vestigenet | VIDEO | @nobodyspecial | Backdated to early February

[ From the moment the feed clicks on, Naminé looks... uneasy. That's probably the word for the way her eyes flicker off to the side rather pointedly, as though she's got something in her sights that she's not exactly happy about. Then the shy uncertainty of having to address her fellows at large redirects her attention, and she focuses on the camera with what would have been an, 'um,' if she'd given it enough air. ]

Hello, everyone. [ That's greeting enough, right? ] There's... something that I thought I should share. [ A hesitation, then, ] But-- Vivi, if you're watching this, maybe it'd be better if you looked away for this part.

[ She waits just a moment - to facilitate said looking away, perhaps - before turning her camera around. What it was that was bothering her is immediately obvious, since the thing in question is a very dead, somewhat mutilated elk not far from where she's standing. A few hesitant, crunching footsteps bring the view closer to the carcass, but Naminé herself doesn't seem particularly eager to get any nearer. ]

This isn't the first one I've found in the past few days. The other looked like it was really sick, but this is...

[ Well. Perhaps the imagery is self-explanatory. ]

It seems like it was hurt by another animal, but I've never seen anything like this here before. Does-- anyone know what could have caused these sorts of injuries?

[ Because it's all well and good if it was those mountain lions, yet not so much if it was something else, something that's less of a known quantity - and at the moment Naminé's definitely leaning toward the latter. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It looks like necrosis. Poisoned, likely.

[ Despite his level tone, he's absolutely fascinated. ]

It might be a new type of monster? After that event with the things in the trees, it seems possible.

[ There's a faint murmur of 'poisoned...' as Naminé frowns at the corpse, now off-screen. She doesn't have the same interest he might, necessarily, but certainly sees the necessity of figuring all of this out. ]

Whatever it is, it does seem new. I haven't seen any animals with marks like those or that look like they've been poisoned, and now there are two close together. It's probably not a coincidence.

[ Definitely not in a place like the Containment Zone. ]

But if the animals are being poisoned, then doesn't that mean we should be careful, too? It has to be coming from somewhere.

[ It should probably take elk off the menu for any would-be hunters, anyway. ]

[ He has an inkling, actually, that this might be due to his influence but is careful with anything that might give that impression. He doesn't know for sure, anyway, but since he recalls the DNA he was given to play with- Well, it's more likely than it isn't. ]

It does, yes. At least the signs of poisoning are obvious so it should be easy to avoid unwittingly consuming any.

[ He might though, for science's sake. It's fine. ]

Can you send me close-up pictures of the bites? If you'd rather not, sending me the location of the animal so I can examine it myself would also work.

[ Naminé, suspecting nothing about his involvement, does seem somewhat appeased by the notion that the poison might be avoidable, although her mouth keeps that preoccupied little purse. ]

I suppose that's true. Still... I wonder what it is they were eating, or if it was introduced that way at all.

[ Straightening slightly at his request, the way she blinks at the camera suggests she doesn't exactly like the idea of fulfilling it. Despite that (and a couple quick darts of her eyes between the screen and the dead animal), ]

... I can try. [ Her hesitation is palpable, yet after a beat, she turns the camera around, angling it toward the fallen creature. There's a little sway as her weight shifts before she convinces herself to take small steps forward toward the corpse. ] Just-- please tell me when I'm close enough.

[ And not a moment later, because this is far grosser than anything she's accustomed to dealing with. ]

Hard to say with the limited information that we have available.

[ If he recognizes her discomfort (he does), he doesn't acknowledge it. He'd offered to go himself but if she was willing to take the picture that would save him time and energy. ]

I appreciate it. [ He has the decency to say that much at least. As she hovers close to the corpse, he'll take a couple of snapshots on his end before saying- ] That's good, thank you.

[ A faint hum suggests her agreement; it really is hard to say with so little evidence. Nearly murmuring, she muses, ]

I guess if it were in the water we might have found about it before now.

[ Which would be one of her main concerns, honestly. Not accustomed to having her discomfort acknowledged (in any considerate way) in the first place, the girl doesn't notice the lack thereof. Her, ]

Sure.

[ in response to his appreciation is a little terse for a voice as soft as hers, but that's only because of the situation itself. She dutifully holds the camera with relatively steady hands until he indicates the objective's completion, and then spares no time withdrawing back to her initial position not next to the mutilated corpse. She looks just a tiny bit pale when the video refocuses on her face, but she still asks, ]

Is that everything you need?

VIDEO | @nobodyspecial | Backdated to early February | CW: February event grossness

@cal.amari

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