Posted July 14, 2018 (edited) Quote XTRA DIMENSIONAL TELEPORTATION TERMINAL FIRMWARE 1.0.1.4 Finding coordinates... ok. ~ Mission ID: 0102 Participants: Pascal, Sora, Circuit, Evonna, Tara, Illidan, Ray, Natsuki, Anders, Aeolus, Reshi, Xander, Keaton, Light, Qaksh World: ??? [The Property of Hate] Location: The Black Market Time: late-afternoon Current Environment: Dark, but clear Status: Shopping/Heartless/Eating/Trying not to get arrested again >>WELCOME<< This is a companion thread to X-DREAMERS. In an effort not to flood the main topic with game posts (and to experiment with different RP forms, as per the spirit of Freeforms), this is a thread exclusively for off-world missions and other fast paced events such as battles that require a rapid exchange of posts. MISSION RULES: 1. Only characters submitted to missions in X-DREAMERS may participate. 2. Short posts are encouraged. 3. Your character may exit the area and return to base at any time, although they will have a few turns of cooldown and might not be able to resume in the same place they left off. 4. If you are inactive over several rounds, your character will be sent back to base. (SUB)MISSIONS Would you like to GM a mission? Are you too nervous to create an actual, full RP? You may submit one to me privately and if you're lucky, we might run it! Just fill in the form below. <World:> List universe/media (can have multiple if they merged with something else) <Location:> Specific location within the world <Environment:> Particular traits of the world? ~ <Objective:> If an anchor retrieval mission state the anchor and its universe. <Sequence:> Summarize what happens in the entire mission in 2-5 plot points 1. 2. 3. <Encounters+NPCs:> Notes about any unusual people or enemies <Notes>: Misc. Edited December 3, 2018 by TehUltimateMage Share this post Link to post
Posted July 14, 2018 (edited) >> MISSION 02: START<< The first thing that always hit Pascal on any off-world trips were the sudden smells; this one always welcomed her with the scents of spices, desserts, and motor oil. She enjoyed teleporting to new places with her eyes closed, taking the first few steps blind before letting the sights of a new area settle in. This place she had been to many times, although it seemed like every time she was here things were a little bit different, as if the actions and reactions of all the mixing people and mingling timelines constantly changed the topography of the market itself. The sky was dark and faintly dotted with stars all around as far as the eye could see, but the market was alight with the glow of a hundred thousand lanterns strung through the air. Creatures of all sorts milled about, many of them seemingly human, and many more looking like collages of parts both familiar and alien. Colorful market stalls were staffed with energetic shopkeepers, hawking all sorts of wares small and large. Pascal turned on her heels to address the party. "Welcome.... to the Black Market. Not black like shady, just... black like the color." "Legends say this place used to be under the sea," Pascal continued. "They say that this is where ideas were born and where identities take shape, so that the people here may one day get to live their own stories. It might have been based on how the Black Market had always been a hub for trading parts, though I don't think it's always been part of the multiverse. Or maybe it has. Nobody really knows." "Most vendors take galactic Pixels--" -- the woman pulled out a card-sized chip out of a chest pocket and waved it once before tucking it away again -- "but many of them accept all sorts of other currency and items for trade. And as far as I know, barter is still common, so make sure you don't accidentally sell an arm or a leg or anything else you'd rather keep!" Despite the informed risk of being able to trade away one's soul on accident, Pascal remained upbeat and unworried. "Anyway, I'm heading to Cid's. He's a real good mechanic with a ton of spare parts, so meet back here at the green gate in two hours, when the clock strikes... six? If you see something nice, tell them you know Pascal and maybe they'll put it aside for you." The area where they arrived did seem to feature a dark doorway with a glowing green orb above it. The paving and lights were green too, making the meeting point fairly distinct. Several other similar doors surrounded the outer ring of the marketplace, each coded a different color, and each, presumably, leading to a different exit. Edited July 14, 2018 by TehUltimateMage Share this post Link to post
Posted July 14, 2018 (edited) ~Evonna and Tara - Cookie time!~ Evonna was so ready to get the things she had been waiting to get. She looked around for the things that she needed- chocolate chips, flour, sugar, vanilla, and other things that she needed for baking. Maybe she could get some materials for snickerdoodles or white chocolate macadamia cookies. Regardless, she was ready to get things for baking. She also needed some cookie sheets, Evonna didn’t see anything she could use back at base. Some cooking spray too, that was a must. She noticed a girl nearby who appeared to be hugging herself. She was very small, appearing to be around the age of twelve, her bright blue eyes framed by glasses that took up half of her face. Her long, thick black hair hung around her like a curtain, and she seemed that she had mixed white and Asian features. This was only what Evonna supposed, however, because she could never be one hundred percent sure. Perhaps she could be a kind soul and take this girl in- she seemed very scared and meek. It was a shame, if it weren’t for her nature she would have been a pretty little thing, with her elven looks. She walked up to the girl and carefully put a hand on her shoulder. In response, the girl jumped and looked at Evonna with eyes the size of dinner plates. “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Evonna reassured her, “You seem new, we’re in the same boat. My name is Evonna, what’s yours?” “T-T-Tara,” the girl managed to squeak out. Tara looked at Evonna with a very shy smile, but she wasn’t fooling anyone. She was scared of everyone and everything here, but she decided to ground herself by taking in this kind girl’s features. She was very pretty, with caramel curls that bounced around her shoulders with a bit of a spunk. The girl wore a T-shirt with what looked like the name of a band on it. This band, though, she did not recognize, but she hoped she would have the courage to ask at some point in time. Her pale brown eyes were wide with curiosity and kindness, framed in a round face. She was certain that the girl was at least part African of some sort, but she was too nervous to ask. So Evonna decided to ask her a question. “Good to meet you, Tara. Would you like to help me shop? I’m looking for stuff to make cookies, would you like to help me find the booth that has baking materials? I’ll help you find whatever it is you’ll need. If you need anything, anyway.” She pondered for a moment and thought about the nice lady who took her to find her room. Lara, was it? She was pretty sweet, if a bit intimidating. Evonna wanted to find something for her. The woman seemed to like guns, perhaps she could find something. Evonna did have a good amount of money from her home world, perhaps they’d take some of it? She very much hoped so, since she didn’t have whatever currency they needed to trade. Evonna took Tara with her and found a stand with baking materials. A very kind old woman stood behind the stand, and she smiled when she saw the two girls approach. “Hi, I’m looking for…” She listed off the ingredients that she needed, and everything else, while the lady placed everything in a couple of bags on the counter. “Is that all?” Evonna smiled and nodded. “Oh, yeah that’s everything.” She leaned in a bit closer, a pensive look on her face. “Actually, um, I’m looking for a place that sells firearms. Not for me, but for a friend of mine. Do you know where one could be?” The woman sighed. “Ah, just across from me there’s a guy. Be careful, young lady, he’s one who likes to take your money. If you have anything to barter, he may be able to take whatever you can provide. But be careful, darling.” Evonna smiled and nodded. She took out her money and placed it on the counter. “Would I be able to use this?” the old woman smiled. “Canada, hmm? I see. I’m from Canada too, and I can take it. But not everyone will, so allow me to give you change in pixels. I doubt you have much to barter here other than this money.” She turned around and took out a little chip, loading Evonna’s change onto the chip and handing it to her. “Here you go, dear, that should be equivalent to what you would get in Canada. Good luck, honey, you may need it with that man.” Evonna smiled and nodded again, taking the chip. “Merci,” Evonna replied, grabbing her new loot. “De rien, de rien. Bonne chance, mademoiselle.” She waved as Evonna patted Tara’s back and turned to walk to the next booth. “Merci, madame! Au revoir.” The two girls made their way to the booth with the firearms, Evonna locked and loaded with questions. Edited July 14, 2018 by Mikasa361 Share this post Link to post
Posted July 15, 2018 (edited) Lightpon ~ So many sights! Despite the heads-up Pascal given, Light was completely bewildered as the world changed around her to reveal a world that appeared to be in the middle of a vivid, colorful festival. So many people were everywhere, talking, bartering, and--did that person just sell a limb?! Light gaped, mouth wide. This is just like one of those mythical marketplaces in a storybook! Interest piqued, she completely forgot about what she wanted to ask the glowy orange dragon next to her, instead excitedly running into a slightly more open part just up ahead to take in the sights. Rainbow lanterns and brightly colored lights--was that a kaleidoscope of nebula-winged butterflies?--sparkled like stars in the shadowed bazaar, and the calls of unimaginable creatures sounded from every direction. In fact, right then, the sound of trumpets erupted from a spot a few feet away--played by a swan, to boot! Light closed her eyes to take it all in, all the wonderful smells and unique songs and the energy of it all. Someone bumped into her and she opened her eyes again, her "sorry" trailing off in a stare of amazement at a little yellow bird with a large crest, small wings, a wicked-looking beak, and a chain of crystals. That bird passed by a stall with colorful, softly glowing bottles designed with different elemental themes.The shopkeeper, who was a giant wolf with dark indigo fur, was unlike any half-breed she had ever seen before. Right beside the stall, there was a stern looking, rusty haired woman who was wearing a white striped blouse decorated with a red bow, and talking to a brown-haired young man wearing a fur lined black leather jacket and a scar down his face. Light's eyes flicked away, and in the middle of the road a trio of people hardly older than her caught her eye; a blonde haired, blue eyed girl with a strange necklace wearing white and blue clothes, another a short, messy silver haired boy with blue and white clothes in addition to long black sleeves, holding a toy of some sort, and finally an excited boy with brown hair that was sticking straight up, wearing the most ridiculously red armor Light had ever seen, all three (friends?) marveling at the sights just like she was. Light looked up, and to her delight saw a woman with short pink hair and skeletal wings who was flying above, yelling at a man with messy orange hair, also those weird wings, and who was holding a lolipop. She turned again and gasped as she saw a man with two dragon heads sticking out of his shoulders somehow! A strange boy with hair like leaves was also walking around, holding a bracelet and shouting. She sat down on a conveniently placed crate, eyes wide and face split with a smile. "What do you think, Rao?" Light chirped. Rao zipped around her in response. Edited July 15, 2018 by Pyrowings Share this post Link to post
Posted July 15, 2018 (edited) (Aeolus)--- The Espeon looked around, ears pricked. His whiskers twitched slightly, To anyone looking, his eyes would he a bit wide as be took on all the sights around him. So this was another world... a very different one. It seemed his curiosity eould pay off yet. He readied himself in case someone wanted to fight, before looking at the others who'd been with him on the platform. All seemed preoccupied, and the pink feline slipped away. He wove through the crowds, taking in the sights of the bazaar. So many different creatures! A lupine creature with silver fur that seemed to have white markings to it and yellow-green eyes passed by him at one point, and above him something that looked like a Noctowl with lighter colours and heart-shaped face with no horns flew by. Humans in many different kinds of clothing milled about, as did various creatures tgat looked like hybrids of Pokémon or Pokémon and humans. There were even some creatures he simply couldn't put a familiar description too. They bartered with all kinds of items, from the familiar to things that looked like they were from a particularly wild dream. He continued to wander, hearing snatches of strnge conversation amongst the roar of voices. Occasionally, the sounds were punctured by the noise of something falling, causing Aeolus to jump and scuttle away a bit from the direction of the falling object-sound. Edited July 15, 2018 by DuskOfTheStars Share this post Link to post
Posted July 19, 2018 Sora | A Small World Transporting between worlds was... disorienting. Not knowing what to expect, Sora tried to prepare himself for anything. That didn't stop his vision from all but freaking out on him and his ears to ring. Colors bled together for a heartbeat before they could sort themselves out into distinct shapes. Then the noise hit him, just as garbled for just as long. It made his senses upset and he moaned miserably. Was he going to be sick? Settling down a few moments later, the boy looked around from where he perched on Circuitraider's hand. (He had managed to pry out a name for the machine while they waited for everyone at the Gateway.) It was dark in this world and, for several heartbeats, he feared that the Heartless might have been on the verge of consuming the world. When it appeared that wasn't the case, he relaxed and started climbing down. The machine helped him, lowering its arm closer to the ground. Pascal was talking and he perked up at a familiar name. "Cid? A blond-haired grandpa?" Sora inquired, walking towards the woman. If this was the same man he met back in Twilight Town - Sora shifted his weight anxiously from foot to foot. Did this mean Twilight Town was gone? Why else would Cid be relocated here? He shook his head, reminding himself not to jump ahead to conclusions. The name could just be a coincidence and mean absolutely nothing. Still, he needed to see for himself. "I'll come with you," he told Pascal. Share this post Link to post
Posted July 20, 2018 Philip and Ruby (Clothes Shopping) Philip looked around, scared to death as he gripped his weapon tightly. If there was one thing, he could trade his weapon for clothes. “You okay?” Ruby asked as she looked up at the tall man. Looking down at the very tiny owl, he nodded. He was mute, Ruby had noticed previously. “Do you mind if I perch on your shoulder? I can try to do the bargaining for you.” Philip nodded and Ruby flew up, landing on his shoulder. She was simply here to sight see but if it meant to help this scary, yet gentle human, then she was happy to do so. After making sure the owl was safely perched on his shoulder before moving, trying to find the clothing section, trying to point at his clothes while he walked. “Do you need some new fur or something?” Ruby asked highly confused. How could one just change their fur!? As they walked, Philip noticed a lot of different people and creatures. "This place is huge!" Ruby hooted as she looked around. There was a giant whitish mouse, a giant quadruple animal that had excess fur on its neck and were the tail was, before another human that the giant human was immediately drawn too. Oh! So he had found alternative fur? Good for him! Share this post Link to post
Posted July 26, 2018 [ So many strange sights and things... - Illidan ] Illidan couldn't help the smirk on his face when he saw Xander grab the other agent by the arm. A little food wouldn't hurt, to be honest. After Rayla pointed out which gate Pascal meant, he followed Xander. "I don't mind going with you at all... in fact, I could use a bite to eat myself." He looked around at all the people... and he saw quite a few that he recognized from Azeroth and Argus. A golden-haired paladin, a brother-sister pair who were a mage and hunter respectively, a second mage... Even one of his Illidari was here! It gave him some small measure of comfort to see a fellow Demon Hunter. All of these people, he noted, were Sin'dorei... how had he missed that detail for so long? He left them alone, though, knowing that they were more-so gossiping about other events (mainly about something they called "azerite") and not his recent disappearance from the Burning Throne. Then something else caught his eye - a certain sword. Was that... Quel'delar? The dragon-forged blade of Sin'dorei legend? He'd have to convince Xander to come back for this. [ So much to see and do! - Ray ] Ray smiled upon all the sights, sounds, and lights. Perhaps... Yeah. Time to let him out and get some fresh air. "I figure you've been holed up in there long enough, Akatsuki." She tosses a PokeBall in the air, and out pops a red and black, bipedal cat that's almost 6 feet tall. Akatsuki yawns, but jolts a little when he sees Keaton. "It's okay, Akatsuki, he won't bite! Right, Kea--" Then she sees the real reason why Akatsuki had jolted. Keaton was running off on his own! "H-Hey!! Don't leave us here!!" Ray takes off after him, with Akatsuki not far behind. Share this post Link to post
Posted July 28, 2018 ~Evonna and Tara - Tantalizing Tara!~ Evonna walked up to the man with her first question. “Excuse me, are those up for trade?”The man looked up from behind his sunglasses, taking them off to make eye contact. “Yes, they are. What have you got to offer?” “I have anything that’s on this card.” With glee, Evonna handed the man the card. He placed the chip in the reader and observed the amount that Evonna had left. He frowned. “Looks like you got ripped off. There’s no way that lady could’ve given you that much stuff. This ain’t enough for the guns.” Evonna felt her blood boil with anger. Tara watched, anxiety and newfound rage coming up inside her. She turned to the lady, who was speaking to some new suckers. Evonna was ready to sacrifice her ex-boyfriend’s pearl necklace. She took it out when… “ Execute! Spirit evolution!” Evonna found herself standing next to a giant nine-tailed fox. Her jaw dropped to the ground at the sight, but she couldn’t help but think about how soft that fur must have been. She placed Antoine’s necklace on the man’s booth and watched as this new creature made her magic. Tara approached as Sakuyamon, wielding a great staff and rearing to kill somebody. The little old lady looked horrified as Tara made her way to the booth. “You dare scam my friend? You dare??? Give her her money back, or I may be forced to attack.” Sakuyamon held her staff up and was ready to summon her first attack. She was more than ready to throw a fireball and destroy the entire booth, flour and all, or perhaps smash the wooden table. The woman relented, immediately placing the Canadian dollars back on her booth. Evonna grabbed her money and looked at Tara, completely horrified. She had no idea Tara could be so horrifying. Some sort of strange barcode things surrounded Tara and, lo and behold, the girl landed on the ground. She looked terrified of the thing she had become, and she burst into tears. The man and Evonna looked at each other in awe. “I’ll take that money and the necklace, you take the guns. Keep the pixels on your card. Have a good day.” He blinked several times. Evonna was given the guns. She put them in her bag and knelt down to Tara’s level. “That… was awesome.” Share this post Link to post
Posted July 28, 2018 (edited) Anders [ keaton stop ] The bazaar was, though similar to trade cities such as Amaranthine, more chaotic and brightly colored than he expected. Smelled a lot nicer than Amaranthine, too. A good portion of the people milling around had, like Keaton, appendages or features that normal humans, elves, and dwarves lacked. A few were hardly recognizable as people at all, resembling small dragons, large birds, or other strange creatures more than anything. He wasn’t quite sure why he or any of the other newcomers were there -- no one had given them any kind of list, and encouraging them to come for no reason seemed to be inviting disaster. Someone was sure to get lost in the winding marketplace, at best. That someone would probably be Keaton, who had already disappeared from his side. Anders spun around, scanning around for Keaton in the crowd. There! Anders was moving before he even considered why he was bothering -- Keaton wasn’t his responsibility, and there was nothing stopping him from leaving the dog. Justice’s influence, perhaps. “Keaton, wait!” he called, doubting that it would attract Keaton’s attention. Weaving through the crowd slowed him, but fortunately Keaton seemed distracted by absolutely everyone around himself. Really, there was a lot to see, but that didn’t mean that he had to run off- mew! Anders skidded to a stop and turned towards the source of the sound. A man stood with his back to a market stall, holding a large cardboard box in his arms. His hair was a shade of blue that would have been shocking had Anders seen it a day ago, and he wore some sort of orange headband or hat. His odd appearance didn’t stop there -- his eyes were mismatched, there were small blue tattoos on his jawbone, and two feline ears were hidden in his hair. Far more important than the odd man was the black kitten poking its head out of the box. “Keaton, come here!” he tried, looking over his shoulder to yell at the dog. If it didn’t work, Ray could handle him. The kitten managed to pull itself halfway out of the box, teetering over the edge. The man fumbled with the box, trying to adjust his grip so that he could push the kitten back down, but Anders was faster. Gently, he grabbed the kitten and pulled it close to his chest so that it couldn’t fall, despite its squirming. Mew! the kitten yelled, evidently displeased by the way that its attempts at exploring had been thwarted. Natsuki [ I'm fine, really ] In theory, the marketplace was a terrible place. Nothing had gone wrong during any of the X-Dreamers’ past trips, but that didn’t mean that it was completely safe. The constant flow of people from different worlds made it impossible to track the culture or motivations of the crowd, and there were far too many opportunities to hide weapons. Wings and large cloaks created bulges that could conceal guns, and there was the ever-constant reminder of how many people had powerful physical or magical abilities. Trips to the marketplace were unpredictable, in short, and Natsuki had to be alert in order to keep the group safe. The number of rookies coming along didn’t help matters. In practice, it was almost nostalgic. Not that the marketplace didn't have an air of danger, but when did they ever feel safe? The people, despite how potentially dangerous they were, were for the most part familiar. Some went beyond anything that they had seen in their world, like a man whose head floated a few inches above his shoulders, but Natsuki was used to modified people and gigantic dogs. The horns and strange eye colors were normal. The familiarity of unusual people wouldn’t be enough, but the overall atmosphere was -- nice. Like the farmer’s market that they had managed to visit a few times. A little more personal, unique, cut off from the politics and endless progression of the world. They knew that such a view was unrealistic and tinted by rose-colored glasses, but it was comforting to pretend. They froze for a moment at the touch of Xander’s hand to their wrist. “Thank you, but I’m not going to keel over.” It wasn’t the physical contact itself that scared them -- they were far too used to being poked and prodded for that. They would have to put a little less time into work and put a little more effort into visibly taking care of themself. It was something that they should have learned by now, but habits were difficult to change after eighteen years. Pretending wouldn’t take too much time, and they would still- Exhaling, they let themself be dragged along behind Xander. “I can take… I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” they said, looking towards the tall demonic-looking man. “I’m Natsuki. A pleasure to meet you.” They continued. “I can take him and myself to get food, Xander. You don’t need to come with us if you have other things to do.” They doubted that Xander would accept, but they felt compelled to offer anyway. It was strange and somewhat frightening, having someone that wanted them to stay healthy for altruistic reasons. They kept finding themself looking for a selfish motive for Xander’s actions -- perhaps he simply wanted them to be able to fight well, and didn’t trust them to judge their own body. His actions made that seem unlikely, but at least it was easy to understand. Edited July 29, 2018 by Zor Share this post Link to post
Posted July 30, 2018 (edited) Qaksh -- The Black Market The bright-haired girl seemed like she was about to say something, but suddenly she breathed in in excitement and ran off to explore. There wasn't any sound to signal what Princess Twilight would have termed a "shopping spree", but Lightpon, like many others, dashed off shortly after they arrived. Qaksh could not think of anything urgent he needed to buy at their usual trading post, but he suspected that, as usual, someone would ask him to carry a share of the supplies back. The whole place seemed like it was part of a giant cave system deep underground, and while some dragon species loved that kind of setting, the claustrophobic darkness unsettled him slightly and made his scales stand on end. With not much else to do, the magi dragon also galloped forth to catch up with the girl. He kept his focus trained on her pink hair and her summon while he weaved through the spaces between the crowds. Was she his ward now? It was probably a good idea to make sure she didn't get lost. But what about all the others? Would they know to come back on time? Was Pascal really trusting everyone to keep out of trouble -- or avoid trouble coming at them? He slowed down when he saw she had stopped. The dragon then snapped his frills open a few times to try and clear his mind of all his anxious questions and baseless paranoia before he deemed himself ready to speak to her again. Usually, Myrdon would smack him in the snout with her wing before he could get too far down the pygmy hole of possibilities. Myrdon would tell him how much of a downer he was being with his negativity, but Myrdon hadn't been there since he started working with the XDRS. And speaking of Myrdon, he hoped she and Galho weren't caught in the universe-ending shenanigans. Or any other shenanigans. Or perhaps they were having the best times of their lives without him in a nice sand pit bath (never mind that, Luminas hated getting sand between their scales). "Th-There's a lot to see, isn't there?" He attempts small talk towards Light's vague direction. Then the dragon cuts to the chase, the tip of his tail twitching absently and betraying his antsy mood. "You said earlier that you had something to ask me?" Edited July 30, 2018 by TehUltimateMage Share this post Link to post
Posted August 6, 2018 (edited) [ Interesting and worrying circumstances. - Good Eats - Illidan (& Oblivionix) ] It would've been easier to not get anything with "dextro amino acid" written next to it if Illidan could actually read. The half-demon couldn't help but groan - this wasn't going to be easy. He was about to explain to Xander that he was blind when he heard a voice behind him. "Need some help, Stormrage?" Oh goddess, he recognized that voice. "Huntsmaster..." "Please," the Blood Elf woman scoffed. "I ain't no Huntsmaster here. Here, it's Oblivionix." "Right. Anyway..." ~~ After being warned by Oblivionix that burritos tended to be on the spicy side, Illidan was quick to voice that it was exactly what he wanted - he couldn't get enough of spicy food. The girl acted as Illidan's eyes, helping him to make certain that it didn't have that strange alien ingredient listed next to it. She then caught him up on recent events on Azeroth and Argus, especially after his disappearance. Sargeras had managed to drive his blade into Azeroth itself before the rest of the Titan Pantheon managed to drag him back to Argus. But then came the really bad news: Illidan wasn't the only thing to have disappeared from Argus. Illidan nearly choked. "What else disappeared?!" "The Crown, you idjit! The Sigil of Awakening, Crest of Knowledge, and Eye of Prophecy are all gone!" "All three of the pieces... yikes. That can't be good." "It ain't - the Vindicaar's lost power because of it and the World-Soul of Argus will destroy us if we do so much as touch Antorus without it..." "Well, damn." Now he'd have to convince Xander to let them defeat the World-Soul of Argus, too. "What about that blade I saw? I could swear it's Quel'delar..." "It is. Poor goblin bloke's been trying to sell it for a while now, but can't rope in any potential buyers. Ugh... goblins." "Right... Xander? I don't suppose you'd mind coming with me to check out that blade? It's... kind of enchanted." He didn't know all the details on Quel'delar, regretfully... but he definitely knew it was enchanted. What with, he didn't know... [ Like keeping track of a Zigzagoon... - Black Market - Ray ] By the time Ray and Akatsuki caught up to Keaton, they saw a person with an ungodly number of cats. Akatsuki almost seemed tempted... "No, you're not joining them, Akatsuki." The Incineroar backed off. "I'm Ray." She was sure that her voice would be drowned out by Keaton's, though... so she left it at that. Edited August 6, 2018 by hikarinomemori whoops - colored text for Ray that I forgot to color Share this post Link to post
Posted August 6, 2018 (edited) (Reshiram) As Reshiram followed the prince, they kept their distance from that... creature. The creature didn't look like anything Reshiram knew. That unnerved them, and they'd resolved to keep away from them. The bustle of the bazaar nade them uneasy. They tried to fade into the crowd as best as they could, keeping as close as they could to Xander while giving the creature a wide berth. Eventually, Xander stopped in front if a sign Reshiram couldn't read. He started talking to whatever it was that was running the shop. A cold wind drifted through the air, catching their attention. A flash of grey when they looked back. They hissed and tensed, inching closer to Xander. He was saying something and indicating a board they again couldn't read - written in the same strange language, but they didn't catch it as they looked back over again. Was it...? Them...? (Kyurem) A flash of power. A familiar fire that had been torn away so long ago. Kyurem raised their head, ice magic creeping from the wounds mostly filled in by ice and from their mouth. A white human. One radiating a power far too familiar. They slunk closer. And the power brew stronger. The human. Kyurem began to follow. Reshiram... the shard of their heart... perhaps there would be respite from millennia of pain. Perhaps. Reshiram spotted them at one point, and they hid. When Reshiram turned away though, Kyurem returned to following, ice magic leaking faster. It was so close. So close. Respite. Freedom. Perhaps even they could become whole again. For now, as Reshiram stopped, they too stopped gor a moment, begore edging closer, trying to make sure the humans and creatures near Reshiram didn't twke notice in a way that would allow Reshiram to get away. They were so close. Edited August 7, 2018 by DuskOfTheStars Share this post Link to post
Posted August 6, 2018 (edited) ~Evonna- Carrying on~ Evonna carried on with her trip, happy that her new friend was able to help her get the guns and her money back. She may not have been a particularly scary creature, but her rage alone did intimidate Evonna a bit. She used some money to buy Tara a little treat to comfort her, since this girl burst out crying after she changed back. It puzzled her to see someone have such a drastic change in mood- from rage to fear- but she decided to roll with it anyway. Clearly the girl was just discovering whatever powers she had, which was the same thing Evonna had to deal with herself. She of all people had zero right to judge anyone for that. She walked over to some booths and perused the wares. There were plenty of different things that Evonna needed if she was going to be in the XDRS, and that included hair care products. Evonna hoped that there would be products that worked with her hair, and voilà. Luckily there was a booth that had just the right products. She smiled as the man at the booth helped her with her products, and Evonna was thankful that the prices were labelled on the packaging so that she knew how much things cost. The man rang her up when she had everything she needed, and everything seemed surprisingly reasonable in comparison to the other booths with beauty products. Who knew being a girl could be so expensive? When she was done with shopping, she decided to go get some food. But what did she want to get? Did she want something sweet? Something savory? She was so hungry that she couldn’t decide on it. So what did she do? She got herself a little of everything, knowing if she couldn’t finish she could put the leftovers in the fridge. Maybe her next goal would be to get a mini fridge, since she saw only the one refrigerator in the kitchen. ...She would need a good amount of money, though, but she would look to make sure. While she was low on money, she was sure there would be ways to make money during her travels. She made her way away from the foods and towards another area of the market, looking for things so that she could make a list of what to buy. ~Tara- Lost in the black market~ Tara lost herself at the part where Evonna went looking for new hair supplies. She had been too nervous to squeeze her way through the crowd of people that made their way between Evonna and herself. By the time she made it to the booth, Evonna was gone and nowhere to be seen. Tara felt a surge of anxiety rise through her, knowing that she was totally alone. What if she got robbed? She didn’t even finish her treat yet, and she was absolutely sure that she would get attacked by some hungry person or other creature. This place was so large that Tara didn’t recognize anybody from… wherever she had landed. So she decided to walk around and look for things that she would want and hoped that she could find Evonna. She found herself near a food shop. Nearby were some very strange and yet not unfamiliar characters- a tall young man with curly blonde hair, a tall… female? Male? She wasn’t sure, but she knew they had pale skin and bleach white hair. Then there was what looked to be a man with dark hair, and finally a purple creature, extremely tall with long jet-black hair and no shirt. And… wings? Getting a closer look at everyone made her ever the more confused. What was going on? What were they up to? They were familiar, sure, but... Who were all of these people… or creatures? She was unsure, but she quietly checked the shops around the food shop, hoping that she could find something to keep her mind off of her growing anxiety. Tara felt a cold rush through her body, sending goosebumps all over her body. She shivered and hugged herself. Something was wrong, so very very wrong.... Anything could happen- what if that midnight man story were real? ...No, that’s silly, that only happens if you summon him. Maybe it was just a friendly monster. Yeah, that’s good, she thought, just a friendly monster who— oh, it’s so very cold. The girl noticed something very strange, some sort of grey and yellow and blue creature that looked like... Was that some weird Digimon? She only had a brief glimpse of the a digital world before she entered this one, perhaps she had no idea what most Digimon looked like. Yes, maybe it was friendly. That’s it, hopefully it was. Then she noticed something- no- someone familiar. The person looked to be her age, donned in a blue jacket and grey high-waters, with a very recognizable green and blue bandanna. Tara took her glasses off and cleaned them. When she put them back on, the image was still the same. There was the boy she was just starting to talk to, Kouji Minamoto. She smiled and tried to wave, but he didn't seem to notice her. No, he was much too busy looking at the scenery of the place and checking his D-tector. She puffed her cheeks out indignantly, not liking the fact that she was being ignored. But she was too anxious to try and approach, oh no, she never liked initiating conversations with people. Especially if they're too oblivious to know she exists. Not that he didn't know she was there, she didn't want to follow the other group so she usually shyly followed him around. ...Maybe trying to get his attention wouldn't be a good idea, even if she thought he was finally being nice to her. She didn't want to bother him anyway. Edited August 6, 2018 by Mikasa361 Share this post Link to post
Posted August 7, 2018 (edited) Pascal -- The Black Market > Cid's Shop Pascal tilted her head. "Huh? Yes, yes!" Sora's recognition of the name reignited a new sense of excitement -- like how one feels when one meets someone who finally knows what you're talking about -- and she slowed her pace to fall in step with the boy. It was no surprise that Cid might have been well known, since he was the best mechanic around. "He does have blond hair and is a real grump sometimes, but everyone still loves him. Do you know him? Last I heard he's pretty well traveled through the multiverse on his ship, but he's found a place here for now." Cid's workshop was a building all on its own, with a small sign swinging at its front barely advertising its location. It didn't take them very long to get there -- it wasn't that far away and Pascal knew her way. She was simply retracing the same steps she had taken so many times before. If one day she made it to Cid's in her sleep, programming the teleporter included, she wouldn't have been surprised at all. The space inside was rather tight, with a counter right up near the entrance and on which sat a small bell used to ring for service. Pascal opted not to use the provided ringer. Instead, she shouted at the hallway to the back of house. "Ciiiiiiiiid!" She waited precisely two and a half seconds before hearing a reply. "Alright, alright, don't get your knickers in a twist," came a gruff voice from beyond. When Cid emerged, Pascal was leaning on the counter, her beaming grin offsetting the man's frown in an almost comical way. Every time she came here, she'd be reminded of how cool his googles were and how nice it would be to have something like that as part of an engineer's rough and tough fashion (Stan did), but inevitably she would forget about it before she managed to get herself a pair. The older man in his white shirt and orange belly warmer was about to give a few callous jabs about her constant visits that would fly right over Pascal's good-natured head (and, Pascal knew that despite the complaining, he enjoyed their banter very much), but this time the routine was interrupted when he saw Sora standing beside her. Surprise registered on Cid's face, but it was subtle and slight. He plucked the toothpick out of his mouth before it could drop to the ground. "Well, if it isn't Sora! It was only a matter of time before you got caught up in this mess, too. Where are Donald and Goofy? Aren't they usually taggin' along with you?" "What a small multi-world this is," Pascal commented. ~~~ #Aeolus# As Aeolus wanders around the Black Market, he can hear snippets of conversation from a floating being whose head looked remarkably like a floating red pillow. He is Prince Dreambert, ruler of the Pi'illo kingdom. "Surely we can find something here to help chase down Antasma," Dreambert mutters to himself, "now that he is using dreams to hop through many worlds..." The pillow-shaped fairy-like being suddenly pauses, lifts his nose and slowly turns, as if catching the scent of something delicious passing by. "How strange..." He shakes his head. "Dream mist, nearby?" He crosses his arms in thought. "Yes... that might be of great use to us." Dream mist left a distinctive trail of sparkles to his eyes, and he easily sees the path leading to a pink, catlike creature carefully wandering the busy marketplace. Prince Dreambert does not want to lose the opportunity. "Would you please fetch that kind stranger over there?" he asks his two companions: one portly and wearing red, the other tall and in green, both in blue overalls. The latter had taken a rest among a few crates and bales of hay, soundly asleep, and so the man in red let out a whoop and bounced away to run after the Espeon. He gestures to him to try and get his attention. Edited August 9, 2018 by TehUltimateMage Share this post Link to post
Posted August 12, 2018 (edited) Sora | Old Faces Sora hurried after Pascal, following her steady stride. She obviously knew where she was going, her steps as sure-footed as if she were following a bright, yellow-brick road. As they walked, the boy couldn't help himself and let his gaze drift to everything that surrounded them. Creatures, of all sorts of shapes and sizes, passed by. Hardly any looked at him or Pascal, each of them engrossed in their own business as they milled about. Vibrant colors filled the Black Market, plenty of which Sora didn't even have names for. He almost bumped into someone. Twisting, he grinned widely as he stumbled away from something that looked like a cross between a fish and an insect. This place was cool and he wouldn't mind making return trips. "Yeah, I know a Cid," Sora started saying, realizing he hadn't immediately responded to Pascal's commentary. "Met him in a world called Traverse Town after he fled Hollow Bastion. He's an engineer and hangs around with Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie." It looked like they reached their destination, Pascal slipping into a building. Briefly, Sora examined the sign outside the door before passing through the doorway. The young woman with bi-colored hair was already calling out Cid's name, clearly ignoring the bell that sat on the counter. Recognition spread across Sora's face in the form of a bigger grin when a reply carried through the shop. On the tail end of the response, a blond, middle-aged man strode into view. It only took a moment for Cid to notice Sora. "Cid! It is you!" Sora exclaimed at roughly the same time the man began asking about Donald and Goofy. He barely caught Pascal's remark about small multi-worlds. Snickering, Sora leaned back, crossing his left leg casually behind his right and tapping the toe of his shoe against the ground. Clasping his hands behind his head, he continued grinning. "You know me, Cid! Getting teleported across the universe is just what I do," he laughed. Dropping his arms and leaning forward against the counter, he frowned and shrugged his shoulders. "It beats me. I gotta find them. Donald and Goofy didn't show up at the Gateway with me. I'm worried about them. We were in the middle of fighting a bunch of Heartless when I got pulled away. I guess it's just a good thing some of them didn't tag along with me." Shaking his head, he continued to frown. "Some of my key chains also got lost; I think they're scattered across the worlds again. What are you doing here? Why aren't you in Hollow Bastion with Leon and the others?" Fear threatened to make his voice shake but he managed to keep it in check just before it could. Edited August 23, 2018 by ValidEmotions Share this post Link to post
Posted August 16, 2018 Natsuki [ Good Eats ] Ah, it was the person that Xander had headbutted once. He hardly seemed like the safest person to associate with, but it wasn’t Natsuki’s place to judge. Having more contacts in the marketplace, even if they were only street food vendors, was an asset. Besides, Xander got along well with him, and Xander hadn’t been too badly injured. They’d been worried about him, of course; maybe Xander was trying to get revenge for how much they’d fussed over him that day. They more or less tuned out Xander’s conversation with Shepard, trying to ignore the mention of ‘short human lifespans’ in particular. Instead, they looked over the menu. The food sounded greasy, meaty, and high-calorie -- perfect. They felt a flare of curiosity when Xander mentioned some of the food being poisonous -- but no, it wasn’t the time to ask about that. There was no reason to learn more about it, so they quashed the desire to ask. Instead, they only said, “I’ll have the bacon burger, thank you.” The air gained an odd chill as they waited for their food to be cooked. Normally the marketplace was a comfortable temperature -- why would that change? There was no wind to bring in fresh air. Rubbing their fingers together to keep them warm, they looked around for a potential source. Though they weren’t sure what they were looking for, they did notice that some of the other shoppers looked confused by the cold as well. This wasn’t a normal occurrence, then. The white-haired rookie looked scared as well, but they hadn’t stopped looking scared. They frowned at Illidan’s request, considering it. They felt as though the group should investigate the cold, but upon reflection, it was likely that they were just jumpy. A bit of cold, however much Natsuki hated it, wasn’t hurting anyone. Besides, leaving to look at a sword had a chance of getting them out of the cold. “I don’t see why not. Just keep an eye out.” They didn’t elaborate, feeling somewhat embarrassed that they were so worried about nothing. Share this post Link to post
Posted August 16, 2018 [ It... thinks for itself? - Good Eats - Illidan (and Oblivionix) ] Oblivionix smirked. "Sounds like your new friend's on board... or, at least, one of 'em is." The huntress didn't seem too bothered by the chilly air - she'd spent far too long in Northrend to let the cold bother her. Illidan was bothered by it, however, but there was no way in a billion years that he would admit it. "...are they gonna be all right?" she asked, motioning to Reshiram. "Eh, they're just a bit jumpy around strangers - me included. They'll be fine, Oblivionix..." "...if you say so. Let's hope Quel'delar doesn't take a liking to any of you guys." Hold up - did she say what he thought she said?! "...wait, what? What do you mean 'take a liking to us'?" "You don't know?! Ten thousand years of life and you don't know about Quel'delar's enchantments?! Honestly, Stormrage, I thought you'd have been told by one of the other Sin'dorei you've got in that rag-tag group of yours!" "...I... Okay, I'll admit it, I don't know much about the blade's enchantments. And no - nobody thought to tell me." "Then I'll tell ya about the sword's enchantments: Quel'delar gots a mind of its own. It's picky - it chooses the wielder, not the other way around. That's probably the reason why the poor goblin bloke can't find anyone to sell it to. For all we know, the blade could pick them." Oblivionix motioned towards Natsuki in saying that last line. "...that's... wow." For once in his life, Illidan was speechless. "...is there a way to tell if it does end up choosing one of us?" "Yeah, it'll challenge the person in question to fight it. No wielder or anything. Thing is, though, that person has to beat it alone - nobody can help them; it's just them and whatever weapon's on them." That... wasn't comforting. The last thing Illidan wanted was a fight in a place like this! "...do me a favor, Oblivionix - keep an eye on the Argus situation. With the Crown of the Triumvirate missing, it'll only be a matter of time before the Legion goes back on the offensive against Azeroth." "Will do, Stormrage - I'll let ya know if I see anything. I gotta be off - gotta make sure the boys don't wreck anything on our way back. Especially not Nora - you know him." "Yes, yes I do; he is one of my Illidari, after all. Keep him out of trouble, Oblivionix." Illidan sighed, watching Oblivionix rejoin her group as he ate away at his burrito. But now Quel'delar warranted the Demon Hunter's full attention - this was definitely something to check out. Share this post Link to post
Posted August 17, 2018 ( Joshua | Sonic - Black Market Entrance) "Look, I know we just met an' all but could you be any slower?" The blue hedgehog tapped his foot at the ashen blond, rolling his eyes as the other kept browsing the goods at the bazaar. To Joshua, there was no reason to rush. Turning to look at Sonic, he offered a smile - one that Sonic easily recognized as "you can't do anything about this". "Now dear, is that any way to talk to a new friend? And friends accompany friends on shopping trips, so stop complaining!" "I'll complain all I want! We're in a place we don't understand and don't know, and my friends could be in danger!" "Your friends will be fine without you. You have a new friend here, and plenty of other new friends to choose from." As if to emphasize his point, Joshua gestured in the general direction of the bazaar. "So settle down and stop fidgeting. You look like you can't sit still. You'll draw unwanted attention and people will think you're a thief. Unless that's your plan, dear little mouse~" "I'm a hedgehog," Sonic grumped, crossing his arms and sighing. "Fine. Might as well explore a bit myself. I'm thinkin' about headin' over to get somethin' to eat; you comin'?" "Fine. Let's go, then." Share this post Link to post
Posted August 18, 2018 (edited) (Aeolus) Aeolus heard snatches of conversations as he continued, before a whoop caught his attention. He turned to behold a moustachioed man wearing a red cap and shirt with blue overalls and brown boots. Tye man wabved yo gim. Aha. So this man was trying to get jhs attention? He approached a bit, ears pricked. (Reshiram) Xander handed something to the humanawnd the creature, before he turned to them, now handing over skewered Oran Berries that looked like someone had cooked them. After he turned away, Reshiram sniffed at the Berries. They didn't smell poisoned, and Reshiram took a wary nibble. Their sharp teeth tore off small bits of the Berry, which seemed to have several flavours mixed into one. They didn't eat much, though - they warily glanced around. Strangers and this cold. Xander seemed to be looking at tgem asgain, asking them if they were were well. They whimpered - this cold... was it Kyurem...? Kyurem meant nothing good. The next question Xander asked made Reshiram freeze for a bit. He was... letting them touch him? Not forcing them to or pushing them away? They reached out, but seemed hesitant. Edited August 18, 2018 by DuskOfTheStars Share this post Link to post
Posted August 19, 2018 [ It... chose a king... - Goblin's Shop - Illidan ] Illidan spotted the sword quickly enough. "That's the one." What little he could see of the blade clearly had the markings of Quel'delar. The detail that showed up the most in Illidan's Spectral Sight were the runes etched into the blade - clearly the sword was made by dragons, one of the few surviving blades left on Azeroth having been made by such. The sword then shuddered a little, shaking off the rest of the cloak on top of it. Oh yeah, that was definitely Quel'delar. A dragon-made blade of legend, similar to the one Illidan knew more of: its sister blade Quel'serrar. Sadly, Quel'delar's twin was absent from the stall - in fact, Quel'delar was the only sword on sale here... The shuddering then when to full-on moving as Quel'delar rose up on its own. Illidan's Spectral Sight was going haywire now - magic was at work here and all signs pointed to Quel'delar being the source. It seemed Oblivionix hadn't been joking about its reaction to finding a potential wielder, and all signs pointed to Xander being the one Quel'delar wanted to judge, to see the potential of. Illidan grew nervous (as if he'd ever show it externally), but he knew that if that was the case, Xander would have to fight Quel'delar one-on-one - no intervention, not even from the Betrayer. "...Xander," he spoke, finally clearly his throat a little. "...it's, um... 'looking' at you." Share this post Link to post
Posted August 19, 2018 (edited) Reshiram hadn't been expecting Xander to be so... permissive of their touch. They tried to curl their fingers, squeezing tighter thsn they had intended. As swiftly as they could, they loosened their grip again. The cold still had them on high alert. Xander guided them toward a stall where more unfamiliar creatures were talking. All looked at least somewhat humanoid. They avoided the creatures' eyes, loki g down at the food they occasionally nibbled bits off of. A sword was pointed out... and moments later it started shuddering. Reshiram tensed. Seconds later, it rose up. Reshiram yelped and scrambled back, unsettled by the sight - and stepping on a cloth from a nearby stall. The cloth came loose from what it was covering as Reshiram scuttled back. The cloth unwrapped, an axe clattered to the ground - and promptly rose up. Reshiram ran now, fingers fumbling the skewer before inadvertently shifting and stumbling. They soon regained their balance as the axe began to fly around, narrowly missing a dragon-turtle who only avoided decollation by withdrawing into his shell, a green dino with a red saddle, a small, blonde moustachioed man weith a winged helmet, and several others. The draconic merchant who'd been selling the axe chanted something before lunging at the living weapon, casting a burst of light magic. Reshiram bolted, while the icy grey dragon who'd been following them stared at the axe, featureless yellow eyes so focused they didn't blink. The grey dragon slowly cocked their head. Edited August 22, 2018 by DuskOfTheStars Share this post Link to post
Posted August 19, 2018 (edited) Halt and the Mysterious Offer. Halt was doing various stuff today, for first and foremost important seemed to be cleaning stall, and comparing the offers for various villains. A lot of them weren't promising, though. Yet another offer not revolving about gains... what can I do with like five coins? Nothing. The stall was ruined from age and clearly recycled, the wood under the clean plate of iron rotting, and various attempts to hide that - crimson-red paint, paper and feather to sign the offer as acquired. So why was he in the otherworldly bazaar? He had just enough working as private paid assassin. Too much of hassle, not enough pay-off. Especially with my powers being useful elsewhere. Some trophies included skulls of fallen from his crossbow, a beak of a big bird, hunted illegally, a diamond stolen from a rich citizen. The alley Halt was in wasn't bright - two or three lamps lighting the road with some stalls completely hidden. The stalls were long-empty, too, as nobody was running them. Some even were just pile of wood. As he looked again, some offers were entirely different from what he wanted. Some wanted him to fight in open, which he denied absolutely, as they only offered like single coin for being most valuable alone. Others were just bland boring, with low payout. He denied most, but two. But he waited. Waited for more offers. There could be more offers standing off the others than two "prevent saving the world" jobs, paying just slightly more than his last job, which paid fifteen coins per kill, for high ranked nobles only. He waited, for more visitors to go near him and send him an offer, slightly sighing by the time he was getting bored. I swear there is always prey hunting to do. Why there's nothing with a surplus for me to do!? He sat, bored, on a chair. It was in better state than the stall, and somewhat safe, but still ugly due to age nonetheless. Time hasn’t treated the chair well - it was bleak, with some wood coming off, rotten. Edited August 19, 2018 by Trebonth Share this post Link to post
Posted August 20, 2018 (edited) Natsuki [ Goblin’s Shop ] Natsuki gazed briefly at the items for sale before directing their attention back to watching the crowds. It wasn’t that the items for sale weren’t interesting; far from it. There were mechanical contraptions made of gears and springs, strange glowing rings, shimmering fabrics, and more. They would have loved to run their hands over the quilled pauldrons and ask about the strange white whistle shaped like two clasped hands, but they weren’t the right person to try to understand such things. They felt like they’d adapted well enough, but magic still made their head spin when they thought about it too hard. It went against everything that had been drilled into their head -- conservation of matter, conservation of energy, the need for efficiency, every feature having a price. Had more biology been involved they could have perhaps made themself useful in scanning the shop for anything useful, but it seemed as though most worlds had technology based upon machines or magic. Understandable, really, given how many drawbacks biotech had. All in all, they were much better suited to guarding Xander and Illidan while they found the sword they were looking for. They took a moment to take another bite of their (delicious) burger, but nearly choked on it when Illidan mentioned the sword choosing Xander. They shouldn’t have been surprised; of course the least convenient thing possible had happened. It was par for the course for X-DRE, almost as though the organization attracted unfortunate coincidences. How was one even supposed to fight a sword? They didn’t have any vital organs (or organs at all) to attack. “No. You can’t.” They faltered, realizing that they’d just tried to tell Xander what to do. “I mean… it’s dangerous.” They felt like smacking themself. Of course it was dangerous, and Xander was strong, but they were worried about him, damn it. The sword had risen up into the air on its own -- would it even give a warning before trying to stab him? They had to help if it looked like he was going to lose, whether it was supposed to be a one-on-one battle or not. Preparing for a fight, they placed their half-eaten burger on a bare patch of the goblin’s table and took inventory of their weapons. They didn’t have anything that could be used in the market or that could reliably hit the sword, and it wasn’t like a sword could be cuffed anyway, but -- There was a clattering behind them, and for a brief moment they turned around. Reshiram, apparently the cause of the noise, bolted, and Natsuki nearly ran after them. A lost and nervous rookie was just as important as a fight with a sword, and at least they could almost trust Xander to take care of himself. Unfortunately, Reshiram wasn’t the only problem, nor was Quel’delar the only floating weapon. An axe with a large blue eye rose into the air and started swinging itself around wildly, and continued to do so after being attacked by a large dragon. Without thinking through their actions too much they lunged towards the axe, hoping to grab its handle or at least distract it. Anders [ cats! ] The small, black kitten Anders held was adorable. Its limbs were long for its size, and it stared up at him with bright, mismatched eyes. A blue breakaway collar on its neck was embroidered with Leonardo da Kittinci, the name almost too long to fit. Perhaps it was a pun of some sort? Precious. “Oh, of course!” he said, giving Leonardo da Kittinci one last pet before leaning down and returning him to the box. The kitten began to crawl towards the edges of the box for another escape attempt, but a brown bob-tailed kitten clumsily tackled him with a triumphant “mew!”. Guess the other kittens really did care about keeping their sibling with them. That, or the brown tabby -- Catilla the Hun -- just liked to play. Unsurprisingly, Keaton took the opportunity to crowd far too close to the cat-eared man in an attempt to sniff at him. For a “wolfskin” he acted uncomfortably doglike. Not that Anders hated dogs, but cats were far cuter and nicer. That, and it was completely unfair that he owed Dog money. He had to have cheated at Diamondback, the mongrel. “Anders,” he said. “Laguz?” Maybe he shouldn’t have trusted Ranulf so quickly -- Justice certainly didn’t think so -- but he seemed harmless. More to the point, he had a box full of kittens with him, and he looked tired. Even in the marketplace (where he was pretty sure that he’d seen a winged werewolf with far too many eyes) holding a box of kittens probably wasn’t something done without a reason. “It’s great that you’re from the same place and all, but why the adorable little darlings?” He looked down at the box, where Catilla the Hun was chewing on a disgruntled and pinned Leonardo da Kittinci’s ear, and smiled. Edited August 21, 2018 by Zor Share this post Link to post
Posted August 21, 2018 (edited) Circuitraider | The Others Are Lost Everyone else had left the gate. She chose to remain, at least for a little while before curiosity finally got the better of her. Towering above nearly every creature and many short buildings, Circuitraider could see a fair distance before everything became obscured. She wondered if it might be best to move on wheels, instead of feet, and reduce her height. Everything was too small and the last thing she needed was to be harassed for accidentally stepping on someone because they were in her way. When she spotted the improbably tall creatures mingling with the crowd, her concerns were no longer a pressing issue. This place was vastly different from what should have been reality. The paths curved, each side lined by small buildings or open stalls covered by tents. All of it was dark, as if painted by shadows, and illuminated by strings of lanterns. She had to duck many of them, her hand raising to lift cords above the top-most points of her helm. So many creatures milled around her, dozens ignoring her as if she were just an average citizen instead of an unknown foreigner. Despite the wide variety in the appearances of the creatures (one was nothing but a neon outline!?), it was almost as if she blended in with the world far better than on Earth. It was surreal. Am I really somewhere not on Earth? What if someone's simply locked me in stasis and I'm merely dreaming? There were too many creatures in this place, Circuitraider missed the moment when she lost track of the others who had come with Pascal. That was the trouble with such tiny beings - they were too easy to lose sight of. Frowning, she opened the receptors within the spires that curved from her helm. Instantly, the noise of the Black Market increased tenfold, ringing sharply in her receptors. She winced at the level of noise, a grunt slipping free from her vocal processors. Of course. How could she have expected any less? She concealed them in the next moment, the din of too many conversations fading back into something more comfortable. The Autobot wasn't going to manage finding the others by sound. She would just have to search with her optics then. Circuitraider kept moving, only occasionally looking down to ensure she didn't step on anyone. At some stalls, she checked beneath the tents and found no familiar faces. Down an alley, she spotted a wooden stall that was all but disintegrating. She briefly scanned the shadowed faces of the few individuals that murmured amongst themselves. Yet again, no one she recognized. Turning away from the alley, she stood a moment longer and raked her gaze across the Market. "I still don't see them..." she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest plate. Edited August 21, 2018 by ValidEmotions Share this post Link to post
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