EVENT LOG: DO YOU REALIZE? PART TWO

[inthenightmods]

EVENT LOG:
DO YOU REALIZE? PART TWO

characters: everyone.
location: Bonfire Square.
date/time: August 18-19.
content: the party takes a turn for the worst.
warnings: violence, gore, character death.

"but if your lantern's too banged up to fix, you ain't coming back."

Late on Saturday evening, just as the party's hitting its stride for the night, the foghorn sounds. It's a frantic blaring, the deep, hollow bellows of the horn echoing over the trees in some approximation of a song, impossible not to hear from wherever you might be lingering this evening.

It captures the attention of the forest spirits, first and foremost. They drop whatever they're up to as soon as the first note strikes the air, and they listen. You listen, too, though any sense of understanding is lost on you. One thing is clear, though: the time for distraction is over.

•••
The tone of the party has changed, and not for the better. Before, the forest spirits at least seemed to be enjoying themselves, feasting and dancing, wobbling around and entertaining themselves. Now...

Now, the atmosphere has changed. There's tension thrumming through the air.

One's head snaps to the side sharply, focusing on something unseen in the forest. A few moments later, and others do the same: bodies locked in place, limbs frozen, they stare at something out into the darkness. Can you see it? Maybe. Maybe there's something out there... and maybe you'd better not attract its attention. Two pinpoints of green light, glimmering though no light manages to reach its body. It doesn't move, and neither do the spirits in town, but perhaps it's best not to disturb them.

A few aren't so calm. Mouths dropping open, the noises they emit range from low urgent clicks to desperate howls, but all give off a deep feeling of anxiety. Fear, verging into terror, claws digging into dirt and spirits skittering madly over buildings, limbs snapping erratically, the path of their movements understood only to themselves. They don't lash out at others, not yet— but there's a frantic energy to their movements which suggests something is wrong.

Good thing you're disguised as a spirit, isn't it? Although if you haven't gotten to that station yet, rotten luck. Maybe you better get to hiding, because right now it seems like the spirits aren't so keen on things that don't belong.

•••
Ah, but after that initial panic, the foghorn abruptly goes quiet. The lighthouse beam shuts off, too. The thing with the green eyes vanishes, and most of the other forest spirits have already fled or are still stuck frozen in town, but it's now that the others attack. Apparently not all of the spirits were won over by the party's attempt at diplomacy.

The hostile spirits attack with abandon, and can't be reasoned with. The only way to stop them is to kill them or detain them, although you could just wait it out and hope they move on soon. In any case, how you deal with the spirits is up to you. Feel free to NPC them in your own threads if you'd like to fight them or attempt to interact with the frozen ones, though the fighting spirits will continue to fight until dispatched and the frozen spirits won't snap out of it no matter what you do.

As far as what the expedition teams are up to, that's up to them. All expedition teams including the team that's with Winters are able to make it back to town to witness the chaos. What happened out at the lighthouse, though? The Winters crew will be sure to let you all know... soon.

And if you'd like to go after the spirit with the green eyes? Well, go ahead, but do so at your own risk.

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THE GREEN-EYED FOREST SPIRIT

[inthenightmods]

[You can certainly go after it if you like, either while it's visible or after it disappears, but is that really a good idea?

Attempting to chase this forest spirit will come with all the same risks of an expedition. Character injury and even death is on the table, so please keep that in mind!]

vanitas | kingdom hearts | ota

[evulsed]

THAT GREEN EYED MONSTER

[ The change in the atmosphere is immediate, and even if Vanitas doesn't know what the foghorn means, he can feel that tell tale crawl up his spine. One spirit's head snaps to look toward the forest. Vanitas, his gaze follows it— and he finds what he's been expecting this whole time.

Fear surges through him, visceral and fast. He feels hot all over, like his skin doesn't fit the muscle, it makes the back of his neck prickle with sweat. With his helmet on, it disguises the way his eyes go wide, the way his pupils contract— it muffles the sharp intake of breath.

He doesn't have time to stick around, and maybe it's just luck that your character passes him on their way to go after that spirit. His hand slaps out to the side, and he grabs the middle of their chest, stopping their momentum entirely. He's not a tall guy, but there's a strength in his arm that's surprising for his size. When he turns his head to look at the person, their face will be reflected back at them out of his helmet. ]

Do you want to die?

WILDCARD
[ ooc; feel free to use this for any other things we may have hashed out for event purposes, or shoot me a pm/hit me @ scrubdaddy ]

Re: vanitas | kingdom hearts | ota

[knifecollecting]

[Jo hadn't actually been running after the monster. She was curious about it, maybe she was going to get closer, but she wasn't going to attack it. She hoped to see what it was, gather some information.

When Vanitas grabs her, she almost punches him on instinct but stops when she notices the helmet. That would only hurt her.]

No. I'm trying to look.

[darkeyed]

<sub>[This isn't like fighting off human opponents. This isn't like any kind of fighting he's used to. The spirits range anywhere from the size of a squirrel, to the size of a person, to even bigger, but the ones in a haze of aggression are no better than undisciplined dark ones when activated, viciousness directed at anything that moves.

And the one at the center of it all--

To an extent, the spirits aren't the only one giving themselves over to aggression. He sees the lesser spirits cowering at the same point in the forest, and his thought process is quite simple from there: if there's something out there that can frighten them like this, that's worth his energy, not these small fry. Fighting a threat makes sense to him when so little about this place does.

The arm stopping him in his tracks surprises him because he is at a run. A leap, really, having planted both feet on an oncoming spirit and rode it into the dirt, springing off it to continue on.]</sub>

--What are you doing?

<sub>[At first glance, Vanitas seems no more than an unfortunate roadblock. The other's reflective helmet casts back a grim image: jet black eyes in a grim countenance, a look not unfamiliar to Vanitas after their encounter in the church.

Death? All he sees is an interruption.]</sub>

Why'd you stop me?

DEFENSE GROUP 1

[evulsed]

@party

[evulsed]

[ Like these things usually do, it happens all at once. After he spots that green-eyed spirit, Vanitas' teeth are on edge. He knew what was out there, and it isn't going to stop him from doing his job, but that doesn't stop the fear from sitting in the base of his spine. It's good, though. He can use that.

Vanitas inhales deeply and opens his palms at his sides. He digs deep into the well of his own anguish, reaches into all the despair Sora has been pouring into him for weeks, and hoists it all up to the surface. Darkness pours out of him like a dam that's been broken, flooding out of him like he's bleeding all over the ground. It spreads out, curling around the ankles of anyone standing close by, reaching out yards in either direction— and out of the black rise his Unversed. They range in size: small, fast, large, airborne— when he's amassed around thirty or so, he stops. All of them vibrate and twitch on the spot, like they're itching to take off and are just waiting for the sign. ]

Don't worry if they're destroyed, I'll make more of them.

And whatever you do, don't go after that thing with the green eyes.

[ Vanitas doesn't need to have met it specifically to believe he knows what it is, what it represents. ]

It'll kill you.

@elden | cw blood/gore

[evulsed]

[ Vanitas is not built for self sacrifice. He is, inherently, a selfish creature— just by virtue of what he is, and how he was created. If he had the capability, he wouldn't have relied on any of these people to get this job done. This world just didn't operate the way he was used to— and while Vanitas didn't like to rely on others, if his Master taught him nothing, it was that he could use the people around him to see a plan through to the end.

So it isn't out of the goodness of his heart that he spots the spirit honing in on their healer and lunges between them. It's necessity— Elden's magic is potent, Vanitas can feel it like a small sun going off every time he casts— keeping him alive was the best way to ensure the survival of the rest of the group.

One moment Vanitas is yards away, and the next darkness sleuces off him as he's raising his keyblade, inserting himself between the spirit and Elden. He pushes the end of his blade through the monster's chest, but not before it puts it's own arm directly through Vanitas' ribcage.

Vanitas can feel the flesh and bone give way, can hear the wet crunch of muscle tearing. He yells, anger as much as pain as much as fear, and raises his free hand— pushing with all the force of his darkness to throw the spirit off. It wrenches the spirit's arm right out of his body, torn through his armor, and with it a surge of blood follows, hitting the earth with a sickening splat. Across from him, the spirit hits a distant tree and crumples to the ground, unmoving.

He goes down on both knees, his keyblade hitting the ground next to him, and Vanitas reaches up to pull his helmet off with a wet gasp. ]

Cao Pi | OTA

[pure_havoc]

[Not even the pessimist buried inside Cao Pi could have seen this coming, what...what is that noise? The sound is unlike anything he's familiar with, but he can immediately see the effect it has on the spirits at the party.

Once the mayhem is in full swing, he goes fully into commander mode, pulling one of the two swords at his side (where he keeps his lantern, you know, totally normal to show up to a party armed!) and using it to direct people.]

Get inside, now! Fighters, to me!

[two options here: run, and he will help you, defending your back until you're safe inside. Fight, and he will be glad to have you at his side. It's hard not to notice that he seems to be acting like he's in charge, whether anyone wants to follow his commands directly or not. He does sound like he knows what he's doing.]

[paletteswap]

[He doesn't need the command to know that it's a good time to start fighting, he's on the defensive immediately as the foghorn starts to sound. Whatever the thing is in the forest goes unnoticed because he's concentrating on the closest potential enemies. ]

That didn't go as planned.

[He manifests an ice axe in his hand, because of course he's wearing his full armor at what's supposed to be a party.]

Perhaps they'll chase if we lead them away from the center of town.

Rosinante | OTA

[callada]

Immediately after returning to Beacon, Rosinante splits from Peter and Riku briefly with the agreement that they'll meet at the Invincible in a couple hours. Immediately, he can tell there are people here who need help and even though he's injured, exhausted, and low on ammunition, he'll do his best to help fight the spirits back and get people to safety.

After the announcement and after some time spent at the Invincible fielding questions about their successful but tragic expedition, Rosinante separates from the group to clean up and recuperate in his room. Find him there, or later the next day, anywhere around town trying to lend a hand fighting off spirits, help gather food and supplies to bring back to the tavern, and search for missing people hiding in the woods or abandoned buildings.

He doesn't say much and moves quietly, but if you look like you're struggling, he'll be there to help. And if you knew Winters well you might even notice his shotgun is slung across Rosinante's shoulder.

peter parker → ota.

[webshoots]

O N E.

[ this had been what winters had warned them about. venturing to that peninsula may as well be a death sentence. they'd all known it had been risky, that they might not all make it back, but there had been part of peter that'd been hopeful that it wouldn't come down to that.

this, he thinks, is why doc ingram had stated it was a terrible idea. though cautiously optimistic, peter hadn't thought it'd go off without a hitch and honestly, he'd have been more suspicious if it had, but he hadn't quite expected this level of—

—chaos.

when they'd — he, rosinante and riku — got back to beacon, they'd gone their separate ways. (they'll meet up later, they'd agreed — let the town know that they'd been successful, tell them the news about five, and about winters—.)

his doesn't need his spider-sense to tell him that there's danger, though it's there and doing an incredibly great and entirely unpleasant job at informing that yes, there are threats. he heads to the square where the party had been taking place first, lantern encased in webbing and slung over back like a rucksack. though he's mindful that he's going to run out of webfluid at some point, he's got enough for now.

(he thinks. hopes.)

the frozen spirits get ignored — they're not the danger, not right now. the hostile ones get his attention and though he gets it, he's interested in killing them. the webbing will hold them for approximately an hour, which he hopes will be long enough.

(it's long enough to get anyone in danger out of the way—). ]

—Hey! [ he calls out — there are a couple of shapes just ahead and at least one of them needs help—

the shout is punctuated by a soft thwip of webbing, directed at the less distinctly human(oid) shape of the two. ]

( ooc: feel free to encounter peter out and about trying to help deal with the spirits! if you want something a little more specific for this, just drop me a pm or pp. )

T W O.

— [ later, peter heads to the invincible as agreed. honestly, he's tired, he's covered in dirt and grime and blood and bruises, and frankly, all he wants to do is go to bed, but they owed the rest of the town this at least. after their post, peter sticks around long enough to be polite and to answer any questions directed at him before making his excuses and departing. ]

— [ later-later, after some well-needed sleep, peter (spider-man) can be found on the roof of the invincible. to avoid attracting too much attention, his lantern's been left in his room below, instead the only light being cast by the soft glow of his tablet. ]

W I L D C A R D.

( for any and all of the above, or if none of this works for you, again, just hmu via pm or plurk and i can write a tailored starter. cheers! )

one.

[consecrates]

[ davina's first instinct upon hearing the blare of the foghorn is to run, the lantern hanging from her messenger bag rattling.

it doesn't matter if she has the ingredients, the materials for a spell. it doesn't matter if her ward is capable of holding people or things back even for a few moments; who even knows if it would work on them? there's something about that sound that rattles her bones, sends a chill down her spine the same way the ancestors in their realm terrify her. and while she can't see the danger just yet, she knows it's coming.

she follows the path back to the town, the stones she dropped earlier guiding her, and runs into spirits rushing towards her, the sound coming from behind their masks particularly harrowing.

peter will find davina screaming as she tries to fight them off of her, magic inflicting aneurysm on the creatures in close proximity to her. she barely looks up when she hears his hey but it's the sticky webbing catching one of the spirits that enrage them, scratching and clawing at her face and arms, their onslaught eager to draw blood. ]

Stop— [ her magic tosses a forest spirit towards peter, hurls another one against a tree. ]

1

[mind_blown]

[he's too in the zone to notice exactly what happens. the spirit more falls beside him as he uses a sword to defang the spirit in front of him-- blades dragging down, bringing the spirit to its knees, and then to its side.

It cries out in pain, but he's already moving forward. onto the next one. the one that's heading towards a shelter, or towards a lantern light. He's looking for something, as evidenced by the barest of pauses when he comes to a fork in the road and needs to choose a direction to head. but otherwise, he keeps moving forward, keeps violently trying to protect something.

Gonna take more than a fwip to get his attention. And he seems to take the blows he receives in stride, redirecting momentum to body slam the next spirit that tries to grab him.]

2

[spitefullight]

[ It was definitely a good thing Elden had saw said post. Hearing what had happened, Elden had headed to the Inn intending to treat those who made it back. The unfortunate thing was him getting separated from his own group, but for the time being he could make himself useful here. So, when he arrives inside to see Spider-man there, he's already rushing to him.

One look at the superhero was enough to say the guy was obviously not doing well.]

Oh man...you look like garbage, Spider. [ But, at least they were alive...maybe his spell was worth something. ]

1. [This is so late I'm so sorry]

[primordialerebus]

[ Coraline had been straightening up the table for the umpteenth time when the foghorn sounded, startling her enough that she dropped the empty plate she had been carrying. She follows the forests spirits’ eyes(?) into the forest, trying to see what they’re seeing. Was something attacking? God why couldn’t she see?

She’s just starting to move closer when the first spirit attacks, leaping towards her from behind. She senses its uncannily long limbs, it’s all too still face. Even as she whirls around, a wall of seething shadows forms between her and the attacker. It claws uselessly at the barrier as she just… stands there for a moment, stunned at this turn of events.

Next thing she knows, there’s something weblike heading towards the creature and immobilizing it… and oh my god it’s Spider-man dude. ]

What’s going on!?

daylight vis lornlit. | original. | ota. + closed.

[sunborne]

i;; a dance before dying.

Get behind me-!

[ stepping in front of someone who he thinks needs help, daylight extends his servo out and a bloom of crackling purple-white energy emerges from it. soon a force field protects the person he's with now, granting them protection for the time being.

daylight is feeling a lot of things right now; he feels tired and he feels nervous and he feels scared- he genuinely feels terrified since his arrival here to beacon. but, despite it all, daylight tries his hardest to lend a hand in the chaos. it mostly comes in the form of protecting others or backing others up, using his force field to protect those fleeing towards the exit or those trying to hold back the spirits. ]

We've gotta get out of this spot. There are- There are too many- [ he looks around, trying to find the closest exit and, to his relief, sees one: ] Over there! It's still open- Come on-!

[ so whether you're running away or teaming up, daylight is going to do his best to cover his companion with his force field generation. he knows he's wearing himself thin with every use of his shield generation, inching closer and closer to his limits, but daylight still pushes forward and marches on, most importantly, helps. ]

ii;; curtain call (cw: character death.)

[ even after all that's going down, daylight wants to believe there's still a chance to turn things around.

that's what he's been raised on after all: the impossible wins. the turning tides. the reversal of circumstances. long as you're willing to put the effort and keep trying to reach out, what you're doing will work if you try hard enough.

at least, that's what daylight is trying to convince certain folks in the chaos. ]

-We can talk to them! We have to talk to them! [ daylight gestures wildly to the spirits nearby, looking upset and tired. mostly tired. daylight has pushed himself too hard in creating the shields for others and he's paying for it now with his overworked systems, his taxed and laboured breathing between his attempts to convince his friend to hear him out. ]

They're our friends, remember? I'm sure if we try hard enough, we can make them listen to reason. We can't- We can't leave them like this.

[ ooc; this prompt is for close cr only. ]

iii;;; wildcard!!

[ want to do something else? feel free to do it here! also, you’re welcome to hit me up/plot with me via my plurk prognostic if there’s something specific you want. ]

ii. (i hope this is okay sob)

[primordialerebus]

[ Coraline frantically shushes him, fearful that the noise was enough to gain the roving spirits’ attentions, making the visual camouflage she had put up to prevent detection moot. ]

I’m pretty sure people have tried! I think the best we can do at this point is get the frozen ones out of the way like what the Grandmaster’s been doing, and just. Wait it out inside.

[ She’s doing her best to whisper, but in her agitated state, it comes out to about the same volume as what Daylight’s at. She wants to be optimistic, she really does. But she’s already seen too many people fall or just disappear with hostile spirits trailing behind them. And everyone’s so tired. There’s no way they can keep this up for much longer. ]

At least rest a bit before trying again. I’m pretty sure you’re about to keel over.

Jo Harvelle | OTA

[knifecollecting]

[Jo had been on lookout, patrolling the forest and watching carefully. The first blast of the foghorn makes her freeze. She hoped that it didn't mean disaster.

She moved toward the path the connection team was using as the foghorn continues. It felt as if each blast made her heart skip another beat. She gets close enough to see the Bonfire just in time for the forest spirits to start panicking.]

Shit. Shit.

Helping hands
[The tension grows stronger as she approaches town. She hadn't gotten rid of the paper mask she had made at the party, and though it could be a risk, she might need it to get through the spirits safely. Before she can put it on, she notices someone in trouble.]

Hey! [Jo is grateful Rastus was able to get a shotgun. She isn't sure that it will actually affect a forest spirit, but it might be enough of a distraction for the other person to escape.]

Get out of here.

Extra points for stealth
[There's a large group of spirits between her and where she wants to be. It seems like being inside is safest. Most of them are standing still, frozen in place, but some rove the area looking for anything to attack.

She scans the area before reaching into her jacket. During the party, one of the spirits encouraged her to make a mask, and now that could come in very handy. She had watched the station long enough to notice what the masks did.

She slips the mask over her head and moves into the open, trying to move erratically and blend in. Hopefully, though, it's not too much camouflage.]

HELPIng hands

[spitefullight]

[ He had gotten separated from his group during the commotion of everything. The best he could do was at this point, run. Most his spells were not suited for fighting, but rather, aid others to do the fighting. So, when he's gotten himself stuck in a fight with a spirit? It doesn't look good.

He spends most of it dodging and weaving, using his shield occasionally to block a blow, the mace clumsily being swung to try and deter it from attacking him.

So, when he hears the woman call to him, he looks to them.]

Bit hard when this thing is trying to eat my face!

Riku | Kingdom Hearts | OTA

[equinoctials]

i. just try to keep your head above the tide

(OTA, cw: character death)

Once the Lighthouse team returned to Beacon, exhausted, dirty and bloody, they agreed to split up and reconvene again later at the Invincible. There was information to share with the community as a whole, but there wouldn't be much of a community left to inform if they didn't try to round up their allies and see that they were safe. There were friends to check in on, dead to collect and bury, injured to tend to.

Riku looks wrung out and haggard, with over a month in the dark only partially to blame. He's limping his way through the square, defending those who might be under attack. There's never an attempt to outright kill any of the forest spirits, not unless all other options are exhausted and another life (or afterlife) is on the line, and he sees no dishonor in helping someone escape without finishing a fight.

In the absence of conflict, he can be seen carefully stooping to check for signs of consciousness in the collapsed.

Perhaps those he encounters are in shock themselves or in need of aid. Maybe they're grieving a lost friend or in search of one. He's tired, beat up, but he's still a guardian of light and those habits aren't easily broken. He's around to lend a hand, to protect, or to bury their dead.

ii. and it's hard to know if all of this is real

(OTA, following the network announcement, at the Invincible)

There's an announcement to make and questions to answer. For the most part, Riku leaves that to Peter and Rosinante, aching like he's one big bruise and his ankle a steady, sharp pulse of pain, even when he sits. With little else to do, Riku tries to rest, occupying an armchair when all the other beds are spoken for, unable to sleep.

He watches the door, sometimes his tablet, looking for news until he tires of sitting.

Retires only for a short break, to avail himself of the bathroom, to wash off the grime and blood and change into something loaned. A pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt, leaving his washed boots to sit upside-down near the stove to dry out. It means there's nothing to hide the bloom of bruising around his ankle that shows it for the sprain he has, but Riku's gone without a doctor's assistance for worse, and it still plagues him, in the creaky ache in his wrist that accompanies rainy weather.

iii. 'cause late into the night I find myself talking to somebody else

(Wildcard, want anything different from the above? Let me know!)

II

[evulsed]

He knows Riku is back only because of the post on the network, but even so, it takes Vanitas a little longer to make his way back into the town proper. His armor has clearly taken a beating, shattered in his midsection, the fabric torn to expose tender, freshly healed skin that winks out with every step Vanitas takes. It'll scar, but it's far from the first— or the last— he'll get, he's sure. His helmet is gone, and it shows the nasty bruise along his temple, the split in his lip where he'd either bit it or been hit. It's difficult to tell at a glance.

But none of this slows him down as he goes hunting through the Invincible.

When he finds Riku, he's already showered and changed, and Vanitas' approach is quick and aggressive. It almost seems like he might grab the other boy when he gets close enough— but instead, he stops at arm's length and stares hard at him, eyes wide. There's something a little manic in his expression.

"Did you see her?"

jason todd | dc | ota

[mind_blown]

i. this could get a little messy

[ his mission's complete, but now it's an absolute shitshow, and after the first dead body, he really wanted to find his brother, make sure he was okay. more than anything else. he'd been a dick to, well, dick. but that didn't mean he wanted him to actually get hurt. not that he thought he would, but there was a paranoid fear wracking his brain that "just maybe." he wanted to pass it off as just another symptom of madness.

but whatever, he could let that drive him forward to start protecting others.

when he wants to draw attention to himself, he fires his gun, striking attacking spirits in the back, the shoulder, the leg. when he needs to take something down quickly, he pulls swords from seemingly no where, and they rend through spirit flesh with relative ease.

and then when a spirit knocks him in the head and he starts to fall, he redirects his movement to undercut the spirit, finishing with stabbing it in the shoulder, pinning it to the ground.

he didn't come here to play. ]

ii. time to burn it all away

[ later, once the dust has settled, he's seated at the bonfire. he's reading something, before coming to the end, and closing the notes in his hand. there's a sort of quietness, despite the sounds of the fire. and his shoulders are tense-- eyes vacant and distant. he pushes himself to stand up, awkwardly favoring one side over the other.

and then he tosses the notes into the bonfire, watching them burn. making sure there's no way to just save them or question him.

see you later, dick. ]

[ryanreynoldsvoice]

ii.

Was that...uh....was that necessary?

[the patter of small paws on the dirt as Pikachu shuffles closer]

Seems like a waste.

[darkeyed]

I. Bonfire Square | Aug 17th, late evening

<sub>[In the silence left by the foghorn, the singing of swords pulling free from their sheaths marks M.K.'s take on the matter. And the first thing he does with them is sink one into the body of the first spirit to attack him--a small, lizard-shaped creature--and toss the body off the end of the blade.

He, for one, has no reservations returning the fatal favor to these spirits. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened, and sometimes he hates to be right.

More attack in the escalating stampede, a mindless frenzy fuelling their biting and scratching. Insect limbs and animal appendages go flying from several spirits in the middle of grabbing at people. He kicks another aside as it races up behind someone else, its jaws yawning wide. If someone were to spot him paused in the whirlwind of fleeing and fighting at just the right angle to the bonfire, they'd see--his eyes, normally brown, now black all throughout the sclera. Blacker even than their permanent night sky.]</sub>

II. Bonfire Square | Aug 18th, morning

<sub>[Is M.K. finally getting his dance on, or is he practicing his figure skating routine? It might be hard to tell as he spins clear of several spirits pressing in on him from all sides.

Even in their rampaging, some of the ones that seem to best appreciate monkey see, monkey do see his evasive tumbling and appear to mimic it as they give chase, joining their brethren in pressing the attack until soon he has a small rolling, leaping, lunging, biting clutch of spirits mobbing him across the square.

He's heard there's a consequence for travelling too far from your lantern, but he's never experienced it for himself until now. A bulky accessory is no good when he needs to move unhampered; he'd hid the thing under a porch so he could fight unencumbered, and he feels the exact moment that tether stretches too thin. An invisible hook lodges itself in him, jerking him to a stop. To outside observers, it looks like a failure to stick a landing; a trip; a stumble. An uncharacteristically stiff movement for a dark one that profits off of pitch-perfect dexterity.

All his energy and the air in his lungs seems to fade with his momentum; he staggers against a table. And still the spirits come.]</sub>

III. Around Beacon | Aug 18th, early evening

<sub>[It's been almost twenty four hours since the spirits' outburst, though you'd never tell from the movement of the celestial bodies (or lack thereof). His body can tell, though. He walks away from the party in a costume of gore from slain spirits, streaked over his armor, with weariness for a party favor. There are a lot more of the creatures than there are of them, and the lanterns make for a challenging hindrance.

Spotting light in the distance, M.K. stops and orients himself toward it, voice commanding.]</sub>

Who's there?

_{[Not all of the blood on him belongs to the spirits. One had gotten in a fairly nasty bite to his leg, and lantern light cast downward would reveal scarlet blood still leaking through a hastily constructed bandage. He'd prefer to avoid a fight like this, but if the light turns out to belong to someone or something hostile, he's defended himself with worse odds.]}

II

[saibot]

[He'll find that the table actually isn't solid as a shadow portal appears in it's vicinity and if MK falls through it he'll land slightly away from the mob and a little closer to his lantern. The shadow figure known as Noob Saibot and his shadow clone are also there, though neither of them would actually look in his direction.

Normally he wouldn't rescue anyone as he does not care if everyone in the town suddenly drop dead, but he is also not stupid and in a situation like this numbers matter. So the kid gets a small get-out-of-death free card for this one time only.

Both Noob Saibot and his shadow clone work in almost perfect unison with each other against the forest spirits, each using a sickle against their opponents. The shadow clone does seem to take less risks though as it is the one carrying the lantern.

At least MK won't have to fight alone now even if his helper is an evil undead guy.]

clarke | the 100 | ota

[colonists]

i. glamoured.

[ in her spirit disguise, clarke is able to move around freely enough following the sound of the foghorn that causes the spirits to first freeze in place, before they start to grow increasingly hostile. the growling and hissing, snapping of claws and appendages, seems to be directly in response to the sound coming from the lighthouse — as well as something else in the forest, that she strains her eyes to look at. it's barely discernable, but she can see two pinpoints of green light that might be eyes.

whatever it is, it seems to perturb the spirits further. it's only when the lighthouse's searchlight shuts off and the green lights in the forest disappear, that the chaos begins, and the creatures move around her and past her as though she's one of them as they attack the other residents. this is no longer a party — this is a bloodbath.

when the choice is kill or be killed, there is no choice. at the first person in mortal danger that she sees, clarke doesn't even think — she uses her glamour to get in close enough with her knife, slashing at scaly and furry bellies and severing animal and alien-like limbs and claws before they can be used to wreak havoc on any of the people she's come here with.

she slits a particularly gruesome-looking insectoid creature's abdomen from behind, as it's swarming over and attempting to gnaw on someone, and splashing herself with a bit of gore in the process. when she turns on the person she's just saved and sees the fear in their eyes, she feels the need to quickly reassure in a hiss under her breath: ]

— Shhh. It's Clarke. [ don't let on too loudly that it's her, else the spirits will overhear and her advantage will be stolen. ] Now scream at me, like you're terrified!

ii. glamourless.

[ it's inevitable that eventually her glamour will run its natural course — either the rubber band holding it to her head snaps, or the paper plate is torn — and once it's off her head, all protection is gone.

now the spirits are coming for her, as well, and clarke manages to fire off several shots with her gun to take down the fastest ones in explosions of blood and viscera. she gets between the residents running for shelter and the creatures rushing at them, barking out commands. ]

Get behind me! [ she has a very limited amount of ammunition, but she's going to make every shot count until there's nothing left, and go down swinging with the barrel of the gun, or her knife if she has to. ] Find some shelter! I'll hold them off as long as I can!

[ — which isn't long enough, because after a few moments her magazine clip is empty, and one of the frenzied creatures charges at her and leaps, knocking her down before she can draw her knife, onto her back on the forest floor as she yelps and wrestles with it. ]

iii. wildcard!

[ feel up to something different? hmu @ either pm or spinebarrel. ]

( prompt: glamoured. )

[mutterseelenallein]

-arke [ her voice is raspy from her earlier yelling and cursing but she aislin was trying to say the name of her saviour. clarke- the young woman she had met at the boat. someone who isn't going to try and kill her.

relief and a new rush of adrenaline rush through aislin's sore body as she scrambles back on her feet, protectively clutching the lantern to her chest. her leg maybe, for the lack of a better term, fucked up from the monster's attempt to maul her but she's intact and the lantern is intact thanks to clarke. that's all that matters.

besides getting out of here.

aislin manages to look clarke in the eye and nod, showing that she knew it was her and she knew to play along, and then aislin takes a quick but deep breath before she lets out a scream.

a very therapeutic thing to do in times like these so she's more than happy to give it her all. ]