Some Character Ideas

Update:

This was originally Link access only but to be honesty I worked so damn long on this silly little promt I decided to make it public.

Ive got character ideas for the first time in fucking years thanks to that god damn light novel Sleep Token is pushing out soon. We don't even have any info on barely any of it but still fans managed to grasp the bases of what will probably be the world setting.

Some sort of sci-fi apocalyptic stuff. The preview files said something about a wide, flat shore and a huge, black wave eating up the speaker. The general consensus so far is that Sleep, the deity, has something to do with the moon since "lunar abnormalities" were mentioned and that something happened to earth (?), transforming its surface to something similar to one seen in some of the music videos. I'ts speculated that Sleep granted the Vessels some sort of power in exchange for their worship and accumulated following. 

I personally am imagining some sort of mutated/alien earth (think Annihilation the movie). And two types of surviving groups: Firstly excavation troops /scientific research troops a.k.a the ones with all the high tech stuff; the rich. And secondly: the very unfortunate but stubborn common folk that somehow survived and are getting by or are very slightly blessed by Sleep as well.

And this is where inspiration fucking hit me like a truck.

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Main Characters

A vigilante survivors group, all wearing animal skull masks to hide their identity from other surviving groups, not trusting anyone but themselves. They have no clue what happened and are simply focussed on sustaining themselves and standing strong. Important to note here is that none of them remember barely anything from their past lives including their names, hence the nicknames they go by. 

Animals are assigned according to personality, currently consisting of:

"Cat" (self insert lol)

She/They

- The leader and founder of the group

- female, 21 years old

- 1,80m tall, stronger build, slightly chubby, more of an alternative style.

- Cat Skull Mask (duh)

Personality and traits:

- Voice of reason of the group, logical thinker on the outside, emotionally empathetic on the inside

- tries to separate feelings and circumstances as much as possible to remain rational. Leads to disassociation from self and their own needs. Tends to spiral emotionally as a cause of putting their feelings last.

- puts herself last and tends to hide feelings and worries from other group members to maintain a "perfect and stable appearance". Needs to be the one keeping it together at all times.

- organizer and strategist

- caretaker and group-"Mom"

- rather goes for stealth on missions than offense

- fairly observant, notices things others tend not to

- Always tries to think of everything and prepares for any kind of scenario

- keeps a kind of diary to document their life style and discoveries. Should everyone lose their life she wants to leave their knowledge documented in case it might help others in the future.

- Scavenges for usable material, notebooks, paper etc. when on missions.

- Creative. Is adapt at small-ish crafts and handy work. She's the one who creates the masks and prototypes of tools.

- Worked in Event Management in old world order

"Hare", The Jester

- They/Them

- 19 

- nonbinary afab

- fairly short: 1,60m

- Rabbit Mask

Personality and traits:

- mischievous and daring character. Likes to crack jokes even at unfitting times.

- short, curly hair 

- sporty, fast metabolism, energetic, athletically muscular

- talented pick-pocketer and a tendency to snatch things up which the group doesn't actually need

- main job on missions: gathers "valuable" things and intel for trading with other surviving groups or individuals 

- charismatic and an avid chatterbox. Helps to trick and distract people on missions

- a little bit of a sly and bratty personality. Can get on peoples nerves.

- fairly confident which leads to naivety and recklessness at times

- "act now think later" type mentality

- was still in school in old life

- did parkour as a hobby

"Stallion", The Knight

- Male

- He/Him

- 23 

- very tall. 1,98m

- Horse Skull Mask

personality and traits:

- lean build. Not as visibly muscular, unlike Hare. Incredibly robust and possesses a high amount of stamina.

- fairly strong/sturdy and heavy despite his looks simply because of height. It's suspected he's been blessed by Sleep with slightly above human strength since his physique does not fit his abilities. He seems to heal slightly faster than an average human would as well.

- Long Hair, mostly worn in a half up half down hairstyle or a bun.

- loyal to a T

- strong sense of protection and very selflessness. Even more so than Cat. More physical than emotionally, in a way. Will work himself past exhaustion for others.

- Preservation as a person. Incredible willpower.

- Can be very stubborn and unwilling to open up to suggestion. Has a hard time to view things out of different perspectives at times.

- ironically, actually adapt at horseback riding due to it having been a hobby during past life

- actually did steal adopt  a horse on one of their missions. There was a whole fight about weather to keep it or not because of resources. Stallion won in the end.

- Acts as a bodyguard and mediator on missions. Steps in to resolve conflicts and prevent the worst. Can be intimidating if necessary.

- crafts/builds proper versions of Cat's prototypes and refines concepts. 

- worked as a home appliance craftsman/handyman

"Elster", The Siren

- female

- She/Her

- 21 

- 1,75m

- Birds Mask

Personality and traits:

- On the heavier side due to health issues, though not unhealthily so. Tissue weakness and weak joints make it painful and difficult to withstand physical activities for longer periods. The risk of dislocating joints and over stretching/ripping tendons is noticeably higher than average. 

- Stays behind to watch over the camp during missions most times because of this.

- Only one of the group that has definitely received a blessing by Sleep. Ability to mimic voices indistinguishable from the original, no matter the tone, age or gender. Only condition is that she needs to hear a voice at least once before being able to mimic it.

- Hoarder. Collects everything she finds interesting. 

- Has gotten into arguments with Hare because of this more than a few times because Hare keeps trying to steal stuff or convince her to give it up. Alternatively, on missions they fight over who saw a specific thing they both want first. slight competitiveness between the two, though mostly light hearted.

- keeps getting teased by Hare (lovingly)

- Habit to collect stuff comes in handy sometimes if very specific materials are needed. She might have something stowed away hat can serve as a substitute or be used alternatively.

- has a keen eye because of her affinity to collect. Compliments Cat's observant nature, making a good background team together when she joins on missions.

- newest member of the group and still lives a little in denial of the situation. Tries to live as "normally" as possible, partially rather ignoring the abnormalities happening around her.

- easily frightened. Still under shock of what happened and unable to grasp her newfound abilities. Partially refusing to confront them.

- Tries to make living at base as comfortable as possible for the group.

- vey book smart, has a lot of knowledge about foraging and plants.

- used to be an agriculture and ecology student at University beforehand.

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Additional Characters

As in: Character that will play a significant role in the story or will even be added to the main cast later on.

Hound, "The lone Hunter"

- afab

- She/They

- red-ish brown hair kept in messy braids to keep it out of her face.

- 1,63m

- weirdly flexible and has a high endurance despite her roundly appearance 

- Has a target aid installed in socket of dominant eye in mask

Personality and traits:

- prefers Sniper/Stealth shooting even with unfitting fire arms for said role.

- Only one in the group that is able to properly handle firearms.

- self taught shooting experience due to circumstance and necessity.

- found themselves lucky enough to have found themselves near a hunters club when catastrophe struck (rural area where those clubs are still common. Specifically a German Schützenverein).

- Thus gained access to various rifles and ammunition as well as shelter and some rations.

- met the group on a raid. Both parties found themself targeting the same place to loot and came to an agreement to share after initial suspicion of each other.

- Hound declined to join their camp for good and abandon the hunting club as a main base. But became an honorary member nonetheless, considering the benefits of having a backup for both sides. 

- Came of as cold and harsh at first impression because of her teasing type of humor. People tend to not catch her jokes because of her deadpan delivery. Very sarcastic and snarky, sometimes almost flirtatious and teasing towards people close to her, though never meant to be hurtful.

- Doesn't condone slacking off. Efficiency driven mindset when it comes to surviving.

- Thusly, quite strict when it comes to missions and work. For her, jokes have no place outside of base camp. Quite to the contrary of Hare's preferences.

- quiet observer in conversations. 

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General Group Notes:

Outside of safe spaces and their camp, the group wears a uniform consisting of long, dark poncho like robes and a cape with a large hood of the same color on top. They aren't the aggressive type but will not shy away from violence if necessary or out of defense. 

They don't have many weapons, though they keep at least one for everyone in case of an attack. Most of their weaponry consist of self made blunt weapons like modified bats and canes/rods they found, sharp or sharpened objects and artillery they found on aftermaths of battlefields. Their most valuable ones being some type of long rage hunting rifle and a pistol they found in an abandoned hunters shack. Though those are meant for absolute emergencies considering the lack of shooting experience and ammunition. 

Luckily, most common folk in Europe does not own guns. 

Their base consists of an old, abandoned, two story high household with what once seemed to have been a café inside the lower floor level. The upper level seems to have housed whoever owned the Café before.

Wether or not I will implement the Band into this spin off thing I am not sure about, btw. If so, then I'd imagine it will be during some form of excursion to find food to stock up on. If the band is truly part of the visual novel as characters, I can imagine it will have something to do with the moon and its abnormalities that were mentioned. In combo with the fact that concerts are called "rituals" and people are there to "worship" I'd imagine that their concerts will pop up in the story as well as a way to gather and worship Sleep as a deity every time the moon acts up. 

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Example Opening Scene

The forest is quieter than usual. Even for a full moon anomaly like today, the environment has been incredibly calm during the groups routine excursion. 

They wanted to check out a, so far, unexplored area up north; closer towards the outskirts of this peculiar forest they now call a home. Just as the group of three, consisting of Cat, Hare and Stallion took a quick break to re-orient themselves, they suddenly start to hear faint voices in the distance. Proceeding with caution, the closer they got the more small groups of people they saw wandering in the same direction. Some of them wearing garments even weirder than them. Some masked, some not, some extravagantly decorated, some less so. They decide it could be worth checking out in hopes of being able to bring something of use back to base. As they follow various little caravans for some time, being lead through an avenue of trees, a clearing opened up before them, surrounded by a small, ring shaped, overgrown hill . Much to their surprise, a performance stage of impressive size was sat at the opposite end of it.

As baffling as this image seems under the current state of the world, what's important is that they should have struck gold with this. Among the crowd they see carts and boxes filled with food and drinks as well as crates containing possibly useful loot. Under the assumption of not sticking out too much by their appearance, Hare and Stallion venture out to grab as much stuff as they can carry without being caught. Cat, staying behind and watching from within the tree lining and foliage surrounding the open field, is tasked to keep an eye out as per usual. Looking for any sudden changes in the masses behavior. As soon as the flooder lights shut off, all attention is directed towards the stage in an instant. Including our three vigilante's. The group proceeds to make eye contact with each other. "continue, but stay vigilant" Cat signals with hand gestures they have developed within the group some time ago. 

A quintet of strange looking figures enters the spotlight. All of them masked, bearing various symbols and something that seems like the groups sigil implemented somewhere on each of their designs. 

"No way in hell is this stage actually functional", Cat mumbles to herself as the crowd cheers in anticipation, "we can barely keep our generator running at base, how would they be able to operate a whole damn stage?" 

She shakes her head to get back on track, knowing they should make this quick. The longer they stay, the higher the likelihood of suspicion. She could see the questioning looks her group mates got, despite the audience's own peculiar attire; even from her spot amongst the trees. Just as Hare started to strike up a conversation with one of the vendors, first melodic sounds began to blare out into the open field. 

"Unbelievable..." Cat thought, baffled by the impossible spectacle that is happening before them; but unable to look away all the same. It's been so long since she has heard any type of music, let alone live. 

The crowd starts to react. Moving and singing along to the bands doing. The trio knows strange things happen during lunar abnormalities. Weird creatures and phenomena popping up, some more predictable, some less, making trips all that much more dangerous...But all that much more lucrative too. The earth seems to awaken from a deep slumber, making it possible to find valuable materials a lot easier than usual. Could this gathering be connected to those too?

As the music intensified, so did the crowd. And to Cat, despite an odd sense of familiarity, this "concert" felt off. Having have had a background in the event industry, though unbeknownst to her, memories being lost to amnesia since the cataclysm, the now leader of the group could not fight the urge to watch on. All band members were uniquely active during their performance. The front man and leader of this cause keeping onlookers especially hooked with ritualistic dances and shivering hand gestures. It almost looked like as if not only he, but every one of his buddies were possessed by...something? Someone? 

Everything happening on stage, from every move to every sound, was perfectly in tune with each other. Fluid and flowing between time and space despite their music style swimming somewhere along the spectrum of progressive metal. 

Her eyes fixated on this strange spectacle before her, the feline masked woman failed to notice how her, unfortunately smaller, rabbit friend got knocked around amongst the rough crowd. Being stuck in such an active mass of people, even someone as nimble as Hare, with their above average sense of balance, would struggle to keep steady. Without Stallion by their side to catch their fall, Hare was send tumbling to the ground, scattering a handful of apples before the feet of a vendor they apprehended said fruits from just minutes beforehand.

The owner of the aforementioned fruit stall, an elderly but fit man cloaked in a dark, thick, wollen coat and a felt hat adorned with various feathers and beads as well as bearing some crude, black face paint, obviously does not remember selling anything to someone as recognizable as a 1,65m, human being with a rabbit skull as a face. The mans facial expression changed as realization kicked in before starting to shout various profanities at the culprit. The louder the man got as he tried to wrangle himself through the mass of bodies to grab a hold of the thief, the more people directed their attention to Hare, who was frantically shoveling produce back into their cloak. 

"Intruder!" it echoed through the masses as Hare made a run for it, desperately trying to find their group mates amongst the sea of masks, cloaks, face paint and dark fabrics. The commotion rippled through the crowd like waves. Not long and it would hit the very front row and thus, the five performing figures on stage as well.

The song ends. 

As the soundscape is being overtaken by noises more akin to a witch hunt than an audience, Cat shakes her head again. Snapping out of her trance, she scans the area trying to figure out what happened.

Thoughts of worry and panic started to fill her mind. How could she disregard her duties so mindlessly? If anything happened to her group mates she could never forgive herself. Looking out for them is her only purpose since the world has started going to shit.

Finally, her eyes landed on a tiny figure moving through the black mass before her, splitting it like a fish darting through a stream. Stallion has made it to the back of the clearance a while ago, waiting by their splitting point where the ally of trees meets open field. He isn't quite able to grasp whats going on, being unable to overview the whole crowd despite his height. There was still quite some distance between him and the first row of onlookers huddled together by the need to get as close to the stage as physically possible. However, he couldn't deny the rising anxious gut feeling of something having gone incredibly wrong as he watched the masses get increasingly chaotic from across the field. He scans the tree line, seeking the comfort of Cat's silhouette. 

His eyes met hers as she assessed the situation as fast as she could. They have to leave. Fast. Make a run for it and hide before the crowd catches up to them as soon as Hare manages to break through the last line of people. 

"Run" she signals.

"Rabbit" he signs back, pointing out how there is still no sight of Hare among the field. He won't leave them behind. And that's final.

"God- No! That's not what I meant!" Cat quietly rages. Stallions stubbornness kicks in at the worst of times recently. She would never just leave behind and sacrifice any one of them. It's dangerous to stick together while fleeing. A group forms a bigger target, amplifying the likelihood of being struck by some sort of long range weapon a significant amount. 

In times like this, she wishes her group mates would put a bit more faith into her decisions.

"No. Scatter." Cat tries to reply. However, shadows have already swallowed most of the land as the sun already began setting when they arrived. Now, with sunshine completely gone and only the faint light of dusk illuminating where the trees leafy crowns allow it to penetrate through, it is neigh impossible to make out details at such a distance. He has already lost sight of her again.

There is no way Hare will be able to orient themselves before they inevitably get caught. 

"A signal, we need a light signal." Cat thinks to herself as she searches for a flashlight in her backpack. It's part of her usual kit for missions, though it is rarely used in order to save battery life. However, starting a fire right now would take too much time. After searching around the insides of her bag for longer than she would have liked, she finally felt the cold, textured metal handle she knows too well. 

Sending light signals will draw a lot of attention, revealing her hiding spot to everyone on that field. Being left with no other choice though, she scales a nearby tree with low enough hanging branches. Just enough to get above peoples heads. Enough for Hare to be able to see.

Pressing down the button in no particular rhythm, a bright white dot of light starts to flicker amongst branches and leaves. She directs the device's light directly at her small friend, who finally catches sight of her. Immediately the little rabbit made a break for it, hurling themselves over stalls, carts and crates with ease, focussed entirely on one goal: reach that light. The waves of mass change direction with them. A sign for Cat to start moving as well. Keeping the light as highabove her head as possible, she forces her way through thick foliage towards the clearance's entry point. 

Finally, Hare manages to reach the open field. A rush of relief hitting both Stallion and Cat as they saw their friend dashing towards their escape. 

While Hare was approaching as rapidly as their legs could carry them, so did Cat fight through last bits of bushes before reaching the slope at which the elevated tree line opened up. Wanting to send one last light signal before descending downhill, she scans the field once more. As her eyes searched for Hare, not having seen how far they've already gotten, her gaze met that of the masked figure on stage; continuing their performance as if barely anything has happened.

A shiver ran down Cat's spine. Despite the distance between them, it feels as if this tall, masked man is standing right in front of her. And for a brief moment, she is unable to move. Frozen by her climbing heart rate, she senses the dark figure reaching out his hand as if wanting to repel her, a tightening feeling rising in her throat. She could almost swear to feel some sort of force telling them "Leave this place and don't come back". 

Only when an arrow struck a tree trunk close by did she hear her two companions screaming out trying to warn her. Hare has made it to the exit, an angry wave of dark mass only mere seconds behind them. If they don't make a run for it now, they might as well be dead. 

With no time wasted, Cat slips down the steep slope in front of her. Almost stumbling over some exposed roots in the process but being caught by Stallion who promptly starts pulling his feline faced friend along as he started to run. Finally having reunited, they all enter the long, dirty path they have followed just a few hours ago. Now with the sun completely gone however, navigating a what is supposed to be completely straight path somehow became impossibly difficult. Branches and foliage whip against their arms and legs, leaving an uncomfortable stinging sensation. Was this ally really so narrow before? No mater. Losing track and getting lost is the last thing they can allow.

Regardless, they need to be able to see. Especially Hare, who has taken the lead thanks to their athletic physique. 

"HARE!", Stallion shouts out as if having read Cat's mind, "COME HERE!". And as the horse commands, the rabbit follows. Hare slows down a notch to meet head to head with the other two. Cat shoves the flashlight into Hare's arms. 

"Light the way!". Enough said. 

In an instant, the path before them is being illuminated. A cold, white cone of light cutting through even colder shadows.

"CAT!" Stallion shouts as the lights turn on, still dragging his boss behind him since they started running.

"What is it!?" She squints, her eyes still needing to adjust to the sudden change in brightness. 

"What the FUCK is that?!"

The once so tranquil ally way is now overtaken by strange, black vines writhing and curling around trees and branches as if they were alive. The vegetation itself seems to move on its own, rapidly closing in from either side. The path was indeed getting slimmer and slimmer. 

"Oh god..." Cat swallows, starting to get out of breath, just as another arrow strikes a tree she ran past mere milliseconds ago. Not letting go of Stallions hand, she turns her head. The mob has come too close for comfort. Long range weapons like arrows and throwing stones are now an immediate threat. If even just one of those people has a gun on them, they'd have no problem hitting any of the three. 

"Run faster!" Cat shouts, putting every last bit of energy into keeping up the pace as best she could. The shrubs snag at their robes with every second step. It's not going to be long before they will be swallowed whole. At the very least, the worshippers chasing after them seem to be just as affected by the anomaly as them. Cat could hear the mob trying to rip and slash through the overgrowth surrounding them, their numbers being too big to fit through the narrowing path at once.

"The Exit! I can see it!" Hare yells as they rip off a vine that has been caught on their shoulder, trying to get a hold of them. They could barely move in a line behind each other by now. Vines start to grab at the trio's limbs, slowing down their movement.

"Shit, it's going to close on us! Move!", the caravan's small but agile leader demands. Just like the rest of the alley, the exit and entrance parts are quickly swindling out of sight, slowly being obscured by whatever has started to overtake the area. The arch from which they entered, and that is now their only way to flee, is barely visible anymore. They've only a few meters left. But could they even fit through the narrow slit anymore? Would they even be able to break through this thick fiber only by sheer force? Thoughts were running through Cat's mind at a thousand miles an hour.

Only a slim gap of what once was a beautiful, floral, arched entry remains. A clear message by the overgrowth, as if to say "This is your last chance. Chose wisely before it will be taken away for good".

Stallion started to notice the exhaustion exuding from his two smaller companions. Not only evident by Cat's hand showing more and more resistance being pulled behind him but the gap between them and Hare having closed to barely even a few centimeters at most.

He's not going to let them lose this, not this close to their goal.

Despite his own body aching from scratches and relentless running, he hooked his one arm behind Cats back and docked his other hand between Hares shoulder blades as he concentrated everything his body would allow into one final rush of energy. With as much force as he could muster, he send all three of them crashed through what little was left of the exit.

As they were sent tumbling to the ground with pieces of woody fibers and branches flying with them, the ally closed up for good. Conveniently also locking in all remaining members of their attackers. 

And suddently, it was quiet again. It felt like all those people, behind what once was an entrance, just vanished. However Cat, much like the others, has long forsaken the typical definition of "normal" ever since the anomalies started. A group of raging cultists randomly poofing out of existence wouldn't be the strangest thing the have witnessed.

She hadn't noticed how loud everything was until this very moment. What once was howling wind past her ears as she ran, her own blood rushing to her head, dozents of angry worshippers shouting profanities and chants and their thundering footsteps on the forset floor...Is now replaced by the night's eery silence.

Their way home was just as quiet. All of them simply wanting to get home with what they managed to grab, sunken deep in thought and trying to work through what just happened.

A loud thud breaks the groups somber vibe. Stallion has thrown his heavy backpack on the main table once they arrived at base, as it is custom to empty out their pockets and review their collective loot. However usually not as passive agressively.

"Something on your mind, Stallion...?" Cat asked carefully, not wanting to aggrivate his mood even more. It's only natural to be frustrated after such a mission, she throught. Especially after her own lack of concentration back there.

"Oh! I don't know! Maybe the absolute shit show of a looting we just had? Maybe the fact that we could have easily escaped if we would have just moved?"

Oh there it is...She should have expected this much.

"Oookay, listen man: shit happens. This was a new area, we didn't know what we should exp-"

"That's bullshit."

"...Excuse me?"

"That is simply just a whole bunch of fucking bullshit, Cat. We could have easily handled this with no problem at all. Slip in, get our stuff and slip and out as soon as suspicion rose in that crowd. So where were you?! Were were you when Hare got caught? Where was the light signal THEN, hm? Where were your signals to ME when everything started going to shit? You are supposed to be our lookout, are you not? The one keeping an overview, the early bird that catches on BEFORE everything burns down. What the actual FUCK had you in such a chokehold that you completely neglected your duties?"

"I- I didn't neglect my duties, I just-"

"And I just don't want to hear excuses. What the fuck happened back there? Explain yourself damn it!"

"Shut it, Stallion.", Hare intervened, lightly punching the big guy's arm, "You want to know what happened? Then you need to let her talk", they sigh, rolling their eyes in the process, "For fucks sake..."

Stallion scoffs, but remains silent nontheless. Cat takes a breath, trying to find an accurate way to explain the effects she felt during the performance. 

"I don't know what exactly came over me back there. Please believe me when I say that it was not my intention, nor under my control." She says as she leans back on the table, defeated. "When the music started and these weird dudes did their thing on stage, it felt like I was drawn in by...Something. Kept in place and not allowed move. It was such an odd feeling, almost as if you were being hypnotized. It was hard to think anything at all." She explained.

"At first I was just extremely confused as to how someone would be able to maintain and operate a whole concert stage during these times. Hell, we can barely keep our generator running, I thought. I was completely lost in a daze, desoriented, as the music played. Next thing I know people began to scream things during change over between songs. That's when I snapped back in and made eye contact with you." She said as she pointed at Stallion.

"Go on.." He replied, a questioning expression on his face.

"Listen, it get's weirder: Right before that slope, the one leading down to where you were standing, I wanted to give one last signal to Hare to let them know I arrived at our meet up point as well. But when I scanned the crowd, my sight fell on the front singer all the way in the back. What's so fucking weird, though, is not only them continue their performance as if nothing was happening, right? They, or he more like, was looking directly at me while he was doing it, I swear!"

Stallion scrunches up his face in disbelief. "Pfff, you're kidding. How the hell would he have seen you from way back there? He may have seen the light flicker, but still, pinpointing your exact location would have been sheer impossible. How can you be so sure he was even looking at you?"

"No no, I know. That's the thing. I could feel him looking at me. I could feel his presence as if he was standing right in front of me. He was...reaching out to us as well with his one hand. And I swear to god I could feel my throat start to tighten up."

"HA! What is this? Star Wars?" Stallion teased, making a crude impression of using the force on her. Even Hare couldn't help but giggle at this point.

"Hey! Don't you laugh at me, I'm being serious. That arrow flying right past me was what made me snap out of it. And that's when we started running. So really, I did not intend to forsake my duties as a look out or got bored or something, I swear!"

"That's so incredibly weird...You were only frozen for like a second or two. But the way you describe it, it sounds like a way longer time frame." Stallion mentioned, casually redoing his hair up-do.

"It did feel longer, as if time slowed down for an instant..."

"Whatever the case may be, the real question is why you were the only one affected by these supposed hypnotic effects.", Hare threw in, "I, for one, didn't feel anything."

"That's...", Cat looks at Stallion, awaiting his feedback on the matter, but only sees him shake his head signaling the same answer as Hare, "That's so strange..."

"Maybe you both were too busy with collecting stuff to be affected by your surroundings?" Elster's soothing voice chimed in from behind them, just having finished preparing some midnight snacks for her exhausted team mates.

"Could very well be. It was my job to be the attentive one, after all."

"Did you guys get into a fight, by the way? Your arms and legs are all scratched up" Elster pointed out as she removed the apron around her waist, joining the groups circle.

"Oh right, that." Cat noted as the group awkwardly inspected their escapade's aftermath on their bodies. "Another very peculiar thing, I must admit. You see, to enter this clearence where the stage stood, we had to go through some sort of ally with trees and bushes. When we tried to escape however, strange, dark vine like plants started to eat up both sides of the path. And I have no clue if it was the rest of the plants came alive by themselves or if it was the vines doing, but everything seemed to come closer and closer. So our escape route kept getting more and more narrow."

"In the end, the exit was almost completely blocked! I thought we were done for, man!", Hare threw a dramatic pose.

"Right, but get this: Call me crazy-"

"As if after all that you have told, THIS is what will take the cake" Stallion sneered, only receiving a glare from Cat before she continued.

"Call me crazy, but this thing did not want to actually kill us."

"Okay I take back everything I said, you've got to be kidding me." The long haired young man interrupted once more, leaned forward from where he was standing behind an elevated table.

"No, listen! With that speed at which it closed in on us at first, it could have easily caught us. But for some unknown reason, it stopped right at the end, leaving just enough space for us to get through. Think of it: The moment we flew out of that opening, it immediately closed behind us, effectively protecting us from that angry mob. They wanted us gone, yes, but not dead."

"...Are you okay?", Hare asked in a dead pan voice, cocking an eye brow, "Did you accidentally swallow a drug while escaping or something?"

"What? No, of course not.", Cat sighed, "Listen, i don't know what to make of it either but I swear it has to have some sort of connection to-", she gestures roughly at their surroundings "-all of this. These weird anomalies, whatever the fuck happened to the moon. Those aren't normal people we saw performing on stage today. The crowd was absolutely infatuated with them too. And they may even know what caused all of this."

Elster ponders, "You know...What if it was the leader controlling these strange plants?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you see, if he truly has the ability to influence you in various ways, why not influence their surroundings too? What if he noticed the commotion but saw that you didn't cause any damage and let you go on purpose?"

"Why would he get freaky and choke her out then, tho?" Hare pointed out only half jokingly. "Sounds pretty intentionally harmful to me."

"Ah, true...Sorry I didn't think of that." Elster's response was quiet, being too flustered by their thought gap.

"At this point we can only guess.", Hare pointed out, trying to lift the heavy mood, "Unless we want to return to our ol' buddy buddies up north and risk our lives again, we wont find any more info on them anyway. What matters is that we got the loot we needed aaannnnd-", they pull out an intricately decorated dagger, ordained with various ornaments, bearing the cults sigil in the middle, "-this bad boy!"

Hare proudly presents the blade as they lay it uppon the table, putting their hands on their hips in a stoic pose afterwards.

"You stole one of their ritualistic knives?", Stallion asked, "How the hell did you get this? Where did you even find that?"

"I managed to sneak backstage! It was just kinda lying around there on some sort of messy table with other useless junk. This one was pretty tho so I snached it" The jester chuckled proudly.

"Oh, my god, what the fuck did you do?!", Cat exclaimed, her hands rushing to cup her face, "Now they are definitely going to kill us..."

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Additional Notes