[EVENT] The Simulation Ends

[sixthiteration]

WHERE: 6I Fountain Park & Elsewhere
WHEN: April 1
OPEN TO: ALL - Mingle
WARNINGS: N/A

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In the snug circle of an old park, a fountain sits burbling beneath a broad, midday sky.

Once-neat paving stones have buckled and cracked from the slow nudge of wayward roots. Benches stand covered in lichen and rust. Three paths push into the underbrush like the spokes on a wheel, the encroaching forest creating lush tunnels through the dark.

But the fountain stands singular and pristine, brightly splashing in open rebellion of the deep, muffled sounds of a place long ago gone to seed. A vibration hums through the ground, there and quickly gone, and the water in the fountain trembles, lapping against the high walls of its cool, pale reservoir.

Far, far away, in a place that isn't really there, people begin to blink out of existance.

It is the first of April.

It is precisely ten o'clock in the morning.



[Please see event details and guidelines here.]

Comments

[thekittenqueen]

She had only just managed to pull one of her rams from the water when she heard Moana. There was frustration on Margaery's face, brought on by the rush of events, feelings and creatures from the fountain. It was all too much, worse than when she first arrived in the village...the other village, it seemed. There were stories about the newly arrived, those that came at the same time, but it wasn't anything like this, complete with animals.

Without thinking twice, Margaery plunged back into the fountain, pushing and heaving the pig until she was finally over the side. The weight seemed like nothing compared to her cows and larger animals. Eventually, her muscles stopped screaming and just accepted what was happening.

"Do you have him? Is he out?"

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana helped pull the large pig out of the fountain while Margaery pushed. Itiiti was big but what made the task harder was his frantic flailing about. Swimming wasn't a trait that was common in pigs and without help Itiiti would drown. Moana's presence helped him calm some, knowing that she'd never let anything bag happen to him, but whenever his head dunked beneath the water they'd have to start the calming process all over again.

She made sure that Itiiti was okay before looking up at Margaery. "Yes." Her voice was breathless and hard. "Are you okay?" This wasn't easy and as much as the animals trusted them, not all were familiar with the unsettling feeling of water or not having the ground beneath their feet.

She looked back at Itiiti really fast to make sure he was okay. He wasn't moving but he was breathing.

"Let me help you."

[thekittenqueen]

He was worse than her cows. While they were frantic, they didn't flail in the way Moana's pig did. It took a great deal of strength to keep a hold on him, his skin slippery, making him glide out from under her grip. Margaery held as firm as she could, pushing Itiliti closer towards the edge of the fountain.

When he was finally on dry land, Margaery climbed out of the water, wringing out her long hair in an effort to keep it from wetting her entirely. "I'm fine." It's dismissive, but only because she doesn't want to linger overly long on her feelings. There was fear and panic there, something she hoped to avoid until she was alone.

"How long have you been here? What group were you in?"

[chosenbytheocean]

"I don't know."

She looked around as if the key to answering Margaery's questions was somehow positioned around them. "I wasn't here long before the animals started coming through." It's been maybe an hour of her freaking out about finding Itiiti and the large pig coming through the fountain.

"Why? Is this why people were disappearing before? They were coming out here?"

Except that the village looked exactly the same. It didn't make any sense. "Where are we?"

[thekittenqueen]

"You must have been in one of the later groups." There had been so much going on, it was easy to miss someone. So many bodies pulled themselves from the waters, cries and questions had fallen together in a chaotic cacophony until it was hard to discern what anyone was saying. Her daze hadn't helped, making everything sound like a muffled hum.

It was only in seeing her animals that she returned to the world around her, finding something to focus on and channel her vulnerabilities into. Rounding up her menagerie was easier than facing whatever it was they had been brought to.

"I don't know." She hated that question. It was the same one that was asked by anyone newly arrived to the village. Only now, they had to ask it again. "It's the same as where we were before."