Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Deep Forest—Campsite
"Yes. The pine cone," Mahvash answered Remix, still grinning.
She skipped back when he got his bearings and served, slowly twirling before making a showy spin kick... which missed entirely before the daeva skipped again and sent the cone flying back his way with a second try and a small smile at Remix. "Oh, you'll have to show me the moves. And perhaps not be so quiet? Don't you have a beat for this game?"
edited 14th May '18 4:26:42 PM by CenturyEye
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Campground
The pine cone hit Remix straight in the chest, and after staring dead ahead for another moment, he slowly lowered his head down to look at the damned thing. He shook his head, and tapped his faceplate a couple times to jostle himself alert as he listened to what Matten was saying."Yes, music! Now that's more like it! Good idea!" He exclaimed, the suit LEDs beneath his cowboy attire flaring to life. "I never say no when someone wants me to turn up the speakers
." His speakers roared to life as they started blasting out music, and got louder and louder still with each passing riff.
"Try to hit it to the rhythm, good practice for coordination - never know when it comes in handy if we need to fight together, no? Let's see how you do, okay? Keep it simple until we get in the groove and use the fancy kicks once you're ready."
He started tapping his foot, bouncing his knee up on one note and down on another, bobbing his head to the music. Dropping the pine cone as it started one riff, he kicked it up towards Matten in an arc when the bass dropped.
edited 14th May '18 5:13:04 PM by nman
Deranged X-Mas Figure
Campground
Flora clapped her hands, bringing Class 1 to attention. "If you're all done setting up, it's time for our first activity: Interspecies Diplomacy 101. You had a taste of it with Titania, but the fairies are far from the only species to reside in this forest. In this line of work you run into any number of species daily, and while some of their numbers have integrated into human society, others have held onto their old ways and traditions. And it's no truer than here. Heroes often have to play the role of diplomat, and so it's important to learn how to interact with other species with diplomacy and tact. Lest you want to start a war."
"In any case," she said, "we'll be meeting with the driads. I have a considerable amount of clout with them for obvious reasons, so they should be rather amiable. However, this won't be a cakewalk. There are other creatures in these woods that may not be so friendly. And with some of them, diplomacy isn't an answer. Lucky for us, many of those sorts of creatures are considered pariahs by the rest of the forest and are fair game. But whatever you do, don't lay a finger on the werewolves or the catpeople no matter how aggressive they may seem. Or else you may start something that no-one can finish. If we do run into them, leave any potential negioations to us. With that said, I believe we should get going. Don't want to be stuck out there after dark, do we? Once you're all finished with whatever it is you're up to, we'll be off."
As Flora spoke, a tall, atheltic figure watched from a distance, crouching in the bushes like a cat. She was covered in thick brown fur from head to toe. Her ears were straight and pointed, and her eyes were yellow and sharp. Thick, sharp claws portuded from her fingertips, and a long, thin tail swished back and forth from her rear over her hocked legs. She watched the proceedings, carefully noting every action the intruders made. She then crept back from the bushes, easily shifting to all fours as she slunk along the forest floor. Once she was far away enough, she bounded through the trees and the brush.
Her people had to know of these intruders. Had to be warned. Of course, it was very possible that her leader wouldn't see them as such. Something about diplomacy and wanting to prevent a bloodbath. Whatever. She would tell her leader what she saw and tell her what she should do. And if she didn't listen? Then she would make her listen.
As she lept through the grass, she was so fixated on alerting the others that she didn't care to notice that she had stepped on something most perculiar. Not that she would know what it was if she had It was a small gold emblem. One that didn't belong in these woods. And it was in the shape of a swaztika.
Doctor Who — Long Way Around: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13536044/1/Doctor-Who-Long-Way-Around
Surrounded by weirdoes
Sam landed as Flora called them over. While the idea of being diplomatic left him uneasy, considering his own issues speaking to others, and how his classmates would fare, it could be a good experience. But there was something else to come.
Werewolves.
He could feel his body stiffen at this. Bad images came to his mind and a urge to run away tried to prevail, but a quick slap to the face took care of it. He had to do this, even if it might kill him. He will do everything in his power to keep the class alive.
"Keep going" He whispered to himself "Keep going until the end, then you can fall"
Wake me up at your own risk.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Deep Forest—Campsite
The daeva had developed a nice routine with Remix only for Flora to call Class 1 to order. So we are learning diplomacy by hard knocks. Well, 'bow to me or burn' only works for Nasu or the big AMs.
Still, Mahvash only half-listened to Flora, while shimming and twisting in rhythm to compensate for her now very simple kicks. "We really should make that hike when the moon is up. Cats are off limits, but we could find rabbits. No bones maybe."
"But for now," she sent the pine cone back Remix's way one last time, before spinning after it and hooking his arm in hers. "Escort me on our embassy to the dryads."
If perhaps they have not already come to us. The daeva's hair flowed about before settling into a chignon. Being tied like that made ranged detection harder, but out of this clearing an attack could hardly come from too far away without hitting foliage in the process. Plus, the deep forest swam in unfamiliar substances and auras, and she'd have a much easier time feeling them out with a smaller sample.
That Friend Nobody Likes
Campground
Andrew sat on his bedroll, contemplating diplomacy. After he'd given his message to queen Titania, she'd told him she had no idea who he was talking about. He'd apologized, which had seemed to amuse her. Then he'd left.
He hoped that the Interspecies Diplomacy 101 would go better. He doubted it. He always seemed to screw up social stuff. He then remembered something that brightened his mood a bit. "Hey, Sam and Hei! I have something I'd like to show off to you guys!" he said, walking over to the two other boys. "It's not really that impressive, especially when compared to Matten's recent transformation, but I'm still really proud of figuring out how to do it. Do you wanna see?"
Umm... so, I was here, I guess. If I wasn't, someone hacked my account. So, yeah.
Surrounded by weirdoes
Sam was pulled out of his thoughts by someone speaking to him. Turning to see Andrew, who had figured out a new trick.
"Hey" He said simply "Sure, let's see what it is"
Wake me up at your own risk.
That Friend Nobody Likes
Campground
Andrew closed his eyes, concentrating. The black veins on his face vanished, the fever stopped, his heartbeat slowed. He felt weak, sluggish, and tired. He swayed on his feet, grabbing onto Sam to hold himself up. Turning from his base form, that infected with the black mark, to that of a normal human, was something that he still needed to get used to.
He grinned at Sam and Hei, letting go of the former as he steadied himself. "Well, what do you guys think?"
Umm... so, I was here, I guess. If I wasn't, someone hacked my account. So, yeah.
Campground
Remix kept one ear on Flora as she explained what was going on, but most of his focus was on keeping the rhythm with the pine cone kicking that he and Matten had going on. It wouldn't do to make himself look like a moron when this damn game had been his suggestion.With her last kick, Matten followed it up by linking her arm in his. Yet once more, the fucking thing just hit him while he was otherwise distracted. Remix craned his neck backwards to look towards his six o'clock, then rotated it back until it brought his eyes facing forward again. Yeah, no, she was definitely talking to him.
"Okay..." he replied, thinking. Wait, shit, hacky sack music! His speakers dropped down in volume to a pleasant background, and switched to something smooth and peaceful. "I thought the first group of nonhumans we'd meet in school would be Canadians, this is going better than I thought, no? We're going to see some cool stuff and it's only my second day of school!"
"and what sort of bunny has no bones...?" he muttered under his breath.
Campsite
Hei’s eyes seemed to brighten when he saw the shades spot Lucy had pointed out. “It’s perfect.” He affirmed, with delight, before planting a brief kiss on her cheek. “You’re the b-best Lucy!”
With a wave of his hand, black tendrils emerged from the spot and moved his gear over, leaving him free to address Matten. “No dresses.” Hei stated, before complying. Another small gesture summoned a group of shadow creatures- this time resembling imps- that bustled around the campsite clearing away stray leaves and garbage into a pile. Once their task was complete, the imps would disperse.
Andrew called him and Sam over moments later, showing off the ability to change his appearance to that of a normal person. “That’s impressive. Can y-you still use your abilities like this?” Hei asked.
edited 15th May '18 12:32:04 PM by svenorzokarkoff
That Friend Nobody Likes
Campground
Andrew nodded tiredly. Being in his normal human form was exhausting. "Yeah... my standard druid abilities and abilities as druid of the black mark... most of the stuff I get just from being infected by the black mark, the enhanced strength, speed, endurance, those are gone though, as you can probably tell by how tired I am. The mental stuff stays though, enhanced willpower - yes, I know that's weird, considering the other stuff the black mark does to you - and about 30% of the pain tolerance, that stays, but, yeah, the rest is gone..."
Andrew paused for a bit, then said "Anyways, congrats on getting a girlfriend. I don't really know Lucy that well, but she seems really nice. The closest thing I ever had - and this was before I was infected, mind - was a best friend who was just as romantically interested in me as I was in her, and by that I mean not at all, but, unfortunately, was also about as sexually attracted to me as I was to her, and by that I mean a lot." He realized he was rambling, but let the story run its course. He honestly thought it was kind of funny. God, he missed Lily.
edited 15th May '18 1:00:49 PM by SomethingRandom113
Umm... so, I was here, I guess. If I wasn't, someone hacked my account. So, yeah.
AKA Nixer
Campgrounds
Lucy blushed lightly at the kiss to her cheek, grinning at Hei's enthusiasm and briefly watching him move over to Andrew as the latter called him, moving down to sit on the grass and taking out her notebook again, opening it to the picture of the demonic creature. Chewing her lip as she studied it, she suddenly cocked her head to the side as she realised something was missing.
Snapping her arm out towards her tent positioned a little way away, there was a slight rustle of the fabric before a pen shot out towards her at high velocity, which she swiftly grabbed between her finger and thumb and immediately began scribbling, her gaze having never left the sketch. She was adding what could only be described as a collection of insect-like appendages to the creature's back, which hung over its form like it were a spider splayed out on top of it with its legs dangling over the side.
Biting the back of the pen in thought (she seemed to do that a lot) she began adding a few more notes referring to the new limbs, once again labelling them 'Lucy' and 'Hei' in a zig-zagging pattern.
As she drew, her mind wandered to Flora's instruction. Once again, this class and by extension the school just kept on surprising her. They seemed to take common lessons and just alter them in such a bizarre and, she had to admit, quite an interesting way.
She wondered what creatures they'd run into. Hopefully nothing like Flora specifically warned them about, but who was she kidding, that was practically asking for trouble.
bork
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Deep Forest—Campsite
"You should have been here for the big fish party," Mahvash tightened her grip, pulling the lad in. "I made commemorative key chains for that bit of fun. I even caught a big deep one. Had I been in my right mindset back then, I would know how they tasted, at least the lost and the wild ones. And do you know we had a rather... adaptive boy become a star swimmer for a short time? Too short a time, but it doesn't matter. Turning him back was my top priority then. I was not being creative."
The daeva puffed her cheeks at Lin's answer before watching his performance with his summons. "Okay, then," she threw up her free hand with a smile. "Don't show me, even if this does give you memories of your first night—and your matchmaker. All you have to do is remind Lucy that I have more than one of these—and so much more in the wagon—for when she has you to herself in that tent tonight."
"Oh," she vanished from Remix's grip before returning in a drab tunic and an embroidered surcoat. "And I would not dream of showing you up." She winked at Lin.
"Nor you," she reached her free hand over to circle Remix's chest. "I'd be scratching your chin and behind your ears if there wasn't some obstructive thing in the way..."
edited 15th May '18 4:08:35 PM by CenturyEye
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Surrounded by weirdoes
Sam whistled at Andrew's trick as he helped steadying him. It was interesting, really, but there are some bigger concerns.
"Easy, man" He said. "That was pretty cool, actually, you could get some good things out of it, but don't use it on a whim until you can do it without nearly falling over"
He just shook his head at what he said about Lucy. Yeah, better let Lin smack him after that one.
"So, since the forest population probably all know we are here, how long before things go wrong?" He asked, making a dove to fly alongside the group. If nothing else, it could be a shiny thing out for them to shoot if anything does happen.
Wake me up at your own risk.
Breath of the Sun
Campground
"Oh yes, quite flexible." Mikael practically purred. He was tempted to pull Ellie in his tent and test the soundproofing right away, but then Flora announced that they'd be doing their first activity.
Diplomacy. They'd be seeking peace talks with the creatures that lived in this forest. Considering the beings of this domain were apparently allied with the Deep Ones who controlled the forbidden pool, he suspected they weren't the most amiable things. Nonetheless, he'd at least try. Mikael looked like he was from the Abyss, so perhaps they'd be more agreeable to him than... some of his classmates. He spoke up:
"A question, Fraulein Flora. If we are attacked, are we not allowed to defend ourselves? I can flee quite easily, if need be, but some here may have trouble not harming our aggressors." He cast a look at Matten.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Deranged X-Mas Figure
Campground
"If it comes to that," said Flora, "then someone will have already started an international incident. Which would be a crowning example of how not to conduct diplomacy. But to answer your question, yes. Yes you can. Because at that point, you couldn't possibly make things any worse."
"And remember," she said. "The catpeople's leader is wise, if a tad mischevious. Somewhat like Titania. But some of the other members of her clan are more... impulsive. If you happen to run into them, do not startle them, do not provoke them, and above all, do not wave a shiny thing in front of their faces. Lest you want to lose a digit. In any case, I believe it's time we were off." She and the other staff started walking towards the south entrance, expecting the other students to follow in short order. "Coming?"
Doctor Who — Long Way Around: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13536044/1/Doctor-Who-Long-Way-Around
Liam just nodded, for some reason the whole thing seemed oddly deja vu like. This was a conversation that...well, it needed to happen. For reasons Liam couldn't really put together. Like he was remembering something just out of sight and out of mind, that happened, but didn't.
"...Yeah. I'm just kind of dealing with things as they come. Mikael changing so much, this trip so suddenly into the forest, freaking dimensional invaders...and my sister getting picked on back home. I just worry for her, if I'm gone too long."
Sign on for this After The End Fantasy RP.
Deranged X-Mas Figure
Campground
"Sounds tough," said Jezebel. "Don't really have a lot of family myself. Dad left when I was six. Haven't seen Mom since I came here. And now? I'm not even sure she'd recognize me. I've been stuck like this for about a year now. Got a bit too curious for my own good. Now? I don't even know what I am now. Or who I am. Going to the Abyss, it changed me. Changed everything I was, everything I am. Bozo and the others, they tried to help. But all they could do was help me remember who I used to be. And sometimes, I wonder if they should've just let things take their course. At least then I wouldn't be so fucked up right now."
She ran her fingers through her hair, almost as if struggling to sort things out. "I know I should probably just move on, you know? It sucks, it really does. But there's no goin' back. I know that. And it's something I just need to accept. But I'm not sure if I can. Cause that means completely giving up on who I used to be. But sometimes though? Sometimes I'm not sure if I even want to be who I used to be. If I'm just too scared to move forward. So I'm not really sure what I should do."
Doctor Who — Long Way Around: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13536044/1/Doctor-Who-Long-Way-Around
Campground
"Oh, is that so... haha... ha... yeah," Remix replied after Matten vanished and came back. "Well, nothing to be done about it, no? We better focus on learning.... Ja. Also: Fish party?"He wasn't really paying attention as Flora continued, otherwise distracted for some completely unknown reason. So he simply listened absentmindedly as she spoke and other students asked questions and then - wait. Was that red demon guy... girl... person saying? Not killing aggressors? But what did it have to do with him? There was no doubt about it, he was definitely looking his way.
"Hey, don't worry Red," he answered, shooting Mikael a look. Specifically, that look was "faceless" due to the helmet, but a look nonetheless. "I can hold back plenty well, I won't accidentally kill anyone today. Probably."
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Deep Forest—Campsite
"Anyway," she waved her hand in the air, foggy, ethereal mini-people slowly coalescing. "Our class threw a party at the forbidden, outdoor pool. No one brewed beer. No one told anyone that the pool is a trap for Dagon, or whoever, most likely Dagon, to transform and enslave anyone who enters. Mostly some other kids ended up transforming though. Rebecca did her leadership thing, but the real surprise in hindsight is that she endured that crisis without catatonia. Rebecca made it back after that under her own power and even kept Liam somewhat steady on his feet. That, he hasn't changed much."
The scene changed to people flopping and a Swirly Energy Thingy. "Rebecca eventually got the others to stop asphyxiating the deep ones, they had gills by the time people were trying to pull them out of the water. But Rebecca prodded Hei Lin into opening a portal to the indoor pool that Mikael and I had prepared for sustaining life instead of swimming. I had to drag Mikael to his task twice, but he's gotten so much better about not breaking down into panic attacks and running off. He's so quick to take care of business now. Hei Lin has potential, but he vanished mid-event to get Lucy some advil. That was not an isolated incident, but he's clearly training. Those clean-up critters were cute and so very effective. I don't doubt he'll stay in the fight as long as we nail Lucy to the front."
Finally the scene changed to an athletic boy who quickly grew fishy features. "Our Mike changed thoroughly; though our Jasmine found the means to help him. And he never lost his mind, so he was more than just a giant fish that would have stocked a freezer for weeks. Hm..." She cocked her head. I didn't eat the others though. Wonder why? Well, they may have been friends of my class; though I could have asked.
"I got a bunch of keychains from a big deep one though. See?" she excitedly pulls out a key ring from her satchel, including a carefully crafted glasswork depicting Mahvash in her borrowed body, posing with the deep one. "I have enough for the class and then some if you want one. It was our first adventure. And on the first day." She sighed almost dreamily. "And everybody lived. I have never seen that before!"
Of course, she did not have to list all her wares and she really didn't. The point was just to show off her work.
edited 16th May '18 5:40:14 PM by CenturyEye
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Campground
Remix nodded and contributed the occasional "mhmm", "ah," and even an "oh my" at one point as Matten explained her story. It was quite a lot to take in."Well I wouldn't say no to a keychain..." Remix replied. "But yes, thank you very much for explaining that... and using the clouds." He still wasn't exactly sure what her powers were, but apparently they were very convenient for providing visual references when trying to explain things. "I hope we can get some more adventures now that I'm here, you people seem to get into the right sort of trouble, ja?"
As for the cat people....
"Well they are cat people, no?" he added after thinking for a second. "Maybe instead of a robe, give them some nice yarn. If you don't have any then something shiny should be good. You have that mirror, that's shiny, right? But what do you mean make? You are saying you can make all of those things yourself? A real renaissance woman, no?"
Surrounded by weirdoes
Sam just looked at Remix and Matten rather disapprovingly and simply said to the latter
"It was a lot more emotionally distressing than that, to say the least, just keep that in mind if you are going to say anything"
Looking at Flora, he simply nodded as the dove vanished. He considered sending a few of them a few feet ahead to see if anyone was following them, but he'd rather not agitate anyone. And, hey, if anything happens in their next stop, he could use a few as a distraction for the class to escape.
edited 16th May '18 6:08:37 PM by Blueace
Wake me up at your own risk.
That Friend Nobody Likes
Campground
After Andrew finished getting accustomed to the weakness, sluggishness, and general tiredness of this form, he walked over to Matten. "Hey, I hope I'm not bothering you too much, but you look nice today."
He immediately regretted saying that. Every time he said something to Matten that could possibly be misconstrued as flirting (or that actually had been, albeit in an effort to confuse her), something bad happened.
"Um, uh... well, I didn't mean that in a flirty way, I just, well... um..." he continued like that for a while before finally getting to the point. "Well, basically, I wanted to show off my transformation thing, but I know that if I just said so, it might hurt your pride. Um, especially since you're... um... totally awesome and could totally crush me like a bug... and I also wanted to ask about what the hell you did to yourself because... um..."
God, this was awkward. Because you make all of us really nervous, but if I said so you'd probably either kill me or make me wish you did... But, well, he knew better than to say that aloud.
Umm... so, I was here, I guess. If I wasn't, someone hacked my account. So, yeah.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Deep Forest—Campsite
"Oh, the best kind of trouble," Mahvash grinned ear to ear, eyes sparkling mischievously. "Hm," she puffed a cheek, thinking on the gift issue. "Well, yarn seems kind of common, and our Class 1 is here for the first time, but the mirror...I like the idea. And yes, it took some learning, but I do make things." She almost sang the last bit. Twas a fact. She made things.
The daeva barely noticed Samuel in her reverie, but she managed to respond, "Oh, you'd have to tell me about it. Wait. No. Tell Laurie. She likes that kind of thing. And she... fixes it?"
Wait. He wouldn't just tell me that out of the blue. Um... ok. The pool party caused some people emotional distress...for some reason. The only one who transformed was Mike, and he kept his mind. Well, that is hard to tell. So, well, Rebecca felt guilty about a werewolf biting someone else, and Victoria is ashamed of having gotten powers for free and slowly mastering them. This is more like...I got nothing.
"Um, I mean..." halfway through a shrug before quickly clasping her hands together in a gesture of supplication, she added. "I mean: my apologies, Samuel. Are you hurt? Now? Are you hurt now?" That was right right?
The boy made himself busy with his dove and the question lingered before Andrew approached. She would have twirled had she not been preoccupied. Well, that and him quickly qualifying what he said. Empty compliment then? What does he want?
He eventually said so between false starts and stalls. "I would have answered that without being buttered up." She tilted her head. "This is my native body. Between some hours ago and some time ago, I could not manifest it safely. Between working with all of you though, and some study on the Deep and the Abyss, a tulpa incarnation spell, and some intense biofeedback routines, I can descend again and feel things without a medium other than my own flesh. And you see the whole: Mahvash Matten Mattiuza. Druj Mahvash to the people I'm stepping on. Or if you're used to calling me Matten... And I can stand under the moonlight."
Mahvash looked skyward for a moment. A rare thing, for the answer was never there. "Normally, we gain power to resist those poisonous things (light, true sight, etc) by eating habits. I tested out an experimental means, and sped it up, for a funny reason. After I heard Ever Green's story, I wanted to put my arms around Rebecca and then later Victoria. With just biofeedback alone, I could rein in poisoning things, like you saw, but that burned me up inside, and at such an awful time." To set a lunch, she had let light and true sight poison her, basically dropping all of her natural defenses for a gesture, a ludicrous action in hindsight. Plus, the two had been absent from that particular homeroom.
"And instead of just stitching humpy dumpty back together again and stumbling through this forest near hollowed out, I went for the big prize." A beat. "Stay your worries of any hugging though." She gave a shy smile, rolling her eyes and sighing. "Alas, I'm only now in my right mind, and who really cares what sillyness motivated the change."
edited 16th May '18 7:41:12 PM by CenturyEye
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Campground
Remix suddenly froze, standing there stock-still as the pine cone he had kicked flew up and hit him squarely in the helmet and bounced off, though he gave no reaction when it did so and seemed to not even notice it.His feet planted into the ground like lead weights embedded in concrete piers, he remained frozen solid as Matten said - stuff? He wasn't really listening. Or maybe it was that his ears didn't seem to be working. At the moment, he couldn't really determine which was the case.
"Serve who... the pine cone, right! Yes! Exactly!" he said rapidly. "Let me serve it. Right now. "
He took a flurry of steps in the blink of an eye until he was standing over the fallen pine cone, then took another set of steps back until he was where he had started.
"Here we go..." he said shakily as he dropped the pine cone and gave it a soft, gentle kick so that it would soar up at least five feet and slowly fall towards Matten.