Hello and welcome reader, to the 28th instalment of the Character Development Threads
! These shared story exercises help budding writers develop their characters alongside the characters of other budding writers. No sign-up is needed; just jump right in with your characters. It is recommended that you read the thread page and the last couple of pages before starting.
Discussion Thread Thread Page Town Map
This is a "Main Series" thread and, as such, an element of risk is expected. Rules and participation guidelines may be found on this page.
The thread page groups active characters under the areas in which they are active, enabling you to see who is at a given location in which you might be interested or to find out where to go to encounter characters with whom you wish to interact.
Kindly add your own characters to the thread page, with a link to their initial post, under the area in which they are located and update the page if they change location.
Bear in mind that if your characters are arriving at a location, they are likely to know little more than what they see and hear as they arrive - what the location looks like, what other characters are there (both of which can be read on the thread page) and the last few lines uttered and actions taken as they are arriving (which can be found in the last few posts for that location in the story thread itself), so inserting characters need not be a terrifying process.
If you need help, have any questions, or want a quick recap (if the page count is daunting), head over to the discussion page, and someone is sure to help you out!
To help guide character interaction, having your character come in with a at least one short-term and one long-term goal or motivation is strongly recommended. It is not required, but it does make it easier to drive the plot forward. Feel free to come up with rumours about what treasures, adventure, locations, and dangers may be found in the setting - they need not be true or accurate, just some hook on which to hang an adventure.
The setting is specifically designed to be a vast sandbox into which details can be inserted by participants (for example, you are free to decide that there is a particular temple in the midst of the forest in which something may be found or that there is a particular shop/hotel/restaurant in a section of the town), if you come up with a location that you desire/expect other characters to visit, please add it to the thread page as a sub-location of the relevant area.
Things change as the story progresses. If, for example, a massive battle occurs at a location and the area is now strewn with bodies and buildings are damaged, kindly update the thread page to reflect those changes, in order that other participants have an up-to-date description of the location prior to sending their characters there.
Special thanks to all those who helped in getting the thread launched or provided ideas and feedback. In alphabetic order, they include:
Blackfire667, Collen, Corvidae, daird, DarkbloodCarnagefang, EternaMemoria, Gault, Kkutwar, KillerClowns, ladytanuki, Masterofchaos, nrjxll, Pyxo, Slysheen, TroPartner, WillDeRegio and yours truly
Apologies if I missed anyone - just let me know and I'll update the post.
Between dimensions, and linked to the rest of the multiverse, lies a strange post-apocalyptic environment made up of various regions strewn with the remnants of past glory - ruins, lost technologies and magic. Here and there, nature has found its way back amongst the ruined temples and towns.
In the midst of the blighted landscape, a fresh new town has emerged - a synergy of technology, nature and magic; clean and eco-friendly; a beacon of hope for a brighter future - where travellers can rest, recharge their batteries both literally and metaphorically and get whatever they may need - technological, magical or otherwise - to aid them on their adventures.
New arrivals can turn up by diverse means in the transportation area in the north-western part of the town or by whatever other means they deem appropriate. Here they may also find for rent, lease or hire, any transport they desire from riding animals to vehicles.
The wilderness areas have not been fully explored since the mysterious apocalyptic events that ravaged the area some time ago and no one is really sure what's out there - but rumours abound.
All that is known for sure is that both magic and technology have existed here for a long time, so anything is possible...
Currently in Day 1.
Current Time: 10:00 PM
Current Weather:
General Setting: Fine, a few light clouds Rainforest: Moderately misty, the fog is slowly thickening
See the thread page for updates.
Edited by Wolf1066 on Feb 11th 2021 at 12:12:29 AM
Forest - Eastern End - Telegraph Tower
Jean; Teri, Wolfe and Gwion; Parthenia and Farrah
Parthenia's gaze moved from one new companion to the other, with a familiar expression of a chess grandmaster registering his opponent's mistake and adjusting his strategy. To Farrah it looked like a tiger suddenly sensing his prey and going really quiet. An ominous lack of expression. The merc couldn't help but tense up.
Not good. The fuck are you up to now, Sparky?
Farrah listened to Wolfe and Teri's banter keenly, not in the least because of their rather hard-to-decipher accents.
You two are in dire need of vowels.
She'd have said it out loud, but she didn't want to sound like her big sis. Or a hypocrite. Farrah smirked at Teri's snark about tattoos, taking a quick loving glance at the extensive and rather obscene gallery on her own tan arms.
"I always wondered why people need an excuse for that."
She kneeled at one of the moufretas' corpse.
"I wonder if it tastes nice," Farrah took out her hunting knife from inside her shirt and poked the corpse a couple of times. Then asked, addressing no one in particular: "Isn't dead for too long, is it?"
"I assume an Inquisitor is not a very pleasant occupation in your lands?" said Parthenia, after the end of the discussion about her profession. She added, in a silky voice: "You also didn't quite tell us what exactly your occupation is, Kev."
Here goes the stick in the mud. She's right, though.
"Our Inquisitor often gets in a rather inquisitive mood after waking up," Farrah stood up. "Crazy goes hand-in-hand with dangerous, innit, Slick? That narrows it down, doesn't it, Sparky?"
"Don't call me that."
"Chill down, Keraunos," said Farrah. She took her flask off the saddle and handed it to Teri. "In the wars? Me? Have been. Might as well am. Will be if I don't want to start my own gang of hoodlums or beg the Daddy for money. Or a daddy, for that matter. Gimme your flask, Sparky."
By Parthenia's looks, it looked like another stratagem just got formulated. She complied.
"Have you got black? I could use a little revving up after having a sleep," she said. "I'm also looking for my horse. Have you seen him? A gelding. Black dapple. Saddled, with bags."
Edited by Millership on Mar 29th 2019 at 4:08:07 PM
Spiral out, keep going.
Border of the Warpfields, Petrifying Pond (Syrni Sandra, Jen Jara)
Viporis first aid was taught in their elementary schools, so Jen Jara wasted no time applying quick-drying plaster. While they waited for it to dry, their microchip communicators directed one of the spaceship's proxy computers to connect to the Hub Town's internet. It downloaded a wildlife brochure. After the security check, they read it and identified the shimmer that had cut out a slice of Syrni Sandra's chitin.
Syrni Sandra contemplated, "I might be the first mobile life-form to survive immersing myself in a Deadly Mirage. That thing vivisects fast, we're just lucky our reflexes are faster."
Syrni Sandra regarded the sealed hole, the off-white star in her leg. "I'll have to remember to ask Shale to pave over this, for extra reinforcement." Then she realized that Jen Jara was still holding her. "Uh... why are you holding me in what the humans call a bridal carry?"
Jen Jara couldn't shrug so she bobbed her head side to side instead, "No reason, I was being random. You're not too heavy for me, but do you want me to stop anyway?"
Syrni Sandra contemplated her situation. This wasn't uncomfortable like she thought it would be, and it was one way to keep her weight off her injured leg until the plaster finished drying. She shrugged, "I don't care."
??? (Sarquoql; Mael, Melissa)
Sarquoql fought the urge to shake his head at Mael's continued display of ignorance of common knowledge. How could any human with magitek this advanced not know a thing about the local galactic cluster?
Sarquoql summarized, "Well, lots of people have pre-determined deaths, and if something lethal happens to them ahead of schedule, the Nao Ranay Nokt show up to undo the premature death. I'd slit my own wrist to demonstrate, but I suspect I'm not the only one who doesn't want your defenses breached by divine intervention transporting a Nao Ranay Nokt here."
Mael smirked. "That's fine. They were distracted, and they didn't even consider the fact that I'm the one who did it. That red head is now a mole, and they never even noticed."
"Oh, they noticed all right," Sarquoql corrected, "Or did you already forget all the fuss Arnaya made? Necromancers weaponizing mosquitoes is close enough to you weaponizing mechanical spiders for both to fall under the same general umbrella of what the Web is watching out for."
Mael rubbed his chin. "Don't send any more, or else they're going to start catching on, and you know I can't reveal myself just yet."
"Yes, my lord." Melissa stood up, then turned to Sarquoql. "Would you like anything to eat?"
"I doubt you have the specific thing that I want to eat," Sarquoql pessimistically predicted, "If you didn't know what Nao Ranay Nokt are, you probably don't know about starsilver nuts glazed with filtered lullacynth nectar either." And even if they did have that, Sarquoql wasn't quite ready to trust them to not slip him unfiltered lullacynth nectar, whether by intentional malice or not knowing that lullacynth nectar had to have its blood-production-overclocking chemicals filtered out before it was safe to consume.
"Anyway, your mole has clearly been backburnered, since the guy's not being wrestled into Sick Bay right now, but you can bet your boots that Arnaya or some other telepathic member will be covertly keeping an eye on him just in case the gems failed to clear out whatever you put in him. That's the Web's standard procedure for cures administered blindly without a proper investigation. I figured that out the hard way, and not knowing that cost me a lot of spies, including one of my best double agents."
"Oh, and another thing about Nao Ranay Nokt. Only a very few pre-determined deaths are publicly announced in a prophecy, so almost everybody who has a pre-determined death is unaware of it unless there's an incident that requires Nao Ranay Nokt intervention. Do you really want to start rolling the dice guessing who on this planet is or isn't predestined when my youngest sister is the closest Nao Ranay Nokt?"
Sarquoql checked his pager. No signal. "There's a two-person spaceship in the town square, have its lights flashed yet? The archaeologist that I mind-controlled is probably awake by now."
Edited by Miss_Desperado on Mar 29th 2019 at 2:47:33 AM
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
[???]
Melissa bowed. "As you wish."
Mael rubbed his forehead. "Even though Amy demonstrated that healing spell, they still won't let up?" He sighed, "So, I can't kill them, I can't show my face, I can't breathe near them, and I have to be careful with my spy. If you have any tips on how I can get them even a little bit off guard, please let me know. All of this..." He shook his head, "This is not me. This is all beneath me. When I was dealing with those kids, I had ways of making them paranoid. Now I'm stuck with these folks and I don't know how. I need a miracle."
He then realized he was ranting.
"I...forgive me...I lost myself there." He sat back down, "Melissa, pour me a rosé. I need one. Badly."
"Yes, my lord," Melissa said, walking off into the back.
Hearing Sarquoql's words, he quirked an eyebrow. "Do you need to be dropped off? I can give you one of my spare spinel so no one will be able to track you down. Otherwise, you won't be able to get a signal here. If I come with you, I'll have to disguise myself. I'm wanted in the city."
Edited by Masterofchaos on Mar 29th 2019 at 11:31:48 AM
Forest's Edge ~ Campsite (Bonnie, Carol, Lily; Mequoql, Morpho; Henry, Joseph; Rebecca(?))
Bonnie scowled, before scratching her head, "I could try... but I'm probably just going to come up with circles since he's not trained in magic—"
"He started off as a lizard, used magical gems to become a boy, and has had spell-craft worked on him," the flight mage deadpanned.
"Right..." Bonnie said, gently tugging on one of her ears, "Silly me, that would make something noticeable, I suppose. I'll see what I can find— right after Mequoql finishes... whatever it is she's doing," she said, gesturing with her staff towards the staredown the Mayatan was having with Joseph.
"I wasn't asking you, I was asking the stowaway in your head," Mequoql exposited.
"Joseph," he thought. "I'm Joseph, I think."
It still seemed right.
Mequoql absentmindedly mumbled, "Never mind what I said about fish hooks, this is more like Riversnake and Ella-Maria." The memory of the intergalactic courts extracting Riversnake from Ella-Maria was still sore. "I have no idea how long this is gonna take..."
She telepathically started a silent conversation with the stowaway, "Did you know that you are in an already inhabited body?"
Meanwhile, Morpho pulled himself together and stood guard, suspiciously watching the zebreer and reading the local wildlife guide on the town's internet, ready to make sudden moves if the zebreer did so first.
WFS Hummingbird Transporter Room (John, NCH; David, Joseph; Arnaya)
"Good question," Arnaya started speculating.
"Eh, I dunno, sounds like it matters an awful lot," Arnaya said as she imagined a bad-case scenario.
There came a mirthless laugh from Joseph's wheelchair.
Sparing the sound little more than a glance, David continued, "Don't worry, I haven't had much a chance to brave the fierceness of weather like that since we met." He grinned, "Don't tempt me though!"
Arnaya thought about asking if David was using "dust storm" as a euphemism or nickname for Joseph, but she suspected asking out loud would lead to a scandal which would lead to even more shilly-shallying. She put a pin in the question.
"My best guess," he continued, "is that she's stocking up. Either she's getting food or more ammo. Even so, if that's the case, why park the car away from town? That's practically asking for it to be found." He rubbed his chin, "How odd."
"Good guess, but you're right, that is odd," Arnaya commented, still thinking.
"...D-Did you really have to use me as an example?" he asked, "Listen, if you're trying to flirt with me, no thank you. I'm not into vampires or girls." He rubbed his arm, "Oh. T-That sounded mean."
"She was just trying to show you her tactics, Adam." Amy said, "Stop being like that towards her! She's on our side."
"Gosh," Nick said, "You're really so protective about her, Amy. Almost as if..." A huge grin grew on his face when the realization hit him, "Ooohhh, I get it now."
Amy turned away and blushed. "S-Shut up!"
Impressive, that was unusually fast for a human to figure out. Arnaya's telepathy had made her aware of Amy's crush the instant it was formed, but Arnaya didn't think it was important up until it was mentioned. If Amy were a Mayatan, she would already know... "Sorry, I'm straight," Arnaya bluntly stated for the record, "Besides, according to the interspecies lifespan and development comparison mathematical formula, I'm a little too old for you adolescents at the moment anyway. Maybe once you've had your twentieth birthdays. But I digress."
Dutifully rising out of his funk, he twisted around to say, "Hold on a second, I need to, uh..." he climbed off the wheelchair, flapping his hand as his mind bobbed for illusive words, "there's someone who I've gotta..." he hurried to the other side of the room, turning in a circle and hunting for some sign of Nasur's whereabouts. Finally, as he faced the others, he managed, "...I've got to say goodbye!"
Arnaya returned, having heard the whole thing.
"Don't be, she was willing and I only needed a single swallow from her specifically. She'll be fine." Arnaya needed a little more fuel for copying Maequoql's power than what she'd gotten from her twin.
"No, but I know exactly where he is," Arnaya theatrically put her fingertips to the sides of her head. "Go out the door next to the sick bay airlock, the corridor will turn a few times, and he's at the first fork in the road you come to."
"Exactly. Terrifying vampires, a shapeshifting drill-sergeant robot, a mermaid who loses her temper at the slightest hint of flirting, etc... who else besides equally dangerous people would want to be friends with such dangerous people? Especially with yellow journalism screaming "Beware the Superman" all the time? Civilization doesn't understand us when we speak the language of danger, but we understand each other. Without the decision to band together for the sanity-salvaging realization that doing our worst would not freak each other out, almost all of us would have been teetering on the edge of snapping and becoming the villains that we were being painted as."
"So anyway, I've been thinking about that thief..." Arnaya voiced her own accumulated speculations, "Maybe, like Jackson said, the thief is restocking. Or maybe the thief did some jiggery-pokery with the truck to make it go somewhere without her as a red herring. That would take an odd amount of foresight though. Or maybe something or someone changed the thief's mind. One of the worst ways to change the mind of a desperate human with a gun is a run-in with a mind-controller, and that's happened before." Here she looked pointedly at John.
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
Town Square (Michelle, Michelle, Carly, Jenny; Soryn, John Smith)
Jenny noticed Soryn approaching her.
"Hello," Soryn greeted, "Would you like an ally, just in case those guys or someone equally obnoxious tries to bug you again? My name is Soryn, genetically engineered wizard at your service." He carefully bowed, mindful of his stitches, but didn't flourish his staff this time.
Suddenly, Jenny's original programming kicked in, getting her back into the role of girlfriend/wife, and she was quite happy to receive the attention, even though it was from a snake-man.
Where she was from, "snake-man" took on a very different meaning, being slang for a con man, a contraction of snake oil salesman.
Jenny was quite happy to receive the attention, and partially elated, she blushed and smiled.
"He...he...he...hello", Jenny said. "P...p...pleased to meet you."
Jenny pulled out a small packet of caramel sweets from her jacket and decided to offer Soryn one.
"W...wa..want a ca-caramel?" she asked, still blushing, trying to be nice to Soryn.
Hotel, Room 184 -> Town Square, Two-Person Civilian Spaceship (Archaeologist)
A few minutes spent out of both the sunbeam and the yellow-bulb lamp left the archaeologist feeling less groggy, so once she was out of the bathroom, she started looking for her bodyguard. Instead of using her power to trace his path like she normally would, she stepped into the closet, onto the teleporter pad, and teleported to her spaceship. When she checked the cockpit, she accidentallyAuthor's note: hit its equivalent of a car horn. "Oops!" she exclaimed as she turned off the light show.
She looked out the window in concern. The vast majority of the town's populace wasn't disturbed, spaceship "honks" did not manifest as sound waves. A handful of unfortunate individuals had happened to be looking directly at the spaceship when it flashed its lights, but they were no more dazzled than if they'd looked directly up into any of the street lights. One particular suit-wearing figure with a nondescript but subtly commanding aura was wearing sunglasses, with one eyebrow arched as his gaze penetrated through the sunglasses and spaceship window and into the cockpit. The archaeologist shivered, pinned to the spot.
Town Square (Michelle, Michelle, Carly, Jenny; Soryn; John Smith)
Jenny blushed and smiled. "He...he...he...hello", Jenny said. "P...p...pleased to meet you."
Encouraged by the smile and blush, Soryn concluded the handshake with an attempt to kiss Jenny's hand.
Jenny pulled out a small packet of caramel sweets from her jacket and decided to offer Soryn one. "W...wa..want a ca-caramel?" she asked, still blushing, trying to be nice to Soryn.
"Yes please, thank you," Soryn took a single piece of the offered caramel. He was in his element now — generous ladies and their desserts...
"Would you like to see a ghost town with us?" he offered before popping the caramel in his mouth and chewing. He didn't like caramel nearly as much as he liked chocolate, but it was still good.
His back was to the flashing spaceship lights when they started, but he still saw the dimmer reflections off of windows and twisted to see what was going on, raising his hand to shade his eyes.
John Smith was taking an interest too. His gaze darted around, noting a handful of dazzled locals, before fixing on the spaceship cockpit.
??? (Sarquoql; Mael, Melissa)
Sarquoql stated what he thought was obvious, "Healing spells administered blindly aren't as efficient as when you actually know what to fix, but they're better than nothing. Everyone knows that."
Well now, looks like Sarquoql had some good news after all. "You want a miracle? You got one. By the time you found me, I'd already found someone powerful who doesn't like vampires and alerted her that there are vampires in the Web of Friendship. That'll spread their attention thin."
"I...forgive me...I lost myself there." He sat back down, "Melissa, pour me a rosé. I need one. Badly."
"Yes, my lord," Melissa said, walking off into the back.
Sarquoql's jaw dropped and he stared in disbelief. "You're drinking your own weapon?" he exclaimed, "You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!! I can put it to better use than that!"
"Big deal, I'm wanted in an entire galaxy," Sarquoql one-upped Mael. "But anyway, yeah, let's get our disguises together and get that archaeologist. I was going to use her visions of the past to look for you, but I still need to know exactly which members of the Web are here. Her talent is still useful in finding that out."
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
< Forest, Edge - Control >
"Well actually, he started off as a boy," Henry corrected, "then something—we don't know what—turned him into a lizard, and then... the rest of what you said."
As they discussed the possibility of something being wrong with Joseph's 'aether matrix', Henry couldn't help but butt in.
"Listen, I'm fine with doing whatever it takes to sort this business out, as long as whatever it takes is... well... historically not harmful to us non-magical humans. I just..." he paused, grimacing, groaning and suffusing an aura of unrest. "I just don't want to make this any worse. Now, what you're talking about is like a... magical X-ray?"
"Hold a moment!" Joseph spoke up, turning to glare incredulously at Henry and the others. "What about what I am fine with? It seems to me that I should have the biggest say in what happens to me, and yet here you all are, ignoring my every protest." He pointed at Mequoql, "She's reading my mind, which I already told her not to, you three are making plans to put me under a microscope, and I've had enough! This has gone too far! I am human," he gestured down at himself, as if presenting a fashionable outfit, "I'm all better! ...Man! Whatever."
He groaned an exasperated sigh. "Now, what I want is to check out those gems. They are far more inter-"
"I'm sorry, did you say stowaway?" Henry interrupted, staring wide-eyed at Mequoql. "In his head?!"
Joseph rolled his eyes, "That's ridiculous. If there was someone else in here, I'd know it." He shot a quick glare at Mequoql before stepping around her. "I'm done with this."
"Joe! We are dealing with things beyond our understanding here, dude! You can't just discount what these people are saying."
"I feel fine," Joseph called back, wandering towards the pile of gems Mequoql had amassed. "Just forget about it. I told you, stop acting responsible."
"I'm just trying to help, Joe. And hey, don't just go messing with those! You could set them off just by thinking the wrong thing."
"By thinking?" Joseph paused, looking back at the others questioningly.
<
Rootland, Pool - Therapy Abridged >
More words fluttered about the pool, sensical and nonsensical alike. Harmful. Magical. Talk of lizards and snakes. Joseph took a moment to glance around himself, just to be sure, but he could see only white, and the amorphous, shifting blur of his body. Some of the words, like the figures, were familiar, like something he should remember; something he was involved with before.
Mequoql was still in his view—his view out of the pool, that is—and as he looked upon her again, he heard her voice clearly.
Did you know that you are in an already inhabited body?
Seizing the question like a lifeline, he let a stir of confusion pour forth.
"But I can't even see my body!" he thought, "I don't even know what it looks like! How can someone else be in here too? And why am I stuck in this weirdo pool? I was in some kind of forest place and I got pulled into here, and now I'm talking to you, and before that..."
He tried to remember before that. To piece together what he knew, and what felt so familiar. Mequoql, the figures, himself, lizards, the scenery, the voices... but it was like building sculptures from dry sand. Every shape constructed quickly crumbled back into a formless soup, leaving him no wiser for the wear.
Before he could get his thoughts back on track, the image of Mequoql disappeared, replaced with a disarray of figures from before, none lingering long enough to get a focus on.
"Wait!" he thought, "Wait please!"
But the image didn't stop changing, the nonsensical snatches of words returned, and he feared that his connection to Mequoql was lost.
< WoF Scouter Hummingbird, Transporter Room - Strange Communication >
"Just like, Jackson." David nodded, "Just like. A little lighter weight than what we've handled in the past, but I thought it'd be a fitting enough opportunity to show Joseph the ropes." He heaved a small sigh, letting out his breath in a drawn out puff that shook his whiskers. "Well, you know how that went."
He shook his head slowly as they headed for the transport pad. "The whole enterprise lives on shaky ground, but I suppose I should have had more safety nets in place. Brought Rip or even Connie along, just in case. Someone to watch the truck. Someone to have my back."
His voice was just above a mutter, and Joseph was at the other end of the room, seemingly preoccupied with the search for his short time companion. Then Joseph turned his head slightly, their eyelines crossed, and there was a momentary flash of cognition. No words—hardly even an expression—but some understanding.
"I guess this birdie just wasn't ready to fly. But..." David sighed again, "...damn it, I'd like to at least see him flap."
Once aboard the transport pad, Adam began complaining to Arnaya about some perceived attempt at flirting. Amy defended Arnaya in a way that Nick seemed to think betrayed a more romantic motive, to which Amy brought forth a terribly convincing denial. To top it all off, Arnaya flatly and openly rejected any perceived advances, citing her straightness and some long-winded sciency guff.
Unsure of what to make of any of it, David glanced at Maya. "Did I... blink for too long?"
A little while later, Arnaya returned from her snack break and gave Joseph his answer. He smiled enthusiastically, then grew focused, nodding at each instruction and glancing around to affirm the locations he was given.
"Door next to the sick bay airlock, follow the corridor," he repeated. "Okay, I think I've got it." Again the big smile returned, "thanks a lot. I'll uh... I'll be back in a jiff."
With that, he sashayed over to the specified airlock and its neighboring door, glancing back at Arnaya just to be sure he had the right one. Once sure, he headed through, disappearing from sight.
Back at the transport pad, David leaned against the half wall, minding idle thoughts and feelings as he waited. When Arnaya gave them the spiel on The Web of Friendship, he couldn't help raising his whiskered brow and muttering, "Ah-ho. Sounds like a nifty way to avoid any sort of dissent."
Carefully, he pulled the revolver out of his pocket again, popped out the cylinder, and looked to John. "John my good man, spare a few bullets? In the event that this strange, desperate thief hoodwinks the lot of us, I think surely it'd do better to have an armament with a bark and a bite."
< WoF Scouter Hummingbird, Corridors - Space Stroll >
Joseph tried to balance keeping good time, keeping track of where he was, and staring slightly open mouthed at the ship's interior as he made his way through the corridors. All the commotion had dampened the feeling, but in his solitude, as brief as it was, he was suddenly struck once more by the fact that he was on a friggin' spaceship. He was just walking along, navigating the halls of a bonafide spacecraft, by himself. He could reach out and touch whatever—and he did—and know that it was there for a real purpose. It wasn't just a stage setting, or a flat image. It was the real deal.
The thought stirred up such a swell in his chest that he couldn't help but laugh to himself. Not at himself, but with himself, quietly, but loud enough to hear with his own ears. Enough to realize his own elation.
He got so wound up in the moment, that it took him a few seconds before he noticed that he'd wandered upon a gathering. He froze for a moment staring wide-eyed at those present, as if he'd stumbled upon something he shouldn't have. But in the next moment, he recognized the very hooded bluish guy he was there to find.
"Nasur! There you are," he said, allowing himself a quick smile before he glanced at the others again. He compulsively grabbed at the hem of his sand-coated, banana yellow overshirt and squeezed it, pressing hard against his fingers. "Uh..." he managed, raising his other hand in a timid wave, "Hey. Hi. Wazzup."
the color today
It's a bird.
The Smaller River, Edge of the Forest -> Grassland Battlefield (Jann, Varg; Ozurr; Rosalind)
Varg's eyes lingered on the crows as they departed. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember seeing any since she and Jann had arrived in this strange world. While she wasn't exactly the most devout woman in history, seeing a sign of the Crowmother's presence even this far from home still felt comforting.
She walked out into the tall grass to inspect the rest of the carcasses, closely followed by Jann. The first one had clearly been trampled by the horses, not much to note there. But the second one made her pause and raise an eyebrow, her tail thoughtfully swinging from side to side.
"That's weird, horses definitely don't do that... who else was here?"
"Hm, just the head and the heart..?" Varg commented as she knelt down for a closer look, pinching her nose against the stench. "Trophies maybe?" She threw a glance at Jann. "That's what we did at least..."
"Whoever it was, they're clearly long gone," Jann answered, somewhat awkwardly trying to get close enough for a good look without getting too close. He'd seen his fair share of corpses before of course, but those had usually either been very fresh or properly disinfected and treated for experimentation. The way those flies were crawling about inside this one was rather... unpleasant.
"Looks like the horses went south," he said, his voice straining a bit as he tried to keep his suddenly unruly stomach in check. He walked over to Rosalind.
"So you taught them to fight?" he asked, trying to occupy his mind with something else. "I suppose that makes sense after what you've told me about your home..."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
[Hummingbird]
Oh, so that explains it.
"Hey," Jackson said, "Don't feel bad. He still has a chance to learn. He has eight teachers now, after all." He smiled, "Once we get that thief handled, we'll all show him the ropes."
"You just witnessed Amy's latest attempt at getting someone cute to date her," Maya said, "And again, it failed. You probably remember how she was with Connie, and hell, if you were around her age, she'd probably try to get you too."
Amy hit her shoulder. "Don't bring that back up! I'm still embarrassed!" She felt deflated that Arnaya announced she was straight, but the feeling left as quickly as it came. "Well...I like making friends. So let's be friends!"
Hearing more about what the Web of Friendship really was about, Nick's eyes widened and he snapped his fingers. "Oh! So you're like some sort of reform group. The ones that go 'oh, I'm so glad they're on our side.' Gotcha. That explains a lot, actually."
John pulled out a smaller, see-through bag, with bullets inside. "Never leave without them." He handed it to him. "I have some more if you need them, but these should be enough to start off with."
It was then that everyone went back to talking about the thief.
"I don't think it's that," Adam said, wrapping his hair to a bun, "I don't get the point of mind controlling someone who's already against Mr. David and Joseph." He began re-looking at this bow, still seeing in pristine condition, "Most often, when someone mind controls someone, they aim for the allies. Like with what happened with Mr. Richman."
"Thank you for that..." John said, looking away.
"Oh, I-I'm sorry. I was just—"
"No, no I get it." He cleared his throat, "Adam has a point. If it was a mind controller, like Mael, it'll make way more sense to go after friends and family. It'll make fighting them a lot harder."
"So that leaves us with stocking or misdirection," Marie said, "No matter what happens, we all have to be on guard. Remember, we are trying to get her arrested, not killed."
[???]
Mael blinked.
"You use rosé...as a weapon?" he asked, "You use a wine as a weapon? You're going to have to explain that one to me. Later."
He stood up from his chair. "You were already looking for me? Well, this has been an odd turn of events. I'll be sure to reunite you with that archeologist soon enough, along with that other ally of yours." He chuckled, "Fortune smiles on both of us this day."
Stepping into the back room, a bright light appeared, then disappeared. When he came out of the backroom...nothing changed. At least, it appeared to be the case to Sarquoql.
"To you," he said, "I look the same. To everyone else, I'm simply a bald man with glasses and flannel clothing. Completely and utterly inconspicuous. And with the spinel necklace, my data won't be visible. I suggest you get some too for whatever disguise you need."
Edited by Masterofchaos on Apr 2nd 2019 at 11:59:41 AM
Town Square, Two-Person Civilian Spaceship (Archaeologist; John Smith)
The suited figure beckoned with one finger and approached the spaceship. The archaeologist exited the cockpit and met him outside the airlock. "Uh... is there a problem..." she guessed, "...officer?"
"I am John Smith, Security Service," he introduced himself. "Those lights were an accident, right?"
The archaeologist anxiously bit her lip. "Yes, I'm sorry. I disturbed the peace, didn't I?"
"Hmm, interesting..." John Smith muttered as he pulled a folder from out of nowhere and wrote something down in it. Then he spoke aloud, "At least you weren't too disruptive this time, so I'll let you off with a warning. Just try not to let it happen within this town again."
??? (Sarquoql, alias Ren 4; Mael)
"You use rosé...as a weapon?" he asked, "You use a wine as a weapon? You're going to have to explain that one to me. Later."
Why later? This was important information!
Sarquoql frantically vetoed "No wait, it's not a good idea to rendezvous with that other ally. Before you snatched me away from her, I did my best to give the Web the impression that my alias wanted her to hunt a completely different vampire who isn't a member of the Web of Friendship and that it was her idea, not mine, to detour to hunt the vampiric Web members. If they see me in her company again, they might start to wonder."
"To you," he said, "I look the same. To everyone else, I'm simply a bald man with glasses and flannel clothing. Completely and utterly inconspicuous. And with the spinel necklace, my data won't be visible. I suggest you get some too for whatever disguise you need."
Sarquoql gave a heads-up on his alias, "The archaeologist thinks that I'm a bodyguard clone named Ren 4." He held out his hand for the spinel. "Call me paranoid, but you'd better adjust your disguise to affect me too. Otherwise anyone strong enough to spy through my eyes is going to wonder why they're seeing someone different from what I see, and then we'll both be busted instead of just me."
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
Ridge
Near the entrance to what appeared to be a canyon, a young woman in her mid-twenties stood, shrewd brown eyes surveying the area. She was reasonably tall, with a slender frame, and her golden blonde hair was tied back into a stylized low-hanging ponytail.
Her name was Alexa Wilde, and she had come to find a safe place to transform into the hideous creature she so enjoyed becoming. The transformation process was quite enjoyable for her, but she had a tendency to be rather noisy during it, so she always made sure to transform in a place that was relatively remote.
She began the trek down into the canyon. The walls and floor had been twisted into intricate designs, thanks to the ever-present force of nature that was erosion. Some hardy-looking scrub peeked out in spots where the late afternoon sunlight filtered into the canyon. Enormous holes just a few feet taller than she was, interrupted the strata on the walls at frequent intervals. To Alexa's disappointment, they didn't appear to have much depth. She'd have to find a cave with enough space for her to transform.
A pleasant wave of heat suddenly raced through her body and she gasped, bracing herself with her hand against the wall. This would be the first of three waves, warning her that her transformation must happen soon. Her pace quickened, and she glanced somewhat frantically at each hole, hoping to find a cave. She didn't care about which particular way she went, as long as she was able to find a cave.
The urge to transform was gradually becoming stronger, and she had to stifle the urge to growl softly. Giving in to that would only speed up the transformation process and it wasn't time to do that just yet. She felt the second wave of heat approaching as she sped recklessly down another corridor. Just as it was about to overtake her however, she happened upon a sizable hole that appeared to extend deep into the canyon wall and she breathed a sigh of relief, stepping in to catch her breath as the second wave passed through her.
The cavern appeared to go on for miles and miles, extending deep into the canyon. Various stalactites and stalagmites sprouted from the ceiling and floor. Alexa wandered farther in, her mind lost in thought. She'd had the ability to transform since she was 6 years old, when she had been infected with the latest strain of the cooties virus. She remembered how excruciating the transformations used to be, and how uncontrollable she was when in "beast mode", as she liked to call it. She hated it at first, even during the first few years when her father was helping her learn control. It wasn't until high school when it had finally become enjoyable for her. That was when she had decided to use her frightening appearance to her advantage, and she found she loved seeing the terror on the faces of those who were considered, well, unsavory.
Perhaps she could find some local thieves hiding out here and give them a good jolt. She smirked at the thought, turning to check how far away from the entrance she was. She had walked a good distance, about 40 feet or so. She decided to transform here, and sat down, anticipating the the third wave, which was beginning to build within her. She closed her eyes and sighed, letting it wash over her.
Soon, a smooth heavy power began to move through Alexa, like molasses. Now was the time to let go....to embrace it. Her eyes rolled back in her head and a dark, blissful smile crossed her lips. The power began to pulse within her and she began to pant. Clothing tore as torso and limbs began to elongate into a sleek greyhound-like build. Hands and feet sharpened into claws, skin hardened into reptilian hide, and teeth sharpened into fangs. She let out a soft, pleased growl, the perfect monstrous rumble. It became faster and louder, but she didn't care. It was too good to not enjoy it. Slowly, the pulsing began to slacken off as the transformation went through its final stages. Her neck and tongue had elongated and a whip-like tail had grown. As the pulsing stopped, her senses suddenly sharpened. Every smell more intense, every sound more defined. Alexa got up on all fours, and sniffed the air. She caught the scent of somebody who apparently hadn't bathed in weeks. A deep, rumbling chuckle escaped her lips.
This was going to be fun.
The Ridge -> Uphill (Mustang herd, Whisper, Skvader)
It was no use. Between the bright daylight and their circadian rhythm insisting it wasn't time to sleep yet, the unnaturalness of being in a cave (even if the entrance was broad enough for easy escape), and the insecurity of Our Watcher no longer there to be a sentry, the horses could barely even doze. And now they were starting to get peckish. At this rate, they most likely wouldn't be able to accumulate enough sleep ahead of time to be alert enough for a nighttime sneak-away.
Meanwhile, the skvader serenely nibbled on a small woody bush that was too tough for the horses to digest.
Lead Mare Flashfoot gave up. She beckoned the entire herd to follow her out of the cave and line up for one last drink from the dinky little stream. The skvader perked up his ears and bounded onto Whisper's saddle. Lead Mare Flashfoot carefully nudged him off, and he flapped his way to the ground. He turned his head sideways and peered at the mare with a mixture of bewildered annoyance and curiosity. It took a few tries, but Lead Mare Flashfoot's gestures were eventually understood — she wanted the skvader to examine the caves along the route ahead of them. The herd proceeded downstream, treading slowly and cautiously, and trying not to rattle too many pebbles. Everyone was keeping a sharp eye out, taking turns between watching the sky for the Sabertooth Airbeast, peering suspiciously into the other caves they were passing, and watching the skvader look and listen at the caves ahead.
The skvader was the first to hear something moving in the shadows of one of the caves. He flashed his little cottontail and reversed direction. Lead Mare Flashfoot likewise reversed the herd's direction and headed for the path they'd taken to get into the canyon in the first place, hoping they could make a getaway before they were noticed.
Edited by Miss_Desperado on Apr 3rd 2019 at 9:37:42 AM
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
Ridge
Alexa was about to head after the trail of the scent, when she heard the distant scuffling noises of horse hooves. She paused and turned slightly, then cautiously crept down the corridor towards the noise, being very careful to not make any noise so as not to startle the horses. She decided to drop the monstrous voice for the same reason, so she concentrated and altered her vocal cords just so.
"Hello?" she called in what she hoped was a passable human-sounding voice. There were more scuffling noises and then silence. She crept further as quietly as she could manage, although she wasn't completely able to stifle the sound of her claws scraping on stone. She decided to stop moving, as any more movement would likely cause the horses to bolt.
"Whoever's there, I don't want to hurt you," she called again.
The Ridge
The Frisky One
A single white petal flew off to the ground. Then another one. And again. A girl with a daisy in her pale hands was sitting on the very top of a hundred feet tall rock pillar that marked the place where the valley of smooth hilltops with frail streams flowing through it was becoming an actual rough-and-tumble river canyon. Her long golden hair was teased by the wind, light blue summer dress fluttering around her petite frame.
"... he loves me … he loves me not … he loves me … he's indifferent towards me … he hates me … he loves me … he loves me not, but loves my money …"
She tossed the stripped down flower to the ground in irritation.
"Would have loved if I had any," she slumped her shoulders, letting out a deep sigh. "Booooring."
She looked down, at the mostly barren bottom of the Ridge and saw a herd of horses exiting a cavern. Mostly regular-looking wild ones, though she caught a glimpse of a saddled and obviously domesticated one.
The Free People spirited away their un-Free brother, finally setting him free?
Her blue eyes impishly flickered. A sapphire in the diadem she was wearing flashed in unison.
Ya know, 'tis been a long time since I've been a horsie.
She stood up, raised her arms wide, scratched the back of her left calf with her bare right toes, and jumped. Her petite frame with gorgeous blonde hair was no more. The thing that became airborne was just an amorphous mass of light blue cloth with something small round and solid within, twitching on the wind, getting yanked around erratically. It didn't hit the ground, either: as it was about to land, a healthy-looking mare smaller than average, but larger than a pony with blue-and-yellow stripes grew out of it. For some unfathomable reason her mane formed a French braid.
I think I've overdone it a bit. Too gaudy.
She loudly sneezed the blue stripes off. She kept the braid. She noticed the sapphire protruding from the space between her eyes.
I also need to keep myself a bit more covert.
The stone drowned in her forehead.
That's better.
She awkwardly headed towards the herd, trying to make her trot appear at least somewhat dignified. When she met the horse in the vanguard of the herd, she made her first attempt at equine miscommunication this day: when she had the vanguard's attention, she went and smiled at them, showing far more teeth than any mammal save for a giant armadillo with hyperdontia is supposed to have.
Let's see if you're skittish or not, kid.
Edited by Millership on Apr 5th 2019 at 12:56:43 AM
Spiral out, keep going.
deleted
Edited by Mroh on Apr 4th 2019 at 2:13:56 AM
The Ridge (Mustang herd, Whisper, Skvader; Alexa; The Frisky One)
At the bottom of the zig-zagging path out of the canyon, the herd's exit was abruptly cut off by a new, blue Sabertooth Airbeast fluttering down above the path. Caught between two unknown monsters, Lead Mare Flashfoot and Guardian Thunder made the split-second decision that the herd had a better chance of fighting their way past the probably-land-bound monster than the Sabertooth Airbeast and reversed direction to go towards that cave again.
Confused by the rapid back-and-forth changes in direction, the skvader jumped up and landed on Whisper's saddle.
The monster peeped out of the cave and made what sounded like human vocalizations. Not comprehending the words, the horses took one look at the long, streamlined build that seemed to be just as suited for running as they themselves were and decided they would indeed stand a better chance fighting than running. They stopped and formed a defensive ring around Whisper, Angel, and Lead Mare Flashfoot's young daughter, Filly Flashfoot. Guardian Thunder remained outside the ring for mobility, ready to attack if either monster got too close. He flattened his ears in a threat, then thrust his muzzle in a forward and up arc (the equine equivalent of Flipping the Bird) towards the grey monster.
The blue Sabertooth Airbeast had abruptly vanished, and in the vicinity where it was last seen there appeared an odd all-yellow mare who didn't smell organic baring an unnatural number of teeth and flexing her ears in unnatural, uncommunicative directions. Lead Mare Flashfoot cast a disapproving look at the rude gesture, raised her head imperiously and pawed the ground, demanding that the stranger submit to her leadership.
Edited by Miss_Desperado on Apr 4th 2019 at 1:09:59 AM
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
The Necropolis
Alexa had gotten a good ways away from the canyon. She'd had to scavenge from corpses of bizarre feathered rabbits that apparently had six limbs to keep up her strength. Now she'd come to a hill that was dotted with various mausoleums and gravestones. Mist encircled all of it. Quite apropos for a place like this.
She'd tracked the foul scent all the way to one of the looming crypts. The rotting door appeared to have fallen off ages ago, and vines of different types had grown through the hinges. She ducked her head and went inside.
Inside, there was a whole labyrinth of various corridors and columns. Dead leaves and branches were strewn about and a musty smell mixed in with the now overpowering rancid stink. Suddenly, there was a scuffling noise. Alexa whirled about in time to see a small silhouette disappear around the corner. Slowly, she followed the sound of rapid footsteps around the corner and down the corridor. She growled softly and quickened her pace.
—
Cody hurried down the corridors as fast as he could. He'd chosen this place as his new home because he'd thought nobody could find him here. Unfortunately, some jerk had to ruin his fun. Something huge was barreling down the hall towards him and judging from the sound of it, it was some kind of hideous creature. He dashed down another corridor, tripping briefly over a branch, and then scrambling to his feet. To his dismay, he had reached a dead end. The wall was covered in kudzu vines and there was a small square of sunlight shining from a hole in the ceiling. The large silhouette approached him, growling softly. "Get out of here!" he yelled, attempting to sound braver than he felt. The creature suddenly stopped, still obscured in shadow.
—
Alexa paused at the sound of the child's voice.
"You're a kid?" she asked, voice still human-sounding. What was a kid doing in the middle of a crypt?
"Yeah." he said. "You're a girl?" he asked in response.
She chuckled softly. "I suppose I am. What's a kid like you doing all the way out here?" she said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Who wants to know?" he retorted. "Well, Alexa does. That's me," she sighed. "Come on, kid. I'm not going to eat ya."
"My name's Cody," he said coldly. "Why are you after me?" Alexa sighed again. "Cody, I'm not after you, I was after the horrid smell I picked up all the way back in the canyon."
He blinked, confused. "How could you smell me so far away?" he asked suspiciously.
"My beast mode kind of lets me do that," she replied.
He raised his eyebrows. "Beast mode? So you're a monster," he said.
She smirked. "Well, if folks call me that, then who am I to argue?"
"Can I see what you look like?" he asked.
"Only if I can see what you look like," she replied.
Cody stepped forward into the beam of sunlight, revealing ratty clothes hanging loosely from a scrawny build. His red hair was matted, with twigs and leaves poking out from it in places.
She whistled. "Dang kid, you really need a bath."
He scowled. "Just show your face already," he muttered.
Alexa obliged, slowly moving her monstrous body into full view. On four legs, she was about eight feet tall, elongated neck included. Her build was like that of a greyhound, thin and sleek. A whip-like tail flicked from one side to the other. Though her eyes were green reptilian slits and her teeth were sharp gleaming fangs, her head, oddly enough, remained mostly human, with her golden hair still in its trademark ponytail.
Cody's eyes widened briefly but then he promptly composed himself. "Not unimpressive," he remarked. "Although, your voice sounds a bit too normal. Doesn't jibe with the rest of ya."
She smiled slyly and concentrated, thickening her vocal cords. "Is this better?" she hissed, voice once again that deep unearthly rumble.
He attempted to mask his shiver, but she knew she had intimidated him. "Anyway. So you wanted to know why I'm out here, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah. That is, if you're willing to speak to such a hideous creature as myself..." she teased.
Cody barked a laugh. "Are you kiddin'? Any monster who actually is okay with being a monster is reason enough for me to talk to ya. Alright, siddown, it's gonna be a long'un," he said.
So the two of them sat, and Cody began telling his new-found friend his life story.
Edited by Mroh on Apr 4th 2019 at 6:51:56 AM
WFS Hummingbird Corridors (Pilot 0037, Unit 09; Moquoql; Nasur)
"Me?" He got asked where he was coming from. "I think it was that... 'Transportation Room'. The one with the not-portals."
"I... honestly don't know where else to go. I mean, it's my first time in a place like this, and there were so many people around, I just had to leave. And here it looks like a labyrinth, and I'm lost, alone, and just so hungry." He pretty much snarled the last word. Oh, how much he wanted the hunger to go away. "I don't know where I am supposed to go." He said, disheartened.
"Well I'm sure Maequoql's got a charge built up in that gadget that she hoped would feed you by now..." Moquoql tilted her head and reported, "Joseph is about to go gallivanting off after the thief who stole his truck and he wants to say goodbye to you first... or maybe you could go with him? Either way..." She was about to say 'let's get you back to the transportation room' but then her telepathy registered Joseph on the move. "...oh, here he comes."
WFS Hummingbird Transporter Room (John, NCH; David, Joseph; Arnaya)
He shook his head slowly as they headed for the transport pad. "The whole enterprise lives on shaky ground, but I suppose I should have had more safety nets in place. Brought Rip or even Connie along, just in case. Someone to watch the truck. Someone to have my back."
His voice was just above a mutter, and Joseph was at the other end of the room, seemingly preoccupied with the search for his short time companion. Then Joseph turned his head slightly, their eyelines crossed, and there was a momentary flash of cognition. No words—hardly even an expression—but some understanding.
"I guess this birdie just wasn't ready to fly. But..." David sighed again, "...damn it, I'd like to at least see him flap."
There it was, confirmation of what Arnaya had suspected — Joseph was a Non-Action Guy, at least for now until he could be taught otherwise without getting burned out on it.
There was a Mayatan teaching technique that involved the apprentice telepathically piggybacking off the expert until the "muscle memory" was copied over through repetition. Arnaya resolved to let Joseph borrow — and with luck copy — her adventurer's instincts in that fashion.
Amy hit her shoulder. "Don't bring that back up! I'm still embarrassed!"
She felt deflated that Arnaya announced she was straight, but the feeling left as quickly that's okay. "Well...I like making friends. So let's be friends!"
"Friends sounds good to me," Arnaya agreed. She was about to touch her forehead to Amy's, but she glanced at John, second-guessed herself, and settled for a gentle telekinetic shoulder squeeze instead.
WFS Hummingbird Transporter Room (John, NCH; David; Arnaya) -> WFS Hummingbird Corridors (Moquoql; Pilot 0037, Unit 09; Nasur; Joseph)
Moquoql's telepathic radar could sense Joseph leaving the transporter room and approaching with giddy wonder.
"Nasur! There you are," he said, allowing himself a quick smile before he glanced at the others again. He compulsively grabbed at the hem of his sand-coated, banana yellow overshirt and squeezed it, pressing hard against his fingers. "Uh..." he managed, raising his other hand in a timid wave, "Hey. Hi. Wazzup."
Moquoql smiled and waved. "Hello Joseph, I'm Moquoql. Arnaya and my older sister Maequoql have been telling me good things about you."
WFS Hummingbird Transporter Room (John, NCH; David; Arnaya)
Arnaya chuckled, "Oh, there's still dissent sometimes. And it can get spectacular."
"I wish more people would open their eyes and see that," Arnaya nodded.
As John passed David some bullets, talk returned to the thief.
"I can think of at least one reason," Arnaya mumbled.
"Thank you for that..." John said, looking away.
"Oh, I-I'm sorry. I was just—"
"No, no I get it." He cleared his throat, "Adam has a point. If it was a mind controller, like Mael, it'll make way more sense to go after friends and family. It'll make fighting them a lot harder."
Arnaya tilted her head. "Inconvenient, definitely, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a lot harder. Actually, in some ways it's easier — strangers might try to sue you over rescues they don't like."
Arnaya added, "If you're worried that some loose cannon, maybe me, is gonna accidentally or not-so-accidentally kill the thief, I can always have Nyorla take a look to see if the thief has a predestined death." Nyorla was worried about Arnaya anyway, this would be a good reason to rendezvous.
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
The Ridge
The mustang herd and its companions; The Frisky One
Suddenly, the herd started moving.
Oh.
Iolana was surprised to see them form a defensive formation so quickly.
Oh. Did I cause that?
A sudden wave of pleasant warmth in her sapphire was her answer. She felt a surge in confidence. She saw the large palomino stallion "curse" at something on the other side of the mass of mustangs.
Ooooh, so they've noticed me descending but haven't realized that it was me. They're attacking some other poor schmuck. Nice.
She saw that her misplaced and misused smile earned only a stink-eye from what appeared to be the leader of this herd.
Ooooo, so this lady thinks I'm an idiot. Goooood.
Iolana answered the Lead Mare by making the equine analog of puppy-dog eyes at her: flagged her tail as high as she could, ears forward, raised her neck, pushing her head towards the Lead Mare, curled her lips and very rapidly clicked her many teeth together. Then, not waiting for her "reply", she reared, letting out a low, loud neigh. Ran a couple of circles behind the defence line for good measure.
Spiral out, keep going.The Ridge (Mustang herd, Whisper, Skvader; The Frisky One)
The grey monster left and Guardian Thunder arrogantly assumed that he'd successfully scared the monster off. He took a moment to raise his tail, arch his neck and prance in pride. Then he turned his attention to the yellow stranger horse, opening his mouth in a Flehmen response. Weird — the stranger had no gender-indicating scent. The stranger had hardly any scent at all. Thunder lowered his head and tried to maneuver to where he could do a visual inspection for gender instead.
The yellow stranger's raised tail and neck implied cheerfulness. The stranger's ears finally stopped flopping all over the place and started pointing forward at the herd to indicate she was paying attention to them. She pointed her muzzle forward, clicking her teeth together childishly in a plea for leniency. Lead Mare Flashfoot cast a skeptical eye on the stranger's height and proportions — the Frisky One didn't look like a foal to her.
When the stranger reared and whinnied, Guardian Thunder looked confused as his ears swiveled methodically in a search of the area. "Who are you signaling? We're right here!"
Lead Mare Flashfoot's pondering of whether or not to extend mercy was trumped. Offended by the stranger's rearing refusal to submit and the unnecessary noise with its potential to attract predators, Flashfoot flattened her ears and left the defense ring with the intent to pound some manners into the stranger, the gap seamlessly closing behind her.
The stranger took off running circles around the defense ring, so Lead Mare Flashfoot and Guardian Thunder tag-teamed up to chase the Frisky One, staying in between the weird horse and the herd and snapping their teeth in the direction of the stranger's rump. This was the standard banished-to-the-edge-of-the-herd punishment for upstarts challenging the herd hierarchy.
Edited by Miss_Desperado on Apr 5th 2019 at 9:58:53 AM
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
This is my good side.
The Scar: Along the river
"Dizzy or nauseous?" Chitara scratched her chin. It was hard to know, everything about the past nights were very fuzzy, down to even how she felt. She picked on the slight nervousness on Aubrey's tone, however. "Can't say. But I would have thought it was the food anyway." She answered.
She took a moment to look around herself. The river, the woods, the mountain rising to her left. Chitara had travelled for a long time now, and the road she and Naiolo had been on was rather familiar. This place... none of it seemed familiar, even the supposed road they had taken to get into town last night.
Considering what the others had been talking about in the past minutes, Chitara's head started piecing everything together. The idea of different world beyond her own was something she had heard only in fantasy settings book authors would make and sell for entertainment. And now it came to light that, apparently, she had actually been transported to another world without her noticing?
Chitara shuddered. The sudden realization that something entirely removed from reality as she knew it saw fit to take a humble merchant and her transport, and dump them in an unknown world, was not something one could take well. For a moment, she thought of what she knew was correct, and what was wrong. What else lurked far beyond reality that she had been blissfully unaware of.
Inside the wagon, Naiolo snored loudly. That simple sound brought Chitara back to the ground. Shaking the brief existential crisis, the old harpid focused back ont he road ahead.
"So, turns out, we have somehow taken to some other world." She sumamrized rather casually. "And may or may not know who or what did it. Great."
Wasteland: Southeastern Coast
Sallara retreated her hand. Seemingly, Varla was fast enough to sit herself back up on her chair. Then, she mumbled something to Nerea. At this, Sallara felt useless again. No strength or fighting abilities, and her magic was very limited.
Varla spoke again in loud vocie. "If we're going to continue helping her out of this, I'd rather do so while on the move instead of loitering here like sitting ducks." Sallara nodded.
"If you need me to, I'll help carry Lerna." She moved closer to the serpentine woman's vigorous tail. She didn't seem to be thrashing too much, a little hard to do with a broken neck, so she could be able to hold onto it if she had to.
WFS Hummingbird
"Oh, that." Nasur recognized what Moquoql had mentioned. "I emptied it already. Sorry."
"Wait. Joseph is coming?" Just as the narati wondered aloud, his friend Joseph made an appearance. "Oh, hey! There you are! I was just taking a stroll around and I met, erh..." He pointed at the other three. "What were your names again? I don't remember asking, I think."
< WoF Scouter Hummingbird, Transporter Room - Thinking Ahead >
David allowed the edges of his mouth to widen into a soft smile. "You've got a real firecracker heart, Amy. If you aren't careful, you might just ignite something larger."
With a casual, "thanks pard'ner," he set his focus to managing his gun, the bag of bullets, and the, bullets themselves, a practiced adroitness on display as he passed bag and bullet from finger to finger until all five chambers of the revolver were full up. "With any luck, I won't have spend a one, but better safe than riddled with bullets."
He pocketed the revolver and remaining bagged bullets opposite each other, then glanced up at John, curiosity abound in his dark gaze. His eyes lingered for a second, and his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly (helped along by an ample coating of fur), but whatever he had to say, if anything, remained untold.
"Well, that at least is good to hear," he said to Arnaya. "Wisdom, it's said, is the art of changing your mind. Without dissent there's no conflict, and without conflict, well, what drives the change? Personally, I can't imagine the pit I'd be in if Rip and I didn't argue about half of everything." He glanced at Amy and Maya, "And Connie, she's been a real blessing for the both of us, I think."
Upon hearing Arnaya's offer, David couldn't help but scrunch up his face. "What are you, the Fates now?"
the color today
WFS Hummingbird Corridors (Pilot 0037, Unit 09; Joseph; Moquoql; Nasur)
The pale girl gave the salamandine newcomer a curt nod of her head as greeting. "Ah, yes. My designation is Unit Zero-Nine," she told Nasur and Joseph, "And this is my assigned pilot, Zero-Zero-Three-Seven."
"Huh," the boy said, staring impassionately at Joseph, "She looks a bit squishy." It took him a moment to realize the previous pronouns used with this "Joseph". "Wait, you're a guy?" he exclaimed, before shaking his head, "Ugh, lizards are confusing."
The Wasteland ~ Southeastern Coast (Lerna, Nerea; Sallara; Varla)
While Lerna's mind was still trapped within that dark, timeless abyss, her body whipped her head around, nipping ineffectively at Nerea's hand. The empress gave a cold stare before flicking out her sword. Using a practiced maneuver, she pressed the back of her blade behind her servant's fangs and pulled swiftly upwards, effortlessly ripping the fangs out.
She then bundled a ball of water, and applied it to the twin wounds in Lerna's mouth, keeping her servant's noxious blood from landing on anyone.
Nerea calmly watched her servant writhe on the ground. The muscle relaxant didn't seem to be working well. "I think she may require a higher dose," she told Varla, "though, I can carry her in the mean-time."
Forest ~ Ruins (Jean; Gwion, Teri, Wolf; Ferrah, Parthenia)
Jean raised an eyebrow, "Well, someone even half the likes of "Cat" Jones would be in high demand. Inquisitors are damn good at finding out about things," she told the others.
"Moufreta. The only good thing going about that is the slightly gamey texture. Otherwise, it's a bland, dissapointing chicken," Jean told Farrah, before closing her eyes slightly, "Now, if it were only a sub-adult, or even an adult, it would taste much better. Delicacy in some parts, so I've heard."
She then busied herself with the vines out front of the building.
Forest's Edge ~ Campsite (Bonnie, Carol, Lily; Mequoql, Morpho; Henry, Joseph; Rebecca(?))
Bonnie raised an eyebrow at Henry, "X-ray?"
Lily tapped the lagokin medic on her shoulder, "I think he might be talking about enigma rays..."
"Enigma— ohhh...." Bonnie said slowly, realization dawning, "Right, yes, what I'd be doing would be like using enig— X-rays... just without the burns. Not that a healing spell wouldn't fix that." She stared at Joseph, "We're not trying to put you under a microscope. We just want to make sure everything is working properly."
Closing her eyes, she bowed her head, "It would be improper of me to force an examination on you; however... I strongly suggest that you get an examination. And unlike the physician's guild, my services are completely free."
Lily tilted her head towards Mequoql. "In his head?"she parroted, before adding, "Are we talking like my sister and her Noble spirits..."
Giving a quiet sigh, she turned her attention towards Joseph, "That seems to be how they work, by force of will, or something of the like. That would be something I'd be interested in studying about those gems."
[City Hall Basement (Haydn, Wilhelmine; Oseru)]
Oseru raised her eyebrows. "So now you have perverse half-wits with magic. Ancestors help me, they're bad enough with guns. Though I suppose as long as you keep a monopoly on the training techniques, it's quite useful to have expendable mges."
Leaving that thought aside, she said, "my target should be in a safe, somewhere upstairs. I'd like to head that way — and anything else of value our antagonist had, I am quite happy to leave you to take. Now, what's this about this other?" As she strode past the bandits Haydn had dealt with, she considered making sure the job was finished. Best not to go for her gun so readily, though she did now have it on her person.
Edited by KillerClowns on Apr 7th 2019 at 7:15:41 AM
Forest - Eastern End - Telegraph Tower
[Parthenia, Farrah, Jean, Teri, Wolfe, Gwion]Wolfe couldn't help but grin at Farrah's attempt to make sense of his and Teri's self-description. He shook his head at her question. "Mad as in 'crazy', not 'angry', and not lit'rally bastards. It's not a gang name; it's partly what we're somewhat-lovingly called by the villagers near where we live and partly job description as we're the ones who do the jobs y've gotta be crazy to do. But..." he turned to Teri. "The gang thing could work, y'know? We c'd get some patches made 'n' wear 'em when we ride our bikes inta town." His tone made it clear that he wasn't serious.
Teri gave a derisive snort. "You just wannan excuse t'get more tattoos."
When Parthenia introduced herself, Gwion and Wolfe nodded and gave a friendly "g'day" and Teri greeted her with "Wotcha."
Wolfe mused aloud to no one in particular. "I wasn't expecting an Inquisitor."
Teri shook her head. "Nobody does."
Gwion, whose parents had grown up during the late twentieth century, was well aware of Monty Python and instantly got the reference.
He nodded agreement with Jean's protestation that they were not 'tomb raiding' and looked up at the tower. "It kinda stretches the definition of tomb - our skinny friend down there," he nodded at the remains, "notwithstanding."
Teri looked at Jean. "Surely that'd depend on 'ow many people need the services of an Inquisitor. Dunno 'bout where you come from, but back 'ome, y'd be 'ard-pressed t'make a part-time job of it - well, these days, anyway."
Wolfe checked the water and saw that there were air bubbles forming and a faint fog of vapour rising off the top but it wasn't boiling yet. He took a sip from his own coffee and a puff on his vape. "Water'll be ready in a couple-a minutes."
Teri dug in her pouch and brought out her cup. "I'll 'ave one this time." She then turned to Farrah and Parthenia. "What 'appened to you two? Y'look like y've been in the wars."
Scar - Bridge Over the Large River
[Chitara, Naiolo, Pearl, Aubrey, Finn]Aubrey felt his scalp prickle and the hairs on the back of his neck bristle as Chitara mentioned her lapse in memory. It was clear from her tone that she found it unusual and he had his own clear memory of finding himself somewhere with no recollection of exactly how he got there - as did, he knew, Pearl and all of the unfortunately-named "Mad Bastards".
He tried, and mostly failed, to keep his tone casual. "You don't happen to recall feeling dizzy or nauseous just prior to your arrival, do you?" It was, he had to admit to himself, a stretch. There was no guarantee that the mechanism by which Chitara and Naiolo had been transported - if indeed they had - was the same as that by which he and the others had been transported to Terra Nova, or that 'harpids' would have the same physiological reaction as humans even if it were.
However, he could not help but suspect that there was something behind her lack of memory.
Pearl instantly knew what Aubrey was getting at as she was thinking along similar lines.
Finn picked up on the slight edge in Aubrey's tone and, based on what they had told him of their own experiences, connected the dots.