Complete Private ✪ Finweald The Disappearance of Suki

[Kyanna Wynne]

It has been days and days of travel before Kyanna finally got into the Astorean's capital.

According to some veterans, and Lions Pride, the town was mostly populated with Players, or Starcalled/Travelers. It was the most recommended place to try and find someone UI-Locked, which quickly snatched her attention, being the perfect opportunity to try and find her mother.

Of course that it didn't mean her finding would be immediate, especially when a handful of obstacles appeared in her path constantly, with the current one being a small boy that was recklessly climbing a tree that was almost as high as a three-floor building.

"Suki!" The boy called. "Suki, are you there?!" He insisted, trying to be a bit bold in his climbing.

Kyanna frowned, waving at him. "Little boy, get down this tree right now. This is too dangerous!" The young witch warned, looking around in a quick attempt to try and find anyone that looked remotely similar to the troublesome boy. Unfortunately, no one seemed to match her search, and deciding to take a drastic measure, Kyanna rushed to the tree, holding onto its trunk and starting to climb. "Wait right there, I will get you-" She said.

"Huh..? " The boy blinked, frowning and remaining stubborn. "No, I won't get down yet. I need to find Suki first--" Without paying attention, the boy took a mistep, slipping the branch he was stepping on and screaming startled, soon plummeting from the high treetop.

"WAIT, NO!" Kyanna stretched her hand out in a desperate attempt to hold him, widening her eyes in horror knowing she would never be able to reach him.

@Yua

 

[Yua]

And once again, Yua found herself alone playing Terrasphere. This time, at least, it wasn't because K̵̭̼̱̞͒͂͋̽͑͂͝ṵ̶̀̅͂͐̇̀͘ŝ̵̡͉̔̒͛o̸̞͚̓̎͛͂ wanted to go play with some of his friends instead of her, but rather, he had to work late at his parents' grocery store today. And while the girl felt a little guilty about playing the game without her boyfriend, she needed to catch up. She'd realized lately how far behind K̶̨̬̤̪͉̬̠̀u̴͍̝͓̔̎͆s̴̝͇͉͙͗̽̔̎̕͝o̸̹̞͛̇ she was falling. Every time he went out to adventure with his friends, he came back even stronger than he was before, whereas Yua, she'd barely grown at all.

But all that was going to change today! Today, she was going to be a real hero and save someone from terrifying, hideous monsters!

"WAIT, NO!"

Yua moved before she could even think about it. The boy falling from the tree, he would hit the ground long before the girl reached her. 'Faster, faster!' Time began to slow around the girl as she sprinted forward as fast as she could. Slower and slower the boy fell as Yua leapt into the air, catching him in her arms.

Time sped up again as Yua's feet hit the ground, the force driving her to her knees. Though she'd broken the boy's fall, there was nothing to save him from tumbling through the dirt as Yua fell forward. Small clouds of dust flew into the air as both bodies hit the ground with thuds. "Ouch..." the girl complained. "Are you okay?" she asked the boy, lifting her face from the dirt.

@Kyanna Wynne

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

Kyanna's heart nearly leaped out of her chest, feeling impotent at the fact she couldn't do anything to reach for the boy in time--

However, a sudden blurr interrupted the dire situation, and out of nowhere, a blonde woman appeared just in time to wrap the boy in her arms, making the expected tragedy become a close call instead.

Witnessing the save, Kyanna's heart was still rumbling fast, and the girl released her grip from the tree to land awkwardly, stumbling forward as she rushed toward the woman and the boy. "H-Hey! Nice catch, but are either of you hurt?" She asked, worriedly looking at the woman and the boy, kneeling next to both of them and already trying to spot any obvious wound.

"Grrrrh..." The boy groaned, slowly opening his eyes and looking at the blonde. "Huh..? Ah, I am okay... Thanks..." He said, pursing his lip and looking up.

"I think Suki wasn't there after all..." He lamented.

@Yua

 

[Yua]

"H-Hey! Nice catch, but are either of you hurt?" another woman said as Yua got to her feet and dusted off her garments. "I'm okay, but how about you, little guy?" the samurai responded with a note of concern in her voice.
"I am okay... Thanks..." he replied as the blonde offered him a hand back up to his feet. "I think Suki wasn't there after all..."
"Suki?" Yua repeated, looking back up at the tree. Was he playing hide and seek with his friend? Or maybe a runaway pet? Cat's climbed up trees, right? "Who's that? Are they a friend of yours?"

The sudden realization that the girl was the pair were not alone struck Yua like a thunderbolt, and the woman suddenly straightened like a pole, flipping around and bowing vigorously towards the other woman. "Gomenasai! We didn't mean to disturb you, gomen!"

@Kyanna Wynne

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

Kyanna similarly followed the woman's gesture, looking up at the tree and raising an eyebrow in confusion, lowering her gaze to listen to the boy's answer, as the woman helped the boy up.

The boy took Yua's hand, getting back to his feet as he sighed. "Suki is my cat... It disappeared this morning." He pouted.

"Oh no..." Kyanna's expressions became droopy, but soon she blinked, perking up at Yua's sudden behavior.

"Gome... Nasai?" Kyanna blinked, puzzled for a moment, until she reminded herself of some anime she had watched in the past. "Oh!" She widened her eyes, shaking her hands. "Don't worry about that! You didn't really disturb me..." She smiled.

"You actually saved this little boy, and it was amazing too." She nodded eagerly, "But..." Kyanna peeked at him.

"Do you have no clue of where your little cat could be?"

"I don't know... All I know is that an old lady told me she saw it running around here before it disappeared..." He crossed his arms.

@Yua

 

[Yua]

"Suki is my cat... It disappeared this morning."
"Oh, poor thing!" Yua gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. The kitty must be scared being out here all alone!

The witchy woman brushed off Yua's apology, saying that they hadn't been a disturbance, despite the fact that Yua couldn't shake the feeling that she'd just ruined a nice afternoon walk for the woman. But even still, that sensation could not be allowed to linger. There were more important matters at hand, like the distressed child who'd lost their cat!

The witchy girl asked the boy if he knew where the kitty could be, but he crossed his arms hands, disappearing in the folds of his clothing as he said he wasn't sure, but that someone had seen the kitty at least.

"Don't worry, little guy, we'll help you find your kitty," Yua reassured the boy, gently patting him on the head. A sudden feeling of nervousness shot through the girl as she realized she hadn't even asked the other woman if she wanted to help. The girl turned towards the other, a slight, pleading smile on her lips. "Right?"

@Kyanna Wynne

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

At the end of the day, it seemed like they would have very little to work with. Save for reveal of the cat running around without a clear direction, they had no clues to work with.

Kyanna frowned, looking around momentarily, until the other girl snatched her attention with a question and a pleading look on her face, bringing a giggle out of Kyanna. "Of course I will help, we can't let him try to find this cat all by himself. Especially when he is willing to do dangerous things to find it!" The tone was slightly scolding, as she shifted her gaze from the girl to the little boy.

"Sorry" The boy said, though he perked up at the two older girls being willing to help. "You will really help me out?" He cheered up. "Thank you so much!"

Kyanna giggled. "You are welcome." She said, facing the boy and the girl. "We should probably try another round of asking people around... Maybe we can fimd more clues--" Kyanna said.

"Ah! By the way, my name is Kyanna, the great fungi witch!" She introduced herself, striking a flashy pose. "You both are..?"

The boy watched the girl puzzled, "Mine is Simon, the... uh... the Lion tamer?" He said, feigning claws with his hands, unsure if that was a necessary part of the introduction.

Kyanna smiled with a nod, and then, both her and Simon turned to look at @Yua.

 

[Yua]

Despite the slightly chiding tone that Kyanna took with Simon, she agreed to help, causing Yua to smile at the girl and give her a slight nod. Now they just needed a plan. And going around and talking to the locals seemed as good a place to start as any other.

But first, "By the way, my name is Kyanna, the great fungi witch!"
"Mine is Simon, the... uh... the Lion tamer?"
"I am Yua! The Samurai!" the blonde chipped, flashing everyone a toothy grin and a thumbs up.

"Alright then, Simon the Lion Tamer, you know the people around here better than us, right? Why don't you do the talking and we'll keep an eye out? With any luck someone will have seen something, or we will! We'll find your cat in no time at all!" Or at least they would if Yua's writer would actually post every once in a while.

@Kyanna Wynne

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

"Oh, a samurai!" Kyanna clasped her hands together, beaming with an admiring smile. "I've never seen one before in my life, no wonder you look so cool and beautiful!" She said, leaning in to see the clothing a bit closer. She indeed looked like a Samurai, perhaps a bit too stylized, but close enough to be called one in a fantasy world.

Her gaze then shifted to the boy, that seemed to be too confused about the word 'samurai' to understand it. But if the other girl said she was cool, it probably meant it was true.

The boy watched the girl puzzled, albeit a bit excited about everything. "Maybe... But maybe he isn't even in here anymore." He sighed, taking a glance around. "I thought he would be somewhere high up, since he love those, but he isn't anywhere up here... And no one told me they have saw him around."

@Yua

 

[Yua]

"Oh, a samurai!" Upon hearing the praise, Yua put her hands on her hips, and puffed her chest out, standing proudly in a superman pose. "I've never seen one before in my life, no wonder you look so cool and beautiful!" Kyanna continued. Unused to the amount of praise and compliments though, Yua's face quickly began to heat up and turn beat red, and by the time the woman had finished, Yua had turned around and covered her blushing face with her hands.

"Fear not, Simon the Lion Tamer!" Yua cried out to the boy, still not facing either him or Kyanna, the Great Fungi Witch. "Whereever Suki has gone, we'll find him! Now let's go!"

Marching forward, Yua went...where was she going? In all the poor girl's embarrassment she'd completely forgotten the tiny minute fact she had no idea where anything was.

@Kyanna Wynne

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

Kyanna's smile widened as Yua encouraged the boy, feeling even more determined to find the lost cat as she rushed forward, without having any destination in particular. "Let's gooo! Lead the way, Ms. Samurai!" Kyanna cheered on, following Yua right from behind, quickly picking up the pace and walking next to her, while the boy rushed to follow next.

"Thank you, both of you-" He thanked in advance, tugging his hat to keep it tight on his head

As the trio approached a bakery, the boy was eager to raise his hand, waving as he rushed to question them-

"Hi, did you see Suki?" He asked, folding his hands over the counter.

The baker blinked, turning to face the little boy and the two girls.

By a corner, a half eaten ham pastry, and the baker seemed to struggle for a moment at the name presented, until his eyebrows rose in an expression of realization.

Finding Suki

Using Presence, Knowledge or Awareness, fill the contribution bar to find relevant clues regarding Suki's potential location.

The number of rolls used to fill the bar and the expertise that got the highest roll will both decide the outcome.

[ 0/200 ]

@Yua

 

[Yua]

The boy rushed on ahead before either the Samurai or the Great Fungi Witch could return his gesture. Yua only smiled as she watched the little boy, now full of hope again, rush to ask the baker his most important question. "I'm sure we'll find Suki," Yua said to herself, as much as she did to Kyanna. "With the three of us working together, there's no way we'll fail."

At first the baker didn't seem to know what Simon was talking about, but Yua stepped up slightly, adding, "Suki is his cat, what does Suki look like Simon?" the girl asked, hoping that by prodding Simon along the right pat of questioning, maybe she would learn more about his cat as well, so that she might spot it.

---

Expertise Check
1d100 (5) + 20 = 25

Awareness | Yua | 1569

Finding Suki [025/200]​

@Kyanna Wynne

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

"Exactly, we already won!" She cheered along, following the boy to the bakery, trying to rush her own legs as they finally came to a halt.

The baker continued his confused gaze, but soon @Yua came to the rescue, slipping an important question.

"Ah, right..." He realized they didn't know how Suki looked like, and the baker much less knew Suki was meant to be a cat. "He is like... This small... Has orange fur with dark strips and a white belly" Simon tried to describe it, meddling with his hair, and patting his own belly to illustrate his explanation.

Kyanna couldn't help but to giggle at the way Simon explained, and the baker gave an understanding gaze, raising his eyebrows before resting his hands on the counter. "A small tabby cat, right? It came to me wanting to eat something, so I handed it some yesterday's pastries." He shrugged, "Not sure what he did with it though."

Pausing to think about it, Kyanna looked around, perhaps at the same time Yua did, with both of them spotting the half eaten pastry by a corner, near the exit of the bakery.

Perking up, Kyanna glanced at Yua with a grin. "I guess we already have our first clue, hm?" She said, tapping the boy's shoulder for him to follow, and rushing to try to find any trail the cat could've left.

Expertise Check
1d100 (82) + 15 = 97
Awareness | Kyanna Wynne | Disappearance of Suki
​

Finding Suki [122/200]​

 

[Yua]

As Simon described Suki, Yua did her best to imagine the cat in her mind, with its orange fur and stripes. It was vivid enough that the girl couldn't help but let out a little, "Ah, kawaii!" in adoration of the mental image.

As the baker explained that he'd seen the cat day before, and had given the kitty some pastries, Yua leaned over to Kyanna and quietly whispered, "Can cats eat pastries?" She hoped they weren't toxic to the poor things.

In any case, it was a start! Maybe there was a trail of crumbs Suki had left behind for the trio to follow. But just in case there wasn't..."Did you happen to see what direction Suki went?" Yua then asked the baker hopefully.

[HR=3][/HR]

Expertise Check
1d100 (4) + 20 = 24

Awareness | Yua | 1569

Finding Suki [146/200]​

@Kyanna Wynne

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

Kyanna looked at Yua with a small 'o' on her mouth, wondering what was the word the girl had just spoken, but not being able to ask before a concerning question made Kyanna frown and lean in as well. "As far as I know they can't..?" Kyanna whispered back to Yua, rather unsure of her answer herself.

As Yua questioned the baker, however, Kyanna shifted her attention to him as well.

"I didn't really pay attention, but the cat went outside, for sure." He answered, returning to his activities and leaving the trio as soon as he noticed they weren't going to buy anything.

Kyanna slipped a sigh at the man's grown indifference, shifting a glance to the other girl and nudging for them to move outside.

It didn't take long for the two of them to spot the crumble trail that led further down the Finweald.

"Guess it is our only way?" Kyanna pondered, taking a moment before following it meticulously.

The path was long, and while for a moment it seemed like the trail had ended, witnesses did mention the cat... Or rather... The cats.

"There was a cat just like the one you are describing... But it was with a group of other cats." A lady admitted.

"Other cats?" Simon asked, confused.

The lady nodded. "No less than ten of these felines... It was intriguing..." The woman muttered, glancing at a particular direction. "And they travelled to outside of the town, probably toward the woods?" She guessed.

"Huh..." Kyanna crossed her arms. "So not only it half ate a pastry, but it travelled with other cats?" She turned to look at Yua.

Expertise Check
1d100 (43) + 15 = 58
Awareness | Kyanna Wynne | Disappearance of Suki
​

Finding Suki [204/200]​

@Yua

 

[Yua]

Yua's breath caught in her throat when Kyanna replied to her question with a negative. "I hope the poor baby is okay..." Yua whispered back before turning her attention to the baker once more...not that he was much more help...

Following Kyanna's direction, Yua slipped out the front door, holding it open for both the witch and the lion tamer. "Oh hey, look!" Yua said with a hint of excitement, pointing to little light crumbs speckling the ground and leading down the road. "Maybe they're from Suki," the samurai suggested. "Guess it is our only way?"
"Come on, let's see where they lead."

The group followed the trail of crumbs left behind, occasionally stopping to speak to someone who shared some interesting information..."And to the woods. Did Suki have lots of friends?" Yua asked Simon, turning to him briefly. It was an innocent enough question, but there were other concerns that immediately cropped up. In a world of magic, why did the entire town's cat population seem to suddenly up and leave? The Pied Piper, perhaps? Yua couldn't recall how that story ended, but she doubted it was good.

@Kyanna Wynne

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

Kyanna could only nod in a partially concerned and agreeing expression, hoping that the cat didn't have some allergic reaction to the pastry.

The words of the lady were also concerning... To have to go all the way to the woods only to find Suki... That on itself was already another layer of danger they had to deal with, especially considering how the story seemed only stranger and stranger as time passed.

"Well... Suki had friends, but... He never went too far from home." Simon crossed his arms, looking at Yua and Kyanna.

"If that's the case, it was indeed an unique situation. But it probably have a good explanation... We just need to figure out why so many cats would go to the same place..." Kyanna frowned, tilting her head and looking at Yua for a moment, leaning in for the kid to not listen.

"... Mating season, maybe..?" She leaned away, confused before shrugging and giving up.

"I think in the end, we will need to go look for them ourselves. Even if it means going blindly to the woods."

@Yua

 

[Yua]

As Simon crossed his arms, Yua bent forward slightly so that she was at eye level with the boy, gently putting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Simon, we're not done looking yet. We'll find him," she promised with a soft smile before straightening back up and looking over at Kyanna to listen to her.

"...Mating season, maybe..?"

Yua's face began to bloom red as soon as she heard the witch's whispered words.

"I think in the end, we will need to go look for them ourselves. Even if it means going blindly to the woods."
"Yes! Good idea, c'mon!" the samurai hurriedly said before grabbing Simon's hand and practically dragging him in the general direction of the woods. "Forest, here we come!"

Not really knowing where she was going, Yua broke through the tree line, gently pulling Simon alongside her. "Have you ever been out here?" she asked curiously, hoping the boy had a better idea of the terrain than she did.

@Kyanna Wynne

 

[Kyanna Wynne]

Kyanna blinked when Yua had her cheeks red upon her mentioning mating season, tilting her head in confusion before ignoring it, going through the treeline and keeping most of her attention on the surroundings.

Being pulled, Simon looked at Yua a bit sheepish, tugging his hat back to place. "A little... But don't tell mom. She says it is dangerous." He admitted.

Kyanna looked at him concerned, shaking her head. "That's bad then, you can't get your mother worried."

Simon looked at Kyanna "That's why you shouldn't tell her."

An awkward giggle escaped Kyanna's lips. "That wasn't my point..." She sighed, looking at Yua and offering her a 'good grief' smile. "Yua, we may need to be a little careful then... I will try to see and hear if the nature have anything to tell me." Kyanna said.

"Can you be our eyes and ears while I concentrate?" Kyanna asked, taking her staff-that-totally-isn't-a-broom with her.

@Yua

 

[Yua]

Yua couldn't help but let out a short, light laugh upon hearing how Simon responded to Kyanna. "Sounds like we've got a little troublemaker in our midst," Yua teased as they walked along. "Don't worry, Simon, we won't tell anyone. Right, Kyanna?" Yua asked the witch with a bright, somewhat mischievous smile.

"Can you be our eyes and ears while I concentrate?"
"Hai, you can count on me," the samurai nodded, her hand drifting to mouth of her sword's scabbard. Her other hand reached out for Simon's gently wrapping around his small fingers, warm to the touch. Sharp eyes began to scan back and forth around their environment, and she fell silent as she strained to hear anything and everything around her. The sounds of the forest, creatures scurrying back and forth, the rustling leaves in the wind. Even the steady breathing of her two companions.

@Kyanna Wynne