[ORP] Where Have They Gone?

[Ellanoire]

Thornapple fidgeted. Rain dripped down his long ears, contributing to the mucky pool around his feet. He wished it would stop raining. He felt like he'd tracked from one end of Hopscotch to the other, looking for his brother. He'd taken off with some strange rabbits what felt like half a life time ago. Thornapple had gone home, to share the news with others. His brother had continued on with those strange rabbits, headed into places rabbits simply weren't supposed to have gone. Now here he stood, on the border of the unknown. Ahead the trees seemed to knit even closer together, and the air felt thick and heavy.

He took a deep breath, squinting into the murk. Did he have to go in there? Alone? It was seeming like the answer was yes. Thornapple took a deep breath, stealing himself.

wc: 141

 

[Zakiax]

Redeemed

Spotted Luck had caught wind of what had happened at Nymphs pool, via rumors by word of mouth. Every time she heard the story her curiosity had grown. What was this mysterious new land like? To a place they were suppose to go. The question excited her brimming curiosity. Maybe she could go there too?

What happened to the rabbits that had gone off to this new land? How she understood it, it was quite a while since they had left the safety of their home. Yet this question worried her, if they had not returned yet perhaps something terrible happened to them. Based on the stories from those who had gathered at the pool, the buns from this land were scared to return to it.

Thus she made her way towards the boarders of the lands, hoping to find some glimpse of the return of these rabbits. Or maybe if they hadn't really returned yet maybe go on a rescue mission to find them. She wanted to know what happened in these lands, what they were like. And maybe this was her turn to go on an adventure. She hopped along steadily in the rain until she the boarder game into view. Her brown orbs spotted another bun waiting on the boarder.

"Hello!" She called out to the other rabbit, trying to get their attention.

WC: 222

 

[bughnrahk]

Redeemed

Something was happening outside Tanglewood, carrying panicked whispers from ear to ear. Goldfinch, always gregarious, heard bits and bobbles in her travels that broke the dam on her curiosity. Rabbits gone missing? They could be injured or worse, and Goldfinch might be able to do something about that! She couldn’t stay cozy in the meadow while others were endangered. Goldfinch paced the treacherous journey to the edge of Tanglewood, picking burrs and brambles from her fur when she finally popped out the other side.

Rain soaked her coat and made her shake. She blinked heavy droplets from her eyes and rose on her haunches for a better lay of the land.

Other rabbits were here too! Her ears perked at the sight.

“Awful weather!” she shouted, taking off toward them. Tracking in this muck would be horrendous. “Are you all looking for the missing rabbits, too?”

Goldfinch hadn’t lost anyone important and had no real reason to risk life and limb crawling to places unknown, but she couldn’t sit back as an observer. Not now that she had an inkling of what happened. What sort of rabbit would that make her?

A smart one, her mama might have said. One that lived a good, long life.

wc: 202

 

[Ellanoire]

Thornapple started. Not one, but two does approached, despite the persistent winter rains. Were they also missing siblings? Parents? Friends? Or was this just a case of right place, right time? He cocked his head at the first of the two greeted him, and then the other approached.

"Um, hello. Didn't think I'd run in to anyone out here." He was sure to be well outside Bramblefell territory after all. No sense in getting caught up in all of that. He nodded at the question. "My brother is missing. Well, and other rabbits too, I think, but certainly my brother. He met some strange rabbits at Nymph's Pool, and then went trekking off to who knows where. Well, somewhere out there really." He waved a paw towards the murk. "He's been gone a long time ... I'm ... worried."


Thornapple wilted a little. It seemed like such a large task to find a handful of missing rabbits. In who knew how much space. In a place unknown to rabbit kind. At least the kind of rabbits he knew.

wc: 176
twc: 317

@bughnrahk @Zakiax

 

[Zakiax]

Spotted Luck tilted her head back towards the other doe as they approached. "Yes very awful weather," She agreed picking up a white paw only to to shake off the bit of mud which covered it.

"I'm not looking for anyone" Spotted began, "I just came out here to see if i could spot any of the rabbits returning, as i want to hear their stories of what lies beyond here."

There was a bit of a pause before she continued. "But if they have yet to arrive then that is quite a worry." She wasn't quite sure how well they would be able to track them with this rain and mud. Both scents and tracks would have been muddled by the rain fall.

When the buck said he was missing his brother that caused Spotted Luck to have great worry. She herself was pretty much alone in the world she had no family, as of yet. Though, if she did she knew she would also worry about them if they had gone on an adventure and had not returned.

"I'll help you find him, and the other rabbits who have yet returned" She finally replied after some long and hard consideration. The idea of a rescue mission had just been a brief thought before the buck had spoken. "The more eyes looking for clues as to where they went and what might have happened to them the faster we can find them. Hopefully." But a little hope was better then none right?

It might have been more of an adventure she was looking for, but she couldn't sit still knowing that others could need help, and this buck obviously needed some help to find his brother. Even if she was looking for no reward in return, the doe would help him.

WC: 297
TWC: 519
@Ellanoire @bughnrahk

 

[bughnrahk]

Goldfinch listened attentively to the two rabbits, the buck’s plight of a missing brother made her heart ache. He must feel so alone right now. Goldfinch could sympathize with that. She flicked an ear toward the doe and nodded, resolute, at the offer to help him.

“I came out here to look,” said Goldfinch, hopping closer. “I didn’t want to stand by while other rabbits might be in trouble.”

She cast her gaze toward the muddy stretch of unfamiliar territory. She was no fighter and the thought of being in open ground where hawks or eagles could spot her was terrifying, but she needed to do something. If she was lost and alone in this deluge, she hoped someone would come find her.

She had no idea what lay beyond Tanglewood and the idea made her fur stick on end, her heart beat like frantic bird wings. But she stamped down her fear and raised her head.

“I’m Goldfinch.” She turned to face the other two, shaking sodden rain drops futilely from her coat. “I’ll help you find your brother, too. All of us together should make easier work of this.”

WC: 187
TWC: 403

 

[Ellanoire]

Thornapple listened, and began to feel rather heartened. These strangers were here to help?!? "Well, three sets of eyes is certainly better than one. And it isn't as if we're looking for just one rabbit, we're looking for a bunch of them." He squinted into the tangle, trying to prevent more rain from dripping into his eyes.

"And maybe under there we'll be a little more sheltered from the rain. Can't complain about that." He hopped forward, then glanced over his shoulder. "I'm Thornapple. And thank you for your help."

A few more hops and Thornapple was into a real thicket of undergrowth. Thanks to the season, all the leaves were off. That didn't mean it wasn't a struggle to navigate though. And of course, it simply had to have thorns. "Be careful," he called back to his newfound companions, "there's thorns. It's a tight squeeze." The wet rabbit wriggled his way through, managing only to snag a few hairs.

Somehow the other side of the thicket felt ... different. Moister, even. Which truly was a feat the way the rain dripped down. The ground was just muck. Thornapple reached a tentative foot out, and found it sinking into slick muck. "We're going to have to be very careful ..."

wc: 208
twc: 525

(You may roll 1d20 per post, rolls of 15+ result in clues found!)
@bughnrahk @Zakiax

 

[Zakiax]

"Nice to meet you both, I'm Spotted Luck" She introduced herself. The speckled orange rabbit just realizing now she had yet to introduce herself to her new found companions.

"I do hope we find them, " Spotted spoke as she followed Thornapple into the thicket of undergrowth. She was a bit unlucky trying to wiggle her way through, several times a missed placed paw stepped on a thorn and by time she had arrived on the other side of it her fur was quite messed up with a few sticks sticking out of it.

"Well that was a bit more difficult then it looked" she muttered attempting to mat down her fur with a paw and pull out the sticks. "I wonder if there is an easier way to get into this place, or out." the rabbit mused out loud.

Once she was finished grooming herself, well as much as she could with the mud and muck on her paws she looked off into the new lands in which they had arrived. It sure was different. The ground under her seemed to sink as she made her way to Thornapple.

"This may be a bit more difficult then it sounded. Looking for clues in this place may be a challenge." It wasn't that she was giving up, its just she thought it would be easy to find and follow some paw tracks. She took a few careful hops forward watching the ground and her footing as she went, sitting still wasn't going to help them find clues .

WC: 254
TWC: 773
@bughnrahk @Ellanoire

 

[bughnrahk]

Goldfinch, despite her name, was not a diminutive rabbit. She was adequately comfortable around her middle, the perfect sort of weight for raising kittens, her mother might say. Nominally a good thing, but it made squeezing between the thorn bushes mighty difficult. She wriggled as best she could, but needles pinched at her belly. She popped out on the other side with a hiss, missing more than one tuft of hair.

“I’m not going back that way until we have something to show for it,” she said, chuckling lightly at herself. She scrubbed at her face to brush away any dead nettles left clinging, then looked out over the murk.

“Oh dear.” She crept forward, sniffing the ground. The ground sucked at her feet and she grimaced, shaking her paw to flick some of the muck off. No luck! “Well, if the missing rabbits got to solid ground, they’ll leave us a nice trail of muddy splats to follow!”

But they’d have to find their way through this mire first.

“Six eyes and three noses should have finding clues in no time!” She grinned cheerfully at Spotted Luck. “We can do it!”

WC: 194
TWC: 597

 

[Zakiax]

"I'm not sure if there is solid ground in this place" Spotted Luck replied to Goldfinch. "It seems everywhere i step i sink in." She took a pause as she sniffed at the ground, her nose wrinkling at the smell of the wet musty earth.

"I"m also not sure if our noses are going to do much good here either. Everything smells the same to me," Everything seemed to be difficult at this point, she couldn't find a single trace in this area. Smell really wasn't helping here.

Brown orbs scanned the area around her, spotting nothing she began to hop forward a bit more, breaking off from the other two, keeping them and the brush they had come through in view. Rain continued to trickle down her nose and long ears.

Maybe in all luck it was impossible to trace these lost rabbits in this place. To her everything seems so similar. "Either of you find anything?" She called out her question, so far she herself had no luck with finding any sort of clue that any rabbit had gone through this place, aside from them hopping in circles that was. "I don't see anything over here." Spotted Luck was hoping the other two had more luck at spotting something then she did.

The doe really hoped they would find something soon, as she felt that she was just spinning in circles looking at her own mush paw marks in the squishy ground.

WC: 240
TWC: 1013
@bughnrahk @Ellanoire

 

[Hopscotch Shop]

Goldfinch's words seem to be full of foreshadowing. There on the ground near her feet was a trail of tiny little foot prints. Larger than a kit, certainly, but much smaller than a full sized rabbit. These prints lead off deeper into the mire, but seem entirely possible to follow.

@bughnrahk
You may share this clue with others, or keep it to yourself![/]
​

 

[bughnrahk]

Goldfinch had to agree. Everything was wet muck and it all smelled like mud, but she didn’t want to bring anyone’s spirits down. Especially that poor buck looking for his brother. Goldfinch squinted at the mess and hopped forward at a snail’s pace.

Something caught her eye. Were those footprints? Divits in the mud partially filled with water, shaped very much like rabbit feet, but at such a small size. Too large to be kits, but maybe youngsters?

“I think I’ve found some tracks!” she announced, treading carefully around the marks to avoid disturbing them. She turned to Thornapple. “How old was your brother? These are too small for adult rabbits, I think. Do you want to give them a sniff?”

They should probably follow them anyway, if there were other rabbits out here, they’d need help! She couldn’t imagine how terrible it would be, stuck out in a swamp like this, damp to her core.

“I think they’re clear enough to read if you want to follow after them, but if these don’t suit your brother…” she raised her nose to the air and sniffed again, the mud smell remained overpowering.

w: 192
twc: 789

@Ellanoire
@Zakiax

 

[Ellanoire]

Thornapple bounded back towards Goldfinch. He skidded to a halt, just short of the tracks. His throat felt tight with excitement. Could it have been this easy?!? The he scrutinized them, and his heart fell. He carefully put his own paw next to one, leaving an imprint in the muck. It close to twice as large as the track. "He's the same size as me ..."

Water dripped down his ears, and for a moment he felt truly miserable. "But I supposed we should still probably follow these. They look like they're rabbit. And maybe whoever left them knows where everyone has gone. Or knows where this is. ... Just knows something."

He glanced towards Spotted Luck, hoping she'd agree to follow as well. "I think you're right, everything in here smells the same. These might be our best bet." The pale buck carefully hopped along beside the small prints, following them deeper into the mush swampy place.



wc: 156
twc: 681

(You may roll 1d20 per post, rolls of 15+ result in clues found!)
@bughnrahk @Zakiax

 

[Zakiax]

Tracks? She hopped over to the other two curious about the clue which had been found. Following them would indeed be their best bet, but what sort of creatures did these small paw prints belong to.

"We should be careful," She pipped up following behind the two, trying to keep an eye out for more clues. "We do not know who or what these tracks belong to. Or knows what sort of dangers lurk out here."

She wanted to be optimistic, but those rabbits had disappeared for some unknown reason. The further that they moved into the swamp following these small tracks the more cautious she became. Though she was moving a bit slower then the others trailing behind them she always kept them in view, knowing full well it would be safer to stick together rather then go off alone.

WC: 140
TWC: 1153
@bughnrahk k @Ellanoire

 

[Hopscotch Shop]

Spotted Luck's careful observation seemed to be about to pay off. The small tracks lead on deeper into the swamp, but Spotted luck catches sight of what appears to be the mouth of a rabbit burrow at the base of a decaying log.

@Zakiax
You may share this clue with others, or keep it to yourself![i/]​

 

[Zakiax]

Spotted Luck was about to continue before something caught the corner of her eye. Making a full stop she turned her head in the direction of the decaying log. Sure enough what looked to be a rabbits burrow laid there. "Thornapple, Goldfinch" she called out, attempting to be quiet. "I think I found something,"

Though without waiting for the other two Spotted Luck made a slow approach towards the burrow. She wondered if the occupant was home, maybe they would be able to know what happened to the other rabbits which traveled here a few seasons ago. "Hello?" She called out wondering if anyone was home, her caution from earlier gone.

WC: 111
TWC: 1264

@bughnrahk @Ellanoire

 

[bughnrahk]

Goldfinch's attention snapped away from the tracks at Spotted Luck's exclamation. She hurried after the other doe. It wouldn't do to get separated out here, especially when their party was already so few! She agreed that caution was warranted out here, there was no telling what lurked in a nasty place like this, although she hated to think that rabbits might be enemy. Even drenched with rain and muck, Goldfinch didn't want to let her spirit wane.


"A burrow?" she lowered her voice. It seemed Luck's wariness had transferred over to Finch. "Why would anyone want to live out here?"


Those poor rabbits! Did they not know about the soft, dry meadows just beyond the Tanglewood? If it weren't for the rabbit tracks leading straight to the hollow, Goldfinch would have worried this was home to some other beastie. A predator ready to make a snack out of them! She crept up to Luck's side and peered into the hole.

WC: 156
TWC: 945

 

[Hopscotch Shop]

A very small white rabbit popped her head out of her burrow, her eyes growing wide. Three HUGE GIANTS were here, right on her doorstep! She looked between each of them, and considered fleeing. But they'd probably just root her out of her burrow and eat her. After all, that was what giants did.

"W-why are you in our safe lands? Monsters are supposed to stay OUTSIDE!" Her little voice was shrill, and more than a bit scoldy. If she was about to be eaten, she was going to have these Giants know they were in the wrong.

@bughnrahk @Zakiax

 

[Zakiax]

Spotted Luck tilted her head at the small white rabbit who popped out of the burrow. It was quite cute, until it started to speak rudely. Monsters? Did it mean them? She was about to retort something rude back but she held her tongue, this one could know where Thornapple's brother was and where the other rabbits had gotten to.

"We are looking for our...friends, and Thornapple's brother." She paused before speaking the word friends, as she wasn't really friends with any of the rabbits they were looking for, but maybe they could be friends later, it was a possibility.

"Perhaps you have seen them? They are rabbits like us who traveled to these lands quite a while ago but have not returned." She began to explain, hoping the small one would understand and help them out.

WC: 135
TWC: 1339

@bughnrahk @Ellanoire

 

[Hopscotch Shop]

The small rabbit narrowed her eyes. "You mean the BIG group of Giant Monsters?" She snorted. "Everyone in Luremire knows about that! They all tromped in here, into our sacred lands, and the council caught them. The council's told us we're safe now." Her eyes got wide, as she realized exactly what she'd just disclosed to ... more Giant Monsters. Though these seemed awfully rabbit-like to her ... More like the outcasts that could be found all around Luremire than actual Monsters. They didn't even seem to want to eat her.

She considered Spotted Luck's words. "I'm not sure you're a rabbit. You're not from here. You're from Outside, and that's where Monsters live. Everyone knows that."

@bughnrahk @Zakiax