Cavan Maynard
New York || Afternoon“I’m heading out. Later,” Cavan said, throwing a wave as he left, his skateboard tucked under an arm and his bag slung over the other.
“Later, Cay.”
“Later.”
Though Cavan probably could have stuck around for longer, given that it was only three and all, he was getting pretty bored with hanging around the park. The group had hit up the same park for three days in a row now, mainly because Pete wanted to practice bench tricks on the “tricky benches” there. Cavan, though, had had his fill of the limited number of surfaces in the park, which started to fill up with kids when schools started getting out. By day four, also known as today, he’d gotten the hang of it, and by that he meant he’d figured out that heading home early was an easier choice than trying to tap out when the kids arrived. Personally, he didn’t like being watched, and he definitely didn’t want to be asked to demonstrate the same few bench tricks over and over again like some broken record. Sam and some of the other guys seemed to get off on showing off to a bunch of hard-to-please middle schoolers, but it wasn’t his thing. So, home it was.
After a few seconds jostling his key inside the doorknob, he opened the door, walking in with a yawn and a cursory glance around.
“I’m home!” he called. When no one answered, he dumped his stuff beside the couch and let himself fall on it, pulling his phone out for a good scroll. Not much had happened. A few classmates who’d gone to class were complaining about what a waste of time it’d been and how much they regretted not ditching, and a girl who’d DMed him had finally bothered to respond with a singular emoji, which made him wonder why she’d DMed him in the first place. Given that his profile consisted of a bunch of skate pics and nearly nothing else, he hadn’t expected much in the first place, but she’d been the one who messaged first so he supposed, maybe, that he had been expecting something after all. But it was whatever.
Another notification from his gaming group pinged, and he tapped it, scrolling through the conversation to get a sense of what they were talking about. Apparently, there was a raid planned, for 13:00 GMT, which was… sometime in the morning for him, if he remembered correctly. Not that it mattered, though. The last time he’d gone on a raid, well, he couldn’t even recall.
@O11ie You been good? Haven’t seen you in a bit.
His brows went up slightly when he read the PM, and he sat up on the couch, frowning. It had been a while since he’d logged on, huh? But he didn’t really need an excuse for it. Kadence got it. He was a chill dude, and it wasn’t like Cavan had left the guild or anything. Still, Cavan felt a bit bad. Kadence was a friend from the glory days, back when the crew were all together and grinding. Nowadays, they were more scattered. A few had gone AWOL, and a few had gone off to join different guilds and stuff. Sure there were a few players from back then who’d stuck around like Kadence did, but Cavan wasn’t one of them, and thinking about it made him feel a bit bad.
@Kadence been good, just havent logged on. u going to the raid?
@O11ie I’m going. Can’t miss a chance at a spirit, after all. 1300 gmt, you in?
Cavan hesitated. When exactly was 13:00 GMT again? He scrolled over to his search engine, plugging the numbers in. Nine in the morning. That was pretty damn early. A bit
too early for his liking, but he didn’t recall there being any tests this week, so he had a bit of time on his hands.
@Kadence yea, see u there
@O11ie Sweet. Can’t wait to see Garu back in action.
@Kadence Garus back, baby
Afton Reimer
Los Angeles || NightAfton rubbed a towel against her hair as she made for the kitchen, wrapping it around her neck as she opened the fridge.
Milk.
Grabbing a glass from the dishwasher, she filled it, tucking the carton back as her other hand wrapped around the now-cold glass. There wasn’t much more to ask for besides a cold glass of milk after an afternoon of practice and a shower. She had a fair bit of homework due the next day, but she’d finish it soon enough. She could stand to idle for a bit.
Taking a seat at the table, she sat, gazing out the backyard door as she sipped at her milk. The sky outside was an interesting color, neither truly orange nor pink, with the faintest edges of purple creeping up on it from the edges. Afton wouldn’t call it pretty, though. What helped the shades meld together was more the smog than the sun, which was barely visible over the next building now. Still, even knowing that the colors might result more from bad air quality than diffracted light waves, she wouldn’t call it ugly either. It was a sunset. It was that simple.
Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out, taking another sip as she scrolled over the messages. Raid at six in the morning, her time. Knowing the people in the guild, though, it’d likely be closer to six-thirty than six, given how much drivel they liked to pass around before the raid started. She’d have enough time to get a run and a shower in before joining, and maybe even make breakfast too. Smoothies were fast and easy, and she was feeling some more cold milk in the morning. Whether she was feeling dealing with all the people who’d now signed up to go, though, was a different story. Most of them were fine and wouldn’t bother her. Some, though, would, like Synchai or D00rmaus. Those two were a headache, prattling on about equality and all despite the loot system having been the same from day one. Last time Afton went on a raid with them, they’d suggested that she split her loot with the others, which was crossing the line in her book. She’d joined to get loot, not give it away. If she wanted to do that, well, she wouldn’t be playing.
@Ephie U coming?
Afton paused mid-sip, her thumb hovering over the screen. Then, taking the sip, she tapped in for the raid count, adding her username to the meager but growing list of attendees.
@Ephie Sweet, see u there
Getting DMed so easily was a bit irritating, but she dealt with it. It was the price of being one of the highest-leveled members in the guild, and she understood why Synchai did it. That wasn’t to say, though, that she would’ve done the same because she wouldn’t. Asking for help was weak, especially in a game where nearly everything could be accomplished with time and fingers. But Synchai wasn’t that sort of person, so yes, Afton understood why Synchai did it, just as she understood why Synchai could never
not do it.
A sudden boom vibrated through her bones, and she shot to her feet, knocking her chair and glass over in one smooth motion, her phone clattering onto the table as her eyes shot to the backyard door. Her yard was
glowing. Completely lit up, but rapidly darkening. And at the center of the dimming light was a crater. A smoking one.
Afton couldn’t get to the door fast enough. The grass was cool against her feet, but she made a beeline for the crater, drawing her elbow against her face as she neared the smoke. Of everything that had happened in her life so far, this was easily the most interesting.
Alice Takigawa
Tokyo || Noon“Ruka, are you free after school? Let’s go to the mall!”
“Oh, today? Well…”
“C’mon, Ruka, don’t be like that! Airi, Jean, and Kaori are all coming so make some time, okay?”
At her desk, Alice poked through her bento box with her chopsticks, her eyes glossing over her phone, only half-focused on it. Her classmates’ conversation, which was rapidly moving on to the topic of their weekend group date event, held the other half of her attention. They were planning on going to a new cafe in Shibuya, and the event was open invite, so they were planning on getting some more classmates on board.
Now, Shibuya was nothing new to Alice, but it wasn’t familiar either. She could count on her fingers the number of times she’d been there, but not the number of times she’d wanted to go. And she wanted to go now, too. What was the new cafe like? What games would they play on the group date, and what sorts of people would be there?
“Oh, Kate! Hold on, are you free after school?”
“Huh? Yeah, um, yeah I think so.”
“Great! Come with us to the mall!”
“E-eh? But…”
“C’mon, Kate! Ruka’s coming too, right?”
On Alice’s phone now was the Shibuya cafe they’d mentioned, which was furnished in simple whites, browns, and oranges that all together gave it a modern chic vibe. There was a big window on the first story, and the second story had some sets of sofas and coffee tables that were no doubt set up with large groups in mind. Plus, there was a discount for groups this weekend, which was probably why the cafe had been chosen as the site for a group date.
“Yep, and Terry’s coming too. You know what that means.”
“Naoko!”
“Hey you were a lot louder than me just now, and—fine, okay, but you better come!”
Closing her phone, Alice refocused on her lunch, eyeing the soup as she continued eating away at her curry rice. School lunches were never bad, but they weren’t particularly good either. Compared to the leftovers she had waiting in the fridge at home, though, the fancy desserts cafes tended to serve left no room for contest.
Her phone buzzed, and the ghost of a grin crossed her face. Down went her chopsticks as she clicked open her phone again, scrolling to her newest notification.
DAILY REMINDER: RAID AT 1300 GMT
I better see u all there
That was ten at night for her, leaving just enough time for sleep. But she already knew that. This raid had been a week in the planning, and everyone involved was pumped. Well, mostly everyone. But Alice was pumped and looking forward to the loot they’d no doubt get their hands on. What would they get this time, a crest? An X-Antibody? Or, maybe even a spirit, if they were lucky? Either way, the day couldn’t move fast enough, and her reply was done in an instant.
I’ll be there Chai~~ excited (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
The world shook for a second, and Alice nearly fell back in her seat. Luckily, she didn’t. Unluckily, she managed to spill her soup over her desk, and she met a few classmates’ curious gazes with wide eyes.
“Did, um, did anyone feel that?” she managed after a moment. A few more eyes turned her way, varying between confused and concerned.
“Feel what?” someone finally asked.
Alice blinked.
“The earthquake? Or whatever it was. It was short, but I definitely felt it, and…”She trailed off, realizing none of her classmates showed any sign of knowing what she was talking about. But she had felt it. No doubt about it. For a moment, there definitely had been an earthquake, or at least some sort of shake, and—
“Alice, do you want me to go with you to the nurse’s office?” a classmate asked, walking over.
“What? No, no.” she waved her hands frantically. Dumb. Stupid. She probably just imagined that, got too caught up with texting and all that she confused someone jumping from the story above for an earthquake.
“No, I, um, I need to clean up.”“Right,” her classmate said, frowning, but walking away all the same.
Dumb.
Cavan Maynard
New York || MidnightCavan stared at it, and it stared back.
It being the most realistic version of a Tunomon that Cavan had ever seen, which wasn’t saying much because every version of a Tunomon he’d seen was a digital one—one in a screen, or on a screen, or any version of “not outside a screen.” This one, though, was now on his bedroom floor, his shredded hoodie in an unholy circle around it as it bared its fangs at him, as if his heart wasn’t already pounding. Was he dreaming? He couldn’t be. His arm was still bleeding from where it’d bit him, and he could feel the sting of the wound with every beat of his heart. There was a puddle-shaped blotch of red forming on his carpet, which he registered in the back of his mind as something he should probably avoid making bigger, but his attention was focused on the literal
digimon sitting on his floor.
“W-what—”The Tunomon cut him off with a growl, the corner of its mouth still bearing a small smear of red. In its defense, Cavan had picked it up without warning, but that was because it had been standing in the middle of the road. Not moving. With a car coming at it. And yeah, grabbing it and sprinting back home probably wasn’t the best plan, but it’d been the plan he’d gone with. So yeah, it got him good, biting him through his hoodie, and he’d done his best to shake it off, eventually shedding his hoodie in a desperate attempt to loosen its jaws. Which led them to the present, with him facing off against the small, horned ball of orange fuzz in the middle of his bedroom, his blood dripping away at the floor as he continued staring.
“Y-you’re a Tunomon,” he said, this time not cutting off despite the digimon’s growl. At the mention of its name, though, the digimon’s eyes seemed to widen, which encouraged Cavan to keep going.
“You’re a digimon. And you fell from the sky. But… why? How?”The Tunomon showed no signs of wanting to answer, and its fangs remained bared, sharp and shiny against the dim light of his bedroom. For a moment, Cavan wished he’d accepted his brother’s lamp when he left for college. It was a lot brighter, for one, and it’d also seen a straight-A student through four years with only two bulb changes. Or so his mother had claimed. Of course, that wasn’t important now, but he was having a hard time wrapping his head around the entire situation, and thinking about his lamp and dim lighting seemed like a better option than trying to figure out how and why he now had a Tunomon on his bedroom floor.
“Well. Um. Can I… Can I call you ‘Garu’?”“No.”Cavan’s eyebrows nearly shot off his face.
Remram
Achronum
