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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Aug 15, 2011 19:46:38 GMT -5
The world was still fogged over, and it took Mercutio a long time to come back to himself. He found himself slipping briefly out of consciousness, Zeki's response falling on deaf ears for the time being. It took a few minutes for the boy to actually start to return to himself, and when he did, he shook his head and raised a paw to rub at his eyes vigorously. Luckily, he managed to catch the question he'd been asked, and he glanced back at the Corvie.
He needed to wake up. Why was he still so tired? He was useless like this.
"I was trying to find Vir. She's not with you, is she." It wasn't really a question, more a statement of obvious truth. After all, there was no sign of the kitten here. But that was a good thing, he supposed distantly. That way, maybe she would be safe. Wherever she was. So he turned to the rest of the group, ears flattening as he looked over the others. Another Corvie, this one marked in shades of blue where Zeki was green, and...
...well. Wasn't that odd? His uncle. Sort-of. How did they end up here together? "Yeah. I can. You carry Andrei and don't worry about me." There was a slight hint of command in the Torque's voice, and he turned away from them, long tail lashing from side to side as he did. He poked at the little door and, once it was open, sniffed at the inside [17]. He couldn't see, but his other senses weren't completely useless.
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Post by Bee on Aug 15, 2011 23:31:51 GMT -5
Zeki worried anyway, because he supposed that was just what one did when someone you knew had been pasted to the ceiling by throbbing plant tendrils following an apparent abduction, but as long as Mercutio appeared cognizant and sound of limb he wasn't going to fuss. Not when he had Andrei and now Senka to get moving. He had planned on letting the bird throw a wing over his shoulder and help him along, but his coordination might have been too poor even for that, so he tipped the Highlander over his back and decided to help him along that way. And now he had a mostly free hand. The other went to helping Senka forward. She was sneezing a little less violently now it seemed; he hoped the rest of the fit would pass soon.
Mercutio seemed to have found the only door in the place, small and not intended for people. He didn't like the idea of going down instead of up. (He also didn't like the idea that he had no idea where Vir got off to either, but he was determined to believe she was safe, damn it.)
He nudged in next to the Torque--as well as one could nudge with giant cargo--and shone his lamp down the chute. He could see the bottom, which was a good sign. There was a pile of laundry at the bottom, probably caught before the final leg of the chute, which was a moderately good sign against scraping their bottoms if they dropped down it.
"Well I don't think we'll die," he said. "And I don't see any other doors."
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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 16, 2011 0:17:29 GMT -5
The sneezing lessened slowly, until it was only the occasional sneeze, and she was finally able to get a handle on the mess her face had become. Senka used the ruined silk to clean away the snot clogging her nose, and clean the gunk from her eyes so that she was finally able to force them open. They felt puffy and irritated, but she could see again and that was all that mattered.
Muscles twinging from the abuse of her violent sneezing, Senka moved forward to examine the chute as well. Manageable, and apparently their only option regardless.
“Zeki,” she croaked, her throat apparently swollen as well, “I’ll go first. You can hand deadweight down to me.”
Senka dropped down the chute, landing with a soft ‘umph’ on the pile of laundry; she glanced around nervously, but couldn’t see much in the gloom.
“Alright, drop him down. I’ll try to ease the landing.” And then hopefully Zeki would follow with the lamp.
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Post by Bee on Aug 16, 2011 0:29:01 GMT -5
He was glad that Senka seemed about back to normal; now they were down to one impaired companion, which he thought would be more or less manageable. Between the three of them, especially if he stayed mostly on Zeki's back, they could cart him along to freedom. Zeki awkwardly maneuvered Andrei off and lowered him as far down the chute as he could before the dead weight of an adult became too difficult to hold on to, and he let him fall.
Poor Senka, she had already functioned as a landing pad once today and now she was going to have to do it again. Andrei tumbled gracelessly down. As soon as he and Senka were out of the direct drop line, he motioned for Mercutio to follow them. He didn't want anyone left in the dark upstairs with the slowly moving plant things--though what might be below them, he had no idea. He supposed it was time to find out. He grabbed his light again and lowered himself down, landing pretty well, all things considered, though the laundry was not the plush magical mattress he had hoped it would be.
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Post by Nathalia on Aug 16, 2011 11:50:18 GMT -5
What an odd place they've landed in... Zeki's lamp only illuminates about 15 feet around their small group, but it appears to be the grimy, dirty basement and laundry room for a collection of apartments. Actually, it doesn't look too out of place; everything seems right, especially for a laundry room for those warehouse apartments in the Outer Bazaar... Ooh, better hope that's not where you are, it's not the best part of town. Washing machines, coin-operated and empty, stand behind them, half of the doors open...and two very firmly shut. Might take some real effort to get into those, magical or otherwise, if you feel like trying. The floor is simply bare cement, cracked with water leakage, a few bugs, and utterly devoid of disgusting plant monsters...so far. Big place though, search around, perhaps there's a way out of here that just not apparent? There has to be, right?
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Aug 16, 2011 17:19:17 GMT -5
Mercutio glanced at Zeki, glad that the other boy had appeared to help take control of the situation. If it had just been the Torque, the situation might have been... much more difficult. Having it out of his hands was for the best. Otherwise, this would quickly turn into a dog-and-pony show of second-guessing and general frustration for their entire group.
The Coyote followed along when his companions slid down the shaft, only lightly bumping into Zeki's form when he hit the bottom. The second his feet impacted the fabric, his curse took hold, and the material began to rot beneath him. That was fine. He was the last one down, and if someone were to follow, they would find their landing much less comfortable.
He nimbly stepped away from the pile and a bit further into the room, sniffing as he walked (13) to identify any scents that seemed out of place. His sniffing and probing brought him to the washing machines. The closed doors caught his attention... But he really wasn't sure why. His ears flattened back. That was a bad sign. Why would he think to look at those? Instead, he focused his attention on the open ones, systematically peering inside each in turn before he was brought back to the two that had been shut. There was nothing out of place in the others, that he could see.
Well.
There had to be some way to get into them. Experimentally, Mercutio scratched at one, then glanced around himself. There had to be something. A bit of probing behind the washers found him some lengths of pipe, one of which he was able to dislodge from the wall. He used this pipe to attempt to wedge the door of one of the washers open, grunting with the effort of it (16).
This was so stupid. Why was he bothering?
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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 17, 2011 2:34:45 GMT -5
"Are you sure that's wise?" Senka inquired, frowning very slightly as the boy attempted to pry open one of the washers, vividly recalling her own recent mishap. Though the curse seemed to have subsided for the moment, Senka had no idea what the long-term effects might be, if any, and it had left her in a bit of a temper. (Which for someone like Senka was to say her voice was perhaps slightly more brusque). And it would be horribly pathetic to see someone make the same mistake less than fifteen minutes later, besides.
"How about you spend that energy doing something constructive, like finding a way out," she suggested. Perhaps it was a bit hypocritical of her, considering, but she had most definitely learned her lesson and they didn't need to be slowed down by further 'mishaps'.
Senka helped Zeki get their still unconscious companion back up on the man's back, saying: "I imagine there's a door on the other side of the room." She just--didn't want to go over there without some measure of light.
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Post by Bee on Aug 17, 2011 3:02:08 GMT -5
"Senka has a point about that I think," he said, a little pensively, watching for a moment as Mercutio attacked the washer. He even took it a step up from what Senka had done to the dresser; armed assault. "I don't want anything to explode in your face."
Having borne witness to Senka's very recent bout of apply-directly-to-face-related curse misfortune, Zeki was inclined to stay out of things as well, unless that something was a door. There had to be one in here; there was no way people ordinarily got in and out of a washroom via laundry chute, not even in the slums of town. At least, that is what logic told him to believe. He could only hope that logic was what was governing their misadventure.
This room was dingy beyond all reasonable measure, but at least it was free of mobile plant life. He nodded at Senka and pressed forward, shining the light around all the walls he got close to, hoping to illuminate a door. Any way out, any way back up.
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Post by Nathalia on Aug 17, 2011 16:24:04 GMT -5
The group suddenly felt a slight rumbling beneath their feet, almost as though something were moving, slowly, under the floor... Mer's attempts to open the washer did nothing, though it did feel oddly...cold to the touch. As the other two began to move about the basement, they were able to see more of the dingy laundry room; looks like it was once a busy place...probably still was, seeing as the smell of soap lingered so strongly. Along the walls, they finally encountered a door...10 feet off the floor above them, set into the wall with a set of dangling steps... Almost as though the basement has...sunken further into the ground.
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Post by Satra on Aug 18, 2011 2:06:53 GMT -5
Andrei finally came to completely when they reached the laundry room. He thanked Zeki and shook himself free. He stumbled at little at first, but then regained his balance. He looked around the room, staying alert as he could (though he was still a bit dizzy). He approached the other washer... why did he feel compelled to open it? He tilted his head and touched the door, jerking it away in surprise when he felt the rumbling under neath them. That... okay.
Still having the urge to open it and having been not so aware of the dangers of poking one's nose where it doesn't belong, Andrei made an attempt to open the door. I mean, it was just a washing machine, right? What's the harm?
He'd never fully tested the strength of his blade wings, but he'd keep an eye on them in this process. He summoned them and jammed one into where the latch would be on the door, hoping that breaking the latch would make it easier to pry open. That, and if he got stuck, he could just unsummon the wings.
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