[center][h3] [/h3][/center][h3][hr][color=#F44B52]Alice Takigawa[/color][/h3][hr][sup][i]Mushroom Forest || Night[/i][/sup][indent] [/indent] Hearing her username made Alice relax a little. [color=#F44B52]“Yeah, it’s Alice,”[/color] she said, getting her phone out to switch on the flashlight function and point it at where the voice was coming from. It was a feminine one, and pretty high-pitched too, which didn’t fit with Alice’s mental image of Afton, but Afton was the only other girl, as far as she could tell, so she gave it a shot. [color=#F44B52]“Are you Ephie? Afton?”[/color] The person that stepped out of the bushes was indeed a girl, but the digimon at her side was markedly not a Hopmon or Monodramon. Rather, it was a Muchomon, and if Alice remembered correctly, the person who with the Muchomon line in-game was— [color=#F44B52]“Clockmaker?”[/color] She blinked, looking the young and very much not male girl up and down. [color=#F44B52]“I-I thought you were a boy.”[/color] At her side, Doru looked the pair over, seeming more interested in the digimon at the girl’s side. [color=#7867D8]“Hi,”[/color] he said. [color=#7867D8]“I’m Dorimon, but you can call me Doru.”[/color] [color=#F44B52]“Yeah, um, hi, I’m Alice, nice to meet you,”[/color] she said, bowing, pausing mid-bow, then straightening and awkwardly offering a hand. Handshakes were how they did it in America, right? [color=#F44B52]“Should I call you Clock then?”[/color] she asked. She understood privacy and all, especially given the girl’s age. Her parents were pretty protective too, but what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them, and they knew enough about social media to accept most of it. Looking around again, Alice could see why Afton and Asher hadn’t stuck around. As pretty as purple looked on the screen, purple in real life was pretty unsettling, especially when paired with the damp and dark. [color=#F44B52]“Oh, before you got here, I was about to digivolve Doru,”[/color] she said, glancing at Doru, who nodded, then at Clock. [color=#F44B52]“That’s okay with you, right?”[/color] After getting confirmation, she got Doru to stand a little away from them, then looked down at her digivice. With her phone’s light, she could see that it was white with purple-blue buttons, and she pressed the one Afton had mentioned in the messages earlier, then looked up. [color=#F44B52]“Doru, is anything happening?”[/color] Doru hesitated for a second, looking down at his feet, then looked back up again, eyes wide. [color=#7867D8]“Y-yeah. I think something’s happening.”[/color] In her hands, the screen of her digivice lit up, words writing themselves across the screen: [code]Dorimon digivolve to: Dorumon[/code] At the same time, a beam of light enveloped Doru, rising until it disappeared into the dark clouds overhead. [color=#F44B52]“Doru!”[/color] The light contrasted their surroundings enough that Alice raised a hand to shield her eyes as she peered at it, and from under her hand she saw it retract into itself, coalescing into a form that stood hip-level instead of knee-level. Now a Dorumon proper, Doru was a truer purple than before, and he took on a bipedal stance that better suited his new fangs and claws. Flexing his front claws, he glanced at Alice. [color=#7867D8]“This is more comfortable.”[/color] [color=#F44B52]“Yeah,”[/color] she said, eyes wide as she walked over. [color=#F44B52]“Can I?”[/color] she asked, checking before she touched his head, running a hand down his fur. He felt much like any coarse-haired dog, though she could tell his hair was much thicker than the dogs she’d petted before. The jewel on his head glinted in the moonlight, and she refrained from reaching for it, choosing instead to step back with a smile. [color=#F44B52]“Good. Now you look ten times cooler.”[/color] Doru blinked. [color=#7867D8]“I do?”[/color] He looked over himself again, then looked back at Alice, his eyes just as confused as before. Still, he didn’t push the issue, instead opting for a nod, and Alice again got the impression he was choosing to do the mature thing. She had half a mind to call him out right then and there but thought better of it since Izzy was present. [color=#F44B52]“So, Muchomon, do you have a nickname?”[/color] Alice asked, looking at the colorful bird, whose demeanor showed their relative immaturity. At least they seemed like the type to speak their mind, unlike some other digimon, but she wasn’t complaining. Who could complain about someone being mature? [center][h3] [/h3][/center][h3][hr][color=#BB818D]Afton Reimer[/color][/h3][hr][sup][i]Los Angeles || Morning[/i][/sup][indent] [/indent] Afton scoured her house for supplies, her pace brisk as she walked from closet to kitchen. Beside her was Monodramon, who, because he was now much bigger, could now keep up with her much more easily. As such, he was now more prone to getting in her way, and she found herself pausing multiple times to allow him to amble out of her way. [color=#BB818D]“How about I get you something to eat or drink?”[/color] she suggested after another second of mounting irritation, very aware that her voice had taken on a note of annoyance. There were certain emotions she had a harder time reining in than others. Annoyance was one of those. [color=#A62A15]“Pizza? I want pizza,”[/color] Monodramon said, his fangs glinting as he followed Afton towards the kitchen. [color=#A62A15]“Or bacon. Bacon was good. I’ll accept more bacon.”[/color] Afton eyed him out of the corner of her eye. Though she couldn’t recall ever seeing a digimon get fat in the game, the game likely wasn’t a comprehensive source for information on digimon, and Monodramon certainly didn’t look lacking in the weight department. [color=#BB818D]“How about some chicken tenders?”[/color] she asked, pulling open the freezer and retrieving the box of frozen chicken strips. [color=#BB818D]“Chickens are a bird. Meat. And they’re good,”[/color] she clarified immediately when she saw confusion forming on Monodramon’s face, which quickly returned to delight when he heard her words. [color=#A62A15]“Human food is pretty good, so I’ll try it,”[/color] he said, watching eagerly as Afton popped a few frozen strips into the toaster oven. When she turned to return the rest into the freezer, she found him waiting in front of the oven, his eyes boring into it intensely. [color=#BB818D]“Stay here and keep an eye on it,”[/color] she said, washing and toweling her hands off. [color=#BB818D]“Let me know when the timer rings.”[/color] Monodramon turned to look at her, confused. [color=#A62A15]“Timer?”[/color] [color=#BB818D]“It’ll ring,”[/color] she said, walking back towards the closet to retrieve the backpack she’d been packing. The goal was to travel light, and she had lots of experience with packing for track meets and team hikes, but this was a bit different. Bringing a change of clothes seemed rather unnecessary, though she left in the waterproof windbreaker, and she opted for straight water instead of gatorade, throwing in a few granola bars for good measure. In went a small flashlight, an obnoxiously pink can of unused pepper spray, and a flimsy keychain compass roughly an inch wide. Just as she was confirming she had all her bases covered, Monodramon burst out from the kitchen, his running gait reminding Afton strongly of how she imagined penguins could run if they had joints that weren’t made for streamlined swimming. [color=#A62A15]“Afton, the chicken is ready! It made a ringing sound! I heard it!”[/color] His eyes were bright as he came to a stop beside her, and she zipped up her backpack, staring at him. If she was estimating time correctly, which she usually did, it’d been roughly ten minutes, and she’d set the timer on the oven to fifteen. What, then, was the sound he’d heard? [color=#BB818D]“Did the sound come from the chicken?”[/color] she asked, walking towards the kitchen. [color=#A62A15]“Yeah,”[/color] Monodramon said after a brief moment of hesitation, prompting another glance from Afton as she rounded the corner. [color=#A62A15]“Yeah it did!”[/color] Despite the protesting firmness in his tone, Afton returned to find the timer still ticking down. A glance around had her eyes catch on her phone, which was charging on the counter’s corner, and she picked it up, opening it. [quote=Dad][code]You feeling better? Drink more water.[/code][/quote] Afton looked at Monodramon, silent. There were a lot of things to unpack here, and she didn’t feel like getting to all of them right now. It was only day one, and she needed him not to be upset or hurt for the moment. [color=#A62A15]“What?”[/color] His voice came out scratchy and defensive, but it held a tenor of nervousness, and Afton relented, dropping her gaze, then looking back up at him. [color=#BB818D]“Don’t lie to me, Monodramon. I’m honest with you, so be honest with me,”[/color] she said, her tone clean as she looked down at the dragon digimon, who looked more peevish every second. Then, bending down, she laid a hand on his head, letting it pause there, then dropped it, turning back to the toaster as it dinged. As soon as she retrieved the strips and put them in a bowl for Monodramon, they were on their way to the backyard, bowl and all. [color=#A62A15]“Afton,”[/color] Monodramon started as she crouched in front of where she’d found the portal earlier that day, but she snapped her eyes up to look at him, quieting him. [color=#BB818D]“Don’t apologize,”[/color] she said, reaching for his shoulder. [color=#BB818D]“Just eat and do better.”[/color] And with that, she touched her digivice to where she believed the portal to be, letting it suck her in again. [center][h3] [/h3][/center][h3][hr][color=#FBE3BF]Cavan Maynard[/color][/h3][hr][sup][i]Mushroom Forest || Night[/i][/sup][indent] [/indent] [color=#FBE3BF]“You know, I never thought about if the sun rises in this forest. It was always night here in the game, and… Yeah,”[/color] Cavan said, shrugging as he led the way through fungi-splotched forest. [color=#FBE3BF]“Guess I just never thought about it. ”[/color] At his side, Bax, who’d digivolved into Black Gabumon moments before, stalked along, his shoulders tense and his front claws at the ready. Personally, Cavan was of the opinion that merely being black made Black Gabumon eons cooler than the normal Gabumon. It was sorta like shiny Pokemon—they were rarer, so obviously, they were cooler. Plus, Black Gabumon had the virus attribute, giving its concept a darker vibe that Cavan appreciated. Vaccines were cool, but viruses? Definitely cooler. [color=#FBE3BF]“You know, I spent a ton of time here in-game,”[/color] Cavan said as he walked, looking around with a grin. [color=#FBE3BF]“Mostly because I was dumb and couldn’t figure out what I needed to do originally, but my friends clued me in at school the next day. You just need to talk to Blossomon and ask it to let you use its portal.”[/color] He laughed, shaking his head. [color=#FBE3BF]“The game told you and everything, but I didn’t get the hint. I mean, I wasn’t even ten. How was I supposed to know the crazy-looking flower was a good guy?”[/color] Beside him, Bax cocked his head. [color=#5B6356]“Blossomon?”[/color] He frowned, then sniffed. [color=#5B6356]“Never heard of him.”[/color] [color=#FBE3BF]“What? You said you’ve been here right?”[/color] Cavan asked, his brows furrowed. [color=#FBE3BF]“You’ve been here and you haven’t heard of Blossomon, the guardian of the Mushroom Forest?”[/color] [color=#5B6356]“No,”[/color] Bax said brusquely, twitching an ear. [color=#FBE3BF]“Huh. I thought everyone who comes through here meets him,”[/color] Cavan said, frowning. Then, after another moment of consideration, he shrugged. [color=#FBE3BF]“Well, maybe real life is different from the games.”[/color] Bax grunted, not bothering to respond, and Cavan grinned again. [color=#FBE3BF]“Well, this place is still pretty much the same,”[/color] he said, stopping and pointing to a tree. In its bark was a clean-cut X, sheared deep enough into the bark to leave a permanent mark. [color=#FBE3BF]“This is Ninjamon territory. They’re ninjas, so they stay hidden until they need to strike. Kinda spooky, but I’ve never seen one in this forest,”[/color] he said, shrugging. [color=#FBE3BF]“I always thought it was weird that this place was supposed to have them but didn’t. Guess the devs wanted to keep Champion-level digimon out of the beginner dungeon.”[/color] Bax paused beside him, leaning forward to sniff the tree, then turned to sniff the air behind him. His eyes widened and shot up to the branches overhead, and he managed a growl just as several small red figures dropped out of the tree, landing beside him and Cavan with swords drawn and pointed. One of them dropped onto Cavan’s head, surprising him enough to make him duck, but it clung on even as he stumbled back, and he froze when he felt something cold press against his neck. “Who are you,” the Ninjamon on his head squeaked, its voice scratchy but not intelligible. “Why have you trespassed on Ninjamon land.” [color=#FBE3BF]“I-I’m Cavan! And he’s Bax,”[/color] Cavan said quickly, hands raised in surrender. An awkward glance down showed that Bax had been pinned down by no less than three Ninjamon, and more had their blades out and pointed at him beside them. [color=#FBE3BF]“We’re just exploring! We didn’t mean to trespass!”[/color] A series of high-pitched chitters started, the Ninjamon repeating Cavan’s name and words. Then, after another moment, he felt the Ninjamon on his head shift imperceptibly. “We do not know of any Cavan within this forest. Are you a Mushroomon spy?” His words jolted something in Cavan’s memory. Mushroomon—those were the mushroom digimon that also lived in the forest. If he was recalling correctly, they didn’t get along well with the rest of the inhabitants, and there were a lot of them. It was called “Mushroom Forest”, after all, but they weren’t in a position to take control of the forest. Blossomon. It was because of Blossomon. [color=#FBE3BF]“We’re here to see Blossomon!”[/color] Cavan burst out, looking around at the Ninjamon, who’d frozen enough for Bax to shake one off him. But then the second passed, and two others leapt onto Bax and pinned him down again, and Cavan felt the cold blade against his neck touch his skin. “We do not appreciate your cruel jokes,” the Ninjamon on his head said. “We will take you to the Flower Council. They will decide whether or not you are spies.” “Follow,” another Ninjamon said sharply, breaking the darkness, and Cavan did, casting worried glances at Bax, who was being prodded along between snarls. At this point, he had no idea what was happening. Some parts of what he remembered of the game checked out, but others didn't. Now, he just had to follow and see. Maybe Blossomon was on the Flower Council and would be willing to help, or maybe he’d just screwed himself royally by wandering around the digimon world with his digimon. Seriously, what was he thinking?