Terror under the sea

[feralfanatic]

Who: The Disciple and  whoever
Where: The Plaza, The forest, and the path in between.
When:  Early morning 3/29
Style: whatever suits your fancy.
Status: Open

Water. She was Wet.

She came to lying down, somehow drenched in saltwater. Blood mingled with seawater, on her hands and face. The Disciple was unable to remember how she got here. She seemed to be in some sort of city. A heavy fear caught in her chest. She shook herself awake to figure out where exactly she was.

"Where...am..." Her voice cracked from disuse.

Her conscious brain began shutting down as her senses were pounded with information. The sights and sounds of this new place, hammered into her mind. Unfamiliar beings were all around her, some even looking at her, in the open. Her mind scrambled for purchase. Worst of all was the scent. With so many...things together in this dome, compounded with the ever-present smell of seawater. Flooded with input,  her animal brain took over.

FLEE!

DANGER!

Finally, she caught wind of a familiar scent. Trees; there were trees here. She flung herself after the scent, knocking aside anything in her path. Desperate for survival she attempted back alleys and other paths that didn't reek of these many strange beings.

She fled to the southeast.

Comments

In which Darkleer is Sir Not Appearing In This Film (except through proxy)

[aim_exorable]

As she runs, a loud call comes in from the air- a bird call, high and sweet. The beat of wings, and there's something flying alongside her. It's brilliant white bird- a lusus, large as an eagle. She croons softly, trying to be reassuring.

She knows trolls well, and knows all of the little ones that are in this place, but this is a new one, now, and as there are none of her blood color about in this city, she turns her attention to all.

Re: In which Darkleer is Sir Not Appearing In This Film (except through proxy)

[feralfanatic]

Momentarily, she is put off by the call. Not a predatory call, but still something to be wary of. The sudden appearance of the lusus flying next to her sends her skittering into the wall.

The soft crooning doing little to assuage the primal terror pushing her forward. Even amid the fear gripping her heart, a solitary thought dances to the surface of her thoughts. This bird seems to be a lusus. It had the pure white coverings of one, anyways. Instinct once again fought itself to the surface.

RUN.

Careful of the bird following her, she resumed her mad dash to the smell of timber.

[aim_exorable]

The lack of response does little to discourage Dural. She is, after all, a hunting bird and has seen as much war as any Imperial soldier. So she keeps pace with the frantic troll, silent save for the beat of her wings. Her presence is there until they finally reach the forest, where she disappears into the branches. The rustling of leaves can be heard as she follows, trying to keep an eye on the young woman.

Trees!

[feralfanatic]

Diving through the underbrush of the forest, she finally started feeling some measure of safety. Enough for her conscious mind to make a grab at the reins.

Find somewhere safe, good start, need better cover. There! Those two trees with the fallen log over it!

She started to make for the safety of the fallen tree. Thoughts jumped to her mind. The lusus was still following her. What did it want with her? It showed intent to attack, but was it a trick?

The greenblood makes a dive for the den ahead of her.

[aim_exorable]

As the small troll disappears int her hiding space, the rustling of leaves stops. Quirking her head to the side, Dural simply watches for a moment before taking off again.

The sound of wingbeats return soon enough, and the lusus returns with some metal orb in her talons. Awkwardly, she lands in front of the den and makes an inquisitive cooing sound.

Her chickling would know what to do, with his creations of metal and electric.

[devwocean]

Dualscar wasn't interested in trees, but he did happen to be between the Disciple and the direction she was going. He turned his head as she bolted towards him, and the moment of recognition was almost instantaneous.

"You," he hissed, almost ready to start laughing. The one member of Signless' band that he really had no connection to, but he recognized her.

[feralfanatic]

Very few things could stop her when she was frenzied like this. The smell of a highblood, it seems is more then enough. Her limbs scrabbled against the ground, kicking up small eddies of dust. She carried her momentum into a fighting crouch.

One of them!? Here!? What is this damned place?!

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. In their place a fierce growl. Her eyes wild with anger, they dared him to make the first move.

[devwocean]

Wow.

Dualscar gazed at her archly. She looked like nothing more than an animal, feral and beyond speech. Was there anything of her left?

He dropped his hand to the pommel of his sword, just as a precaution, but didn't draw it.

"I can take you to the Signless. If you're inclined to behavve."

[feralfanatic]

His words jumble in her mind at the mention of that name. His words smashing together into incomprehensible babble. Except for one; Signless.

This...Highblood dare speak it. The nerve of this trash to even dare speak it in her presence. Her brow furrowed in anger, she forces herself to speak.

"Not... for YOU...to speak" She seethes at him. Still afraid to attack alone, she stays crouched and wary. There will be more. There is always more.

[hecklinghare]

For once he was wide awake for the disturbance. Not that it made it any better; with the recent murder and general ill-ease of everything sudden crashing sounds might not be good. The rabbit glanced up at the ceiling of his burrow, turned off the radio and crawled up.

All he saw coming towards him was green. Green with lots of hair and sharp teeth. Calmly, he reached into his hole and came out with a crossing guard's sash around him and a stop sign held up.

He blew a whistle loud and clear, lifting the sign into view, "Hold it, doll!"

[feralfanatic]

The sheer abnormality of this strange beast appearing in front of her, collided with her mind. Unable to easily comprehend what just happened, she skidded to a stop in front of the long-eared beast.

Her senses took in this creature. It looked and smelled of a beast, but had the mannerisms and the eyes of something intelligent.

Too dumbstruck to even take a defensive pose, she stuttered.

"What...is?" she queried.

[hecklinghare]

"Ah try 'who', kid." He tossed the sign away and pulled the sash off,. Now that she was standing still he could tell what he was dealing with.

"Ya know. You trolls really do like stompin' tru da woods." He pulled himself completely out of his hole. The Disciple was right; he wasn't an ordinary beast.

Of course with intelligence came emotion and he frowned a little, "Uh..you alrigh'?"

[feralfanatic]

"...who" she mimicked, catching herself off guard.

Curiosity taking over, she drew closer to this beast that speaks. It mentioned trolls, it knows of our kind. What else did it know. Maybe it knew where this damned place was. Her mind still racing, she pushed herself to speak.

"Where...?" She accompanied this with a gesture starting above herself towards the dome, but eventually motioning towards everything in a roundabout circle. She cocked her head in confusion.

[bestestfurrend]

Nepeta was sitting in a clearing in the forest, sketching happily away on a rough sheet of paper after a successful afternoon of quadrant reconnaissance - sitting in the Plaza and watching people walk by, mainly, and taking notes for the drawings she was putting together now. Her Pounce plushie was in her usual trenchcoat pocket, head sticking out to 'watch' the young troll's artistic endeavours.

But then something caught her attention; a sound, a scent on the breeze, something foreign yet familiar. Paper and crayon disappeared into yet another voluminous pocket and she was on her feet in seconds, tracking down the source of the scent.

Yet nothing could have prepared her when she looked out from around a tree trunk and saw her ancestor in front of her, looking wild and panicked and utterly feral.

[feralfanatic]

Yes.

Safety.

Relinquished from the command of her feral side, she attempted to think. The smell of saltwater lingered, even among these trees. Strange place, stranger people. What is this place i...Her mind snapped to attention as she caught a new scent. One that was very strange, yet...

Herself.

The scent was hers, so it seemed. She moved to investigate, wearily.

As she drew closer to the source, she caught more of it. There! Me but...different? What was going on?

She carefully crept around a copse of trees, bringing her directly into view of the source of strange scent. Before her stood a greenblood troll. Clearly one many sweeps younger then herself. Features of her face seemed familiar, even more she was reminded of herself.

She crept closer on all fours, moving closer to the strange troll. Ready to bolt at a moments notice.

[bestestfurrend]

"Miss Disciple!" Nepeta's first instinct was to run and hug the other troll - she'd spoken to her before, the previous time she'd been here, but had never had the chance to meet her in person.

However she could see that it was unlikely that her ancestor had returned with her memories of her previous stay, and the wariness in her pose had the young greenblood approaching her far more carefully than she'd meant to at first.

She held her hands out to her as she took a few slow steps closer, palms up and fingers uncurled in a non-threatening gesture of goodwill, but one thing she simply couldn't help was the smile and happy expression on her face to see her again. "Miss Disciple? Are you okay?"

[feralfanatic]

This troll not only knew her name, but also seemed genuinely happy to see her. The young one's stance revealed no hostility. Did she know her? More mysteries of this accursed place. The Disciple could not help but drop her guard, even if only slightly. Maybe this one knew something?

A step closer. A cocking of her head. The Disciples curiosity driving her forward. The beast inside her told her to run, but her curiosity won out. Finally after a strained silence, she spoke.

"you...know?" she gestured at herself. The elder greenblood shook her head sharply, trying to find more words in the thick fog of her mind. Memories played at the edges of her mind, but nothing helpful would emerge.

[withoutasign]

Signless has just been taking a walk in the woods--thinking about maybe trying to track down Summoner, maybe just hanging out in the quiet, shady glens--when he hears the sounds of an animal crashing through the underbrush. Whatever it is, it's big, and coming towards him fast.

He stops and turns, not particularly worried. There aren't any large predators in this woods, and even if there are, he's fairly confident that Summoner has a commune going with all of them and will stop whatever is running towards him before it hurts him.

"I mean you no harm, little one, so whatever you are, you can pass without fearing me."

[feralfanatic]

RUN.

NOT SAFE.

She continued to dart through the woods, a primal need sending her deeper. She needed a place to recover, somewhere to think. So far, she had yet to find a suitable hideaway. As she burst through an upcoming brush, she found herself on the edge of a small clearing. She intended to jump from one side to the other. A quick leap minimizing her time in the open.

The Disciple dropped low, coiling her body like a spring. With deft movement she released herself into the air, her momentum carrying her through the clearing. Half-way through the jump, a couple things hit her at once.

Someone was speaking, nearby. It seemed directed at her, but the words themselves lost in her flurry of motion. Confused, her head darted to try and find the source. Standing in the clearing stood a troll. She knew him. Why did she know him. Her mind screaming a name at her, but she refused to believe. Finally, a scent catches her from this newcomer. An impossible scent, one she knew could NOT exist.

The airborne troll recoiled as if struck. Memories long dead, starting to stir in the recesses of her mind. Completely forgotten, however, was proper protocol for a correct landing from a long-distance jump.

She hit the ground hard, rolling involuntarily. She ending up sprawled haphazardly in a small bush on the far side of the clearing. Her body refused to move, muscles refusing orders as her mind still trying to register what she saw.

[withoutasign]

Signless hadn't been expecting that!

He ducked a bit, instinctively, as the form sailed through the air. For a moment, his confused mind wondered if it was Nepeta, in the middle of some game, but this was too big to be Nepeta, and Nepeta never quite moved that way, so lithe and feral, no movement or motion wasted. And then somehow, for some reason, the jumper lost their balance and went sprawling, and Signless was reminded of the first time he'd met Psii, and how he'd landed in a pricker bush.

Slowly, his hands up and in front of him in a peaceful, non-threatening gesture, he crept closer. "Are you all right? I'm not going to hurt you."

[feralfanatic]

Voice. That voice, she knew that voice.

No.

That was impossible. This was a trick, a filthy highblood trick.

She needed to be ready for it, whatever it was, and sitting sprawled in a bush is no way to defend yourself. She shifted how she lay, and with a sudden motion, shot herself to her feet. She allowed her jump to carry her into her fighting stance, teeth and claws bared.

This thing may wear that scent, and carry itself in that manner, but she needed to be ready it. With a small howl she offered a warning to the interloper. The only thing taking away from her intimidation was a twin set of olive tears streaking her face; she seemed unaware.

[rebull]

The startle caught a lot of attention. Maybe from the residents, but that's not the attention being mentioned here. The animals, a bit of a tizzy once to feline like troll made a bound into the woods, he frantic pace causing a few furry and feathery forest residents to start up a small fuss. Many of these small residents Summoner was already connected to, communing with, so it was hard to ignore the sudden shudder and shock in the balance. What better way to find out then further to commune and take a look.

A what a look. A female troll, looks to be strong, so very animal, stalking through the forest in slight distress. How couldn't he go look to find her.

And not only that... But he very much recognized who this woman was. She had gone, hadn't she? The Disciple had been rather scarce her time here before, but now... here she was again. The Signless would be pleased, though, even if something seemed wrong, she seemed a bit too frantic. But Lysunder knows animals, and that seems to be having a great deal of influence on her, this feral nature, and he keeps that in mind as he heads out, moving into the woods. The orange blood keeps his communes up, using them to track her down the best he can.

"Come now, you're much to panicked for games."

The statement seems to be made to himself as he reaches an area where he is fairly certain she is somewhere. His eyes dance over the area, bush to bush, tree to tree, his wings fluttering a bit before tightly folding behind him. Summoner does his best to keep calm, still, wanting to see what he can do to try and calm her and just get a conversation going.

[feralfanatic]

She thought herself safe here, this small thicket, yet something had found her.

No, wait.

It hadn't pinpointed her yet. She still had options. Who was following her? Finally, the Disciple decided on finding out more. A plan in mind, she rolled to the balls of her feet, carefully moving with each step so as to not make a single sound. Her slow progress eventually carrying her back to the edge of the copse of trees she found herself in.

She was unready for the sight that would greet her. Another troll, brownblood by the smell of it. She relaxed a bit, at least it was not a highblood. On its head were two of the largest horns she had ever seen. Even more curious were the wings clearly jutting out of its back. What was going on?

The strange sight of the thing caused to to lose focus of where she was walking. The greenbloods foot tangled itself in a root as she moved to take her next careful step. She kept her balance, but in the process managed to wildly shake the bush the root was attached to. This, in turn, very neatly gave away her position.

Her mind raced with self hatred at her fumble. Well, he knew she was here now. Might as acknowledge him, it is a brownblood, she should be fine. Her eyes peered from her hideaway, waiting to see what the male troll would do.

[rebull]

A small insect, a beetle, sitting atop a leaf in the bush where she sat. It stared at her, unknown to the world around it, and through it Summoner watched. He was now very sure of exactly where she was, but he played ignorant as he strolled slowly through the trees, always listening in the direction he knew her to be in. There was a rustle of leaves above, yet another creature within his commune grasp, a simple feather beast. There were plenty more about, but none that really made themselves known.

Heh, the horns and wings did well to distract many, infact, displaying his wings right would be a well played card in duels and spars, the sudden shock of seeing them open up as wide as they can as quickly as they can. He's used that tactic before, but them alone, curled up behind him still did well to perplex any troll that had never seen him before.

"Hm?"

A simple sound, barely turning to face her new position as the bush rustled. Summoner merely looked over his shoulder and smiled, raising his brows, fangs glinted.

"Oh come on, we can do better than that, just a simple greeting is polite enough?" His tone is smooth and collected, and soon he does turn to face that bush she accidentally shook. He doesn't near her though, merely turns and puts his hands on his hips, standing among the trees with a confident and soft smile on his face.

"I can start, heh, if uh, if you're going to play woolbeastish. And you smelled like a predator too." Shrug! "My mistake!"

[feralfanatic]

It seemed to be toying with her? What? It's manner of speech and the way it carried itself seemed almost...playful. The male troll appeared to bear no hostile intent towards her. Her error earlier clearly clued him into her location, yet he waited for her to move.

Another peculiar thing struck the Disciple. She was a predator. Lesser beasts could recognize a threat. Creatures felt a certain measure of unease when she was nearby. Yet, in the presence of this new brownblood, the forests denizens seemed surprisingly calm.

She would approach this one, yes. Maybe it knew something of this peculiar place.

The Disciple lithely stepped free from the small copse of trees she had been hiding in, remaining low to the ground. She brought herself into clear view of the brownblood.

"What...are...you?" she managed to say, once again she quizzically looking at its wings and horns.