Welcome to Gaia! ::

You awake in a strange place. The noonday sun beats down upon you and the hazy air feels unbearably hot.

Sitting up, you wince--the sand is scorching where it touches your bare skin--and look around. The ground is flat and rocky, covered in dull green, low scrubby bushes and yellow-green grass. In the distance you can see buttes and plateaus, colored red and orange, and a few yards away is a sandy, dry wash. There are gnarled trees here and there, most prominent around the edges of the wash and increasing in frequency the closer they get to you. Dark thunderclouds lurk on the horizon, promising a possibly violent storm later on.

Turning, you are startled to notice an outcropping of rock behind you, the vibrant red-orange striking against the clear blue sky. The trees cluster around the base and up the side of the plateau, the scrubby grass covering the sand. Patches of hard sandstone are clear of vegetation, and as you look you begin to notice the wildlife.

Gnats, attracted to your sweat, have begun to buzz around you. The calm, dead air is broken by the piercing cry of a hawk. There is not a person to be seen.

You attempt to gulp, but your throat is already dry. If you do not get water and shelter from the sun soon, you will surely perish.

Okay! Let's begin!

((Awesome! I don't think Desert will move as quickly as the CC, and it's just starting so there'll be fewer pages to keep track of too.
And as GM, I refuse to make first post. sweatdrop I've got gameplay set up and I want the first event choice to be as random as possible.))

((Yeah, that's good! I think I might wait a little bit before introducing the first event, just to see if anyone else wants to join for the beginning stuff. This can probably be done with only one person, but it'll be tricky.))

A sort of crust glued Tuesday Halstien's eyes together as he slowly roused in the blazing heat. He forced them apart and took an experimental glance around with squinted gray-green eyes. He dragged his fingers of them, ridding them of the crumbly film from sleep.

The heat didn't particularly bother him. He thrived on it. It was the conditions that concerned him. How did he wind up here? The last thing he recalled was burning down suburbia with fireballs for a spot of entertainment--and then bam! Maybe he was in Nevada? Arizona?

He glided slowly to his feet, shielding his eyes and glancing around. A silhouetted figure, clearly human, bounced toward a crop of trees. He decided to follow it and see what he could determine.

((Never fear, I'm here! And even rhyming while at it!))

((Okay.
I had wanted to get more character interaction in before the first event, but...I guess we'll see.))

(( I'm here! Like I said I would be! Oiy~ Okay. So I don't have a good feel for her yet so this may..umm...be bad. lol...))

Silence. What was the last thing she remembered happening? Thoughts pushed sluggishly through her brain trying to catch her up, but something held her from discovering exactly what had happened. There was something missing. The tension of the frown on her face caused her to wince with pain before she struggled to an upright position.

The sun was taunting her, baking her already warm flesh into something else. Finally able to open her eyes, Cynthia took in the rugged landscape. Sand stretched out in front of her, cracking from the sun like an over cooked pumpkin pie. With the thought of pie, the girl's stomach grumbled angrily from lack of nourishment. A moment longer of taking in the landscape, she pressed against the rock face that was behind her, before taking in her own appearance or at least what she could see.

Her hands were covered with dirt as were the visible parts of her body including her calves, stomach, arms and she was sure her face. Her clothes were torn awkwardly and fit her form loosely as if someone else stretched them out which could be possible since she was only thirteen. Frowning at the lack of foot wear, Cynthia shifted her gaze to her surroundings again, catching sight of a cropping of trees, as well as what appeared to be figures moving toward it. Not knowing what else she should do at this moment, Cindy began her own trek toward the cropping of trees.