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Post by Callypso on Feb 17, 2011 13:15:35 GMT -5
He hadn’t had to ask twice, which was nice, though the bull couldn’t help issuing a nasty jibe in the Ace’s general direction. Emery just rolled his eyes and stepped delicately outside, eyes on the lookout for any movement beside their party’s.
Right, like you need me to get you into trouble.
The Jossigy was clueless. Had he known anything practical, he would have known that Emery had chosen to take the rear to serve as guard and watch from behind. Orin may have been fine with bumbling and charging around haphazardly, but Emery knew better than that. If someone circled around and attacked from the back, Emery would notice it and call the alarm to the others.
Looks of remorse and nausea crept into the eyes of his companions as once more they were forced to survey the lifeless, mutilated bodies around them. Surprisingly, even the bull seemed troubled and thoughtful. Perhaps there was hope for him yet.
Everything outside was as they left it. No. Mrs. Lovett’s eyes were closed. Emery immediately raised the poker in a defensive position as the barber stared longingly at the severed head, then jumped around and growled at whoever was lurking in the shadows.
Emery peered around him (11), but only saw flickers that could have easily been cast from trees or other shops. He tilted his head, swiveling it slowly back and forth, trying to catch any rustle or crackle, (11) but he couldn’t discern anything out of the ordinary. It was clear from Lovett’s eyes, however, that someone was out there – or at least had been since they first entered the barber shop.
He was about to try to signal to the others that he was going to scout when a click-clack sounded along the cobblestones and a female voice rang out. Emery checked his grip on the poker and stood ready as a Lowlander stepped out into the open. The Villa/Highlander eased his gaze from where she had stepped and thought he saw a flicker of movement (14) – did she have others with her?
Emery looked to the others and held out a claw for them to hold their ground. They didn’t know yet if she was alone, and if not, how many others were with her. It could be an ambush, or they could be simply victims of the strange day, but it was better to be wary than regret blundering into a dangerous situation.
Of course, but you’ll understand if we don’t great you with a warm welcome, either. I’m Emery and these are my friends – may we ask who you are and what you’re doing here?
A name. It was so simple, but usually enough to get someone talking. It was a small sign of trust, or at least, suggested that there was a potential for it. He only hoped that she was a friend...
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Post by Nathalia on Feb 18, 2011 23:17:56 GMT -5
((The Barber whirled about when the Lowlander emerged, lips still pulled back to reveal his fangs in blatant anger...before the Ace and Feline scurried forward to have a look. His snarl fizzled and his look of hatred notwithstanding, he refrained from moving or speaking. The Canine's Diamond charm seems to have stilled him for the time being. As Trix slides out, Gaurin shortly follows, hands up, pikestaff held at ease. "S'only us. Only th' two." Frm the Highland mix's tone, he assumed him to be the leader...good thing too...the Wolf looked completely mad. "S'hard, this. Nah, we didn't expect any kind'a warm welcome, but s'good t'see y're not tryin' t kill us on sight." His eyes rove suspiciously over the bloody Bull...but...black wasn't a Josiggy color... Could be a halfie on their side, granted, he hadn't given "Pinky" half a chance, but the rotten little coward hadn't exactly earned it. Just as likely the Bull got those wounds fighting for them as against, otherwise he probably would have lashed out by now. He'd keep his hostility in his back pocket until given a reason to use it. "Emery, good t'meet'cha. M'Gaurin, n'this here is Trix." He dipped his head to the group, eyes warily following the Jossigy mix. Benjamin growls slightly, eyes roving the alleyways, fingers gripping the handle of a razor tightly. "You know who did f'his?" He asked, voice low and blood-shot eyes trained on the pair. "If you do, tell me now. 'M gonna kill 'em."))
Wow! Looks like Karrock got a liiiittle too close to one of the corpses! Old Corpse: Oh, eugh! So, that's what that smell was! How horrible. It looks as though this thing was once a Lowland Canine/Bird mix, its beaked face rotted down to nothing but a skull and its thicker chest host to a multitude of vermin. The first person to touch it will feel an awful sense of foreboding afterward, lingering for up to five hours after the corpse has long since been passed. After a day, they will suddenly find themselves in possession of a new and rather dreadful power. Once a week, they are able to change their appearance into that of a full-blooded Lowlander for up to three hours (must be done all at once). They can change the Breed, Gender, and eyes of the creature they turn into (only once for the thee hours, but it will always be a pure Lowlander, full of horrible rot, and they cannot change their own original Suit and rank. While changed, they will be covered in rot, though they will not have to feel the effects, and are more mobile than their appearance would seem...seeing as they are not truly what they are... At the end of three hours, they turn back at once...so make sure you're not out in the open...or you could be captured as a Joker.
Oh No! Emery got too close to one as well!
Corpse Jinx: Oh, hell! Walking too close to a corpse pinned to the wall, as if that wasn’t bad enough, now you appear to be stuck to it!!! The limp, cold arms lift and encircle the victim's chest, lolling head remaining immobile and devoid of any signs of life. Its touch delivers a horrible tingle throughout the victim’s body and they pull away looking disgusted and horrified. Their appearance has changed a little; though they still look to be themselves, their appearance is now bone-thin and haggard looking, as though they have either been on the streets, badly frightened, or starving for a long, long time. This will fade back to normal over the course of a day. Once a week, they are now able to cause the corpses of small animals (up to the size of a groundhog and up to three of them), to partially reanimate for up to 10 minutes. these corpses move slowly, but with a frightening deliberance and are hell-bent on serving their master for their time.
~Nathalia
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Post by Nako on Feb 19, 2011 5:43:11 GMT -5
Orin seemed oblivious of the scrutiny, instead suddenly involved in dealing with whatever drama was unfolding with Karrock once more. Damned high maintenance… the only good thing about the creature was that it got nicer to look at.. but that only went so far. He'd had half a mind to think it was a girl if it wasn't for that unfortunately male sounding name.
Karrock suddenly gave off a whimper and clung to Orin, heedless of the fact that the bull was still rather wounded, and sore. the bull gave an angry snort, but did little more than try to move away from the creature. Karrock loosened his grip but followed his movement.
"Ooorrrin…" He whined, but the bull moved away again.
"Look.. y'need to git over it. If ya didn't notice, we got somethin' other than you're personal predicament t'deal with right now."
Karrock pouted, perturbed as he looked around for someone to garner sympathy from. He'd -touched- a dead body! It had been awful! No doubt it would haunt him after this, he just knew it!
Oh.. that seemed a little worse. He stared in horror as Emery was snatched up!
Orin… for all that he is usually not so perceptive.. happened to notice this issue. The ace looked terrible.
"Damnit! Are you alright? You look like hell. What was this? Concern for an ace? Tolerating Lowlander presence? This was a big day for Orin.
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Post by Callypso on Feb 19, 2011 15:05:58 GMT -5
Gaurin. Trix. Emery said, nodding politely to each of them, poker still in hand. They were both Lowlanders – the likelihood that they had committed this crime against their own people was extremely low.
Mr. Todd was fingering his razor, growling at the pair. Oh brother, he wasn’t sure how he was going to put a cap on this one. Between Orin, Karrock and the barber -not to mention Kels in the basement – he had his claws full. He hoped Alohilani would keep her head and help to cool hot tempers when needed.
Well, we’d like to figure out who did this, anyway. Bring them to justice… he said carefully. The last thing they needed was for the wolf to go on a killing spree and cut down anyway he thought was even remotely guilty. He’d have to keep an eye out, and a steady hand.
Do you- AH!
The Ace had accidentally brushed a foot belonging to a corpse pinned to the side of the building and it reached down to scoop him up and hug him to its chest. Emery panicked, unable to get the poker in a good position to propel him away from the body. His skin positively crawled as he squirmed in the corpse’s grasp; his pupils reduced to tiny pinpoints. The Highland mix grimaced and made an odd noise, a yelp or whimper strangled in his tightly constricted throat. A horrible, prickly sensation tingled all over his body. His skin grew taught and dry, as though it was being sucked in on itself.
A moment later, the dead creature released him, sending Emery to stumble forward. He jabbed the tip of the poker forward and leaned onto it, using the tool as a staff. The chipmunk/bird’s breath came heavy and labored as his body convulsed with a shudder. He clung to the poker as if his life depended on it, the color slowly returning to his cheeks, though he still looked rather wan once he was able to stand.
I – he croaked, sounding for all the world as he’d been without water for days, and giving an odd look to the bull. Did he actually care? I’m… I’m okay. His eyebrows lifted in surprise – he was okay. Sure, he felt like he was going to collapse in a heap if he took a step forward, and he couldn’t rid himself of the creeping feeling he had, but he was alive. In one piece. Well….
He looked down at his strangely emaciated-looking body. That was weird. He felt hardy enough, just… shaken. And he was vaguely aware of a sense of magic, dark magic. That was thrice in one day he’d had a brush with the supernatural – not including what had happened to the others. For all he hadn’t any abilities at the start of the day, he wasn’t sure it was worth it.
Um, he ran his free claw through his mane and cleared his throat, though he couldn’t entirely remove the shaking from his voice, S-s-s-o do you kn-kn-kn-ow what happened here?
He was alive. After everything else in his life, this strange day, the horrible experience he’d just had – he was alive. Emery was about ready to piss himself, but if he’d made it this far he sure as hell wasn’t going to let some ridiculous curse hold him back. Not now.
There was still work to be done.
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Post by Vyn on Feb 19, 2011 21:38:58 GMT -5
Did that Ace just talk to her!? Trix made an odd face, eye twitching slightly as it demanded her name. She stared at it for a long moment only jerking her gaze away once Gaurin spoke to it. It did seem to be the authority figure in the group but like hell she'd take orders from an Ace! She would, however, stuff her distaste to the back of her mind and let Gaurin go about humoring the thing.
Better than doing something stupid and antagonizing the mad barber. Something told her keeping him calm was their best bet.
The husky was cut off abruptly by the Ace suddenly being scooped up by a nearby corpse. It hugged him, seeming to suck the very life out of him and then just... dropped him as if nothing had happened. Still dead, so very horribly dead. It wasn't everyday that Trix saw something new and, really, she could've done without bearing witness to that. At least the Ace seemed, for lack of a better word, 'alright'.
Slowly Trix shook her head, frowning deeply though her charm ability was still activated. She focused on Todd. "Josiggies did this." Her understanding of the current situation was basic at best but she had enough to suit her current purpose and, potentially, just enough to get the crazy wolf on their side. "There's a war going on, they've taken down a great number in the Range and all throughout The Capital. Gaurin and his crew are aiming to get as many out as possible but there have been complications." She motioned vaguely to the corpses around them. "We're on our way to meet with the man in charge," she glanced back toward Gaurin to make certain of this before fixing her gaze on Mr. T once more.
"If you want to avenge her, we'd welcome your help. What's been done won't go unpunished."
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Post by Kitty on Feb 19, 2011 21:46:24 GMT -5
Alohilani.
The pair of them were most definitely Lowlanders, and she heard Mr. Todd relax a bit for a little before he seemed to start getting himself amped up all over again. Sweet suits she'd never encountered someone with a temper quite like his before, but he definitely needed to be kept calm somehow.... at least for a little while.
She nudged him in the leg with her nose in the most reassuring manner she could come up with before emery's cry caught her attention and she snapped her head around to see what was the matter. Her fur puffed up as she moved closer to the barber in an attempt to find some own comfort in the closeness of something with sharp, stabby utensils that could probably protect her. Why.... why was a corpse holding the Ace? She didn't really want to know, she just wanted emery to be alright.
He looked horrid and emaciated, but otherwise... he was alive and mostly well so she relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief when he confirmed that he was alright. That totally gave her more then enough reason to stay as far away from the corpses as possible... not that she needed much persuasion to do so
And then the husky started to talk and she perked her ears forward once again as her gaze traveled to the only other female in the mix. Well, at least they seemed to have a common goal in mind... keep the barber calm. She didn't add anything to the conversation, simply listened and waited to see what everyone else had to say and said a silent prayer that Orin would continue to speak with tact and not.. .well, bull headed stupidity as he had before.
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Post by Nathalia on Feb 20, 2011 21:09:49 GMT -5
((Mr. Todd was still giving the group at large a rather unpleasant and menacing expression...probably best to ignore him until he calms down a touch, right?
Gaurin gave a loud squwak of alarm when the corpse grabbed the Highland mix and did something to him before dropping him to the ground. He stumbled backward, toward a wall, eyes bugging as he mouthed wordlessly at everyone else. "Did- Did no one else see that?!?" He yelped, as the rest of the group seemed to stare over at the man, and then mentally shrug! "Fuck! What's gotten into everyone!?" He hissed, as the poor man, now as thin as a rail, stumbled forward. His jaw dropped again. "Y'- Y'er an Ace!? Y'kin talk?!" The world had gone completely mad.
He stared around at the little group as they spoke, shook his head, and continued walking through the bodies. "Whatever, whatever don't wanna know anymore. Le's jus' get back t'Cale n'get th'Hell outta here. Iffin' y'want to find th' murderers, Cale'll probably know who they are, righ' enough." Throwing Trix a look begging her to fend questions and keep the group quiet as possible, he hefts the pole-arm and skirts the edges of the plaza, before trying to lead them on.))
~Nathalia
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Post by Callypso on Feb 21, 2011 0:03:23 GMT -5
Emery took in a few deep breaths to steady himself. The last thing he needed was to appear weak, stuttering every other word. He knew better than to think the others hadn’t noticed – they were just sadly becoming adjusted to the increasing strangeness of the day.
He sighed and did his best not to roll his eyes. He’d seen the look the Lowlander canine gave her. Gaurin at least had the decency to voice his surprise. Really. There’d been a wholesale slaughter of their people and they deigned it the appropriate time to give him nasty or shocked looks. Please.
I can do much more than talk, Gaurin. You’d be surprised how many of us can. And no offense, he nodded to Trix, but in light of the situation I would think that the markings on my chest would the least of your worries. There’ve been much weirder events than talking Aces and reanimated corpses, today. Had there? He mentally shrugged. As if any of that made a difference right now.
The Lowlanders next comments made his mind reel. They couldn’t be serious, could they? He steeled himself and took a few steps forward, gingerly placing his feet as he was unsure if the dangling body had sapped any strength while it had bestowed its curse.
I’m sorry, did you say the Jossigies did this? And that there’s a war? I just want to be sure, because there are some heavy consequences to what you’re suggesting.
The Ace’s eyes flicked momentarily over to Orin. It suddenly made sense, then, why Gaurin kept nervously eyeing the bull. He’d probably expected an all-out assault.
He didn’t like it. There were too many unanswered questions. Why were people disappearing and reappearing, like the others had at the start of the day? Why the feeling of menace in the air, and the strange spices? And where the hell was everyone? Did this really have anything to do with a war? Why hadn’t anybody told them about it?
I’d like to chat with my companions before we decide what we'd like to do - if you’ll just humor us for a moment.
Emery gestured to the others to huddle up for a moment.
What do you think, guys? I don’t know if I buy it. Why didn’t any of us know about this war? There’re too many pieces that just don’t add up yet. He frowned, and clacked his beak in thought. They had few other options, and safety in numbers could be the way to go. And, more than anything, they really, really needed some answers. I do think, though, that this could be a great opportunity to get some information. If it looks like a trap, we can split and regroup at the fountain in the Bazaar. Any thoughts?
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Post by Kitty on Feb 21, 2011 17:39:22 GMT -5
The selkie did roll her eyes at Gaurin, but she bit back the urge to spit sarcasm at him. Yes, they knew Emery was an Ace, and, as strange as it was, they all were perfectly aware that he could speak. Funny how you could notice those two things within what.... a fraction of a second really.... if he opened his mouth to talk. Was she explicitly pleased about being ordered about by an Ace? No, not really... but Emery was the one in the party with the most even temper it seemed, so why not?
She shook her head and limped over to Emery after his gesture, her stubby little tail twitching about behind her. She perked her tufted ears forward and listened to him before flicking one of them back.
There is a long standing conflict between those realms. It's a big reason why my family's company doesn't do business with the Marsh, the Lowlands or the Range. Didn't know it was an all out war.
There were other, obvious, reasons why her family didn't do business with the Lowlands, but she'd let everyone make their own judgments on that and not actual vocalize it lest the wrong set of ears picked up on their conversation.
I would just really rather get out of here.
Hanging around a bunch of corpses really wasn't her style, especially after one had deemed it appropriate to scoop a party member up and give him a great, big, essence sucking hug. Trap or not, her vote was to leave.
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Post by Nako on Feb 21, 2011 18:52:16 GMT -5
The bull made a chortling noise, a sound that made Karrock look at the bull as if he were crazy.
"Wot? Huh-huh-hurr. He's surprised th'ace can talk sure, but more surprised by that than the fact the dead rising up to snatch 'em up. Ironic. Or. funny. Or one a them words. Oi don't roll your eyes at me, pretty boy."
Karrock gave an exasperated sigh, pushing a rather foreign mane out of his face as he looked back to the group. Something awful was going to happen, and no doubt it would be because of that bull's completely inappropriate reaction to the given situations. "Well how many talking aces have -you- seeeeen? HmmMMM?"
Orin grimaced. The truth of it was that he'd not seen any that spoke any better than a few words, speaking so simply and childishly that it was as if it could barely be considered civilized language at all. Then again he suspected that with the inferior genes of the Lowlander, their aces were probably doubly worse off. Pah.
It seemed there now was a huddle. Karrock brought himself closer to the group and looked around nervously. "Oh well. It was bound to happen eventually. Karrock twitched a little, paranoid. "I say these Lowlanders seem friendly enough, stink or no; It's Lowlander bodies we see piled up, not Jossigies. It's obvious who the murderers are here."
Orin gave such a hard snort that Karrock turned and gave him a stare. "Well I haven't seen any other place than this. We've not got a broad 'nuff scope on this sit-chee-ashun here to say who's right or wrong. It might very well be dead Jossigies around the corner."
Karrock rolled his eyes. "No need to get defensive. At this point I'm more concerned about saving my own skin than choosing sides on some crazy, convoluted war."
Orin opened his mouth as if to retort, but very quickly snapped it shut, fuming.
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