Gilga
Jul 13 2016, 06:54 PM
That girl has some skills and Dana watches with awe as her hair tidies itself, twists and turns and aligns itself in a bun. It feels funny, ticklish. She does the same for Klarissa and the results are stunning, the orc might as well be stepping out of a magazine. Even her nails are cleaned... such strength... so eager to please and that voice... Callin was overwhelming. Then she changed the color of Dana's body glove from blueish to dark green that was more aligned with the vegetation and less visible. It was incredible, and then to Klarissa - wow. Dana felt that her clothes are now worthy to these of a warrior, but can the little girl actually so casually weave powerful manipulation magic? So young, and yet such a powerful enchantress.
Nobody has ever been so kind to her, everything had plenty of strings attached - but Callin's overwhelming charm... irresistible. Dana wandered around happily, trying to express her excitement without being loud in the middle of the wilderness; nature had a calming effect on Dana. Something about sleeping and waking up with the sun caused her to listen closer to her inner voices and the voices around her. Shouting with excitement was out of the question - but that excess energy needed to be released somehow.
Dana looked at Callin with excitement and happily said to her
"thank you sooo much... You are like an angel from heaven... Do you hug in the Tir?" She said and extended her hands for a hug.
Back in the biological institute people were mainly correct with her, excess affection was undesired. Her parents seemed to love her but the most they could do was to hug her when they left campus and returned to their real families. The two scientists were not even married, just artificial figures for her emotional growth. Then she was kidnapped, extracted was the right word - by people that treated her as a fake human. Awed by her capabilities, but patronize, fear and mistrust were her share. Their leader who spared her life grew to be a father figure - and he seemed to really like her, to really care. Yet, two years have passed and as Dana's body changed so did his affection. Lover?! That entire relationship was confusing to Dana and killing the man due to poor self control over her own power it was a life changing tragedy. To this day, Dana is unsure if she loved or hated him. One thing she was certain of - every day, EVERY single day - She needs to practice so such tragedy never happens again.
Even as a fugitive Dana kept her word, even in this forsaken place - but then came a little elf girl and showered her with so much kindness and her words. She worked to bargain for her armor - a bargain that the rest of them were unable to do so far - and who knows if they could. She did her hair, her clothes, crafting tools for trade - what other indication was there - Callin was trying to impress them reaching out. An actual Tir princess - one that would never even speak to Dana under normal circumstances is acting so nice - did Dana felt like she owed her? Yes, definitely... Does she knows that Dana is awakened herself? That depended on how discreet Nora was - or on how perceptive Callin was in the astral. That chubby girl was bad news, she probably shared a very personal detail about Dana to a large group of strangers. Trust was too early, was Dana about to make the same mistake? Perhaps... so - but the young elf seemed able to play all the right cards even at the cost of drain - and she looked exhausted when she was done. Why was she willing to suffer such drain just to please their whims? Could she really be that kind?
--------
QUOTE
- But then, you would be alone to come back. I can send a spirit with Dot though, it would be able to help her reach camp quickly as well as warn her in case of danger and help her if needed. Is that acceptable ?
She is concerned about me? How can it be? I am the expandable one, a product of science - designed to be mass produced. Why is a special snowflake like her concerned with a drop of water identical to countless other? Dana could not understand these things, perhaps Callin did not know - but can Dana not tell her?! it would not be right. Dana said as if she was stating the obvious
"Dot is unique and her life are more important. Besides Addie might be in trouble if Dot stays with us, and I kind of like her. Do not worry about me, I killed two of these cats already and I had no protective gear at the time. I may even be the most dangerous one in the cover of darkness, and if I am not than Dot is clearly unsafe even with a spirit.
Mercy
Jul 14 2016, 05:11 AM
Maya sits and watches the byplay between Cailin and the others, noticing that the Dryad is really trying to be nice. When the girls looks at her, she raises a hand and says with a laugh, "Don't think any amount of magic will improve my looks. But can you do something tomorrow with the hides we have. It looks like you have taken a bit of punishment for using your power. Please rest." She turns to the Orc, "Klarisa, please feel welcome here for as long as you wish to stay. I have no real problem with Rick or any of his supporters, just with their methods. It is too bad that both he and I are so intransigent when it comes to each other. Are you firmly entrenched in his camp or willing to give us a try?"
Maya looks up as Cailin and Dana discuss who is going to go off with Dot. "Perhaps Dana and a spirit can go with Dot. Dana can stay the night and return in the morning. Dana, is your magic strong enough to help Dot carry the meat to the camp? Once there, you can trade for our clothes and perhaps some tools. Is that a workable idea?"
Imladir
Jul 14 2016, 06:11 AM
Cailin looks at Maya, head tilted, thinking.
- I don't think I would be able to make it disappear. Maybe with a lot of time, but it's certainly not guaranteed to succeed. However... I'm not even sure you'd really want to remove it, since it's become such a big part of yourself. No? Anyway, I can certainly do something for the pelts tomorrow yes. It will require a bit of preliminary work before I try the spell but it should be feasible. Not sure what the result will be though. Easier because the pelts are more natural - mutation notwithstanding - and harder because the change is more important? I can't say beforehand so... We'll have to see.
Cailin grins when Dana asks for a hug.
- Of course.
She hugs Dana. After a moment, she sighs.
- I miss Dunkie...
She laughs wistfully. Seeing some of you looking at each others, trying to understand, Summers cocks an eyebrow and asks: "You don't know? Dunkieplushie? That's a stuffed toy. Lots of kids have one. Its some kind of dragon or something.". Cailin nods and adds "Dunkelzahn.".
After a minute or so, Cailin steps aside and smiles.
- Thanks, that was nice. I didn't get to do that often at home...
Seing Dot ready to leave, Cailin retrieves the spoon and fork she left near the fire, and gives them to the troll. Each one of them has a rising (or setting? It's hard to tell...) sun. She adds :
- Be careful when you get there ok? There's... Er... Well, be careful.
She then nods when Maya proposes that a spirit accompany the two girls.
- I'll ask a spirit to help yes. I don't know for the rest, but you should be able to reach Rick's camp and come back with your ankles intact. And faster than you would. At least if the spirit is in a nice enough mood.
She turns to Dana.
- I know a lot of people at home who would think like you. As long as it's about elves being superior to anything else. But I don't think they're right. Well, my da...er...I mean Father doesn't think like that at least, and parents can infect their child with the odest things... You're no more or less unique and important than any of us. You'd make Cu Chulainn proud at any rate. And warriors like you are very important here. To hunt, to scout, or to protect us slowpokes. So please, don't sell yourself short. What you were before doesn't matter as much as what you are now.
Klarissa snorts with a shake of her head "Rick's ma boss. I'll go back tomorrow. No use riking injury an all". Despite the less than warm sentence, her tone is more neutral, without the bite she had earlier.
Mercy
Jul 14 2016, 06:24 AM
Maya smiles. "No, I am not asking for any sort of scar removal. By now they are a part of who I am...........sort of a mark or what I survived to still be alive. Of how strong I am when determined to not become a tiger's lunch. And I am thinking that the best use of the pelts right now is to just fashion some sort of blankets out of them. The nights here are going to get cold and a couple of nice thick blankets will be very nice. We can work on clothes as we get more hides."
She looks at the utensils and nods again. "Cailin, you are every bit as useful and needed here as Dana or Raf or Summer. In fact all of us are valuable. Raf and I will be making bows and arrows that should help us in our hunting and defense. Can your magics help with that as well?"
Maya stands and gives both Dana and Dot a hug, or as much of one as she can with the Troll. "You two stay safe. You will be missed until you return. Dot, I know that you feel a need to protect Addie and I feel that you are right. She is very like me in many ways, but she felt a need to stay where I feel very strongly that I would have died at Rick's hand some day. I feel that she will also push that one button to many and will need help to live. Protect her as best you can and I will hope that you both join us here some day."
Gilga
Jul 14 2016, 06:34 AM
To Maya Dana said "I am reluctant to attempt obvious magic in front of a superstitious crowd, if one of them chews too much and choke, I would take the blame... Knowing that someone can do magic is completely different to actually seeing it in action. I suggest that we stick to muscle strength for delivering the meat - or just deliver the people to eat it in this place. There is also the possibility that Rick would not like to trade, either because he has enough crate food to last for a millennia or because he simply does not trust us." To Callin she said "Warriors risk their life for the welfare of others. This is what they are all about." and did not explain any further. To Dana there was more than that - but the time felt not ready.
She looked at Dot and said "Shall we go?" and walked with the troll toward the main camp.
Mercy
Jul 14 2016, 06:44 AM
Maya shakes her head. "You are perhaps quite right about showing off, even if it is possible that your ability is already known. Could you still help move it to close to the camp? If you were using it to help Dot carry the meat, would it look like magic to most of the people there or just that you were physically helping her?"
Imladir
Jul 14 2016, 06:54 AM
Cailin shakes her head.
- Not for bows. Clothes and people yes, but even for blankets I'm not even sure I could. As far as Magic is concerned anyway.
Regarding Maya's magic, Dot adds that "Everyone knows about the Magic. Nora yelled it when she came back."
Klarissa, seeming a bit fed up, asks "Can't you just cut the thing in two or something? Bring one now, the other tomorrow?" And mutters a "Fragging Dumbasses."
Mercy
Jul 14 2016, 07:24 AM
Maya gives the Ork an odd look. "That is a bit rude, Klarissa. Please remember that our only real tools are one small knife and a couple of sharp rocks and we were using those to cut up the rest of the meat and work on the hides. It is acceptable to disagree with what I, or any of us here, think or do, but it is appreciated that we treat each other with dignity, respect, and patience. We are all stressed here, but it does not help to belittle anyone. We respect you for being brave enough to leave the comforts of the larger camp and venture to this one and I would ask that you give us the same level of respect. Cutting the carcass in two is a good idea, but has not been really possible so far. I think that Dot and Dana can carry it to the camp. Heck, Dana can carry it by herself, but that would be displaying more magic than is perhaps wise. I think it is better that she conceal the magic by pretending to use her hands to help carry the meat. And in this case, moving it in one piece is probably easier than in two or more pieces." She looks at the others to see what their opinions are, but focuses her main attention on Klarissa to see what her reaction is.
Gilga
Jul 14 2016, 07:26 AM
Dana seems embarrassed or angry - a combination of them both "It is not a secret, but I do not exactly advertise dammit... I feel so stupid. That girl is nothing but troubles." She tells to Maya Sure, we can take the carcass there and pretend to be strong enough to carry it. Do you want to actually do it tonight? They did not even respond with an offer yet.
Imladir
Jul 14 2016, 07:48 AM
Klarissa groans. She dips her head a little. It might be some kind of apology. If one chose to take it that way at least. She can't keep a groan escape though. "No one's gonna be more afraid by you than before if you come there all sparkly like or whatever so just do it. Won't trust you before, won't trust you after."
Cailin sighs.
- This might be true for some, but not all. At least not for something that overt. But you are right Klarissa.
She looks at Dana.
- They already know you can do some kind of Magic. As long as you don't rub it under their noses, it will be okay I think. Those that would take offense would do it in any case anyway. And those that see you performing some non-threatening Magic could come talk to you to know more. Or just ignore you. What I'm trying to say is don't be too flashy, but don't avoid Magic whatsoever for people that wouldn't see anything past your "Mages' club" sticker.
She frowns.
- That was probably one of the least clear things I've ever said...
Gilga
Jul 14 2016, 08:58 AM
Dana sighed "I'll leave the meat here for the night. Taking dot to the main camp is one thing, but the more I think about it, walking around at night
with large active predators and a giant piece of meat levitating in our vicinity seems like a a potential disaster. Dot - perhaps I can levitate both of us to the main camp instead of the meat? That way risk of injury is lower... it is okay if you do not want to - I understand if you do not trust me enough to trust your life in my hands.
But the way is dangerous at night, there is a cliff, and predators and so many things that can go wrong. While I respect your care for Addie I strongly suggests giving up this trip, even if you can see in the night. It is very dangerous, but I will follow you and do my best to protect you whatever you chose. "
Mercy
Jul 14 2016, 02:02 PM
Maya shrugs. "Leaving the meat is probably the better choice, I guess. Thank you for saying that and setting me straight. You two be careful on your trip back to the other camp. The rest of us should probably get some rest. I think I have first watch tonight. I will wake Raf, then Summer, then Cailin. Klarissa, are you willing to help watch the camp and keep us safe from harm? If so, we will work you into the rotation for tonight. You are still welcome to remain in the cave with us tonight if you do not want to pull watch."
Beta
Jul 14 2016, 02:04 PM
Simon confirmed that there was at least one bodysuit labelled with a name that nobody recognized, adding “There was that big guy who took the knives, there was one suit that didn’t even have a proper name on it, that looks sized for him” To Addie’s query he adds “No, nobody has seen him since the morning of the second day. Yah, we haven’t talked it up much, but a couple of the kids saw him but were too scared to say anything at the time, he walked in and took some food then left. So no way are we giving that piece of drek an armored body suit, he’s probably already going to be trouble when he gets hungry again.”
Tired from a day of walking, searching, pulling, tearing, picking, tasting, and carrying, and dis-spirited form getting back to see that the demands of command were beginning to wear on Rick’s patience, this was a piece of good news that she welcomed. “I was thinking as we gathered up some of this stuff, most food has more nutrition when cooked – that is why my Mom likes to eat a lot of raw vegetables. I think if we wrap up some stuff in the legs of that suit and keep it pretty well soaked with water, and right up near the edge of the fire, we should be able to steam what is inside.”
“I’d been kind of hoping they were waterproof so we could make a sort of soup pot, but they actually move water through pretty well – did you notice that you don’t feel all sweaty and drekky wearing these, even in the heat of the day? Still, steaming should work, I think, and if anyone caught small animals then maybe we could tear up the meat and put that in to steam with the vegetables and spread out the taste. A bit of salt and pepper would be nice too, but take what we can get, right? And some of the leaves we picked have a kind of minty flavor, should help a little bit.” After a moment she added “I’ve done a lot of basic cooking for kids I babysat, and I started getting more interested recently because I’m the only person in my family who seems to actually care about flavour. I’m not a great cook, but I know the basics.”
Keeping the food damp turned out to be the hard part, as they still didn’t have any good water transportation devices. Pierre and some others had made a few crude, shallow, bowls – but those didn’t have much carrying capacity. Eventually Pierre came up with a solution – the two of them washed out the tops of their flats as best they could in the stream, then got them as completely soaked as possible and carried them back to camp on a couple of the rough bowls, and squeezed those out over the legs of the suit to keep it wet. They had to hurry back and forth quite a bit at first, then as the food began to cook it released its own juices that began to soak through the material. Addie hated to see that nutritious broth soak away into the ground or evaporate into steam, but they just didn’t have a better solution yet.
When she pulled it back from the fire not everything was cooked evenly, with some of the roots still being pretty chewy, while some of the leaves near the end were reduced to a pulpy mass. Certainly not everyone was interested in having any of the results but enough were happy to try something different that it disappeared quickly enough. It had seemed like quite a load when they were carrying it back to camp, but divided amongst so many it wasn’t much. Others had brought back some as well, but relatively few had brought in as much per person as her group had.
Addie muttered to herself “I can’t do everything at once.” She thought she’d been quiet but hadn’t realized that Nora was so near. That girl replied “Of course you can’t, nor can Rick, or Maya, or any of you who seem to be trying to run things. Why doesn’t anyone spend more time teaching the rest of us, so we can help more? At least Dana spent some time trying to teach us to fight, who’d have thought that a mage would be the best at helping us learn?”
That rocked Addie. She blushed and even found herself stammering for the first time in ages “I-I-I can t-try to teach. I’m not a very g-good teacher, but I’ve s-started teaching at jujujujitsu.” She stops and gives her head a shake and take a few deep breaths. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be stammering, I’m really off my game tonight I guess.”
Nora grinned at her and said “Its frosty; good to know that the great Addie has faults.”
Mighty? Her? Didn’t Nora realize that she was Addie-the-Least? That she’d failed or fallen short at almost everything she’d done since they woke up here? That she wasn’t as clever as Maya or as good a fighter as Dana or the organizer that Rick was or as brave as Raf or as comforting as Dot or gifted with magic like Sim or as good at crafting things like Pierre or anything like that? She hadn’t even managed to cook some vegetables very well!
And it wasn’t like she’d strutted around saying how great she was. Well, other than the snake thing. And she hadn’t spoken up about the rules committee, and chewed out Maya and Rick. She’d helped get some stuff done since then, but really those were things anyone could have done if they’d thought about it and spoken up, all it took was thinking about what needed doing and putting yourself forward to do it.
Then she took a good look at Nora, at how exhausted the somewhat chubby girl looked, how tense her face was. It hit Maya “At least I have some training to fall back on, I have some ‘ware to help me tough things out, I was in pretty decent shape before this. And I’m pretty freaked out, when I’m not too busy or too tired to think about it. What must it be like for someone like Nora?”
“Believe me, Nora, I’m not that great. I’m screwing up all the fragging time. But I guess I don’t let that stop me, because someone has to try. But you are right, we need to teach people more. I promise tomorrow we’ll run some foraging lessons, my group figured a few things out today that we can teach to others. And some cooking lessons. And maybe even some self-defence lessons, if anyone has the energy for it. At least, I’ll do my best to make that happen, I haven’t heard Rick’s plans for tomorrow, I don’t know if we are moving or whatever. But I’ll talk to him and Simon about adding teaching to things we need to do, in case we are here for long.”
Imladir
Jul 14 2016, 03:45 PM
Dot thinks hard for a moment, but then says "No, I really should go back. Addie could use my help, more than you could. I'm big and tough, animals would choose something smaller as a prey, don't worry.".
As for Klarissa, while she's perfectly happy to spend the night here, seeing absolutely no rush to go back, she doesn't really have to think before answering Maya's question with a "I'll pull ma weight."
Cailin...She would probably answer that she would. But she seems more asleep than awake at this point: the spells' drain added to the long day seem to make themselves felt by the twelve years old. She will drop like a rock as soon as someone else goes to sleep, snuggling up to that someone.
Gilga
Jul 14 2016, 04:30 PM
Dot say "You can levitate me, no problem... I did that already" So Dana, Dot and an earth spirit make their way in the wilderness toward the other camp, it is a long dark road but Dana's natural low light vision and Dot's thermo vision implies that it might as well be daylight.
Once at the cliff Dana levitates Dot to the top of the cliff and then joins her using her muscle strength.
Climb:
8d6t5 4Dot asks with a bit of wonder, "Why didn't you levitate yourself?" and Dana replied
"I would have been fast enough to cast the spell if I fall, it is tempting to rely on magic for everything - but magic is unpredictable there may be places where it is even worse than here and I cannot use it. I will still have my body to serve me, even in these cases. " Once the two passed the cliff the pace became faster as the terrain was easier, and the two confidently made their way to the main camp. The voices of the night could be quite scary at times but animals should know better than to mess with these two. Eventually the two reach the main camp. Dana and Dot heads off looking for Addie.
"Nice deployment" Dana says half to herself half to Dot. Thechnically speaking Dana was never inside the main camp - the closest she got was this morning to the nearby open areas to practice. It was neatly organized - and there were so many people. A completely different atmosphere, had Dana felt that she is entirely safe to be around she would have definitely stayed at the main camp.
Dana receives more than her fair share of stares due to already being an outsider, a mage or wearing a body glove with a dark green instead of blue. Perhaps even for not wearing anything on top of her body glove. Who knows... Dana ignore the stares, on he agenda is a talk with Sim and Addie, even with Rick if she can find him without too many people competing on his ear. Or if she can even recognize him or Sim, but that is a small issue as Dana is many things, but not shy. She browse the camp looking for them exchanging hello's with the few people she know.
Mercy
Jul 15 2016, 05:34 AM
Maya tends the fire at the edge of the cave entrance, keeping an ear out for anything stirring outside. She makes sure that everyone uses the small latrine and walks about it pairs. It is hardest on Raf because he has no other men to be with, but he manages. Cailin goes to sleep as soon as she lies down. Maya recollects on how many nights she has spent near campfires just like this one, looking out at a night sky. She knows that she can survive out here, but she is plagued by the thought that she may have brought these others out here to die, like poor Grok. He had trusted her and followed her and was now dead. Shaking her head, she resolves to try to not let the rest down.
Gilga
Jul 15 2016, 12:50 PM
The sound of singing catches Dana’s ear as she makes her way through the crowd of still awake kids, the dynamics of that camp meant that they stayed awake a bit longer. Laughing, trying to pretend it was nothing more than a school trip. They did not know of the beasts that ate Grok, just this morning, still ignorant, still happy, let them keep their innocence, at least for some time longer. Curious, Dana makes her way toward the singing to find no less than Nora, Dave and Ron sort of performing. They did all the voices themselves and it was... not bad. A small crowd gathered to watch them. Perhaps not the most useful of skills, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Dana approached shyly the group and set in the outer cycle, close enough to listen but far enough not to draw too much attention to herself. As if that was even possible in there.
The kids were not useful, they did not attempt to lead, to be fearless warriors like her. They simply were, and in their mediocrity and low survival chance they seemed happy. A feeling that was strange to Dana, so strange that she watched them fascinated. A bunch of kids, just singing in the middle of the wilderness. So peaceful...
Her train of thought is cut short by a large Orc. “What are you doing here Dana?” Lifting her face she saw Muhammad. ”They seem so happy...” She said. “They are still children... let them.” Dana laughed “Because you are so mature...” Muhammad said “21 years and a trog, I am pretty much an adult.” ”Insulting me was not very adult like of you.” The Orc laughed “I thought I was being a gentleman... I would not hit a girl” Dana shrugged “You are doing it again!” she pushed him gently. “But you are just that, a girl...” he said as he held Dana’s hand and added “a beautiful girl.” He added.
Dana took her hand away, and said “I am no girl, and I am not beautiful. I am a warrior capable of killing a man with my bare hands”’
Muhammad laughed “Whatever you say GIRL.” If she had tusks, he would not be laughing. Dana got up and stood within the crowd trying to avoid the significantly taller orc.
adamu
Jul 15 2016, 08:10 PM
When Maya woke him for his turn at watch, Raf went over to check the sinews he'd hung to dry. He'd carefully extracted the longest he'd could from the beasts' legs, and once they were dried he'd start braiding as necessary, along with prepping nock points and loops. Once satisfied that the drying process was going as well as could be expected, he took up his post and started in on another long stick to add to his growing collection of arrows.
Beta
Jul 15 2016, 08:47 PM
[Third Day, mid-afternoon, Addie's foraging group]
Addie realized two things in quick succession: she might have been too diligent at hydrating whenever they were near the stream, and these suits were not the most convenient when one had to pee -- at least not if one were a woman. "Typical," she muttered, then at Jugalo's curious glance she said "I think this is about enough of these leaves, we've got most of the tenderest ones. Let's go catch up with the others."
As they headed toward the stream, where the others were using sticks to try and dig up the roots of some plants that grew in the moister soil there, the orc asked "What's up with you and Rick? He seems to go along with all your suggestions, more than with anyone else. I'm not saying you are sleeping with him, because I know you're not. But its weird, chummer."
Addie tossed back "Maybe because I make a lot of sense, and" she stops talking and freezes in place, until Jugalo looks around and assures her "Dead branch, again."
Addie wills her heart to stop hammering, and takes a moment to remind herself "not a snake, not a snake, not a snake." Then to distract herself from the rattling in her thoughts she tries to give a more serious reply to her companion's question. "Maybe because he knows that I'm trying to help take care of the group, and that I'm not challenging him? I mean, I'm a girl so I probably don't seem like much of a threat anyway, but I haven't set up my own clique where I'm queen-bee, or I've tried not to. He seems to see a lot, and he knows he can't do everything himself, so it makes sense for him to encourage someone who is trying to think of ways to help."
"You sure it isn't your blonde hair and the wiggle in your walk?"
Addie hits him with a combination of a stare and a smile and shoots back "That may be why YOU are so willing to do as I ask, but I give Rick more credit -- I've certainly not caught HIM checking out any wiggle in my walk."
Jugalo's answering grin is unabashed, and contains more than a touch of a leer.
"I've really got to think about what I do about this." Addie thinks, not for the first, nor fifth, time today.
+ + + + + +
Niyaf's blended accent gives her exasperation a particularly biting edge. "Do you really think me thrashing the bushes is all that necessary? I'm pretty sure we'd have already scare away any snakes around here."
"I'm almost done," snaps back Addie. "And snakes are no joke, and the thought of encountering one right now is almost enough to make me freak out totally, so would you just keep the patrol up?"
"You certainly don't need to do this when it is my turn to pee."
"I'll do it because I don't want snakes to get you, either."
"Snakes don't hunt people, you know. Your fears are"
Addie cut her off "My fears about snakes are my business. Snakes don't like me, they never have. There, done!" Addie stepped out from behind the cover of a thorny bush as she rapidly did up her body suit. Shivering a bit she added "I'm sorry that I made you do that. Snakes just really freak me out."
The Moroccan girl shook in head and said "You are a strange one. You carry yourself like a warrior one minute, talk like a peace-maker the next, want to play with hair the next. You are brave enough to stand up to Rick, you sleep with a troll, and you have killed one of these snakes you are so afraid of, but you are too scared to go pee without protection."
Addie took a long dead branch from the other girl, and started thrashing around at the bushes and grasses with it. "So shoot me for being sixteen? I mean, I was sick a lot as a little girl, so I was scared of a lot of things because I was slower and weaker than most kids. Once I got fixed up and got healthier and stronger I guess I felt like I could fight a lot of what used to scare me." She took two long steps to suddenly thrash a different piece of bush, just in case anything was creeping up.
After she scanned around for a couple of seconds, she continued "But somehow I never really felt any better about snakes, they still make me feel just scared and helpless like I did when I was little. Except the other day, it was sort of an accident, when I heard it I jumped -- I thought away from it, but I ended up jumping straight at it. It looked like it was trying to strike, so my training came in and I managed to grab it, then I was so freaked out that I didn't dare let it go until I beat it to death. I was totally terrified the whole time and could barely walk after. That did NOT make me less afraid of snakes!"
To cover the sound of the other girl peeing, Addie thrashed the bushes a bit harder, and babbled on "So I know what it is like to be scared and to feel helpless. I don't want anyone else to have to feel that way. So maybe I am a bit of a warrior sometimes when I want to protect people. And maybe I'm a peace-maker sometimes when I'm trying to keep everyone together so we can protect each other. But being too much of a leader can leave you all alone, too. Braiding each others' hair was probably the most relaxed and content I've been since we all woke up here."
Feeling that topic running down, she switched to something new "What about you, anything you are scared of?"
Niyaf didn't reply right away, but when she came out from behind the bushes she stalked up close to Addie, then whispered fiercely "Been torn apart and eaten by your trog friends." She turned, then said more openly "Come, the boys will be worried about us, we should get back to their [i]safety[/]."
Addie watched her go for a minute, thinking about what bravery it must take to wander off into the wilderness with two powerful orcs, if that really was one's fear. With a shake of her head Addie made herself follow Niyaf's path, although she suddenly found she lacked the desire for the other girl's company, no matter how quietly brave she may be.
Digital Heroin
Jul 16 2016, 01:17 PM
Day Two - Early evening - Ambush
Personality: Blank
Hours have passed since he set up his ominous vigil, yet he remains unmoved. As a means to pass the time Blank reverts to an old habit of his from when he was still in the maturation chamber. Words that had filtered through had been soothing to him, and though it was not until later in his life, when the Technician thought to educate him as to the nuances of his brain, that Blank would learn they were neurochemicals. He goes through the various neuropeptides and transmitters, building mental maps of their chemical structure, intricate latices of Nitrogen, Hydrogen, Carbon, Sulphur and Oxygen. This is as close to meditation as he is capable of, and through several of his base personality jobs he waited out the perfect moment to dispatch a target by going over his patchwork neurochemical theory. Ultimately he is snapped from the mental exercise by a flood of Dopamine, brought on by a single sound.
One of the lines around the bend has snapped.
The minute sonic crack is followed by a confused grunt, and the inhale of someone about to ask after something that confuses them. In the span of time it takes for whoever has sprung the trap to inhale, Blank mentally releases the hold of the tremor lock on his muscles. He explodes down the path on a violent angle that takes him through the bend rather than around it, and he emerges mere paces from the olive skinned teenager who is just now getting the first word out about the fishing line.
`Wha-`
Blank slaps the point man with an open palm. This is not an assassination, it is meant to be a message. He claps the teenager hard enough across the ear, however, that Blank can hear the sharp pop of a ruptured eardrum. The teen stumbles back a half step, then, like a drunk, collapses from the sheer force of impact from three hundred pounds of skeleton and dense meat backing the open handed strike.
Even as Blank delivers that resounding first blow, the other human of the scouting party, a reedy little whip of a young man with straw colored hair, tries to bolt around the bend intent on making the dash for camp. Blank steps forward and pivots on one foot to deliver a powerful slap to the runner, which sprawls the much smaller man. Before the kid can completely stumble prone Blank plants a foot on his ass and drives him face forward into the dirt. The impact knocks the blonde out cold, and takes out a few teeth in the process.
From his periphery Blank spots a third member of the hunting party, a steely eyed dwarf. He spots the stunted figure just as the spear in the little man's hands strikes forward. Rather than recoil, Blank steps forward at an angle to clear closer to the dwarf, and the spear glides mere inches behind the large man's back. As he rounds and turns his body to square off with the most game fighter of the lot, he can hear the teen he struck struggle to get to his feet. Though he does not see it, he can hear the pull of flats being ripped as the kid uses a tree for leverage to get back to his unsteady feet. Blank shifts focus from the olive skinned teen for the moment, setting the dwarf and his spear on the priority target list. He steps in closer to the little man and reaches up to rip a hand along the low hanging branch of a tree than overhands the path. He hauls down on the branch, intent to slap the dwarf in the face with its leaves and possibly foul his next attempt at striking back. The dwarf is undaunted, however, and neatly slaps the branch from Blank's hand with the spear. Perhaps the dwarf is flustered, however. When the little man aggressively attempts to level the spear at Blank and charge in he instead dips the tip of the spear too low. The crude spear creaks against the sudden strain upon it, but does nothing to stop the dwarf's momentum. At about the same moment the spear shatters into a hundred tiny splinters and the dwarf stumbles and trips over a gnarled root. Blank does not give the little man time to recover.
What follows is not art. It is combat. Brutal and without the trappings of venerated forms. Blank is not a practitioner of martial combat; he is a survivor of it. He kicks the remainder of the spear's butt from the dwarf's hand, and reaches down to try and get hold of the now angry man's shoulders. The hold is slipped, and the Dwarf skitters back on his hands and ass looking like a damn fool but getting clear of Blank's grip. The big man is simply too coated in slick mud to make a good grab, and as he turns and tries to collapse upon the dwarf his prey manages to scramble free again. This leaves Blank on the ground, and it means he gives up the height advantage finally. Blank is not about to let the dwarf go. His arms snake out to trip up the dwarf before he can clear away from the fight, and he manages a basic heel hold. With the grip in place, he lashes out with one of his legs to try and knock the dwarf down, but the stubborn bastard just will not drop. When the young man tries to pries his way free of Blank's grip, the assassin responds by waiting until just the moment when the dwarf leans forward and then scissoring his legs up to lock them around the young man's neck just so. He can feel the shift in the dwarf's posture as the realization sets in. Blank is in total control of the situation, now.
As the first teenager to be struck stumbles back in the direction of camp, Blank cinches in a choke hold on the dwarf. It is simply a matter of the right application of pressure and a victim who has no idea how to escape a choke safely that seals the dwarf's fate. Moments before the little man goes unconscious Blank speaks to him.
`When they find you, tell you boss he is next.`
Epinephrine has flooded Blank's system, but he does not let the rush register as violent drive. Instead, when he regains his footing and looks off down the bend it is the objective of his mission that drives him to explode forward into a run. Short moments later he closes the gap, and he lays a precise, but brutal running knee strike to the flank of the olive skinned. The strike simultaneously deflates the young man and drops him to the ground, overwhelmed by the layers of pain in his body.
Hours scouting and lying in wait and the fight is over in half a minute. Operational success, though he would rather not have had to chase a target down. Now the hard work can begin.
Under cover of growing dark he moves with glacial speed to drag a jury rigged sledge with the three scouts laid out on it. He has timed the patrols - two now that there is one of their number missing - so that he can best employ cover and get to the right spot. When he is content that the place is just right, he lays out all three scouts one hundred feet from the approach to the camp, in what will be plain sight in the morning. In the center of the small circle he sets their kill. He has rations aplenty for the moment. This night will not be about a raid, but a message. And while Rick and company react to the idea that one man did this to their hunting party and did not even steal their game, Blank will be jogging down along the river's edge, down river, intent on clearing at least ten kilometers before the moon is at its peak. Only then will he find himself a suitable spot and settle down for a well earned sleep.
Imladir
Jul 16 2016, 04:37 PM
[Devin MacDough ; October 23rd, 2069 ; By Tara's Hill, Meath, Tìr na nÓg]
Frag, coming here had been a mistake. He had known it when he gave in to his father's wish. He had known it when time came to board the plane. No need to even talk about what he had been through since he touched down at Dublin. If the attitudes of the officials from the Office of Placements at the Tìr embassy in Seattle hadn't made clear he wasn't welcomed here, it had since been driven home.
They didn't care that one of his ancestors, one Wyatt MacDough came to the - then - United States from Ireland and that this was his ancestor's land. No, all they could see were his height, his rough skin and, god forbid, his horns. Here, he was less than drek. And it was made abundantly clear at every possible moment, lest he forget, that trolls had no business being in the Tìr. At least, not in public. He had stubbornly refused to give in, but he now only had one desire: get back home.
Drek, what had he done now? Why was everyone looking at him. Wait, no, not him, something behind? As he turned, he heard a little voice:
- Excuse me, Mister?
Devin looked around, not seing anything out of the ordinary. Was that some new kind of hazing? What did they... Devin felt something tug on his pants. What the!? Looking down, he met the eyes of a child, a young girl, probably no more than five, maybe six. Bright blue eyes, red hair, small pointy ears... She could have been some kind of fairy from this land, but she seemed to be a simple elven child. No, not simple... There was...something... It was not the clothes, nice as they were. Not even the golden torc symbol displayed above her heart. It reminded him of something, but he couldn't quite grasp what it was right now. No, there was something more about this girl.
Realising that everyone in the vicinity was looking at him, and that the girl was waiting for him, he cleared his throat and answered in a deep rumble.
- Yes?
- Are you a troll?
That question unsettled him. Not really for the question itself. He hadn't seen more than a handful of trolls in the week and a half since his arrival. No surprise then, that he was the first one that a child as young as this girl saw. But there was only curiosity and maybe a bit of fascination in her clear unblinking eyes, no animosity or caution at all.
- Huh... Yes?
That earned a blink. The girl tilted her head. Surprised, she asked:
- Why are you not sure? Are you like...
She interrupted herself, hands suddenly pressed on her mouth in a cute gesture to prevent her words to slip from her lips. A deep chuckle escaped him, and he shook his head.
- No, no, I'm a troll.
- Oh... With a fascinated whisper, the girl followed his horns with her eyes. After a moment of hesitation, unsure of herself, she asked: May... May I touch them?
Not even thinking about the mud on the ground, Devin put his knees on the ground.
- Sure.
Gingerly, the girl reached up to touch gently his left horn, wonder in her eyes, for a few seconds. Then she stepped back with a smile.
- Thanks! I'm Cailin.
Before he could answer, Devin heard a woman's voice calling that name from somewhere in the crowd. With a start, the girl waved bye-byes to him, and bolted in the direction of the call, her hair floating behind her. After a few seconds, he heard the same voice.
- Mom, mom! I saw a troll! Yes! He was tall like...like...like the big oak in the garden!
Faintly he heard a woman's laugh, full of love, but soon couldn't hear mother and daughter anymore.
The crowd, unusually silent up to know, exploded in comments, looking at him with some kind of horrified wonder. Still kneeling, he managed to catch the eye of an elf to ask him who the girl was. Now unsure of what to do with the troll, the elf answered with a pensive tone.
- Cailin. Cailin O'Connor.
No wonder the golden torc was familiar. An O'Connor!? Drek!
Gilga
Jul 16 2016, 08:05 PM
The party was cut short by no other than Sim, that in a voice of authority has sent everyone to sleep. Quite disciplined, perhaps too disciplined for Dana's taste.
"Sim!" She said as the crowed left.
"Dana from the other camp."Sim looked surprised at the attention - and asked "Why are you here?", Dana sighed
"I came to escort Dot, apparently she is very attached to Addie. There was something I wanted to talk to you about... That meat you bought from us..."Sim said "Yes?", and Dana answered -
"It came for some very large, very fast and ruthless tigers.... Be careful alright?" Sim said "Shhh!" trying not to start yet another gossip, "let's continue this chat out of the camp."
On the way Dana told him half whispering
"Look, I do need to get back anyhow, I do not want to leave Maya's group for long. These beasts are nocturnal and they may be too much to handle for most people. If you encounter them give us a call and we will help you. Nobody else have to die." Sim looked puzzled "what? who died" but Dana said
"Klarissa will tell you all there is to know I believe, I am not sure how many of them are there" Arriving what seemed to be the 'entrance' to the improvised Camp, Dana said "What the fuck?" heavily bruised were three kids, being placed some distance from the camp for all to see. Dana approached them and applied some healing magic, and then told Sim -
"I did what I can for these, they will live but will be out for quite a while. Now I REALLY must leave, if you were under attack than Maya may be unsafe."Heal:
3#10d6t5 4 4 1Dana:
3#10d6t5 1 3 21 stun damage taken from drain.
Mercy
Jul 16 2016, 08:21 PM
Maya cannot sleep right away. So much has happened in the last couple of days that she still has a lot to process. Her concerns for survival have kept her from thinking about the why. She gets up from the uncomfortable bed, resolving to lay in some plants or perhaps the skins of other animals to make sleep more comfortable for everyone. Making her way to the cave entrance, she spies Raf working on some of his arrows. She squats near him and watches him work. Fine, even strokes of the knife are giving form to yet another arrow. "I saw you earlier, checking out the sinews we put up. Do you think they will do? I have some skill crafting things like this, so perhaps we can do it as a team? I think that individualism is out of place in the situation we find ourselves in. Using teamwork allowed us to give Dana enough time to be ready to kill the second cat. I am saddened by the loss of Grok. He was a friend and a companion, just as the rest of you are. We must be a team to survive...................or at least that is my opinion. What do you think about getting some saplings together and maybe making a sort of weir, a wooden net to capture fish? Put it in the right place and then someone chases the fish forward into it and we have fish to eat as well. I think it could work, but I do not want to do any of this too fast. there are still caves to explore that might have hidden sores that we can use. Not crates, but natural things."
She watches a bit longer. "So, thank you for coming with us. It is comforting to have you here. Please let me know if you think we are doing things wrong and have a better idea. This is a society, a small one, not a dictatorship."
adamu
Jul 16 2016, 10:43 PM
Raf looked up at the disfigured girl. It was funny, though not particularly surprising once he thought about it, that as striking as had been her scarring when first they met, it was making less and less of an impression on him already. The face that had once bespoken trauma and even freakishness was rapidly becoming simply 'Maya's face.' He supposed part of it was the prolonged proximity, but suspected much of it came from the force and quality of her character. Although his view of Rick was not as harsh as some others in their small band of breakaways, he was confident he had made the correct choice.
"Well, I think you demonstrated that clearly enough by listening to us on the trading thing. I know that you felt strongly about the gifting. However things go with that in the other camp, I think your decision will pay ample dividends in terms of your legitimacy here. At least, my tutors and textchips would say so. I'm afraid in many things I am a wealth of knowledge, and a dearth of application." Then he held up the arrow. "But this, now this I have actually done before, and yes, the sinews will be fine. And of course I'd appreciate your help." He paused. "if you can spare the time."
He thought a moment, as if wondering just how much he ought to say.
"Your weir idea also sounds excellent. Indirect production is just vastly more efficient than the direct approach we've been using. But I am mindful of opportunity cost. Time working on a weir is time not spent on a bow. Which is time not spent exploring caves. Our group is so small and resources so scarce - time and energy not the least - that efficiency in allocation is key. I am making a bow because, since I know how to and I don't know how to, say, build a weir, my time is best spent this way. Specialization and division of labor is how our ancestors moved past subsistence farming. Additionally, I am certain there are uses for a bow in this situation. More than one, sadly. For the weir, however, I suggest we first take at least a cursory survey of the fish stock, and of course ascertain if they are edible, before expending that sort of time and energy."
He bit his lip shyly.
"Oh, I'm afraid I'm being silly. You are so much older than I, and clearly a capable person. I don't mean to lecture. Dana's been trained in fighting, Cailin in magic, yourself in survival. Me? Management. Not much use out here, I'm afraid."
Mercy
Jul 16 2016, 11:21 PM
Maya looks at the young man and smiles. "Nonsense, Raf. Your skills are in great demand here and go far beyond just management. I can make a bow, as well, and I think we can do it better together than separately. The weir thing can definitely wait until we can determine if it would be useful. I think that the bows and maybe a spear or two might be good to concentrate on. There are some sharp bone pieces in the cave that might suit for spear tips. If we are going to remain in this area, we should check out the other caves." She picks up a couple of the arrows and holds them up, sighting along them. "These are pretty good, Raf. perhaps better than what I could have done. Well done."
Gilga
Jul 17 2016, 04:03 AM
As Dana touched the unconscious hunters, she clearly decided - that was no beast... a person, the fact that they were still alive was a message - 'stay away' - but from where? What did these hunters to to deserve such a controlled yet harsh reaction she had no idea. At any case, with the aid of some magic they'd be alright in the morning. She was almost certain of it.
Dana walks toward the night until she is certain that she is far enough from the camp and out of sight. Then she strips and allow the cold to penetrate her figure. It is not pleasant, but it is real real life are harsh. Humans are suffering, she focus her mind in a method she only recently learned and was still unpredictable. It is not long before she can feel a minor air spirit appearing next to her. Shaped like an air vortex not larger than a cat. 'They usually appear significantly larger... it is this place', she thinks.
(summon F3):
5d6t5 1resist:
3d5t6 0Welcome to this world my tiny friend, your service is simple.
'Follow me and carry my clothes for me, until I reach Maya's camp' Said Dana and then cast the shape change spell - changing her into a grey owl again. It was not long before she landed, relatively at distance from the camp and hidden from sight. Dana wore her body glove, bid the spirit farewell and then approached camp in the most non threatening and visible manner she could.
Shape Change:
10d6t5 3Shape Change Drain:
10d6t5 3
Mercy
Jul 17 2016, 04:31 AM
Maya and Raf look up at Dana's approach. She stands and calls out to the young mage. "Dana, what are you doing here? I thought that you were at the camp. Is everything alright? Did something happen to Dot?"
irn0rchid
Jul 17 2016, 05:34 AM
Rick turns to Lindsey, "Yes, we have food for now, but it will keep, fresh meat won't. If we can get a good deal, it could be worth it." Looking back at Aria, "Tell them we might be interested, but it sounds like they want too much. Lindsey is right, if there's meat to be had out here, there's no reason we can't get it ourselves. But, it might be worth something if they've saved us the trouble. It's late now, they can bring the meat in the morning and I'll take a look. Their bargaining position isn't very good though; their meat is going bad as we speak..."
Matters attended to, Rick leaves to rejoin his cronies while Lindsey waits for Aria to finish talking to the other camp. Once it looks like she's no longer in her head, Lindsey chastises her, "What did we talk about earlier about not being alone out here? I know you're young, but you've got to pay more attention out here! Some of these guys here won't care about that..." Grabbing her hand, she takes her over to rejoin the group of girls that were still talking about Cailin. As she walks over, Gem asks, "What was all that about?" Lindsey sits down and motions for Aria to sit as well, "I was trying to warn Rick about that new girl. She's bargained for the special clothes for the mage in Maya's camp and now it turns out she's a mage too. So maybe she *did* cast something on you, Gem. On all of us..." She shudders. "I'm worried about what Maya and her friends are up to out there with two mages now and who know what the other kids can do... They were apparently able to kill something large enough to have extra meat they want to trade to us!" The group devolves into a number of different pockets of conversation: just what did Cailin do to them, what's Maya up to, and what sort of animal did they encounter. Sitting back, Lindsey smiles to herself as the time passes.
*******
As the sun starts to go down, Lindsey mentally calls to her friend on patrol around the camp and, thinking back to Rick's words, asks him to expand his patrol as far and as fast as he can, looking for anything man-made and report back before he as to go at dusk. That done, Lindsey catches the attention of the girls still gossiping around her, "It looks like they're building up the fire. Let's go see how everyone else did today. Remember to stay together though..." The girls head back in to the center of camp and sit around the fire with the rest of the children winding down. It's not long before song breaks out with Nora, Dave, and Ron performing while Gem glared at Nora, trying to pretend she wasn't enjoying the music. After one of the songs, there was a bit of a murmur through the kids on one side of the fire and Lindsey looked over to see Dana, the first mage from the other camp, sitting on the outskirts of the campfire like she belonged there! A few people stopped and stared for a few seconds before going back to what they were doing but a few of the girls with Lindsey glared at her with unmasked hostility. Shortly thereafter, one of the orcs from the camp stepped up to Dana and started talking to her. After a bit, his intentions became fairly clear and Lindsey calls it to her group's attention. "See! I told you the guys here just want one thing. That one's even willing to risk her magic in order to try and get it!" When Dana steps away from the laughing orc and retreats, Lindsey makes a point of laughing at him and the girls behind her join in. His own laughter stopping abruptly, the orc glares at Lindsey then spins around and stalks away from the fire.
Gilga
Jul 17 2016, 07:54 AM
Dana answered "I came back because there are few of us and you need the sleep, beside there may be more tigers in the vicinity nobody knows if these two were the only ones." She sighed "There is one more issue, somebody attacked one of their hunting parties, they'll be more careful sending out hunters in the future. No blood spilled though - seems almost like a statement."
Mercy
Jul 17 2016, 03:37 PM
Maya looks closely at Dana. "You mean as in a person attacked the hunters, not an animal? That is serious. I suppose that it should not be totally unexpected, given the varying make up of the people here, but I would have hoped something like that would not happen. Does Rick think we did it?"
irn0rchid
Jul 17 2016, 04:29 PM
After some time passes, the singing at the campfire winds down and eventually Sim steps in front of the fire and shouts out that it's bedtime. Assorted groans and moans float up from the assembled kids; what can be made out is along the lines of 'You aren't my dad!' and similar. No one really puts up a fuss though and the crowd disperses back to their tents and assorted makeshift sleep areas. Lindsey and the majority of the camp females gather back at their tent and start getting ready for the night. Girls are going to the bathroom in pairs and everything is slowing down when Rick strides through the camp calling out for Addie, Simon, and Lindsey. Shrugging at the other girls in the tent, Lindsey cautions them to stay inside and steps out and joins the other two as they follow Rick out past the edge of the camp where Sim is standing over what looks to be three dead bodies. Squinting at them as they approach, Lindsey can tell they're not dead but they are certainly not feeling well. Once they're all there, Rick explains, "Sim and Dana found these three laying out here. She apparently healed them some, but they're still out of it. This was obviously done by a person, or persons, and not wild animals..."
Lindsey scoffs, "Dana just happened to find them? How do we know it wasn't Maya and her group doing this in the first place?"
Digital Heroin
Jul 17 2016, 04:56 PM
Failure to Synch with Time Servers
Time Since Loss 76:13:21
Three days. Alone. Out in the woods somewhere. No signal. No hum. Too quiet. It has been three days since the display on her Ares Iris-74 cybereyes had rebooted in an unfamiliar patch of foothills. They are called foothills, right? She does not know. What quantifies a place as being foothills as opposed to just hills is lost on her. There are hills. They might be at the foot of something. The ground is not flat, though. Three days, four hours, thirteen minutes and counting. Someone brought them here. There are crates. Supplies. That means intervention. It means design. She was comfortably nestled in a sleeping bag in the back of her father's shop when last she remembered prior to... here. Now it is just here.
It is funny how in situations like this even the girl with the two generations past cybereyes and the practically skeletal cyberhand can go unnoticed largely unremembered. Ever since the accident she has been the interstitial girl. She lives on the periphery of peoples' vision, just a quiet witness to their more interesting lives. She is the watcher. Quiet and unassuming. It is better that way. While the others form bonds, she floats around. She contributes, and even engages in conversation. Interviews more than conversation really. When the subject turns to herself she demurs. She is the documentarian, not the documentary. Rick, on the other hand, is worth documenting. Not because she especially likes the man, but because he is charismatic and bold, and he foments conflict. Conflict is the essence of history.
Her joining the hunting party was not her idea. It had been Clyde's. Clyde is from Texas and he will tell you so much every few sentences. Clyde fancies her. He has also said as much. She has no idea why, but he does. Any excuse he has to be around, he takes it. Clyde is also a good subject. He is crude and loud and admittedly a bit fun. Somewhere along the lines he and Dizzy and Tad got it in their heads to approach Rick and volunteer to go hunting. Clyde grew up on a ranch, and Tad is apparently some kind of big deal tracker`s son. So Rick agrees, and provisions them for a few days` trek... and then she is dragged along. The three of them do a lot of posturing the whole trip. They seem to be trying to one up one another. They mug for her attention. She is more interested in the landscape, however. In what brought them here and why. Boys are always acting silly around girls. One night and a full day they hunt, and on the morning of that day is success. A kill. Some kind of pig thing. Clyde is happy, and even the usually gruff cliché of a dwarf Dizzy gets into the spirit. Triumph. And soon it turns to something entirely different.
She is lagging behind the group when it happens. Tad is out front, keeping the pace, when he stops. He looks confused. Playback will show that he just snapped a twenty pound test fishing line. But in that moment he does not have time to be confused before a figure out of some kind of horror film - Swamp Thing comes to mind - leaps from the brush and attacks. She recoils as the fight begins, and hides in the brush but watches. She is fascinated by the brutality of the moment, by the savage ballet. Her hunting party is not on the receiving end of a victory here. So much for triumph. When the mud caked man rushes off after Tad she is tempted to go see after Clyde and Dizzy, but she holds her position. Instinct. Lizard brain reflex. She stops, and waits, and soon enough the man returns. She watches as he prepares the bodies - are they dead? is body the right term for an unconscious person? - and then makes a crude sled to drag them. She follows, not too close but close enough to be witness, as the man drags her... friends? ...back to camp and sets them up. When he runs off, that is when she breaks covers and runs into the camp. The first guard she sees she is going to find, and to tell. She has born witness to something worth telling people. Just like she always wanted.
Gilga
Jul 17 2016, 07:06 PM
Dana looked at Maya and said "Sim did not seem to suspect us, he wished me good-luck before I left and seemed understanding. The rest, go figure they are dozens of them yet they seem to be suspicious of us, the few. Even when they hold all the equipment and everything, go figure.
It was clearly a person, beasts hunt to kill to eat to survive - only a person would leave three people unconscious at the entrance to the camp, hoping they'll be found before they die. Even their hunt was still there. Their attacker did not even take that. "
If Dana would have attacked these hunters, non of them would have been left alive. Dana was not a violent person - but when she fights it is all the way - live or die. There is no point in leaving a vanquished enemy to breath - that one would always come back to hunt you.
She sat by the fire and said "What is going on with you Raff are you alright?"
Mercy
Jul 17 2016, 07:16 PM
Maya nods as Dana talks about the hunters. "This serious, even if Rick does not suspect us. Someone is out there hunting us for sport. I wonder if that is why we are here? To be sport to for someone." She looks over at Raf. "Raf? He is OK, it is his watch. I am the one who could not sleep."
Gilga
Jul 17 2016, 07:24 PM
Dana winked "Missed my head on your hip?" Then she added with a sigh "It has been a crazy day, I cannot believe that Grok was eaten by tigers. It was just yesterday and it feels in a different time line. He did not deserve to die like that with his relatives not even knowing where he is."
adamu
Jul 17 2016, 11:29 PM
Raf had remained silent at Dana's polite enquiry, not out of rudeness, but simply content to let Maya answer as he continued his work on another arrow. But when Dana spoke of parents not knowing...he struggled to keep his emotions in check. The thought of his dear mother and father agonizing over his safety and whereabouts was almost too much for him. All his attention must be on solving the puzzle of their appearance here - clearly there was some rationale behind it, and discovering that was certainly the ultimate key to their survival. He whittled away in determined silence.
Beta
Jul 18 2016, 10:12 PM
As the sun was getting ready to dip behind the peak to their west, Jugalo came by and asked Addie if she was planning on gathering more branches for anything this evening?
She had been thinking that, even with Pierre's extra work, they should put another layer of branches on the lean-to, but .... Dot had left them anyway -- and Addie couldn't blame her, given her treatment by some of the other girls -- and she thought Jugalo looked a little too eager, and she really did need to spend some bonding time with the other girls.
Those were all really good reasons for crawling into the tent right now. But somehow that just felt too much like abandoning duty. Maybe Dot would come back, maybe they'd need a shelter for some other reason, maybe they'd move camp but a smaller group would need to be here at some point -- she just couldn't leave the thing mostly done, but not quite there.
Addie looks for the orc girl, Klarissa, but soon found out that she too had gone with Cailin. Next up she looks for the girl with the obvious cyber-eyes and hand, hoping that she has have low-light vision, only to find out that she had gone out with a hunting party -- of all boys no less. Addie is beginning to think that maybe this is a sign, because duty be hanged she is not going out in the dusk with Jugalo without a chaperone, and she isn't taking anyone out into the dusk who can't see in it.
Then she remembers Gem. Addie mentally winces a bit, Gem is difficult. Not in a bad way, not really, it is just that she seems so mercenary. Sure she wants the group to do well, because she is safer in the group. But from what Addie has seen, the distinctive looking elf doesn't do things from fondness or kindness or pity, but only because she sees a good trade in it.
Fortunately she finds the elf squatting near the fire, staring into the flames, not immediately talking to any of the other girls. Addie's greeting draws a response of "What do you want?"
Given such a blunt question, Addie decides on a blunt answer "I want you to come with me for an hour to gather more tree-branches for the lean-to. We'll get some of the stronger boys for the worst of tearing down branches, but you'd have to help carry. Really just another camp chore, and we all need to do them, but I'm fair, what favour would you like from me in return?"
Gem's answer is instant "Dawn watch. Simon was setting up watch for tonight, and he doesn't want to totally count on the orcs, so he has me as part of the watch once the sky starts to get a little light. Take it for me."
"Done." Addie doesn't add that she would be awake then away.
+ + + + + + +
They had just hoisted their bundles of branches to head back to camp when Aria called Addie by commlink "Sim was just calling for you, and Lindsey and Simon and Rick. Looks ike they were headed out of the camp, up the valley."
Addie thanks the younger girl, and tries to set a good pace back to camp. Unfortunately she had brought along Pierre -- he'd figured out better ways to strip branches from the bushes, but his short legs did limit his speed somewhat. They weren't all that far out of camp, although already they'd had to go farther than the day before as the nearby bushes were stripped of the more easily taken branches, and they were in the right general direction, if closer to the stream, but it all seemed to be taking too long when something important was going on.
Finally when they were half way back, Addie admitted to the commlink call, and asks Jugalo to stay with Pierre while she and Gem head off at an angle up-hill to look for the Rick and the others. "Don't worry," she assures Gem "This close to the camp we should be totally safe."
A minute later they spot the others, and a minute after that they see the bodies lying on the ground. "Safe?" growls Gem.
Addie has no come-back to that. As they join those standing around the bodies Rick gives an impatient grunt and mutters "Finally."
QUOTE
Once they're all there, Rick explains, "Sim and Dana found these three laying out here. She apparently healed them some, but they're still out of it. This was obviously done by a person, or persons, and not wild animals..."
Lindsey scoffs, "Dana just happened to find them? How do we know it wasn't Maya and her group doing this in the first place?"
Addie finds it hard to belive that Dana would do this, yet .... "Dana might be able to do this. The first day, she asked me to spar. I'm not an experienced fighter but I've done quite a bit of Ju-Jitsu, I figured it would be good to keep in practice at some point. She jumped me right away, and I've never sparred with someone who was so fast. She had in some of arm lock before I knew what was going on, and before I could even think of how to try and break out she had me on the ground. I think Eric, my teacher, might have had trouble with her, and he's been a black belt for years, and he's strong -- well, he's an orc so no big surprise that he's strong -- but he's also fast, but I think Dana is faster. Anyway, she might be able to take down three people, I don't really know. And Nora said that she's some kind of mage, too, right?"
Mercy
Jul 19 2016, 01:58 PM
Maya nods her head. "You are right, Dana. Thank you for reminding me. We can hold a small service in the morning for Grok and put up a marker of some sort. I only hope that we will not have to add more markers next to it too soon. Well, I think I am finally ready for bed and will turn in. Thank you for coming back with the news. Raf, please tell the next guard and warn them to be even more careful and vigilant." She stands and goes back into the cave to lie down and go to sleep.
Gilga
Jul 19 2016, 02:05 PM
Dana nodded "Thanks - I will appreciate it." joined Maya in the cave and bid Raff goodnight. Sleep came a lot easier with the new clothes and Dana hoped that the rest would be wearing these soon enough, the day was emotionally and physically taxing and she needed the sleep. It seems that the facade was like a very aggressive reality show. Dana feared that the main camp would come to retaliate for the hunters, from her experience when people consider the possibility of magic they will believe anything, even if all evidence contradict their hypothesis. Her only hope was that at least Sim would not be as superstitious. Besides, if Dana had attacked these guards they would all be dead - she does not leave her prey alive. It is almost against her religion, the one inside her hurt - not the one being forced upon her by her captors.
Aria
Jul 19 2016, 04:34 PM
Evening, Day 3
@Rick’s Group
Rick searched the growing darkness, trying to ascertain the threat that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere
“We need to get everybody back to camp now! Try not to disturb anyone, the last thing we need is a bunch of frightened kids running off into the night. Addie, Lindsey, can you discretely wake some more people you trust, I want the guard doubled until we know what we are dealing with. Were there any stims in the medkit? The sooner we get some answers from these three the better!”
With that he hefted the larger of the hunters onto his back with apparent ease and began the short walk back to the camp fires…
irn0rchid
Jul 19 2016, 05:23 PM
With Rick, Gem, and Addie headed back to camp, Lindsey looks over at Sim and Simon and then holds up her skinny arms, "I hope you can each carry one like Rick did?" Sim snorts and then motions at the larger one as it begins to float a foot off the ground. He takes the legs of the third and motions for Simon to take the arms as they lift the still form and head back to camp, the other kid bobbing behind him.
Lindsey stands there for a moment feeling silly as the only person not doing anything constructive, but then smiles as she realizes everything got done without her having to do anything constructive. With a light step she trails behind the mini caravan and takes the opportunity to shift her vision and study the effect that Sim is having on the floating boy. It's obviously different from what he was doing to the fires, but there's still a sort of 'Sim-ness' to it. "All the magic he does must have that particular look to it," she realizes. Her study is cut short as she trips on a root in the dark and falls flat on her face. Snarling, she picks herself up and looks after the two boys, making sure they didn't see her make a fool of herself. Paying more attention to the path, she hurries back into place behind them and spends the rest of the walk thinking of how best to take advantage of this event, her smile growing as a plan takes shape.
Once at the lean-to, Lindsey is a little surprised at the size and construction of, not having seen it previously. She watches from the sidelines as the three victims are arranged and Addie turns the lean-to into a human oven. Rick then motions to Sim and her and they head back into camp. "I'll have the rest of the girls run extra watches inside the camp. They're not really equipped to be patrolling the forest at night." Lindsey says, and then trails off as she sees two forms heading into the forest. "Was that Niyaf and Muhammad?" Rick grunts, "Yeah, Addie set up some extra patrols as well, why?" "Well she seemed to be pretty scared of the... bigger kids... in camp, so it just surprised me; and a boy no less..." Rick stops and looks down at her. "Yes, I'd noticed that a lot of the girls in your little group weren't handling the 'bigger kids' well," he says mockingly. "Really, it doesn't matter as long as their get their jobs done, and right now, that's her job, so she better get it done." Lindsey shrugs, "Hey, I was just saying it seemed odd. Null sheen." Looking around to make sure no one else was looking, she calls up one of her long term friends and has him appear briefly for Rick and Sim, "This is James. I'll have him watch outside the camp for anyone not already here. And especially for Dana and Cailin..." Rick looks a little startled as the vaguely humanoid form made of concrete and rebar appears and then quickly fades away while Sim nods slightly and doesn't seem fazed. "Thanks for letting me know. I'll take the first watch for any magic inside the camp and then you can take the second. You *can* watch for that, right?" Sim asks, unconsciously a little condescendingly towards someone who wasn't a full mage. Lindsey smiles nevertheless and agrees, leaving them to go arrange for a few of the girls to stay up by the fire and to come wake her when Sim says it's time to switch.
Beta
Jul 19 2016, 05:44 PM
Addie suggests to Rick "Bring them to the lean-to, rather than disturbing the tents." With that she hoists her bundle of branches and reminds Gem to do the same (and to say nothing of what she has seen and heard once back at camp)-- it would be odd to be seen returning without them -- and heads back to camp. Once there she is is glad to find Pierre and Jugalo laying their load of branches onto the lean-to. She puts down her load down in the lean-to and starts spreading them out, all the time saying "Guys, hate to bring bad news, but Rick has been pacing around the camp and concluded that we don't have enough people keeping watch. As a couple of the people who can see in the dark, you are both drafted, and Gem too. Jugalo, could you go wake up Leslie? He said a couple of things that make me think he's ok in low light too. And, hmmm, Pierre, could you pull Ratchet out of his tent? I know he seems nerdy and not a fighter, but he seems to pay attention to detail pretty well, he can be one of the human partners. Gem, could you go get Niyaf -- she can partner up with one of the orcs and I'm pretty sure that she'll stay awake."
With the others scattered to the various tents, there is nobody at the lean-to when Rick and the others arrive with the unconscious hunters. Addie indicates to lie them on the crude mattress of branches, and positions them in the recovery position, propping their legs slightly higher than their upper bodies by re-arranging branches. She explains "If you get knocked unconscious in a fight there is often a concussion, which can lead to nausea, so before they are all the way awake they may vomit, this way they won't choke on it. Also they are apt to be in a bit of shock, so they should be kept warm. Sim, can you bring the fire up any higher? I know it isn't good for night vision, but the lean-to should capture enough heat from it to help with that. Besides that we have body heat." With that she lies down next to one of the human boys, and when Pierre and Ratchet come back she has them lie down with the dwarf and other human respectively. It is a squeeze, but that just helps make it warmer by her way of looking at it. She tells the hovering Rick "We rest now and help keep them warm, we'll let you know once they are awake, and we can all take watches later in the night -- towards dawn is best for me, I don't do full darkness well."
Once Rick takes the rest away to keep watch the three conscious inhabitants of the lean-to lie in silence for a while, then Addie puts on her best girl-confused-by-technology voice and asks Ratchet "I know you said you liked playing with electronics and the matrix, that you'd even made your toaster download music. I have an internal commlink, but while I know how to do the normal stuff -- make calls, run a stop-watch, make notes, that sort of thing -- I don't really understand it well. I know it is harder when you can't see it, but you can teach me some stuff about computers and the matrix connections and how things get set and stuff? I feel like I'm not making as much use of it as I could." To her complete lack of surprise Pierre knows a fair bit about this too, and soon both of them are explaining things to her. Most of it is common knowledge but she keeps encouraging them for as long as they can all stay awake, putting notes into her commlink of setting and queries to try in the morning.
irn0rchid
Jul 19 2016, 08:32 PM
Starting up into a sitting position when woken by one of the other girls, Lindsey feels like she had barely gotten any sleep at all. Presently, thoughts of her plan come to mind and she smiles and stands up, re-energized. Shaking three of the others awake as well, she leads to the center of camp to take over the watch on the tents and central supplies. Lindsey shifts her vision and looks around to make sure there was nothing unusual going on before pairing off with a human girl named Sarah for the watch while Nora and an older Asian girl, Jin, set up on the other side of the fire.
Some time passes uneventfully except for the patrols from outside the camp being relieved. Lindsey doesn't see Niyaf return to the girls tent, but she doesn't pay much attention to that as she prepares to really heat things up. Concentrating on the different aspects of the magic she's seen, she consciously tries to effect the aspect of her spirit friends for the first time and manages to succeed, after extreme effort, in calling up an air spirit, if a weak one. Letting out a sigh of relief, she shifts her vision one more time to confirm everything is still calm before intentionally looking towards the outside of the camp and asking the spirit to materialize out of the campfire, engulf the remaining packets of clothing, and fly as quickly and as far away as possible.
A gasp from the other side of the fire indicates Nora has spotted the flaming figure emerging from the fire and racing to the middle of the stockpile. By the time she draws breath to scream, Lindsey is already hard at work scrubbing the glowing traces left behind from the elemental's passage out of 'existence'. "This is the first time the weirdness of this place has actually been helpful," she thinks. As Sim emerges from his tent Lindsey is a study in confusion, arm extended to point in the direction the elemental flew, mouth agape. When he calls out to her, she hustles over to him and mutters, "An elemental just flew out of the middle of the stockpile and disappeared over the trees! I'm not sure what kind it was, it was flaming at first but then those blew away." Nora comes running over, crying, as Rick joins the others, "It walked right out of the fire! *sob* Into the supplies. *cry* It was flying away before I could really even see it. *hic* It was so bright!" Rick stalks over to look at the supplies while Sim questions Lindsey. "I was looking over there when I heard Nora. By the time I was able to try and examine its glow, it was already virtually gone. I've never seen it fade that fast. Maybe it's something to do with the strangeness of this place?" She pauses and tilts her head to the side, "James didn't see anything either. And that thing was way faster than he can go, so I'm really not sure what it was. Do you think it was those mages with Maya?" Sim scowls and peers intently at the stockpile, "I can't see anything either. I hate this place!" Striding off to Rick's side, the two of them confer and everyone standing around can clearly hear Rick say, "Yeah, all the fragging armor packets are gone."
Mercy
Jul 20 2016, 04:33 AM
Maya lies quietly and listens to the breathing of the others and relaxes. She does not really fit in with being a leader, but will do the best she can for these people if they keep putting her in that position. She is very tired and falls asleep this time, hoping that she will not wake to find another member of the group missing.
Digital Heroin
Jul 20 2016, 10:16 AM
Tell the first guard she sees. That is Scrap's plan. It is until she sees the first guard she sees. One of the toughs. An orc, like Rick. Rick worries her. This guy is worse. He is all but throwing around his partner. Berating him. Laughing at the fact he stumbles in the growing dark. Scrap musters up the courage to confront him. She stands tall. As tall as she can. She clears her throat as she walks close. The glow of her outmoded cybereyes heralds her approach. She starts to say something. The orc boy growls, and tells her to sod off. She instantly wilts. She mutters something about news. The orc boy waves her off. Tells her there are more important things going on. Tells her to go make a sandwich. In that moment she wishes she could. One with metal filings in it. She recoils internally. She is not this violent. Something about him being a bully brings it out.
Calm. She needs to be calm.
Scrap gathers herself and moves on. She darts into the camp for some security just in time to see a whorl of air tumble past. A small torrent of air with something large suspended in the middle. She is no stranger to spirits, but even this is unexpected. Spirits are usually not theives. Maybe this was the news the orc kid had. Or maybe they already knew about the monster. The camp seems a flurry of activity, and no one has time to answer the call to attention of the world's most bland girl. She withdraws to a quiet little corner and considers her options. There are others out there like her. Not like her like her. But others who have commlinks. She has quietly listened to the signals, but has been careful keep her own commlink off. The eyes and hand create a perception in people's mind. They think she is a broken little girl, and that is all well and good. They do not betray that she has a commlink, and even that will obfuscate who she really is. For now, though, she is just desperate enough to share the news with people that she settles back into her quiet spot and closes her eyes. She powers on her commlink. The boot up screen as rudementary as it gets. Generic iconography that some would find gauling she takes comfort in. It is unobtrusive, and often overlooked. She can empathize with the software. When it has booted, she conducts a search of nearby connections and broadcasts a simple message. A timeless programmer's message.
-Hello world.
Aria
Jul 20 2016, 12:11 PM
@Scrap
The response is almost immediate, and contrary to expectations carries the hallmarks of another 'mancer
>>Hello, I wondered when you would show up again. I'm Aria<<
Imladir
Jul 20 2016, 12:34 PM
Judging by the wheezing in her respiration, Cailin is probably not sleeping very well. Snuggling a bit more against Summer, she settles down. Still wheezing softly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[ Spoiler ]
[Devin MacDough ; October 27rd, 2069 ; Meath, Tìr na nÓg]
It had been four days since this encounter. Four days during which Devin had stayed near Tara, hoping to catch a glimpse of the small O'Connor girl. His schedule abandoned, he would have big problems with the TRC if they found him. No, not if... When. No use pretending otherwise, there was no way he could avoid them for long.
But he wanted to talk again to this girl. Cailin. Something about her had struck him. Maybe the innocence of a child? Her clear eyes full of curiosity or her gentleness? He had tried for four days to put his feelings in words, to no avail. Fortunately, even if he hadn't had much success there, he had a bit more when he tried to find her. Kind of.
Finding the domicile of an O'Connor was nothing too difficult. Even for a troll, it was possible to learn this from the disdainful locals. But he couldn't really knock on the front door now, could he? But as far as he could tell, in the last two days the girl hadn't left the house. Well, house... More a manor than a house... Maybe even a small castle.
It had been two rainy days however. Today, the sky was clear and the temperature wasn't too low for the season. Maybe he would get lucky. He spent the first few hours of the day at the edge of the forest from where he could see the garden. He didn't even know what he would do if the girl went out: they were discreet, but Devin had seen some guards patrolling the ground. There was no way they would allow him in. More probably, they would shoot first and ask questions later. If there were question at all. He was a troll after all.
His musings about those arrogant dandelion-eaters almost made him miss the girl. Wrapped up in probably more than her own weight of clothes, she was riding the biggest red Irish wolfhound he had ever seen. Sure, he hadn't seen many, but this one was huge for a dog. Judging by the giggling the wind carried to him, this didn't seem to bother the girl though.
Wait, was she? Yes, maybe his lucky star hadn't abandoned him after all: it looked like she was going into the forest. Happily talking to her dog by the looks of it. She wasn't going near him, but then, he could walk quickly.
Well, turned out, he couldn't walk that quickly. At least not in a forest. Give him the concrete and steel of Seattle, and sure. But here... Swearing under his breath all the way, it took him more than an hour to hear the girl again. She wasn't alone however. And it didn't seem that all was well.
Creeping toward the noise, he finally saw what was happening. The girl, hand on the head of the hound, seated next to her, was back to a...dolmen? Menhir? Some kind of big fragging stone. In front of her, were three young elves, a few years older than her. Of course, they were speaking Sperethiel, so Devin understood frag all. But from the gestures, her face and the growls of the dog, they didn't seem to be friends.
In fact, based on his experience in this kind of situation, it was pretty clear that they were accusing her of something, using their number and the age difference to oppress her. Maybe trying to ignite a brawl. Probably stupid of them given the hound though. That said, even looking ready to cry, she didn't seem ready to sic the animal on the boys.
When she sniffed miserably, it was too much for Devin. He rushed into the clearing, growling, charging the boys. And then stopped. Had it gone differently, he didn't know what he would have done from there. Fortunately, while surprised, the girl seemed to have recognized him, and kept the dog under control. As for the boys, two of them fled as fast as possible. As for the third one, he was only delayed by his fall, ass first, on the ground.
A moment of silence followed. Stunned, the girl watched the boys flee. Then looked at him. And it was as if a dam had suddenly ruptured, sobs racking her. Absent-mindedly, Devin noticed that even then, she was cute. Hesitant, he went on his knees, and put his hand on one of the tiny girl's shoulders. She didn't need more, and took refuge in his arms.
Frag, what was he supposed to do now? The hound didn't seem likely to attack him but still... Maybe wait a little? The cries didn't seem ready to stop any time soon though... Maybe he could bring her home? Surely once the situation was explained, he wouldn't be in any trouble? At least, not until the TRC heard about it that is.
Getting on his feet, Devin followed the path, hoping to get back to her home. On the way, the cries had stopped but the girl didn't seem eager to get down. He supposed it would be better than to get there with a crying girl in his arm, but he would by far have preferred letting her ride her dog.
And of course, when he reached the manor, saying that the guard that saw him first was less than thrilled would be an understatement. He demanded that he gave the girl to him. Rather forcefully. The dog didn't seem to want anything of the sort to happen, and made sure that the guard kept his distance. But with the arrival of more guards, the situation was rapidly taking a turn for the worse.
Until the harsh voice of a woman ordered the guards to stand down. With a few more choice words apparently, he didn't need to know Sperethiel to understand that... The guards cowed, the woman approached, and with the apparent benediction of the dog, took the girl from him. With a smile, she wiped the tears and invited Devin to follow her inside. There, she guided him through a multitude of rooms, before asking him to wait in a boudoir, while she put her daughter in her bed for a much needed nap. A couple of minutes later, she came back, had two Guiness served and sat down.
- So, I think I can guess what happened, but can you tell it to me please?
Brushing over his reasons for being in the region in the first place, Devin told what he saw of the encounter. With a sad sigh, Cailin's mother sank into her armchair, taking a big mouthful of her beer, imitated by Devin. And what a beer...a...a Guinness. Simply... Divine. If there is a god, he probably drinks only Guinness. Wait, wait, she's talking, listen you big oaf!
- Huh... I'm sorry, I... Devin lifted his beer as an explanation.
Laughing, Cailin's mother, repeated what she had just said.
- I was asking what you knew about our situation. But I suppose I can answer my own question, since it's not something anyone wants known. Given the amount of troubles you've just landed into though, I owe you this much. I'm Ciara by the way.
- Devin. Devin MacDough.
After a nod and a new sip from her beer, she resumed.
- My husband, Cailin's father is Niall O'Connor. There are many problems in the country, a lot of them coming from this sense of superiority a lot of us have. You saw some of the effects, as all non elves do. Even humans, if in a lesser measure than others.
She sighs, shaking her head.
- But those are only the visible parts of the iceberg. The roots of the problem are insidious and well buried. And since the leaders of our society are of course all elves, it won't change anytime soon. Some are revolting any way they can, and sadly the only way they think they can is by acts of terror.
She stays silent for a while, visibly saddened by what she just said. With a shake, she continues.
- There are some however that try a more...vocal...and less destructive way. One of the most visible among them is Niall. Maybe the most visible, since he can afford it. To most in the establishment, he is an embarrassment, someone they would love to silence. Especially fifteen years ago, when he publicly released some informations our leaders would have preferred not seeing the light of day.
She smiles ruefully, lost in memory.
- His name carries a lot of weight however, and protects him a fair bit. And some who share his views wouldn't if he had any other name. That, and he's a very powerful mage. But it doesn't make life easy of course. While he can visit from time to time, it's never for long. Our guards are as much for our protection as to make sure we toe the line, as it were. When you add all this with the rivalry between O'Connors and O'Kennedys...
She shakes her head.
- I'm pretty sure the kids you chased away were O'Kennedys. And I thank you for that, but you're now in mortal danger. They can't do much to us, except being nuisances, and trying to make sure that Cailin doesn't espouse her father's ideas. But if they can get to us through you, they wouldn't hesitate. Hell, given what I suspect those brats will have reported, they probably don't even need to take us into account.
Stunned, Devin could only nod at all that. Looks like a princess life is not that cushy after all... With a start, he noticed that Ciara was talking again.
- Of course I'll help you. But you will have to leave the country tonight. And probably never come back.
- Of course, thank you.
- No, thank you. I know we will not be able to protect her forever, and sooner or later she will have to suffer from all this but...
- I understand. I was only staying because... I don't know, she...
Unable, once again, to put his thoughts in words, he could only wave his hand helplessly. Ciara seemed to have understood though, and asked with a bright smile.
- Ha. Something drew you to her, something you could not explain, right? That's because she's not really an elf. She's a dryad. They tend to have this kind of effect on people. And this young...when she smiles at you... Let's say it can be...devastating. Niall and I are perfectly normal elves as far as we can tell, so we can't explain it but...
With a shrug, she finished her beer, and frowned.
- I count on you to never speak about that though.
Ha... A dryad. A simple word to put on something he couldn't explain. Not that it told him much, of course. But he had an explanation. And with luck, he would have time to find out more.
The rest of the day went in a blurr. He went from handler to handler, until as the sun was setting, he was aboard a boat bound to England. He looked west, to the land of his ancestor. It hadn't gone as planed. This land wasn't what he had hoped. In fact, it was worst than he had feared. But...maybe... maybe there was hope.
Mercy
Jul 21 2016, 06:40 AM
Maya wakes in the morning and her first action is to look about and make sure that everyone is accounted for.
Imladir
Jul 21 2016, 11:41 AM
[Cailin, Small Camp]When Maya wakes up, Cailin is keeping watch by the fire. Or, it could more accurately be said that she's by the fire, while a
spirit of Earth materialised nearby is keeping watch.
Raising her head, she smiles at Maya, who can see, without much surprised, that she's once again perfectly groomed despite the rough night. However, her eyes are a bit red, and her nose, like the day before, seems a bit irritated.
While she didn't keep watch herself, she wasn't inactive and has been working on the bones of the tigers despite the inadequacies of the tools she made before going to sleep. Still, she was able to get some hairpins - one of them tying her bun - a small comb, some needles and the start of what is probably a flute.
Artisan (bone work, -2 lack of tools):
8d6t5 3Right now though, in the better light, she is working on the tigers' pelts, making some big blankets.
Artisan (pelt work, -2 lack of tools):
8d6t5 5While she couldn't do much with the bones, lacking the adequate tools - which she found really frustrating - she went for more than functional on the blankets: with a stone heated on the fire, she drew some esoteric patterns on the skins, which eliminates a good part of the primitive feel of the work. This won't sell in a nice shop, but she seems pleased nonetheless. As such, she greets Maya happily "
Hi! Good night?"
Digital Heroin
Jul 21 2016, 12:04 PM
Scrap recognizes something in the response. A feeling. It is familiar, but confusing. With what she has going on, she does not dwell, however. Instead she is simply happy to have made contact.
- I saw a thing.
- An attack. On the hunters.
She is still using her commlink as a relay, not willing to expose herself just yet. That affords her certain security and freedom. Like the freedom to open a part of the commlink up for an open connection. That little segment is host to a recording from her cybereyes. Though the video is obscured somewhat by her efforts to hide from the combat, it does capture enough to show that it was a fellow survivor who attacked them. Scrap does not re-watch the video herself. It is too brutal. He moved so fast. They had no chance. He left them alive, though. But still.
- He didn't see me. People tend not to notice me.