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

[thriftea]

[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.]

[keeneye]

[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?

[pursestrings]

[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...

[thriftea]

[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...]

[keeneye]

[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.]

[pursestrings]

[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?

[thriftea]

[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.]

[keeneye]

[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.

[pursestrings]

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.]