WOAH
Shaggy and Scooby Doo-The Woods
Shaggy and Scooby had hurried ahead to the campsite to finish packing their stuff, meaning they had missed Uraraka's takeoff and the last minute or two of chatter from the group at large. As the group approached the clearing though, the two heard Koushiro's question.
"Like, thankfully we're not far away, kid," Shaggy answered, taking out his map and opening it up wide, in case Koushiro or anyone else wanted a look. "According to Damar and Gandalf, we're like, somewhere around here," he said, pointing to a spot on the map. "And my Uncle's Manor is right here," and here he pointed to a small x on the map. "There's a main road that leads to the manor north of here, so like, all we gotta do is head north a bit, find the path again, and we'll be there sometime tonight!" The thought of finally getting out of these woods was leaving Shaggy in a pretty good mood now.
"Rovided re don't run into rore fae" Scooby added, cutting Shaggy's good mood short.
"Like, right. Provided we don't run into more fae."
"Or ronsters"
"Or Monsters"
"Or rhosts! Or Devils! Or-"
"Like, would you cut that out already, Scoob!"
"Rorry."
It was at this point, Shaggy noticed Uraraka had left. "Oh, like, I take it Uraraka didn't want to stick around?" Shaggy couldn't blame her. This was a rather eclectic group.
Edited by Dezmo on Oct 18th 2021 at 12:44:29 PM
Chaos
Jibril simply nodded to Tetra as she responded to Jibril. Of course she was right, that usually goes without saying when it's something she knows. However she turned her head back at NiGHTS.
As the team moved the direction Ahriman indicated, Jibril made small chat. "So NiGHTs, what is a Nightmaren exactly? You don't look like a mortal being to me, your flow of magic looks more like it's a part of your body processes with how it moves like a heartbeat. Mortals tend to have more separation between them and magic power, from what I've observed."
Usalia
Nobody new even cared that Usalia mentioned she was a demon. Were demons more common outside Toto Bunny than she was taught growing up? Perhaps the situation in the outside world had changed in the last century.
Usalia blushed only slightly as The Talk was mentioned, but she heard that a long long time ago. "I'll train to become stronger, but I already know the answer to that question, plip."
Edited by StephanReiken on Oct 18th 2021 at 9:30:36 AM
Arty the Crossover Lunatic
Ch Ao S Re ALM
...
NiGHTS' face froze into a quite strange expression. A straight mouth of sealed lips, and a wide gaze with shrunken pupils directed at Jibril. It could be hard to tell what she felt just from the face, but behind that unsettling gaze, was panic and despair. ...The fear of having a dirty secret being so close to being unlocked.
Before the unsettling gaze could last longer, though, NiGHTS released an ice-breaking giggle.
"I got no idea why you associated me with that name!" NiGHTS... didn't exactly lie, but just told a silver of the truth. "I am just a fellow that was born in a land where the Visitor's dreams play out! Nightmarens, though..." Their tone grew quieter. Resentful. Strangely guiltful. "They are monsters. Monsters born to bring Visitors their worst nightmares just to rob, for the sake of their..."
This was starting to stray away from being fun.
Come with me, and we will fly, to a Castle in the Sky...
Chaos
Jibril just shrugged. "My apologies I did not mean to offend. It is the name Master Ahriman referred to you as so perhaps he was mistaken. Dream creatue though, it is no wonder I have no idea what you are. I do not sleep, so I do not dream."
She gestured to Ahriman. "He summoned me into a dream realm though, that was my first experience and I would have to say it was a little unsettling how magic does not work as you expect there."
The Ice Queen
Woods. Old Flame.
Caitlin's reaction to the sight of the wanted poster was in stark contrast to...well, pretty much everyone else's. Kled, as usual, seemed to be going off on some unrelated, intoxicated tangent; and everyone else seemed to react with some degree of caution.
But Caitlin's reaction was nothing like either of those. She seemed to be cycling through an odd combination of confusion, disbelief, and joy.
This was because unlike the others, she recognized the face on the poster. He did look somewhat different from when they'd last met- when she'd thought she'd lost him forever- but she would know that face, that jawline, that physique anywhere.
"Oh my gods."
The mix of awe and delight in her voice was unmistakable.
"That's not Fire Eyes Steve. That's him. That's Ronnie."
Even she found herself struggling to believe it. She had been fairly certain Ronnie was dead; there'd been a massive burst of explosive magic and she'd never found a body. But again, she'd know his face anywhere.
But even if it was him- and that certainly seemed to be the case- what was in store for them? The last time they'd met, she wasn't the monster she was so widely known as today. They'd both been fairly normal people trying to make a life for themselves. But now, with both of them apparently being wanted fugitives? What sort of future did they have now?
Well...one that had to be better than nothing, right? Her fiance- the love of her life- was alive, and right now, that was all that mattered.
The Hope, The Hero
The Woods (Master Chief and Cortana)
Chief picks up at Caitlin's reaction to the poster, a quizzical tilt giving away his curiousity as he glances in her direction.
"Ronnie? Is he someone you know?"
Spelunking through a Halo Ring is something else...
The Ice Queen
[[Woods, Old Flame]]
Caitlin smiles; despite her cold exterior, it's a decidedly warm expression. "Of course I know him...He's my fiance." She clutched the poster close to her chest, still cycling through all of those emotions and letting them pour over her. "I thought for sure he was dead...but he's still out there somewhere!" The unbridled enthusiasm in the second half of that statement was impossible to miss. Unless you were Shoto, possibly.
Shoto was starting to zone out as everyone was talking over his head, but then Caitlin spoke up and he watched as a lot of emotions went through her. His brows furrowed a little as he tried to unpack her words.
Finally, he asked, "and that's a good thing?" with the tone of someone not quite sure how to parse the emotions he was seeing.
I say that aloud too sometimes, just: "man, no life."
AKA Nixer
Hinata – The Woods
“Y-You had a fiancé, Caitlin-san...?” Hinata queries, a slow smile of genuine joy for the woman spreading across her face. “C-Congratulations, Caitlin-san! Th-That means he's still alive...!”
bork
Woods (Bardock)
The Saiyan cracks a small smile for what feels like the first time all day.
“Then we keep an eye out for him, Caitlin. We’ll find him, don’t worry…heh. Guy looks tough. You’re lucky.”
Was Bardock just…wholesome?
This post is sponsored by Amalgam Comics.
AKA Nixer
Raz – The Woods But Not Those Woods The Other Woods
“Lost. Alone. Only squirrels to keep me company, and the chirping of colourful birds as my cruel music— nah, that's too lame...”
*RIP*
“Abandoned. Confused— no no no I wasn't abandoned the poor guy saved me—”
*RIP*
“...”
The boy in the tree sighed, his mind drawing a blank on what to write in his journal next. He lazily let said journal float back into his backpack, and fitted his goggles over his eyes—the massive lenses almost overtaking his face as he acrobatically swung off a tree branch and landed in a combat-ready position.
“Hiya! Wataaa... aaa... aaa...?”
The hedgehog he had landed in front of didn't even react, leaving him to droop in an awkward manner and scratch the back of his bulbous neck ashamedly. Unsure of what to do, he began kicking rocks until he finally noticed something in the distance.
“Wait. Is that...?”
It looked like a path to him. A road. With track marks! Which probably meant it lead somewhere!
“YES! Finally! Civilisation, here I come!”
Conjuring his levitation ball, he hopped on top of it and began speedily running it towards the path, bumping lightly off of rocks and trees the whole way and laughing in relief and excitement. Maybe he could even contact the Psychonauts while he was there!
Assuming there were psykers there.
The thought made him falter a moment, but he recovered enough to rebalance on his ball and continue onwards.
Edited by Enirboreh on Oct 19th 2021 at 5:35:40 PM
bork
Team A
The Open Road
As the day rolled on into afternoon, and bright skies got overcome by darker clouds, the great gathering carried their conversations along the great long walk. They'd found the main road again easily enough, though it seemed their path was set to lead them back into dark dense woodland again in a few moments. They'd just crossed a great stone bridge over the river when a few of them heard a troubling sound. It was a few different sounds, in fact, and all of them coming from the off-road track up ahead. One was the sound of something getting hit with a stick, the other was the sound of a baby crying, and the third was the sound of a woman calling out "Take yours, give mine back! Take yours, give mine back!"
Team B
Kocsma Tavern
Miss Fortune whipped around, and Marie found the pistol pointed at her instead. For a moment, the manager found relief, until the pistol in her other hand tucked under his chin instead.
"Oh, a bleeding heart, are we?" said the captain. "Well, here's the deal. There's a little merchant woman- brown hair, pudgy, just gone forty -who's got something that belongs to me. Now, you wouldn't know anyone matching that description, would you?"
Meanwhile, in the bar area, the woman matching that description had gone from being sat near June Moon to diving behind the counter and curling into a trembling ball of fright as the room was flooded with buccaneers going "get your head down, get your head down!" June might just about be able to hear Columbia going "No no no not again not again"
Pluck
It took a bit of sniffing and ignoring the scent of Alice's cat vanishing off into the sunset, but Spyro soon managed to snag the scent of mange and fleas, trailing outside the town limits and disappearing off into the Glades.
The Glades
Hanna gently took Shantae's hand...then suddenly yanked herself into her oh god SHE'S GONNA EAT- no, wait, she's just hugging her.
Meanwhile, Rothschild took that literal tap to the head, then turned to stare as Amy with a bug-eyed 'seriously?!' look. With her idea of a convincing alibi thwarted, she looked around for another idea, and set her sights on Shantae. "I-If I may," she said, getting up and coming over. "If anyone asks, I could say I was captured for my extensive knowledge of undead creatures. Th-That way I could come with you!...if you'd have me..."
Further in, and later that night...
...deeper, far deeper within the forest, there was a place that sane men dared not go. A vast stretch of wetlands, of barren trees and dead grass jutting out of the moss and stagnant water, uninhabited save for insects, frogs and the occasional crane. But even they knew better than to stick around after dark, for if the stories were true...there was dark magic in this swamp, and darker creatures born from it.
Young Rasputin came to the brink of this swamp, and almost immediately found the road was less paved and cared for than moments ago. Old rotten signs jutted out of the ground, saying "KEEP OUT", "QUARANTINE AFTER DARK", "NOT SAFE FOR VISITORS" and "COMING SOON: KAMINOSKI NATIONAL PARK". Beyond them was a winding dirt road, weaving through the trees and disappearing into the mist, barely keeping above the slimy water. Aside from the constant buzz and croaks of wildlife, it didn't seem like any other kind of life was out there...but wait! That light, dancing off in the distance, what was that?
To the north of the swamp and south of the river junction, there was a deep and dark cave, trimmed with moss and grass. At the mouth, a number of cats were about, either lazing on the top or wandering in and out of the entrance. But now, something new came to the cavern. From out of the shadows and mists came a bright white orb of light, drifting lazily along, and catching the attention of a couple of cats. As it emerged from the gloom, the cats would see that light was clutched in the hand of a strange little creature, carrying a rotten basket in its other hand.
From behind, one might think it was a small child with wild white hair, dressed in only in a bedsheet. But a trailing white moustache adorned its face, which itself was squashed quite flat, with great wide eyes that showed nothing but blackness right down to its soul. Look close enough at its dark skin, and you'd realise there was no flesh at all, but densely packed muck and mud. This was a gnome born of a dark and deadly swamp, and a thing born of evil could only be evil itself...but that's not to say it didn't make good company.
Snuffing out the light in its free hand, the demon rapped on the side of the entrance, and called out with the voice of a cheerful old man. "Evenin', neigbour! It's Mister Bludnik. Brought some catfish up for the little 'uns."
Chaosrealm
The party journeyed on through the strange and twisted reality, over the hills and fields that were more like curves on a crumpled carpet. Assorted nonsense went on all around them, of course. A giant spider floated immobile overhead like a cloud. A rabbit danced and sang a demented little song.
A brawny draconic being sat cross-legged in front of a screen playing a baby doll commercial, with two fingers pressed lightly against the screen and a tear rolling down its cheek.
The group headed up a hill and so reached the bottom of it. Following the path, Ahriman would happen upon a sign saying "DILEMMA FARM: 2 BLOPS UPWEST". Sure enough, there was some kind of a farm just ahead. A relatively normal looking farmhouse stood there, with a large enclosure out the front. A number of odd-looking animals wandered aimlessly about in there, occasionally munching on the grass.- they looked almost like sheep or maybe alpacas, with bulging eyes facing in two different directions. Just across from the enclosure was a half-built barn made of tin, and trotting back and forth inside was what looked like the bull of the species: massive stocky build, with huge grasping antlers that looked like the last horns you'd ever want to be on.
Just at the door of the farmhouse, someone was kicking back relaxed in a deckchair. Dressed in grubby overalls with a cap over his eyes, he was a lumpy-looking hominid with bright blue skin, long ears, and legs that looked more like skinny metal pistons. NiGHTS might have recognised his species as a Coincidence. If Ahriman recognised it too, well, what were the odds?
Edited by LizardOfAus on Oct 20th 2021 at 12:04:04 PM
AKA Nixer
Razputin – The Swamp
“...Weird...” Raz commented as he let his levitation ball pop from beneath him, lingering at the edge of the swamp at the moment as he looked over the signs briefly. “Ominous! But hey, maybe it'll make a nice park! I can see the renovation ideas...!”
As he wandered further in, he realised he was tired. Which was understandable enough; he had been using his levitation all the way to sundown, but he knew he had to keep himself awake somehow.
So he promptly cracked open his smelling salts and took a quick whiff.
“AGH! Brrrrr— okay, phew! Awake now, awake now!” he shook his head, stuffing the salts back into his rucksack and continuing on with renewed vigour. The light caught his eye, and he waved cautiously to the inhuman figure lurking about—clearing his throat and taking the time to ready his Clairvoyance as he formulated a reply.
“Ah— hello, Mr. Bludnik! My name is Raz. I think I'm a little lost— do you know the way to the nearest town? I really don't wanna intrude on your swamp and all...”
Okay, and as I talk...
While his mouth was moving, he subtly focused his Clairvoyance on the figure, aiming to share his vision and see what he saw. Most importantly, how he saw Raz. Because if he saw him as a freshly cooked dish of seasoned Aquato he knew to run away ASAP.
bork
Woods (Bardock)
“Oh, for the love of-can we just walk down the road for five minutes?”
Bardock heads off in the direction of the fight, completely breaking his buddy system rule for the second time today.
“Okay, who’s trying to kill who?”
Glades (Shantae)
The genie girl looks up from the hug, smiling at Rothschild.
“Well, if you’re done being a butt…sure! The more, the merrier! Hey guys…I was gonna stick around longer, but I feel like these two need me more…don’t be a stranger, alright?”
Shantae lets go, looking between Hanna and Rothschild before motioning for them to follow her.
“My plan is we’ll walk for a bit and chat ‘till my magic refills. Then it’s just a quick Warp Dance to meet my buddy Rottytops! If everyone’s okay with that, then we’re Ret-2-Go!”
The half-genie hero leads her two new unlikely traveling companions off, headed towards help and, let’s face it, probably their own slew of misunderstandings and antics.
Glades (Ilulu)
A high-pitched yawn sounds from inside the cave, a short young woman with horns, claws, a tail and WHAT EVEN IS THAT PHYSIQUE
slowly stumbling out seconds later, a cat still asleep on her shoulder. The massive claw on her left arm reaches out, palm facing upwards to take the basket.
“Mmm, thanks Mister…-yaaaaawn-…Bludnik, was just…napping…haven’t slept well for a few nights…”
A small handful of fading burns on the girl’s body indicate that she’d recently been in a fight…and probably didn’t win it.
As Raz approaches the cave, the girl looks directly at him and seems to sniff the air, trying to get his scent. Clairvoyance reveals that, of all things, she sees Raz as an imp-like figure with an even-more-disproportionate head than he actually has.
“…Hey…”
Raz, this girl is obviously a dragon.
This post is sponsored by Amalgam Comics.
Bardock made a fair point, it was a little absurd to Shoto that they would just keep stumbling into people in trouble whenever they took a few steps through these woods.
Once Bardock started heading towards the sound, he sped up a little to keep step. Curiosity and concern for Bardock just in case. Sure, he was a Saiyan, but the rules of the buddy system meant no one was left alone.
Once the vamp was dealt with, Leah was finally able to catch back up on what the conversation was on the other side. She'd apparently missed a lot, since Shantae was deciding to split up and hang out with them?
As soon as she was dressed and ready, she yelped, "where do you think you're going?" and chased after. The chaos of the group was increased quite a bit by the sudden addition of a moody werewolf. Who knew what misadventures awaited?
Edited by Skooter910 on Oct 22nd 2021 at 6:55:49 AM
I say that aloud too sometimes, just: "man, no life."
The Woods (Karre)
Karre is rather surprised to hear that Caitlin has a connection with the man on the poster. Well, what do you know!
"I see. It's good that you've found a trace of him again, then."
He doesn't say anything about them being engaged. It's none of his business.
However, as they travel, they happen upon what seems to be... arguing? Bardock and Shoto go on to check it out, and Karre follows a bit more slowly. He's mildly curious, although not in much as a rush to see.
They may want to be careful though, with how fae apparently linger in these woods...
The Hope, The Hero
Woods (Master Chief and Cortana)
As Chief walks along with the others, it's not long before he hears the commotion just like the others. He glances at the sound's direction.
"Good thing that doesn't sound like Covenant—" the Spartan utters before the half-elf and Saiyan move ahead, leaving the rest of the party. He turns to some of the others.
"I'll go on ahead. Cortana?"
"I'll let you know if there's anything else, Chief."
Thus the Spartan unholsters his rifle and moves in, his armoured boots making heavy footfalls on the ground.
Spelunking through a Halo Ring is something else...
AKA Nixer
Hinata – The Woods
Upon hearing the commotion from up ahead, Hinata internally sighed and activated her Byakugan; signalling to the others wordlessly that she was going up into the trees again. If she could get a good flanking position, she could get a better view on the situation. Plus, she could intervene from a surprising angle if something went wrong.
Scrambling up into the branches, she carefully hopped through the treeline, keeping her movements slow and stealthy whilst timing each rustle with that of the wildlife. Hopefully, she'd just seem like any other animal with its form obscured by the leaves.
She was small enough for it, in any case.
Razputin – The Swamp
Raz squints at the strange... lady? Anyway, whoever she was she was coming out from the cave. She seemed a little beat up, and he wondered if it had anything to do with the creepy man outside—though she was pretty friendly with him for all he could see so far.
“Hi! I'm Raz. What's your name, dragon-lady?” he innocently asked, snickering slightly as he saw her perception of him. It was kinda cute, in a freaky imp way. “Is... this guy on the ball, or what? He hasn't hurt you at all, has he? Done anything weird? Talked about his stamp collection in a really intense way or anything...?”
bork
Swamp - Ilulu’s Cave (Ilulu)
“Huh? Ohhhh no, that’s just Mr. Bludnik, he’s alright…dunno what he is, really, but he’s not one of those vile, hateful humans so he’s fine…probably would’ve destroyed his body and eaten his soul if he was.”
…Oh.
The dragon yawns again, scratching an itch behind her ear, but carefully so as to not disturb the napping cat on her shoulder.
“My name’s Ilulu! I…got in a fight, so I’m hiding out here. Mr. Bludnik didn’t do this, don’t worry! He probably won’t eat you! What’s a…weird…imp? Fairy? I dunno what you are, but what’re you doing out here in ‘Probably Gonna Get Eaten By Monsters Swamp?’”
Edited by ZodanTheUnbounceable on Oct 20th 2021 at 12:49:24 PM
This post is sponsored by Amalgam Comics.
Alabama - The Glades
As the group was finishing up the vampire business a kid suddenly appeared in front of Amy and rushed off before Alabama could even ask who they were and what they were doing wandering in the woods. When Shantae said she was leaving to take Hanna and Rothschild to her friend Alabama gave her a wave and said, "It was nice travelling with you while it lasted"
"Should we go after that...kid? I'm pretty sure he went away from the town" Alabama says looking the way Raz rushed off in before turning to Leah and Amy, a bit of worry obvious on her face.
Arty the Crossover Lunatic
Ch Ao S Re ALM
"Nah, it's alright Jibril! It's already amazing water under the bridge." NiGHTS was very quick to take the chance in sweeping the Nightmaren name under the rug. It was, after all... a name they didn't want to be associated with anymore. "Hmmm... a Visitor that never sleeps? Never heard of that. Closest I heard is Visitors that take a long while to sleep."
Interestingly, when NiGHTS' focus came back to the surroundings, she realized the Visitors found out a farm. With creatures that reminded NiGHTS of certain fellas. And-
"Woah! What a... Coincidence." NiGHTS cheekily said, proud of her colossally corny pun.
Come with me, and we will fly, to a Castle in the Sky...
Rexy (Woods)
Upon hearing the scuffle ahead after a long walk beneath dark clouds, the ruler incognito was in no mood to deal with any more delaying nonsense. So, as Bardock strode forward, so did she. But before anyone could try to bluster about her and her group interrupting, they'd be greeted by the sight of her eyes locking onto their own, and the sound of a growl escaping her.
Amy (Glades)
With Shantae making her disappearance with Rothschild in tow, Amy felt unsure what to do next, and also felt just a bit miffed that one of her friends had left so quickly. Thus, when the offer of chasing after someone else came up courtesy of Alabama, the hedgehog nodded, and started leading the search party after him, taking things just a bit slower so the others wouldn't have to rush too much to catch up.
Proud member of the AGOG community.
AKA Nixer
Razputin – The Swamp
“Oh, I got lost. I've been trying to find some kinda civilisation for... hours! I thought there was a town or something this way, but all I found is this swamp and mossy guy...” Razputin replied, squinting at the woman before flushing slightly and suddenly averting his eyes. “Uh, I wasn't staring. It's just weird. I haven't seen anyone who looks like you before! Which is... kinda surprising actually...”
If I had my Mental Connection, I would change that whole ‘hates humans’ thing in a heartbeat, Raz thought to himself darkly. But... that's exactly why Sasha revoked my license in the first place. I hope I won't need it now I'm lost... then again. I beat Coach Oleander and his tanks without it, so...
bork
The Swamp
"We-he-hell now, no need t' worry about that!" The little man sauntered over and slapped a hand on the lad's shoulder. "Soon as I've dropped off these fishies for the kitties, I can lead you back to civileesation lickety-split, my fine little...hominid friend."
The Bludnik's smile was wide and toothy, but there was, for want of a better term, a hungry look in his eyes. It didn't help that by this point, Raz had taken a look through said eyes. He'd know by now that this little man saw Raz as a rosemary shrub, ready to be planted, with his head as the root. Ilulu, meanwhile, was viewed as an eager young military cadet, with a gravedigger's shovel in hand.
Edited by LizardOfAus on Oct 20th 2021 at 11:46:54 AM
Ch Ao S Re ALM
"Haha! Got one right!" NiGHTS celebrated with a wide grin, before laying their head forward with a curious look on her face. While still floating forward. "Also, I think you got the dragon's name wrong. It's Glaarung." She naively tried to correct the little Visitor. "I know a minimum of these fellows, but none of them have normal names!"
Come with me, and we will fly, to a Castle in the Sky...