T - Harps, Callypso, Satra, Dark

[Satra]

Alaster knocked at the door, heart pounding. Please let her be alright... Really, he felt that way about everyone everywhere at this moment. The people on the street, back home, in the other realms. Admittedly, he couldn’t give have a crap about criminals and the like, but all the innocent people? The people downstairs? He felt nearly helpless. He felt like he was scrambling for answers. Their enemy was not clear. One false move and he could lose the people he viewed as his charges to the faceless plant construct. What good was a Protector with no one to protect?

“Miss Amethyst?” he called, “Are you there? It’s me, Alaster...” He turned back to Linden and shook his head, “Sadly, no. My olfactory senses were completely taken from me a few years back in the line of duty,” he turned back to the door, “Miss, we’re coming in to check on you—“

Then the floor broke and gave way. Reacting quickly (17) he turned so he could spread his massive wings. He grabbed Linden with his feet before he could go crashing to the ground. However, he could not turn in this narrow stairwell and the weight of the other man was too much to sustain, so down they went at a controlled speed. He let Linden go gently then landed himself.

His feathers stood on end at the looked upon the thing in front of him. He took a defensive position, and made a quick sweep around the room for something—anything—that could be used like his preferred weapon. His search was cut short by the thing lashing out at him.

[Rolled and 18 and a 6. Holding action until Nat posts. P:]

[Callypso]

AH!!

Triumph at having successfully removed the spindly door from its hinges was replaced by disbelief and panic as the floor gave way beneath him. The resounding crack! barely registered, as the man was preoccupied with balancing the gut-wrenching sensation of falling with the overwhelming scent of cinnamon on the air. His stomach jumped into his throat as he was caught by Alaster, and he was dropped gently onto the ground.

It was only then that he realized he was still clutching the plywood door in his bandaged fingers. He lowered the door to catch a better glimpse of the strange creature that writhed and pulsated across the floor and instantly regretted it. It was the plant monster from before, and it seemed to be trying to hurl itself through the wall! Trembling, Linden hastened to backtrack toward the main portion of the shoppe, continuing to hold the plywood door in front of him like a shield.

Nice plant monster, easy there… he mumbled wildly. He must be insane. This thing probably ate people, and here he was trying to console it! The bidped was suddenly sorry he had thought this whole thing an adventure. He just hoped there was something left for his sisters to bury when it was all through. Oh no, now he was getting melodramatic. The end was certainly nigh.

As he stepped backward, Myfanwy and Alaster took action just as the plant-monster chose that moment to launch two of its leafy tendrils straight at them.

Oy! Linden didn’t know what he was thinking, but the next thing he knew, we was barreling toward the center of the beast, door held sideways in a crude substitute as a battering ram.

[[3 & 3]]

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Emery’s eyes were dragged away from the middle of the road as the sound of wood splintering and exploding outward sounded from the back of the shopppe. He raced forward, grabbing at one of the knives that Myfanwy had laid out upon the countertop, and stopped just short of the stairwell. Crouching down behind the counter, Emery stuck his head out just enough to see the commotion and quickly retreated.

Shit!

Somehow, the plant monster had managed to burst through the back-end of the shoppe and was proceeding to attack Alaster and Myfanwy. How the hell? Were there two? Was it just that big that it could wrap around the street and back again?!

Joel and Linden had appeared unhurt, if not completely dazed. Linden in particular did not seem to handle highly stressful situations very well and was scrambling to get away from the thing. The scent of cinnamon hung heavy on the air...

Focus, Emery! Think!

Okay, the thing had vines. That was obvious. There were some patchy bark-like bits, some fleshing veins stretched out overall, and pulpy, fleshy looking bits showing underneath. He was no botanist, but he’d be willing to bet that those fleshy centers were tender – and that meant he had a tiny advantage. Right.

He snaked his head out behind the counter - just as Linden was charging into the midst of the monster. Emery didn’t have time to shout or be dismayed that this guy had just plunged to his doom. Why didn’t anyone ever take a moment to think before acting?!

He tucked the drying hook he had removed from the ceiling betwixt his wings, then lurched away from the counter to grab the chair he had been standing on earlier before charging out into the fray.

Heads up, guys!

Holding the chair before him in his left claw, he took aim at some of creature’s more vulnerable pulpy areas, and let fly the knife he had just snagged.

[[13 & 18]]

[Harpsdesire]

((I'm not 100% sure where Joel ended up, so bear with me here))

Joel leaped clear of the suddenly cracking stairs with surprising agility for his size. "Woah!" He exclaimed, backing up a few extra steps as tentacle-like vines whipped out from a deeply repulsive-looking main 'body'. Ugh! What was that thing? It had all the visual appeal of a petri dish of slime mold.

He couldn't help but think the plant-monster-whatever had to be some sort of Corvie experiment gone horribly awry. It just had that exuberant wrongness, that 'it seemed like a good idea at the time' sort of aura about it. In the mean time, he mostly wanted away from it, and rather hoped his new companions would have the sense to take serious evasive action.

But... no. Before Joel was able to gather his thoughts, to decide to help or hinder the attack, the Veldt-dweller had barreled past him and right toward the nastily-pulsing center of the plant growth. So much for retreat. Unsheathing his front feline claws, the young man made an attempt to sever the farthest-reaching vines with strong swipes.

[[15 & 17]]

[Nathalia]

The vines snapped away from Joel, his bulk and sharp claws slamming forward with enough force to sever and break a good few of the thinner ones.
One wrapped tightly around Myfanwy and ripped the knife from her grip, sending it soaring into a nearby window and crashing out the other side into the foggy streets.
Fortunately, though it had nabbed her tightly around the middle, this left her limbs and jaws completely free.

The door feel backward into the room and away from Alaster, just as a vine, as thick as his body, slammed into his side, wrapped his wings tightly against each other, and dragged him full-force to slam against the far wall in what was now obviously a trashed and empty room.
Though his legs and neck are completely free, his left wing seems to be broken up near the shoulder, the right, badly bruised and both squeezed tightly in the writhing embrace of the insane foliage-beast.
Linden only just managed to avoid the same fate as Alaster, ducking as a vine soared over his head to punch savagely through the wall behind him.
His attack was thwarted as the vines made short work of the door in his hands, wrapped securely around his neck, arms and legs, and pulled him into the hole beneath the floor!
He caught a glimpse of a thick, bulbous, root-like structure, before he was pulled into something thick, wet, and full of fibrous teeth.
Though they do not seem to pierce his hide, he feels himself growing weaker already...

Emery's knife struck home, and though it sank in up to the hilt, the monster did not seem to notice, or care, when that particular vine went limp. There were at least 14 more to keep it occupied.
The vines proceeded to ignore Emery completely.
Joel's progress was significantly better, his bulk aiding him in his movements.
The two vines that shot at him were soon shredded and broken enough that their flailing became meaningless, and no further shot at him.
Should he charge the main body though, that will, undoubtedly, change.

[Dark]

((Vine Health: 11/14! XD))


Myfanwy growled in fury as the vine easily knocked the knife out of her unwieldy paws--life would be inordinately easier if she had simply been born with hands--and then had the audacity to grab her right around the middle. Born to such a petite build, Myfanwy had grown up with a deep-seated resentment towards anyone--anything--that thought her tiny frame meant they could cart her around as they pleased, and it was a life-long frustration that she turned on her captor with vicious determination.

Twisting around, she latched onto the vines with her teeth--though her bite was mildly toxic to Cards, she had no idea if it would have any effect on the plant beast--and began to shred what she could reach with her claws. Inanely, she wondered if a Corvie might be able to assist her in growing actual talons; if only she had been born with some measure of feline, she would most likely be in a much better position at the moment.

In a small corner of her mind, she wondered if her companions were faring any better in this encounter. From the little she had glimpsed, the situation did not look promising.

So embarrassing.


Passive: …Her saliva secretes mild Yarrow toxins capable of making anyone ranked King or lower mildly woozy for 30 seconds.

[Satra]

[Uhh, I'm hoping my tiredness hasn't made me envision the setting wrong. Do tell me if I have.

Also, apologies if attacking the bulb screws anything up. Alaster was very adamant about going after Linden. XD]

Alaster snarled as he was slammed into the ground by the raging botanical beast, pain shooting through his left side. Adrenaline pumping, he ignored the pain without the assistance of magic (16) and turned his attention to what was holding him captive. He saw Linden’s attack fail and him get taken. The only thought going through Alaster’s mind was to help himself so he could help the others. They may not be Hearts Courtiers, but he knew the guilt and devastation he would feel if he was incapable of protecting every last one of them. Good arm, both clawed feet and teeth all working together to free his body from the vine, he managed to make enough room to wriggle himself free (20!). He stood, left wing hanging limply by his side, then charged. He stopped to analyze the fall as Linden disappeared into the thing. No more time to think. He jumped into the hole, slowing his fall only a little to attempt to prevent injury, but he intended to put as much gravity from the fall into an attack. The landing was not as perfect as it could have been. His fall lopsided from only having one wing to properly balance himself, he landed a little heavily on his left side (10) resulting in a dull pain in his left ankle. However, the attack was good as claws sunk rather satisfactorily into the leathery surface of the bulb (17). He then proceed to tear at the surface and opening Linden had been dragged into while dodging any attacking vines. (18)

[! Decent set of rolls there, Al! Hot damn! Please keep this up, dice! XD Haha, knowing my luck, next post will be filled with epic fail.]

[Harpsdesire]

Joel shredded with determination, and it seemed his claws were reasonably effective in severing the vines. The smaller ones, at least. He feel back for a moment to take stock of the situation. Emery had disabled a vine, he didn't see Linden, Alaster had just jumped through the hole in the floor, and Myfanwy... she was dangling in the air with a vine right around her middle! Good sense be damned, he decided to go after the girl.

She was savaging the vine that held her already, so Joel decided to go for the base of it, hoping to sever it with his claws and damage the ones closest. If Myfanwy dropped when he cut it, well, she had wings, so that should be fine, right? It wasn't that far between tea shop floor and ceiling, anyhow.

Joel snarled something under his breath that sounded something like "@$*&# bio-corvies....", then growled, claws unsheathed again, and struck for the offending tendril and its nearest neighbors. He had to admit that as much as he didn't want to see anyone, including himself, get beat up by some sort of mad plant monster, it oddly felt a little bit good to use his strength, his claws... to challenge himself against a larger opponent.

He felt a sudden rush of power and mad joy as his claws were coated in sap from the plant. The expression on his face was intense, but his lips curled up in a hint of a manic grin.