If you go out in the woods today, you'd better not go alone. [closed]

[playonforever]

The Wood is bright and friendly and full of birdsong in the half-mile or so around the barracks. Sunlight glances through the trees, turning everything to green and gold. Here and there, between the shadows, individuals appear and disappear. Some of them peek around trees toward the buildings, some of them run laughing through the woods and vanish

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[ore_dinary_hero]

Rokk had been investigating the old-fashioned settlement they were camping out in, trying to get a proper inventory of what was still usable, when he heard what sounded like laughter coming from the outside the walls. Flying up to peer cautiously over the wall he frowns as he sees the figures moving through the trees. They look harmless enough and none of them seem to want to venture too close, but after being assaulted by a body of water he's not about to trust that anything is what it appears to be

[playonforever]

He gets a little girl in a tunic and breeches, her hair bound back in a bow. She appears from nowhere and looks up at him with milk-white irises. "Can it hurt her? She thinks it can't."

A giggle, and she tilts her head, regarding him. "It's a stranger here, she sees. So long since she's seen strangers."

[ore_dinary_hero]

Right. Well, he doesn't know the first thing about the natives of this planet - and maybe time - so he really shouldn't be a little put off by her. It's just a little unnerving, hearing a child speak in such a manner but Rokk's not going to let it get to him. He's staying on-guard yes, but that's as much to do with how dangerous their environment is as anything else. He doesn't really want to think of a young girl as a threat.

Even as this runs through his head, Rokk crouches down to be at eye-level with the girl, offering her a friendly smile. "I am a stranger. Myself and some others have been stranded here. Do you know anyone who can help us?"

[playonforever]

"She knows many who would help you, for a price." She rocks back and forth on her feet, smiling brightly. The smile isn't entirely friendly. There's just an edge of amused wickedness when he kneels. "What does it have worth trading?"

[playonforever]

"It needs to talk. He needn't listen."

The voice might sound a touch familiar. It comes from behind Harvey, from the mouth of someone who looks nearly identical to Bruce Wayne, right down to the expensive suit. His eyes are the only distinctly different feature. "And he knows much, much more than it about many, many things."

[playonforever]

"He does know its name. It does not know his, clearly." The facsimile of Bruce tucks his hands into his pockets, smirking slightly. "Its little toy will not harm him."

He shrugs, his expression going sympathetic. "It has been wounded, yes? In its body and spirit. Such deep scars it will have--and it will have scars."

[thatsortofaman]

The Doctor should probably be staying within the walls of the barracks, between his injury and the... terrible luck he's been having in general, lately. But he doesn't sit in one place very well, and he'd like to see if he can find someone who might be able to explain why they're all here, where here is, or... well, anything at all.

And so as soon as he notices that there are people, or creatures, out there in the forest... he decides to venture out past the gate and into the wood. He's moving a bit more tentatively than usual as he wanders through the trees, all tensed to run if he spots something that looks even remotely like one of the things at the Arch. That uneasiness does not stop him from calling out, though.

"Is there someone out here? I promise I won't hurt you! Honestly, I'm... practically harmless." Not that he looks terribly frightening anyway, under the circumstances, but it seems like whatever's out here is just a bit skittish. He rather wishes that skittishness would rub off on certain otter-shaped creatures...

[itchafes]

"Practically harmless. I don't think you could hurt anything if you tried." Neal picks his way after the Doctor, ducking a branch and stumbling over roots.

He really, really hates the woods.

"We shouldn't be out here," he says, pulling even with the Doctor. If Peter finds him out here Neal will never hear the end of it. "You're not exactly looking like a contender in the hundred yard dash just now."

[thatsortofaman]

Somehow, the Doctor's not at all surprised that Neal decided to follow him, and allows himself a quick grin as Neal comes up behind him.

"Probably not," he says cheerfully, "But I hardly ever stay where I should be. Where I should be's never any fun." He pauses a moment, and then glances over his shoulder to Neal. "Question is, why'd you follow me? You didn't have to do that..."

[itchafes]

He checks, giving the Doctor a slightly strange look. It's both at having his own general state of mind vocalized back at him and at the question. "Be... cause."

Neal clears his throat. That's a perfectly reasonable answer. "Wandering away from the ghost town into the woods by yourself doesn't seem like the best idea after--" What happened when they got here. Which really doesn't need to be said.

Of course, he's explored most of said ghost town already, and except for the mystery of the full storehouse, there's not all that much interesting left to see. He's chewing through the books in the library steadily--not much to report there...

Once around the wall should be fine. "What're you looking for?"

[gammapulsed]

Bruce, for the most part, has kept well away from the majority of people he's seem to have found himself with. He doesn't want to have to deal with the obvious questions people will ask. Like where he's from, why he doesn't have any clothes on, what's wrong with him...

He's just too tired to even begin to try answering any of that. Not to mention he's probably not supposed to, what with security clearances and top secret stamps and whatever other classified crap is piled on top of the Initiative. So it's in everyone's best interest that he just stay away until S.H.I.E.L.D. comes and picks him up. It's just safer this way.

So Bruce is simply walking along under the trees, trying to be careful of where he puts his bare feet, when his head jerks up at the sound of whomever the heck's out there. He knows better, really he does, but he can't stop himself.

"...H-hello? Is somebody out there?"

[playonforever]

"Out where?"

The voice comes from the trees overhead. A young woman drops down to hang upside-down from a branch, her legs hooked over it to keep herself from falling. She has dark hair, full lips. Pale white eyes.. She might look familiar--like a relative of someone close to him.

"Out in the Woods, out in the world, out beyond itself? The details make the difference."

[gammapulsed]

Because he isn't twitchy enough already... Bruce nearly jumps out of his skin, head whipping around to see where the voice is coming from, and he starts forward to try and keep the woman from falling and cracking her head on the ground. Which just makes him feel all the more awkward when she so adroitly handles herself. Of course. What was he going to do anyway.

"Out here, a-apparently," he mutters to himself as he tries to get his pulse back under control. "...Hi th-" The words die in his throat when he gets a good look at her. God, she could be B-

He shakes his head because he's not going to think about that, and the hand holding up his pants clenches just a bit tighter. Instead, he focuses on the eyes - the stark difference is enough to keep him from thinking things he'd rather not.

"I just meant, you know. The general there as in here. This particular area of trees, since you're wanting the, uh. Details."

[playonforever]

"She is in this general area." A giggle, and the girl swings down out of the and lands on both feet. She moves closer, her eyes extremely keen. "And so is it."

She tilts her head first one way, then the other. "Beauty.... beast."

And she taps his nose.

[playonforever]

"So many greetings it gets today." A short, slim young man steps out of the trees, wearing a tunic and hose and a page's cap. He has wispy blond hair and milk-white eyes. "So many who just want to talk."

He boys, sweeping his cap off and looking up at Sylar from the position of submissiveness. "What might it do for you?"

[playonforever]

"He is its humble servant." The page straightens and settles his cap back into place. "It is unwise to leave the walls. Who knows what mind find it wandering. Not all are as considerate as he is."

For all that he says the Wood is dangerous, the young man himself seems entirely unconcerned for his own safety. He shields his eyes from the light and examines Sylar. "How unique."