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 Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2015 7:40 pm
 x when: early evening, a couple hours after sunset
what: zeffer breaks one of rastin's windows while looking for food for his lusus; rastin's evening routine is rudely interrupted
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Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2015 7:41 pm
It was a relatively pleasant evening in the Four Fronds, discounting the many still-charred buildings, and the massive space ship that remained planted in the center of it all. Only a week had gone by since the crash, and the initial panic had begun to fade, swiftly replaced with a diligent effort to recuperate the shaken town. Many highbloods had already begun to reconstruct their hives, and the area was still thick with drones working to repair the damage. Not everything had been completely ruined, however. As a gentle breeze wafted through, bringing some alleviation from the humid evening air, a tall form stalked out from one of the hives near the lake, making his way toward the treeline of the woods, avoiding the main footpaths that wound through the community.
Zeffer's life had taken a number of dangerous turns during the weeks following the disaster, but there were some things that never seemed to change. His hive had gone miraculously untouched by the fires, and after donning a makeshift disguise and slipping into town early one evening, he found, with immense relief, that his lusus was safe. The massive snake had elected not to accompany him on his last trip out to the desert for unclear reasons, though Zeffer had harbored his own fears about why that was. His lusus could never have known about the deadly fighting that had broken out, even though his help would have been a great boon. When the blueblood finally set foot into his hive again (after skirting around the neighboring hives and into the back door), his previous assumptions immediately proved to be correct.
Arcus was molting. Large white feathers lay strewn about the hive floor, and after a short search, Zeffer found the serpent curled up in his respiteblock. While Arcus was usually very cooperative and docile, molting was hard for him; his hide became intolerably loose and itchy, and his wings were shabby and sparse as new feathers grew in, making flight impossible. The whole process was enough to turn the patient reptile into a petulant tyrant, and it was no different this time. He'd barely noticed Zeffer's bandaged up wounds. He was interested in one thing, and one thing only: food.
It wasn't exactly the warm welcome Zeffer might have preferred, and as used to dealing with his lusus's molt as he was, there was an air of urgency now; they had to leave as quickly as they could. With his identity compromised, it was only a matter of time before the military began to seek them out, and the only reason he'd come back at all was for Arcus, and a scarce handful of his most important belongings. After a short argument, Zeffer had managed to explain all the horrible events that had occurred, and soon, he was rushing the querulous snake out the back door again.
"Head to the safe spot in the forest. You remember when we went there with Akko a few weeks ago? I'll get dinner and meet you there." Zeffer patted his lusus's neck, after squaring the pack of belongings between his wings. The gravity of the situation was just enough to get the ailing serpent to begrudgingly cooperate, and the promise of a good meal helped, too. After fishing a few items from the pack, Zeffer separated from his lusus, both disappearing into the gloom of the woods. Zeffer ditched his colors for a more stealthy, hemoanonymous look, and stalked off to fulfill his promise, deeply thankful that the night was still young.
For as much as he fancied himself a hunter, Zeffer's version of hunting was a noisy, messy affair. Armed with his batons, a hunting knife, and a bit of thick netting, he'd managed to run aground of a large, ornery grey razorback that seemed absolutely determined to gore Zeffer before the blueblood took it down. He had managed to toss his net over the creature after catching sight of it in a clearing, but the hog was having none of it, and refused to keel over, even after a few good stabs with the knife, and a clumsy shock or two as Zeffer struggled to use his newly awakened powers. Loud, enraged squeals floated up on the night air, and Zeffer snarled in frustration as he fought the struggling animal.
Eventually, the beast attempted to turn and flee, but its massive tusks had become tangled in Zeffer's net. The blueblood held fast, half dragged along as his quarry attempted to make its escape. He didn't even notice the fact that he had strayed near to the edge of the forest again, or that he was swiftly approaching the lawnring of a small cabin-hive.
With an impressive burst of speed, the massive hog flung itself from the treeline, much to Zeffer's surprise, and barreled directly toward the hive, squealing all the while. The blueblood yelped a curse as he realized what was about to happen, but it was too late. The hog flung itself against the wall of the hive and brought Zeffer slamming into it as well. The impact shattered a window, and the blueblood flopped to the ground, instantly losing his grip on the net. Laying in a dazed heap, he watched as his furious prey bolted back into the woods, leaving a trail of blood behind it. It was going to be a b***h to track it down, once the world stopped spinning. If the inhabitant of the hive he'd just ******** up didn't come out and beat him first, anyway. He flailed for a moment, and tried to sit up. Best to flee, before that ********>" Blue blood trickled down his face from a single small cut in his forehead, and he groaned as he tried to will his dizziness away, staggering up to his feet and swaying perilously. If anyone came rushing out, he certainly didn't want to be caught flailing on the grass.
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Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 10:03 pm
Rastin found himself in his usual evening spot over the kettle, waiting for the water for his evening tea to boil. His hands tapped along the counter and hovered over the sugar dish, before recoiling beneath his sleeves. No, no, he had to wait for it to be finished before he put the sugar in. His tea had to be perfect if he was going to sleep tonight. After all, who knew when the next bloody spaceship would descend from the heavens and shred him from his pleasant dreaming? He grumbled idly, thinking back to the week prior when he'd shot up in bed from the noise outside his hive, and grabbed the kettle as it began to whistle.
"MROOOWWWW..."
"Oh, do shut up." Rastin quipped, pouring the exact amount of water he needed into his cup. "I'll be up in a moment, CatDad. No need for dramatics."
A subtle smile crossed his cheeks and faded as he went about making his tea. Yes, two scoops of sugar, a pinch of ginger powder, and... Perfection! His sleeping tea was complete and ready to drink! He pulled his hands into his sleeves, took a breath, and raised the cup to his lips.
SMASH!
The sound of the kitchen window shattering thrashed into his ears and his arms instinctively raised up to block debris as they came through. This meant dropping his tea onto the ground, which made yet another terrible crash, and only added to the list of things that Rastin needed to process. He stood still and ever so slowly lowered his arms to his chest, before turning his attention to the wetness at his feet. Well, ********> That was his favorite mug! He heaved a breath and looked up to the shattered window. Oh, double ********> Was it another one of these spaceships? Maybe another sweeping blaze? He clenched his fists and headed toward the door.
"MOW? MOWMOWMOW?!"
"No, you stay here unless I call you!" Rastin snapped, pointing up to his Lusus. "I'm going to check on this matter alone. They've probably fled by now anyway, but I do need to assess damages."
He tugged his hood over his head as he left the house and quickly shuffled himself toward the window. However, instead of finding the remains of his window, Rastin found himself staring at a something not too dissimilar to a crime scene. A trail of blood, a shattered window, and a adult seemingly incapable of finding their balance. The child hesitated a moment, his face waving between befuddled and angry, and cleared his throat.
"Excuse me... Sir?" He began, giving Zeffer a once over. "You seem to have broken my window and cut your face open. May I ask why you thought this was a clever idea, or are you too half-witted to understand me?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 12:34 am
Zeffer had only managed to take a few staggering steps, before the purpleblood's voice reached his ears. In his effort to escape, he had turned his back on the hive to head for the trees, intent on avoiding any strife. But as Rastin spoke, he whipped around to face his would-be opponent, body bristling with energy as he readied himself for the impending struggle...until he saw exactly what he was dealing with. It was just a kid. After all the bad luck he'd had to deal with that evening, the sight of the tiny robed wriggler was a strange blessing. He bit back a laugh, and reached to lean against the side of Rastin's hive, still out of sorts. After attempting to shake the swimming feeling from his head, Zeffer nodded to Rastin.
"Nah, I understand. Wasn't my idea at all, really!" Zeffer reached up to brush his fingers against his face, before wiping at it with his sleeve, to attempt to remove the blood. Combined with his scars, he was sure he looked dreadful, but that didn't seem to faze the child standing before him in the least.
"I was just about to ******** off, so there's no need to call your lusus or anything like that." He offered an almost menacing grin, and bent to pick up the bloodied hunting knife, which had fallen into the grass. "Uhhh...sorry about the window, though!" He smirked, muscles tense, wondering if his half-assed apology would fly. There was a very good chance that the kid was just another bratty, entitled highblood, with a lusus ready to attack anyone that dared to harm their precious charge. If he managed to flag down any drones, though...then Zeffer would really be in trouble. The blueblood began to back up toward the woods again, but it seemed his equilibrium still wasn't willing to cooperate. The moment he pushed off from the wall to continue backing away, he overstepped and tripped on his own feet, landing on his a** with another loud curse. How ******** embarrassing.
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Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2015 6:52 pm
Rastin eyed Zeffer with a mixture of concern and confusion, until he decided to open his mouth and speak. What did he mean by saying that it 'wasn't his idea'? The purpleblood lessened his posture and folded his arms, his body further affirming his mixed feelings. Was someone else with this buffoon? An accomplice, perhaps? It didn't matter, really, he'd caught one of them if that was the case. It would be easier to deal with one bumbling adult than two.
Especially since this one couldn't seem to figure out how to use his goddamn feet.
"Er... Yes, the window." He muttered, his eyebrows furrowing as he took a quick glance at the damage. "Well, I'm willing to overlook that for now, seeing as you can barely stand."
He paused, his expression twisting mildly in deliberation, and eventually sighed.
"Come inside and get yourself cleaned up." He grumbled, offering a cloth covered hand to Zeffer. "I can't allow you to continue floundering like this without feeling some level of guilt."
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Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2015 10:59 pm
After another vigorous shake of his head, Zeffer was relieved as his dizziness cleared, and the world solidified itself. Instead of four Rastins, there was only one, just as it should have been. However, he hadn't noticed how close Rastin had approached, and jumped a bit as the little purpleblood offered his hand, and put out his invitation. While Zeffer had expected an angrier response, it wasn't entirely strange; they were both highbloods, after all, and he was massive compared to Rastin, who was probably just trying to be reasonable. In moments he was grinning again, and taking stock of the young troll. He'd never seen a kid in that kind of outfit before. Was it some new goofy highblood trend?
"Heheh! I'm fine, kid. I've dealt with way worse than this." He began to climb to his feet, carefully at first, in case the dizziness returned, and tucked the knife into his belt after wiping it off on his pants. "U-uhhh, inside? Well, I wouldn't want to impose. Your lusus might not like it." Despite the antsy thoughts nibbling at the back of Zeffer's mind, he was amused by the young troll, and his hospitable offer. He didn't like the idea of going inside, or of walking into a potential trap, but there was no way the little purpleblood could know who he was...right? It was strange that no lusus had accompanied him to check the damage to the window, but there was no way to know about Rastin's situation. Zeffer's curiosity was beginning to get the better of him.
"I guess we should think about fixing this s**t, though. Got any extra panes?" Zeffer wasn't usually the charitable sort, but it didn't seem fair to leave a wriggler to deal with such a problem when he had been the cause of it. "Wish I could share some of mine. I've got plenty." Zeffer threw his head back to laugh at his own horrible joke.
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Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 7:27 pm
Rastin retracted his hand as Zeffer stood, his brows returning to furrowing. He'd been through worse? Good lord, what was he dealing with here? Some sort of pain fetishizing psychopath? The purpleblood felt his shoulders heighten at the thought and rolled them back impulsively, as to not look distressed.
"You've already imposed by busting my window, moron." He quipped, rolling his eyes. "Anything you do after this can only serve to redeem yourself..." He paused, his eyes flickering to the window as Zeffer mentioned his Lusus. CatDad could be seen staring from the other side of the room, his tail flickering nervously. Rastin flashed him a look, hoping that he would stay. However, being the dedicated father that he was, CatDad trotted out and sat behind him.
"MOW?" He bellowed, tilting his head at Zeffer.
"I told you to stay, didn't I?" Rastin growled, flailing up to him. "Why don't you listen? It's a disease, I swear!"
CatDad leaned down to his grumpy charge, his eyes flickering to Zeffer and back down, before moving to pick Rastin up by his hood with his mouth.
"NO." Rastin barked, tugging his hood away. "Go make yourself useful elsewhere, please!"
"MOOOOOW!" CatDad protested, rolling onto his back and throwing his paws in the air.
"You're ******** incorrigible, I swear." Rastin heaved, pulling his hood over his face in embarrassment.
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:00 pm
"Heheh, point taken!" Zeffer offered a wide grin at the purpleblood's sharp retort, fangs glistening. After a moment, however, his gaze followed Rastin's, and he stiffened slightly, when he finally spied the younger troll's caretaker. Ever since meeting Voscil, Zeffer had gained a newfound respect for lusus; young trolls were harmless themselves, but were not things to be trifled with, precisely because he assumed that most lusus could and would tear him to pieces without a second thought. It wasn't a situation he wanted to put anyone in, if it could be helped.
Then, Zeffer actually got a better look as the fluffy white beast trotted outside, and almost couldn't contain his snickering.
"Good evening!" He was right back to grinning, the laughter glistening in his eyes as he watched Rastin bicker with his caretaker. Even he couldn't deny that it was absolutely adorable, but he tried to be as polite as he could muster. "My apologies, about the window!" Zeffer made sure to articulate, even though the flat-faced feline didn't seem to care either way.
"We really ought to do something about it, though. It'll be daybreak soon, and you don't want any zombies climbing through while you're asleep, right?" Zeffer reached up to wipe more of the blood that was oozing from his face, ignoring the fact that it was barely midnight. Part of him was still worried; if the kid elected to run off and flag down one of the many drones back in town, he was going to have to book it.
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2015 7:18 pm
CatDad, still tussling upon his back like a buffoon, glanced up to the sky and to Zeffer, before grunting in agreement. Yes, it was evening, very good. However, the window wasn't as much of a concern to him, really. All he was concerned about was Rastin, and since Rastin was so bent on taking care of himself, CatDad was trying not to look concerned at all in hopes that his charge would calm down.
Despite the effort his Lusus was displaying, Rastin continued to be himself.
"Zombies? You really are daft, aren't you?" Rastin scoffed, his brows contorting in disbelief. "There's no such thing, and if there ever was, I'd beat it back to whence it came."
He watched, disgusted, as Zeffer continued to wipe the blood from his face and reached out to grab his arm.
"Really now, come inside, and get cleaned up." He demanded. "I can't stand seeing someone older than I am rubbing their blood all over their face like some kind of disgruntled animal. You can fix my window once you're presentable enough."
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Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2015 2:33 am
Zeffer tilted his head a bit, a confused grin coming across his bloodied features. "There is such a thing. You can't goof around, when it comes to that..." He snorted quietly, gazing off for a moment as if lost in thought. Was the kid just too young to know? Surely his lusus would have told him about such a thing...
He didn't have time to worry long before Rastin had stepped forward to grab onto his wrist. The blueblood looked vaguely startled, and bit back a grin. He still couldn't quite figure the kid out - he had the snobby qualities most highbloods possessed, but the hospitality was rather unusual. Then again, they were both highbloods, after all, and there was the possibility that he felt a simple camaraderie because of that.
"Alright, alright! Thanks...I think." Zeffer continued to be tickled by the kid's snark. He stepped forward, and allowed himself to be lead inside.Lavender Hues so sorry for the wait, school really kicked my a** this time
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Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2016 3:41 pm
Rastin had never seen a zombie before and wasn't about to start believing in such atrocities unless it appeared right in front of him. As for CatDad, he wasn't the most informative of parents and didn't think Rastin needed to know about every little thing. The kid rarely left the house, after all.
The cloaked child tugged Zeffer into the house with very little regard for his strength (which was very little, to be honest) and sort of lead him to the middle of large room. You could pretty much see every room of the house from this area, including the stairs the lead up to Rastin's bedroom loft. The home looked simply decorated, comfortable, and pretty much what you'd expect from the inside of a log cabin. However, you might have called it a little too big, which was probably for the sake of the giant purring lusus rolling around outside.
"Hold on a moment." Rastin said, releasing his grip on Zeffer's wrist. "There should be some washcloths in one of these drawers. Just need to figure out which."
He shuffled off toward the kitchen, the end of his cloak dragging along behind him, and opened each drawer carefully. When he found a suitable set of washcloths, he returned and handed them to Zeffer.
"There's a sink in the kitchen, feel free to wash up there." He muttered, pointing to the side. "Then, you can fix my window." Kamileunaire I'm so sorry that I took this long to get a tag out to you. My muse has been bogged down by so many things and he's only now just coming back. I understand if you don't want to continue after this! D|
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