awashlogs | Into The Forest

[Yeah, Okuyasu is already throwing caution to the wind and slicing it open with his thumbnail, splitting the peel all the way around so he can twist it off into two halves.

And then promptly realize there are three of them, so... Emma gets a whole half because she's a growing 5-year-old, and he'll split the other half into new halves to give Ochako a piece. Sharing!!]

Sooo... bottoms up? [You think he won't shove like 3 orange slices in his mouth at once, well, he's already done it. There's no time for being careful here!!]

[The actual child should definitely get the biggest piece. Ochako gratefully accepts her fourth of the orange, inspecting it closely before peeling off a single segment and popping it right into her mouth. She probably shouldn't, but boy, is she glad she did.

Because whoa.]

It's so good! [Understatement of the year tbh. Her face lights right up, and are her eyes... tearing up a bit? Yes, they certainly are. Ochako genuinely appreciates delicious food.] I can't believe it... Emma, isn't it amazing?

[Emma almost speaks up to share some of her bigger piece with everyone else but then they eat it and, well, she is just a kid. She plucks a segment out to eat and her eyes light up just like everyone else's. Real food.

Instantly she's eating more pieces.]

It's good! [oops, she's speaking with her mouth full. sorry for bad manners.] It's actually really good!

[Heck, if anything counts as important exploration find this is it. The real question is if there is any more! With the thought of traps out of her mind, Emma pulls the branches away and behold! multiple bright red fruit hanging off the monochrome tree.

She's plucking another and putting it right in her coat pocket. This is dire.]

[why are they red now? it's right in the name. this thread is canceled

Okuyasu would shove this whole orange chunk in his mouth at once if it were probably any other setting than in the middle of the spooky woods, know that. But none of them are getting sick and dying all of a sudden, so this fruit is apparently fine! How weird and lucky is this!]

Maybe the end of this path has a bunch more foods. [No, that's silly... That's optimism. Allow him, too, to fill his pockets with good good fruits.]

[This is a ~*magical forest*~, where blood orange trees a) are huge and b) bear bright red fruit. Get with it.

But yes, everything seems fine and dandy! Ochako carefully eats the rest of her small portion, so darn pleased to taste something sweet in the middle of this nightmare scenario. And she does want more, honestly, but watching Emma tuck an orange into her pocket reminds her of something—well, someone—very important.]

Maybe, but let's still take as many of these as we can. And Okuyasu, can you take some back to Iida, too? [Because they're definitely getting out of here, okay. She gives him a slightly apologetic smile.] My costume doesn't have any pockets, so...

[Pretty please?]

I hope! Creating a path leading to good food would be the best result.

[They haven't seen color in weeks I'm blaming that and you can't stop me.

Actually, the sudden appearance of color is extremely apt in the coming seconds. Emma is located among the branches, reaching out to hoard as many of the fruit as she can get her hands on, when she sees a quick flash of a completely new color out of the corner of her eye. The serious face is back as she shifts from focusing on the food to looking at the leaves.

She holds the bright fruit against the leaf and lifts it away again... and again. It still looks gray. So probably not a trick of the eye with the contrast of colors? She could have sworn she saw something tinged more yellow...]

Do you guys see anything else strange about this tree?

Edited 2018-04-13 03:52 (UTC)

[What is this Iida orange mystery... but okay, yes, Ochako gets a thumbs up because he still has like 3 orange slices stuffed in his face at once, give him a second. He will do this orange thing.

Now then--] You mean besides how it's growing real food all of a sudden? Nah.

[This, as Okuyasu shoves as many oranges into his pockets as he can fit. Some of them he's just going to hold inside his jacket and button it up real good, so they're going to be two lumpy disasters and Ochako when they get back.]

[Iida is an orange-fueled Sonic, and so thank you, Okuyasu, for helping Ochako help her friend. Her appreciate look says it all. Such a pal! Even if he does look absolutely silly!

But the mention of something strange is worrying, and Ochako directs her attention back up to the tree. Everything looks... normal? Just a grey tree with red-orange fruit...]

No, I don't. It looks fine to me, but what do you see?

[They are both lumpy orange carriers at the moment. Ochako is going to have to be the designated ambassador to the ghost just because she's the only one that doesn't look ridiculous.]

It wasn't the fruit... It was a different color. [There is a moment of silence. Of course, she remembers the newly posted quests.] I thought I saw a yellow leaf but they're all gray now. It might be a long shot but I don't think it's smart to pass it up.

[And with a shrug Emma places her hand at the base of the branch and proceeds to tear out every. single. leaf. She now has a lovely bouquet of gray leaves clutched in her hand.]

It was probably one of these.

[This sure is happening... Okuyasu shoves the last few oranges somewhere in his jacket and then just watches Emma do this thing. Hmm.]

You want The Hand to grab another branch?

[Oh yeah... there was something about yellow leaves on the quest board, wasn't there? Ochako didn't pay much attention to it at the time, but thankfully Emma did. Such a smart kid.]

Good thinking! Maybe they'll all come in handy. I can help you carry them, if you need me to.

[Because seriously, that's a ton of leaves. And if the branch is coming, too...]

No, I think I've got it. [she looks back up at the poor tree, a bit embarrassed.] Plus we probably shouldn't hurt it too much.

[There were just talking about how the forest might negatively react to them and everything. Oops. Emma will hand a portion of her leaves over to Ochako. Now she is part of the ridiculous items club, congratulations.]

Thanks! We should keep going before it gets dark.

[she just fucking handed over some leaves, this thread? this thread.]

I'm gonna pass on sharing the leaves. [Look at how many oranges he's somehow holding in this single jacket - he's got enough. Now then, he'll lead the way ahead this time, with an eye out for more colorful fruit... but instead of fruit it's a clearing they come upon next, overgrown and wild, but most certainly the end of this path for the time being. And it's getting pretty late...]

The hell is this? Some kinda dead end?

[badum tsh...... He marches over to the nearest lumpy pile of vines and other overgrowth to Hand-slice at the plants, revealing the worn headstone underneath. Aha—immediately he grabs handfuls of vines with his normal, people hands, trying to pull the plants back like he never was here, touching this thing.] Oh, shit. Don't tell anybody I touched their dead guy's grave.

[So dramatic! She brushes right past him, trying to shoo him away from the headstone so that she can take a closer look. A cemetery isn't the nicest place to be, especially as it gets darker and darker, but it's nothing to be too freaked out over. And besides, she's sat through dozens of Tokoyami's scary stories. She's got this.]

It's fine! I'm sure that no one minds, so let's look at it, okay?

[But sweeping away the vines he's yanked free doesn't reveal anything at all. The stone looks smooth, and it feels smooth, too; there are no grooves that she can trace with her fingers, and so, after a few fruitless minutes, she straightens back up with an annoyed huff.]

Nothing. I thought tha— [What did she think? Who knows, because suddenly there is a noise. She instinctively takes a step toward Emma.] D-Did you hear that?

[Damn... maybe Okuyasu had a point after all.]

[Is the eleven year old the only one here not bothered by ghost stories? She is, isn't she. If anything she is honestly curious, never having seen a real cemetery before in her life. She heads over to the neighboring pile of vines and leaves to pull them back and reveal another tombstone.]

It doesn't look like anyone has been here in a long time. [she checks to see if there is any writing on this one. a solid no.] If it's abandoned just like the town then who would get mad?

[Ghosts is who, Emma. Speaking of which she looks up towards the sound. It's a startling change after the complete quiet. She hadn't realized how she had already adjusted to the lack of animals and normal forest sounds.]

Mhm. I heard it. [But.. she doesn't see anything?] Maybe an animal nests here?

[Emma what if there is a HAUNTED DOLL??!! What then!!!]

Don't touch more of 'em! You're gonna piss off the dead people!

[Okuyasu is... doing his best to whisper, now, but because it's Okuyasu it still sounds like normal volume speech, just more hurried. Don't get them haunted to death, please?! He's reaching over to just grab her by the back of the shirt and pull her away from the tombstone, because he's the big brother here and he said so. Come!!]

There hasn't been so much as a fly this whole damn time...

[Ochako is trying to put on a brave face, but Emma is, without a doubt, the gutsiest one here. This is just getting too weird, okay? Fighting villains is a-okay, but mysterious noises in abandoned graveyards...]

It didn't sound like an animal. [Now she's whispering, too, but at least she's doing so quietly.] It was like someone was... crying?

[It sounded like a sob, actually. Like the one they're all hearing right now? And this is when they both look at Okuyasu—nah, just kidding. This is when Ochako gives their surroundings one last scan, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. And there's something out there. Oh, there's definitely something. It's too far away to tell what, exactly, it's shaped like, and it's almost like it keeps slipping in and out of focus, but one thing is for certain: when it's there, she can see right through it.

Goodbye, world. Ochako makes a small, strangled noise and promptly ducks behind the nearest headstone.]

It's a ghost!

[Don't worry. Even though her voice is shrill and she's clearly terrified, she'll pop up soon for ambassador duty. Crying ghosts aren't so bad... maybe...]

[Whoa! Emma is successfully dragged away from the headstone by Okuyasu. There was no way she wouldn't be dragged away considering she is a whopping 50lbs when wet.

Okay, okay, she will join in with the whispering. There confidence in the supernatural is convincing even her. It wouldn't really be too far fetched after talking furniture though.]

It could be any number of things... We need to stay calm-

[And there goes Ochako. She sees the spectral image now after being pointed in the right direction and she can hardly believe her own eyes. But there it is... a flickering shape in the distance.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to weigh herself down with fruit earlier. Reaching around to grab her gun was way harder. Which she proceeds to do while taking a cautionary step towards the strange being.

Someone please yank her back before she blows this meeting, literally, from the get go.]

[What the fuck—]

What do you mean, any number? It's not a sheet!

[Don't worry, while Ochako finds the ideal hiding spot, Okuyasu will yet again grab Emma and drag her to hide like a responsible person. He'll just not let go of her, this time, because evidently keeping safe literally a second ago didn't click into place.]

Just hang on! [Okay. OKAY...] What do we do?

[The ideal hiding spot was right in front of her! And she knew that Okuyasu had guard duty on lock, so while he's busy wrangling a child, she's peeking over the top of the headstone, making sure to keep a close eye on that thing. What to do, what to do...]

I don't know!

[She feels terrible admitting that, especially in such a shaky voice, but "How to Deal with Apparitions" is not a course her school offers, okay? ...How would Deku handle this situation? Well, to start off with, he wouldn't let Emma get anywhere near a possible ghost; in fact, he probably wouldn't even let Okuyasu go near it. Deku would, without a doubt, charge in himself.

Oh, dear.]

Okuyasu. [A bit more confident that the specter isn't going anywhere anytime soon, she glances back his way.] Can you send The Hand that far? Not to attack it, but to just... see what it'll do if something gets close.

[Because spoiler alert: she wants to get close.]

[Thanks, Okuyasu, you're the best big bro. She squirms out of his hold and she keeps the gun out. Just in case. She doesn't trust the mysterious beings living in this forest one bit. At least she's not making a break towards the mysterious ghost anymore.

It didn't seem to react in the slightest to her small advancement, but she's interested to see what it does react to. Her nerves are on edge though- can they even do anything against a ghost if it decides to attack? Which stories should she even begin to believe for ghost lore?]

How quickly can The Hand move? I don't want anything bad to happen to him... [She doesn't even know about the linked damage, she just doesn't want him to be hurt.] I won't hesitate in reacting if it looks dangerous.

Uh, maybe. [Spoiler: he can't send The Hand that far at all; it's really not a long-range Stand, he has to be pretty close to it, but he's not going to admit that and look like a Stand wimp. The logic here is very clear: as the big, punchy one on this team, it's surely his job to rush in, even if the thought of rushing a ghost sounds risky at best.]

Nothing's gonna happen, [he says, you know, confidently, and The Hand appears crouched a little ways off behind them - even the Stand is hiding. But it straightens up and, for Some Mysterious Reason, so does Okuyasu.

So this is the plan. He says:] You guys wait here!

[And then he throws caution to the wind and vaults over this headstone to make a mad dash toward the ghost thing, The Hand zooming along after him. He gets as far as a few yards away and the ghost thing maybe—looks up?

But as soon as that happens Okuyasu is skidding to a halt, making a complete 180-degree turn, and running back at top speed. Your task now is to be his eyes for what's going on behind him:] What's it doing?!

[it's kinda floating there. chillin. drifting very slowly, maybe, in their direction.]

Into The Forest

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