nysalogs | ❪ event ❫ spirited away

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❪ event ❫ spirited away

PRELUDE

I'll get straight to the point, Thesaens. Dranbu is in dire need of assistance. I have received confirmation that the disappearances we were investigating last month have... escalated. Be cautious as you make your way through Josa Forest. Ideally we could go straight through, but it seems the main entrance to Dranbu is overgrown with thorns and vines, and there's a bit of a glitch with the rail system - the train is having trouble recognizing the Dranbu station as a destination.

I've uploaded a homing beacon to your devices with this message. Once enough of you have arrived in Dranbu proper, it should communicate with the train and register it as a stop. With any luck, that will make getting back and forth much easier for you all from now on. Best of luck.

Entry to the forest is not only overgrown with vegetation, but seems to be growing at an increasingly alarming rate. Any attempts to clear the vines will be met with even larger ones growing in its place, and it only confirms Nurray's findings as true.

The only way in is across the sound from Nadril, entering the forest from its snowy back yard. It doesn't stay cold for long; as one ventures further into the forest, the snow will disappear, as though it was completely out of place in the first place. The red sun's warmth will take its place soon after— and before long, you'll feel too warm for the clothes you came with. That's when you know you've entered the heart of Josa Forest.

WITHIN THE FOREST

The forest seems to be thick with a profound presence that can’t be ascertained. While venturing through it, one will feel like there are being watched or followed. This feeling will only intensify as metallic-scented drops of rain begin to fall between the clearings in the trees. Unfortunately, what many don’t realize at this point is that this is how the forest itself eats. How it subsists and lives through the minds of those who eventually get lost in it. Wandering this far in is akin to walking into a lion’s jaw, or rather… straight to its stomach.

But, the forest has a way of making one stay. While it swallows someone up, it shows them sinfully beautiful and picturesque sights. Even showing them people or things that are familiar to the lost. All of which will urge them to go in deeper and deeper. But, while the forest begins to prey on the mind of their victim— they will suddenly hear an elegant and alluring voice urging them back.

This voice promises them comfort and safety. Promises to be kind and open. Promises she has a place for them where they will never feel displaced or unwanted, or lost. Before they can fully accept, they will find that they are whisked away in Barthala’s embrace.

Some will be taken, wiped of all their previous memories and inserted new ones. Others will find they have no prior memories at all of themselves, only urged to go on with regular life. What is prevalent is the forest's desire to turn you. Metamorphosis is a phenomenon that occurs only to certain individuals, and there is no rhyme or reason to them. Some adventurers would find themselves changing by the minute, the hour, or the process may even take days and weeks. The forest toys with you, but it only wants to draw you closer to its core — as though there's a story there it wants you to see and understand. Will you go on anyway, knowing the forest has already has its claws on you?

I. ALL ROADS LEAD TO —
Exploring the forest is not a perilous experience - Barthala's blessing ensures that paths remain clear of any dangerous obstacles, and keeps anyone who enters the woods from losing their way. However, it will not always lead adventurers where they want to go. Stressed? Your path leads to a meadow, grass drifting gently in the breeze. Tired? You'll find your way to a tree with roots perfectly curved for a nap, the shade a peaceful retreat from the sunlight. The hungry will find streams full of fish or bushes laden with berries, and the curious will come upon elder trees, unique and beautiful. Only those who are truly satisfied with their circumstances, with themselves, can forge their own path, and venture to Barthala's Grotto.

II. BARTHALA'S GROTTO —
The deity's home is host to an abundance of life. Butterflies drift through the air, brilliantly colored and unbothered by any intruders. Foliage blooms in a rainbow of colors, many plants unique to this area alone. With trees arranged to provide a canopy over the path and small clearing, the scene is something out of a fantasy. Any plant life taken from this area will not survive long, though even in its dead, dried state, it retains a curious beauty. Explorers and creatures finding themselves in this area will suddenly find their clothing to be an unnecessary burden - what could be better than feeling the wonders of nature against bare skin? There is nothing unbecoming about such a natural state, any perverse inclinations are an aspect of personal preference. While the presence of Barthala can be felt here - a warm, comfortable sensation emanating from your core - she is nowhere to be found. Only one will have the opportunity to pass under a veil of willow branches and emerge to the cool air of a clear-as-glass spring.

Another nearby grotto is home to a plant with intoxicating effects. Just smelling the leaves is enough to entice most animals, and consuming them has effects on both mind and body. More easily amused, with thoughts that weave deep and distant, along with increased sensory perception can bring the user on a pleasant trip lasting up to five hours.

III. INFLUENCES — (18+)
Every five days, a weed scattered in patches among the forest underbrush blooms. The flowers are small and white, unremarkable except for how clustered they grow. When their petals fall, after only hours of blossoming, pollen drifts through the air. It clings to clothing, to hair, in the throats of the sensitive animals dwelling in the forest. Even those unaltered by Barthala's magic can be affected. The locals of Dranbu claim the pollen enhances fertility, but in practice, it simply serves as a poignant aphrodisiac. Those affected won't differentiate between the warmth of another or their own, a simple need to experience sexual ecstasy overwhelmingly pervaded. The pollen loses its potency after about three hours, leaving behind only a sweet smell.

YOUR NEW (NEW) LIFE

Adapting to an entirely new setting isn’t always so simple. People often say that assimilating oneself to the environment happens fluidly, and before you know it, you’re a part of it. In Dranbu, these words hold an uncanny sense of truth.

When you awake, your day begins like it always has. Your daily routine meets largely unchanged, except a few tinier details. Perhaps, you’ve realized your true calling is an occupation within the villages itself. Maybe in farming up strange medical herbs, maybe in acting as a witch doctor for the people, or maybe you find yourself drawn to the arts and you really enjoy sculpting fellow villagers in the nude. Once you commit these tasks, you realize, it feels like what you’ve always done. As if it were natural, as if you’ve done them for years, and maybe you have? At least that’s what your gut is telling you, and slowly your memories will too.

At the end of the day, when you return home, you realize you’re not alone. You have a partner who shares the same values and whom you love deeply. Or maybe a spouse whom you’re always arguing with. But, even that will feel as commonplace as the rest of your day. All you know is that the day that might have started off not being yours is entirely yours and yours alone.

IV. THE HUNT —
Those taken by the forest, animal features adorning their bodies, will find that their palates have changed as well. Carnivores crave raw meat, while herbivores don't mind snacking on a patch of grass or pulling leaves from branches. For most, there's no reason to cook a meal; once prey is captured, instinct says dig right in! It can be a gruesome sight, mangled bodies gorged upon leaving bloodstained faces, but it's natural. As is the hunt itself - any size of game can be found in the forest, and no one will go hungry for long. The magic that dwells here ensures a catch even for the clumsiest predator. Just take care not to stalk one of your own. For a hungry predator, there's no difference between a deer and a deer-like human.

THE BOUNDARIES BEYOND

For some, placated is synonymous with bored. While there is a sense of wonder in the beauties of nature that adorn the woods, serene forest life isn't for everyone. Those seeking more adventure can explore the challenging slopes of Waco Mountain. Barthala's influence is weaker on those bluffs than in Josa Forest itself, so thrill chasers won't be disappointed. Lose the path, slip on loose rocks, fall into a stream and spend a night wet and cold, there are many perils that come with traveling a mountain-side. Scattered ruins offer some shelter, their walls carved with images resembling Barthala, a dragon, and three other stranger creatures. While the deity's pacification does not flow as deeply through this region, all are still save from mortal wounds, and the veil cast over their memories will not lessen.

If you have made it this far, however, there is no reason to try to return to the main city of Dranbu. Accommodations are always available in the neighboring villages: Phares in the north, and Stroln in the south. These villages are in friendly competition with one another, and will tempt travelers with women and men of their kind in order to draw in business to their hotels.

FINAL OOC NOTES

No REP is available for this log. REP will now be primarily available through achieving NPC quests, which will be available on the 19th! Please keep an eye out for that!

Dranbu is entirely available for exploration! You may find that most of Wyver and Olympia Flora/Fauna may be found in the forest as well. For more information on your characters' (opt-in) Metamorphosis, please refer to the November Outline!

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

i. within the forest

[ When it come to exploring this place, for 76 it's been there, done that. Granted, he and Dutch hadn't gone that far in before every instinct had been to turn back, especially when their searching hadn't turned up anything other than some worrisome glimpses of monsters deeper in the woods.

Now they're more or less being ordered to go. As sick as 76 is of having someone else show up to order them around, he's been curious about Dranbu ever since he had heard it mentioned as one of the stops on the train line, only for it to be passed over. Now there's some explanation for that, and so he doesn't mind adding his signal to all the others to get things up and running.

There's something off about Josa Forest, though, and the further that 76 and his partner get in, the more that he finds it impossible to shake that feeling.

Before he can stop himself, he reaches out to grab for the other person's shoulder to halt them in their tracks. ]

It feels like something's watching us.

ii. the hunt

a) [ The need to chase down prey and rip it limb from limb, to lick up the blood and tear into the flesh with his fangs, has gripped the wolf with even more intensity than is usual. It doesn't question this, but only pushes itself that much harder to run down anything its nose can scent.

When it does catch something, it takes it to a quiet clearing in a dark part of the wood to enjoy its meal. Bones crack as it rips its meal apart, its white muzzle stained red.

The stark white wolf might not seem out of the ordinary, except for the distinctive scarring across its face and its piercing blue eyes. It might be difficult to get close enough to notice those things, though, as the moment it senses someone nearby, it will growl lowly in warning.

Better not to bother a predator when it's eating. ]

b) [ Or, maybe you're the one that this strange white wolf is hunting. As soon as it becomes aware of someone unfamiliar in its territory, it will begin to stalk after them. And once it's fairly certain that it's within striking distance, it will pounce, jaws ready to snap and then clamp down. ]

iii. wildcard

[ Jack's going to be a wolf for most of the month, but feel free to wildcard any other interactions with him! PM me or hit me up at demonology if you want to plot something. ]

[A rustle through the bush announces Ignis' presence before he slowly eases his way out, having followed the scent of blood to this location. He'd been hoping for an easy catch. Unfortunately not. Just his terrible luck.]

Pardon, I've lost my way. I mean you no harm.

[He doesn't know what the size of the creature is, but Ignis doesn't want to make any presumptions that he might any form of advantage while he remains mostly human. He's learned well enough that even the smallest creatures can pose a threat.

Slowly, he eases himself down in hopes of crouching, lessening his height so as to not appear as much of a towering rival to the beast, his long spotted tail already slotting between his legs while his ears flatten along his hair.

There's no sense of fear, confusingly enough, just trepidation. And most importantly of all, an intense hunger. Ignis' appetite is already starting to shift with his changes, and with his blindness still intact, he's unable to hunt.]

[ The wolf hears the uneven steps of the human walking through the brush before his voice, but there's something else that it can smell and see on Ignis. He's not entirely human, but something in between. He's not the only one, and it identifies him as another resident of the forest, rather than an intruder.

The hybrid makes an attempt to seem non-threatening, but the wolf has already decided who's prey here. There's no reason for it to share its food with this other creature, but it can see that he's blind.

Again, pity isn't something that a predator is meant to feel, and maybe it's pack instincts that lead to the decision to rip off a piece of its catch and nudge it toward Ignis with its snout.

It's mainly eaten its fill, anyway. ]

[He doesn't expect to be acknowledged, and in fact, Ignis is more sure that hey may very well be attacked. He's intruding on the other creature and he's clearly weak. Even with his heightened hearing, he's still blind.

All he can hear is the squish and snap of what he assumes is the beast's meal, already dead and being consumed. It may very well continue eating only to spite him, and while upsetting, Ignis can handle it. If he remains where he is in his submissive stance the other animal may soon leave.

But the smell seems like it's closer, he can hear the shift of something against the ground. His brows rise as do his ears, swiveled forward. Carefully, his hands slide forward over the grass until his fingers bump against something coarse and wet. It's part of the other beast's meal.

It's... sharing, with him?

Ignis is no stranger to killing animals for food. His life back in Eos was essentially just that. However never would he bring himself to eat anything raw. The risk for disease would be too high, not to mention the thought would be, of course, disgusting beyond belief. But that was when Ignis was still mostly human.

His mouth is already salivating as his clawed hands sink into the meat, blood dripping over his hands, and he smells it so much more strongly. His stomach twists and aches, he's so hungry. Pulling the offered meat toward himself in a rush, Ignis slowly lifts it until the smell nearly overpowers him and out of desperation he merely lunges his mouth into the raw flesh for his first ravenous bite.]

[ In a way, it's a test. This intruder may look human, but pure instinct has led the wolf to believe that appearance is deceiving in this case. This half-man belongs in the forest more than the world outside it, even if its blindness means that it will be picked off before long.

Hunting Ignis down would lead to a large meal, but likely too large for the wolf to eat in even a few sittings. The corpse would draw other predators into its territory, and that's ultimately far more trouble than it's worth.

When the half-man begins to dig into the flesh with ravenous abandon, the wolf eases up slightly. If it's eating like that, it must mean that this hybrid truly is one of them, and there's little reason to be concerned.

Ignis isn't a threat, and so after a pause the wolf backs up and settles down onto its belly, paws laid in front of it. Having just eaten a good amount already, it's time to digest. All the same, the wolf doesn't stop watching Ignis for even a moment. ]

[ It's been a couple of weeks now since Jack went missing, and perhaps by this point rumors have generated about what's happened to everyone who disappeared. They're not back in stasis, none of them are answering their phones, and so the forest is the only place to turn.

Plenty of those who've been turned still retain some of their original physical form, but that's not the case here. Other than being pure white in color, this wolf blends in with the rest of wildlife in Josa Forest with little trouble.

Maybe it had been a little too easy for Jack to let go of his identity, after he'd denied it for so long.

So far, no one has been able to drag him back to civilization, if they've even been able to identify who he was in the first place. That's partly why the wolf has grown bolder in its circuit through the woods, as it attempts to claim more and more territory as its own. ]

[Jack is not exactly Gabriel's favorite person at the moment--and hasn't been for a while, even before arriving on El Nysa. With Ana gone, that buffer between them (however thin) is gone too, and Gabriel had surprised himself with just how easy it was to let all his pent-up frustration loose. Gabriel might as well have chased Jack into the woods himself, with the way they fought, though he can't deny it wasn't satisfying, in a way.

When Jack doesn't return, however, he knows what's happening. Loath as he is to admit that Jack would fall victim to something like this, it becomes increasingly apparent that he's going to need someone to go find him.

With Ana in stasis, that's going to fall to Gabriel. He doesn't like that he's out here in the forest alone, with a chain and a net and his guns, but despite his fairly complicated feelings about Morrison, Gabriel isn't about to leave him to whatever fate is befalling their number.

He doesn't know what this confrontation is going to be like, or if he'll even find Jack at all, but he's patient. There are a few options--set a trap and wait, go on an active hunt, but Gabriel finds it a little easier to let the creatures track him, instead.]

[ While Jack wouldn't necessarily admit it, the truth is that their blow-out fight had been at least part of the reason that he'd thrown himself into Nurray's missive. When it comes to dealing with any complex feelings, his immediate reaction is almost always to quite frankly not deal with them by focusing all of his attention into something else.

Not that he remembers any of that now that he's spent a few weeks transformed into a beast, boiled down to the basest needs and urges. It's the ultimate solution to running away from your problems.

The moment that Gabriel enters what the wolf considers its territory, it's aware of the intrusion. It doesn't respond at first. Plenty of people pass through the forest; it's when someone decides to linger that it's forced to chase them out, forcibly if necessary.

So before Gabriel can think about setting up a trap or tracking Jack himself, the wolf begins to stalk him, weaving between the trees and keeping a close eye on him from a distance. ]

[Gabriel would be a very poor black ops agent if he didn't know when he was being watched, and he can definitely sense that he's being watched. It's likely an animal, he thinks, but he can't discount something worse, so the question becomes how he's going to deal with this.

The easiest way to lure out the creature likely involves just making camp--it's a more vulnerable position than he'd like, but it will prompt the animal to either attack, or become acclimated to his presence.

So that's what he does. Gabriel hunts a smaller, rabbit-like creature to cook for added enticement, then gets to work collecting some dry brush for a fire. Hopefully he looks distracted enough for the creature to chance showing itself.]

[ The method of hunting down a rabbit has the desired effect. The moment that the wolf catches scent of spilled blood, it's impossible not to react. This stranger is not only making himself at home in its territory, but he's also helping himself to the prey here.

And it doesn't have any intention of sharing. Not with a human that doesn't belong here.

So the decision is to creep in close and then go for the kill. The wolf knows these woods quite well (as far as it's concerned, it's always lived here), and so it's methodical in the path that it takes toward the fire and the man sitting near it.

Soon enough, it will be near enough to mount an attack. What it doesn't realize is that its target already knows it's coming. ]

[He knows there are eyes on him—he’s ready to act as soon as it decides to jump him. Gabriel doesn’t want to go for his guns immediately, as he doesn’t want to scare the creature off, but he’s got them nearby alongside a net. He’s more than competent in his ability to go hand-to-hand with anything, claws or teeth be damned.

And if all else fails, he’s got his own little escape route up his sleeve.

He deliberately puts his back to where he knows the creature is coming from, then sits in front of the fire. Gabriel takes a deep breath and starts counting down.]

[ As sharp as the wolf might be, it isn't quite smart enough to realize that the way Gabriel has shown its back is a deliberate action, that it's meant to coax it closer.

All it can see in that moment is more prey, and while it wouldn't be able to make use of that much meat if it killed the human, it does want to chase it out of these woods.

And so as soon as it's close enough, it leaps forward, front legs outstretched and claws extended, ready to cleave down the human's back. ]

soldier: 76 / jack morrison | overwatch

( the hunt - a )

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closed to reyes.

Re: closed to reyes.

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the hunt- b because why not

he will apologize for this later ...

rocket wants this struck from the record entirely.

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soft awoo

best of friends.mp3

i.

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