The deafening explosion from The Root rocked New Hemisect's streets for miles around. Government activity reignited; within a matter of days the blocks surrounding The Root were scoured, investigated, and the damaged stem was promptly demolished. In its wake, a new construction zone with the promise of a reconstructed, fortified, and high-density hivestem rose.
Quote:
At this time, [LOC] The Root is now closed. Trolls who were previously roleplaying in this location may wrap up their roleplays, but new adventures may not be started. Thanks for participating!
View old description and rules below:
The Root
This RP is open to all shop trolls. Trolls are not required to roll and may post as frequently as desired. Posts containing rolls must have at least two sentences of RP to be counted. If trolls interact with others and reach 500 words doing so, this RP can be counted for 1 RP point. Each roll exploring The Root does not (and likely should not) need to be a new day or long passage of time in character, and can simply be a new action that the troll takes any time after the previous action.
For this location: If you explore The Root as a team of two or more, you will receive 1 extra roll per day between you. Please make sure to note in your posts who is in your group, and interact with each other accordingly. If you disperse from the group, you lose your extra roll.
Example: A group has two trolls in it. Troll A: Rolls to explore! Troll B: Rolls to explore! As a group, Troll A and Troll B get one extra roll BETWEEN them. = 3 rolls total. Now they have to wait for the appropriate time to roll again.
An enormous hivestem that has collapsed. It looks as though it’s imploded and the bottom levels are completely crushed – the top half is tilted and crushed through a construction zone, so it’s held up conveniently (but rather dangerously) by scaffolding.
Encounter Rate: Trolls can roll to explore The Root once per day. (ex: You can roll on Monday, then another roll unlocks after midnight (Tuesday) in your time-zone.) Encounter Pool: Generate a number between 1-35 (as of September 14th!)
Pool Results:
1-3:
The investigation is rough and dangerous. Wires and sharp pieces of shrapnel stick out everywhere, making care a necessity. Unfortunately, with one false step you were not as careful as you could have been. You fall into the pit of the building and get wedged in. You won’t be able to get out until someone helps you, and you won’t be able to roll to explore your surroundings in this state.
4-6:
You’ve seen some gruesome things, but this is something else. Climbing through a window to one of the hives, you are immediately met with a horrid stench. The drones did a good job of sweeping the premises, but something from below invades your senses and makes your eyes water – you recognize the smell as smashed recuperacoons, but there’s something else rotting in there as well. Perhaps it would be ill advised to continue in this particular troll’s respite block. The floor of the respiteblock yields many footprints -- this has been a well-traveled point of interest.
You take one step through the broken window and find that the floor has collapsed into the room below. Climbing the walls is an option, but being a few stories down the drop is deadly, and it doesn't look like much survived the crash.
The entire middle of the hivestem appears to have been gutted by an enormous creature. This appears to have happened recently. There’s not much to see here any more.
7-8:
You find a dead lusus. It’s some sort of gliding lizard, a yellowblood. Its eyes and throat are missing. It has been covered in a sheet, and a flower lays on top.
9:
Through the rubble, you find a small blinking half-sphere. How odd. A little red light beeps slowly, illuminating the junk around it in an eerie glow. You pick it up and examine it. It appears to be metal, and in fair shape considering the state of the hivestem. You collect the strange half-sphere.
10:
Quote the mule for your encounter prompt!
11:
You find a small blinking half-sphere. How odd. A little blue light beeps quickly, illuminating the junk around it in an eerie glow. You pick it up and examine it. It appears to be metal, and in fair shape considering the state of the hivestem. You collect the strange half-sphere.
12:
You find a small blinking half-sphere. How odd. A little blue light beeps slowly, illuminating the junk around it in an eerie glow. You pick it up and examine it. It appears to be metal, and in fair shape considering the state of the hivestem. You collect the strange half-sphere.
13-15:
A redblooded troll lies face up. She is covered by a translucent plastic sheet and her hair has been combed. There is a dot of red blood on her lips. It appears as though her legs had been crushed by the wreckage.
16:
Quote the mule for your encounter prompt!
17-19:
You come across some carrion beasts, looking for a meal. They’re clustered in thick droves around something, but you can’t quite tell what and they won’t back down when you come near.
20:
You find a small blinking half-sphere. How odd. A little red light beeps quickly, illuminating the junk around it in an eerie glow. You pick it up and examine it. It appears to be metal, and in fair shape considering the state of the hivestem. You collect the strange half-sphere.
21-23:
At the base of The Root, you see that a grubdog cart has been smashed by the falling building. Oh, the humanity! It’s an odd tableau, in fact. Hopefully the grubdog troll is okay. A few rodents skitter in and out of the hivestem wreckage and pick at the remains of the stand, and then flee back into their large and now unoccupied new home.
24:
Some pigeons are picking at the ground. Geez, there are a lot of them!
25-28:
You balance on a beam, and with some athletics manage to make it up to the roof of The Root. Someone had begun a little garden up here already. A sweet gesture, now lost…It looks completely picked over by looters. There's not much left to see here except a small patch of grass and a little muddy puddle that could have been a troll-made pond. The delicate system of the garden has been swallowed by a significant hole in the Root's roof. In its place, a raggedy pit that looks down upon the penthouse hive of the troll below. It seems to be a troll of a higher caste's domain, and is rather poor condition now that the roof has collapsed. It'll be tough to get out of here, but maybe you can use the vines now hanging down as support? The troll’s hive has been completely picked over and appears to have been well trafficked – albeit suddenly abandoned. There are huge claw marks on every side of the walls, and everything inside is shredded and ruined.
29:
Quote the mule for your encounter prompt!
30-33:
That’s strange. The area around here looks like it’s been blown outwards and twisted with heat, but nothing has any char marks that would make sense from an explosion. The news blotter said that the tower had collapsed, but the building seems brand new.
34:
You find a small blinking sphere. How odd. A little purple light on both of its poles illuminate the junk around it in an eerie glow. You pick it up and examine it. It appears to be metal, and in fair shape considering the state of the hivestem.You collect the strange sphere.
35:
Quote the mule for your encounter prompt!
Show the appropriate spoiler when you generate its corresponding number. Have fun!
KitsuneAura generated a random number between
1 and 50 ...
46!
Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 11:31 pm
Etsali peered up at the wreckage that remained of The Root, eyes skating over every little detail they could spot out. She'd known, almost as immediately as the disaster had happened because being a resident of the city made some things very hard to miss, that she absolutely had to get a closer look at the site. She was curious, mostly, just to see how a hivestem would look after collapse but there was a little voice in the back of her head that said this was an opportunity. Well, okay, a not so little and probably major thought process that said this was opportunity. But she definitely hadn't only come here to see what kind of shiny things might be in the rubble, because that would have been terrible.
"But it's not like anyone would really mind if we did," she backtracked as she discussed the matter with her lusus on the way into the construction site. "If they wanted to keep them, they wouldn't have left them out here anyway. We'd be keeping the shiny things safe in our hive." Keeper did not seem terribly convinced that this exploration was worth the potential danger, though, in fact had that look in her eyes like she might be deciding to drag her troll home, so Etsali moved further in a little faster. The quicker she made a discovery, the more Keeper would agree with her!
"Come on, I bet there's something this way!" She paused, though, as the area she found herself in proved to be very different from what she expected. "Hey, Keeper, do things catch fire when they collapse usually? This looks more like..." She considered the best way to describe it, then smacked her hands together. "Like BOOM! You know?" She poked around some more, still confused by the oddness of the area but unable to sate her curiosity without anyone to pull answers out of, then shrugged. "I guess we should go see what else there is."
KitsuneAura
Magical Detective
Offline
thyPOPE generated a random number between
1 and 50 ...
33!
thyPOPE
Devoted Hoarder
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Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 11:49 pm
Alifax was a hermit, but he had not been so much of a hermit that he hadn't heard that the Root had collapsed. He hadn't been particularly inclined to go exploring, though: he really didn't want to be caught doing it, and to be honest, he preferred less obvious sources of loot. And actual hunting.
But he couldn't deny that he was suspicious of the place's integrity. Or more accurately its supposed integrity. It'd only been around for a little while, and he'd certainly thought the post-earthquake disaster relief had helped more than, well, this. Did he suspect sabotage? Well, certainly not from the crown (which was not very popular of late, it seemed: there'd been too much recent destruction caused by all too suspicious government-sourced technology - sabotage on their part would only be disastrous for them), but that didn't mean the contractors the government had hired were entirely benevolent. Of course Alifax did not have much of a personal investment in it: his closest "friends" (if he could call them that, at least) lived, of course, in the Four Fronds.
The sight of Kursha, again, though, had been enough to convince him to come out to sate his curiosity. The greenblood, however obnoxious, was a child, and Alifax would not blame him for wanting a lowblood scapegoat should he be caught looting by the government. And of course Kursha had witnessed Alifax's fighting ability firsthand: Alifax was probably the most efficient, cheapest, and least materialistic bodyguard Kursha might find on short notice. Other than, well, his lusus, who probably expected nothing of him (Flambe certainly didn't - although Flambe also never went out now that Alifax wasn't a toddler).
Anyway, Alifax could get information out of exploring: information was as good a reward as anything, in his opinion. And he could admit that it paid to have a highblood to follow around: less questions were asked of him, which was always a good thing. "What are you hoping to encounter?" he asked, eying the ruins warily and then glancing over at the kid he was accompanying (he didn't think about glancing up at Kursha's much more intimidating lusus).
Hivestuck
HI OVO
Alifax is traveling with Kursha (Katanari)! Personal inventory: n/a Group inventory: n/a
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 12:08 am
thyPOPE
“Coo…Coo…” A distressed sound reaches your sponge clots. Looking up into the tilted scaffolding of The Root, you manage to see a little white head poking out of a windowsill. On the ledge, a nest had been made – and subsequently smashed by the fall. The lone survivor sits helplessly in the nest, nursing a broken wing. If you choose to retrieve the bird, it may just imprint on you…
Hivestuck Captain
Alien Datemate
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zeflamigo generated a random number between
1 and 50 ...
6!
zeflamigo
Interstellar Astronaut
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Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 12:24 am
Boy was Odette lucky. Not long ago she considered moving into this hivestem, all shiny and new. Maybe it was fate that she was a few beetles off from renting a hive there. What a horrible thought— that someone else suffered terribly and that in a way, she could have saved them from that fate.
Thinking about it made her chest feel heavy. If she could rescue just one person in that rubble, it would make things better. So she contacted what friends she had, packed up swanmom in an improvised backpack, and was off to the rescue.
"Thanks for coming with me, Vremmy" Odette said. "I didn't realize how much harder it is to survive when you're smaller... I thought it would be easier."
Sure, she was a bit more agile and needed a lot less food but gog she couldn't even reach a windowsill without using her powers! Well, around Vremea it didn't matter.
She pulled herself into the room, hitting the floor with a definite thud. Thank goodness there was some carpet there. Ugh, did it smell though. And it was, goopy? She jumped, expecting the worst. She was relieved at the sight of recuperacoons.
Though something wasn't right. Recuperacoons, even smashed ones, don't smell like this. "Do you smell that, Vremea?" She asked.
Odette Cygnet is traveling with Vremea Everai! (quite uneventful)
kamileunaire generated a random number between
1 and 50 ...
38!
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 12:31 am
The air was still thick with dust and the vague scent of death when they arrived. Larque could not keep from wrinkling his nose in disgust, not just at the mess that lay ahead of them, but for the fact that they were there in the first place. It was just his luck to get dragged into this sort of situation, wasn't it? For the hundredth time, he had cursed himself, cursed his stupidity, while yanking his shirt up over his mouth, and keeping close to who he considered the de facto leader of the expedition. Tamiya had been wildly insistent on coming, for reasons that he still did not entirely comprehend. The place was just like Old Hemisect, really...only fresher. They had gone from an old disaster zone and into a completely new one. That played into her reasoning, he supposed, grimacing again at the grisly sight of blood splattered against jagged debris. If it weren't for her, he would have been back there, in the safety of the ruins he knew by memory. But there she was, and he was bound to her, bound by her freakish magic and her eerie superstitions. Even his lusus had endorsed the idea, no doubt eager to play the part of their sole protector as they made their way further into the ruins.
It was useless to fret over it, he tried to tell himself. He was stuck, and the only solution was to see things through a different, more constructive lens. The greenblood's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the wreckage, on the lookout for loot, and wondering how Tamiya might react if he tried to liberate the victims of their valuables. They wouldn't need their junk anymore, right?
"I still dunno what you think we can do here." He hissed softly, before scrabbling up onto his lusus' back. The true scope of the damage dwarfed even his own massive lusus, and he clenched his teeth before carefully climbing up the length of her outstretched claw. Uninterested in the mess at the bottom, Larque liked to go up. After getting a boost from Mantismom, he carefully made his way up and across a beam, disappearing onto the roof of the building for a moment. Several loud clicks from the mantis hailed his grumbling return, and after climbing the rest of the way down he unfurled the small bundle he'd made with his shirt.
"I found some plants up there, but not much else." He commented, holding up his prize. It had been a dinky little garden, but maybe whatever he'd lifted from it would prove useful.
(larque is traveling with tamiya)
kamileunaire
Floppy Member
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quite uneventful generated a random number between
1 and 50 ...
36!
At first Vremea wanted to avoid any and all paths that passed by The Root. Paths being conversations, roads, and thought processes. It was so sad to see all those trolls survive that horrific disaster, only to have another come out of nowhere and destroy their new, spiffy home. It felt... almost... planned. But that would've been her mind going too far, right? The Queen was just trying to save them from...
Aw heck, who was she kidding. Vremea couldn't even bring herself to believe what she just thought. It was strange and foreign in her mind, especially now when that area was declared off limits. She guessed it was for a good reason, as the area was a gloomy and depressing sight, but it just felt a little... strange. Dangerous. Risky. So when she heard sweet little Odette wanted to come, she couldn't just write her off! Especially when she was still a child— she hadn't taken the potion along with her. So she threw away her thoughts and set off on a small quest with the younger-appearance-wise girl, holding onto her hand tightly as fear and anxiety seeped into her pores while they navigated the area. Hearing her thanks, the yellowblood just felt a frown slide upon her lips. "It is my pleasure, Odette. I thought the same, at first, but then I felt as if my body was too weak to do simple tasks, and the fact that I could not work as a child." She heaved a sigh before trying to relax, and squeezed the little girls hand slightly— she just hoped they would get out of there alright.
She hadn't smelt the gag-worthy smell until they were already nearby— but it smelt far away, so she had not suspicions... until she helped her into the room. What... Vremea managed to get herself into the room, and the smell that came from it was putrid and awful. Was something dead in here...? She asked herself, having thought she made an inside joke and looking around a little.
Then she saw the recuperacoons.
She felt dazed for a second and shivered... until she heard Odette's small voice echo throughout the room. "Do you smell that, Vremea?" She heard, and Vremea couldn't help but swallow hard. She instantly knew what it was— trolls that had died in their sleep. She shuddered, face going pale, and quickly tugged Odette's hand away from the pile of goop and blood. "W-we should go," she murmured, keeping her face cold and neutral— they were defenseless and weak in their moment of death... They didn't even know it was happening. She lowered her eyes and gave them a short moment of silence before tugging Odette to follow her to another room.
Vremea almost felt like a performer, traveling from room to room, balancing herself and helping Odette traverse through the dangerous building until they reached the very peak of the establishment. What she found there was almost as depressing as the trolls in their dead recuperacoons. A little garden, looking humble and out of the way... Sometroll had tried to make the Root feel a little more like their old hive. Something in her clenched at her protein chute, and she almost felt like she couldn't breathe. What if... What if the dead troll they had seen earlier was the one that owned this garden? No, no, that would be too much of a coincidence. Vremea quickly rubbed her neck with the hand that was not holding onto Odette's hand, looking away.
"Why did this have to happen to them...?" She whispered miserably, the question feeling stale on her lips. "Why, when they had received their moment of peace...?" She asked herself, neutral expression unmoving and unchanging— she would not show her feelings here. Who knew what could be lurking...
With a defeated and sad sigh, the female looked toward Odette with a pout on her lips. "Would you like to take any herbs? They might be useful in the future, and you could always sell them for extra beetles...?"
Vremea Everai is currently traveling with Odette Cygnet! (Kimbley Kitty)
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 11:46 am
Vremea pulled her hand away and the gravity of the scene clicked in Odette's head. Her neck tightened like she was going to vomit. Why did death follow her like this? She felt as if it were chasing her, missing by a thread everywhere she went. She tugged on the straps of her sack, and swanmom peeped out, nuzzling Odette with her long neck.
She followed close behind Vremea. Well, it was hard not to when they were holding hands. With a little bit of acrobatics they found their way to the roof. There was a little garden of herbs, nearly untouched by the wreckage compared to the rest of the hive stem. Odette heard Vremea talking to herself, asking why questions. I guess this is what it means to be a lowblood, Odette thought. Carrying the burden of death, and you can't escape.
Vremea wondered if Odette would want to take any herbs. She wouldn't touch the plants herself— she remembered very well what happened the last time she tried to mess with someone's garden. It didn't sit right with her either, after all she refused to steal from those less fortunate than her.
Then again, the survivors left were paid off for their tragedy. No owner would be coming back for these. Odette took off her sack, and let swanmom graze among the herbs. Odette watched her every step, as if she had taken over as lusus. Her eyes traced the garden for disturbances.
Right there— a patch had been dug up in the corner. That's odd, all of the herbs seemed relatively ripe, why hadn't they dug up the whole patch? Unless...
"Vremea, we need to get out of here," Odette whispered, pointing to the patch. "Someone else has been here."
Odette is traveling with Vremea!
No items but swanmom has a half-full tummy!
zeflamigo
Interstellar Astronaut
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Sypon generated a random number between
1 and 50 ...
15!
Sypon Vice Captain
Offline
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 11:51 am
The Root incident was a tragedy. Once Tamiya had learned about it, she was mortified, and at once consulted her lusus for advice. Between cleaning himself, he’d assured her and put her in the right state of mind: this would be the perfect opportunity for Tamiya to give back to the lowbloods. Earn their trust. And more importantly, assuage the dead. She would have to do it in secret, of course, but if she were caught she would certainly be given lenience. It’s the thought of the matter that made a difference here, and putting spirits to rest was a huge ordeal for the young purpleblood to take on. But it would be all worth it. Otherwise, New Hemisect would be as good as gone as Old Hemisect soon. Tamiya shuddered and knew that she had to get going soon. She had to.
But first, she had to call up Larque. Her soul-bound mate was nimble and willing. He would do well to help her, and knowing her ways would make him understand. Sinter did not have the constitution for this sort of thing, Tamiya decided. Plus, he was too far away. He had desert ghosts to deal with.
So here the two were, mere children exploring the wreckage of a horrific accident. Tamiya’s lusus bounded into a hive out of sight, probably to help the dead, Tamiya thought to herself. She already felt sick. Truth be told, Tamiya had never seen anything like this. Old Hemisect’s musty skeletons and empty shells of hives were one thing… But the smell here was fresh and already rotting. She had to dab tears from her eyes already, and if not for her faith she would have fled immediately. She should have. This was terrifying. But no. Onward.
“Larque!” Tamiya called up to her companion. “Take care. I am following you up…”
She didn’t have a huge lusus to help her up. Tamiya struggled to keep up with her impractical attire, and soon realized that he would be either back or dead by the time she got there. A sharp piece of metal threatened to cut her hand, and she hissed. The tears nearly came back. “L-Larque!” She squeaked. “You will… You will wait for me!”
No sooner than she cried for – what she would never admit was a cry for help – Larque re-emerged. She could see the roof from where she was perched, and squinted out onto the roof. A garden?
“Yes… These herbs may serve to be a natural anchor for the spirits. This will prove useful,” she sputtered. She offered a pouch for storing the plants and took another look at the garden. Two other forms had appeared. Oh gog.
Were they spirits, angry from Larque’s theft of the garden? It couldn’t be. She squinted, her orange eyes nearly disappearing under her dramatic makeup. A yellowblood. And… Could that be a redblood? They didn’t appear to be victims. WHAT WERE THEY DOING HERE? ROBBING THE DEAD, NO DOUBT!Or perhaps just tending to the garden like Larque had. It would be best to summon and question them about this. Tamiya did not TRUST mysterious women poking around a mass gravesite.
“HEY!” shrieked Tamiya. “YOU BITCHES!” She was merely trying to get their attention.
Tamiya stepped forward, suddenly inspired to go after them. But her charge would be short lived. She tripped over an upended wardrobe at her feet, taking a spill into a (fortuitously) soft cabinet. She fell with a "WHOOMPH!" into the pile of orange-symboled clothes and struggled to get back to her feet to see where the mysterious roof-trolls were.
(Traveling with Larque!)
quite uneventful generated a random number between
1 and 50 ...
2!
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 1:44 pm
The herbs were still vibrant and healthy, and looked nice enough for picking. The yellowblood honestly wished she had a hive somewhere near a patch of soil— tending to plants seemed relaxing... And also very delicious! She could feed Yakmom and herself every day if she... had just been smart when choosing her home placement... Vremea played with the hem of her dress nervously, watching Odette let Swanmom out into the small field. It was almost calming, if you could call it that, watching the lusus waddle from place to place in the garden.
As soon as she heard Odette's panicked whisper, Vremea felt her body tense up, about to start moving— before hearing a loud shout. Vremea internally screamed, turning around and taking a glance at the kid who screamed at them— her face was deathly pale when she saw the makeup, and winced. A... A purple blood... She stood there, frozen, watching the kid approach them, almost about to accept their fate— before seeing her fall through the floor. Vremea instantly relaxed, body flying into motion. This was their chance to escape! Quickly she ran over and lifted Swanmom, hoping she didn't panic, and then grabbed onto Odette's hand, running down the same path they had just taken up— jumping through the window and landing straight in the clean but smelly respiteblock they had just left from.
Vremea placed Odette and Swanmom down, breathing heavily, eyes filled with fear and body shaking, wide and frightened. She hugged herself, sinking to the floor and pinching herself— she was definitely still alive and alright, but what about... She looked up toward Odette, worried. "A-Are you alright?" She stuttered, still shaking slightly. She was so scared, so scared, she could barely think properly. It was almost as if all the fight in her left— what if she saw her one day, and they held a grudge on her simply because they had run away? What if... What if after this she would look for her, all over? What if... STOP IT! STOP IT, STOP IT, she is a purpleblood, she has better things to do than waste her time searching for a yellowblood like you. And although that was a bit rude, she told herself, it was true. She forced herself to calm down and shuddered, looking at the lusus and the girl again, still worried about them.
Vremea Everai is currently traveling with Odette Cygnet(Kimbley Kitty)
KitsuneAura generated a random number between
1 and 50 ...
27!
KitsuneAura
Magical Detective
Offline
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 2:45 pm
Etsali and her lusus had trekked further into the rubble, on the lookout for anything else of note that hopefully wouldn't be another weird mystery area that didn't make entire sense. Or a body. She didn't think she wanted to see any bodies, though she'd realized that was probably going to be an option while they were in here. She wasn't going to worry about that unless it happened, though, it was better to just imagine the shine of the loot she would surely find just within this rubble here instead. There was just the barest gleam of metal from under the debris and the troll gleefully hurried to dig it up to see what it was. She was not at all disappointed with the discovery.
It was the door of a vault! It was pretty banged up from the collapse, she saw, and the door was bent in a way that suggested the locking mechanism hadn't withstood it. She flashed her lusus a wide, toothy grin and reached out to tug it open, nearly falling backwards with her own force as it finally gave. Beetles flew out the moment the way was clear and with a delighted laugh, the thief rolled back onto her feet and began to jump after them, grabbing as many as could with greedy hands. "I told you, Keeper! There's lots to find here!"
With a huff, the raccoon-dragon focused on keeping her troll from falling onto anything dangerous while she jumped around.
kamileunaire generated a random number between
1 and 50 ...
22!
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 5:05 pm
"Just wait. It's hard to get up here." He'd replied, his voice still a harsh whisper, as if he were afraid of being heard. He was afraid of a lot of things, in fact, even if his actions said otherwise. The area was off limits, after all, and the danger of being found by the authorities was compounded over the hazardous nature of the place itself. He didn't even want to think about the proper little highblood trying to climb around in her robes and sandals, like an accident waiting to happen.
"Calm down, geez." He grumped as he popped back into her line of sight, scowling despite his surprise over her ability to climb up as far as she had. He quickly jammed the herbs into the pouch, pleased to hear that he hadn't wasted any effort. There hadn't been much else up there, unfortunately, but it was just a roof...there would be plenty more to explore as they made their way through. "Mantismom can help if you need a lift, y'know. Try to be careful, okay?" He advised, leaning to look down at his lusus, who was waiting near where he'd scrambled up. She looked like she was ready to scale the side, but he couldn't tell whether or not the structure would be strong enough to support her. He motioned for her to stay put, and was about to turn back to Tamiya, before his ears were filled with the sounds of her screaming voice.
He bristled angrily, and was about to tell her to pipe down, before she managed to silence herself all on her own. He scrambled over quickly to help her up, rolling his eyes at her clumsiness. "Don't yell! They're probably just other -- I mean, they're probably looters. We don't need older kids after us in here." He snapped, wound even more tightly than before. He'd seen the figures too, and it made him exceedingly nervous. If there were teens around, or even adults, they would need to watch their backs.
Once Tamiya was on her feet again, he stepped further into the room they were in, and then stopped dead in his tracks as a rather gruesome sight came into view around a half-torn down wall. Further in lay a body, pinned beneath some of the wreckage. It sent the greenblood backing up quickly, his face pale. "Don't go over there. We should keep going." He said gravely, and yanked his shirt up over his face again.
larque and tamiya are together
kamileunaire
Floppy Member
Offline
Green Minuet
Greedy Trickster
Offline
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 8:00 pm
[+] Kursha Vidari
Kursha was doing his best not to show it, but he was positively thrilled that he had managed to convince the teenage redblood to join him; thrilled because it meant he could actually explore the Root (the Colonel had been more restrictive on his exploits of late) and thrilled because it counted as a victory on his part. True Alifax had not required much convincing but Kursha decided to attribute that more to his own dominating presence rather than the notion that Alifax might have had his own reasons for investigating the ruins. What could there possibly be for a redblood to investigate?
Kursha could in fact think of several good reasons, but he was pretending otherwise.
The young greenblood carefully picked his way over the debris, avoiding the larger chunks of mortar that had been scattered around the property. He moved at a brisk pace, but kept his enthusiasm in check. With how a part of the structure was still standing it would be dangerous to go too quickly. He had to stay vigilant. Unfortunately, his heightened awareness made him a bit jumpy. He even startled once when he saw the Colonel's shadow as she passed overhead. He only hoped Alifax had not noticed. He would take it the wrong way no doubt.
When Alifax spoke, Kursha did not reply right away. The young troll was not looking for anything in particular. The collapsed hivestem simply reeked of danger and that appealed to Kursha's sense of adventure. Without a proper objective though, Kursha might appear weak or faltering. That was unacceptable. At the same time, revealing an objective, even if it was false, might give the redblood the impression that Kursha was pathetically trusting. That was definitely not a direction he wanted to go.
Climbing up onto a rock, Kursha surveyed the wreckage. “Encounter?” he echoed, as though puzzled by Alifax’s word choice. He had decided to avoid the question. “You make it sound as though I’m looking for trouble… Oh! Up there!” Kursha pointed. Higher up in the ruins, a small white bird looked out over the ledge it was perched on. It was cooing dismally. The trolls were not the only ones to notice the tiny avian however. High above Kursha could see the Colonel making a wide arch back towards the hivestem.
Suddenly he envisioned the pidgeon being struck by a streak of white before erupting into a shower of feathers. He began to scramble over the rubble.
Accustomed to navigating treacherous terrain, Kursha made his way up the hivestem quickly. The higher he went though, the steeper it got, and once he almost lost his footing. He had just pulled himself over the ledge beside the pidgeon when the Colonel came into killing range. Pretending not to see her, Kursha scooped up the protesting bird up in his hands.
It was a little uncharacteristic of him, he realised as he moved a hand to shield it. He had seen the Colonel make a kill many times and it had never upset him before. This should have been no different. Yet it was. In that moment that he imagined the Colonel twisting off the smaller birds head, something had bothered him. He told himself he was simply feeling possessive. After all, he had found the bird first. What happened to it was his decision.
Between his palms, he could feel the pidgeon's pump biscuit pulsing rapidly. How tiny and fragile the creature was! One simple twist and he could easily snuff out its life. It was strange and somewhat invigorating to know how much power he held over the bird cupped in his hands... also a little unsettling. He was abruptly reminded of the time his lusus had brought back a hopbeast, and he had watched as she snapped its neck.
“Alifax!” Kursha called, skipping down the wreckage. He kept a firm hold on his captive. The Colonel meanwhile had perched on an outcropping ledge, where she watched intently from above. For the present, Kursha was heedless to her gaze. “What do you think?” he asked once he had descended, grinning and out of breath. He lifted a hand so that Alifax could see better.
He was too curious and too excited to remember that Alifax's opinion did not really matter.
OoC: It seemed inappropriate to roll a new encounter until we resolved this, but I promise I'll get another one in tonight!
Kursha is travelling with Alifax (thyPOPE)! Personal inventory: n/a Group inventory: n/a
seekingCylem generated a random number between
1 and 50 ...
5!
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 9:53 pm
[ Didero had been one of the lucky few residents of New Hemisect when the infamous earthquake had hit. He'd lived far enough out from the heart of the city that his neighborhood had been largely unaffected. There had been plenty of local structural damage of course, but there were no hivestems around to come down on anyone. Not like this.
Didero's lusus had implored him to avoid the busier parts of town for a long while after the event. Even now, Hatoful Dad was against Didero being anywhere near the wreckage that had once been the beautiful Root Hivestem. Didero, curious as always, had managed to distract his lusus long enough while out on an errand run. By the time the old bird hadn't noticed they'd come upon the site until it was too late.
Didero swatted his irate lusus away from his face as they tried to push each other in opposite directions. Didero won out by ducking down and scrambling through a window before his lusus could hook onto his sweater vest. Hatoful Dad was forced to land and hop after Didero, lest he lose the young troll entirely.
Didero had never been in a hivestem or a ruined building before. He was certain to glean all kinds of research material for a thrilling epic. The atmosphere of the dusty cavern was worth taking notes on by itself. Perhaps the open hiveblocks would yield clues into the no-doubt fascinating lives of the people that once lived there. Didero wondered where they were now. Maybe he could interview them.
His sense of adventure and intrigue evaporated as soon as the stench hit his nose. Didero responded with a hacking sound. He waved his arms around to try to clear the dust from the air and see where he was standing.
He was in a bathtub. He'd apparently crawled through a frosted window into someone's ablutionblock. His shoes were muddy with water that had stagnated in the tub. Upon further investigation, Didero deduced that the smell wasn't coming from the toilet. He sighed in relief, only to gag again.
No, that smell wasn't sewage. It smelled like rancid sopor slime.
Hatoful Dad was already squeezing himself into the block. Didero hurried along before his lusus could try to pull him back through the window.
He pushed his way into the next room. It was the respiteblock, not that Didero could see through his watering eyes. The smell was bad in the ablutionblock, but it was overwhelming in here. Didero squeezed his eyes (and nose) shut and ran through the room to where he believed the exit to be. He almost slipped on recuperacoon fragments, but made it to the hallway unscathed. He waited until his lusus was with him and he'd slammed the door shut before opening his eyes and removing his hand from his face.
Didero sighed in relief and slumped against the door. Not even a minute in and his pants were already slimy. Didero looked down in resignation.
"They will not come after me. I am of incredibly high caste," Tamiya shot back. She knew her place on the hemospectrum, and that made her logic sound. She let herself be supported by him and got to her feet. An orangeblood's clothes. The disorderliness made her twitch, even if she knew that it couldn't be helped - this was a natural disaster after all.
She began to follow Larque through the door, a begrudging frown emphasized by her dark lipstick. She could take care of herself. She was supposed to be protecting him. Tamiya clutched the whistle around her neck. She was even more careful now. Every step calculated and quiet in the wreckage -- before she nearly bumped into Larque. His line of sight was better than hers, and suddenly he backed into her to head in the opposite direction.
"What is...?" Tamiya trailed off. There was something ahead, and suddenly something had possessed her. One foot fell in front of the other. Soon the tousled black hair of a teenaged female troll came into view. Her arms were raised above her head and bent gently so -- like she was swimming. Frozen in time, still. Most of her blood had pooled at the jagged side of where her thighs had been crushed, opening her arteries and emptying her of life. Tamiya's hands shook, but her feet would not keep her from drawing closer to the dead troll. Her mouth opened slightly in shock.
So this was death. Pale, unceremonious and empty. The lowblood had been abandoned here, but her spirit would not be. This was Tamiya's calling and her foremost duty. Lowblood or highblood. For the protection of her kind, she had to be sated. And for her own sake, she needed this. But her hubris had betrayed her; she wasn't prepared for death. Regardless of how much she had steeled herself throughout her sweeps of training, Tamiya was overcome. She took another step forward and tried to spur her thinkpan to remember her training. What was needed here? What could she do for this troll?
Kabukidad's words. Souls lost quickly through accident or unfortunate demise were persistent, and rightly so. The body must face the heavens. "Help me," Tamiya spoke softly. Her voice cracked, wavering out of hesitant lips. Her gaze drew to Larque's huge lusus, who proceeded forward with slithering grace that she so admired.
Goddamn preparation. Don't rush the dead. It was particularly unusual for a troll to care for the dead, but for Tamiya a -- what would you call it -- a corpse party was a necessity. As Tamiya overlooked the wreckage anxiously, Mantismom hissed pried it up off of the girl. Fortunately, her blood had congealed enough for the bloodflow to be stopped. Shuddering relief. Tamiya nodded to the lusus and felt a wave of nausea creep over her that she struggled to still.
She took a brave breath through her mouth and hummed as the breath exited through her nostrils. Eyes flickered shut, and another breath cycle. Another. Tamiya took a blind step forward, then one to the side. She came to, stiller than before. Her quaking hands and head had stablized, and though her breathing was controlled her eyes darted in a hesitant panic for what was next. She knew she had to do it. "If you will flip this ******** over," she choked. Tamiya had to commit to another cycle of breathing. Breathing.
Mantismom nudged the body, and soon maneuvered it until it was facing upright. The redblood's hair was wild and ghastly, and she was stiff from her predicament. From this angle, however, the damage to her legs was visibly reduced. Arms brought down to her sides like a doll's. Tamiya cleared what seemed to be a knife and dropped slowly to her knees. The folds and voluminous fabric of her hakama brushed over some of the blood on the ground, which Tamiya pointedly ignored. The ritual was exacting. There was no time for outside distractions.
She produced a thin black comb from within her garments and with a shuddering breath went to work on the girl's matted hair. Her ministrations were gentle and fanned outward from the part in the center of her scalp. Around the horns, down the neck. Tamiya hummed and cooed in monotone chant, her wrist locked as though if she granted it any room to move, it would betray her and her will to continue would be gone. As stolid as Tamiya seemed, her eyes were brimming with dark plum tears. This was a troll much older than her, but so fragile. Her soft complexion befit her caste. She could have waken up just then. But she did not. The purpleblood blinked and flinched, snapping back to the cold reality of The Root. Her hands started quivering again, as though her trance could only last her this single ritual. She wasn't strong enough to keep the balance. It was a horrific disappointment. Tamiya failed to swallow the other knife that made its way into her protein chute.
The deed was done. Tamiya collected strands from the comb. She shifted her position to lean forward, and soon the position elicited a prayer. "Messiahs, help us all," Tamiya choked. Her geta clicked as she got to her feet to collect a drop of rusty blood from the pool surrounding the girl. Tamiya dabbed it on the girl's lips. She came to a rigid halt soon after.
There was silence for a long moment, then, Tamiya began to wail. Starting small and silent like the whistle of a kettle, her voice caught a hitch and broke into a pained scream. She shuddered and buckled over the body, dropping down until she was nearly touching the girl's bare face. And she cried.
Kabukidad materialized from the gloom, and hissed. In his front paw he carried a translucent sheet. Tamiya's crying quieted again to a soft whistle, and she bowed her head entirely as he circled. She seemed apologetic. He stalked. Hissed at his charge. She nodded rapidly. Rising up on both feet, Kabukidad growled at Larque and his lusus.
"L-leave me for a moment," translated Tamiya. She was wiping her face, still hyperventilating. "I w-will...." She breathed in and out. "Be there sh-shortly..."
Kabukidad pulled the thin sheet over the body and arched his back aggressively at his charge, his head twisting downward to gaze at her from below.
