Neko-

Smoke fills my lungs, burning through my chest. I cough weakly, struggling to my feet as I blink my stinging eyes. A wave of dizziness sweeps through me, making the world twist and blur out. Slowly, it clears and I find myself hunched over as reality hits me.

Saki, Maki, Aki, Everstorm. Gone.

Despair threatens my mind, and I want to collapse again. But I bush it away, focusing on my surroundings. 

A quiet chatter drifts into my ears, too quiet to make out. I swivel to where they are. My new powers can sense 3 beings...I think. They're unfamiliar, and as far as I can tell, there are three people there, but more thoughts exist. They are trapped though, it's strange. 

I walk forward a bit, until I can see the people. Winter, Rogue, Darkking. 

A bit of hope fills me.

"Hi guys." 

I look around at the singed remains of, well, everything.  The memories of my AEs' disappearance is still foggy, although I clearly remember them clattering to the ground as smooth, lifeless pieces of metal.  But it doesn't really affect me like I feel it should.  A twinge of guilt for my apathy squeezes my throat. 

But this is the Chatterbox, and it'll bounce back.

It always does.  

Anyway, my AEs were really just outside versions of myself.  Now they were back inside again, so what did it matter?  I brush my skirt off and smooth my hair.  It's much longer and thicker, which was admittedly nice.  I shove the thoughts of my lost friends to the back of my mind and smile.  I hear voices from the distance.

It'll bounce back.

It always does.

~~~

I pull Agent Winter into a hug, along with Darkking.

"Hey guys." Sounds like Neko. I pull her into the hug as well. After a minute or two, we break apart. A lightening flashes above us, and rain starts to fall. Hard. Soon, the CB is dark, broken, wet, downcast, and smouldering in rememberance of its previous glory. A peal of thunder closely chases the lightening bolt. Its massive power shakes the ground under us, and a nearby thread topples off a pile of other threads. It discintegrates upon collision with the ashen ground. Its dust glows for a moment with a picture of all the charries it used to tell the story of. The Lord of the Rings RP. My own charrie, Eluvisim, stares back at me with eyes that haven't been used in a long while, ever since the thread sank. We CBers break apart. Another lighting flash. Another peal of strong thunder. Another thread gone forever until we fix this.

"Hello? Anyone?" A lightening bolt strikes nearby, destroying a whole pile of threads in an instant. Somebody shrieks. A very ladylike shriek.

"That sounds like Marigold!" Neko runs towards the source of the ladylike shriek. It's behind the pile of threads right next to the one that was just completely destroyed. Neko scrambles up the hill of dead and dying threads. "It is Marigold!" Diving down then reappearing over the hill, Neko drags a practically paralyzed Marigold over to us. Marigold's eyes are so contracted none of us can see her pupils. She stumbles around, and eventually sits down. 

~

Found you. 

I feel a bit like that time I got heat exhaustion.  Except times a billion.  Is this heat stroke?

"Thanks... sorry.. 'bout this... water..." I moan.  Every word hurts.  White spots dot my vision, and they're slowly closing in.  I know from being dehydrated that when they cover everything up I'll most likely pass out, so I sit down to beat them to it.  People are talking around me, but all my energy was concentrated on my sluggish movements.  Is there rain somewhere?

My head hurts so...

Bad...

The bright spots cloud my vision again and I fall forward.

~~

I do indeed have a very shrill scream.

Also, I have a history paper to write but as soon as I finish I'll get to the pictures!  

Winter catches Marigold and looks around "We need to find shelter, fast!" 

I quickly scan the horizon and spot a thread that looks like it could be of some help. "There!" I help AW with marigold as our group sets off in the direction of the lost thread.

When we get to it I can see that it's the Last to Post thread, or rather, it was. many of the posts have crumbled away, leaving an empty cavern where words used to be. We lay Marigold down in one corner as I walk to the middle of the room and start to make a fire. After the first few minutes of trying and failing I sit back, frustrated. Then I pull a book out of my bag and read a sentence out loud "The fire sputtered to life, warming the group and sending light flickering around their shelter." Immediately I am basked in warmth and light as a fire flickers to life in the small stack of tinder I gathered. Winter sees this happen and moves Marigold closer to the fire to warm her.

I sit back against the wall of the cave with Neko, watching the flames as I pull my knees up to my chest and rest my chin on them. Neko clears her throat and asks "Where's Mor?"

I freeze. Of course, she'd ask that, she's rarely seen me without her and even then she's somewhere nearby. I choose my next words carefully, but it doesn't lessen the sting "Mor is gone." Grief washes over me but it dissipates quickly, turning into a void of nothingness, blocking out everything. Above the ringing in my ears I can barely hear Rogue's concerned voice, Agent calming a panicked Marigold, Neko whispering and the crackling of the fire. I close my eyes and fold my wings around me, cocooning me in soothing darkness.

~~~

I kept going back and forth with how I would light the fire and what I would feel while lighting the fire but I think it turned out okay, not my best post but not the worst either.

Why aren't the comments showing up on here? It's been almost a day since a post was last uploaded, and there have definately been more posts since then.

Today, there was a period of 7 hours when nothing was posted, not "almost a day." Sometimes Admins have to do other things.

Admin

I come to as heat washes over me.  My mouth is so dry that it tastes funny, and my breathing is borderline hyperventilation.  Agent Winter hands me some freshly conjured snow to quench my thirst, and as I nibble at it my breathing slowly calms down.

I slide a little away from the fires and touch the rings under my glove to make sure that they're all still there.  Besides myself and Agent Winter, there's Darkking, Rogue, and Neko.  Where is everyone?

"I think we'd better see if we can find any survivors," I say, immediatly realising I'm interrupting whatever conversation is going on, "oh, sorry."

As I stand up I brush off my skirt. These aren't the clothes I was last wearing, but I figure this is some kind on anime-style transformation. 

What a weird situation. 

I still feel a little hazy, maybe that's why the panic went away so quickly.  Everyone else looks pretty calm too, although I get the impression that they're probably also saving their negative feelings for later.  This thought makes all of the realness of the situation flood back.

I look around sadly, suddenly thinking of all of the countless characters from the archives dying in their RPs.  They weren't exactly real, though, right?  I feel a lump in my throat.  I also feel like I'm about to faint again.

I huddle in the corner of the basement of what used to be Last to Post. A moment ago I was outside, and the Cb was falling apart around me. Onyx is gone, or rather, Onyx's mind seems to be gone. Her physical appearance has become part of mine... Or have I become part of hers?

Suddenly I hear footsteps above me. Then voices, and a light shines down through the cracks in ceiling. I gasp, then cover my mouth. 

Who are they? I wonder. There's nothing to do but find out, so I go and cautiously sneak up the steps. Or rather, I attempt to sneak. In reality, they creak rather loudly. A few steps later I reach the top to find myself staring at five figures around a fire. 

Out of the corner of my eye I see something move and jump with a shriek.  I immediately realise it's another CBer and blush furiously at my hyperactive nerves as everyone else whirls around ready to fight if necessary.

I feel so small and childish compared to everyone else.  I kind of ruined any chance at making a good impression for the second time. 

"Sorry," I say weakly, waving to the newcomer. I now recognize him as coyotedomino, though like everyone else he looks a bit different.

I don't even know what to do, so I wait for someone else to take control of the situation as the Chatterbox crumbles around us.

~~

My CAPTCHA is "cria."  Cry? Cries?  Seems fitting!

@coyotedominoe, sure I'd be happy to! 

Everyone's kind words have been so heartening, it really, really means a lot.

@Darkking, here you are!  It was really fun to draw all of the elements, sorry it took a little while :3