[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/h5xf31C.png[/img][/center][hr][i][b]//Night 2 | Location:[/b] Nameless Forest - Lakeside[/i]
[sub][@Vertigo][@baraquiel][@AThousandCurses][@Nakushita][@Yankee][/sub]

If Asahi’s declaration had caused conversation, Oros’s declaration was one that sparked silence.

There had been some hope, perhaps, that she had regained some of her normalcy, but it was clear now that she was the same as she had been yesterday, a lunatic unhinged and unfettered by past failures. The only difference from today and yesterday was that she had done what no one else had.

She had brought Shun back from the brink of death, and in doing so, had lead them all to a veritable mountain of food. Masato may have thought that the amount of food they had would only last a while, but the two hulk-phants were massive creatures, their combined biomass dwarfing the chalk-turtle that he himself had brought in. If it was just a matter of staying in place and waiting for rescuers, what Oros and Shun had done was allow their classmates to focus exclusively on building up their camp and their shelter for at least another two or so weeks. Balanced nutrition was a long term problem, but the more time they had, the more they could learn about the world and the more they could arm themselves.

Yes, the difference now was that Oros had built some good will.

The first to speak up was Tsubasa, the portly schoolgirl casting a critical eye towards Oros. [b]“There’s nothing wrong with just staying in place and waiting for rescue though. I know no one’s thought too much about it yet, but by this point, the school and our parents have definitely filed reports, right? And with the bus itself gone without a trace…”[/b]

[b]“Optimistically,”[/b] Hiroshi said, [b]“we’d only have to survive two weeks of this. Presuming that they recognize this as a case involving the Otherside.”[/b] Kuroshio was in the boonies, after all. It was hard to judge just how much of a priority this case of disappearances would be.

Tsubasa nodded, grateful for the information. It was optimistic, but if they all worked together, they could certainly [i]survive[/i], right?

[b]“Thought we discussed last night,”[/b] Daisuke said, setting down his bowl of broth, [b]“that we’d try to scout out this place properly? This could work as a base camp, but I mean, what if we could just come across another portal? If we could just all walk out and get home, that has to be better.”

“Are you stupid?”[/b] Ayano snapped. [b]“This place basically has everything! Do we even know if there’s anywhere else that doesn’t have monsters everywhere? Just look at Shun, she didn’t last a [i]day[/i] out in the forest!”[/b]

And the night that they spent in the forest, not knowing whether or not they’d be ambushed by those unnatural monstrosities, had been awful, sleepless. Fujita squeezed her hand, and Ayano took in a breath to calm herself. [b]“And, like, how’re we going to carry everything we have? I don’t th-”[/b]

[b]“I can build a new tower.”[/b] Rin interrupted her, her face completely neutral throughout all the discussion. [b]“Building a new shelter wouldn’t be hard too.”[/b] She clenched her fist, spirals of razor-sharp energy emerging around her forearm. [b]“I’ll be fully recharged tomorrow, and I know how to do it better too.”[/b]

Sasuke looked thoughtful (though he always did). [b]“We could split into two different groups. One who stays here, and another that goes with Ayana and Asahi out to explore.”[/b]

[b]“I’ll help with exploration,”[/b] Hana said. Juro nodded with her.

[b]“But that’s exactly what Ayana told us not to do,”[/b] Ayane replied, trying to pull things back. [b]“Maybe she’s a bit loopy, but who was the one that rescued Shun, when no one else had any clue where they went? If we’re going to do something, we [i]should[/i] do it together.”[/b]

Akito grunted, rubbing his throat. He remembered what happened as a direct result of the last time they just left half the Awakened alone to their own devices.

[b]“We don’t need to decide immediately anyways.”[/b] Mayumi said. She narrowed her eyes at Ayana. [b]“Even if [i]some[/i] of us are really trying to push us to it.”[/b]

[b]“Kumi.”[/b] Sohei turned towards their head chef, who was busy trying to block out all this serious talk. She started at his voice, then turned around as he asked, [b]“How long would it take to preserve all this meat anyways?”

“Uh…maybe two or three days? If I was just cooking it normally.”

“Then we can just figure that out until then.”[/b] The older of the Ito twins nodded at that. The younger of the Ito twins picked his nose and flicked a booger into the flames.

[b]“Like, whether Masato or Ayana’s gonna be the boss?”[/b] Maki said.

[b]“I, huh.”[/b] Sohei thought about it for a moment.[b] “Guess this’ll be like some sorta election then.”[/b]

Mayumi sighed. [b]“God that sounds stupid.”[/b] But she didn't veto it. A sense of normalcy was a good thing, after all.

Masami stood up then, swivelling so everyone can see her flabbergasted expression. [b]“Meanwhile, what, we just ignore the whole thing about Asahi wanting to go by himself right now, immediately, to that mountain who-knows-how far away?”[/b] She raised a brow. They were missing the core issue here, and in that moment, the entire group fell into silence.

[i]Oh…[/i]