Mirzam watched the youma warily. There was no reason for her to approach, just yet, and her magic would likely only make any conflict worse, since it tended to inspire people to do very stupid things in the name of causing problems on purpose.
So she watched, thoughtfully, taking in everything she could see of the three youma before them. They all looked potentially dangerous, but at least none were doing much in the way of attacking...yet.
Ugh, she hated this. Feeling on edge and unhelpful this way.
Well, it was close enough to an order, Ransomite supposed. He had asked, after all. "Sure thing." Ransomite tilted his head this way and that, studying the object caught in the crystals. He reached for it gingerly, keeping one eye on the youma and making sure to use a light touch. If it was attached attached, he didn't want to hurt the youma it was attached to.
He also kept some of his attention on those little pincers...
Almost got it...
Shiningamisgirl
Ransomite Does Not Trust those pincers lmao
Seiana_ZI
Proximimimimimity
Strickenized
Because Ransomite is oh-so-carefully interacting with the youma directly.
Xenia slid, casually, over to the small group around the sticklike youma. She didn't say anything, except for to thoughtfully observe the whole group, but her magic was at her fingertips.
She'd judged the situation, and the lamp merchant was under control, and the crab creature didn't seem interested in attacking, but this one was a bit more of an unknown. It was grasping at the pretty white-haired corrupt's chest, and Xenia was not exactly fond of that--and at least she had a way to make sure everyone was safe.
She moved towards Faustite, their fiery leader, and dropped her voice low.
"General, sir, if it goes to s**t, I have shield magic." She said, voice low. It was best for him to know, she figured.
Meridiana wasn't sure what she was hoping for when she signed up for this mission but living to see tomorrow likely wasn't it. The last time she had visited had been harrowing enough, however, now that she was stronger since her promotion and equipped with more useful magical abilities, she thought that perhaps this time she could be of more use.
Yes, there had been some familiar faces at the briefing, but those friendships had diminished over time and now she wasn't sure if it was ok to say hi now that it's been so long.
What a trivial thing to worry about. Especially when she quite literally willingly walked into the lion's den; as a corrupt, she was well aware how much youma disliked her kind. There were reasons those like her did not have personal youma as pets, they simply would not listen. So what exactly was she supposed to accomplish by being sorted into the interrogation group.
Seemed everyone else was comfortable enough to try to engage in conversations and so she went over to what appeared to be the least threatening of the group of youma and curiously observed the Youma Gemstone as it approached Prehnite.
Quote:
Roll: 6+1 (former rift experience) =7 She's open for interactions from anyone and can be pulled to another group if needed.
Yyyyeah. They were pretty mutually unfond of each other. Feldspar decided it’d be way too much effort to take it personally. He was more curious about what kind of Lieutenant “poked” around all the way down here unsupervised. He couldn’t imagine it was anyone who hadn’t been snatched, like he’d been. Given the state of their remains, probably too late to do anything about it.
He shrugged, took a drag, blew the smoke off down and to the side, away from where Sylvite was retreating back toward him.
And she didn’t quite sound like she usually did, muttering and quiet.
Feldspar blinked at her, followed her look to the fiery General and his senshi, glanced back at her. Obviously he wouldn’t expect his general, who’d pulled him out of the Rift and who’d sat with him in the infirmary until he woke up to even fleetingly consider giving an ally to a monster, so he’d probably imagined that bitter sort of look she’d shot the pair’s way.
He flicked the end of his cigarette to the ground, stomped it under a boot, and notched his shoulder against Sylvite’s. “Hey, General Livi. Don’t look like that. You don’t wanna do business with a kind like this, anyway. It’s beneath you. A cute girl like you deserves better. Let others dirty their claws.”
He wasn’t even slightly trying to keep his voice down.
stari_maga
Noir Songbird
Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2021 8:39 am
Youma Camilla HP: 10/10 each Notes: They seem able to shapeshift very quickly, but only within the context of their environment?
Quote:
Fulgurite was a curious thing, to keep playing with the toys, with the trembling floor. Perhaps he would realize that the floor was playing with him. He would certainly understand the consequences to his actions when the floor opened wide, into quite a large hole, right beneath his feet. If he looked up as he fell, he would notice a group of chameleon children sitting on the edge, laughing and clapping with each other. In the center was one that still bore the markings of the little doll he found.
"Yes!" They exclaimed as they chained their high fives. "Got him!" Another said. A third volunteered, "it works!" And a fourth: "Byeeeeeeee!"
seiana_zi
Your character has been transported to this area. Fulgurite takes 10 damage from his fall.
Malone HP: 300/300 Notes: Doesn't seem to like losing sales. Continue rolling 1d10 to interact with the youma. Experience with the youma reveals that even numbers solicit unfriendly responses, while odd numbers solicit friendly responses.
Quote:
"'Ey now, don't be like that, Sprinkles. We can work somethin' out!" The creature's mouth pulled to the side. Its palms supine in a pleading gesture, it held its hands out to her. It wasn't sure where it went wrong — the salesmen topside made it look so easy. Say pretty words to people, make good gestures, get whatever he wanted. But with this pink-haired thing (Sylvite)? It wasn't getting anywhere.
And it definitely wasn't getting anything from the corrupted senshi (Nembus). Malone rubbed its face with a palm, disturbed its toe tag, nearly dropped it. Tried to wear it like a necklace — maybe that would get it some deals — but the string wouldn't fit over its round head. "Look, I been here longer 'n you have, Sweetheart," though it was clearly cowed by the way its body shifted away from Nembus, "'n I get good business. You just mind yours, awright?" Maybe Pinks would call it off, but she was all shifted toward that nasty red-haired thing (Feldspar).
What was it they said? Something about winning and losing? Malone wasn't even sure what the saying was supposed to mean.
There was still Pretty (Amazonite), however, even though she refused its deal. Malone sighed wistful for the deal it could've made. "Look, maybe that thing you got ain't worth so much as a lamp after all. What does it do, really? Prob'ly nothin'. So tell ya what. We don't gotta make a deal for a lamp. Today's a bad day for lamp sellin' anyway, I mean, the weather —" It wasn't sure where to take that thought either.
"So." Malone drummed its fingers atop its head. "You gimme summa your energy, I'll answer your question. "But I ain't promising I know the answer, you get me?
"And you," he glowered toward Feldspar. "You gotta problem? Do I need to gnaw that starseed outta your chest?"
Gemstone HP: 150/150 Notes:
Quote:
Gemstone did not wait. If Gemstone heard the flimsy command, it gave no indication. With no visible ears, Gemstone may not be able to hear. But the youma continued, steadfast, and began to use its (mostly) hale legs to climb Prehnite's boot. Its needle nose pincers nested the boot material with tentative grabs before it hazarded a firm grip, and when each step proved fruitful, it began its long ascent.
For Prehnite was quite tall compared to the little creature, and climbing was a sport of patience.
The brown thing that Ransomite noticed earlier was still stuck between the crystals. Apparently stuck fast, for it hadn't fallen out when the youma began to go vertical. Ransomite would have to tug, but the youma would not feel it. Once he wrenched it out, he possessed an orange-tipped clump of brown fur.
Meridiana, for her sharp eyes, notice a surprising arsenal of teeth on the underside of Gemstone. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to allow the youma to climb Prehnite.
A shame that they got to watch Fulgurite fall through a hole.
Viridian HP: 100/100 Notes: Seems to dislike too much talking. Experience with the youma reveals that odd numbers solicit violent responses and even numbers solicit nonviolent responses.
Quote:
With another great hum, Viridian turned its heated attention on Taenite. It hesitated, once again staring pointedly at the starseed on display in the senshi's chest. Once again it started to slowly reach —
Until another General (Faustite) told it to back down. Uttering a rueful hum, the walking stick youma shrank away from Taenite. Burning did not sound agreeable, so even when Cymophane kept talking and Valeria stared back at it menacingly, Viridian kept its unreasonably long arms to itself. As the group spoke to it, it became growingly apparent that Viridian did not keep up with fast speech, or complex ideas. A couple quicker, if pressed, hums, and Viridian looked from Faustite to Rakovanite to Valeria to Cymophane.
"Youma here," it muttered. Leaning over, Viridian dragged its great branches across the floor. While the drawing took time, the youma produced a surprisingly vivid image of the Scar. "Not here," it continued, and raised its branches up about itself.
"Cannot fly. Cannot direct." Viridian shook its wooded head, each eye blinking independently.
From across the cavern, Malone chimed in. "'Ey, Brittlebranches! Keep a lid on it! You know we can't be talkin' 'bout that, we got business to deal!" Malone spastically waved its hands over its head. "You know! Business!" The creature hissed its sibilant.
"Shield magic," he repeated when Xenia approached him. "Helpful. Stay with them." He motioned at the cluster around Viridian. "Intercede if it gets violent again." It would, undoubtedly, with so many Negaverse senshi around to agitate it. That it kept its wits about it for so long was remarkable — even Faustite felt tension around this many.
The giggles caught his attention, and he turned whip-quick to see a hole in the floor, some laughing youma, and a conspicuous absence of one of the Super Senshi. Faustite grimaced, heat low —
And the other creature with the lamps was hailing the branched one. So far as he knew, none of the other youma provided helpful clues about their target. The Captain with the youma crawling over him certainly wasn't in control of his situation, the lamp youma had the attention of multiple Generals, and Viridian was crowded by their lot. They needed to focus. Pick a target and press it for information.
There was only one target in the room that proved its worth. Sylvite and Amazonite would've said something if the lamp merchant was a lead. Surely the Captain (Prehnite) would've spoken up if there was something worthwhile about his crab friend.
"All other Senshi, listen up." Faustite spoke loud enough to reach the cavern. "We're spread thin. Lost one already. Dust every youma but the branchy one — we'll focus our efforts on it."
"Everyone else, regroup. Need to know which of you will rappel down to look for Fulgurite."
shanyume
meridiana
sunshine alouette
cymophane
guine
taenite
shinigamisgirl
prehnite
indigo_plateau
rakovanite
stari_maga
sylvite
noir songbird
amazonite, xenia, mirzam
sleet tempest snape
valeria
echossweet
feldspar
amasis
ransomite
seiana_zi
fulgurite, nembus
Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2021 1:12 pm
The brush of Feldspar's shoulder against hers snapped her out of whatever funk she was in, at least a little bit. It was a reminder that she still had someone nice at her side through all this. "Yeah," she said, not trying to be loud, but as usual, her voice carried. "I deserve way better."
She kinda wished Amazonite had just sold her bracelet, but that didn't mean she liked the way that the youma was looking at her, either. "I think we all kinda deserve better," she said, glancing between the squat little merchant and his stick friend, watching the way it squirmed at the other one's words. "It's not gonna tell us what we wanna know."
Dusting it might have seemed a little bit harsh, but she didn't exactly disagree with Faustite's orders. Fulgurite? Oh.
One of the senshi was gone, and that made her breath catch. She'd been able to just not think about whatever had happened in the Hall of Shadows, but this was different. She'd definitely seen the blue haired boy, and she definitely didn't see him, now. She also saw the hole in the floor that hadn't been there a couple of seconds ago.
"I'll get him," she said, stepping in that direction and reaching for her pack. He'd be fine, she told herself. It'd been literally seconds, and she knew how to drag people out of the Rift. She knew how to climb.
She turned back to Faustite, voice low, eyes sharp in a way that wasn't normal for her. "Don't. Lose. Feldspar."
Several things happened at once. Ransomite watched Fulgurite fall through the ground, several small youma laughing at his misfortune. He also managed to extricate a clump of brown fur. It had orange ticking at the ends. He had to resist the urge to bring it up to his face to look closer, lest it also come alive and try to climb on him.
Speaking of, he cast a glance Prehnite's way. He was sure the captain could handle himself, but by the same token...
As Faustite gave the order, Ransomite stepped carefully around Prehnite toward him. The clump of fur was held at a slight distance from his body. "This was on," a glance and a nod back whence Ransomite came, "that one." Was it significant? He had no idea, but he also didn't know it wasn't significant.
He blinked at where fulgurite had been standing - where he'd been chatting moments ago - g o n e.
Well, ******** it all..
Faustites command was enough, and even if it hadn't been? The look on the stunning corrupted senshis face would've done the trick. The way her crystaline blue eyes widened as youma actually began climbing him?
Prehnite was suddenly very done with being a tree limb for the creature to shimmy up. Ransomite had his prize prised free of the gemrocks back, and that was enough for him. His serrated trowels came into his hands easily, summoned from the space beyond spaces - old friends. Prehnite eagerly used them to pry the creature loose; heedless of being gentle now that they had what they needed and a call had been made.
"General Faustite, before we go drawing lots for spelunking? Ransomite found something in our rocky little friends back." Prehnite called out, was sure the others would handle the rest, and he was glad to give the lieutenant credit where it was do. To smile even as Ransomite gingerly moved along towards the General with the clump of fur held far outstretched in his hand. The blond had very sharp eyes on him.
Turned to the red an black gowned senshi at their side (Meridiana)."I wouldn't ask you to waste your magic on it, but if it tries anything? I'd appreciate it." and while everything out of his mouth was cordial and polite, his gaze begged her to kindly dust whatever called her attention most, if anything so much as threatened them directly. He'd shoo the damned rock down the same hole fulgurite disappeared into if it became too much of a nuisance.
Amasis
Good find! A..a fur chunk? A cat?
Shanyume
ohgod the rock crab!!?!
Seiana_ZI
BYE FREN WE'LL MISS YOU!!
Strickenized
The Lt, got something soff...and Gemstone? Can Kindly get the F*** off.. HP: 150/150
“Wait,” Rakovanite rumbled, casting confusion-pinched eyes toward Faustite. “Why. This youma is- was giving us information already. Taenite and Cymophane were successfully communicating with it. It is clearly slow and easy to overwhelm.” Judging from the fact that once more than a handful of people had appeared before it, it took great pause to consider.
How would it fare with a room full of senshi and agents bearing down on it? “To have all the senshi flashing their magic is only likely to be more overwhelming.” Or frightening. Or turn it aggressive once it’s allies had been disposed of. And given how many basics and lieutenants they had with them, even one aggressive youma seemed unnecessary if it could be avoided.
Especially if they made it so that it was the only one left, the only one they could get information out of.
The smaller ones that had taken Fulgurite- or started climbing other agents? Perhaps they were worth dispatching. But they were also hardly the most threatening. It would be worse to attack the ones that would have an opportunity to fight back.
“You are impatient,” he stated lowly. “Do not make a fight where there is none.”
Sylvite could go and retrieve the missing. The rest of them could disperse among the other youma and keep them occupied while Taenite and Cymophane continued working with this one-
At least, they could have. No one else batted an eye at the command, and Rakovanite doubted one fight wouldn’t bring on others. Rakovanite reached into his space pocket, pulling out a starseed and extending it toward Taenite. “You were doing so well. Are you willing to keep going with a little extra incentive?”
It wasn't wrong that he had been around longer than Nembus. She was willing to bet that the youma had not only been in the Rift longer but also probably was just older than she was. She was twenty-three -- four -- a child, really, while at the same time an adult, stuck in a permanent abyss of having no conception of her past and hardly any conception of her present. She shouldn't have been frightening at all.
"I'll mind mine if you mind yours," Nembus' voice was still considerably harsher than she felt.
Maybe she would faint, after all.
She kept listening to the conversation around her, catching as the lamp merchant very suddenly started telling that another youma -- Sticks, Brittlebranches -- shouldn't be talking about something. That caught her attention. She heard Faustite's command, and nodded in acknowledgment of it, but couldn't help her instinct of wanting to know as much information as possible as she asked, "Hang on, talking about what?" Nembus still kept her distance, giving the merchant a hard stare and taking on a tone more like a mafiosa than anything she thought she was. "Heard that. Tell us what you know."
She lifted up her hand in a way she thought was hopefully threatening, and prepared to summon her power if he refused --
She felt that shake.
Oh, that was not good.
She suddenly, desperately worried that there were more than just these youma to worry about in the environment. She glanced toward the other side of the cave where her general had gone after several senshi.
Did he agree with Faustite’s decision to have all of the youma culled, except for the one that he and Cymophane were making some progress with? Not at all. In fact, he thought it was a horrible idea, but he wasn’t the one with the fancy title of General. Making those decisions were currently above his pay grade. And if they were already missing a Senshi, then that meant it would only be a matter of time before they started losing more.
Taenite clicked his tongue against the inside of his teeth, and held out his hand to aim an attack at the lamp salesman, Malone, the fire spell on his lips--
At least until the General (Rakovanite) that had been hovering around and not actually trying to command the youma as Taenite tried to suggest him doing, decided to whip out a starseed. After they had specifically been warned not to bring any with them.
‘Unless you want to die’ Taenite could remember from the information packed with each bag they’d been given.
Taenite physically recoiled from the starseed being held out to him.
He didn’t waste any time. He did not take the starseed from the General. Instead, he grabbed Cymophane’s hand and ran as quickly as he could from the youma. In fact, he dropped his really cool lamp that may or may not have been made with human parts, so he could grab Faustite’s ratty cape as he passed him and yanked on it to make him move as well.
What was the saying…? You don’t have to run faster than the bear, just faster than the slowest person running from the bear.
Amazonite looked over her sohulder at Faustite, quirking her eyebrows up at his command. Then, she turned back to Malone, giving a very theatrical sigh.
"Well, that's unfortunate, and we were having such a nice chat. But," she tapped her cheek with a finger, "General Faustite is running this operation, so I do have to defer to his judgement."
She looked over at Nembus, giving a slightly feral grin. "Especially if you continue to be so terribly uncooperative. I don't like games, good merchant. Tell us what you know of our quarry, or we'll see how well you withstand the cold." Her tone was cheery, as if she was still bargaining, and mot threatening this youma with a dusting. However, her threat was accented with a deep breath, an extension of her claws, and a sudden, terrible chill in the air as she summoned draconic frost to her.
The shake made her square her stance to stay upright, and she looked to Nembus to make sure the Senshi was alright.
"Quickly now, we don't have much time," she told the youma, "and I promise that I can reduce you to dust very quickly, and then who will watch your stall."
Frosty Presence
Amazonite runs cold, and touching her is a little uncomfortable, but during battle, she can turn that up, and create a sort of frosty aura around her. Her claws extend, a thin coating of frost trails over her arms and legs, and the air around her (and out to about 2 or 3 feet) becomes extremely, uncomfortably cold. Hits from Amazonite are also cold, and can leave behind the sensation of first degree (superficial) frostbite if they’re made to bare skin (or by her claws ripping through clothing!) with actual damage at player discretion. Amazonite can summon this aura for 30 seconds at a time, twice per battle.
