29 - Autumn Leaves

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Uncover the remaining secrets of the mysterious forest.
When: Nov 29 - 30
Where: Chichibu National Park & the Central District
Summary: A heavily forested wilderness area in Chichibu National Park is attracting dangerous numbers of ayakashi, and Heaven's forces suspect that this might be the mortal forest that was connected to the Heavens in order to kidnap gods and shinki a few weeks ago.






Walk in the Woods

On the morning of the 29th, Heaven's messenger doves drop off small folded cards at the doors of every temple. The cards read,


We believe that we have identified the location on the Near Shore where the human accomplices were working. As it is a large area, we offer you this information, in case you are able to assist us in searching for clues to the identity of the culprit. Please investigate with caution: there are reports of ayakashi in the area.


Attached is a map to a large national park in the Kanto region, with a section of the park cross-hatched in red pen. Anyone who goes to investigate the marked area will discover that it is heavily forested and contains about a mountain and a half; the ground is steep, muddy with autumn rain, and slick with dead leaves, though some red and orange colors are still grimly clinging to the branches overhead. Watch your step! The supernatural menace seems to have faded, but the purely natural hazards can do almost as much damage.

Heaven's forces, wearing white short jackets with gold chrysanthemum emblems over much more sensible jeans and hiking boots, can be seen here and there throughout the forest, searching for clues themselves. If somebody gets in a real jam, they might be willing to lend a hand.

Mysterious Trees

Towards the center of the cross-hatched area, investigators may begin to see some familiar signs. Are those bits of torn-down spell papers still fluttering from nails driven into the trees? Vines and tree branches cut and broken by the hostage rescuers breaking through? Footprints, torn bits of black hooded cloaks... there are clues aplenty here.

There's something else, too: a mysterious presence still seems to haunt the forest. The trees might not move when anyone's watching, but it seems like they're in slightly different positions every time you look away and back. And what was that flicker of movement in the underbrush? Is there still someone here?!

Comment on the NPC REQUEST/CLUE SEARCH thread below to request specific details, or to go hunting for that mysterious presence.

Ayakashi Attacks

There's more than one mysterious presence in these trees... and some of them are definitely not friendly. The forest's aura is unsettling and creepy enough to partially mask their approach, but ayakashi of all types and sizes seem to have been drawn here. Some wind along tree branches or soar through the air on fleshy, wide-spread wings. Others crawl or even burrow in the ground.

And all of them are excited at the possibility of a divine meal. Look out!

Autumn Leaf Viewing

An area of the Central District planted with maple along a stone-walled canal has been decorated with hanging lanterns, comfortable spread mats and cushions, and an abundance of delicious food and drink on the afternoon of the 30th. Everyone is invited: new gods and old, those who helped investigate the Near Shore forest and those who didn't. For those who did investigate, though, one or two of the white-robed shinki who are helping with the party preparations and enjoying the food and drink themselves will take the opportunity to pull them aside and ask about their findings.

The party includes games as well as food and drink. Kites, poetry games, tag, hide-and-seek, card games and dice games are going on all over. There's even some determined board game and mahjong players who have brought their favorite game to the outdoor venue and are setting up on mats with immense care.

At one edge of the landscaped area where the party is being held, the ground slopes up, and is planted with a riot of bright gold, white and rust-red chrysanthemums. Like the ones that bloomed everywhere a few months ago, these flowers exude a sense of peace, confidence and security to anyone nearby, and especially those who pick the blooms to wear in their hair or their buttonhole.

In Summary:

• Investigate a wild forest
• Watch out for nasty trees
• Exorcise an ayakashi infestation
• Enjoy some hard-earned relaxation
• Have fun~

Comments

[doodlebuginette]

Walk in the Woods

[After the events of last month, she's realized how woefully unprepared she was. And so she's going to err on the side of caution this time. Marinette had set out this morning with a couple bottles of blessed water, bottles of regular water, some sweets for Tikki, basic medical supplies and snacks for everyone else - including a wedge of Camembert she's stowed away inside a couple ziploc bags to avoid Plagg sniffing it out ahead of time - along with the supplied map and the letter, all stuffed into a bag she'd made a while back.

She'd also dressed for comfort rather than style today, since jeans and a t-shirt seemed like a smarter choice for hiking around in the woods than a dress. Adrien and Snake had similar outfits, and she knew this because she'd made sure to remind them to dress smart, and she'd given them each a bottle of blessed water in case they got separated. They could tease her about it all they wanted, but she wanted them to be prepared. Of course, this was assuming they'd even need the water this time. Who knew, with this place?]

Okay! Where should we start?

[And now she's digging around in the bag for the map, and then putting it back on, spreading the map out so the three of them could look it over.]

Mysterious Trees/Ayakashi Attacks

[It was a little odd, coming this way on the ground this time. But she was still starting to notice things she recognized. Bits of torn up spell papers were cropping up, and she remembered smacking at them with her yoyo the last time she'd been through. Tikki'd been napping in the pocket of her t-shirt, but now she was moving to get Marinette's attention.]

There's something here... It doesn't feel like last time, but it's there... and I don't like it.

[Marinette is just smiling at the little bug.]

That's why we're here, Tikki. We're trying to figure out what happened last time. It'll be okay.

[Only she had no way of knowing that. The most she could do was make it more likely that things would be okay.]

Autumn Leaf Viewing

[Another party.

At least this one wasn't super fancy. Though after the day she'd had, Marinette wasn't entirely sure she felt like sticking around for long.

For the moment, she's claimed a spot for the three of them near the edge of the designated area, close enough to smell the chrysanthemums, but not so close as to have to deal with whoever might want to go and pick the flowers. She's starting to get hungry, but she hasn't gone to get food just yet. Her bag is lying on the ground next to her, but still out of the way so there's no danger of people tripping over it.]

Wildcard!

[Choose your own adventure~]

Mysterious Trees/ Ayakashi Attacks

[silentscales]

[Ayn perks up as well, getting Snake's attention. Snake takes her from his shoulder so that she can go around Marinette's shoulder instead. If she needed him in his vessel form, he didn't want to have Ayn get tossed around, or waste time transferring her then. He's not worried about what would happen if she did end up in the brush, since she could find her way home easily enough, and get away from the battle, since she is from the near shore.

He looks around, and up at the trees uncomfortably.] "There's the taste of an ayakashi in the air," Ayn says.

[Ayn slithers around Marinette's shoulder, looping her way around Marinette's neck, but staying loose enough to not be any more uncomfortable than having a constricting snake wrap around your neck has to be. She wants to be able to hold on if the ride got rough, and by looping her own tail around her strong body, she figures she should be safe.]

Walk in the Woods

[futhark]

That depends what you're looking for, miss.

[ Sorry, Caster couldn't help but overhear, and while he knows it's a rhetoric question. He's prone of them too, talking to himself as well, but shh--- he still chooses to surprise-answer it.

And since he's talking while sitting on a branch of the tree good two meters above ground, he might not be immediately noticeable- or exactly opposite, he's a blue weirdo after all.

Once upon a time, there was a druid on a tree... ]

Walk in the Woods

[sassywelshcatgirl]

How can you be so cheery about all of this?

[Honestly, what's good about it? Random messages saying they have to come out and do all this dirty work, scrabbling around a mountain looking for what exactly? Maybe people who had to deal with some of this stuff in the past had an investment in it, but as far as Nia's concerned, this is just the bosses of heaven ordering around the little people.]

[And here's this girl looking like it's a happy picnic adventure?]

Walk in the Woods

[purr_ince]

[Wearing his jeans and a pair of boots rather than sneakers he's bounding along behind Marinette. He's just excited to be going exploring with her in a non-shinki form this time. He leaned peering at the map with her holding another back pack of supplies - just in case. He hadn't teased her for the supplies at all. It was smart - Very smart.]

Uh well they said that this area was where they wanted us looking right? So I think we should go into together here. And I think the three of us should stay together. Just in case things get weird. Last time was really odd and I'm sure we'd all rather not have a repeat.

[That and he didn't want to leave Marinette on her own and defenseless against and ayakashi.]

Ayakashi Attacks

[pure_radiantics]

[ Kairi comes upon Marinette as she's walking, perceiving that Marinette was talking to someone else or musing or something but not intentionally. She's had Umbra cast so she can hide from ayakashi and any of their enemies. She knows about Plagg, but she doesn't know about Tikki, and she doesn't know Adrien and Marinette are from the same world. She - briefly - wonders if Mari is talking to another of her shinki before realizing that there's no vessel form to indicate that. Maybe her clothes...? No, wait, shinki can't talk back, even if the -ki end of Tikki sounds like a vessel name.

So she steps out from around a tree near Mari, while dropping the Umbra spell. ]

Hi Mari... sorry I overheard your conversation. Who's Tikki?

trees

[priforprince]

[ One thing here is not like the forest last time. It won't be visible unless Marinette (or Tikki) look down, but it is making a whirring sound:

A plush goat toy, flipped upside down, against a tree, wheels turning as it tries to figure out why it isn't moving forward any more.

This is definitely a suspicious culty artifact. ]

[sageprincess]

mysterious trees;
[Of course Zelda hurried to investigate when she found the note from the Heavens upon her doorstep. While she has to wonder if there is anything left of value to be found in the forest, in this instance she is more than welcome to being proven wrong. So here she is, once again in her more practical adventuring gear-- though... her footwear leaves something to be desired with how rough and slick the forest floor is. But when life gives you soulless shinki and reports of ayakashi in the woods...

Her progress through the forest is slow because of that, but it's not as irritating as it was last time when the foliage itself was actively blocking her path. There's no time limit here, no people to be saved, and so she can poke at and pluck torn pieces of paper and tattered shreds of cloak at her leisure, shoving them all into her bag to examine more closely later.

... Occasionally, though, she catches movement from the corner of her eye, or her long ears flick at the sound of leaves being rustled behind her, and in a flash she whirls around to face the source, knife in hand and ready to strike.]

Who's there?!

[Hopefully it's not you that she's waving a blade at? It's not smart to sneak up on people in a creepy cult forest, you know.]

ayakashi attacks;
[When a purple squirrel flings itself at her, she dispatches it with little trouble. The wolf with too many eyes that leaps out from a particularly dense bit of underbrush takes a bit more effort to subdue, but it's not as though it's a kind of creature she's inexperienced with, after that mess with the four dead gods.

The car-sized owl that swoops down from the canopy to pin her beneath its talons? That... is more of a problem.]

Release me at once!

[Her efforts to command the phantom go without the desired result, of course, and struggle as she might, she can't quite kick her leg up high enough to make the contact necessary to rend it. A blast of golden light from her hand seems to stagger it, but not quite enough to get it to loosen its grip on her.]

S̶͏m̸̀͡e̵l̕l҉͜s̸̕ ̡y̶̛͟u̧͘͠mm̢͝͝ỳ̸.͏.̵́.̡ I̢̕'͟ll̕̕ ̵̢͡t҉̀ak̶͝e ͠͝҉ýo͘͞u͟͡͡ ̶̷t҉̢o ̧m̕y ̵ǹ͠e̴ş̷̨t̛.̨͘..

[Someone please tag in before she gets flown off to gods know where--]

autumn leaf viewing;
[Well, after that kind of day, Zelda certainly isn't up to joining any of the games, at least not without some convincing. She dutifully makes a report of her findings in the forest to one of the white robed shinki, grabs some water from the food and drink table, and settles herself down upon a mat near the garden of chrysanthemums. The flowers are very pretty and well tended to, and the view from the garden is perfect for people watching as the viewing party continues.

A part of her should be worried, perhaps, that the rogue god might target this gathering as it did during the moon viewing, but... no, they wouldn't risk attacking in the same way twice. Even if they did, the forces of the Far Shore wouldn't be caught off guard again. This, she feels confident in, for some reason. Everything will be alright.

Passers-by will get a smile, and she will pat the cushion next to her for anyone who looks like they are looking for a break from the more lively parts of the festivities.]

Would you like a seat?

[who is this relaxed and content person and what have they done with zelda--]

wildcard;
[PM this account or contact me at jamizoid if you want to plot other shenanigans with the princess!]

ayakashi attacks

[hellishrabbit]

[ Zelda should feel the talons loosen as the ayakashi is severed from its feet, shrieking in pain as it topples over, attempting to keep its balance with its wings. The convenience store umbrella could handle so much, so after that attack, Kamui tosses it to the side. He had blight covering his hands all the way up to his elbows--or at least as much as his sleeves will show-- but his smile didn't falter.

As the owl-like monster tries to push itself up, Kamui grabs it by the neck, slamming it back onto the ground and holding it down. What was a little more blight? ]

Now would be a good time for payback.

Mysterious Trees

[roundtablerebel]

[ Preceded by the clatter of steel plates, a heavily armored figure comes stomping from the underbrush. Noticing the knife the knight abruptly ceases its advance, tilting its head to regard Zelda's weapon. ]

Did you bring that to peel apples, Princess?

[ Mordred's helm may conceal her face but it does nothing to mask the amusement in her voice. She jokes but she's watched enough horror movies at Caster's to know that a knife can do some serious damage to the unwary. ]

Ayakashi attack

[unlucky7]

[The larger the ayakashi, the more surface area there is to attack. A massive snow leopard leaps through the air, claws and teeth bared as it slams into the owl ayakashi, claws and teeth clawing and biting at the wing joint and side. After a few swipes, the leopard bounds to the ground, looking toward Zelda with dark brown eyes as a flurry of borderlines slash across the ayakashi to keep it further distracted.]

Autumn leaf viewing

[futhark]

[ It is a great mystery indeed! What a smile, what a kind offer! Given how much she worked for the whole day- and preceding weeks, one could think it had no effect whatsoever on her.

If that's a front she putting? That's admirable. Probably not really healthy, but still admirable. Or maybe it's not a front, and after long day of work Princess does allow herself a fleeting moment of relax and just being content?

Either way- ]

How could I deny such offer? [ That would be rude, wouldn't it? So let's enjoy the evening ] Those kites are something else, aren't they?

[ All the shapes and colors- he's quickly catching the peaceful mood ]

leaf viewing

[abgrund]

[ In place of a person, there is a cat trotting up to face Zelda. The kitten has grey fur interspersed with a particular shade of dark green, and one of its hind legs seems to have broken and remended in a familiar hollow pattern.

The cat looks up at her with swirled green eyes and meows. Food?

A few moments later she can see Ain quickly walking (?) over to try and pick up his loose cat. ]

ayakashi attacks

[pure_radiantics]

[ Kairi appears from out of nowhere, dropping her Umbra spell and calling for her soulless shinki friend to come into her hand. ]

Onki!

[ The ribbon-dancing stick appears in her hand. ]

Zelda...!!

[ She's about five seconds from using Rend, but she has no idea if a shinki wielding a soulless shinki's Rend spell will hurt a god... and she really doesn't want to find out, but if Zelda stays like that much longer, Kairi can only imagine the blight that will cover her body. She uses her free hand to slide her drawstring gym-bag off of her back so that there's no risk of her holy water getting damaged. ]

autumn leaf viewing

[boneofsword]

[Archer has been around the flowers a bit, so he seems much more friendly, and even offers a real smile at Zelda's invitation.]

Thank you, princess. It's a beautiful spot, isn't it. [he takes a seat next to her, oddly content.]

[sing_for_me]

Walk in the Woods/ Mysterious Trees
[ Alex tugged on the straps of her bag, which weren't as heavy now since she used a couple of the supplies during the whole forest debacle, but she still had enough that would be useful just in case. She had hoped this would all have been over already, but then that note arrived. While she was against it at first, she did understand that Kaden wanted to investigate and help everyone else. She felt the same, not wanting something like that last abduction to happen again.

Spotting the scraps of paper on the floor, the torn up vines, it surely was the same forest. Were the torn up talismans the reason why the atmosphere wasn't as bad?

There was a noise from behind again, making Alex turn to eye at the trees. ]

...Are they trying to keep us in here or keeping us out of somewhere?

Ayakashi Attack
[ When the ayakashi starts to appear, Alex starts to use her god power, releasing a pheromone that makes them too agitated to get any closer. It does well to ward off those above, but not so much the ones lurking underground. One manages to dig it's way up by her feet, biting down on her calf. She manages to fight it off with her flashlight before it goes back under, but Alex wasn't going to wait around for it to come back up.

She runs as fast as she can, wincing from the bite and the blight spreading around her wound. She still had enough holy water to purify it, but did she have the time to stop? Bringing her bag in front of her as she hobbles, she digs inside to find the bottle, but just as she finds it, somethings grabs at her ankles, causing her to fall forward. The ayakashi starts to pull her towards the hold it was hiding in as she tries to scramble for her bag, but its out of her reach. Gritting her teeth, Alex turns her attention to the ayakashi, kicking at it and thrashing in its hold to make things as difficult as possible. ]

Autumn Leaf Viewing
[ Alex will be seated on one of the mats, watching everyone play. The kites were a nice sight, along with the flowers and everyone having fun. They all deserved to smile like this, to relax and be treated well. She hoped these sort of times would last, but that voice inside her head laughed at the very thought, mocking her optimism. ]

Wildcard
Feel free to throw in a different prompt or merge them or what have you! Or hit me up mightycheese

Ayakashi Attack

[unlucky7]

[ Already on the prowl for trouble, the moment she sees Alex being dragged, Ginia leaps into the fight with her machete and borderlines. A few borderlines slash along the tendril gripping Alex's ankles, the grip loosening under onslaught of borderlines attacks. Ginia also hacks at the ayakashi with her machete, shallow cuts left along the plant-like ayakashi's neon surface.]

Autumn Leaf Viewing

[smilingbullet]

[ She's not the only one who's not entirely into it and masking it. You can't always see what goes on inside someone's mind after all.

D2 has taken a break from laying on top of the hill under a tree to go find something to drink, and he's found a couple of beer cans (and another game that he was going to borrow because he doesn't feel like playing chess or cards with himself at the moment) and he was on his way back up but he pauses. ]

Hey, Alex, d'you know how to play?

[ He's holding a box of Chinese checkers.

Ayakashi Attack

[pure_radiantics]

[ From above, Kairi on top of Nimbus sees and hears the scuffle starting. ]

Oh no...

[ And she descends through the tree canopy, finding Alex in mid-attack. ]

Borderline!!

[ First thing's first, she tries to see if she can strike the ground between Alex and the ayakashi, separating the two. ]

OTA

[silentscales]

Mysterious Trees
Snake decided that with all the people around it might be a good idea for him to split up for a while from Adrien and Marinette, just so they could cover more ground. For once Ayn was crawling on the ground where she could get a better idea of their surroundings, and any clues that might be hidden in the underbrush. Or ayakashi, for that matter. He does mean to stay close enough to Marinette that if there is one, she would be able to hear him and get over here quickly enough. He's still far enough away that he at least seems to be alone, aside from the shifting in the underbrush.

Autumn Leaf Viewing
Snake was happy to have time to unwind after the busy day. It had been fun helping Marinette, even if it was a little stressful at times. But now they had tea and food, and other tasty drinks, and he's rather content. He keeps sharing bits of the food with his snake, even things that probably shouldn't be healthy for her.

He also won't be all that hard to pull out into some of the games that are being played, either, if anyone can find an excuse. Ayn even seems willing to help.

Snake has one idea in mind, though, that has him seeking out Adrien and Marinette, with a white and red chrysanthemum in hand.

Autumn Leaf Viewing

[yasei]

Obi was looking for someone to play this strange looking thing that supposedly a game, and this (curious-looking) cutie looks like he's been sitting here alone (but with a snake, for some reason?) for a while so-! He wanders over. "Hi, do you wanna try to play a game with me?" He's holding a box with colorful strange animals on it. He's never before heard of hippos before, or this game where they're apparently very hungry. But he wants to try all of the games.

Leaf Viewing

[purr_ince]

[Adrien is on his own mission. He's holding two red chrysanthemum in hand. One is a darker red than the other but that had been kind of intentional. Looking around the crowd he's looking for Snake. He's not that hard to spot since he's so tall and unique.

Hurrying across to him he's extending the brightest red flower out to him. Adrien had seen the flower and instantly thought of his fellow shinki and goddess. They both deserved all the flowers but Adrien didn't want to be] greedy and take all the flowers so he settled on the warm crimson. A smile settled on his lips and he beamed at him.]

I was looking for you.

[purr_ince]

Autumn Leaf Viewing
I.
[If one were to find Adrien earlier on in the evening he's curiously looking at the flowers everyone seems to have taken an interest in. He's seem them before at least in print and paper and he's sure he's seen the gold and white ones often but the red is new. He scratched at his cheek before glancing to the person closest to him.]

So what's the deal with the red ones?

II.
[Now that someone has taken the time to explain to him the significance of the flowers he's carefully picked two red ones. One a bright fresh pale red the other a deeper darker hue of the same color. Each of them he's tied a small ribbon around - the darker flower bearing faint pink and black ribbon. The lighter a grey and green - clearly to denote who they were for.]

III. {Marinette Only}
[After having given Snake his flower Adrien, went off to seek out Marinette with here's though now there's a red flower tucked neatly behind his ear and Adrien has absolutely no intention of removing it or placing it anywhere else until they get back to the temple.

But Adrien isn't the only one with a flower.

After seeing all the big fuss Plagg had vanished from Adrien side he returned triumphantly holding a small blue flower in between his small paws. He seems rather tired as he plops himself into Adrien's shoulder with a huff - he's got it and that's all that matters

Once they spot Marinette and Tikki Adrien is hurrying over with the brightest smile ever.]

We brought you flowers!

IV.
[ooc: Something I forgot? Something you want to do? Hit me up here this it the whatever floats your boat option.]

Locked to Caster

[irishfriskey]

[Caster had convinced him to leave the temple with him to go to the Autumn Leaf Viewing. He seems rather adamant about it happening. So taking the kimono he received for the last festival, he quickly heads out with him.

When they start walking around, Lancer drinking some tea as they look at everything. He smiles at Caster and keeps in step with him, staying nice and close.]

It's fairly quiet today, isn't it?

[futhark]

[ There were different reasons for this. One, he always appreciates a good prank- another is that after what happened yesterday- it was probably to give some space and stay away from the temple, especially since a perfect opportunity arises. Initially, he did not think about the kimono but when he saw Lancer in his- he had to go and change too. ]

It's a good quiet, no? Or would you prefer a more lively atmosphere?