Beyond the Second World: The first Gate [M] (VaidiaxKoti~) (IC)

[Koti~]

“Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just a little sore, though that may be a given.” Sasha added with a chuckle, rubbing her side gently. She knew it would bruise up by the morning but thankfully it was nothing major. Looking around the mock shelter she could see that there was an alcove to protect from the rain, yet the tunnel continued further down. Not something she wanted to explore at the moment, or ever, but it gave options. Matt moved over closer to the hole, looking over the shelter with a wary eye.

“It's gonna be the best place for the night, at least now. Unless we can find a cave within the next five minutes, I do believe we've hit our limit for wandering the woods. Some rest will do us all some good.” Matt pointed out to Nunya, giving her a glare as he let out a sigh. A chance to rest was best, though they definitely needed at least some water, as even he was starting to feel the tell-tale rumble of hunger. The idea of gnawing on plants for water and food seemed insane, but it was better than nothing.

“If we're going to get this started, we might as well divvy up tasks. Sasha, can you and Will go hunt for those plants he was mentioning? I'm sure all of us could use some water and at least something to eat. I'll try collecting some branches and hopefully something to try and light a fire. Nunya, if you wish to join, we could use some more cover over this, to keep us warm.” Matt spoke, that managerial tone filtering into his voice as he looked over the group. He had seen what the group was possible of, and had hopefully doled out the tasks as best as possible.

“Sure! I could use a fresh sap of water.” Sasha spoke, trying to lighten up the mood with a pun, yet with minimal effect. She felt her face flush red as she looked over the group and crawled out of the hole, the dirt giving a surprisingly good surface tension. She had expected a bit more muddy dirt, but either rocks or clay made it a really easy climb. Pulling herself free she dusted off the dirt and moved to help Will back up into moving.

[Vaidia]

“Oh I ain’t going to do a thing you tell me to do,” Atarah spat, matching and surpassing the level of vehamancy in the glare the taller male gave her. She was rather sick of the way he looked at her, and was still rather in the mood of giving justification to his prejudice.

Will cleared his throat, which turned into a cough, unexpectedly. It was enough to draw Ms. Nunya’s attention away. “Thank you, Mr. Matt, for trying to organize everyone, but I don’t think I am going to be able to even go that far unless I am carried, and Sasha has already helped me plenty enough. You’ll have to leaf me behind.” He glanced over at the dark haired girl, before winking subtly. “The plants that I saw were vines, about 100 paces away, and will need someone to help with cutting them. You can use one of the rocks broken off from the tunnel, probably.” He paused to cough again.

Atara looked between the three (reserving a sneer for Matt). “I ‘spose you telling me to help with that?”

“If Ms. Sasha doesn’t mind working with you. We do need water before it gets too dark.” As flushed as his face was, even in the fading light, Will’s expression remained poised and pleasant, his tone patient, even though it was strained.

Atara’s expression seemed conflicted, and she made another round to look at the three (again giving a venomous look toward Matt, and now a slightly annoyed one toward Will. She mumbled a quick, elegant, but terribly crass combination of curses, before looking up. “Fucking fine. You said it was some damn vines? Let’s go then.”

[Koti~]

Sasha gave Nunya a warm smile and nodded happily, managing to climb out of the hole without help. She smiled at the group before getting the last bit of direction from Will before leading the way. Now that she could have a moment free to learn more from Nunya, hopefully her actual name. The aggravation she gave off seemed only directed towards being stuck with the current group. A breather might be good for the moment.
She began leading the way, doing her best to not trip over any of the underbrush.

“So, crazy day huh? Dead in one world, dropped in another? I could use a milkshake at this point.” Sasha spoke, trying to break the air. She wanted nothing more than to learn more about the other woman she was with. Their main problem seemed to be the tension between Matt and her.

“I wish I had gone with them, but someone needs to make a resting place. How do you do it though?” Matt questioned Will, glad for the silence. He had already begun collecting twigs and large branches, figuring they would be best for a fire. Starting it would be a problem, but if he could start it then they would be set. Now he wished he had honestly taken up boy scouts.

“i mean seriously, where does she get she get off acting like a massive tyrant. Taking over like some big shot just cause she doesnt like taking orders.” Matt ranted as he gathered up enough and hopped down into the hole. With the open top and recessed walls, the smoke would travel upwards and it wouldn't risk burning anything. He could feel some hunger starting to set in, but hopefully the girls would return with the vines in question.

[Vaidia]

Atara followed quickly, and sulkily after Sasha as they made their way toward the vines. Th scratches on her skin from the trees were beginning to itch slightly more now, and she had to keep herself from peeling off her skin in frustration. She rolled her eyes (unseen) as the girl in friend of her made quite a lackluster attempt at humor. What was this? Were they in some hidden camera show with cheesy scripted lines?

“I don’t know what the fuck gave you the impression I’d rather play friendly with any of you all,” Atara said crossly, kicking away some of the underbrush, and watching in satisfaction as the fragile ground dissolved beneath her feet. “Only reason I’m going on out here is because I’d rather not die of thirst, and seems like the course for that is sucking on some damn vines. Fucking hell, this is complete bullshit, and I just want a fucking shower.”

She took another few steps, kicking another clout of earth in the air. At least she was doing something, both by getting the magic water vines (were they in some fucking video game?) and by kicking the shit out of the ground. The earth at the city park by her was far too well maintained and far too use to human abuse to be so easily demolished. “How many st-- Fuck, OW!” Atara paused to hop on her foot, as she just kicked a rather hard something embedded in the ground, “I hate this fucking place.”

---

Will watched Matt bustle about the surrounding area, the man pausing to pick up some scrap or twig in punctuation with whatever he was saying. As he spoke, Will began to slowly move again, attempting to stretch his muscles slightly. Stretching helped, usually. Usually he wasn’t already in the bad of a state. He only had to keep it together for a little longer.

The man considered the questions a moment longer, before speaking. “I think we all deal with stress and trauma differently, and it’s important to recognize those boundaries. For some people, being given something important to do is what helps them cope with their pent up feelings.”

He paused to inhale suddenly as he moved slightly too fast, causing a more strenuous electric jolt of pain to shoot up from the offended arm, through his spine and into his brain. “Ehtete,” he slowly moved his arm down, returning to sitting still. For now. “Sorry about that. But, I make my best effort to be open to people, and not to make them feel like they should be guarded against me. Sometimes it takes patience, and being willing to let people be angry at you, before you can work through a situation together. I’m pretty bad at holding grudges.”

Will closed his eyes, turning his face skyward. He could still feel some heat coming down from above, but it seemed like the night had some chill in these woods. It would mean they would need the fire, or at least a lot of the leaf litter from the ground to help stay warm. He would have to make a point of that soon. And they should also lay out some leaves to gather moisture during the night-- there were some large enough ones to use in a bush a couple paces away. And maybe they could tap a tree too… but they’d need to get something to hold the water. So much to do… So much to do...

[Koti~]

“You hit a rock?” Sasha asked as she looked over to Nunya, trying to hide a smile at the girls antics. With her hopping around in the falling light, it seemed like a cartoon skit than anything. Moving closer Sasha looked down to see the rock, only to feel cold. She squatted down and moved the dirt free, not sure just what she was looking at. It was large and almost metallic, curved like a massive claw. She went to grip the edge, only to feel the razor edge sharp enough to cut. If not for having kicked the base of it, it probably would have cut through the rather poor shoes.

“I don't think this belongs to a bear.” Sasha spoke as she lifted the obvious claw. She shivered some as she held it, the claw roughly the size of a football. It was a casted off shell, the center hollowed out as though it had been pulled off. Holding it better in the light the claw glinted, a cobalt blue tinge encoated the claw. Light danced across it, bathing the lights in blue hues as one could see.

“What… could have shed this?” Sasha questioned the item as she rolled it around, doing her level best to avoid cutting herself.


“You know, you're the most calm person I've met. We've been dropped in unknown lands and with who knows what here, and you're taking this like a walk in the park.” Matt spoke to Will, giving him a bewildered look. He had managed to collect enough material to start a fire, and now he needed to start it up. Giving the wood a look he took two of the large pieces and began to align the lumber into a triangle. Taking a small branch he grabbed another piece.

“If I remember right, it should work something like this…” Matt tried to reason, pushing one point into the base and began to spin it. He wasn't sure if it would work, but they needed heat, even faster as the cold settled in.

“If I may ask, how do you remain so calm though?” Matt asked the man, blowing on his hands carefully as the wood had started to rub them raw. He was trying to burn the logs, not his own flesh.

[Vaidia]

“I hit a rock?” Atara repeated in equal parts indignation to Sasha’s curiosity. She muttered a few other curses under her breath as the other girl walked over. “Damn thing just about bit back. Mother Fucker, that hurt.”

Atarah was ready to forget the transgressing toe buster, but the other girl seemed to be a more curious sort. Atara knew better than to be overly curious about things. Curiosity often got you shot, or worse. Better was to take risks that responded well to being punched in the face. Nothing in whatever survivor hell this was proved to match that criteria or, if it did, would not be to a larger benefit if she did (but it would make her feel better).

A moment later, the object was revealed, causing the gangly woman to recoil away from them both. It looked like something out of a poorly budgeted fantasy movie, and obviously did not belong in the objects acceptable in reality.“Oh hell no. First we all die and end up on the survivor shit island, and now there is some Dino-ass looking monster claw cropping up from the ground like a goddamn toe killing daisy.”

Atarah paused a moment, looking closer at it. Fake as it seemed, it might not be useless. “...thing looks sharp as a mother fucker. Probably would work better than some pansy ass rock on those vines. How many steps we at?”

---

Will tilted his head head toward the other man, eyes opening back up slowly. He had spaced out for a moment, almost missing what Matt had said. He chuckled softly at the compliment, feeling a slight flush extend on his face beyond the one from exhaustion. “I am actually pretty freaked out right now, but I know not going to get anywhere over worrying about it. It’s something I call addressing the moment; what can I do right now in a situation to help? I can’t do much in terms of anything physical, but I read a few books on wilderness survival, so that is what I can do help. Whatever else comes up can be addressed when it needs to be, but for now, I am doing what I can. And, I think once the situation calms down a bit more, you’ll be really good at making sure everyone stays on task… uh, I suppose that was a lot of words.“

It was something he learned growing up, and later passed along to his students. He tried to be realistic about the roles he could fill, and then let other people handle the ones he couldn’t. And the role he was filling now was the wise nature guru, although his practical knowledge was nonexistent. He leaned forward with a deliberate slump, positioning himself to better see Matt’s handiwork.

“Hm. I think there might be a better way we can try for the fire. Pretty much what we’re trying to do is create an ember out of the end of the stick, and that is what we put into the tinder to start the fire. And if you use the split piece of wood near the base, and run the stick back and forth instead, that might work better. I think. Er… there might of been a few other steps.” He laughed weakly, before slumping back into his previous position. “Just wait until it smokes a lot.”

[Koti~]

“About.. twenty more steps, I think.” Sasha spoke, holding the claw and looking around for some sticks. Finding a decent one she managed to cut open a part and make a crude knife for holding it. She held it between her hands for a moment before giving it over to Atara. She didn't have much practical experience with using more than a steak knife and while they were cutting vines, the last thing she wanted to risk having to fight what the claw fell off of. Taking back the lead she continued to follow the trail back before they finally reached the vines.

“Here we are. It wasn't to far back thankfully… they look a bit more colorfully than before.” Sasha spoke, looking over the vines. They were wrapped around the trees, a soft green glow. Purple lilies dotted them, having looked like thorns before. She could feel inspiration to draw this place, the steadily creeping blue and purple hues of the sky and the soft glow of the lands. If she didn't fear getting killed by some mysterious giant creature, this place would be absolutely beautiful.

“I have to find a canvas for all of this!” Sasha exclaimed breathlessly, eyes shining with wonder.

---

“Heh, me as a leader. I may have been a fast food manager, but that was the late night shift. Half the reason they listened was they were friends, or didn't want the responsibility.” Matt responded, adjusting the lumber as needed. He could see the reasoning behind it, and continued his work. He could depend on Sasha and Will to fall in line, but Atara would be the problem. She had a troublemaker vibe and prone to doing what she needed to survive by herself. It would some convincing to switch her over.

“Ah, I may have something here.” Matt spoke as he could see the faint wisp of smoke. He didn't dare stop as he picked up speed, watching the smoke tendril curl into the air. Just the thought of fire was making him warm. As well as the workout his muscles were getting. It made his shoulder hurt but he needed to work through the pain.

“I am glad that you're managing to keep a level head. If not for the relaxed area here, I think most of us would be in a complete panic. Put people into a stressful situation and they panic like rats in a tube. Too much of a hassle for me.” Matt talked to the smoke, pausing a moment to allow his shoulders to rest.

[Vaidia]

Luckily, the other girl had been keeping track of the steps, meaning they wouldn’t become horribly lost in this batshit crazy island. Atara was liking the place less and less, marvel of nature it was, a feeling of dread welling up to the forefront of her mind where before it was an unconscious weariness. It was like the silence in her neighborhood before something big went down, people knowing the time to lock their doors and shutter their windows. What they didn’t see meant they didn’t know.

It was quiet here too. The sparse nature sounds from before had all but faded, leaving only their footsteps and conversation to fill the space of the tensile air. The cuts on her arms began to tingle even more.

Atara took the knife wordlessly, giving it a quick and expert once over before continuing to the vines. The thing seemed to be a worthy sort of a tool, albeit a showy one. If she was going for some exotic animal handler gangster hip hop star theme, it’d fit right into her aesthetic. In her present state of sweat and dirt stained white prison wear, it hardly fit. But, as it was a weapon-- the only one-- and she the most responsible one with such items, it would have to do.

They approached the vines and, in the growing twilight, they seemed to have taken on a light of their own. It reminded her of some shitty Saturday morning cartoon, when something had been dipped into radioactive goop. Ridiculous. It seemed everything about this place was manufactured to piss her off. At least she could finally do something about it all.

“They look like they’re going to start moving on their own to strangle us,” Atara retorted, as she moved up to start hacking away at them. She reached up as high as she could, gashing into the vines, and grunting slightly as she worked. The ‘knife’ (dino-knife? It had to be given a name) was actually quite sharp, even cutting into the tree slightly, which only served to solidify her opinion that she was the only one that should be using it.

Atara paused as the other girl made her remark about wanting to paint this, then let out a snort of a laugh. “Canvas? You some crusty ass old Michelangelo now? Thought your type was all about instagramming this shit.” There were a number of the still faintly glowing vines draped over her arm now. She could see clear beads of moisture forming at the ends; it seemed like the bossy Asian kid knew what he was talking about.

“Here, hold some of these fuckers so I can cut the rest down,” Atarah grunted, pawing over several of the vines, crushing some of the flowers as she did so. “Gotta get out of here soon.”

---

“Don’t doubt yourself. Not many people would have stepped up like you did when we first arrived. That shows some good character.” Will did believe that Matt had great potential. More important was that Matt himself believed it, and didn’t let himself be discouraged by the strong personalities of others. Ms. Nunya was the only one that seemed to fit that bill at the current time, but the rift between them could likely be mended soon enough. Besides, there was the very likely chance that Will only had a short time to help them all.

But that was an inevitability he was already used to, even back home.

Back home… everyone there would be fine without him, emotional hurts aside. He had to ensure the same fail safe was in place here.

Will’s morose thoughts were interrupted as he saw the smoke start to form from Matt’s work, causing him to let out a cheerful chuckle. “Great! That’s actually perfect… Now, part of the stick will break off, and transfer that over to the kindling with a leaf or something, then blow… and then we should have fire, and a spark of a chance of staying warm tonight.”

A fire would do them all well, both for morale and practical use. Will was beginning to feel even more chill now, an icy touch that brought out the sharp aches and pains, rather than doing anything to sooth them. He knew it was because he was likely feverish, but that was not something he could do much about right now. He kept his focus on watching Matt work, knowing that letting himself relax too much meant he’d probably pass out. And that would not be helpful.

“I’m just doing what I can, really…” Will’s voice trailed off, and the grin faltered for a moment. Perhaps he should upfront about him being a medical time bomb… No, he’d wait. At least until after they got the fire going. “Gotta stay positive.”

[Koti~]

“Instagram? Do you take me for a dime store hooker? Anyone with a five buck Polaroid could make the same thing with the same amount of work.” Sasha quipped back. She felt a snicker tug at the side of her lips, feeling some connection to the girl. She hated how digital the world had become, and was glad to be in a place like this. Taking the offered vines as she asked, she twirled them around her body, helping distribute the weight. She was annoyed that the flowers were destroyed, but she noted one thing about them. A slight pigment leftover when the petals were crushed.

“I wonder?” Sasha mused aloud, taking the time to carefully remove the flower of one of the vines. Rolling it tightly as she could, Sasha smothered the petals between her palms, feeling the cold liquid gather along her skin. Opening it presented crushed petals and deep purple coloring on her skin. A smile broke across her face before applying it to the white cotton top, the faux dye sticking rather well. If she could collect enough she might be able to change their clothes.

“That's so cool. I can dye our clothes.” Sasha spoke as she drew rather simple patterns, having to use up three of the flowers in total to make two faded purple flowers along her top. She held it out, one purple hand leaving fingerprints along the hem. Moving it around in the fading light allowed her to get a better view of her design, a pleased smile spreading on her face. Finally she could give them some color other than dirt.

“Besides, what's the rush, other than the possible creature. Though if something like that was coming, we could easily hear that a mile away with how quiet it was.” Sasha returned to their conversation, happy at the change in her clothes. Despite the extremely strange weirdness that got them here, Sasha would have no problem staying here for a few days at the least, provided they found food.

---

“Look at me, doing boy scouts shit.” Matt chuckled as he managed to get a good ember started and moved over to the collection of grass and small twigs. He nearly whistled at the flecks as the flame tried to die out barely managing to get a hold. He had to be careful as he blew on the flames, trying his best to grow it without putting it out. Finally more smokey tendrils began floating around the kindling, allowing Matt to sit back.

“Yeah, positive is the best way. I've had to do that since I became a manager. Second night alone, got a stoned customer who pitched a complete fit about the ketchup being the wrong color of red. It ended up on YouTube the next morning, and I swear the comments made me want to break someone's face.” Matt spoke, keeping an eye on the tender flames as he worked them, the small flickers doing little to warm him, but it being a small sense of pride for him.

“Came in next night, ready to get harrassed, yet the Bose thanked me for handling it with, and I quote, “aplomb and decorum befitting a night time manager”.” Matt chuckled as he pulled the best possible manager voice he could muster. Resting back as the large log finally took hold, thick smoke drifting up as it warmed up their small hovel. The flames would hold well enough and were finally providing warmth. He could take a moment to glance over at Will.

“You doing okay mate? You're looking a bit.. worse for wear.” Matt asked, noting the sore and exhausted look on the man's face. Last thing he needed was a person dying on him out here.

[Vaidia]

Atara snorted herself at the girls quip. Was she talking to some sort of fairy? Painting entitled fairy? Either way, she couldn’t believe someone would actually say something like that-- granted she didn’t disagree with the cheap sell-out nature of social media posting. “You got the hair for it, that’s for sure.”

(Most of the prostitutes she had met all had dyed hair. It wasn’t an unfair observation.)

Pretty much all of the vines had been cut away now, the majority of them now slung over her shoulder, with a few in the hands of the smaller girl, who seem rather occupied with the flowers. She continued to watch as the girl suddenly started to molest her shirt, turning parts of it the same purple as the flowers.Definitely a fairy.

“Oh hell no, I don’t think you’re going to mess with my shirt with some lilac ass flower shit.” She pointed the Dino-Blade toward the girl, only in a slightly threatening manner. “You touch me and I will cut your hands off.” She already felt gross enough in this place without smearing herself with flower slime like some wannabe wildchild.

“And the quiet is what’s got me worried. Even in the city there’d be birds and shit around this time. The fact they’re gone now means something bad’s coming.” Atara returned the knife to her side, but remained tense. She could see the path they took to get back here, partially thanks to her errant dirt kicking. There was a better chance of survival in a larger group, as annoying the company was. “Let’s get back.”

---

“I knew you could do it,” Will said with a note of pride as they managed to get the fire going. He knew Matt would be able to work it out. Now was just a matter of figuring out somewhere to sleep for the night. And figuring out something that they could have for food. He hadn’t put much thought into that yet-- but that was not a problem they could solve right now. Probably not until the morning, when they had daylight to help explore. They could probably make some snares to catch any sort of rodent--- or they could risk trying some of the local flora, and hopefully not die from it.

Will chuckled at the story, while nodding sympathetically. He had worked through similar situations before, but had never had to deal with going viral over it. He usually had to come down pretty strict on students that tried to come into his school high or otherwise under the influence, thus starting the rumor among his students of legendary “disappointed dad” talks. Which was also amusing, because there were also jokes aplenty about him looking more like a younger brother than a bonafide adult.

“Sounds like handled a stressful situation really well. Corny as your boss may have been about it, you should be proud.” He shifted over his focused gaze to the fire now, watching as the bulk of it caught, illuminating the darkening area slightly. They should probably get started on the next job. Or, moreso, he should advise Matt on what the next step would be, and he would--

“Oh, what…?” Will looked over to the other man again, noting the concern there. It was now or never. “Ah, it’s a bit hard to explain. I got dealt a pretty lousy hand health-wise when I was born. Mostly just ‘pain’. It’s like when you hit your ulnar nerve-- or funny bone-- and your brain and it have a bit of a disagreement on what sensation it should be feeling. That’s what my entire body does.” The young man looked back over to the fire. That was enough information for now. “It can be rather inconvenient, but it’s manageable.

“We should worry more about getting the camp ready. If we line the bottom of the chasm with enough pine needles, it should make for comfortable bedding. We can also dig some shallow holes and get some of those huge leaves from that bush to collect moisture overnight.”