fifth evocation ✧ orthrus

[complementing]

Minako Arisato June 9th near Birch Hills

Hi everyone, it's me again. I'll try and keep it short and sweet this time. First. Last month, during that week when everyone was super tiny, there were a lot of people who wandered into the woods because they heard voices calling out to them. It doesn't seem like whatever was calling to us is there anymore, thankfully, but I think this is a perfect chance to go back and go deeper into the forest, as deep as we can go to see if we can find the source of those voices, or anything else that might be there. I'm planning this thing for the 18th, and I wanted to know if anyone else wanted to come with. Keep in mind that even if nothing is likely to lure us in again, there's still a potential for danger. So in my opinion, the bigger the group, the better. We can all watch each other's backs. Which brings me to my next point. I know a lot of people have been exploring all the weird places in the city, and eventually I'd like to get accounts from you guys to compile together-- but for now, I wanted to ask if we could make a more concerted effort to explore together, instead of splitting up into our own tiny groups. The main reason being: Jim is constantly watching our movements and reading our posts. He's the only one we have any kind of contact with from Retrospec, and he's shown us in the past couple of months that he likes commenting on what we do and how we act. There's no telling if anything he says might be able to help us down the line, but in order to get him to talk at all, we have to get his attention. And a big group of people poking around for information on Retrospec is a lot more comment-worthy than tiny groups. Obviously there's a risk of exposing ourselves too much to him (though I'd argue we're pretty exposed as it is already). And I can't stop people from exploring on their own. I just wanted to put the idea out there that it might be better to do it together. There's one last thing I want to mention. Yosuke recently suggested that my dog Koromaru should try sniffing out a Retrospec employee by smelling something that was sent by mail. I'm not sure if it'll work, but me and Koromaru are willing to give it a try, so if you get something in the mail from Retrospec and want to let us have a go at it, text me any time of the day or night, I'll come running. Oh, and just to be safe, don't touch the box or wrapping it comes in. Thanks for reading. Hopefully I'll have something more fun to talk about the next time I post here.

[ooc: the open log for this mini expedition will be up on the 18th, for anyone who would like to have their character join! Nothing too exciting other than getting stuck in an infinite loop and attempting to escape said infinite loop will happen...probably ;3 I decided against making a post in the OOC comm for this so if you have any questions, feel free to PM me!]

Comments

[destiny_key]

lol do you think so???
well ill try my best i guess :)

[frostythehitman]

[ Koromaru's sudden barking has James excited and...worried? about what they might find, but his tension releases and he practically sulks when he sees what caught the dog's attention. ]

Great. Just more of Retrospec screwing with us.

[complementing]

partially that yes

the other part is that our group is already so big, and I can't afford to have more people come along, or else it'll be too unwieldy

me and Pen won't be able to keep track of everyone

we won't be able to PROTECT everyone

[complementing]

Well, we gave it our best shot.

[Minako sighs heavily, trying to tug Koromaru away from the treats.]

No, Korochan, you can't have them. I'm not going to risk you getting poisoned.

[complementing]

He doesn't seem too worse for wear...I wonder if animals they send us are somehow more resilient than normal ones.

[It would certainly explain how incredibly smart and tough Koromaru is.]

You're definitely asking the wrong girl. [She laughs.] Congratulations on your new pet, I guess?

[livingdeadgirl]

but there's going to be a whole bunch of people along, with all their associated skills
you aren't protecting everyone all by yourselves

[skald]

No way, but Japan is also a long way to go! That's great! Did you also come here for school, or...?

[But Koromaru seems to have spotted something, and Tuuri changes direction to follow him excitedly.]

Great! Don't worry, I'm ready!

[She's not ready. She's got a bulky, cumbersome coat in her arms and is trying to get a better grip on it even as she speaks, but man if she isn't excited.]

[longwei2go]

I guess...

[ she continues to scritch at the poor pup's scruff. ] I can appreciate getting a free dog as much as the next girl, but — I'm really not cut out for this. [ Yin means it, and that's what's got her suddenly so down. there's no way she can take care of herself reliably, much less herself and a dog. she's trying hard not to frown but her mood still manages to take a perceivable hit. ]

[frostythehitman]

[ Between the insult of Retrospec's surprise and poor Koromaru trying to grab at the treats, James decides enough is enough. He snatches the box off the ground, winds his arm back, and tosses it right over the fence into Retrospec territory. With any luck, it went far and high enough to land on the ceiling of the building. ]

Hey Retrospec, you can have your crappy dog treat bait back!

[ They probably didn't hear him. There's probably no one around to hear it at this time of day. But it's not like he just wasn't going to shout. ]

[complementing]

Yup! I'm an RU student too, but I live off campus right now.

[Koro pauses at an intersection and sniffs at the air. The scent of cement and oil is strong, but-- yup, he yips and starts at a dead run down the street. Minako groans and tries to tug on the leash just a little bit, enough to slow him down so Tuuri can keep up.]

You doing okay back there?!

[complementing]

Oh, nice throw.

[Koromaru is not as approving, huffing and flopping on the ground at Minako's feet. All that work for no treat.]

[complementing]

Ah.

[Her own expression falls a bit as well. It's true, not everyone who might get a pet from Retrospec has the means to take care of it. She's pretty sure that the puppy is going to be something Yin won't be able to part with no matter what, just like she herself had felt when she first got Koromaru, but.]

If you'd like to put him up for adoption, I could help you with that.

[complementing]

true but I also know most of them better than I know you, Ami

I'm sorry, but I just can't let you go

[skald]

[O-oh man, she wasn't kidding. That dog is fast.

Caught off guard, she has to scramble to catch up, hugging the coat tight to her chest as she runs so she doesn't drop it somewhere.]

I'm-- fine! [she pants, silently thankful to Minako for giving her a chance to close the distance.] Fine! Let's... keep going!

[frostythehitman]

Thanks. I get a lot of practice.

[ Boy does he feel bad for Koromaru, though. He leans down to give him a light petting, as a consolation gift of sorts. No dog should be deprived of treats, but better that than getting poisoned. ]

So that's it, then. The sniff trail led us to a dead end and now we've got no other leads. Go figure.

[livingdeadgirl]

[She doesn't respond to this. Like... she's not going to come out and say "okay, I won't go," since she's already got it in her head to try and go anyway, so that would be lying... So instead she will just go pout. And plot. Plot and pout.

See you on the 18th~]

[complementing]

[Minako shoots her a concerned look complete with furrowed brows and a frown, but it's quickly whisked away as Koromaru starts bounding down the street. It's all Minako can do to keep up and shout apologies to the people on the sidewalk her dog is dodging.

And then finally, finally! Koromaru slows down. He pauses about twenty feet away from--]

The Retrospec building?

[complementing]

[Koromaru licks at James' hand in gratitude. Pets are a good consolation gift, yes. Minako sighs.]

Maybe it'd be better to use a different dog. Not saying that Korochan is bad in any way, but I did get him from Retrospec. [She grimaces.] They might have him tagged somehow.

[skald]

[Tuuri is not... right behind them. She's probably about 10 yards behind them. She stumbles to a stop a few seconds behind Minako, thoroughly out of breath.]

Oh thank god. [They stopped running, that is. She hadn't been paying attention to where they were as they were running, so she looks up to see where they've found themselves.] Huh. Well. I guess it makes sense, right? We knew they were sending us this stuff.

[frostythehitman]

[ James immediately jerks his hand out of reach and stares at Koromaru in betrayal. ]

He's from Retrospec?! And you're just--walking him around like normal, letting him sniff my stuff?!

[ He is now also defensively grabbing his duffel. ]

[complementing]

[Koromaru whines, ears folding back, and Minako sighs.]

Well, if you're going to react like that...look, yes, he's from Retrospec, and yes, he's smarter than a normal dog, but I have memories of him from before. He's always been like that, and he's not a spy or anything that you're thinking of.

[complementing]

...yeah. Kind of disappointing, though. But let's not give up just yet. Korochan, is there a specific place we can get to with that smell?

[The shiba inu pricks his ears back to listen to Leader, then pricks his ears forward to listen for something else. He sets his nose to the ground to sniff again, but he's milling around uncertainly this time, compared to before.]

[longwei2go]

[ Minako understood the dilemma. staring down at the dog, it's clear that Zwei was happy to be where he was and seemed downright comfortable being here with her. like he was home. Yin couldn't place the feeling exactly but it did remind her of getting that arm in the mail. finding the dress she didn't remember buying in her closet and wearing it out.

it made zero sense but that didn't seem to matter. not enough to give him up. ] I'm — Nah, I appreciate it. I do, just...

What do you think, little dude? Good to hang out a while? [ Zwei barks. Yin smiles up at Minako. ] Yeah. I think we'll be okay.

[complementing]

[Minako gives her a quick smile back.]

I'm glad to hear it. He seems like he's attached to you already so it'd probably be hard for him to leave. Do you need any help with getting stuff for him?

[frostythehitman]

[ He loosens up for a moment, reassured...but then snaps to tension again. ]

Okay, well...he could be bugged! Retrospec could be listening to every word we're saying right now, or tracking our location based on your dog!