Toby surprised Sho when he willingly entered the fleshy room on his own and began exploring the walls. He never expected the timid guy to be the first to go in a potentially dangerous place like that. In fact, he had been prepared for Toby to want to hang back in the classroom or try to talk them out of it.
I guess first impressions aren’t always the right impressions, Sho thought.
“I'll...I'll go in. But, I just won't look, at first. Maybe I'll get u-used to it… Could...you just, hold my hand and lead me? I'll be c-calm. I swear.”
Sho looked back at Suzume to see her covering her eyes and holding out her hand to him. She looked anything but calm, but he said nothing. At least she was willing to go inside the giant stomach, and that was good enough for him.
“Sure,” Sho replied, taking her outstretched hand in his. He laced his fingers through hers and gently guided her through the doorway. The pulsing floor sucked at his shoes like a layer of mud (he didn’t want to think of it as working organs).
“The ground here isn’t completely solid,” he warned Suzume. If you can even call it ‘ground,’ he added to himself. He heard Haruka calling out to the misshapen figure on the platform. Sho didn’t think it was alive, but hey, better safe than sorry. Toby moved back to the doorway to join Haruka. Sho momentarily wondered at that gesture, but pushed the thought aside. They had more important things to deal with.
Sho suddenly recalled the figure in the window earlier and the spatter of red. Red? This entire room was red, and there, right smack in the middle of the platform, was a red figure. His brain made unwanted connections to the current situation and the one from earlier. He eyed the thing suspiciously. Maybe it really was alive…? If not, then there was still something moving out here. His hand tightened over Suzume’s.
Whatever was in here, he had to protect her and the others.
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Name: Taylor
Pronouns: They/them
Age: Mid 20s
Relationship: Married (happily, I might add)
Time Zone: Arizona (we hate daylight savings, so it's MST year-round)
Writing History: I've been on a number of different roleplaying websites for over a decade and a half
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Format: 1x1s only. Maybe I'll try a group RP again someday, but I've never had one last longer than a few months
Posting Speed: Depending on my schedule, I can usually post at least once per week
Favorite Genres: Modern, Historical, Romance, Action/Adventure, Horror/Dark, Fantasy, Slice of Life, Dystopian, can be convinced to write some Sci-Fi
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I'll try to get my next post up in a few hours
First post is up! :D
By the way, the school is run in an oligarchic fashion. There's no one headmaster. Instead, the teachers work together to run the school.
Also, you don't have to base your post length/quality off of mine XD I like to write super long posts, and I had to set the scene for all the rest of you anyways~
By the way, the school is run in an oligarchic fashion. There's no one headmaster. Instead, the teachers work together to run the school.
Also, you don't have to base your post length/quality off of mine XD I like to write super long posts, and I had to set the scene for all the rest of you anyways~
Momo tugged at the sleeves of her uncomfortable wizard robe. If there was one thing she disliked about Kobayashi, it was the uniforms. Students were forced to wear what looked like distasteful unisex choir gowns. As an avid shopper and former student of fashion design –back in the good ol’ days of normal high school– Momo felt quite restricted in her wardrobe options. Still, she did what she could to touch it up. Her raven hair was pinned up halfway with two Dutch braids, and the hair that was left free tumbled over her shoulders in loose waves like an ebony waterfall.
Along with the rest of the student body, Momo was headed to the Cafétorium. The room was a cross between a dining hall (aka: cafeteria) and a meeting center (aka: auditorium), hence the clever name. Today, the population of Kobayashi was gathering to celebrate the start of the new school year and welcome the timid little people known as freshmeat –er… freshmen. The new students would be divvied up based on their different traits and placed into the House (aka: dormitory) that suits each of them the best.
That was all good and fun, but the best part was the announcement of the House of the Year. The dormitories all competed in annual competitions to win that title because the victors get special privileges all year long. Last year’s winner would be declared at tonight’s gathering. Momo couldn’t wait. Dragonhart had won for the past two years in a row, but she felt good about Rowanstone’s chances this time. They had put up a strong fight against Dragonhart, and she was fairly certain they won more challenges too. Plus, Rowanstone always had the best academic achievements, as they were the smartest bunch of students at the school.
Momo shuffled through the French doors that lead into the Cafétorium with the other students, trying to avoid getting pushed about in the crowd. She managed to escape from the throng and slip into a seat at her House’s table. The dormitories were all separated into four long tables in the gathering place, each with the House crests hanging above to identify which was which. Starting at the far left, there was Wintercrow, Dragonhart, Rowanstone, and Adderhook.
At the head of the Cafétorium, there was an elevated platform like a stage. In the middle of said stage was a solitary chair. That was where the freshmeat would be put on display for all to see as they took the test to decide which Houses they would be assigned to. Momo hoped Rowanstone would get some competitive kids this year, and not just a group of quiet little bookworms who were just there for the schooling.
She was just piling food onto her plate for dinner, when she heard Tanaka sensei call everyone’s attention. Like the rest of the student body, Momo stood and faced the teachers’ platform. It was positioned just to the left of the stage. On top were six individual podiums, behind which the teachers all stood (except for Mori sensei, who was organizing the freshmeat backstage), looming over the crowd like a panel of judges. The room fell silent as everyone waited in anticipation.
“Students,” Tanaka began. His voice was unnaturally loud, and Momo suspected he was using an enchantment for enhanced vocal projection. “Welcome back. As always, I would like to congratulate you all on a wonderful three trimesters last year–” he was interrupted by an eruption of cheering from the young wizards seated below. “Yes, yes. You all did very well. But, I also wish to stress that you need to try even harder this year. It is always our goal here at Kobayashi to make each year better than the last…”
Momo tuned out the rest of his long-winded speech about how he expected everyone to get perfect scores on their exams and put on spectacular performances in the House competitions. You know; the usual beginning of the year spiel to get everyone pumped up for the coming trimesters. She listened in again when he switched to the topic of incoming freshmen.
“Now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” Tanaka said, turning to Yoshida sensei. “If you’d please.” Yoshida nodded silently and crossed from the teachers’ platform to the stage. He muttered a few phrases of a spell and held out one hand toward the chair. A pure white snake materialized, coiling around the chair’s legs and back. The snake was basically a scaly mind reader. It wormed its way into the freshmens’ innermost thoughts and decided which House each one would be placed in. Then it changed colors like a chameleon to reflect the House emblem of the new freshman, so everyone would know. Creepy, right?
“As according to tradition,” Yoshida began. “I will call the freshmen onto the stage in alphabetical order by their surnames. Mori-san will send them each to the chair in turn, where they will be judged and divided into their new Houses.” There was another short burst of whooping from the crowd while Yoshida summoned up a long scroll containing the names of the freshmeat.
The students all took their seats as the initiation process began. Momo sat on the edge of her chair in anticipation. She watched as the unlucky first kid sat down in the chair. She looked like she was about to faint when the snake rested its head on top of hers. After a moment, the snake’s scales rippled from white to royal blue and silver: the colors of Wintercrow. The table on the far left of the room broke out in cheers and sent one of their members up to retrieve the terrified girl.
Momo joined in with the rest of the Houses in a polite applause, and then returned her attention to the stage as the procession of freshmeat continued.
Along with the rest of the student body, Momo was headed to the Cafétorium. The room was a cross between a dining hall (aka: cafeteria) and a meeting center (aka: auditorium), hence the clever name. Today, the population of Kobayashi was gathering to celebrate the start of the new school year and welcome the timid little people known as freshmeat –er… freshmen. The new students would be divvied up based on their different traits and placed into the House (aka: dormitory) that suits each of them the best.
That was all good and fun, but the best part was the announcement of the House of the Year. The dormitories all competed in annual competitions to win that title because the victors get special privileges all year long. Last year’s winner would be declared at tonight’s gathering. Momo couldn’t wait. Dragonhart had won for the past two years in a row, but she felt good about Rowanstone’s chances this time. They had put up a strong fight against Dragonhart, and she was fairly certain they won more challenges too. Plus, Rowanstone always had the best academic achievements, as they were the smartest bunch of students at the school.
Momo shuffled through the French doors that lead into the Cafétorium with the other students, trying to avoid getting pushed about in the crowd. She managed to escape from the throng and slip into a seat at her House’s table. The dormitories were all separated into four long tables in the gathering place, each with the House crests hanging above to identify which was which. Starting at the far left, there was Wintercrow, Dragonhart, Rowanstone, and Adderhook.
At the head of the Cafétorium, there was an elevated platform like a stage. In the middle of said stage was a solitary chair. That was where the freshmeat would be put on display for all to see as they took the test to decide which Houses they would be assigned to. Momo hoped Rowanstone would get some competitive kids this year, and not just a group of quiet little bookworms who were just there for the schooling.
She was just piling food onto her plate for dinner, when she heard Tanaka sensei call everyone’s attention. Like the rest of the student body, Momo stood and faced the teachers’ platform. It was positioned just to the left of the stage. On top were six individual podiums, behind which the teachers all stood (except for Mori sensei, who was organizing the freshmeat backstage), looming over the crowd like a panel of judges. The room fell silent as everyone waited in anticipation.
“Students,” Tanaka began. His voice was unnaturally loud, and Momo suspected he was using an enchantment for enhanced vocal projection. “Welcome back. As always, I would like to congratulate you all on a wonderful three trimesters last year–” he was interrupted by an eruption of cheering from the young wizards seated below. “Yes, yes. You all did very well. But, I also wish to stress that you need to try even harder this year. It is always our goal here at Kobayashi to make each year better than the last…”
Momo tuned out the rest of his long-winded speech about how he expected everyone to get perfect scores on their exams and put on spectacular performances in the House competitions. You know; the usual beginning of the year spiel to get everyone pumped up for the coming trimesters. She listened in again when he switched to the topic of incoming freshmen.
“Now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” Tanaka said, turning to Yoshida sensei. “If you’d please.” Yoshida nodded silently and crossed from the teachers’ platform to the stage. He muttered a few phrases of a spell and held out one hand toward the chair. A pure white snake materialized, coiling around the chair’s legs and back. The snake was basically a scaly mind reader. It wormed its way into the freshmens’ innermost thoughts and decided which House each one would be placed in. Then it changed colors like a chameleon to reflect the House emblem of the new freshman, so everyone would know. Creepy, right?
“As according to tradition,” Yoshida began. “I will call the freshmen onto the stage in alphabetical order by their surnames. Mori-san will send them each to the chair in turn, where they will be judged and divided into their new Houses.” There was another short burst of whooping from the crowd while Yoshida summoned up a long scroll containing the names of the freshmeat.
The students all took their seats as the initiation process began. Momo sat on the edge of her chair in anticipation. She watched as the unlucky first kid sat down in the chair. She looked like she was about to faint when the snake rested its head on top of hers. After a moment, the snake’s scales rippled from white to royal blue and silver: the colors of Wintercrow. The table on the far left of the room broke out in cheers and sent one of their members up to retrieve the terrified girl.
Momo joined in with the rest of the Houses in a polite applause, and then returned her attention to the stage as the procession of freshmeat continued.
StOpossum said
School starts for me tomorrow. Just a fair warning
That's fine! I'm already in school, so I'm in the same boat as you
Finally got my post up. Again, sorry for such a long wait!
The rest of the night went by without much activity apart from the occasional howl of a wolf. The Slayers had retreated to the Inn at a nearby village to reequip for another attack. Gerbold was particularly impatient, but he could only rush his small army of men so much before it affected the quality of their preparedness. It would take them quite a while before they were ready to embark on another hunt.
Gerbold smiled fiendishly. But they would catch up. Oh, they would.
SoNem blinked against the bright morning light, his jaws unhinging in a wide yawn. Sleepiness still dragged at his limbs, but the muscle-sore pains from the previous night had faded to a dull, barely noticeable ache. He stood up slowly and roused Istaria with a sweep of his tail over her bright emerald and gold scales.
He lifted his nose and inhaled deeply, sorting the forest scents to pick out the smells of animals. SoNem suspected they had a long journey ahead of them to escape the grasping fists of the poachers. As such, they would need a hearty breakfast.
“Feeling up for a hunt?” he asked Istaria.
“Sounds good,” she replied in mid-yawn. “I’m craving a nice elk heart.”
SoNem pruumed his agreement and spread his wings. Istaria did the same and they took off, gliding over the forest. In a small clearing, a herd of elk was already beginning to scatter as their dragon-scent washed over them. Istaria dropped down on an older elk with a limping gait. SoNem eyed a younger target, diving quickly to seize the beast in his outstretched saa claws. The two rose back up into the open sky and flew back to their camp on the hillside.
They landed near the other two and dropped their catches. SoNem coated both elk in a blanket of burning foua to cook the fresh meat. The acrid odor of roasting fur and flesh wafted into the air.
“Wake up,” Istaria prodded the others with her sii.
Gerbold smiled fiendishly. But they would catch up. Oh, they would.
SoNem blinked against the bright morning light, his jaws unhinging in a wide yawn. Sleepiness still dragged at his limbs, but the muscle-sore pains from the previous night had faded to a dull, barely noticeable ache. He stood up slowly and roused Istaria with a sweep of his tail over her bright emerald and gold scales.
He lifted his nose and inhaled deeply, sorting the forest scents to pick out the smells of animals. SoNem suspected they had a long journey ahead of them to escape the grasping fists of the poachers. As such, they would need a hearty breakfast.
“Feeling up for a hunt?” he asked Istaria.
“Sounds good,” she replied in mid-yawn. “I’m craving a nice elk heart.”
SoNem pruumed his agreement and spread his wings. Istaria did the same and they took off, gliding over the forest. In a small clearing, a herd of elk was already beginning to scatter as their dragon-scent washed over them. Istaria dropped down on an older elk with a limping gait. SoNem eyed a younger target, diving quickly to seize the beast in his outstretched saa claws. The two rose back up into the open sky and flew back to their camp on the hillside.
They landed near the other two and dropped their catches. SoNem coated both elk in a blanket of burning foua to cook the fresh meat. The acrid odor of roasting fur and flesh wafted into the air.
“Wake up,” Istaria prodded the others with her sii.
And thus, Sho boldly leads the four amigos to their deaths 8D
Sho was entranced by the pulsating red walls of the adjoining room. The sheer vastness of the space was impossible in and of itself. He had heard theories of inter-dimensional crossroads before, but he had always blown them off as ridiculous fantasies. Now, he wasn’t so sure… A second, more unsettling thought niggled at the back of his mind: if this really was a door to another world, what was waiting for them on the other side? Judging from the gory scenery, whatever lived over there wouldn’t greet them with a friendly batch of cookies.
“Sho. S-Sho. Don't move..don't. Don't move. Don't move. Don't move.”
Suzume’s terrified voice drew Sho out of his trance. He forced himself to turn away from the throbbing crimson to meet the girl’s eyes. All the color had drained from her cheeks, leaving her a sickly pale hue. Although Sho couldn’t see his own face, he assumed he didn’t look much better.
“T-Toby, H-Haruka..did you see it? …I'm not going crazy..”
See what? Sho whirled around again and scanned the fleshy otherworld for signs of movement. He detected nothing, which somehow made him all the more mentally distraught. If Suzume had spotted something, the fact that it was gone now probably meant it had seen them too.
It could still be watching us.
…Or I’m just paranoid.
Still, he didn’t want to take any chances. As a precaution, Sho slid the door closed until it was almost shut so the thing –whatever it was– wouldn’t be able to see them if it really was watching. He turned back to the others and ran a nervous hand through his hair.
Okay, he had to think rationally here. That creepy message earlier said something about other worlds. It also said that a group of teenagers were the saviors of the Earth. He couldn’t help but scoff at that. What could a bunch of high school students do to stop the osmosis of multiple dimensions? Maybe the message was directed to someone else, and they just happened to stumble upon it before the intended person did. That made a little more sense, but it did nothing to help their predicament. They were here, so they might as well finish the job. That could only mean one thing…
They had to go through the door.
“Do... do we have to go in there, Haruka?”
Sho heard Suzume’s shaky voice again, almost mirroring his thoughts.
“Just... there's something in there. I saw it. But I don't know what it was. Haruka I've got a seriously bad feeling about this meat locker… What if the place eats us? This place could be a stomach.”
“I don’t want to go in there either,” Sho interjected, stepping back over to the rest of the group. “But –and I know you don’t want to hear this. Frankly, I don’t either– I just feel like we have to.” He paused and looked down at his shoes, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for his ungodly decision. “Well, I mean, there was the message earlier. Whoever left that thinks we’re the world’s only hope. What if they’re right? What if we are the only ones who can stop this thing? If we leave and pretend we never saw this place–” He gestured emphatically at the doorway. “Then we lose. Game over. No respawns. I think we should at least try to do some good until we find some more solid proof that it’s dangerous. If we see some freaky monster in there, I can safely tell you I’ll be the first one to say we get the hell out of there.” Sho looked at Suzume, who was quite obviously the most terrified, and directed his next words more towards her with a softer tone. “But for now, how about we just give it a shot?”
“Sho. S-Sho. Don't move..don't. Don't move. Don't move. Don't move.”
Suzume’s terrified voice drew Sho out of his trance. He forced himself to turn away from the throbbing crimson to meet the girl’s eyes. All the color had drained from her cheeks, leaving her a sickly pale hue. Although Sho couldn’t see his own face, he assumed he didn’t look much better.
“T-Toby, H-Haruka..did you see it? …I'm not going crazy..”
See what? Sho whirled around again and scanned the fleshy otherworld for signs of movement. He detected nothing, which somehow made him all the more mentally distraught. If Suzume had spotted something, the fact that it was gone now probably meant it had seen them too.
It could still be watching us.
…Or I’m just paranoid.
Still, he didn’t want to take any chances. As a precaution, Sho slid the door closed until it was almost shut so the thing –whatever it was– wouldn’t be able to see them if it really was watching. He turned back to the others and ran a nervous hand through his hair.
Okay, he had to think rationally here. That creepy message earlier said something about other worlds. It also said that a group of teenagers were the saviors of the Earth. He couldn’t help but scoff at that. What could a bunch of high school students do to stop the osmosis of multiple dimensions? Maybe the message was directed to someone else, and they just happened to stumble upon it before the intended person did. That made a little more sense, but it did nothing to help their predicament. They were here, so they might as well finish the job. That could only mean one thing…
They had to go through the door.
“Do... do we have to go in there, Haruka?”
Sho heard Suzume’s shaky voice again, almost mirroring his thoughts.
“Just... there's something in there. I saw it. But I don't know what it was. Haruka I've got a seriously bad feeling about this meat locker… What if the place eats us? This place could be a stomach.”
“I don’t want to go in there either,” Sho interjected, stepping back over to the rest of the group. “But –and I know you don’t want to hear this. Frankly, I don’t either– I just feel like we have to.” He paused and looked down at his shoes, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for his ungodly decision. “Well, I mean, there was the message earlier. Whoever left that thinks we’re the world’s only hope. What if they’re right? What if we are the only ones who can stop this thing? If we leave and pretend we never saw this place–” He gestured emphatically at the doorway. “Then we lose. Game over. No respawns. I think we should at least try to do some good until we find some more solid proof that it’s dangerous. If we see some freaky monster in there, I can safely tell you I’ll be the first one to say we get the hell out of there.” Sho looked at Suzume, who was quite obviously the most terrified, and directed his next words more towards her with a softer tone. “But for now, how about we just give it a shot?”
I'll try to get my post up in a little bit. I actually have some free time tonight~ :D
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