Welcome to the Character Development Threads! These shared story exercises allow you to develop your characters in a setting shared by other authors and their characters. No sign-up is necessary; simply look over the last few pages and hop on in. If you need questions answered or a recap, head over to our discussion thread
and ask; we’re happy to help. There's also a trope page (with location descriptions and other info).
Archipelago is semi-casual — no violence on the central island, but the rest are fair game. Other islands are built on-the-fly by the tropers whose visiting them, but you should probably grab a few others before having your characters head off — there's not much point wandering an island alone, since this is supposed to develop characters by bouncing them off one another and putting them in unusual situations. Be sure to communicate with the tropers you go with so you're on the same general page.
With thanks to, among many others, Gault, who came up with the initial idea, Nrjxll, who wrote the first draft I shameless ripped off, and the various people who contributed to the trope page location descriptions.
[[Current Time: Early Morning]
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL INTRO FOR THIS THREAD
This has made the hub island something of a designated neutral ground for various strange characters and dimensional travelers. A small cluster of buildings has sprung up near the one natural harbor and its dock: a couple of bars, a couple of casinos, several shops, and even the cheap but comfortable Pax Island Hotel. This is not a tourist trap, though, as much as amenities for the visitors that come here for various reasons. The Hotel's entrance leads out to a central square, with a shamelessly cheesy tiki bar calling itself the Big Kahuna and the Pax Island General Store being the most obvious, though not the only, services.
Inland, the island is covered in jungles that rise steeply into a central mountain, covered in ruins that don't seem to exactly match any of the local cultures. Apart from that, though, they're harmless and unrelated to the area's strangeness. The population on the island, humans of mixed origins, are quite used to the strangeness of their island, staffing the amenities and filling newcomers in but otherwise keeping to themselves.
Beyond this hub island, the archipelago grows more mysterious and dangerous. Fogs often cover the ocean, and compasses and other forms of navigation don't always work right. There are at least a half-dozen other islands at any one time, but that's all anyone can say for certain. The docks on the hub island offer numerous boats for visitors to travel to these islands, either under their own control or with the aid of a local sailor. Of course, there's always an element of risk involved with visiting these islands, because you never know quite what you'll find. One rule has proven consistent, though: any truly catastrophic event on an island tends to result in it vanishing into the fog, never to be seen again.
edited 27th Jun '14 6:59:52 PM by KillerClowns
Big Kahuna
Kaguya didn't have much of a visible reaction, or much of a reaction at all for that matter, to seeing just why Howell usually covered himself up like that. She just looked him over for a second or two with an expression of mild interest, before shrugging and staring off into space again. She still wanted to know just why he looked like that and why he went to such lengths to hide it to begin with, but again Samuel's presence was enough of a deterrent to keep her out of Howell's head. Hayate would no doubt be pleased to know that she'd restrained herself, even if it was out of fear of retaliation rather than out of courtesy.
Hayate, meanwhile, didn't even notice the unveiling. "Out of all the youkai, the nue is one of the closest to the traditional definition of 'monster,'" he explained to Regina, "Nue usually come in the form of a beast with the head of a monkey, the body of a tanuki, the legs of a tiger, and the tail of a snake. Humans often paint them as actively malevolent. In reality, while it is true that most of them tend to not care about the well-being of others, it is a rare nue that actually wishes ill upon anyone it meets. The one we met thankfully was more of a prankster and decided to feed us false information when we asked it for directions."
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
[Big Kahuna]
When Howell revealed himself, Nathan immediately remembered something. He had seen someone like that before, but their name had slipped his mind. He tapped on the table, trying to remember who it was.
George's eyes widened. "Oh...oh..." he looked over at Thomas, smiling nervously, "T-Thomas...is this the other problem you told me about earlier?"
Thomas nodded. "I was waiting until they were ready before I told you."
"Ah...ha...I see." George briefly looked at Howe and Iris, "Excuse me for a moment." He stood up, stormed over to Thomas, pulled him to the side, then whispered harshly, "I thought they simply had money problems, not this!"
"Hey, they can probably hear you." Thomas whispered, "And besides, all they need is shelter and some way to keep that condition under control. I came to you so I can see if I could let them join us."
"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" George rubbed the back of his head, "God damn it, Thomas. I don't know how you expect me to fix that! In all my years, I've never seen something like that. How do you expect me-"
"George, please. They're already depending on us, and I don't want to let them down. Please. Just let them stay with us. I promise you I'll never hide things from you or Nathan again. I just need your help now."
With a heavy sigh, George shook his head. "Fine. Fine. I'll see what I can do."
Thomas smiled in relief. "Thank you." He quickly went back to the table, then faced the others. "Sorry about that. Me and George had a little chit-chat." I pray no one heard us.
edited 5th Nov '13 1:15:20 PM by Masterofchaos
They/Them
[Quantum Princess D3 Hallway]
Adrian grated his teeth as the gravity ceased to be in the hallway. His anger was going to get the better of him and he knew it. Virgil saw the look on his face and put his hand on his shoulder to attempt to calm him down.
"You know we can win this without using your powers." Virgil said calmly, working to assure Adrian.
Adrian gave a sigh as he calmed himself and turning to Cogbeard, "Any thoughts on how to deal with this guy. I'm short for ideas, because if your blaster isn't going to work, neither are those guns."
[Big Kahuna]
Regina nodded at Hayate's explanation, "Interesting. If it exist, I've never heard of it, at least where I'm from. I've heard of Youkai though. I've meet a few Nekomata, slept with a few Kitsunes and pwned a few Futakuchi-onna in some games."
She giggled, "One time I-," She stopped herself, "That's better left unsaid actually."
She straightened herself as she continued, "I assume you're not from the same place I'm from if I've never heard of a nue then. So, where are you from?"
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
[Pax Island ~ Big Kahuna]
Iris's smirk didn't last very long. She had been hoping to finally have the pleasure of pulling her own 'talking fox' card and surprising the whole table. She knew she couldn't expect Regina to care, and indeed she hadn't even seemed to notice, but then Kaguya didn't see to care either—fair enough, she didn't seem to care about a whole lot happening at the table. But then the cruddy old talking fox wasn't even paying attention, which really soured Iris's mood. Nathan noticed, but he seemed distracted by something else.
It wasn't until George noticed that any real reaction came but it was hardly enough to make up for the rest of the table. Iris sighed and rolled her eyes while George took Thomas aside for a little discussion.
Howell, on the other hand, seemed pleased as a peach after the initial bit of surprise. He met the gaze of anyone who looked at him with his own enthusiastic, sharp-toothed grin. It was like the first day at a new school.
"Hey, no problem." Iris said, waving off Thomas's apology. "Better to know now than later, right? Just figured we should put it all out there. Besides, strange looks seem a little more subjective here on La isla de weirdos." She smiled at George and asked, "I hope you're all right with all of this George. Don't worry, Howell doesn't bite people he likes." She looked completely sincere for a few seconds, until a snicker broke her facade. "Kidding. Just- I'm just kidding." she laughed, then shook her head, "No, no, Howe's... Howell is just like you or me."
Howell leaned forward onto the table, resting his head on his arms. He glanced back at Iris and asked, "Can I take my coat off now?"
"Later Howe."
He huffed out a sigh through his nose and quietly observed the others at the table. When he noticed Nathan tapping the table in his concentration, Howell smiled and began to tap his own finger, matching Nathan's own tapping as exactly as he could.
every little word and every little step
[Big Kahuna]
George shrugged. "Well, I will admit, this was a bit of a surprise for me, but I never thought that Howe was dangerous, lassie." He shot a quick glance at Thomas, "I just wish this man would've told me earlier."
Thomas gave a nervous laugh. "S-Sorry."
George grinned and chuckled. "Ah, I can't be too mad at him. You two probably came a long way, and he did mentioned that you had some money troubles." He quirked an eyebrow. "Which reminds me, how did you end up here?"
Increasingly frustrated that he couldn't think of their name, Nathan sighed, before realizing that Howell was tapping just like he was. He quickly stopped and looked at his fingers.
"...You're having fun right there, aren't you?" he asked.
edited 5th Nov '13 4:46:18 PM by Masterofchaos
Big Kahuna
"We are from Japan, though I cannot say exactly where," Hayate replied, "At this point in my life, I navigate by memory and pay no heed to the signs and other things humans use to mark their ways. I do believe Kaguya's adopted home is somewhere near the massive settlement they call 'Tokyo.' You'll have to ask her for more details, but she doesn't seem to be in much of a talkative mood today."
He gave Kaguya a slightly disapproving glance as he said this, to no response from Kaguya. He sighed and shook his head before continuing. "Slept with kitsune, you say? Perfectly normal behavior for bake-gitsune, but I must question you if you mean normal kitsune. Because that would be a little..." He twitched a little bit, "...odd."
Kaguya's going to remain silent until either the food arrives or someone tries talking to her.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
They/Them
[Big Kahuna]
Regina noticed Kaguya's twitch, a look of embarrassment and shock came on her face as her mind formed an idea of what he meant, "I think we have different ideas of kitsunes," she laughed nervously, "It's just that, even though I come from a different place than you and I kind of assumed we have the same kind of kitsune."
She rubbed the back of her head, her pale face was flushed into a pink color from the embarrassment of the situation.
"I'm really sorry about that."
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
[Pax Island ~ Big Kahuna]
Iris bit her lip and nodded. "Uhuh... of course, of course. How we got here..." she lowered her eyebrows thoughtfully, placed her hands, clasped together, onto the table, and said, "Well, George to give it to you as quickly as I can, we were on a cruise through South America, and Howell got bit by a weird snake which caused a few physical traumas resulting in our highly-urged departure from the cruise after unfounded rumors regarding contagiousness sprung up and were unable to be put to rest. You know, the whole 'if you can't prove that it doesn't exist, then it exists' line of BS."
She glanced up at the ceiling. "This island was the closest thing we could head for. It's inhabited and has plenty of facilities which is great, you know, but we uh... we lost our luggage, so we're kind of screwed."
Around that moment, something caught Iris's attention from the table's other conversation. She suppressed a smile and said quietly, "Pardon me for a moment gentlemen." then, with a big grin, she turned her attention to Regina and Hayate and asked, "Am I going crazy, or did I just hear a Trendy-Tuesdays demoness mention banging mystical Japanese foxes?" She raised her eyebrows high. "Tell me I'm going crazy."
Howell meanwhile, stopped tapping as soon as Nathan did, and sighed again, though this time full-on with his mouth. "NNNNope. Not anymore." Having already been caught tapping along with Nathan, he scanned the rest of the table, though most were preoccupied with chatter. Then, he spotted Kaguya doing very little of anything.
Looking rather serious, Howell grabbed one of the leftover menus and raised it up to cover most of his face. Then, slowly, very very slowly, he tilted the menu down until he was just barely able to peer over it, whereupon he fixed Kaguya with a particularly intense stare for no obvious reason.
edited 5th Nov '13 3:50:01 PM by Ryuhza
every little word and every little step
They/Them
[Big Kahuna]
Regina gave Iris a look, one that was half-amusement, half-annoyance. She gave a smile laugh before turning to Iris to explain.
"Trust me, you're not going crazy. Yes, I have banged a few Kitsune. I've also banged a few Mothmen, a few Seers, a few Harpies, a few humans, both male and female and I've also banged a few fellow Gore Demons. Is there something wrong with that?" Regina gave Iris a glare, she wasn't liking the way she was wording herself.
The 'Mothmen' are actually actually female, Seers are my universe's equivalent of the Beholder.
Regina is a very 'sex positive' individual (She and Aseyu would get along fantastically) and she's kind of interpreting Iris's statements to be the opposite
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
Big Kahuna
"It's quite all right," Hayate responded, "I happen to be a bake-gitsune myself, and I'm not offended in the slightest. Just so we're clear, by 'kitsune' you mean the types of foxes that talk, shapeshift, and have other mystical attributes, correct? Because that's what bake-gitsune are, and for us such behavior is considered socially acceptable." He shook his head. "'Kitsune' is such a general term where we're from. Without the proper context, I have no way of knowing if you meant 'bake-gitsune,' 'kyubi no kitsune,' or even a perfectly mundane fox. I hope Inari will forgive you if you ever messed with that latter category. On the other hand, you have my utmost respect if you managed to get a kyubi no kitsune to give you his consent. Most of them consider themselves above such acts, and above most things mortal for that manner."
He neglected to mention that he knew exactly what Regina meant by 'kitsune' even before the conversation took this turn of events. He just didn't see the point in letting this little bit of potential amusement get away. After all, this was the most interesting conversation he had been involved in since he and Kaguya arrived here.
He turned to Iris and was about to tell her that, no, her ears were not deceiving her. As it turns out, Regina was happy enough to explain it herself. He made a foxy equivalent to a shrug, and added, "And I was explaining to her that for us it's a perfectly acceptable form of recreation."
Kaguya, who had been quiet for a while now, suddenly glared at the two of them. "Can't you two find something a little less explicit to talk about? I'd like to keep my food down."
She sighed and was about to go back to her silence when she noticed Howell staring intensely at her. She stared back at him for a moment or two, trying to figure out just what he was trying to suggest. After a while, however, she finally said, "You do know it's not considered polite to stare like that, right?"
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
[Quantum Princess D3 Hallway]
The stranger continued to watch, making note of Bernhard's powers. Though eager to test them, the stranger knew that would not be currently possible. The stranger would have to insert itself into the fight and hope none of the entities currently in it discovered the way to destroy the stranger. This seemed unlikely, but the stranger, though invincible, was also extremely fragile. Finally, after some consideration, the stranger began to slowly walk towards Bernhard, right hand outstretched.
edited 5th Nov '13 4:54:06 PM by KillerClowns
Drummer Boy
[[Jungle Path]]
Friedrich didn't appear affected by the story. It was tragic, obviously. It left him a bit depressed. But his face was as sour as ever. "It wasn't my intention to give you pain. You didn't need to tell me that. But I now understand why Violet's people so deeply disturb you."
He was mildly curious about how Esa intended to communicate with the spirits, so he wasn't really planning on leaving. The closest he came to being spiritual was visiting his stepfather's grave, but that was more sentimental than spiritual.
"I suppose it goes without saying, but don't tell Violet you still hate everything when you're apologizing. It won't exactly help things. Now, what made you so sure there's anything spiritual about this jungle, and do you know if we're getting close?"
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[Big Kahuna]
"So, basically, shitty people decided to kick you off a boat and not bother to help." George said, sighing, "The nerve. Well, don't worry; again, I'll be here to help you out." He noticed Iris had a joined another (rather disturbing) conversation, so he turned to Thomas and said, "Wonder where our waiter is."
"It's been less than a few minutes, be patient." Thomas said, "Unless there's someone with the ability to make food in two seconds." He smiled, "Now that would be awesome to see."
Nathan stared at Howe, before cracking a smile. "Do you always do that?"
[quantum princess C1]
"Ever heard of Oskar Schindler?" He sipped his tea.
[quantum princess maintenance hall]
He had a sinking suspicion that they were being railroaded onto the hard way.
"I do hope there's another way..." Raphael turned back, looking out the way they came in for possible entrances via the other decks.
[pax island harbor]
"Kyros," he said. The object, though physically tiny, was about as hard to miss as a bullfrog in heat. He went ahead and approached, keeping a safe distance until he could tell what it was. It looked... faintly organic.
[motel tv]
Marla thought a moment. She didn't get a very good look at what exactly it did as she was absorbed, but from what little she could tell, she went towards the back of the set.
"...The antenna. It drew me in that way. Look around the top of the unit. There's a little gap under the front frame; you can swing the antenna out. If we just find the transmitter it connects to inside..."
I'll describe what she'll find inside if/when she opens the TV up.
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
[Pax Island ~ Big Kahuna]
Iris put her hands up and shook her head, "Oh no, I'm not saying anything's wrong, I just find it uh, ahahuh, interesting to hear how much you get around. See, Hayate here is the first baka-gitsune I've ever met in my life, and you're the first 'Gore Demon' I've ever met." She shrugged and made a weak effort to stop smiling. "First impressions and all that jazz."
She managed to stay silent for a few minutes, but eventually, her nerve got the better of her. "So, do you manage to learn the names of these sex fiends before the proverbial pants drop, or is that a little too much luggage for the express flight?"
Next to her, Howell lowered his menu completely and narrowed his eyes just slightly at Kaguya. "Well, I disagree. People stare all the time. How the heck else are you supposed to figure out someone who is so quiet?" He paused, silently blinking a few times. "It's a good question, isn't it?" He said, then grinned, and raised his menu back up.
From behind it, he raised one snakelike eye to Nathan. He kept it on him for several seconds before asking, "Do what?"
every little word and every little step
They/Them
[Big Kahuna]
Regina expression went deadly still, her eyes narrowing to glare at Iris.
She took a moment to look toward Hayate, "I'll continue conversing with you in a moment." Her speech seemed cold. Not out of malice to Hayate of course, but out of keeping conversations separated, since one was about to turn very unpleasant and possible covered in pink blood.
She continued to glare back at Iris, "Is there something wrong with that? Something wrong with having sex with multiple people? Something wrong with enjoying sex?"
Her gaze intensified, and her body became tense, "Please, do answer those questions."
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
[Pax Island ~ Big Kahuna]
Iris stifled a laugh and shook her head, lowering her eyebrows in a poor attempt at acting serious. "Oh no no, I already said there wasn't anything wrong with it, didn't I. Hey, if it's your 'inclination' to get it on with any tit kisser horny enough to dig into your honey pot, that's your business, right? I'm sure it's difficult for anyone to resist a real hot tamale like you."
She leaned back in her chair, her arms folded, and a provokingly smug smile on her face. "I'm just wondering if you knew their names, that's all."
edited 5th Nov '13 7:05:28 PM by Ryuhza
every little word and every little step
They/Them
[Big Kahuna]
Regina was beginning to grind her teeth together, growling slightly under her breath, "No, I didn't know all their names, but by asking that question, you're implying that it's a bad thing to enjoy sex. That's a view I find fundamentally wrong."
Regina got up from the table and breathed out. She intended to handle the situation in a mature manner and not let her nerves get the better of her.
"I'm going to sit at a different table. If anyone wishes to continue conversation, I'd like discuss it away from her," She eyed Iris, intent on getting her thoughts across, "If not, just tell the waiter to send my food by me."
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
Sorry, I've been busy watching elections.
[Market Square]
Krajn let herself slump slightly. More humans. After what she had seen of the group inside the restaurant, she wasn't very surprised, but she was still disappointed.
She hadn't actually encountered enough humans to be certain she wouldn't get along with them, but it seemed quite probable from what she knew. Like most mammalian sophonts, they had weird social dynamics and their sexual psychology was all kinds of cracked. And humans in particular, like many comparatively-recent arrivals to the metacivilization, stereotypically had a disproportionately self-important view of themselves. It was hardly unique (the biwontek, for one, were even worse despite making contact 75 years earlier) but no less irritating for that.
For now, her immediate concern was what the more talkative newcomer - Sonuera ul'Netho, a name that did not sound like any human language she knew about - had said. She didn't bother trying to parse most of it, and instead inclined her head politely and said "No, that was not my doing. We were going to investigate it."
At that moment, a nanocam alerted her that Kyros had gone on ahead, and she slumped again. Zhrj.
[Pax Island ~ Big Kahuna]
Iris shrugged again. "Hey, do whatever you want. You're already familiar with that concept, aren't you?" she bit her lip and shut her eyes, trying hard not to smile. "I'll stop, I'll stop. You're leaving; all right, that's your choice. Goodbye then?"
She raised a hand to wave a small goodbye, but banged it against the table on the way up. "Oh! Ohhhhh ohhhhhh!" Her cry of pain quickly turned into rather explicit moans of arousal as she cradled her hand. Iris just couldn't help herself.
edited 5th Nov '13 7:43:03 PM by Ryuhza
every little word and every little step
Big Kahuna
The expression on Hayate's face changed from amused to very worried when Regina's mood changed. He knew that body language. That was the same way oni acted whenever someone dared call them "monsters" to their faces. That meant someone was about to get hurt unless things could be resolved very, very quickly. He wasn't worried about his own skin, but rather for Iris's. The things she was saying must have been extremely insulting to set Regina off like that. Even worse, Iris was acting completely nonchalant about the whole thing. This was likely to get really ugly, really fast.
So were his thoughts before Regina decided to pack up and move to a different table after strongly implying her dislike for Iris. Hayate breathed out a small sigh of relief before turning to Iris. "You're very lucky Regina kept her head on her shoulders," he said to her, much in the same tone he used to lecture Kaguya, "Otherwise, your fate would not have been a pleasant one." He noted her current behavior, and felt compelled to add, "Or should I say, your fate won't be a pleasant one if you keep that sort of behavior up."
Kaguya overheard most of what just went down, but felt no need to get involved now when she'd been staying out of it before. "Maybe the quiet person doesn't feel like getting involved," she responded to Howell, "Where I'm from, gawking at people makes them uncomfortable. I have a feeling it's the same where you're from. Why else would you cover yourself up like that?"
edited 5th Nov '13 7:42:53 PM by Yomegami
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
They/Them
[Big Kahuna]
Regina's muscled tensed as she worked to contain her anger. This of course, did not work so well.
Regina turned around and glared at Iris, "Wanna know why I'm called a Gore Demon?" Regina's face had turned into a twisted smile as she looked at Iris, "Well? Do you?"
A flash of light appeared as a large chef's knife formed in the air, which Regina proceeded to grab before it could fall. With a single stroke, she impaled her stomach with it and sliced across. As Regina removed the knife, light pink blood spilled on the ground. Regina cackled loudly before licking the blood off the knife.
From the wound, four, sharp mouthed tentacles slithered out. The tentacles looked like bits of the large and small intestines, save for being covered in pink blood. They snapped aggressively at Iris, loudly clacking together as they swayed.
Regina was feeling generous, "One second to run mothafucka!"
Anyone who knew her would note that Regina wasn't the kind of person to swear unless she was like this.
The intestine-tentacles lunged forth.
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
[Quantum Princess, D3 Hallway - Cogbeard, Adrian, Virgil, Bernhard, and The Stranger]
Sensing an unknown presence close by, Bernhard turned around and faced the stranger. "Hey, what are you doing here? And... what the heck are you?" he said, lowering his staff and pointing it at the stranger.
Cogbeard then motioned to Adrian and Virgil to follow him over to the cross-ways hallway, and said, "use them parts to push yerselves to me, we'll make a run fer the core while he's distracted. Much easier to fight 'em if we got surpris' on our side." One may have noticed that since Cogbeard was now standing on the floor, motioning to them from around the corner, the other hallway still had gravity.
[Quantum Princess, Central Maintenance Walkway Gap - Raphael, Irilemi, and Kina]
Raphael may notice on one of the pylons back the way they came a loose sign, almost falling off, indicating the presence of stairs, next to an unlocked door. If one were to investigate, an intact metal stairway could be seen inside, heading both up and down, marked 'Maintenance Stairway 5 - C Section Above'.
Kina stayed silent, looking nervous and uncertain as to what to say.
Sorry, no railroading here. 
But do tell me if it comes across as such, as I am sincerely trying to make this as much of a Wide-Open Sandbox as possible. It's also kind of funny, as the elevator is most certainly the easy way, given the current circumstances. Of course, they could always just walk back out of the ship the way they came, nothing would stop them. To clarify, the B section (cheap passenger rooms), decks 3 to 8 are accessible by climbing up the wreckage/beach a bit, from the outside.
[Quantum Princess, C1 Treasure Room - Adrian Kunstler and Azatha]
"You mean from Schindler's List? Of course, I've heard of him, duh," Azatha said, "are you implying you're like him? Also, I've noticed you don't seem to be too... talkative."
edited 5th Nov '13 8:52:01 PM by Sonzai
Danger: Intense gravimetric distortions nearby. Please reverse the polarity on your deflectors now.
The future of warfare in UC.
[Big Kahuna]
Samuel's full uniform snapped into existence the moment Regina managed to materialize a weapon, the black longcoat with silver trim materializing out of thin air around him. He muttered a curse at a speed that made it indecipherable and his hands snapped over to the card-shaped object in his hand. "Don't you dare, Steelheart."
"Affirmative." The female, metallic voice sounded resentful, timing itself with the way the blue jewel in the center of the card lit up.
Nous restons ici.
[Nulbarak Island]
When the crab brought its claw up, Askeda quickly flared her wings, slowing her lunge and flipping her so she was coming at it feet-first. She landed with one foot on each pincher, but pushed off and down before the crab could react. Her previous plan shot (for now, at least), Askeda scrambled under the crab again, but instead of firing arrows, simply yanked out the ones she had already shot in while staying on the move. There were only a few, so she could get them all while running in more-or-less a straight line.
Stowing her bloodied arrows back in her quiver, Askeda noticed that Tamara had been thrown out of the fight, although Layi and Kevin were tending to her. Well, someone had to; Askeda wasn't wishing death on Tamara just yet. With that, she turned to face the crab. It seemed to like the water and dislike the forest; maybe that could be exploited. Moving so she and the crab weren't on the same line as the other three, Askeda yelled out, "Ai! Tavrasko tsaen dyekan hlasoxe tse hrolvrasko pesenti hyanse hlasoxe tsekek!" Hey! I'm going to rip off those claws of yours and shove them up your ass! Of course, there was no way the crab could understand her, but maybe her tone would set it off.