_____Hands raised to her ears as she tried desperately to block out the sounds. Her mouth releasing a old country jig rhythm in further attempts but having no real luck. The screeching and scratching was just too loud and seemed to be coming from so many things within the cave behind her. ’Why you gone done this to yourself Echo. You could have waited in town to group with the others, but you done picked to wait at the cave?’ Spurs spun as she kicked them off the ground and she moved some distance from the cave. _____One again she would be waiting for two people to come assist her. While it might not seem like something that needed three people Echo felt that, not only was there safety in numbers, but it would allow her to see other games, and maybe meet new people and get their ideas. She would not rush the second part of it though, she still had to graduate college before she could fully devote her time to making her own games after all. _____She did however doubt she would ever make something as well as Terrasphere. Her hands feeling the leather on her hat, the air brushing her skin and the cold morning gale it brought along for the ride. The vivid colors and depth the world had to offer, and the sheer level of actions the NPCs could performed blew her mind. Each one was like a real person, and while that was awesome she could only imagine how much painstaking time that would have taken. _____Turning her head towards the road Echo simply had to wait for the others to arrive now. They would have it easier than she did as she kept her ears covered and her hum going stronger to block out the sound from the cave. Hopefully they took her advice on the quest flyer and brought something to cover their ears, and maybe a spare for her since she forget her own. One could be hopeful, this Texan sure was. @Ortix Farlin | @Alphabet Chocolate
"Ugh! Good thing the flyer said bring ear muffs, not that it would have been possible to forget anyways. This is LITERALLY killing ears." Ortix drudged on dragging his feet and losing fractions of his sanity with each step past. As he walked, he wondered what kind of new people he would meet and how helpful they would really be. Ortix had no tolerance for dead weight, as a matter of fact it almost enraged him just thinking about how people could be such wastes of space. This simply made him more determined to do something with himself be it as "Ortix the Felis" or Lance in his real life. Thinking about meeting the fellow adventures did make him happy however, as "Ortix", Lance could make honest friends without worrying if they really cared about him or just the money. Thud! Ortix found himself on the ground in front of a rather large tree with a rather large knot now residing on his forehead. Several profane sentences later he was once again on his feet - and much to his dismay, this tree seemed very familiar. In fact he could remember passing it at least two times prior. Ortix was so deep in thought he hadn't realized that he was making circles until his fateful meeting with said, now cursed tree. Even more angered, he hurled his foot into the tree with a hefty kick. Milliseconds after contact his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he writhed in pain. To him, it had felt as if his big toe's toenail split in two. Wiping a singular tear from his eye, he pressed on. This journey would prove tougher than he could have ever imagined. Once again lost in thought, Ortix trotted along thinking of the companions he would soon judge maybe a little too much. He wondered what kind of NPC would greet him, or if it would even be an NPC at all. Many questions zipped through his mind: "What will they look like? What will they think of me? Do they know as little about this game as I do?" and on the questions went, mostly unanswered. Just then a single bead of sweat plopped onto his neck from his ear above. It had only enough force as to shatter his train of thought and allow him to notice an itching sensation coming from both ears. Mindlessly, he lifted his ear muffs at an attempt to get to the itch only to be met with a cruel reminder of why he was on this quest to begin with. "FUCK ME" He shouted, wincing in pain. Ortix assumed a fetal position while pressing both ear muffs back into his ears with herculean force. He rolled onto his back with a disheartening sense of defeat and sighed. Just then a twinge of blue, entirely incongruous to the green mesh of the surrounded forest, glistened from the corner of his eye. Ortix sharply turned his head only to realize a rather short blue-haired human girl standing in front of the cave he sought to enter watching in confused amazement. The expression of pain on his face quickly faded into one of embarrassment knowing that she surely saw the whole event unfold. His hope to instill a proper image of himself to his quest-mates was effectively obliterated. Realizing she must be there for the same quest he is, Ortix wandered over towards her lifelessly as he now wished he was dead. @Echo Moonfallen @Alphabet Chocolate
Alpha covered Terry's ears as the pup whimpered from the shrill noise. She couldn't help but wince and restrain herself from screaming from the headache that pounded her brain despite the pair of earmuffs she wore. She thought her pain sensitivity levels were on 'Simulated' and, when she checked, it was indeed so and wondered how much pain she would've felt if it had been on max level instead. Shivering and not wanting to indulge in that notion, she merely hugged the wolf's ears as he tried his best to brave on for her. "Y-you're doing a g-great job Terry," she whispered, the words unheard from the sounds piercing through their heads. She idly wondered if it was possible for her to abandon the quest now to get rid of the aching, stabbing pain in both hers and Terry's heads but simply shook her head. It would do her no good to leave her companions waiting for someone who'd never come, especially in this type of constant pain. After a bit of walking, he found a pair lying in front of the cave, each seemingly in as much pain as Alpha was in right now. She waved at the pair, hoping they noticed, but quickly put her hands back on Terry's ears as the wolf shrieked. His hearing was much more delicate than Alpha's own and she knew he must be trying his best to move on for her; covering his ears at her own expense was the least she could do for such a loyal friend. So, instead of wasting another breath speaking words that would probably not be heard, she walked forward to the group with Terry in tow, hoping they would see her so they could begin the quest and get this over as fast as possible. @Echo Moonfallen @Ortix Farlin
_____Echo did not judge people, she was rather judged and disliked that so she simply did not do what she disliked to others. While she was not much a fan of the animal-human’s cursing she chose not to mention or hint such. As the last person arrived she would waved to them both and tip her hat down as a silent greeting. Heels used as center point as she spun to face the cave and moved forward. The screeching and scratching was slightly faded but still seemed to actively assist the group’s eardrums. "Any of yall got a guess what might be causing so much noise? Rather go into this with some ideas than walking into a bullring blindfolded… trust me that ain’t no fun.” _____Echo was partly using a reference from experience, but she always wanted to be sure if her group could hear her correctly. As they descended into the cave the sound would get louder around them and bounce off the walls making it much more dangerous. While sound would not damage your health bar it did very much make it hard to hear if anything was around you. Echo’s hand rose slowly as her magic started to begin charging to provide her with something else to focus on outside the noise. "The locals said they saw people rushing in and out of here before the sound started, and before that this place was a small monster breeding grounds so stay alert there could be some… TRAPS!” _____Echo forgot to focus as much as she was trying to warn the others. Her only realization of this was when the world went sides and she slammed her back to the ground and got dragged a few feet before she was hung by her ankle trying her best to keep her hat on. Her frame lashing around as she tried to get a clear shot at the rope that held her before remembering she could damage the cave, she seriously needed to stop taking on cave quest. @Ortix Farlin | @Alphabet Chocolate
When the last person arrived, they began their descent without so much as a word to each other. It seemed only Ortix was fazed by the rather large wolf that had followed them into the cave. Suddenly Ortix got the shivers; this could mean only that something was wrong. His eyes darted around frantically until they rested upon the eyes of the wolf. The wolf appeared to be staring directly at Ortix without letting up. It seemed, dare I say, hungry... As Ortix realized what was going on, he snapped his gaze back to directly ahead of him in a false hope that if he ignored the wolf, it would go away. Ortix did have some sympathy for the wolf however, he knew it could hear the noise just as terrifyingly loud as he himself could. Now looking in front of himself, he noticed his first quest-mate's lips moving. She appeared to be saying something, but Ortix was no fool as to take his earmuffs off again. Instead, he simply nodded and smiled praying that it was, in fact, a yes or no question. The group continued their descent into the dark depths of the cavern seemingly silent. Then again, the only thing Ortix could hear was the ringing he had already heard since the beginning of the quest. Once again, he noticed the blue-haired girl's lips moving. He was now completely focused on her lips and mouth trying to match their movements to words he knew - it was to no avail. Suddenly the poor girl's head whipped down wards towards his feet. In response Ortix jumped a step back throwing his hands up for protection while also letting out a startled "Hiiii!" After realizing they were not under attack he casually stood up as if he hadn't, once again, made a fool out of himself. He proceeded to scan the floor thoroughly on the lookout for other ropes that wished ill upon him. Immediately after he took action and lifted the entangled girl up with one hand by the shoulder and unfastened the rope with the other, then quickly bringing his second hand back down to aid her fall. As she dropped to her feet, he fell down to his butt. "Anyone got a match?.. A flashlight?" Ortix chuckled. He didn't think they'd be able to hear him anyways. Ortix then stood up back up to his feet and waited for everyone else to start walking again. @Alphabet Chocolate @Echo Moonfallen
Alpha couldn't help but give a hearty and sympathetic laugh at her teammate's (she thinks that she saw the name Echo on the quest log?) predicament. Although Terry wasn't in much of a mood for laughing (or as far as a wolf can try to laugh anyway) he gave his own bark to copy his owner's mood. Unfortunately, his pitiful attempts were carried away by the noise ringing in Alpha's ears and she couldn't hear the pup's awfully cute attempts at aspiring to be like his favorite person. After Alpha finished having a good laugh, she noticed the pain once again over the sudden burst of endorphins and winced. The pain literally felt like someone just took a hammer and split her skull and brain matter in two. Terry wasn't doing much better but the canine tried his best to remain calm and keep his face neutral as to not work Alpha much more. The cat-boy (Ortix, she thought) began to speak but she couldn't hear a word or syllable that came out of his mouth, drowned by the static in her ears. "Could you repeat that?" she yelled on the top of her lungs but she feared it'll be to no avail considering the headache-inducing sounds in the cave. Without further ado, she gave a thumbs up to signify that she was okay and ready to walk before glancing over at Echo to make sure the blue-haired girl wasn't too out of it. "Let's go," she said, but she knew no one would hear. Terry gave her a comforting lick. @Echo Moonfallen @Ortix Farlin
_____Being cut down was not fully expected by Echo as the girl kept flailing around until she fell on her head and realised she was on the ground again. Hopping to her feet as she noticed her health bar had dropped slightly making her chuckle. Right arm raising to spark to life with purple energy, as for the first time the group did not hear the sound from deeper inside the cave. Echo herself surprised as she tipped her head slightly and stopped her magic wondering if that might be the cause. _____Sure enough the sounds would slowly start up again and Echo fumbled to get her magic charging again. The purple light glowed faintly but did not seem to stop the sounds this time as the kept going and Echo sighed lightly. It had grown fainter but they would only be given that small window of silence from the cave. Tipping and adjusting her hat before she kicked forward into the deeper depths towards the sound wanting all the more to silence the thing that caused such pain to her ears now. @Ortix Farlin | @Alphabet Chocolate
Suddenly, the noise stopped. Ortix looked around madly for the cause until laying his eyes upon the girl in front of him. She was casting some sort of magic. "Why didn't you do that from the start!?", he cried. Just then the blue-haired-girl released her magic. The resurgence of pain made Ortix drop to his knee with a howl. Soon after, she started up again with the magic, another purple radiance, this time only quieting the sound. Ortix's head began to throb. He decided that she did it out of dislike for himself and that if he spoke up again, she would stop casting. Thinking this, he stayed silent. Now being left behind, he picked himself up and hurriedly chased after the caster. @Alphabet Chocolate @Echo Moonfallen
Alpha thanked the gods and whoever was up there watching over her from their heavenly domain when the noise stopped with a spark of purple light and left Alpha able to actually think again. She immediately released her hold on Terry's ears, the pup giving a happy squeak at the lack of noise assaulting his delicate ears, and collapsed on her knees, hands held in a mock prayer. "Oh lords or whoever is up there above, my guardian angel or whatnot, I thank you for this wonderful boon or whatever it's called!" she prayed with only half of it being out of genuine gratitude. Alpha, after all, loved to mess around the most. Then, as the sounds started up again amidst her flowing tears of joy, the dingo barked in dismay and Alpha, once again, moved to cover up the dog's ears as her head wracked with the pain of a thousand migraines. Then, as it so happened, the noise began to dim after an indiscernible amount of time to something that could be considered tolerable based on your pain level. "Urgh," she groaned, rubbing her head as she released the dog's ears (much to Terry's disappointment). "Uh, I can actually hear of the static now so, uh, nice to meet you guys? Can we finish this fast please? This really hurts and, oh!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening in recognition. It was Ortix! She hadn't seen the man since their mission in catching the thief and the sudden vocal onslaught which attacked her soon after entering the quest had left her unable to properly think, let alone identify a man she had met only once. "Hey Ortix!" she managed to say, struggling to keep up a smile with the dull ache in the front, center, and back of her head. Guess every cloud had a silver lining. @Echo Moonfallen @Ortix Farlin
