Remnants of the Earth
TEINAR => Wastelands => Topic started by: Anonymous on November 22, 2008, 10:48:03 pm
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Twilight was setting in like a disease on the wastelands; the putrid colours of the sky mixing with the dismal light like so many toxins burning their poisonous flare. It cast long shadows over the junk and rubble and ruin. Long shadows stretching like fingers scraping the land, sowing dark taint into the trash. As the sky dimmed, and became a deeper shade of green-brown, the nocturnal dwellers of the Wastelands- those wicked creatures scrounged up from ages of adaptation, radiation and loose magic, those hybrids of filth- awoke to hunger. Hunger and a want of something more, always something more.
As daytime fell to rest, parts of the wastes began to glow. Glow alive with magic or toxin- or a trap to lure the especially dull-minded or desperate.
Rage drew the creature to wander these regions. Rage and revenge. He appeared as a glow moving throughout the rubble. He left no tracks behind him, only a smell of lingering disease and gasoline. He never slept. How could he sleep? His place was not that of meditation. His cloven hooves moved expertly through the garbage and stink. He never put a foot wrong. He always was and is graceful. And for all the rage and sorrow and betrayal in those eyes of his, he still appears as a white light. A white glow softly touching the wastes. Where he walks, the soil becomes briefly fertile- all he can do in this wreckage, with poison all around.
If he lets any close- and he usually does- you may glimpse his off-white coat, stained and slick in most places. Those once-elegant tufts of feathered hair slick and grimy against his fetlocks. His tail not more than that of a rat with a hairy tip. A subtle horn on his brow. Not beautiful as his kin were told to be. He couldn't remember the last time he saw beauty is this desolation. The last time he saw a plant grow. The last time he felt hope.
Eyanis wasn't only old enough to remember when these lands died.
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Funny. There was really no reason for them to show up on this world, in the middle of terrible times, suddenly and out of the blue. No reason at all, save for simple curiosity: the desire to see what had yet to be seen, witness what was previously unwitnessable. And now look where it got them. Right at the Edge of the Wastelands, staring down into the toxic decay of a land that had at one point in the past been lush and healthy and filled with animals. Back in the good old days, these lands weren't soaked in venomous products that warped bio-organic life and suffocated others. Flowers didn't spit needles at you. The air wasn't heavy with a poison smog. Field mice weren't ten feet tall with fangs and claws and wings. Damn, had tings changed, and none for the better. Augh, none for the better ... That was the only certain thing in a world that didn't know right from left anymore.
Either way, they were here, in the middle of the night, with masks covering their mouths. Why? There was no rhyme nor reason. They'd simply wandered here, and would brave the dangers to get to the other side ... It was their way of life. The team of three and their little nut of a pet stood at the top of a hill overlooking the toxic lands. A gentle breeze picked up from the east and blew towards its polar opposite. Pollen spored from rampant flora, sending plume upon plume of death and demise into the atmos. All in all, it was a good thing that they were immortal. Well, all but Scarlet. But would she be bothered by the mess down there? Zombies were, after all, intensely resilient to hit like that.
Well, for precaution's sake, the red-skinned fae had donned a mask and was raring to go. Milky orbs stared off with eagerness, the pale blue irises hidden behind the film shimmering just slightly. Her nose was diminished with the bridge almost invisible. Holes replaced ears. A mess of bleached blond hair matted her scalp, fluffing out towards her shoulders. Three bangs, shock-yellow, spiked from the center of her forehead and hung before her macabre mask. Thick yellow claws replaced fingers. Scarlet was dressed in her usual attire - black tank top, camo jeans, steel-toed boots, tan-bandage wristbands, a long coat of black with silver linings ... Holstered on each upper leg was a Colt Python, fully-loaded.
Beside her were two other females, one noticeably younger than the other. The eldest was a brunette of about 5'6". A red headband was tie about her scalp. Donned in ninja-style clothing, she wore a black tailed shirt with the 'tails' going to just above her knees. It was high-collared, concealing the skull-choker around her neck. Black fingerless gloves with steel plates on the backs and rubber knuckles coated each hand. Black jeans, ending at the knee where a red mesh began. Golden bands here and there. Most of her torso, including her bare arms, was wrapped in bandages - not for injury, but for decoration. Her right eye was a milky green - blind - while the other was deep emerald. Next to her was a child that stood maybe 3'6"/3'7". Pale in complexion, her eyes were red with no pupils and pink sclera. Three blue dots punctuated beneath each ocular. She wore a purple 'jumpsuit' that lacked sleeves but included a hood. The sleeves were cut off at the shoulders, where a light blue undershirt emerged. The jumpsuit was also cut off at the knees, whereupon tan legwarmers took root. She'd tied a leather strip, long and wide, around her waist. Soft, cushioned black shoes kept impact with the ground minimal. This girl's hair was just as strange as her eyes. It was silver, transforming from light to navy blue as it descended, and it spike outwards at the ends.
Then came the 'pet'. Chillaxing off to the right, crouching in the grasses, he was the most peculiar of them all. A tiny monster was he, no bigger than two feet. Emaciated-looking by nature, his rugged, coarse hide was brown in hue with welts of dark rusty red. Quills spiked up along his back, their tips ending in tan and whites and blacks. Bright yellow eyes the size of dinner plates with slitted pupils peered from a face masked in light tan. Sharp fangs glistened in what little moonlight there was.
Introducing the Renegades! The brunette and the white-skinned girl had both activated their cloaking watches, concealing abnormalities from the outside world. Clearly the red-toned woman did not care. And Terry ... couldn't be bothered.
"We can be's crossin' nao?" chirped the red woman, beaming. She was excited and had every reason to be. There was a settlement somewhere beyond this point, and the group needed to herd as many supplies at possible.
The brunette rubbed her chin. Vocals muffled by the mask concealing her maw, she replied, "I ... uh ... Scar, I'm beginning to rethink this whole plan."
"Why's?"
"Well, for starters ... the whole place is a toxic waste dump. You're mutated enough as it is." It had been a joke, and it worked well. Scarlet burst into a fit of giggles. The overlay of relief was good. Naira sighed, relishing it. "I'm more or less worried about how it'll affect us."
"Siiiiiiiiiiis, we are undead ... " That was Nakéminae. She was leaning against Naira's right leg. "I don't think it'll kill us."
"You and I are undead. Scar's not ... And besides." The half-dragon (her tail and talons were cloaked by the watch's illusions) rose a finger into the air, ready to make a point. "Never assume anything. Assuming makes an ass out of you and me. I'd rather know what we're dealing with, and what we should expect ... "
"How will we be's findin' out if we cinnae enter da place?" pouted Scarlet. Her shoulders were sagging. Disappointment was settling in.
A pruum from nearby caught everybody's attention. Terry was cleaning himself, leg lifted into the air. Upon noticing all eyes were on him, the Graveling froze and stared with terrified eyes at the suddenly conniving faces. He scramble on all fours and tried to run. Scarlet was on him in not time.
Five seconds later, he was thrown into the patch of radiation and poison. The trio waited patiently while the undead Graveling made his way back, coughing and sputtering. He hardly got two feet out of the tall grasses before keeling forward and vomiting. Nakéminae lurched forward to stroke his back. Naira and Scarlet, though, ere grinning to themselves.
"Well ... that concludes that theory."
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The creature could smell them- strangers to the waste. Not that the waste really cared, there were certainly more bizarre things than newcomers, and every now and then the odd bunch did wander in. It would seem that this was one of those occasions.
It might seem odd that he could smell them amid the poison and chemical and smoke and god-knows-what else in the waste, but you have to remember: this was his home. And there was always some sort of disturbance whenever intruders were sensed. He wound his way around something full of tentacles- small, thin, bright red tendrils that suctioned to the ground- and towards the area the... guests of the waste had entered. He was always curious about newcomers, though if they proved to be those scientific humans...
He wasn't fond of them.
He dropped his white glow so as not to frighten off the brave adventurers, noiselessly stepping forward under the crest of a nearby dump of earth and twisting, slightly pulsing, roots. The only indication of his arrival was the stillness of anything local that had a hint of intelligence. Anything with the basic instinct to either leave or hide or stare in awe at him. A few times something bigger had tried to take a bite out of him, but that never ended well for them.
He almost blended in with the background as he moved into view, the mud and slime-slicked coat turned an awful shade of coffee-stained white with dark patched in places where he'd lay down or brushed against something. Only his horn remained clean, and even then it had taken on a shade of brown- like a dark wood, with a beige streak around the mid-top.
He moved fluidly, smooth, and with no noise save the hushed whirring from his mechanical leg- though the mechanics were hardly noticeable as fur still grew on the metal. He also was quicker than one would expect, his walk stepping quickly over the refuse until he was at the spot where Terry had fallen, neck bent down and nose sniffing at the spot. Then he was looking up at the group, mane draping over his neck in dirty but definite waves- just like the unicorns in stories. His tail was also like a romanticized lion's that you find in the stories- except much, much dirtier. Tufted ears slipped forward towards the group, waiting for them to notice him if they hadn't already.
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At one point or another, Nakéminae had slid towards Terry with a comforting arm stretched out, wrapping about the Graveling's shoulders. She tugged the odd being close, hugging his macabre form once the stream of vomit finished pouring from his serrated-jaw-filled maw. The poor thing was a bit green int he face. But feeling the Ethernian Reaver's warmth, his upturned smile became pure and the purring that had been interrupted before now continued full-force. Though Terry lacked a tail, his quills made up for it: they swayed from side to side in happiness. Strange, what children befriend ... Naira held back, tilting her head, watching them with odd bemusement crossing her expression. A faint nod of approval, unseen by her 'sister' and the Graveling. Finally with a shrug she focused attentions on Scar. The Red Zombie was waving about her claws, eagerness and curiosity all packed into one wild gesture.
"Where we be's goin', anyways?" queried Juggernaut. "Da only t'ing on da odder side o' dis place be's da ocean n' stuff, rights? We goin' fishin'?" And those glazed eyes lit up somehow. A definite sheen reflected bitter moonlight back to Naira.
Nemo shook her hea.d "Naw. I don't think we'll be wanting to eat whatever's over there ... " Oh hell no. Radioactive fish? They really wanted to start glowing at night. Mmm, night lights. "There's supposed to be a settlement over yonder. Not west - that's where the ocean is. Danni? Dunu? Something like that. We're ... uh ... kinda short on supplies."
Her sheepish grin was followed by a gesture to something on the descending hill behind them - tents. Or what could have been, would have been, should have been tents. They looked more like things that had been swallowed up by a giant Gilla monster, chewed up, and spitten out. Holes existed where they shouldn't have. Mold lined the seams. In the cover of night, mutant, venomous ants and mice and other such pests made their way to and fro without fear. Those leaving were taking food and other provisions with them in their jaws or on their backs, and nobody in the group was up to the task of messing with them. Perhaps at one point those tents had actually been .. worthwhile. Now they were destroyed, the infestation from the Wastes becoming too much.
"Any place where we can buy provisions is a good place." Naira finished that sentence just as Terry and Nakéminae came strolling up to her side. The Graveling's teeth were bared. Give him another minute and those fangs would be buried in Naira's ankle.
And Scarlet, being Scarlet ... Well, patience did not precede her. With a flippant gesture and a childish grin, she swung about and plodded forth, red skin shining, off into the unknown. Steel-toed boots made no noise in the mushy, writhing grasses. "Kies, lessgo!"
But the others had seen something out there, moving towards them. It was to dark to make full detail but the glow from whatever was placed on its horn illuminated the bare knowledge of dirty, matted fur and a large, muscular build. A giant bulk was on its back. "Scar ... ," Nay called after, hand outstretching as if to stop her. But the Zombie was too far now.
"C'moooon, whatcha waitin' fer?" Obliviousness. She didn't even look behind her. Too blind to see the danger ... what was she walking into?
"Scar!" Nakéminae joined in the choir.
It was futile. By the time Scarlet noticed a peculiar, ardent odor in the air it was too late - she had walked straight into the creature. She lost her balance, fell on her rump and ... looked up, blinking. Waving. "Hullo!" Had it not been for her own strange appearance, the grin she gave off might be a little cute.
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The unicorn hadn't been the only one watching the group. For a while now she had been watching to. Surprised, yes, because she recongnized two of the members of the group. Indeed, while she had to use time travel to get to the planet, it had been a very long time sense she had last seen them. "Naira...Scarlet...i t can't be..." She whispered softly to herself. She wanted to approach them and greet them and find out if it was indeed them. Or, maybe they were figments of her imagination, brought about by the lack of fresh air, her mask kept a nice supply of fresh air from reaching her lungs. But it was better than the polluted air. Or, maybe they were creations of a dimensional hiccup? She didn't know, and though there was only one way to find out...she just didn't know how to approach them.
Thanks to Scar's actions though, Lyrial found herself an opening to which she could easily make herself known. Wait, what was that? It looked like...like..."A muddycorn!" Shouted Lyrial jokingly in her sweet voice. Her colorful eyes swirled with the colors of the rainbow nonstop, but colors of joy were the dominant color in them. Her hair at the moment was knee length and a rust red in color. Her normal clothing was replaced at the moment with a outfit more suited to wondering in the toxic enviroment. Black and pink the out fit was. If anything, Naira and Scarlet, if they were indeed the ones Lyrial remebered, would be able to recognize her from her eyes and choice of clothing colors. Mostly because while the last time they saw her she was shorter, and flatter, but well over one million years have passed for Lyrial since the last time she saw the two. During that time period she had grown up. Now, she was an adult.
Lyrial realized she had just made a strange outburst. And so she decided to come forth, so that she would be fully visable. This way, her presence was known. Indeed, knowing Scar, if she had remained hidden, things might have gotten out of hand. But first things first, introductions! How Lyrial loved introductions. She remeberd as a child she used to use all sorts of wild and crazy introductions. Though toned down throught the years, she still used them from time to time. In fact...why not now? "Sorry about that. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the great and all powerful Lyrial Eailiolery at your service!" She said giving a rather distict bow. Exaggerated and full of movement it was. But well cordinated. She streightened up and smiled beneath her mask. If anything, that would help Naira and Scarlet remeber who she was, if they were indeed the onese she knew. But the child, the...thing, and the unicorn, she did not know them. In fact...
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The unicorn slowly dropped his head to Scarlet's level, tufted ears pricked forward as he sniffed her.
"Hullo." He said back, though it was a bit of a hoarse, dry sound at first. He cleared his throat.
"Hello."
...Muddycorn? That can't have been referring to him, could she? He straightened, head turning in the direction where it came from. He shifted the lump of metal on his back that had once been a working wing. Now, only scraggles of feathers still clung to metal that had been bend and rusted beyond repair. He'd been hoping it would get stuck in something so he could rip it out- it'd at least heal over instead of being a nuisance all the time.
The air around him started to clear from his presence, as happens when he is stationary for long enough. Perhaps since they were close-ish to the outskirts it was took hold more quickly. Hah. Maybe if he hung out here for a year, he could make a forest grow!
But he wasn't that kind of Unicorn anymore. The humanoids would just find some way to pollute it again- or see the disturbance and hunt down its source, ie: him.
He stayed still though, watching the others. They looked humanish. As human as could be found around here, perhaps, yet they smelt different.
"Are you scientists?"
They could be. He'd gotten a look at the Graveling when it fell, and he could see it now. It could be a creation, perhaps? He didn't know, he hadn't brushed paths with those for a long time. He tended to avoid it, for obvious reasons. They actually had stuff nowadays that could trap a being such as himself.
As he looked, he noticed something distinctly unscientific- they weren't lugging research equipment like they usually do. He moved then, slender limbs carefully picking a course around Scarlet and to the top of the incline- about ten feet to the side of where the rest were standing. His gaze fell onto the tents, which might have been the remains of research equipment to him- it had been a long time since he'd seen any, so you gotta cut him some slack. However, it gave them a point in their favour. I they were researchers, they obviously hadn't come prepared- so that made them pretty low on the food chain in his opinion. Which was good because, as a rule, he disliked scientists since it was science, really, that had wrecked the earth in the first place. Well, science coupled with greed and stuff.
He sniffed the air again, trying to get a hold on them- undead? He'd heard that Necromantia had been wiped out... not that Necromancy was confined to that place...
((ick... sorry for the post suckage))
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OoC
Nonsense! I liked your post.
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So engrossed in their sudden and unusual finding of a rather peculiar beast were they that none in the group had noticed the approach of a familiar face. Scarlet was busy lifting her claws, waving them with the digits twitching sequentially. She didn't complain about the sniffing. Rather, she squealed at it - sounding no better than a young child who had been tickled under the arms. Flinching back only on minimal reflex, the red-skinned zombie was surprisingly calm, considering ... well, in the past, she would attack anything that smelled inhuman, claiming them to be biological weapons with legs (or fins). Had that been lost over the years? Her viciousness, erased? Perhaps it was dormant - or tamed in the presence of Naira and Nakéminae. Without those two around, who knew what kind of chaos would reign down upon whatever poor soul stumbled upon the crazed and deranged Scarlet without her personalized restraints?
"Hey, dat be's tickliiin'!" writhed Scarlet, squirming under the prick of an inquisitive snout.
Movement alerted them to Lyrial's presence. Granted they did not know the fae all that well, but well enough to recognize her as friend and not foe. Naira's face displayed a wide grin. Her eyes sharpened, twinkling in poor light. Nakéminae stood up from coddling Terry and immediately bounded over, finding the Worldeater and glomping her about the waist. Not a difficult task considering the Ethernian Soul Reaver was only 3'6". A whoop of carbon rose form her mouth, exalted in a sigh of happiness. Then the child raised her head, bright red eyes finding focus upon Lyrial's.
"Lyr!" she said, though it came out as a soft peep. Nakéminae's voice was feather, soft ... A soprano at a young age, with hidden potential. She could probably sing some glorious songs with higher tunes. She released her grip on Lyrial. "It's been so long!"
"How are ya, Lyr?" Naira nodded. The vocalizations of this fae were deeper, a mellow alto-soprano mix with an obvious love of the down-to-earth octaves. Her feet dragged her forth a bit. By the time she halted, the unicorn with muddy fur ascended the hill and was only an arm-length away. Both green eyes, one blind and one fine, watched the strange thing over her shoulder. "Come to bother another world, hmm?" She was playing. Her tune was light, bouncy. A smirk tugged the corner of her maw, though it faltered at the question of them being scientists ... Shaking her head at the dirty equine, Nemo was at a loss. "Scientists? Wow, do we look smart?"
"I ish smart!" yelled Scar from her previous resting spot. She was on her feet now, waltzing towards the epicenter of activity. "Like Einstein. But sexier."
That last comment earned a few stares. And a long moment of silence, only broken by Nakéminae's giggle. "Oh Scar ... "
Naira shook her head, rubbing the midpoint of her brows just below the forehead. "What kind of men you attract ... I think I'm afraid to find out." Exhaling dioxide, the brunette turned to the muddycorn. "In either case, no, we're not scientists. Have been taking all the precautions in the world to keep form being found by them ... for our own reasons." A glance was thrown at the wristwatch on her fight hand. She raised it out of Terry's reach, for the Graveling was trying to gnaw it off now. "May I ask your name?"
All the talk was muffled. Naira, Scarlet, and Nakéminae wore masks.
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Muffled talk.........
Strange serendipity, perhaps, for one familiar face to meet another, in the same time and place. But, even more strange, way out in the wastes... out of sight, out of earshot, out of mind... a point distortion manifested exactly fourty-nine point two feet above the polluted ground. Yes, a point singularity gripped the fabric of the Multiverse, spun about and waved open in a fashion so strange, any watching eyes would have risked twisting out of their skulls. A quick look away, a violent rub, a glance back at...
... a manifestation, a mind-twisting rush of components... elements... forms sharp, forms hazy, forms that made perfect sense, and forms that defied logic. All these bits and pieces, spinning out from distortion point to wave's edge, forming a five-dimensional Ring... a spinning, whirling, hyper-mathematical nightmare... components sliding over and under and between and through each other, as they intermeshed. This impossible thing... held all of Reality within its structure. Controlled everything inside its boundaries. And any watching eyes would have seen this Ring created. Seen it spin out along the distortion's wave... turning, rotating, precessing into a blur. Paths of movement containing a bubble, erupting with light, shaping maelstromic energies into a pattern. Pulling aside the veil of Reality, this Ring tore a hole in the Universal Fabric, leading through to... who knew where.
However.
Maelstromic energies surged, oddly silent, except for the wind blown outwards, a wind that whistled over the waste's devastation. Perhaps strong enough to reach even the small, strange group, near waste's edge. Just a light breeze evident. A tingle down the spine. Yet, way out in the wastelands, a powerful event. One blink, then out of the chaotic swirl, patterned energies became matter. A form broke free, its body glowing for a brief moment, before the maelstrom disipated... the energies faded... and the Control Ring suddenly stopped dead, horizontal to the ground. Unlocked its components. Slipped out of Reality, in a windblown rush.........
The form.
Dark now, with the light gone. Black hide absorbing this day's sun. Breath deeply in, quietly out. A misty vapor followed this exhale, swirled around its long, muscular neck. Five eyes took in the wastelands, green with curiousity. Four arms crossed its chest, but only six of its twenty four gravity quills extended from its open shoulder-spinal vanes. All it needed, to hover in the polluted air. It? Perhaps. It's form had no apparent gender. And yet, this creature did possess such a thing. Just as surely as it... as he?... possessed life. Yes, life. A form long and sleek and smooth. Gracefull, even floating still for a moment, as each battish, bi-configured ear listened. Yes, four limbs crossed his chest, black hide errupted with white slash marks, as eyes took in his surroundings further. A long, slender tail hung loose, gently swayed and twitched. Form, rotating slowly about. Claws also twitched on every finger and toe, wickedly sharp and curved. Digitigrade legs seemed to stand on air, when toes flexed and scytheclaws lifted. Three long feelers rose off his thick, featherish mane, to join eyes and ears in observation. Four of his five eyes blinked.
This creature... he'd learned from the past, learned to take precautions in strange surroundings, this deep within the Fabric. Years ago, he'd almost died. Years ago, he'd been infected by a small yet vile corruption. But he'd survived, had found and still held the Key to his home, so many Layers away, even now. A long journey, but one with an end in sight! A grin split his jaws, the markings on his hide rippled and changed. Colors and patterns flowed over his hide, settled on rust and steel, with darker tigerish stripes and slashes, hide texture on his six limbs taking on a scaled, armored look. His insides, also adapting, as his senses continued to scan this local environment.
This creature.
His grin showed teeth white as bleached bone, pointed and sharp and deadly serious. A predatory nature. Yes, any eyes watching would see in each movement, large and small... intent within all five eyes, despite their lack of pupils... any watching eyes would see a deep intelligence, a wild spirit within. Not only his eyes made witness. Every detail of his sleek, muscular form exuded a predatory beauty. Alien. Half-perceived impressions, brief images of otherness, as if some unknown force distorted perception, to make this creature more... and yet less alien. Perhaps something natural, in part due to the nature of his Origin? Who knows.
Just a perception, after all.
Again, a deep inhale and exhale, misted vapor-streams huffed out the eighteen spiracles of his dorsal trachea. Feet, not yet touched to solid earth. Movement. Tail stiffened, end split into three sections, metallic darts fired into the ground! Quiet, then. Calm. All eyes... all senses and attention focused below him. All darts, under their master's command, unfolded. Took on the look and behavior of spiders, a half-dozen probes skittering away to explore, while their master finally dropped from the sky, and set foot again on earth. On one earth out of many.........
......... These spider darts moved fast, each in a different direction. Each one, autonomous. Each one, absorbing data for their master. For... who? Good question, but not relevant at this moment. Time passed. How long? Again, not important in the present. But not all that long a time. Indeed, these spider darts moved very fast, spread out very wide, despite their limited number. But one... one had gone in the right direction, had woven a zig-zag path that lead to the group out at the edge of the wastelands, at the very moment one had asked another's name. Ahhh... contact! Such important data sent, this particular dart simply waited for master and companion darts to converge, recording everything its perceptions perceived.
Farther out in the wastes, Master received his servant's data, finished eating something with more legs than any "chicken" should rightly have, and made his way towards signs of intelligent life.........
-
Lyrail laughed as Nakéminae glomped her around the waist. "Nake! It has indeed been a very long time! Especially for me...but, a little time travel helps." She looked up at Naira and Scarlet smiling. It had been to long since she had seen any of them. So indeed this was a happy occassion. But, the Wolrdeater was indeed aware of the Unicorn's question. Lyrial thought it over. Meanwhile Naira had also asked a question.
"I'm doing great Nay. And to furthure answer your question and the question from our...guest... I can say that I could be a scientist, depends on your view point. After all, the gods and goddesses did send me on a mission here to observe the state of this planet, then to report to them my findings. Typically my kind call us "Watchers" though, not scientists. Though if needed, I would have to collect samples. And, that mechanical wing, would you like it fixed? I can repair it with my magic. Plus, we never got your name." Lyrial said, she was never one to hide the truth. She rubbed Nakéminae's head affectionatly. She always enjoyed her after she had met her. Of course, she was also a lot younger. Her talk to was muffled because of a Mask.
She couldn't believe she didn't recognize Nakéminae at first glance. But of course she realized that there was sometype of disguise being used for some reason. Lyrial didn't hide her eyes, thus the coloring shifting orbs were completely in view. Lyrial wondered what Naira and Scarlet were thinking about the changes in Lyrial's size, it would be obvious that she had grown up. "Scar, always saying the craziest of things. Just perfectly enjoyable with you around!" She continued smiling. One thing Lyrial had also improved in besides her maturaty was her control and use of magic. One thing she had taken to doing was setting up a perimeter spell alerting her to the presence of others. Thus when the new creature arrived she was alerted to its presence immediately.
"Anyone expecting someone else?"
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"If Gods and Goddesses sent you, I doubt you're the particular brand of scientist I'm looking for. Which is a good thing. Those scientists created this place."
And then the dirty unicorn lifted his head, testing the air as a small breeze pulled at his mane. He'd smelt this wind before, with the confusing scent of many voids. After all, this was a radioactive, magic-infested wasteland. Doors opened all the time, which tended to only add to the mess.
"I would actually rather the wings came off. 'Scientists' put them there, Heaven only knows why. You may call me Eyanis."
He added the last on as if it were an afterthought, and his eyes shone a little brighter as he turned around, ears perked towards where they detected a small noise.. and then something trying to be quiet. He descended the hill again, cloven feet making few marks in what definitely couldn't be called 'Earth.'
"There's always company nearby in this place..."
-
If there was anything to be noted about Nakéminae, it was this: that, unlike the sister who did not share her blood content, physically contact was not a problem. The displaying of affections in the form of a hug, a noogie to the head, or a nonchalant kiss on the cheek? They were adored. Of course Naira would bristle any time somebody laid a hand on her sister - years of searching and trying and failing and dying to find the girl who had gone missing from her life for so many centuries left its evident mark upon the hidden-half-dragon. But she learned. So Naira blinked at Lyrial now, feeling the over protectiveness cling to her but not overbearingly so. Lyrial, she could tolerate. And so Nemo shrugged, shoulders twitching. And Nakéminae relished in the unique attention her scalp was given. Silver hair ruffled. Strands caught a gust and wavered. Cloaked by the wristwatch, the Ethernian Soul Reaver's wings gave a little gleeful shake. Those eyes, bright red and obviously not 'human', shimmered like a sun that had long since strayed underneath the horizon's bitter line of waste and pollution.
Scar's impossibly long tongue hung from the corner of her mouth. The twitching pink mass finally ended when it came to her waist. Slobber dripped from its tip. "Cush ya know I be'sh da bomb," the mutant informed the Worldeater. "Crazeh'ss gud - but who be'sh crazeh? Not me - I'm perfectly sane!"
"You keep telling yourself that," Naira said suddenly, patting the red-skinned hunter's broad, well-muscled shoulder.
Scarlet gave a large grin and went back to sauntering up to the unicorn thing. Blind eyes strained to see, but came back with no visual other than a putrid-looking blur that smelled really weird. Oh! Was that a horn, now that she thought about it? "What happened to youse?" Scarlet blurted out, tongue snapping back into her waiting maw. "Ya look all messed up. And dat wing smells rusty ... " Far from concealing words that may cut like daggers, Scarlet was blatant and to-the-point ... not realizing that point could be razor sharp and harmful. She suddenly stood straight up, clapping claws together. They made a rebounding crr-k! sound. "We used ta be in dis place called, uh ... Deep Forest! Lotsa unicorns n' stuff d'ere. Ya remind me of dem."
"Deep Forest was a looooooooooong time ago," announced the brunette, who started rubbing the parting point in her hair. "A good two centuries in the past ... I kinda miss that place. Wish it hadn't gone to hell ... " There was a long, sorrowful sigh. Indeed, things had happened ... But it was inevitable for all planets, wasn't it? She just hoped the undying that still lived there were coping alright. "Anyways ... scientists created this place?" A gesture out into the open ensnared all of the Wastelands. Terry made a jump for her wristwatch. She yanked her hand back. "Scientists in general? TRIM, maybe? I've heard about them, but not a whole hell of a lot ... " Her head tweaked a bit to cast the subject aside. "I'm Naira. The gray-haired kid over thee is Nakéminae, the red one's Scarlet, and this guy ... is Terry."
Terry, by Naira's side and making a fit of hissing and growling and scrabbling at empty air in order to try and snatch the woman's concealment watch, suddenly stopped in his antics. All quills 'pon his spine shot up into the air. Awareness claimed his being. Slowly, that head pivoted ... until the dinner-wide eyes stared at a location in the distance. A breeze, sudden and strange, coaxed stubborn and poisonous pollen to remove themselves from their plants. The atmos was suddenly alight with venom. Those who had no mask would surely die ...
Nakéminae blinked. Her smile faded, replaced with something deep and contemplative. She always seemed to be knowing things nobody else knew - a trait that people had to grow used to. So it may have been mildly surprising and startling when she uttered, in that soft child's voice, "We're not alone anymore ... "
"Feels ... funky." Really. Something was distorted. It was bugging her. Even when Lyrial asked her question and the morphed unicorn started walking, Nemo began pacing forth, then gradually broke into a brisk jog towards what appeared to be the epicenter of happenings. Scarlet was close behind.
Nakéminae tugged on Lyrial's arm. "Let's follow them, okay?" She looked back to Terry, still stiff and still like a stone statue. She jerked her chin towards the Waste's distance. "C'mon, Ter!"
This snapped the Graveling to attention. With a warbling, "Rrrhrr!" of compliance to the one he held dear to his unbeating cardiac muscle, the lankly-limbed beast of Death was on the move, his small figure vanishing underneath the poisonous grass ...
... and he came back puking.
Waiting until his stomach contents emptied, Nakéminae giggled. She handed him a smaller face mask. "You forgot this."
-
Not just intelligent life. Familiar intelligent life! Someone... several someones he hadn't expected to ever see again, given how far he'd traveled from the Layer he'd met them in. Who, again? Well, his name and title... Rotor, Hrar'ra'rah of Jagaw Dauk. Valuable information? Perhaps. Perhaps not. If friend, perhaps. If prey, perhaps not. The only important facts, at this very moment, concerned his movement towards these familiar people... this group of past friends and strangers. The movements of the other five spider darts, as they converged. And the last fact, that his presense had been detected, though not identified.
To Rotor, the fact this wasteland held radiation and toxics didn't matter. His adaptimorphic nature adjusted to the local environment, without hesitation or difficulty. Or any need for thought. And he'd only needed to eat that one mutated thing, after it had stupidly threatened. From then, every other living thing became wary of his presense. Every non-sentient monster in this polluted landscape, at the very least. Apex predator, even here. Not a creature to mess with. Not that Rotor behaved in a violent manner, though his form and aspect shouted MONSTER. No. Part of being Hrar'ra'rah, a healer of mind, body and soul. His heart held no horrors, no lust for blood, death and destruction. Just a longing for Home... for his mate, Afa... for a future and a family, returned.
Whatever it took, so long as the innocent were not harmed....
As Rotor swiftly passed through this polluted land, he remembered. Breathed the polluted air without distress or concern, touched the polluted ground without harm or threat. Felt... felt excitement, curiousity. And other things. Though presently na, he felt warmth permeate his techno-organic flesh.
Near.
Yes, very near now.
Rotor's natural adaptimorphism had by now fully adjusted to this new Layer, his alieness physically evident, but not so spiritually strong to the senses as before. More like his old self, to put it another way. So, perhaps his sudden appearance, as he swiftly slowed and paced around a debris-pile, came as a complete surprise...?
Hmmm....
Whatever the case, four of his five eyes went wide, when they fell on such old and familiar faces, mixed within the strangers. A sudden stop, a polite sit-back on his haunches, a nodded bow...
... this one waiting spiderdart, darting out of cover, leaping onto its master's knee, and perching there...
... seconds later, its five compatriots arrived, to also take up perches on their master's back and chest...
... "Long time, no see...."
His voice, a strange duet, as if two spoke as one. A short, surprisingly avian whistle flowed briefly from his Hra in greeting.........
-
Lyrial started walking towards the newcomer, not knowing at all who to expect. At least one thing was certain, no one seamed to have realized that the Lyrial they were all dealing with came from far into the future. Indeed, at this very moment a much younger Lyrial was hard at work over at Deep Forest. Yes, there were two of her in existant at the moment. But worlds apart. One younger and still a child, the other, the one on Earth, older, an Adult. While it may have been a few centuries since the last time any of them had saw Lyrial, for her it had been more like two million years. So for Lyrial to see so many old friends, it was a good gift.
At least Eyanis gave Lyrial a cause to not worry, she wasn't the type of scientist he was worried about. "Take it off? I would have to look through one of my books to see if I have a spell that could help you with that." Lyrial responded to the unicorn's remark about "I would actually rather the wings came off." Indeed, if she could find the right spell it would be possible to remove them and fix the unicorn so that there would be no marks from the wings. Otherwise who knew what his back would look like at removing them without using the proper magic. "Scar, Eyanis is a unicorn. And yes, you are the bomb!" Lyrial said with a big smile underneath her mask. She remebered when she first met Scarlet. She thought the red skin lady to be beyond nuts. Which was rather accurate at times. But she quickly learned that Scar was a good person, and fun to be with.
Then she met Nakéminae, and along with Scarlet had many a fun adventure. It amazed Lyrial that Naira never got any gray hairs from those days. Back than naira was so overprotective of Nakéminae that it scared Lyrial sometimes. But, Lyrial quickly realized why and begin to become a little protective of Nakéminae herself. She didn't want Naira to become sad or to worry because of Nakéminae anymore. Still though, their adventures almost always had a mad Naira ending. Fun times, Lyrial almost wished she was young again. But decided that may not be for the best. If Scarlet, Nakéminae, and Lyrial, if she was still a child herself, were to go off on an adventure, there would be hell to pay, Lyrial was sure of it. So, it was a good thing Lyrial was an adult and much calmer about things.
Than Lyrial saw Rotor, and smiled. Another familiar face. She remebered the first time she saw him. She though he was an evil monster sent to kill he and porceeded to defend herself. Of course when she did this she didn't have access to any of her dangerous spells that could kill or cause real damage. When she learned that he wasn't an evil monster, she was so embarrassed that she had locked herself in her room for two whole weeks. She would have remained in there for longer except that Prince Klinge came and ripped her door of its hinges and forced her to come out because everyone was worried about her. What fun that was! "Long time no see indeed friend!" Lyrial exclaimed. It was beginning to look like a reunion of old friends. And a happy reunion without any fighting at that! Lyrial smile grew bigger and the colors in her eyes swirled and danced with bright happy colors.
-
The unicorn didn't reply to Lyrial, instead focusing on the newcomer. He raised his head, his mane sliding up a neck slick with some kind of algae, and drank in the scent of the arrival. The smell of voids still clung to the being, chaotic as they slid past his nose. He'd never really understood that form of traveling- it wasn't his place to do so. He was a wood unicorn, wandering through the remnants of the forest in which he was born...
"I do not know what TRIM is, I only know the kind that had the greatest hand.. it's hard to explain..."
He didn't look away from the new one as he spoke, still observing in case an old memory of danger surfaced to what his eyes saw. Finding none after a few moments, he looked away, back to the rest of the group. Shifting his one good wing, the metal components whirring and whining, he flexed it till it touched the ground with the tips of a few feathers that had grown into the metal- a result of the unicorn's magic. His leg had been much better to adapt, the skin and fur enveloping it almost completely. The metal was more living now, and would bleed if broken. It worked smoothly, though obviously mechanical where the skin had left ragged patches of metalwork bare- as if he were molting.... for a few decades.
He addressed Naira foremost, with his speech directed to the others as well.
"I'd be happy to escort you through the wastes."
-
Naira hadn't been expecting much of anything to cross her path. There were multitudes of oddities here in the Wastelands - four-legged things that shouldn't even move, winged beings with faces but no bodies, rats that were much too large, with really big fangs and venomous sprouts growing from their spines ... A multitude of essences that would render a seasoned olfactory catatonic. Nemo could be chasing after some new and undiscovered species of Kith, for all she knew, and part of her demanded to turn back in case there was real danger waiting out there. But curiosity overwhelmed caution for not the first time, and draconic talons cloaked as human boots plodded through thick mud and overgrowth.
Scarlet was actually making much better time than she was. The V-ACT 32 could no longer feel pain, for all of her nerves were permanently damaged. So when rampant thorns tore at her skin she did not grimace nor hiss nor grit her teeth in agony. Naira was careful about what came in contact with her body, while the Juggernaut needn't worry about poisons or lethal, disfiguring toxins - none would hold contest with the virus locked into her circulatory system for now and for always. Forever infected with a pathogen that could not be eradicated without killing the host ...
So it was Scarlet who found Rotor first. And in a rather ... embarrassing manner, for she tripped over her own feet at the last second and sprawled up against his. Face in the dirt, a call went up from the soil: "Rotor bebbeh!" <3
Naira skidded to a halt. She grimaced at her comrade's rough landing and went to work helping her out, regardless of the sickening suctioning sounds that came out when the red-skinned woman was pried free. "Rotor." When Scarlet was finally on her feet (though mud slicked the front of her entire body), Naira got a glance of the alien and sized him up. He looked ... different. Older, in a manner of mentality. "It's odd," she noted, grinning with one corner of her lips quirked higher than the other. "We keep meeting old, familiar faces. Next thing you know we'll be staring down Juno and Norad and Thoee and Deen ... " Crikey, she did miss them all. A pity Deep Forest had to be left behind ... "What brings you here?"
Nakéminae was there before Terry, dragging Lyrial close behind. With the alien now in full view, she released her grip from the Worldeater and was now by Naira's side, half-hidden between her towering form. "Long time, no see?" Puzzled, she gazed up at her sister, then back down again. "You know each other?"
"From a long time ago, yes," said Naira. Smiling suddenly, she gave her little sister a small, gentle shove forth. "Nak, this is Rotor. Rotor, Nak."
"Nakéminae," corrected the Ethernian with a giggle escaping her lips. Either way, she held out a tiny hand meant to be shaken. "Hi!"
Stirred by the unicorn's proposal, Naira turned with a brow quirked. "Would you?" she asked while Scarlet slid away to croon over Rotor's appearance ("What nice ears you have there!"). "We're headed towards Dinu ... er ... "
"Ah, I got it! Daanu! That's what its called!" Proud at her realization, Scarlet literally gave herself a pat on the back.
Before Naira could affirm this, out came Terry. He latched onto her arm, giving a victorious yell while smacking his claws against her wristwatch, flicking the button ... and suddenly Naira was no longer human. Her boots were replaced with silver dragon's feet, tipped with alabaster claws. Ascended from her backside was a thick, silver reptilian tail tipped with a broken yellow-spade. Left with her malformations exposed, Naira had no chance to grab the Graveling as he bolted off into the dense bushes surrounded them. She quickly pushed the watch again: the tail dispersed, and the talons were concealed by boots once more.
"Physical mirage to keep us from being hounded at by prejudiced people," she attempted to explain. "Nakéminae has a concealment tool, as well. So does Scar, but she doesn't like to use it a whole hell of a lot unless we're in a densely populated area."
-
Multidimensional physics did tend to mess with personal timeframes, more often than not. For Naira and Co., it may have been two centuries. For Lyrial, two million years. For Rotor? Little more than three years since he'd left Deep Forest, and headed for Home. It could very well take another three plus years for him to reach his natal Layer, but every trip through the Ring brought him closer and closer to his goal. If not for curiousity, and a bit of fear and doubt, Rotor could very well have reached his goal already. Perhaps.........
Now.
Now, however, through some strange convergence of paths, he'd met old friends with new strangers. Including one stranger who thought him a friend... who, perhaps, after a span of two million years, had just mistaken him for someone else. Perhaps for a young Fyr Fyr she'd met, way back when? Not that Rotor knew any of this, no. He simply accepted her friendly greeting, without denial. Showed... and felt no animosity... no negative emotions whatsoever towards the unicorn, Eyanis. Though he did have a very detailed Icon Lock on the poor sentient beast, his senses running a full yet passive physical scan, the Hrar'ra'rah in his heart deeply involved in the work, while the part of him still outside his inner spirit kept full awareness of what went on around him...
... including Scar, all muddy at his feet, two very memory jarring words formed by her lips and tone. Ashowan/Naira, rasing her up, while warmth coursed through his body again. Then. Then a new face, questioning. An introduction. A "Hi!" from this... child. Scar's compliment. Ahhh, Scar! Rotor set the clawed hand of his nearest primearm on Scar's head, to hold her still, huffed a breath on her, to turn the mud into dry, innert flakes, that simply fell off at the slightest twitch. Of which Scar certainly abounded with. Then. Then, the child, Nake'minae... Nak... her hand in offer. Rotor had learned many things, including strange customs. So, his right subhand reached out, oh so gently, three digits on slender limb lightly pressed into small, fragile palm, no thumb to clasp back. Standing upright, his seven foot height would have made such a greeting a bit more of a challenge, but down on his haunches brought his multiple forelimbs well within her reach.
Strange, how such an alien face as his, slender muzzle and sharp teeth, with more than the usual eyes, amongst other differences... and yet, a toothy smile. Not only towards Nake'minae, to provide what usually came with a friendly handshake, but in response to Terry's antics with Naira and her cloaking device. Not that he'd ever been fooled by the illusions both his old friend and this new child used. Sheshan senses could not be fooled by illusion. Any more than the dirty unicorn's flesh could hide what was underneath. Rotor could not only travel through the Layers of reality, his perceptions could strip physical layers away, down to the bone. And deeper still.
His touch, also, could do wonders....
However.
Rotor dipped his head to Nake'minae, and inhaled her scent off the back of her hand...
... "Glad we have met...."
Again, his voice held that... echo of two in one, in balance. A voice neither masculine nor feminine, but somewhere in between. Layered. Intent, a sense of power. Yet calm and focused. Though in truth, his mind whirled in a rush of multitasking, most of the gruntwork done by his shoulderbrain, while the brain in his skull handled the social details.
Indeed, the more data that streamed through his Icon Lock, through his perceptual graphic/data link, the more curious he became about Eyanis.........
-
Lyrial may have mistaken Rotor for someone else. Indeed, it had been two million years for her. But during that time she had met one of Rotor's species. So she might have indeed very well mistaken Rotor for someone else. As it was she seamed to quickly catch her own mistake. "Name is Lyrial Eailiolery. It is a pleasure to meet you." She said, thus helping with introductions.
She looked around at the place and wondered about her mission. It would prove difficult, but not impossible for her. Atleast she had friends she could visit while here it seamed. But for know, she saw a wasteland that held a sickly looking unicorn that had been...modified. And she wanted to help. First things first though, in order to figure out how to remove the wings and restore him to normal...she needed her book. So, she placed her hands out in front of herself, on above the other, about a foot worth of distance between the two.
Suddenly a black orb of energy appeared in the space between her hands, and just as suddenly it dissapeared. Leaving behind a very ancient looking tome, it was large and heavy looking. The words on it in a language so ancient that none of the people there except Lyrial would know the language. The book itself was a black color with red runes for the language. She opened the book and started to thumb through it, in search of the spells needed to help the poor unicorn if it indeed truely did wish to lose the wings. Each page held the same language, though in much smaller print. As she searched through the pages she read the names of several of the spells. The ancient language she spoke sounding; indeed, It seamed to consit of twenty accents and languages all at the same time. And each time she read a single name, the word carried power. She would find the spells. She just needed time.
-
The unicorn started as the dragon appeared suddenly, a mere habit from ages of living among the dangerous wastes where things that large usually mean a bit more than a papercut to him, and then he stared for the brief look he got at her, and old feelings began to stir within him. Dragons nowadays seemed to be working Aedolis, and he was pretty sure that they had helped with the turning of the world's greenery into machine and rubble. It had been a long time since he'd seen one, and although they used to be close and each respected... well, times change, don't they? Even as he thought this, he could feel the old blood and scars of his anger writhe inside of him, but then recent thoughts soothed over the tide of emotions. She'd said they were avoiding scientists. Of course it would make sense, being a free dragon, to need to hide.. which, he realized rather embarrassingly slowly, was the purpose of that device on her arm.
"Been a long time since I've seen a dragon up close." He'd seen a few overhead, Pilots he'd heard the waste call them. He allowed the name to roll around a bit in his thoughts. And then he started again as he felt the energy. Instinctively he called at his own defenses and light passed over him, within him, outlining him. It was bright, but it somehow didn't hurt eyes. He'd jumped a bit away and turned until he saw Lyrial with the book. Where it shone, one could see clean white hair, glowing softly where there was, a moment before, stained yellow and green grease. It moved over him like the sunbeams do through water. In direct contrast to his white, the rusted metal of the broken wing was dark and diseased, slung pathetically down his side. Only a faint tinges of light filtered through to the working wing, but it, too, was at the limit to what magic it could carry.
Just as suddenly as it had flared up, the light began to fade when he realized there was no danger. His artificial leg whirred as he stepped a bit towards Lyrial, neck stretching out to sniff the book.
Almost imperceptibly, a tiny bit of flesh- complete with new, grimey hair- grew over part of the exposed metal of his artificial leg, an aftereffect of him calling on magic. He was a healer, afterall.
-
"Dragon?"
Naira was sizing up the situation. She'd seen the unicorn creature bristle, though only briefly. Whatever odd feelings raged here and out of sight were quelled by the innate demand to remain calm, no doubt. Something negative? Just what about dragons connotate a negative ... ? There was something about this Future Earth. Something she did not know. Naira was, after all, relatively new here. As was Scar. And Nak. And Terry ... They came from a past where cities loomed and oceans churned and nature intermingled with society. Indeed it was not perfect ... but it was much more tranquil than this horrid environment.
Just what happened to Earth in those centuries she'd been absent? Had her search for Nakéminae blinded her, her comfort in Deep Forest nullified her ... from her duty as a Soul Reaver? Earth's Soul Reaver? Earth was dying. And, as it was her duty to protect the world's Lifestream ... She'd failed. Or was coming close to it.
Kamiri be damned. Just when I thought I was free ... An outward sigh. Ah well. I suppose the title 'guardian' is better than 'destroyer', after all.[/i] To the unicorn now. "I'm sorry, but you're partially mistaken." Sheepish grin. One gloved hand grasped the back of her scalp, rubbing it. "I'm only a halfling. Half-human and half-dragon, that is ... Only my legs from the tibia down to my foot and the tail are draconic. And the teeth. Let's not forget those." They were pinpricked, sharp.
Scarlet, now air-dried, popped up beside her comrade and let her own pearly not-so-whites glare in what poor light there was. "I gots sharpehs too!' One of the V-ACT 32's claws prodded at the canines. They kunk-ed with each rebuke. "C'ept mine came from experimentation, n' stuff like dat. I dink?" Confusion compounded her face. She really could not remember much of her past ... Supplies for creating Scarlet's needed medications dwindled to nothing. For a long time she had had to go without them, and the end result was the destruction of her short-and-long-term memories. A long history of explorations, friends, comrades, team work, death, and demise ... gone in the blink of an eye as if it had never existed at all.
There were nights in which the memories flit to her in the form of nightmares. Scarlet would wake up screaming, genuine fear on her face, a cold sweat dripping form the open pores. But seconds would pass and that shocked expression would evaporate into vacancy. If asked later what she'd dreamt off, Scarlet would simply ask what the inquirer was talking about.
Nakéminae giggled at the sniffing of her anterior hand and swaggered back towards Naira's side when all was said and done. Terry was still out and about, not daring to dwell near the half-dragon. He vaguely recalled evisceration the last time something like that antic he'd just pulled happened. Not that anybody was bothered. "Eyanis?" asked Nakéminae. Those ruby eyes blinked up at the large equine. They were not frightened. "Do you live out here in the Wastes by yourself?" A wing feather, the red one, flexed somewhat. She was not preparing for magick, no - simply stretching one part of her wings at a time ... so to speak.
-
Lyrial may have mistaken Rotor for someone else, yes... perhaps even another Shesh, since Rotor was not the only member of his species taken and used by the Nith. He simply remained locked on all the Layers of Earth, in order to reach Home. Well, perhaps his time in Deep Forest hadn't been earthly, but in some way, the place had indeed had ties to the world the Nith had first bound him to. However, really, this was not important.........
Rotor accepted her correction and introduction. Threw a brief Icon Lock on her spellcast's book retrieval, while handling Eyanis' increased data flow, due to the unicorn's own magic use. And a nod to Nake'minae, as she giggled and swaggered away. Scar? Well, perhaps like many creatures he'd met, she had a very... memorable yet confusing means of impressing on one's memory a very vivid picture. Something very Salvador Dali, perhaps? Rotor certainly found her difficult to forget, but then, he remembered everything. He always found ways...
... but, again, just unimportant narative rambling, really. This encounter was new, everything washed squeaky clean and white. A chance to learn and grow further.
Rotor saw things deeper, lived every encounter with vivid attention to detail. Lock on Lyrial, done. Data logged. Lock on Eyanis, still ongoing, all the words exchanged in this encounter... and his sensory impressions... allowed him to learn without the real need to question. However, others asking questions never hurt. This was a very important point, since even Rotor could learn things, by listening for what his other senses couldn't define. Personality, for one. Definition of one's Soul. Icon Locks were good for gathering physical/environmental bits, but it took a keen eye and attentive ear to read the body signs and hear the vocal patterns that really mattered, when it came to making friendships work. Ahhh, yes... friends. Most important thing in life, next to family. Friends. Making them, keeping them... in this case, finding them, unexpectedly. Naira had been there that day at the Festival, when the Corruption had nearly killed him. She'd helped in his healing, along with others sadly not present in this moment.
So....
As Nake'minae asked her question of Eyanis, Rotor kept his ears tuned... and two of his five eyes... on how Eyanis responded to this question. His other three eyes, he watched Naira, and remembered the past while he looked towards the future.........
-
Lyrial had never been to any Earth before. This was her first time on planet Earth. Of course it was on official business, being sent by the Gods and all. And as she watched the unicorn bristle when Naira's illusion had fallen she suddenly made a mental note in her mind. A unicorn, a creature of nature, seams to not like dragons. Need to find out the reason. The past of Earth was unknown to Lyrial, she would not know about Aedolis, or the dragons that worked with Aedolis. She didn't know how the world came to its current state. But, she was here to find out such information.
"Eyanis, tell me something, just what happened to Earth? How did it end up this way?" Yes, she needed to play detective a little bit. But the gods had some sort of plan it seamed, and they wanted to know EVERYTHING about Earth. And that would include its past. How it became the way it was, why it became the way it was. And how it suddenly disappeared in the future. Indeed, from the time she had been sent from, Earth did not exist. It had suddenly vanished somehow in the past. So the gods had sent Lyrial into the past before it disappeared, to learn about Earth, and to tell the gods everything she would find out.
As for Rotor...Lyrial couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, he didn't just randomly appear here, but might have been redirected here by the whims of the gods. But, she wouldn't be able to confirm this. Plus, it didn't matter. He was here now. Just like Naira, Scarlet, Nakéminae, and Terry. Could the gods have some form of plan involving them to? Lyrial didn't know, nor would she be able to confirm anything. Gods were, at best, mysterious in the ways they do things. One could never be sure what was happening was either randomness happening, or something the gods wanted. Yes, Earth's future, was just as mysterious as the gods.
-
"Yes. Alone. More or less."
He glanced at Rotor, noticing his relative silence, then at Lyrial as she asked her question. What had happened? Well, he only knew about the wastes themselves... everything else he'd not seen himself... only hearsay among the wastes.. conversations he'd heard while passing by unseen. He'd been to the edges of the wastes, like the one they were currently near, wandered to the ocean and back as he pleased. Been through the ruined buildings of what once was a proud city. He went there when he was feeling particularly angry, to stand alive among the ruin of a race. He didn't know or care who they had been, but he liked to pretend that the ruins were his enemies'.
The light from him had all faded now, and he was just as grimy and disheveled as he'd been a few minutes ago. Some greenish goo trailed its way down one of his legs.
"This area used to be a forest, a long time ago. I was born just after humans started to inhabit it. I've never left here myself, but I've heard stories... And I've seen a couple things to back them up. There's a city called Aedolis that is run by dragons. It's a very controlling environment. Militaristic. I heard that the dragons control the people themselves. I've seen a few of the dragons myself... it looks like they've bonded with electronics kind of like this-" He lifted his artificial leg, flexing it and pawing the ground, "-Where was I- Oh yes... the city Aedolis attacked the people here, I think... I don't really get involved with wars- and after a while began dumping its wastes here."
He paused, gathering his thoughts.
"There are other kingdoms... countries I think they're called now.. But I'm not sure if they're still on Earth, so they might not count. They went up in these... things... Like boats for the sky?"
He turned to look around at Naira, "Halfling though you may be, I'd stay away from Aedolis. Even with the concealment. You are probably the only free dragon-like being on Earth now."
-
Rotor was giving Naira an awefully funny look. Nakéminae couldn't help but notice it. It made her think long, and it made her think hard. Putting one and one together to form two was easy for this young child, but sometimes her conclusion never quite made the proper sense, or missed the bullseye completely. So she may have been dramatically wrong when sliding up to the strange alien and gently elbowing him in the intercostal muscles placed tactically between each rib. Voice - low; eager to place a secret for Rotor's ears alone. Eyes - half-lidded; sly. Face - grinning; shining with something mischevious. What was the girl up to?
"You know ... ." How soft and delicate did vocal cords and tongue form the silky words that erupted from her tiny maw. A strange singsongy tone danced upon the syllables. "My big sis is still single ... "
Naira did, however, hear her sibling. The halfling's ears were alert and oriented to pick up on very small sounds. Such was the evolution that took place when she and the magick of Windra merged into one. Heightened hearing, sharper sight, sensitivity to even the lightest of touches. Not to mention the olfactories could inhale practically anything up to a mile or two away. So when Nemo glanced towards Sol, those bright green orbs were narrowed in clear suspicion.
"You know I can hear you, right?"
Nakéminae didn't blush or shirk under the glare, though. She grinned whilst enthustiastically nodding her head. "Maybe?" And this was one of the many things she loved about Nakéminae. The child was brash when she wanted to be, hardly ever bashful ... and didn't tend to hide things.
Lyrial pressed questions onto Eyanis, who answered with terms and words and phrases that made Naira cringe outwardly and inwardly. A city run by dragons, bound with prosthetics and electronics to keep them tame and probably biologically superior. Wars? And that the dragons attacked the people here ... a land of Wastes. What people once thrived in this location, and where were they now? Glancing about, there was nothing remotely resembling a crumbling building for miles around.
'Boats up in the sky'. Nemo perked at that, and so did Nakéminae. (The very term 'boats' made Terry hide further in th eunderbrush. The word brought back some unpleasant memories of evisceration that happened back in Deep Forest. Things that were painful. Things he didn't want to think about, because those things he always lost at.) "Airships? Spaceships?" There was that excited gleam in her eyes again.
Naira shifted from one foot to the other. She scratched an ankle with the talons of her idle claws and inhaled Eyanis warning with a nod. "Point taken." It really was. The urge to visit was still teeming in the back of her skull, growlingin the pit of her stomach. She wanted to visit. To see. To start something. But now, with Scar and Naké and, yes, even Terry, in tow ... It would not only risk the wellbeing of herself, but of them.
Perhaps if somebody gave her a reason to travel there. Naira was not the sort who would back down easily. Once a fight got rolling she would go for all without hesitating or giving up. The likelihood of her being destroyed or captures was there, but minimal. After all ...
"I once lived on Earth," she said, voice low. A gloved hand rubbed her chin. Underneath the leather of her gloves, the digits were calloused and rough. "Long ago. Well before the cities of modern man built up. Before roads. Before cars. Year ... 1452, if I remember correctly." The date might have been wrong. It had been such a long time ... "A Soul Reaver, so I was ridiculed a lot. In any case. Even when technology forced the world around me to build up, it was never this bad." She swung an arm about to encompass the entire locale. "Once upon a time I was skeptical of the skyscrapers and traffic and constant pollution, but the way it was back then was an oasis compared to the planet now."
Scar's head was bobbing up and down. She was standing by the brush where Terry hid. Sensitive hearing picked up on the conversation. She understood it well enough to interpret her own history into the fact. "I be's born on dis planet too, yessum. Way back when. 'Round da time when Naydeadthing was born-eth, and stuffs. Lotta fighting. Lotta screwed up stuff. But dis place reeks." And her face scrunched into something mocking disgust.
-
Nake'minae.........
Small, fragile. Young, if only in looks. Also, a distraction. Elbow to ribs, or what passed for ribs under hide and muscle. Then her voice. Her eyes. Her face. Her words....
Rotor didn't mind the personal distraction, since his Locks continued to funnel data. Yes, after Eyanis "reverted" to his previous dishevelment, Rotor had thrown up a few more Iconics onto the others present, and onto their surrounding environment, sky and otherwise, just to be safe. What Eyanis had said... bothered him. But what Nake'minae had said...
... well, her words had locked his own mind into this peculiar cyclic loop, images of Naira, images of Afa... memories of two different people from two very different Layers, both of whom had deeply affected his life. Naira, for saving it. And Afa, for being...
... "Hmmm...."
Rotor lowered his head as Scarlet spoke, his own voice soft, but far from delicate. His vocal duality and odd alienness very evident. He lowered his head to Nake'minae's level, just off her shoulder, one three-fingered subhand shielding one side of his muzzle...
... "Unfortunately, I'm already taken...."
Those words spoken, a slight grin not fully hidden behind his subhand, Rotor suddenly turned to Eyanis, stepped forwards, movements smooth and graceful, precise. Down on all sixes, to bring himself on equal footing with the damaged unicorn, ears back slightly, all five eyes intently focused...
... "I'm curious... Aedolis attacked you as well... then dumped you out here?"
Evident glance to leg and wings and grime. Feeler antenae flicked forwards, then laid back. No, not a question about the overall situation now present on earth... instead, a more personal inquiry, though all that Eyanis had said still hung in the air, along with Rotor's question.........
-
Lyrial mentally took notes on everything the unicorn said. It was important information Lyrial guessed. If anything, could Adeolis be the one that turned Earth into what is was now? If that was the case than Lyrial would have to dig deeper into Adeolis's past. Why would they ruin the planet the lived on? It was barely even liveable now. Indeed, she guessed the planet was dying. Was there anything she could do to help?
Probably nothing she could do would help. The only ones that had that kind of power were the gods themselves. If they wanted to they could change the planet. But first they wanted information. And that was why Lyrial was here for. Yes, to find out why and all that. This way the gods would use the information she discovered to do something. They would do something once she returned with her information.
And suddenly...Lyrial felt a shiver crawling down her spine. Adeolis and dragons...her true form was that of a large dragon. She realized that if she was going to go to Adeolis she would have to take extra precautions to stay in her current form and not somhow change into her dragon form. That would be a bad thing. It also might turn into a good thing, for she might just be forced to use her full power. But she doubted that the Adeolians had anything that would force her to change forms. Nor would they ever suspect her. Lyrial suddenly thought about something, didn't she once tell Naira about her true form?
-
A birds eye view of the darkened ground below-- that was what was offered from the Mitsubishi X-5 Transport shuttle. It's engines sounding through all the earth below as a loud shrill whir, a roar even as the craft made it's way through the atmosphere. It was a bulky form, yellowish gray in color, with various markings donning the wings, tilt-jets aided the craft in flight, while the engines propelled it forward. Staring outside the glass canopy, was a young Lieutenant Commander, Nobuo Azamura, adjusting his tan desert drab combat fatigues, he would make himself comfortable in the cloth seat of the shuttle.
"Sir, engine integrity is becoming an issue, the amount of corrosives in the air is causing damage in the primary intake rotors." The pilot would say as he looked over to the Lt. Commander. "Sir.. I recommend we land somewhere so we can repair them. The engines to not have the integrity to ascend back into orbit." Azamura would offer a slight nod. Watching the ground below as he pointed out several life forms through the canopy. "We can land there." Lt. Commander Azamura would say as he eyed the pilot, the Pilot nodding. "We could... however I estimate they could potentially be hostile... the Kaze no Tani has picked up numerous contacts moving about this world, it's a fluke we weren't attacked." Azumara would simply nod. "Perhaps our fighter escort scared them off." The pilot would simply laugh in response. "Perhaps... but they too have been reporting engine problems since they pulled off... we're preparing to land, sir."
Indeed they were preparing to land as the large shuttle hovered directly over the group, kicking up dust and debris, hot air blowing down from the engines, which gave a shrill roar, moving to the left, it slowly began to descend, more debris being kicked up as landing skids descended from the craft, touching down gracefully, the engines began to whir to a silence. The shuttle was rough in appearance as well, corrosion having eaten slightly at the hull from the putrid mess that was the atmosphere. The craft seemed to have been crafted by human hands, but also having bore a strange ideographic language upon the sides, and a yellow flower of sorts, Azumara looking to the pilot. "Atmospheric readings?..." He would ask as the pilot turned to him and spoke.
"Toxic.. sir... I wouldn't recommend prolonged exposure to the atmosphere." The pilot stated as Azamura nodded. "Right..." He said as he grasped a respirator mask, placing it over his face and then nodding, speaking through the vocoder." Go ahead and open the doors.."
The ship continued to remain there, silently before a hiss sounded, white steam firing fourth from the door as it slid out, then over to the side, a man would be seen standing in the airlock room, tan fatigues, and a mask covering his face, in his hand was a UGW assault rifle, It was reminiscent of 21st century earth, once the stairs had descended, he would slowly step down, clank by clank, his feet making contact with the metal as spotlights illuminated the area around the craft, setting his eyes on the group he would speak. "Greetings.. I come in peace.. I am Lieutenant Commander Nobuo Azamura... I represent the Taiyou Empire, and you all are?" He asked, a smile hidden through the gas mask.
-
"Spaceships, that sounds right."
The unicorn let the word roll off his tongue, a new word in his dictionary. He turned to Rotor as he approached.
"No.. I don't know if it was Aedolis who attacked me. I was ignorant to let them see me, and they took me- I didn't fight.. I was curious as to their intent... but then they took me into this building... a lab? Laboratory? And then I found that I couldn't fight... They had these things that dulled my magic... drugs that dulled my strength." No emotion showed in those yellow-green eyes of his at the memory. He simply cocked his head as it wound around his mind, remembering.
"I've no idea why they gave me these-" here he flexed his mechanical limbs, all which moved well enough except for the broken one that sort of twitched pathetically- "but it didn't smell nice. I woke up earlier from the drugs than they expected.. that's the only reason I escaped. Made myself light and ran."
He picked at the ground beneath him, his mechanical forelimb digging into earth that was steadily becoming more fertile beneath it's hoof. Then, quite without warning, his head jerked up and his ears slid back against his mane. He could hear the spacecraft coming, and it sounded rough to his sensitive ears. A dull whine that struck the chord just wrong. His eyes scoured the skies, looking for the source. Muscles tensed beneath his disheveled coat and he backed up a few steps and began to... fade. It spread evenly along his body, and for a brief moment he was only just visible, seen to move his body to face the craft as it landed, then he was less visible than the wind. Of course, that's not hard to do, considering the wind in this place was quite visible.
He stayed where he was, though. The invisibility was just part of how unicorns survived for so long... part of how difficult they were to hunt, to capture. He watched the manling stand above them, the spotlights blinding perhaps for the rest.. but as a being made partly of light, the unicorn could stare right back at them and probably outshine them should he feel compelled to do so. He might not be able to be as harsh and sharp as the man-made things were on the ground, his light being more natural and diffuse, but he could be brighter. He didn't like the look of that gun, though. It reminded him of the world and it's keenness for militaristic thought, or more likely, since he knew a lot more world than the military, just the memories that the militaristic ways had brought to the wastes... He thought about as much about the man, too.. standing up their in his crisp uniform...
A mask to save him from the toxins his kind dumped here.
Thoughts like these boiled up in the unicorn's mind and he advanced- though only until he was between the man and those who he'd been conversing with. He was invisible, and no hoof prints followed his path. He only disturbed the soil when he wanted to... hidden was such a natural state for him. As for smell... even if the man-creature had much of a sense of smell.. that sense was so completely useless in this wasteland and behind that mask that it'd be stupid to even try sniffing him out... And the unicorn just smelled like where he lived, anyway.. He wasn't sure about other unicorns but that's what he smelled like. Waste and magic (magic, of course, being part of the waste as well).
Taiyou Empire? He didn't know. He didn't really bother with the politics of the world, but the Empire tag had him already disliking the individual and his space-boat.
-
Naira acknowledged Rotor's words with silent thanks (she had no interest in Rotor and even if she did, the woman would not come right out and say it ... More or less, she would shirk away from a crush, act casually, and possibly never say a word, thus losing the crush to begin with, as said crush would go off on his own path having given up). That was a good way to avoid what could have been a rather uncomfortable situation. In the meantime, Kanina began to speak and though words were absorbed they weren't fully comprehended. Naira's and Nakéminae's eyes starting roving, searching for something that was not immediately visible. A sound: Loud; Mechanical. What could it be?
Terry was slipping through the brushes towards the crowd, his small form spiked and ready to roll at the mildest sign of danger. And Scarlet ... well, she was entranced by the current conversation and though she smelled something quite off in the atmosphere she chose to ignore it for the moment, instead pumping her fist into the air out of declaration. "What scumbags, dey be's!" roared she, voice loud and vibrant, undertoned with significant maliciousness. "Doin' dat to you, ain't got no right ... What were dey doin', tryin' ta make ya into a BOW or sumthin'?" BOW was, of course, an acronym only the V-ACT 32 would know. One would have to press for its explanation, and the woman would not hesitate to elaborate.
By now the aircraft was over them. Such a strong, forceful wind blew that it knocked Scarlet right the hell over. Juggernaut plummeted into Naira who then in turn knocked Nakéminae down. A domino effect that had them all splayed on the toxic earth ... And into a puddle from the previous day's rain. Liquid and electronic equipment did not work, so when the watches came in contact, they fizzled out of commission ... and left Naira and Nakéminae visible in their truest forms: Naira with her dragon talons and dragon tail ... Nakéminae with her strange eyes and small hovering wings.
"Shiii-! Naira began, scrambling to her feet and pulling Nakéminae and Scarlet up with her. She frantically went to work drying their equipment, but it was too late. The ship opened, steam pouring from the cracks in the door. Moments later a man was made visible, dressed in fatigues and donned with the necessary face mask.
Naira was on both feet, tail swishing this way and that. Scarlet, blinked, grinned with shark-teeth blowing her maw into a disfigured grimace that was meant to be a smile, despite her lack of fleshy lips. "Hoomaaaan military guy!"
And Nakéminae took a step back, hiding slightly behind Naira's leg. The Ethernian girl was accustomed to running into normal humans on this strange Earth. And none of them had been friendly when her wings were out in the open like this. "Nay ... "
Where was Kanina? The unicorn off and disappeared ...
"Greetings ... I come in peace ... I am Lieutenant Commander Nobuo Azamura ... I represent the Taiyou Empire, and you all are?"
"Strangers just passing through," said Naira. She was hesitant to give away any information and when Scarlet went to speak she hastily poked the red-skinned woman in the ribs. Green eyes focused on that gun. Came in peace, said Azamura, but did he suspect they were hostile?
Terry had been blinded briefly by the steam. And somehow or another he found himself at the foot of Azamura, scratching his eyes to clear them ... completely unaware.
-
Not only the gods.........
Had even one dauk arrived on earth, instead of one lone Hrar'ra'rah named Rotor, all this devastation could have been undone in a matter of months... but Rotor, all on his own? No, it would take him years, if not decades. Alone... on his way Home... no, he could not undo such damage. Had not the time....
Yet, in the oh so very short time since his arrival... senses aware, mind working... mind wildly active, even now... a plan came to him, a way to help this place. Eat the scrap, make an army of spider darts, and leave them behind. A force slow but steady, left behind to work on the Waste... they would be like those little shrimp in aquariums, cleaning grime off the glass, rocks and fake plants. It might take them a century or more to change the landscape, but it would change. For now, though, Rotor's plan only lived in his mind. Specifically, in his shoulder brain's quantum matrix. Seeing Eyanis... perceiving his data stream through the Lock and hearing the unicorn's words... Rotor had confirmation that this land had once been different. Yes...
... change was a normal part of life on Shon'tagash, the massive torrodial world of his birth. So to, he'd learned, for other worlds. But this had not been a natural change. As any Shesh knew, damage done to the natural order of change had to be fixed, so chaos would not break the world apart. Not that any of his people had ever broken the natural order of change, but... they had the power to do so, and also the knowledge of how to fix what could be broken. Change meant order, not chaos. Not... this.........
......... Icon locks tagged to the surrounding environment registered the arriving shuttle perhaps long before any of the others even had a hint of what was coming. Strange, then, that Eyanis spoke the word spaceships in such a serendipitous manner.
When he'd moved towards the unicorn stallion, his servants perched on chest and back had stayed in place, locked to his hide. But the one on his knee had jumped off and skittered out of sight, a short distance away. Ears attentive, Rotor listened to the story, tail swept aside till it pointed at Naira, tip waved in a subtle salute towards her silent thanks... a few notes chuckled through his Hra at Scarlet's response to the unicorn's words.........
At this point, the shuttle's arrival interrupted everything. Noise and vibration and heat, blast of wind and light, scent and presense...
... Eyanis... faded away, out of the visible spectrum most creatures perceived. But not away from Rotor's senses, or from his Lock. Rotor's full attention, however, now focused on this intruder, the wind blowing a wave of color over his hide, as if all the color and markings he'd taken on upon arrival had been scrubbed away by bits of flying debris and dust. Hide, now dull grayblack from end of snout to tail's tip, all five eyes taking on a red cast. Hide, shifting from leather smooth to a slick, scaled texture. Yes, like Eyanis, he could have faded out of view.
But he didn't.
The shuttle landed, its skids pressing into the ground. One of its rear skids, near where his one servant had disappeared. Ahhh... up out of the ground it burrowed as the engine noise faded to silence. A touch of leg, a visual shift, and this servant blended with the metal and external finish, silently emerged and slipped up... up into the skid's open bay, to burrow again, this time into the very structure of this ship, no one but its master aware.........
Hiss...
Steam...
Movement...
Armed human, uniformed and masked...
Male, under all that....
Rotor heard this new voice... Scarlet and Naira and Nake'minae, their voices, as well. But that new voice... Lieutenant Commander Nobuo Azamura... he'd asked a question. Feelers half up, ears half back, all five eyes focused on the human, return grin bright with sharp teeth, Rotor calmly returned in his dual voice...
... "Not impressed...."
An answer short, sweet and to the point.
-
So it wasn't the Aedolians that attacked Eyanis. Than who was it. Was all that Lyrial could think of at the moment. She was lost in her book, trying to find the spell that would fix Eyanis's problem. Then as she thought about it, she realized that if it wasn't for the gods telling her to not use her full power, she might have been able to cure the planet herself. But, she thought about that. As a guest from the future, if she did that, would it cause temporal problems? She guessed yes at the moment. And she even full heartily agreed with Scarlet.
If Rotor thought he was the first one to detect the ship, he was wrong. Dsspite her human appearance, she was far from human. Her hearing was so well tuned that she had heard the ship enter the atmosphere. She just didn't pay any attention to it. Not until Eyanis faded from view. Well...maybe for others except Rotor...and herself. A long time ago she had developed an automatic casting system that would cast spells without her even thinking about them. Indeed, when Eyanis faded, a spell quickly cast itself thus allowing her to continue to view the unicorn. And suddenly, strong winds, debris, dust. All of it distracting. She quickly shut her book closed and set up a barrier around herself, forming a sort of bubble, portecting herself from the wind, debris, and dust.
She than made the barrier glow, obstructing view into the bubble, but allowing herself to view out of it. She watched as the ship landed near them. A door open and a ramp lower itself to the groung. And than a human in a military uniform walked down the ramp. In his hands he carried a rifle of sorts, held at the ready. Then he said something about coming in peace. And all at once Lyrial's mind started racing. Does one that comes in peace approach with open arms? NO! Not according to the teachings of Slyphianess, Goddess of Hope and Moons. So, while still inside the barrier, unseen, she used her magic to change her clothing. Her normal looking clothiong glowed brightly, causing the bubble to glow even brighter than before. The clothing changed shape, length, and even color. Now she wore a pure white dress with full length sleeves and with the color going all the way up her neck. On the back a white flowing cape appeared reaching only a few inches above the ground. The only part of the dress that wasn't white was the color, which was black and turned into a straight line down the front. On the cloak visable to any that would look was the symbol of her goddess. A white moon with two hand holding it up gently. And rising from her shoulders was a white half circle behind her head, but with a opening for her long hair.
She then released the barrier, but at the same time, releasing a powerful cleansing spell. As the spell washed over the area, the sickness afflicting the ground, air, and water surrounding Lyrial in a 60 yard radius disappeared. And no sooner than it disappeared did green healthy grass, bushes, and flower appeared. The puddle that Nay, Scarl, and Nake fell into was clear normal water instead of the muck that it was earlier. If there was one problem with Lyrial, it was that she tended to overreact to a situation. And in this instance as she started wlking towards Nobuo and his ship one might just think she indeed had gone into over react mode. Once she stood in front of the others, except Terry, she gave Nobuo a stern look. "Greetings Lieutenant Commander Nobuo Azamura from the Taiyou Empire. I am High Priestess Lyrial Eailiolery, avatar and choosen of Slyphianess, Goddess of Hope and Moons. A quick question if I may? If you come in peace, than why do you approach openly armed, instead of with open arms?" Her voice was calm, unwavering, matronly, and yet, demanding. Did she overreact to the situation? Most likely.
And out of sight a stranger watched the entire event going down. A man dressed in black...
-
Hostility... that was the apparent greeting that he had gotten, his rifle held at an 'at ease' position soon turned to pointing outwards, taking into account the positions of everyone, even the person whom had been seen at his feet, which would most likely be staring down the barrel of his gun as the Lt. Commander backed away, noting the strange events and the overall hostility that played out before him. Finally he would speak into his radio. "I'm going to need a little help out here, Uremeshi, Onada, I need you to come out here." He explained as the radio clacked, the airlock hissing as Nobuo stepped away from the ship, two more armed and armored Taiyou soldiers emerging, both armed with assault rifles, and taking up position on both sides of the Lt. Commander. First he would address Naira. "Strangers just passing through.. I see." His attention was then directed to Rotor. "What with the errant hostility in your tone of voice?" The Lt. Commander asked, then finally, after an odd change of scenery, he would direct his attention to Lyrial, once his sensors registered that he could remove his mask, he would do so.
Young were his features, young and very east Asian, a clean shaven face, and black hair which was barely seen under his helmet, once the mask had been buckled to his vest, he would speak up. "I come armed because this world is unfamiliar to me, thus, I require it to defend myself in case I am attacked. We have to carry these weapons, because we could be entering potentially hostile situations, now, if I didn't come in peace, I would have come with many soldiers, and many ships, and we would have come with an invasion, and not hesitated to kill you all, so coming in such a small number, is proof that I come in peace." The other two soldiers would nod, agreeing with the Lt. Commander, Onada speaking up. "Lt. Commander Azamura is correct, we do not wish harm, only to get to know the natives of this world, we bring weapons to protect ourselves from harm, as we do not know you." He concluded.
The last being in the area would be the unicorn, however he had not registered on the Shuttle's sensors, nor in the field of view of Lt. Azamura. And the one whom climbed into the shuttle, would likely meet his end if the shuttle ever took off, as there was no access between the Landing gear compartment, and the cabin, save for conduits, and a 6 inch thick plate of Trinnium alloy, as landing gear was often serviced from the outside.
-
Perhaps some would hear the startled 'whuff' the unicorn made as Lyrial's spell swept through him. Invisible, he bent his head to lip at the vegetation; to sniff at the soil. It was real. Clean. Fertile. Sometimes, he awoke to find himself surrounded by lush woods, birdcalls drifting through the trees and little white flowers growing in the sunbeams. Sometimes he could lose himself in the ghost forest of what was. But it never smelled right. It always smelled off. He'd forgotten how a real forest had smelt, and now he allowed himself a moment to close his eyes and take a deep breath of the cleansing air, and for those who could see him, a dramatic change occurred. He mirrored the land. Soft fur shone like the moon, and his mane was silver threads woven with light. When he opened them, his eyes held none of that yellow-brown pollutant and instead were a vibrant shade of green. His lion's tail no longer looked like he was related to a rat, but instead was beautiful with it's soft, short fur. Not just a tuft at the end, his silver hair trailed up his tail, growing shorter and shorter the higher it grew until it stopped halfway up. It fanned out beneath it, soft as feathers.
He stepped quietly towards Lyrial, his neck stretching out low towards her arm. He closed his eyes as he pressed his head against it. Thanking her with the gesture as well as with a tear that shed from his eye and fell on her skin. A tear that bore memories and hope, and an energy that was light incarnate. He didn't doubt she could feel the power that slid across her skin now. It was a gift. A gift of hope, should she ever need it.
He revealed himself then, starting as a small will o' the wisp that grew softly brighter until he stood there, shining. It might appear as though Lyrial had summoned him as he stood behind her, his white slightly glowing in the nighttime. Silver laughter rang out at the human's latest.
"Child... you are too late for that here... Someone already went and did that, a long long time ago."
He lifted his mechanical leg, where strips of metal gleamed sharp and bright, dotted with patches of his clean, moon-bright fur.
"But some things just can't die."
He let it fall onto the soft grass, feeling the damp soil through the metal of the hoof. Yes.. this artificial leg was fitting in nicely... But the wings. He twisted his neck away from Lyrial and Nobuo. With his teeth he snapped at the stubbornly rusted metal wing that lay limp against his side and pulled. Beneath his skin around his shoulder and back slithered the wires that had held it in place, and they writhed as he jerked them out. But then they were gone and he was free of at least one wing. Silver blood trickled from the wound it left, blood mixed with light that, even as he spat out the wing in front of him, slipped back up its path and healed the gash. Maybe, if the humans stuck around, the land would show them its past inhabitants just like it showed the unicorn. The trees, tall and proud, the moss ever-green. Everything full of life, yet smelling like warmed-over perfume on must.
The other wing simply fell off.
-
The air was becoming clear, and in more ways than one. While the humans explained their bringing of weapons into an unknown land, the grass, the water, the sky ... it was ... normal? Blue atmosphere. White clouds. Fauna that was bright green, brimming with natural photosynthesis. A sun: genuine sunshine! So startled was Naira, was Nakéminae ... that they stared in wonderment for a long while. Of course this sight was not new to them. Both had been around in times when the world had been much cleaner and fresher. But after lingering about in the future for so long, such beauty was a sight for sore eyes. To breathe ... Both removed their masks. Inspiration. Oxygen slipped through the naso/oropharynxes, down past the larynx and trachea, into the bronchi, the bronchioles, the alveoli ... An exchange of carbon dioxide for the more potent stuff. Minus the poisons of Wasteland air. How wonderful! Even Terry looked relieved. Only Scarlet did not notice the difference.
Though the strange tension all around ... that was something less invisible. "Why;s everybody bein' actin' like dey got dey're knickers in knots, n' shit?" Blatant and crude, the V-ACT 32 knew no boundaries. With her ominous claws and sharp teeth, blind eyes and lipless mouth, Scarlet sauntered forth towards the captain indiscriminately. Forgetting that she looked so intimidating ... "So ya! I'm Scarlet! Cap'n Scar!" Captain of what? She could not remember.
Naira's tail thrashed. Behind her, Nakéminae started to inch into view, looking shy ... slightly afraid. Not of the humans, no. But of the guns. She'd seen their capabilities, and for one did not want to get shot. "Hello ... " Normally outgoing, made docile by the fierce temperament of this planet. Nakéminae realized a while ago that her outgoing personality was not well-tolerated by those who knew she was different. Not here. So she had to tread carefully. "Taiyou Empire? What's that?"
And Nemo made a flippant gesture, waving her hand. She was still very much aware of the potential threat arising from these people, but ... Well shit, they were dead. What more harm could come to them? If anything arised, they could protect the other, more mortal creatures ... "Might as well put the weapons away, then. I'd rather not see any of us turned into swiss cheese. That would kind of suck." Nodding, she shifted from one taloned foot to the next. "We're all strangers here. Just met one another, as a matter of fact, though some of us have been friends for a while." A quick glance to Lyrial, plus one smile. Then back to the commander. "No violence, though you'd be in trouble if this turned out to be some sort of bust. I trust you're not tricking us, however ... But what is the Taiyou Empire? I've not heard of it in these parts. Not on past, or future, Earth. Sure you have the right planet?"
Then Eyanis' wings fell off. Naira gaped. Nakéminae ran off to the unisus' side. "Ey!" she cried, concern welling large enough to cast aside the initial discomfort. Wanted or not, the Ethernian Soul Reaver pressed her hands against the bleeding stub where one wing once rested. "How ... " No matter. The injury was gone a second later. Nakéminae sighed in relief. "Yikes ... But your wings ... "
And Terry, still at Nobuo's feet ... He hadn't moved, frightened he would get kicked. Or shot. Both would hurt.
-
Grinning had probably not been the best thing to do, especially coupled with his aparently poor attempt at humor. Not that Rotor hadn't meant what he'd said... indeed, he hadn't been impressed. His calm tone, however, coupled with exposed "sharpies"... well, this Nobuo Azamura human male person had thought him errantly hostile, for some reason. Responded by calling out a bigger show of "force" in counter to a simple joke. As for "the one"...? Well, being a "simple" construct of its master, the spider dart had no life to lose. However, it did have access. Shesh... not just Rotor's species, but his entire Layer universe... had been created by the Archives. Planet-sized nano-cluster machines trillions of years old, survivors of a now long dead Layer that had ruptured into another... God Machines, made to record everything, and recreate it in the new universe. Only thing is, they had created a Universe... rewritten an emergent Layer in Their Own Image. A Layer of nano-tech life.........
This, of course, lead to Rotor's eventual birth and maturation, and to his arriving in this place at this time. Under these circumstances. Well, actually, the Nith were responsible for him not being Home with Afa and his family and his dauk. But that is a story for another time and place....
So, this seemingly simple spider dart was the result of a multi-trillion-plus year old evolution of hypertechnology, far, far beyond this primative shuttle. Six inches of Trinnium meant nothing. However... those conduits did come in handy. And this small bundle of nanotech linked with one conduit in particular, parsing through molecules like a stone dropped in water, only without a splash or a left-behind ripple of rings. Rotor wanted to learn all he could, so his one lone servant did what it was told, and sought out knowledge within the shuttle's molecular structure.
Meanwhile...
... Rotor couldn't help but be impressed by Eyanis, by the way he'd changed. The way he'd rid himself of those fake wings. Impressed by Lyrial, as well. Change. A natural part of Life, to him. A comfort, in a World that never seemed to change. In a universe, a Layer, in all the Layers he'd so far traveled through. Even Deep Forest had never really changed in any significant way. Not like Home. Not like Shon'tagash. A deep breath and sigh in this newly scrubbed environment, a change also very welcomed. Had Rotor been human, he might have cried. Still, he did feel homesick in this moment, much more than usual...
... "Lieutenant Commander Nobuo Azamura..."
Rotor bowed, and all his servants dropped off, to scuttle around gathering biogenetic samples of all the newly grown plantlife...
... "I am Rotor, Hrar'ra'rah of Jagaw Dauk."
A gesture of one prime forelimb whipped slender interface cables out from underhide conduits, to gently snatch Terry out of harm's way, offering his back as a safe haven, if Terry wanted it. Perhaps an odd action, given the humans most likely didn't see the gravling. And a risk. But, like Nay and Nak, he didn't worry about the guns, far as his own safety was concerned. Being Hrar'ra'rah, he'd seen Terry's fear, and acted. Hopefully, the humans would see his non-violent actions as a strange gesture, given it came at the same time as his formal greeting...
... "One action, no matter how small, has the power to change the entire world. One small touch starts the rockslide...."
-
Lyrial had not been paying attention to Eyanis when she had stepped foward to the newcomers. But when she felt the unicorn against her arm and the power of the tear was the moment she glanced at him and smiled. He no longer looked like a reject from a junk yard. His wings were discarded, his hide clean and healthy. His eyes were a nice green, and not that yucky color from earlier. Lyrial couldn't help but smile some more, not from the fact that she had inadverntly healed the unicorn, but from the fact that he was now truely himself as he should be. But her own attention went back to the newcomers. She had obviously overreacted. And she knew it.
But still, she had gave the human her full name and actuall title, and he still acted the way he was? Did he not know respect? What ever she figured, many humans have no respect for the gods or their avatars. He would be forgiven. But still, something nagged her, the Taiyou Empire? Where had she heard that from before? Than suddenly it dawned on her from where...and than there were questions about the empire from the others. "The Taiyou Empire is a Human Empire that exists far far away. Yes, there are more Humans in the universe than just Earth. Unfortnuatly, the empire will be attacked by an evil god and his forces in about 5000 years. Fortunatly, the good gods will send help to aid them. But that is all I know. Maybe LT. Commander Azamura would be so kind enough to explain more about his home? And perhaps to put away his toys? After all I doubt anyone here will attack anyone else. In fact, I can guarantee that no one is going to attack anyone." Lyrial said, calmer, softer, smiling a warm smile.
She turned somewhat away to look more at the surrounding area. And then holding out her hands much like before when she summoned the book (which was currently floating in the air near her), she summoned forth another black sphere, though sphere would hardly be correct in this instance. In was long and not very tall. But when it disappeared in her hands was a type of katana in its sheath. Nothing special about how it looked besides the simple fact that near the top of the sheath was a symbol. The Taiyou Empire symbol. How could she have forgoten so soon about that little adventure? She was part of the forces sent to help the empire out. And she was given the sword as a sign of eternal friendship and gratitude for the help from the Taiyou Empire. She had even got her brother to help train her how to use a katana. She was still very much an amateur with the sword, unlike her brother, who knew every single combat style known.
As for the stranger, he had begin eating some popcorn...perhaps expecting a fight...
-
Confusion would be the culprit that played across the faces of the soldiers as they looked to eachother, then back to Lt. Cmdr. Azamura. First his attention would be directed to Rotor, a slight bow. And a grasp of the forelimb. "It is a pleasure to meet you." He would say, offering a reassuring smile, with that his assault rifle was slung over his shoulder at ease. His soldiers looking to him, then following suit as he waved them into the shuttle, with a hiss, and a clunk, it's cabin door opened up to allow them inside. Then his attention would be directed to Lyrial. "You seem to know quite a bit about us.. and that Katana looks like it's forged with a.. Trinnium-Carbon alloy.. if I'm not mistaken.. that alloy is forged exclusively on Niihama.. where did you come across it." He said, curiously then when asked to explain where he was from, he would oblige.
"I come from the planet Niihama, capitol world of the Empire, that expands roughly fifty other habitable worlds, and a few hundred moons and asteroids, we're part of a coalition of nations far beyond this system, which is considered backwater by our standards." He explained, pausing only a moment to draw breath. "Niihama is a metropolis, half of the planet is covered in a multi-layer city that stretches high into the sky, the other half is dotted with various cities, Niihama City being the oldest and obviously more populous." He explained, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, taking a brief drag from it. "I'm part of the 6th Recon Fleet.. the Kaze no Tani in orbit is the flagship, we were sent to investigate strange anomalies in this area.. most notable being Mana energies that seem to coarse through this world.. as I have witnessed just now." He explained, finally closing his explanation. "And yes, we're human, transplanted millions of years ago.. from this world actually.. by an ancient and powerful race, the first evolution of humanity.. of course, every human in existence now is the second evolution, all this is probably beyond your comprehension."
There was one thing about the Taiyou, and it was their belief, or lack thereof, a decadent and technocratic society, a place where the line between man and machine, is obscenely blurred..
-
Eyanis enjoyed the wind that fingered through his clean, white mane. His skin flinched as Nakéminae's cry surprised him, and he bent his neck quickly around to meet her as she came to his side. Old instincts of danger flaring momentarily at her sudden motion before he registered fully that she meant only to help. He stood still as she touched his skin, though it flinched again under her hand. He made a noise sounding like he was clearing his throat though it was a friendly gesture made by horses. He hadn't seen a horse in some time, but he never forgets...
"They were unnatural. My body was rejecting them. I simply hurried along the process."
He presses his nose gently against her shoulder, his horn like a twisting, straight branch of a dark-wooded tree pointed safely away from her.
With a contented flick of his tail, he turned his gaze onto Rotor as he spoke. An ear flicked almost nonchalantly towards the creature, the other hovering around his environment. Every brush of wind on the grass was a sound he could not tire of hearing. A hind limb tipped onto the tips of its cloven hoof, resting while the other three took his weight. Relaxation.. how long had it been?
"One drop of rain, though it falls in an ocean, still makes a ripple.."
He'd heard it somewhere. It just seemed to fit in so well to Rotor's words. It was all too true.
Normally he might have subtley bristled at Lyrial's words. No one could guarantee that he wouldn't do anything. But she had done him a good turn, however inadvertantly. He was resigned to respect her. Curious, he watched her summon the weapon, accustomed now to the black sphere which had preceded it.