[ Shinra had no idea what he was getting himself into, siding with this new recruit. However, after the experience he had on that vessel, he almost feels as though his mother had been traveling with him. He and the others were thoroughly tended to, vigorously eliminating even the faintest chance of injury of sickness. Everyone on board was so properly taken care of in fact, deep in their heart they collectively started to feel as though they should do something to repay Astrae. Without much trouble, they arrived to the docks of Lyneel. And with their arrival comes gloom. Almost immediately, the foundations of despair and loss looms over the pair. Other marine agents also sent on the mission spread out to handle their own tasks, but for the pair they’d be greeted almost immediately with the tears of an elderly woman. Her, and more refugees. Clearly those that tried their best to escape the raid. She steps forward, draped in a veil of rags, clearly shriveled from pain. Visible injuries litter her body, and her breath even more ragged still. Shinra rushes to her as she approaches, helping her sit atop a crate to rest her tired body.
“I-I’m...sorry… W-We don’t...have anything left! Please, child! Take nothing else! W-We’ve nothing left to give!” she pleads, clearly spooked beyond rationality.
Shinra shakes his head and offers the woman a worried smile. He looks over to Astrae and nods, hoping for her aid in tending to this woman. “You don’t have to worry anymore. We’re with the Marines, ma’am. We’ve been dispatched to provide you all relief. And…” Shinra backs up, and gets down into a dogeza.
“I’m sorry! For you to have had to endure such suffering, from the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry.” The elderly woman looks down at him in surprise, as well as those around the immediate area. They look down in pity, and sadness. Some tearing up, recalling the things freshly stolen from them, and the lives lost. While others are more so angry that the marines are only now showing up to fix this, and for a Kingdom at that! Shinra slowly gets up, and for a but a single brief moment--assuming she’s looking, Astrae would see quite the grim expression on Shinra’s face. “Sigh...Now I’m in a bad mood…” He’s grown rather tired of this parade of raiding going on. These pirates have been getting too ambitious lately, and they care not for any left in shambles from their carnage. ]
[ Reimbursement - 406 / 600 ]
a.renee.w
a.renee.w generated a random number between
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!
Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 11:05 pm
Astraea Tethys
XXX There was an eerie, uncomfortable silence that hung over the docks, as if the whole world was holding its breath and waiting. It was the sound of crying that broke it, and Astraea moved forward with Shinra, kneeling next to the woman and placing a hand gently on her back as she begged for them not to take anything left from the Kingdom. Swallowing her anger down for the time being, she dug through her bag, removing the bandages she had purchased before they had left, addressing the woman's wounds gingerly. Shinra's words were accompanied by a nod, though she stopped wrapping the refugee's arm when her companion dropped to the floor in a deep bow. Rae look to him with surprise, her sharp expression softening for a moment, respect for the man growing. Dipping her head to the crowd, she mirrored the sentiment. "Indeed. I apologize for the pain brought upon you, this should have never happened." Her comment was met with a quick, angry retort. "And whose fault is that?! What's the point of you useless lot if you won't even come to protect us?!"
It was a valid question, and Astraea lifted her head back up to address the woman who had spoken to her. "Ours." As Shinra got back up, her eyes cut over to him, noting the grim expression on her face, understanding how he felt. Did pirates ever think about this? The aftermath of their raids? Not just the immediate consequences, but the effects that lasted long after they were gone? Did they understand the fear and anger they left in their wake? It made no sense to her how anyone could create so much pain and carry on through life without a care in the world. "It is our fault, and we haven't done a good enough job at remedying that. We're going to find the person who did this and bring them to justice. You have my word." The smile on her face was forced as she finished bandaging the elderly woman, standing and moving around to help those who needed the most assistance.
It was only when nobody from Lyneel was looking that she dropped the facade, rage and anguish evident in her eyes. How pathetic that an organization as seemingly powerful as the Marines had not arrived when they'd been needed the most. It was clear to her now that she'd been gone far too long and things had only changed for the worse. If she wanted to make herself useful to the world, she was going to have to get stronger to right the wrongs of the Pirates who so carelessly destroyed at their whims. Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, Astraea continued to help wherever she could, passing out food and supplies, helping to patch up buildings, talking and assuring those who feared for their safety.
One such person she came across was a young girl who sat on her porch, weeping. Sitting down next to her, Rae crossed her legs and began peeling an orange, humming quietly until the new scent and sound caught the girl's attention and her tears slowed. "Would you care for some orange?" Smiling, she extended her hand, the sniffling girl reaching out to take a couple slices, eating them in silence. "What is it exactly that's troubling you?" She listened patiently as she explained that after the pirate had came through, her father had been injured, and her mother had been busy tending to him, the whole family stressed and scared for the future. Nodding, Astraea sat in silent contemplation, pondering how she could bring some hope to the gloomy scene. "Have you ever seen a mermaid?"
Several hours later, Astraea was putting on a show, armor and weapons discarded so that she could move about freely in the water. She floated on her back, grinning at those gathered, pink scales glittering in the light of the slowly setting sun. "Now, give me a few minutes and I will find you treasure from the deep sea!" Wiggling her fingers she'd flip backwards, purposefully flicking her tail up to splash water into the air so that it would rain down a mist, momentarily reflecting a rainbow back at the gathered crowd. Was it showy and unnecessary? Absolutely. But was it fun? Well, she could only hope.
As promised she returned to the surface a few minutes later, leaning against the dock to distribute the aforementioned "treasure". It was an odd collection of shark teeth, unique shells, random assortments of jewelry that had been lost to the ocean, and sea glass. Such objects were presented to the delighted children, and with a laugh Rae floated back a little more, swirling a hand in the water. "And for my next trick!" Lifting her hand, a swirling ball of water followed after it, floating higher and higher into the air. "Shhhhhhh." Grinning as she held a finger to her lips, the woman slowly floated the ball of water up and over the unsuspecting head of a fellow Marine. The children stifled their giggles as they watched it, bursting into laughter as Rae snapped her fingers, dropping the ball of water and drenching the poor man. "Ahh?!"
The man spun around, eyes falling on the culprit with confusion. "Raea?!" Laughing, the woman spun around in a quick circle, cupping her mouth to call out to those who had been watching. "We've been compromised! Scatter!!" Once more she'd use to tail to splash water up at the crowd, watching with a light smile as the children screaming with shrill laughter, running off back home.
[ It was tough, dealing with the anger and resentment seeping from the very pores of the populace. Yet, no one could argue it. From start to finish, all of it was justified. The marines, who failed their job in protecting their people, could only sit back and take it. As per routine, Shinra and the others made all efforts to resupply and support anyone affected. Making it their personal mission to see these innocents secured once more. The only saving grace for Shinra in particular is his training in remaining calm. He managed to maintain his composure, and keep up his general apathetic outer appearance. Once things finally settled down a bit, Astraea starting taking the time to mend the hearts of the people most important to this kingdom; the children. They’re the future, and foundation of this land. Without them, there would be nothing to protect, nothing to maintain.
Over time, things would simply crumble and fade. But Astraea prevented such a sad fate. With her small act of kindness, she’d forever change the outcome of this Kingdom’s fate. As to not interfere with her plans, Shinra kept himself at a fair distance, watching as she set up for some kind of performance of sorts. He watches intently, lightly blushing as she removed her armor and other gear in order to take to the water. He rests a his head on a hand, staring down as the woman rises up as something far different from human. “...Eh?!” he mutters in surprise, sitting up in response. From the start he had thought the woman beautiful before, but now that normal regal-ness had become something much more elegant. She had become a Mermaid. Shinra stands, completely blown back by this revelation. And from the looks of the others within the audience, he’s not the only one.
“Momma, a Mermaid! It’s a real Mermaid!”
“Ohhh! How lovely! Look at how easily she moves in the water!”
From every which way, people had become infatuated with this splendid sight, completely forgetting their woes of days long past. And even if temporary...as of this moment, everyone has a smile on their face--Shinra included. Her performance went on without a hitch, and as things start to calm down, Shinra looks down at his hands. He thinks long as hard about it, and then decides to further add to the performance. “Yeah, that could work.” After taking a few steps back, out of sight of others, he holds both arms towards the sky, and exhales slowly. “Okay.” In the next time, a bright flash goes off, as several bright spears begin floating up into the above high above everyone. Then, one after the other, they all start to explode into various colors and sounds. An act of bright lights and eye catching shapes. Fireworks. One by one they explode, each taking different shapes.
Following this, strange animal shaped lights start running across the sky, playing and prancing about the fireworks. Almost like a dance, the performance lasts for a few minutes before fading out. Afterwhich, Shinra gasps and drops down onto his bottom. In his fight to regain his energy, his heart beat speeds up. He isn’t sure whether his actions were a hindrance, or what. But he felt he needed to do something. Anything to help keep the people’s spirits up. Over the course of the next few moments, there was a clap, and then another, and another still. This would keep up until the whole of the area was alight with the resounding echo of hands meeting hands. A success. “Whew… Guess they liked it.” He says lightly to no one in particular. His head rests back against a tree trunk while looking over to Astraea amidst all the people gathered. His hand lifts, shaping a thumbs up. ]
[ Reimbursement - 1,041 / 600 ]
a.renee.w
Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 3:52 pm
"Mmm. . " A lone roaming beast had set its sights on this place. During the hustle and bustle of the busy city of Lyneel, probably going about their normal day with little thought of what was to come, a sudden rumble would quake their walls. Lone was it, this figure in the distance that seemed to make the very earth tremble before it. Gargantuan in stature, in physique, its elongated tusks shined in the sun the burned high above. It was noon, high noon, and no one seemed to be minding the impending issue that was to come. Steps echoed as the beast swung its mighty trunk too and fro, sniffing the air momentarily. Its eyes wafting about, looking for some sort of meal maybe? It was all lost in translation. The abundance of tracks left behind as he continued his stamping slam through city streets, turning over carts with mighty roars and epic motions. Eyes having turned a certain white from the anger, the hunger which had overtaken him - it was best for some to stay away if they valued their precious food. Was he wrong to be so boisterous with his motions? It could've been thought, in some foul stink of a way, that he was a beautiful beast. A majestic creature in a poetic sense. . but poetry isn't really my strong suit and neither was Bai's. Still, onward he pushed, riding with daft animosity and overall lacking tact for anything but filling his gullet and trampling through the poor streets of one, Lyneel. Fate? Was fate so fickle to stop these daring marines just as they'd finished their duty. Perhaps. . if he had been so keen to step back for a moment and truly think about his actions, he wouldn't have done this. But that was the past and this, my dear readers, is the present.
To ascertain its next stop on this train of confusion, you'd have to rewind time back to when this creature first arrived in this lands, a mere few days ago. .
Water filled the brim of his ears, sloshing in and then out repeatedly as eyes slowly wafted open. Fluttering a few times in sequence with his body motioning from side to side, a man slowly rose to the occasion. Where was he and how did he end up here? Rocks laid about him in every which way but that wasn't on his mind nor the eventual realization that he was almost fully nude. The first thing that had hit him was. . food. "Mmmm. ." Hunger. It, as always, ravaged his being. The ongoing flames within him further fed his need - plainly put, all he wanted was something to snack on and the eventual realization that there was nothing caused anguish. Anger. And so slowly his form changed from a brown haired, tanned fellow to a large, wolly creature. Excessive in size; the pure stature of its shape was so large it made most men look like nothing more than children. Higher and higher it rose, wailing a monstrous screech into the air. Food. . All it wanted, all it needed was just. . food. . And so it begun its travel through the lands, its body sailing from side to side on a conquest for sustenance.
Eventually, this would lead him to Lyneel.
Back into our present day, Bai's mind was devoid of its usual reasoning. The screams of those around him, the constant impending shouts of death to his person - to kill, only further sought out an animalistic response. "I-It's a monster! Run for the hills!" One man yelled as he stomped into town, destroying various carts and ruining businesses with each crashing step. The earth rattled as water quaked, the sky looked so far away to some but to Bai it was as if he could take a cloud and lovingly nibble. It had been their constant badgering that caused this kind of reaction, because when he;d first entered the town he hadn't at all the mind to do what was happening. But then it all went down hill. "This fat creature is rampaging through town!" Fat?! Oh they dared and he wasn't going to allow that to continue, definitely not on the route of war he was taking. "NNNNNNNN!!!"
His trunk flew sky high as it crashed into a cabbage display, grasping a bundle of them all before stuffing them into his gullet. More! This wasn't even close to being enough to fill him up! All kinds of meals were ripe for the taking! Different restaurants and purveyors of delectable morsels for him to collect! It was all vacuumed in as the massive monstrosity wrecked time and time again through a frantic spree. Most of the shopping district was left a pile of rubble, as its entire supply of vegetables, meats, and grain were almost completely depleted. There were a few marines who attempted to stop his crusade, but to no avail. Merely met with a hefty trunk and another mighty bellow to the sky that reached into the open air. A mindless hunger that seethed, wrought, and wrecked as it went, but never actually harming the innocent. That wasn't his intention at all. In fact, as he stomped along, a lone child was left out in the middle of town, crying from being left behind. Bai ceased for a moment, blinking several times as his head came down, his trunk patting the small teary eyed girl. She'd look up in confusion as laid down in front of her, pushing her forward with genuine warm eyes.
She'd shake her head, speaking in a language he didn't understand but he knew that expression. Fear. . She was afraid and he wouldn't allow that. Grasping her up with his trunk, he sauntered over and more so out of the city to where he saw what he surmised to be the law enforcement. Of course, they'd stare before yelling, taking to the hills as the now gentle giant sat the girl down on their standing post, so she could find her mother or father. With a happy smile she'd speak again but he didn't know what was said. Merely nodding slowly in response as the tattoo'ed tusk's of the mammoth swayed off into a different direction. To leave town and hopefully, find someone who could make heads or tails of this god forsaken land.
a.renee.w generated a random number between
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65!
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Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 7:12 pm
Astraea Tethys
XXX While it wasn't the ideal situation, at least the group had managed to do some good. Whereas before when they had been greeted with tears, the night ended with some laughter and perhaps the faintest flicker of hope. At some point during her silly display of techniques, Astraea saw the fireworks light up the night sky. She didn't know who had set them off, but she watched with as much awe and delight as the citizens of Lyneel. Once more leaning against the docks, Rae stayed mesmerized by the dancing lights and moving shapes of animals and bursts of colors in a ethereal dance. As the lights faded, allowing the stars and moon to shine through once more, the young woman brought her hands together to clap, a bright smile on her face. She'd look around the area at her fellow Marines to try to figure out who had been responsible, tilting her head as she noticed Shinra sitting up against a tree giving her a thumbs up. Meeting his gaze she'd return the gesture, waiting for the crowd to disperse before pulling herself from the sea, ready to wrap up for the evening.
⭐🌙⭐
The next day went by smoothly with the Marines finishing up some repairs and refilling the supplies the Kingdom would need to start settling back to normal. After talking with the rest of the crew, they decided to leave a majority of the food they still had left with the people, planning on docking somewhere else to resupply before they returned to Headquarters. And just as they were about to be off, something nobody would have ever expected happened. A Mammoth began a rampage through the area they had just replenished. Cue the music. . .
The food was snatched up and consumed, businesses trampled, carts destroyed. After all they had done, it only took a few minutes for it to get destroyed again. Hopelessness and anger all rolled in one, Raea's eye twitched as she drew her sword, running forward in a futile attempt to halt the beast's rampage. As expected, she was tossed to the side as the trunk side swept her, knocking her to the ground. As she got her bearings she leaped to her feet once more, looking on in horror at the lone child who'd been left alone in the middle of the clearing amidst all the chaos. And surprisingly instead of seeing the child crushed underfoot, the behemoth lifted her gently with its trunk, setting her back down next to where some of the remaining Marines were gathered. Raea blinked in confusion at the interaction between the two, seeing how kind the monster appeared to be, laying down and patting the child. ". . What. .?"
She'd seen animals display intelligence before, but never on a level like this. And now that she was able to get a better look at it, Astraea noticed it had tattoos along its tusks. As it began to stroll off away from Lyneel, she dashed after it, sprinting to try to catch up to it. "Hey! Stop! Halt! Cease your motions! P-Pull over?!" She didn't have a plan besides getting its attention, so she'd just wing everything after that. Finally pulling ahead, the young woman held her hand out in front of her in the universal "stop" motion. If this creature could understand even some of what humans could convey then maybe she could talk it down and somehow lead it to an area where it could live and not cause such wanton destruction? What she did know was that she couldn't let the Mammoth traverse through populated areas any longer.
From behind her she pulled out her trump card: an orange. All the Mammoth had been doing was crushing the buildings and eating everything it could find. Maybe it was just. . Hungry? She'd move the orange back and forth from left to right to see if it caught its attention.
[How do you even fight a Mammoth? And I finally remember to roll my numbers LMFAO]
Today was a good day. The sun was shining. Mother Nature was smiling. And the seas were nice to her.
The bovine belle had made her way via boat all the way to the Kingdom of Lyneel in order to sell her harvested goods in their marketplace. She'd managed to make some real good ones this time around and she knew that she'd make a nice profit off of them. Ripe and ready for the picking, Bo set up shop in her usual place along the streets. A lovely stand made of well-crafted wood and a sign above it that read 'Fresh From the Vines', a name she'd come up with herself that she was truly proud of.
She was eager to show off her fresh cabbages, stockpiling them as high as she could. Of course there were other things for sell, the woman had also been a rice farmer. Grains, eggplants, corn, and other fresh produce, but her proud and joy had been her cabbages, and at 100 Beli a pop they were practically a steal right now. With a bit of marketing her stand had been a hit, as it usually was. She had a steady flow of regular clientele, most of them were old folks and housewives, but she'd get the occasional bystander here and there; usually men drawn in more by Bo herself rather than her produce. If they chose not to buy anything then she'd politely shoo them along with a flattered blush and a 'thanks but no thanks' declination.
All had been going well until she felt an awful strange rumbling through the streets that had recently gotten rebuilt. The cobblestone shook in terror as she heard screams far off in the distance."What in tarnation?"Bo mumbled, raising a brow while poking her head out of her stand to see what was going on. What her eyes caught had been something unsightly, uncanny, and just down right silly. Screams filled the air as people retreated through the streets as some giant, raging creature stampeded and plowed its way through Lyneel."Ho'h mah Gawd!"Bo cried, her voice rising three octaves as she had no time to pack her stand and vacate the premises.
And in an instant it was all gone. The massive creature had bulldozed on through, snatching a trunk full of her cabbage before knocking over and destroying the stand entirely in its unstoppable force onward. The minotaur couldn't do anything besides watch all of her hard work get destroyed in an instant. All of that profit! Gone! Her eyes wide open, pupils dilated to that of pinpoints. Her body was hunched forward as she was thrown into a state of shock and paralysis. And then, all at once, she was filled with a blinding rage.
"MAH CABBAGES!!!"
Her roar echoed through the streets as the previous shock had turned to rage, and from that rage came the adrenaline rush of a furious mastodon. From behind her stand had been a chair, and behind that against the wall, a strange looking hammer, massive in the hands to those of average height, but for someone of her size and stature it was perfect. She grabbed hold of it along with a thick coil of hemp rope and took off sprinting.
"ONE HEAD FER EVERY HEAD OF CABBAGE!"
The bull saw red, dust in her wake, smoke blowing from her nose that was far from proverbial. She charged after the massive beast without a hint of fear in her eyes and a steeled resolve. She made ground, stampeding through the crowd that started walking back to their places after the mammoth plowed through. Hot on his a** Bo took the rope, pre-knotted and noosed, and twirled it wildly above her head. Her hammer set comfortably behind her through the shoulder straps of her suspenders and across her back like one would a sword. With careful calculation, even through rage, she handled that rope as sub-consciously as one did riding a bike. She threw it, aiming for one of its massive tusks. Once it noosed around it, she leapt up using all of that forward momentum from the mammoth's jerking and thrashing, clutching the rope while landing on its woolly back. Bo was going to stop this damn thing, having had no idea that someone was already attempting to do so in a manner that probably wouldn't halt a raging beast.
Oh no, the most effective way here was to bring out the hammer! If she could just get her footing and reach it.
WORDS
Words: 960 Cash Flow: 9,600 Total Bank: 9,600 Posting History: [ x ]
[ Shinra had thought the situation all but handled on their end. In fact, the group had started preparations to depart the island, and let the cleanup crew get to work on their end. It was supposed to be smooth from one point right to the next. And yet… Moments after he managed to recover his stamina, the sound of crashing and screams fill the sky. The calm and merry atmosphere they worked at building over those ours was stripped in an instant. Shinra’s glare flares. His head fills with all kinds of thoughts, and each of them led to an encounter with one thing; pirates. Without so much as wasting a single second more, he vaults to the top of a building, landing in a kneel. He rushes over to the other side and starts searching for the source of the problem. All around the streets are dust, debris, and smoke. People running away in every direction, buildings crumbling from their own weight, and the resounding echoing of something within the cloud of chaos.
Shinra’s right arm sparks with electricity as he clenches it, fighting to maintain control and calm. He must...remain calm. A rough breath escapes his mouth as he prepares for it. The moment the source would break free of the dust cloud. But to his surprise, it’s neither a band of pirates, or a weapon that breaks out. Rather, a… “Mammoth?!” he says aloud as the building he’s atop begins shaking and creaking purely from the beast’s rampaging presence. The marine’s sharp eyes continue watching the creature as it progresses. How should he approach this?! What does he do?! With a thing this size, his smaller attacks wouldn’t work. But if he uses anything larger, the surrounding area might get caught up--and these people have been through enough as is. Following his hesitation, the screams of a woman mourning for her cabbages echo outward. This needs to stop.
With nothing else to lose, Shinra dashes forth across the tops of the buildings, charging his arms with electricity. While he’d rather avoid it, it can’t be helped. He’d need to paralyze this thing to bring it down. A few buildings here or there might get caught in the blast, but so be it! “...Can’t be helped, but this seriously sucks.” he groans to himself. Right as he set his timing to leap, he eye catches the sight of a woman standing before the creature. Both peepers widen once he realizes just who this woman is, and there’s no mistaking it at all! “Asraea?!” he calls out, fighting back the panic. If she stands there before that thing, that BEAST, she’ll be crushed. So in response, Shinra casts aside his previous plan and lunges from atop the building, cocking back both arms preparing to stun the beast early. Unfortunately, he fails to notice the other woman who had taken it upon herself to join into the fray. Or her rope… Oops. ]
a.renee.w
Deecee Sama
X o l u s
North Lotus generated a random number between
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92!
So it's mighty rampage had come to a halt and high stood the mammoth on his journey eastward. Somewhere where, perhaps, one of these people spoke the language of his people. .
That was until, a long woman jumped out into his visage with yells coming from his backside.
As she beckoned with her hand, Bai's merely blinked in response while screeching to a sliding halt. Body careening a little forward as he blinked several times, eyes looking down to the tiny marine woman in confusion. He examined her form, very much so pondering why she'd dare jump in his path. Perhaps the woman held a death wish? If he'd have kept going she'd be a pancake right now. "Mmmm. . " It'd speak an audible tone, face turning to look at her as her hand reached around her back. At first, a flash of anger rose; was it some form of weapon?! He was ready to go on the offensive if so as the trunk bellowed, going high to the sky in preparation to slam down on her, but then. . It was more food! "Mmm!" Eyes turning to stars, he grasped the orange from her hand before using his tusk to peel it and then, tossed it in his mouth happily munching. Taking the time, he'd pat the marine on the head, walking forward to nuzzle into her for a moment before hearing a monstrous scream that made him almost leap up.
In fear Bai instantly shrunk down, to not only dodge the person swinging at him but a coping mechanism to deal with the sudden cry. Now he was about three feet high, his trunk had shortened and his tusks seemed longer than his body. The tattoo's didn't change, however, and as the two marines crashed behind him he went scurrying off in terror, trying to get away from these crazed people.
Such a scary land this was. . Ah, except, where was he anyway?
a.renee.w
X o l u s
North Lotus
Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2018 11:38 am
Astraea Tethys
XXX All according to plan! Either incredibly brave or incredible stupid, Astrae's boldness of simply stepping in front of the mammoth's path brought the creature to a stop right in front of her. The fact that it seemed to recognize that it would hurt her if it continued only further proved her hypothesis that the behemoth was intelligent and perhaps didn't actually wish to harm anyone. As the dust cleared she'd smile lightly, unflinching even as it lifted it trunk up in the air, trumpeting its war cry. A moment later it recognized her offering and she laughed as it took the orange from her hand, watching with interest as it peeled the fruit with its tusks and munched on it happily. Raea raised a hand to give the mammoth a quick pet as it nuzzled her and pat her head. "There. So now that we're all calm. . ."
But no. They were not all calm. It was with righteous indignation and understandable concern that two more individuals leaped into the fray! And so. . . a lot of things happened all at once.
The sudden loud noise startled the mammoth in front of her, and instead of instantly charged forward and crushing her it just shrunk and ran past her, dragging the woman who had lassoed it forward. Around the same time she heard her companion call her name, and she turned her head with wide eyes to see Shinra leaping down at them too, his hands crackling with electricity. "No! Wait, wait, wait!" But it was too late. There was no stopping it now. They all crashed into each other at about the same time, the poor cabbage farmer's body slamming against her and knocking her off her feet, Shinra jolt of electricity running through her and stunning her as they all hit the floor, tangling up in a comedic pile.
"W-Wait! Come back!" Astraea watched with dismay as the tiny mammoth continued to run away. While Lyneel would be safe for now, it wasn't wise to leave a mammoth roaming around the world causing wanton destruction. "Noooo. . ." Dismayed and crushed beneath Shinra and the woman from Lyneel, Astraea simply laid the side of her face against the ground, waiting for the stun to wear off and the people on top of her to free her from being squished.
Sure that her rope had wrapped around that things tusk the large southerner prepared to yank and hogtie that large sucker and maybe whack it a few times so it could recompense for its actions against her precious cabbage stand. And if it continued to act up then she was going to make some minced woolly mammoth meatpies out of him!
As she leaped she aimed for its back, her free hand reaching for her hammer so she could come down and pummel it one good time."I gotchu now!"She cried out, however, when her lasso suddenly held onto nothing but air Bo realized that there was something amiss. For a moment she though that she had overshot her leap, but in actuality she wasn't getting further and further away from the beast, it was getting smaller and smaller as it scurried off."Huh?!"She yelped midair, hearing another shout off from the side as a man adjacent to her had been diving towards the same goal.
Unfortunately, it wasn't until now that Bo acknowledged the existence of the uniformed blonde woman standing there with a discarded orange peel at her side. Bo's eyes widened as she tried swiping and swaying her arms in a frantic attempt to not only fly away but to warn the woman to get out of the way, complete with a verbal,"Move the heck outta tha way!"before all of them crashed into one another.
Somehow, with all of their toppling bodies it was the farmer that had been at the top of this totem pole, which was unlucky for them given all of the weight baring down onto them; plus her less-than-light hammer. For a moment she was dazed but slowly shook her head clear, thankful to have two nice meat pillows to cushion her unsavory fall. From her almost upside down angle she watched the tiny mammoth scurrying off.
Another puff of steam blew from her nose, hot as a furnace as she swung to the side, rolling her large body off of the two below her and then along the ground."Got yer darn coattails offa me!"She growled. Bo dug her hands into the dirt and rose on all fours. Her hooves stamping into the ground, gliding along the ground like a literal bull clearing what was behind it before charging forward; because that's exactly what she did next.
Taking off on all fours in a mad dash, hammer in tow on her back, Bo charged towards the mammoth at full speed. Gaining maximum momentum before pushing off of the ground and a brief frontal flip. Her legs retaining momentum when landing before carrying on her forward stride. With her target in her sights, Bo reached into her suspenders and in between her heavy bosom to retrieve one last cabbage."This all relies on you, friend."She encouraged, a twinkle of life in her eyes and a kiss for good luck.
Bo took aim, chasing after the beast yet her steps were more meticulous and agile than before. Suddenly, she planted her feet to the ground, speedily gliding along the surface as she reeled her throwing arm back, scoffing arrogantly upon doing so."Ryūha Bāri Bansū..."It appeared that all fell silent as she recited the name of a once long forgotten style from Wano Country; one that was rumored to have a single practitioner left; but those rumors were false. However, instead of a batting style, what was this? Was she throwing this cabbage?! This went against everything that the style stood for!
Her dominate foot stomped down, stepping forward with a twist of her foot and a pivot of her waist, her hind leg sliding along the toes of her foot. A glimmer of deadliness in her eyes. The cabbage escaped her fingertips and was torpedoed forward with enough force that a burst of wind shot from behind the initial release like a cannon. "FOUR! SEAM! FASTBALL!" Bo roared. The cabbage careening straight for the shrunken mammoth, aiming to bean its butt as the friction from its drive set the cabbage on fire.
Vengeance! Retribution! Go cabbage! Show that beast your burning passion!
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[ Oh. Come. ON. As if predicting the gemini assault from behind, the massive pachyderm somehow shrunk itself down in size, and dashed off with speeds unlike any creature its mass should possibly have. This clever juke forces the three opposes sides of the beast to crash right into one another. An act that sets Shinra’s arms off, electrocuting his surroundings, comically at best. A few groans can be heard as the dust clears. Somehow the trio find themselves stacked like packaged bacon, with Shinra finding himself set right in the middle. He tries to move himself, but the sheer weight of the woman up top prevents that completely. “Urg… Alright, safe to say that was stupid of me-” Wait. Shinra pauses, trying to move his head once more. And then again. His face lightly goes into a blush while his mind is aggressively putting two and two together.
In his mind, he fights back to the thoughts, but there’s no mistaking the sensation pressing not only against his head, but the back of his neck too! Luckily, before his mind can race too far, the civilian rolls herself off in a hurry to try and attack the beast before it can make its great escape. Shinra hurriedly gets himself from atop his partner and makes every motion to help her up. “Sorry about that, partner. Looks like I got in the way this time-” Again, cut off. This time, by some powerfully ominous words.
“Ryūha Bāri Bansū…”
No...please. The Marine’s eyes narrow pessimistically while he thinks how eerily close to a technique the words seeping through his ears sound. In the next moment, he can almost feel a shockwave burst past him, forcing both his hair and clothing to dance to its winds. “Oi…” he starts, as he turns his head just in time to see this cabbage set ablaze mid flight. “Oi Oi Oi!” In a panic now, he turns his body fully towards the target of the burning pitched assault. Both his hands grip a side of his head while he remains on his knees. They can’t be starting this here again! The damage will just pile up, which means the workload will pile up!
Despite this, for some ridiculous reason, tons of townsfolk are out preaching and praising! Hooping and hollering, respecting the accuracy and beauty of the Minkman’s brutal launch of athletic proportions. “My precious free tiiiiiime!” he calls out in despair. Guess they’ll be back at it again soon… At least. At LEAST, please, strike the mammoth. Even if it gets away, make this madness worth it! Or so Shinra thinks deep in the furthest depths of his screeching soul. ]
It was a clear and concise action! A mad dash away from these people and their crazed morals. Course, he'd supposed the blonde woman was nice with her orange but the others were simply mad me- Er, man and cow! Lightly Bai's head shifted, tusked swayed to look back from wince he came. By now he'd gotten an appropriate amount of distance away and had hoped this would be good enough so the trio wouldn't give chase, but oh how he was wrong. So very wrong! The cow woman from before was already bucking towards him! "Nan-Ka?!" A single phrase blurred across his vision as he witnessed her technique in action - a single cabbage that she'd apparently thrown as now a flaming projectile! In confusion, sweat, and fear did the little mammoth attempt to further himself away, but realized the attack was coming too fast!
As a group they'd all see it then. Suddenly the mini mammoth turned as to prepare, body ready with a strong stare at his newest opponent. This style. . He'd seen it in Wano! A man whom was an old friend used something like it - but where had this bovine learned something of this caliber. It was safe to say he was intrigued, but he didn't have the time to think of it."One Million Blazing Nations Unite Under The Banner Of Our Lord. With This I Can Sever Even Gods Ties To This Realm. . . . 零姿态时间停止 (Lit. A World With No God) . . " However, it was spoken in a grunt except for the last portion, which they might hear. Raising his hind legs then bucking, Bai opened his mouth all at once to consume the assault! Though spicy, it went down with ease as he bucked at the cow, almost jeeringly before rolling back into some bushes. He was gone.
a.renee.w
X o l u s
North Lotus
Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2018 7:43 pm
Astraea Tethys
XXXThis wasn't how Astrae had expected her life to end. Crushed by a fellow Marine and a bovine woman intent on revenge against a tiny mammoth. Just when it seemed all hope was lost the civilian rolled off, giving her more room to breath with only Shinra's weight on top of her. She'd gratefully draw in a deep breath, a look of relief on her face as her partner got up as well, extending his hand to her. She'd take it, pulling herself up and dusting the dirt from her uniform, shaking her head. Ah, no, it's alright. It was a learning opportunity for the both of us. I'll be better about communicating my intentions next time so we're on the same page." She'd manage a brief smile to him before turning in the direction of the woman who was calling forth some kind of. . . curse?
Astraea didn't recognize the language or the technique, so her reaction was far less guarded than that of the man beside her. "Woah!" Instinctively she raised her arms as if to protect her face, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment as a gust of wind from a shockwave scattered dirt into the air and ruffled her clothing. With the initial burst done, the Marine looked on in concern as she watched the cabbage the woman had thrown arc toward the fleeing mammoth. And then it caught on fire. "What?!" Her expression mirrored Shinra's, eyes wide with horror, regret, and confusion. What was this world coming to? Countless raids on innocent people, Marines defecting from their positions, mammoths eating flaming cabbages?! Perhaps she should have prolonged her leave of absence. . .
But no! There was too much to be done! While Shinra called out in despair, Astraea steeled her resolve, knowing how frustrating the task of repairing Lyneel again would be, but understanding that a Marine's work was never done! There could be no rest until justice prevailed! Even though she had wanted to capture the mammoth to ensure it did not cause anymore destruction, Raea was a bit relieved it hadn't been harmed. Sighing as it disappeared, she made her way over to the cow woman, offering a nod and a polite bow of her head. "Ma'am, I apologize for the incident that occurred here. Rest assured we'll stay in Lyneel until all damages have been repaired and you have been properly reimbursed for well. . Your cabbages, I'm assuming." With a smile she'd glance back to the area they had come from. Back to square one.
The cabbage sizzled the air, cracking the wind as it sped upon its own plane of existence. Surely this would strike the creature where it stood once and for all. However, as it turned its gaze to the luminescent ball of lettuce it moo'd and whinnied before saying something actually coherent to human language. Words of a different origin that she'd heard before but only had the gist of. It opened up its maw, much to Bo's surprise."No..."She mumbled in disbelief, there was no way that this thing was...
And in an instant it was over. The beast had devoured her last cabbage. The final head of which she had been saving for a special victory dinner tonight. The ball of that which she sacrificed in hopes of smiting her foe and claim vengeance for her fallen heads of cabbage. It was gone.
"...Whut..."
The only words she could muster as the mammoth gave her a smug grin, brimming with pride before rolling off into the bushes. At first she felt rage, removing her hammer from her back, wielding it with both hands as she reeled back,"GODDAM---Aaarrrrgh!"Bo caught herself mid-swear and mid-swing as she was about to send the flat of her giant pillar of steel face first into the ground but she managed to stop herself just a few inches from shattering the land. For a moment, steam wafted from her entire form, permeating the air and creating a furnace. Her skin had went from caramel to a warm red and then back to caramel. With a huff she fell to her knees in despair.
There was no God. No justice for the simple cabbage farmer.
Her eyes were large, cheeks wet with tears as the heavy droplets pelted the cobblestone below. She'd never felt so defeated, not since the War on Weeds back when she was but a mere calve."I wurked so hard on'em. *sniff* Wurked mah fingers tah tha bone and now they're *sniff* just gone."She whined to the woman comforting her. Bo leaned against her hammer with a single arm, trying to regain her composure as she sniffed and snorted long and hard before turning her gaze towards the marine, nestling her head into the woman's bosom just long enough to wipe her nose clean. "Th-thanks pretty ladeh."Bo called. Even as she sat on her knees she and the marine were about at eye level now.
She slowly came to a stand, less than motivated by life now as she scanned her surroundings to see how much of a number the mammoth had done on everyone's businesses and respective food stands. Some were recovering, others were clapping and thanking her for having chased after that monstrosity with such vigor. Bo sighed, knowing that they could all use the help in getting back up on there feet."I guess I'll *sniff* help y'all with repairs n' stuff."She offered before taking one last solemn pout at that bush where the mammoth had scampered off."Danged woolly b*****d, I'll have my revenge."She grumbled before barking it louder; swearing only when she was truly angry.
"YAH HEAR THAT?! I'LL GETCHU BACK YOU WIDE-TUSKED SUMBITCH!"
And with that she'd stomp off to help the others with repairs.
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