One with the Wyrd (Bjorn)

[Deleted]

Luthien and Bjorn had managed an agreement that made the woman more than a little thrilled. They could ferry across the poor unfortunate souls foolish enough to seek out the island where strange and unexpected things happened. It was a thrill and a rush as they had brought their first passengers aboard and had sailed into the small little bay that gave way to the rest of the island. One board the ship, Luthien could wear her own face from time to time and she felt confident enough to do so when none of the visitors were above deck either. She relished the feeling that was nothing but freedom. Bjorn had given it back to her and he had her eternal gratitude for that. For once in her life she'd found something she could trust and be loyal to without being worried it would bite or harm her. If anything were to happen, it was a business transaction. So as she stood in a staff part of the ship with her face out, she relaxed for a moment and felt the breeze of the wind. Soon, they'd be at the island. She knew Bjorn had no plans to go on shore but that didn't mean she wasn't allowed. They'd talked it over and she was free to go.

So as the shuffling happened that meant docking (sort of, considering there was no dock) Luthien regretfully put her new face back in place and joined the rest of the group that were to set foot on the strange sands to explore. She smiled as she felt the strange energy that seemed so prevalent on the island. It was good, it meant freedom and chaos and change. As a metamorphmagus, change had always felt like part of her nature, even if she had hidden it from the world for her own benefit. She could see most people here were ill at ease but she herself felt perfectly comfortable. She was different, but she'd always known that. She was drawn to things that were different from a young age. Naturally that wouldn't change as the seasons did.

She was quick to break from the group, almost plunging straight into the unknown. Bjorn knew not to wait forever in case something bad were to happen, but she had promised to try and make it back before the fall of night. There wasn't a lot of time, in spite of arriving in the early hours of the morning. Winter meant short days and that meant the night would fall much earlier, but she had a whole day of exploration ahead. She smiled and when she was certain nobody was near she reclaimed her own face, the one given to her at birth. It felt good to simply be herself again for a while. As she walked she noticed something that for a moment looked like an adorable but strange bunny. Pitch black with several yellow eyes on it's little head. The ears were a bit lopsided but Luthien could tell it wasn't as cute as it looked. It was deceptive, or at least she thought it was. "Are you going to be offended if I offer you a carrot, little one?" She wondered softly as she rummaged through the bad she had brought. Emergency supplies, but that included a little bit of food. She grabbed the small strips of beef jerky she had and tossed one towards the creature. With that many eyes she figured it would be fun if the creature didn't actually eat it's vegetables like a boring little hopper.

The bunny hopped closer, sniffing the meat before opening it's mouth and showing a disturbing row of pointy teeth. Luthien grinned like a child on Christmas morning as she watched it chomp away on the meat. These creatures were amazing! Beyond a doubt the favourite she'd ever had. She got back up and started walking, but heard the soft thread of small paws that followed her. She glanced back briefly to see the bunny was following her. It must have loved the meat. She tossed another small strip of jerky to the creature. If it was to follow her, she wanted it to eat the jerky and not her ankles.

The game of jerky and bunny continued for a little while before Luthien figured she and the bunny were good. It hopped around and from time to time returned towards her. She'd feed it more jerky and then it'd be on it's way again. They had an understanding, it seemed. They liked each other. She chuckled. "Come along now Boogie." She said as the bunny followed her around again. It seemed she'd actually made a friend on her first trip. This island? Not so bad.

After several hours she stopped as a dense fog crept in. The bunny did not seem distressed by it, so Luthien figured she had no reason to be. If something wanted to kill the bunny it would no doubt be willing to harm her as well. The bunny didn't seem overly skittish, so neither would she be. The silence that lay inside the dense fog was like a blanket over the world and Luthien felt a strange sensation crawl over her skin, like something was using her abilities as a metamorph without her control. As if something about her was changing without her being able to control it. She looked down at her little buddy but the small rabbit seemed to not be disturbed at all. It just looked up at her, as if to ask for more of the meat. She chuckled, shaking the slightly uneasy feeling as she offered it another strip that Boogie accepted straight from between her fingers. She reached out, softly petting the odd creature. For a moment the two were at conflict but all it took was a gentle tap on the skull from Luthien before Boogie changed it's mind. "I'm not food." She chided the creature before getting back up again.

The fog drifted on and Luthien continued her path through it, eventually ending up on the shores of a really disgusting looking lake. Boogie seemed to like the lake though, hopping towards it and even wading into it. Luthien gave the bunny and slightly questionable look before she shrugged, shook her head and went to the shore. She dipped her hand in, feeling the water. Despite the murky look it wasn't very cold and it didn't feel particularly filthy. Still her hands seemed dirty and she pulled a face. Not exactly suited for drinking, yet Boogie was gobbling it up. "You're a strange bunny." She muttered softly, watching as the bunny swam in, dipping under the surface.

Luthien wasn't the type to get attached fast, but when the bunny took a while to resurface she found herself quietly disappointed for a moment. Then her more spontaneous and chaotic nature took free reign and she followed the creature into the water, not diving to avoid hitting her head in the seemingly shallow water. Yet when her eyes broke through she noticed a bright world under the surface. Yet something seemed off. Where she'd expected a vast world of blue, everything was grey, save the bright yellow eyes of Boogie. She swam closer and looked in wonder at the new world around her. She'd have forgotten how to breathe, if not for the strange sensation of not feeling a need to gasp for breath.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed in the colourless paradise but eventually she and Boogie went back to shore and Luthien sat down and grabbed her wand to dry herself. Boogie settled on her lap, drying itself on the warm air she flowed from her wand. Perhaps there were more effective charms, but Luthien wasn't in a hurry yet. She dried Boogie and fed him another piece of jerky before they got up. She noticed that the fog was all gone again, but it seemed to have taken all colour with it. Was that, perhaps, the change that she'd felt earlier? It really wasn't all that bad, since it seemed to alter nothing about her little rabbit friend. She started on her way back to the ship, shaking some of the last water out of her hair. It was wild and unkempt, but ever so free again. She'd have to change it again once she got back to the ship. Best enjoy it while it lasted.

Partly to her surprise, Boogie followed her all the way on to the sand. At that point she gave it a hard look. "You can't go aboard without a muzzle sweetie. I don't think Cap would like that much." She knelt down beside it, figuring that maybe the fog had made it able to understand humans. Was it even capable of doing that? She conjured up a muzzle on the poor bunnies face and while it looked a bit miffed about it, it didn't actually run off. She chuckled and struggled some jerky through the muzzle so that the poor thing would have a bite, before picking Boogie up and walking up the ramp to the ship.

And there was the Captain, sitting with his books on the table and looking her way as she walked about. "It's great out there." She said with a big grin. "I made a friend too! Bjorn, meet Boogie. He's a wyrd bunny and we've adopted each other."  She stated as she held the poor little Rekynii out to him, unaware of what it was really called. "He eats meat. He likes jerky. I can only see the colour yellow and I'm pretty sure that's because of the fog." She said as she seated herself near him and put little Boogie down on the floor. "I muzzled him for your sake but I figured we could keep him around to eat any pests that might sneak on board. Rats and stuff, you know? Something else than a cat." She said casually, shrugging as she leaned her head back and smiled broadly. It had been a while since she'd been in this good a mood.

@bjorn

[Deleted]

January 3, 2026
@luthien

This new island brought about a very lucrative business opportunity. A slightly more "legal" one then their usual work too. Well, more like "not illegal". But technicalities. So many people wanted to explore this new island. And while Bjorn was too wary to set foot on it at the moment (he needed more information before he dared) that didn't mean he was above ferrying people to said island, if they could pay. Though, he'd realized that some of his crew was eager to explore the place as well. Something he wouldn't deny them of. As long as they followed the rules. THey had a strict departure time, and anyone not back on the ship by that point would be left behind until the next time they came to the island. Call it cold, but Bjorn did not play games when it came to these sort of situations. There were too many questions marks about this place. Too much unknown. Until they knew more, he would be playing it very safe. He would not make any risks. Yet.

Upon their arrival that day Bjorn had gone about his work like normal. Passing the time. Eventually he'd conjured a table and chair up on deck, bringing out a few books on magical folklore (to see if he could learn anything about this island), and was flipping through the pages when Luthien strutted up the ramp with... well what looked rabbit...ish. He'd had his feet propped up on the table, book in his lap. Her appearance gave him pause though. Closing the book, he removed his feet from the table and sat up a little, eyebrow raised. He should be surprised. But really... He wasn't Luthien was wildly unpredictable. Literally the only thing that would surprise him about her would be if he could predict what she was doing. She went on about adopting said rabbit, said rabbit being named "Boogie" and eating meat. Then, on she went about only seeing the color yellow, and his other eyebrow raised.

After her long explanation of the rabbit, and her... predicament, she sat down. Well, at least she seemed happy. Bjorn smirked and leaned back, putting his feet back up on the table. "Any other surprises or stowaways I should be aware of?" While the idea of a meat eating rabbit on board was... slightly concerning it wouldn't be the first time they'd had animals on board. He'd smuggled magical creatures a great many times, so it wouldn't phase the crew. As long as said rabbit didn't go after any fingers or toes.

[Deleted]

Luthien wasn't surprised by his only real question. By now he'd realised that she was a bit of a wild card and that her time on the island was more likely to make things more peculiar than more normal for her. She gave the bunny another piece of jerky as she shrugged slightly. "The place is crazy and it seems to feel violently uncomfortable to most. The magic there is different, twisted I guess. I felt right at home, but I like things that are not exactly the way they are supposed to be." She admitted with a completely careless shrug. She'd seen the discomfort of other people that set foot on the island and had noticed a fair few didn't feel it. They didn't seem quite as shook as most. As if their feet wanted to stay off the red sand before even touching it. It entailed an odd sense of belonging, from what she'd gathered. She glanced over her shoulder at the treeline of dead trees for a moment.

"The signs on the beach..... They were written by somebody, but the locals seem to be very keen on hiding from the visitors. I don't think more people used to make shore here than the few wreckages. I suspect those might have made the English signs. As for the ones with the weird scribbles... I'm not sure. Possibly the locals, although I'm not sure why they'd venture out here. There's a wealth of beautiful things further ahead but the beach and the first treeline and just about dead. Very little lives or grows there, as if it's almost a barrier between the world here and the world out there." She said, a frown on her face. What did the island want to keep out so badly? It didn't seem like the island was designed to keep things in half as much as keep things out. Naturally the two went hand in hand but she felt confused. It was built as a prison, but the inside was built for defence from the outside. Maybe it had started as a prison and since evolved to become something new? Everything on the island seemed subject to random change at least.

@bjorn

[Deleted]

January 3, 2026
@luthien

Bjorn wondering if he should have Ri give this mutant rabbit a look over, see what his druid heritage knew about the creature. But for some reason he felt even Ri might struggle with this one. Considering Bjorn felt confident that this was not a documented creature. But now he felt a need to investigate himself. While he was clearly back in his lounging position with his feet on the table and book in his lap he was intently listening to Luthien's words. He was the sort of man that didn't need to look at you to know he was listening. "I've never heard of an island making people feel violently uncomfortable," he answered slowly. Curious. As a sailor they often knew about a great many tall tales. It was why this island hadn't necessarily shocked Bjorn. He knew sailor's tales had to come from somewhere. There was always a hint of truth to them.

She went on to mention inhabitants and Bjorn finally looked up from his book at her. "Did these 'weird scribbles' resemble anything you recognized?" Call him curious. While he wouldn't set foot himself on the island until he was absolutely sure he knew all the consequences, that didn't mean he didn't want to. He had an adventurous soul. "Did you catch sight of any natives?" From the ship he hadn't seen anyone other then those coming and going. Were there current inhabitants on the island? Or former? The more she spoke, the more questioned he had. He glanced towards the island, a look of contemplation. "What a curious place.."

[Deleted]

The island was unlike anything Luthien had ever seen or felt before. It was like a power high to her and while so many felt ill at ease she had no issues with it and could understand what made so many less than comfortable. The island was full of strange things and nothing really seemed stable, everything constantly changing and in flux, as if the island itself hadn't fully decided what it wanted to be yet. Some things seemed more or less stable but well, most of it was open to change. It was a crazy idea. She shrugged at his words. "By the looks of those shipwrecks ships don't have a habit of leaving this place. Or at least whatever kept this place sealed was designed as much to keep things out as to keep what is here inside. I doubt there are a lot of ghost stories about this place." She said after a moment of consideration.

He asked about the scribbles and she shrugged. "Some kind of writing or language. They were consistent but nothing I recognised. Don't don't really resemble any script or runes I've ever seen before, although you'd be better off asking a curse breaker about those. They've probably seen more than I have, although it stood out that they often didn't use half as many of the scribbles for their messages as our language does, so I suspect it's a different kind of language, though I'm hardly an anthropologist." She reminded him. Her specialisations were in very different parts of the world. Less savoury for sure and most certainly not in different cultures and their influences on the world and their landscapes. She left that to the more nerdy and social types. As he mentioned natives she shrugged. "From a distance? There were some more or less humanoid shapes between the trees. Not the social types. There were clear signs that it's a culture and I think there was a city but I didn't really go that far in." He was asking a lot of questions and she could only imagine the curiosity that compelled him to ask. It was what had her looking after all. She gave the mutant bunny a brief look. "Boogie seems to be quite docile for the most part. There are a lot of dangerous things out there though. I expect more than few deaths to be announced during the research period, and even more that end up hospitalised with odd afflictions. Whatever that place it, it seems like just about anything is possible out there. It's like nothing I've ever felt before." It was chaos, but since Luthien loved chaos and just about thrived on that she was hardly intimidated by it. To her, change was welcome and embraced.

@bjorn