fablelands | TDM/September.

TDM/September.

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away...
You snap awake with a sudden jolt, the sounds of nature surrounding you. The ground is warm beneath your hands, a press of fabric under your head. Sit up. Look around. This isn't where you fell asleep. Not even close to it. But with no one around you, answers as to how you got there in the first place are a little beyond your reach for now.

If you decide to head off, don't forget your bag. You'll want that if you plan on making it out here. If you want to survive. And if you don't want to move, well...good luck. There's a shadow on the prowl. A rustle of leaves, a snap of twigs. Glowing eyes in the distance...

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Characters find themselves waking up on the bare ground (or a bed if they're very lucky), a leather pack beneath their head, and entirely alone. It's not where they fell asleep that night. Isn't even close. The sky is the wrong shade, the ground isn't quite right. The only note of familiarity are the clothes on their back.

Searching through their pack, characters will find a change of clothes, a few food rations, and something personal to them. They'll also find a pouch of wooden coins and a shard of mirror. Before they get a real chance to investigate those items though, they'll hear a rustle in the distance. The sounds of something moving around.

It's their cue to get moving too. And somehow, all characters find their feet guiding them in the same direction. Off towards the Great Lake, less than ten minutes walk away, no matter where on the island they first woke up.

Welcome to the island of Leutheria.

Welcome to the first ever event/test drive for Fablelands. Above is an arrival prompt that players are welcome to use to introduce or test out any characters they are interested in bringing to the game. Below is an on-going event that will be taking place throughout the month of September (though the wolf will still remain a constant presence on the island for the months to come). And of course, you are free to use this post for any other prompts you wish to use, or mirrorshard conversations too. All threads are able to be used as game canon, providing both players agree to it, and can ultimately be used for bonus AC if you wish to.

If you have any questions, please direct them to the FAQ.

And without further adieu, let's get on with the show!

premise | faq | taken/claims | locations | wishing well | bonus ac

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away...

You wake to the feeling of being watched. Of a set of unfamiliar eyes, of warm breath on the back of your neck. A jolt back to the land of the living, and it's gone. No matter how quick you are, how sneaky, the source of the disruption has long since disappeared, so you have no choice but to try and ignore it. To continue on with your day and try to set that moment of strangeness aside.

You eat, drink, speak with others. Perhaps you explore a little. Whatever it is you choose to do for the day, that feeling from the morning won't return. And by the time the sun sets and the moon glows brightly above, you've likely set those moments of strangeness aside. It's not like it's anything new, after all.

It's the same again for the next few days. No better, no worse. Something best ignored, right?

A speck of blood on the doorframe. That wasn't there before, was it?

A snap of twigs in the distance. A crunch of leaves.

Claw marks gouged deeply into the door.

Into the wall above your bed.

Scraps of red fabric, turned darker with blood. Pieces of fur. Of flesh.

Do you run and hide? Do you fight? Whatever you choose, it's definitely time to make sure your body parts aren't scattered next...
...what a horribly big mouth you have.

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Since first waking up on the island, characters have been stuck with that feeling of being watched. It isn't a constant. Isn't more than a few seconds at a time, dotted throughout the day. Investigation has never turned up much, and there's never been any sightings of the cause of it all.

Until now.

Throughout the first half of the week, characters will find themselves suffering from that feeling of being watched on a far more constant basis. Rather than it being a one-off, few seconds occurrence each day, that feeling will last for minutes at a time, and on multiple occasions.

However, it isn't until the fifth day that they'll start stumbling across physical signs of their monitoring. There are claw marks on doors. Spots of blood on the paths outside. A crack of twigs in the forests, or the imprint of bloodied paws in the snow.

Ten days in and those signs start finding their way indoors. Wet footprints, tinged with red. Claw marks in the walls, the floor. Torn sheets and the smell of wet...something. Whatever it is that's been watching you, its finally decided to come and say hello.

Two weeks in and characters will begin to have sightings of the creature, its fur dark and its eyes a glowing yellow. At times it looks like a wolf, prowling in the distance. At other times, it's walking on its hind legs, almost human were it not for the muzzle full of gleaming sharp teeth. Get too close, and it slips away like a shadow, gone between one blink and the next. It decides when to reach out to characters, not the other way round.

It's after characters finally get a good look at the creature that it starts leaving...gifts. Characters will start to find familiar items from their home worlds amidst the mess. The remains of a childhood pet, perhaps. Photographs of loved ones, faces torn almost beyond recognition. It's only once it delivers its final gift that the creature retreats to the trees again: a blood-splattered item of clothing that clearly belongs to the person the character misses the most at the time, alive or dead.

[credit 1 & credit 2]

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[She's trying to track it. Gamora is still convinced on some level Thanos is involved. While she wishes she could run, she'd never doom these people by doing so. She can't be sure of where she could go under the circumstances regardless. Her efforts to find whatever is stalking them lead her to a terrified teenage boy. Her heart aches for Groot for a second before she's going to his side with one hand on her sheathed blade. If it thinks she will allow a child to be picked off while vulnerable, they have another thing coming.

Her expression and demeanor is soft as she goes to rest a free hand on Peter's shoulder, positioned so she can watch the entrance and him at the same time. Whatever comes will have to get past her. It won't on her life.] It's going to be alright. Just keep breathing; deep and slow.

[there's a distinct lack of a response at gamora's touch. something he knows that mr. stark would tell him off for if he was here. but with how tightly he's clutching that sweater, he'd at least like to believe tony would understand why. why it takes so long for gamora's words to sink in. why his breaths still come far too quickly to be normal. why he isn't running away from the stranger who could very well be responsible for it all.]

W-who...

[there's a question there. but one he can't find the words for. he wants to know who she is. wants to know where the hell may is. but instead, it's taking every ounce of his focus to try and remember how to do that whole breathing thing first.]

[She can guess the question thankfully. Her expression only softens further. That sweater must belong to someone he loves based on his reaction. She hopes she'll be able to save whoever it is.] My name is Gamora. I am a Guardian. That means I am going to protect you so keep focusing on your breathing. We will handle the rest when you are ready.

[It's a patient explanation. She's not interested in rushing him through recovery. He has every right to be shaken. The important thing is if something comes she will not waiver. He's perfectly safe like this as far as she's concerned.]

[a guardian. it's a name- no, a title -that means something to him. something familiar, despite not quite being able to understand why just yet. there's something there though, sitting at the back of his mind. but focusing on it is beyond him right now.

breathe in. out. in. out.

he can do this.]

My aunt. [they're words that're whispered quietly, minutes later. his breathing may not be fully under control yet, his heart still beating out of his chest. but he needs to say something. needs to at least try to regain control.]

Something has her. [because she isn't here. he may not have any way to be certain. but there's still a part of him that knows that.] Something brought this here, and I-- I don't know why.

[Her lips press into a thin line. She can't help thinking of how she never found her mother. Gamora knows her fate is the same as her people, but it doesn't change the pain. It does make her determined that no one else will ever share it.] I cannot tell you for certain, but I have experience in these situations. Whenever something like this happens, it's for this reaction. They do it to make you vulnerable and act rashly which is why we're taking our time. If your aunt is being held somewhere, I will find her.

[She can't promise she'll be alive. She'll retrieve the woman even if it's only her bones. Gamora doesn't think it'll come to that considering what he has a hold of.] It's a good sign they gave you her clothing. They want you to think the worst because it hasn't happened.

[this would be so much easier if he was wearing his suit. a barrier against the outside world that'd leave him free to hide behind the mask. the persona. to pretend that he can stand shoulder to shoulder with the avengers in the way he'd always imagined and take on the world.

instead, he's here. wanting nothing more than to hide away from the world. to wake up and find out that this is all a bad dream, and may is really just asleep in the next room. but as active as his imagination may be sometimes, even he can't fool himself in to believing that.]

...I need to wash this. [may's sweater. it's something to distract himself with. not to mention--] She'll be mad if I don't. S'hard to get blood out when it's dried. [because he definitely has a lot of experience when it comes to that.]

[It would seem random to anyone else. Gamora finds it to be reasonable. You do what you can when you're backed into a corner. Sometimes it's playing at being someone's daughter, other times it's washing a sweater. She nods.] Okay. [Her hand drops so she can allow him to do what he needs to do. She's still not comfortable leaving him alone like this so she asks,] Would it be alright if I stayed for a few more minutes?

[he nods slightly at her question, pushing himself up to his feet with far less grace than he'd usually exhibit. but given his current state of mind, it really isn't something he has any kind of control over.

for a long moment, peter just stands there, his grip tight around the material in his hand, entirely ignorant of how it causes drops of blood to drip onto the floor. of how his hands are turning redder by the second. but when his gaze finally flicks towards the sink in the corner--]

I have to go to the lake. [because there's no way he can do this anywhere near where he's staying. not if he plans on being able to sleep through the night again.] ...will you come with me? [never mind that she's a complete stranger to him. she's been trying to help, and that's enough to have his trust.]

[Gamora can see the problem. She's hardened to so much but, the sight of someone's loved one's blood on them still makes her blood run cold in response. She doesn't hesitate to agree to go with him. Stranger or not, he's her responsibility for now.] I'll stay with you for as long as you need me to.

[She might have to double back to get rid of those drops at some point. One problem at a time.]

[there's no response then, though his gratefulness is likely clear enough in the slight relaxing of his shoulders. he glances briefly down at his pack, before stepping away and leaving it there. he knows, with his suit tucked away in there, he should probably take it. but the last thing he wants to do right now is touch it. so instead, he simply kicks it beneath the bed and out of sight. he can deal with that later.

so instead, he heads off out the door, only the briefest amount of hesitation there when he has to pull it open to get out. but soon enough he's off towards the lake, silent the entire way. right until he's able to dunk the sweater into the water and start scrubbing at it. it's only then that his shoulders start to shake, tears barely held back as shock finally starts to set in properly.

what if this is may's blood?]

[Gamora follows like a silently. She's more like a shadow than a companion on this trip. That could change the second anything breathed wrong at this boy. The journey turns out to be uneventful. She hangs back to better guard Peter up until the moment his shoulder shake.

Gamora takes a swift look around, but it won't change her actions whatsoever. Her nondominant hand goes to grip his shoulder tightly to comfort him.]

You don't have to do this. We'll get her another sweater. [It's not about the sweater. They both know that. Gamora won't touch that topic until he's ready.]

I do.

[his voice is quiet, but no less firm in his words. cleaning her sweater means ridding it of all traces of his possible failure. of not being able to protect her from whatever this place is. if he can just get those stains to disappear, then maybe he can...

can what?

his fingers still abruptly, and peter wipes at his face, anger starting to take root in place of his despair. something here has may, and here he is focusing on her sweater. on washing something that she might never get to wear again. not if he's too busy wallowing in grief to do something about finding her.

letting the sweater go, he pays it absolutely no mind as it starts drifting away, and instead he stares up at gamora.]

It's still out there. [whatever it was that left that sweater. that's been stalking all of them since they arrived.]

We have to stop it before it hurts anyone.

[She watches without moving an inch. She can't be sure if he's about to snap or not. Grief can be difficult to handle. His reaction that follows is promising. He isn't falling apart; he's acting.] That's what brought me to you. [Gamora admits carefully. It's why she's still here. She's protecting a potential victim while they are vulnerable. Now that she's seen that fire in his eyes? She thinks she may have an ally instead.]

Even if it hasn't harmed anyone, it is still threatening to. I can't allow it to live.

[swiping his hand over his eyes, he grimaces at the fact he just...wiped his face with a wet hand. so instead it's a sleeve over his face, and then he's back on his feet again.]

We should ask Mr. Starlord to come with us too.

[seeing as he was supposedly up there to fight thanos too. that makes him a hero, which means that peter can trust him.]

I need to go get my suit first though.

[not that karen will be much use here, given that she's offline. but he at least needs his shooters if they're going to try and hunt down the creature in the woods.]

[Gamora nods in agreement.] We'll need Peter for this. [She doesn't ask how he knows him. This is a teenage boy. The Peter Quill she knows wouldn't think twice about looking out for him the second he spotted him.]

And whatever you need to get your aunt back. Let's go.

[he just blinks for a moment at the name. despite knowing that he and star lord share a name, hearing it being used to refer to someone else here still feels odd. but it's barely a few seconds of hesitation before he's off, heading back towards the hut he'd claimed as his own.]

Wait. You're Gamora. Mr. Starlord's girlfriend.

[and mother of their tree...baby. okay, space is weird.]

[She nods slowly while walking at his side. This actually isn't too surprising. They're stuck in an enclosed space. Peter would have tracked down every minor she hadn't by now. They both have a protectiveness of children having spent their childhoods being exploited themselves.] Peter has been my partner for some time.

[he cringes a little, though he's quick to try and wipe that expression from his face. to offer up an explanation, at the very least.]

Sorry. It's just-- My name's Peter too, so it's still kinda weird hearing that.

[not that it's the first time he's met another peter. but given how few people there are here, what're the chances?]

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TDM/September.

big bad wolf, week two

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