Into The Forest

[inheritance]

WHO: All volunteers
WHERE: The forest
WHEN: April 6th, late morning
WHAT: Attempting to map out the area and finding much more than they bargained for.
WARNINGS: Violence

"There is absolutely no wildlife.
There are no mutant animals to be found.
The birds are silent. There are no bugs.
It's as if everything is watching, and holding its breath, and waiting."

Comments

[inheritance]

[Izuku's eyes shift between the still-frozen goat men and the tent thoughtfully.]

There's more of them. [He sounds certain.] They only had what they needed for their ritual in the tent. That means they must live somewhere else in the forest, and they don't strike me as the type to just leave their home unguarded. Someone should come looking for them if they don't make it back to their camp before a certain time.

[glaciers]

Okay.

[That sounds like solid enough reasoning to him. Besides they can... bleat(?) for help if they need it. It's obvious that this place isn't nearly as uninhabited as it first looked.]

Let's get to work.

I'll get their weapons away from them.

[inheritance]

Okay. [Izuku echoes, looking determined.]

Do you see a knife on any of them? I can probably rip the cloth if it comes down to it, but.. [It'd be a lot neater with something to make the initial cuts.]

[glaciers]

I found an ax.

[Since that's the one who almost threw it at their heads.]

[inheritance]

[Izuku almost makes a face.] Wasn't there blood on that ax?

[No, thanks. He'd rather take his chances elsewhere.]

[glaciers]

Most of the stuff they have is probably going to be bloody. They were preparing this ritual.

[Look at all the blood, Midoriya. There's no chance any of their stuff isn't bloody.]

[inheritance]

[He does make a face this time.] Don't remind me.

[While they know that no one from the groups has been sacrificed for this ritual, he'd rather not think about what was.]

Never mind. I'll just rip the cloth up. [Izuku quickly blows out the candle inside the tent and begins dismantling it.]

[glaciers]

[It could really be anything. Though Shouto doesn't want to think about it either.

He'll move over to the frozen goat men and start thawing them.]

Tell me when you've got enough.

[inheritance]

[Once Izuku gets the cloth free, he makes quick work of it, ripping it into long strips that he begins tying together to form a rather messy, but sturdy rope of sorts.]

Okay, I should be ready soon. [He's just testing the knots now to make sure they won't simply come apart.]

[glaciers]

[Shouto's just moving all the goat men together in a circle. It'll be easier to deal with them that way.]

No rush. The ice won't melt quickly.

[inheritance]

[Finally, Izuku straightens up with the finished "rope" in hand.]

I think this should be enough. [He rejoins Todoroki, keeping a wary eye on the goat men as the ice melts.]

[glaciers]

[They're not happy about being manhandled... goathandled? But they can't struggle away either.]

Alright. That's all of them together.

[inheritance]

My turn. [To absolutely no one's surprise, it's a bit of a challenge to get the goat men roped together securely when they're struggling as hard as they can against him. He gets it done, though, making the last knot as tight as he can.]

Okay, that should hold them. [He takes a step back, frowning as their protests grow even louder--well, that's not a surprise either.] Let's go look for the others.

[glaciers]

[It's a struggle, but it's well worth it if it means that nobody who gets lost today gets menaced by these guys.]

Okay.

[He hopes everybody out there is okay. Who knows what they ended up finding.]

[inheritance]

[Rather than trying to follow the path from before, Izuku picks a direction and pushes through the trees, only a little surprised when he manages to do it. As if they'd already found what they were meant to when they encountered the goat men.]

I think Arisato-kun and Egbert-kun were closer to us when the forest blocked us off. We might have better luck finding them than anyone else first.

[glaciers]

[Shouto's right on Izuku's heels. There's no reason they need to get separated.]

Okay. They're in here somewhere just like everybody else.

[inheritance]

[Things are tense as Izuku leads the way through the forest, eyes always scanning the trees expectantly. Even after they've walked for some time, they don't come across anyone else. And the forest remains as silent as before, save for the leaves crunching underfoot as they pass.]

We must've triggered something--a, a reaction from the forest when we all came in at once. It definitely wasn't like this when I came in here before. [Izuku bites his lip, looking guilty. It had seemed important at the time, but it's looking more and more like the venture was a bad idea.]

[glaciers]

[Here it is. Midoriya taking on the burden of responsibility for everybody. It's an oddly familiar state.]

Now we know. And we know that early now, right? This is the during the first month we've been here. We have the information to discourage any potential newcomers from trying to go into the forest as a big group.

It's useful information.

[inheritance]

[Startled, Izuku looks over at Todoroki. How does he keep doing that? Somehow, he always seems to know what's bothering him...is he really so transparent? Or maybe Todoroki just...knows him too well by now. It's a thought that sits oddly in his chest, though not in a bad way. It's could never be a bad thing, realizing that you have friends who have grown this close to you.]

...yeah. Now that we know, we'll be able to warn anyone else.

[They press onward, staying alert until--] I think I see something up again.

[glaciers]

[Shouto doesn't notice the thoughts going through Midoriya head now. But it's just that Shouto spends a lot of time Midoriya watching. And Midoriya wears all of his emotions right on his sleeve.]

What is it?

[He's not ready for more satanic goat cults.]

sighs at typos

[inheritance]

It looks like the trees on the side are starting to open up a little...! There's more light coming through.

[Izuku quickens his pace, trusting Todoroki to keep close.]

[glaciers]

[Shouto stays closer now. There's no telling what might be in this clearing. At least there's no stench of blood this time around.

And they end up, somehow, back at the entrance of the forest.]

... Did we get turned around somewhere?

[inheritance]

[Izuku stares at the town that's now visible through the gap in the trees, and then back the way they came.]

This... doesn't make any sense. [Frustrated, he clenches his jaw.] The forest must have led us back here somehow, without us even noticing.

[glaciers]

If it can separate groups like it did when we started, then it would make sense that it could funnel us back out again.

It's hard to tell where you're going when the forest won't cooperate.

[inheritance]

[His hands curl into fists at his side when he turns back toward the forest path.]

Then that means...there's no real way to find the others, is there? If the forest doesn't want us to find them, it'll just keep leading us back out here.