OPEN CATCH-ALL for the rest of March (totally not late)

[tempredmental]

Who: Keith, OPEN
What: Catch-all for March... includes event prompts, siren mini-plot, TDM prompts
When: Mostly the second half of March, but also open to early early March, like the first few days
Where: Around Trench, Jumanji jungle, Catacombs, Moss King's Summer House

Content Warnings: Will note in tags

• Siren's Call
• Last Chance for the Carnival
• Jumanji
• Catacombs
• Moss King's Summer Home

Feel free to make your own top level for a wild card. Hit me up on Plurk at sailorgundam06 or on Discord at SailorGundam06#2608 if you want to chat. I also have a plotting comment here or you can PM this journal!

Comments

Siren's Call - thwarted drowning attempts

[tempredmental]

[It was a few days after being pulled from Blue's cottage and freed from that mind control when Keith found himself on the beach. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he was restless. The cycle of ups and downs, of action and quiet, with such short times between them, it was getting to him. He should be used to this. It wasn't much different than home. But, that was the problem. It was different. It wasn't home. It was similar, but not at the same time, and his head was trying to get around that. The bouts of action vs inaction were normal in and of themselves for him at this point, but it was what was happening during those highs that was getting to him.

Trench was... weird. He couldn't think of another word to describe it.

Either way, as he stood there, he could hear a soft song on the wind. Last time he'd come this way and realized someone was nearby, it had been Shiro with incense at night, watching the Moon Presence singing out over the water. So, curiosity got the best of him, as did the drawing power behind the song, and Keith found himself unwittingly following it towards its source...]

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul was walking along the beach. He's recently discovered that pieces of sea glass will occasionally wash up on the shore and has found he's quite taken with them. He brings them home and has been figuring out just what he's going to want to do with them.

He's on the beach right now but isn't having much luck finding any. Perhaps the tides just haven't washed any onto the beach right now. Maybe he should wait a few more days. While he's looking, he hears a song on the horizon. It's enchanting and beautiful, coaxing whoever is on the beach to come towards them.

For a moment, Maul finds his feet moving unwillingly towards the ocean, but as the water laps his feet his natural fear of drowning overcomes any desire he might be feeling to join the singer. He draws himself up and steels his mind with the Force, blocking out the power the song has over him. That's when he notices that Keith is nearby and going right into the ocean as well. From the look on his face, he's been entranced by the song as well.

So Maul swiftly makes his way over to the paladin and grabs him roughly by the arm.]

I don't think you want to do that.

[He warns in a low voice.]

[tempredmental]

[There was an initial resistance as Keith tried to keep going, but then something in his head clicked. He suddenly realized he was standing in the water... waves lapping over his feet. How the heck did he-? He looked back to see who had a grip on his arm.

Oh... that guy who'd been in his dream... Maul, right? He could pull corruption from people...

Keith blinked, staring at him a second as the song on the wind kept trying to reclaim control.]

Uh... right...

[He looked back towards the water, like he was still trying to locate the source. His head was still foggy and, after being stuck in Blue's house under mental control already this month, his willpower was kind of weak.]

That's... that's not Cynthia again... is it? [Unless...] You do hear it, right? That song?

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul physically began to pull Keith backwards from the ocean. The Sith Lord is well-built and strong enough when he needs to get physical with someone He has no idea how well the paladin will be able to resist the siren song, so he's not taking any chances.

He pauses a moment to listen. Yep, he can still here that lovely, mournful tune drifting over the waves.]

No. She's always benevolent towards Sleepers and I don't think she'd start breaking her word now. This is someone-- or something else.

[tempredmental]

[Keith was surprisingly dense for a human of his size, clearly someone who was athletic and maintained it. But the confusion with the song and his situation was enough to muddy his thoughts and let himself be pulled back. It was a nice song... and he was interested in knowing who was singing it.

Still, the warning hung in his memory... I don't think you want to do that... No. He probably didn't. The ocean surf could be dangerous, and Keith wasn't the strongest swimmer. Learning to swim in a pool was not learning to swim in the ocean, and access to pools wasn't exactly prolific in the lifestyle he had.]

Is it... It feels like... like it wants me to go out there.

Last Chance for the Carnival

[tempredmental]

[It was the last day of the carnival, and Keith was checking out some of the games they had available. He was still running a bit ragged and sore after the fight that ended his stay at Blue's cottage, but sitting around Mouse House was getting on his nerves and he needed to get out and do something.

He mostly could be found looking at some of the shopping stalls, and then going to games like the dart game and the baseball game. He was good at those types of things, even if a lot of these things were usually rigged for the player to lose more often than win, even back home. Underinflated balloons that refused to pop when darts hit them, or well stacked bottles that were hard to knock down... there were tricks to the trade, after all.

And, of course, the food... Keith was wary, of course, but food was still food and still necessary, even if there might potentially be some awkward effects. He's had that happen before. But these particular items seemed to be safe enough, so... he was just going to have a corn dog or two, maybe some fried dough balls or funnel cake with powdered sugar. Chocolate covered bananas on a stick were always good...]

[truehumili_tea]

[The thing about carnivals was that they were meant to be fun, for one to enjoy and laugh. Of course, it was very helpful that they often had quite a variety of food as well, a treat that Iroh was glad to partake in. Currently, he was sitting at a table with a funnel cake, a pair of corndogs, and a few other odds and ends in drinks.]

I think I may have gotten a bit too much. I don't suppose you would want to join me? You look like you could use a break.

[tempredmental]

[Keith glanced over at the sound of someone talking to him, and then looked surprised.]

You just got a bit of everything, huh?

[He came a bit closer to glance at the spread.]

It's definitely a lot of food.

[truehumili_tea]

I couldn't help myself, all of it just looked so tasty. I've never seen such cuisine as this and did not want to chance missing anything. But I am afraid that it might be a bit much, even for me.

[Iroh patted his stomach, it certainly had gone back to its round full figure since the days of the comet.]

I would be happy to share.

[tempredmental]

[Keith chuckled a bit.]

I mean, it wouldn't be the first time someone bought more than they could eat. [He did, however, hesitate slightly.]

If you're sure...?

[Keith tended to be a bit nervous about people just randomly offering up food out of the goodness of their hearts. And a place like Trench wasn't exactly known for being generous without a price, even among Sleepers.]

Jumanji

[tempredmental]

OOC: All event warnings may apply. Additional warnings will be tagged.

=====

Perking Up

[Yeah. Guess who got this one... Keith now had black panther ears and a tail. The tail had been a problem until he was able to figure out the pants thing, honestly. Talk about painfully uncomfortable and awkward. But, what was actually kind of nice about it was the fact that he had better senses now, and more agility for climbing trees and getting out of danger.

Well, getting out of danger until-...]

=====

Trophy Hunter

[Even climbing trees wasn't an easy deterrent for this guy. The shot rang out and blasted away part of the tree next to you as Keith ducked and rolled, barely missing getting hit. He'd grab your arm and give a good tug to get you moving.]

We gotta run! NOW!

=====

Giant Frogs

[Keith definitely felt like someone or something was watching him, following him, pacing with him as he made his way through this strange jungle. Would someone notice the frog before it ate him? Or was someone going to have to pull him out? Either way, he'd figure something out. He did have a knife on him...]

=====

Quicksand

[As soon as the riddle disappeared from the board, everything began to sink... and quickly. Keith momentarily panicked, but, even in a desert, quicksand was something people learned about. He managed to grab the boardgame, and then started looking for something he could grab... a vine, anything... to pull himself out with, but it wasn't going to be easy, and the panic was rising as quickly as he was sinking. He could use a hand!]

=====

Rushing Rivers

[Honestly, Keith's hair being soaked like this made him look like a soaked Persian cat with the ears and tail added on. But, here he was, stuck on a rock, the water rushing and maybe rising around him, and he looked desperate. Not because of the water... but because-...]

Fucking boardgame... where'd it go?

[He was hoping it got lodged somewhere down river, but he was already really exhausted and wasn't sure if he could actually fight the current well enough to search for it. There was a tree nearby, though... If he could climb it, maybe he could see better? Or maybe someone had something floaty that they were coasting by on and could help him navigate downstream?]

Quicksand

[onerthes]

[She'd heard the sound of shifting sand and had come into the clearing, stopping at a skid just barely near the edge, before taking a step back. Looking out at him, she called out.]

I'll cut a vine! Hold on!

[Going to the tree next to her, she pulled a knife out and started hacking at one of the vines. Of course, the fleshy things weren't exactly easy to cut through. He could wait a minute, right?]

[tempredmental]

[Hold on... right... He'd offer his own knife at this point, but it was already under the surface of the sand. But there was the other issue, too.]

The game!

[Normally, on solid footing, he could throw really darn well. But this was quicksand, and he was sinking fast. He wasn't sure if he could get enough strength into his throw in order to make it to the edge. The board wasn't exactly lightweight, either. But, if he could get it close enough to the edge for her to reach...

He held it up.]

[onerthes]

[It was here that both of them probably should be grateful that the vines were themselves very strong. When it was cut, she whipped one length around her arm and leaned forward, over the edge of the quicksand. The whole action was precarious to say the least. Her fingers flickered, almost missing the board, and then just barely snagging it as she hung precariously over the soft ground. With a whip, she tossed it back, letting it land unceremoniously beside the tree, safe for the moment.

She was honestly much less concerned with the board than him. She pulled back only to grab a long stick and lean forward, her arms screaming as she reached out with the stick, pushing it up to him.]

Grab it, Keith. We need to get you out of there before we roll!

[tempredmental]

[He was up to his shoulders at this point, but Keith managed to snag the stick in his grip strongly enough that he managed to pull himself closer and turn so he could then get both hands on it.]

I got it!

[It was tough to tell his body to relax and not try to kick his legs or something in a facsimile of swimming to help her pull him out, but he knew that would just make him sink further and make it harder to get out. But, with him holding on to the stick, he could still pull...

Hopefully, the stick would hold as well as the vine...]

Trophy Hunter!

[grandtrashking]

No need to tell me twice, sounds like a plan!!

[The shock of being now half jaguar is wearing off with a crazy person with a gun shooting at them, and there is no resistance in being told to run.

Fortunately, Tooru's an athlete, an olympic medalist, so stamina is something he's got in spades to run as much as necessary to get away from whoever is shooting at them.]

[tempredmental]

[The Hunter seemed overjoyed that there were now TWO cat people running away from him. What a challenge!! Keith was definitely determined to outrun the guy hopefully long enough to have someone make the next move on the board. They had to finish the game, right? And that meant outrunning this guy and making sure they survived until the end.

Like Tooru, Keith was athletic... not an Olympic medalist, but he was a trained and experienced fighter with alien stamina, so he could also definitely keep going for a while.]

We need to find a place to hunker down... loose this guy in the brush somehow!

[AKA: Any ideas???]

[grandtrashking]

[Just their luck that this insane hunter is chasing after two cat people, or not so much, given he's a maniac with a gun that almost gets a lucky shot and grazes Tooru's arm. Instead of hissing out in pain, he just bites down on his cheek, doing his best not to let the hunter think he'd gotten lucky.

He'll get that patched up later, when they're less at risk. For now, he scans the area, as best as one can do when running for his life, and spots something hopeful:
what looks to be a small cavern of sorts. And assuming, and hoping, the hunter wasn't that smart, they could hide there for a while. Think of a plan.]

There, I think we can hide in that if we can pick up some speed and outrun him.

[Subtly, but enough for Keith to hopefully see but not for the hunter to catch, Tooru points in the direction of the cavern.]

[tempredmental]

Worth a try, I guess. [Hopefully, there wouldn't be some crazy monster hiding in there already... or it would be deep enough that they could get in and take cover enough that the Hunter wouldn't immediately see them when he went past... or the Hunt wouldn't be willing to dive into a cave on a potential wild goose chase...

Keith stopped that line of thinking because it was getting pretty fatalist at this point, and they needed something to get a break from the guy.

Keith was pretty fast, though, and he was able to dodge fairly well, so that would help him in losing the tail. Hopefully, Tooru could keep up.]

Wildcard Pokemon

[azurestar]

[Welp, he is getting real tired of getting duped into playing this stupid board game that takes him to one of the worst places ever. Though, at this point he thinks he's becoming desensitized to the jungle just a bit. Maybe.

And apparently trying to cheat his way out to make this go faster was a bad idea because he's got jaguar features now. Great. At least the agility is something he's familiar with using when he was a catboy, so he is leaping through some branches and spots the river. His new Glaceon got sucked in with him and she is leaping along with him and spots Keith first. She cries out to get his attention and he skids to a halt near the rushing water.]

Keith?

[tempredmental]

[The sound of the water made it hard to hear anything else, but Keith was pretty sure he'd just heard his own name. The cute panther ears twisted around as he tried to figure out where it came from.

It had sounded like-]

Lance?

[The ears perked forward when he spotted the other... huh... also a catboy... Well, then. Great. Carefully trying not to slip off the wet rock he was currently stranded on, Keith turned to fully face Lance now.]

Throw me a vine or something, will you? [He'd worry about finding the stupid board game later. He needed to get to solid ground that wasn't about to wash away under him first.]

[azurestar]

[Maybe them both being cats is a coincidence or maybe it's some kind of sign, but Lance is gonna choose not to think about it. His tail swishes as he assesses the situation Keith's in. Then he looks down at the glaceon near him.]

Hey, you got that ice beam move?

[She cries in a way that he thinks is affirmative and then he turns back to Keith.] Got something better than a vine!

[And a second later, the glaceon lets loose a beam of ice into the water leading from Keith's rock to where Lance and the ice pokemon stand.]

[tempredmental]

[Okay... that was kind of cool. But, as Keith stared at it for a moment, part of him had to wonder how safe it was going to be to cross an ice bridge over rushing water in a jungle.]

Uhh...

[Especially when his own hands weren't exactly going to be free to hold on with. He took a steadying breath and carefully stood, scooping something up in his arms as he did, and gingerly made a few steps to turn and face the bridge.

In his arms, he was holding what looked like a half-drowned black and red cat. It didn't look good, the water clearly having been bad for it.

He took a few careful steps towards the 'bridge', and then slooowly made his way on to it. It was killing him internally to have to move that slow, but he didn't want to slip and fall back in, especially when the little cat's life apparently depended on staying out of that water.]

Catacombs

[tempredmental]

OOC: All event warnings may apply. Additional warnings will be tagged.

=====

Calling Fire

[Keith froze for a second, staring at the burning house. He didn't have a fear of fire. He respected it, for sure. You can't grow up as the son of a firefighter and not. But, that said, you can't grow up the orphan son of a firefighter who lost is life in the line of duty and not have a emotional trigger response to burning buildings with people inside.

The fact that the shadows weren't moving didn't even register through the initial fog. It was the scream from the door that snapped Keith out of his stupor and spurred him to action.

He ran towards the house...]

=====

'Til Death Do We Part

[He'd seen it a few times... the strange figure that he was pretty sure wasn't really there. It wouldn't be the first time Keith had seen his dad in some sort of weird place. The Trials had done that. But, that had just been in his head. This place, the catacombs, he wasn't so sure. And it was shaking him quite a bit. And, up to this point, it had been so fleeting each time.

But after the burning house, he was certain, and, when he turned to face it, he saw him. They stood apart from one another for a moment, Keith staring mostly in shock because of the decay. He knew that Trench could be weird about death, but this?]

... Dad?

Moss King's Summer Home

[tempredmental]

[Guess who rolled a six. This guy.

After crashing through the roof, Keith is... unhappy. It hurt like hell. Yes, he'd been healed by people at the tent after the Leviathan battle last month, but the impact didn't help any lingering soreness in his ribs from where he'd broken one. Plus, after the fighting in Blue's captive safe house, he was still recovering from that a bit despite Lance's temporary deer healing powers having taken most of those injuries from him.

So, it hurt. A lot. Mattress be damned.

He was also pretty sure he'd messed up his leg on the landing because now he was limping. That said, staying in one spot probably wasn't a good idea just in case someone else rolled a six and potentially landed on top of him. So, that said, he was going to explore this place as best he could to see if he could figure out why he was here.]