Event || The Answer

[melodiesmods]

Characters: All characters who signed-up for the event.
Where: South Continent of Balance (Imperial Territories)
When: April 20th to April 30th.
Summary: The Heroes of Light have lost consciousness and now find themselves in the middle of nowhere, without their Moogles and away from everything they know. They will have to get back home, but what awaits them on the path? For more information, please check the First OOC Post and Second OOC Post.
Warning: Bad things.

Group 01: Team Hijinks House
Group 02: Team Brigands
Group 03: Team Discovery Channel
Group 04: Sephiroth's (In)Sanity Squad
Group 05: Team (Bad) Shipping Advice
Group 06: Team Blue-Haired Lords on Fire
Group 07: Team Mom and Late Sleepers
Group 08: Nothing Bad Will Happen
Group 09: The Hellhounds
Group 10: Loftwings, A Working Title
Group 11: Team Oni
Group 12: Team F.N.T.I²
Group 13: Team Name-In-Progress
Group 14: Team The-Mods-Couldn’t-Brain-A-Name
Group 15: Seraphim Shenanigans

Comments

[dammit_yuri]

[Flynn narrowed his eyes, but nodded at Rukia's determination. He wasn't going to be the bad guy here, although the sheer blind altruism present in this group was blaring out alarm bells, but he couldn't voice his concerns without arousing suspicion.]

Very well - let's head toward the river. If any clues went into the river, we could follow it downstream and see where it leads up.

[dammit_flynn]

Make sure he doesn't leave your sight then, Shorty. It'd be pretty bad if we gets hurt and I can't say I can promise she'll be uninjured but we gotta think positive right? You're mum's a strong girl isn't she? What color is her hair?

[ He replied lowering himself to the boy's eye level as he pats the child's head. He's still suspicious like Flynn but there's no use dwelling on it. ]

Fine, sounds good. you and Selphie guard the rear with Grumpy in the Center. Flynn, you Lead and I go the rear.

[ Never mind Yuri was making decisions for everyone... unless they had objections. ]

[answernpcs]

[The small boy was terrier that Yuri may be right. What if his mother was already hurt? He bit his lip and liked at the ground.]

I don't want mom to die. [Said defiantly.] So you're gonna save her, right?

[He took a deep breath and squeezed Rukia's hand to steady himself.]

Mom's hair is pink.

[boomchucka]

[There was a dark thought gnawing at the back of Selphie's mind that she refused to speak aloud. Her wary gaze dragged itself up to look at her friends before nodding to her spot in the group. Maybe she was the weak link but even the weakest have their strengths.

She'll grasp onto that hope so that the poor boy doesn't have to suffer.]

We're gonna save her and we're gonna heal her right up, good as new!

[Her right hand gripped the hilt of her short sword tightly. Please let this little boy's mother be all right. Please.]

[blackmoonreaper]

Pink hair. Got it.

[It shouldn't be too hard to spot. While Yuri's decision making irked him a little he let it slide for now. It wasn't the time to argue, especially if someone's life was in danger so Ichigo settled a quick glance towards him before looking away. So they were heading to the river. Nothing unusual about the rivers in this world. There were likely monsters out and about but with all of them it shouldn't be anything to worry about. It really shouldn't be.]

...Right, let's go.

[answernpcs]

[The boy didn't smile, but he had to nod in agreement. Selphie looked confident, and that was enough hope for the small child. He tugged Rukia's hand and took a step back into the forest. Every minute, he'd look back up at her, then back to the road ahead.

The forest was mostly silent, save for a few times the bushes rustled. At these points, the boy let go of Rukia's hand and jumped behind the nearest Hero. After carefully watching the bush where the noise came from, he relaxed.]

Not a monster...

[Then he returned to holding her hand. The path twisted and turned, then went down a hill overlooking a river. The waters were calm, and it stretched left and right, curving behind trees at both ends. Here, the boy paused and looked around.]

I saw a rabbit here. [He pointed to the left of the river.] I ran over there, and...and I heard mom telling me to come back...!

[He chocked back tears.]

[dammit_flynn]

[ Yuri was irking in general but it was the best thought from what he was thinking. After all as much as he teased the orange haired guy, he trusted in his skills.

The girls were more vulnerable even if they both could hold their own with a child. Yuri didn't want to get anyone caught up in a mess thus he was taking the rear. Flynn seemed to be effective for being more alert than most so he chose the other to take the front. In short if there was protest he would rearrange it as he saw fit. Since everyone was okay with the outcome he followed silently behind them all.

There wasn't much for him to say beyond that. He's not entirely good with coddling kids. ]

[damn_juicebox]

[Rukia holds his hand tightly, providing her quiet emotional support as they begin their journey. Much as she would like to converse with the child to keep his mind from stewing too deeply on his worries, the peculiar circumstances insist that they keep their senses alert. There does seem to be something strange going on, but it's not something she can easily identify.]

[Once they arrive at the river, Rukia nods with a glance at Yuri.]

The soil should be soft here. Let me see if I can find any tracks.

[She releases her temporary ward's hand, turning to face him.]

I'm Rukia, what's your name? Do you like chocobos?

[answernpcs]

[The boy reluctantly let go of her hand and kept his own hand in the air as if expecting it to come back.]

I'm Gatta.

[He balled his hand into a fist and stuffed it into his pocket while looking at the ground. There was a pause while Gatta carefully thought about his answer.]

...Yeah. [He nodded and spoke softly.]

[damn_juicebox]

Pleased to meet you.

[Rukia bows her head, and her smile widens as she holds up a finger.]

Would you like to meet a green chocobo? Her name is Yuki. You may even sit on her back, if you like, and if there's ever any danger, she'll protect you and keep you safe.

[dammit_yuri]

Someone was here recently.

[Flynn kneels down, also observing the ground as he's talking with the others while Rukia was keeping the child occupied.]

These prints are small and light, most likely a woman's.

[blackmoonreaper]

[Ichigo spares Rukia and the kid a brief glance before watching Flynn. He's never really tracked anyone in the wild before so he's grateful for the other's skill. The sooner they can find this kid's mother the better.]

Which way are they going?

[dammit_flynn]

I'm assuming we follow those until we reach a goal or something else.

[ Yuri pointed towards the direction of the footprints that Flynn found. Of course, he takes it on him as usual to stray a few good feet away from the rest of his house mates. Yuri was being cautious but he can't put them all in too much danger as they were moving in a large and obvious group as is.

He doesn't comment any further for the child though, just glancing at him every so often. ]

[answernpcs]

No, I never met a green one...

[The child's worries were replaced by curiosity. As Ichigo, Yuri, and the others followed the prints, the boy's voice was lost in the trees.

A few minutes down the river, the dainty footprints were joined by much larger ones, spaced out so widely that whatever created them had to be running. The smaller prints grew lighter and farther apart until they stopped.

The reason for that was several feet ahead of them. Lying on the muddied banks was the bloody body of a woman with long, pink hair.]

[damn_juicebox]

[GOOD THING THE KID ISN'T THERE TO SEE IT! But neither is Rukia, so she's still having a good time boasting about her dearest bird friend.]

They're extraordinarily rare! She started out as a white chocobo, but after receiving the Fat Chocobo's blessing, she turned green, and now she's able to cross steep mountains. I shall now call her for you.

[Rukia gestures grandly, summoning her prissy chocobo who arrives, blinking sleepily.]

Kweeeeh?

[Rukia folds her arms proudly as the bird cocks its head to examine Rukia's young charge.]

Behold!

[dammit_yuri]

[Flynn's eyes widened as he took in this visual information, quickly running to the body and turning it over, hoping it wasn't who he thought it looked like.]

Yuri, do we have any medicinal supplies?

[Flynn put his finger on the woman's wrist, attempting to ascertain whether or not she had a pulse and also listened intently to see if she still had breath.]

[boomchucka]

[The moment Selphie heard Flynn calling for medical supplies, she was rushing toward the front of the group. If the perky brunette was being realistic, the situation was far from pretty as her eyes widened at the display. She kneeled beside the body in the mud and starting casting Cure to help bring the woman around.]

Try not to move her too much, Flynn. We could make any injuries she has worse and longer to heal up.

[Selphie looked back at Rukia and Yuri with a grave look on her face. It was far different from her usual demeanor and should've been enough indication that things weren't pretty.]

Keep the kid back.

Please be okay... please be okay...

[Her hands may have been shaking a little bit as she continued her quiet mantra. No one deserved to be without their parents. To Selphie, there were enough orphans in the world already so it was far too soon to be adding more to the collection.]

[answernpcs]

[When the group came closer to the woman, they could see her face more clearly. Her entire body was bloody and still, and there were deep gashes in her torso. However, when Flynn checked for a pulse, he found that there was a faint one, but it was fading away quickly.]

[dammit_flynn]

Yeah I'm working on it!

[ He quickly unpakcs the bag from the chocobo as he rushed over to Flynn as he watched for her pulse. Of course, the two of them were rather used to this sort of thing. It's not uncommon for them to come across the injured.

Eventually he makes it to Flynn and he hands him the medical kit he put together. ]

Put her on her back. I'll get the antiseptics, put this there to stop the bleeding. Selphie, you think you can use some healing magic on her? We got to act quick.

[ The pink hair was a throw off for him in general but he hadn't looked at her face too closely yet. Yuri was more focused on getting things together and fixed rather than his usually sarcastic self. Even when he spoke to Selphie, he didn't use her nickname this time. Instead, he used her actual name. Something Yuri didn't usually do unless he was serious. ]

[boomchucka]

I'm on it, Yuri!

[Selphie's concentrating on keeping the healing magic going. She trusts the others to keep the kid out of the way and keep trying to patch up the external wounds as she hyper-focused on casting volley after volley of Cure.]

C'mon Lady, nobody's dying today!

[dammit_yuri]

[Flynn takes some of the dressing and applies pressure to the worst of the gashes quickly but steadily. He's dealt with emergency missions before, and if others were freaking out, it was his responsibility to keep it together. He couldn't expect anyone else to keep it under control in this situation.]

Can you hear us? What is your name?

[His tone was terse as he tried to gently place the woman on her back and held her head in his lap. The others had arrived, so hopefully their magic could stop the worst of the bleeding. The trick was to make sure this woman held onto consciousness.]

[answernpcs]

[The woman didn't answer nor react when Flynn moved her or spoke to her. Her breathing was growing shallower and shallower. There was a shockingly large amount of blood on her front, something that mere bandages wouldn't fix.

Her heart would soon stop, and she was on the verge of death.]

[blackmoonreaper]

[Blood isn't something that bothers Ichigo, he's no stranger to it, but as soon as he caught sight of the body his knee-jerk reaction was to rush forward with the others but he stopped short when he got a proper look. His face is pale at the condition of the woman--the boy's mother. Something about the way she's on the ground in a bloody heap strikes a little too close to home. Some monster had gotten to her while the boy was chasing after something.]

[He needs to help her, try to save her like the others but he can't get his feet to move.]

[dammit_flynn]

[ Yuri's face twisted also into something short of shock when he was laying her down and giving her medical treatment while Flynn and Selphie were making attempts to help. Rukia was probably still taking care of the boy. Her facial appearance, was almost exactly identical to Estelle, if she was a few years older. Pink hair and light green eyes.

He stopped moving for a few seconds, but then forced himself to focus as he tried not to sound like he was caught off by the appearance of the woman. He continued to keep trying. ]

Damn it, stick with us alright? Don't give up

[ The Swordsman's face turned over to Ichigo after he had calmed himself but something about Ichigo frozen in place clicked with Yuri as well, but now really isn't the time. He understood that something here triggered Ichigo to freeze up. ]

Yo, Grumpy!!

[ He shouted loud enough for Ichigo to hear if not louder than his usual tone. ]

Get it together!

[boomchucka]

Now's not the time to panic!

[Selphie's hands faltered when Flynn had turned their victim over. The wounds were deep and Selphie knew that they were beyond what she was capable of but she wasn't about to stop. Her hands were visibly shaking from exertion at that point as she kept thinking, just a little bit more.

She shoots the two swordsmen a desperate look, losing confidence in her own abilities. The fact that the two of them were freezing up was enough to concern Selphie about Ichigo and Yuri's well-being over her own. She could feel the exhaustion creeping in from her toes and steadily working its way upstream.

Her tone of voice is tinged with panic. She's never watched another person die before.]

C'mon lady... what about your son? Do you want him to be all alone?!

[Please don't let him be alone...]