(kieran was trotting around in the woods, eyes darting around manically. recently gaining his vision back, he was on a rush— skipping happily, a pair of sharp scissors tucked neatly into his pocket. his lacerations were still visible, rendering a weak spot, but he couldn’t care less at the moment.)
(he had heard about lollipop kid going missing, and how everyone was searching for him. so, now with his greatest strength returned, he figured he’d look for him too, just so he could threaten him and get some revenge before anyone else found the kid.)
(soon enough, he came across a tree, an arrow carved into the wood. immediately, he followed the arrow, giggling quietly under his breath.)
Jackdaw had the sense to bring a flashlight. He acted as a guide as he lead them through the caves. Jackdaw lifted the flashlight higher, sweeping it across the ceiling.
"Strange place for a walk, eh?" he muttered with a faint grin. "Back home we’ve caves like this along the coast, but I never thought I’d be wanderin’ through one tonight."
He stopped them from falling down a hole where it seemed where crystals were scattered and broken below. Whoever was here before them was certainly a clumsy lot.
"Mind your step now," Jackdaw said, glancing back over his shoulder. "These stones are slicker than they look."
Clear and shiny the crystals were. Clear and shiny. But Jack's mind was anything clear. His thoughts were jumbled together, making his breathing quicken. Every movement reminded him of something. They kept wandering through the caves. But then they came to a dead end. The rocks were attached together, which covered the other side. Blocking their path. The rocks kind of looked like a jail cell. Almost like...
NO.
Focus on the mission, Jackdaw. The kids and the group is relying on you. Don't let the memories blur your vision.
"Hey! HEY! KID! WHERE ARE YOUU?!" No answear. "Ugh..For fucks sake." He muttered to himself, still wandering and looking for the kid...On his way to the hermit's old house. Maybe Lolly Kid is hiding there?
You've questioned, explored, got scars, watched death all on this journey.
Now there is only one thing left to do: follow the butterfly.
It flutters ahead, its wings catching what little light dares to exist down here.
The cave narrows.The tunnels twist in unnatural ways, bending like ribs around a hollow chest. Jagged crystals jut from the walls, glasslike, sharp, faintly glowing. They brush against your shoulders as you move, whispering when fabric grazes their edges. The air is damp, thick, almost alive. Every footstep echoes too long, as if something deeper in the earth is listening.
The butterfly pauses.
Just for a moment. Hovering in place...before darting forward again.
And then....
The ground gives way. No warning.
Plunging you into the darkness. The fall feels longer than it should.
You hit ground, not hard enough to break, but enough to knock the breath from your lungs. Dust rises. As your eyes adjust to the darkness you noticed you're not alone, there's another group with you. Some people you recognize. And some people you don't.
You seem to be in a hideout of some sort.
No one speaks.
Not at first.
Because there’s something else.
A sound.
Soft.
Sharp.
Inhaled too quickly.
A gasp.
A child's gasp.
It cuts through the silence like a blade. And the unsettling part isn’t just that you heard it.
....
…it’s that you recognize it.
CONGRATULATIONS!
You have a malnourished (he's been only eating leaves and lollipops for the past few weeks), extremely tired Lollipop Kid!
His hair had grown out, longer than before, uneven and wild, falling in thick, tangled strands that swallowed the left side of his face entirely. His cheek bones were sunken in due to the lack of food. And his hands are covered in handwriting, doodles and scribbles. He must have been very bored.
This wasn't suppose to happen. The gloves were suppose to remain on the whole time. Jackdaw was high on adrenaline. He had to go after Gloves. Before he got to that lunatic Kieran. He already lost Bran, he can’t lose someone else too.
Just before he left with Artie (@carrying-coins), he grabbed his axe. It was more useful then his carving tool. The axe’s haft was wrapped in weather‑worn leather, the steel blade shone in the dim light of the moon. Jackdaw drew the metal across his palm, feeling the cold bite of the steel settle into his skin.
They walked in the woods together, Jackdaw's eyes darted everywhere for any sign of movement. Then he saw it. A cave opening. Jagged but it could fit a person. Maybe two or more. He smelt someone's perfume. People were here before. He also smelt a hint of lollipop. He was about to go in until he heard a twig snap. He turned around, axe over his shoulder.
“Ay, looks like we aren't the only ones here.”
(Guys, let Artie respond first then continue from there alright? I want it to be cohesive.)
<God, they’ve been wandering for what felt like hours. Perhaps it has been hours. Hymn said they had perhaps eight before sunup. Time is hard to track. They’re not quite sure where they are anymore. A forest, sure but where? They’re not certain. Trees loom above, twisting and blocking out the blackened sky.>
<…>
<is that an arrow? Carved into the bark of a tree, it points forwards. Perhaps only an old carving, made by wandering teens years ago, but they observe it carefully, like it’ll tell them where he is. This is the closest they’ve got to a sign, since the radio. Everything is a sign in their mind. They’re desperate to find him.>
—🪙 ( @carrying-coins)
"Fierce amount of tourists these days, wandering the woods, hm?"
A tattooed young man steps from the shadows, leaning back on a tree.
(a young girl trots through the woods, clutching onto a basket, looking around frantically for any sort of shelter. her boots clack against the charred grass as she scrambles around. the sun will be rising in due time.)
"h-hello? is anyone here?"
(she called out, hoping that she'd come across someone, who ideally had a source of shelter nearby.)
- @how-uneasy-i-feel
// hello!!! idk i just wanted her to interact with this blog/arg if u can fit it in the timeline then ty!! :3
There was something stuck in the branches of a tree. It was low enough for a little girl to get it. Will you try to get it?
