genessia | OPEN LOG; EVERGLADE, GENESSIA - do not reply until you read the ooc post

OPEN LOG; EVERGLADE, GENESSIA - do not reply until you read the ooc post

The first sign that something was going on that day hadn't been at the crack. It hadn't even been in Genessia, as a matter of fact. The first sign had been a sound not unlike a window shuddering in a heavy storm. It perforated the atmosphere within Everglade first.

Only a few moments later, Fayren would hear the same shudder echo through its forests, forcing birds to flee the cover of the trees. In the populated areas of the kingdom itself, it would be much quieter, as if it were miles away.

Then it would return to Genessia. The crack in the sky was rapidly saturated, thousands more than before forcing their whole shapeless bodies against the barrier. Some of the strange aurora-tinted color seems to press into their ranks, a few of the strange creatures being forced back, but quickly being replaced by another of its kind.

And a sickening crack could be heard in all archways near and far, but it was loudest in Everglade, where a new crack had formed. Two humongous cracks appeared in Everglade's barrier like a sinister grin as if it were laughing at the town just above the clocktower. The two cracks took only a couple of seconds more before the strange monstrous creatures burst small holes into that crack, not big enough to fit their bodies through at once.

The leaked through, dripping like poison from an apple out of that sneering mouth in the sky until the first of these creatures fell to the ground. The eager, hungry soul from before, whose abyss of a stomach had been shared with the whole of Genessia when he'd opened his misshapen jaw the first time a few days ago now looked from side to side in the streets of Everglade.

The first face he saw was that of an NPC, and he only saw it for a moment before launching himself at the man and pinning him to the ground. Some would recognize him as the grizzled owner of The Rabbit's Foot. A loud scream was put out from the man as the creature opened its jaw wide, but did not eat him. Nothing seemed to happen when his jaw was opened, as a matter of fact.

The creature closed its mouth slowly before standing upright on what seemed to be a two-legged form, though if it had arms they didn't take shape. It made a gesture as if it were cracking its neck as the man escaped quickly, locking the door to his shop behind him.

More of the creatures were piling into Everglade slowly but surely, but this one in particular caught sight of a local werewolf, someone with a pendant, a soul, and repeated his mauling, but this time- this time something happened. This time a strange, glowing mist seemed to pull out of the Everglade resident's body, a faint glimmer of aurora with it, and in a short time this person stopped screaming. They were still alive, but it didn't seem like there was anything... inside, really.

A hissing, victorious laughter left the creature and he moved on, heading toward Genessia's gate along with his oversized mouth pulled up into an eerie grin that reflected the crack in the sky. Those that had made it in through Everglade's crack followed suit.

They had to let the rest of their friends in through Genessia; it was only the polite thing to do.

{{ READ THE OOC POST FOR IMPORTANT DETAILS ON THIS EVENT! }}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It wouldn't eat me, this isn't a zombie survival game. At worst, I'd--

[He hisses and jumps back when one of the spirits gets to close. He tries stabbing it, but it doesn't do much good, only forcing the spirit back.]

Yes you are! You just want to look good in front of Hori-senpai! But I actually know a lot about things like this, I'm good at this! Don't worry so much!

How am I going to look good if he isn't even here?! We got split up a while ago, if you forgot--which is why we're fighting--these--things--off!

[Their spat, if it could even be called that, has attracted other spirits. One made for her and she was able to use the knife to stab at it. It took multiple swings to leave any noticeable damage, but at least the thing wasn't able to eat her. Which, despite Mikoshiba's explanation is totally what would have happened.]

I didn't forget! Don't be stupid! I can handle them on my own, I don't need you to act like the hero! This isn't one of your plays, Kashima, it's real life!

[And he wants to rescue everyone for once. Not that he can dwell too much on it. He pushes another one of them away, before turning to help Kashima force the spirits near her back. He's panting and his knees feel weak with nerves.]

[This would be a great moment to have still been with either Nozaki brother, both of whom had experience with Judo. Despite the fact that nobody was armed with much by means of a weapon, at least they were better at fighting.

When Mikoshiba tries to swing the spirit away from her back, she realizes how vulnerable they are, facing opposite directions. And despite how pissed off she is at him at the moment, she doesn't like the idea of leaving his back open to something being able to slip in behind him and eat him. She pushes back on her feet and backs into him, bumping into him harder than she'd intended but leaving both of their backs covered ~~literally~~. Her heart is racing, and for the first time since they'd been separated, she was truly afraid.]

Mikoshiba, what are we going to do?

[She pushes against him hard to get further away from a spirit that's moving towards her, faster than they're already moving. He might feel her shaking slightly as she swings at it with the knife, breathing hard.] Seriously.

D-don't worry! [Seriously don't worry Kashima. It makes Mikoshiba worry more than he lets on. He can feel her shaking and hear her struggle. Kashima's one of the most athletic people he knows. If she's starting to have trouble...

He tries to look for an opening to escape while continuing to fight, but it proves to be more difficult than it looks. The spirits are too close to his face now, and he accidentally drops the sword, allowing it to clatter to the ground. He's afraid. This isn't a rpg.

It's a horror game.

He doesn't say anything else. Doesn't voice his promises to protect his best friend. He sinks to the ground, staring at the spirits, too terrified to speak.]

[Worrying. She's worrying, because despite still trying to push them closer to the building she knows they're near, so they could both face forward and see what was coming. She tries to kick the sword closer so she can swing down to grab it when Mikoshiba drops it.

Its when she reaches down that she opens herself up to the spirit that had cornered them. All she can let out is a startled yelp as the creature is on top of her, it's mouth open wide. But it doesn't clamp down and eat, it doesn't bite--a wisp of a limb or something is on her torso to hold her still and it hurts, she can feel pain, but even the fear of that is lessening as she stares into a black expanse in horror--

And a few moments later, the creature stands back up, stretches, and stalks off, as if suddenly done with them. And Kashima, despite having a large scrape through her top and down her arm to where the creature had been holding her still, looks fairly calm, blinking at where the creature had just been. She looks to Mikoshiba, blinking slowly.]

....that's weird. Isn't that weird, Mikoshiba? It's like it got bored of us.

[He was numb when he dropped the sword, but when he doesn't hear anything from Kashima, he's overcome with a cold type of dread. He turns to face her, and it's all he can do. He wishes he hadn't looked back.

Kashima is in danger. Kashima's been hurt and she'll be eaten now and she was right the whole time and it will be all his fault if he doesn't do something!

He never wanted anyone to get hurt.

He doesn't realize what he's doing, but one second he's on the ground, and the next he's grasping onto the limb, trying to pry it off, even as it turns out futile.]

Let go of my friend!!!

[He bites his lip hard enough to draw blood, ignoring the other spirits around him. He falls back once the spirit appears to be done, and can't quite understand why Kashima looks so...calm and okay about everything.]

What...what happened?

[She blinks. He is very worked up about something, isn't he?

Oh. His lip is bleeding. That's supposed to...if thinking made a sound, Mikoshiba could hear the gears turning in her head. Her friend--Mikoshiba is her friend, right? He's her friend, that she's absolutely certain of--is bleeding. She really ought to feel something about that. Really, though, all she feels is a great whole lot of nothing. While that's confusing...

Kashima fishes through her pocket to produce a handkerchief, and hands it to him.]

It went away.

[She's even offering him a hand. Strangely, though, the hand she offers belongs to the arm with the scratch, and really shouldn't she have some sort of opinion on the whole thing? Kashima was at least 87% sure she'd been terrified just a few moments ago, heart racing and hands shaking and sure she'd be eaten alive.

Now she's just calmly offering her friend a hand.

Mikoshiba. He's her friend, right? You offer your friends a hand when they fall down, so they can get back up. Right? That's the right thing to do, she's sure of it. She doesn't remember any of these sorts of actions taking so much thought before...]

Let's go, while we can. If everyone else is still here, they'll catch up.

[The words sound hollow out loud. That doesn't sound right, does it? Wouldn't she want to find the 'everyone else'? Everyone else means her friends--they're her friends too, right? And that means she ought to want to find them, which means she shouldn't be thinking of leaving them behind.

The teen blinks several times, hand still outstretched to help him up.

She shouldn't think so hard.] Well? Come on, Mikoshiba.

[He reaches out, hands shaking, numbly accepting the handkerchief. He can just blame his numbness on nerves, but something feels very off. He just stares at the cloth in his hands, not doing anything, and looks back at Kashima's hand, then her face.

Kashima was always managing to be better than him without even trying... Everyone was always saving him. The thought is a depressing one, and he looks down, feeling more gloomy than before. It's all his fault. He doesn't even deserve Kashima's help, after what had nearly happened.

Is that why Kashima is acting this way? Is she mad at him? Tears threaten to spill, but before long they are anyway.]

But what about the others? They could still be--

[He's crying too much to speak coherently now, so he doesn't even bother. He recalls hearing that if someone experiences something a big enough shock, they'll start to act strangely, or mechanically, in order to cope with whatever it was. Maybe that's what Kashima was doing now? Her words sounded fake to him, and it would explain why. He just feels worse thinking that.]

We have our phones. It will be fine, Mikoshiba. Come on.

[He really does seem very upset. Should she be upset? Maybe she's missing something, a piece of the puzzle, that would make this all make sense. He's crying awfully hard now. There's tears and blood and snot and everything.

Friends care when their friends are upset. Why doesn't she feel anything but confused?

Kashima crouches beside him, leaning closer so her face is near his. Her expression remains blank. Perplexed.]

Don't cry. Are you hurt somewhere else than here?

[One thin finger touches just above his lip, where his nervous biting has drawn blood, and she blinks. Her other hand takes the handkerchief from him.

Friends fix these problems. Mikoshiba is her friend. She is definitely sure of that. So she should fix it. Right? That seems right.

The handkerchief is pressed against his lip, and she blinks again. Is he still crying? Maybe she should be upset too.

But why?]

Edited 2015-07-01 01:00 (UTC)

[Phones? That's right, they could still communicate. But what if the others had lost theirs? What if Mayu was working too hard to protect everyone, or Sakura had been hurt, or Nozaki had been cornered or Hori-senpai...

He's putting them both in danger but he can't seem to move. This was all his fault. Kashima was acting weird because of him. She'd never forgive him.

He winces a little, too shaken to move but too embarrassed to speak. It stung a little, but he isn't hurt. He's more worried about her arm. He tries to speak, but he ends up clinging to her instead in a rib-crushing hug.]

I'm sorry Kashima! Please don't hate me...

I don't hate you. You're my friend.

[Mikoshiba Mikoto is her friend. He is definitely her friend--she's absolutely positive of that.

He's hugging her. She should hug back. Right? Her uninjured arm loops around him, then the injured one, and as he's hugging so tightly obviously that means she needs to hug tightly too. So she does. His squeezing is hurting her side. Is she angry? Maybe she should be angry.

No. He's still crying. Being angry takes effort. Even this hugging takes effort. Half an hour ago though, she liked any sort of touch. Right? Maybe not. Now she isn't sure.

She extricate herself from his grip and sides away, popping back to her feet. Once again she offers a free hand. To her friend.

Because friends do that. Right?

Definitely.

This is taking a lot of thinking.] Okay. It really is going to be okay. Let's get going, now. Come on.

[She feels impatient. Or rather she thinks she's feeling impatient. The offered hand grabs his to help pull him to his feet, less gently than she would normally.] Come on.

[He continues to hug her until he either feels better or Kashima moves. The latter happens first, but his sobbing has stopped by now, and he blinks a few times to get the last of the tears. He should be embarrassed, but no one else saw, and this was different.]

Okay...

[Right, he doesn't want to make things worse. He notices the strength behind her action, but doesn't question it. They need to hurry. He does, however, reach for his sword, and he's already walking ahead, in order to handle the majority of the danger, in case Kashima is more hurt than she lets on.]

[Somehow in the transition and movement she ends up behind him, the hand she'd used to help pull him up now being held by him and tprint her along. She trails behind silently.

Now he seems scared. Is he scared? Maybe he isn't. Wasn't she scared a few minutes ago? And he's going awfully fast--they're almost running. Away from the little corner. Running away--that definitely means scared. People don't run away unless they're scared. That must mean he's scared. And if he's scared, she should be too. Right?

So why isn't she? ]

Mikoshiba.

[Kashima stops, the sudden stillness tugging him as well. When he turns--if he does--he'll be met with a very perplexed face. Not her usual expression of confusion. Something different. More lost.

The weird creature tried to eat her and then changed its mind, and she has a big cut on her arm but that isn't really the problem. It's everything else.

Kashima can understand that she feels a bit out of sorts; what she can't grasp is why she doesn't really care.

Maybe she's imagining it. She could just be imagining it, thinking that something isn't right when really everything is. Nothing is bleeding or hurting or falling off--she's fine. Really. She is. And if she weren't fine then Mikoshiba would say something. Friends do that. And Mikoshiba is her friend. She's sure of it.

Instead of voicing her concern, she blinks at him, scratching her head.]

Where are we going to meet everyone?

[Of course he's scared. He assumes she is too. They just have to keep going. If he looks back, he might hesitate, let his nerves get the better of him, and they'll be worse off than they already are. He turns, reluctantly, but Kashima's expression catches him off guard. It disturbs him. He starts to ask her if she's really okay, but before the words leave his mouth, she's asking him a question. It's an important one, but he's not sure how to answer it.]

Somewhere safe...

[He starts to bite his lip, wincing when he does. It's not the ideal time to check his phone and find out what would be "safe" right now, but they do need to figure out where to meet up.]

Let's find shelter, and then figure it out.

[What would she want, if she could feel and think about what she'd actually want? Kashima can't quite get her thoughts all together. She feels scattered and disoriented. Thoughts come and they make sense, they sound altogether right in her head, but they come without the nerves or the panic that she thinks they should.

Shouldn't she be upset? Mikoshiba still looks upset. He sounds upset. And sure, she knows she's hardly ever as upset as Mikoshiba is, but that doesn't mean that she shouldn't be.

He's taken her arm again, tugging. And if she could feel much of anything she would feel relief that he's taken over because figuring anything out now seems incomprehensibly overwhelming.

Something isn't right. She can feel it, deep in her gut, an empty inky blackness--the absence of something, a void. But Mikoshiba hasn't said anything. And he's her friend. She's thought about this quite a bit over the last few moments and he hasn't said anything, so she must be right. And friends would say if something was wrong. So her feeling must be wrong. That has to be it, simply. The feeling, or lack of feeling--all of that is in her head. Nothing is wrong or out or sorts or anything. She's just fine. Everything is fine.

The first alley she notices she tugs him into. Her heart is racing, her breath coming in rapid gasps, the slightest sheen of sweat on her forehead. Every indicator of fear, except she doesn't feel afraid.

Now she's sure she should be afraid. She's positive of it. Absolutely positive. She grabs Mikoshiba's wrist, tight, brows furrowed.]

Something isn't right. I think something isn't right, Mikoshiba. Is it just in my head? Nothing's falling off or bleeding--it all looks fine. Everything looks fine.

[Kashima releases his arm and looks at her hands. They're shaking. Her heart continues to thump feverishly against her chest, and she struggles to slow her breathing. Nothing makes sense. Mikoshiba is looking at her as if she's lost her mind, and maybe she has--it's in her head, because everything else is doing exactly what it should be. Her nervous system seems to understand the entire 'fear' process just fine.

That has to mean something is wrong. Unless she's wrong, which means nothing is wrong.

Her head is starting to hurt.]

I think I'm scared, Mikoshiba, but I don't feel anything.

[Mikoshiba isn't sure what to say. Watching Kashima act scared and listening to her is making him scared. But she's asking him for help, so he pushes it aside for now, or tries his hardest to.

He tries not to let his voice waver too much, but that's its own challenge.]

I think you're just in shock... You'll probably feel more later once we're safe. [If they're safe. He has to look around, paranoid, because he doesn't trust Kashima to be aware of her surroundings in this state.]

A-and it's just us so it's probably even harder so. Don't worry too much about it? I'm sure it will be different once we meet up with everyone else.

[Kashima's green eyes never leave his face, narrowing. Shouldn't she feel something? Even people in shock feel something.

And her heart--she's sure it could beat itself right out of her chest. Her hands--she can still feel that they're shaking, almost violently, as she keeps her fingers wrapped around his wrist. Her breathing is fast and erratic. Every single part of her is acting afraid, except her head. Her head, which can't seem to get the idea of "fear" straight.]

No. No, I'm--I'm sure that isn't right. That...doesn't seem right. I'm sure it's not right.

[She wants to feel something. She'd willingly accept fear as how she's feeling, if it could mean feeling an emotion. Or joy, or anger, or pure blind-hot rage--she didn't care what, so long as she could feel it.

Is she crying?

One hand touches her face. No, definitely not, but she can feel the pricking of tears at the back of her eyes and it frustrates her. Or rather, it would, if she could feel frustration.]

Where is everyone, Mikoshiba? What are we supposed to do?

[The blue haired prince leaned closer to him, brows furrowed. Every fiber of her being played the part of a distressed princess, except for the part in which she had no inclination towards the feeling itself.] What do we do now?

[He tries not to look as disturbed as he feels. If Kashima is breaking down...it will be his fault. He's never seen her this way before. He's seen her afraid, and he knows how to deal with that, but this is different. He's at a loss as far as how to help, but he has to do something. His best friend is counting on him, relying on him, and he can't fail her.

He didn't figure that having someone rely on him would feel this horrible.

He grabs one of her hands, pulling her back and looking over her shoulder. Part of it is to reassure himself that she's really here, regardless of what's happening.]

We need to try to contact them. Do you have your phone?

[Kashima reaches into one pocket, digging around until she feels the phone in her pocket, and then flits the screen on and flips through the contacts. Her eyes are still wide as she does so, looking right at him. A bead of sweat runs down the side of her face and she wipes it away with a small frown.]

Who should we call?

[A pause, a serious expression crossing her features.] Maybe Hori-senpai will know what to do.

[More telling than every other behavior thus far is the absence of her usual cheerful way of referring to Hori, the absence of her terms of endearment for her senior. Kashima leans against the wall behind her, blinking.]

You talk with Hori-senpai, Mikoshiba. [The phone is handed to him, already dialing.]

[Hori had been stuck at the theater, helping the people get away from there. Who knew the tools for making backgrounds would be effective against the lesser spirits? Well, it had still been difficult to do anything except defend, so he hadn't been able to contact anyone from the house.

He just hoped they managed to evacuate and no call for him was a good thing and he'd meet them in the evacuating places.

Well, he never actually got reunited with the others, but he hadn't gotten any good chances to call them either, as he was helping out with whatever he could in the whole evacuation situation.

As Hori was finally able to relax for a bit, his phone rang. It was Kashima.]

Kashima? Did you and the others manage to get out alright?

[He hadn't thought Kashima would hand him the phone, so he just stares at it for a moment as if trying to figure out what to do.

If Kashima was avoiding talking to Hori, something was even more wrong than he thought.

Sorry Hori-senpai, instead of Kashima, you'll get a panicked Mikoshiba. He's close to tears again now that someone more reliable is...sort of around.]

Hori-- Hori-senpai, we got surrounded and something happened to Kashima and something's wrong and I don't know what!!!

[Seeing as Kashima isn't actually at the phone herself, her voice is distant. Even still, she can be heard in the background over Mikoshiba's almost-wailing:]

Mikoshiba, tell Hori-senpai where we are. He's going to know what to do.

[Her tone remains, as it has since her encounter with the spirit, entirely monotone. Flat. Even still, she's sure--really, she is. In fact, she's not just sure but completely positive--that one's supportive of their friends when they are upset.

And Mikoshiba is definitely upset. Why is this so confusing?] You don't have to cry.

[Hori definitely can hear Kashima's voice. As she says that, he grabs his clothes and a ruler and heads out of the evacuation place.]

Mikoshiba, calm down. Tell me where you are and I'll come there. We'll figure it out.

[There's nothing calming about this situation. Kashima's own distant voice puts him even more on edge.]

O-of course-- [No, he doesn't know how to acknowledge Kashima's comment about crying.

He's not happy, but Hori-senpai's confidence helps him a little. At least nothing seems wrong with Hori, and he knows he can depend on him.

He wouldn't have to if he wasn't such an idiot.]

We're in Genessia at [Insert directions here.]

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I am sorry these tags are so long/rambly

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