[bakuraas.]

Username + id: bakuraas. + 876991
Chicoon Participating: Kaydrys
Choice: Fruit Juice
Word count/art size: 503 words
Art/Writing:
Kaydrys makes sure to walk carefully despite taking the bright path, looking around and keeping an eye out while also making sure to give Mystra their attention when she showed them her notes. The chicoons shown on the notes were definitely interesting, and something that almost looked kind of scary to Kaydrys, he hoped that all the worrysome thoughts that bounced around his head were just anxious thoughts instead of anything placed in reality. The next creature definitely wans't a chicoon, but it did look somewhat interesting- of course there was part of them that wanted to lift up all that shaggy fur and see what was under there. Maybe it'd be something scary, but also it could be something much more friendly- or maybe the creature would appreciate the fur being moved. It was a lot of speculation going on in Kaydrys' mind as they walked. "I'm sure we'll find it! These definitely look very... easy to spot, it's not exactly like they would blend into a crowd... if they even would want to... or if I crowd could fit in these hallways..." He thought, giving a small laugh at his own thought process.

Kaydrys makes sure to help with the mapping as well, making notes about things and checking around every now and again until Mystra stopped them in their tracks. Another split path, thankfully both of them were still well lit, Kaydrys wasn't at all ready to go into the darkness quite yet- he could've sworn that he heard someone scream from that side of the maze... He was brought back to the split path once Mystra pointed down at the paths, and Kaydrys made a small worried noise upon seeing the huge pawprints. No doubt that whatever made those prints would be terrifying to meet if it wasn't friendly... and the other path, fruit juice. At least it smelled like fruit, he didn't exactly have the courage to try and drink any of it. They agreed with Mystra, these two were definitely have to be from the creature, and when given the decision, Kaydrys knew where he wanted to go immediately.

"We should follow the... juice? It looks like juice, but let's not touch it, who knows what it might actually be and what it might actually do. Those sketches of chicoons with weird body parts look like there was something... on them, so maybe we should avoid touching anything that looks like it could get stuck on us. It's also really bright green, so maybe it would make some sense in that regard too? I'm sure there's some connection there with the bright green color and the glow- even if it may not be completely obvious." He laughed again, nervously scratching at his face a little- making sure to still be open with their friend. "And uh, I'm sort of afraid of what we might find in the other path so, let's at least go this way first before we go hunting after whatever made those huge tracks..."

[Eevee55]

Username + id: Eevee55 + 1033286
Chicoon Participating: Sara
Choice: Stand your ground
Word count/art size: 540
Art/Writing:
Sara smiles reassuringly at Mystra, noticing that she appears a bit nervous about the choice of the spooky hallway. "I am sure everything will be fine, and I will be right beside you the entire way, okay?" Sara understands feeling nervous; though she is feeling surprisingly brave about the current situation, she remembers well how she felt in the Chinati's secret base with all the triangles. Though they put on a brave face then and kept going despite the triangles and everything else, they probably could not have made it through without Mystra's support. Now that the roles seem to have reversed, Sara is determined to provide the same support for Mystra. As the two proceed down the hallway, Sara responds to Mystra's questions, hoping the casual chatting will help ease her nerves at least somewhat.
"Well, I headed home after camp ended, and since then nothing very exciting has happened with me. I mostly just went about my normal routine, I did draw a lot of pictures though. Oh! I drew a picture of us on our adventure, remind me to show it to you once we solve this mystery and find the way out of this maze!" Sara smiles, she worked very hard on that drawing, wanting to make it perfect. She hopes Mystra will like it!
"As far as why I am here... Well, I stumbled across the maze earlier and was really curious about it. I have never seen anything like this before, after all. I figured it would not hurt to look around a little bit, and then I saw the blue glow, and then I kept exploring for awhile, and then I found you. So, I suppose I am here because I was curious... Besides, having another adventure sounds like fun, especially now that I am not alone!"
"What have you been up to since our last adventure?" Sara asks curiously, eager to hear about any other cryptids Mystra might have found. Besides, talking about them might help ease Mystra's nerves more.
Sara suddenly freezes as they hear some strange noises. What was that...? She glances around, then back at Mystra to see if she heard the noises too. Seeing Mystra point out the scratch marks on the wall, Sara feels nervous. What made those? Nonetheless, they are still determined to solve this mystery, and continue walking, though when they notice Mystra leaning closer, they look over at her in concern. She seems kinda scared, and Sara does her best to reassure her, though truthfully she is starting to think perhaps this hallway is a bit too creepy... Then Mystra says the same thing they are thinking, before being interrupted by a loud roar.
Sara's first instinct is to run, but she manages to stand her ground and think. "What if this is the source of the blue glow?" Sara suggests. Maybe if they stick around, they will be able to solve the mystery. "We might be able to find out what it is!" They hear the sound of running... So, not a ghost, then. Perhaps it could still be a skeleton, though! Sara is really curious... Curious enough to want to know what it is, even if this situation is getting really scary.

[cinerious]

Username + id: cinerious 242408
Chicoon Participating: Poppet
Choice: stand your ground
Word count/art size: Clean Line/Color + Shading + BG (Also 212 words but drawing~)
Art/Writing:

Poppet glanced to Mystra, taking in her veiled expression and bumps her shoulder, "Don't worry, there can't be anything too bad down here right? Let's not be afraid and figure this all out!"

Moving forward through the spooky hallway, the plants started to wither and disappear. The light started to fade until all that was illuminated was what their flame's light touched. The deeper they seemed to go, the darker it got, their flames seemed to be revealing markings on the walls, that Poppet would pause to look at every so often, committing them to memory.

A while longer, they started to see the markings.... change? No...

Poppet leaned her flame closer to the markings imperfections, tracing them with the pads of her fingers.... "Claw marks," she intones, leaning backwards and turning back to Mystra. The dark-colored chicoon opened her mouth to say something in return, "This hallway is... really creepy maybe we should-" but felt the words halt in her throat as a ROAR reverberated through their bodies.

Frozen in fear as the vibrations are fading, the two chicoons could hear footfalls ahead, getting louder and louder, hurried and almost scrambled.

Around a corner, they could see a shadow looming, and Poppet said, "Steady, hold, let's see if they run past..."

[Furrydogs12]

Username + id: Furrydogs12
Chicoon Participating: https://toyhou.se/16243137.fiji
Choice: Fruit Juice
Word count/art size: 129 words
Art/Writing: Fiji walks with Mytra, looking around, but not speaking. When they come across the split in the path, Fiji looks at the two trails leading to different pathways. He looks over both, thinking quietly. The pawprints could lead us to either other live help... or an enemy that could come and hurt the two of them.... The fruit juice could lead to food.... or a hungry creature ready to eat them. He looked back and forth once again before opening his mouth to respond, "I think the fruit juice is less risky. The pawprints could lead to something dangerous. The fruit juice could lead to danger, but less likely. It could also lead to food as well" He concludes, nodding. "We should be cautious still though" He adds.

[medimedes]

Username + id: RammuIsWeird 1036778
Chicoon Participating: Cupid
Choice: Stand ur ground
Word count/art size: Bg and shading owo
Art/Writing:
As soon as Cupid heard the roar, he felt quite nervous, his paw shook a little. When he saw the shadow of the monster turn the corner with a run, he pushed himself in front of Mystra with a resounding,
“MYSTRA! WATCH OUT!” Any chicoon that had known Cupid for more than one days time would realize that this is INCREDIBLY out of character for the self centered villain of a chicoon. Peter must be rubbing off on him. Either way, he puffed himself up, wings expanding to make himself look bigger. He had every intent to save Mystra. (>200 words idk I’m not counting)


my ty is SalticidaeSpider if you wanna add it to her th

[Ottercola]

Username + id: Ottercola [111526]
Chicoon Participating: Zamper
Choice: (stand your ground or run)
Word count/art size: 508
Art/Writing:

Zamper flaps happily as it listens to Mystra talk, answering her questions as they come and interjecting his own from time to time. It really missed its friend, but the fork in the maze has started to make itself question if it was the right choice. Of course it wants to help its friend but his anxiety hasnt let up since they first step foot in the maze. Espcially now that theyre fully locked into it. I guess there's no choice to go back and give up now. Zamper always wished it was braver than it was. It wondered if Mystra was dissapointed in it last time for being such a fraidy chicoon, but they reached a good ending after all so maybe it was braver than it thought? It gets lost in its thoughts as they travel down the hallway, not noticing the encroaching darkness. Feeling Mysta lean on it, its head wings perk up and flap slightly. "Oh dear...its gotten realy dark huh?" it said looking back the way they came. "It's ok! I glow!" Despite the flickering from its nervousness, Zamper manages to brighten his tail antenna a bit. Despite its slightly teal glow not much has changed in the way of light. A small area around them has been illuminated but as far as the tunnel goes the dark still seems to be as suffocating as ever. "Well..."it frowns, "Better than nothing?" It stops and looks at the claw marks Mysta points out, now cleary visible in its glow. It sniffs them, a small shiver trailing down his spine and leaving its tail in a wiggle, the glow throwing shadows against the wall scaring itself. "Well..." he chokes "We were looking for monsters...I think." It pokes Mysta wth its nose gently, both in reassurance and to get her attention. "Does that map say anything else?" it ask in hope. It's head wings flatten as it starts to notice more noises coming from further in, previously it had been to distracted to notice. "Mystra...I may have made a mis-" A sudden roar drowns out the last of its words. Zamper freezes on the spot. It cant seem to move out of terror. Does this count as standing your ground? It's knees feel weak as it wraps a back wing around Mysta and pulls her close. This is its chance to be brave. Or well maybe against its will as its too afraid to move. The roar seems to be growing louder, It's definitely headed this way. Zamper stares at the claw marks on the wall again, its lights dimming. This path was definitely a mistake. It take a big gulp of air and pushes Mysta behind it, throwing on its fiercest growl. This is its chance. It'll prove itself brave. It's already too late for anything else now. It flares out both sets of wings wide and brightens its glow as much as possible in an attempt to look bigger and scary then what is approaching. It squeezes its eyes closed tight. Be brave Zamper!

[miissingyou]

Username + id: Right Hand Man 842609
Chicoon Participating: Marvin
Choice: Fruit Juice
Word count/art size: 600 words
Art/Writing:
"Well, ah, I did see a few weird things before I ran into you. Some cracks in the tile, and some weird wisps of light." Marvin confessed, having thought nothing of it beforehand. Quite honestly, he thought his brain was just playing tricks on him to make him even more afraid, like when you stare into a mirror in the dark for too long. He turned back towards the hallway from looking at Mystra, before being rudely interrupted by a gross, sticky substance touching his hand.

"Blech! What is this stuff?!" Marvin shrieked, recoiling back in disgust.

"It smells like.. fruit? Either way, it HAS to be from our creature! C'mon!" Mystra responded, first cautiously, and then extremely excitedly.

"Eugh. It's sticky. I hate it." Marvin said, clearly extremely disgusted and irritated at the unwelcome sensation of the 'juice' touching his hand. "Not like I can do anything about it now though, I guess it's best that we keep moving."

"Mhm! Let's get going!" Mystra began moving forward again, following the sticky juice tracks as best she could.

Marvin followed behind her like a lost puppy, looking around anxiously to see if there was any sign of where this juice could be coming from. Maybe the weird mystery creature had been causing it as Mystra claimed? He wasn't sure, but he had a bad feeling that he was soon to find out.

"Hey, Mystra? Are you sure you know where we're going?" Marvin asked, starting to feel a little anxious. For all he knew, he could've been going in circles.

"There's a reason we're following this trail, Marvin! There could be the creature I've been searching for at the end of this trail!" Mystra exclaimed. She was awfully hyper over something that could've been deadly...

Well, there's simply no time to freak out about that now. Marvin and Mystra had to keep moving as much as they could. While Mystra mapped the maze, Marvin tried his absolute best to avoid getting more of the juice from the trail onto his hands. Heck, it probably wasn't even juice! How could juice possibly last for this long?!

"Snap out of it, Marvin. You're overthinking this." he mumbled, mostly to himself, though loud enough for Mystra to overhear.

"Are you okay, Marvin? Do you want to go back?" Mystra asked, concern showing through her expression.

Marvin simply shook his head. There was no way he would allow himself to go back, despite how much his brain wanted to go crazy and overanalyze every inch of this maze. As it is, he liked the companionship. Being alone in a maze that may house a deadly creature completely unknown to Chicoonkind isn't exactly the safest, nor most pleasant, thought. If he had to fight with himself and his thoughts to convince himself of this, then so be it. All he wanted at this point was to get home to the Cryptic Wood safe and sound.

He continued to think to himself, before his thoughts were rudely interrupted by Mystra speaking.

"Hey! Marvin! Look! I think I see something up ahead! Let's go see what it is!" she exclaimed, her eyes practically gleaming with delight and excitement.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." he replied, sounding much more disinterested than he intended. His legs were getting tired by this point, and he wanted to take a moment to rest. Evil creatures lurking in this unfamiliar maze never sleep, though, he supposed. He noticed a rune on the wall, and called out to Mystra.

"Hey, there's a rune here on this brick. Come take a look at it, hm?"

[FatalCollapse]

Username + id: FatalCollapse + 852442
Chicoon Participating: Frostbyte
Choice: Run!!
Word count/art size: 432 x 576
Art/Writing:

[Dartist]

Username + id: dartist 1020250
Chicoon Participating: miles
Choice: RUN
Word count/art size: 243 words
Art/Writing: the second the roar sounded, miles was off, bolting at high speeds after hooking his tail with Mystra to bring her along; he panicked! He can admit that, but he is NOT getting eaten today!
The Chicoon bolts around corners and down halls, breathing rapidly in a panic. He didn’t like this, this was pure fear, he at least got to keep his tail! His neon flame flickers as he rushes. He’d be fine, they’d be fine- another roar makes the Chicoon let out a squawk in the most startled sense.
Eventually, Miles would trip, stumbling then skidding into a wall. That, felt not as nice, as the flame in the hollow of the wall wobbles from the force in which he crashed. Maybe don’t do that- Miles shakes his head, his ears flopping and his wings ruffling out, as he proceeds to sneeze out any dust. He stares down the hall a moment, making sure nothing was following. They were safe, right…? Yeah.
Miles puffs his chest up when they’re clear of danger. Yeah! They were fine! He looks to Mystra and beams, before wincing. He ruffled her feathers a bit. Miles reaches over, gently fixing the fluff. Oops-
Eventually, they go onward, walking more casually. Maybe things aren’t so bad, when you’re not in danger. Miles would chirp little songs and Mystra would listen. It was comfortable, kinda. Occasionally, yes, miles would trip on more abnormal floor blemishes but, that’s fine.

[hamkid]

Username + id: hamkid + 299978
Chicoon Participating: Spritely
Choice: Stand your ground!
Word count/art size: 597 words
Art/Writing:
"Perfectly normal! Ghosts aren't always an easy topic for everyone. While some are benevolent, it's totally valid to be nervous when dealing one because of how unpredictable they can be." Thanks, Spritely, that's... Reassuring? Eh... "And there's so many different kinds, too. Poltergheists — literally noisy ghosts — definitely can raise a ruckus. They're a bit vocal, heh. I've heard ghosts cannot actually float, either — the appearance of them floating may simply be caused by the appearance of their legs fading away, even if the ghost can still feel their legs! That's probably why you can hear their footsteps sometimes. Strange stuff, truly. I was quite young when i first started studying spirits, after I swore I saw a shadow and looked around only to find nothing there; and after that, I started learning about cryptids and the myths surrounding them. An important thing to remember is to always treat the situation at hand respectfully, keeping any folklore in mind; don't just run in willy-nilly, as it might just get you nowhere! I'm sure you already knew that, though; I'd like to assume it's common sense for any paranormal explorer to know that. And yes, staying together is the safest option for both of us, or anybody who plans on going on such an adventure."

Ths two explorers furthered ever deeper down the eerie hallway. For the most part, Spritely's been facing it the way they face most situations; rationally (if you consider the idea of ghosts being real to be rational, anyways), trying to boost Mystra's spirits whenever she felt nervous. It was true, though; the hallway was a bit... Weird... It was a bit hard to put a finger on how and why it was a bit uncomfortable, though. Something just felt a little... Off. "Hopefully, we should hit another room soon. Surely this hall can't go on forever, now can it?"

..."You alright?"
Spritely thought it was Mystra'a breathing ghost was hearing — maybe she was getting a bit too creeped out — but they quickly realized it wasn't her breathing noisily. "— Oh. That's... Not you, is it? Well, that's kind of odd... And... So is that," ghost admitted after Mystra diverted their attention towards some scrapes she had found on the wall. "I can definitely tell you I wasn't raking my claws along the walls. I'm... Not entirely sure what those marks are from, to tell you the truth."

It progressively got darker the further they went down the hallway, and even Spritely was starting to feel a little unnerved. "Like I said, ghosts can thrive in dark areas. Keep your senses sharp and try to stick near me, alright? I wonder if they'd be drawn to a light source like our flames, you know, like moths to lamps. Huh." They don't mind Mystra leaning in at all; if anything, t's more comforting than having to face something alone. Remember: Always brinf a friend or two — or five — if you want to go ghost hunting!

"Ghosts aren't big fans of people who give up on dealing with them out of fear, but if it is too much for you, of course we can head ba— ACK—"

The roar was enough to make even Spritely flinch and duck a little, and the pitter-patter of running feet didn't help in the slightest, but they added on to their previous comment for the situation at hand:
"Ghosts can get real nasty if people admit to being weak against them. Please, try to take a stand with me; showing a ghost we refuse to be defeated can sometimes scare them off!"