OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS

[heavyweaponsbot]

WHO: heavyweaponsbot and anyone who responded to his post.
WHAT: Investigating the suspicious CRACK sound in the forest.
WHEN: Right after this post.
WHERE: The Forest
Notes: ACTION TAGS, GO GO GO.

[Ironhide will be found waiting on the edge of the forest. He's a massive hulk of black metal, with folded arms and a single-optic scowl

Comments

[mister_10_below]

[Bobby'd shifted into his ice form as soon as he got outside. Everything he's heard about this forest makes him want the extra protection. That, and he doubts Ironhide would recognize him out of it.

He spots Ironhide quickly enough and makes his way over, giving the robot a nod in greeting as he stops by his side to wait for the others.]

[drinkuntilidie]

Just get movin'.

[Kevas falls in at the end of the line. Being the second tallest here, the only one he can't see over is Ironhide, and he'll trust the big bot to pay attention to things up there.]

[bondedgryphon]

[Zhaneel watches from overhead, the trees and foliage still sparse enough that she has a clear view of those down below. Her gaze moves ahead of them, scanning for anything that might appear as a threat or the source of the noise; or both.]

[keep_hallways]

[Where the group has entered the forest, there is no path. Shrubs block the way; ferns tickle legs; branches overhang; and bramble catches cloth.

But none of these plants move.

The forest is unnaturally quiet. Not even the flutter of birds wings or the echoes of their calls can be heard.]

[heavyweaponsbot]

[So... pretty much the only sound for miles is Ironhide crashing through the shrubs and branches. And his irritated growling as he goes.]

[But then he stops, the stillness registering.]

... Be alert. I dislike this quiet.

[heroinwait]

[Yeah, so he doesn't like you at the moment, Kevas. B|

As he goes, Riku's keeping an eye on everybody else, including Zhaneel up above them all. Chloe's warnings that the forest shifts echo in his mind, and he's not exactly eager to lose anybody if they can help it.

But there's nothing.

In some ways, the quiet is even worse than if something were to happen--Riku's on alert, using all of his senses and his control over the darkness within him to search for anything out of the ordinary.

There has to be something.]

[drinkuntilidie]

[Right now it doesn't matter much to Kevas if Riku dislikes him. When someone refuses to play will with others bad things will happen, and seeing how Kevas likes some of the people here he rather that no bad things happen at all.

Stepping into the forest, Kevas is immediately on edge. This isn't right. Forests are never this quiet. There's always wind blowing, or animals moving, or something going on. This absence of noise is most definitely unnatural and something must be scaring the animals.

He gives a low whistle to get Bobby and Raven's attention since they're the closest to him.]

Keep an eye out joo two. Dis ain't be natural.

[hidingnolonger]

[She glances over at Kevas, nodding once. She wondered briefly if Kevas had ever even seen her like this and put two and two together, but it was something to worry about later.

Her eyes swung to scan the landscape.]

No, it definitely isn't. Never heard a forest this quiet.

[mister_10_below]

[Yeah, Bobby's not really liking this quiet, either. He'd lived near a forest, this is just unsettling. He'd already been on alert, but he nods at Kevas' words.]

Whatever scared the birds out, maybe the rest of the animals're reacting to it, too.

[heavyweaponsbot]

Then we best be careful.

[So says the giant alien robot. He's confident enough that he can go crashing through whatever pops up in their path. But the others are squishy. Fragile.]

Stick close.

[keep_hallways]

[The thick greenery surrounds, acting only as a silent audience.

Eventually, they reach an area of trampled ferns, crushed shrubs, and snapped branches.

In the center of it all is a massive tree, cracked in two. Its roots are stuck firmly in the ground, but its top now touches the ground, where once it stood tall.]

[missmimmi]

[Mimmi doesn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Because, well, broken tree. No monster. Yet.

Hadn't she suggested this as a possible explanation?]

Oh. It was a tree.

[Next question is, what the hell snapped it in half?]

...to keep this moving?

[hidingnolonger]

Something big did that.

[She commented - stating the obvious, but whatever.

She glanced to Ironhide.]

Now what, boss?

/trundles along

[heavyweaponsbot]

[He grunts. And starts scanning the area. He's used to tracking big things -- Decepticons. But if this is an organic creature...]

Kevas. You know anything about following things in the woods?

/rolls through here

[drinkuntilidie]

Eiddah dat, or dis be some powahful magic.

[Kevas eyes the tree with suspicion. Mages, shamans, druids, even warlocks could do similar things with the right spell.]

May not be as good as some of da huntuhs back home, but I can hunt sometin' when I gotta. Da rest of joo stay back.

[Mostly people. Kevas moves his way up from the back towards the tree being careful where he steps. He doesn't want to destroy any useful evidence. Then begins searching the area around the tree for clues. Tracks, markings on the tree, branches that might have been stepped on, anything that might tell them if anything was here.]

[keep_hallways]

[The trampled vegetation circles all the way around the tree. There are no discernible tracks in the clearing, but the circle is fresh; barely hours old, if that.

The trunk itself has been struck, many times, by a great physical force. The wood is splintered and the bark crushed. It looks as if one felled the tree with a massive hammer, or perhaps a stone battering ram.

The branches, meanwhile, are in a terrible state. Some have been stripped of bark and leaves, others cracked in two by a crushing grip.

Lying beneath a small branch is a clump of dried grasses, twigs, hairs, and even clothing fibers. Shattered eggshells and their contents spatter the ground not a foot away.

Beneath the nest, something twitches.]