"As much as I'd love a r-ride," Winter says with a smile that pulls flat pointed Aristotle's way. Kind, but amused. "I'll be fine." To illustrate, she hops back and forth on her toes, light-footed. "We should go though. If not for...whatever that is, then for everyone else. I'll watch my step. Swear."
She walks a few careful steps around the outside of the auditorium, cautiously avoiding any vines as she makes her way toward the radio station and the path that will lead them to the main road. Winter stops, though, before she's gone too far, and glances over her shoulder. "Thanks for paying so much attentin to my feet, Presley."
Armani gives Presley a side-long glance, almost sheepish to even be looking at him. It's brief-- blink and you'll miss it-- but the thought is so clearly written all over his expression: Does Presley Mondragon have a foot fetish?
Well, the shoe outcome is unsurprising but still pretty shitty. Wandless and potentially comprised of some idiots less capable classmates, Patrice's worries are at least twisting into irritation, an emotion that's much easier to process right now. He wags Winter's other shoe at her as he tries to slip past the others, ready to put himself as far forward as they'll let him shove himself.
"Take this at least so you can hit something with it if you need to. And like Presley said, everyone be ready to run."
Winter accepts the shoe with a nod, and as she watches the ground for stray vines, she keeps an eye out for a rock she can use to sharpen the heel into a finer point.
Unfortunately for him, Presley misses the loaded glance from Armani. "We've all been forced to see your feet, Carmichael. You've been kicking off your shoes in the grass since freshman year."
His attention switches from Winter to his roommate when he spots Patrice sneaking ahead of them. The rest of them might not know what Patrice is doing, but Presley is intimately familiar with Patrice's self-aggrandizing, glory hound ways. He also moves right to the front of the group, refusing to be shown up.
This is how they move, some staying back, others vying for the front, all of them at least a little cautious, hopefully.
The furthest reaches of the nightmare tree's canopy hang over the side of the auditorium's ruined roof, casting strange, swaying shadows everywhere and making it hard to tell what's solid and what isn't. There are no monstrous difficulties in getting around the edge of the auditorium, but chunks of the roof do litter the way. There are even a few prom decorations out here. Half a toy space ship, a few styrofoam meteors, one of the dinosaur eggs the snacks had been laid out in.
The path between the auditorium and the radio station is narrow. Narrow enough that it is probably violating some fire codes, which means it's a tight squeeze for more than two abreast. It's dark, too, except for the single flickering light bulb at the very end. Click, click, click, wrrrr, the sound of an electrical light desperately trying to stay lit echoes faintly down that narrow path, barely audible over the breeze.
The strobing yellow light illuminates a patch of campus's main street at the far end of the path. It seems there are fewer vines out there, but you need to reach it first.
Not particularly concerned about his place in line, Aris falls into step behind the Wildgulch boys as they head toward the ruined auditorium. It's dark and, as much as he wishes he could use his drum stick to cast Lumos, he fishes into his pocket and pulls out his phone instead, turning on the flashlight to illuminate the darkest parts of their path. He's particularly grateful for this light when they enter the path to the radio station, though the dim light it provides does nothing to make tight space less creepy.
Especially with that repetitive, struggling click.
As they near the main street, he holds the phone out in an attempt to get a better view of what's between them and their destination. Then he looks over at Winter. "...Double-sure about that piggyback?" he asks quietly. It seems worth checking since...they might be getting close to that be prepared to run part.
As Presley goes to meet him up front, Patrice tries to jostle him just a little as a show of solidarity and NOT in reassurance that they both might need. As they progress forward and the way narrows he frowns, flexing his fingers slowly as they advance, as if preparing to swing at anything that startles him.
"Piggy-backing will slow you both down," he scolds Aris, almost but not quite gently. "I think we should go as quickly as we can single file with a watch at the back."
"I thought it was a nice idea," he murmurs to Aris, following behind him. Armani's still holding on to Eddy's hand even as the path narrows, walking just in front of him. He has his phone out now too, using it to light the path ahead.
Eddy's already naturally gravitated to the back where, though slouching as ever and with Armani hanging off him, he's got the best view of the group. He's not here to play the hero, just make sure everyone survives. With no wand to worry in his pocket, he's taken to resting his other hand on Winter's shoulder. Tactile confirmation that the two people he's most concerned about here are safe. He nods silently to encourage her forward now that the space won't allow it.
It's not a welcoming space, but still seems leagues beyond the alternative.
"Let's go," he instructs the self-appointed leaders, voice soft but firm. They might be going through literal Hell on earth, but he's unsure why every move they take needs a discussion. Fists first thinking from a boy normally crippled by social anxiety. "Need to get those supplies."
The group makes their way down the narrow path, lights out, everything clear.
Click, click, click, whrrrrr, click. Click click. Whrrr whrrr. Almost in tune with their footsteps. They're so close. The end is in sight. Until the light sputters and goes out, that is.
And that's when the vines descend from above. Two in the front, one in the back.
The first goes for Presley, (ROLLED 6) he slips from its grasp but not without getting lashed across the forehead first. A quick snap that stings more than anything.
The second vine grabs Patrice by the wrist (ROLLED 5) and starts to pull. Up, up, up.
The third, in the very back, nets the noodle, Eddy Waxweiler (ROLLED 2) right around the waist and hoists him up off the ground.
"Fuck!" Eddy yells, strong grip on Armani's hand jerking him along with him. Two noodle legs brace against either side of the passage, and he pushes backwards with all his strength in a fight against his ascent.
If the vines are strong enough to lift him, he can't take any chances. He releases his hold on Armani and his hands now scramble for anything sharp and loose hanging from the walls.
"M-maybe on the way back?" Winter's saying to Aristotle, soft for not wanting to make much sound, and for simply wanting to be reassuring, when the vines come down.
The sound she makes when things go cross-eyed is entirely undignified, but it's not the only thing she does. Eddy may release Armani, but Winter jumps. Her arms outstretched, she grabs for Eddy, trying to make him too heavy to be pulled away.
Patrice lets out a sharp yelp as he's grabbed, his body shot through with adrenaline. Similar to Eddy, he figures the narrowness of the passage way can be used to his advantage - he kicks up his legs, trying to brace himself between the two walls with shoulders and feet (he's tall enough, right? this has to work, right? what is he going to do if this doesn't work?) to prevent himself from being pulled up any further. Quickly, he's twisting his hand, fingers splayed, pulling his arm towards his chest as he tries to slip from the vine's grasp, and his free hand aims a punch at the stretch of vine just above his wrist. It won't be too effective given his precarious position, but he doesn't have a lot of options.
It all happens too fast. Presley's eyes catch the movement in the dark and he recoils on instinct, and it's not until after the slide of vines against his hands and the sudden stinging pain on his face that he realizes the others have been attacked too.
"Patrice!" The other boy appears to be desperately bracing himself against the walls, and Presley rushes forward to throw his arms around Patrice's waist. He grips his own arms and tries his best to plant his feet on the ground, blanketed with ash and new plant growth. If only he had his fucking wand— "Don't you dare get your ass captured again!"
Armani is jerked back as Eddy is hoisted up. "No!" he shouts, still chasing Eddy's hand even after the boy's let go. He grabs hold of Eddy where he can and beats at the point of the vine hoisting Eddy up with the only thing he has immediately on hand: his phone. With the flashlight still on, it creates a mild strobing effect each time he strikes down on it.
"Let go of him!" he snarls, teeth bared. And, using the sharpest weapon on him, he bites into the vine. This is a good idea.
Edited (i went to my closet to see what beating something w/my phone looked like) 2020-06-03 16:46 (UTC)
Startled by the sudden attack, the vines shooting down from the dark to seize their classmates and pull them off their feet, Aris utters a yelp and drops the phone he'd been holding out like a flashlight. This doesn't help. It does, however, make it easier to grab onto Patrice when his instincts come rushing back in. Holding on for dear life and calling out incoherent protests, he soon realizes that Presley has a hold of him too and...tries something else.
Half-climbing Patrice, he hauls himself up in an efficient but awkward motion. Pushing off the other boy's shoulder to give himself leverage, he brings the broad side of the drum stick down on the vines as hard as he can. Again. And again. "Let! Him! Go!"
In the rear of the group, Eddy wedging himself into place momentarily stops his ascent. The vine tightens its grip (ROLLED 3) trying to squeeze him out and exacerbating that blow he took earlier in the night.
The addition of Winter's weight drags Eddy down more, but it's Armani who finally frees him. (ROLLED 10) The smacking doesn't do much, but that bite packs a punch. The vine hisses and shrieks, drops Eddy and whips away back into the dark.
Eddy and Winter both fall to the ground.
For his heroic effort Armani gets a mouthful of foul-tasting sap before the vine can get away. (ROLLED 5) Thankfully, for the most part, it just tastes really awful, but now his mouth is numb, too. [For the next 3 tags he writes, Armani will sound like he's had a shot of Novocaine]
Up at the front, Patrice's punch (ROLLED 9) connects with the vine just right. It twangs, lovely sound like a plucked guitar string, but still holds on. Then again, with Presley and Aristotle soon added to the mix, the vine wrapped around his wrist can lug him more than a few inches off the ground.
The second vine attacks Aristotle as he climbs (ROLLED 8) but can't get a hold of him to wrench him away.
Above the heads of the three boys, a flower blooms, a lovely burst of purple glowing with moody light. Every time the vine shakes in the struggle, it drops pollen on their heads (ROLLED 2, 7, 10) Patrice gets some in his eyes, Presley on his face, but Aristotle comes away unscathed. [PATRICE & PRESLEY HAVE BLURRED VISION, THEY WILL TAKE -1 TO ROLLS. (2 turns, 1 turn respectively)]
Aristotle's furious drumming does that second vine in. (ROLLED 8) It drops Patrice and disappears into the dark, taking its flower with it.
Eddy's falling just as sudden as he was ripped into the air, battered body keenly aware that he wouldn't be free without the help of the girl he's about to land on. Knees and elbows jab out towards the wall in an attempt to cushion the force of his fall, tearing at the fabric of his suit and sending little beads flying. Shit, this was borrowed.
There's only so much to be done and he lands with a tangle of limbs, rolling off Winter as quickly as he can.
"Fuck. Sorry. Thanks." Three words to sum things up as he looks between Winter and Armani.
He's not aware there's another vine still in the mix.
Armani turns his head away from the others to spit out the sap-- there's no reason to be rude in Hell. But its effect is immediate: his tongue feels like a fat chunk of meat just rolling around in his very numb mouth.
"Cuhmawn," he slurs, offering a hand out the Eddy to help him up. He'll do the same for Winter, too. "Ders ahuhnathuh vine."
Presley looks up when the flower blooms—he can't help it, there's an undying love of mood lighting in his dance student heart—and gets a faceful of pollen. Presley curses and buries his face against Patrice's shoulder, but it's too late. When the vine lets go and he finally hits the ground, with Patrice still in arms, his vision is already blurring.
He shoves Patrice away from him. "You're an idiot." Presley rubs his eyes on his sleeve, which doesn't really help. He can hear the voices of the others (is that Armani?), though, so he guesses no one is dead. "Fuck. Get up."
He's talking more to himself than anyone else, but if the others listen, that's fine too. (He is also not aware there's another vine.)
There's no real time for satisfaction that Patrice's hit had connected because they're still in danger, and also his vision is all messed up because he's an idiot, just like Presley is saying, and also because he's on the ground and getting shoved.
Half-heartedly, Patrice kicks at the blurry blob that is Presley before stumbling to his feet, hand pressed to the wall. He squints into the darkness, which doesn't help at all. He's poised for something else, but he knows he's pretty screwed at the moment.
"Vision's messed up," he says a little breathlessly, wanting to inform the group. "And quit being a dick, Pres."
Breathless but relieved, Aris utters a small laugh as he climbs up from the heap he'd collapsed into with the other two boys. They'd won! Way to go, team! That sense of victory is short-lived, however, because both Presley and Patrice are slower to rise and are squinting through pollen-dusted eyes. And because, behind him, Armani is saying...something.
Cuhmawn. Ders ahuhnathuh vine.
"Huh?" Then he turns and spots the remaining vine, the one that had failed to grab him, and tenses. He raises his drum stick again and braces himself, addressing the blinded duo, "Hey guys! Maybe...stay behind me? I can see fine!" He's not sure either of them will listen to him, though.
Winter's still climbing to her feet, computing what Armani's said only once she's looked the remaining tendril dead on.
"Ah, fuckin' jeez," she grumbles, pulling her shoulderbag clutch off her arm and handing it to Armani. "Hold this. Thanks, lovely."
She's not sure if vines have emotion, but she figures every little bit helps. So, when she takes two great leaping steps forward, clearing the pile of boys on the ground and brushing neatly past Aristotle, it's with a loud warrior yell.
Winter runs full tilt into that last dangling vine. Grabs it, wraps it around her wrist and runs.
Just runs.
Keeps running, until the vine is taut. Until one or both of them are stopped.
Winter sure does run. Damn. Look at her go. (ROLLED 10)
There's a sick, slick ripping sound from somewhere above. Not the sort of sound a plant should make as the vine is ripped free from where it's secured itself.
It immediately starts to wither, leaves turning brown and then gray, as Winter sprints to the end of the narrow alley and out into the street.
[ENCOUNTER COMPLETE. You will be awarded tokens at the end of the Adventure.]
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peckenpaugh2020-06-01 11:15 am
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
She walks a few careful steps around the outside of the auditorium, cautiously avoiding any vines as she makes her way toward the radio station and the path that will lead them to the main road. Winter stops, though, before she's gone too far, and glances over her shoulder. "Thanks for paying so much attentin to my feet, Presley."
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
He looks away quickly, eyes forward. "Okay, then! Let's hurry on."
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
idiotsless capable classmates, Patrice's worries are at least twisting into irritation, an emotion that's much easier to process right now. He wags Winter's other shoe at her as he tries to slip past the others, ready to put himself as far forward as they'll let him shove himself."Take this at least so you can hit something with it if you need to. And like Presley said, everyone be ready to run."
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
His attention switches from Winter to his roommate when he spots Patrice sneaking ahead of them. The rest of them might not know what Patrice is doing, but Presley is intimately familiar with Patrice's self-aggrandizing, glory hound ways. He also moves right to the front of the group, refusing to be shown up.
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
The furthest reaches of the nightmare tree's canopy hang over the side of the auditorium's ruined roof, casting strange, swaying shadows everywhere and making it hard to tell what's solid and what isn't. There are no monstrous difficulties in getting around the edge of the auditorium, but chunks of the roof do litter the way. There are even a few prom decorations out here. Half a toy space ship, a few styrofoam meteors, one of the dinosaur eggs the snacks had been laid out in.
The path between the auditorium and the radio station is narrow. Narrow enough that it is probably violating some fire codes, which means it's a tight squeeze for more than two abreast. It's dark, too, except for the single flickering light bulb at the very end. Click, click, click, wrrrr, the sound of an electrical light desperately trying to stay lit echoes faintly down that narrow path, barely audible over the breeze.
The strobing yellow light illuminates a patch of campus's main street at the far end of the path. It seems there are fewer vines out there, but you need to reach it first.
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
Especially with that repetitive, struggling click.
As they near the main street, he holds the phone out in an attempt to get a better view of what's between them and their destination. Then he looks over at Winter. "...Double-sure about that piggyback?" he asks quietly. It seems worth checking since...they might be getting close to that be prepared to run part.
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
"Piggy-backing will slow you both down," he scolds Aris, almost but not quite gently. "I think we should go as quickly as we can single file with a watch at the back."
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
It's not a welcoming space, but still seems leagues beyond the alternative.
"Let's go," he instructs the self-appointed leaders, voice soft but firm. They might be going through literal Hell on earth, but he's unsure why every move they take needs a discussion. Fists first thinking from a boy normally crippled by social anxiety. "Need to get those supplies."
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
Click, click, click, whrrrrr, click. Click click. Whrrr whrrr. Almost in tune with their footsteps. They're so close. The end is in sight. Until the light sputters and goes out, that is.
And that's when the vines descend from above. Two in the front, one in the back.
The first goes for Presley, (ROLLED 6) he slips from its grasp but not without getting lashed across the forehead first. A quick snap that stings more than anything.
The second vine grabs Patrice by the wrist (ROLLED 5) and starts to pull. Up, up, up.
The third, in the very back, nets the noodle, Eddy Waxweiler (ROLLED 2) right around the waist and hoists him up off the ground.
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
If the vines are strong enough to lift him, he can't take any chances. He releases his hold on Armani and his hands now scramble for anything sharp and loose hanging from the walls.
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
The sound she makes when things go cross-eyed is entirely undignified, but it's not the only thing she does. Eddy may release Armani, but Winter jumps. Her arms outstretched, she grabs for Eddy, trying to make him too heavy to be pulled away.
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
"Patrice!" The other boy appears to be desperately bracing himself against the walls, and Presley rushes forward to throw his arms around Patrice's waist. He grips his own arms and tries his best to plant his feet on the ground, blanketed with ash and new plant growth. If only he had his fucking wand— "Don't you dare get your ass captured again!"
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
"Let go of him!" he snarls, teeth bared. And, using the sharpest weapon on him, he bites into the vine. This is a good idea.
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
Half-climbing Patrice, he hauls himself up in an efficient but awkward motion. Pushing off the other boy's shoulder to give himself leverage, he brings the broad side of the drum stick down on the vines as hard as he can. Again. And again. "Let! Him! Go!"
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
The addition of Winter's weight drags Eddy down more, but it's Armani who finally frees him. (ROLLED 10) The smacking doesn't do much, but that bite packs a punch. The vine hisses and shrieks, drops Eddy and whips away back into the dark.
Eddy and Winter both fall to the ground.
For his heroic effort Armani gets a mouthful of foul-tasting sap before the vine can get away. (ROLLED 5) Thankfully, for the most part, it just tastes really awful, but now his mouth is numb, too. [For the next 3 tags he writes, Armani will sound like he's had a shot of Novocaine]
Up at the front, Patrice's punch (ROLLED 9) connects with the vine just right. It twangs, lovely sound like a plucked guitar string, but still holds on. Then again, with Presley and Aristotle soon added to the mix, the vine wrapped around his wrist can lug him more than a few inches off the ground.
The second vine attacks Aristotle as he climbs (ROLLED 8) but can't get a hold of him to wrench him away.
Above the heads of the three boys, a flower blooms, a lovely burst of purple glowing with moody light. Every time the vine shakes in the struggle, it drops pollen on their heads (ROLLED 2, 7, 10) Patrice gets some in his eyes, Presley on his face, but Aristotle comes away unscathed. [PATRICE & PRESLEY HAVE BLURRED VISION, THEY WILL TAKE -1 TO ROLLS. (2 turns, 1 turn respectively)]
Aristotle's furious drumming does that second vine in. (ROLLED 8) It drops Patrice and disappears into the dark, taking its flower with it.
One vine remains.
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
There's only so much to be done and he lands with a tangle of limbs, rolling off Winter as quickly as he can.
"Fuck. Sorry. Thanks." Three words to sum things up as he looks between Winter and Armani.
He's not aware there's another vine still in the mix.
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
"Cuhmawn," he slurs, offering a hand out the Eddy to help him up. He'll do the same for Winter, too. "Ders ahuhnathuh vine."
At least one word's intelligible.
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
He shoves Patrice away from him. "You're an idiot." Presley rubs his eyes on his sleeve, which doesn't really help. He can hear the voices of the others (is that Armani?), though, so he guesses no one is dead. "Fuck. Get up."
He's talking more to himself than anyone else, but if the others listen, that's fine too. (He is also not aware there's another vine.)
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
Half-heartedly, Patrice kicks at the blurry blob that is Presley before stumbling to his feet, hand pressed to the wall. He squints into the darkness, which doesn't help at all. He's poised for something else, but he knows he's pretty screwed at the moment.
"Vision's messed up," he says a little breathlessly, wanting to inform the group. "And quit being a dick, Pres."
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
Cuhmawn. Ders ahuhnathuh vine.
"Huh?" Then he turns and spots the remaining vine, the one that had failed to grab him, and tenses. He raises his drum stick again and braces himself, addressing the blinded duo, "Hey guys! Maybe...stay behind me? I can see fine!" He's not sure either of them will listen to him, though.
Re: ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
"Ah, fuckin' jeez," she grumbles, pulling her shoulderbag clutch off her arm and handing it to Armani. "Hold this. Thanks, lovely."
She's not sure if vines have emotion, but she figures every little bit helps. So, when she takes two great leaping steps forward, clearing the pile of boys on the ground and brushing neatly past Aristotle, it's with a loud warrior yell.
Winter runs full tilt into that last dangling vine. Grabs it, wraps it around her wrist and runs.
Just runs.
Keeps running, until the vine is taut. Until one or both of them are stopped.
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
There's a sick, slick ripping sound from somewhere above. Not the sort of sound a plant should make as the vine is ripped free from where it's secured itself.
It immediately starts to wither, leaves turning brown and then gray, as Winter sprints to the end of the narrow alley and out into the street.
[ENCOUNTER COMPLETE. You will be awarded tokens at the end of the Adventure.]
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary - COMPLETE!
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary - COMPLETE!
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary - COMPLETE!
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary - COMPLETE!
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary - COMPLETE!
ADVENTURE: To the infirmary - COMPLETE!