Kitty, Harps, Lucca, Lauryn

[carcinoGeneticist]

((Migrating in from the other thread~~ <333))

Cat gave Zhenya a strange look as she considered his words, her head tilted to the side. It was hard to keep up with him - his legs were so long, and her limping gait was not exactly swift. "Not... eat?" she asked, voice soft. Eating was bad? That made her frown. The distinction between other Cards and what most of society considered to be food had never been made to her, and now she was left with a puzzling dilemma. "Cat... Cat get hungry, though. Her brothers, too, hunger."

Besides, the food had been dead, hadn't it?

But she felt bad, all the same, and frowned. "...Cat is sorry she is bad, though. Cat wants to be good. She will try to be good. For Story?"

From where he had positioned himself by the ladder, Sergei paused and looked back over his shoulder at Zhenya. Then, he blinked. The other boy was right, of course - they needed to get a move on. They needed to get out of this creepy other-world. It must have been an other world, because his own world was nothing like that. "Right, right... Come on, Bristol, let's just... keep walking. We're sure to find someone down here, and that way we can keep together as a --"

The nearby street suddenly erupted in noise, and Sergei's nose burned with thick, choking smoke. A moment later, something dark - oddly similar to what he'd seen around the dead Lakelanders, only on fire - shot past, and the boy yelped and stumbled away from it. That one was followed by another, and more, all coming from the same direction. He glanced at the rest of his crew with wide eyes, then stumbled forward. There were voices again, stronger this time!! Shapes appeared in the mist, a building - blazing, the origin of the blobs - and... PEOPLE! Real, live, people!! Sergei let out a happy cry, stumbling towards them.

"Hey!! Hey!! Is everyone okay?!" He looked the group over, practically beaming, then froze. He stared at the brothers, identical. Of course, they would be able to tell themselves apart, but to Sergei's untrained eyes... "C-Cat? I thought y-you were..." He turned around, and there the girl was, limping forward.

When she saw the very thing that made Sergei stop dead in his tracks, Catastrophe let out a shriek of pure delight, racing forward as fast as her injury would allow. "CAL!! FI!!! CAT FINDS!!!" She crashed into them, rubbing her face against first Fiasco, then Calamity, in turn. Her own gravelly, stuttering purr sounded, their reunion filling her with delight.

[Bee]

"Not eat people," Zhenya explained, or tried to. "No one wants you to die of starvation! It's just that people meat is...is...is a bad dietary choice! I mean when I grow up I'm going to live on cigarettes and liquor. Think like that." Cat's frown drew one from him, but then he smiled at her words, suddenly and almost against his will.

She seemed...mildly less terrifying when she wasn't actively devouring people. Maybe, maybe she had just learned all wrong. Bad upbringing and all. Tragic Backstory that needed to be overcome, perfectly fit the femme fatale thing, right? "Cat can be good! I have faith in you. Maybe you'll have a big role to play in the Story like Sergei does."

He only had a moment to be glad that Sergei listened to him, for a moment later everything was hurled into confusion, back into smoke and bouncing globs of death and noise, awful noise. Zhenya hit the ground as Sergei leapt forward, feeling the singe of the a fireball go over him. He covered his head. Sergei had apparently seen people, and Zhenya uncovered his eyes and saw them too, saw Cat shriek and break into a run after them. They looked just like her. She knew them.

Cat had...family?

There were...there were other people, too. Zhenya blinked rapidly. Oh no, he thought. More people to fit into the Story. And yet--more people, and he felt a rush of relief.

"Hi," he called.

[Lucca]

To Eldy's immense relief, she made it safely out of the store, and she stumbled a safe distance away before hunching over and panting for a bite, retching slightly. She...wasn't used to running. Wasn't MADE for it. She was made for sneaking quietly, slowly, carefully. Her back foot ached where the metal cuff cut into her leg as she ran, and she felt dirty and tired. She stared at the burning building for a minute, seeing only a large, red-orange blur...so much for that. Hearing her name, Eldy shook her head and turned to look at Cal and...and his twin?

"Are you Cat?" she asked the new child blankly, spitting out the key she'd salvaged into her paw. She held it tightly, not wanting to let it go, now. "And uh, I'm Eldy," she added, belatedly. Then blinked at a jar they held that...Eldy puffed up and her eyes went wide. "GAH WHY DO YOU STILL HAVE ONE OF THOSE THINGS? GET RID OF IT! DON'T YOU SEE WHAT IT CAUSED?" Her still-elongated tail gestured back at the burning chaos that had once been a store.

But of course, she barely had time to notice everyone had gotten out safe while she was having this conversation before there were more voices...more...kids. Eldy's ear pulled back, because this was not what they needed and...and hold up. There was a THIRD child that looked like Cal. How many identical twins did he have? ...uh, wait...triplets? Whatever the hell the right term was.

She quickly looked over the other two arrivals and...recognized one? Yes...yes! That was one of Seth and Heilyn's kids. It took her a moment to recall his name. "Sergei?" she asked, and her voice sounded slightly hopeful. "Have you seen Kamina?" It was a long shot, but...it was the first familiar face she'd seen all day.

[Harpsdesire]

Cal also watched the flames, fascinated and repulsed by the way they consumed the building, reducing it to dark char and brilliant heat. Fire was like him. It ate things and had no control. It would eat cards when it was hungry, even, and it was made that way. It couldn’t help being made that way, he supposed, but that didn’t make it not bad…

He answered his brother’s question calmly, still watching the fire eat the building and hoping casually that it would not eat Eldy. Eldy was going to help him find Cat, and could no longer do so if she got eaten. ”That not Eldy.” He told his brother, then pointed at the black and purple form that streaked by with a metal ball clanking behind her. ”That Eldy.”

The feline in question looked for a moment as if she was about to be sick like Fi had been, but recovered and crouched there, panting, as the blob in the jar started wobbling about drunkenly. Obedient to his brother’s words, Cal peered into the jar. ”Is… dancing? Maybe happy because we keep safe! Not on fire!” Other blobs that scurried past did seem to be burning; they twitched almost as if they were in pain. He tapped lightly on the glass with a talon and then wobbled along with blob and brother, giggling in an off-kilter manner. He was still bobbing about in a way that might have been adorable for a less-creepy child when Eldy approached. ”That not Cat. That brother Fi.” He told her conversationally, seeming unfazed by her negative reaction to the blob. ”Squishy dances!” the child explained, cheerful as if she hadn't just yelled at him, blissfully unaware of the connection between the ink and the fire that had suddenly broken out in the closed office.

Then a joyful cry reached him and Cat crashed into the pair of cannibals, purring loudly. ”Cat-sister!” He purred and rubbed, returning her affection in kind. ”You find!” He agreed cheerfully, too relieved and happy to think any more on what was so upsetting Eldy. He turned back to the Feline and then pointed to his sister. ”That Cat!” He smiled at Eldy, eyes blank as ever, and hopped up and down joyfully as he added, ”You help find! Much thank you.”

[Kitty]

Over the course of leaving the office and running through the shop, the rug had defrosted completely and by the time he got outside it was nice and moist, a little welcome at that point. It had also kept anything that was flaming to hit and burn him, which was nice. He'd burnt himself once, that hadn't been pleasant. However, he hadn't fully caught his breath after the thing had swallowed him whole and sunk down onto his knees when he was far enough away from the building to be safe, and pants as well. His lungs burned and his back ached where his wings had retreated on their own. He felt a little sick on top of it all, that inky-petrol taste just wouldn't get off his tongue.

He was entirely covered in the black substance, smelled awful; ink, petrol and an undertone of wet dog of course, and he ached in strange places. Despite this he wondered where the thing that had attacked them had gone too and if the fire hurt it like it did cards and other sentient creatures. He gazed off into the distance for a moment before looking over his shoulder at the building. Damn, hadn't meant to do that.

His attention quickly turned to the cannibal reunion and his eyes widened ever so slightly there were.... three now? They were creepier in a cluster versus alone, but their general appearance still reminded him of Brokat. Hell, his brother probably could have been mistaken for a parental unit of the odd children. That little thought disturbed him more then any other, were they? Probably not, he'd heard Kat had gotten pretty antisocial before he'd vanished.

Alright, so Cal was alright, Eldy was alright .... he peered over his shoulder again, yup, Lariel was alright as well and... wait... more new people? His gaze stopped on Sergei and Zhenya for a moment before he nodded a greeting to them.

[Callypso]

Fi giggled as his brother tapped on the glass and joined him and the blob in their funny little dance. He continued to bob and weave, even as Cal began pointing out others in their party. A black and purple feline stumbled to a stop beside them, looking panicked. So this was the nice person helping to find their lost sister?

Hullo, Eldy-Help-Find-Cat!

His cheerful mood toward her shifted suddenly as she began shrieking at him and his brother. The odd mix’s ears flattened against his head as he dropped his maw open to issue a warning. Helping to find Cat or not, nobody yelled at he and his brother. Especially about something that was clearly not in her possession. She probably wanted the gooey for herself!

He twisted his body defensively to guard the precious jar from a possible advance, and angrily shook his head in defiance.

Is Cal’s gooey-squishy! Not Eldy’s! Maybe let have if you NICE!

When he noticed that Cal didn’t seem as perturbed by her scolding, he closed his mouth, settled for a scowl then scooted away from her to be closer to his brother. Hmph. He hoped fish-cat wouldn’t yell at him, or this would turn out to be a sorry bunch, indeed!

Just as swiftly as the building had caught on fire, Fi’s happiness returned tenfold. A delighted shriek from another end of the street was quickly followed by another Jossigy/Highlander form barreling into the two boys.

CAT! CAT! You found us!, he managed around his sister’s face burying into his before leaving to do the same honor to Cal. We looking for you and you find us!!!

Now he had his missing siblings and a black gooey! The day couldn’t get any better. But then more colorful Cards showed up, treading in the wake of Cat’s excited path. Happy day! The gravelly purr sounded so loudly it didn’t seem possible that it was coming from such a tiny body.

Eldy nice!! He decided and announced happily.

[Nathalia]

((The building slowly burns right to the ground over the course of ten minutes, smoldering on its brick and stone foundation, little puffs of smoke still rising into the air from the heat the things giving off.
What's this?
There appears to be a...a basement down there, though there wasn't one when they were in the shoppe earlier.
The stone is too hot to touch right now, so you could either send in someone who doesn't mind burns, or check another shoppe while you wait for it to cool down, that was quite a fire, after all.

(Rolled a die for this one.)
Fi's blob suddenly seems to collapse into a flat puddle of liquid in the jar.
Unmoving, it slops around inside for a few seconds before shooting up at the lid with enough force to crack the top off of the jar!
The substance slithers out, blobs a few feet...then stops.
Turning back, it schlups its way over to Fiasco, and begins its drunken weaving again, a tiny pair of eyes slowly poking out of the goo to peer at him.
If he will allow it, it will make its way to his paw, and touch it gently.
It seems to want to be friendly.))

Congratulations!
You are the first to find and successfully help to capture one of the rare pets that make up those "extra presents" I said I made for you all to try to find. <3
Harps, I realize that you were the first capturer, but it recognized both boys as a potential jailer and it rolled for Cally. You will have another shot though, keep your eyes open.




ID: B01 out of 10
Species: Blobling
Characteristic: Oil
Owner: Fiasco



Notes: This little Blobling is not elastic, but more of a thick, sticky substance. It is able to secrete a thick, bubbling foam that smells overpoweringly like motor oil whenever it feels that itself or its master is threatened.
It will only take to the creature it has bonded to, though if that creature dies, it might consider another.
Once a week, it is able to spit its foam with precision, causing temporary blindness of up to one minute.
Bloblings are exceedingly rare, in fact, there are only 10 of them. They cannot breed, cannot be split into multiples, and will not ever be found again. They have a mildly frightening aura and will not be viewed as a normal pet or familiar, many will view them with disgust and trepidation or fear.



~Nathalia

[Lucca]

Eldy made a face at the new child...'Fi', apparently. He was even crazier than his brother. "I don't WANT your squishy thing, and YOU shouldn't want it either. It's dangerous!" she hissed at him, not really impressed by the child's mood swings. After all, she'd just confronted a nasty blob monster...what was some crazy kid compared to that? The light of the fire flickered in her peripheral vision while she watched the kids with the blob uneasily.

And then of course...the third child ran over. "Oh...oh, so this is Cat, then. Good." And apparently she was being credited with helping find her even though she didn't do anything? Well, whatever. She threw the key between her paws nervously, frowning. She was about to try and get Sergei's attention again when the jar suddenly shook and the little ink-blob-nasty-thing inside SHOT up out of the jar. Eldy puffed up like a dandelion and backed up several steps, sure it was going to form a monster and attack like before. And it did!...only this one seemed a lot...smaller.

Eldy still didn't trust it. "Fi...don't let it touch you! It's dangerous!" she hissed, watching the unnatural little creature weave and try to touch the child's paw. Eldy started to bare her teeth at it, and then winced as the motion sent pain rocketing through her jaw. Right. Her fang broke. She'd almost forgotten that in the running for her life out of a burning building. She continued to eye the creature warily, eyes narrowed and tail puffed up like a bottlebrush still.

Though...the longer she watched it, the less it resembled the actions of its larger relative in the store...

[Callypso]

Not dangerous, Eldy-cat! Inna jar!

Fiasco declared and shook his head with all the airs of a wizened prophet. The black gooey could certainly cause trouble in the jar, which it had already done as evidenced by the cracks the container now sported, but otherwise it was successfully trapped. Cal had done a very good job. Fi wished he’d been there to see it.

As the adult Cards fanned out around the cannibals and the burning building and took stock of their injuries, Fi watched the last of the flames die completely. The smoldering wreck glowed softly for a moment and settled, leaving only the foundation and what looked to be a stone entrance to a lower level. Fi wasn’t as interested in the basement as the others had been, not knowing that it hadn’t been there before.

The strange Card was beginning to feel sad that he couldn’t watch the pretty fire anymore when a squeak from the jar caught his attention. The gooey black thing had stopped its funny dance and formed a puddle at the bottom of the jar. Fi squawked his dismay and shook the jar.

Wake up, black gooey! WAKE UP!

Some life came back into the puddle. It began a slow wave of lurching movements to and fro before launching itself abruptly at the lid of the charge, which shot off like a rocket. The tinny, metallic sound of the lid clanging against the ground as a came to rest echoed lightly in the empty streets. Fi turned his head back to find that the blob had escaped from the jar and was oozing over toward him.

The Jack blinked and tilted his head curiously, unsure of what to do. Surely if Cal had captured the creature it was supposed to run away now that it had escaped? Instead, the blob blinked – did it have eyelids? – and rubbed its head gently against his claw. He giggled, then the creature squirreled its way up his arm and onto his shoulder, nuzzling his cheek.

He looked over to Cal and Cat to show them and quailed instantly under his brother’s disapproving look. It was clear Cal thought the gooey should be on his shoulder. Fi meekly shuffled over to his brother and attempted to give him the gooey, but by no means – cajoling, yelling, physically placing the creature in his brother’s arms, or otherwise, would the gooey leave Fi’s side.

Fi knew that he had essentially stolen his brother’s squishy.

A deep upset overcame the cannibal as he attempted to sway his brother’s mood. In a final gesture of his sincerest sorrow he offered,

Cal name the gooey?

[Harpsdesire]

Despite his brother's best efforts, the glob that he had caught and then saved from the flaming building seemed to have no interest in Calamity. When it was clear that no amount of coaxing would bring the blob around -- even enough to be shared between the boys -- Cal settled into a miserable crouch and watched the sticky black creature balefully through narrowed eyes.

He was jealous of his brother's new pet, but more than that he was hurt to discover that something about himself was not good enough for the blob. The squishy should have been his! He had found it, he had caught it! He sniffled, holding back tears of anger and disappointment. What made Fi any more worthy than he was?

Nothing, that was what! He tried to convince himself, but he didn't feel any better. All he felt was a wrenching and twisting in his insides, anger and hurt and jealous indignation fighting with shame and greed, fighting to get out. Cal knew that sooner or later, they would get out, and maybe it would tear him apart. Him and everyone around him. But now Cat was here, and he couldn't let the bad feelings tear her apart. He loved her. He loved Fiasco too, of course, but not as much right now.

So, he swallowed his feelings and scrubbed away the one tear that rebelliously escaped, and responded with as much grace and composure as he could muster, "You can name... Is your blobby." So this was what he got for being nice and letting Fi hold the jar! He had learned his lesson about being that nice again... Thoughts of vengence danced briefly in his mind, but sadness superceded anger before he had time to formulate a suitable plan of revenge.

He sighed morosely, a little over dramatic, but for a small child with mental issues Cal was handling disappointment pretty well. "I was going to name him Squishy and he was going to me mine..." He lamented.

Squishy was never going to be his. There were, however, more of the blobs around... and some of them were on fire. Maybe if he could find some water and put one out, it would be grateful. It would love him like the other one loved Fi, and his siblings would see that he was worthy, too! But... how could he accomplish it? He didn't have any water (for the first time in his life he wished he was a spade), and he didn't have much of a jar anymore, since the one he had caught the first gooey in was cracked now, and the lid had been blasted off. He made a little moan of despair.

((14))