[open] the anthem of a bird with a broken wing

[revolutionfalcon]

Who: Shun and you!
What: Dragging people out of the spooky dark forest, having Vulture Problems again, and investigating the weird sun-blocking stingray while coming under its effects himself.
When: June 3-4
Where: The spooky dark forest, Nekhbet's temple, affected parts of the Near Shore.
Warnings: Probably some vague PTSD-related stuff in the first prompt, but nothing too serious. Third has more on that front with the potential to get darker given the effects of the stingray ayakashi.


[A: June 3rd, Morning, Far Shore Forest]

[It's been a little while since the dark forest has started appearing, and though Shun's definitely taken brief strolls through it when he's run across it - because whenever he's actively intended to patrol the place, he can never find the damn thing - today's the first time he's doing more than that. It's the fireflies that lead him there first, though he lets them vanish into the far distance once they cross the borders of the woods, and for once, he hasn't been sidetracked into the place when he's had something else he's needed to do or hasn't been in the state to risk staying. He'd been paying for his stubbornness at the festival for about the whole week beyond it, after all.

So it is that he ends up walking purposefully through the trees, head turning at each distant scream or moan that filters through them. It takes everything he has to ignore the urge to run after them, to try and find a source, but constantly reminding himself that it's a lure, like the fireflies and like the nature of the forest itself, gives him something to focus on and minimise the desire to fall into a very obvious trap. Filtering out the distant screams helps for more than one reason, the sound threatening to blur into ones much more familiar to him, but it also means his focus is a little skewed, and when he hears a noise much closer in the trees, his reaction is sharp and immediate as he leaps up into the branches of a nearby tree to check what it might've been.

He can't actually see through the dense foliage to the place he heard the sound, but the sound of any other approach is something much easier for him to notice now, as well as the sight of anyone else roaming the forest. And it is true he's here to patrol, so this scope reminds him of what else he could be doing in this situation, even if it could also find him someone to help track down that stranger noise. Whether one approaches Shun as he's perched in the trees or is approached by him as he winds quickly and skilfully through the branches, his question to whoever he encounters will be the same.]

Did those fireflies lead you in here, or are you here for something else? [He could just ask if people are lost, but maybe this way people who actually are lost won't deny it.]

--

[B: June 3rd, Afternoon, Nekhbet's Temple]

[Anyone in the vicinity of the oddly-shaped, buried-in-a-hill temple that is Nekhbet's might find themselves victim to drive-by vultures, whether in the form of sharp rushes of wind as the large birds swoop excitedly down over people, or wings to the face as a few of them get a little too careless with that enthusiasm. Any amount of investigation will turn up a large crowd of vultures sitting on the hilly "roof" of the temple's ground floor, all tilting their heads curiously and ruffling feathers as Shun picks through the wings of one of them, his grip as gentle as it can be while still being firm as the bird worms around in his hands. Despite being the god of this temple, even he's considered it unwise to go into this particular situation without thick gloves to stop any potential attacks on his hands, and given the pair of tweezers he's angling into one wing, it's probably warranted.]

Hold still. [The remark is more one of open frustration than actually directed at the bird, but it does stop wriggling for at least a moment, and Shun takes the opportunity to get hold of what he's been aiming for. With a sharp tweak, he pulls a narrow thorn out of the bird's wing, casting it aside before smoothing the feathers down and picking through the rest of them. Apparently satisfied, he lets the bird go, and it hops around in front of him in what appears to be some kind of aggressive display for a moment...before it hops into his lap and sits there instead, fluffing its wings importantly.

Shun sighs like he's about to make some derisive comment, but it's interrupted by his notice of anyone approaching, and as his sharp golden eyes look up to scan the newcomer, all of the vultures gathered around him turn to stare intently at them as well, even the one in Shun's lap.

Congratulations, you now have the attention of about two dozen questionably friendly vultures. And a questionably friendly falcon, though much less questionable to people who actually know him.]

If you came to watch that mess, you'll have to wait until another one of them is stupid enough to dive through a rose bush.

--

[C: June 4th, Morning, Near Shore]

[Normally Shun would be doing some training with his powers at this time of day when he has another training commitment in the afternoon, but the weird shadows he's been seeing over patches of sky in the course of his job and general wandering on the Near Shore are getting frustrating enough that he can't put off finding out what it is any longer. It's almost a relief when he gets to the next affected area and the stingray-like thing blotting out the sun is so ludicrously obvious he almost can't believe nobody from the Near Shore has noticed it, but on the other hand, the people below are listless in a manner he's only rarely seen before. The thought puts an unsettled edge to his bearing even as he passes into the shadowed area, and it only gets worse as he questions some of the people beneath it in no more than curt, quick interrogations.

Losses becoming raw once again, as if they'd only happened yesterday. Depressive behaviour thought shed coming back, the listlessness leaving some wondering if there had really been a point to trying to move on. It's different from some, the same from others, but the words weigh down on him in a manner that he knows is unnatural as soon as he notices the effect, and though he knows immediately that he needs to get out of this area, the thought seems to slip from his mind almost as soon as he makes it, replaced with a cloying catatonia. For someone as alert and aware by nature, by necessity as he's been for a long time now, it's an unbearable inebriation, and despite himself, he feels his heart beating faster as he realises that with the size of the creature and the state he's in, he may not be able to escape the area, or at least not for a while. Trying to reach for his godly teleportation ability only nets him a thick fog of twisted thoughts, everything he's had reason to doubt or fear in the last two years tangled into a confusing, impenetrable mess with the excess he'd willingly picked up from the people here settled in over it, and the feeling drives him back to the darkest shadowed areas as the stingray keeps circling overhead, apparently happy in these skies for the moment.

Anyone else in the area may, from a distance, mistake him for an observer, with his slow, seemingly measured steps and his head tilted up towards the ayakashi. However, on closer inspection, his eyes are unfocused and unsettled, his movements short and jagged as he takes another few paces that are clearly taking far more effort than they ever should, towards the edge of the shadow that seems impossibly far in the distance right now. And, perhaps most tellingly for some, his reactions are seriously delayed, his attention snapping to whoever comes near a few metres later than he usually notices an approach, along with a slight recoil as if to prepare for a fight in the moment it takes for him to identify who it is.]

Why are you here? [Right now, the details of just about anything are hard to grasp, including why others from the Far Shore might be in this area. As soon as he pushes one intrusive thought aside, another one pushes through instead, leaving him sifting through things hard enough to live through once with a strained grimace on his face that says he’s going to have trouble doing it alone much longer.]

--

[D: Wildcard]

[[Have another idea? Feel free to poke me for plotting!]]

Comments

A

[fullcowl]

[Izuku's seen the forest once of twice, usually while he was busy with this or that and didn't have time to explore it. But today he doesn't have that focus. The yelling and screaming in the forest makes him want to go after those too- but when Shun speaks to him, he seems to snap out of whatever it was.]

... The fireflies brought me in first...

[revolutionfalcon]

[The mention of them bringing him in first is somewhat telling, and Shun gives Izuku a rather critical eye before looking in the direction of the last distant scream.]

It sounds like this place has no trouble keeping people here. But whatever it was that made that closer noise a minute ago sounded a hell of a lot more substantial than those screams.

[There's something...odd about the screams, he's noticed, something lacking. It's hard to pick out, but when he has his own chorus of screams in his head during nights that come often enough to still be painful, there's a good comparison point.]

[fullcowl]

[Look man, when your home has people with bird heads and superpowers, the weirdness of a scream isn't as offputting as it should be.]

... I know there's something weird about them, but it's hard to just let them go.

[revolutionfalcon]

[As much as he's disguising the fact, Shun's having the same kind of trouble with the screams, and he gives a rather terse nod of understanding.]

It's obvious they're a trap, but hearing something like that naturally makes most people want to help. Whatever's making them would be counting on people not having the willpower to ignore that sound.

[That's what he keeps reminding himself of to ensure he doesn't give in to the temptation of following them.]

[fullcowl]

[He knows it's true, logically. How long have there been screams in the forest? There's no guarantee he'd be in time to help (it's pretty unlikely).]

... Better to take care of what you know is real, huh? Or at least, better not to get lost in this forest.

Especially since it only seems to show up from time to time.

A, hi

[blizzardrock]

[He has no idea if he's been following the little lights or if that's only a coincidence as he troops further into the forest, but the sound of someone's voice—of discernible words—snaps him out of it enough for him to even realize he's in a forest.

... Also, that he recognizes that voice. At least some things haven't...changed...]

Something else...I think. [He rubs at his head. He seriously has no idea what he was doing.]

But what were you doing here?

[revolutionfalcon]

["I think" is probably not the most reassuring thing to be ending that sentence with.

However, it's somewhat mollifying to see a familiar face, at least, and Shun gives a brief nod to Fubuki before heading straight into business. Business which, right now, is mostly levelling him with a rather dry look at his apparent lack of certainty on the topic of why he's here.]

I'll believe that when you can tell me what it was. [As for the other question, Shun tilts his head back towards the direction most of the deeper forest sounds have come from.]

Patrolling. You can't tell me that kind of noise isn't going to lure well-intentioned people in and leave them lost somewhere. Not to mention those fireflies. [He'd had the willpower to let them go once they actually entered the forest, but not everyone would be that alert.]

[blizzardrock]

[That's something he wants to know, too... He wracks his memory, but even though it doesn't give him the same bad feeling as the other times he tries to remember something important, he stops anyway.] I'm not sure.

[Though he'd said otherwise, following the fireflies actually sounds like it could have been possible. Speaking of—] The noise... I haven't seen anyone else, unless they were in the trees like you were.

[Which is...possible?] By the way...what were you doing in the trees?

[revolutionfalcon]

Neither have I, but I haven't been here that long. [And if it took him talking to Fubuki for him to notice, it seems like Fubuki may not have been in the best shape to spot others. But then again, maybe it's just another piece of information.

Raising an eyebrow slightly, Shun turns to look briefly off to the side, as if he's trying to see through the thick wall of foliage.]

I heard something closer than those screams, so I took the high ground to get more of an advantage. Whatever it was, though, I haven't seen it yet. The trees are too thick to show anything from this kind of distance.

[His tone is a little wary - it could just be another lure like the screaming, but it could also be a threat.]

C

[kokuyoyo]

Investigating that creature.

[It's said simply and plainly by the teenager in the simple knit beanie as he looks over Shun.]

[Chikusa isn't immune to the feeling himself. However, perhaps in contrast to many other people... It's not something unknown to him. In fact, it's such a familiar sensation, as regular as breathing and opening his eyes every morning, that... Chikusa isn't really noticing it, although he's taking in the effects he can see are happening in other people.]

[Well. That's a lie. He's sort of noticing it, in that everything is- distant, and his voice doesn't sound quite his own, and a half dozen other things he's not sure he has in him to verbalize and frankly never would otherwise, but he thinks that might be something else and not whatever is occurring to other people.]

[It doesn't really matter right now.]

You're from the Far Shore... aren't you?

[A given, considering that he was able to look at him immediately, but something that should be clarified anyway.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Of course. The idea that he might be the only one in the area investigating this thing is so single-minded compared to how Shun usually prefers to weigh situations that he lets out a harsh, frustrated hiss and pinches the bridge of his nose, a long breath coming after.]

This is ridiculous... [The words are muttered, barely audible and quite clearly not directed at Chikusa. It's impossibly irritating to not be able to think like this, and despite himself and all the reason he has to be feeling these effects worse than some here, Shun can't help but feel it's weakness.

At the question, Shun manages to marshal his thoughts after a moment, straightening up into something a little more akin to his usual bearing.]

Of course. I came here to figure out what it was that thing was really doing to people, but this isn't how I'd planned to find out.

[Looking the guy up and down now that his attention is a bit more focused, Shun glances back up towards the ayakashi.] Neither of us came with a partner, either, so getting rid of it isn't an option.

[Though much as Shun would like to, his powerset and his shinki's aren't the best suited to an aerial opponent even if he had his shinki with him. He'd figured he might at least be able to get more information to someone with a better shot at it, even if it turned out to be something he couldn't effectively deal with himself.]

[kokuyoyo]

Then the first thing…. Should be to leave.

[It might sound like it’s an effect of the ayakashi that his speech is quiet and slow, but, no. That’s simply how Chikusa is. Huffing out a breath, he starts to shuffle towards the edge of the shadow, each step forced but not in a way that’s unusual for him. His usual reluctance for movement simply seems… worsened, right now.]

[Anyway, it’s the obvious next step. Whatever is going on with this shadow, it’s obviously carrying some sort of status effect. Best to observe at a distance. Good thing that it doesn’t seem to be actually violent, merely… detrimental to normal people.]

[If he’s going to be honest, Chikusa is sort of inclined to leave it like it is.]

[revolutionfalcon]

That's what I was in the middle of doing. Even if we were planning to fight it, I can't strategise like this.

[He sounds more than a little peeved about that, mostly because he's used to being able to just do that sort of thing on the fly, but it doesn't stop him from resuming his slowed progress towards the edge of the shadow. His eyes shift over to watch Chikusa's progress, partially because it reminds him that he's not the only one feeling the effects (or so it seems) and partially because it gives him a pattern to burn into his mind to follow and ensure he drives himself onward to the end.

Still, focusing just on that is detrimental for more than one reason, and Shun makes the extra effort it takes to split his focus through his haze and consider what he'd been doing before this.]

Did you manage to get any information on this thing before you ran into me?

B

[missingache]

[Being dive bombed by birds was not how Roxas had planned to spend his time walking around the Far Shore. They weren't the best looking birds in the world, but at least they were birds. Curiosity wins out and he follows the birds to where they seem to be-................................ So. Now he knows what these things are called. Vultures. And Shun must be the 'proud' owner of them.

After their last time around each other he hadn't planned on running into him again so soon. Yet he's patient, wincing as the thorn is pulled out. That poor bird...]

Why did it dive into the rose bush?

[revolutionfalcon]

[Eying Roxas as he takes his gloves off, Shun points to one side, towards a mostly enclosed garden surrounded by trees.]

It was fighting with another one over a scrap of carrion and didn't watch where it was going. Instead of hitting something safer like the lilies, it hit the roses.

[And those happen to be about the only two plants in that garden Shun knows by name, though he does recognise a few of the others as being used in memorials and turning up at his Near Shore shrine a lot, so he figures that's a rather morbid connection all of them have.

The vulture in his lap rustles its wings again, butting its head against his leg, and Shun sighs slightly and rubs its head with a half-curled fist.]

You said you didn't know what vultures were when we first spoke, didn't you?

[missingache]

[Well, better the roses than the lilies. Roxas isn't that big of a fan of roses (for a reason called Marluxia), but he does feel bad that the poor bird was hurt. He gives the flowers a passive glance before turning his full attention to Shun. He blinks a few times and looks at the birds.]

I thought they'd be bigger and scary looking with a name like that...

[revolutionfalcon]

[With a slightly raised eyebrow, Shun looks at the thick, durable gloves he's set to one side and back at Roxas with a beat of pause that says he can't quite believe that remark. He's still rubbing the vulture's head, the motion somewhat idle even as the vulture turns its neck to get the spots it wants attended to.]

Maybe they don't look it, but I'm probably the safest one to deal with them and I still wasn't wearing those for the hell of it. They strip corpses, they're perfectly happy to take a finger off if you don't respect them.

[Unless you're Hajime, who's apparently managed to cut that down to just lots of standard finger attacks.]

Late to everything C

[returnedfromtheline]

[From the edge of the ayakashi-cast shadow Yukine watches the people below. If anything, it’s the fact that one face is turned up towards the sky that tips him off that there is someone else from the Far Shore here. But what are they doing in the midst of it?
Sighing under his breath in frustration he decides to find out – there’s nothing else he can do right now anyway.

When he comes close enough to recognize the god, Yukine lets out a small ‘geh’. This guy… And the last time they met Yukine was tall, to boot. This will be good. (/eyeroll)

Kurosaki-sama seems almost startled into a confrontary stance when he gets closer, to which Yukine reacts by bracing himself to draw a borderline, and he frowns at the curt question.]

I could ask you the same question. Get out from under the shadow.

[He can feel a depressive gloom creeping in on his mind already, and he wants to get away from it. Now.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[It's obvious this is the same shinki Shun met once before, the one who works with Yato, but the shortness compared to their last meeting throws him for a moment. It takes him a few seconds longer than it usually would to click with the realisation that Ren's blue hair incident had happened only a day or two later, to his knowledge, and that they might have been as temporary as each other, but it's a question for later, anyway.

Though Shun's battle-ready stance eases very slightly with the recognition, his initial answer to Yukine's question is a frustrated hiss through his teeth.]

What do you think I was in the middle of doing? I can't focus enough like this to teleport, or I would've done it already.

[It's obvious from the wire-thin strain to his tone that the effect has set in deeply on him, whether from time spent under the shadow, more fuel for the depressive thoughts to tap into and use, or both. Nonetheless, still glaring at Yukine, Shun keeps walking, the motion laboured, but determined.]

[returnedfromtheline]

Tch- teleporting is great, but you gods depend on it way too much.

[Although Yukine is grumbling, he is also looking around him. Even he can tell that Kurosaki-sama is at his wit's end from the effect of the ayakashi, so he needs to get him out quickly.

... or rather than get him out, just move the shadow?

Looking up, he sizes up the ayakashi again. It's still moving in the idle circles he'd noticed before. If it moves that way a bit more, and if he sent a borderline to shift its course a bit-

Not pausing to consider other outcomes, like the ayakashi getting mad at having a borderline shot at it and attacking back, Yukine stops walking and makes a broad gesture towards the sky, his borderline flashing quickly into the distant sky.

The stingray-like thing flinches and a deep rumble fills his ears. Yukine crouches down, one arm ready to attack and the other hand clutched at his chest against the feeling that he wants to just curl up in a ball, start crying, and never move again--

And then the sun is shining down on them.

Trembling, Yukine lowers his arm and concentrates on just breathing for a long moment.
After scrubbing at his eyes with the heels of his palms he glances over to Kurosaki-sama.
Is he okay after that last... whatever it was?]

more specific warning for ptsd flashbacks/recollections on this tag

[revolutionfalcon]

I only use it when I have no other choice, so I don't want to know what your standards for "depending on it" are.

[It's not much of a situation for sniping and Shun knows that, but he's so frustrated with his lack of ability to do much of anything in this situation that it slips out regardless. Still, if Yukine's about to do something about it, he's definitely not going to stop him, and he watches the borderline flash up into the sky with what focus he can muster.

He has about enough time to admit to himself that it's a creative and effective use of the power before the beast twitches slightly, and he moves into a stance that will let him evade if it attacks back - except it does absolutely nothing against that bellowing rumble, and some of the thoughts he's been trying hardest to keep in check break through to the surface in the wake of it.

It's the screaming he hears first, that and the laughter that always comes with it, the sounds he can't erase that surface in his lowest moments and remind him of those first days, of the numbers that had been lost. But it's twisted up with a sudden flood of guilt and anguish that he thought he'd pulled through, the realisation that he'd left so many of his comrades to die seeming to come raw all over again in the midst of a storm of overpowering negative emotions, and before he knows it, he's crouched as well, instinct pushing him lower so he doesn't risk dropping if his legs give way entirely.

It's a few moments later that he realises his eyes are closed and that the feeling has ebbed, and the sudden bright light when Shun opens his eyes makes him hiss a little and blink a few times to ease the adjustment. It takes him another moment longer than it probably should to realise his hands are over his ears, but it's another long few seconds before he removes them.

The stingray is gone, he can see when he looks up, but the hands don't drop until the last strains of resurfaced suffering die away from his ears. It doesn't help, but it's somewhat of a habit by now.

With a long breath out, he straightens up, trying to look more composed than he is. He doesn't want questions, least of all when he can still feel the traces of guilt and upset he can't quite wipe from his expression.

The excuse he finds to avoid looking directly at Yukine for the moment comes quickly, when he turns to survey the rest of the area the shadow had covered.]

If any of the humans heard that as well, they might be even worse off. [His tone is as controlled as ever, giving nothing away, except perhaps some weariness.]

A

[5yenwish]

[Count on a two-bit, barely existent god to find himself lured into the woods by the fireflies. He really should know better, but he's only ever barely come to the Heavens before all of this weird stuff started happening, so it's kind of understandable that he doesn't know better at all.

Plus, he's a pretty gullible person to begin with.

And he might actually jump in shock at Shun's voice before realizing it's actually another person and not just something trying to scare him. Thank goodness.]

H-hahahaha! Like little fireflies could lead astray me, the great Yato-sama!!

[In other words, yes, they did lead him in here.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[It doesn't take Shun more than a moment to recognise Yato...and even if he hadn't, that introduction is hard to mistake. With a slightly irritable sigh, Shun crosses his arms, standing up in the tree no differently than he would on the ground and looking down at Yato with a spectacularly unimpressed look.]

If that's the case, tell me which way you came in from and I might believe you. [Might. In reality, regardless of if Yato can actually remember which way he came in, that kind of declaration is a little too specific for him to actually believe it's legitimate.] That, and you weren't even paying enough attention not to jump like that when I spoke. If you're going to lie, at least make it convincing.

[His tone isn't quite derisive, but it's definitely dry as all hell.]

[5yenwish]

[...boooooo, why does he always have to deal with such grumpy butts??? Yato pouts at Shun, crossing his arms and looking petulant - like some sort of small child.]

Hey, hey! You'd jump too if someone just randomly talked to you in a creepy place like this! That's a totally normal reaction!

[And you can't convince him otherwise!!!

He takes a moment and looks around, like he's trying to figure out where he came from. Damn. Damn, damn, damn!]

...I came from that way!

[He points literally the first way he thinks of, which winds up being exactly the opposite of the way he came from. Whoops.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[...It's a bit depressing to think, but really, at this point Shun's pretty sure that between Yato and Yukine, Yukine is the adult here. True, there's that whole aspect of shinki guiding gods that's probably more important to the older ones than it is to the new, but this is ridiculous.

Unsurprisingly, Shun's expression does not get any more forgiving or impressed at Yato's statement.]

I'd react, obviously, but you startled. There's a difference. [Less of one than Shun would probably like to admit, but still.

As for Yato pointing in the wrong direction, Shun just gives him a complete dead-eyed stare.]

You must have even less sense of direction than I thought.