Field Work

[scrapgege]

WHO: Xie Lian, Marcos, Kaneki
WHEN: Starting March 23
WHERE: In the corn fields
WHAT:
You, sowing : hell yeah, look at this shit!
You, reaping : ..... what the hell this sucks.
WARNINGS: Supernatural bad luck and probably black slime?


[Xie Lian is honestly unsure of why anyone would grab him to try and solve an agricultural problem, but once he gets to the field and the actual problem gets explained, it makes a bit more sense. He has, after all, been a bit vocal while under the thrall of his curse about how people here don't seem to know how to treat spirits, so they probably figured he ought to demonstrate since he's convinced they're doing it wrong.

He's met Kaneki before and nods his head at him. The other man is familiar in that Xie Lian knows he is in their little group, but there's a fair number of them now and he can't remember if they've spoken at any length before.]

... I don't really see anything weird with the field, but if they're scared to go in there, I suppose we can have a look.

Did they leave us any tools or baskets to gather the ears of corn, at least?

Comments

[soloritur]

[ They thankfully seem to be in agreement, and it's kind of a relief to hear Kaneki say that lives are more important than saving some corn. Even if food scarcity is a real concern, they need to make sure there's not something out here waiting to descend on the village.

Then Xie Lian does that cool thing with his bandages and he loses his train of thought. Well, he'd wondered what else they could do if they were chosen to investigate. ]

Right. Okay. [ Not like he's just delaying wading through a cornfield. He nods to both of them and exhales. ] I guess just holler if you see anything.

[ He steps forward gives them both one last look. This might seem like an easy task, but he's pretty much expecting something horrible at the center of this thing. He rubs the marks on his wrists and shakes his hands out. ]

I'll be right behind you.

[enucleation]

[ there is a way to keep them together at least, so Kaneki nods at Xie Lian's suggestion. Hopefully they will not get separated though, but Kaneki can also use their scent in order to find them (he is not going to say it though).

The ghoul looks back at Marcos and then Xie Lian, pausing. Right, should he perhaps go in at front then? Marcos seems well capable of protecting himself, but he doesn't know if Xie Lian can - so perhaps it's best Kaneki takes the lead on this then. ]

I will go ahead then. I will go slowly. [ and said this he turns towards the corn field and steps forward ]

[scrapgege]

[Xie Lian quickly follows. he isn't looking fearless at all, but he's moving cautiously, still trying not to damage the corn stalks too much...

At least until something apparently grabs his ankles, and he gives a soft exclamation of surprise as he shakes it off.

But looking down, he can't see anything but the weird, dark sludge they're treading through and which is already staining the bottom of his white robes.]

.... Huh. Maybe it was just a vine?

[soloritur]

[ Marcos watches the two of them enter the field, holding onto some vague notion that he'll be able to have their backs if anything happens. Thankfully they both seem to be proceeding cautiously, and he follows not far behind.

It turns out that he greatly underestimated how thick the cornfield is. Only a few feet in and he completely loses sight of them. He can't hear anything but the slight rustle of the cornstalks that could just as well be the wind, and he has to keep watching his feet to keep from tripping over vines. ]

How are we doing? [ Yeah, they haven't made it far, but maybe it's best if they keep talking just to keep an idea of where they are. ] Do you see anything?

[enucleation]

[ when Kaneki hears a gasp, he quickly turns around. Just a vine... it could well be just a vine, but he is incredibly paranoid and doesn't believe in "just something innocuous". Immediately he tenses and frowns, and the ghoul eye under his eyepatch reacts; none of his companions will know that, since it is hidden by the eyepatch, but it prepares Kaneki ahead by leaving him on edge.

And while he stares at the ground, watching the dark water trickling and focusing on that, he hears a laughter... a child? The white head quickly rises and he looks around, trying to identify where the sound is coming from ] Do you hear that?

[ but he too noticed how thick the cornfield is becoming, and that means getting lost will be easier. he completely stops, turning back and that's when he realizes that, despite being able to hear Marcos, the other is a bit too far away for Kaneki's comfort. ] Marcos-san. [ come closer, even if that means breathing on each other's necks ]

[scrapgege]

[Probably a good idea to stay as close as possible, because yes, there are definitely strange sounds. And...]

Why is it so difficult to walk forward? It feels like something keeps trying to grab my ankles, but I can't see anything.

... Are we even still going in a straight line? Maybe I should have Ruoye open a way, even if it damages some of the plants.

[soloritur]

[ Both of them are nearby enough that he hears them clearly, and he sighs in relief. He thought he was going forward in one direction, but there aren't any landmarks to go by, and he can't even see the tree line with how tall the stalks are.

At Kaneki's prompting he halts in his steps and listens for a moment. The faint sound of laughter trails on the breeze and he calls back. ]

It sounds like children. They must be playing somewhere nearby. [ Although it takes him a moment more to tell what direction they're coming from... ] Try to go towards them, we'll meet up there.

[ He should have followed his own advice, because the moment he starts moving again his foot sticks and he grunts as he falls to his knees. Vines wrap around his ankle, growing around his leg, and he struggles to rip it loose. He raises his hands to try to cut the vines off, but one last yank frees him before he has to risk starting a fire and he scrambles back to his feet. ]

There's definitely something else buried here. They're moving.

[enucleation]

[ Kaneki hisses a little at the realization they will most likely get lost... and the cornfield is also not as normal as it would have appeared at first, but that's something Kaneki already expected, at least. This whole place is messed up, and keeps messing with them, it feels. 

At this stage, Kaneki doesn't think keeping the plants safe is what they should be worrying about, although he knows this is kind of their mission. ]

Why would kids be playing in the middle of a cornfield like this? [ kaneki glances back at Marcos. The cornfield is for food and weird things have been happening. Why would there be children, all things considered? Specially if it looks like something is grabbing onto their feet ]

Can Ruoye identify people? [ he doesn't know what it can do, but Kaneki might as well ask. If it can work as a spy, it's be interesting to send it after the children ]

[scrapgege]

Don't follow the laughter! It's probably a trap!

[On this, Xie Lian absolutely agrees with Kaneki. Given the current atmosphere, sounds should not be trusted, and children's laughter is the oldest trick in the book spirits have to waylay people.

As for Kaneki's question... Xie Lian shakes his hand.]

He can only recognize people I know. He won't be able to see someone and report back, if that's what you had in mind. But what he can do is cut through the brush until it finds something solid to hold onto, and then pull us towards it.

[soloritur]

[ The warning catches him off guard, and Marcos abruptly stops walking towards the sound. He'd just assumed they were somewhere past the field, but he doesn't have any experience with ghost children. Given how cursed everything is here he should have known better. ​]

Okay, okay, I'm not. [ The vines seem to move towards him again, and he keeps his hands up and pointed at the ground. ]

If it'll cut through, do it. Otherwise we'll be walking in circles.

[enucleation]

[ right, he agrees they shouldn't be following that laughter at all. But kaneki is also worried about something that might be following them (which absolutely is, he is certain!) and they will eventually have to face that.

But Marcos idea is good, and Kaneki nods ] That'd be go-- [ a vine touches Kaneki and he does the most natural thing for him to do: suddenly step on it with his super-strength, hard enough that there will be a clear crater on the ground and the vine was squished completely. He bends down to grab onto the vine, tugging at it ]

And we should figure out where these things are coming from.

[scrapgege]

[... Well, at least Xie Lian doesn't have to worry about whether his companions need protection. Kaneki's physical abilities seem about on par with his own.]

Ruoyue, go towards the center of the field and find something solid to hold onto.

... something, not someone, this time, alright?

[The silk ribbon unravels a bit, vaguely looking like it's nodding cheekily... and then shoots out, elongating and zipping through the corn. It seems to go for some time until Xie Lian feels it hold onto something and pulls back to test how solidly.]

Alright, come and hold onto me and Ruoyue will pull us to what he grabbed.

[soloritur]

[ Marcos can hear the rustle of the cornstalks and he knows that something shot through them, but trying to walk towards it is surprisingly difficult. Which is insane because he can hear them just fine. He tries running forward before his feet get snagged again and the vines just seem more determined to stop him. If he weren't so concerned about setting the field on fire, he would already have burned them at the root.

At this point he wonders if there's some vine-creature living under the ground controlling them. He sounds a lot more calm than he is when he shouts back to them. ]

Hey. How far away are you? I swore you were right in front of me. [ He grunts as he yanks his leg free from the thorns cutting into him, then raises his hand to use his powers like a beacon instead. ] Can you see a light?