Safe to say... I'm lost
Ningo Farmer

Age: 30 | Height: 185cm | 6'1" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 24 - Luck: 14 - Int:
AUNI - Mythical - Luxere
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#1

The Antarctic is cold.

That's probably the biggest understatement of the year. Aside from my workmate saying "Might wanna hurry up, I reckon those leopard seals are hungry!" in response to our little dinghy boat randomly cutting off the other day. Fun times.

Well, they were more fun when I wasn't freezing my damn balls off.

It's midnight, though you wouldn't know it. You see, here in the Antarctic, in the middle of summer, midnight does this thing where it just doesn't happen. The Sun moves across the sky,  sometimes goes close enough to the horizon that a weird semi-twilight thing happens, then it just rises on back up.

Sleep hasn't been something I've experienced a lot of recently. As it turns out, darkness is your friend when you want to sleep better, who knew? (sidenote: I totally knew this)

I've been laying down staring at the roof of my tent for a while, wrapped up in my many layers of clothes. I used to have an issue with wearing animal furs, though after much experimentation, they are literally warmer than anything synthetic that I could ever come up with. So, I'm wearing a freakin' seal-skin cloak on top of all my sleeping gear like some medieval mofo ready to go hunting or some shit. It's awesome. I'm warm and I'm dressed vaguely like Jon freakin' Snow.

Also yes - I am a nerd. A huge giant nerd. Got issues with it? Don't care. (Note: I probably do care. Too much.)

You see, as I was staring up at the inside of the dark tent roof above me, I got to thinking about random shit, like GoT and the next Marvel movie instalment, and all that shit, when something weird happened.

The light outside is pretty consistent - it doesn't change much. So, when it does change, one tends to notice - keeping up with me so far?

The lights outside went all sorts of loopy.

I'm talking streams of pastel shit strewn all over the sky, rivers of light shining bright - it was the freakin' aurora australis and I was so pumped to go check it out. So I jumped up out of bed and bounded out of my tent to watch this awesome event.

It was only quite a while after the fact that I recalled that the bloody aurora australis only happens in Winter in the Antarctic. Hm.

As it turns out, it wasn't the aurora australis at all. It was… well, I'm still figuring that part out.

I don't remember much about whatever actually happened. All I know is that, one minute I was standing outside my tent looking at pretty lights in the sky, the next minute I was surrounded by fog , whereupon trying to find my way out led me to a signpost. I don't really remember the name of the place I walked towards, I could see a vaguely snowy landscape beyond, and so I thought I was headed "home".

Oh, how wrong am I?

It somehow went from midnight to midday - don't ask me how I know, I'm so fucking confused.

Also, where the fuck did that giant glacier come from?

Also, where the fuck did my tent go?

Also, where the fuck am I?



Ooc: omg I apologise for the word soup, I am still figuring him out and look forward to playing here :D :D

"words"
Chulane

sxc.hu
whimzi on deviantart
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 19 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Chan Offline
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Posts: 1,102 | Total: 5,768
MP: 0
#2
KORBIN
Leave my loneliness unbroken!
- quit the bust above my door!
Silence did strange things to you. Made a person look deep into the inner workings of your own soul. Created a bit of a barrier between yourself and those around, even when it wasn't what you wanted, or intended. But when he couldn't hear what his sister said, when he had no way of knowing what the customers ordered, what the vendors in the market offered... it sort of put a wrench into daily life.

Korbin took to the sky more often in these quiet days. His sense of balance had recovered, and when soaring on cold winds high above the world, the need for words fell away. No one to talk to up here anyway.

Winging his way to the mountains, he cruised the valleys and ridges without any real goal. A few ningos picked a fight but it was ended quickly when he made a meal out of the smaller one; the rest flew off in a gabbling huff, and left him to eat lunch alone.

He kept his eyes open to the surroundings though, in lack of hearing. Wouldn't want to become a morsel for a passing Ursur... circle of life be damned.
Quoth the Raven,
"Nevermore."
Ningo Farmer

Age: 30 | Height: 185cm | 6'1" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 24 - Luck: 14 - Int:
AUNI - Mythical - Luxere
Played by: Whimzi Offline
Change author:
Posts: 815 | Total: 926
MP: 35
#3
So, I am mostly trying not to panic.

When they send you to the Antarctic, they put you through survival training. Rigorous survival training. Until very recently, I thought such training was pointless and overkill.

It wasn't.

Now, I'm not sure they had when you walk into the southern lights in the wrong season and end up somewhere completely different as a possible scenario for needing survival skills, but, well, here I am.

Where is here? I still don't know the answer to that question.

"Uhh," I stammer, wandering  in the general direction of the nearby glacier. I run my gloved hands down my body, checking for what I still have on my body - I am searching for my emergency satellite phone, not gonna lie, because if I can fix this predicament with a quick phone call you know I sure as hell am gonna take that option!

But my phone is gone. So is my watch. Great.

Strapped to the inside of my left boot is my epic hunting knife, and on my right is a smaller paring knife. Potentially useful. (Kinda wish I had gone full Jon Snow and brought along my legit Longclaw replica, alas, they wouldn't allow it on this expedition {I asked})

I breathe, and I just focus on that for a while, watching as the atmosphere turns my breath into foggy mist and drifts away. I try very hard not to get stuck on the cacophony of questions pounding through my head, all asking a variation of the same questions: What the fuck just happened; How the fuck did that just happen; Where the fuck am I; What the fuck is going on.

"Hello?!" I shout eventually, as I amble through the ankle-deep powder towards the glacier, hoping its icy surface will help amplify my voice to any nearby ears that are hopefully attached to friendly people and not predators.
Chulane

sxc.hu
whimzi on deviantart
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 19 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Chan Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,102 | Total: 5,768
MP: 0
#4
KORBIN
Leave my loneliness unbroken!
- quit the bust above my door!
Korbin was, unfortunately, deaf as a stone. A doornail. Wrapped in cotton and shoved into a closet, earplugs in, drunk to death deaf. It was a curse. It might pass. Eventually. But for now, the raven was able to enjoy its meal in blissful peace - and very much quiet - and took to the air again when he couldn't stuff himself any more.

He flew low and kept to the lower outliers of the mountains, torn between the desire to stay out here, and a need to return home. There were things to do, whether he could hear anything or not, and skulking around in feathers wouldn't be an option forever.

It was when he regretfully turned back to make his way across the Tundra that he saw the tracks. Footprints, leading down from the mountains - near the Portal - and off in an erratic way. The general direction seemed to be the open tundra, but... Something about it looked very odd to the raven.

Curiosity piqued, he followed the trail by air, and kept himself at a fair altitude. There was always a risk of it belonging to an exile, snow-crazed and starving. Not something he'd tangle with if it could be avoided. So when a dark figure appeared on the horizon, he approached it with great caution. A mere dark speck in the sky, a black bird against a white landscape...

He let out a solitary, croaking caw, to see how the person would react.
Quoth the Raven,
"Nevermore."
Ningo Farmer

Age: 30 | Height: 185cm | 6'1" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 24 - Luck: 14 - Int:
AUNI - Mythical - Luxere
Played by: Whimzi Offline
Change author:
Posts: 815 | Total: 926
MP: 35
#5
Maybe I've officially lost it.

Maybe I'm laying back in a hospital bed, with doctors poking and prodding me,  an O2 mask giving me fresh air to breathe, and those heated blankets they use in hospitals draped over me.

Maybe I've completely snapped. Did I dream about going to Antarctica? About vet school? Finishing up normal schooling by the age of 13?

How much of this is reality and how much is a dream? What is going on?!

I focus on breathing again, as that seems like a good achievable goal right now (and also something my rising anxiety levels are making me stupidly struggle with)

Breath in, OK, I'm still in snow.

Breath out, OK, I'm definitely not in Antarctica anymore.

Breath in, those mountains look very unaccommodating.

Breath out, if I keep wandering I'm sure to find shelter eventually, right?

A noise interrupts my thoughts, a noise I have definitely heard before and yet did not expect to hear. You see, only certain birds live on Antarctica (I know, I know, I'm not on Antarctica anymore), and they don't usually caw so much as screech - the noise I heard was definitely a caw.

I stop my trudging, I stop all movement with the hopes of hearing the noise again and being able to identify its whereabouts, but it would seem that whatever made the noise decided not to make another one.

I begin to breathe again, and turn my head about, pivoting slowly to get a full 360 view on my surrounds. The landscape is mostly pale, powdery snow. Mostly.

I squint, and see what my mind wants to tell me is a raven, but that's just so damn impossible I can't quite accept it as reality (yet). I keep looking at it, watching its movement in the pale, overcast skies above, its dark plumage giving me something to focus on while my mind tries not to succumb to the idea that maybe I really am insane

I squat down, resting, eyes trailing after the bird's path in the sky, and focus on maintaining my breathing at a normal rate so as not to give in to the rising tide of anxiety bubbling up within me.
Chulane

sxc.hu
whimzi on deviantart
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 19 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Chan Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,102 | Total: 5,768
MP: 0
#6
KORBIN
Leave my loneliness unbroken!
- quit the bust above my door!
The reaction was not immediate, but it did give him quite a lot to go on. Considering the situation and his options, Korbin made a decision and dipped a wing into the air current. Slowly, he began to circle the person, slowly descending in lazy spirals to give himself a better view of what he was dealing with.

Male. Dressed appropriately for the climate, but foreign to the cuts and customs of his people. Could be an outsider. Could be an Outlander. Could be a cannibal too... but the way the person huddled down in place spoke against that theory.

Again he let out a croaking sound, to make sure the other was aware he was still there. And on an impulse, just to see what would happen... he sent out a probing thought.

"Can you hear me?"
Quoth the Raven,
"Nevermore."
Ningo Farmer

Age: 30 | Height: 185cm | 6'1" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 24 - Luck: 14 - Int:
AUNI - Mythical - Luxere
Played by: Whimzi Offline
Change author:
Posts: 815 | Total: 926
MP: 35
#7
So, as a vet, there are certain things that you come to expect when interacting with animals. Wild animals, especially. And I had nothing to suggest to me that this wasn't another wild animal.

Maybe this raven was owned by a local? Maybe it was tame. That would at least help fill in the logic gaps that my brain is desperate to populate.

I am a scientist. My mates used to call me the vulcan - I like logic. I like things to make sense. Science and logic go well together. Veterinary medicine and logic go well together.

Why is there a raven in this snowy tundra? Why does it seem interested in me? (Did it call out to me before?!)

My brain can only jump to the most logical solution: It is someone's pet, tame, and unafraid to approach humans, and that is why it is behaving this way.

I'm a vet. I know animal behaviour. This is the only conclusion that makes sense.

It makes another noise, a gentler yet still just as vocal croak, and I can't help but think that it's trying to communicate directly to me. An itch forms at the back of my head, under my hood. Absentmindedly, I scratch at it.

"Hey bud," I murmur loud enough to be heard across the ever-decreasing distance between myself and the bird. "Who do you belong to, hm?" I ask, rummaging through my pockets still to see what else might still be on my person in this strange new world.

I find a packet of rations, some simple biscuits, and open them, breaking the crumbly, buttery biscuit in half, tossing one half out in front of me to land on the snow (as potential enticement for the bird to land/come closer) and munching on the other half.

Life seems a lot simpler when one eats a cookie.
Chulane

sxc.hu
whimzi on deviantart
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 19 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Chan Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,102 | Total: 5,768
MP: 0
#8
KORBIN
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,
There was no response to his mental call, but at least he had caught the person's attention. As he flew lower, Korbin saw that the stranger was male, fairly young, and he was moving his lips. Speaking. Not a sound reached him, but as there was no reaching for weapons or running, he dared to assume he wasn't about to be attacked.

Alright... what to do? Shifting wouldn't really help, as he couldn't communicate any better as a man than as a bird. If this was an Outlander, he risked freaking the guy out too.

Crumbled food was scattered in the snow. Korbin would have snorted, but what spilled from his throat was a raucous sort of caw, that sounded oddly like laughter. To everyone but him, at least.

The overture was friendly however, and with some caution the raven came down and landed in the snow. Didn't give the food a second glance, but studied the man with beady black eyes. An unblinking stare, that didn't waver.

What to do, indeed.
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.
Ningo Farmer

Age: 30 | Height: 185cm | 6'1" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 24 - Luck: 14 - Int:
AUNI - Mythical - Luxere
Played by: Whimzi Offline
Change author:
Posts: 815 | Total: 926
MP: 35
#9
I remain in my low, crouched down position. I may not be a body builder but I do have some stamina in this lean frame. Besides, the crouch-squat is the field researcher's default setting. Need to get away from that leopard seal who decided you looked tastier than the penguins it was stalking from just below the ice earlier? Jump straight up and get the fuck outta there. Orca unexpectedly breach the sheet of ice you were crouch-squatting on? Use that momentum to leap to safety!

The crouch-squat has seemingly become the position I feel the safest in, and given I have evidently been transported to some foreign plane, finding whatever solace I can seems like a legit plan of action.

The bird keeps coming down, letting loose a very different kind of call - it's not the call it made before, it almost feels like it is expressing amusement? I am an animal enthusiast, I've owned many, and I've talked to many as well. Not once have I had a legitimate vocal reply from any of them. The bird lands amongst my biscuit crumbs, but does not feast as a "normal tame" bird might.

Instead, it stares at me.

Very intensely.

I get lost in that stare for a bit. My facial expressions become unguarded, as the sheer weight of what's just happened to me takes advantage of my mind settling down. Fear, terror about the unknown, and a sudden deep sorrow bring a hot flash of tears to my glacial eyes. I blink them away just as quickly as they appear, all the while looking into the dark chasms that is this raven's intense, direct gaze.

"So, got a home?" I ask, wiping my nose against the back of a sleeved hand, sniffling slightly and hoping I don't turn into a complete pile of sniffles in front of my present company.
Chulane

sxc.hu
whimzi on deviantart
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 19 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Chan Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,102 | Total: 5,768
MP: 0
#10
KORBIN
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed,
The raven clicked its beak a few times, cocked the head aside and blinked. The tears did startle Korbin somewhat, but he didn't think lesser of the man for shedding them. There was a wealth of compassion hidden away within his heart, and though he guarded it well, it came bubbling up at times like these.

The big bird walked closer. Paused, to assess the mood of the man. Gauge his reactions, the genuine emotions reflected in those strangers eyes. Not sure why, Korbin pushed emotions towards the man, like he might have if he was Attuned. An attempt to soothe and console, reassure.

He didn't hear the words, but thought he recognized the movements of the mouth. Home? Hm. Best guess he could manage. And there weren't a lot of other options.

"Follow me," he thought again. And just to make sure the man would, understanding or no, the raven leaped forth, snapped at the glove on the man's hand to yank it off, and took to the sky in a rush of black wings.

He flew off a ways, then landed in the snow again. Looked back and waited, to see if he would be followed.
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.
Ningo Farmer

Age: 30 | Height: 185cm | 6'1" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 24 - Luck: 14 - Int:
AUNI - Mythical - Luxere
Played by: Whimzi Offline
Change author:
Posts: 815 | Total: 926
MP: 35
#11
I've met a lot of animals. I'm talking a lot.

And I have come to the conclusion that this is not a normal bird. I'm not saying it's unhealthy, but, considering how weird everything else is going for me at the moment, I'm gonna conclude that this bird simply ain't normal.

It seems to empathise with me and my show of emotions. Man, I hate crying, and I do my best to blink the hot tears away lest I devolve into further drivel.

A wave of calm washes over me, it felt like a warm blanket being placed over my shoulders, or a hug from an old friend. I inhale deeply, and wipe my hands over my cheeks, refreshing my face.

The bird hops near me, and my attention snaps back to it. It almost seems like it's beckoning me, wanting me to approach it, maybe to pat it? I reach an arm out, before exclaiming a grunting gasp as it steals my glove straight off my hand!

"Oi, you little shit, get back here with that!" I shout after a moment of recovering from my surprise, jumping up from my crouch and scrambling after the bird.

It deftly stays just out of my reach, and I pause for a moment and shake my head in disbelief. At this stage, what have I got to lose?

I follow the damn bird.
Chulane

sxc.hu
whimzi on deviantart
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 19 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Chan Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,102 | Total: 5,768
MP: 0
#12
KORBIN
Leave my loneliness unbroken!
- quit the bust above my door!
If he could have laughed, he would. But his beak was full of glove, and there was a guy chasing after him, blabbering something that Korbin couldn't hear. So he just settled for keeping himself just out of reach, luring the man along with sly cleverness. Out of the mountains and down onto the tundra, where the wind howled and snow danced in thin sheets over ground that never thawed.

South, he brought them, and slight to the west, until they reached a road. Perhaps that was too grand a word for it... but there was a trail of sorts that showed some sign of usage. Sled tracks, old footprints, the snow packed tighter by the passage of many people. And in the distance, quite far off still, was the silhouette of the Citadel.
Quoth the Raven,
"Nevermore."
Ningo Farmer

Age: 30 | Height: 185cm | 6'1" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 24 - Luck: 14 - Int:
AUNI - Mythical - Luxere
Played by: Whimzi Offline
Change author:
Posts: 815 | Total: 926
MP: 35
#13
I don't exactly know what drove me to put all of my trust into a bird, but I think I just came to the conclusion that a) something weird is going on and b) following a bird that clearly wants me to follow him (her?) is the closest I am going to get to some answers.

It would seem that even in the seemingly deepest clutches of barren, snowy terrain, the stench of a city is always apparent from afar. Though this time, the smell brought comfort, where once upon a time (in a galaxy far far away, or some bullshit), such a sensation would have brought dread, or at least, annoyance.

I liked being outdoors. I liked working with animals. If I could run a practice out in the open field, learning about and treating new animals every day, I would be so damn satisfied.

Anyway, back to where-the-fuck-is-this-bird-leading-me.

It was probably a good thing I was resting just before all of this happened, and that I am relatively fit. Though we found a road (if it could be considered that, it was more of a 'frequently used trail') making the journey a bit smoother, we still walked a good long distance. As my watch apparently didn't want to make this journey, I couldn't tell you the distance or the steps taken, but safe to say, when the silhouette of a city appeared ahead of me, I almost wept again.

I didn't, however, managing to keep my damn emotions in check, for now at least.

"Thanks, peabrain," I mutter, rolling my eyes at the raven who still clutches my glove. Walking this far with a hand shoved into a coat pocket has made for some awkward steps, though now that we are on the road, I feel much safer and secure in the knowledge that it looks like I'm not going to die in the immediate future, at least.



ooc: I'm happy to get up another open thread in the Citadel and call this one finished soon, not sure if you want to wrap it up? Thanks Chan C:
Chulane

sxc.hu
whimzi on deviantart
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 19 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Chan Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,102 | Total: 5,768
MP: 0
#14
KORBIN
Leave my loneliness unbroken!
- quit the bust above my door!
He gave no indication that he noticed the emotions swirling over the man's face, upon seeing the city. Korbin was content with playing the role of mute guide - though it would have been a lot easier if he could at least hear what the guy was saying.

Here came the difficult part. Getting the stranger through the gates would take some work - let's hope one of the guards was Attuned so he could explain the situation - and then he would have to decide what to actually do with the guy.

Fortunately, Korbin had an in at the Palace. Let the Outlanders deal with this; they would know what to say better than himself.

Just to make sure the stranger would keep following him, he kept holding on to the glove. And on black wings he led this latest tribute towards the inevitable trial of a lifetime.

------

- FIN
Quoth the Raven,
"Nevermore."


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