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Post by Marshmallow on Jan 20, 2017 21:19:59 GMT -6
(RP for Sarkany, Ari, Raine, Viktoria, and Marche. And #36, of course. Operation search and rescue is finally a go!)
It had been an eventful week for the doctor. After months of tracking and traps and near-misses, the capture team had finally succeeded in bringing him a particular subject of interest.
Dr. Hahn had long held firm that the local urban legends must have been inspired by a living creature. He'd spent too many years studying the supernatural secrets of the world to believe otherwise, and had been quite determined to add the Devil of the Mountain to his collection.
So when a living, breathing "devil" had been dropped in his lab in the small hours of the morning just after Halloween, he'd been positively giddy with excitement. So much potential, so many new questions to answer! He was like an excitable child with a shiny new toy, as remarked by a number of his colleagues. He could hardly wait to take this one apart, piece by piece, to uncover and catalogue every mystery. And after the capture team's last catastrophic failure... it was a breath of fresh air, and some good news for his clients, his bosses, within the organization at large. If the creature could be used, controlled even...
His lopsided, sharp-toothed grin quickly became a near permanent fixture in the days that followed.
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He peered through the blood-streaked glass, unconcerned with the fate of the technician whose screams had long since fallen silent. His attention was focused squarely on the demonic shape pacing the length of the window. Emerald eyes, wide and wild, stared back out at him.
Walter stood unflinching as a heavy fist beat against the glass once more, causing it to bow slightly under the impact. Reinforced to halt even armor-piercing rounds in their tracks, the window weathered the assault with nary a crack to be seen.
"Such a temper. Haff vee learned nosink?" the doctor calmly asked, a small intercom speaker below the window carrying his voice through the insulated walls and into the containment cell. "Vee truly do not vant to harm you, mein freund. It vould be so much easier on all of us if you vould simply kooperate..."
The demon's jaws gaped, and heated breath fogged the widow's surface in a defiant hiss.
With the long-suffering sigh of someone resigned to patience where he really would much rather not be, Walter reached for the remote in his hip pocket and pressed a blinking red button. A corresponding light on the demon's fitted collar blinked to life, and there soon came a great crackling sound. For perhaps the fourth time that morning alone, the subject was floored by the paralyzing agony of 300,000 volts.
Walter casually flicked the intercom off, muffling the strangled cries coming from the other side, and turned away from the window. "Efery day like zis. One vould sink a sentient beast vould be able to see reason."
In no great hurry, he crossed the lab floor to the rows of computer terminals and equipment-laden tables, where his assistants were busy recording data and preparing the rest of the day's gauntlet of tests. He slipped the remote back into his pocket, finally putting an end to the demon's torment, at least for now, and began reviewing the data and damages from his subject's tantrum. Already a team was assembling to move in and extract the remains of the deceased technician from the chamber; they had a few minutes at least before the demon returned to his senses and posed a serious threat.
In quiet contemplation of the morning's troubles, the doctor's gaze drifted to the curl of dark bone lying on a sample tray just aside of the terminals.
The previous night, the subject had been sedated, and its right horn removed for study and sampling. The procedure was done quite carefully and cleanly, if he should say so himself. After all, it was merely a horn, not like severing a limb. And yet, upon waking, the demon had flown into a frenzy of anger at its absence. In fact, its rage had flared so greatly that the fire suppression systems had threatened to engage, and it stubbornly refused to speak.
Or perhaps was unable to. Surely the subject was experiencing some level of discomfort from the loss, but the doctor pondered whether it was only pain driving the beast's temper, or something more.
The horn, like the demon himself, was brimming with magic. He could see the energy twisting and coiling around it, flowing along the runes like a current. Even hours after being severed, the horn still retained much of its heat, and the runes still smoldered dimly, reminiscent of the cooling embers of a fire.
Had removing the horn interrupted some sort of magical circuit? Was it interfering with some aspect of the demon's nature? Walter's curiosity could not be contained, and a smile that may have actually been pleasant on anyone else spread across his face.
A challenge like this only crossed his path rarely. Why, it had been at least a decade since he had last been so engaged! And with his subject an urban myth, captured from his forest habitat, he had all the time in the world to break him.
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Post by kilnarak on Jan 21, 2017 5:19:38 GMT -6
It had been a few days since he had returned to the world of the living. He had run into Sarkany and Victoria near immediately after setting out - intending to return home as quickly as he could manage. The pair of them informed him that Marchelute hadn't been there when they had checked for him, but he had still needed to go see for himself. Still, the news had set his heart to beating fast and hard in his throat - what if the demon was truly dead? But he couldn't be, could he? Maybe he was asleep somewhere, like Ari had been asleep. Maybe he had gone out hunting. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
When Ari returned to the bunker, he hadn't been there. His scent still clung about the place, but it was old scent, days and days old, nothing fresh, no sign that he had been home in some time. He had searched, trying not to let the panic overwhelm him, but growing more frantic every hour that nothing new revealed itself. He found the young demon, Taconin, the only inhabitant still in the bunker. The young creature hadn't seen its adoptive father, and it hadn't occured to it that something might be wrong - at least not until Ari confronted it and it drank in his panic. Then the pair of them had searched, but still it was fruitless.
He couldn't be dead, could he? With the Pact they had made, wouldn't Ari know? But he could feel nothing, only his own hollow dread and panic. The pair of them had gone to Raine - he would know what to do, wouldn't he? And at the red-headed immortal's mansion was where they had stayed.
It was where they were now, and where Ari fretted on the couch. He'd been having nightmares all the time, now, since he had come back. The maze all over again, a small confined space and leering sharp-toothed faces, bone deep pain and arcing white-hot fire that burned everything away. Despair, hopelessness. He knew the child demon fed on that and he had wondered, angrily, if it did so now - but Taconin had kept its distance from him. It almost seemed to sulk and grieve, quiet and dark and bestial more often than not.
Today, however, there was a change. Today the nightmares weren't only dreaming things, but bled into his waking day. A sudden jolt of sensation arced through him, pain and anger roaring through his mind, and he realized - rather abruptly - that it wasn't his. He leaped to his feet before really thinking of a plan, feeling a tug of sorts all of a sudden. That way. It came from that way. It was... It had to be Marchelute, didn't it?
"Raine! Raine where are you? I think I... I think I know where he is! We need to... I think he's hurting! Raine!"
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Post by Salandis on Jan 21, 2017 16:00:55 GMT -6
Marchelute missing. Raine was, for the most part, unconcerned. The only creature he knew who was older than he was, as experienced in battle and more experienced in the hunt… He was a big lad, he could take care of himself. A few niggling memories – of a Persian monastery destroyed, and a Monophysite priesthood with their captive ‘demon’ among them – begged to differ. But that was an age ago. Marchelute was likely fine, possibly holed up in a cave somewhere. Maybe hurt, but likely not.
Ari and the child, Taconin, waited in the reception hall couches while he pulled what he would need. His normal rough forest gear, his Marchelute medical kit (designed with oil based everything to treat the beast and his victims alike) and reluctantly forgoing his whip.
“Raine?” The voice drifted in from the entrance hall. “I think he’s hurting! Raine!” Silently, Raine cursed pact magic. Why couldn’t the boy have been worried over nothing? From conversations with the last pact bearer, he knew that significant sensation could bridge the link. Significant pain. He picked up the whip.
Raine swept into the entrance hall, a determined look on his face. “All right then, tha’ changes things. Follow me.” He virtually dragged them back into the manor, to a small hidden lift. A moment later and he stopped them in front of a vault, proceeding alone. By the sparks on the floor, it was kept electrified. They were not left long to wonder, though, as he quickly returned and pushed them into the lift once more.
“Ah promised ah wouldn’a use these any further.” He said. “But emergencies are what they are, and Isaac won’t know.” He pushed a ring at Taconin. “It’s sized for a lady, but may not fit. Does’nae matter. If ya are in danger, put it in your mouth – it will make ya unseen. Don’t swallow.” To Ari, he handed a small dagger that appeared to be milky flint with a leather handle. “Made from elf-shot. Trust the blade, it aims itself. Don’t cut yerself with it, it might as well be made of some kind of magical poison. Now” The lift opened, dropping them in one of the smaller sitting rooms. “Where do we go, lad? If yah sense him, you’re our guide.”
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Post by tsukikoko on Jan 21, 2017 17:42:12 GMT -6
Having been unable to track Ari more accurately than him being near a club within the city, Viktoria had been uncertain whether Sarkany and herself would locate him at all. Instead, as luck would have it, he had found them. As he had approached, Viktoria had been assaulted by near-crippling visions of a bear-like creature slowly becoming crushed beneath the weight of itself, the sickening crunch that had resonated through her jaws as she had put an end to the animal while it had been unable to fight back. The creature looked nothing like Ari, or the cat form she knew him to take, yet somehow she knew it had been him she had murdered. By the time the humanoid had shaken her deluge of flashbacks enough to function, Sarkany had explained Marchelute's absence to the dark-haired man, who had promptly set off for the bunker to see for himself. His sudden departure gave the large feline a chance to recollect herself, bury her visions back beneath a layer of calm collectiveness.
Now, Viktoria loitered. She silently cursed Sarkany's disappearance to 'run an errand' while she was to reconvene with Ari to see if he had had any luck finding a trace of Marchelute (he potentially knew hiding places of the old demon after all). She hadn't anticipated finding his scent led to a literal mansion! Was she even in the right place? It hadn't been difficult to find per se, but the isolated nature of the place led her to believe the owner wanted privacy and plenty of it. Her nostrils flared yet again, drawing in the scents from the surrounding air. Sure enough, the subtle blend of human and cat that she now recognised as Ari lingered, though she hadn't followed it directly towards the front door, instead taking a long loop around to see if the spore had continued past the manor into the surrounding hills. She had found nothing, thus concluded the man must have been inside the building. That posed a problem. Depending on who was inside, recent events and the nature of her outward appearance, showing up at the door and asking where Ari was might rouse negative sorts of suspicions in a homeowner likely offering him a form of shelter or haven.
Not wanting to start an altercation, Viktoria had resolved to wait it out until Sarkany arrived. At least her friend had the advantage of looking less threatening than herself and was able to hide her appearance from onlookers if needs be. She folded her arms over her barrel chest, skulking out of sight nearby like a stray cat amongst the shadows. For the most part, she had managed to find clothes that covered her more unusual attributes, but the thought did play in the back of her mind that if she kept getting clothes destroyed or lost, sooner than later she wasn't going to find anything to 'borrow' for disguising herself. Viktoria kept her eye on the property as she waited, looking for a sign of someone she recognised and to ensure she didn't miss Ari if he were to leave and head out someplace.
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Post by MP on Jan 21, 2017 18:35:00 GMT -6
It was late when Sarkany returned, and it was only the faintest smudge of grey that marked the man's progress under the clouded night sky. He was limping slightly, looking tired and irritable but otherwise unharmed. Seeing the humanoid skulking around the bushes, he gave a short, prompting nod towards the manor door and continued down the drive. "I've just been to the WDSA," he said as they walked. "It's not good. Those green caps - they have offices there. They're proper agents." He let out a hissing breath that could have been either aggravation or the hitch in his stride as they climbed the front stairs. Sarkany jammed an almost vindictive thumb into the buzzer and stared at the ground, his eyes grim. "I'm thinking infiltrators, not a takeover," he said. "But we should expect full WDSA involvement all the same." Sarkany folded his arms in the chill night air, glancing to the door with barely concealed impatience. The last of the disguise command drifted over his features like old cobwebs. "I don't like our odds," he admitted to Viktoria. "Not blind like we are. Even with four of us." [OOC: Sarky's errand]
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Post by kilnarak on Jan 23, 2017 0:12:28 GMT -6
Ari was... a little confused when Raine lead he and Taconin to a secret lift, the mechanism hidden, and from there to a vault. Electricity crackled along the walls of the vault and Ari flinched away from it, not liking the smell of it, or the feelings it evoked. Taconin had followed in silence, and the young creature didn't seem overly surprised by any of this, or particularly frightened by the electricity.
When Raine re-emerged from the electrified structure, Taconin was the one to step forward first, his body shifting from beast into the child-like human form he preferred. "For a lady? What does she look like? I can be that shape..." His voice was both mental and aural, and he accepted the ring, looking it over with some interest. "Will it help us rescue Father?"
When it was his turn Ari accepted the dagger, furrowing his brows slightly as Raine explained it. "Elf-shot? I uh... Okay, okay. If I do uh... accidentally nick myself... what sort of poison is it?" He held the knife carefully, and then awkwardly stuck it through his belt as he followed Raine out of the lift.
"I um. I know the direction... I could probably... It would probably be easier the closer we get. I can't... um... This way, okay?" The nervous young man lead them to the front door and then near jumped out of his skin when the buzzer rang, offering up a short, startled yelp.
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Post by Salandis on Jan 25, 2017 15:23:49 GMT -6
Will it help us rescue father? Taconin asked, and Raine had to smile. “No lad. But where we’re going will probably be dangerous, and Angelica’s ring will help you stay safe. Ah'm not happy bringing you int'ae danger, so this is the best protection ah can offer.”
To Ari’s question he could only grin. “The kind that induces high fever within a few hours. I think I can recall the antidote, but it’s been a while, y’know? That's one of the last pieces of Ireland Ah own, a gift from... well. Elfshot blades have a vindictive life all on their own, and will always seek to do the most damage it can.” As the boy lead to the door, the bell chimed.
While Ari un-puffed his tail, Raine opened the door, and stared for a moment. The man looked… well, entirely normal if a little tired. The golden eyes were a bit strange, but could be passed off as splicing. Coming to his door at this time probably meant it was something different. Raine had a nagging sensation that he knew this man, from somewhere... but for the life of him could not remember where or when. He shook the feeling away - probably he looked like someone he knew a few centuries ago or something.
But it was his companion that got most of his stare. For a start they were very tall, at least 6 and a half feet, and their features were very feline. Their clothing masked most of their body, making it hard to guess gender but not disguising that they were built quite heavily. And the scars that were visible indicated they knew how to use that strength. Raine had a sudden urge to see if they could actually knock him down, but quickly suppressed it. It was the old height envy talking, and he knew it. They didn’t have time for him to pick a fight right now anyway, not with Marchelute missing.
Right, Missing Marchelute. Raine tore his eyes away from the big cat to the man who had hit the buzzer. “Ah assume Y’ here about the missing Demon” He stated. “Ah hope y’ have some idea where he is, but if nae then we mae have a compass of sorts.”
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Post by tsukikoko on Jan 26, 2017 10:08:26 GMT -6
Viktoria listened without interrupting while Sarkany explained his findings and voiced his fears, her expression as non-revealing and stoic as ever. Only his final admission, "I don't like our odds. Not blind like we are. Even with four of us," made her brow crease ever so slightly. He had always been measured and taken to calm consideration up to this point, so hearing her friend doubt their odds of succeeding (or potentially even surviving, given the situation they might be stumbling half-blindly into), was exceedingly troubling. She trusted his judgement in this. A steely resolve forged inside her; to be not only vigilant and effective in her aid to the mission but, if the time came, to cast aside the morals she had built for herself, to protect those she had come to know.
She looked down at her companion, exhaled slowly, "Odds can change. If ve arre to be blind, perrhyaps zhey vill not be expecting attack. Afterrr all," she bared her teeth in one of her butchered smiles, "iz not many zhat thrrrow syelf into arrms of kidnapperrr." At that moment, one of her ears twitched, alerted to the sounds of footsteps on the other side of the threshold. Only a few seconds later, the door opened and Viktoria was confronted with a person she mistook, for a fraction of a second, as a older child or teenager, given their height. But the scent, the structure of the face, was certainly adult. The humanoid was also acutely aware of the visual focus she was being given, as though being sized up. The moment passed without incident, however, with the stranger averting his gaze to converse with Sarkany.
The dialect, whatever it was, sounded... English, perhaps? She was certain she recognised most of the words, but the intonation and emphasis given to certain sounds over others was not something she had come across before in other English speakers. She was flummoxed, to say the least, capable of nothing more than blinking a few times while she combed through the man's statements in her mind to try to make sense of them. Viktoria at least managed to glean that the man knew Marchelute in some manner, judging by his use of 'missing demon'. She quickly decided the speaking may be best left to Sarkany until she acclimatised to this new speaker's vernacular. At any rate, she didn't want to upset or accidentally insult this person without knowing who they were, what Sarkany required of them and how they were connected to Marchelute.
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Post by MP on Jan 26, 2017 12:44:26 GMT -6
Sarkany relented with a slight smile at Viktoria's words. It was, if not quite assurance, at least reassuring to have so game a companion in the task ahead. He often found himself missing that more than anything else from the old days - the utter certainty in one's allies, their abilities and their mettle. He knew very little of Marchelute's friend or his pup, and such unknowns were an unwelcome gamble in a tight spot no matter their ability. As Raine looked Viktoria over, Sarkany eyed the man with equal speculation.
“Ah assume Y’ here about the missing Demon," the redhead was saying. "Ah hope y’ have some idea where he is, but if nae then we mae have a compass of sorts.”
"Actually, we're here with Girl Scout cookies." Sarkany answered smoothly, arms folded. "You strike me as the Samoas type."
Even as he spoke, his eyes followed Raine's glance and found the bristling youth hovering in the hallway. From the looks of the fog-bladed dagger clutched in Ari's hands, these three were about to set out. Sarkany relaxed slightly, glad that they were in time and wouldn't need to hunt down the youth again.
"Hey, cat." He nodded him a greeting. "Hope you've got something more specific than 'may.' I'll fly us there if you know where we're going."
He was stepping away from the doorstep as he spoke, into the open space and motheaten moonlight where he might have room for a proper transformation.
"Viktoria on the shoulders, little ones in front, I'm thinking," he said to Ari, seeming not to hear any protests from the others. "You'd sit behind the crests. Give one a tug if I don't hear you. It won't be comfortable, but it's faster than a car." He paused at that, eyes dark with amusement and the incoming change. "I doubt they'll let us drive up anyway."
A moment later the seraph shook out its pale mane and sank to its haunches, head lowering to the ground in expectation of passengers. One yellow eye swiveled to Viktoria.
[Though we may want alternate transport for the exit,] he chuffed at her, [ If flight isn't an option.] He did not elaborate on that implication, trusting the pragmatic humanoid to expect every eventuality. [Let them know, would you?]
[OOC: I'm assuming Ari isn't going to bird here since it's nighttime and cloudy, but let me know and I'll edit.]
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Post by kilnarak on Jan 30, 2017 0:57:30 GMT -6
"I'm not afraid," Taconin replied soberly. He considered the idea of this 'Angelica,' then adjusted his shape slightly to make it fit his hand. A little taller and more feminine. He could have simply taken the ring into himself for safe keeping, but Raine had told him not to swallow it, and that would be like swallowing it, wouldn't it? Even if he could 'spit' it back out? He wasn't sure. Mortal concepts of 'eating' and 'swallowing' confused him a little. "If I am in danger, I'll put it in my mouth and run," Taconin agreed, toying with the ring on his finger.
"Oh. Good. More fevers... I'll uh. I'll be careful. Thanks." Ari grimaced a little, but was careful with the blade. And then, of course, there was the mess at the door. The youth jumped half a foot backward from the door, hissing in startlement. Nearby, Taconin's limbs abruptly darkened, going from milk pale to smoke grey to jet black at the tips of his fingers - reacting to Ari's surge in anxiety. Presumably it was protective? But really, he was more unnerved than soothed by the action.
When Raine opened the door he relaxed a little as the familiar sight of Sarkany stood in the doorway. And Viktoria loomed behind him. Ari stepped forward to stand beside Raine, offering the pair of them a nervous smile. "You uh, you two have... really good timing. Did you... scry or something? I mean, not um... not that it isn't great that you're here or anything. More is better. Probably. Uh." Ari realized he was rambling and stopped himself, fidgeting a moment and letting the others speak. "I um. I... yeah, I can... We made a pact, so I can... I can kind of feel what direction he's in? It didn't... It's not super... obvious, but something hurt him, so it's stronger... Maybe it'll be easier when we're closer?"
"Oh, um. You uh... You know Taconin, but uh. This is Raine? I think you met before...?" He frowned a little, glancing from Sarkany to Raine. "Um. And this is Sarkany and um. Viktoria. They're um... friends and, uh..." He trailed off again uncertainly. It wasn't really time for introductions, and he listened while Sarkany brought up his ideas for travel. He nodded. It would be faster flying, although he didn't much like it - he wouldn't be able to carry his clothing or the dagger if he flew himself. He was already moving toward Sarkany to climb up onto the seraph's back once the other shifted.
Taconin had slowly made his way out, the child's dark eyes shifting from one person to the next. He kept quiet while the others spoke, but when it was his turn to mount he shook his head. "I don't need to. I can fly." The shadowy youth took another step away, his body darkening as it shifted. The form he took was as close to natural as he had, draconic and tri-tailed with membranous wings. The forelimbs were... off, however. Instead of his usual claws, they had remained relatively humanoid as well as fairly feminine, that the ring might stay in place without him 'swallowing' it. His weight rested on his hindlimbs as he sat back on his haunches to wait for the others. "It will be faster like this, right?"
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Post by Salandis on Feb 11, 2017 17:08:19 GMT -6
Raine rolled his eyes at the sarcastic quip. “Ah more prefer thin mints” He started. He looked kinda familiar, actually. He stepped by to let this stranger talk to Ari and Taconin. The introductions were fine, but Ari also seemed to think they had met… He registered Viktoria’s name. Then Sarkany changed.
Abruptly Raine was grabbing white handed at the door frame in shock. He did know this person! He… he had killed him? A confusing kaleidoscope of memories spun around him, involving a swamp and explosion, a tower and some kind of sword, a trap with spikes… an event he had written off as nightmare, for he certainly never mentioned any of it again. His vision grayed around the edges, and for a moment he found himself reaching for a sword he no longer had. With major effort he pulled himself upright, shaking off the… memories? Nightmare? A slick of white frost was visible on the doorframe, and the air around him was probably much cooler.
The rest of the group had stopped to stare, but it was Taconin’s gaze he saw first. He was in his more natural form, small and gleaming, and his eyes seemed… intent. With a spurt of indignation, Raine realised he had probably been feeding… he shook that off. The child hadn’t invoked this shock, after all. He took a deep breath, and tried a shaky smile. “Well, tha’ will work for transport. Just be warned, Ah’m a mite heavier than ah look.”
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Post by tsukikoko on Feb 12, 2017 16:34:39 GMT -6
Viktoria nodded politely as Ari introduced both Taconin and Raine, though her gaze was curious and intent as she looked over the shadowed child-looking figure. He was certainly... different. She didn't have long to dwell on her intrigue however, as Sarkany was already moving away from the house threshold and talking of flying. As she followed him the humanoid's ears flattened against her skull for a moment or two, the only outward sign of her uncomfortableness at the idea. He was right though, a car would be too slow and too conspicious. While Sarkany shifted, Viktoria's thoughts turned to where they might be headed, what they might find there. She wished she had a firearm, but unless she could 'liberate' one from Marchelute's captors she would have to cope without. Ari's mention that something hurt the demon had made her jaw set tightly and a growl threaten in her chest. Whoever had hurt him, they would pay.
An brief, acrid tang suddenly flooded Viktoria's nostrils, snapped her from her train of thought. She looked around, trying to figure out where the abrupt fear scent had come from, when her gaze settled on Raine. The man was gripping the door frame, stooped over, knuckles bleached white from how tightly he gripped the wood. The large feline said nothing, only raised an eyebrow at him as she pondered the man's sudden shift in demeanor. Her initial thought was to believe nerves had gotten the better of him; if that was the case, she did not feel confident with him accompanying the group.
An increasingly familiar animalistic chuffing caught her attention, drew her gaze from the panicked redhead to her companion, [Though.. want alternate transport.. exit, if flight isn't.. option. Let them know...?] Viktoria nodded and responded in her best snarling attempt at Sarkany's langauge as she swung herself onto his back, [Of course.] Once settled on the seraph's shoulders (a little more at ease than the first time she had done so), the humanoid addressed the group, noting that not only had the shadow child transformed into a strange reptilian-looking creature, but Raine seemed to have, mostly, regained his composure. "Iz possible, ah.. zhat ve cannot be flying back on Sarrrkany.. might be hyaving to find ozer trransporrrt vhen rreturrrn." A pause while she considered the possibilities, "I vill take vehicle if possible, but ah... vill betterrr assess options vhen ve land."
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Post by MP on Feb 15, 2017 22:24:27 GMT -6
"Just be warned, Ah’m a mite heavier than ah look.”
Sarkany snorted lightly, yellow eyes gleaming with reptilian sheen in the cold moonlight. [ Mammals always are, ] he muttered to Viktoria, a faint laugh fluttering in his throat.
He lay still as the groundlings clambered onto his back one by one, stirring only to extend a leg for a makeshift footstool or to nudge a rider into position with a prompting snout. The faint fear tang lingering on the redhead was, he assumed, merely nerves before the flight. His mane fluffed as he waited, reserves filling until the mane and dorsal fringes billowed with aether and his claws anchored rather than supported his weight. When the passengers were secure, Sarkany gave a short, warning bugle and opened his talons. In another few moments - several moments longer then he was used to, with so much extra weight - they were airborne and flowing smoothly away into the night.
Sarkany's flight was straight and swift, but predominantly careful. Wary of updrafts and unfriendly eyes, he kept as high as temperatures and the weight of his passengers would allow, and his movements therefore equaled - if not exceeded - the care he had taken transporting an injured Viktoria some months before. A fall from this height would be fatal, and he wanted the groundlings as calm as possible. Nerves presented greater risk of falling than anything else, he knew. He rarely so much as swerved except at Ari's direction.
It was only when the gentle directions turned to urgent prompting and they touched safely down that he allowed his own nerves to show. The seraph sank to his haunches in the sand, jaws parted as he rolled the cricks and aches from his shoulders. A moment later the shape blurred and the man rose stiffly. He glanced around at the dark screen of rocks he had chosen for their landing site and, too wary to risk spoken questions, raised an eyebrow at Ari.
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Post by Marshmallow on Mar 1, 2017 5:58:52 GMT -6
[[ OOC: So here's how this is sort-of maybe kind-of going to go down. Starting from here, once everyone has made at least one post, I will add a post describing the environment, what the party finds as they explore, and rolling dice to see what, if anything, the party encounters along the way. It might seem a little reminiscent of the Halloween Maze event, but less strict on posting times or number of posts per 'round', and rounds less strictly defined. Basically I'm gonna be your DM for a little while, controlling some NPCs and narrating your encounters! Additionally, I haven't planned this out in nearly as extreme of detail as the Maze was. This is all kind of... being winged as we go :'D So I apologize for the lack of organization. By all means, feel free to send me suggestions for events/obstacles/whatever to me over Skype, or add your own as we go.
This campaign-esque section will last until the party reaches Marchelute somewhere within the compound, then it's back to regular ol' posting and reacting and throwing around faceless NPCs willy nilly.
Here goes nothin'! :'D And like the Maze, if you feel like you just can't word, feel free to leave me an OOC segment and edit back in a reply later. But don't feel rushed - you all know how slow I am anyway! x'D ]]
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Guided by no more than the faint pull of the magic that bound Ari and his demon mate together, the party set off into the night.
To Ari, the sensation was like an invisible thread, faintly tugging from the center of his being to lead him - and by extension the others - deeper into the jagged peaks of the Jackalope Range. It led them well beyond the forested foothills of the demon's normal hunting grounds, erasing the possibility that Marchelute was just on an extended survey of his territory. All too soon the city lights behind them were little more than a distant glimmer in the dark. Between the stony peaks, the horizon stretched into infinite darkness - the ocean, they were nearing the region's southern coast. Soon they were met with the sound of crashing waves along the rocky shores. The distant call of a ship's horn echoed from somewhere far off in the night-darkened waters.
Below them the mountains were dark, brightened here and there by the widely-spaced streetlamps that lined the winding coastal highway, and the blinking lights of radio towers and power lines. And, to Sarkany, Taconin and Viktoria, the barest glimpse of something else as they passed overhead: A dark gap in flattened rock. The shape seemed too... regular to searching eyes, too uniform to be natural, and wore the faintest sheen of metal grating. But as quickly as it was seen, the oddity was lost to the shadows.
The strength of the pull was intermittent, sometimes seeming to fade entirely, and by the time Sarkany was finally allowed to offload his passengers they had made several wrong turns. But here, finally, the pulling was at its strongest it had been yet. The impulse to follow it was strong, beckoning Ari to move. Move now, go now, what on Earth was he waiting for? There was an abrupt sense of urgency, swiftly followed by a sensation of pain that lanced sharply down his spine.
The pain was quick to fade, but the binding magic still tugged at him incessantly. But... to where? Aside from the sparsely lit highway, there was no immediate sign of civilization. Further north-west lay the sandy tourist beaches and boardwalk shops, and a scattering of suburbs. Here however, where the beaches largely gave way to jagged rock and sheer cliffs, the mountains were dark and quiet.
It took some effort for the group to spot it - though to Taconin's eyes it was almost obvious. In one of the vast patches of darkness between the dim street lights, there was a suspicious gap in the guard rail, and a swath of gravel bearing the faintest mark of tire treads.
There was a road here.
The narrow access road receded into the darkness and the cover of stony ridges and shrubbery. It was unmarked, easily to be overlooked by simple passers-by. And the Pact was pulling at Ari straight for it, and beyond, into the mountain. What was waiting at the other end of that road? Perhaps best to proceed with caution...
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Post by kilnarak on Mar 2, 2017 1:53:08 GMT -6
Ari lead them as best he could, giving Sarkany directions when he felt a pull in any particular direction. It was slow going and stressful, an he could hardly imagine what it must be like for Sarkany who had to carry them all. He caught glances now and then of Taconin who flew along a bit behind and to the side of Sarkany. The demonling flew with his limbs tucked close t his body, neck outstretched and wings near silent as they carried him through the air.
When their destination came in sight, Taconin was the first to begin to descend, tucking his wings nearer his body in a controlled dive. He had been the first to see the road, and while he did not feel the guiding pull that Ari did, he had listened to the other's uncertain directions and knew that they were getting close. As his feet touched ground his form shifted - not much and certainly not back toward human. His hips moved and readjusted to allow bipedal movement while still keeping the same general form, as his forelimbs were still too handlike to serve as paws.
Once Sarkany had landed, Ari was quick to slide down from his back. The draw of the Pact was strong and he near immediately began to walk along the dark path toward the end of the road. He made it a few meters before forcing himself to stop. He needed to wait for the others. "It's... It's this way, we're close, we're so close..."
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