[dolly]

Username: dolly
Name: karsia
Gender: female
How did you escape?:

"Well guys looks like were trapped again.", joked Rossa using a knife to cut the vines. She pressed against the vine, and with some force it swiftly snap. Apollyon, though flightless, could still move his wings. He burst them out, scratching them against the thorny tangled space but it worked! Freedom, with a ton of minor injuries of course.
Now to deal with her. No big deal though, they'd faced greater enemies before. With a hard punch from Roxanne, she was down and they were free to go.

[chamomile.]

Username: Chamomile.
Name: Talius
Gender: Nonbinary
How did you escape?: [269/500]

Rueben: >yell<
"Who do you think you are? Let us go!
Talius: >Laugh<
"Why would I? You are trapped like helpless children. Now, give me everything you own.
Polaris: >plead<
"Please, we are just travelers, we have nothing of value. We just have enough to survive, that's it.
Talius: >snicker<
"Like I care about that. My business is stealing and pillaging, and travelers are easy targets. You always carry valuables. Now cough them up."
Rueben: >look around<
The forest was thick with trees, however the horse they stole in the last town was a couple hundred feet away.
Rueben: >make eye contact with horse<
The blue Kalon tried to convey meaning through a glance, which the horse seemed to pay attention to.
Rueben: >distract<
"Come on, could you at least tell us your name before you leave us here to die?"
Talius: >answer<
"My name is Talius. It can't hurt for you to know that. Why?"
Rueben: >answer / distract<
"Oh you know, I'm a thief myself, I wanted to see if I knew your name. You know, us thieves tend to know each other."
Talius: >glare<
Talius glares at Rue, and hearing a stick snap, starts to turn around.
Rueben: >yell<
"HORSE NOW"
Horse: >dash<
The chestnut brown horse galloped at full speed at the brown Kalon, knocking them down. Their hooves tear up some of the vines, allowing the heros to pull themselves out.
Polaris and Rueben: >ready weapons<
Polaris draws his bow and readys and arrow, pointed directly at Talius. Rueben readied his daggers, putting one to Talius's throat.
Rueben: >cool phrase<
"Not so tough now, eh?"

[iuno.]

username: iuno.
name: zeus
gender: male
how did you escape?:

soft paws walked carefully through the dark forest, attempting to avoid all sharp rocks on the path they were taking. sharp breaths came out of the kalon's mouth every time they thought they saw something threatening. pip had always been scared of every little thing and going on this quest probably wasn't their best idea. pip scanned their surroundings, but obviously not good enough as all of a sudden the kalon was entangled in thorny vines and thistles. "ahh!" pip yelled, their heart pounding out of their chest. the thorns of the vines would scratch the surface of pip's skin the more they tried to move. pip tried to look around, ears getting scratched uncomfortably by the thorns. pip couldn't see anyone and they had no idea where the trap had come from. finally, a couple of minutes later, a kalon with unnaturally bright yellow eyes and a large grin on their face came out from behind a tree with a wide trunk, just big enough for someone to hide behind without being seen.

the two kalons had a short staring contest until pip finally spoke. "please let me go!" pip begged. "tell me, stranger, why should i let you go?" the unknown kalon asked in a low, quiet voice. "uhh... i don't know because i asked?" pip replied nervously. the other kalon laughed a booming laugh that made birds fly out of the trees. "that's not going to happen," he continued to stare at pip. "uh, well, what do you want then?" pip asked, looking anywhere but in the other kalon's eyes. pip had nothing of value to offer, not even gems. this was definitely not the way the kalon wanted to die, but at this rate it seemed like it would be the end. "hmm, i don't know, impress me," the mysterious kalon said, looking awfully smug. "i'll... i'll be your friend! pip said even though they were pretty sure the kalon wouldn't be impressed at all.

the earthly kalon's entire demeanor changed. his bright yellow eyes seemed to get duller and his uptight posture relaxed. "you'll be my friend?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow. he seemed to be unsure of whether pip was telling the truth. "yeah, i'll be your friend. please just let me go," pip said, forcing a small smile even though he was in pain. they couldn't believe that their plan was working. a true smile grew on the other kalon's face and he let pip go with ease. as soon as pip was free, they went running, not staying true to their word. they looked back at the earthy kalon, just in time to see him turn around with a disappointed look on his face, his tail down. pip frowned, realizing the other kalon really did want a friend. "wait!" pip called to the kalon, running back to him. "i'm sorry. i was just scared. you can come travel with me." the other kalon's smile returned and he agreed to travel with pip.

[500/500]

[néktar]

[ username: néktar name: rhys gender: male (♂) ]
how did you escape?: with ginko & eniko [ 480 ]
ginko had just barely heard the words of the kalon in the shadows when he felt
this black thorns wrap around his legs, hands and waist. he was raised up again
st a tree, he grunted his hands shaking as he tried to keep his grip on his khakk
hara, but the thorns tightened and he dropped it on the forest floor with a loud
clan as it hit a rock. he looked at the kalon as he emerged from the shadows. h
e wore a large smile on his face as he looked up. twisting his fingers as the thor
n branches snaked around his body. ginko was defenseless, he couldn't reach his
supplies with his hands restrained. the mysterious kalon's deep green eyes flash
ed over ginko, he looked as though he was plotting something. ginko couldn't re
ad his expression as a thorn branch snaked around his neck now. 'great.. this i
s how i go out?' he clenched his teeth and closed his eyes. 'somebody please...'

...

eniko couldn't find her way back onto the path, she was panting now. her eyes
darted around wildly and he hands shook at her side. she noticed how many th
orns were coming into view, she bit her lip and stared at them. they seemed to
glow with bright green aura, she slowly came towards one that was in her path.
she leaned down and reached her hands over it, she felt it beating? she was ab
out to touch it when it moved, she flinched and squeaked at this, her eyes gazi
ng over it once again, "natural born magic.. or possibly as forest spirit?" she s
tood back up again. once she did she felt the heartbeat all around her, but com
ing mainly from one direction. her curiosity got the better of her fear and she q
uickly followed the beating. she came across a thicket of thorns but saw two ka
lons one seeming to hold the other hostage. she grabbed her bag from her side
and rummaged through it, all she felt in her hand was nightshade extract in the
form of a perfume of sorts. she normally used it to stop her plants from growing
too fast in spring. she took it in her shaking hand, her index finger on the trigger.
just as she saw ginko going limp in the grip of the thorns she rushed towards an
d sprayed the stranger in the face as though he were a cat doing something wro
ng, which is half right. she then stood back as the kalon began to sneeze and his
hands went to his nose. in this distraction the thorn branches loosened and ginko
dropped to the floor. the kalon that was holding ginko hostage was passed out o
n the forest floor.

[ leave him there? ]
✧ yes
✧ no

[wriolette enjoyer]

[crona.]

Username: noctiphilia
Name: Saffron "Jest" Cormerant
Gender: Male (he / him)
How did you escape?: "Oh- oh my! What a predicament I've caught myself in." Proclaimed Oxenfree, quite obviously. Their voice quivered.
"Tell me, stranger, why should I let you go?"
"My my, well let's try to be civil about this!" They turned their neck to examine as much as she could. "As civil as we can be." The green-eyed kalon glared back in a well awaited response.
"I haven't done anything to you, at least to my knowledge." With a twist, Oxenfree pulled their arms up and out of the thorny restraints. They raised their paws up, to show their submission. "Look, I think there may have been a misunderstanding. I'm here only to help." A grimacing snarl crept through the thick, foggy air.
"Perhaps there was, perhaps there wasn't."
"Well, we may as well introduce ourselves. I'm Oxenfree, an astrologist and part-time potion maker."
"Hmph. I'm Saffron, but most of my informal transactions, such as this one, know me as Jest."
Chop! The vines came to tumble down, leaving a heaping mess on the loamy forest floor.
"May I inquire who you were hoping to catch?"
"Obviously I was looking to catch someone trespassing and hunting my animals, but it looks like you weren't doing the latter."
"Me? Of course not! What a disgusting thing to find anyone doing."
"It's horrific and gorey." He motioned with his head to follow, and Oxenfree did as they were asked. The continued to discuss the topic at hand while walking to were ever Saffron lead the duo.
"Have you tried reporting them to your local officials?" Oxenfree questioned to gain as much information on the disruption as they could. Being well informed, especially with such a grafic scene, is key to understanding.
"I am the 'local officials'. No one else around for miles." He looked up at the darkening sky, and paused for a moment.
"The people who try to hunt are oblivious to their surroundings. There are dangerous creatures in these woods; creatures such as fae and dragons. They'll tear you to pieces and no one will know you even existed. No one is safe here, not even me." He continued again, stumbling into his own backyard unknowingly.
"Is this your house?" Oxenfree inspected the quaint cottage, and found it quite admirable.
"Yes. I've lived alone since I was a teenager. But the animals have kept me plenty of company."
"Well then, lets see what we can do to stop these trappers."

They worked until the early morning, falling asleep on opened books, sketched diagrams, and their own words. The daylights sun couldn't even wake their weary hearts, leaving them to catch up on the missed sleep and to dream about the friendly dialogue that lead them here to being with. (456/500)

[mars]

Username: ciiel ♥
Name: Eden
Gender: Agender
How did you escape?:

The three children were stuck in the stranger's trap, writhing around in a desperate attempt to escape.
"Please let us go!" Minji yelled, her twin brother clutching tightly to her arm in fear. Realizing that they were stuck for good, the three gave up wrestling their way out to try to talk the stranger into letting them go.
"We're just kids," Sadie began, hoping she'd strike the stranger's heart. The stranger showed no reaction - no sign of letting the trio free - but Sadie wasn't one to give up so easily. "We have yet to truly live our lives, to experience things!"
"All the better!" the strange kalon shouted, tightening their trap around the children. "You're not missing out on much, might as well save you the trouble. Growing up sucks, kids!"

Discouraged, Sadie tried another method. She was desperate; every time the children got in trouble it had been her fault. She had brought the young twins with her and she regretted it more than anything! If they were to be hurt, she could never forgive herself.
"If you let us go, we'll get you the crystals for you! We already found one." This seemed to perk the stranger's ears, but he stayed back cautiously.
"I don't trust you, you're lying."

Iseul suddenly held up the bird cages the trio had been carrying, the ones that held the street goblins that they had captured for the man in the armory.
"If you don't release us this instant, we'll open the doors and let them free. They're small enough to fit through the holes in this thing!" Minji hissed angrily at the stranger, wanting nothing but to be free of their grasp. This made the stranger's eyes widen.
"Goblins?"
"Yes, the ones that break things and bite hard. These ones are trained to attack, so you'd better watch out!" Sadie added, playing along with the twins by over-exaggerating the goblins' abilities. It seemed to be working!

The stranger began loosening the trap. They had never been into the village to see street goblins so they were weary of their capabilities! As the trio was let loose, Minji looked at Sadie questioningly.
"Should we make them come with us? Or should we let them go free?" Sadie thought about these questions for a long moment before replying, the stranger within earshot of the trio.
"They seem to know this place well and may be an asset to us, although we'd need to take precautions to make sure they don't steal our stuff or stab us in the back." The trio nodded, agreeing with her before turning their attention to the stranger once more.
"What say you?" Minji said, crossing her arms sternly. "We can make some sort of a deal so you'll get something out of this."

[Cosmonaut]

Username: Cosmonaut
Name: Amichai Khalfani
Gender: Male
How did you escape?

Minnow stared in shock at his prickly cage, heartbeat quickened to a rabbit's pace in surprise. This was definitely something he wasn't expecting. He looked up from the thorny "bars" of his cell, meeting the piercing green eyes of another kalon.

"Tell me, stranger, why should I let you go?"

Minnow's heart instantly froze when he heard the dull-furred kalon's prickly and cruel voice.

"Uh- um..." He struggled to think of a response, too terrified for his life to even choke out a word.

"You can't eat me! I know magic and I've enchanted my clothes to harm anyone who tries biting me!"

"I'm not going to eat you. You're trespassing on my territory, and therefore I'm going to kill you," the stranger said, chucking.

Tears threatening to pour out of Minnow's orbs, he opened his mouth only to stammer in response. There was no way he could get out of this mess.

"Um... well... I know jokes and riddles! I'm really fun to be around so... uh.... also I have loads of friends who will find and kill you if you kill me!"

With a confused look, the stranger scoffed at him.

"Prove it. If you can tell me a riddle I can't solve, I'll let you go and even join you if it entertains me enough. If I solve it, I will not hesitate to kill you."

Taking a moment to recall some riddles, Minnow took a deep breath and began relaying the hardest one he knew.

"Two shepherds came across a hunter. One shepherd had 3 loaves of bread, the other had five. All of them were hungry, so they split the eight loaves equally among each other. The hunter decided to pay 8 coins to the shepherds in thanks for the meal. How should he distribute the coins to the shepherds?"

The stranger stared at him a moment thoughtfully before grinning.

"Three coins to the first shepherd and five to the other. That is equivalent how much bread they brought, yes?"

"That's fair to how much bread they brought, but not to how much given to the hunter. Since they split the bread equally among each other, each man got two-and-two-thirds of a loaf. Therefore, the first shepherd gave him one-third and the second gave him two-and-a-third. So, to distribute the coins fairly, he'd have to give one coin to the first and seven to the other."

"What?! No way!" The disgust in the stranger's eyes grew. "Fine. You have won your freedom for now. By the way, my name is Amichai."

The thorny barriers dissipated, returning to the ground as quickly as they'd appeared around Minnow. Ease filled him once more, thankful for his newfound security.

"Thanks, Amichai! I'm Minnow. I'm on a quest to help free the world of some strange shadow plague that's popped up recently. Would you like to join me? It's kinda lonely travelling by yourself..." Any distrust he had of the stranger disappeared.

‣Join Minnow
‣Turn away in disgust

[499/500]

[grapejuice]

Username: grapejuice
Name: Wren
Gender: Male
How did you escape?: [party]


It takes an expert set of eyes to spot an earthy colored Kalon lurking amongst the trees of a dark forest, but it doesn't take a genius to find a loud group of bickering Kalons. "Marcelo, I told you almost an hour ago we should've taken a left at the fork, not a right!" Fleur exclaimed angrily, while the red male rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, and I told you we should've brought Eli along! She knows these woods better than your fluffy hippie--" At that moment the ground beneath them seemed to swallow up the pair, quickly lifting them up and trapping them in a thorny net. There was a yelp of surprise from Fleur, followed by a high-pitched scream from Marcelo. "Oh look what you've done now, treehugger!" The male growled, only to be stabbed by several thick thorns; instant karma. He whimpered at the pain, and opened his mouth to complain further, when Fleur suddenly gave him a swift whack before motioning into the darkness.

A pair of cat-like eyes peered out from the dark, and there was an audible gasp shared between the two Kals. "Well well, what on earth do we have here?" Wren purred, stepping out and slowly walking around the trap, examining his victims. The trapped Kalons exchanged worried glances, but did not speak. "Oh, so now you wish to remain silent? Tell me then, why do you dare trespass into my territory and disturb me?" The brown male glanced from one Kal to the next, before snarling, "Answer me." Fleur, being the braver (and more intelligent) of the two, finally piped up, "We had no idea this was your home, sir, and if you'd just let us go, we promise to never return, honest!" Wren chuckled. "Sir. Heh, call me Wren. And as for you," he now turned to Marcelo, who'd remained quiet during a majority of this ordeal, "Tell me, stranger, why should I let you go?"

Now Wren was a fairly calm and reserved Kal, and had no intentions of harming the loud-mouths who had disturbed him. Oh no. However, he did want to watch Marcelo squirm a little, having taken an interest in the red male. "Well?" Marcelo gulped, and looked around nervously. "Uhm, well, you see, heh, we're actually just passing through. Just looking to find somewhere quiet, escape for a bit, ya know?" Not entirely satisfied with the response, Wren pressed further. "Ah, a romantic getaway with your lover, I suppose?" Both Kals eyes went wide, before they began frantically exclaiming "no" and fake gagging, like little kids... Now snickering, happy to have flustered the pair, Wren uses a single claw and snips the vine, causing his trap to fall apart and ultimately drop the Fleur and Marcelo.

Wren looks to Marcelo, now fully standing, red fur disheveled from the fall. He smirks, and steps towards the male, leaning in to whisper, "Call me," before disappearing into the darkness once more, cackling as he goes.

[498/500]
----
✖ - Marcelo
✖ - Fleur
✖ - Wren

[Fuscontidox]

Username: Fuscontidox
Name: Hammedatha [Hah-meh-dah-tah] "Meda"
Gender: Male
How did you escape?:

(500/500)

Janje awoke with her paws tied above her, the trunk of a tree at her back, she looked about the greenery examining the land, frantic with suddenly stark realization that she was separated from the realm of fate, trapped back into the mundane. “Where is it?” she pulled against the thorns that dug into her flesh, and whimpered, not from the pain, but from her detachment.

“Looking for something?” Icy chills ran down her spine, she slowly turned her attention to the electric gaze of the kalon from before, he drew near, swinging the fine gold threads in his paws.

Her chest tightened, “D-don’t do that p-p-please…” she struggled, her eyes glued to the mask.

“Oh? How cute,” he cooed, “You know, sweetheart, manners don’t get you far in places like my forest.” He drew closer to her, and her body began to shake involuntarily. “Now why don’t you answer this time,” his free paw gripped the vine and he towered above her, she was miniscule in comparison to his much larger, wider frame. “Why should I let you go, after your clear intrusion?”

His attire was very ancient tribal, reminding her closely of Cosima, she remembered Cosima’s stories of an old, ill-mannered tribe, who slaughtered everyone in sight, and the floating rumors of them eating the flesh of their own kind. She swallowed hard, her thought process was dominated by how much stronger he was compared to Uriah, her brothers, and even her own father, she mulled over ways to escape, and how futile each suggestion was, she regretted wandering off on her own all the more.

“I don’t want to be eaten…” her voice was pitifully quiet, she had never felt so small in her life.

His hearty laugh split the air, jolting her, then he quieted, “I must admit, that’s a new one, I’m not a cannibal but that doesn’t mean I’m not a murderer.” He looked up and down her, silent judgement clear in his posture and expression, “How the blazes did a weakling as yourself find their way into my forest?” She looked to him, down to the mask, then averting completely.

“This?” he snorted pushing off the tree and away, tossing the mask just centimeters from the pit of dying flames, snapping something inside of Janje. “Enough with your fainting and child’s play.” Her legs jittered, and rested on the ground as close as she could get, he loomed over her again, she faux recoiled, before pushing up with her might and knocking into his windpipe and jaw with the crown of her head. Tearing from the thorns as she bungeed back down, clenching her jaw from the ripping she felt along her wrists and hands. She fumbled forward, hobbled up quickly, and took her mask as he lay, sprawled, trying to retrieve his breath.

“Don’t s-screw with a m-mask’s prophet.” She cursed inwardly at her falters, shakily, she fitted her mask, and followed the lavender stream of color inside the realm of fate.