soraspace | Spooky shenanigans -- just in time for Halloween!

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Spooky shenanigans -- just in time for Halloween!

[The Friend Ship probably picked one of the worst days to end up on Muertos. A forbidding and desolate landscape on its more appealing days, a recent rain has swathed the island in a thick fog -- perfect for monsters and other meanies to hide in. Indeed, there seem to be shadows skulking around in the mist...or is it all just an optical illusion?

Strangely, Hubert finds the fog to be more annoying than scary. How are they supposed to see in this? What a pain. They'll have to bring a lantern with them or something.

...of course, once Hubert actually gets off the ship and starts walking around to get his land bearings back, he forgets about needing a lantern. Actually, the fog isn't that bad walking around in it. It's...kind of cool, actually. They never got fog like this back in Lhant!]

Wow...you really can't see anything out here! It's like a blank sheet of paper!

[This isn't cause for concern at all, what are you even talking about.]

((Based off this meme; Hubert has lost his sense of self-preservation.))

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Yeah, I know! Isn't it great?

[Asbel pipes up somewhere behind Hubert, his messy hair and grinning face barely visible above the heavy fog. He might look something like a floating bust - one of those sorta-statues people stick in important buildings to make them even more stuffy and official. But of course his nerdy brother'd liken the island to something bookish. Typical Hubert.]

This place would be perfect for telling ghost stories. Playing hide-and-seek, too. [He laughs as he peers around in wonder, finally catching up.] Good grief, just look at it all! You'd never in a million years find someone in this fog.

[WELP. That's given Hubert an idea.]

Hey! I bet you can't find me in the fog!

[And he just runs off in some random direction, quickly disappearing into the thick air.]

Edited 2014-10-17 17:03 (UTC)

Huh--? [It's less the words and more who they're coming out of that makes Asbel blink. Maybe some of the yar-hardy-harr adventurous explorer has finally started to rub off on him - and it's about time, too! Except the minute Asbel turns back to where Hubert is, where Hubert was - he's barely got time to catch the back of his shirt disappearing into nothing.]

[Man, look at the kid go. Asbel laughs and calls out loud after him.] Hey, Hubert, wait a minute! Don't you want a light??

[Just give him ten seconds and he'll have run back with tears in his eyes and wet pants. Seriously, ten seconds like clockwork! And then he'll pat him on the back and tell him to man up, like always.]

[Nine. Eight. Seven.]

Tough luck if you think I can't find you!!

[Six. Five.]

[Four.]

[WHATEVS NII-SAN!!! Hubert tunes Asbel out as he scampers away, curious about what he might find in the fog. Oh, huh -- this grass is pretty...dead-looking. And sharp-looking. Hubert presses a palm to a patch of the bone-white grass, curious about it. Whoa: is this what touching a cactus feels like?

...hey, if Hubert pressed his hand against the grass hard enough, he bets he could...yup, he just did. He stands up and calls out:]

Asbel! Asbel, look!

[Three. Two and a half. Two.]

[Two.]

[Two!!]

[...H-holy crap. Asbel suddenly feels sick. Hubert isn't running back yet and he has no idea where in all this mess he disappeared off too. Okay, okay don't panic! He's got this! Of course he's got this!!]

[Asbel takes a few steps further into the fog, squinting hard. When he hears Hubert, he nearly jumps, whirling in that direction. Over there!]

Geez, just wait up, huh?? I'm coming over there!

[Without looking back, Asbel dashes off towards his brother's voice.]

Edited 2014-10-18 20:48 (UTC)

[And when Asbel arrives, he'll find Hubert...holding up a hand with multiple bleeding puncture wounds on his palm. Admittedly, the puncture wounds aren't that deep, but they're pretty noticeable.

Even more noticeable is Hubert's attitude regarding his perforated palm.]

Look! The grass is so sharp it can hurt you!

[No one should sound this blithe about being injured, least of all a crybaby like Hubert.]

[Asbel's run a few zigzags before he finally spots Hubert's fuzzy blue head in all the fog.]

Whew! See? Told you I'd find--

[Before he can finish, his brother's showing him his hand. And it's bleeding. And he's somehow totally okay with this. Happy, even! Asbel looks like he's just been slapped, then frowns hard with his voice cracking.]

What?! Why would you even do something like that??

[Guess who sounds mad. Yeah, Asbel sounds mad - and personally offended. He grabs for Hubert's arm.]

Huh?

[Hubert lets Asbel take his arm without a protest, but he doesn't get what's got Asbel's bonnet all buzzy. Y U MAD BRO.]

You don't think that's neat at all?

[Come on, nii-san, it's cactus grass! Add that to the list of things they never saw in Lhant!]

[Asbel inspects his hand. Yup. It still has blood on it. But he's not too sure what to do about that. Water, maybe? No--you're supposed to wrap it, right?]

What's so neat about you bleeding all over the place, huh?! It'll-- it'll get infected!

[According to Hubert and Cheria anyway. Isn't that the sort of thing they'd usually whine at him about? Normally. But for some reason Hubert's not even putting up a fuss or saying "ow". Something's not right here.]

[He knows Hubert, and Hubert wouldn't. He wouldn't be this reckless!]

Ggh. Come on, Hubert - let's go patch you up. Exploring can wait.

Edited 2014-10-20 15:59 (UTC)

But it's not even bleeding that much... [They're practically just scratches, gosh! Surely Asbel's gotten worse from training and/or occasionally falling down cliffs back home, so Hubert doesn't see what the big deal is.] It'll probably stop soon! I didn't press that hard.

[The question, of course, is why he did it at all.]

Doesn't matter. Even a little bit might attract trouble, and I don't wanna give people the wrong idea.

[Heck, they might think he told Hubert to do it! But that isn't the real reason at all - the real reason is he doesn't want to see Hubert hurt again, even a teeny bit. It brings back bad memories. And besides, this is kind of his job as an older brother.]

Now stand right there and don't move, okay? I think I've got a bandanna around somewhere... [Asbel lets go of Hubert's arm once they're a little closer to the ship and digs around in his overstuffed pockets.]

What's up with you anyway? You never mess with stuff you don't know about, but you ran right off without looking back.

[Once Asbel lets go, Hubert's arm drops back to his side as though he hadn't just tried to skewer it.]

I just wanted to see what was out there, that's all. Didn't you want to see it, too? You were complaining back on the ship that you couldn't wait to get to the next island so you could go explore.

[Or play ill-advised hide-and-seek. Whatever. Same diff.]

Edited 2014-10-24 02:02 (UTC)

Yeah, 'course I did. And I still do! Just not if it means you running off and-- [Asbel's getting a little peeved that somehow all this is supposed to be okay because he wanted to go exploring, too. He finally finds the bandanna, holding it up so Hubert can see.]

--and nevermind. Do you think this'll be good? It's not too clean, but it's not super dirty either. It should wrap around your hand at least, right? Try it on.

[The bandana will definitely fit, but there's no way Hubert can tie it himself. With his free hand holding the ends of the bandana together against the back of his injured hand, Hubert holds out his arms for Asbel to do the deed.]

Oh, fine. [Asbel rolls his eyes, but he does tie the bandanna off. Just don't expect him to do a stellar job. At least it won't come right off, though! ...Probably.]

There, that'll do it. But no more running off without me, okay?

Okay, if you say so!

[And it really is because Asbel says so. Hubert still doesn't get the big deal about his injury, but it really seemed to upset Asbel, so he doesn't want to do that to his brother again. Besides, it's weird seeing Asbel all serious and scolding!]

[Asbel's still a little weirded out by all this. What's up with Hubert, anyway? Should they just head back to the ship?]

[Nnngh...no. As long as Hubert stays close, it should be all right. Besides, if there's a problem, they can always call for help.]

Okay, good. ...That's good. Now let's try it again - together this time. And no touching any more razorgrass.

How about this way, then? The fog doesn't look quite as thick as it does over there.

[See? There's a big weird rock sticking up in the middle of it.]

Edited 2014-11-17 03:49 (UTC)

[Hubert nods.]

Okay -- lead the way!

[He thinks maybe Asbel will cheer up once he takes the lead for a while.]

You got it, Hubert. [He puts on a determined face and starts marching off! (Um, slowly, though...)]

[Asbel does feel better about things now that he's the one leading the way. Normally he'd be all gung-ho about exploring, too, but something's still eating at him. Maybe it's from all the other weird stuff that's happened in the past - with the ghosts and singing fish and half the ship going completely bonkers on him... Maybe it's just the cold air and the fog and how rock-dry everything is, although he's never been scared off by that kind of thing before. Weird that he'd be feeling all itchy and anxious now. Asbel shivers, checking behind him every few seconds to make sure Hubert hasn't disappeared again.]

[It's during one of these episodes that he catches something moving out of the corner of his eye. His head jerks back to peer around.] Hey-- hey, did you see something move just now?

[Funny. The rock's missing, too. He could've sworn there was a big one not too far ahead of them.]

Hm...yeah, I think so. I don't know what it was, though.

[He almost runs off to investigate, but remembers that he promised Asbel that he wouldn't do that thing. The sound of stone against stone catches his attention, though, and he cocks his head, listening.]

Yeah... Yeah, me neither!

[Asbel tries to keep his voice sounding chill and unworried, but he's getting a pretty bad feeling about this, and the weird crunching sound definitely isn't helping. He squints around in the fog, moving away from the sound and making sure his wayward little brother is tagging along, too.]

But maybe we should keep moving anyway. We might be, uh, scaring the local wildlife or something.

[Yeah, that's totally it. That's totally why the crunching sound is getting louder and louder, why a small mountain has suddenly appeared out of the fog, coming right at them. Asbel gulps, his voice a whisper.]

H-hey. Hubert?

Hey, look, something's coming!

[YEAH, HUBERT, THAT'S THE WHOLE FUCKING PROBLEM. MAYBE YOU SHOULD DO MORE THAN JUST SMILE AND STAND THERE.]

[The mountain takes shape - a lion? a tiger? Close! It's a huge bear, or it was a bear. Once. Probably. Its eyes are two glowing lights set inside a cage of bones. And it doesn't look friendly one bit. But Asbel doesn't have time to pick apart the details.]

[He yelps as the undead monster charges right for them - not at the attack, but because any sane person would be getting the heck out of the way right now.]

--H-Hubert, run!! This way!

[RUN STUPID, WE'RE UNDERLEVELED!]

Huh?

[But there's this skelebear coming for him and it looks really cool in a scary kind of way and Asbel you'd better grab Hubert's hand and make like eggs and ~~cook up some rice omelettes~~ scramble because your baby brother really does not seem inclined to go anywhere -- ]

I said run!

[Asbel shouts as he practically dives at him, grabbing for his brother's arm or sleeve - whichever! - and gives it a firm yank. His feet are already running as he tries to drag Hubert out of harm's way. Maybe if they're lucky they can find cover somewhere until they can mutilate (formulate?) an attack, or-or higher ground! Maybe the bear can't see that good in the fog!]

[--Nope, scratch that last one. The skelebear is hurtling toward them plenty well. It must be able to smell...uh. How totally strong they are.]

Edited 2015-03-30 02:21 (UTC)

[Hubert quickly matches his pace to Asbel's, but he still doesn't see what the big deal is. There's just a monstrous skelebear heading their way, no big deal. Despite the exertion and the urgency of the situation, he glances from side-to-side, checking out the scenery.]

Look, there's a forest over there!

[The "forest," if one could call it that, is as bone-white and lifeless as everything else on Muertos. A couple of dark patches of local fauna mar the pale landscape. The tree branches look brittle enough to break off, even the thicker ones. Heck, some of the trees look like they're ready to fall over.]

[Lucky for Hubert he has time to sight-see, because Asbel's busy trying to save their tails! The further they get from shore, the harder it is to run, sand replaced by that crackly-sharp grass.]

--Huh?

[Asbel only takes a few seconds to fling his head in the direction of said "forest". It's not exactly rating high on his "good places to hide" scale, but maybe the trees'll at least slow the skelebear down a little! Surely there's someplace for him and Hubert to hide in there, right? At least until they can wing it back to the ship since-- Okay. Okay, he's gotta admit it to himself. It's probably better if they go back than continue to explore this place alone. At least if more skelebears show up, they can get Captain Jade to blast 'em away.]

Okay, Hubert, we're going in! Just stay with me and if you see anything else move, don't go near it.

[And he zig-zags back around and starts towards the woods. Or...right into another bad idea, anyway.]

Sure thing!

[If he sounds excited about this whole being-chased-by-an-animal-abomination business, that's because Hubert kinda is. He remembers that he used to hate playing tag with Asbel and some of the other boys in Lhant before, but for the life of him he can't remember why that was. Running is so much fun!

The skelebear continues to pursue them, its claws kicking up pebbles and detritus. It slows down slightly as the boys zig-zag through the forest, but otherwise it shows no signs of stopping.

On the other hand, when Hubert -- on a whim -- suddenly draws his wooden swords (more swiftly and smoothly than he's ever managed in practice sessions) and swipes at some low-hanging branches overhead as he passes, the falling debris does seem to catch the skelebear off guard a bit. Or maybe it just enrages it more. Either way, Hubert's reaction is:]

Wow, cool! These things just fall right off!

[Don't mind him swiping at whatever looks snappable in the area. It's raining trees! (Or something.)]

[Asbel's head whips around when he hears the first branches snap, and it's all he can do to keep running and not go zooming right over his own feet. H-hubert..??? Did Hubert seriously just do that?! ...He needs to quit being so surprised.]

H-hey! Uh-Good thinking, Hubert! But don't slow down any, okay? I don't think he's giving up, and...! And we need to get as far ahead of him as we ca-- ahh!!

[Asbel narrowly misses running straight into a tree trunk, the sharp, crumbly branches catching his sleeve. He hisses in pain, but keeps right on running, between the burning in his shoulder and the fire in his chest, it feels like he could just flop sideways and collapse. But he can't yet.]

Come on! There's a hill up ahead! We'll climb that!

[At least, he hopes it's a hill this time...]

[Fortunately for Asbel, it is indeed a hill. It doesn't look too steep, either, so they won't be expending too much extra energy trying to head uphill.

Unfortunately for the both of them...that "hill" actually ends in a steep drop at its apex. Below the edge of it lies the rock-studded sands of Muertos' beach. Not exactly cannonball material, but the alternative is being skelebear chow.

Hubert, for his part, casually skids to a stop as he realizes that he and Asbel no longer have anywhere to run. He peers over the edge, trying to judge just how high up he is. This doesn't look too bad...right? He could make this jump...]

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Spooky shenanigans -- just in time for Halloween!

Screech.

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