Network Video - PSA from the Gullwings Investigation

[gadaboutdetective]

[Llewellyn looks quite serious when the feed opens. It’s an expression he has worn a little less often of late, but there were things going on now that were getting more and more concerning. The gullwings had just finished their investigation on the matter, but this was not something they could resolve themselves. The city was going to need a different sort of help than they could offer, and the average person needed to be warned.]

Hello everyone. I’m sorry to be addressing the network under such mm… unfortunate circumstances… But the Gullwings have been investigating a situation around the city for the last few days and we feel it’s important to share what we learned with everyone. Especially as we’ve found something that uh- is going to need some specialized attention in order to resolve this, hopefully before it gets worse.

[And worse is what the three gullwings were hoping to avoid…]

I’m sure by now everyone has noticed the strange plant life that’s planted through our city, and I say planted rather than spread because we’ve found evidence- tools and the like, that prove someone brought them here intentionally. [Plucking a bright green feather from the desk in front of him, he twirled it lightly in his fingers to show it off.] We found this at one of the scenes. It’s from a bird native to the southern forest, and it’s been altered to be a decorative accessory.

In trying to work out where they started from, we retraced the pattern of their planting back to the cemetery. The spread of mold and mildew seems to have gone unchecked there, quite unpleasant… But! At its heart, we discovered an alcove which lead to a portal we definitely were not made aware of before now. It leads outside, and it seems logical that it’s where the culprit has been entering from to work on their task. There are tracks leading in and out, [He shifted the phone function to display a picture they had taken of the footprints of clawed feet that went in and out. Flipping back a moment later, he continued.]

It… gets more worrying from here. [As if this wasn’t all concerning enough.] The plant pods seem to change as they grow. At first they only got a little larger, but they… track you. I know that sounds odd, but they seemed to follow our movements as though they were drawn to us as we passed them. It’s easy enough to stay out of their reach at first, but it’s unsettling. The problem is… They get bigger, like uh- a medium-sized dog big? Larger than Pretzel is now, anyway.

And the bigger they are, the greater their reach. We managed to get through, but….

[Criminy, he can’t believe he’s going to describe this next bit.]

There’s like… Ah… How do I put this? Um… A giant one? Very large. Huge, even… So much so that I’d hazard a guess that a few people could fit inside. We didn’t stay long, because it wasn’t safe and we’re not exactly equipped to deal with something of that nature. It seemed pertinent to get that information to everyone, to warn people away from the plants and to provide knowledge to those who might have more luck in dealing with them.

Comments

[neurotoxicity]

Then after this has settled we should change that. [ She folded her arms across her chest as she made her decision for that. ] I could start making preliminary trips soon to see what I can scout out. [ The words were mumbled slightly, something she was mostly talking about to herself. ] Then after that maybe we can try to go further into their habitat or even see if one will speak to us. Though I've never been good at that kind of thing. Supposedly I'm a bit too rough. [ Not supposedly. She definitely was always too rough. There were a lot of reasons she'd never been a Runner initially, and her tendency towards violence was somewhere on the list.

She shook her head.] I wonder what's trying to be hidden from us.

[gadaboutdetective]

[Llewellyn hummed a little, glancing at Ivy as she began speaking more to herself than to him. Maybe he shouldn’t have stuck his nose in on it, but he wouldn’t have been himself if he hadn’t. Plus… The matter was a delicate one, and if these particular locals didn’t like them, he didn’t like the idea of Ivy risking a run in alone. It wasn’t that he thought her incapable, of course, more that he just worried about his friends.

Then there was the lingering anxiety brought on by an experience at the Sphere where the locals had turned against arrivals, and he’d been injured. The idea of letting Ivy go alone and potentially face a similar reception was not pleasant.] Preliminary scouting trips aren’t a bad idea… But perhaps you’d allow me to tag along. Two sets of eyes are better than one. And uh- we can discuss how we’d approach speaking to one while we look around.

[No, he hadn’t phrased it as a question, which should indicate to Ivy that her friend would be stubborn about it.]

As for what… I wish I knew myself. [He tilted his head slightly, rubbing at the side of his face.] In many ways, this world seems more open than the last… But the longer we’re here, the more I realize there are too many things that no knows… Or perhaps that no one’s told us. Too many unknowns.

[neurotoxicity]

[ Oh how she wanted to argue with him and insist that he'd just slow her down. The tone and his choice of wording told her that it'd be a futile effort. She let out a tiny huff and then shrugged. ] I doubt I'll have a choice.

[ She sighed. ] Maybe we'll be able to figure some of those unknowns out.

[gadaboutdetective]

[At the huff, Llewellyn waited for a stronger rebuttal to his suggestion… But when none came other than a matter of choice, he offered her an apologetic smile. The detective wasn’t in the mood to argue with a friend. Especially when said friend would probably make good arguments…]

You remember I’m stubborn, then. I promise I can keep up, and I’ll at least keep an eye out while you’re focused on something.

[He was well aware at this point how lacking he was compared to most people who arrived here, but he still wanted to try.]

We may, or at least some decent clues to get closer to solving some of them.

[neurotoxicity]

Oh trust me, I definitely remember. [ There was just the slight hint of a smile on her face to accompany the words. She didn't mean anything particularly negative by it, in fact it was kind of nice to have people that reminded her of Rachel here.]

I guess we have a plan then. I'll make sure to make a more solid outline.

[gadaboutdetective]

[He smiled a little in return at that, before nodding quickly.]

Yes, a solid outline and a little time to prepare. I'll um... Put some things together we might need for being out in the forest.

[Food, water, maybe some emergency supplies... Yes, he was trying to think of the worst case scenarios. Plus, it would give him a chance to let his husband know where he was going. After the hollow people incident a few months back, they worried if one or the other didn’t return home when expected.]