Posted November 19, 2023 Jixx-B with Hollow, Tovan, Kaiba From deep within the dark hallway a rhythmic rumbling began to be heard. It grew in intensity and volume, picking up in pace until the floor shook and the doorframes on the walls rattled. In the dark end of the hallway glowing green lights could be seen in rapid approach. Flying forth from the darkness with a sickening screech came a large black spider like the ones Hollow and Tovan had encountered not too long ago. Before the spider could get too close to the strange creatures guarding the bubble a gaping maw of purple and green leaped forward after it and chomped down, the crunch of the exoskeleton complimented by a wet squelch as the creature was consumed in a swift gulp. Stepping more fully into the hallway, the massive raptor-like shock of yellow and black rose to xir full height, a glowing green lounge licking at the serrated black material that made up xir teeth and the rest of xir face. Two pairs of illuminated green eyes blinked at the individuals in the room, glitching out of sight for a split second before returning with an almost relieved expression softening in the eye display. “Designation: S-s-s-seto Kaiba, glad to see you have f-f…finally arisen f-from your most recent shutdown.” “Designation: Tovan Khev, also glad to see that you s-still maintain life fun…function.” “Unknown designation: Under normal circumstances, I would be tasked to immobilize you and report you to lab s-staff, but seeing as we are currently undergoing lockdown, s-s…standard protocol has been temporarily disbanded. Please remain with the group until given fu-…fur…further instruction by authorized lab personnel.” Three pairs of yellow and purple ears twitched in the direction of the strange creatures with spears as they shuffled about, xir head following the motion to gaze down at them. One threw a spear-like object it was holding in xir direction, but it hit xir chest armor and fell off like it was a toothpick hitting a tin can. Xir eyes narrowed as xe regarded them more closely, shifting xir weight further down so xe could gaze a bit closer. “As for these…” Xir expression seemed to fade away as though they were occupied with something in the far distance for a moment while xir consciousness was busy elsewhere. @Pixx-L Hey, any expert advice on what these creatures are? Or what they're after? They are causing a significant obstruction in the hallway. I’ve attached pics for your analysis [img1] [img2] [audiofile34.mp3] @Pixx-L Also, sorry you got kicked from the hosting server initially. The Overseer that owns it keeps kicking users randomly. Claims its an “Iterator” not an Overseer, but if it wasn’t why would we be connected to it? Must be a virus or something. I’ve changed a couple settings around to make it easier for us. lmk if it happens again Lady Dimitrescu with garrett “You don’t even know what’s in your own facility? What kind of a scientist are you?” She snarled. She held eye contact with the creature the entire time it spent rising from the floor, still entrenched in darkness. She made no move, her face locked in a stern scowl as it laughed at her title. “Hah. Blessings. I need no such blessings from another egotistical plucked chicken who’s plans have gone awry.” Without another word she continued walking down the hallway, leaving Garrett and the disembodied voice behind. “Where is the exit? I am losing my patience.” Evander + Wheatley with narrator He listened to the great disembodied voice as it lamented he had somehow not hit the correct order of buttons needed to reach the next room. He made a noise of complaint before it was abruptly cut off by another door appearing in his line of sight. “Wait- you said i didn’t get the correct order…then why is there a door?” He squinted in confusion and suspicion at it. The way the voice started describing Wheatley's thoughts made Evander slightly self-concious. “You don’t really think i’m embarrassing, do you?” He asked the orb in his hands. “What? Huh? Oh…no mate-i don’t think much at all, really. Humans. They’re great. Honestly. Especially the other human I helped escape from a facility. Totally unselfish and had lots of parents. So many parents.” “Okay buddy.” Evander wasn’t sure what he was going on about but the voice suggested they obtain a light before they enter the door. “Light? We don't have a light!” “Sure we do! Watch this-” Evander reached for the door to open it before being interrupted “Oh oh oh but before i do it-i must warn you- that there is a slim chance-i hate to say it-that i might die. I did it once before, but you never know with these kinds of things.” He shuddered in pause before yelling for a second before laughing as his face plate emitted a dim but functional stream of light ahead of them. Evander stepped through the door into the next room Moominpapa with Aster “A dragon you say? How exciting!” “Certianly! Hah! We must storm this place where the dragons keeps and claim victory ov-OH-Ow” He winced again as his spine popped when he tried to make a heroic gesture pointing towards the volcano. “Or perhaps…we can just…dream…about stroming it and enjoy a nice cup of tea.” “My head feels fine…” He mused, taking off his hat and brushing the thinning coat of fur that covered his scalp. Honestly he was more than happy to let someone else take the glory for a change. He watched silently as something shimmering and golden fell out of the tree and gasped and oohed and awed as the turtle struggled to catch it. Very interested in the paper language he looked at it closely with a hand on his chin and a furrow in his brow. “Not like any language i’ve seen. Curious at the very least. Perhaps it leads to treasure?” He suggested with an excited grin. “Oh, no…I really should be getting back home to my family-” He began before the situation he was in finally hit him all at once. “Wait am i…trapped here? How did i even…” He began looking around frantically for where he might have appeared or where an exit might be present but winded himself shortly into his frenzy and had to sit down with a huff. “Well i suppose i shall go with you. Perhaps something in town might give us a clue as to how this happened.” He sighed, hoisting himself up by his cane and beginning to hobble after the strange turtle woman. Casimir with Marlow Casimir stayed silent as Marlow dissolved into a stammering mess for a moment. A coy, knowing smile formed on their lips but they said nothing, choosing only to glance between the pair while they walked. “You could say i’m new.” “I’m Casimir.” “So like…the silence is like…ice…and needs to be broken…” They mused to themselves, eyes slightly floating in separate directions for a moment while they processed what ice-breaker could possibly mean. “I mean. This looks a lot like my usual form…just…a little more purple…” He stated, squinting at one of his paws like it was suddenly completely foreign to him. “What happens when you get caught in another Sector at night?” “What even is a Sector?” they followed up in a quick whisper more to themselves than to Marlow. Share this post Link to post
Posted November 20, 2023 (edited) 《 STATUS: Healthy 》 《 LOCATION: Scavenger Toll 》 《 NEARBY: Tovan | Kaiba | Jixx-B | Scavengers 》 The creatures' weapons were more crude than any nail Hollow had ever seen, and far more primitive than whatever strange device Tovan used to protect himself. Most of the weapons looked like sharpened pieces of rebar, likely pilfered from elsewhere in the lab, while a few of them were made of wood with their tips carved to a fine point. Sharpened metal would hurt anyone, including Hollow if it were to pierce under their shell, but Tovan, with his fleshy exterior, hadn't dealt with the spider attack very well. If a gang of unruly children could hurt him that much, then a piece of sharpened metal... Hollow took a step steps in front of Tovan as the strange creatures lifted their makeshift spears in warning, holding an arm in front of him protectively. One of the creatures, a furry red one, hopped boldly up towards the pair. Hollow turned their head slightly so they could stare at the creature with their good eye. It held its hand out expectantly and Hollow, unsure if it was asking for them to give something or making a strange cultural gesture, slowly repeated the motion to not be rude. The creature, seemingly unsatisfied with that response, pointed at a bunch of crude drawings on the wall. Hollow had little time to discern what exactly the pictographs were depicting (not that interpreting art was ever their strong suit, much to their mother's chagrin) before two newcomers entered the hallway, sending the creatures into a frenzy. No longer simply cautious, Hollow drew their nail from its sheath. Tendrils peaked from the end of their shawl, ready to strike if needed. One of the newcomers, the armored one that was more around Hollow's size, was utterly nonplussed by the creatures' antics. “Designation: S-s-s-seto Kaiba, glad to see you have f-f…finally arisen f-from your most recent shutdown. Designation: Tovan Khev, also glad to see that you s-still maintain life fun…function. Unknown designation: Under normal circumstances, I would be tasked to immobilize you and report you to lab s-staff, but seeing as we are currently undergoing lockdown, s-s…standard protocol has been temporarily disbanded. Please remain with the group until given fu-…fur…further instruction by authorized lab personnel.” Hollow shrunk in on themselves, feeling somewhat chastised. Even though Hollow did not purposefully enter the labs, they couldn't help but feel like they did something wrong. You didn't have to be "immobilized" if you weren't in trouble. Hollow didn't move away from their guarded position, but they look back at Tovan, assuming that he knew more about what was going on. 《 STATUS: Hungry 》 《 LOCATION: Hellworld 》 《 NEARBY: Arven | Damien | Hitoshi | Darkrai | Mabosstiff | Bentley 》 “... Are we all good?” Hunter stared unblinkingly at Damien. Although her gaze was fixated on him, her hand never strayed to her spear. The fear of the rain overrode all other fears, and a life spent running from one shelter to another embedded an almost natural trust of shelter mates into her. On top of that, it was being evidently more clear that everyone, save for maybe the canine and the shadowy creature, in the group were children or, at the very least, at the cusp of adulthood. Protecting herself was one thing, but Hunter didn't want to make a habit of attacking literal children. Unfortunately, Hunter had very little experience with humanoid creatures with scavengers, her creator, and his kin being the only ones she was familiar with. She did not know how he would show friendliness or affection towards others of his species, and there was very little shared behaviors between scavengers and her creator's kin. Well, no, there was one thing. Moving slowly to match Damien's own cautious movements, Hunter crawled over towards where the boy sat. As he began rustling through his backpack, Hunter closed her eyes and promptly began heaving. Her whole body began to shake as small wheezes escaped her lips. Her throat undulating more rapidly before she opened her mouth and spat out a small object. A small, emerald green sphere laid neatly on top of Damien's. It was surprisingly dry for something that just come out of an animal's stomachs and appeared almost immaculate save for very faint intricate characters carved impossibly neatly onto its surface. Hunter, satisfied with her wonderful offering, began to retreat back to her hiding spot just as the engines of the car roared to life. She, having been thrown by the car zooming forward at an ungodly speed, responded to the situation with the same grace and skill as any cat would. Hunter latched onto the steering wheels as tightly as her claws would allow her and yowled at the top of her lungs. 《 STATUS: Healthy 》 《 LOCATION: Avalar, The Castle 》 《 NEARBY: Denki | Hibiki | Lambert | Ralsei | Lucikiel | Anduin 》 Oh dear gods, they noticed. Xander exhaled loudly through his nostrils in an attempt to allow himself some form of stress relieve while also staying presentable. Over 16 years of waking up every morning and having to learn court etiquette and how he should present himself as a crown prince, completely thrown to the winds because he couldn't put up his walls when he saw one attractive man while stressed and sleep-deprived. At this point, he was less embarrassed by the incident and how the strangers might think of him and more embarrassed that he was embarrassed at all. If anything, having potential allies while he went to speak with Malefor was preferable than being alone with Sieghorse. The group of strangers might have approached aggressively at first, but they seemed reasonable. All issues aside, Xander was happy to have more people to— “You’re not going to need their bones for anything, are you? Mind if my Followers and I make better use of them?” The Lamb was stealing bones. They were gutting up one of the guardsman whose head had just been caved in by Sieghorse. Leo would love them. "No," Xander said plainly. "Do as you will." Sieghorse lowered his neck so he was at eye-level with the Lamb. He stared at the Anthropomorphic animal for a few seconds, almost as though he was trying to determine the weight of his character with far more awareness than a normal horse should have. Sieghorse stepped forward, his hooves clicking distinctly against the rubble on the ground. With an affirmative snort, he bent down and began casually chewing on the rim of the Lamb's cloak. Ignoring his stallion's antics, Xander turned his attention to the group of strangers. It would be foolish to trust a group of strangers too much, even if they did seem friendly. Still, if they were offering up their names then it would only be polite so hare his. "You can call me Xander. I was sent as an envoy to ask Malefor for aid. The city I came from has been annexed by invaders, and our pool of allies has grown increasingly small." Xander frowned. He wondered how everyone as faring back in Kirkwall, back in Nohr. Every day he spent away from his people felt like another day he had failed them. "Malefor was one of the last names on our list of potential allies, but we've been a bit... isolated from the rest of the world as of late. Between the hostility of everyone I've run into thus far and our outdated information about this sector, I can't tell if Malefor is being held hostage by whoever has been attacking me or if those creatures work for Malefor, and he's just another name to cross off the list. If he doesn't need rescuing and the damage in this sector is from him, then chances are he's part of the problem, one of the many problems, so I've heard. In that case, he would need to be put down. Permanently, if he's not compliant." Xander shook his head, bitter at the situation, but still unwilling to give up. "Regardless, I need to see Malefor for myself before knowing the truth. If none of that deters you, I wouldn't say no to heading in together." Xander sighed as the memories of the past few weeks surfaced to the front of his mind. "Gods know I haven't seen many friendly faces lately. The entrance is guarded, so I'm not sure if it would be safe to enter. I did see one patrol head around back—" Xander was interrupted by the distinct sound of two giant doors being slammed open. 《 STATUS: Healthy 》 《 LOCATION: Avalar, The Castle 》 《 NEARBY: Denki | Hibiki | Lambert | Ralsei | Lucikiel | Xander 》 "Doors opened!" With a strength far greater than a person his size should have, Anduin had strolled up straight to the entrance of the castle and kicked the front doors open. The guards standing at the entrance had watched with confusion and then alarm as he sheep-like entity walked boldly towards them. They had retreated to where a nearby patrol had been watching the group warily. Evidently, it seemed like the two were either not as combat-oriented as their companions, or they had simply had the intellect to realize they likely wouldn't win a battle with the group of outsiders congregated outside the castle. Anduin, very pleased that the entrance was unlocked, pivoted on his foot back towards his new friends. "We could go through here, probably! Well, unless you wanted to be stealthy and find a different entrance, which is okay too!" Anduin placed a hand on his hip. "I kinda just wanted to make a loud noise," he said under his breath. Edited November 26, 2023 by HomeForFlowers Share this post Link to post
Posted January 19 Arven (and Hitoshi Shinsou) Location ~ The Archives Status ~ Where are we now? Other than Arven needing to pull over and hurl a couple of times and the cat screaming at the top of its lungs, the trip was fairly uneventful in Hitoshi's opinion. He found it very interesting how the landscape seemed to change as the car zoomed on through. He also finds that the car has a mind of its own, as he looks away a couple of different times and doesn't crash into anything. What is weirder, though, is where the car decides to stop. Hitoshi takes note of a labyrinth of bookshelves and different pathways all over the place. His eyebrows knit together, and he gently pushes the gas pedal. The car does not move. "Oooookay. Either we're out of gas, or this is where we're supposed to go." "Please..... Please, no more." Arven whines softly- though what exactly he's saying no more to is entirely unclear. He's not even sure, as he eventually gets out of the car and takes a look around. "Where..... Where the heck are we?" Dr. Hikaru Shinsou, M.D. Location ~ Acheron Labs Status ~ Regretting his choices. Hikaru does not like the clawing sound. However, he kneels beside the gemstone and knits his eyebrows together. "Now what..... is....." He hums, before looking back up at the moving object. "....???" ! Kaminari Denki ! Location ~ Castle Status ~ Not sure if that was the wisest idea Denki is not sure that kicking the doors to the castle is the best idea. But he is not the one to ask about good ideas. So he quietly fidgets with the hem of his jacket as they stare at the inside of the castle. "I would err on the side of not being super loud.... But we did just.... potentially alert everyone to our - aww crap." Denki sighs as he notices some larger enemies they'd seen along the way- orcs, were they? "....Crap." Share this post Link to post
Posted January 22 (edited) LOCATION: Acheron Labs (Kitchens) OTHER ENTITIES: Lady Dimitrescu | ??? Looking as if he just wanted to withdraw from everything surrounding them, Garrett flinched as he was snapped at unexpectedly. “A-A xeno-anthropologist and geologist that’s only supposed to be i-i-interacting with any of the artefacts they bring in?!” He offered a frantic explanation, eyes wide behind his round-rimmed glasses as they darted between her and the glowing set beside them. He watched as she then turned and left as abruptly as she’d opened the door in the first place, prompting Garrett to motion frantically towards the void within as indication that she needed to fix this new problem she’d created. “Awry, it says?” Purred the voice as the taller lady turned and left, the faintest hint of a chuckle peppering the voice’s words. “She does not know either of us, does she?” Garrett’s shoulders slouched, raised arms drooping to his sides once more as he registered that she wasn’t even going to spare the two a second glance, let alone try to help him ensure that this entity stayed contained. Confused, cautious, he turned back to the glowing set of eyes and cleared his throat. “W-well. I’ve seen her around, but we don’t really interact much, so-” “I care not for conversation. You irritate me.” Garrett glanced away. “S-sorry-” “However, you shall have to do.” “...Pardon?” A talon-like hand, pale and with its claw-tips drenched in what looked to be dried ink, lunged forward from the darkness and latched itself around Garrett’s arm. An alarmed yelp escaped him, but even with his Vulcan-given strength wrenching back on the limb did little to deter the grip of the strange being that lingered in the shadows before him. Digging in his heels into the scuffed tiling of the lab he tried to free himself as he felt the hand start to drag him forward into the darkness, frantically calling to the taller lady for help, before another talon clutched itself around his jaw and dug into the flesh surrounding it to prevent him from saying anything further. With one, fluid motion the outstretched talons yanked him forward, the terrified scientist disappearing into the darkness before him. --- PIXX-L LOCATION: Acheron Labs - Broom Closet > Hallway OTHER ENTITIES: Hover | Lady Dimitrescu | Moth | Raven Pale, mint-green eyes squinted in suspicion as the insectoid entity began to address her, but the dinosaur at least allowed them the chance to prove themselves non-hostile. In her claws the mop twisted and trembled slightly from the tightened grip upon it, but, eventually, she started to lower it in kind and instead tapped the end of it against the tiles she was presumably in charge of keeping clean. She glanced each of them up and down, unphased by what looked to be a fellow collection of cybernetic individuals, but unable to place the sort of species she was interacting with. Human did at least briefly cross her mind for the one that looked to be in charge, and the one addressing her had some features that reminded her very loosely of the pteratrix. It was the latter that made her keep a cautious distance from the trio for now, knowing all too well what this trait alone might’ve signalled in a place like this. “...Designation’s PIXX-L, or ‘Pixel’ if that’s easier to remember. And this ain’t me home. I just work here.” She eventually grunted, another electronic buzz punctuating the end of the sentence as if to simulate a growl. “But really? None of you got ID numbers? Not even the pteratrix-looking one?” She continued, gesturing vaguely in the direction of Moth with the dip of her mop’s head in his direction. Further, she pondered the trio, before eventually sighing and gesturing for them to get out of her janitorial closet with a flick of her head before shuffling back out of the way of the door. “Alright, I’ll believe you lot for now, ain’t the first ones that’ve just rocked up unexpectedly in this place. Most of you have the decency to use the bloody portal they keep prodding at is all.” Starting to thunder her way down the hall, she now motioned for them all to follow with another flick of her head and a similar motion from her feather-tipped tail. “Showed up at a rotten time but. Place has gone to ****. Been trying to find an exit door to usher people out of but they all keep moving on me-” In her consciousness, raw data sparked, translating itself into sentences of text and accompanying images and audio in the blink of an eye. There was a momentary pause as Pixx-L began gathering up data to send over to the fellow deinogen. To the robots she was addressing she raised a single claw in the air in a ‘just a moment’ gesture before staring off into the distance as she transmitted her response. @Jixx-B Species # 2049349, local designation ‘Scavengers’. Came in from the latest portal breach. Dunno too much about them yet, but I reckon they’re primates with a rudimentary social structure and language, assuming they’re the ones that drew on the walls in the background there. Could be hierarchical, my bet’s on the red-furred little ****head they keep looking at being the one in charge. Not sure you need to worry too much about them, but they’re crafty little b******s that you’re better off not upsetting too much. With another blink she sifted through the servers now available to her, humming a tune audibly as she checked whether anything was missing. @Jixx-B Cheers ledge. I’ll let you know if anything ain’t right. Any luck figuring out what’s happened to the place yet? [img1] [img2] [img3] Also you know any of these three? They just showed up in my broom closet. Dunno if it’s related or not. @Jixx-B We should group up, if we can figure out how to navigate this mess. Safety in numbers at all. Try to keep them all together while I wrangle up this lot yeah? Finally Pixx-L shook herself back into focus, and began to pace forward once more. “Alright, we’re gonna see if we can find a mate of mine. Don’t go opening any doors we don’t need to now, I ain’t replacing any limbs that’ll get lost over it.” Turning a few corners, she soon found herself stumbling into view of Lady Dimitrescu lingering in one of the hallways and, seemingly, all on her lonesome. “Oi, mate, it ain’t safe to be out on your own right now.” She called, motioning for her to follow along too. --- The Scavengers LOCATION: Acheron Labs - Toll Gate OTHER ENTITIES: Hollow, Jixx-B, Kaiba, Tovan Startled by the sudden burst of noise and the sheer size of the newest arrival, the Scavengers started to panic at the rapidly approaching dinosaur. Again a spear was thrown, but when it thudded uselessly off of the chest of said dinosaur The Scavengers shifted from their jeering, confident demeanours to something far more cautious and hesitant. They stepped back from Jixx-B and converged into a tighter circle surrounding their trinkets, some snarling beneath their masks as they moved, and they all held out their spears in a defensive manner. The red-furred one, the leader if Pixx-L’s observations were correct, now withdrew what looked to be a small, dark orb with a bright red ‘x’ marking painted over it. Stepping in front of its fellow scavengers, it waved it about in a manner that suggested that this item was very much a final warning threat to the group to back away and stay away from the base they were setting up for themselves. --- The Narrator LOCATION: Acheron Labs - Room #427 (‘Buttons’) > Room #475-1 OTHER ENTITIES: Evander, Wheatley Evander and his spherical new companion of questionable intellect and survival instinct stepped through the door to the new room that had appeared before them. They were met at first with an icy chill, a coating of frost just barely visible upon the walls and floor as the odd little sphere’s light shone over them. Surveying the room revealed a rather lacklustre set of contents within, little more than a few, unidentifiable panels lining the walls that blinked and beeped quietly away to themselves. Oh, if only you had been able to unlock the other door, Evander. I had so much more written for that encounter. Perhaps we could turn back and try the buttons again? No? Oh, blast, the door’s disappeared again. Alright hmm, one moment, let me see what I’ve got in my notes here… Ah, right. Okay. Evander stepped forward, where he could spy the glint of movement in the frosted panelling of the back wall of the otherwise small, unimpressive room. Closer inspection revealed this panel to be a window made of thick glass, the movement being his own faint reflection. As he neared a whirring sound from a nearby machine started, and a breeze of hot air started to emit from several vents positioned above and below the glass window of the wall. Its misted exterior started to fade, the window defrosting, until finally it revealed itself to be overlooking a small, circular orb floating in the centre of a similarly sparse and ice-coated room on the other side of it. Within said orb, something small and a deep, rich blue in colour lingered. There was no visible door to enter the frozen room, or indeed any door at all visible within the room Evander had entered. He could, however, just faintly glimpse what looked to be a door on the other side of the window, past the frozen, floating bubble before them. What was present, however, was an Atlas terminal installed onto the wall beside the glass viewing screen and the faintly blinking light above it to indicate that, while powered, it was in some sort of hibernation mode. Surely, Evander could make use of this. Even he, nor the absent-minded orb he held in his hands, could surely not forget the very important, very easy to remember, 64-digit password security sequence shared with him upon the first day of orientation as a laboratory staff member. --- Spiders, maybe LOCATION: Acheron Labs - ??? OTHER ENTITIES: Hikaru | A friend The moving grew more frantic from the webbed up entity, an increasing sense of urgency building in it until, finally, what looked to be a tiny, pink paw broke free the webbing that had been imprisoning it. A pathetic mewling sound started to sound from it, close to a whine, as whatever was contained within started to call to Hikaru for help in freeing it. --- LOCATION: Hellworld > The Archives OTHER ENTITIES: Arven | Darkrai | Hitoshi | Hunter | Snake Warily Damien eyed the odd feline on approach, wavering between relaxing at her less aggressive stance or just wondering if it was merely a facade before trying to bite down on his hand again. It took him a moment to register what she was doing, half-distracted by rustling through his bag, until pointed ears caught the sounds of her heaving and he went wide-eyed. “Oh- No, no don’t you dare-” Damien scowled as the emerald sphere dropped into his lap, the underside of one of his eyelids twitching as he tried to figure out whether to be shocked or disgusted by the object’s appearance. At least it wasn’t a hairball. He tried to reason with himself, but without knowing what the little emerald orb was he didn’t know whether this was much cause for celebration or not. Nose wrinkling, he’d been about to wrap a cloth around his hand and set it aside somewhere in the glovebox for now when the car abruptly sprang to life. The orb was flung backwards in the commotion, Damien hearing it clink against something or someone that had been sitting in the back before, presumably, rolling away out of sight somewhere. Once he could peel himself away from his frantic gaze at the front-window and subsequent glare in Hitoshi’s direction, Damien slowly turned to monitor how those stuck in the back seat were fairing. He hadn’t noticed the small potted plants stacked around them at first, mostly consisting of what looked to be perfectly symmetrical little succulents in tiny pots. A few of the pots looked to have been smashed in the sudden surge forward, and gazing down at the dirt as it coated the floor of the car gave Damien an uneasy prickle of hair at the back of his neck that this was going to, eventually, somehow, be a huge problem for the group. Despite the increasingly apparent fact that the car had a mind of its own, Damien realised after checking the locks on the door that there was little more they could do but lean back and see where the strange vehicle was going to take them. It took him a while to notice the large, rectangular structures as they started to whisk by them, few and far between at first but slowly increasing in density as the car seemed to slow. “Are those bookshelves…?” Damien wondered out-loud after passing by a particularly close one, which finally let his blurry eyes make some vague sense of what he was looking at. Finally, the vehicle stopped, and the stubborn locks clicked open to release them all from it. Damien was quick to stumble out, brushing himself off and then motioning for the cat to follow them with a jab of his thumb. “C’mon Furball, the rain’s stopped here now. Don’t have to get your little pink paws wet.” Arven, meanwhile, was answered by a rather tired, irate-sounding voice from behind one of the shelves. “I think the more interesting question here is who are you lot?!” Demanded the voice. Movement then sounded, and a moment later a scaly head emerged from the shadows. An enormous serpent, with black scales and a red underside, started to uncoil and slink across the floor towards Arven. As it rose up from the ground it quickly revealed itself to be able to easily reach his height, yellow eyes glaring forward as they silently demanded an explanation from him. “Oi, Discount Doc Holiday,” The serpent then called, its gaze abruptly snapping towards a shadowy figure that lingered above them all, perched upon one of the numerous bookshelves surrounding them. “Aren’t you supposed to be keeping people out of this place?” The serpent shook its head from side to side, muttering under its breath before it even had time to listen for an answer. “Bloody useless…honestly…” It then surged forward, snarling and baring its fangs through the window at anyone unfortunate enough to have still been lingering in the backseat. “C’mon! Get out! The whole lot of you! Joyride’s over- where the Hell are your parents?!” --- LOCATION: Bubble Cove (The Shore) OTHER ENTITIES: Casimir | Virgil “Uh…y’know, yeah. Kinda. That works.” Reasoned Marlow at the attempt to justify why people referred to it as an ‘ice-breaker’ in the first place. Truth be told Marlow hadn’t really ever given it all that much thought. He nodded along with Casimir as they seemed to process their own current form, ending the motion with an uncertain laugh as he plodded along the shoreline. “Fair, fair. Not everyone changes drastically. I reckon whatever magic is in this place just kinda tries to turn into whatever it thinks is closest to what you are.” He glanced down at himself with a faint hum. “Pudgy, bright-orange aquatic thing is close enough to what I look like, I guess.” Tapping a paw to his chin, Marlow’s brow furrowed as he thought back to his last experience with trying to leave the Sector after sun-down. “Oh, uh, a Sector is just kind of a territory, I guess. Some have really sharp, obvious borders, some don’t. But they’re usually grouped by these safe spots, right, where like a bunch of people are trying to live and usually there’s someone in charge of the whole area. Silverclaw’s the Sector Leader for here.” His nose then wrinkled, expression growing even more nervous and uncomfortable. “As for what happens it’s…kinda hard to describe, really. But there’s something out there, and it only seems to come around at night. Light keeps it at bay. But it kinda…feels like it almost kinda drains the light away, if that makes sense? Like fires will suddenly go out, light orbs seem a lot dimmer than usual…that sort of stuff. And you just get this overwhelming sense of dread that something’s watching and following you.” They had started to reach the outskirts of Stormwatch, and still Marlow continued his tale as they entered the town’s grounds. “Supposedly if the light goes out completely, that’s it. You get maybe a few seconds to fumble around for a match, throw another log onto the fire or something, but after that whatever it is just attacks and drags you off somewhere, never to be seen again.” Marlow shuddered. “Me and Aster got caught outside of the town one night. Didn’t let the fire go out, but we stayed up all night taking turns to watch it like hawks. Once it hit morning again, we decided we didn’t want to try to leave this place until we could be sure we could get to another safe point in a single day.” He sighed faintly, brandishing a paw in the direction of the town. “At least here’s alright, I don’t mind the place. Heard there’s a lot worse people are running from out there. But if the storm keeps knocking out all our light sources at night, we’re gonna hit a point where Stormwatch ain’t safe either.” Stormwatch, at least for now, seemed to be a relatively peaceful, quaint little town that had set itself up by the cove. Its entrance was marked with a small, but guarded gate adorned with a variety of flags. Most of the flags appeared to be those you would find on pirate ships, featuring various different illustrations of skulls, cross-bones, and aquatic animals. Marlow paused for a moment to contemplate one in particular, that of a horned skull brandishing a goblet, before bowing his head towards it as a show of respect and continuing forward. The guards, two large, tiger-striped canines that sat on their haunches either side of the gate, regarded Marlow and the others following with a polite nod before focusing their attention back on the path before them. Directly besides the gate entrance was what looked to be a small tavern with several tables set outside of it. Marlow shuffled towards the nearest available one and slid into the chair, tapping his paws a few times in a rhythmic manner on the table’s surface as he fretted over how to be vaguely entertaining towards the pair. “Sorry um…just…just gonna wait for me sister to show back up, I guess. You two are welcome to go explore or hang around. I can maybe get you a room at the tavern here, but, if they got any to spare. Maybe I can squeeze you into mine somewhere, if they ain't?" --- LOCATION: Bubble Cove (The Shore) > Stormwatch (Tavern) OTHER ENTITIES: Moominpapa | Saphielle Very faintly, a glimmer of sympathy settled into Aster’s expression as he began to fret over where his family was and whether he was going to be able to get back to them. It was becoming an increasingly common concern for her to come across since her and Marlow’s arrival, making her all the more thankful that they’d at least had the fortune to enter these strange lands with a recognisable face they could trust. “Most likely trapped, aye. No one I know of that’s found a way back yet. Dunno if your family’s been scattered or not, probably depends where they were when you got dragged into this place.” She eventually informed, motioning for both him and Saphielle to follow as she started to trudge her way to Stormwatch. The journey was a short one, though Aster nonetheless grumbled several times under breath about how it would have been a much faster trip if she was in her usual form. The guards at the Stormwatch entrance gate seemed to be happy to let Aster through without question. They eyed Saphielle with a mild curiosity before also allowing entry, in the same way one might wonder idly about a strange face, but the presence of Moominpapa seemed to confuse them far more. Eventually one stepped forward, snout twitching as she took in his scent with a frown. “What pokemon are you?” She inquired, head tilting to the side. Aster meanwhile only continued forward, motioning towards the tavern that sat just within the gates as indication of where she would be once the new arrival was granted entry. She was relieved to see Marlow seated at the table by its entrance, who waved a paw at her upon spotting her and motioned for Aster and group to join his own new-found companions once more. “Ahoy. Whatever your strongest is please.” Grunted Aster as she took her seat then addressed a passing waitstaff. She then turned and blinked her single eye in Casimir’s direction a few times. “...Who the hell are you? You with the dog?” --- LOCATION: Avalar (Burned Lands) - The Castle OTHER ENTITIES: Anduin | Denki | Hibiki | Lucikiel | Ralsei | Sieghorse | Xander “So…you are recruiting, then?” Wondered the lamb, eyes narrowing slightly as they contemplated whether this indicated a new potential rival in the area or not. At least the human speaking to them sounded more as if he were a follower, if he’d been sent by someone, no matter how regal his attire looked to be. As the lamb tore apart another carcass for resources with one hand her gaze fixated further on Xander, contemplating whether he would be malleable enough of mind to win over in one way or another. “Have you considered merging your pool of allies with another? A stronger ally, perhaps. A thriving flock that you, too, could be part of- ahem.” The Lamb paused, taking a moment to tug the hem of his cloak away from the equine’s teeth and huff in his direction. “Do not attempt to digest the Fleece of The Lamb. Otherwise I may be forced to extract any of its pieces directly from your gut for repairs.” His attention then snapped forward as he heard the doors slam open, observing the other sheep for a moment before tapping his paw-like hands together in a short, approving clap. “Excellent, excellent. I’m not used to such initiative from my Flock. Have you ever thought about sacrificing your corporeal form to a demon?” Wondered The Lamb as she started to step forward to bridge the gap, similarly blase about the presence of the guards that lingered in a dumbfounded manner by the entrance. As they passed by Anduin they reached out and gently patted them a few times on a tuft of wool that sat over their forehead, a quick show of approval mixed with a blessing that they typically reserved for their followers. Normally they didn’t have to stretch up onto the tips of their hooves to do-so, which made the motion feel just a tad ridiculous this time, but they felt the fellow sheep deserved it all the same. They noticed the large, lumbering creatures just as Denki alerted them all to them, immediately turning on their heel to face the closest one. As they had done before, the lamb summoned a weapon from the depths of their hat, though this time brandished an axe with which to defend himself. With a wild swing to test its weight in his hand he then began to trot forward at a leisurely, almost business-like pace, motioning with the hand that wasn’t dragging the axe behind him for the orcs to stand aside as he neared them. Edited January 22 by Lycanious Share this post Link to post
Posted February 7 Jixx-B Location: Scavenger Toll Others: Hollow | Tovan | Scavengers | Kaiba Bee noticed Hollow's posture falter as their shoulders and limbs pulled inwards, seemingly dejected. A spark of panic rose through xir chest. Had xe offended them somehow? Xe didn’t mean to! Xe put xir top pair of paws up in a surrendering gesture. “I-it’s nothing personal, just s-st…standard lab protocol. Don’t worry. Just wait with the group so everybody s-stays s…safe.” Xe assured. For a moment xir gaze held in place, digital green eyes locked on the fuzzy primal creatures in front of them. Xir attention pulled back to the digital overlay in xir headspace as new texts and images flashed across the screen. @Pixx-L Noted. I’ll try not to upset them too much. @Pixx-L Whatever their language is, I can't find anything that matches in my database. I’d gather from the pictures that they’re looking for something though? Might have something to do with what’s inside the bubble? @Pixx-L The place seems to be shifting around unpredictably, I can't get a reliable read on my location, or yours for that matter. @Pixx-L Though looking at it now, my connections have stayed quite stable for the past 5 minutes or so. I can try to send you my current location as a rendezvous point and hope it stays put until you get here. @Pixx-L I don’t recognize them, no. Can’t find them in the lab personnel ID files either. Probably more delayed arrivals from the last wave of newcomers. My current hypothesis is the lab destabilizing is attracting more of them, but i can’t say for sure. I’ll take note of them for future reference though. @Pixx-L I have my group safe here, you keep yours safe too. See you soon, if all goes well. Two pairs of glowing digital eyes glitch back into focus as Bee returns to the situation at hand. Xe takes a step back when the fuzzy primal creatures all band together into a small defensive circle around the bubble and other knick-knacks. Xir gaze flickers between the creatures, the floating object, and the painting on the wall, slowly trying to piece together what it all means. The leader, by Pixx-L’s assumption, and xe trusts that her assumptions are correct, steps forward with a small black ball in its palms. The way it was holding the ball certainly read as threatening, but what exactly made it threatening xe wasn’t sure. A thought clicked in xir processors, an overly popping up on their mental screen displaying a pattern. Most of what the small creatures collected were distinctly round, and often shiny as well. Another screen brought up a scan on the bubbled item. It emitted distinct wavelengths that closely resembled sleeping brainwaves in organic creatures. Was the bubble conscious? Looking back down at the creatures huddled together xe let out a metallic trilling sound similar to a thoughtful hum. Slowly lowering xemselves down to xir knees and more eye level with the creatures, if you could call it that considering xe was many times larger than the creatures could ever hope to be, xe put one paw in the air as a sign of pause and touched the other one to xir chest plate. The upper panels slid back to reveal more complicated layers of paneling and soft silvery mesh. A small compartment opened with a click, and from inside xe pulled out a small copper-colored orb between xir claws. Xe held it out to the red scavenger delicately for it to take. While they were preoccupied with Bee's little fidget xe stretched forwards and grabbed the translucent pink bubble away from their pile. Immediately upon holding it more solidly in xir paw the bubble popped and Bee fumbled to grab the shard that fell out of it before it hit the ground. Firmly grasping it in one paw xe let out a static-filled sigh bringing it up closer to xir face-plate to examine. It was a beautiful swirl of red and orange, in a sharp tear-drop like shape. It resembled some sort of crystal, but still emitted those strange delta waves. “Dr. S-Strulvat was the one st…study…studying rocks. Maybe he knows more about this? Or why they were protecting it?” Xe mused. Xe backed up, looking around the immediate area curiously. “My positioning s-system says his office shssssss..should be around here, whether that's accurate is another matter, but it can't hurt to look.” Xe turned around and began to meander back down the hallway xe previously came down, looking back and forth between door placards and taking note of the numbers. Some of them were wrong, but others were where they should be. Xe stopped between the third and fourth pair of doors. “Here we are.” Xe chirped, gently pressing a paw to the handle as to not immediately break it and using xir snout to press the door open. The light filtering in from the emergency lights in the hallway made a thin band of light that tore through the dark office. All that could really be seen were dark clusters of boxes and glass cases and a few scanners and tools catching the light. From the desk at the farthest wall came a sharp glint of white something reflecting the light back with a pointed glare. Carefully Bee wedged xemselves through the doorway, crawling on all fours to try and remain more steady and not knock anything over. With a few short paces xe easily cleared the office, tail still sticking out into the hallway. With xir upper set of arms xe brushed xir paw over the objects on the desk picking one up and holding it up to the light to better examine it. It was another crystal. This time blue, and the teardrop shape was smoother than the other xe still held. Xe glanced over to the other on the desk. Green, with a rounded triangular shape. Next to them was a note in Garrett's handwriting. Xe briefly scanned over it before picking up the other crystal and taking mental snapshots of both. @Pixx-L Do you know where the doctor went? The note says he’s out of office and he took one of these with him? Do you know what they are? [img1] [img2] Backing out into the hallway Bee came to rest on xir knees, holding the crystals in xir paws. “We…might be able to use these to distract the s-sc-scavengers until we can all get by.” Xe glanced between the stones and the small creatures still scrambling at the end of the hall. “Though i’m hoping to wai…wait a moment to see if a friend of mine can’t get here first.” Lady Dimitrescu Location: Hallway Others: Hover | Moth | Raven | Pixx-L The muttering of the little man that failed to guide her descended into forgettable background noise as her heels clicked down the hallway. She was honestly keen for forget the interaction entirely before a piercing cry caught her off guard. Stopping in place, she looked over her shoulder, then turned around to face the sound. Alas she saw nothing, the hallway was completely empty. She huffed. Stupid man thing probably scuttled away to hide someplace like a coward. Typical man. Pathetic. Turning back to continue her jaunt she was abruptly met with the sight of a shock of teal and silver and pink. She took a sharp inhale of surprise before exhaling with pointed annoyance. “I should say the same to you, animated fossil.” She snapped. Some part of her was relieved to see something that wasn't an incompetent male lurking around, instead seeing a familiar face of notable fortitude. Yet the gaudy collection of neon colors and glowy bits and panels reminded her of the twisted machines a particularly irksome house leader liked to build and it put a rotten feeling in her gut. Nonetheless the living fossils that lurked around here not only knew more about the environment, but some were eye level or greater with her and she didn’t feel like squaring up to chunks of flesh and metal today. Electing to make no further comment she simply rolled her eyes and turned on her heel back in the direction from whence she had come. Taking easy strides ahead the rest of the group she couldn’t stop her gaze from flickering over to the door she busted through earlier, still an open void of darkness. Something else caught her eye and halted her descent down the hall. The emergency lighting cast enough light to illuminate the first foot or so into the room, something shimmered between the stark line of light and shadow. Leisurely she walked over to the doors opening and stopped at the threshold. On the floor rested a glittering purple gem. Resting one hand on the door frame she slowly bent down and reached forwards into the darkness for the gem, picking it up in her palm and turning it around to get a better look at it. “Curious.” She mused. Evander + Wheatley Location: Room #475-1 > Hallway Others: Narrator Immediately upon stepping in the room the chill made Evander's breath hitch with surprise. Now was not the best time to be wearing booty shorts and undone dress shirts. Wrapping his lab coat more tightly around himself, he took a ginger step through the door, careful not to slip on any slick surfaces the frost might have created in his man stomping platform heels. He closed the door behind him with a soft click and walked further into the room. None of the panels seemed familiar, but it definitely looked to be part of the lab. The voice made a comment about turning back, and Evander was is no position to argue. “Sure, anything to get out of this freezing-” He stepped back and placed his hand where the door was, but didn’t feel a handle. Patting the wall a few more times he whipped around to shine Wheatley at it, but there was no more door. Just more blinking panels. “What the-” He began before the voice started speaking again. Paying close attention to the narration he directed Wheatley at what he assumed the voice was talking about. Carefully he approached the glass, startling whens the fans turned on and begun defrosting the window. He squinted at the contents, unsure of exactly what he has looking at, but more importantly there was a door on the inside of that room. Looking over at the mention of a panel, he saw the Atlas terminal in the wall and gingerly stepped over to it. Pressing his gloved palm onto the panel it lit up upon his touch to the home screen. “You remember the password?” Wheatley chirped. “Of course I do. The weird disembodied voice isn’t wrong, it's quite simple.” “What is it then?” “I’m not supposed to tell you silly, then it wouldn’t be a security code.” “All I see is you pressing the w key over and over.” “Well, ugh…” He sighed. “Fine, I'll tell you. It’s 63 w’s but the 42nd character is a v.” “Doesn’t seem very secure.” “Well it's only obvious if its pointed out to you or you're a computer, so it works.” “That's fair I suppose.” Wheatley's eye plate nodded up and down. “Almost there- Ah!” Evander flinched back as a warning bar flashed across the screen declaring an emergency lockdown of all known specimens. He frantically tapped the screen to try and get it to go away but nothing he did seemed to work. “Ugh, noooo…why did it have to do this now?” “No worries mate, I got this. Hacking is my specialty. The labs at home had nothing on my devious hacking skills. A+ hacker. Scourge of the network they called me.” “Whatever works buddy.” “Aight. Hook me up then.” Evander pressed the lower portion of the panel to reveal small rows of physical inputs. Carefully he turned Wheatley around as the mechanical orb fed a wired attachment into the panel. “Well?” “I cant do it if you're watching.” “What?” “I just. I can’t, do it. If youre looking at me. Just. Just turn around for me, would you?” “Ugh, gods, yes, fine.” He stepped away to look back at the bubbled thing behind the glass. It wasn’t for long though before a loud pop sound made him shriek and the sharp smell of ozone filled the air. “What did you do?” “It was gettin’ spicy with me mate. It couldn't handle my superior intellect.” Evander brought his hands up to his face and let out a long sigh into his palms. “We don’t have time for this, it’s getting way too cold in here.” “What other options ya’ got?” “One, and i apologize in advance.” “What? Woah woah mate what ya’ doin-” Evander reached forwards and tore Wheatley off the panel holding him up over his shoulder, twisting back and pounding him forwards into the glass with force. The entire panel burst into a crumble of shimmering pieces joining the glittering frost on the floor. Fortunately the glass was tempered so no sharp shards remained. Tossing Wheatley casually into the other room Evander carefully grabbed the frame and vaulted over it. “Oi, what was that for?” “Hold on.” Evander mumbled as he approached the floating bubble. Squinting at it curiously he reached up and grazed his fingers along it softly. Almost instantly it popped and he scrambled to catch it before it fell. He held the large gem in his hands, admiring the smooth facets of it. “Garrett would be interested in this one i’m sure. That is, if he wasn’t already studying it.” “Humans. What is with you? Always using me for your own selfish purposes and leaving me on the floor in my time of need-” “Oh quit whining, lets get out of here already.” He said, pocketing the gem and grabbing Wheatley by the handlebar. He marched over to the door and grabbed the handle. It didn’t budge at first. “Must be frozen shut.” Putting his whole weight into the handle, he finally heard it give with a click. He pushed the door open with his shoulder and stumbled out into the familiar dim emergency lighting of a hallway. “Gods, Finally.” He breathed. Moominpapa Location: Bubble Cove Beach > Stormwatch Tavern Others: Aster | Saphielle | Marlow | Virgil | Casimir “Scattered?” He startled at Aster's suggestion his family might be lost as well. “As in trapped here or elsewhere? Goodness, this is quite troubling.” He brought a hand up to his snout thoughtfully with a hum. “The thing is, I’m not quite sure how i even arrived here. It looked the same as my beach while i was walking down from the meadow up until i saw the storm.” He looked back out to sea, moving his hand up to trail along the brim of his hat. “Peculiar indeed.” “But.” He clapped his hands together and rubbed them expectantly. “If i’ve ever written a mystery i’d know you can't get any closer to solving it by not doing anything about it.” He turned around with a twirl and trudged up the path after Aster. “Onwards!” He announced. By the time they made it up the hill towards the coastal towns gate his breath heaved with effort and his knees began to ache but he kept pushing forwards lest his companions think any less of his adventuring capabilities. He looked up in awe at the town gates, slightly distracted by the towns skyline before a foot abruptly cut him off. His gaze snapped to the guard as their snout twitched. “Well, I should ask the same of you, good sir. What in this “pokey man” are you?” He retorted, looking the guard up and down. “I’ll have you know I’m a Moomin, an adventurer, and a distinguished writer.” He touched his hand to his chest and pulled it away with a flourish at the end of his sentence. “But don’t get started on any of this “hippo” nonsense,” He pointed an accusatory finger at them “I am nothing of the sort and will not stand for that kind of slander.” “Now good day.” He said, trotting off into the town where he spied the familiar blue shade of his companion. She was already engaged in conversation with three other unusual creatures. Moominpapa tipped his hat upon approach. “Good day to you my fine fellows! What have we here?” He remarked, regarding the tavern for a moment before lighting up in realization. “Ah! Drinks! Excellent!” He practically leaped into a seat. “Something warm please, this sea breeze is getting to me.” Casimir Location: Stormwatch Tavern Others: Moominpapa | Aster | Marlow | Saphielle | Virgil They thoughtfully hummed at Marlows explanation of the darkness encroaching on the town. “Sounds scary.” Was their only remark. He trotted after Marlow with a little bounce to each of his steps, slowing his gate slightly to look at the gates of the small town. They stopped behind Marlow as he regarded a particular hung flag, bowed to it, and continued on. Unsure of what exactly that meant or why, they did the same before following after, gaze lingering on the flag as they wandered away. Arriving at the tavern they hopped into a seat next to Marlow propping their paws up on the table and folding them politely. They stared unyielding at Marlow as he anxiously tapped his paws on the table quietly before speaking. They eyed Marlow with a coy smile. “Your place, hm? Isn’t that third date material?” they purred. His gaze shifted to a blue turtle creature sternly approaching them. Too direct to be someone they don't know. Some of their tension eased when Marlow waved at her. Ah. This must be the sister then? They shifted awkwardly for a moment as she approached and pulled up a chair. Their head snapped back almost as if they had been hit by some invisible force as Aster so harshly demanded they introduce themselves. They let their head fall to the side, gazing at her out of the corner of their eye as they spoke. “I’m Casimir.” He said softly. “I take it you're the sister?” Samael + Sabaki Location: The Archives Others: Arven | Darkrai | Hitoshi | Hunter | Damien The shadowy figure looming from the bookshelf shifted slightly in response to the snakes chastising. “It's your car, isn't it?” They retorted. Their voice was melodic and wispy with a gravely edge to it. “I figured you invited them.” With that the figure rolled lazily off the bookshelf, falling fast in a flurry of white, silver, and gold before a pair of sturdy legs connected with the ground. A cluster of wings shifted and reformed, drawing out into long strands of white and brown hair tied back in a half-bun. They turned towards the new arrivals, their face morphing from something like a birds into a well-defined masculine complexion. As the wings folded back and disappeared they left behind a thin, pale man in a slightly unbuttoned dress shirt and dark trousers. Glittering gold and silver jewellery adorned much of his available skin along with intricate sigils tattooed on his hands and arms. He motioned for the group to follow. “Come on through.” He turned to walk further down the line of bookshelves. “Don’t mind the snake. He's just butthurt his better half couldn't make it.” “I am Samael, and welcome to the Archives.” He introduced himself nonchalantly. “Book borrowing is temporarily suspended as our current celebration takes progress, but i won't say anything if you feel like taking a book or two. Might be fun. Give the old owl something else to lose their mind over for a while.” He snorted. Taking a sharp turn to the left the bookshelves suddenly split into a wide open area where a large table and furniture had been arranged on the golden wooden floors. The bookshelves had been reformed into a sort of ring and the area sunk into the ground by a foot or so, separating it slightly from the rest of the library. The shelves went up infinitley into the sky, disappearing into an ambient white light. A large ornate glass window depicting a colorful rendition of a quill and ink pot shone colorful specks of light into the room. The table was quite long, a dozen or more seats were available on either side, many of them already taken up by…not quite people. Many were humanoid, but between wings, horns, and sharp animal-like features clearly many of these beings were not human or quite alien. Upon entering the communal area a burst of blue feathers sprung from one end of the room and glided over landing right in front of the group. Massive blue wings unfurled to reveal a short young girl with equally bright blue hair tied back in a red ribbon. Her body was covered in decorative red bandages hiding most of her pale flesh from view. A small crop top covered in elaborate embroidered flowers covered her top half and oversized red cargo pants hung loosely from her hips, weighted with heavy belts and chains. She bounced on her feet as she regarded the man approaching her. “Samael! Samael! Is she here!? Is Ketna-” She turned to look behind him and frowned. “Oh, you aren’t Ketna. Do I know you?” She tilted her head to the side, bright copper colored eyes darting between the small army of teenagers and peculiar cat standing in the corridor. Share this post Link to post
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