The edge of the woods.... [Final Results Up!]

[SkyGold]

Ooooh, spooky!
Username: skygold
Link to roll call post: Link
Link to previous form: Link
Prompt response:

"Who dare wake the Princess Elantra! Who ever you are you are paying for this!"

Lesson 1: Do not wake a royal person.

[lovestruck]

Ooooh, spooky!
username. lovestruck
link to roll call post. present!
link to previous form. prompt one
prompt response.
A peculiar noise pierced the air, bringing Sierra to wake up. She grumbled softly, rolling over and covering her ears with her pillow. Then she heard it again. Recalling the councelor’s tales of the forbidden forest, her heart began to beat a little faster. Sierra’s lashes fluttered open, and she groggily rubbed her eyes. Perhaps it was just an owl or other fauna, but what if there was some mutant creature out there? The councelors had told tales of disappearing kampers, taken away by creatures in the night. Sierra gulped, and looked around, wondering if the sound had disturbed any of her cabinmates- it appeared not. An owl’s hoot filled her ears, and she relaxed a bit. It was probably just a stupid owl, she thought to herself. She rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes, slowly drifting back to sleep.
Suddenly, she heard the sound again, and jolted up. It was a growling and clicking sound, that sent chills up her spine. It sounded unearthly. Sierra peered out the window, pulling the curtain back slowly. It was pitch black, and all she could see was the outline of a few trees against the skyline. What time was it, anyways? Morning wouldn’t come for a very long time- that much she could tell, and she couldn’t wait forever. The councelors has sounded serious when they spoke of the forest being forbidden though, and she decided it was probably a better idea to just stay inside, where it was seemingly safe. Of course, this must be part of the so called test of courage! Sierra thought to herself. She smirked. Those councelors really thought she would be too cowardly to start the test- well they were wrong. She grabbed her bright red bag, and rummaged through it. She’d packed so many books and star gazing materials that it took her an eternity to find her little red flashlight. She stood up slowly, wincing as the floor gave out a little creak. She quickly slid her shoes on, and walked to the door, careful not to make any more noise. Sierra opened the door, and to her dismay it squeaked very loudly. She took a shaky breath, and stepped outside, shuttling the door behind her. She wouldn’t be able to sleep with this noise untill she figured out what it was, and she was sure it was Beni and Iphis. She creeped further away from the cabin, and clicked on her flashlight. It only slightly illuminated the trees, and it was wobbling in her shaky paw. Sierra took slow, tentative steps deeper into the forest. Her heart felt like it was about to break through her chest, and her breathing was rough and shallow. The sounds echoes through the air again, guttural sounds, and growls. Suddenly, the light was gone. Sierra was surrounded by darkness, and an eerie feeling of being watched. She knew she should’ve replaced the stupid batteries before coming to kamp. Sierra shrieked, and began to run back towards camp, feeling swallowed by the darkness. Next thing she knew, her paws had left from under her, and her chin skidded against the rocky ground. Her whole body ached- she must’ve tripped on a tree root or rock. Sierra groaned, but couldn’t get up. She began to panic. We’re those sounds getting closer? They were, she could tell. And she couldn’t get up. She would surely die here, alone, because of her idiocy. She’d be ripped to shreds by whatever monster was waiting for her in the dark.

[wc; 590]

[Mima]

Ooooh, spooky!
Username: Mima
Link to roll call post: Here
Link to previous form: Here
Prompt response:

Waking Parhelia was much like trying to wake a corpse.

It wasn’t something many people could accomplish, usually ended up fruitless, and first and foremost usually involved black magic or being struck by lightning.

So tossing and turning under the covers, she was consumed with a strange sense of unease in the back of her mind- but an unease that somehow excited her, too. She wasn’t the type who enjoyed missing out on her so-called “beauty sleep,” but there were things that only those that could brave the night were privileged to witness. Scary, beautiful, unusual- hosts of different things could only be found hidden under the curtain of night. And if this noise in the distance was an invitation…?

Well, she wasn’t above sleeping through the day, either.

Rubbing and blinking her many tired eyes set by set, she tossed aside the covers of her bed. Through the window, no reflective wolf eyes, no fireworks, no illegal campfires- simply pitch black darkness even her lowest eyes couldn’t seem to peer through. Noting that no one else seemed to have been roused by the noise, she carefully- silently- rummaged through the backpack at the side of her bed. First things first, she grabbed a fun sized candy bar and popped it in her mouth whole. Then, eventually, she retrieved a smart phone, and flicked it on to check the battery. 87%- good enough, she figured.

Phones were possibly the most useful invention of the modern time. Anything that meant she didn’t need to carry around both a flashlight and a camera was worth the expense. Not to mention, it did allow her instant access to plastering garbage all over the social media of her “friends.” And really, in this day and age, what was the point of doing anything if you couldn’t boast to everyone else that you had?

So, with just that- and another fun-sized candy bar for the road- she slipped out of the door and into the night.

[331 words]

[Rorrim]

Ooooh, spooky!
Username: Kouhai
Link to roll call post: here!
Link to previous form: here!
Prompt response:

[FluffyBirdie]

Ooooh, spooky!
Username: FluffyBirdie
Link to roll call post: xx
Link to previous form: xx
Prompt response:

There was something outside.

Quinn was sure of it, having experienced this many times before. He climbed out of bed as quietly as he could, ears open for any hints as to where the monster was as he strapped on his sword (hoping the counselors wouldn't notice if they were awake; he had sneaked it in, sure weapons were banned from Kamp). Others were asleep, and he smiled briefly before walking to the door. Good, he didn't need anyone else to see whatever the demon was, especially these Kampers who had different lives from him, and would likely live happier knowing monsters were only creatures of the mind. He strode across the cabin and stood in front of the door, closing his eyes. He may not have his brother's ability to sense lifeforms, but he had something close enough. Quinn lifted the dirt from outside the cabin, alert for anything that disturbed the loose net of dirt he had drawn. Nothing, unless it was something that had no physical form. But he could deal with that later.

Confident, he dropped the dirt and opened the door, slipping outside and closing it behind him quietly. Quinn drew his sword as he made a lap around the cabin, senses buzzing, eyes scanning every surface, before facing the forest. He had his sword by his side, and a hand raised, prepared to rain a hail of rocks on whoever crossed his path. He could, and would, maintain this stance until morning; he was training to be a protector, and he would not let harm come to his fellow Kampers.

Whatever it was, it better be ready for a fight.

[276 words]

[pallis]

Ooooh, spooky!

Username: Pallis
Link to roll call post: here
Link to previous form: here
Prompt response:

ren needs his beauty sleep

[MotherMother]

Ooooh, spooky!
Username: MotherMother
Link to roll call post: Click!
Link to previous form: Here
Prompt response:

[husky.]

Ooooh, spooky!
Username: husky.
Link to roll call post: here
Link to previous form: here
Prompt response:
1,396 words
He sat in stunned silence, not daring to move. His uncovered shoulders started shivering from the cold, and he clenched his teeth to prevent them chattering. Slowly, and as quietly as he could, Rannoch pushed his loose hair from his ears to better hear the noise that he thought may have woken him - what was it?
The low snores and rumbles of the sleeping kalons arounds him didn’t waver. His bunk mates had not been awoken by the same sound, which only spooked Rannoch even further. He reached for a jumper and slipped it over his head. Whatever this sound was, he couldn’t sleep with it going on like this... He should probably investigate. He was, after all, a brave adventurer who stopped at nothing to save the innocent people of the world. If this sound was dangerous, he would put an end to it.
No matter how hard he listened, though, he just couldn’t place the sound. It felt eerily familiar, yet indescribable. He pushed off his sleeping bag and placed one bare foot on the ground, though he quickly retracted it at the cold. Reaching for some shoes, he slipped them on and crept over to the window to get a look outside.
The night was pitch black but for the faintest sliver of moon casting a pale glow over the campsite. Rannoch scanned the campground, looking for any movement and trying to pinpoint the location of the noise. Everything appeared still. He strained his ears to catch the noise again, as it had faded almost to nothing, and his heart was beating loudly in his ears. The noise seemed to echo, not coming from one place or another, making it virtually impossible to locate.
He was about to give up when, all of a sudden, the noise came back, insistent and more intense than before. It startled Rannoch and he gripped his long ears tightly, his heart almost pounding out of his chest. It was coming from the Forbidden Forest.
Rannoch took a deep breath and resolved himself to investigating the sound. He rummaged in his bag for a torch, wincing as he unsettled some snack packaging. The crackle of the wrapping was a stark sound in the cabin, and one kamper rolled over in their sleep. Rannoch waited a moment and let out a sigh of relief. He found the torch, stuck a beanie on his head and slipped out of the cabin into the night.
Rannoch shivered, whether from cold or fear he wasn’t sure; he just knew he couldn’t let this sound go on. He needed his sleep, and whatever monster it was, he would ward it off from the campsite. He flicked on the torch, for the night was too dark to see without it and he was still unfamiliar with the layout of the buildings. Taking another deep breath, he struck out from the relative safety of the cabin.
His feet squelched on the dewy grass, his shoes quickly becoming soaked through at the toes. Rannoch barely took notice of this as he moved along, heading past the mess hall and across the flower fields towards the archery targets. As he made it to the middle of the flower field, he became acutely aware of the open space around him. He felt both safe and petrified at the same time; he had the advantage of being able to see all around him, including if anything were to approach him, but there was nothing to shelter or hide behind. He shook his and hurried on, forcing himself not to glance behind him lest he spot a pair of glowing eyes, or a second set of footprints in the silvery grass.
As he made it past the archery field and came up to the edge of the forest, Rannoch felt an increasing feeling of dread. He had almost forgotten about the noise he searched for as his fear of being hunted from behind had taken his concentration momentarily, but it all came back to him now as he faced the impossibly dark wall of trees.
He gulped. He tightened the grip on his torch. He stepped into the forest.
The noise was accompanied by others now as the nighttime creatures who lived in the forest surrounded him. His torch cast an alarmingly small amount of light, and Rannoch could picture the sorts of things that might jump into his field of vision, creeping along the edge of the light. He fought the intense urge to run back to his bed to escape his wild imagination; rationally, he knew that the forest held many friendly creatures who were more frightened of him than he was of them - that nothing big enough lived there that would want to harm him - yet he still felt wary, that maybe he was wrong. There was also the noise to think about. Just what was it?
It was getting louder now as he appeared to approach it. Rannoch had a fairly good sense of direction, and kept in mind exactly which way it was back to camp. He really didn’t want to get lost. He spotted a bit of light up ahead: slivers of grey moonlight between the black silhouettes of trees. He must be coming up to a clearing, he thought, and he bet that was where the source of the noise would be.
Rannoch flicked off his torch and walked as stealthily as he could, creeping closer and closer to the moonlit glade, the noise now as loud as ever. He practically held his breath as he reached the last tree before the open ground, hoping that whatever was out there couldn’t hear the sound of his heart beating like a drum. He touched the tree and leaned his chest against it, just listening to the noise he still couldn’t identify, and it was a few minutes before he dared to look around the trunk.
Ever so slowly, a centimetre at a time, he pokes one eye around the tree. He didn’t see anything at first, them his eye came to rest on a dark form with highlights of moonlight. It appeared to sit, hunched, in the middle of the glade. It moved rhythmically, and the noise was emanating from it. Rannoch couldn’t tell what it was. He moved to get a better look at it and—
*snap*
The noise came to an abrupt halt. Two reflective yellow eyes appeared on the form in the clearing, staring straight at Rannoch. He had broken a twig underfoot, and absolute fear gripped him as he locked eyes with whatever it was there. He was paralysed as the figure rose up to its full height. Rannoch was powerless against the mesmerising eyes, and could only imagine what sort of horrible things would happen next.
‘Ahem.’
Rannoch stared. Did the thing just clear its throat?
‘Hey, kid.’
Rannoch’s heart was pumping a million miles an hour.
‘What’re you doing out here at this time of night? It’s pretty scary.’
He couldn’t believe it. The source of the noise was... another Kalon. He let go of his held breath and took in air gratefully, though still wary.
‘Uh... what was that noise?’ questioned Rannoch. He was both bewildered and intrigued by this Kalon, out here in the middle of the night making strange noises.
‘I was, hah, practicing my a cappella. It’s a new style, sorta... mixed with beatboxing and improv, yeah, it’s a work in progress.’ The Kalon smiles at him. ‘Did you like it?’
Rannoch thought it was the most bizarre thing he had ever heard, and would be glad to never hear it again. But he wouldn’t dare be so rude. ‘It’s... interesting,’ he mumbled out, shifting his feet and letting out a yawn. Now that he had found the source of the noise, his exhaustion caught up with him.
‘Would you, um... be quieter, please?’ he continued, hoping not to offend the Kalon. ‘I can’t sleep.’
The Kalon sheepishly rubbed the back of their head. ‘Ahh yeah, of course buddy, sorry to wake ya up. I’ll keep it down.’
Rannoch nodded appreciatively and waved goodbye to the Kalon, turning back towards camp and not stopping until he collapsed into his sleeping bag. He felt a sense of accomplishment at having found the strange noise, and drifted off to sleep contentedly.
‘Mission accomplished.’

[Dogo]

Ooooh, spooky!
Username: Dogo
Link to roll call post: Forum/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=3859303&p=119725472#p119725472
Link to previous form: Forum/viewtopic.php?f=87&t=3858340&start=140#p119747707
Prompt response:

[rnirai]

Ooooh, spooky!
Username: rnirai
Link to roll call post: nyeh
Link to previous form: nyeh
Prompt response:

"what if it's one of those evil fairies who kidnap children papa used to sing about? i should stay ..."