auroraexpress | welcome to the jungle we've got fun and games

Who: Y'all
When: Day 8 noonish
Where: THE JUNGLE

[So there is a mostly unexplored jungle out there.

It seems like a good day to explore it, eh?

Please look out for:

Venomous snakes, the smaller ones will leave you fevered and nauseas, the larger may stop your heart.

Spores, inhaling them can leave you with mild to severe continuing hallucinations

Pollen, it may make you sneeze.

Dark shadows in the undergrowth, that seem to whisper as you pass. In familiar voices...? Or that's just the wind.

Vicious monsters. They want to eat you.

And look out, if you go exploring, because halfway through your adventure the sky seems to open up and pour on you, try to find a safe shelter--if that exists in the jungle.

For those of you not inclined to explore well, you may see lights in the jungle, little wisps, of light in the growth, or maybe it's your team colors you see? The more you look the more you feel practically compelled to follow those lights and flashes of something familiar....

Maybe you get caught by the jungle's dangers, trapped in a cave by the downpour, or maybe you make it to an odd break around a still pond, the surface so smooth it's almost like a mirror. If you look in, your reflection looks back. And it smiles at you.

And if you make it this far, if you look deep into your reflection and let it stare back, you might find yourself leaning down, towards it--hopefully you have a companion to pull you back before pale arms reach to pull you in and drown you.

Even if you're pulled back from the glass pool, a strange dread lingers with you for a while. And the urge to be near others is incredibly strong. Be it their presence or their touch you crave, you need reassurance.

((OOC: Explore, use this an excuse for wet huddling together in a cave while hallucinating, get cool new scars from fighting beasts, encounter the glassy pool, or whatever! Grab a buddy, have a good(?) time.))]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ just looks up, abruptly, startled - ]

I -

[ but it's just ciabatta. it's just her teammate, but be that as it may she never really seems to like. calm down? even as she stands and turns away from the pond to meet up with him, the fear in her eyes is palpable. she's pretty clearly unsettled by. something or another. ]

... My apologies. Was there something that you needed...?

No. I just didn't want to startle you even more, in case you fell in.

[ though that would have been funny. ]

[ she has so much hair. it would've been funny. ]

I am not - frightened, particularly... it's only a pond.

It would ruin your clothes.

[ He's on Senna for a reason... . . . ]

What are you doing out here, anyway?

I thought that I would go for a walk, and it started to rain...

[ reaching for his hand, though ]

Though - it's hardly appropriate for you to be out here alone.

[ even though she's the one who looks unsettled, still - no matter what she actually says, she probably just wants to hold his hand. ]

[ h-hand.

hum.

well okay, she can have it, carefully. ]

Sometimes it's better to be alone.

... Are you leaving...?

[ it comes out a little more plaintive than she really means for it to, very soft - and she sort of startles a little at the sound of her own voice, a tiny jolt he'd probably miss if they weren't holding hands. ]

[ stop being adorable....... he has a soft spot. ]

No. I could use a break, anyway.

[ her reflection made her SAD ]

We can -

[ an inhale. she doesn't really like the idea of letting someone she barely knows see her like this, even if it's a teammate, she has just enough sense remaining to think that, but.

she can't calm down and he's warm and closeby. ]

Returning to the carriage is likewise acceptable... my apologies.

[ sort of muttered, near his arm. we are getting exponentially more clingy as time passes. ]

[ hm.

nah, he's actually just going to sit down completely, crossing his legs under him. ]

We spend too much time in there. Fresh air is good for you.

... Is that so...

[ she settles down a less intimate distance away, limbs heavy, anxious, more awkward than usual. he's not really wrong, even if there's context behind her hiding that she thinks he's probably missing, but something about the comment is oddly nostalgic.

in her rational mind, far in the back, she kicks herself a bit - it's barely been a week since the last time she saw her brother, but.

but she can't calm down and ciabatta is warm and closeby. so when she scoots over, aiming to close the distance between them, it is neither quick nor subtle, and she can't really bring herself to meet his eyes. ]

... Pardon me.

[ everyone is so CUDDLY here. ]

Are you shy or something?

[ slight teasing, since he's not embarrassed. probably... he's not sure how... anything... works anymore. well, he knows that if he was embarrassed by anything, everyone on the planet would know it. he has that sort of flushed face, unfortunately. ]

It's rather -

[ most tragically, so does she - if he looks, there's color spread as far up as the tips of her ears, just barely visible in her hair.

muttering, ]

I don't know what's come over me...

[ KINDRED SPIRITS. ]

You've been through a lot. I'm told that's the usual excuse, anyways.

... It's hardly any reason for me to be so poorly behaved.

[ but there is a pause, as she keeps her head down, ]

Is this... rather, would it be - should it suit you, I'd like to come a bit closer...

...what, do you want to sit on my lap or something?

- Of course not!

[ cb she is dying ]

It's simply that I'm unaccustomed to - were it my brother, then there would be little issue with embracing him independent of his permission, but others... and furthermore, that I could come to hope for such a thing from others is simply unheard of, but it is just -

It's childish of me, I know, but would you please pat my head...?

[ girl.

you are so cute. ]

That's a lot to ask.

[ he's an asshole.

but there he is, dropping a cool hand onto her head and ruffling his fingers over her hair. ]

Thank you...

[ it's sort of exhaled as her eyes slide shut; she leans into the contact, features relaxing. the hair at the top of her head is soft and smooth to the touch, some residual dampness from the rain ]

...you're pretty easy to please. I wish everyone was like this.

It's simply that - it serves to calm my mood...

[ her brow furrows a bit beneath her bangs, a bit embarrassed, but the longer he goes the heavier her eyelids get. she can't be bothered to open them. ]

[ how do you deal with cute people................ ]

Does it remind you of something?

[ do your best CB ]

Mm - it was something that my brother started to do... initially I'm certain it was nothing more than a whim of his, but then he began to indulge me.

[ leaning her head into his hand. actually she's just sort of leaning against him with most of her weight. fortunately not a lot, but ]

You must have been pretty close.

[ he assumes... that's what siblings do anyways... but her weight isn't bothering him, so he's still. ]

He saved me...

[ kind of murmured, the longer he pats at her the harder it becomes for her to stay focused - even something as basic as keeping her eyes open seems difficult all of a sudden. not that she doesn't understand the reason why, but it's awfully inconvenient, usually.

usually. but right now it stills her nerves, even though this isn't her brother, and that seems fine. it's fine. ]

He's very important to me.

welcome to the jungle we've got fun and games

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