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 Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 4:47 pm
So the horseman was supposed to be finding Alpacas and bringing them back to the Death Priestess--who was strange enough to name one of them "Mr. Fluffy" and say it with a straight face--although, honestly, his queen before the isles had been destroyed had been a bit... eccentric as well.
Regardless, Fai had found himself following one of the strange fluffy creatures onto the school grounds, more desirous to get away from the tents than he was to capture the creature. And when it stopped in a large grassy area behind a building (the undead dorms), the horseman sat down, crossing his legs in front of him and closing his eyes as the alpaca peacefully munched on grass behind him.
For a moment he was perfectly still. Fresh as life he was there again, watching the isles being destroyed in the trance, seeing Cairo, even though he hadn't seen her in the trance. He knew exactly where she would have been--working on her latest project, that look of concentration on her beautiful face--
He shuddered. His entire body trembled for a moment, uncontrollably. This wasn't the place to break down, he told himself, taking in a sharp, ragged breath. But it had been too long, shoving it down.
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 5:46 pm
The gravel on the nearby path crunched under bone hooves as Malodore approached, not deliberately heading for the Horseman and his quarry but walking aimlessly. Its days had settled into a sort of pattern: tend to the pets, research and compile data as much as possible, and then go out for a walk to clear its head. Add occasional naps to that, and it had managed to fill the hours in a reasonable enough fashion, given the circumstances...
It stopped walking when it saw the strange, fluffy creature, tilting its head to one side. What on earth was that? It was rather large for a minipet, it felt - and then a sound, a horribly familiar sort of sound, caught its ears. The sound of ragged breathing, of pain muffled. It extended its empathy, then winced. It knew that pain. Who else here had suffered so? There were only a few options...
"Hello?" it called out, taking a step towards the alpaca (who seemed wary but not yet fleeing, given that the plague doctor was still a good dozen feet away).
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 5:53 pm
Pitch black eyes opened and the robed famine horseman looked blindly at the plague doctor for a long moment. It was almost as if he didn't see him. Then slowly, painfully, he took another deep breath. "Forgive me, I'm intruding," Fai said quietly, getting to his feet in an oddly graceful move. "I'm afraid my... clan's alpacas have gotten loose," he admitted, nodding at the alpaca. But he didn't seem to be doing anything about it.
He looked more closely at the student, and so did the various plants growing out of his head. "I assume that it will eventually find its way home, or perhaps a more eager horseman will try to herd it. I do believe the creature spits. Biting is one thing, but spitting--"
He was trying to joke, but there was still a bit of terseness and strain to his face that was clear.
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 7:18 pm
Malodore's gaze focused on the - oh. Oh. A Horseman, and of Famine Clan, it was pretty sure. "It is not a problem," it assured the stranger, trying not to look too curious. The pain it had felt was coming from him, but... well, of course it was. The Horsemen had lost far more than Malodore itself had, and it was well aware of that fact. "You are of Famine, are you not? I had the honor of learning there, before... before," it said, bowing its head in recognition of the other's loss. "Perhaps I can assist you in restraining the creature?" it offered, after a moment.
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 7:25 pm
Fai looked at the alpaca. "Really, I would appreciate it, I suppose," he said, although his tone was dry. "Although I think we can take our time," he added. "I am Faiyum, of the... Lost Clans. And you are?" he asked. "I must admit, you're quite the lovely creature, I don't believe I've met one like you before, of course, I have not been to Halloween before... this."
A little smile pulled at his lips as he pulled himself out of the depression, shoving it down once again. He would not forget, he would not forgive, but he would learn to go on. He was of Famine. That was their way. "Perhaps you can tell me some of my new home as we attempt to wrangle the spitting beast?" he offered.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 10:38 am
Lovely creature? An odd statement, but Malodore bowed in response anyway. "A pleasure - I am Malodore, a plague doctor. My kind tends to be extremely insular. They, ah... I believe the term is 'don't get out much'? I am somewhat of an anomaly."
It nodded at the other's request. "Of course. Is there anything in particular you would like to know? I primarily devote my time to my studies and experiments, so I am afraid if you wish to know anything about Halloween popular culture, you must ask someone else. For other inquiries, I shall do my best." It opened its beak in a small smile.
Then it turned to survey the alpaca, closing its beak. "How, precisely, does one 'wrangle'?"
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 12:28 pm
"Experiments?" Fai asked, latching onto the one word that caught his attention. "Please, do tell me of your experiments! I'm afraid I've never experimented on things from this area, and seeing as I've yet to rebuild my green house, I suppose it will have to wait," he said before looking at the alpaca.
For a long moment he seemed thoughtful. "Perhaps if one of us distracts it while the other beats it into submission?"
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 10:16 am
Malodore brightened a bit at the Horseman's enthusiasm. "Ah, you too are a scientist? My focus is the natural sciences, particularly medicine... rather obviously," it added, wryly. "Though my passion is by my own choice, rather than a mere biological imperative. You work with plants, then? I recall the excellent facilities... ah, si," it finished, awkwardly, as its sense of propriety caught up with its own excitement.
To cover its embarrassment, it turned to study the alpaca again. It seemed rather harmless, but it was sure Faiyum would not have overestimated the beast. "I am not very good at beating, if blunt force trauma is required. My skill lies more in incisions."
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 12:55 pm
"Medicines, you say," Fai said, looking more closely at the boil. He was young, yes, but as an alchemist and a Famine horseman, it would be a horrible thing to not use resources that are at hand. "I had been working on something along those lines before... the incident. One of my very close friends has this small problem with coughing up blood. I was onto something, but, well, my notes were on the isle," he said.
Then he sighed, looking at the alpaca. "I can perhaps try my hand at it. I am not, by nature, a violent horseman. I prefer my plants to do that part for me."
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 2:55 pm
"Perhaps I could provide some resources, in the future," Malodore offered. "I am about to begin an apprenticeship underneath the nurse at this school. And... I, ah... after my brief education in alchemy under Bulbous Rex, I was given some seeds... if you would like them, you are welcome to them." That class felt like it was so long ago. The cavern they had learned in no longer existed. It was possible, even probable, that Bulbous no longer existed either... so much, all lost in an instant.
Back to the alpaca: "I am, alas, not physically strong, but I could... throw a rock?" There were always bits of rocks around, old crumbled gravestones, that sort of thing. "Do they respond at all to FEAR attacks?"
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
5, 7
Total: 12 (2-16)
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 5:41 pm
"No, please, keep your seeds," Fai said with a slight smile. "I always keep a well organized pouch of seeds from all the isles, I have plenty to start over with," he explained. "Perhaps a rock would help, I'm not certain, honestly. These are the Death Priestesses'... pets, I suppose you could say."
In other words he knew just about as much as the plague doctor did on this. Idly he looked around, then sighed and moved forward. "Excuse me, but you really do need to go back to the clan--"
One of his plant's heads rushed forward, taking a bit out of the alpaca, and earning a strange sound and a jerk of the alpaca's body, hitting Fai in the chest.
"Precious, please, I'm trying to negotiate," Fai complained.
Fai's HP: 35/40
DMG: 4
Alpaca's HP: 26/30
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Sosiqui rolled 2 10-sided dice:
5, 5
Total: 10 (2-20)
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 1:36 pm
Malodore nodded. "Of course - let us 'wrangle'," it said, the bemused quotation marks around the word nearly audible. After Faiyum took his shot, Malodore flared its wings and pulled off a scapel-like feather, letting fly at the alpaca.
Unfortunately, the alpaca also had a distance weapon; Faiyum hadn't been kidding about the spitting. "What is this substance?" Malodore said in horror, wiping a horrible glob off of its mask.
Mal HP: 45/50
DMG: 4
Alpaca's HP: 22/30
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
8, 7
Total: 15 (2-16)
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 2:36 pm
Fai looked at the substance thoughtfully, cocking his head slightly. "I do believe it's spittle mixed with grass and perhaps regurgitated grass as well," he summed up. "It would be interesting to see how many stomachs these have, perhaps the Death Priestess wouldn't notice if she was missing one?"
He clearly planned to dissect the poor thing. For science's sake, of course. Perhaps precious sensed or even understood his plans for the beast, because several heads shot out, taking more bites out of the creature--it was best to eat before Fai got scientific, the plant had decided long ago. Otherwise he would destroy it with all sorts of foul tasting chemicals and such.
Fai's HP: 30/40
DMG: 7
Alpaca's HP: 15/30
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Sosiqui rolled 2 10-sided dice:
1, 5
Total: 6 (2-20)
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 2:37 pm
"Oh, si! The Advanced Hob Laboratories have a fairly good set-up, for a non-professional facility at least... I always carry a few scalpels with me, though-"
Splat.
Malodore recoiled. It had gotten so wrapped up in the allure of Science that it had forgotten the alpaca wasn't already laid out on the slab.
"... I suppose we should subdue it, first."
Mal HP: 40/50
DMG: nope
Alpaca's HP: 15/30
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Ice Queen rolled 2 8-sided dice:
7, 1
Total: 8 (2-16)
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 2:47 pm
"Yes, of course, we hardly want it jumping off the table while we're dissecting it," Fai agreed. He liked this being, he decided. He wasn't sure what gender it was, but that meant little to nothing to the famine alchemist. The pure love and pursuit of science was something he admired.
Of course, precious was far more logical in this matter--unfortunately for precious, it was also a plant. And thus, in the eyes of the alpaca--EDIBLE.
Fai jerked slightly, looking down as the alpaca tried to bite off one of his hair's heads. "Excuse me, but precious is not for consumption," he told the alpaca.
Fai's HP: 25/40
DMG: nada LOL
Alpaca's HP: 15/30
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