Team 2: Day 2 Prep

With the spell having fully set upon himself, Hisha would proceed to walk with Lily and her clones, seeming by now quite unflummoxed by the day's events, despite the salty residue the drying of his tears had left. His Id continued to dwindle back into place, half bored and half tired, but observing as normal. Still no signs of sensorial inputs from external forces, so that, at least, was nice. In their haste, they had abandoned the lion's carcass that Hibiki left, an additional and unfortunate waste, no matter how necessary in light of the drama, but Hisha still had their food pack and scroll on his back. He thought about perhaps passing the burden to Lily, who seemed notably stronger than himself, but he also did not want to suggest such a thing and appear weak. Regardless of who carried it though, they had some food supplies available to them for the time being, with him having weighted their food in favor of some of the fruits and vegetables they had found over the meat they had cooked, as the vegetarian options should spoil more slowly. Lily had indicated that she could handle the water between her and perhaps her penguins. Still, as Hibiki was long gone, he scoured the surroundings through a haze of mental fatigue, seeking less so signs of danger than he did of the various sensors, cameras, and microphones hidden about. '

In short time, the woods encroached upon them, and the narrowing paths made for a more treacherous passing. The air, most curiously, seemed to thin out and lose a great deal of the humidity. He did not so much care for the heat, so the lowering temperature proved as a bit of a blessed respite, but lowered moisture content of the air and surrounding land could prove dangerous; he had just used the element to passing affect, so losing the small advantage was not a welcomed change. He'd continue on though, for by the time he fully recognized the change in the air and surroundings, they were in a disguised tunnel, leading them... somewhere. Throwing a glance over his shoulder, he noted the blockage of the passage, the trees having seemed to move in to seal them off. It seemed the proctors intended for them to leave the jungle for somewhere new. So on he would press, unless Lily had any kind of issue with it.

Should they continue, he would stumble into the ever smoothing floors and walls of a sight more familiar to him than he could have possibly known. Non-Euclidian space and tangled improbabilities were the domain entirely of his Id, and while he lacked the current control to exploit it, a maze alone did not scare him. What might lurk in it though did. He re-affixed his head-gear, gazing through the binoculars to scout the area, but failed to see any heat signatures at all. Very, very strange, to say the least. I don't pick up anything in here, but we should stay cautious either way. I don't sense anyone either for now. He'd never really revealed his meta-sensory abilities to anyone, and did not really intend to now, but felt it important to share with Lily that he couldn't see... anyone. Perhaps a trap, but ominous in any case. The architecture of the space gave him some notable pause though, and he decided to keep Adzuki close for the time being, allowing the bird to alight upon his shoulder and ride along for now. If only he could do that zombie thing from... from when?

He blinked the invasive thoughts away, but flashed a single sign to spawn a clone. That Kaori had really opened his mind in some ways to their utility, as well as Lily in all honesty, though he doubted how helpful she would be in the current situation, unless she agreed to some... personal privacy invasions that seemed unlikely. Hm... a maze. I believe in some histories they have been used as a prison, so the center could be dangerous. I think it's best we try and get the lay of the land for now though, unless you have a better idea. You didn't get a map from that girl I'm guessing? The strangeness of the place wore on him, though he couldn't tell if it was anything more sinister than the fact that he was mentally quite drained and the odd angles and constantly shifting gravity required a lot of extra brainpower to reconcile, which he couldn't help but attempt. If she had no reason to stop him, he'd allow his clone to go forward, taking a route that dipped to the left and down. At the juncture, it would itself split into three, which would each begin to explore ahead as systematically as possible, sticking together to a degree as an individual unit, coming back together if they wandered too far from one another. It would be slow work for them, but the meticulous redoubling should give them an effective mental map of the areas they traversed, even if the 3-way split taxed him more than he would have liked. Perhaps Lily could do the same, as the pair of them went in a third direction. If they ran into another group as they had in the jungle, having a firm grasp on the surroundings could prove invaluable.
 

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He nodded along with Lily as she simplified the division of their spoils, agreeing it made more sense to make it as easy as possible. He'd shrug off their backpack and hand it over, saying, Remember, the scroll is in their as well. He might have already mentioned that in their last encounter, but her reminded her all the same, slightly out of paranoia. He was not terribly worried she would run off with it - though perhaps he should be - but was more worried about external threats, especially as he could still feel his body pulling against sleep and exhaustion. Lily seemed mostly fine however. She must be more efficient than he with her chakra. It made sense with how she carried herself. He'd pull out two of the smoke bombs and flash bangs, adding them to Lily's things. Might as well take two, and he'd put them in with the 3 bars he handed to her.

Having assessed them, they did not seem dangerous, but did seem full of various proteins and other vitamins. Considering the circumstances, they seemed specifically geared towards long term survival in places like this, sustaining warriors in long-term missions. Perfect, actually. He'd munch on it as he gathered up all the things, keeping the empty backpack of the girl's for the time being as he released all of his clone. If Lily lead, he would follow somewhat on autopilot as he undid a few of the stitches of the back, deconstructing it (now empty) into a large flap of fabric. The memories of his clones flooded into him, giving him a picture of some of the pathways they had explored. As his bird flew, one of his eyes would go milky white as well, giving him some additional insight into the place. As he did so, the maddening architecture of the place pulling at the frayed edges of his memory. Something deep in him, deeper even than his headache, wanted him to get out of the maze, not move farther into it further. But the rational portions of his thinking told him of the most likely pathways into the maze, how to maximize the probabilities of finding whatever lurked in the middle. This way. Most likely path to the center area, from what I can teil. Well... there might not be a "center" I guess.... but the patterns seem to flow here. It could just be the other side. Lily would probably notice the increased strain in his voice, not debilitating, but present.

As she confirmed that she knew the basic technique, he breathed a sigh of relief and reformed all of his clones but this time having his first spawned clone divide itself into five, keeping two near him and allowing the triad to explore a separate branch that he had attributed a lower probability of success, but which might be valuable. The conflicting accounts from the clones, which normally did not tax him, felt extra twisted in this space, but he pressed on, relaying on Lily to actually physically lead the way, using her as a kind of a tandem pace-setter while he tried to commit the paths to memory and stave off the toxic influence of the space. It felt much more difficult for him than it seemed for Lily, though he could not determine why, nor did he have the mental bandwidth currently to worry about it. Maybe she was just better at hiding it. Ok, there's a small, uh, alcove I guess over here. It's a touch off the path that I think is most likely to work, but not terribly so. I think this is our best bet for getting a few hours of rest, if you need. He did not specifically said he would need some rest, but Lily would have to be braindead not to notice.

So, he turned a corner to a strange, three dimensional version of a "Y" shape, with one of the spokes terminating in a dead-end. Across from the "bowl" of the Y was another pathway, a set of stairs ascending upwards into a kind of balcony kind of affect, from which the lower entries to the pathway were visible. these stairs here loop around on themselves, with right leading to a dead end and left leading back to where we are, about 10 meters that way. The architecture here is not quite as large as when we entered; it might be getting smaller as we go in... Anyway, we can set up clones, or ourselves, at these two entrance points with the fabric from the pack, and use cloak of invisibility to to hide the entrance. Any unobservant passerby would simply walk by. We can then add a second layer at the mouth of the dead-end and place a few things there to make it look like a camp. Anyone then who does pierce the first layer may well miss the second hidden entrance. Even if they find it, we can make it look like a camp we've set, but aren't currently at. He turned, pointing to the balcony. We can actually rest in shifts up there if we need to, from that vantage we are mostly shielded from anyone above, and can see anyone trying to invade the fake resting site below. Obviously if any of our clones disperse, we'll be alerted regardless.

If Lily generally agreed, he'd begin setting up the triple layer of defense, but was open to input or other ideas. They'd need a total of at least 3 clones between them for this, and would need to generate them while holding the cloth he had made, but he'd begin by forming his first, which could itself form one as needed, should he need to fund 2 of them. He could probably fund all three if Lily needed, though very uncomfortably. Meanwhile, his original triad now reborn would continue to press deeper, covering their faces crudely with the duplicated material of the backpack in case they should be attacked, to provide at least a touch of subterfuge. They'd continue on for now, potentially until utter exhaustion took them, but seeking out the center of this labyrinth where possible.  

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Though he did not say it, Hisha greatly appreciated Lily taking point. Even if he had made many of the navigational decisions, her physical presence felt reassuring and helpful, and though he was not reading her mind, she was correct: something about the architecture of this place felt like it whispered to him, inviting him to a certain kind of madness. A madness he had fallen to only earlier that same day, though he did not himself recall well. Still, he felt himself growing thin, as if he were not real and there was another, realer version of himself emerging from the darkness. Good call on the symbols.

It seemed that Lily was... less than enthused about his need to rest, but she did not attempt to stop it. He assumed she would benefit as well, as soon the adrenaline would wear off as it was even now for him. His brain had been overclocking since the start of the battle, in ways he did not even fully know, and his mind always felt... ravenous. Lily might not experience it in the same way, but he had always felt that the faster his mind raced, the hungrier he got and the more quickly he tired. His stamina benefited his physical body less, in some ways, but he assumed that the long day would catch up to her eventually. He noted Lily making her own clones, setting up the defense of the entrance, so he would send one to the back of the dead end to defend it, stringing up the cloth with two of the titanium kunai and running chakra into it, reshaping the color and texture to his liking. He had contemplated the False Surroundings as an additional alteration to the landscape, but thought better of it, mostly for the mental tax. He'd need to sleep, and he wouldn't be able to maintain it while resting, while deferring it to a clone had its own risks.

Adzuki returned to them, and he ended his connection with him. The open air nature of some of the places had allowed the bird to scout much more than his clones had, and between those his binoculars, he had a generally good idea of the layout of the place, as confounding as it was. The maze seemed to have been built by someone intelligent, but not by someone truly poisoned by the Eldritch touch. As such, the space had not been bent as much as it could have, the lines not as confounding as technically possible with more chakra and fuinjutsu and various other elements of fuckery. The various information inputs indicated a certain kind of logic to the space, so he slowly built a clearer picture of where they "should" go. The should be able thus to approach the center when they woke and prepared, but with enough caution as to not spring traps. An invasive thought suddenly spiked, suggesting he should read Lily's mind to get her scouted information as well, particularly as her clones could cover ground more quickly than his, but he restrained himself. Even the ask was an insane invasion of privacy with dubious upsides.

His clone would take one of the empty hip pouches and a few of the kunai, as well as a single piece of fruit to put in the pack, placing it against the back wall of the dead end to play up the notion of a temporary camp. Thermal readings, as well as all the other scouting information he had picked up, indicated that an ambush should not happen, but preparation would not hurt. Should someone or something breach the shroud, his clone would release itself after a moment of trying to get a look at whatever encroached on them, but would not remain for more than a split second. Otherwise, it would pick everything back up to return it. Meanwhile, Hisha would settle in to a corner of their vantage, forming a makes-shift pillow out of the backpack. He felt very awkward stating, but, Sorry, but I'd like to take first rest. This place is giving me a massive headache. Adzuki will stick with you still though. He would relent, if she wanted first rest, though she looked like she may not mind. The bird was much higher up, but kept vigil. When they traded off, he would take a nap with Lily while Hisha and Sesa kept watch.  As Lily handled 2 of the needed 3 cloaks, Hisha's spare clone would also set out, exploring some of the more obviously false eventualities of the maze, in part to better understand the maze, and in part to explore should the place hold any secrets off the beaten path.

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Sleep came quickly to him, almost easily, despite the pressures of the exams and the strangeness and fear of this place. Even the bent walls and their constant, shifting whispers could not hold him from that temporary oblivion, and as he settled the exhaustion came over him more powerfully. The sure, rhythmic sharpening of Lily in the dead of Hisha's sleep felt almost soothing in comparison to everything else, a measure of sure, normalcy in a crazy time. The drifting memories of his fractured mind haunted him in the night, flashes of Innocence alive and dead, discrepant visions of her speaking without a voice to surrender juxtaposed with the silent end she had met beneath the earth. Through fitful bouts of sleep, an ever creeping haze of red spread across his vision, coming in from the edges to the center slowly throughout the night. As it spread, the trailing edge dulled steadily from red to green, fading, cooling.

The entire time, he had this vague feeling of being watched, of a figure looming just beyond his gaze, hovering in his periphery. He could not muster the courage nor presence of mind to shift to look, but he could not shake the feeling of an eyeless version of himself, as if one of Lily's knives had carved out his vision completely. It waivered, sometimes himself, and sometimes the face of Innocence, though it did not flicker too frequently. The sudden flash of green continually haunted him though, and this not the cooling of a heat signature, but the sharp, electric green of rituals calling out to the dead. Something in him, some tiny piece of his mind that felt somehow still aware of his sleeping state, almost impossibly lucid, took note. This was not his lizard brain, but some other facet, noting the confused flux of memories and experiences, made worse by the few minds he had already read prior to the exams.

He jolted awake, though Lily may take it merely as his remaining semi-on guard during the evening. She called a penguin to make water for them, and as he relieved her and Adzuki, he went to munching on one of the pieces of fruit they had saved. They should have enough even after both ate for another day at least, 2 if they rationed, and 3 with the bars as food and an absolute last resort. So they were.... ok, all things considered. And despite his fitful sleep, he did feel a little better. A little... more in alignment and centered with himself. Something still lurked like silt at the bottom of his mind, but he felt more in control about it now. Even a bad's night sleep really helped, despite the mind-bending landscape.

He did not have anything to sharpen, so he instead took a quick inventory of his items once again, making sure his various tags and nails were in place and at the ready, but otherwise continued to visually survey the area, running some models as to where they should go next. Once they both awoke, he'd have an even stronger picture of the area, and was more prepared to take it. And yet, the scouting of the area took its toll, and his body felt worn despite his relative mental acuity and replenished reserves. Still, he did not fully trust Lily to find a way out, nor the center. Marking paths was fine, but they had no clue how large the maze was, and it would only take... a few hundred cubic yards to confine her here forever. So, he scanned through the remained of the night, pushing to crack the code of the place.

When finally the dawn came, and Lily awoke, they'd prepare for the day. Hisha would sound significantly better, but might look a touch worse for wear. He did not feel exhausted, but his body felt heavy and worn. The clones would pop, one bringing them back the hip pouch and other items, the precautions ultimately unneeded. I think I've located the center. He'd pause, the sudden rush of memories cataloguing neatly for a second or two. Rapid, in either case. He closed his eyes. Ok, lots of dead ends and switchbacks. If your clones found a more direct path we can go that way; if not, I think I found one of the avenues through. There's... a kind of pattern here, as crazy as that might sound. But be on guard; it's still very possible the center holds some kind of trap, or imprisoned beast. He trusted Lily to take care of herself, but wanted to make sure she realized that she should keep her wits about her, not that she seemed the kind to forget. But all the same, he knew from histories and fables about what a labyrinth could hold.

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