June 9, 2022

Daniel walks out to the woods, holding his phone. Looking for someone.

"I apologize for the delay," says a man, stepping out from the shadows, "A few things came up on short notice. Good evening, Daniel."

"That's all right. Evening to you as well, Apostle." Daniel puts his phone in his pocket, examining the man.

"Curious," he says, "Your loved ones, were they taken or killed?" Apostle is around 5'9, blond hair, some scars. Appears to be wearing a pair of sunglasses on his head, as well as a mask with a crudely drawn smile on it. Aside from that, he wears a tuxedo and white, bloodied gloves.

"I'm unsure. As for the girls, probably neither. They're strong. They most likely could have outrun or even killed a couple of the attackers. As for Oleander, he's never at the house, so I'm unsure of his status. He doesn't use social media so it's hard to know where he is." Daniel sighs, "I'm sure all of them are alive. My group is on the stronger side. Even if they were taken, they most likely haven't been killed yet, based on how the organization operates."

"Have you taken refuge elsewhere for the time being?" Apostle tilts his head.

"I have. One member of my family, Claire, has been living with a group in Mississippi. Living with them for now."

"Good," Apostle steps closer, "Here's to hoping the rest are safe, then."

"Here's to hoping. I'm confident they are, but, as you may know, there's always that dreadful feeling about things like that."

"I understand that," Apostle glances around their surroundings, adjusting his gloves, "Have you been granted access to the path yet?"

"I believe so... he's not exactly good with communicating," Daniel shrugs, cracking his knuckles with his thumbs, "However, I know Claire has been."

"Also understandable," Apostle leans in to whisper to Daniel, "Once you’ve been reunited, take them to path. There’s a lake near the center of Black Leaves. Set up camp along the shore until the crimson woods are ready. That’s your best and safest option right now. If the Bleeding Tree or Slendershit have a problem with that, bring up my name. Tell them you were sent by me."

"Noted," Daniel says, stepping back slightly, "Crimson woods, lake near the center.. both sound all too familiar, haha. Slender seems to have a problem with me in general at the moment, but I'll bring it up if he decides to throw another..." Daniel holds his stomach. Hole's still there. "...Hissy fit."

"I'm not surprised it sounds familiar," Apostle stands straight, cracking his back, "Whereas hardly any proxies have seen them for themselves, everyone seems to know it deep down. As for his hissy fits, they're laughable, although mostly annoying. However, until he overcomes his current state, he is in no position to protest."

"Agreed," Daniel says, muttering something beneath his breath, muffled by his mask.

"I'm sure you've already suspected at some point," Apostle continues, "But since he decided to lose his goddamn mind, now of all times, the proxies will have to be united as one force. No more separated operations. It is the only way to win this war."

"Easier said than done," Daniel grumbles.

"Tell me about it! This wasn't supposed to happen for another few years, it would've been easier then," Apostle throws his hands in the air, letting out a small huff.

"Everything just.. happens so suddenly," Daniel sighs, leaning on a tree, "It's good to be prepared for this kind of stuff, but when you have no directions on what to do, it's hard to be prepared. Especially when promises of safety don't hold through and your home is destroyed by a bunch of idiots with guns."

"All too relatable!" Apostle laughs, "He tends to make promises he cannot keep, rather than will not keep."

"Seems so."

"Thus far the most difficult part of this suddem, as you agreed, unexpected challenge, has been getting everyone to cooperate with eachother," Apostle says, "They have a hard time playing well with the other groups. And, oddly enough, most don't seem to care about titles or ranks anymore, thus making order in general difficult to achieve. Not to mention lack of faith. More people like us would be greatly beneficial for the gathering of others, as is our main purpose. But, as our shit luck has it, one's fucking crazy, one's awol, one is deciding to see what the Moon will decide, and the Moon is waiting to see how entertaining things can get."

"Frankly it's annoying," Daniel mutters, "There's definitely gonna be a lot of infighting. Sucks. Unfortunately, don't think there's much we can do about that."

"Probably not."