[IC] Reborn: Coming of Calamity

[OwO]

Plummeting through the air was not a pleasant experience. The cool winds of spring had been overshadowed by the turbulent resistance that failed to meaningfully slow one's fall. Above you, a warm yellow sun idled in the sky. Clouds deftly moved alongside the wind, concealing only a portion of the great blue above. Beneath you, a great meadow of wildflowers made their claim in the land. Despite being surrounded by trees, the gaps in the forest let the spring air in. The flowers moved with the breeze, snapping back straight every few seconds. A gentle river cut out of the forest and across the meadow, wide enough to require a log bridge across. In the center of the meadow, a great stone obelisk was carved. Though, from one's bird's eye view, it was impossible to make out any of the intricate details it possessed. Besides being made from a gray rock, the only detail that one could make out was that it was pointy and landing on it would most likely result in death.

And it was getting closer.

As the distant flowers quickly grew in size, one could only wonder what kind of rebirth this was. The speed was so great that, even though one could shift and contort their body, it was impossible to adjust where one fell. Within ten meters of each other, everyone had collided with the rapidly approaching ground. Though, instead of the rapid-crushing of organs due to the instant-deceleration of the sudden traumatic event, each of the newly reborn heroes had felt as though they had landed onto a soft pillow. The meadow itself, however, was a different story. The wildflowers around the various landing points had been replaced by dusty craters. Flowers were crushed, petals were sent into the air, and a thick plume of dirt erupted and settled atop of them.

They were okay, save for being suddenly assailed by dirt.

Before one could get any respite from their sudden descent into a new world, the galloping of a single horse broke the spring-time ambience. Careening out of the tree line, a lone man atop a chestnut horse revealed himself to the group. The figure's unassuming body had been concealed by an undyed wool cloak, but his emerald eyes were as radiant as they were honest. A massive ear to ear grin filled with child-like enthusiasm appeared as he excitedly yelled.

"Did you just plummet from the sky?!"

[ERode]

It took all of two seconds for Ahmya to realize that she was dead. What did she do afterwards?

"WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

Splat went everything beneath her, an explosion of dirt bursting up and caking her completely, but for some reason, she wasn't dead? None of her bones were pulverized and none of her organs were scrambled, and indeed, there was nothing at all wrong with her body...except for the fact that she had inhaled a mouthful of dirt during her death-scream, and was now having a hell of a coughing fit as saliva-coated clods of earth shot out of her mouth. Crawling out of the mini-crater that she found herself in, the short-haired girl hugged herself as she looked around her surroundings to see some hot guy on a horse?

Ahmya was still spitting dirt out of her mouth as she tilted her head towards him, not sure at all how to treat the man. He was smiling, but also he just saw them all fall out from the sky and not die? That was a pretty weird reaction, for sure. With a forced smile in response to his own, the girl managed to squeak out a quick "Yes" before ducking her head and brushing more dirt off her hair. Geez, she didn't remember it being so tangled before.

[Haha]

______________________________________________________

Blurred vision, and then skewed colors struggled to develop into full-on objects. Big fluffy marshmallow clouds and a vibrant blue sky, the air was warm and smelled like a mixture of pine and wildflowers - was she dreaming? No, she was dead so that in turn meant that this was heaven. It would only be a few moments before white feathers sprouted from the center of her back and she would take flight to meet the angels at those holy-golden gates. Right? Vision settled, as wind pressed into her eyelids and peeled open her mouth as turbulence built further as she got closer to the earth below - reality set in.

"That's the ground! Eeeeeek!" Nal screeched in an ugly overcoming of reality, she was free falling so there was no bracing for impact at this point. And rather, the ground was going to meet her soon. Was this purgatory? Was she meant to infinitely be reborn to meet deaths at different means for the rest of eternity as some form of cruel torment. Then, contact was made - her small body landing in a rather lush area where tall flora raised up to blanket the ground below. There wasn't a reverberation that echoed throughout the field, nor some crater that peeled from the point of contact out in destructive grandeur. No, she simply planted quickly and flatly.

"My eyes! I have weeds in my eyes! It hurts!" She called out from her little hovel that was created, her vision stripped from her once again thanks to some courageous leaves deciding to assault Nal's vision. What had she done to deserve this? Well, a lot to be honest.

Her head popped up from the foliage, obstructed vision scanning the surroundings coming to actual make contact with a few figures in the immediate area. Joy, fear, a mixture of emotions welled up in the girl's chest as she planted her hands down to the soil and pressed herself up to a stand. "Someone wanna, cure my blindness?" Her sights darted between the figures, not really fixating on one in particular. Really, she would take what she could get in this situation - which she didn't know what actually was for the time being.

[Yankee]

______________

The rush of wind and the weightless feeling of a body in free fall might as well have been called familiar to Orsen by now. He was angled so that his back was toward the approaching ground and his vision was enveloped by a bright blue sky. He furrowed his brows. Daylight? Maybe this was part of some strange mid-fall hallucination, same as that creepy skull-headed... thing. He sighed and closed his eyes, waiting for the impact he was sure was coming.

...and waiting. Waiting. What the hell? Was he dead yet? Or maybe 'again' was the right word? He cracked an eye open when he didn't quite feel the pull of gravity anymore and found the same blue sky filled his vision - but instead of the sound of air rushing past, his ears were filled with the high-pitched squeals of girls panicking.

He sat up abruptly, his speed and mass flinging dirt and flowers around as he rose. He could feel something catch in his hair, and he was sure it was already a rat's nest of earth and plants. He looked over to the source of the noise, indeed finding three young women (one with horns, what the hell?), a young man... and another man on a horse. He had barely heard the rider's question over the other noise, and he really didn't feel the need to answer. Obviously they had just fallen from the sky. Wait... all of them? Orsender rubbed his head, further tangling the fluffy hair atop it. Maybe the giant skull-head wasn't a hallucination? That seemed really unlikely, but... well, at any rate he should probably help out that girl screaming about having weeds for eyes.

Orsender got a leg under him and stood to his full height. He was struck with momentary vertigo. Why the hell was he so tall? He looked down at his body and found it completely and totally different from the one he was used to. A puff of air escaped him, surprised. Reborn, that thing had said, if he remembered right. Did he... was he really...?!

"Here," Orsender said, he couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up at the sound of his new, deeper voice. He grasped the small brunette's head, his hand nearly large enough to engulf the whole thing, and brushed the the plants out of her face as gingerly as possible before stepping away. He looked down at his hands and arms, took a few more steps with his long legs and just... walked around with a stupid, toothy grin on his face. Very toothy, as his mouth sported some fangs. He didn't mind that his skin was some kind of non-human color. He raised his arms high into the sky and stretched. Reborn indeed!

[Cu Chulainn]

---

Cinder's eyes slowly fluttered open, and he was confused to see naught but the sky above. It was awfully windy too despite the heavens looking quite calm, with Cinder feeling like he'd be swept away by a stray breeze if he didn't get his bearings back and stand up. However, it was at the moment that Cinder attempted to push himself up when he realized he was falling from the sky. As much as he wanted to scream, Cinder slowly began to turn himself over, spreading his arms and legs wide out. It was at that moment Cinder noticed that his body was... different. He felt squat, sprightly, and ready to burst with this sudden rush of excitement! Had the spooky skully man turned Cinder into a child? The more Cinder thought about it, the more he wanted to scream... except instead of screaming in horror, Cinder couldn't help but scream in joy.

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE- Oof!"

Cinder's adolescent body smashed into the meadow rather abruptly, landing into a small and somewhat clear portion of the meadow. He could have sworn he was much higher a moment ago. At least the landing was soft... The youth slowly stood up, dusting the dirt and grass off his new attire as he examined his body once again. The prospect of being younger filled Cinder's head with vivid ideas, mostly of what new things he could try that his older body couldn't at the time. There were many things Cinder missed out on in his young adulthood, happy that he has been given a second chance in such a youthful frame. Despite this, Cinder couldn't help but feel a bit too young. It was clear to him that whoever this new body was, it couldn't be any older than twenty!

Cinder's attention soon turned to the man on the horse. Hearing him mention their fall once again excited Cinder once more, and it wasn't long until Cinder shared that same wide grin painted on the horseman's face. Perhaps he knew what sort of world this was, or who even sent them here? In any case, it didn't hurt for Cinder to try and introduce himself.

"You betcha! Some creepy skully person sent us here... Oh! My name's Cinder, by the way!"

Before he could walk up to the horseman and offer a handshake, he heard the pleas of help not too far from where he stood. Looking over, he saw that the situation seemed to have escalated quite a bit. At first, Cinder assumed that some sort of monster aimed to take advantage of the much smaller blinded girl by ripping off her face before she could react! As he continued to watch the situation unfold, it seemed like the monster was helping her all along. Upon closer inspection, it seemed as if they were both reborn as well judging from the dirt and petals that clung to their clothing. Despite his goodwill, Cinder couldn't help but feel a bit jealous that he didn't reincarnate into a bigger, taller, and more built body, although he did find solace in the fact that he wasn't the shortest.

With a sigh of relief, Cinder calmly made his way to the diminutive girl as the gray giant walked off. Lowering himself down a bit, Cinder extended his hand towards her, an offer to help her restore her bearings. As he offered a hand, an innocent smile grew on the boy's face.

"Still can't see? Let's go, I'll try and help you up!"

[Vertigo]

S A Y A K O

She was still falling.

If she was dead, why was she still falling?

Nothing had changed. All the sensations she remembered were still there: the sinking feeling in her stomach, the deafening howl of the wind, the sharp pain in her eyes when she dared try and open them. The only thing missing was the rain. And... it was brighter too, she supposed. She was no longer cold.

Oh, and someone was screaming.

She was curious as to who and why, so she opened her eyes a little - but all she saw was the sky. It was strangely blue. Sort of calming, actually. If she was cursed to fall for all eternity, at least the gods had the courtesy to make it a sunny eternity.

Then she hit the ground.

Her entire world exploded into a flurry of dirt and grass, with a splash of petals to give colour to the chaos. Then, after a moment, everything settled. The sky was still blue, and she was still staring up at it underneath her new, makeshift blanket of mangled flora.

... Huh? Wait, was... that it? She’d expected it to hurt more. A lot more. So much more that she’d died on the spot in excruciating agony, with police sirens going off in the distance.

Saya sat up, realizing she did so in a crater. Crawling out was a menial task, but finding her balance afterwards was not. Her legs felt weird. Her body felt weird. Her head definitely felt weird, as if she had carried an extra weight that threatened to tip her forwards.

She took a step - and forwards she tipped, losing her balance and crashing right in front of some guy on a horse.

He asked if they’d just plummeted from the sky. Considering she was still lying face down on the ground, she could not see his expression - but she could hear his enthusiasm.

She hated him already.

But not enough to pry herself off the ground and give him a look.

Nah. The ground was, all things considered, quite comfy.

[OwO]

The odd ikemen's behaviour was certainly carefree. Rather than be even more amazed at the fact that strangers plummeted to a meadow and lived, his initial childlike wonder had been replaced by pure amusement, if nothing else. One girl got a face full of petals and stems. Her shrieks of terror at being blinded gave the ikemen a quick chuckle. The total nonchalant attitude of the girl who spat out clumps of dirt was also worthy of a smile. The second smallest of them, a boy, spoke about what he had saw.

"A creepy skull person..."

For a brief moment, the smile on his face vanished as he became lost in thought. Just as quickly, he shook his head out of the sudden funk and regained a soft smile. As he saw the shirtless oni stretch towards the sky, his eyes opened as much as they could. A quick whistle escaped from his lips. The distinct weew noise.

But a fifth figure popped up from their crater. A female oni came out and, as soon as her feet met stable ground, she dropped forward. The ikemen paused for a moment before swinging one leg over the saddle and hopping onto the ground. He lowered himself, one knee on the ground, and outstretched a metal hand towards her.

"A hand, m'lad—"

"Young maaasssteeeer~~!!" A woman's voice called out from the treeline. Alongside the cracking of twigs and sticks, a woman barrelled out of the forest. Her extraordinarily long hair carried dozens of leaves and twigs within it. She huffed and puffed the second she entered the meadow. Unlike the man, she was fully armed with blade in hand and ivory-painted plate covering her body. Only catching her breath for a fraction of a second, she looked at the group before her. To one side, the ikemen and his horse. At his feet was a pale oni seeking comfort in the dirt. 5 craters littered the ground between the obelisk and the ikemen. People were in those craters, the most notable being the giant mass of muscle stretching upwards.

Wait, weren't those two oni?

"How... How dare you..." The woman's voice was filled with frustration and anger. Her face scrunched as she could barely contain her rage. "How dare you damage the young master's land and... And..." The second act was too terrible for her to speak. She could barely speak it out loud without the rage stopping her "force him on his knee! Get away from him, you ignorant cretin!" Charging forth with sword in hand, she dashed towards the neck of the sprawled out oni.

The smiling ikemen turned toward the woman. A single "eh" escaped from hips lips as a cold sweat ran down his brow.

"W-wait Yda!" He panicked as he stuttered out everything he could. "Don't! Stop! No! Bad!" His commands felt more as though he were speaking to a dog.

The woman, in almost comical fashion, sheathed her blade as she ran. She dropped to her knees, sliding on dew-covered grass until she came to a complete stop. Instantly, her upper body lurched forwards and she buried her skull into the ground. Her hands stretched in front of her. This was the legendary flying kowtow.

"M-my apologies young master! Please forgive this humble servant!"

The ikemen coughed, a hand covering his mouth as he looked away from the group. Regaining his composure, he turned back to the group. The same amiable smile on his face as always.

"Well then, what brings you to my lands?"

Out of anywhere to crash land, the party of five had crashed in front of the two largest idiots in the continent.

[ERode]

Once Ahmya was done watching out for her own appearance, she finally took the chance to look around. Which was a big ‘yikes’ for her. The weird skull man had talked about rebirth, yes, but weren’t there two like…actual demons amongst the crater-gang? She was quizzical about all this, before her hands reached out to touch herself, starting from her forehead before exploring the rest of her body. No horns, no scales, no tails, no claws, no-

She stuck out her tongue, trying to figure out if it was longer or smaller or weirder than normal.

-weird tongue. God, that’d be a layer of weirdness that she wouldn’t want to handle at all.

Thankfully, the residents of this world were just as…well, normal-human-looking as her normal life. Definitely more attractive though, holy shit. The young man could give most boy bands a run for their money, his fine, silky hair and eloquently genteel gaze practically out of the world. A prince upon a beautiful steed, despite his humble attire, Ahmya had no doubt that he was blueblooded. Yda, too, despite being a bit crazy, was on a whole other dimension of omega-cute. An athletic figure that didn’t disrupt her womanly figure, drooping eyes that was literally wife-material, and ridiculously long hair that looked good even when tangled? They would never exist in the reality that Ahmya once lived in, but there they were.

Geez, and seeing the lady-knight kowtow so deeply was doing weird things to her heart too.

Ahmya drew in a long breath, massaged her left breast with her knuckles, before glancing nervously at the two horned monsters. It was what was on the inside that counted, right? Nevermind that both of them were equipped with brutish, medieval weapons, while the ‘humans’ of the crater-gang had a skinny sword (probably a toy) and a book between the three of them. She made the conscious decision to just stop thinking about them, before turning her attention to the pleasingly handsome gentleman who first found them.

“Ah, yes,” the raven-haired girl said, dipping into a shallow curtsy (her short skirt didn’t really allow for anything else). “It was mere happenstance that we’ve fallen upon your land, mi’lord. We were sent here to fix…something, and, well, if you could give us some time, I wouldn’t mind starting by fixing these holes in the ground.”

She blinked. Huh, where did all that eloquence come from in the beginning.

“Ah, and though I am unaware of the names of my companions, you may address me as ‘Ahmya’. May I have the pleasure of knowing your name, mi’lord?”

Seriously, where?

[Haha]

______________________________________________________

”Th-thank you, I’m going to need some spring water to flush my sights out.” Annalee quietly chimes, happy that one of the individuals nearby was at the least slightly helpful.

Her vision then redirected towards this ikeman character. While the male didn’t seem entirely harmful, he laughed with a bemused look more than anything. Though, he did climb down from horseback - to assist the female Oni that seemingly could not adjust to the weight of her own horns?

This entire situation was strange beyond comprehension, so nothing would surprise Nal at this point in the game. But just in time for the lord’s princess servant-maiden, the scholarly half-blood would notice something in this garden of flowers. Small bushels of green and white colored flora with a minty aroma to them. The knowledge of this plant itched at back of her head and instinctively she would crawl on hands and knees quickly towards the three that remained intact. Her nostrils began to flare as she finally confirmed in absoluteness that this was what she thought it was.

Annalee would then hear the knight-lady began to spit out the words about damaging the master’s land. She didn’t choose to be torpedoed down at this location, dumbass! She thought this to herself of course, knowing better than to say such things to strangers. And there was a whole slew of them at this point, impressions would be important moving forward. But then the other human female began to speak to the two non-fallers? That’s what she would now identify them as. The other girl whom called herself Ahmya asked them for names - names were good, made things and people easier to identify.

”We deeply apologize for the damages we caused m’lord! If you would give forgive us, I may be able to devise some way to repair the damages? Perhaps, eh - Ahmya, might be able to as well. Or one of these other creatures, probably not that dainty human boy though. Have faith in us nonetheless.?” Nal’s apology statement turned more-so into a question as it reached the end. How exactly would she repair these craters in the first place?

She could feel it though, in her hands as she pressed fingers through flower stems and shrubbery. She could even feel it through the soles of her leather-padded shoes. There was a reverberation within the earth, it was like music - not in the sense that it made her want to dance or snap her fingers. But rather, when she focused on the sensation it made Nal feel at peace. If anyone caught her in this little mini-experimental state of mind, she would likely just be zoned out staring blankly at the ground with her mouth open. ”That’s right.” Nal quietly muttered to herself, faux-memories painting the canvas of many questions with oh so desired answers. ”Annalee is my name, by the way - and if you don’t mind, when we are done servicing the land, may I forage it for herbs?”

[OwO]

The ikemen paused when Ahmya unloaded a noble greeting. By the ephemeral look of surprise in his face, he certainly didn't expect such a woman to be a noble. As always, his reactions faded to a soft smile as he returned the greeting. Placing the metal hand over his heart, he lowered his head to Ahmya.

"Lord Siris Corbain, a pleasure to meet you," he introduced himself before switching to a considerably more informal tone. "Though, we aren't beholden to the court here. I'm not particularly one for formality, so speak whichever way is most comfortable. I'm sure your—" He glanced at the two oni. "—situation is quite complex."

Quickly, he became reabsorbed in his own thoughts, only snapping back to the conversation when Annalee introduced herself.

"Don't worry about the holes, please. That," he pointed to the large obelisk, "will fix it soon enough."

When Annalee asked to forage the land for herbs, Siris burst out in laughter. Struggling to stop himself, he looked away and covered his mouth with his left hand. He did a poor job, considering how his chuckles lasted for some time.

"Rather audacious, aren't you? Brazenly plucking through a duke's private lands for herbs," he teased Annalee, "go right ahead. Though, be careful about it. These lands are still the wilds. While monsters are often repelled, beasts are not. Wouldn't want to have an unfortunate encounter with a bear. Not even the wolves wish to encounter them."

[Yankee]

______________

Loud. Very loud. Orsen was very busy currently admiring himself and the new world he'd found himself in, but everyone else seemed to want to occupy themselves with screeching. The tall man sighed and turned his back to the scene when some new woman had burst onto the scene yelling and glaring at himself and the horned chick - and, wait, why exactly was he getting lumped in with her? She was pale and much smaller, plus those large menacing horns. They were pretty much opposites... unless...

Orsen reached a hand up to his head, groping around in the air for any sign of horns. Eventually his hand landed in his hair where he felt a small protrusion just above his forehead. It was probably just visible through the fluff on his head. So he and that young lady were probably the same species, and probably not one that was welcomed around whatever parts they'd fallen into.

"Whatever," Orsender sighed under his breath. Can't have everything, right? The oni continued to walk around the area, though now he felt a little... naked. Vulnerable. The dude who apparently owned the land seemed alright, but his guard dog knight was a racist, or speciest, or whatever. What if she attacked them while this 'Sirius' man was away? He thought about what the others were saying. A creepy skull creature... a mission to save or stop something... yeah, he seemed to remember something like that too. With his attention now back on the large group, Orsender didn't miss the way that even the Lord Corbain glanced at him with what the oni could only assume was distrust. Orsender bristled and considered his options. Run? They had a horse that Orsen doubted he could outrun. Start a fight? There were so many things Orsen wasn't sure of in this new world, that most likely wasn't a bright idea. If only he had some form of protection...

Suddenly the spark of a memory came to his mind. A woman, her sword. A sword! Orsen made his way back over the spot he'd landed in, and sure enough a gleaming sword with some foreign writing etched into it lay beside the crater. He picked it up, a wave of nostalgic fondness washing over him though he'd never even seen a real sword just... yesterday, or whenever he'd flung himself off the sixth story. Weapon in hand, Orsen looked back to the two area natives and couldn't really keep the glower from his face. Oh, and he definitely wasn't about to fill the craters though he'd been involuntarily volunteered. He didn't pick to fall here, not his problem.

Orsender looked at the large obelisk that the Lord gestured to. He hadn't really paid it that much attention before, but now that it was brought up... The man hefted the sword onto his shoulder and made his way over to inspect it. The Lord made it sound like it was magic, so that might be cool. As he went he called out, "I'm Orsender! Or. Sen. Der! I'm not gonna eat you or, whatever."

[Cu Chulainn]

---

The armored woman's sudden appearance startled Cinder, his hands moving inside his satchel through muscle memory. As the lordly horseman calmed the lady knight down however, Cinder started to relax once more. He was clutching onto something weird and grassy, though... did part of the meadow end up in his pockets? Pulling his hand out of his satchel, Cinder looked down at what he was clutching, a look of bewilderment painted on his face.

"E-eh? Fresh wheat?"

As he pondered the the reasons why this youthful vessel would carry the closed alpha stages of bread, brief memories began to flash back into Cinder's head. They were memories that did not belong to Cinder himself, but the boy that he's taken shape of? It was peculiar, to say the least. At the moment, it seems they were discussing some means to repairing these lands...

"Oh, I was raised on a farm! Field work shouldn't be too difficult for me!"

Despite being enthusiastic about helping out however, it seems that the lands themselves have their own way of remedy by means of that strange obelisk. As everyone continued to introduce themselves, Cinder stuffed the small handful of wheat back into his satchel as he did his best to remember everyone's name. They all had very unique names, too! Cinder thought his name used to be unique too, but he's not sure if his new body sported the vibrant red hair that his old one was blessed with. As he pondered just what sort of shade his newer and slightly longer locks sported, Cinder's attention was quickly drawn to Siris as he began to speak more about the peculiarities surronding his fields.

"... Ooh, ooh! Did you say beasts? I figured out what this wheat's for! If we run into something like a bear, I'm pretty sure I should be able to calm it down. That, and..."

Cinder began to adjust his satchel, once again. Hooked onto the strap were three crystalline orbs. Something in his being told him that should they indeed run into a wild animal, it would be in Cinder's very best interest to try and... throw one of these orbs at it? The boy was once again perplexed at the variety of strange objects he needed to throw at various individuals.

"Oh right, Er... Lord Siris, or just Siris? I don't suppose you know the creepy skully guy, either? If it helps, all I remember is him mentioning some sort of 'fracturing...' I hope he didn't mean us fracturing your fields." Cinder laughed innocently, scratching the back of his head as he continued to piece together the mystery of this new world.

[Haha]

______________________________________________________

”Bears ain't shit."
Nal quickly snipped out, not exactly knowing where that kind of language was coming from - but the Sirius guy's warning was noted by her. Though she continued to pluck the area clean of the herbs that caught her attention. Her sights would briefly glance back toward the large creature that helped her earlier calling itself 'Orsimer' repeating the name to herself a few times quietly goading it into memorization. And, as her collection was complete and that species of flora was reaped from the general vicinity - she shut her satchel and quietly paced towards the small interaction between the group. She came to a halt a few feet away from them, keeping her distance and instead just examining the situation from afar.

Nal would then absentmindedly reach for the gem-embedded book latched at her side, opening the tome which had a feather pen placed neatly against it's spine. She took the pen within her hand begin to scribble text into upon the paper within, writing of the stone, the garden, the herbs, the people around her, a few pages would quickly be filled as she flipped through paper. To those who had a strong sense in magic, a dark aura would begin to emit from the girl - though faint - noticeable all the same. While it wasn't outright malevolent, the origin of the book made such a claim difficult - Annalee didn't even catch any sense of this as memories were flooding her mind as her hands moved on their own. Of her family in this life, of how she got the book, and what exactly drove the girl to accumulate the knowledge she had.

Small tears would well up around the rims of Nal's eyes, but this is when she would be snapped back to her senses. Quickly, she placed the pen back into it's place and snapped the book shut - returning the item to her hip and crossing her arms to spectate the discussion among the group. Just play it off that you had something stuck in your eye still, that's what she thought, not like they had any knowledge of her either right? She clicked her tongue within her mouth, internalizing the bubbling of anxiety as her thoughts raced.

[Vertigo]

S A Y A K O

Sayako had barely gotten to enjoy her impromptu post-death nap for half a minute before she was already forced to acknowledge someone’s presence. From the sound of it, the man on the horse had dropped onto the grass next to her, apparently offering a hand.

M’lady, though? For some reason, hearing that felt... wrong. Really wrong. Gross, even.

Sayako had barely mustered up the mental strength to look up and see the fabled hand, when another equally strange person practically burst out from the forest. She seemed to be choking on her own hurry to get out angry exclamations, then suddenly pulled out a sword - and lunged towards Sayako.

In an instant, the oni jumped to stand. Her form was low and tense - as if prepared for combat. Sayako unsheathed a wakizashi she didn’t know she owned, holding it up in a way she didn’t know she was supposed to. Her eyes were reflexively fixed onto the woman, and a strange sense of déjà vu filled her with dread.

Again? Did the fighting never end?

The woman was approaching fast, prancing across the field like a psychotic, armed deer. Then, at the noble guy’s orders, she sheathed her blade, and---

---practically threw herself onto the ground to grovel in front of him.

... Oh. So. She was an idiot.

Sayako relaxed her stance, but did not let go of her weapon. The ikemen guy had turned away from her to talk to the rest of the group. He’d left his back unguarded. He might have been one of them. She should kill him.

... W-wait, what? Huh? Why?! Sure, he was annoying as all hell, but-- back home, you didn’t just kill people you didn’t like!

You did in war, though.

But this isn’t war!

While Sayako was busy contemplating unprovoked manslaughter, the rest of the group did the much more sensible thing and introduced themselves. It was then that it occurred to her they were all humans - save for one, super tall, grey-skinned guy. By all means, he was the one she should have been freaked out by, especially when she happened to catch a glimpse of a horn peeking out from among his hair. But... no. It was the humans that gave her pause.

Which was weird, because last she checked, she was a human too.

...

Ever so slowly, Sayako started to feel her way up her head, over her - strangely voluminous? - hair, until--

“AHHHHHHH!” She threw both hands onto her head, squeezing her horns and giving them a strong, panicked tug. It nearly sent her right back onto the grass; she had to take a few clumsy steps forward to prevent it. Another gasp, and she yanked the horns backwards, also forced to mirror the action with her feet. Forth, back, forth, back.

Then she remembered she wasn’t alone. And that she was supposed to introduce herself. At this rate, she was going to come across just as weird as the girl who stared open-mouthed at the ground and the guy that wanted to tame bears-!

“...A--Ah. A-ahem. Ahem. I’m---” she hesitated, though she didn’t know why, “I’m Sayako.”

Not knowing what else to say, she tried to remember what her only kin had said, figuring he knew something she didn’t about this whole oni thing. Honestly, she probably should have said nothing. What she did say, was, “I won’t eat you either."

She contemplated for a moment, then added a very uncertain, "... Probably.”

[OwO]

Orsender's inspection of the obelisk had revealed the numerous carvings etched in the square stone's surfaces. Formed from an odd grey stone, streaks of an opalescent blue shimmered against the light. Simple artwork depicting unknown events were visible, but too esoteric for one not versed in artifacts to understand. It wasn't a matter of cavemen drawing or abstraction. Rather, the obelisk was etched with thick, diagonal lines. The only thing that Orsender could make out within the complex imagery was that there was never an end. Like a corkscrew, the artwork stretched diagonally and rested ontop of itself. As the obelisk narrowed, the imagery only shrank. They also carried into the ground, making it unknown how large this pillar actually was.

Most odd about it all, he could feel the invisible hairs on his arm raise towards the obelisk.

After Orsender introduced himself, the young Lord's face instantly shifted once more. His sudden deviousness became obvious with his words. "Oh, but I wouldn't mind if you ate me..."

To those who paid attention to the still kowtowing Yda, they could visible see her shudder when he said those words. Luckily, they were unable to see her face. Cringing hard enough to form a singularity did not make for an appealing look.

As always, he quickly reverted to an amiable smile. When Cinder asked about the creepy skull guy for a second time, he remained his usual self for once.

"There are two gods that come to mind for having skulls. One of the tribal gods worshiped by the Oni and one of the kingdom's gods. Emet'etal is the patron of the hunt for many Oni tribes. He wears a deer skull on his head and carries a spear, but there really isn't much I can tell you about him. Most of the Oni's traditions are oral. The other is Yoraganos, who is the god of... He looked at the young Cinder. "Well, let's just say that he isn't exactly a god that would be interested in giving his blessing to any of you. But this fracturing... It's rare for a god to directly speak to someone. I might know someone who knows more about this, so I'll call him over."

With the final member introducing themself (and also saying that he wouldn't eat him), Siris paused. He looked to Sayako and, even if just barely, his smile increased and he gave her a subtle wink.

Every single alarm went off.

"Yda, lead these visitors to the estate if they so choose. They are free to cross our lands in the mean time. I still have some unfinished business around here, so don't wait for me."

"But young ma-"

"Also, please do not engage the bears. The bears around here are indeed 'shit'."

And with that, Siris gave a polite bow to the now-introduced strangers and mounted his horse. With a healthy gait, the horse trotted back onto a forest path with Siris not looking back.

Yda rose from her grovelling and gave the young lord's back a blank stare of contempt and defeat. Taking a deep breath, her mood instantly shifted from worried-guard to amiable host. It was actually kind of gross to see her suddenly shift from 'Oi, lezzgo kill all da oni' to 'Dearie me, welcome to our estate~'. The act would have probably been better had she not possessed twigs in her hair.

"Well, if you so choose, you may follow me for some rest at the estate. It's merely a short walk away."

With that, she turned her back to the group and walked on a forest path opposite of the way Siris went.

The path was to the estate was pleasant, to say the least. Sun danced between the leaves as wind blew through the trees. Despite the overgrown nature of the forest, the path had been used enough to keep a solid and firm dirt foundation. Peaceful was really the only way to describe it. But the trees, grass, and brush that stood at your side soon made way as a great stone manor came into view. In the middle of a cleared section of the forest, the manor sat. To those who cared about architecture back on their old world, the manor resembled one from the 16th century. Its stone walls were clear of any sign of age. The many windows were filled with geometric diamonds. The size of it all, however, was what made it so impressive. It was practically a fortress in the middle of nowhere.

"The house staff will take care of you if you so care. I will remain outside, should you need me for anything."

[ERode]

Lord Siris Corbain, the Duke of Terrain-Regenerating Obelisks, and Lady (?) Yda, the Grovelling Bipolar Knight. There was also Emet’etal, some deer hunting Orc God, as well as the seemingly taboo Yoraganos. Ahmya wasn’t sure why she bothered to remember those particular names first, especially when she decided to also let the names of her sky-falling companions go in through one ear and out the other, but, well, it sounded important to be aware of all these world details. Well, probably important.

Though some members of the group looked more eager to be romping around in the woods than go back to civilization and society, Ahmya was more than happy to accompany Lady Yda back to the Corbain Estate. The duke had been a bit of a weirdo, but it also didn’t feel as if he was THAT bad? Being handsome really helped to smooth over all the warning flags that popped up, didn’t it? Yup. With a clip in her step, the dark-haired planeswalker/transmigrator/isekai-er strode down the path, turning to Lady Yda for only a single, nonchalant question.

“If Duke Corbain isn’t beholden to the court, who is he beholden to?”

And then, once they stood before the fortress, a second, more worrisome question arose.

“Uh, also, where’s the washroom?”

For someone who lived in reasonable conditions throughout her tragically short life, if they didn't have a proper heated toilet seat and an automatic washlet, Ahmya'd probably die, huh?

[Yankee]

______________

The look of pure, unabashed disgust that came over Orsender's face when he heard the young lord commented he'd actually like to be eaten - was that a fucking pick-up line?? Even in some weird fantasy world where I'm A GIANT DEMON MAN I still have to deal with this shit?? - was luckily obscured just by manner of the oni's back being turned. He ignored the rest of the group, continuing to study the obelisk. It was odd, for sure, and it felt... powerful, in a way. Obviously mystical too. Orsen clicked his tongue, mulling over the thought of touching the thing. Eh, fuck it, he thought, reaching out a hand and letting it rest on the stone surface.

As soon as his skin touched the pillar, he felt a foreign and blinding sensation. It set his nerves on end and made his brain feel funky, as if something was touching some organ he didn't even know he had. He quickly drew his hand away, staring at the pillar with wide - and a little affronted - eyes. Orsen shook his hand as if it had been burned, although no pain was present. The experience was strange, and not at all enlightening. The large man huffed and turned back to the gathered people, seeing the weird lord gone and his... assistant? Orsender didn't really know or care what her title was. The equally weird lady was leading the way toward the lord's estate.

Perhaps surprisingly, Orsen followed her. Despite how he may look, he wasn't stupid - or at least, he liked to think he wasn't. The situation they all found themselves in could be some kind of shared fever dream, but he actually believed it was real. Especially considering what he'd been doing just before arriving. So, if this was "real," that meant they probably had to work together. Orsen grumbled to himself as he followed the group along. He really didn't like the sound of paling around with a bunch of girls and a little boy, although the girls were cute once they weren't actively freaking out. However, running off alone would be really dumb. I'll stick around until I get my bearings, Orsen thought, once again stretching his arms out over his head and enjoying the new skin he found himself in.

The oni was surprised to see such a huge building in the middle of the forest, but then again he had just fallen out of the sky and into someone else's body. Wait, is this someone else's body or mine? he seemed to remember something from childhood, but it clashed with his original memories as a human. He was pulled from his thoughts by one of the ladies asking about a washroom and he couldn't help but bark out a laugh.

"Bathroom, yeah, and food!" he grinned, tapping his stomach. Normally he wouldn't be going right up to a huge, suspicious mansion and waltzing right in, but they were guests, right? Orsender took one last look at Yda, sizing her up, seeing if he could take her in a fight... Maybe? He still thought a fight wasn't worth it at this point, but if this whole thing turned out to be a trap - and wouldn't that be just my luck? Jeez - he might be able to get out of it with the sword at his back.

[Haha]

______________________________________________________

”I shall follow, but if I see anything interesting I may fall behind! But if that does happen, do not halt your advance."

The nobleman, lord, or whatever he might've been - didn't really interest Nal. What was more enticing was the fresh and new environment that was bestowed upon these isekai'd individuals, not that she knew what that meant - Nal had no time to consume such types of media that would involve it in her past life. Nonetheless, she happily stepped along behind the snobbish blonde and the tall manly oni-ogre. The trek wasn't long and still she found ways to lag behind with minor distractions, herbs she curiously had knowledge of, small insects that caught her interest, there was a bunch to take in and Nal made sure to whip out her leather tome and script in everything she could. With each word the book hummed to life and it sort of scratched an itch in the back of her mind, like you couldn't really remember a specific detail about something and then - boom, it comes to you. But then she'd realized that the group had moved on without her, probably reaching the noble's estate by now, but the path probably wouldn't be to hard to pick up.

"Following tracks is unusually easy, huh." Nal quietly muttered to herself as she continued forward, her eyes were anchored down the dirt and shrubbery below as she attempted to trace herself back en route to the location the others had gone.

Again, the distance wasn't that long - and while she had been pulled off path her uncanny sense of navigation made it surprisingly easy recuperate. Eventually she would find herself back at the large clearing within the forest - it was quite the sight to behold. Nal widened her eyes and opened her maw wide as she took the view in, her vision absolutely enchanted by the beautiful architecture as she slowly stepped towards the fortress and it's entrance. So far, she had genuinely enjoyed the world and what it had to offer more than the people who fell from the side along with her - though, the natives of this world would perhaps be just as fascinating with time. The front door of the estate was not locked, and she had assumed that the others had already gone inside so she invited herself in. As her small hands pressed the door open the weight fought back a bit, she wasn't that strong, maybe even physically speaking - weaker than before? The thought was a passing idea, and as she entered it was at the exact moment that the Oni male had asked about a bathroom and food.

”I vote food!" She blurted!

[Cu Chulainn]

---

"Carrying a spear, huh? Emmett Tattle sounds about right..." Cinder stroked his chin as he thought about the figure that brought them into the world. Despite the god, their mission must be important if what happened to be a god of this world assigned them new bodies to accomplish this goal. And based on the memories that continue to flood back into Cinder's head, it seems that it was more than just bodies that were granted to himself and his newfound allies. Grasping a handful of wheat from his satchel, Cinder began to think of some of the new capabilities he was granted in this form. He wondered if everyone else had to ask permission to use them, however...

"Oh, going to the estate sounds fine! I was wondering if there were any friendly animals around for me to... borrow, for a moment. I need to try something out, first!"

Cinder walked along with the rest, humming the tune of a popular (and annoying, to a few) pop song from a different world. Strange as it may be, Cinder had hoped that they would run into something like a bear on the way, and if not, if he could find one nearby. Animals had always interested the boy, his thoughts currently occupied with fond memories of going to the zoo. For some reason, he couldn't help but think about running into just about any wild animal, with a nagging voice somewhere in the boy's head telling him to chase 'em all.

"... Wait, do we need food? Oh, I think I can make that! I think I can even make it taste better if anyone else knows how to prepare it..."

[Vertigo]

S A Y A K O

... Well, she sure regretted not stabbing Siris in the neck when she'd had the chance. If the disturbing answer he gave the other oni wasn't a warning sign enough, the creep actually went and winked at her a moment after. Every cell in Sayako's body crawled, and she felt like nothing short of being submerged in boiling water could make her clean ever again.

Was it too late to stab him anyway?

The answer seemed to be yes; by the time she recovered enough to be able to reach for her weapon, Siris was already fleeing the crime scene like the drive-by pervert he was. Ugh. Shithead got lucky this time.

Meanwhile, his murderous ladyservant seemed to have done a one-eighty in terms of demeanor. Suddenly the pinnacle of hospitality, she offered to walk the group to the creep lord's estate. Sayako really, really didn't want to follow this potentially murderous woman into some debauched noble's house - but she also didn't want to wander off on her own, especially with said noble still out and about. God, just the thought of running into him in a dark forest made her shudder.

Besides, everyone else was going, and she never was one to deliberately try and stick out. ... Or was she? She seemed to... have conflicting memories regarding that. The same went for the woman's faux politeness. Part of her thought it normal. Part of her wanted to stab her for it.

... Oh, everyone was moving.

Sayako gathered her wits and, with one final glance behind her to ensure the pervy lord wasn't coming after her, she followed after the rest of the group.

At least the way to the estate was pleasant enough. It was quiet and peaceful, and allowed Sayako's thoughts to wander back to what she'd learnt so far. Like the mention of... what was it, Emet'etal? Why did that sound so familiar? She was pretty sure she couldn't - shouldn't - have heard the name before, yet it felt like something she'd known her entire life. Was that the deity they'd seen? How were they supposed to... to "fix the cycle", as he'd put it?

They arrived before Sayako had come up with any concrete guesses.

The others promptly asked after a washroom and food, but after everything she'd just been through, Sayako had a far more urgent request to make. She turned to Yda, the desperation in her tone transforming her question into a pained plea, "Is there alcohol?"

She looked the woman straight in the eye, her expression practically a non-physical equivalent of grabbing her shoulders and shaking her violently. "I need alcohol."