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Post by Vyn on Aug 9, 2011 17:23:34 GMT -5
Javaid was Not Happy. He may not have known the City very well but even his minute understanding suggested that this was Wrong. Too much twisting and turning, odd sounds... and, by the Ancestors, the Mist was the very worst of it all. With every step he took it closed in on him and the very feeling of it was off. He wished he could be free of it but that wouldn't happen until he could find his way out of the City. Which was proving far harder than he thought. His ears pressed back against his skull and his fingers tightened around his staff so desperately that his knuckles hurt. Was it this way or that way...? Javaid turned yet another wrong corner and suddenly he was looking down a deserted street at a small gathering of people. For a short moment he stood stock still, trying to gather confidence that would not come, but it was ultimately the small Card's frightened squeak that made him move forward. The last thing he wanted was a misunderstanding of some sort. "Ah," he cleared his throat awkwardly. Within his first few weeks outside of Hisstor he had learned that his low voice sounded very unusual to Outsiders, haunting they had called it, but there was no way to get around this interaction. He needed help and they were the only people he'd seen in hours. "Excuse me?" Pink-knuckled claws drummed uncertainly against the staff. "Do you know what's going on here, Miss?" It wasn't until he was much closer that he realized all three of them were Misses but he didn't bother to correct himself. He might've been speaking to the Esterberry but he'd gladly accept an answer from any of them. Staring at the odd group and feeling utterly vulnerable before their eyes, Javaid amended his earlier thought: he was beyond Not Happy, he was Utterly Miserable. |
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Post by Nathalia on Aug 9, 2011 20:22:59 GMT -5
The mist seems to be getting thicker...and it smells a bit off.
Continue playing, but everyone roll a d20 as well.
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Post by Nako on Aug 9, 2011 21:40:43 GMT -5
Delaney whimpered. She didn't like this mist, and it was beginning to smell bad. "I don't like being out here. The mist keeps getting thicker."
Yes, she was being a little obvious, it seemed. She peered out as Javaid came closer. A… Hisstor? She'd only seen those in books, and none of them had pink markings. She stared rather openly for a good few seconds before nudging her Esterberry protector. "I don't think it's safe out here. There… there might be monsters in the mist.
Though if there were literally monsters in the mist, no doubt the girl would flip her shit. The faux faces and whispers she almost constantly heard were frightening enough as figments of her imagination. She wanted to go somewhere save and have a nice hot cocoa, or strips of beef jerky. Or her squeaky toys. Hell, she'd clean her room if it meant she could get out of this place!
(Dice Roll:12)
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Post by Bee on Aug 9, 2011 23:23:27 GMT -5
Odd, what the girl couldn't remember, but Phaedra was sure it would come back to her eventually. Memory loss of this sort was rarely permanent. She could feel Del shaking minutely against her, and said, with all confidence, "Don't worry about that. Our odds of encountering mythical malevolent beasts are so small as to be nonexistent, and nasty people can only hurt you if you let them." She wasn't sure how well logic would comfort a frightened child but beyond the odd little hug she was offering, she wasn't immediately sure of what else to do.
Speaking of potentially malevolent beasts. A tall Hisstor man was coming at them from the mist, and he looked perplexed--and sounded oddly chilling, but what about this wretched night wasn't? She got a little on her guard.
"As to this curious meteorological phenomenon and general dearth of Cards, I have little idea," she said, gesturing expansively at the mist. "Personally, we are on an errand to the police station, and we really must be going." If he were some manner of felon, perhaps mention of the police would scare him off.
(Roll: 8)
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Dark
Five of Diamonds
Bladed Hare
You are not prepared.
Posts: 2,105
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Post by Dark on Aug 10, 2011 0:13:09 GMT -5
The child was nigh too idiotic to suffer living a moment longer. And Phaedra, as well, for encouraging the little mite. (Though when she wasn't the direct recipient of the woman's intelligent, if completely bone-dry statements and complete obliviousness of complex social interaction, it was rather entertaining to observe). Suha, however, refrained from commenting. The chill of the mist had done some good in refreshing her wits. It only it didn't smell so wretched, but that was the price they all paid for living in a sprawling industrial metropolis, she supposed.
Suha eyed the newcomer with interest. A Hisstor! He was a exquisite specimen--his unique coloration was most compelling--and she might have enjoyed getting to know him a little more intimately, if she didn't have a basic understanding of regional social norms. It was a shame they so rarely did flings. One could always hope.
"We're not certain about the weather, but the little one suspects she was kidnapped," she supplied smoothly. "We couldn't leave her out on the street in good consciousness, and believe the police station the best place to take her until things are sorted out."
"It's also probably the best place to inquire about the disturbance," Suha suggested, almost entirely because it seemed Phaedra did not enjoy the man's presence and she would prolong the woman's discomfort a while longer if at all possible.
(Roll:15)
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Post by Vyn on Aug 10, 2011 11:31:14 GMT -5
Javaid was quiet for a brief moment as he stared at the trio. The child had apparently been kidnapped so her irrational fear of monsters was somewhat justified, though not entirely enjoyable. The Esterberry was... well, an Esterberry and made him silently curse his poor knowledge of the Common tongue. The Morganberry talked a lot but at least he could make more sense of it than the Esterberry's over-technical jargon...
For a moment he contemplated how easy it would be to just turn around and walk away but then he remembered the foul scented mist encroaching in on him and the image of Conway somewhere dark and foreboding and looking just as uncomfortable as Javaid felt now. Returning to the safety of his home was not an option.
The pale jackal took a deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh. He was out of options but at least he'd stumbled into a group of apparent do-gooders.
"If your local authorities would potentially know more about this situation, I would be interested in accompanying you there. And, if there are kidnappers about, then perhaps there is safety in numbers, yes?" His gaze continuously flicked about their mist-saturated surrounding and he shifted awkwardly, motioning for them to lead the way. He was eager to be out of this awful mist. "I am Javaid, by the way."
(Roll: 13)
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Post by Nathalia on Aug 10, 2011 17:29:41 GMT -5
Suha managed to hear a rather odd sound...a bit like dry rustling over dead leaves.
But...how could that be?
There really aren't any leaves in the Capital, you would need to go to the edges of the city or a local greenhouse for that.
Del only just caught the faintest movement in the mist, out of the corner of her eye, before disaster struck!
Thick, masses of congealed and conjoined vines and plant matter shot out of the mist and wrapped itself securely around Phaedra's neck and Delaney's tail!
Hefting both quickly up into the air, it began to drag them backwards into the damp, thick wall of mist.
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Post by Nako on Aug 10, 2011 19:36:49 GMT -5
Ohgod. Ohgod. They. Were. Real. At the slight movement she'd thought at first it was merely a trick of the dim light, or even her paranoia setting in. Perhaps even, she'd allowed herself to believe she would be safe under Phaedra's care. That was before the monster rushed out of the mist, and right their way! Delaney yelped, attempting to backpedal but found herself in a blanket of flesh, trapped by the very shelter she'd sought out. It all happened so fast that she hardly felt it. Phaedra was ripped away from her, and she was dragging along most uncomfortably before being hoisted straight into the air! To be held by the tail was nothing short of uncomfortable, but that was nothing compared to the sheer terror she felt.
The girl cook to snarling and screaming like the wild canine her breed represented, twisting up with snapping jaws with pure instinct to attack her attacker even in the face of pure unadulterated horror. (18)
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Post by Bee on Aug 11, 2011 0:52:19 GMT -5
Perhaps she should have lied to the little girl and told her that monsters were afoot everywhere, ready to shackle her and drag her off to the Stygian depths of a cold hell. Because it seemed that the simple act of commenting on the unlikelihood of something caused said highly improbably event to enact itself immediately.
Fortune, thou art a spiteful whore.
She was not really thinking anything on that level of articulation, of course, she was too busy being hefted into the air and moderately choked. She grabbed at the vines around her neck and ripped at them furiously, latching her legs on them too to give herself some leverage, shredding with all her claws, trying to pull them back enough to slip her head out. If only she had a book handy; she might have been able to form some weapons. As it stood, their best shot of not being dragged into a damp oblivion might have been swift action on the part of their remaining company, one of whom had a nice sharp object but neither of whom had any particular reason to not want her dead.
Putrid, dreadful night.
(Rolling for a shot at wiggling out I guess? Also an 18.)
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Dark
Five of Diamonds
Bladed Hare
You are not prepared.
Posts: 2,105
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Post by Dark on Aug 11, 2011 17:32:05 GMT -5
Suha had a moment to consider the oddity of the noise--the rustle of dry leaves, and it wasn’t even autumn--before vines were shooting out of the mist. An aborted, choking cry issued from her beak as Phaedra and the little mite were grabbed and forcibly dragged away.
Suha had never deluded herself into thinking she was a particularly nice person--she had spent her entire life ensuring her own survival, and she had not been able to afford the luxury of nice--but she did attempt to abide by a basic moral compass, unless otherwise pressed, and while common sense might dictate she be running in the opposite direction she felt compelled to act.
Death was old age, an unfortunate accident, poison slipped into a favorite wine. Being dragged off into the night by an animated plant monster was not the way someone should die. Not even stupid brats and boring know-it-alls.
It was not a particularly mediated action, but she lunged forward anyway, scrambling to grab Phaedra and Del under her wings and hopefully slow their progress into the mist.
“Cut the vines!” she barked at Javaid.
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