MOD LOG #1

[bequiet]

MOD LOG #1
Packing Up
Content Warnings: General tension
Themes: Survival, exploration, heavy-lifting

At the end of the month, the natives send out a mass message informing everyone of the upcoming trip to 'meet' the Sound Eaters. Preparing for the trip is simple, though labor intensive, and begins with making certain that everyone packs food, water, clothes, gear, and a twenty-pound package of sand. When it's time for the journey to begin, those tasked with watching the sandpaths, will lead the party on the journey towards the Eiffel Tower. It's a slow trip, a careful one. Natives will take breaks every few hours and when the sun sets, help everyone to set up their bed rolls around a few lanterns. The natives will unveil the star mapping feature, with constellations named and general history attached, on the devices. They will encourage those to tell stories, get out food and water, and 'talk' amongst the group before everyone settles into sleep. Out, under the night sky, the silence is more noticeable - there are no crickets or frogs. This process will repeat for two days until the group reaches the end of their destination at midday.

Sound Eaters
Content Warnings: Disorientation, confusion, character and native death, Sound Eater birth and death, body horror
Themes: Survival, exploration, horror, death

On the third day, characters will finally reach the Eiffel Tower, where the Sound Eaters in this area of France have set up their 'home'. Stopping far enough out to allow for communication, the natives will gesture to the ruins of the structure that appears to be altered. Structures are built up and around the metal frame, closing off different sections with a dark material that glints an oily-green in the light. After explaining that the Sound Eaters are influenced by the weather, rain being an issue for them, they'll take everyone closer. Silence is key here. The natives are visibly wary, tense, and uncomfortable but they believe that showing the arrivals what they're so afraid of will inspire them to be more cautious.

Now, as close to the Sound Eaters as they dare to go (less than a half mile), the natives will have everyone crouch down behind various cars and debris. The devices will say only one word, watch. As the sun begins to set and clouds darken overhead, the tower will open up, the Sound Eaters spilling out. They are split up, as the natives refer to it, into classes - the young, the shifting and the matured. The young are extremely sensitive to sound, volatile and aggressive, humanesque in form with features in various state of change. The shifting are grotesque, splitting and reforming, changing from young to matured in a shift that is punctuated by pained screams and the breaking of bones, splitting of flesh. The matured are in control. They command and guide their kind into a circle, where they all bend down, kneeling as something different than the rest comes out of the tower to stand at the center. The wind catches, dusting up red ash from it and blowing the ash towards the group - there's no way to move and it tastes familiar, coats your skin in red. They all grow quiet and a wrapped form, in the shape of a body, is placed at the Sound Eaters' feet. It crumbles, breaks apart and sprays out over the wrapped figured to completely cover it.

The shards of the Sound Eater bubble up and fuse together, creating a shell. Rain begins to fall. Light, but enough to cause the Sound Eaters to begin to move, pushing against one another but not leaving the circle. There's a shrill sound, an offbeat whistle, air escaping a tight space, a desperate inhale, and then the shell at the center splits apart. A Sound Eater died to create a new life. Smaller than the other young, the 'child' climbs up and out, but it's not the same as the others. It's form is generally human. Dark hair, androgynous features. No eyes. No mouth. Standing, it angles its head towards the matured and they move, as if on command, and surround it as it walks into the tower.

( If anyone makes noise at this point, in any way, the coming bad weather and what just occurred, will result in the Sound Eaters only attacking that person - rather than the whole group. They'll drag that person into the tower and out of sight. The character will be reset. )

The natives are upset. Spooked. They've never seen anything like that and they're quick to tell everyone this, followed by a hasty message to leave. As they're moving, the rain begins to beat down and the ground grows slippery. Making it back to the supplies is troublesome and just as the group gets close, one of the natives slips and tumbles down broken concrete, twisting and smacking against the hard surface until they come to a stop at the bottom. Anyone that goes to help will find that the native has hurt themselves and there's nothing that can be done, despite best efforts. The natives will take the time to wrap their friend up, relaying that the Sound Eaters don't attack now that the rain is heavy, and will begin the slow trek back to the community. They'll camp each night, the same as the trip up, but with an uncomfortable tension that no amount of story telling can break.

It's Raining Me- Rain. It's Just Water.
Content Warnings: None
Themes: Survival, fun, noise-making

After everyone is back in Reims, the natives will split off to bury their dead - they will not allow anyone to accompany them. Everyone is encouraged to head back to the community to get a break from the bad weather and to unload their supplies. The following day, the natives can be heard outside. Splashing and making noise, fixing houses, and what might have been a somber event will quickly turn into something a little more upbeat as rain beats down on the city. Children will play and occasionally laugh, stunted in their ability to enjoy themselves but willing to learn from the arrivals. Bigger items will be moved and natives will encourage everyone to do the 'noisier' things that they need to do. When the rain ends, work will resume as usual and soundproofing will be a lot more difficult - the water washed away sandpaths and damaged some areas. Cleaning up will take time but the natives aren't as unhappy with the situation as they just had a moment's respite from the normal tension of their everyday lives.

OOC
From your mods:

Please be mindful of content - if something triggery comes up or if it goes up a rating to say, something sexy, mark your threads in the subject line. We're very flexible and allow any material; we just want our players to be respectful of each other. If you have questions, pp the mod account, use the faq or comment to the appropriate post below. Have fun! The OOC Plotting Post.

NAVIGATION

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Comments

[musubitori]

[ Houou pauses at the address, blinking and still for a moment, before smiling warmly. He relaxes into a slouch over his crossed legs - something uncharacteristic, but indicative of the exhaustion he feels - shrugging a now damp shoulder. ]

Would that I could...I'm doubtful to find sleep until we return to the town I fear...

[ In truth, he's slept very little at all since waking up in their situation. Fear of dreams, of a state too similar to death, of making too much noise in his sleep- It's kept Houou's moments of rest brief and mostly meditative - he's yet to sleep a full deep sleep at all.

But Naruto doesn't need to know that, no one really does. ]

And at least a few of us should keep watch over the many don't you think?

[thinhammer]

Mmnn.. I slept fine on the way in, but.. the way back is tough.

[ And isn't that just an unfortunate metaphor for his life. The build up is always exciting, always has him tumbling over himself to get to the top as quickly as he can, to catch up before he loses sight of what he wants... only to realise once he reaches the summit, once he gets his hand in the fabric of what he's chasing, that there's another mountain to climb afterwards... and that everyone who'd looked on and put faith in him would have to wait, just a little longer, for him to try again next time.

He sighs, very quietly, more an exhale than an actual sigh. ]

That's a good way to think about it, I guess. I guess me an' you are used to doin' stuff like that, bein' shinobi, huh?

[ That makes him smile a bit, reminded of the fact that he's got a common bond with Houou even if it's only in their chosen professions. ]

[musubitori]

Indeed. The times that I was home, sleep would avoid me and I would patrol the boundary, the buildings..

[ The thought makes him warm as much as it makes him ache, but that same familiarity of a fellow shinobi is a comfort too. ]

..My squadron too. I would take first watch and let them sleep..they soon learned to draw lots and strong arm me into at least second watch, if not third.

[ He huffs with quiet laughter, mercifully masked by the rain and he can almost feel Oshidori's respectful, but iron filled gaze on him as she fixed the lots. It's strange, he doesn't know why at all he's sharing this memory, but there's a softness to it, something like another camp fire, a broad grin and a warm arm about his shoulders and Houou realises suddenly that it's not his nature.

...Kawauso.

It's like waking from a dream and Houou shakes his head, to clear the fog, but it persists. He's still not all that right then. ]

[thinhammer]

Aah, you just used to stay up an' watch for 'em? That's sneaky. Sleep's important for everyone, y'know. Even if ya don't actually fall asleep, relaxin' is good.

[ It's so eloquent that it doesn't seem like it's logic from Naruto's mind - it's clearly from someone else's, perhaps a mentor, maybe a father figure, maybe a concerned teammate - but he says it with a learned confidence, clearly haven taken it in, to the point where he can recite it perfectly even as tired as he is. He slumps, just a little, on Houou's shoulder. His eyes have closed, finding comfort in hearing words hazing through his chilled mind. ]

Especially when it's the only break we get..

[musubitori]

[ The pressure against his shoulder is slow enough that it's not a surprise and the way Houou's mind swims with other moments, it's welcome. The camp around them hums with rain, with the whispers of tentative talk, of fears and joys and it's so much like home that Houou's entire body sings with it. ]

Sage advice, but do not fret, I rest-- meditation mostly, sleep when it can be found..

[ The warmth and weight is comforting, Naruto's mere presence in fact; the rough murmur across his thoughts has become a common occurrence and after a day of stress and fear, Houou - for once - finds himself fatigued enough to relax just that bit more.

There's a moment when he glances down, he expects a grey ponytail or soft brown braids or even tidy flicks of black hair - this position, so many times with those close to him, close to his heart.. - they overlay in flickers until there's only sunshine blonde left. ]

..fear not, I'll wake you before dawn.

[ There's a breath of humour to the thought given Houou's track history. ]