[EXAM]The Hills are Alive[Yin]

[ramenli]

Cricket had only mourned one person...Yin...well, Yin tended to not forget too many things when it came to the nurse. He had visited with her before, seen her glance to the photo, and then...well there had been the trance. Octavia, whom he had followed, had been on the fringe, off in her own little world most of the time it seemed. But she saw things, and what she saw, he saw. Seeing the ghoul that had been in the picture with Nurse Cricket. Red. He knew the name, what had happened to her...though he had never met her, never seen the full effects of what had happened to her.

But death in such a way in Halloween was an anomaly. He felt bad for having dredged up her memories again, It subdued him slightly. He nodded, silent, glancing out the window to watch a bit of unfamiliar terrain for a minute before the too-fast movement made him feel slightly ill and he returned his attention back inside of the train, now paying a bit more attention to those that shared the car, looking about just so that he could sneak quick glances at the woman in mourning, morbid curiosity getting the best of him.

Would he be one to be mourned? There was something wrong with him, he was tainted by hunter technology. No, he would be stronger. He had to be stronger. Nurse Cricket should not have to have anyone disappear for forever like that again, even if he was just an insignificant bug in the grand scheme of things.  

[demon_pachabel]

Cricket left her thoughts to herself as she settled into the seat with a small sigh, crossing her arms. "It happens. We've got a few hours of traveling to go. I hope you can stay entertained for that long." she noted, staring out the window and watching the scenery pass by.

As it steamed along, it made three stops: At the first one the mummy family herded itself off. The brown haired ghost ghoul and the older reaper lady both took the stop as an opportunity to go to the bathroom before they returned, the cat settling irritably back into its owner's lap.

At the second stop the older demon man and the group of four disembarked.

At their stop their car cleared out - the reaper woman, the brown haired ghost ghoul, the black dressed woman, and the last un-investigated young man - immaculately groomed, his hair slicked back and not a single fiber of his jacket out of place - a vampire.

The scenery seemed rather tame - a few trees, a small town of sorts, and an overhanging rocky cliff above it with a path that wound about it feeding into several small caves.

Cricket took a moment to retrieve her luggage, frowning when she looked inside of it.

"I think someone has been in here." she said with a small frown.  

[ramenli]

Yin could keep himself entertained, though...well, it did wear at him a bit. He would rather be moving, and while he tried not too fidget too much it was inevitable. When he got too bored he would sometimes allow himself to stare at the nurse's body, watching the patterns shift, crawling along. Never indulging for too long, not wishing to seem rude, but at least it was something to do.

Once or twice he even closed his eyes and while not fully meditating, he relaxed himself somewhat, seeing as he was already unable to do anything else. It also seemed to help with the faintly queasy feeling the train caused. He was grateful when they got up, trying not to just clamber off of the train as quickly as possible. As the Nurse got up he looked about, seeing that a few were still with them. He felt slightly ashamed that he had never seen the boil in the corner, how unobservant had he been?

He was getting out his own first aid kit when her words registered. "Someone disturbed your belongings?" He said, voice just a touch incredulous and horrified. He had not seen anyone, and his mind was drifting to every moment he had not been fully aware. Every moment spent looking out the window, at the nurse's skin, light meditation. He felt guilty, he should have been more aware. "I...I saw no one near...I am sorry," and he really did sound a touch miserable.  

[demon_pachabel]

Cricket continued to fumble through her bag before she sighed. "I had a repellant for..." she looked up towards the caves. "Feral minis." she explained. "Looks like we'll be playing the 'try to not have our ankles nibbled off' game." she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Don't feel it is your responsibility to watch my things.." she again pinched the bridge of her nose, slightly irritated.

A few of the passengers who had gotten off the train with them gave her a half-look, but Cricket soon waved the air with her hand.

"Do you need to rest before we get headed out?"  

[ramenli]

She could tell him it was not his responsibility, but she was irritated, and he did not wish to see her in such a state. That she did not blame him certainly helped, but he was still upset with himself. Nothing was really going to change that.

He noted the other passengers, but did not take bother with them too much, the Nurse was his primary concern, regardless of anything else. He would stay attentive to her first and foremost. He opened his mouth to answer her before he paused. It had been a lengthy train ride, and while he was feeling like he could wear off some energy...he also lived by the motto of "early to bed, early to rise." There was also the matter of her being upset with him if he did not take care of himself.

"I should be fine for a few hours, but if you believe this will take some time rest might be for the best and give us an early start tomorrow? Whatever you feel is best?"  

[demon_pachabel]

Cricket pointed up to the top of the crest of the cliff that hung over the small town.

"It will take about eight hours for us to get up there." she said calmly. "Get as much sleep as you require, but remember we will need to leave again tomorrow afternoon if we want to return to the school before you've missed too much." she instructed.  

[ramenli]

Yin eyed where she was pointing to. Eight hours...no, that would not be a good idea at this point, not without any sleep. He nodded. "I should not require too much, just a short rest."

The cold of where they were was beginning to seep in through his extra layers he noted with distaste. It meant that using his natural form would be a foolish decision, though certainly more comfortable for sleeping outside ordinarily. Instead he quietly let his hands shift to more humanoid ones, protecting the clawed tips from the chill in the air, and looked for a place to camp out. He could deal with being outside for the night, not worried about it, other than knowing he would need to sleep lightly. He meditated before attempting sleep, soothing his Fear as she taught him, taking away the light edge of hunger, the practice alone rejuvenating him slightly. And he did not sleep that long either just a few hours, waking while it was still dark and ready to follow the Nurse wherever she took him.  

[demon_pachabel]

Cricket seemed to wait patiently for him, calmly fussing with her scarf, her leggings, looking up at the cliff. Generally she did what, as a ghost, she was just naturally set to do: Sit and do nothing.

Yet when Yin was ready to go again, the darkness betrayed Cricket's own well being ever so slightly - she seemed to have slight purple undertones to her plasm that would flicker brighter than her green every now and then, especially apparent when she walked, fussing with her boots once more before she looked up at the walkway.

"I guess I will be lighting the way." she said calmly, before she turned to head up the walkway, both of her braids wrapped around her neck, her scarf around them for extra warmth. Even as they headed up the way, her lights flickered on and off repeatedly, but the time to ask wasn't then, as something dark with glowing red eyes appeared at the top of the path that lead into the cave - it looked like they'd be going in and out of them repeatedly as the thing panted and drooled on itself.

Cricket made a small face.

"Ant Lion." she said calmly as the two compact eyes looked between the pair and it began to keen, scratching at the ground and growling again.

WHAT WILL YIN DO?

>FIGHT MINIS
BAG ESCAPE

IF YOU CHOOSE FIGHT

Roll your attack dice. You only need to do 1 damage to send the Ant Lion away, but it might not be the best option...

IF YOU CHOOSE BAG

Pick an item Yin packed and see if it has an effect!

IF YOU CHOOSE TO ESCAPE

This means you run past the Ant Lion! Roll a 4 sided dice. If even, you make it by scott free! If odd, you still get by, but.....

If any of the above fails

Cricket takes -5 HP.

CRICKET'S HP

Cricket seems to be kind of off her game today. Yin might only want to risk letting her lose 30HP Max.

 

[ramenli]

Yin woke to a Nurse Cricket he had never seen before. Purple seemed to flicker over her body, and just when he thought he was starting to map out her form too. He was content to let her lead the way, lagging just a step behind her so as not to step on her heels, cold but trying to force himself on regardless. It was a bit hard to see as her lights sometime dimmed, but then something dark appeared ahead, a shadow even in the darkness, given away by red eyes.

Ant lion? A minipet if he recalled correctly? It would need cleared from the path then. Yin had one natural instinct when it came to getting rid of minipets, and it was not a practice that those who loved minipets particularly approved of. He moved around her, a certain gleam in his eye as he attacked, lashing out with a kick to its side, sending it crashing to the side before it moved out of their path. There, all was well and good. The minipet was thus disposed of he waited for her expectantly.

Option: Fighting, never not
Success(?): Ant lion sent away
Cricket's Exam HP: 30/30  

[demon_pachabel]

The Ant Lion skittered away, making an unhappy noise as it did so, heading back into the dark tunnels and Cricket, warily, followed after it into the darkness. A darkness barely illuminated by Cricket's glowing body, making her fading in and out of the light more noticeable.

The pathway inside the cliff was pitch black, barely anything visible even with the faint light and Cricket found herself walking with her hand pressed to the wall as she moved, the walls seeming to hiss in disapproval at her presence. Rocks were kicked about and crunched under their feet as they walked, but it sounded a bit off.

Hmmm.

But there was no way to investigate at that point in time.

Some scratching could be heard on the wall up ahead, but there was no way to see what it was because neither of them had a flashlight.

WHAT WILL YIN DO?

>FIGHT Minis
BAG ESCAPE

This time around, though...

Because it is so dark, Yin has to hit whatever is in the dark for five damage or roll a 1 on the 4 sided dice to escape. The bag remains unaffected.

 

[ramenli]

Yin was not sure why they would followed it into the darkness. And as they entered the tunnels, entering pitch darkness, he became all too aware of the danger the darkness presented. There was an ominous feel to this, with what sounded like a hiss coming from the walls around them. Rocks being moved under their feet had him in a constant state of alertness as he tried to see what he simply could not.

Then a new sound entered his ears. Scratching. He would not wait to be attacked in the darkness, he would take the initiative, just barely able to make out Nurse Cricket enough to move around her, trying to find the source of the noise. But whatever it was...he could not make it out in the darkness to attack it. But he thought he heard a rustling from behind him, back where Nurse Cricket was...

Option: Fighting - Failed
Cricket's Exam HP: 25/30  

[ramenli]

Realization had his eyes widening. If it was near Nurse Cricket...it must have bypassed him in the darkness...

He spun around, aiming to attack it, a sweeping kick that would not get too close to the nurse, attacking in the darkness, desperately wishing he had night vision. But he was panicked, worried about lashing out and misjudging. His attack fell far too short, but he could still hear the beast.

Option: Fighting - Failed the hardest you can fail
Cricket's Exam HP: 20/30  

[ramenli]

Yin just...needed to get her to safety. "We need to get it out into the light," he said, distress evident but...it could still follow them. He could hear it, the slurps as the drool fell from its mouth. The panting. No, he could not leave the nurse.

Option: Run Away - Failed
Cricket's Exam HP: 15/30  

[ramenli]

No, he could not just lose it like this. He had to protect the Nurse, he could not just run away from his problems any longer. He was letting himself rely on his sight too much, and he had been trained to fight regardless of the conditions. This was by no mean something he was adept with but...no, he just had to be patient, bide his time, hands shifting back into their normal long, clawed form. Wait for the something to darken his vision as he focused on the Nurse, hoping for a dim glow, catching sight of a flash of red.

His arm lashed out, a mantis' speed as it went for its prey. Claws catching the minipet, digging in as he swept it to the side.

Option: Fighting - 7 damage! Success!
Cricket's Exam HP: 15/30  

[demon_pachabel]

Cricket panted, half leaning against the wall as the purple underneath her 'skin' became more and more apparent, as well as a wet sound of something hitting the ground before the next dark shape - well, everything was a dark shape, panted and went off into the darkness, allowing them to keep going. Yin likely could have felt something wet and almost burning underneath his feet as they went through the tunnel.

On the other side, the moonlight would illuminate enough to reveal that Cricket was missing a chunk from her torso and it was still dripping in sinew-y bit, leaving a semi-glowing trail behind her.

Ew.

Cricket sighed, leaning against the side of the tunnel before she looked up at how far they still had to go.

Sigh.

"I...think I need..to put this down." with that, she dropped her bag.