05 // Voice

[sole_choice]

I was just kidding before! I didn't expect REAL prehistoric animals to start showing up! A-Ahem...

*There was some muttering before he spoke up into the walkie-talkie properly*

Is there a place where more people are gathering together to try and keep safe in bigger numbers? If so, I'd appreciate some general directions there because I just spent several hours getting out of a tree and down a small cliff to try and keep out of reach and another two getting back up when things decided I still smelled like prey.

Given that this is supposedly a dream world, this will let up and change eventually right? Dreams, even nightmares... they don't go on forever...

Right?

Comments

[1000marshmellos.livejournal.com]

Excellent. So then.. how about we turn around, walk fifty paces and then we get to start searching for each other?

*He smiled, running a hand through his haphazard spikes. They'd been drooping a bit over the past few days without proper attention. More than anything else, he lamented how difficult it was to keep clean in the jungle.*

[sole-choice.livejournal.com]

*Shouichi weighed the pros and cons of the proposal a moment, already in strategist mode*

100 paces or 50 paces and two minutes' time to establish ourselves, since there is no real time to "set up base" in this scenario.

[1000marshmellos.livejournal.com]

Let's do 50 minutes and two minutes' time. Starting...

*Byakuran glanced upward to note the position of the sun - difficult to do with all of the trees. Hmm. Ah, well. He just shrugged and turned around, counting off.*

One, two, three...

[sole-choice.livejournal.com]

*Shouichi nodded and as Byakuran turned and started walking, Shouichi made sure to do the same, softly counting out under his breath, mind already racing as he took in the jungle around him with each step. He knew he was at a distinct disadvantage in a real-world setting against Byakuran, particularly in these conditions as had already been proven by how well the other had fared on his own compared to him. But he was still bound and determined to not lose...

He couldn't afford it. This was a giant gamble and he wasn't entirely sure why he'd agreed to it...*

38, 39, 40....

[1000marshmellos.livejournal.com]

*Byakuran counted out the steps, one after another, to himself as he went. He stopped at 50 and glanced back behind him. He didn't need the two minutes so he started to quietly circle back around toward where they were, wanting to get closer to Shouichi's current position but a bit further to the east. To make it easier. This wasn't a game that he'd win... there was no fun in it when he already knew the other's dark secret.*

Hm hm hm~

[sole-choice.livejournal.com]

*Shouichi reached 50 paces and took in area quickly. This would do. First off, he was quite sure that Byakuran wouldn't take as long as he would to set himself up, so was likely either planning something or heading his way.

Knowing him, he was headed this way. He tended toward the bold moves.

Shouichi pulled up several large leaves from a plant and narrowly avoided having the plant next to that one from closing on him with teethed leaves like a giant venus flytrap. He swallowed hard and kept tight hold on the massive leaves, curling the thick things up for carrying as he got away from that spot fast. He also tugged down a good length of vines hurriedly and managed to saw it off with a jagged broken branch off of a nearby tree before he took stock of the sounds around him.

Nothing that he could hear yet.

Good. And with that he started heading back a little, keeping away from the straight line he'd headed out in... At least he thought so. Keeping his sense of direction out here was a little hard, especially with no way to really see the sun above or landmarks within sight on the ground to guide him.*

[1000marshmellos.livejournal.com]

*Byakuran was stepping quietly through the forest, avoiding twigs and dried leaves to keep his position hidden. He'd move on for quite a ways before he picked up a few twigs and leaves from the ground. He hid himself behind a tree and counted to thirty before he snapped one of the twigs in two and closed his eyes, concentrating... was he nearby? If Shouichi heard the twig snap, would he react immediately?*

[sole-choice.livejournal.com]

*Shouichi stilled completely as the noise caught the edges of his hearing. It wasn't immediately nearby, but to have heard it at all was too close. He backed away, keeping his steps light and careful and circled widely around the spot he'd heard the sound come from.

It was a calculated risk, assuming immediately that it was Byakuran, rather than some poor sap wondering in the jungle as he had been earlier, but he had little time to waste on waffling. So he edged back toward the spot, keeping his eyes on the look out for what he needed before going too far....

Ah! That would work. He nodded to himself and grasped hold of the lower branches of the tree he'd found and started hauling himself upward.*

[1000marshmellos.livejournal.com]

*Byakuran listened.. very faintly he thought he heard the rustling of leaves and he started to circle around in that direction. He knew Shouichi was probably moving in that same direction... he couldn't let on to the fact that he was purposely diving in head first to let Shouichi capture him.

So, he kept his eye out for any sign of Shouichi, far more outwardly aware than he normally was but it was all a ruse. Tip-toeing on, he kept his gaze on the area immediately around him, never thinking to look up.*

[sole-choice.livejournal.com]

*Shouichi got himself high enough that he could still easily survey the nearby jungle floor, but not be too easily seen. Save his uniform pants that was. He cursed the damned White Spell uniform, not for the first time, and pulled himself along a long thick branch that stretched out toward another tree. About midway across it he stopped and surveyed the area, listening closely.

When he didn't hear or see Byakuran, he pulled a rock from his pocket, just a small one, and chucked out in the direction of the twig snapping...*

[1000marshmellos.livejournal.com]

*Byakuran heard the rock and he headed over toward where it landed, not bothering to really try and keep himself hidden. It was worse for him, really, given the pale skin and the snow-white hair. He stuck out like a sore thumb there in the jungle, especially from above. Glancing around here and there, he figured the rock probably came from up high but he couldn't give himself away; he couldn't let Shouichi know he knew.*

[sole-choice.livejournal.com]

*Shouichi caught sight of Byakuran before long, hands stilling their work on tying the vines as needed. He finished quickly and very carefully got to his feet and walked out to the next branches of the trees, arms held out to keep his balance.

Don't look down. Don't look down.

He made it to the interwoven branches of the other tree and without toppling, miraculously, made his way toward the trunk, peering down around it to see Byakuran searching several yards away below. He slowly bent down, hugging the trunk and hiding behind it, and wrapped one of the looped pieces of vine around his waist and tightened it.

This was such a bad idea...*

[1000marshmellos.livejournal.com]

*Byakuran could hear Shouichi moving above. He knew he was up there, but he had to keep this up a little bit longer. Just... how to do it without being too obvious? When Shouichi was hugging the trunk, hiding, Byakuran chose that moment to still and duck down low to the ground, to let Shouichi know that apparently he heard something but he wasn't entirely sure where it was coming from.

Slowly, he began creeping away, taking small steps to make as little noise as possible.*

[sole-choice.livejournal.com]

*Shouichi silently cursed as he peered around the trunk again, seeing Byakuran moving around as if he was suspicious. And he was moving away, great... He took a deep breath and stood slowly and silently reached up and with a short (terrifying) hop grabbed hold of the branches over his head and just barely hauled himself up, very careful to not make a sound. He then uncurled one of the large leaves he'd kept hold of, tucked into the back of his pants edged out a little ways and laid it precariously on the branch.

Shouichi backed away back to the trunk and began to circle away to another tree, still moving slowly to make the least noise possible and waited for the leaf to go falling as it was sure to and hopefully get Byakuran's attention and draw him back to the correct spot as he moved around to the other side in the trees*

[1000marshmellos.livejournal.com]

*Byakuran heard the leaf and glanced back, waiting a moment to see if Shouichi had popped up anywhere. Not seeing him, he quietly made his way back over in that direction, still close to the ground as he went. Upon reaching the spot Shouichi wanted him to head back toward, he frowned slightly and went a few feet away, hands brushing at some twigs and things on the ground.

He tipped his head to the side. A footprint? Now, he was distracted looking for another one to try and track him.*

[sole-choice.livejournal.com]

*Shouichi finished braiding several more vines into the one around his waist and was as satisfied as he was going to get with the strength. He still thought this was suicidal, but Byakuran would never expect such a move from Shouichi either, which was the whole point. (And really, the only reason he dared brave it was because of what that warlock had told him...) He crawled out silently along the branches above Byakuran before quickly tying the other end of the vines to the thick branch he was sitting on while the man was distracted.

He closed his eyes as his stomach wrenched uncomfortably and then eased himself off the branch, hanging on to the length of vine hanging down in a loop between him and the tree, feet braced on one of several large knots he'd tied in. This was so insane...! He only hoped his arms would hold out for this sort of thing, just enough so he could get closer to Byakuran...*

[1000marshmellos.livejournal.com]

*...Byakuran had a pretty good idea of what was going on by the way a shadow on the ground was getting bigger and bigger as Shouichi lowered himself. If he let him capture him now, would he suspect that it was too easy? Or would he even think about it?

When in doubt, make a defensive move. Byakuran got onto his hands and knees and crawled on the ground in a circle in that area, brushing some fallen leaves around, apparently still on the search for footprints. He smirked when he found a second one and followed it a foot or two away.*

Aha~ I see your plan.

*His gaze followed the direction of his footprints to a tree and.. huh?*

What..?

[sole-choice.livejournal.com]

*Ugh, if he could only move faster without making noise. Byakuran was clearly catching on to where he was headed... if he didn't realize all along.... Well time to shift the strategy. He wouldn't expect him to do something this stupid. He hoped anyway. He clung to the vine, inhaled quietly and then began to swing while Byakuran looked straight ahead to the tree. He judged the distance between them, waited a few more swings as he felt just a little like losing the food he'd eaten only a short time earlier and then let go of the slack of extra vine he had in his hands, allowing him to drop while still swinging out for the white haired man, if he could land on him or close enough to even grab him and pin him down. He had more vines and could attempt to tie him up....*

[1000marshmellos.livejournal.com]

*Byakuran kept searching around for any other path but no, it must have been the tree. So he turned his eyes upward into the tree and started looking around in the branches... hunh.

Hearing an odd creaking sound from behind him, he turned around and lilac eyes went wide as he say his friend suddenly flying through the air toward him. Letting out a rare shout of surprise, he fell onto his back when Shouichi landed right on him, air knocked out of him, head smacking on the ground. Thank goodness the dirt was soft.*

Owww ow!

[sole-choice.livejournal.com]

*Shouichi landed hard and winced, jarred from the impact. It took him just a moment while Byakuran whined out in pain to gather his wits. Glasses askew uselessly, Shouichi tried to grab his left over vine with one hand and Byakuran's hands in the other blindly, trying to pin him down to tie them together*

[1000marshmellos.livejournal.com]

*He groaned softly and blinked, vision a little wonky. Stunned as he was, he didn't realize that Shouichi was grabbing his hands until he felt the vines tightening around his wrists but it was difficult to move with Shouichi's weight on top of him. He shifted around and coughed softly, staring up at him.*

Shou-chan, if you wanted me on my back you could have just said so!

[sole-choice.livejournal.com]

*Shouichi tugged at the vines, hoping the knot made some sort of sense and held. He didn't dare risk it however and kept the other man's hands pinned anyway. That was, until Byakuran spoke.

Shouichi's face went red and he sputtered, grip faltering*

Wh-What? This is just part of capturing you!

[1000marshmellos.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, are you sure~?

*He grinned.. and then once he felt that Shouichi had let go of him, he started struggling more and he managed to turn over beneath him and tried crawling away on his elbows to get away. The vine was tight, but maybe if he just kept at it..!*

[sole-choice.livejournal.com]

YES, I'm sure! *Shouichi quickly fixed his glasses and scrambled after Byakuran as he tried to crawl away and grabbed at his legs, catching his ankles and yanked. He could not let Byakuran get away and lose this game. However, he could feel the vine around his waist (to keep from falling to his death if his grip had failed) tugging taught behind him. But he couldn't let go to untie it either!*

[1000marshmellos.livejournal.com]

*Byakuran laughed and squirmed when his legs were captured. He decided to have a little fun and shifted around, scooting closer to Shouichi to get more leverage to shove at him with his feet to try and get him away.*

You're not going to win, you can't keep me~