etrayalogs | APRIL MINGLE

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: April 25th - Early May
WHERE: Etraya
WHAT: The arrival of newcomers, spring activities, and feathered friends!
NOTES\WARNINGS:

⏵ arrival ⏴
Welcome to Etraya!

Arrival goes as expected - characters awaken on hospital beds and are offered an explanation of their situation: that they have arrived in the city of Etraya, and they are their world's only hope. They are welcome to wander the hospital if they would like to - the upper floors are mostly empty, full of pristine hallways and numerous rooms filled with supplies, cots, and things one would expect from a relatively average 21st-century hospital.

However, if they are arriving from Aphaia, it's a little different, though mostly through means and familiarity. They will still show up in the hospital of course, but how can vary. Either through Aurora offering a portal for escape, their own demise (however it might have happened), or even a simple blink of their eyes and they're in the hospital. They had been given the briefest explanation last time they were here, but at least Aurora can better answer their questions now. No time constraints nor rushing them off to a dying world, this time!

In the hospital's lobby are several party tables set out with miscellaneous baked goods: croissants, cookies, breads, cake slices, as well as tea and coffee to accompany them - or hot chocolate, for those who are opposed to the other offerings.

Outside the hospital, spring is sprung, it is warm and comfortable. Flowers have bloomed, and everything is in a sharp contrast to Aphaia—there is life within the bubble, and even the myriad wildlife seems to be basking in the glow of it all. Almost as if a celebration of that life itself.

Bees are buzzing, birds are—warking?

⏵ Birds of a Feather ⏴

Etraya has always had its interesting assortment of critters, but there seems to be a particularly colorful array of birds wandering around. Those familiar would know they are named Chocobos, those less so familiar, well, these are some strange looking ostriches, or whatever large bipedal bird equivalent fits. While the birds all seem to be of the same species, there are certainly some variety in their features. Some with friendlier faces and others looking a bit more eagle-like.

They are not particularly congregated in any one spot within Etraya, seeming to stick to groups, while others don't, yet even some are accompanied by newly hatched chicks. The observant might be quick to notice that their colors dictate some level of behavior, or even where their little groups mingle:

Colors	Behavior and habitat
Yellow	Can be found just about anywhere in Etraya, they don't necessarily stick to self-made groups, and typically are more likely to be friendly to people. However, if they are in the company of a newly hatched chick, they can become wary, though easily won over with some greens.
Green	These Chocobos are mostly found in grassy or woodsy areas, almost always in pairs, and sometimes found in the trees themselves. They are more wary than their yellow brethren, though if they see someone struggling or in danger, they are quick to offer assistance in what way they can. Doting like motherhens.
Blue	Most often found by bodies of water, these Chocobo seem content to keep to themselves. Three to a group, they are not so easy to approach without being noticed. Their skill and love of water is clear, however, and it's not unusual to find them flapping about or swimming. Though they may flee to the water if you spook them.
Brown	The most skiddish of the Chocobo, they can be found throughout Etraya, though further away from anything occupied by people. They stick to groups of four, though they have a clear leader who sports blue and green feathers, but seemingly is not of the other two types. Should they catch sight or sound of someone approaching they are like to run off, or they might attempt to defend themselves.
Red	There seems to be only one of these running around. Highly aggressive to anyone who dares to approach it. Best to avoid it. Very likely to hurl comet-like balls of fire your way. Untamable.

The birds all favor these strange cabbage looking plants that can be found out and about in the wilds of Etraya. Some proving a little overeager in their voracity to eat the leafy greens. One should be careful, with those large beaks of theirs.

⏵ Gift Hunt ⏴

It isn't only the birds that have shown up out of nowhere. Small to medium sized boxes, wrapped as if they should be under a tree, and maybe not hidden in a tree, have also appeared. For whatever reason (possibly the same reason eggs were given out over winter) there seems to be gifts hidden all over Etraya! Some in more difficult to find locations (in trees, on top of a roof, on snake island), while others look as though whoever "hid" it gave up halfway through and simply dropped it on the ground and put a leaf over it.

For those who need a little extra help, well, certainly your fellow Etrayans could lend a hand, however there are also perfectly capable birds about for those still left wanting. Certainly that blue chocobo could assist with crossing the river to obtain that perfectly balanced gift on a rock! Or what about that green chocobo roosting in a tree not too far from that gift stuck in the branches because it has entirely too many ribbons?

With that said, there might also be some dangers in trying to take one of the myriad gifts from a chocobo's nest, especially if there's a chick presently sleeping next to it. Perhaps befriending them would be a good idea first, besides, isn't friendship with a big bird the truest gift of all?

On the tag of each and every gift box says the same thing:

To: You
Love: 💋

Each gift has a random assortment within. Some contain candy, others contain alcohol, make-up...maybe even a pair of socks, very perfunctory gifts with very little thought or feeling put into them. However, there is at least one gift that is personally relevant to each character in Etraya. This item will be the equivalent of a 5 point AC reward, and does not have to be found by the person it is intended for.

What better way to break the ice than to give someone their gift which you opened!

⏵ NOTES ⏴

Welcome to Etraya newcomers and happy spring to everyone!

It appears that someone is trying to correct her previous mistake of handing out eggs during the winter holidays, and now there's a hunt for gifts accompanied by a bunch of lovely birds to help out!

Some notes in regard to Chocobos:

-Each color can be tamed except for the red one, he's a free spirit. Should someone wish to harm or attack this chocobo, let us mods know. There is only one of him, after all.

-The others will just take various amounts of work to win over, however, but they are loving and cute companions for those who are willing to put in the effort! And who knows, maybe more colors could arise with time and patience...

-Feel free to pull from all the designs of chocobos throughout the Final Fantasy series. If you fancy FFXII's, for example, there are some that look like that. Variety is the spice of life!

Concerning the personal item, be sure to plot out and get permission when finding someone else's item. This is meant to encourage possible new CR and mingling, but the choice of the item should ultimately be within the hands of the player who is receiving it.

If you are uncertain if your item is appropriate for the reward cost, feel free to ask here!

For all questions relating to this log, please refer to the mod queries comment. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ.

⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[once that bird starts to make a circuit around Shadow, Knife leans back on a heel, backs away, and starts out of the cafeteria.]

To get it away from me. You play with it - I don't mess with animals. [Knife checks over their shoulder to make sure there's no conga line of birds on the way before going further into this labyrinth of a hospital. there's gotta be fuckin' refuge around here, goddammit!]

[ did they just leave shadow here to deal with it.

it does stay, allowing knife to make distance. shadow stands in place with his eyes closed while ignoring the bird, and it's when it chews the last piece of leafy green that it's running off in the direction of where knife went.

it's faster... than most chocobos, wonder why...

...

...

when it does find knife, they'll hear a very loud WARK. ]

[said WARK carries down the laminated hallways so starkly that Knife nearly jumps out of their current skin and into a new one. their heels skid on the tile as they half-spin to look back in horror.

What the fuck. LEAVE ME ALONE!!

before mysteriously speedy bird can get too close, Knife ditches the pillowcases full of junk to free up their hands for some Assassin's Creed wall acrobatics (15 (8+7)) in order to juke it just before a sharp turn and head back the way it came.

thoroughly weirded out, they draw a knife out of their coat as they run, now fully intending to do some bloodletting to get some peace. it's too much, you know! new place, new stimuli, no friends...now plagued by being chased by animals they barely understand!

should they hear encroaching birdsteps, they'll spin and fling the knife with shocking deftness (25 (18+7)) toward the thickest part of a body.]

[ the poor thing wanted the food, but if this junk so happens to have what it's looking for then it'll slow down. it sifts through what's on the ground, finding that nothing is there worth taking, and now has to try and... find where knife has disappeared to.

there's a sad warble that comes from the bird afterwards, it only wanted to eat.

...where shadow is, the hedgehog has finally started to move from where he stood, walking towards the window to look outside. they're still camped out there, but some of them have laid down which gives the idea that they're sleeping.

...

...

it's one dash outside that shadow picks up one bird, relocating it somewhere else within the forest before another, and another, and another. these things are easy to do when no one can see him do it.

...

...

the bird? it's searching. those feet going TAP, CLACK, TAP, and when it does find them... and the knife stuck within it's body... it's going to flap those wings, feathers flying everywhere, and begin running in circles to get it out!!! ]

[fuck around and find out, chicken-monster! Knife will show no pity for its slow and pathetic death while they veer back around the corner, double-taking and backpedaling when they glimpse out the window and see...no fucking birds.

FINALLY!

they reel back, angle their elbow, and--]

OW! [fruitlessly bonk it on the glass. because they rolled a natural 1 (1+0). because of fucking course they would.] FUCK!

[that's karma.

Knife dances a bit, hissing through their teeth while the pain of funny bone smacking courses through them, then kicks at the window instead, cracking the glass into an array of spiderweb-like lines (10 (10+0)).

snarling, completely fucking done, they pull their satchel off their shoulder and swing it like a sling, smashing through the glass (27 (20+7)) and doing some world-class parkour out to the lawn, beating a fast path away from the open green.]

[ as they make it through the open green, they'll find that there's no chocobos around at all. like the army... has disappeared somehow.

not one wark, coo-coo, or warble to be heard, but all the trash from them pecking and ripping up cardboard and boxes still there. if there's anything pending had left out there, they'll find it, probably unless one of the birds have it.

...

it's pretty quiet outside.

for the bird, it doesn't take long for it to pull out the knife from it's flesh, and it seems that... it'll remember that, it'll remember the individual that forsaken it.

shadow has taken each one outside further than what they were so they can't bother anyone. not out of kindness, but because they'll become pretty annoying. though keeping one would mean who he left it with can use it to their advantage.

...then again, with how fearful they were, that probably didn't happen.

quickly, he jumps into a tree to survey the area to see if his job is done. ]

[nothing but giftbox carnage. sad. terrible. Pending didn't even stick around long enough to scavenge, lest they trigger some stampede or, hell, an explosion of some sort. that'd be their luck.

weirdly, half-orc tracks, should they be investigated, vanish? from the lawn? rather far from concrete or walkways, too. good ol' Misty Step.]

APRIL MINGLE

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cw implied animal death

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until next time 🫡