[G1 Sunstreaker]

Pʀᴏᴍᴘᴛ Fɪᴠᴇ

Takouhi - 150/150 HP||0/0 MP
(Party Leader)

Class: Knight/Paladin
Gear:

♦ Double-Bladed Axe
♦ Weighted Longsword
♦ Light Broadsword
♦ Steel Oval Shield
Items:

♦ x1 Box of Matches
♦ Fabric
♦ Rations
♦ Protection Talisman

Sasha - 95/95 HP||140/150 MP

Class: Mage, Cleric
Gear:

♦ Spellbook
♦ Balanced Silver Spear
♦ x4 Silver Throwing Knives
Items:

♦ Assorted Precious Stones
♦ Bag of Sand
♦ x3 Water Skins

Perrin - 120/120 HP|| 10/10 MP

Class: Ranger/Archer
Gear:

♦ Small Hunting Knife
♦ Carved Longbow
♦ Balanced Utility Axe
Items:

♦ Cheesecloth
♦ Rope
♦ Fishing Pole & Gear
♦ Protection Talisman

For all that she knew of forests, Takouhi would never have expected one like this.
Tall depths greeted their darting eyes as the trio ascended the final rise of the gravel-strewn path leading away from the village. The way to the Forest had been strewn with monsters, and though none of them had sustained any real injury, they were all a little worse for wear. The party was running on fumes, and their weariness only compounded their high nerves.
Perrin especially was rather flighty and skittish at the time they finally set eyes on the Forest of Kalokairi, so when a flock of birds they’d accidentally startled noisily took to the air, he let out a garbled shriek that had both of his fellows flinching.
“Would you be quiet? Takouhi hissed, whirling on the younger kalon. Her ears flattened as he attempted to stammer out a response, and without waiting for him to come up with one she turned back to the sight before them.
When she was a kit, she’d once spent a week at a friend’s house while her parents were traveling. The house there had been fenced in from behind by sparse forestry that stretched from side to side as far as the eye could see, and she’d spent many a day gallavanting about with her friend in the sunny trees. They’d found butterflies and other pretty insects, picked plenty of flowers to bring home to their siblings. A laughing, burbling creek had been not far from the house, and its clear shallows were always rife with small fish that darted amongst the rocky bottom. It was a green place full of life.
It was hard to imagine what lay before her had ever once been lively. No light pierced the canopy. The trees were enormous, hulking shapes, black and grey trunks disappearing high into the darkness. A mere hundred feet was the farthest she could correctly discern the shapes of the scraggy shrubbery that dotted the forest floor; a thick, musty stench, one that reminded her of rotting plant life, accompanied the swampy fog. The air was stagnant, and it was cold--very cold, too cold for a forest. Not a bird was chirping, and though she strained her ears and nose, the only signs of life she could detect was the faint skittering of a centipede and their own nervous breath. Even the grass at their feet shriveled away into rotting mud.
It was a foul, sunless place, and Takouhi wanted nothing more than to turn tail and get as far away from the towering trunks as she could.
A faint sound drew her suddenly from her thoughts. She turned slightly to find Sasha watching her intently, deep green eyes roving over Takouhi’s armor-clad form. Their gazes met, and Sasha gently rested a paw over the emblem on Takouhi’s shoulder plate.
Takouhi let out a slow breath. “I’m...I’m fine, Sasha. Thanks.”
Footsteps crunched up on her left, and Perrin heaved out a sigh. “Usually I love forests. They tend to make everything a little easier. This one, though...every bone in my body is telling me to turn around.”
Takouhi didn’t respond.
Movement flickered suddenly in her peripheral. Shifting to face it, she couldn’t help but scrunch her nose in distaste at the source.
A black form was speeding across the plains some several hundred feet away, jerking erratically every few moments as it went.
“Takouhi, what’s…” Perrin’s voice trailed away as he turned. A moment later the creaking of a tightening bowstring came from her left.
“Should I?” he said quietly.
Takouhi worked her jaw, watching as the demon neared the Forest. “No,” she said finally. “Let it go.”
All three were quiet as they watched it disappear into the trees. Perrin sheathed his arrow and tucked his bow over his back.
Takouhi lifted her gaze to where the cruel, twisting branches of the nearest tree were grasping at the sky. “We have a crystal to get.”
Yes, the Forest was wrong. Yes, they were all scared. That didn’t change anything. Kalokairi was their home, and there were thousands, possibly millions of lives at stake, all resting on the success of their mission. They weren't allowed to be scared.
“Now let’s go get it,” she muttered.
Shouldering her pack, Takouhi began to walk.

[neon.]

Prompt 5 [WC : 386]

What kind of place is a forest? You might question a village for its people, and you might question the forest for its trees - it is a natural feature, and you expect to see them.

This forest had no trees.

No, what it had was undergrowth- twisted briars that clawed towards the skies, acting like mighty giants, and it had shrubberies that mocked the trees that might have been. The deeper they went into the forest though, the more plant life was revealed to them. And finally, they saw trees.

They were not comforting, like the oaks by the village had been. They did not speak of age or wisdom, of children climbing them or perhaps someone hanging a swing. No, these trees were sinister, gnarled. Massive and creaking, ruined with their age, poisoned against all. The monster plague had cursed these trees, twisting their branches into claws that drove downwards.

Lacroix could see the remnants of a birds nest in one of them. And as she looked closer, she could see other signs of where life had been- the faded trail that might have been made by deer, and the collapsed rocks of what might have been a den. This lack of life creeped in on her, and she stepped closer to Apollyon. The lack of life was already pressing in on her, silence on all sides. These not-trees were beginning to grow thicker, their darkened foliage blocking all light.

What had driven the life out of this place? Lacroix did not want to know. It was not fear that she was feeling, not this time. This was dread. A sludgy feeling, dragging her down into the earth with every step. He feet felt heavier and heavier, and she wondered at how she walked. Sinking, falling- drowning in earth, drowning in this choking atmosphere.

Her panic didn’t fade when Apollyon clasped her shoulder. She could only grasp his words after a few moments- coming into realization that he was saying her name gently. “Remember how the village changed after we restored the crystal. This forest will change to. We can bring it back.” His words were confident, but not comforting. Lacroix looked into his eyes, and she realized that his feelings matched hers. He was dreading this place too.

Somehow, that was what comforted her.

[SkyGold]

|Prompt 5|

Previous prompts
1 | 2 | 3 | 4| 5

"You want me to go in there?!" - Annabelle
"..." - Eric
"Come on! Your brother has been waiting since he went ahead yesterday." -Eleina

Eleina | Swordsman - Healer | 100 / 120 HP
Annabelle | Royal - Mage | 130 / 150 HP
Eric | Half-royal - Wizard | 160 / 200 HP

Larger

[mars]

Chapter V:
A ɴᴇᴡ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ! Tʜᴇ Fᴏʀᴇsᴛ ᴜɴʟᴏᴄᴋs!

The trio explored the village thoroughly, chatting with the locals and completing a handful of quick tasks for them. It wasn't long until they realized that the crystal they had found was indeed the first of the crystals that the entire village had been looking for, and they promptly returned it to its rightful place in the village where it would be safely kept until it could be returned to the palace after the evil demons had been defeated.

The three were determined to fetch the other crystals, but in the end they were just kids. Something like this was huge; the warriors, mages, and every other adult had been beaten by a ragtag group of children on their search! Everyone had figured that they crystal was inside the village itself, when it had been on the outskirts.

Sadie was worried about the safety of the group, and soon refused to continue with the twins unless they bought tools to help them out. The twins reluctantly agreed - they'd need a knife, fire starter, blankets, food, and more if they were going to actually do this. They knew that another adult may swoop in and take their place, but the kids were too stubborn to give up so easily.

After gathering the needed supplies from the shopkeepers, filling their bellies in a restaurant, sleeping overnight at the inn, and being informed about the supposed location of the next crystals, the trio set off down the trail leading towards the forest. It turned out that the fork in the road that they had originally chose was the path that lead into it, only they hadn't made it very far; the monster they had encountered was so scary that they had run back to safety.

The forest, a new place to explore, as certainly going to be even tougher and twice as dangerous - if not more. The kids were going to have to be careful if they wanted to get out of there alive, as all sorts of beasts wandered through there looking for their next meal.

[ωolfie]

p r o m p tx f o u r
☆☆☆
A ɴᴇᴡ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ! Tʜᴇ Fᴏʀᴇsᴛ ᴜɴʟᴏᴄᴋs!
☆☆☆

"forest frenzy"

the three kalons entered the forest.

thrilled to the core that they had finally found their very first crystal- the wind crystal, they went inside the forest with energy and hope.

everything was a shimmering green. there were large trees with rough brown trunks towering over them in every direction. unlike the spooky woods they had set camp at previously, there was not a defined path in this forest, unless it was buried by gravel, stone, or rocks. it was easy to get lost in there, as every twist and turn looked exactly the same. it was quite frightening, actually. the grass was long and swayed in the wind, scratching against the kalon's legs, creating an uncomfortable itch. they could hear water flowing and running, but they couldn't find the source of it. whenever they thought there would be some sort of waterfall behind these trees and bushes, they were wrong, and the water sounds became distant once again. the forest lacked small creatures such as squirrels and bluejays, and instead were inhabited by wolves, foxes, hawks, and other large animals alike. the kalons felt unsafe in this forest. they felt like something heavy was pressed against their chest, and that there were glowing yellow eyes watching their every moves. this forest was purely wild, controlled by the nature and wildife itself. however, the forest was often the hideout for demons who didn't want to lurk around the village in fear that they'd get exterminated. the demons often pretended to act and take the form of animals to disguise their true identities, which added a whole new frightening factor to the forest.

cain was thrilled to be in the forest, as he had been trained to hunt in there ever since he was a baby. he stepped inside the forest with an open, clear mind, always running ahead curiously. the idea that a forest was filled with all sorts of wildife excited him. he climbed trees, looked under rocks and bushes, energy radiating from his body. "ooh's", "ah's", and "what is that?" often came out of his mouth whenever he spotted something quite interesting.

shelbie, on the other hand, wasn't as enthusiastic. she loved nature, she really did, but she was more of an 'open field' type instead of a 'closed off forest' type of person. the possibility that anything can jump out and maul them on the spot frightened her. and the fact that the forest was filled with all types of bugs made her squirm uncomfortably. she mumbled under her breath every time a twig snapped and caught her by surprise, trying her best to regain her broken composure.

kyrou was drawn to the mysterious charm of the forest. he was fascinated by all the different types of plants and mushrooms, of which most of them he learned about in mage school. his eyes lit up as he spotted a single, glowing green mushrooms. while his party was wandering around the forest, he whipped out his journal and scribbled down observations about the forest. his mouth was quiet during the trip, but his mind was racing with ideas. he approached the plants and mysterious creatures with caution and curiosity.

even though they encountered some difficult obstacles and challenges, they were ready to do whatever it took to obtain the earth crystal.

553 words

[~Static~]

Ada is scared of the dark, of all things?

[Vanillasaur]

Prompt Five
Feat. Arian, whose "friends" decided to play a practical joke on him (he's afraid of being alone in the dark)


"Hello??"

[Silver Pandorica]

Prompt Five
Whole Party

Garrett POV
"This is the forest?"

Garrett looked around, disappointed. He'd hoped it would be more exciting. But it was just more trees, no different then where they'd traveled before finding the crystal.

"At least it isn't scary," Devin said as she gazed around.

"Not yet, anyway," Marley added. "I'm sure this place gets worse at night." They all nodded in agreement and continued on in the silence. The silence. That was the only thing that seemed off about this place. Actually, now that he thought about it, it was much too quiet. Not a bird chirped nor a breeze blew. But that wasn't the only thing rubbing him the wrong way. Furrowing his brow, Garrett glanced down at his paws as he tried to figure out what was wrong. Then it hit him. His pawsteps.

They weren't making any noise.

They were trekkin across leaves and sticks but there was no snapping or crunching beneath them. "Marley."

The Kalon gazed over her shoulder. "Keep moving. We're losing daylight."

"But...you don't notice?" The stern captain noticed everything. How had she not noticed?

"What are you going on about?" She demanded, cocking her head.

"The silence."

"What?"

"The silence," he muttered. She still didn't seem to get it. Suddenly, Garrett stomped his paw in a particularly crunchy-looking pile of leaves. No sound came from them. "No sound," he said finally. "Nothing is making any noise."

Marley shook her head in disbelief. "What are you talking about? I can hear everything perfectly fine. Now come on." She turned around and kept walking, Garrett staring after her in disbelief. What? H-how come he was the only one who couldn't hear anything? He shook it off. Maybe he was just tired. Yes. That must be it.

The hours dragged on, Marley and Devin's conversation slowly fading away as the group fell into a state of silence. There was nothing much to be said, he supposed. They'd talked themselves out of house and home. It wasn't until a few hours later when things started to get weird again. Garrett was walking along and staring at the ground, looking at his soundless steps over the beautiful array of leaves, when suddenly two paws gripped his shoulders and shook him. He cried out, stunned. It was Marley. Why had she grabbed him like that? He was about to ask her when she yelled something in his face.

Except...he couldn't hear her. It was perfectly clear that she was yelling, the way her face scrunched up and all, but he couldn't hear a thing. "W-what?" He stammered, only to find he couldn't hear himself either. While she apparently repeated herself, Garrett stuck a claw in his ear and dug around. Nothing happened. What in the world? Marley was looking at him with an odd expression now, and Devin seemed to be concerned as well. They both looked to be talking at once, but Garrett heard nothing. "I can't hear you!" He said. "I can't hear anything."

Luckily, they still seemed to be able to hear him, but what did that do? What the heck was going on?

Devin POV

Devin looked fearfully at Garrett, scared for her friend. How come he couldn't hear them? Marley's apparent agitation wasn't much help either.

"Do you remember when he said he couldn't hear the leaves crunching earlier?" The captain asked in a hurried tone. Devin nodded. "Well, now he can't hear anything. And it all started when we entered this stupid forest. It's gotta be some sort of crazy curse. For finding the crystal."

"I-I don't think so," Devin said uncomfortably.

Marley looked at her expectantly. "You have a better idea?"

"Well, I-I've heard s-stories," She replied. "Of a forest far off from the v-viallage we were in a c-couple days ago. A forest that's cursed. It b-brings out the worst in the people that d-dare to travel into its d-depths." The girl looked over at Garrett, who was watching them with a confused expression. He seemed frustrated, being unable to hear them.

"Why didn't you say anything before?"' Marley scoffed.

Devin shrank back under the woman's hard gaze. "I d-don't know it was t-this forest." Or that the rumors were true, she added in her mind.

"Great," the captain muttered. "We'll just have to continue on. He'll go back to normal afterwards, right? Devin?"

But Devin was no longer listening. She was staring off through the trees at a very familiar figure, waving at her frantically. "Dad?" She said confusedly. What was he doing here? Had he been following them? Her father seemed afraid of something in the bushes.

"Devin, help me!" He cried out. "Please, help!"

The girl's eyes widened. "I'm coming father!" Suddenly, she tore off through the bushes. Marley called out behind for her to come back, but she didn't listen. Her father needed help. "D-dad! What is it?" She asked breathlessly as she reached him.

"Don't come too close," he said, backing away. "Just follow me. It's over here."

"W-what's over here?" Devin asked, following her father through the bushes. He didn't answer. She asked again, and again, but got no reply. Then her dad disappeared through a clump of thick brush. She pushed through, getting scratched up by the pokey branches and thistle, but when she reached the other side, her father was nowhere to be found. Instead, there was a pond in the center of a small clearing. Confused, Devin looked around. "Dad? Dad! Where are you?" No reply.

Then a flash of movement caught her eye. Something in the pond. It had moved. Furrowing her brow, Devin crept cautiously to the edge and peered inside, then her eyes widened in amazement. Inside the pond was her! Not like a reflection, no, but her treading through the forest, alone. Devin's first thought at the sight of this was fear. Why had Marley and Garrett left her? Wait...how did she end up here anyway? The last thing she remembered was getting seperated from them and following her father here. Had...had they abandoned her? Staring deeper into the picture on the surface of the pond, she noticed she wasn't walking. She was running. Running away from something. Tears filled the real Devin's eyes as she watched herself run as fast as she could through the trees. She didn't want to watch anymore, but somehow she couldn't look away. What was chasing her? And why had her party abandoned her?

Marley POV

"Come on! We have to go after her!" Marley yelled as she took off. Garrett couldn't hear her, but she knew he understood. Their third member had taken off so suddenly that it scared her. She sped across the forest floor, fear seeping into her heart. What was going on? As soon as they'd entered this forest, everything had spiraled into disaster. Maybe Devin was right. The forest was messing with them, playing a sick game as if it were alive.

She shook the thoughts away and focused on following Devin's scent. It wasn't long before the two of them crashed through a clump of bushes and closed in on the girl. Devin was sitting hunched over a pond, sobbing. Why, Marley had no idea, but they'd found her, and she was unhurt by the looks of it. Slowly walking up behind her, Marley placed a paw on her shoulder. "Devin? Are you okay?"

Devin continued to sob, staring into the pond. What was she looking at? It was as if something had her so captivated that the girl didn't even notice their arrival. "Devin?" Garrett croaked out. Marley turned her head towards him. His voice was hoarse and unclear. Not only had his hearing gone, but it seemed his voice was going too. That seemed to snap Devin out of her daze, but not in a way either of them had expected.

The girl finally stopped long enough in her crying to look up at them with bloodshot eyes. "Why did you leave me?" She whispered.

Marley frowned. "What? We didn't leave you, you ran off."

Devin's eyes began to water again. "You left me! Why did you leave me?!"

"What are you talking about?" Marley asked, confused. "You ran off saying something about your dad."

Suddenly, Devin collapsed on the ground in tears. "H-he left me t-too! W-w-why does no o-one want me!" She cried out, nearly yelling the words at the top of her lungs.

Okay. Sternness wasn't going to work here. Awkwardly, Marley began to stroke the Kalon's fur in a comforting way. After a handful of minutes, Devin's sobs gradually declined into short bursts of tears, then into silence. She had stopped crying. Marley stopped stroking her and sat back, waiting. Nothing happened. "Devin?"

The girl looked up. "Marley?" In a frenzy, she sat up and looked all around. "Where am I? What happened?"

"It's okay. It's all okay," Marley said. "You ran off saying something about your dad? And then...we found you here."

"My...dad?"

"You just ran off all of the sudden," Garrett chimed in. Then he gasped. "I heard that! I heard myself! And you too, guys!" He began to jump around for joy. "I can hear again!"

While Devin and Garrett rejoiced, Marley sat, deep in thought. This creepy forest was definitely magical, but not in a good way. It was trying to tear their little group apart by bringing out the worst in each of them, just like Devin had said. But...if they had each passed their trials, then that could only mean one thing.

Marley was next.

[Goddess Sword]

Prompt 5
[229 words]

They'd traveled briefly in the forests before, but not quite like this. After a struggle to relocate the path, Ramey had simply decided it wasn't worth the bother and had taken Fay's sword (much to her quite vocal displeasure) and begun cutting a path through the bush himself. Galena and Fay weren't entirely comfortable with this solution, especially with all of the horror stories of toxic plants that Ramey had told them when gathering flowers for Hadain earlier, but they eventually admitted it was the best shot they had and followed along obediently.
Ramey, meanwhile, was in his element here - The thick, dark woods were quite similar to the ones of his home, and it was easy for him to navigate. Occasionally he would find a tall tree and climb it to get a better look, then jump back down and continue his bushwhacking. None of them spoke a whole lot, other than occasional gripes from Fay about wanting her sword back or how her shoulder pained her, which were quickly swallowed up by the quiet of the forest, and Ramey preferred it that way. The calm and silence and greenery was a nice change of pace from the hectic villages. It would be a shame to say goodbye when they reached the Lavalands. Perhaps he'd have to make a summer home here when all was said and done.

[Mima]

The edges of the forest were pleasant enough, a break from the sharp gravel or pure dusty roads of the village. But Nameless still wasn't that interested in venturing deeper in.

Salvia had gently suggested they should probably look for a path through as opposed to going in blind. When Furin and Nameless had reminded her the two of them were basically a team of an outlaw vigilante and an escaped indentured servant, and not exactly the safest on the roads, they pouted. Well, they said, they would find a different way through. They weren't about to catch their death off in god knows where in the depths of some dark forest. Perhaps the three of them would meet up again later.

This was not what Nameless had wanted to hear, but to be honest, he was expecting about as much.

Though he was clearly the less experienced of the two, Furin seemed more gung-ho about the expedition than he. They had stopped in town to spend a few pennies on a little backpack to carry their newfound crystal, and it seemed the young Kalon was really starting to feel adventurous. Nameless was a bit surprised- Furin certainly had more... stamina than the average kid his age. He was still bounding with energy, despite all that had happened. Curiously looking at every new plant and animal he could find.

Nameless sighed. He felt strangely like there was going to be a lot of "Don't touch/eat that!" in his near future.


[251 words]