time.

And then coming back out, this time as a single red stiletto heel.

[Baneful]

Boar arrived primarily out of curiosity about the rumours he had heard. There had been strange things happening in the swamp lately, but most of them had passed him by. This left him sceptical if anything was really the matter or if the rumour mill was spinning totally normal things up into wild, tall tales.

This time, though, something very strange did seem to be happening, and he hesitated at the edge of the group, tilting his head to one side, accompanied by several milling boars of varying ages and sizes. He didn't go near the hole just yet, especially since it looked like someone had just fallen in.

[AMItotic]

The kincaller was the first to arrive, a flurry of springtime petals and a strange, warbling cry that sounded like it was almost speech, almost a warning, and yet not. It flew in a lazy circle around the hole but did not deign to cross over it directly, startled when a rock spit itself out, and squawked indignantly away.

Until Next Time had learned a certain amount of distrust for the bird who was Not Her Son. It mocked and jeered at her with voices of kin not present, and so when something came along that ruffled the bird's feathers, the doe often developed a fast affection for the ruffling party, whether or not that was well-advised.

She entered the clearing some time after the kincaller left, the indignant bird still squawking unpleasantly at the hole from a tree at the edge of the clearing. Her ears perked up, to see so many other kin together, and she trotted over to see what the fuss was about.

"--oh!" She exclaimed, when one Zikwa just...went ass over hooves straight into the circular abyss. But before she could be too alarmed by one mystery, another leapt out, a strange object that nevertheless picked at memories of strange dreams in the past.

"Is that a..." She couldn't remember the word, but--sometimes in dreams, she had no hooves, and she needed these. "Uhh. Hoof you wear?"

[LOLLI qAq]

A new adventure!!

From the moment she heard about the hole suddenly appearing Totem knew that there was absolutely no way she was missing out on this. She had no idea what she was going to do once there, but that never really mattered to her anyway. The real joy always lay in the experience of the unknown. And this was a big unknown.

For that reason she'd brought one of her less demanding and anxious companions(sorry Best Friend) and was pleased to note that now that she was presented with Hole she wasn't being fussed at to move away from the edge.

Not that she knew where the edge was ...

Feeling around with her nose she found it, clicked her tongue at her wolf to stay, and tried to see if she could smell anything coming from the hole.