Beyond the City

[truthdecided]

Who: Akechi, Ren, Doc
What: Exploring beyond the city.
When: Sometime in February
Warnings: Spooky forest vibes, aggressive Pokémon, and... mushrooms. Oh my!

The cover of the trees blocks out the sun, enshrouding the group in Shadow. Akechi flies low for now, partially to a void alarming his teammates and partly as backup, should anything dangerous strike.

Before they even make it too far, one thing becomes clear: The paths meander, with dense foliage strewn about. It'd be easy to get lost if they aren't careful, so Akechi gives his teammates a contemplative look.

"We may want to mark our path with claw marks. Something distinct enough to distinguish our marks from wild Pokémon." He lands beside Ren, humming. "Perhaps the Mightyena-san's likeness?"

Normally, he'd suggest the Phantom Thieves emblem, but with Doc here, it's best to keep a universal symbol they all recognize.

Comments

[not_damned_yet]

"I didn't mean leaving a trail," Doc says in response to Goro. "My point is, we very well could break down the branches in our way. I doubt leaving the terrain intact will help us more than it will help whatever adversaries might be here."

"Well. I could," he amends, because unless Ren suddenly becomes a druid or whatever the other two are not likely to help with it.

When Goro points it out, he also steps forward to investigate the vine, but just as quickly as he does, there is a scent. Or a movement. Or a whatever- he has far too many new senses right now and the point is that one of them picked something up.

"Yes," he says to Ren almost before the cat is finished his sentence. "Keep your ears peeled, then. Unless someone has an objection, I'm clearing our way."

They've already been spotted- the noise it'll make isn't an issue anymore, and none of them are good at moving in this sort of terrain anyway.

[truthdecided]

Just to be safe, Akechi beats his wings, whipping up a Tailwind around them. "We don't know if it's hostile, but I'd rather not take any chances."

There's an eerie glow further into the forest. Quite a few glowing points, in fact, deep in the thick of it all.

Of course, he sticks close to the group. There's little sense in flying solo, especially after whatever that was.

[colorsflyinghigh]

With the speed boost from the tailwind, Ren nods. "Go for it," he says to Doc.

While Doc clears their way, he keeps eyes peeled and his senses sharp, poised to move the moment something happens. They're being watched- it's not just a feeling, Ren knows for sure. Every time he looks away, there's a shadow in his eyes that disappears when he tries to find it. It's unnerving, with the magical feel and ever more dense growing foliage of the forest. Nothing has attacked them yet, but that could change at any moment.

Finally, they make it to the source of the glow: a mushroom. Round, bulbous, and glowing. It's... beautiful, honestly; it makes his thieving senses tingle... but is touching it a good idea?

"... This feels like a trap," he comments, eyeing the mushroom.

[not_damned_yet]

Okay! Wow! Doc hates this!

"It's almost cliché how obvious a trap it is," he grumbles. "Unfortunately for us, we're a survey team."

"...My suggestion would be to mark this down and bring in a specialist from the guilds when we return," he says, though he has no idea if the guilds HAVE such a thing. "Then we give it a wide berth for now and continue our exploration. I'd rather find out what's beyond this forest than waltz right into a trap."

[truthdecided]

"We should be mindful of spores. Fungi are known to spread them, and there's no telling what effect they may have on us."

Akechi hovers closer, but not too close. He's wary of carelessly making contact. Even if it's just one, the glow alone is much too eerie to overlook. "Keep an eye out for more, but do not touch until we're certain it's safe."

Already, something feels off. The further they move, the more the surrounding foliage seems to shift, to breathe.

"At least we have a landmark, of sorts."

Still, he moves to a nearby tree to mark it with his talons. Better safe than sorry as they make their way deeper into the woods.

[colorsflyinghigh]

"Right. Let's move on, then."

But not a second after Ren has said as much, there's a noise-

-and moments later, glowing spores visibly cloud the air, quickly spreading.

"Shit! Move, everyone, move!"

[not_damned_yet]

No need to tell him twice! Doc is already on the move before Ren can finish his sentence- he nearly grabs Ren too, but the rational part of his brain manages to realize that he won't run faster carrying a cat than the two of them can separately.

"Goddamnit- back the way we came, better terrain in case of ambush. Best case's we loop around. Keep visual contact if you enter the cloud. Everyone's cleared to call for retreat," Doc barks, all pretense of politeness right out the window. "Anyone touches that, we're leaving ASAP. Mission comes last, I want everyone out alive."

"And Goro- on lookout. We'll want eyes in the sky. Go!"

[truthdecided]

Akechi does more than look out. He beats his wings wildly, kicking up another breeze to try and keep the spores away from them.

"I'll do what I can to divert the spores. Ren, if you're resistant, you may stand a better chance at leading the way."

Ren is a grass type, after all. It stands to reason that he'd have a heightened tolerance, though Akechi still refuses to take his chances.

He turns around, eyes scanning for signs of hostiles.

There's a rustling further down the path, far from a pleasant sign.