EVENT ★ ZETA-12 FINAL WEEK

[futurologists]

ZETA-12: FINAL WEEK After team Audentes makes it out of the desert in more or less one piece, they'll begin to notice the environment changing once again. After the sparseness of the sands and canyons, vegetation and water once again become more common; eventually, they've found a lush jungle with plants and rivers both plentiful. And like the changing environment, the squidges once again begin to transform. Please select an evolution according to your choice. Please note, you must have submitted your choice to the thread in the previous logs in order for your squidge to evolve. For those who encountered the cave: If they went into the cave, their squidge has taken on one of the following features: a fox-like tail, an armadillo snout (with tongue!), or enhanced sense of smell. However, if they stayed above, their squidge has one of these: a beak, a prehensile tail, or enhanced sense of hearing. THE JUNGLE (WEEK 6) The jungle air is thick with humidity, light barely filtering down past the dense canopy of leaves overhead. Unlike the forest back at the beginning of the journey here, the climate in the jungle is almost stifling, so recruits may want to look for refreshing Rainbow Berries to snack on and keep their energy up -- but keep an eye out for the Lucifer's Poppy, as its effects can cause the journey to reach an abrupt end. Rivers wind through the jungle, with waterfalls ending in relaxing pools where recruits can try to beat the heat and spend some extra time with their squidges as the journey's end approaches. Like the other biomes, there are no creatures here -- no birds, no bugs, no jungle cats -- but that doesn't mean that recruits can leave their guard down entirely. Apart from various poison plants (such as the Beezlebulb and the Malboro) other hazards to look out for include slippery, moss-covered ground cover that may cause a hapless recruit to lose their footing, and the dangers of heat exhaustion. Unlike the previous biomes, there is no major choice for recruits to make here. Instead, they must bathe their squidge in the Wellspring, a bubbling, faintly glowing pool of water in the depths of the jungle. The Wellspring is responsible for triggering the squidges' final transformation and allowing them to grow into adulthood. In order for squidges to evolve into an adult, squidge parents must have completed a certain amount of tasks during the Zeta-12 mission. If these tasks were not completed, the squidge will not evolve and will remain in its larval stage. The evolution form can be found on this post. Squidges who successfully evolve into adults will grow in size, anywhere between 122-183cm (4-6'). They will loosely retain their rounded shapes, their limbs and torsos elongating, and any physical transformations will also grow with their size. In adulthood, squidges are less needy and frightened than in their larval stage, and generally have a calm demeanor (with exceptions made if they happened to pick up an aggressive trait along the journey, of course). Their language remains a wordless burbling, but they can communicate with their caregivers through gestures. After bathing their squidges in the Wellspring, regardless of the success of evolutions, recruits should prepare to depart Zeta-12 with the knowledge that their alien children are better, stronger, and smarter for the time they spent together. OOC NOTES This log lasts ICly for one week, and OOCly for 1.5 weeks. Once the mission is completed and the squidges are bathed in the Wellspring, recruits will have until August 20th to say goodbye and let their alien wards leave the metaphorical nest. Direct questions about the Zeta-12 mission here. And don't forget about the bounty board! After August 20th, Zeta-12 bounties will no longer be completable. Please remember to fill out your squidge success form! Participation is required to pass AC this month. If you have any questions about the form, please direct them here. Forms must be completed by August 31th, 23:59 UTC.

Comments

[evantuality]

This is what I get for letting him run around in a, a jungle instead of insisting on the sling...

[True to that statement, Evan's got an empty sling across his front, loose enough that it could easily carry the squidge were he to tuck it inside. Hanzo's deferred disapproval isn't quite enough to make him back off, and after a moment of waffling Evan sits, sighing heavily, on a fallen log near the stream's bank.]

And now there's nothing for it till he dries off, I guess.

[He glances at the man, uncertain, not recognizing him and not all that able to read him. Still, friendly overtures have done him well in the past among the Audentes, and Evan grimaces in what he hopes is shared frustration.] Do you find yours is getting more independent the farther we go, too?

[whatshimadayou]

Slings are better for infants. They have grown much since we first found them, have they not?

[For Hanzo, he'd insisted that Suzume find a way of keeping up in most cases. Fortunately, its evolution has permitted it to climb almost as well as Hanzo does; he cannot imagine keeping it in a sling, not these days.

He shrugs and pulls his gourd from the water.]

Somewhat. In the beginning, Suzume was very reliant on me. However, he spent more time with others of its kin. However, I do not feel as though it has lost any sense of respect for me as its caretaker.

[evantuality]

[That makes him glance at Hanzo, a little surprised. Respect specifically hasn't really been a part of his interactions with his charge; he cares about Imber, is protective of him and does his best to nurture the growing intelligence there, but aside from wishing the little alien had more respect for morning sleep-ins and personal space, it hasn't crossed his mind to demand respect at all.

He looks at the pair playing in the stream and shrugs, wrinkling his nose and deciding instead to respond to the first.]

You're probably right. About the sling thing, I mean. Certainly my back is the happier for the break. [He gives a little laugh; even after two missions with ALASTAIR Evan is not muscular. A solid month of walking, climbing and camping has left him fit enough, his stamina better than he had ever thought it could be, but that kind of fitness does not exactly show in muscle mass.]