Outdoor Adventure Club

[parttimesoldier]

Who: Suzuha, Mark, Aventurine, Yuffie, Tifa, Zuo Le, Nei
When: Sometime within the first couple days of arriving!
Where: The woods surrounding the school
What: A field trip into the woods! :)
Warnings: creepy voices, unearthed traumas, anything else tba!


[Maybe she’s talked about it with you previously or maybe you heard Suzuha in the cafeteria over breakfast on one of the first few mornings suggesting a search party be formed to head into the woods. It’s dangerous out there, but there’s gotta be a way out, right?

So she’ll gather up those interested one afternoon, and turn to face the group when they step outside and arrive at the threshold of the woods.]

Alright party people, [said with a stern tone and completely straight-faced,] get ready for trouble. Keep an eye out for that thing or anything else that might be lurking out there. Try not to stray too far from the group and always stick with a buddy. Got it? Good. Let’s go.

[And off you go! Wonder what they’ll find out there.]

Comments

[parttimesoldier]

I.

[Well. It sure is dark in here. Suzuha, with her splintered table leg-turned-pointy club leaning against a shoulder, will be trying her best to check up on people as they progress. How we doing, outdoor adventure crew??

The Kai-un curse is having a field day with her out here, though. She seems to be getting her clothing caught that thorny underbrush more often than others and might need a hand untangling on more than one occasion. Her attempt at spinning around to plant her feet in a defensive posture when the bushes nearby start rustling has her tripping over an unseen root and going crashing into the nearest person instead. She is not having a great time.

II.

[And then the voices start up.

It's all your fault, you know?

She’s determined to ignore it all, keep pressing forward. One gets her to finally stop right in her tracks, though.

You had one chance to fix it all, save everyone. But you had to blow it all for something so frivolous…]

ii

[titlecard]

[ After all the crashing she's probably done into people, and he's the one crashing into her as she suddenly stops.

There's a blip of surprise as he backs up immediately, tilting his head at that strange whisper, trying to parse what it means but it... doesn't mean anything. Surely it doesn't mean anything?

But then why did she stop... Mark moves up to stand beside Suzuha, looking at her with concern. ]

Hey. You okay?

[parttimesoldier]

[Having someone bump into her is a great way to get her back to her senses. Though she startles at the contact, nearly jumping as it drags her from her thoughts. She looks over at him, trying to summon back a brave face, but there's a crease in her brow that remains.]

...Yeah. It's nothing. Sorry, I—

[But the whispers hardly seem content to let up, stirring back up with a taunting little laugh.

Nothing, nothing, nothing. Just like all you've accomplished. Did you really think you could change the past? Change anything, save anyone?

No, you had to put yourself first...

It's just messing with her. It's so damn obvious that it's messing with her and yet she can't help the cold fear that comes pressing in on her chest. It takes her a second to realize that it's probably reflected on her face, and she very suddenly finds herself unable to look at Mark any longer.]

I

[candlestick]

[ Absorbed as he is in his own watching of suspicious movements, that sudden spin and fall has Suzuha knocking right into Zuo Le's back. He'll twist around to try to catch her before she falls, but still stumble back a step or two, resulting in that still very real tail of him swiping right through a thorny bush.

It's far from the worst pain he's ever felt, but there's a quiet hiss of discomfort from him regardless. ]

You have to be more careful.

[parttimesoldier]

[Ok, stumbling like that hurts her pride after the day she's been having out here so far, but that's ignorable. What's worse is her own clumsy mistakes getting other people hurt, so while she's grateful that he was quick enough to catch her so she didn't completely eat shit, she can't help but feel guilty hearing that hiss from him.]

Ugh. [First she just has to express some of that self-directed frustration as she gets her footing back. And then she can fret a little.]

Sorry, sorry! I swear I'm not usually this clumsy. [What is the deal!!!] You good?

i

[mogger]

[ well, yuffie's always (???) ready to lend a hand! ]

[ that is to say, she is absolutely trying to tug suzuha out.... maybe a little too forcefully ]

Yeesh! How do you keep getting stuck?!

[suplexer]

i.

[ Tifa is here! She's standing near Yuffie (or White Rose, as everyone knows her), now wearing a much cuter uniform and also some oddly mismatched gloves? But she's ready to explore and to fight whatever might be out there in the woods. She's not afraid of no ghost (yes she is, but she's being so brave right now ). ]

If there are any monsters out there, Rose and I are used to fighting them. Just yell for us, okay?

[ Anyone on the perceptive side might note she's sniffling from time to time, and she's got a slight rasp to her voice. Otherwise, though, she's showing no signs of illness or exhaustion as they press forward to explore the deep, dark woods. She will power through this! ]

ii.

[ She's been holding things together pretty well so far. The tracks of some great beast don't scare her much, because whatever it is, she's pretty sure that she and Yuffie will be able to take it down.

It never shows itself, though. What manifests instead is a series of taunting voices, which seems to be whispering right to her.

You'll never be able to save him from himself. Isn't that obvious by now?

Do you think any of them actually needed you in the first place? They're doing just fine without you.

Why didn't you tell him the truth? Wouldn't that have been better? He'll never trust you now.

Fight all you want. It will never be enough... ]

i

[titlecard]

[ He already knows Rose! So Tifa's apparent closeness with her is a point in her favour, and Mark doesn't doubt for a second that she's used to fighting monsters.

He does harbour some doubts, though. The first being that with his own powers drained, he has to wonder how effective any of them will be at fighting monsters in present circumstances. The second doubt... the rasp in her voice at the declaration; the sniffling. It's only been a few days, how does she already have a cold? ]

... Are you sure you should be out here?

[ Out in the woods? When she's sick?? ]

ii

[parttimesoldier]

[Unsurprising that the woods are as spooky as the school itself. So far it's been normal stuff, easy to ignore. The farther in they get, though... Well. The voices are concerning, even if they don't pose an immediate threat.

Suzuha recognizes this girl from the gym, makes a point to try to travel with her for part of the exploration. When those damned whispers pick up, she peers over at her in the gloom.]

...You hear that too, right?

i

[gamboler]

[ She didn't come out here when she's ill, did she...? Not that he has room to judge — he would have done the same. Beneath the sleeve of his blazer, his arm still aches from the injuries he sustained a couple of days ago, but it's not as though he could sit this out.

He has to know what's out here. He has to know why they didn't even bother to lock the doors. ]

Don't need a breather, do you?

[ He's handing her a juice box. He was prepared and packed a few, okay. ]

ii

[mogger]

Ugh, shut up, you stupid voices! No one cares what you think!

[ partially for tifa's benefit and partially for hers, because one particular voice pops up. it sounds harmless enough, encouraging, even but--- ]

[ You gotta keep going, Yuffie.... for all of us.... ]

[ --- she freeze up ]

ii

[candlestick]

[ For a brief second, it takes Zuo Le a moment to realize that last one is not intended for him, his jaw tightening for a moment, and his expression hardening, but another whisper follows shortly after that does not fit, and Zuo Le glances around to see who seems to be reacting to them.

It's not like he's trying to pry into anyone's insecurities, but there's a natural impulse to look up, to see what this is all about even before the realization kicks in that what he's doing might not be all that welcome. ]

[titlecard]

i.

a.

[ It's not like he expected the spooky, dark woods surrounding the creepy, haunted school to be a picnic, but this feels like a lot? Why is it so dark; he wishes he had his phone back, flashlight included. Why is there so much plant life. Why does he feel like he's in a horror movie.

He's totally in a horror movie. Well, fuck this; Mark can cheat. After getting his sleeve caught on a thorn for what feels like the millionth time, he's just going to rise up into the air and float above the bushes. Screw you, plants.

Except it's dark enough that he doesn't see where he's going and flies face-first into a tree branch, knocking him on his ass back down to the ground, where he's just going to sit for a second, his pride effectively dead. ]

This place is impossible...

b.

[ Or, standing at the side of a patch of mud, looking down at one of those footprints in it. ]

Don't tell me there are kaiju here too.

[ Call it an educated guess. ]

ii.

[ There are voices.

You're going to be just like him. You've killed; you've regretted not killing; you're ready to kill again. How long until you're a mass murderer, too?

And Mark just grits his teeth and tries to power on through, but he's tenser than before; agitated, body like a coiled spring ready to lash out at anything. ]

ii

[mogger]

[ maybe mark is trying to power through, but yuffie immediately pipes up defensively: ]

Shut up! Nobody cares what you think, you stupid voice!

[ she has no idea where it's even coming from ]

ib

[candlestick]

[ He'll join him in looking at that big old footprint, and while Zuo Le is about to say: ]

I'm not familiar. What's a kaiju?

[ He does know creatures that are large in scale and massively destructive still, so this sits poorly with him. ]

ia

[praiseful]

[ Sorry, Mark, but the sword-wielding pink-haired shorty from Yakuyoke just barely stifles a laugh when he floats right into a branch and gets knocked back onto his ass. ]

[praiseful]

i.
[ Of those gathered here, Nei has only met... one person, and probably seen another poking around her homeroom's dorms. It's entirely likely that she just sort of appeared at gathering time after having overheard talk of exploring the woods, but she's here, prepared with a sheathed katana held in one hand, and clad in her uniform accented with Yakuyoke's color on her skirt and tie. ]

Call me Rin. If you're going going on a mission to investigate the forest, then I'm coming along. I can handle myself, so don't even think about worrying about me!

[ ?? Ok. Anyway, she seems steady as they venture into the woods, and as she is determined to pass through she'll suffer a few tears and snags on that uniform, but the second she spots one of those footprints, she draws her katana. ]

A beast...? Hey, stay sharp. I won't have you holding me back if it shows itself.

ii.
[ She seems perfectly brave and good up until the moment she starts to hear voices. It's then that Nei stops, waits for whoever is nearby, and subtly (awkwardly) tries... to hide behind them a little bit. ]

What?

[ She's not scared, totally not... And then, of course, the whispers come. ]

D-Did you hear that?

i

[parttimesoldier]

[Suzuha is liking this gal. Shows up armed, ready for business, full of confidence? Yeah, good addition to the exploration team.

Suzuha's falling into a defensive stance with her own makeshift blunt weapon when she calls attention to that footprint. Eyes scanning the dark for any sign of movement.]

Whatever it is, we'll both be ready for it.

[A beat, as something clicks into place. Pink hair, short, confident about fighting a beast... Her attention snaps back to the girl with the katana.]

Wait. You must be the senpai the girl with the wings told me about!

i that maybe eventually becomes ii

[gamboler]

[ Okay, so, she's immediately one to be worrying about, with a declaration like that...

Though it's not until they stumble upon the animal tracks that he's actually keeping a closer eye on her. She's armed, so she probably does know how to handle herself, but this would once again be a handy time for the Preservation's power, just in case...

Too bad he hasn't been lucky enough to get his abilities back, yet. ]

By all means, take care of whatever it is if it shows itself. That said...if it's anything like that creature outside window, might I suggest a little caution?

i

[mogger]

Excuse you?

[ brash to brash communication.... yuffie doesn't appear to be armed, but she is folding her arms against her chest ]

You don't hold me back!

i maybe turning into ii also

[suplexer]

[ Tifa's already made note of Rin and her sword, but there isn't much chance for them to exchange any words as they explore the dark woods... until they come across that massive imprint in the forest floor.

She turns at the sound of an unsheathing blade. This sword is much more elegant when compared to what Tifa's used to, similar to Hoshimi's rapier, but she can see how sharp it is. ]

Don't worry, I won't! [ She gives a little pump with her fist, showing off her gloves. ] I've taken down plenty of monsters — this thing won't know what hit it.

[ And since they haven't met before, Rin probably won't notice that Tifa's voice is just a little more raspy than normal. It's fine. ]

[gamboler]

a.

[ Strange to think he's ostensibly filling out a role as one of the responsible adults here...but more than anything, he has once again found himself caged, and there's no sense in wasting any time seeking out anything they can learn to aid their escape. Venturing into the woods is an obvious point of interest, though the fact that they're able to leave the school at all is more disconcerting than encouraging. If they went to the trouble of bringing them here, why wouldn't they lock them in?

Anyway, much like Suzuha, Aventurine's curse is acting up nearly as soon as they enter the woods. He's continuously getting caught on branches and roots. Sorry if you wind up breaking his fall — maybe that's his own natural luck trying to counteract the bad luck? He also might just get smacked right in the face with a tree branch, to which he utters an exasperated: ]

Really? Again?

[ He's going to come out of this with a very bruised brow, if nothing else. ]

b.

[ Yet despite the annoyances of poor luck, he'd much rather take those than the voices that come soon enough, quiet as whispers, and yet deafening, all the same. Is he...hallucinating?

You cannot escape from the past.

Your wounds will never heal.

Your future never existed.

Somewhat frantically, he glances at the rest of the group, looking for any for any indication that they can hear the voices too — yet hoping that they don't, that he's the only one hearing them, now.

Loser loser loser loser loser loser— ]

a

[parttimesoldier]

[Suzuha's gaze snaps right to him at the sound of that commotion with the tree branch. She'd maybe laugh if she hadn't been having much the same experience out here today. It'd be like tempting fate.

Annnnd yet that doesn't stop her from making a comment on it, anyway.]

Still no sign of that good luck of yours, huh?

[Remember how she said she'd lay on the teasing if they got out of that classroom? Yeah.]

b

[mogger]

You good?

[ she doesn't seem to have heard them at first, just raising an eyebrow as she looks back at him and his searching gaze. ]

[ but then--- they continue, and by the time they reach the chant of loser, she's obviously getting pissed off... yuffie yells out in response: ]

Hey, nobody asked you!

b

[titlecard]

[ Sorry; Mark can hear the voices, too.

He's had his own adventures trying to make his way through the woods, but watching the members of Kai-un really has been something else. Enough for Mark to want to help, but since he's figuring out what his own curse entails, he's kinda been holding back on that front, actually.

Until they make eye contact, and oh, no. Mark blinks, and then, hearing that final chorus, throws a hand out, exasperated. ]

I mean, none of that's true.