|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 9:48 pm
As the team gets pushed onto the icy river, the jaguar follows, its eyes gleaming angrily in the torchlight. It hunches as Lazarus throws the hammer to Duncan and Jeremy, and lets out a low and angry growl at the torches waved in its face. As Duncan speeds past him, the growl turns into a roar, and the creature seems enraged by the older mens' attempts at frightening it away. It turns toward Lazarus and Basil, who seem to be weaker in its eyes, tied to each other as they are.
The jaguar's claws scrape across the ground as it pounces at the duo, its white teeth shining in its open mouth. In the commotion, the torch that Laz has smashed against Basil's arm goes loose and falls against the cobra's shoulder.
The newly ice-covered ground is slick under Duncan's feet, and there isn't a lot of purchase in the area around the tent site.
(GENERATE A NUMBER:
Basil: Generate a number 1-3. 1 == the torch only singes Basil. 2 == the fire catches on the first layer of Basil's sweatshirt, but goes no further. 3 == the fire catches onto Basil's arm and begins to spread.
Lazarus: Generate a 1-3. 1 == the jaguar only manages to swipe Lazarus. 2 == the jaguar's claws catch on Lazarus' arms. 3 == the jaguar gets a direct hit and pounces Lazarus to the ice.
Duncan: Generate a number 1-3. 1== the ice does not hinder Duncan. 2 == Duncan slips slightly on the ice. 3 == Duncan slips hard on the ice and falls flat.))
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Twintastic generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
1!
|
Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 9:54 pm
As his team-mates scrambled in the frosty clearing, Basil's mind had gone into slow and peaceful stop-motion. Each thought was the equivalent of a mumble. His pulse soft and even. Ba-bump.
Weapons were changing hands. A torch glowed with sinister medieval light. There were echoey and urgent-sounding voices all around, like bats chattering in a dark cave. His eyelids drooped shut. After that, trying to open them again was like pulling apart magnets.
Without his sight, his sense of the physical world had abbreviated completely to his grip on Lazarus. That, and a persistent sensation of heaviness. Like jumping in a pool with all your clothes on and trying to walk home in them after. That was it. His body, hanging off his consciousness in wet, heavy folds. His head was the heaviest, rolling limply on his neck like a bowling ball. Ba-bump.
There was a feeling of dropping. Slipping. His heaviness like that of an anchor pushed overboard, swirling sluggishly down towards the sea-bed into blackness. The feeling that his body was weighing him down, and if he wanted to come up for air, he'd have to let it go...
Suddenly, the world came back to him in flashes. Fragments of too-loud voices and sensations. His brain flickering like bad fluorescent lighting. He heard his name, and then a fleshy smacking sound. Then another, and another, each briefly returning him to the surface but none quite holding him there. His head followed each blow, rolling from side to side.
His chest rose and fell, forcing a long raspy note through his open mouth. A hissing moan, like the sound of a toilet-tank filling up. His eyes squinched, like someone trying to ignore their alarm clock.
Ba-bump-ba-bump.
There was a moment of muffled darkness, and then, without warning, pain bloomed through his arm and shoulder.
He shouted a high thin note of surprise and agony. His hand slapped over his upper arm, where he felt a quivering lump. Underneath it, the pain was tissue-deep and spreading. It seemed to spasm with exquisite warmth like a miniature organ. It'd be a hell of a bruise... It was at this point he realized his face was tingling too, seething through his teeth.
At least he was awake, but his eyes couldn't move fast enough to see what was happening! He looked on in hazy confusion. Who was where? Where was he? What was that?
His breath hitched as the hulking black frame of the panther crouched, and prepared to launch. Lazarus, either in an instinctive effort to shield himself or Basil or both, made a herky-jerky gesture with the torch. He fumbled it. The business-end flipped over. Flames licked at the arm of Basil's sweatshirt, making his eyes pop open like a cartoon. His next thought was so instant and powerful you could see it in a thought-bubble over his head. s**t!
He pushed backwards against Lazarus' arm to get away, pivoting the Incubus like a turnstile.
Lucky for him the flames didn't attach. The torch fell against the ice with a glassy plunk, rolling aside while the flames hissed and sputtered. He turned. The panther jumped! Its teeth were four yellow daggers, a roar ripping through the wintery air!
Basil froze with white terror. Laz!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dangerous Conversationalist
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
kyoupi generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
1!
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 9:05 am
Duncan had the right idea, but it was an extremely risky move to run back to the camp when the jaguar is so near. Jeremy had wanted to stop Duncan, but he was too late as the other man made a dash towards their tents. He could only help shield Duncan and try to block the big black cat from pursuing him with the torch.
This earned a deafening roar from the jaguar, and Jeremy could feel the hair on the back of his neck stood up, from fear and the cold.
However to Jeremy's horror, the cat turned towards the Raevans instead. In his attempt to frighten the jaguar away and to shield Duncan, he had moved into a position where he is away from the Raevans. If it pounce at them now, there would be no way for him to save them.
They are on their own!
"No!!" Jeremy yelled as the jaguar pounced forwards.
Lazarus had to jab a few times, but he was glad when Basil finally woke up and feel less like dead weight in his hand. They couldn't see it right now due to the two layers of sweatshirt the Frei was wearing, but the fire Sigel was willing to bet that there is on heck of a bruise underneath there. At least Basil is awake now, and he don't need to haul him around like broken limbs. He might as well dump him into the pit of massacred body parts if that was the case.
The roar drew his attention back at the jaguar. In that instant as he turned around to face the big black cat, it could be that during the jabbing of torch butt to Frei arm, his grip on the torch changed to a more unstable position, or it could be due to the fact that his hand was numb with coldness, and the friction against the rough surface of the makeshift wooden torch made him loosen his grip, the torch escaped his hand. Lazarus could only watch as the fire stick fell fire first towards the sheet of ice that used to be a small river, singeing Basil's sleeve in the progress. He let out a sigh of relief when the Frei's sleeve didn't caught on fire, but that breath was quickly drawn back in when he saw the jaguar pounced... at him!
It all happened like it was slow motioned as adrenaline coursed through his body. Instinctively he backed away in a leftward direction with a hard push, not even caring if Basil was just right behind him. He needed to get out of the jaguar's range as far as possible. However, even if he was fast, the jaguar did not lose in speed as well. The incredibly long, outstretched claws ripped through his sleeve, grazing his skin causing three bloody stripes. He was only thankful that they were merely scratches and not gaping wounds two inches deep.
But he has no time to be thankful now as surely the jaguar will be ready for another attack soon with reflexes like that. He need to get away, fast!!
The Sigel couldn't afford to take his eyes off the jaguar as he grabbed Basil's arm and started to push him further out into the ice. Surely the ice would affect the panther's movements. He wouldn't be able to move as swiftly or even slip on the icy surface.
Lazarus's plan was ingenious as they floated out further into the icy river, but Jeremy could only watch helplessly as the younger Raevans drifted further from him. This however, was a good chance for him to get back to his tent as well when the black jaguar was distracted momentarily. Still wouldn't dare to take his eyes off the black jungle cat though, the man made quick hops backwards towards the tent. "Duncan! Are you alright?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rookeries generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
3!
|
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 1:42 pm
As Duncan continued to stumble towards the campsite, he looked back at the remaining team and could only catch glimpse of the torchlight surrounding Jeremy and Raevans. The jaguar was moving too fast for him to notice, which unnerved him more than actually seeing the strangely predatory jungle cat.
He tripped first when he grazed his shoulder against the surface of the tree. He staggered onto the ground but found the momentum to lift himself up again by his palms. The effort was in vain once he tripped again against the sleek ice surface that surrounded the jungle like a translucent chrome.
Duncan fell first onto his side-- his glasses slipped off of his face and were thrown by inertia into one of the bushes. He let out a cry of pain and rolled harshly onto his back, and he braced the impact of the fall by wrapping his still-healthy arm against it. While he was reeling, the sound of Jeremy's voice was lost against the steadily rising beating of Duncan's heart, and his settling panic, no longer veiled by adrenaline. Still, he could recognize the man's voice, and he called out in a vain attempt for help.
"I'm here," Duncan cried out, "The flare gun-- the flare gun! The jaguar!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 10:24 am
The torch sputters against the cold riverbed, shrinking in size, the ice fighting to choke out the flame. The jaguar slides across the ice of the river as it swipes Lazarus, its blood-tinged claws scraping across the slick surface and cutting shallow trails in the ice. It fumbles on the surface momentarily, its tail lashing with fury, as it turns back toward the Raevans.
In the treetops around them, the yellow eyes begin to resurface, watching the goings-on with every evidence of pleasure. The Raevans are like gladiators in an arena, with a full audience to their torment.
Unable to get enough purchase to pounce again, the jaguar begins to tear after the Raevans, claws out and mouth open, now attacking through pure rage. It seems to have forgotten the two older men behind it in its pursuit of those that made it miss.
((Basil and Lazarus, GENERATE A NUMBER 1-3: 1 = the jaguar cannot catch up to the Raevans, 2 = the jaguar manages to swipe them again, 3 = they both get a slash of its claws somewhere on them.
Duncan: GENERATE A NUMBER 1-2. 1 = his glasses are not broken, 2 = his glasses are cracked. ))
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Twintastic generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
2!
|
Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 4:17 pm
Basil looked on in terror as the giant cat's body connected with the Sigel's. Right then, a dark bullet of panic blasted through his psyche.
Lazarus was dead. Oh God Lazarus was dead.
The torch was nearly extinguished, but without trees for cover, the silver face of the moon shone down unabated on the icy river. He could dimly make out shapes all around him, like actors on a white stage. Lazarus didn't go down, but it was obvious something had happened. He was hit, Basil was sure!
Was he alright?
The panther landed, the momentum of its leap sliding it across the river like a big black hockey puck. There was a dull scraping sound as it struggled to stay standing. Its paws didn't have the "snowshoe" padding of arctic animals, and its claws wouldn't give it sufficient traction for a full-speed sprint. But even an unsteady panther was a panther, and a hell of a threat...
When it turned towards them, its tail swished so violently it made a sound, eyes scorching like golden fire. Basil could hear Lazarus breathing heavy beside him. The reassuring sound of his racing heartbeat. Lazarus was alive. Maybe not intact, but alive! There was still a chance they'd make it out of this! Assuming Basil could hold out...
He kept his face tucked in the hood of his backwards sweatshirt, but his eyes were so dry they stung, and his fingers were so stiff he thought they'd snap off in his pockets. He felt shrunken and fragile. Even his blood seemed to freeze to the consistency of glue. Pumping weakly in his veins.
Suddenly Laz grabbed his arm and started pulling him, not towards land, but further out onto the ice. It was obvious he wanted to put as much distance between them and the cat as possible, but even Basil could see it would only solve the problem of range, not the problem of the panther itself. They couldn't run forever...
Basil tried to keep up, breath chugging moistly under his hood. He could hear the panther closing in, scrabbling after them at break-neck speed. Swears coursed through Basil's mind, whipping by as quickly and blurrily as the trees on either side of them. <******** ******** ******** ******** ******** tried to look over his shoulder and instantly regretted it. They weren't going fast enough! The panther was keeping pace in a stiff-legged scramble, and Basil willed with all his heart that one of those legs would slip and fly right out from under it. It was close enough to smell its corpse-y breath. A foul-smelling mist, huffing from its open mouth like a steam-locomotive from hell.
When it was close enough, a massive paw swiped at them in an arc. Basil cried out as it connected with his sweatshirt.
Its claws hooked the fabric, creating a slingshot effect wherein Basil was snagged by the panther's tensile strength, but with Lazarus so full of panic and adrenaline, he was holding on tightly enough to Basil's arm that the panther's claws plucked right out and sent him rocketing forward instead. He catapulted a distance of several feet and put his arms out, where he rolled and landed on his palms with a grunt.
His first instinct was to protect his head, guarding it with his forearm. Behind him, his wings fanned defensively like a porcupine, their bladed tips glittering dimly and dangerously in the moonlight. Until he realized the panther wasn't coming for him.
He turned up his head, "Laz!"
Scared and disoriented, he reacted without thinking. They were both easy targets now. Basil was vulnerable on the ground, and there was no way Lazarus could outrun the panther if he tried! The giant cat was going for the Incubus next. He had to do something!
In a matter of seconds, Basil folded his hands together in a giant fist, like he was getting ready to serve a volleyball. He reared it above his head, his shadow forming a pyramid before bringing it down hard on the ice. His rune flickered in his sweatshirt as tremors rippled from the blow. He hoped it was enough. It was all the energy he had left...
Dark veins shot across the ice like lightning. It worked. It was cracking!
There was reasonable doubt that Lazarus would not be heavy enough to fall through, but a two-hundred pound jaguar?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dangerous Conversationalist
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
kyoupi generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
2!
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 9:31 am
At least his plan worked, sort of. Lazarus thought as he glanced back to see the black panther still trying to chase them. It was apparent that it was struggling to keep steady on the ice surface too, slipping ever so slightly with each claw. However, each sound of claw scraping ice was a reminder that they still have a large predator chasing them like prey.
The cold was of no help as it started to numb his fingers and his nose, which probably in turn slowed them down a bit, and that in turn, resulted in Basil being swiped.
Thankfully enough, Lazarus was half holding the Frei when they were running. So his reflexes reacted immediately and he managed to grab onto Basil's wrist as the Frei was pulled back. There was a brief tug of war before Basil suddenly shot forward, passed the Sigel and landed onto the icy surface some distance away.
For a moment, just a brief moment Lazarus was stunned. His red eyes were wide as he glanced up at Basil who seemed to stable himself on the slippery ice. However this will be the moment he would regret as he remembered what was now behind him. Lazarus turned back around immediately, and from the corner of his eyes he could already see the panther leaping into the air towards him. No thoughts passed through his mind as instincts took over, lifting his arm up to defend himself from the claws.
Then something weird happened. When Lazarus thought the jaguar had got him, and he will be pinned to the ground or hurt in some other more serious way. It missed! Red eyes were wide as he saw the big black cat just missed him by mere inches, though it's extended claws did scratched against his lifted arm a little bit, penetrating his sleeve and scraped against some skin. Nothing more than scratches you get from a house cat.
The slippery surface of the frozen river probably made it difficult for the black panther to secure it's grip for the jump. And in turn it failed to provide the needed momentum for the animal to cover the distance like it was on solid ground. It reminded the Sigel of that funny video of the cat that failed to jump to the balcony across that he had seen on Youtube before. For a very brief moment, he actually felt pity for the black panther. At least until the glowing yellow eyes glared at him furiously once more.
Gasping audibly, which he regretted immediately when the cold air seared his lungs, Lazarus began his retreat when the ice suddenly cracked under the panther's paws. Eyes wide, he looked in Basil's direction and saw his fist still connected to the cracked ice.
This is a brilliant idea!!
Dipping low, he smashed his fist onto the ice as well.
When the black panther was far enough away, and seem to be slipping here and there on the ice, Jeremy dared to peel his eyes off and found Duncan face first on a thin sheet of slippery ice. "Oh dear, are you alright?" He said with concern as he hooked his hand under Duncan's elbow, at least helping him up to his knees. Still, the man reminded himself to glance back to make sure the jaguar is not headed their way.
"The flare gun, that's ingenious!" Jeremy made sure Duncan was stable enough in his position before he ran back to the tents. He had put the gun inside his backpack when they were setting up camp. Grabbing onto the bag, which is now crusted with a thin sheet of ice, he rummaged through it and managed to produce the gun within seconds. Without a second thought he rushed back to the river side, careful not to slip on the partially frozen ground.
When the Raevans and the panther was in view, he took aim. They were still too far for Jeremy to hit the animal for sure, they need to come closer! "LAZARUS!!!" He shouted out towards the Sigel as he waved the flare gun in his hand, signalling that they should bring it back a little closer.
If the ice doesn't break beneath the jaguar's paws, this might be a good second chance to try to get rid of the jungle animal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rookeries generated a random number between
1 and 2 ...
1!
|
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 2:08 pm
Duncan scraped his hands against the icy, muddy floor beneath him. He didn't have time to recollect his breath, but the world was whirling around him and he couldn't see-- much less move-- from where he was. Duncan took in a sharp intake of breath, then another, then turned sharply back to try and focus on finding where the Raevans and Jeremy were. The brightness of Lazarus' rune and the light of the torches caught his attention immediately, and Duncan slowly started to crawl towards them, and the bushes, where he scrounged wildly around for his glasses.
"Oh dear, are you alright?"
When Duncan looked up again, Jeremy was by his side. He gasped at first, but then immediately gave a sigh of relief and took the man's hand to get back onto his feet. He nearly slipped against the icy ground again, but pushed his weight against the tree trunk to stand straight. His back bit him with a shock of pain, and he hunched forward to relieve it.
Jeremy was gone before Duncan could say anything past his frantic breathing, though. His vision trailed onto Jeremy's back until he was too blurry for him to see, after which Duncan found a sliver of light flicking back at him from the bushes. He staggered slowly towards it and knelt, then pawed at the object before him, relieved to find that it was his pair of glasses-- he stared at them critically and found, to his fortune, that they weren't broken.
Duncan winced as he stood back upright again, and saw clearer now that the two Raevans were being effectively pursued by the jaguar. He shot a glance back at the campsite to see that Jeremy had found and prepared the flare gun already, but the jungle cat wasn't close enough in proximity for his plan to work. Flashes of the mass grave and the size of the jungle cat made Duncan freeze with fear-- he knew the Raevans were better equipped to handle a beast like that than he was-- but he knew they needed a distraction. Anything.
If there was anything that distracted felines better than light, he knew it was sound. Duncan moved clumsily better past the cluster of bushes and onto the other nearest tree next to him, for support, until he could better see the jaguar from behind. He waved towards the two Raevans and waved wildly towards the three figures. After Jeremy shouted Lazarus' name, Duncan began to beckon to the cat as well. He took in a sharp intake of breath and shouted in retaliation.
"Here, HERE!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 8:39 pm
The ice cracks beneath Basil's and Lazarus' pounding fists. The jaguar scrapes against the ground, trying to achieve a better position with which to attack the Raevans, when it hears the sounds of the humans yelling behind it. Ears flat, it turns its head back toward them to release a warning roar.
It does not realize when the ice begins to splinter beneath its paws. With a yelp, the jaguar's front paws fall through the ice, sending up pieces of ice and half-frozen water toward Lazarus and Basil. It begins to move backwards, trying to get away from the splashing cold water. Turning, it begins to head back -- back in the direction of dry, secure land, back in the direction of Jeremy and Duncan.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 7:58 pm
Lazarus had now joined in Basil's efforts, and was beating his fists furiously on the ice. Although he lacked Basil's ability to produce tremors, as a Sigel he was possessing of a strength that went well above human standards. It was a lucky thing. Basil didn't have much left in him.
At a certain point he had started swaying drunkenly, back and forth, until he slumped over, face-planting on the ice. His perception was warped. He didn't mean to fall over, but was finding it increasingly difficult to balance. The impact of hitting the ground startled him, and he jolted upright again with a gasp, pushing up with his arms. His pupils were blown wide, turning his eyes into glassy holes.
He knew he was shutting down. But as he was starting to realize, death was a process, not an event.
The air was so dry that breathing it had ruptured countless vessels in his nose. Ordinarily this might have led to a massive nosebleed, but his heart was pumping so weakly that the blood choked up mostly in his nostrils, where it froze and crystallized into a dense pressure against his sinuses. He was quickly unable to breathe past the blockage, and had to resort to wheezy mouth-breathing.
This was so pathetic. He didn't want to die like this. No living thing did. So slow.
Worse, was the guilt of knowing The Other would have wanted it even less...
He tried laying down on his side to bring his limbs closer to his core, curling up like a swatted bug. His arms were folded over his chest, his hands gripping their opposite shoulders. He was shivering violently, but eventually the shivering would stop. Eventually everything would stop.
He was muttering.
"Warm warm warm warm..."
Warm sounded like 'worm'. His lips were numb.
He was trying to think of warm places in his head. Islands and deserts. Vague destinations that melted away as quickly as he thought of them. It was hard. He'd never been to a desert, and the closest he'd been to an island in this lifetime was Gambino. They were like dioramas in a shoebox. Too simplistic. Too lacking in the sensory details he would need to trick his brain into believing he was not being frozen like a TV dinner. He'd need a real memory to cling to. Something he knew well enough to revisit in his head without even trying. So of course, he thought of home.
Lazy late-summer afternoon. His living-room in August. The glass coffee table. The brown corduroy couch. All the curtains tied back. Windows cracked. Dust-motes swirling dreamily in golden shafts of light. He was laying on the floor in a square of sunshine. The softwood floor was hot to the touch and it felt good to press his cheek against it. He would sleep until it was time for his tv shows. Pull his arms inside his sweatshirt. Warm clean cotton. Close his eyes. Drool a little. Maybe drool a lot. Genie napping too.
A thundering growl echoed into the dreamscape, fracturing it down the middle. His eyes slitted open. He was in-between worlds. Straddling the line between his fantasy and this frozen wasteland.
His eyes were drawn first to the panther's paws, taking stock of how startlingly large they were, made more obvious by the stark contrast of its fur on the glaring white ice. They were roughly the size of dinner-plates. Large enough to palm a grown man's face, he reckoned. He noticed the way they sort of squished with every step, the toes spreading out under the weight of its body.
The panther was trying to steady itself for another attack, planting both front paws on a spiderwebby fracture in the ice. They broke through with a splintery crack, its legs plunging into blackness and sinking up to the elbows. It screamed and began desperately pinwheeling its forepaws out of the water, leaving two punctures in the ice like a vampire bite. The cat flailed and splashed, and Basil could faintly feel a mist of water and ice-chips. A stinging droplet flew into his eye.
When it freed itself, the panther took a generous step backwards, ears flattened. Its eyes were enormous, with laser-like intensity. A short ridge of fur appeared, tracing a line from the back of its massive head, to the space between its meaty hip-bones. It was the equivalent of a house-cat going huge and floofy after it's had a scare.
It was now obvious that the odds had shifted in their favor. The panther paused for a few considering seconds, tail swishing, then decisively turned around. It was headed for the shore, but was far less reckless about its retreat than it had been in its pursuit of them. The panther moved almost daintily now, practically on tiptoe.
Basil stared blearily after the shrinking form of the jaguar. The way thousands of cracks rayed from the place the panther had fallen through. Still spreading. As though chasing the jungle cat's huge and lumbering weight. One wrong move and... Well, the panther was right to be nervous.
Although blurry in the distance, Basil could still perceive the change in its gait. The way it crept cautiously towards land, almost pitiful without its murderous confidence from before. He sniffed once, smugly. If he was able to feel or manipulate any of the muscles in his face, he might have smiled.
That's right. Watch your step. I hope you sink, you hairy mother.
With that final sentiment, he closed his eyes and dropped his head. Under the hood, his wheezing mouth had spun a string of spittle, which promptly froze to his chin. He felt blue all over. There was no way he could make it back to shore under his own strength. As a reptile, his body was responding to the climate with all the symptoms of third-stage hypothermia, and now, there was a very real possibility that he might perish.
Of course, their human team-mates were now also in a real amount of danger, which left Lazarus—still able-bodied and with all the physical and mystical advantages of a Raevan—with a very difficult choice to make. He could either rush to defend the two elderly men from the panther, and finish what had been started, or stay behind. Try to carry Basil to safety. Keep him stable and warm. Perform CPR if necessary.
Basil could do nothing to influence his decision, other than by his sheer helplessness.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dangerous Conversationalist
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:22 pm
When the ice started to crack underneath the panther, and it's paw dipped in the ice cold water beneath through a crack, Lazarus felt a surge of adrenaline coursed through his body. It was their victory! He didn't fret when the black cat turned around and ran after the humans instead, Lazarus did not miss the shout and the waving of the bright orange gun in the not so far distant. If anything, he know Jeremy is more than capable of taking care of himself. For now, he has more pressing matters to tend to.
Basil's body laying on the ice did not escape his attention as he quickly rushed over. He remembered just now when the Frei went limp in his arms, it would be bad if it happened again. But seeing Basil now though, it was probably worse than before as thin specks of ice was already forming on his already blue face, and his hair, like the grass around them, are turning into mini stalactites. For just a second, Lazarus had to wonder if he looked the same.
With some effort Lazarus lifted Basil up, letting the Frei's arms droop over each shoulder and his head resting on one as he held him in a loose hug-like position. Basil felt like dead weight in his arms as he seemed nearly unconscious, and making no effort to float at all. The sweatshirt, now dotted in ice too, doesn't feel so welcoming against the Sigel's skin now.
"Hold on there Basil." He said loudly so that the cobra would hear him, at least he hoped he would. Then he looked around, trying to decide where to go. Probably not pass the cracked areas of the ice as that may collapse any moment, even without their intervention. Probably not towards Jeremy and Duncan too, as it would he stupid to be running at danger. It's not a good idea to stay out in the open like that as well. Thinking quickly, he decided to move near the bank of the frozen river, towards the same side where their camp is on. However he did not quite go into the trees, just staying at the edge of it. So that if the situation needed him to run out into the ice again, or dash into the woods, it would be easier for him to act on it.
Jeremy was relieved that Duncan managed to pick himself up again, so he was able to concentrate on taking aim as the black panther started it's gait back towards them again. It is a situation that he wasn't expecting, but it's something he could work with. The torch was stuck into the ground beside Jeremy as he aimed with both hands. The flare wouldn't kill the panther, but it will at least hurt it a little, and if need to, they could finish it off with the large hunting knife that Jeremy had sheath back onto his belt.
Drawing a deep breath as the panther drew closer, he exhaled slowly as he pulled the trigger.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 1:37 pm
As Duncan continued to wave towards the panter, flailing as much as he could without crippling pain to his back-- which was prooving difficult-- he noticed that the Raevans at the back were moving away from the scene. It was momentarily distracting, seeing those faint glimmers of rune-light turning away from them, but it seemed that Basil was in a bad state. If nothing else, it helped Duncan force himself into an even more hastened state of adrenaline, and he kept moving skittishly through the brush in a foul attempt to attract the panther away.
Duncan hesitated again once he looked back and noticed Jeremy had readied the flare gun, his only notification being the click of the trigger. He hastily tried to make one step away out of Jeremy's line of vision, but quickly froze there, unaware of the panther would recognize the threat of a gun if there was one. He felt the need to stay between the cat and Jeremy for as long as he could bear, and he could feel his beating heart nearly ripping out of him, and his throat clumped.
He stared up at the cat and waited, silently, for it to stalk closer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 3:14 pm
A burst of light and sound exploded from the gun as the flare shot toward the panther. The creature let out a roar as it saw Duncan's flailing, distracted from the motionless Jeremy, but the roar pinched into a frightened yelp as the flare hit it, burning its shoulder. The furious golden eyes widened into a kittenish expression of surprise and then pain, and it rolled against the ice in an attempt to rid itself of the burning feeling. The yelping did not stop.
Then, all at once, there was a sharp cracking of ice. The face of the river broke like a mirror shot, and the panther and the blocks of ice splashed through the water, heaving a wave of surprisingly-warm water onto the whole of the team.
The panther struggled onto the far-shore, its fur matted against it, and dashed into the jungle to lick its wounds. As it went, it seemed to take the cold with it, and the temperature around the group rose.
Everything was dripping. The Raevans, the humans, the melting icicles around them. The stink of the now-melting jungle was all around them, reminding them of the mass grave they left not so far away from their once-planned campsite.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 10:54 am
In the short amount of time it took for Lazarus to gather Basil into his arms, the Frei had made a smooth and seamless transition into unconsciousness.
His body, formerly stiff and trembling, had now slackened. Gone ragdoll in the Sigel's grip. Luckily, being only a third the size of a full-bodied person, carrying him would really be no more difficult than hauling a bag of dog-food. More difficult than supporting his unrelieved weight, would be positioning his arms and somehow avoiding his dangerous wingtips. Basil's rune, winking like a candle with precious little wick to burn, would be his only mortal reassurance. That, and a whisper-faint pulse.
His head rolled easily over Lazarus' shoulder as the Sigel went hastily to the riverbank, and waited.
Unfortunately, despite how far they had all come and the horrors they had endured as a team, Basil was left unable to witness the extraordinary series of events that led now to the group's preservation. To join in a mutual feeling of cautious relief that they might actually see another sunrise.
He wouldn't see the flare-gun firing in a dazzling explosion of heat and light. Hear the hair-raising scream of the injured jaguar. Watch in amazement as the frozen lake seemed to explode as though from some mystical ballistic. And the pale face of the moon observing them all with the vague and ancient interest of a ghost.
Countless ice-chunks went flying into the air, suspended briefly there and patterned against the night-sky like glacial meteors. They hung for a precious few seconds, and then all at once, plummeted heavily into the waters in a dangerous downpour. The air was thick with a thousand hollow ploonks and plunks. A calamitous sound, like someone pouring gravel on a tin roof.
The jaguar had long since beat a hasty retreat, crashing through the treeline on the other side of the river. When the jaguar had left, it seemed to draw all the cold behind it like a curtain, the way a room becomes warmer and less oppressive when a ghost has been exorcised.
Sheets of tepid green water splashed erratically over the group. Both Raevans were drenched in huge dripping patches, and Basil's dark-blue sweatshirt was now black. He stirred in Lazarus' grip, clutching weakly and infant-like at the Sigel's top. He made a brief return to semi-consciousness, but grayed out again soon after.
The temperature was rising quickly and unnaturally by tens of degrees. Huge ice floes in the river were melting and going smooth at the edges. Shrinking away like sugar-cubes in a mug of hot coffee. Everything around them was wet. Wet and shiny, giving off a harsh and beautiful glare in the moonlight. They could hear and smell the forest being slowly resuscitated, but not without its casualties.
A grotesque sight would greet them on the river where they had previously done battle for their lives. Rising up like bubbles in a vent, the surface of the water became broken by countless bodies. Glass-eyed fish and snakes and frogs, shocked dead by the sudden cold-snap or suffocated under the ice. They bobbed and waved like bath-toys, nudging each other for space and drifting downstream.
Very soon, the stench would become unbearable, especially when it joined with that of the corpse-pit nearby. The water would be undrinkable. Clouds of disease-carrying insects would begin hovering over the lot.
The temperature swing was also unfortunate. A sudden change from a cold environment to a warm one could be very stressful to the body. Duncan and Jeremy in their advanced age were already more susceptible to catching colds and other illnesses, and Basil—in his affected state—was equally as vulnerable. Maybe moreso.
The team had not come unprepared of course, but the reality of the situation had now turned very bleak...
Basil needed help, and soon. It was much easier for him to lose heat than it was for him to gain it, and it would take time for him to thaw out. He needed to be dry. He needed warm liquids to defrost him from the inside out. He needed a fire.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dangerous Conversationalist
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 7:41 am
Half expecting his shot to miss, since he wasn't always a good shot anyway, Jeremy was ready to grab another flare from his pockets to quickly reload when the flare hit it's target, causing a small explosion and a great amount of red smoke erupting on the panther's body. His hand was still in his pocket, holding the flare bullet when the familiar sickening cracking sound reached his ears. Eyes widening, he watched in horror as the ice cracked under the jaguar's feet, and the creature plunged through into the waters. The ensuing splash was so great, that it would be able to douse the two men on the bank, there was no way that they could get away in time. Jeremy could only turn away and shield himself with his arms as he braced for the stinging cold to hit him.
However, the water that splashed onto them was surprisingly... warm.
Still reeling from the odd unexpected sensation, Jeremy looked across the river to see a trail of cracked ice floating on the water surface, where the black panther had made it's way through. He could only catch a glimpse of the glistening wet animal before it disappeared into the shadows of the trees beyond.
As the animal disappeared, so did the cold. The sensation was akin to moving away from the freezers in a grocery store, after staying near the freezers for too long. Just not as pleasant as he was drenched in water. The ice on the river was swiftly broken up, most of the larger chunks washed off downstream as the water moved once more. The ground was muddy as the ice from all over melted into it, creating little puddles here and there. Everything was just dripping wet as the familiar warmth and humidity of the forest settled once more.
Lazarus was so glad that he decided to linger at the edge of the river. He too would have probably dropped into the water if the ice cracked. The Sigel wasn't exactly sure about the physics of how Raevans float, but he was pretty sure that he could only float above solid ground, not above waters. He managed to escape into the trees when the temperature returned to normal. However he was drenched through anyway as the ice covering the trees all around him started to melt. It was like raining underneath the trees itself.
When he broke into the clearing where the two men are, the stench caught him totally by surprise and he made a face. His lungs were cringing from the foul smell and he desperately needed to move away, but there were more pressing matters at hand.
Trying to hold his breath in as long as possible, he floated hurriedly towards Jeremy. "Basil passed out... from the cold!" Lazarus managed to blurt out in between short breaths. "He's not doing too good." The Frei was practically slumped in his arms, even moreso now that they are dripping wet and he was being dragged down by not one, but two sweatshirts.
"We need to get a fire started!" Lazarus was right, Basil do look kind of pale. "We need to get him warmed up fast." Jeremy had to cover his face as the stench was getting to him. "Get rid of those sweatshirts and get him as dry as possible first, stat!!"
"Okay!" And with that, Lazarus quickly got into motion. Having reached the camp, which is now drenched as well but the ground was still relatively firm, Lazarus settled Basil down and begin to remove his sweatshirts. They were dripping wet and heavy, but with some effort the Sigel managed somehow to remove both of them, throwing them aside. Basil was down to his last layer of clothing that Lazarus knew he couldn't remove due to the nature of Raevans.
Feeling chilly too from his own wet clothes, he removed his top and dropped his belt, which was starting to feel really heavy on his waist. Now he just needed to build a fire, which is proving to be a challenging task now that practically everything is wet around them. Hastily, he flew back to where he dropped the pile of firewood earlier, maybe some of them was still usable.
Jeremy too had taken off his drenched shirt, as he was getting chills from being cladded in them. He managed to produce a dry set of clothing from his thankfully waterproof backpack and had put them on.
The stench however, was really getting to him. "I think we should cover up that hole..." He looked at Duncan as he said those words, unknowing that it was one of the other man's fears. He just felt that those people, whose mangled bodies laid at the bottom of that pit, deserved some sort of burial somehow. It certainly won't be good to just leave them be either, exposed and rotting like that. It might attract even more unwanted attention from scavengers and other predators. There were already shovels by the edge of the pit, they could manage it somehow, right?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
