Marlowe

PMD: Explorers of the Unknown

She felt like she had been running for forever. By the time she made it to the cave's entrance with Sora, she felt like she couldn't take another breath. Lumi flopped onto the ground, her mouth gasping for air. Even though her legs ached, they still trembled beneath her form. Her ears strained for any sounds that came from beyond the cave's entrance in hope that they weren't being pursued. Thankfully, she didn't hear the thump of large paws against the ground or the fierce snarls that had previous filled her ears. She wrapped her paws around the top of her head and curled her tail around her form. The shivers came even more now, accompanied by the fresh onset of tears.

"I d-dunno..." she sniffled. Her tears pattered to the stone right in front of her face. It was dark out, it was cold, she was scared-- and she was left with two siblings left than before. Never had she felt so small in her life before. "I... wanna go home..."

Home. That was right. What were they going to tell Sable and the rest of them? That it was their fault that Cane and Storm died? She couldn't imagine the look on their father's face. What would he do, what would he say? Would they be kicked out? Would Sable or Toffee or Fawn even talk to them again? "We can't tell dad about what happened," she whimpered as she raised her head to look at Sora. "They'll never talk to us again if they find out it was our fault. Maybe they'll even... they'll even make us leave town!"

Clans of the Coast

Her ear swiveled back at Lionpaw's approach, turning soon after he asked his question. Her tail lashed once, his very query making her pelt prickle with annoyance. She was never an unkind cat-- many of her Clanmates would say that she could be a little hot-tempered. "No, I haven't. I don't even know where she is." she said with a downwards twist of her maw. Despite her age, Lionpaw seemed even bigger than her. While she usually liked him no matter how cotton-brained he could be, she preferred to be alone at the moment. She signaled her annoyance with another flick of her tail, her icy glare focused on him like she blamed him for her troubles. Before she could say anything else, she caught a flash of black and reddish fur pass by. Her fur bristled with alarm.

"What is Brightflow doing in camp?" she hissed.

The FireClan cat strolled up to their freshkill pile, cast a bemused glance at the fresh-caught fish, then looked up to the top of the pile. He licked his lips as he took the seagull she had just caught and trotted off without a worry in the world. What was worse was that the cats that laid around doing nothing didn't seem to be bothered by his bold behavior. Frostpaw turned her head to look at Lionpaw, her jaw half-open. "He just took my seagull!"

「 Persona: Reflections 」

MENTIONS: Munehisa [@Solace], Nagi [@Psyker Landshark], Masashi [@Zombehs]

Despite everything, it comforted Asumi to see at least one of her friends were bothered by Miss Okamoto's strange way of teaching. Especially when most of the complaints came from Nagi's side. At least she wasn't the only one that was out of the loop during history class. The two boys that sat with them seemed to be almost carefree regarding the matter, which irked her. It turned out that Masashi was just listening to music the whole time, while Munehisa had been preoccupied with something obviously not school-related in his notebook. They were supposed to be there for moral support, not shrug their shoulders and pretend it isn't a big deal. Asumi finally lifted her head off of Nagi's table and placed her chin in her hand. At Munehisa's reply, she couldn't help but scoff. "I rather just... not imagine anything like that, thanks. I think I'm gonna get a heart-attack if I have to deal with any more stress."

Then came the topic of what to do next. Her stomach grumbled at the mention of food. A warm bowl of ramen would surely hit the spot after she had to deal with such a rough school day. "Yeah, let's go get ramen. I'm starving," Asumi agreed with all of the energy she could muster. She got up from her table and pulled on her pink schoolbag, making sure that none of her pins had fallen off. Nope, every single one was still on there, including her newest and most beloved one-- a chibi black wiener dog stuffed into a hotdog bun and lined with ketchup and mustard. She smiled at the sight of it, though the throng of rain against the windows brought her back to the present.

"I didn't expect it to rain, so I didn't bring an umbrella..." Asumi laughed nervously as she glanced between the three of them. "Anyone mind sharing theirs with me?"

PMD: Explorers of the Unknown

Lumi was glad that her brothers thought the same. She was worried they'd ignore her all throughout the trip to the cave system just because she was smaller than they were, and frankly, the only sister there. Already, she craved the warmth of her nest and the safety of her home. Hopefully no one noticed them gone yet; she wasn't in the mood to be yelled at by Sable or Toffee, much less their dad. She began to pad over the way that they came, the smooth stone cold against her pads. The cold had even worked its way into her bones and between her toes. She'll have to lick and rub them once she got back home. Guess that's karma for going against what dad and Sable said, she thought to herself, rubbing her pads together even as she sat to wait for her brothers. For some reason, they were taking too long, and that in itself made her fur prickle with annoyance.

"Hey, are we going or not?" Lumi called over her shoulder.

But her question was only answered by Storm's desperate scream, along with an overwhelming heat that pressed against her back. Shrieks of pain, originating from where Cane was once standing, echoed through the cave. The sound hurt her ears, and she pressed her paws against them in order to shield them from the screaming. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as she watched Cane's form twist and morph behind the glow of the light. His screams had become growls and snarls of desperation, and as the bright light slowly dimmed, more and more of Cane's form was revealed by its recession. Lumi's eyes grew wide with a mixture of fascination and fear as a giant beast, similar in appearance to a Vaporeon but not quite, now stood in front of them. Its thick neck hung low as its jaws, lined with pointed teeth, parted to release exhausted heaves.

Lumi glanced at her brothers, filled with fear. But this was Cane they were talking about. No matter how big he was, they had to take him home, right? Not to mention, this was their little brother they were dealing with. Well, he wasn't so little now, but... "C-cane..?" she murmured, taking a step close to him. "Are... you okay? Is that really you?"

Cane's eyes snapped open, revealing yellow orbs that held no semblance of their little brother. The beast tossed its head back and let out a howling, pained roar that shook the very cave itself. Lumi fluffed herself out in fear, her paws now planted in place. She watched as it raised one of its thick legs and slammed its claws into Storm, sending him arching across the air. Her panic turned into terror as she watched the gray furred Eevee slam against the wall right beside her, a sick snap emitting from his spine, before he tumbled to the ground and laid still. She rushed over to his side without a second thought, her eyes wet with tears as her paws pressed against his limp form. The beast roared again as she shook him violently.

"Storm... Storm! Wake up, we need to go home!" Lumi cried.

The beast-- Cane, whatever it was-- turned to look at her. It snarled and lowered itself to the ground as saliva dripped from its fanged maw. Lumi bristled in fear as its yellow gaze seared into her pelt. In her frayed mind, she knew they had to run. But what about Storm? Cane had to be brought back too, somehow. She watched in horror as Cane charged at her, his long fangs bared with the intent to kill. Though he was big and strong, she was still small and nimble. She slipped between his forelegs and dashed towards the cave entrance as Cane slammed into the wall behind her.

"SORA!!" she half-screamed, half-sobbed as she rushed to the entrance as fast as she could. "RUN!!!!"

Clans of the Coast

A wave of relief washed over Albatrosspaw when Embersky said that they were to leave for him. Dawnstar and his mentor looked as tired as him, if not even more so. The twitching of his tail stopped as they started their trek back home. The cats of BreezeClan were not happy about what transpired that night-- even now he saw Goldensight whispering something to Beetlestep with such a spiteful intensity, he thought that he was going to start yelling. Swiftwind's eyes seemed distant even as she picked over the terrain with her long, slender legs. He hoped that his Clanmates wouldn't cause any problems with DarkClan or RainClan during the border patrols. He was sure that no one was in the mood for war, but he heard stories about border spats from the senior warriors. Sometimes they became very bloody.

He perked up when Embersky spoke again, his eyes wide. "I was guessing it was something like that..." Albatrosspaw replied. His shoulders relaxed as he offered the other tom a smile. "Cats talk about stuff all the time, so it was bound to slip if Dawnstar or you had said anything about it."

Albatrosspaw found himself walking at a less burdened pace, turning his gaze back to the front of their Clan. Yeah, he guessed everyone was unhappy for the time being. But things were going to get better. The coast would never be the same with FireClan and BreezeClan side by side. Even now, the moon remain unclouded above their heads. StarClan had to be proud of them.

The morning sun shone bright above the clouds as the ocean's waves licked the sand. Frostpaw watched the foam bubble on the shore as she remained crouched behind a rock. The sight of the water was peaceful, though she know how deadly it could be if she chose to dive down into its depths during low tide. Her mother had told her stories of the strongest of swimmers being taken by the ocean or what lurked beneath the current. But it was just so warm, so much so that her pelt was growing warm beneath the golden rays of sunlight. She shook out her fur before she once again allowed her gaze to drift towards the sporadic movements on the shore. A small flock of black-tipped seagulls were scoured the sands in search of crabs. It was amusing to her to see such slow-brained birds work so hard for their food. On the other paw, they knew exactly where to look for their prey. Maybe it was instinct rather than smarts?

She watched as one of the seagulls walked closer to where she lay crouched. Its beady eyes were focused on the ground for a moment before it bent over to stick its beak into the sand. That was when Frostpaw sprang out from her hiding place and leapt upon the occupied bird. It scrambled to get away, squawking all the while, but Frostpaw was big and strong enough to pin it to the ground and kill it with a quick bite. The taste of its blood made her stomach growl, but she resisted the temptation to eat right there and then. Nightwater would have her tail if she scented prey on her breath.

Frostpaw walked back to camp, the seagull hanging limply from her jaws. I wonder when Nightwater will tell Dawnstar I'm ready to become a warrior, she thought. It had been moons since she was made an apprentice, but she never really had any outright combat experience outside of sparring with the other apprentices. Either way, she had to be ready enough-- she could feel it in her claws. The striped she-cat trotted to a wall of rocks that were reinforced with shells and ivy. The edges of the shells glinted in the sun, their cracked edges practically daring anyone to try and climb over them. That was another thing about living on the shore-- it always provided the Clan everything it needed.

She walked over to an entrance tunnel, which had been hidden by a small outcropping of rocks and seagrass, and slipped inside. The Clan's camp was nothing special. The sandy beach floor rested beneath an open sky, and each den was built out of a combination of driftwood and stones that were able to be pushed through the tunnel. Frostpaw felt lucky that it was her ancestors that had built all of this for them-- she couldn't imagine pushing and pulling stones all day under the sun. Many of her Clanmates were already awake by now, talking among themselves as they basked under the sun. The Gathering last night really was something, A bored sigh left her as she padded over to the fresh-kill pile and dropped her catch at the very top. How come when I go to the stupid things, they're always boring?

「 Persona: Reflections 」

MENTIONS: Munehisa [@Solace], Nagi [@Psyker Landshark], Masashi [@Zombehs]

April 21st, 2025.

Classroom 2-B, 3:35 p.m.

If Asumi had to describe how was her day, she would say that it was... pretty interesting. First off, it had rained the entire day, and it was still raining. She could hear the tip-tap of yet another passing shower rattle against the windows. The skies were overcast, and the streets outside were covered in lukewarm puddles. Not only that, but the rain brought along a desperate chill, which had forced her to wear her fuzzy gray sweater the entirety of the day. Hadn't winter gone away like a month ago? she had asked herself, but apparently that wasn't the case. Then again, she might have been exaggerating; she had never tolerated the cold well. The humidity made her hair frizzle the entire day, and she had to pat it down and smooth it out on more than one occasion. It had been a very uncomfortable experience, to say the least.

Then there was their history teacher. At first, Asumi thought she was going to like Miss Okamoto. She was young and very possibly in her mid-twenties, and her golden plumes of hair were never out of place, not even once. She had a petite body, and her make-up was always on point. Some of the boys in class often ogled her as if they had never seen a woman in their life, and even though it annoyed her a little, she couldn't blame them. Asumi thought that it was insane that she had become a teacher at a boring high school instead of landing a job as a model or idol. She probably had her reasons. Maybe she really liked teaching the younger generation.

While Miss Okamoto had started off as someone that Asumi looked up to, her opinion of the teacher went south very quick. She tried to understand her-- she really, really did. But the woman often took breaks in the middle of lectures in order to text on her phone and complain nonstop about her problems with her boyfriend. And when she did teach, she'd often go off on wild tangents about what she did over the weekend or how kids should respect their teachers no matter what. Her "lectures" made Asumi very uncomfortable at the best and extremely frustrated at the worst. No matter how hard she tried to pay attention and impress her, her efforts were always met with a look of sheer disdain. Asumi really hoped that she hadn't started off on the wrong foot.

Then there were the stupid videos. Asumi had only seen Prime Minister Satoshi kill himself on television once-- that was enough for her. How many times did people have to watch the same broadcast? The video was passed around more times than a bottle of booze between swanky high school students. She hoped that the principal would catch the people that still had the video saved on their phone, because every time she heard the beginning of his speech it made her stomach churn. The whole fiasco exhausted her to no end.

At least it was the end of the day. It was time to finally unwind and spend time with her friends, which was usually a pleasure... but right now, she just felt empty. Were they just as tired as she was? Or was she just being dramatic?

Asumi had been silent for the span of the five minutes after they were dismissed by their homeroom teacher, Mister Itoh. Her upper body was sprawled upon Nagi's desk with her arms dangling from the sides and her head turned towards the wall. It was like one of the rain clouds outside had flown into the classroom and currently loomed over her. Her clouded mind weighed heavily on her shoulders, but after a few minutes of sulking she finally forced herself to turn around and face them. To anyone that didn't know her well, it seemed like she was on the verge of tears. To them, it was just her having a moment.

"Am I the only one who didn't get Miss Okamoto's lecture today..?" she whined. "To be honest... I kind of blanked out after she started talking about the show she watched last night..." She punctuated her statement with a wistful sigh. After a moment of quiet thought, she turned her gaze towards Munahise. Sparks of exasperation lit up her blue glare. "And on top of everything else, your dad looks like he's a hell of a grader. It hasn't even been a month into the semester and I'm already stressed the hell out."

Clans of the Coast

Maybe Duskpaw was right. Maybe the other Clans just had cotton for brains. What was so bad about being just one big giant Clan? They could have all of the coast for themselves, and there wouldn't be any worrying about prey ever again. His mind wracked for any downsides; sure Barricudashade and Dawnstar were sort of hostile, and they'd cause trouble, but if they all worked together they'd just be easier to punish, right? The same thing could be said for anyone else. That was why he liked to talk to Duskpaw. She made him realize that he was overthinking things way too often.

He couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed when Duskpaw said she had to go. Albatrosspaw didn't even have the chance to say goodbye before she darted off. She always did that. Great. He felt his fur prickle when he realized that he should probably get back to Embersky. Had his mentor realized that he had snuck off? Hopefully not. He hated getting yelled at. Shaking out his fur, he made his way back to where he last saw him. Luckily, the medicine cat hadn't gotten too far.

"Are we leaving yet?" he asked him, his tail swaying behind him slightly as he turned his gaze to the floor. Now that he was finally away from Duskpaw, he really wanted to go home. The Gathering had taken a lot more out of him than usual.

PMD: Explorers of the Unknown

Lumi quirked a brow at Storm. A breath or growl? Her ears were pretty big, and she didn't hear anything of that sort. If it was an actual noise, then wouldn't it produce an echo or sound louder in caves? Was that how noise worked? She didn't know. Either way, Storm sounded like a scaredy-Meowth more than anything. She smirked at him, her tail fluffed out behind her as a mischievous grin spread over her maw. "Are you scared?" She prodded his side again, giving him a sly look. "I can't believe big bro is so scared of this place! Don'tcha gotta be brave?"

It was kind of hard to believe, Storm of all Pokemon being scared of a little noise. But now that she thought about it, the cave was pretty creepy. The glowing rocks or stones or whatever did cover the cave in a weird light, and now that she could hear, she heard the shuffling of paws and the slithering of tails. There were probably Pokemon roaming around a room away. She almost leapt out of her pelt when Sora walked up to them and asked what they were going to do next.

"I think we should start heading back. We could tell the Adventure Team what we saw!" She wagged her tail. But after a moment, she turned back to the stones, a frown on her lips. "I don't think we can break off a chunk of that rock even if we tried. We're too tiny."

「 Persona: Reflections 」

Shirasawa Asumi

NAME:
Shirasawa Asumi

AGE:
16

GENDER:
Female

ARCANA:
Lovers

APPEARANCE DETAILS:
Asumi is rather short for her age; she stands at just about 5'3" and has a regular figure. Her hazelnut brown hair is always seen in some sort of combination of half-done-up and half-done-down, such as messy ponytails or loose braids that circle her head. Outside of school, she dresses both comfortably and fashionably. Her go-to outfits during the winter months are often bright, fuzzy sweaters and colorful snow hats, while in the summer she's hardly seen wearing anything but skirts and sundresses. Her notebooks are covered with stickers and her schoolbag always seems to have one or two vinyl pins of cute animals on it.

PERSONALITY:
If one had to describe Asumi, they would probably say that she can be a bit "too much" at times. Whatever that means, she doesn't know. In reality, she's quite cheery, and it's hard to keep her down for long. She tries her best to deal with her problems as soon as they show up, and when she's done with them, she moves on like nothing ever happened. It's extremely difficult to get on her bad side, and because of this, she's known for making friends with practically anyone that comes along her way.

Once you get Asumi rolling, it's hard to get her to stop; she's quite the chatterbox, and will often spout multiple questions at once when it comes to something or someone that she's curious and excited about. While she might be a little over the top and extremely eager to please, she also displays a bit of a short temper when people bother her or the people that she cares most about. Asumi's also pretty tone-deaf in more ways than one, and can be a bit too oblivious for her own good. She's also notoriously nosy due to the fact that she wants to be involved in everything about her friends' social lives.

SHORT BIOGRAPHY:
Asumi's parents were never really around. Being doctors at one of the biggest clinics in Tokyo had its downsides, and one of those were that they could never really spend much time with their one and only daughter. Sure, they were always well-off and could go anywhere they wanted to on trips, but much of Asumi's earlier years were spent by herself. Someone always kept an eye on her when her parents away, which was pretty easy because Asumi was always a good girl; she often buried herself in books, lost herself in cartoons and television shows, and played with the family dog when her parents were away. Even though her mom and dad were constantly busy, she was proud of them nevertheless-- they were doctors, after all. They were helping people all over the city get better. She wanted to be just like them one day; when she grew up, she wanted to help the people or things that were hurting get better. It was when she was eight or nine years old that she decided that she wanted to be a veterinarian, and that was that.

She had just begun high school when her parents decided that perhaps the city life wasn't the type of setting they wanted to raise a teenager in. Things had become far too dangerous for their liking, especially for a girl her age. So, they packed up and moved out of the Tokyo. They decided that Fujihama was both close enough for them to commute to work and far enough away to prevent her from becoming wrapped up in the wrong crowd. Asumi didn't take the move too well; while she would always remain in contact with old friends, she feared that their relationships would fade with time. The young girl decided that she had to make new friends as fast as possible, or else she would be more lonely than ever before.

Luckily for Asumi, that went rather well. Her amiable nature, along with the fact that she was more than eager to please her new friends, granted her several of them. She was always there to help them study, always there to help them pay for their lunches, always there to help them through bad break-ups and horrible test grades. Yeah, she was a good friend, and that was enough for her.

The death of their Prime Minister had shaken Asumi up a bit too much for her liking. She's trying her best to move on from it, even going so far as to ignore the rumors that are currently spreading through Fujihama High School like wildfire.

TRIVIA:
- Asumi has a huge appetite and often eats more than one plate of food for lunch or dinner.
- She is among the top 10 students in her class.
- Asumi is very superstitious; she strongly believes that performing certain types of rituals will increase her luck during the day.

「 Persona: Reflections 」

@DJAtomika Almost done with your sheet?