[LOC] The Root

[Sypon]

(Aerona is with Sascha! Kids and Fun!)

"You'll show me scared? Really?" Aerona laughed. She liked this guy! Hopefully he could keep up. She flexed her fingers and hopped up to another level of the building, careful where she put her hands. The metal felt smooth and rigid to the touch, but every inch was a ragged cutting edge. She furrowed her brow and looked to the next level.

"Mm'kay, Sascha. Bet I can beat you up there!"

There looked to be a flat plane up top -- a man-made plateau for the two to explore. She hiked up one of her legs and pulled herself around a beam, using the thick ridges on her boots to propel herself. Sophitia, meanwhile, darted into one of the windows and returned looking even more worried than ever. This was no place for her charge. She began to mutter and squeak as Aerona climbed higher and higher.

It was like a thick metal jungle gym. Aerona had never played on one before, but this must have been what it was like -- but better! The night air whisped through her hair and she inhaled the chill with vigor. Finally, the ledge was in sight. She wrapped her fingers around two steel pipes and pulled her body weight up, twisting around and sitting on the edge of the building.

She assessed where her yellowblood companion was, and smirked. "You comin' up soon?" She called. Sophitia was nearly at her level now as well. Aerona took in the sights. New Hemisect glittered. It was really something - one day she'd climb a hivestem that wasn't a toppled mess. Aerona took a deep breath, and in doing so caught a sniffer full of something horrific.

Something had been out here for... A long time. It smelled like something Sophitia would drag into the hive, and... Oh gog. A chill ran up Aerona's spine. She planted her hands on the structure and twisted her body to stand up and investigate. A brownish, ruddy stain. And a rotted redblood corpse.

Aerona immediately twisted away with a frightened scream, tears springing to her eyes. "Gg-gog! Oh gog! Oh gog!!" She whimpered. Her hands covered her mouth, stopping herself from quick, hyperventilating breaths. She couldn't bear to look.

Everything seemed like a dream. She planted her feet so she wouldn't fall, suddenly feeling lightheaded. Rubbing her eyes and feeling her blood pusher threaten to pump through her throat, Aerona searched for another place to look. "D-don't come up here!"  

[DraconicFeline]

((Iiii was a derp... I'll just... not count that and reroll...))  

[DraconicFeline]

((Reroll because wrong dice used and derpiness))

Hivestuck

Kimbley Kitty

Keionx swallowed at the mention of Odette's mother, it suddenly occurring to her that she had never met Odette's lusus. Keionx didn't want to contemplate what horrible fate that could possibly mean. Though her relationship with her lusus was now very... complicated... Keionx dared not imagine actually losing him.

”You... you're the one to thank.” said Keionx, her voice quiet to hide the emotion trembling beneath it. She stroked the bird softly as they began to walk along again.

”I have a great deal to thank you for.”  

[Hivestuck]

While walking around The Root, something catches your eye. A blinking light? There’s an odd feeling in the air. You’re not sure what it is but it makes your hairs stand on end.

You make your way to the epicenter of the wreckage, where the hivestem seems to have collapsed. It dawns on you that if the foundations were faulty, this particular part of the hivestem wouldn’t have twisted in on itself in such a bizarre way. Something smells strange. It’s unusual. Not a biological smell (thank goodness), but that of melting metal and hot tar. A magnetic aura hangs around the air. You push forward and find yourself in a set of conjoined hives, completely unrecognizable based upon what happened. Everything is warped and fused. Smearing oiling patterns of greys and blacks make the whole chasm look like a modern art piece. But, even with all of the damage, in the middle of it all a thick metal box stands… Remarkably unscathed. It is approximately the size of an Alternian business cubicle, and featureless. A high-tech door with half-sphere indentations is the only unique feature about it, and it appears to be locked tight. A soft red blinking light casts monstrous shadows on the wreckage.

You can come back to the epicenter at any time. Quote the mule if you choose to do so.

DraconicFeline

Kimbley Kitty

 

[zeflamigo]

Odette strode over to Keionx, hugging her gently. She didn't dare hurt the little pigeon between them. "I'm very thankful to have met you, Kei," She said softly, pulling away to look at her and smile. "We should move," Odette explained. It was dangerous to stand around in one place for too long here. Odette knew this well from before. Now, she was even less sure of the building's integrity. She moved to leave the room, guiding Kei with her hand. "Would you like me to hold him, now?" She asked, looking back to Kei.

Coming across the strange room, Odette didn't know what to think. Was this... was this the source of the damage? Odette wasn't totally sure, but the damage seemed to hint to it. "What is this?" She wondered aloud, looking back to Kei.

Hivestuck

odette has a problem

 

[Hivestuck]

Hanging around the nest, the baby bird begins to coo. Something is coming -- attracted by the small creature's cries for help and close proximity to the next. Overhead, a dark cloud seems to form. It appears like a raincloud on an otherwise clear day, drawing closer and closer with each audible buzz of wingbeats. Is it a bird? A plane? No.

It's a cluster of birds.

The pigeon swarm parts and disperses over the skies of The Root. A large and weathered grey pigeon plops down near you on its one leg and gives you a sideways glance before delivering a quick coo to the baby bird. It has something affixed to its leg.

Upon delivering its message, the pigeon takes off ungracefully.

Kimbley Kitty

 

[seekingCylem]

Sascha is exploring with Aerona


With this much of the building's infrastructure, uh, gone, Sascha's entrance into the building was clearly a false lead. With Aerona still climbing, Sascha's only option of advancement was to follow. The last thing he wanted was to get left behind, so he crawled back out onto the remains of the window sill and advanced up to Aerona's perch.

Sascha almost lost his footing at Aerona's sudden cries. Frightened Startled and put-out by the near-slip, Sascha pigheadedly pulled himself up until he was eye-level with Aerona's floor.

He saw the rats and bugs before he saw anything else.

"Ugh-! Gross." Sascha pulled back from the ledge before he had a chance to recognize what was going on. Gross bugs were really not his style. If Aerona wanted to leave this area, he wouldn't object. "Yeah, you don't have to tell me twice!"

By this point, Bagwormother had once again been forced to abandon her shell in order to follow her charge up a building. Her multiple sets of legs were able to cling to the crevices in the ruins easily enough, but this was still no place for someone of her species. If her son was going to be making a habit of breaking and entering, he could at least choose to infiltrate buildings with working stairs.

Bagwormother's tugs on Sascha's pants were misinterpreted, as the command to "COME. DOWN." only drew his attention to another landing on the floor below Aerona's not too far from his current handhold.

"I see another balcony that's not totally covered in broken glass over here. C'mon!"  

[DraconicFeline]

Hivestuck

Can't stop a hero from exploring

Kimbley Kitty

Hearing the creaking of the structure around her in he faint wind, Keionx couldn't agree more about the danger. Her heart warmed by Odette's statement, she handed the bird off to her carefully, and then watched in awe as the other birds descended, picking up the message that they had left. She was about to hand it to Odette, when she noticed the red light... and the destruction... ahead.

”I don't know...” said Keionx. She could not, of course, leave such a mystery un-investigated. It could be dangerous, and though her heroics were no longer so certain, she had to at least take a look at it. Just to make sure of its harmlessness... or danger.

”Stay back.” she warned, giving Odette a concerned and serious look. Odette had protected her and was much older and presumably much stronger... better... and such, but Keionx... Keionx didn't want her to be hurt. Or the little bird.

She drew her sword and began to make her way towards the blinking light and the disturbingly mechanical... box? Box didn't quite describe it. It was a device. Of what kind, she supposed she would find out...  

[zeflamigo]

"I don't like this, Kei," Odette said, nervousness evident in her tone. She held closer to the baby featherbeast, trying to keep him calm, but he fluttered about, trying to escape her grasp. He broke free and Odette squeaked, chasing him out of the strange room. He stopped by his nest, plopped to the ground and waited. Odette reached out to him, but stopped as she heard him cooing softly. Something was off, and Odette was going to wait it out until she knew what it was.

A dark cloud approached, and Odette turned around, panicked. "Kei! Kei, come quick!" She shouted, hoping the orangeblood wasn't far behind. She turned to watch the mass approach, confused to how it was moving directly towards the Root. The wind normally didn't carry that way, did it? The closer it approached, the more familiar the sound became. This wasn't a cloud at all. It was a flock.

Odette's jaw dropped as the birds flew overhead, dispersing over the Root. She could hardly breathe with all of the excitement she was feeling. Surrounded by birds? Why, it had to be a dream. An absolutely perfect, wonderful dream. Upon spotting a message tied to the large pigeon's leg, Odette approached the bird and carefully removed the message.

Morse code? She didn't know as much as Vremea or Milieu, but she had been studying more since the conflict in Civisect. "SOS?" She said aloud, the letters clicking in her head. Someone needed saving? Odette would certainly help, but just who was this message from? Green letters, a blood pusher? She gasped when everything fell into place. The greenblood she met at the Root before! Didero! Was he in trouble? Odette tucked the slip into her leotard. She'd have to do some more investigation on the matter. For now, she turned her attention back to Keionx and their little bird.  

[Sypon]

Well, well, well...

 

[Sypon]

Aerona immediately fled the scene of the crime. She’d seen bodies before. Sophitia, on many occasions, had brought in prey fresh from outdoors. She was no stranger to the anatomy of hoofbeasts and other, smaller mammals. She’d even seen the frozen husks of trolls who had tried and failed to climb Busthind – seen prison casualties from a healthy distance. But this was different. Not only was she upclose and reeking of decay, but the woman had been arranged. She looked like she’d been posed after death. The dot of blood on her lips, the careful placement and brushing of her hair. It wasn’t in the troll way. Why – how – could someone do that?

One thing was for sure. It gave her the creeps. With stale air caught in her throat, Aerona braced her self to climb back down to Sascha’s level. She finally got her footing on the balcony and looked out, giving him a gentle (but somewhat wavering nudge) with her elbow. “This place is nuts.” She exclaimed.

She took a moment to catch her breath. “Guess you’re not too cluckbeast though,” She conceded weakly. Aerona crossed her arms. Sophitia waddled over to the two and began to scold her for running off, and Aerona soon saw something much more interesting than weathering the warnings of her parent.

“Ooh, hey! Pigeons!” She exclaimed. A huge flock had just landed in the distance. Nothing could go wrong with feathery friends. She hopped across the balcony and looked down at the surface below. “Looks like there’s a few pillars that we can shimmy along to get down there. Don’t worry – I’ll go first if one of ‘em’s too crumbly.”

She shot him a wink. Her confidence was re-emerging. She took a quick skip and hop to brace herself for the fall and caught herself on the perilous pillar below. Part of her boot went straight through the crumbling drywall, and she laughed as she pulled out her foot. A perfect Aerona-shaped print. Sophitia snaked after her, hopping from pillar to pillar as she explored with Sascha. “Come on down! Pillar’s fine!” she shouted.

She scrambled up the beaten exterior of the building. The pigeons were clustered on the ground below. Perfect. A mischievous smile returned to her lips. She put one hand on the top of the pillar and tested the angle. It’d be steep and smooth enough to use as a slide. She swiftly wrapped her legs around it, and with a cheer rocketed to the bird-cover surface below.

“Whoooo!”

Touch-down. An explosion of feathers filled the air as Aerona scared off a chunk of the flock, giggling and looking back at Sascha to see if he’d seen. Only when she turned around did she see the feathery sight in front of her. A graceful redblood, standing amongst a flock of pigeons. She looked like some sort of super hero, straight out of the movies. Aerona gaped.

“Wh-whoa!” Were these her birds? Was she some kind of crazy bird lady? Aerona wasn’t sure whether to be afraid or impressed, but Sophitia’s soft clawtaps on the metal reassured her either way.  

[DraconicFeline]

Kimbley Kitty

Sypon

((And drac derped again lets pretend she didn't roll))

When Keionx was told to come quick, every heroic nerve in her body made her come quick. That it was Odette made it happen even faster. She was already clambering out of the crater and by Odette's side before the thought that Odette might be in trouble had fully formed, and her adrenaline was ready and raring to go by the time she had determined that Odette was in no immediate danger. She sheathed her sword and watched in wonder as the flock of birds dispersed.

”What was that?” Keionx asked, in awe. Odette, it seemed, had an affinity for birds. ”What is that.” she said, gesturing to the note. Even she knew what an SOS was. ”If someone is in danger... we must save them!” she said, looking at Odette... then at the baby bird... worriedly. But... what of him? They couldn't just charge into a fight...

Startled at a loud cry, Keionx turned to see a freckled redblood touch down nearby. ”Hello” she greeted, cautiously.  

[zeflamigo]

Odette laughed openly, pigeons tickling her with their nuzzling heads. She didn't notice the other girl until Kei had, prompting Odette to ask the orangeblood "Who are you talking to, Kei?" She turned, looking at whatever Kei had set her eyes on. A little redblood exploring with her lusus! Odette smiled, turning back to Kei. "Don't be so nervous Kei, it's rude! Besides, she doesn't look like trouble," She whispered. Odette turned her attention back to the child. "Hello there!" Odette said jovially, waving to her.

"Are you here all by yourself?" She asked, genuinely worried for the girls safety. Though, she looked pretty scrappy. She was probably doing just fine. It was usually highbloods that had to worry about getting hurt in ruins like these.

Sypon

DraconicFeline

 

[seekingCylem]

“Not too cluckbeast,” eh? ”Pfft. Like I need you to tell me that.” It was certainly nice, though. Sascha wouldn’t argue with that.

Sascha at least waited until his lusus was on the landing with him before charging after Aerona. Bagwormother carefully navigated the broken glass and other debris as Sascha charged on, oblivious to the crunching sound under his boots. He followed Aerona down without much fanfare, just in time to see the pigeon torrent scatter throughout the building. Sascha coughed and waved an arm to clear the air of dander. Gross.

When the flock cleared, there was another troll at the c enter of this mess, two in fact, and older than he and Aerona to boot. They were talking with his companion. Bagwormother was instantly alert, and Sascha rolled his shoulders and straightened his posture. These other lowbloods didn’t look too imposing, but there was never a bad time to make a solid first impression. Sascha strode up to them with a stern expression.

”You here to loot this place?” It was a valid enough question. Sascha figured older trolls had, like, jobs or something important to be doing at this hour rather than playing on the overgrown climbing structure like he and Aerona were. If there actually was something to be looted around there, however, Sascha wanted to know about it.

Kimbley Kitty

DraconicFeline

 

[Sypon]

As though she was summoned, the chitinous lusus scampered up to the group, small claws spread defensively. There didn't seem to be any danger here, thank goodness.

Sophitia was relieved by the ladylike nature of the troll before them. Finally, a figure she could get behind. And by Aerona's immediate fawning over her, a potential role model. Sophitia chittered and looked into the distance to make sure that Sascha was in one piece. Meanwhile, her charge crossed her arms.

"Hey, I got my lusus here. Also this guy!"

Aerona turned around slightly to jerk a thumb at Sascha. She crossed her arms across her chest and leaned back. "I'm Aerona. This is Sascha, and basically we're adventure besties. But yeah! What he said..." Aerona took a step towards her. "You lookin' for trouble, Birdy?"

The orangeblood next to her was a little incongruous considering her whimsical bird-themed-super-hero attire. "Friend?" She shrugged. Aerona was already itching to get back into her exploration, having nearly (but of course not entirely) forgotten about the dead redblood. Suddenly, she had a thought. Two stronger, older trolls couldn't hurt her little expedition. Lowbloods to boot. She grinned, and before her companions could give a response she interjected, "Yo! What have you found so far?"

((Two losers requesting to join this party))

Kimbley Kitty

seekingCylem

DraconicFeline