Heaven's BBS | Video

[revolutionfalcon]

Posted by: Chinatsu Hiyama
Date: November 13th, 6:57PM

[The video opens on...someone who is definitely not Chinatsu, sitting on a stark white couch in front of smooth earthen walls. It's a woman in her early to mid 20s, wearing a yukata in a careless enough manner that it's listing badly to one shoulder, with her hair done in a circular curl on one side of her head, finished with a shining, formal pin despite the abundance of hairs that have come loose of the hairdo. The arm holding the phone has a network of very faint knife scars down it, only visible because of her sleeves being tied up right now so as not to get in the way.

Though she's clearly not feeling it, she manages to force a smile and wave to open the conversation.]

Hello everyone. I'm not Chinatsu-kun, which you must already know if you know her, but I'd like to thank her for lending me her phone. This is...something I think I should say myself.

[Her attempt at a smile collapses quickly into something more strained and worried, though she manages to salvage it to collect herself into a more serious, but still grave manner.]

I haven't met most of you, but my name is Kotori, and I'm one of the shinki to Kurosaki Shun, otherwise known as Nekhbet. [She bites her lip a bit, keeps going.] I know there's some of you I should've told this to personally, and I'm sorry to them, but...he's missing. Not gone like what happens to you newcomers sometimes, just--

[Letting out a breath, she tracks back to an explanation.] He took me on an early morning patrol on the 11th. Maybe two or three AM, it's not uncommon for him to run out at that hour...but one of the places he wanted to check was that forest that moves around the Heavens. I think some of you might know what I'm talking about already. It's been...worse, in the last few days. Like it's reaching out to us. It had already been getting worse, but this...

[She grits her teeth, running a hand through her hair.] Don't let anyone else near it alone. I don't know what happened that day, I couldn't see it when I was a vessel, and all I could hear was the trees. And then I was changed back and he ordered me to run, and he never gives orders unless it's-- [Another break off, like she's angry with herself for having to pause so much, before she takes a deep breath.] I was lucky to find the edge of the forest, but he wasn't with me. That forest took him, and I don't think Kurosaki-sama is the only one. I don't think it's going to end by itself. I could feel it on my heels when I ran, and I can still feel it now...like it's trying to lure us and keep us there. Have any of you felt it too? Or seen others taken by it?

It needs to be stopped. And I don't know how to do it...but I can try and help you all a little if you're going to try. I owe that much.

[[This is the pre-event announcement/lead-in for the Hungry Forest event that begins on IC November 14th. Characters may ask questions of Kotori or discuss disappearances between themselves (or just make certain disappearances public knowledge), or try to plan things out for the next day - whatever helps!]]

Comments

[trademark_skull]

I haven't. [Not since the lava flow has Emizel really ventured too far in the Heavens. But you can't just leave him hanging after say something like that.]

What is it?

[revolutionfalcon]

[That explains it. Kotori thinks on things for a moment or two before she responds, somewhat hesitantly.]

There are...lures, I guess you could say. Spirits that make it tempting to stray inside and lose your way. It's been like that for a little while now, but I've been keeping track of it with Kurosaki-sama, and it's definitely gotten much worse in these last few days.

[trademark_skull]

[Oh, hey. That is actually something he knows a little about.]

Lures...Are they like glowing lights? Were they blue by any chance?

[revolutionfalcon]

They look like fireflies, so yes. But they're not the same as the green ones that've been floating around recently, if that's what you're talking about.

[She's seen the ones that have been around the meeting hall and Heavens recently, so she's assuming that's what he means by blue ones.]

[trademark_skull]

Fireflies huh? I suppose there is a chance it could actually be spectral fire, but it probably would be bigger than that.

Either way, it might still act about the same.

[revolutionfalcon]

I can't be sure since I didn't see them closely, but if that's something from where you came from, it might just be similar, not the same. They're not ayakashi, we could tell that much.

[It's a little odd to her that they aren't considering the feeling around the forest, but it's not like spirits can't be malicious as well.]

[trademark_skull]

We reapers use them as a faster way to catch souls. Especially the difficult ones. Plus, they just look really cool.

...But come to think of it, I haven't seen anything really reacting to mine, and especially no gods. So it must be something else.

[revolutionfalcon]

Reapers, huh? Well, that definitely doesn't sound like anything I've heard of people using here.

[So it definitely seems safe to assume it's something else.] Must be. Stay alert, and make sure nobody you know strays too close to that forest.

[trademark_skull]

[Well, he wasn't planning on going in there anyway. But..] So you're gonna leave him in the forest then?

[Usually when people post stuff like this, the intent was to rescue them.]

[revolutionfalcon]

I said make sure they don't stray too close. People going in by themselves off-hand rather than in an organised rescue effort is just going to create more problems.

[Kotori's tone becomes somewhat sharp in the clarification - she wouldn't be posting this if she just planned to leave him in there, not to mention that the idea of that is insulting of itself.]

I already owe him my life. Leaving him behind isn't an option.

[trademark_skull]

Oh, so this is a rescue mission!

[A little bit of thought.]

...I guess it would be good to know what is causing it anyway. Especially if whatever it is is getting worse.

But are you sure a group is enough? What if they all get lost too?

[revolutionfalcon]

If it's a large enough one, I can't imagine the forest would be able to take all of them at once. In a group, you have immediate backup and people who can respond to threats even if one or two people miss them. And there are more and more people coming on here saying friends of theirs are missing, so I think most of the newcomers might end up coming out for this if there's so many gone.

[Presumably they don't want to leave their own behind, and the number of individual victims means anyone who knows them closely enough is going to want to find them.]

[trademark_skull]

[Tentatively thinks about it for a moment.]

I suppose if there is people mysteriously disappearing in the forest at an alarming right, it may only be a matter of time before we're all gone.

[A pessimistic thought, but this could be their best chance.]

[revolutionfalcon]

So it's better to move while there's still a good amount of you all still here.

[Definitely pessimistic, but considering what Shun's attitude is like, Kotori is plenty used to that.]

[trademark_skull]

Y..yeah. You're exactly right.

[This is a little bit scaryyyyy.]

[revolutionfalcon]

Unfortunately, but it is what it is. [Kotori rests her head in one hand, looking a little concerned.] You newcomers have dealt with a lot, though, so I'm sure you'll pull through with a concerted effort.

[trademark_skull]

We're gonna have to. [No doubts, or else Emizel might start thinking there was no hope for them. They can't have that.]

We will get them out.

[revolutionfalcon]

I wish you all luck with the effort. I'll spread the word to as many as I can from here.

[Kotori doesn't feel like she has the same sort of flexibility for this sort of thing as the newcomers, so it's probably best to leave it to them.]