Nico opened his eyes to a lush green canopy. Streaks of light seeped through the leaves and branches, gently settling on his skin to give him warmth.
"Where am I?" His voice was rasp. A cool breeze then swept by, invigorating his senses as the grass below tickled his bottom.
Nico stood up before looking over himself. "I'm naked."
He brushed his fingers all over his body, tracing his dragon tattoos from the side of his neck down to his torso to make sure of it. Yeah, he was naked.
Nico then glanced around. He found himself in a small glade in the middle of a forest. Giant trees the size of redwoods dotted the background with streaks of morning light breaking through the treetops, showering the forest backdrop with a warm tinge. Waking up in the middle of the woods with no clothes on was strange even by itself, but it wasn't the strangest thing- it was the other naked people sprawled all over the glade that really drove it home.
"Yikes." Nico glanced around, eyeing the people asleep all around him. "What happened last night?"
"Yo." A voice came from behind. Nico turned around, finding a redhead squatted on the grass staring up and down at him.
"Hi?" Nico said, meeting his gaze. "What's going on here?"
"I don't know, I just woke up and here I was." The redhead stood up and held out his hand. "I'm Kai."
"And I'm Nico." Nico took his hand for a handshake. He fixed his gaze up front towards Kai, not daring to look down. "By any chance, are you gay?"
"Nah."
"Good." Nico then paused. "Not that I'm homophobic, it's just-"
"Yeah, I got you." Kai grinned.
Others around them had started to wake up themselves, steadying their own two feet before standing up. They hadn't said a word but their faces told everything- surprised by the bizarre situation they now found themselves in.
Two girls caught Nico's attention. They were glancing around, confused just like he was just moments ago. One of the pair had flowing brunette hair that reached to her bare shoulders, while the other had a blunt bob that perfectly framed her face. They were looking all around as if they were doubling back on this situation being a dream. But it wasn't a dream. Nico pinched himself to confirm that.
The girls then meet Nico's gaze, with Nico turning away as soon as their eyes met. Nico spotted another person on the far side of the glade. It was a swarthy man with a buzz cut that complimented the muscles he had on him, and if anything, the man's body was the perfect example of a bodybuilder's- lean, bulky, but not too muscular to scare away people. The man turned his attention to Nico, giving him a wave. Nico returned the gesture as the man then started towards him and Kai.
Five of them were now awake amongst the others still asleep on the grass field. If one thing was on their minds, it would be how they got here.
And that was the problem.
Nico couldn't remember why he was here in the first place. All he could piece together in his head was that last night, he was out partying. Hard. It was his friend's birthday party, with the event taking place right inside the friend's house. Music, dancing, and alcohol were the essence of parties, and that eventually led to Nico's downfall.
He was pretty hammered midway with all the beers until he finally gave in on a couch- but not before puking all over himself. He was sure to wake up with a heavy hangover, but feeling himself now- he was perfectly fine. He couldn't even smell the vomit he was bathing in the night before.
"Hey, uh, Kai?" Nico turned to Kai.
"Yeah?"
"Do you have any idea how we got here?"
"Nope." Kai stretched his arms. "Last thing I remember, I was out surfing with my pals in Japan."
"You're Japanese?"
"Yeah."
Nico then glanced back to the man walking to them and then to the girls. "Should we talk to them? You know, ask about stuff?"
"Sure, I'm down." Kai followed Nico's gaze to the two girls. "I don't think they'd want to though."
"I'll try anyway. I mean, we've all seen naked guys and gals before right? What's the worst that could happen?"
Nico turned to the girls, now starting to make his way towards them. It was an intimidating sight for sure, having a person with tattoos with no clothes whatsoever to approach two vulnerable girls. He kept a hand over his dick. If anything else, at least he wasn't swinging it around like a maniac. That was a good start.
"Hi." Nico said.
The girls looked him over with doubtful looks, slowly backing off.
"I'm not a predator, I promise."
"That's what they all say." The girl with the blunt bob said.
After a while of easing the tension between them, they finally agreed to catch their breaths for a moment to discuss the situation they found themselves in. It wasn't a complete bomb defuse, but it'd do for now- first and foremost, they needed answers. Kai and the swarthy man joined them.
They walked towards the edge of the glade, sidestepping the many people still asleep on the grass. They then settled on a stone outcrop, huddling to a circle with their backs turned against each other. That was the one rule they all agreed on- no looking.
"I'm Nicholas." Nico said, wandering his gaze around. Since he couldn't face the others, he instead admired the beauty of the nature around him- if nothing else, that was a positive given the situation they were in. "You can call me Nico. I'm the tattooed guy you all met earlier."
He then turned to Kai beside him, nudging him with his elbow.
"Hello, I'm Kai. Nagano Kai to be exact- the one and only. I'm the Japanese dude with the red hair."
A short pause took over before the next person came along.
"I'm Jason- Jason Toddley. Since I'm the only black man here, that makes me easier to recognize. Nice to meet you guys." Nico turned his head, seeing on the edge of his vision the man from earlier. He couldn't make out much of his features given that they were almost back to back, but his muscles were the real deal. He also had a thick yet soothing accent, one you'd hear in documentaries about nature and science.
"Hi, I'm Saira." The girl paused. Nico couldn't see from behind, but he already knew who she was from her voice. "Let's see, uhm, I'm the girl with the brownish hair."
"And I'm Kristine Woods. I'm the girl with the short black hair, nice to meet you."
That was everyone. The group then set out to discuss what they were dealing with, with everyone giving their piece of what they could remember. Every now and then, small yellow lights wandered around them like fireflies in the morning. That was strange because fireflies are nocturnal insects and the lights coming from them were almost as bright as a faint light bulb. Nico tried to catch one but ultimately failed.
"I swear Kai, if you touched me while I was asleep- I'm calling the cops." Kristine said.
Kai threw up his hands in surrender. They were still turned against each other, so the gesture was more of a habit than anything.
"I swear I didn't, I woke up almost the same time you did." Kai then turned to Nico. "Tell her bro."
"Sorry man, but I also still don't believe you're not gay. You were ogling me earlier- I'm siding with Kristine here."
"I was just wondering why you were so thin!"
In the end, none of their memories hinted at the current situation they were in. They agreed to split up and cover the forest to search and look for anything that could help them with their current circumstance. In truth though, it was more or less an excuse to get out of the awkwardness they were in; an excuse to go find themselves makeshift clothes.
Nico set out into the thicket of the woods. He could still see the wandering lights from time to time around him, but in the end he paid them no attention. He had other things to take care of, and one on that list was the alien landscape he immediately found himself in.
The sun was starting to shift above the sky through the canopy, the hours now rushing by as Nico spent the better part of the day wandering the strange woods.
As Nico pushed himself deeper into the forest, the plants in the undergrowth made even less and less sense. The trees and shrubs and flowers were very alien, and yet somehow very familiar. If he was to describe the plantscape, it would be comparable to Pandora's forest more than anything with all the glowing flora.
Nico started to doubt his own thoughts. It almost seemed like he was going crazy. That, and paired with the sounds of the forest- the howls and the growls, being crazy almost seemed to be the more forgiving option. "God, please don't let there be a tiger here."
Nico's gaze then landed on a patch of flowers.
"I might've been drugged." Nico squinted at the flowers, rubbed his eyes, then squinted again. "No wonder these plants are all glowy and stuff."
. . .
People were now up and about in the glade. The sun started to set behind the woods, showering the backdrop with warm rays of orange. Nico made his way back after grabbing for himself makeshift underwear made of vines and leaves. He then surveyed the small crowd, starting towards a familiar face.
"Where're the others?" Nico waved to Saira. She had on a two-piece made of banana-like leaves, covering her chest and front bottom.
"Before that- what are you wearing?" Saira glanced down to Nico's underwear.
"What?" Nico followed her gaze. "It's a loincloth."
"That's not a loincloth."
"It is. I grabbed some vines, twisted them together, grabbed leaves, then boom."
"You're not even trying to hide those things."
Kai arrived shortly after, flexing his orange leaf skirt with his awkward swagger as he joined Nico and Saira.
"What is that?" Kai said, pointing to Nico's underwear.
"It's a loincloth!"
"That is not a loincloth- I should know, I'm Japanese." Kai then handed Nico another orange skirt.
Nico stared at the skirt now in his hands. "What does being Japanese got to do with-"
"Glad I fixed up an extra skirt. You're seriously lost without me bro."
Nico accepted his own surrender. To Kai's credit, the skirt was pretty well-made. He slid it on, then went on their way to find Jason and Kristine through the angsty crowd. In a way, Nico felt like royalty: separate from the naked crowd, they were wearing leaves for clothes.
"There they are." Kai said, pointing to Jason and Kristine who were preoccupied with a stranger.
"Oh no, that's a big red flag."
"What is?" Nico said.
"That." Kai pointed to the stranger. "He's tall and hot. Quick, cover Saira's eyes for a second while I deal with him."
Kai sauntered forth with his leaf skirt, giving his best confident walk and strafe as he marched towards the other three, leaving Nico and Saira to the dust.
"He is very hot." Saira said, biting her lip.
Nico turned to Saira, following her gaze towards the person. "Hypothetically- if you were to put us side by side-"
"He'd win by a landslide."
"Ouch."
Saira gave Nico a dry punch and a laugh before continuing on- until the sound of heavenly bell chimes paused them in their tracks. The bells rang throughout the glade like holy echoes, catching everyone's attention. Each person turned their gaze and fixed them to where the sound came from as if captivated and charmed.
Nico started towards the sound, with the crowd immediately gathering in front of him. He prodded the person in front.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know mate. I haven't seen it for meself, but people are talking about some angels and fairies and all that."