(Untitled)

[tidesnpc]

Characters: The Winding Way
Content: Time to find a lost play, hell yes
Setting: The jungles of Kagatau
Time: Late morning!
Warnings: Cue Indiana Jone's theme.

Comments

Re: Team Monkey- I mean Zidane! Heading North West

[nosexybodiesplz]

Laharl stood with the others, slightly irate, enormous greatsword at his back. He wasn't quite sure why the blue guy hadn't picked him to lead an expedition; he'd said he'd had experience with both treasure hunting (and looting) and jungles, but more importantly - he was the Overlord!

Well, the best way to show him how *wrong* his choice was would be to come up with results first. Given the monkey-boy running the show - was it just Laharl or did he seem a little wall-eyed? - that probably wouldn't be too hard.

Just then, a loud roar split the relatively quiet clearing. Laharl's ears perked up - he *knew* that roar! He wasn't sure what a Great Wyrm was doing here - maybe after he beat it up he could tell him how to get back to the Netherworld - but something that strong would be a suitable guardian for a lost treasure.

It was clear what he had to do.

Without warning, Laharl sprinted off into the forest, in the direction he'd heard the roar come from. He may have been laughing.

[ooc: I'm off to Cali, will work my way back into the thread when I have internets again!]

Re: Team Monkey- I mean Zidane! Heading North West

[eihples]

Bubbling with excitement enough for two kindergarten classes, Selphie galloped off the plank that extended off the ship, her emerald eyes wide, face as childlike as ever. "I'm sooo excited!" she chirped to no one in particular, save for any unfortunate individual within earshot or a two-meter radius.

She scanned the area before even taking in her forested surroundings, and then noticed a familiar face. "Oh, Al!" The little brunette skipped over. "Remember me? We met a little while ago?"

ABOMINABLY--I MEAN FASHIONABLY LATE. YES.

[hedgephones]

It wasn't like he was a stranger to the wilderness, but Neku was a city boy at heart, and there was always a part of him that was more nervous than excited when it came to having the jungle at his back and not much of a path in front.

In that sense, the fact that he'd gotten up and promptly started checking and rechecking his packing was perfectly normal--but he'd forgotten to check the time, and so it was a stretch of time from the hour set for departure that he finally tumbled out of the ship, slightly wild-eyed but composing himself even as he nearly tripped over the blonde girl in front of him.

Being the last one off the ship, he had the best vantage point, and he thought he'd seen something flash off to the side (something blue?)--but it wasn't a monster or anything threatening, because when he stopped to catch his breath, nothing came tearing out of the bushes.

He was probably just overreacting.

Making his way as unobtrusively as a latecomer could to the flank of the group, he stood with hands in pockets and hung back a little, trying to figure out who was actually meant to lead them among the excited gaggle of people. (Why were they so excited? They weren't even sure if they were going to find anything, there were monsters, they were trying to find a single script on an entire island...)

FAILFYRE

[thespianmonkey]

Zidane wasn't sure what to make of Laharl running off like that into the jungle. He made to stop him but he was already gone. He blinked and sighed after a moment, scratching the back of his head. Well, that was just great. He was already kinda failing at this.

Once the last one made it over to his group (Minus Laharl), Zidane did a quick head count and grinned. "All right everyone's here ....sort of" He pulled out the map he'd been given and then addressed his waiting party. Laharl went in the direction they were more or less going in, they'd bump into each other eventually... he hoped.

"If you don't know me, my name's Zidane Tribal, I'll be you party leader. I'm also one of the ship's boatswains." He turned the map so they could see it. "We'll be heading North West," He traced his finger in his plotted course and then tucked it away.

Turning towards the jungle he said, "So let's get going, we can't let the others beat us!"

[reaperbait]

"Right! We're going to do our best. Slow and steady wins the race." Zidane's words had her pumped up and really excited. They were going to do just great.

"Laharl--?" That didn't seem like a very good idea for Laharl at all. He did have a really huge sword, and he said eh was a really powerful demon, but that didn't mean that he could just run around like that and not get hurt.

She would feel just awful if he got hurt and she wasn't there to help. At least Zidane and the rest of the group were going after him. Rhyme waved at Neku, but he didn't seem very social about the whole thing.

She went back to -- slightly gushing over the play. "I didn't even know who the Steel Samurai was before that, but now I listen every week."

She was keeping herself alert though, you never knew what sort of scary things could be out in the jungle.

[eihples]

The returned greeting from Alphonse perked up the cowboy hat-donning girl (if such a thing was possible), and forcing herself to stop bouncing for all of three seconds, she unhooked her nunchaku from her belt. Monsters were in all likelihood going to be running rampant here, so it was better to be safe than sorry. The weapon was clenched tightly in her small hand.

"Are we all equipped with what we need?" Emerald eyes glanced around. "Is everyone here?"

[thespianmonkey]

Zidane laughed nervously at Selphie's question. "Everyone but the guy that just ran off, but we'll catch up to him eventually." He hoped, anyway.

Looking back at them again he said, "Watch your step in this place. There's no telling what we'll run into." And with that he took his first step into the jungle. It was dense, but he'd brought his daggers with him for a reason.

Taking one of them out he started to hack a path for the rest of the group to follow in behind him.

[reaperbait]

Rhyme followed the rest of the crew through the jungle. It was super hot and super sticky and super gross -- but it was an adventure!

"Oh! You know Winry? She was really nice to me when I first started on the 4423. I didn't say very long though." Hiruma and Doktor Sleepless and just the whole situation had been a little scary. Beat had also been really weird to her with the whole 'sister' situation. "I -- I think the Winding Way is a lot more fun, and I'm learning a lot more about how to be a doctor. I'm already a really good medic. We should spend some time together when it's not so hot. Aren't you hot like that?"

Rhyme could only imagine how hot it was in that huge pile of armor.

[nosexybodiesplz]

Well, Laharl hadn't found a Great Wyrm. It turns out that one specimen of the local fauna - some odd lizard-thing with these big toe claws - merely had a roar that sounded the same.

Any disappointment at losing a possible clue to a way home was trumphed by the discovery that, if you cowed one just right, they made a pretty awesome mount. Whooping loudly, he all but plowed through the undergrowth, steering the slightly frantic raptor through the forest with a vine as simple reins.

Suddenly, the beast snapped its head to the left and screeched to a halt; it was all Laharl could do to keep himself from being thrown. Turning to follow his ride's gaze, he found himself vaguely amused that it was afraid of the other members of his group, who he'd just burst out in front of. How could they provoke such a reaction? Laharl must have shaken the beast up more than he'd thought - maybe he shouldn't have done the thing with the sticks and that giant fish he'd found to it.

Composure regained, there was one thing left to do...

"HAAAAAAHAAHAHAHA! Look at the kind of things the jungle has waiting for us to use! I'm telling you, uh...monkey-vassal, if we go through this place right, we'll come out like kings! You just have to know how to loot."

[eihples]

The tiny body of Selphie popped into view on the other side of Alphonse, her youthful face a canvas of emotions. "Yeah, aren't you like, dying in there?" Already she could feel a bead of sweat running past her ear, and just looking at the poor guy set her on fire.

"It must be sooo hot," she half-questioned and half pointed out, adjusting the hat on her head.

[hedgephones]

So wait, they were just starting off and they'd already lost someone...? That explained the hallucinatory flash he'd seen earlier, but that didn't reassure Neku at all. He tuned out the idle chatter of the team as they ventured into the jungle, himself straggling a little, but not too much (everyone knew what happened to people too far at the back).

(He also had to admit it was pretty weird for someone to be clomping around the jungle in a suit of armor, but he'd seen stranger things. Probably.)

The sudden raucous laughter coming from Laharl had him scrambling for the small dagger that he was already glad he'd brought, although it had been more out of the thought of hacking away at stray foliage than for self-defense at the time. Then he took a second look.

"..." We're supposed to ride around on lizards now?! I didn't get my herpetrian certificate yet.

[reaperbait]

Questions of improbable armor got left aside when Laharl came back on top of the huge beast. At first she was scared, who wouldn't be, but after the fear calmed down she frowned at Laharl.

"Laharl! That's not very nice!" She frowned at him. She knew he said he was a demon but really he didn't have to be so mean to that poor animal. Maybe saying that wasn't going to be particularly helpful - he seemed like to not being nice - but she felt it had to be said.

"What did he ever do to you?"

[nosexybodiesplz]

Laharl smiled at the guy in the suit of armor. He really reminded him of the Ghost Armors back home.

"Sure, if you can catch one. They can carry a lot, and they can defend themselves, unlike most horses and stuff. Plus...I mean, look at them - this is a proper mount for an Overlord!"

Rhyme's chastisement wiped his good humor right away. "Not very nice? It's a big lizard, what does it matter! Some of the other, bigger ones tried to eat me - I think it's only fair that this one repay me with its body."

For some reason, though, he was reminded of Flonne protesting his treatment of Hoggmeister. He hoped she didn't press the issue - it'd undermine his authority as Overlord if he had to let the thing go free.