Nico opened his eyes to a vibrant green scenery; the leaves and branches on the viridescent canopy swaying with the gentle breeze passing by.
"Where am I?" He let out a gasp. He felt the cold wind brush up against his rear end, sending shivers across his body. He stood up and looked over himself, finding his tattooed body naked and exposed.
"Yikes. I wonder what happened last night."
He glanced around with his eyes darting from one thing to another. He found many other people lying naked on the grassy field, like a hangover morning after a heavy night's out partying. Streaks of light pierced through the high canopy, showering the glade he was in with morning light- invigorating his senses.
Nico found himself in a very weird situation. He tried digging for answers in his head, trying to remember what happened the day before. He swore that he just busted a hard night's party then went on his way to go sleep at his friend's place.
He turned his gaze back and around, seeing gigantic trees dotting the entire landscape as green lights floated all around like fireflies in the morning.
He shook his head.
"I really need to cut back on some of those drinks man."
"No kidding." He heard a voice from behind. He turned around and saw a naked redhead glancing up and down at him. "Use the money to buy some actual food bro."
"Who are you?"
"Kai." He stood up. "Just Kai. That's all you need to know."
"Aight... Kai." Nico said, holding out his hand to greet him. "I'm Nico."
Kai took his hand and shook it hard.
"Are you gay?" Nico said.
"Nope."
"Aight. Just making sure."
"Seriously though," Kai continued egging him. "You need to fatten up."
Other people started waking up all around the glade, looking dazed and as confused as Nico first was. Two girls glanced all around until their eyes finally settled on Nico and Kai, their faces looking especially distrusting of the two.
After a long while of convincing that all the naked people here were victims of the situation, the people awake started to settle down in a circle to discuss what steps they should do next; feeling lost on their own. They huddle about under the green canopies, their skin bathed by morning light and the many floating green lights wandering around.
"I'm Nicholas." Nico said, shifting his gaze away from the girls. "But I prefer Nico."
"The name's Kai." Kai said as his face filled with a grin. "The one and only."
"I'm Saira." A girl said opposite of Nico, brimming with a friendly aura with brown hair flowing up to her shoulders. "This is a weird situation -being naked and all, but let's get along."
Nico and the rest of the boys tried their hardest to avoid eye contact with the girls, although it was especially hard given the current circumstances they were placed in, right across each other with not even underwear to hide behind.
"I'm next." A dark-skinned man with a goatee coughed, keeping his eyes on the grassy floor. He was a buff person yet had a deep soothing voice. "I'm Jason, Jason Toddley. Nice to meet all of you."
"We're up here you know." Saira teased, prompting the group's laughter. "Just kidding, I'm still naked."
"Guess that leaves me." Another girl said as she eyed the three boys across her. "Before that -Kai. That's not cool."
Kai then quickly turned his eyes away.
"Anyways, I'm Kristine." She gave a smile that bloomed with her short black hair. "Hope we all can get along."
The group was huddled up at the center of the glade, surrounded by sleeping people that still had no idea of the current situation they were in. Their voices penetrated the woods, accompanied by the occasional snores.
"Are you sure you didn't, like, touch me?" Kristine said, staring daggers at Kai.
"Like I was saying," Kai said. "I woke up at the same time you did."
"That could've been an act."
"Come on." He threw up his hands, gesturing for Nico. "Nico, tell her."
"I don't know man, you do seem to be like that kind of person."
Kai gave him a flat look.
After a while of awkward chatting- mostly because of the naked state they were in, nothing from their memories hinted at the current situation. They agreed to separate for now and explore the woods to try and find some answers and things to help with their current issue- and mostly to find clothes.
Nico set out on his way. Strange and alien plants dotted the living forest, ranging from giant trees the size of old redwoods to glowing flowers and shrooms. The unfamiliar environment coupled with animal noise, which he was very certain weren't that of cute dogs, gave him goosebumps -although not enough to prompt himself leaving without any cover for his bottom half.
Nico pondered his current circumstance every once in a while as he was looking for makeshift clothing, with the daylight seemingly rushing by the hour. Ever since he woke up, there had been many bizarre thoughts racing inside his head.
"I might've been drugged." Nico said to himself, looking over at a patch of luminescent red flowers. "No wonder these plants are all glowy and stuff."
He squinted at the flowers, rubbed his eyes, then squinted again.
"Fuck."
. . .
Nico returned to the starting point; the glade where he woke up with all the naked people. Now, he could see that most of them were awake and about -confused and jarred as he first was when he awoke. He made for a familiar face in the small but angsty crowd.
"Where're the others?" Nico waved to Saira, her body now covered with feathered, banana-like leaves.
"Before that- what the hell are you wearing?" She looked him over, a hint of a laugh growing on her face.
"It's a loincloth." Nico said. "Found some weird vines, twisted them together, grabbed leaves, then boom."
"That is not a loincloth."
"It is."
"Are you even trying to cover up those things?"
"I am. That's what a loincloth does, just the bare minimum."
. . .
"What is that?" Kai gasped.
"A loincloth."
"A loin- what? Anyways, here," he handed Jason a makeshift skirt made of strange orange leaves. "I knew I couldn't leave you on your own. Trust in big bro Kai to take care of baby Nico."
Nico grabbed the skirt with a surrendered look.
The three then went on moving through the crowd of people, looking for the other two; Jason and Kristine. After a while, they found them both talking with a stranger.
"Damn, that's a big red flag." Kai whispered to Nico, gesturing towards the new person. "He's hot and tall. Quick, cover Saira's eyes for a second while I deal with him."
Kai sauntered forth, giving his best confident walk and strafe as he marched towards the three, leaving Nico and Saira to the dust.
"Does he look that hot?"
"Compared to you two? Very." Saira let out a smirk.
"Aight." Nico sighed. "My hands or the loincloth, pick your blindfold."
Saira gave him a dry punch and a giggle as they continued along the path towards the other three. Kristine gave them a wave as they neared closer, gesturing for the other person to do the same.
"Damn he is that hot, even I'm calling it."
A loud commotion burst at the very front of the crowd, mostly made up of awestruck voices. A rhythmic flow of flutes, bells, and chimes then overshadowed the loud commotion, like an angel was sent down along with a band of musicians.
"What's going on?" Nico asked a nearby person scurrying to the front.
"I don't know mate. I just heard that there was this group of drop-dead gorgeous fairies showing up out of nowhere."