event: portal four | the mountain

[mayfield_mods]

The fourth portal, as might be expected, can be found atop the hill known as Makeout Point. The other side of the portal isn't altogether that much different from the side you're entering from, save for the thicker trees and somewhat darker lighting.

The other side of the portal is significantly colder than the Mayfield side; frost covers the ground, and although it's not quite freezing, you'll want to bundle up. A glance at the sky reveals what you might have been dreading: glitch holes, in varying size, litter the skyline. The sun is hidden behind a set of thick clouds, creating a melancholy atmosphere.

The landscape around you is relatively flat, and you can't see too far beyond the forest ahead of you. It isn't until you turn around, facing the portal that you entered from, that you see the rising slope of the ground. The mountain rises high, higher than you can see from its base. There's a rough, primitive path heading up its slope, and for now simply hiking will be sufficient. As you get further, however, simply walking won't be enough: you're going to have to climb...

Somewhere, closer than you might prefer, a single wolf howls, and is shortly joined by more.

Better get moving.

Comments

[wolfishsurvivalist]

[When Mika stepped through the portal, she had left her cane at home. Her worn satchel was heavy with supplies, a long lead pipe was slung across her back, and she carried a shotgun that had taken quite a bit of effort and a trip to the menswear department to acquire.

After all, she needed to be prepared.

Scowling up at the mountain as her eyes adjusted to the low light, her ears twitched at the sound of other wolves. Grinning grimly to herself with a noisy huff, she let out her own howl. When the final notes died on the air, she tugged up the lapels of her coat and set off, checking the pockets of her jeans.]

[vedaandme]

[Was that...

That howl sounded a lot closer than the others. Tieria paused for a moment to see if he could judge just how far. He spotted the shape in the shadows. Narrowing his eyes a little, he watched to see what direction it was moving in. It seemed human enough from here...]

[wolfishsurvivalist]

[And human-shaped it was, walking towards the mountain path in a coat and jeans, with a heavy bag of supplies. But the silhouette of those pointed ears and waving tail is rather suspicious.]

[vedaandme]

[Suspicious indeed. He hesitated. Granted, drones never had inhuman features, so this baffled him slightly. Was she a non-drone from Mayfield, or was she native to this mountain?

For Mika's part, if she had the sense of smell that her animal parts indicated, she might notice his scent was different than that of a normal human. Almost... clinical, too perfect.]

[wolfishsurvivalist]

[She paused, turning to sniff the air to be sure she was smelling what she thought she was smelling. If Tieria was looking carefully, he'd see her eyes flash yellow like any animal's.]

You going to just hide behind the flora or are you going up too?

[vedaandme]

You are from Mayfield?

[wolfishsurvivalist]

Ah?

[This catches her by surprise before she barks a laugh, her tail wagging.]

Do I look like a drone to you?

[spitefulvitae]

[Natalie is making her own way up the mountain, dressed in a similarly sensible fashion but carrying far less stuff. Her pace had been quick enough to catch up with some of the folk that had gotten a much, much earlier start, so here she was just about tailing Mika.]

....hey.

[Really, all of Natalie's clattering around on rocks probably should have alerted the wolfish-looking girl to the fact that someone was coming up from behind. She wasn't that great at the great outdoors.]

How much farther do you think we've got?

[wolfishsurvivalist]

[Her ears had flicked back toward Natalie the instant she'd started to draw close, the footsteps were easy enough to pick out. When Natalie actually addressed her, Mika glanced over her shoulder, her tail wagging.]

Haven't the foggiest! With holes in the sky like that? [She jerked a thumb at the obvious glitches.]

Anything could happen.

[spitefulvitae]

Fuck those holes in the sky. [She hops over a bit of uneven ground and laughs a humorless laugh.] The only thing that'll happen with those here is death.

...why're we all up here, again?

[wolfishsurvivalist]

To see what the hell is going on with those holes, is what. And to see if we can find a way out.

Apparently the librarian is the key. Somehow. Either way, I'm not sitting around on my tail waiting for someone else to hand me my ticket home.

[spitefulvitae]

[Mika's response gets a slightly more genuine laugh out of Natalie. Well, it's more like a snort... but it's very genuine.]

That's a longer summary than I would have given.

[She picks up her pace so she can walk beside the furry girl rather than behind her.]

I know what we're here for. Vaguely. I hope it's fairly obvious when we've found it... I'm just wondering if I'm crazy to be out here.

[wolfishsurvivalist]

As crazy as the rest of us, I'm afraid.

[Mika just shrugs, then leans in to whisper something to the other girl.]

Which means we're all doomed~!

[strawberryredgrave]

Packin' a nice howl and a shotgun? It's like you're pulling at my heart strings!

(This break in seriousness has been brought to you by your favorite demon hunter.)

how did I only just get this notif

[wolfishsurvivalist]

[She rolls her eyes before turning to level him with a flat look.]

Really, Dante? Really? I'm a wolf, what do you think my main form of communication is?

[With a roll of her eyes, she shakes her head as she looks back to the mountain path.]

To tell you the truth, I'm not certain I'll be a very good shot with this thing.

Your notifs don't like me very much

[strawberryredgrave]

Hey, I'm just sayin' it's a good thing.

(A casual shrug. He likes his women with an extra bark and bite)

Oh, it's easy: you just point and shoot. The closer you are with that thing, the better. Might want to watch out for the recoil, though.

/brb sobbing forever

[wolfishsurvivalist]

I liked some of your other pick-up lines better, I think.

[She whuffs, rolling her shoulders as she arched an eyebrow at him.]

Honey, please. It's not like this is the first time I've tried to use one. It's just been a really long time. And the last few beasties I had to go up against were rather immune to bullets.

[She snorts, her ears flicking back as she glances out into the twilight.]

Besides, I'm a little opposed to shooting another wolf, it just doesn't feel right, even if we don't exactly meet eye-to-eye.

Re: /brb sobbing forever

[mayfield_mods]

This is suddenly happening!

[strawberryredgrave]

Alright, so I'll throw a few of them at you later.

(May or may not be serious about that.)

It's cool. If we're lucky, we won't have to deal with 'em at all. Otherwise, I'll shoot 'em for you.

(Real sensitive, Dante.)

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ Steve trails behind her, running to catch up ]

So, what'd you tell them?

[wolfishsurvivalist]

[She grins back at him, her tail waving.]

I told them to back off, is what. [A soft huff as she cocks her head.] You look like you're packing enough heat for a small army there, Captain.

[mayfield_mods]

This is suddenly happening!

[pursuitofcappiness]

I had to come prepared for the worst. But if you can get them not to attack, I'd like to have brought these along for no reason.

[wolfishsurvivalist]

It would make our lives a little easier, wouldn't it? I've always had reservations about shooting another wolf in the face, but I'm not sure I'm in the physical condition needed to assert dominance properly. I'll do what I can, though.

[Mika whuffs softly, lifting her shotgun.]

Besides, it's been a really long time since I've used one of these. I'd hate to find out how rusty I am if we need to use it in a pinch.

[pursuitofcappiness]

Hopefully, we can just keep out of each other's hairs.

[ SUBJECT SWITCH TIME ]

Have you talked to anyone who went the days before today? I want to know what kind of mementos we're supposed to be looking for.