August 2021 - Farming, and...?

[staymods]

Finished Farmland

Summer days grow longer and hotter, with scarce rainstorms only bringing a cloying humidity. It makes for miserable work outside, but it's work that still needs to be done. Sheep need to be cared for, the newly-finished farmland needs to be carefully inspected and watered daily, and accurate counts of food in storage need to be maintained to ensure that there will be no famine in the winter.

Still, for as hard as the work is, there is a sense of relief among the settlement. Being self-sufficient is vital to survival through the winter, and Settlement #5 has now achieved that. Hopefully everyone read through the farming books to know how to grow vegetables!

Dark Whispers

For a month, the sounds from outside the settlement had been quiet. The cries at night had disappeared as quickly and mysteriously as they had come, leaving everyone to wonder just what they had even been. By now it may be little more than a memory of what once was.

But starting in August, the Otherworlders will start to hear whispers in their mind at dusk.

"Are you there? Can you hear me?"

These whispers carry a heavy weight, and everyone will feel it tugging constantly at them for about 10 minutes at each sunset. After those 10 minutes, the whispers go quiet once more.

While they are not forced to answer, the Otherworlders will feel a strong pull towards responding. Those with weaker mental defenses might even find themselves wandering towards the northern end of Rabbit Island in search of the source, though they will instinctively know it comes from beyond the waters, on the opposite shore. Nobody is forced to answer, but they will feel an inclination towards doing so. Though maybe talking to each other first would be a better course of action?

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Comments

The voice

[staymods]

[If your character is going to respond to the voice, please do so here.]

Gonna three-way thread this bad boy. Faust will be talking first/for the most part.

[ghoulserrand]

[He hadn't had a doubt in his mind that the voice would speak again. He'd already found himself a seat on the shore when he felt its pull, drawing a slow breath to steady himself. He doesn't have to wait for Faust, really, but he still feels like he should. And so, he doesn't respond himself, keeping still until he hear footsteps. He asks Faust, not the voice:]

Are you... ready?

[relictus]

[Faust comes to a stop beside Teo, but he's going to remain standing for this. He's not about to sit down when he barely knows what to expect. He simply nods whether Teo is looking or not, as he's looking out over the sea as he answers the pull of the whispers. No point in wasting any time.]

I can hear you. What do you want?

[staymods]

[All is quiet for a moment. But then, in a slightly louder whisper, comes the answer:]

"Hello? You can hear me?

Where are you?"

[ghoulserrand]

[His back straightens at the response. That felt very much directed at them, even if the phrasing has only barely changed.

He glances at Faust and back to the water.]

Far.

[They didn't agree he'd talk too, but oh well.]

Pinging Mauri-

[relictus]

[Probably the next morning after speaking with The Voice, Faust will go seek out Mauri to ask a few questions, and the best place to start is probably-]

Mauri. Have you been hearing the whispers around dusk of late?

It Mauri

[staymods]

[Mauri is out and about on the Northern side of the island, tending to the graveyard. Pulling weeds, clearing off headstones that have been covered by plant growth, that kind of thing. But he'll stand up when Faust approaches him.]

I'm not a mage, so no. I can hear physical sounds a troll makes, but not the whispers.

Are you hearing some nearby?

[Since Faust has been asking about mages, Mauri has already figured that Faust can do magic of some kind. He thinks it's a foreign mage trying to figure out things that are new to him.]

[relictus]

[That... unexpectedly gives him an answer to a question he didn't ask, but just to confirm,]

The trolls... whisper? And only mages can hear them?

[maidofmistakes]

[Supergirl's been talked out of investigating, but she feels really, really bad about it. So, doing the best she can, she's going to try and use her super hearing: anything beyond the calls out there? People moving around? Weird noises?]

[staymods]

[Supergirl will notice that, during those ten minutes or so a night when the voice calls out, the forest is unnaturally quiet and still. The ambient sounds of wildlife are completely gone. But as soon as the voice stops, the sounds of the night- hooting owls, croaking frogs, and so forth- pick up again.]

[maidofmistakes]

[Okay, that is creepy. Enough to make her come to the edge of the island and... not fly over, definitely not, but maybe she can try and see what's out there?]

Is everything just... scared?

[ghoulserrand]

[He's called it "voices" before, whenever his memory decided to open and surrender him some distorted piece of his past. But, he definitely hadn't meant it so literally. It didn't sound like someone was calling him, now, here, in the present.

The first time he'd heard it, he'd made a fuss. Someone needed help. They needed to do something. But, when he'd seen everyone the next few days, no one acted like anything was out of the norm. Had he dreamed it? With time, it slipped his mind.

But now it's back, snuck in there and burrowing. It makes him feel uneasy but so does the idea of ignoring someone in need. He does walk to the edge of the water, just once, but he can't go beyond. Not unless-- no. He can't. What if it's not out there? What if it's somewhere worse.

It's with a miserable note that he says;]

I think... I'm going crazy...

[maidofmistakes]

Mr. Teo?

[Supergirl hangs back, looking around nervously.]

I thought it was just my super hearing, but if you hear it too, it must be close. What do you think it is?

[ghoulserrand]

[His head lifts. Like usual, there's no expression that can be seen with all he wears.]

You hear it too...?

[His breath shudders. He's not crazy. Not yet.]

I thought it was... just a voice in my... head...

[He looks then towards the direction of the shore.]

I don't know... it would... have to be a survivor... wouldn't it...?

[maidofmistakes]

Yeah, unless it's an illusion... I know we're not allowed to go check, but I want to anyway.

[relictus]

[Faust is only on this part of the island to confirm one thing, and he already has- that the source of these whispers is coming from outside the islands. He would have simply turned around and left at that point if not for spotting a familiar figure by the water, and maybe it's just the dimming light but he looks alarmingly close to just walking forward into the waves.]

[Which in itself isn't alarming, but with those whispers...]

Oi, Teo. Get away from the water.

[ghoulserrand]

He didn't realize anyone else was out there. He hates that he can go from being too aware to completely phasing out of the world with the right distraction. He jerks at the sound of Faust's voice, whirling and stepping back from the sea.

...Faust...?

[He glances from the man and back to the water again.]

Do you... hear that...?

[relictus]

[To be fair he was hanging back from the actual shoreline, but he moves closer now that he has Teo's attention.]

...It's coming from outside the islands, so it has nothing to do with us.

[relictus]

Doggos

[Having moved himself into the house on Sheep Island sometime last month, Faust has taken it upon himself to ensure the sheep are taken care of- not in any official capacity, but since he's staying here he may as well ensure they aren't neglected, right? And now that the farmland nearby is ready for use, he can help keep an eye on that as well...]

[But watching out for the sheep also means ensuring the two Finnish Lapphunds are taken care of. He's much more of a cat person, but at least they're well-trained, and, well...]

[When no one is around (or it at least seems that way), he might just spend some time throwing sticks for them to fetch and rewarding them with bits of dried fish and ear scritches, with some rare laughter when they manage to lick his face.]

Voices

[This is very different from the sounds they heard before- if these disembodied whispers can be called sound. It makes him uneasy for a multitude of reasons. He's very aware of the pull and resists it the first night, which seems effective as it fades minutes later.]

[But when it's back the second night, he still refrains from answering but he lets himself follow the pull to the north shore of the island. From here he can tell it's coming from outside the islands, and as far as he's concerned, that's all he needed to know.]

[Regardless of anyone else who may have turned up here for the same reasons, he turns away to head back despite the whispers still pressing for an answer.]

Doggooooss

[ghoulserrand]

[There's no real reason for him to go to the island. He doesn't need the food in the field and he really shouldn't go too near to the sheep. He's not all that aware of the very recent arrival of the dogs, but even that wouldn't be much good of a reason.

The fact of the matter is, he has no excuse for going to see Faust, except that he wants to see Faust. He wouldn't say it's not worth the trip over.

He knows for certain it is when he catches that bubbling laughter in the air, the sight of a smile.

He hangs back a little longer, waiting for the dogs to clear away, at least somewhat. Then he ventures closer, shoving his hands into his pockets.]

You look like... you're enjoying... yourself here.

[relictus]

[The dogs do head off to run around and play with each other for the time being, which gives him plenty of room to be startled by Teo showing up. He quickly composes himself, though he's not wearing his hat today so he can't use that to hide his face at all.]

Dogs need exercise to stay healthy. I'm just making sure they don't get too bored and cause any problems.

[That's all, obviously.]

[ghoulserrand]

[The woes of being without things to hide behind. Right now, his own widening smile is hidden by the gaiter.]

Mmm... must be... the dogs laughing... too...

He glances over to where the dogs play.

Are they... recent...? Or have I... not been paying... attention?

Dogs!

[aono]

[Rin isn't so great with animals and often leaves the sheep for others to take care of. Being a demon boy does seem to startle them a bit. So when he goes out to the island, it's because he plans on working on the farm for a bit. He at least knows enough about that to maybe keep the tomato plants alive.

He definitely hears that laughter coming from the sheep side though, and he's going to stop working on pulling weeds to go see what's going on. He doesn't speak up at first, but he's also not hiding his movements either, and Faust might see him coming long before he gets over to the sheep side of the island.

If Faust looks in his direction, he'll wave to him.]

[relictus]

[As Rin is making his way over it's probably easy enough to make out Faust crouched over and petting and praising the dogs, but he will notice someone is approaching before too long, at which point he straightens up to quickly pretend like he was doing nothing of the sort, much less smiling or laughing.]

[Though with Faust's attentions on them lost, the doggos are happy enough to go romp over and check out the new arrival instead. If they're not put off by his whole demon boy thing, that is.]

[aono]

[They will be wary of him! Sort of like how dogs act cautious when approaching something that they are Unsure about. Rin basically smells like a big weird and possibly dangerous animal to them. Rin notices this, and for a moment he looks disappointed, but he quickly covers it up.]

I didn't know you were over here. Is this where you've been staying?

[Not asking about the soft side of Faust he saw for a moment, because Faust sure did cover that up quickly.]