Chell (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
elvendryad) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
the_isle2023-10-07 09:03 pm
elvendryad) wrote in the_isle2023-10-07 09:03 pm
Chell intro ★ OTA
Open/locked?: Open!
Who: Chell and an ent, to start with
What: New to the Isle! Come say hi?
Warnings: He may be a bit prickly, depending on who approaches. It has to do with grudges from very bad past experiences, not the thorns present there on the Isle....
So the Isle now had two very obviously living trees... though it wasn't necessarily immediately apparent that both were trees. They were at the edge of the graveyard, about as far out as they could get.
The first tree was much thicker than one might expect, of a tree only about six or seven feet high; the contours of its trunk looked almost like it might have actually been several smaller trees that were melded together somehow, with distinct shapes that ran vertically, wrapping around one another. The bark was smooth, all soft browns, with a few interruptions along it that looked a bit like someone had taken black beads or tiny marbles and pressed a couple of them into the tree here and there. Its foliage, dark and vibrantly green and bushy up at its top, looked entirely out of place there in the Isle. If anyone knew enough about tree species, they might actually be able to identify it as possibly related to figs. Those were trees that grew into one another, conjoining over the years, weren't they? They were popular as houseplants; people could braid their trunks and branches together, and they would reinforce such connections over time, incorporating them into their designs. So what was this one doing here? It wasn't even potted; the lack of much of a root system above the ground, and lack of disturbed ground under it made it look as though it were already well and truly established where it stood, having been there for perhaps a good many years, instead of only just having appeared.
The second tree was less obviously botanical in nature. A humanoid figure was standing near that first tree, inspecting the perimeter, trying to make sense of the area or perhaps find a way out. It looked to be a knight in full platemail -- dark, blackish armor with brown visible in the gaps between the pieces, a dark brownish-greenish cape that fell from the back of his pauldrons, and no helmet, but matching black wrapped around his head, leaving a hole for his face.
On closer inspection, there were tells that this was probably not actually the case: the suit was far too thin for a normal human form to be able to fit inside very comfortably, more likely some sort of exoskeleton than conventionally-worn armor. His face was a bit mask-looking at first, with solidly black eyes, but his ears weren't covered, sticking back with subtle points to them. The rest of his head may not have actually been covered either after all, with how the wood-grained brown of his face faded swiftly into that darker color to frame it, a short but wild little handful of twigs adorning the back of his head, almost crown-like from the front, a couple tiny bright-green buds peeking here and there like jewels. But it was definitely a veneered appearance, the subtleties of the grain flowing around his features as though it had grown into that face, rather than having been carved. A closer look showed a couple of tiny bumps here and there on his armor, one near his elbow even tipped with a tiny spot of green, another leaf bud. But he moved as a person did, head tilted back as he tried to peer over the wall there, and then took another step, still uncertain, frowning....
Behind him, the more obvious tree did not simply get left behind. Its roots quickly proved that they weren't actually buried deep, but were rather a whole lot shorter than expected, and had been holding onto the uneven ground. It let go, lifting itself up a little, and stepped after the armored figure....
They would be exploring around the outside of this new environment, trying to see what there was to see, trying to find a way out to somewhere else. Apparently, even attempting to enter the building nearby wasn't on their To Do list, but they might just manage to find their way down to that fishing spot out on the shore....
Approach them?
((If you'd rather catch them out at the shore/have him find yours there, that's cool too!))
Who: Chell and an ent, to start with
What: New to the Isle! Come say hi?
Warnings: He may be a bit prickly, depending on who approaches. It has to do with grudges from very bad past experiences, not the thorns present there on the Isle....
So a knight and a tree walk into the Isle... stop me if you've heard this one....
So the Isle now had two very obviously living trees... though it wasn't necessarily immediately apparent that both were trees. They were at the edge of the graveyard, about as far out as they could get.
The first tree was much thicker than one might expect, of a tree only about six or seven feet high; the contours of its trunk looked almost like it might have actually been several smaller trees that were melded together somehow, with distinct shapes that ran vertically, wrapping around one another. The bark was smooth, all soft browns, with a few interruptions along it that looked a bit like someone had taken black beads or tiny marbles and pressed a couple of them into the tree here and there. Its foliage, dark and vibrantly green and bushy up at its top, looked entirely out of place there in the Isle. If anyone knew enough about tree species, they might actually be able to identify it as possibly related to figs. Those were trees that grew into one another, conjoining over the years, weren't they? They were popular as houseplants; people could braid their trunks and branches together, and they would reinforce such connections over time, incorporating them into their designs. So what was this one doing here? It wasn't even potted; the lack of much of a root system above the ground, and lack of disturbed ground under it made it look as though it were already well and truly established where it stood, having been there for perhaps a good many years, instead of only just having appeared.
The second tree was less obviously botanical in nature. A humanoid figure was standing near that first tree, inspecting the perimeter, trying to make sense of the area or perhaps find a way out. It looked to be a knight in full platemail -- dark, blackish armor with brown visible in the gaps between the pieces, a dark brownish-greenish cape that fell from the back of his pauldrons, and no helmet, but matching black wrapped around his head, leaving a hole for his face.
On closer inspection, there were tells that this was probably not actually the case: the suit was far too thin for a normal human form to be able to fit inside very comfortably, more likely some sort of exoskeleton than conventionally-worn armor. His face was a bit mask-looking at first, with solidly black eyes, but his ears weren't covered, sticking back with subtle points to them. The rest of his head may not have actually been covered either after all, with how the wood-grained brown of his face faded swiftly into that darker color to frame it, a short but wild little handful of twigs adorning the back of his head, almost crown-like from the front, a couple tiny bright-green buds peeking here and there like jewels. But it was definitely a veneered appearance, the subtleties of the grain flowing around his features as though it had grown into that face, rather than having been carved. A closer look showed a couple of tiny bumps here and there on his armor, one near his elbow even tipped with a tiny spot of green, another leaf bud. But he moved as a person did, head tilted back as he tried to peer over the wall there, and then took another step, still uncertain, frowning....
Behind him, the more obvious tree did not simply get left behind. Its roots quickly proved that they weren't actually buried deep, but were rather a whole lot shorter than expected, and had been holding onto the uneven ground. It let go, lifting itself up a little, and stepped after the armored figure....
They would be exploring around the outside of this new environment, trying to see what there was to see, trying to find a way out to somewhere else. Apparently, even attempting to enter the building nearby wasn't on their To Do list, but they might just manage to find their way down to that fishing spot out on the shore....
Approach them?
((If you'd rather catch them out at the shore/have him find yours there, that's cool too!))
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"Greetings," she said with a warm smile that did not quite hide the mischievous glint in her eyes. "I'd point out that you're a long way from home, friend. But then so are the rest of us."
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What, he was taking her quip seriously? Looked like it.
Deadpan, "I've rather liked the fish I've met."
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CW: animal cruelty
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"...And how do I get to the shore in question?"
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Welp, time to put looking around this side of things on hold, to go explore that way....
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A little nod to her. "Be well."
He gestured to the tree, and it picked itself back up to follow after him as he began to leave.
Thank you for the thread
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Still, she had to try!
She rushed out into his path, with only a broken stick that had once been part of a chair in the school for a weapon.
"I won't let you hurt hi... anyone..." she declared with more bravado then actual courage.
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"Nor I, you." He raised his left arm, squeezing something within it, moving the parts inside his forearm that fanned his shield's segments into place. "Stand down."
He wasn't holding any weapon, simply lowering himself into a better position from which to defend, his little shield up between them. At least his tree was off behind him; she'd have to get through him to reach it.
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It might be a Somebody.
Terrified she dropped her stick and turned to run. Not that there was much in the way of a place to run to.
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A look back at the ent, which was still simply trailing him at a leisurely pace, and he stepped to follow her, quiet, confused. What was this about...?
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Then again, he was curious to see if she was willing to speak with him. Not precisely about why she'd assumed he would hurt her. Humans -- he was going to assume this one was, for the moment -- made all sorts of interestingly paranoid misjudgments, after all, and he was rather used to that by now. But in general....
He turned and headed off to the side, to go wait nearer the other side of the thorn wall. If the smaller one continued off that way, they'd come past where he was going to sit behind one of the large stones there, presumably. And he could keep an eye on the ent, as it found a place to settle down not too far away....
Why yes, he was intending to simply wait her out. At her current pace, it wouldn't take that long, would it? Meanwhile, he was going to pick a bit at some small bit of something that was sticking to the edge of his shield, and now was on his arm, some bit of half-sticky foil wrapper or something. How had that gotten there?
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He was silent, keeping an eye on the ent, which didn't wander off out of view, thankfully... and listened.
He couldn't feel her approach, and not being able to sense others was already very much beginning to wear on him... but maybe it was like other figures in other parts of that odd dream? Whatever the case, it simply was, was something he'd have to work around, and so he listened. Listened for footsteps, quiet as they may be, listened for any little sounds she might have been making... after a bit, carefully peeked around the side to check, and then sat back again.
Well, there she was, probably within range to hear if he spoke up much... and the ent had wandered closer.
Very quietly, as if continuing a conversation with only the tree, pretending to be unaware of her, "The little one seemed certain... and if there is a danger here, I'd like to keep you safe. You've wandered off four times already, and we've not been here long. ....If you even understand me, can you... wave?"
The tree did not wave. It tried to step over a bigger rock on the ground and paused, realizing its mistake thankfully before it tipped itself over in the attempt, and attempted to step around it as it slowly explored.
"I thought so. ...Perhaps if the little one comes back, they'll be better to speak with. Perhaps they'd know something about whose place this is...?"
He was hoping that, with any luck, Xion would overhear some of it before she could figure out his position and decide to get too far away to overhear. He was talking to his tree, after all -- why should he lie to it, for her benefit, if he presumably didn't know she was present?
A little pause. "Or maybe they could use help...?"
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Ent... we end... here? Short thread?
looks like it!
Comes in ridiculously late with Starbucks? >.>
The stouter one though, was clearly some form of treant, and having faced such before, he found himself reluctant to approach. True, it seemed relatively docile, but they often did, until one got too close for their liking. Perhaps this one was of a milder disposition, like some n the Central Shroud, but he didn't fancy his chances while armed with only a crude bone harpoon if it was not.
Thus he called out to more humanoid of the two from partway across the false litchyard. "I would say you are well come, but that would be doing this place to great a kindness," he said. "Still, it's good to see some manner of growing thing aside from those accursed thorns."
mmmm, coffee~ ♥
"Agreed." His tone seemed to reinforce that notion, too. "Well met, brother. My name is Chell." A little nod to him, a very deliberate gesture of acknowledgment. The And you are? went unsaid.
Behind him, the ent simply continued to pick its way around the rocks, pausing as it evidently found something under it objectionable to step on, and tried to sidestep whatever it was. It wasn't in any particular hurry, but it didn't want to get left far behind, either.
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Still, as odd as it was, it was pleasant so for the moment at least, he made no effort to refute any notions Chell might have about him. "Foulques," he said, returning the polite nod. "Well met, Chell. Or as well as can be in such a place as this at least. Did you an your... companion just arrive?" There was a bit of an additional questioning note when referring to the treant, inviting Chell to correct him if that wasn't the proper term for their relationship.
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"Unlike those other places, however, there seems to be no simple way to leave this one, to reach the next. I've been searching for the gold I'd seen between, but...." He let that hang, sighing; it was rather evident that he hadn't found whatever he was talking about. "I presume you have been here a while longer than I?"
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He nodded. "Like as not, it's the only one you will find," he said. "And not simply because this Isle is largely barren. You are both rather farther from your forest home than I suspect you know."
"And aye, I've been here for several moons now, though not by choice. This Isle is a prison, one that has been made doubly so by those accursed thorns. How we arrived here is something of a strange tale, though if you too found yourself in that... strange dream world you may already know something of it, depending on who you encountered there."
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Which perhaps explained why he gave him another look over, noting the polearm and pausing this time at what the other had caught while fishing. Quieter, "You're hungry here...?" This idea clearly didn't please him; not only was he no longer smiling, but he was really looking concerned at this point. He brought his hands up in front of him, folding them loosely together as though holding something inside, and after a second... nothing. He opened them, looking inside at the lack of anything there, frowned more, concentrated again... and then partially opened them to show that he was still holding nothing.
Something was wrong. Whatever it was he was trying to do, and trying again, and again, it definitely wasn't happening. And his lack of being able to do it was not only clearly news to him, but given that he couldn't do it, and the way he was attempting... it narrowed it down a bit, at least, now didn't it?
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He wasn't certain what the other was trying to do, though it clearly wasn't working. Likely some form of magic then. "If you're attempting some sort of magecraft, it will not work. There is a barrier surrounding this Isle that prevents the use of any sort of magic. A prudent measure, as many of those who were imprisoned here were powerful mages, though it makes things more difficult for us in the present."
And what was the treant doing? It seemed to have stopped in its tracks and was poking at what appeared to be a bit of shiny foil on the ground with one of its roots. Well it was certainly less focused than the treants he was familiar with, if nothing else...
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He sighed, quiet, and stepped back that way, to crouch and pull the little piece out himself. He brushed the dirt off of it, blew at it... and then stood, to reach up to its branches, wrapping it loosely around a twig. Without a word, he began leading it closer to Foulques again... or tried to. He paused again, when it hadn't moved after him despite him taking another step or two. It was seemingly intent on the bit of shiny trash, waving its branch around a few inches, back and forth....
Chell shook his head and turned to step back without it. Fine, it could stand there and be amused by a tiny bit of metal paper. Why not. Much more quietly, "Perhaps the lack of magic here is why I cannot hear that one now?" Another glance back to the very obviously thoroughly distracted ent, frowning. Uncertain, "I couldn't hear them well in the other places I'd been before this, after waking. Nor could I feel each person I met."
Even more hesitantly, regarding Foulques again, "...As I cannot, you, now." Clearly, this had him concerned, though what it meant exactly, he wasn't spelling out. "I don't like this place already, and I cannot imagine that anyone else is very fond of it either. ...Have you ideas, about how I might best be of help?" If food was the biggest priority, according to Foulques, he could try working toward that. If there was some other need he was yet unaware of, that would be fair too.
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"Aye, that's the most likely reason," he said. "Though I doubt there's anyway to be certain, unless the barrier is lifted. As for you not being able to 'feel' me, I find that hardly surprising, however distressing you seem to find it. I'm no seedkin, nor do I have any preternatural ability to connect with them, so I'm admittedly uncertain why you seem to think it should be otherwise."
"You're correct in assuming that most- if not all- of those here do not enjoy it. But another pair of hands- or branches, as it may be- to help with fishing and general work would be welcome. Far too many of the adults here are foolish and too concerned with their own petty affairs to take much interest in practical matters."
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He put the matter aside for the moment; there were more pressing things to focus on, than a riddle he couldn't currently meaningfully attempt to solve.
"If you are willing to show me what needs be done, I would be willing to learn. I have never...." He gestured to the fish. If Foulques had resorted to that, then clearly it had very much been necessary. And food was always among the very highest of priorities, for those who weren't yet considered elders, among their kind, so it made sense to him, to start there. Or presumed kind; he wasn't about to ask further. It mattered very little, really, when it came to such practical concerns.
Behind him, the tree was still occupied with making the bit of foil catch the light, however poor it was with the current weather. It was probably a safe enough bet that it wasn't going to be of as much help as Chell might prove to be....
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He nodded. "Neither had I, before I arrived here," he said. And certainly not in the ocean. But needs must. Thankfully, tis not terribly complicated to learn, and I shall show you once I've seen to this batch."