Science has gone too far!

[subtract]

Who: Anyone!
Where: Anywhere!
When: All of October 2nd
What: Add's experiment starts to affect the Far Shore, causing rifts and mutated ayakashi to begin appearing all over. Please refer to this post for details and questions.

Spatial Tears

The first few cracks are small, barely anything noticeable, but by morning the tears have widened enough to start leaking a chaotic and unsettling energy. Spend too much time around them and you'll start feeling strange. Memories get foggier, emotions start to run wild or go missing entirely... whatever's causing this, it's not good.

Luckily, magic seems to be enough to force them back, and a bit of holy water can seal up a weakened tear in no time. Better get to work!

Freak Ayakashi

Ayakashi are rare on the Far Shore, but not completely unheard of. The ones that linger too close to the tears receive a much more sinister effect compared to gods and shinki—the energy seeps into their bodies in the form of glowing blue patterns, granting the ayakashi even more strength and the power to spread more tears and corrupt energy with their blight. These ayakashi are aggressive and will attack heavenly beings on sight.

... but many of the ayakashi will be very familiar to the older of the outsider gods and shinki. A large number of small Noise ayakashi have ended up in the mix somehow, resembling the ones that escaped from the chocolates way back in March. They're small, but incredibly dangerous, and it'll take a coordinated attack to put any kind of dent on them.

Henir's Temple

A massive tear can be seen looming over Henir's temple, and it grows larger and larger as the day goes on. The temple grounds are a mess, and it seems like this might be the source of the trouble. Is there something inside the temple that might put a stop to all of this?

Later in the day, a piercingly bright golden triangle shines through the darkness of the giant rift. Whatever's going on in there, it's not just Add that's involved.

((If you want your character to investigate the temple, please contact me first! I can be reached on plurk at BlueFlewFedUQueen, by PM, or you can respond to the event OOC post. This is just to keep track of who's going where, so if you've already spoken to me about it in some capacity you're A-OK :|b))

Comments

[kagenonadeshiko]

[It turns out to be a much better approach than appealing to feelings of danger and urgency that just aren't there. Ayumu grabs his hand, laughing easily as she does so, and gets ready to run. The playful challenge works well, too; while she doesn't exactly go out of her way to be competitive, she still likes to win when the opportunity strikes.]

I can do better than that. I bet I can beat you there.

[She's not all that familiar with the route to Hachiman's temple from here but she's still fleet-footed, observant of landmarks, and has a strong sense of direction. And races are fun! When's the last time Ayumu raced a friend just for fun?]

[spes_phthisica]

[It's lucky he can think fast on his feet in dangerous situations. It's lucky he's aware of her weakness for sweet things and caring for those smaller than her. It's lucky it comes so naturally to him to flip between Murderous Adrenaline Mode and his normally sweet and sunny personality. They're both lucky and, hopefully, soon out of harm's way.

Even though as a warrior, he does rely a lot on being fast and agile, he's not actually trained for speed and stealth the way she is. So even with his slightly longer legs and him having a much more acute reason to want to get away really fast, they're pretty evenly matched. Souji laughs as he runs, weaving in and out between temples and across the winding paths between them, even as his attention is still trained behind them, and he keeps tossing up Borderlines just in case they're being followed.]

Up this way! Almost there! [He'll throw the rest of his energy into a sprint now, even though he's honestly getting a bit winded, because he's sure that once they're within the compound they'll be safe.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

[They are pretty evenly matched and despite her playful challenge, she's content to keep stride alongside him, breaking into a sprint barely a second after he does. The ayakashi give chase, unwilling to let their next meal escape but the borderlines serve as effective deterrent. The pair manage to make it to the safety of Hachiman's temple unscathed.

Once they burst onto the temple grounds, Ayumu doubles over in a breathless gigglefit.]

That was fun! Are they still coming?

[One would think from her tone that she's referring to someone they'd just played a prank on rather than supernatural beasts bent on eating them.]

[spes_phthisica]

[Souji is staring back trying to determine this, because while the temple is a much safer place to be, he wouldn't want to let down his guard.

He can see them slinking about out there, keeping their distance for now, but he wouldn't trust caution to hold them off forever. So he tugs gently at Ayumu's sleeve, as if impatient and excited.]

I think they gave up for now. Let's go look for the kittens inside, okay?

[And hopefully find Hijikata too. Just in case.]

coding is evil, is what it is

[kagenonadeshiko]

'Kay!

[Ayumu's expression brightens at the promise of kittens as she follows Souji into the temple. She looks around very slowly, curious, not only on the lookout for cute fuzzies to play with but also just taking in the surroundings. Ordinarily, she'd be exceptionally pleased to see a place that looks more familiar than most places do but she's so tranquilized from the rift effects, she just looks completely relaxed.]

Oh, the kittens! What are their names?

[She'd asked before but gotten distracted by their impromptu footrace.]

html has it out for me

[spes_phthisica]

Oh! [He looks a bit startled, for a moment forgetting about ayakashi, and then laughs a bit sheepishly.]

You know, I haven't actually given them names yes. I guess it's because I never named the ducks, so I didn't think about it.

[But the ducks are over 200, so of course he hasn't named them all. The kittens, on the other hand, are only four adorable fluffballs, and of course they need names!]

Could you maybe help me name them? [He pokes his head momentarily into Hijikata's room.] Hijikata-san? [Not there. Hmmm.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

Oh, I see. I'd be happy to help!

[Names can be tough, especially when there's a lot of pets to name. She tilts her head thoughtfully.]

How many kittens are there again? Do you know if they're boys or girls yet or are they still too young to tell?

/sneaks in here

[koukai_kirai]

[There's no need for Souji to go calling for Hijikata. The faint sting of his alarm on first spotting Ayumu in danger was enough of a call for him.]

[He appears in the hallway from a side sitting room, one tiny kitten cradled in his arms and two more bounding after him and pouncing on his socked feet.]

Souji, welcome home.

[He pauses half a moment, noticing Ayumu, then nods politely to her.]

Ayumu. Good to see you here.

/stumbles back way too late flu season and adulting are hard

[kagenonadeshiko]

Hachiman-sama.

[She gives a formal little half-bow, as befitting a man of his station, smiling softly at the kittens clinging to his person. Oh, what cute little darlings! Maybe once the shelter's up and running, she could have kittens, too. She looks almost dreamy a moment, imagining the shelter cleaned up and nice with litters of kittens running about. The pitter-patter of little paws underfoot would be so nice....]

It's good to see you. These must be the little darlings, Souji-kun told me so much about!

[Really, one wouldn't guess there was any danger outside at all. She's treating this like a casual social call instead of shelter from enemies. Whatever feelings of urgency she'd ordinarily show in this kind of situation are completely absent now.]