In the midst of a dark forest:
Keira: It's not much farther, Silvinia! The poster said around this area of tree stumps, the creature is said to be lurking around here!
Silvinia: Keira, we're pretty deep into these woods. The sun doesn't penetrate through these trees very well and it's only getting darker...
Keira: Don't worry, the townsfolk said this creature shouldn't be taller than 3 feet. With that height, sounds like you only have to worry about their speed.
Silvinia: Y-yeah, no problem, but you really can't see that well in this area. This deep in the forest, there might be other creatures that never got witnessed and we might not know about them! It's not even what we're looking for, we don't know if there's some other threat that'll come out of nowhere.
Keira: You got me, Silvinia, we're a team. We also have our weapons if it gets out of control. I got your back, you've got mine.
Silvinia: ...You're right, I get ahead of myself sometimes. I really appreciate those words.
Keira: Besides, this poster says there's a great reward if we can find out anything more about it. I don't know how much they mean by anything, I guess more about its appearance? We could stick around to see what it eats or if it has a nest for eggs. I know you don't want to be here too long, but let's get a chance to know a little more about it. ...It seems like there's only so much to learn about it, this outline only shows what looks like a chicken.
Silvinia: Keira...speaking of getting ahead, I forgot to mention...there was only one poster.
Keira: Wait, that explains why we have two papers...did you rip it in half?
Silvinia: Sorry! I saw this poster asking for more details about a creature, and I wanted to show you it but the crowd of people was too much. I had to get in and get out! I fell from the bulletin board with a section of the paper to share it with you, but then I found you were also in the crowd with the other half in hand. You told me "Silvinia, we gotta check out this chicken!" and we made a mad dash over here. I forgot to mention it in the rush and a small glance at my half once we got into this forest didn't reveal anything to me at first. But looking at it again now, maybe there is more to this creature.
Keira: Nah, I got too much into a sense of adventure, I really wanted to see what makes this chicken so unique in this area. I'm very sorry, you know how much I let the rush to get me. Let's check this out together!
Silvinia: Keira, you really can be too kind at times...okay, let me fully roll this back out.
Keira: Okay, seeing the whole picture...ooh, this chicken has what looks like a dragon tail! Or maybe that's more like a snake, but those sections of wing shout dragon to me. Silvinia, the allure of this creature just got more exciting!
Silvinia: I feel like I heard of such a creature...chimera? No, that wasn't it, maybe something more like-
Keira: Wait, Silvinia, hold my part of the flyer! Around that fallen branch...I see it. It has those wings and the tail! It sure likes to jump around a lot...wait, I think it noticed us, it's looking this way and starting to narrow its eyes.
Silvinia: CO-COCKATRICE! KEIRA, DON'T LOOK INTO ITS-
Silence. Two heroines fall as two sculptures stand in their place. Days pass. Days become weeks. Sections of hair and clothing have been weakened by the petrification, chunks of them fall as frequently as the tree leaves do. But news emerges of two enthusiastic girls going into a forest and not returning. A searcher has been made aware of such a situation. A lone wanderer? Or can they arrive with more company? The story may one day continue...
And now entering the world of Hololive, video game, and anime ASFR, I welcome OC ASFR into the fray! I had a chance to answer some questions regarding a few of kreuzfarer125's characters. I enjoyed hearing about a world where despite having advanced technology existing in a sci-fi setting, it's still just as simple to be susceptible to petrification and other types of suspended animation via magic or mythical creatures. It's been a fascinating thing I thought about where it's good to be protected against dragons and goblins, but what about things that just need you to look at it like a cockatrice? Seems like something that'd be easy for many to not consider, and that type of idea got my attention.
I learned some characteristics and got to write up the above story prompt to showcase some interactions and get a setting in place. I also wanted to do it as it's been a few months since I did a background proper, so wanted to refresh myself with a setting I wanted to mess with more, grassy forest. A lot of light layering since I wanted a fairly dark forest, but wanted enough light to still showcase the statues and mess with colors that didn't seem too muddy. Still plenty to learn, but I'm content with the background, especially had fun drawing characters (indefinitely? >.>) frozen in shock.
This is a Part 1 of sorts to lead into seeing what shenanigans other characters in this universe shall get into, probably coming across Keira and Silvinia to help them out, meet a similar fate? I'll soon see venturing into this story in a few months at least two or three more times. Looking to see how this and many other ideas unfold down the line!