↳ forest。

@▸ lalisa manoban。 (should I reply or should we plan their next meetup? <3 )

@▸ lee minho。 Ever since the pandemic had risen and swarmed the world in despair, many have become accustomed to the idea of hate and detestation. With trust—ever so feeble and delicate—as the basis of survival now, it’s no wonder many have fallen, losing their lives as a result of not being trusted. But such is too cruel. Lalisa knows she can never be like those brutal beings no matter how hard she tries, for the act of killing another will never be justified to her, whether the victim is infected or not.

“I don’t want to hurt you either. I understand you must be suffering but killing you isn’t right.” A bitter smile fills the canvas of Lalisa’s visage, the woman only eliciting a soft sigh as she brings a hand forward to pat the younger’s head. “I know you don’t like what you’re doing. And from what I’ve seen, I know you’re a good person.”

She knows many will choose to turn their back on her upon learning of her decision to trust Minho, but so be it. The world that has already fallen to ruin will not force her to make decisions against her will. Neither will this twisted realm force her to kill someone suffering as much as herself. Many things definitely haven’t been fair or enjoyable since the grand genesis of the world’s downfall, but at least Lalisa can have a say in her decisions when it comes to others’ lives.

“I’ll come back sometime to see if you’re alright, okay? Just…make sure the others don’t see you. I can’t exactly guarantee your safety. Well, see you. Stay safe, Minho.” Standing to her feet now does the woman only nod her head, self-approving of her decision. Then they part, and the damsel is returning to the group’s base at the school as if their encounter had never happened. She shall not speak of what she has seen or what she now knows.

(open; random starter)

The forest used to be the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Sure, they'd been able to thrive without the destruction from human beings ever since this infection froze the entire world in its tracks. Sure, the animals were growing stronger. Sure, the trees and underbrush were more lush and green than he'd ever seen before. He knew it was for the best. The earth was taking care of herself, trying her best to narrow down the parasites on her surface, squandering her precious resources... but no longer could he call the forests beautiful. He had no more wonder or awe to lend to this region. Where a smile would stretch across his features at the sight of a vivid green canopy, there was now a chiseled frown.

He chose to walk deeper and deeper into the woods, for he knew that the worst thing that could happen would be death. The best? He'd find a meal in private- a meal that wasn't half-rotten or... unsatisfactory.

@▸ lalisa manoban。 “Please,” Minho said, hands shaking while he looked at Lalisa, pleading her to just pull the trigger. But she took down the gun, taking away the chance to finally be taken away from this world and the kind of pain he was going through, frowning. He could not take his own life, he just could not, but he just wished someone else would.

As long as Minho was alive he knew he would try his best to keep everyone safe and sound, away from the infected and supplied. That was his job in this world but as he made sure to keep them away from the infected he also kept them away from himself. And that meant he could not be with them, no matter how much he wanted to. He missed them.

“Not exactly,” Minho admitted and bit his lip. “But yes, it’s a big part of it.” He took a shaky breath, looking at Lalisa. “I’m sorry,” he whispered and his lips. He had dreamed how he had killed his best friend, eating his flesh and ever since he had to stay away from the group. And it hurt him so much, hurt him how he had to give up so much to keep the people he loved safe and sound.

“I tried fighting it,” he mumbled and looked down on his hands. He hated having to eat the meat, human meat, but he always made sure they had already been so close to death or were such bad people that all they deserved was to die – but was it on him to decide that? Probably not. He bit his lip as he saw Lalisa kneel down before him. “Why… why are you here? I’m dangerous,” he said and took a shaky breath. “I won’t hurt you but… I am afraid this infection will. And I don’t want that.”

⠀⋆ ⤑ 『 prompt: cix’s “jungle。” 』
⠀⋆ ⤑ 『 sometime in early november, slightly past sunset。” 』

Tangled tree roots and the dead leaves of late autumn make for a grisly sight as Yein traverses through the silent forest, her only companion being solitude. A gust of meandering zephyrs sends her dark tresses flying about the wind, and the fresh aroma of wilderness flares her nostrils. All seems well, but the woman questions why she is here in the first place. Perhaps she was drawn to the scenery, to the lack of populace. Nonetheless, she is in good spirits here. She feels free and at peace.

Her drunken stupor leads her deeper and deeper into the wilderness, as if drawn by a spell, a mysterious hex. She’s drawn further into the maze of viridescence until she meets the edge of a swamp, its pit practically bottomless and invisible to the wandering eye. The allocated space is simply that of a dark morass, constituted by heavy soil and darkened water. This won’t make for a good source of water. Even Yein, who is rather dull-witted, knows this.

So her steps hasten past the swamp in search of, hopefully, a river or creek of some sort. Any source of clean water will be good. Alas, it hasn’t been too long and she comes across a creek. The water rushing between the rocks is delightful and the damsel bends before the source to fill her canister with the pure liquid. It’s crystal clear and, for once, Yein finds herself smiling. It’s as if she’s found her haven here in the forest. The creek is her secret and no one else’s.

Though she would never think this is only the start of her impending doom.

——

Which way did she come from? This way or that way? No matter which direction she had headed toward, it wouldn’t take this long of a while to escape the forest grounds, right? Her sense of direction, if any, has dwindled down to a scrap pile of ashes and the woman is left clueless of her location. Even still, she doesn’t panic. The sun shines brightly in the sky still, its hazy shades of orange and peach left to guide the girl. Or so she thinks.

But dusk is quick to come and she’s trapped in that labyrinth still. She’s heard that trees embossed with moss can lead one to the North, but following such advice has only led her astray. She doesn’t know if she’s traversed further in or out of the suffocating forest. And with darkness threatening to swallow her figure whole, she has to find a way out, fast. Or what will become of her? She doesn’t want to know.

It’s pitch black out now and Yein’s blindness leaves her stumbling over invisible obstacles in an attempt to seek a way out. The howling wind and the mademoiselle’s imagination are one to toy with her, shadows and vague silhouettes creeping at the corners of her eyes ready to pounce on her and claim her as tonight’s feast. She swears such won’t happen.

But the whistling of the wind begins to sound more like voices, demonic whispers and tell tale signs of tribulations. All around her, the forest follows the motions of a waltz, as if inhabitants roam about just after Yein’s heel. The bushes wallow, the leaves rustle and, for once, Yein is fearful of what she cannot detect.

There’s urgency to the way her legs alternate now, Yein making a run for it. Who or what is here in the forest with her, she doesn’t know. She doesn’t want to know. But she feels powerless and despises every second of her being here.

With her sight having been stolen from her, her feet come in contact with the outstretched roots of a tree. Thus she stumbles and her figure plummets to the dirt ground. A loud groan elicits past dry lips and so do a string of heavy breaths. Her heart is thumping loudly in her chest, her head inside out. The woman’s legs have become weak from her bout of running and her lungs feel as if they’ll implode with further use. Her limbs are battered with scratches and scars now, skin and clothing kissed with dirt and debris. As her vulnerability increases, the deafening ambience flooding her figure only seems to grow, engulfing the woman amidst the silent forest with no eyes to witness her downfall.

[] tw: graphic depictions of gore, cannibalism.

⠀⋆ ⤑ 『 prompt: day6’s “shoot me。” 』
⠀⋆ ⤑ 『 sometime in late october, early morning。” 』

The viridescence of foliage provides shade from the blazing sun. Such isn’t necessary since it’s a rather chilly day, but the layers of the forest provide Lalisa enough coverage, hiding from plain sight as she feasts. Yes, she has become everything she despises. There’s vermillion dripping from her lips, flesh and blood coated under her nails. Splotches of vivid crimson stain her outfit, and the unfurled mess of her hair only blight her sight. But all that matters is the sweet sensation at her fingers, the saccharine taste of raw flesh melding against her tongue. How sickly sweet it is, and the lunatic only yearns for more. This single human being isn’t enough to satiate her desire.

But the truth is that this isn’t what she wants. This isn’t what she wanted at all, and thus tears brim her eyes once she’s conscious, sitting before a bloodied corpse. The guilt washes over her all at once and she feels sick to her stomach. She hates herself tremendously, and the realization of what atrocity she’s just committed strikes her. Her bloodied hands, the taste of iron on her lips, the scraps of raw flesh inside —She’s become a monster.

The air feels damp now, doom impending upon her hidden figure. Lalisa’s disdain for her own actions renders her motionless. She makes no attempt to get away from her victim, only sitting in silence as rubs the scarlet hues of her hands unto her clothing. How familiar it all feels, the bittersweet taste in , the coating of blood on her body. And yet she believes this is the first time she’s done such a thing.

Her crisis only extends from thereon.

Her head’s pounding, imploding from the very inside out. Sullied hands knot at her frenetic locks in response to the excruciating pain, but the flood of repressed memories makes the matter worse. Memories of flesh tasting like that of honey, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. That of excitement and irrepressible hunger, endless desire. How wildly she had ran that day, ransacking the hotel and the figures of her family. Insanity of the disease had taken her over until notions blended into a morass of pleasure and desire and before she knew it, her family was gone without her knowledge.

Everything is blank within her head, an empty canvas laying in wait for the end rather than atoning for her crimes. There is no way to atone for what she’s done after all, is there? She wouldn’t think so.

Seconds turn into minutes turn into hours. And as the body beside her takes a turn into decomposition, victim to maggots and flies, Lalisa doesn’t move an inch. Desolation has consumed her and she only has one wish: To die.

Twigs crack beneath another’s heel and bushes in the distance sway against their captor’s form. To be discovered like this is just what the damsel wanted, and so she sits up on her heels, orbs dark, eyes lidded over. The blood upon her body is dry now, and she only utters three words to her armed spotter.

“Please, shoot me.”

@▸ lee minho。 The words are too much for her to bear. Taking a life is something Lalisa could never imagine herself doing, hesitation evident in the way her fingers tremble while grasping her weapon. She had always been set on becoming a surgeon of some sort, having wanted to help mankind. The very notion of ridding others of their lives was a selfish one to her, and it completely opposed her ideals. The fact that she recognizes Minho gives her even more of a reason to set her gun aside.

So she does just that, eyebrows knitted at the scene of her conflict. Is Lalisa wrong for having forfeited, for letting another infected person roam loose? The presence of an infected brings the possibility of more lives lost, and the damsel realizes very well that such can be stopped if she were to simply act. But she can’t. It’s wrong. Even those who crave flesh are still human beings. They still have a conscience of their own, a yearning to live. She is in no position to decide that their kind should perish.

“I am in no position to kill you,” she speaks as she lowers her pistol. Giving a shake of her head, the woman is unsure of what she feels for Minho. Is it pity? Sympathy? All she knows for sure is that despite the latter’s situation, he’s simply trying to survive the same as any other. “Did you leave me and the others out of fear of what you are?”

Truthfully, she doesn’t want to get too close. The loathsome sight before her is much to bear, but her sympathy for the male overrides her cognition. The scent of flesh and iron blood melds together as Lalisa kneels before Minho, the gentle gaze of her umber orbs meeting his, stained with desperation and fear.

@▸ lalisa manoban。 All Minho felt was numbness. Numbness to finding the dead body on the ground, still warm to the touch but definitely dead and he his instinct had kicked in immediately. Not the human instincts but those of the part of his brain that was infected and acted on it. And he hated it. Hated that he actually had killed before, had taken a life and therefore was a murderer, no matter if that person had been bad or not. No matter if he needed it to not hurt the people he loved. It did not matter. Minho knew it was bad and it was getting to him every time he had to touch the bloody body of a person, ending up eating flesh. Slowly but surely he knew it was making him go crazy.

He had carefully cut out the pieces of flesh before he had tried to tore it apart by his hands, checking if it was easy enough for him to eat raw or if he needed a different part of the body. By now he knew which parts were the easiest to chew, those that were not gummy or hard to bite because Minho just wanted to get it over with. He had cut his own skin of whenever he had no way to eat human flesh so he would not end up weakened and with fever and accidentally hurting someone he wanted to protect.

It had been days he had already been alone, no, probably weeks since he had left his group behind. The group of friends he had loved so very much and felt so horrible of not being able to protect but the moment he had dreamed of eating his best friend’s flesh he had known he could not stay. It was too dangerous.

Flinching Minho looked up and saw a person getting close, letting the meat fall he had just eaten from. . It slowly got him back to reality and he could feel the guilt and the shame overwhelming him with so much hatred for himself even though he knew he was not at fault. Recognizing that it was Lalisa, a friend, did not exactly make it easier.

“Please,” he heard himself whisper towards her, tears in his eyes. “Please shoot me,” he then said, feeling his heart beat fast. But if he was dead he would not be any more danger for anyone. Yes, he had not heard anyone yet but it was possible. It was possible and he hated it so much.

@▸ lee minho。 the dingy halls of the forlorn high school have been home to lalisa for weeks now. though abandoned, the woman has not been left entirely alone, for she has been lucky enough to group up with others in the area. in her opinion, things have been fair, though of course it could always be better. but even still, it surprised her how much the group at the school had dwindled down. were people falling to the infected or leaving the group in total silence? she wouldn’t know. but as the population hoarding the school continues to lessen, something within the girl irks her to search for those who have nearly disbanded the party.

thus her figure is now cloaked beneath the viridescence of foliage, twigs breaking beneath her step. the forest smells fresh, and if it weren’t for the light dew coating the area, lalisa wouldn’t have seen such beauty in this area. she has always adored nature, and the truth is that she still does. though she finds it difficult to take enjoyment in anything these days, given the circumstances the world has befallen.

twisted fragments of light stream in from between trees and their separated crowns, lighting the path for lalisa as she makes headway through the forest. how she misses the sounds of nature—the rushing of water, harmonious chirping of birds, even the sounds of lively cicadas. but the sound she hears amidst twigs snapping and leaves brushing against her is everything she had least wanted to hear.

that of raw flesh. that of teeth snapping flesh apart and consuming it with haste. it makes her sick, and she yearns to leave the area. but as she traverses deeper and deeper within the endless forest, she finds herself face to face with one she had known before, covered in fresh crimson and everything unsightly in a grisly manner.

“you!—“ she can hardly find the words to say, her fingers trembling even as she prepares her gun and aims it at the male before her. truthfully, the safety lock is latched still, for the damsel finds unease in ending the life of a human. but she stands there frozen still, taking in the sight of the perpetrator and his meal, and that in which who she faces had been staying with her at the school up until not too long ago.

[ 1st of November, 2120 : Around 6AM ]

cw! hallucinations, mentions of the dead

The flock has led the lone astray, towards towers of lumber. The lull lingered even after they had arrived. Perhaps the timber were columns of a sanctuary, where anything that finds its way, is meant to pause. Heejin did just that, inhaling a whiff of dew mixed with what she suspects as smoke. The girl pursued the concealed trail, the flock caws at her – urging her to continue. She did, halting her footsteps as she saw the smoke rise up, staining jade to ebony.

Suddenly, the pillars eroded and all that was left were cinders.

Heejin crouched down, raking her fingers through each pile. She was unsure of what she was searching for, yet she continued – until she felt suffocated due to the dust accumulating inside her lungs. The girl halted and watched as a gust of wind blew the ashes away, revealing skulls beneath them.

They spoke in a chorus, “Found you.” Then, there was none.

The trees rose again but much like the avians perched on their branches, they were still black – burnt, rotten, decaying. What smelled gray from earlier was now blue. What was empty is now filled: 큰 슬픔, great sadness.

Now, Heejin was drowning – the sanctuary was flooded. The water is freezing, enough to numb the female’s limbs. She became immobile, the waves cradling her as the ebb carried her towards a pond’s shore – it felt more like the ocean though, but there were no towers in the ocean.

There, the skeletons appeared again. Water was pouring out from their eye sockets, resembling waterfalls. “Found you.” They cried out in unison. Shortly after, they disappeared again.

Heejin waited, dazed yet aware. She wondered where the birds she ever so adored will take her again – resembling her daydreams from before but now they were much grim and felt like lucid nightmares.

The flock has led the lone astray, towards towers of lumber. The timbers were the bars of a prison. Heejin fell right into their trap. Starting then, they have her on a leash – unable to run away.

( & — song prompt: higurashi no naku koro ni – eiko shimamiya + heejin follows the crows into the forest. there, heejin thinks of what those who already met their demise felt when they were dying. the thought will haunt her until her last breath )