Usually Merry approached any new situation with wide eyed excitement and curiosity, but the absence of sun was a troubling matter, and she was quiet, serious, as she followed the dancing motes of light into the clearing. Many others had had the same idea, there were numerous kin milling about in quiet or not so quiet conversation, and here and there Merry caught a glimpse of a glowing side or a streak of bright color that seemed slightly out of place.

She watched the fiery looking acha move from kin to kin, answering questions, giving directions, and instead of asking a question herself she turned her attention instead to the motes drifting around their heads. They were meant to catch the light.

Sure. That seemed simple enough. "I'm going to help," she announced to the dark figure that had followed stoically behind her.




Clash and Burn nodded to his mother before she turned to hurry off after one of the many dancing lights. She seemed so sure, so willing to trust the word of a buck they hadn't even spoken to directly, but Clash hung back, ears folded and features set in thoughtful skepticism.

A low voice rumbled to one side, words very nearly echoing the buck's thoughts, and he blinked, straining his sight to make out the figure that'd been speaking. Tall and slender, tail thing and hair long. Clash side stepped closer, and when he spoke his voice was low and measured. "How do they expect us to trust them?" They were strangers to the swamp as far as Clash could tell. "How do we knew the darkness didn't follow them?"

kuropeco wrote:

Consume normally didn't mind the darkness; he was comfortable at night, seeing decently in the dark. But the lack of the normal cycle of day and night was decidedly unsettling. He'd observed the motion of the motes and followed them out of curiosity.

He wasn't sure what to think about the helpers. It was certainly convenient that they were here and knew what to do. Then again, if this was something they knew about and had prepared for, it made sense that they would make themselves available once it happened. He would take them at their word for now, he decided, even if he intended to take that word with a grain of salt.

He spotted Merry's son speaking to someone, the low glow of the motes illuminating the young buck's skeptical expression, and nodded to himself. He slipped quietly closer to listen to their conversation, not yet intruding himself, but curious as to what they were saying.

Beejoux wrote:

kuropeco wrote:

Breaking Free was, as the rule generally went, rather curious. So when initially when the sun didn't rise, she considered it with a tilt of her head, and then continued on her day. It was only when the eerie darkness continued, the swamp filled with shadows and panic, that Breaking Free had become curious of what exactly was going on.

(At least, after her own little freak out had occurred before she had finally gotten herself together. It was, as far as she was concerned, rather terrifying to suddenly have no light and she had every right.)

So when the glowing, flitting creatures had started guiding her towards a grove, Breaking had followed. There was little else for her to do anyways, and adventure always had excited her. She would figure out what it was, and help, and everything would be fine. Maybe she could even get a story out of it to tell her Dad, something that made her look brave and inspiring and like she had definitely everything figured out! It was that thought that had bolstered her courage and kept her forward, and yet as she was there, she hesitated at the edge of the grove.

It wasn't the kin, exactly, that she was unsure about. She was familiar with large groups and had never been bothered by them. Rather, it was something about the whole task that seemed so large and overwhelming, the gravity of the whole situation. She had managed to snatch little pieces of conversation here and there as she had hovered, but she still wasn't quite sure what to do yet. Maybe she should try gathering some of the mote.. thingies? Or should she just linger for more information?

Maybe both? She truly had no clue.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," the acha doe replied sheepishly. "My name is Air. It's a pleasure to meet you." Beside her, Howl snuffled at the ground, nosing towards the zikwa. "This is Howl. The others are.. somewhere around here. Probably causing mischief..," She trailed, referring to the spectral cranes and bat that also made up her group.

Air was rambling again and a soft blush crept onto her cheeks before she nodded in agreement at the offer of food. "That sounds like a splendid idea - we'll need all the energy we can spare." She headed towards where a line was already forming and waited patiently.

"Did you have to travel far?" She asked the zikwa as they waited. She wondered if perhaps she had traveled up from the caves coincidentally.

The queue moved quickly and Air breathed in the aroma deeply - it smelt amazing. She helped herself to a serving, barely leaving enough time for the soup to cool enough to not burn her mouth. Warmth spread through her. She closed her eyes contentedly and a memory played in her mine - as vibrant as if she were back living in the moment. It was the first time she'd explored haunted woods as a young fawn - wailing was often heard in the dead of night and the adults in the area gave tales of warning. That was when she'd met Ghost - the first of her familiars. The crane was the one wailing - she'd had kin tramp through the woods and cause too much ruckus and she wanted them to stop disturbing her sleep. Ghost had been impressed by her bravery and the pair bonded inseparable ever since.

Air's eyes snapped open and though she felt like she had relived the memory in real time, only a few seconds had passed since she tasted the soup. "Oh," was all she said, her eyes a little dewy. "Thank you, that was wonderful." She turned to let the next kin have their turn but quickly turned back, almost forgetting she had intended to seek the helpers out.

"Sorry," she said quickly. "Do you have any advise on how we might more easily catch the motes?"

Ruriska wrote: ↑Mon Oct 02, 2023 8:30 pm

Baneful wrote: ↑Mon Oct 02, 2023 5:49 pm

Steals Fire smiled a little deviously at this. "I'm sure the Helpers have a few ideas they will introduce later on. For the time being we are just doing it by mouth or hoof."

lolternative wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2023 3:26 am

Ruriska wrote: ↑Mon Oct 02, 2023 8:30 pm

Deceiver did not show up to help. Deceiver showed up because things were happening, and wherever people got together, there were opportunities that came along with this. He wasn't too perturbed about the darkness, darkness meant that you could move unseen. Mostly he was concerned about the inevitable cold that would come with it. Deceiver didn't like the cold and his short sleek fur did very little to hold it at bay.

He moved to the edge of the group and sat down, listening carefully to get himself caught up.

Dominant gave Mud Bath a blank look. "I don't know what eclectic means." he said, as if using words he didn't understand was the absolute height of rudeness. "But I'm guessing in a roundabout way you are saying you don't get any, cause that's when people start using huge words."

He looked to King. "Doubt he's popular."



King's tail was still flicking. "I am as popular as I require myself to be. I have numerous friends. More than you do, I would wager. I've never met a single creature in the entire swamp that has a positive word to make about you. You are an aberration."

Dominant heaved a sigh. "Rude, frankly." he said.

He preferred the discussion about slimes, returning back to it fondly. "Yes. The slimes can do a lot of interesting things. The green ones destroy things. If you climb into a pool of green slimes, they'll digest you right down to the bones in a couple days."

King frowned again. "See what I mean about them not feeling natural? Salamanders produce things that nature already does, they don't destroy in unnatural ways. I don't trust the things and I don't trust him."

He looked from Mud Bath to Dominant. "It's a sad day when I trust a shadow more than a kimeti."

Toshiful wrote: ↑Mon Oct 02, 2023 5:08 pm

“Air,” Illuminating repeated and then she gave a soft ‘oh’ as the impressively not-solid wolf was introduced. She hadn’t noticed it before but now that it had been pointed out, she was both delighted and concerned that she was suddenly learning the swamp contained not only normal creatures but also ghostly ones. Was it dead? Was it alive? Did it eat? Was that a rude question to ask?

The others, her head turned, gaze sweeping out into the shadowy darkness beyond the camp, seeking other forms. “I also... have others...” Summer and Sunrise, she realized, had been missing since the sun had gone. In her confusion and despair, she hadn’t even noticed.

But they were wild animals, both quite capable and so she put them out of mind for now.

“Maybe they’ll all show up later.” Her little smile was hopeful.

They stepped towards the line together, Illuminating pleased to answer Air’s question. “Oh, not quite so far, I think. I began to wander once the sun disappeared, so I’m not really sure. But I don’t really have a permanent home here yet anyway. I came from the caves and - well, I suppose I did travel far. Just not recently.” She was rambling, how embarrassing. She cleared her throat. “Oh my, that smells delightful!”

Thankfully the food brought a welcome distraction. Air certainly seemed taken with it and Illuminating understood why once she took a sip, the meaty soup, rich and full, gliding down her throat and settling like a gently warming coal in her belly. As she ate, a memory arose, of more darkness, the warmth of many bodies, coiled around each other. Her broodmother close by, singing softly, teaching them what it meant to be Zikwa.

She stepped away from the soup and the helper, after giving a grateful nod, with her face filled with a fond sadness. She’d left that world behind and didn’t regret it but she still missed her old home.

Illuminating settled in beside Air, listening as Steals Fire answered her question.

By hoof and mouth? Well, they would simply have to do their best.

“We will manage,” Illuminating declared soft but firm. “I will do whatever it takes.” Even if he was lying, it didn’t matter. If there was the slightest chance this was the correct path, she simply had to take it.

lolternative wrote:

Baneful wrote:

Elements -> Large Mote -> Different climate

The motes that the Helpers were asking people to gather were clearly important, and as such, Deceiver decided that it was worth getting his hands on a couple to take with him. If something was worth gathering in the first place, it was worth keeping for later examination. He didn't really intend on handing them over to help people "bring back the light" or whatever fool's errand they were on right now. The way Deceiver saw it, his contributions wouldn't really change anything in the grand scheme.

He had found himself alone in recent days, something that shouldn't have bothered him but did regardless. It wasn't like he had been incredibly clingy to Soft, but there had been a certain level of stability in his life as he centered his time around playing at a good responsible mate. Now he was unthered, he could rest periodically with Repeats Mistakes and Stay Awake, but they also journeyed around and he wasn't exactly a cornerstone of their life either. He found himself more directionless than he had been in a very long time, and honestly when he'd found all the world in darkness, he'd felt on some level that maybe it reflected the empty lightless darkness that resided within his skin.

He tried not to wallow on it, but instead set out in pursuit of the motes that flitted around the clearing. Despite his missing hoof, he could still run fairly quickly with his off-kilter gait, and he chased down one of the smaller, slower motes that lagged behind the other, catching it in his teeth. It was strangely material and it was odd that he could seize it at all, but he held on staunchly to it. This one wasn't really large enough to keep, so he deposited it in the large cage that the Helpers had set up for the things, intent on going on the hunt for a larger mote instead.

However, he found himself a little bit out of sorts as he looked down at himself and found that he had turned completely transparent, his entire body suddenly composed of mostly solid water.

He stood dead still and stared, watching tiny bubbles simmer up through his chest.

"What the?" he said, and then to anyone nearby. "Do I look like I am....suddenly made of water? Just for my own reference."

Spoiler

1: Your kin imagines they are very, very tiny!
2: Your kin imagines they are huge!
3: Your kin imagines they have become a type of familiar!
4: Your kin imagines they are a tree and cannot move!
5: Your kin imagines they are made up of one of the four elements!
6: Your kin imagines their shadow has taken on its own life!
7: Your kin imagines they are a different species of kin!
8: Your kin imagines they are in a different climate (plain, mountains, desert, caves)!
9: Your kin imagines they are completely covered in motes!
10: You capture an exceptionally large mote with no consequences.

She'd only barely caught his words as the surly looking buck passed by her in the crowd but it was enough to make her stop and laugh. "At least they're committed to the bit. You gotta give them that. This level of set up can't have been easy to pull off without someone slipping up." Two more bucks had also approached, one echoing the first's misgivings. "To me it seems obvious. They've done some sort of magicry to bring the darkness themselves." She gestured at the grove they stood in, lit with glowing plantlife, mysterious 'motes' and set up already with burning bonfires and a feast. "There's no way they just pulled all this together last minute. It's a play or a game of some sort."

kuropeco wrote:

beejoux wrote:

prolixity wrote:

Beejoux wrote:

Beejoux wrote:

Dizzy_Kat wrote:

Prolixity wrote:

The words themselves were bolstering on their own, but the tone they were delivered in, so close to their ear, made the delicate zikwa feel warm down to the bottoms of their hooves. It wasn't a new feeling, but it wasn't one Born had experienced before they'd met Death, and it wasn't one they'd experienced with any other kin. What that meant, they weren't certain just yet, but they liked it.

Head tilting, there bumped their brow against his chin before he could draw away, murmuring back, "Thank you, sweet Death."

Between him and Haven surely Born could manage to be off some help.

"Will you do it first, show Haven what we're meant to be doing?" The Sanddog was a clever, picking up instruction quickly. No doubt why Death had picked the companion for them.

kuropeco wrote:

Clash's distrust didn't run quite that deep, but he was certainly hesitant, skeptical. He hummed an agreement before a dio was speaking up to add her thoughts to those of the buck beside him (and as of yet, Clash had not noticed Consume lingering close by to listen).

The points the doe was making were decent ones, and Clash found himself again looking across the clearing at the strangers with their strange glow. At the plants and the motes. Finally, to the soup one of the new comers had offered up. The scent of it, thick and welcoming, permeated the clearing, made his mouth water.

He stayed where he was, ears flicked back and caution written in the lines of posture. They could be exactly what they were proclaiming to be, but what if they weren't? "What if it nothing we do fixes things," he asked, voice soft but even.

kuropeco wrote:

prolixity wrote:

dizzy_kat wrote:

"What would it gain them to poison us?" Consume spoke up, stepping a little closer to the small group. "If they're aiming to get us to trust them, falsely or otherwise, poisoning a few kin would work against that goal." He flicked an ear. "It'd quickly become obvious that something was wrong. Whatever their goals, I doubt we're in immediate danger."

kuropeco wrote:

Dizzy_Kat wrote:

Beejoux wrote: