It's sun, surf, and skin at the beach, along with enough odd occurrences to raise flags at Deus HQ. Your orders are to investigate a certain beach while posing undercover as a lifeguard. In your red swimsuit, with a whistle, bullhorn, and really tall chair at your disposal, there's every chance you look like someone ready to run attractively down the coat in order to save lives in a really glamorous way.
Quote:
Morning
Roll 2d8 for two prompts
1. Someone falls in love with you and tries to spend most of the morning either hitting on you or drowning to catch your attention. (And get mouth to mouth.) 2. Somebody slips and falls in the shower! You need to deliver some extremely awkward first aid.. 3. A child on a floaty drifts far out into the water. They're crying loudly and people are panicking and it's your chance to be a hero of the people! 4. You step down and the squishes to reveal something brown stuck to your foot. It's poop. 5. Your sunblock was not actually sunblock. You smell like bacon for the rest of the day. 6. You think you see a sea monster, but it's just some kids having a water noodle fight. 7. A fight breaks out nearby, a dance fight. Someone challenges you! 8. A mob of adorable and adoring children surround your high and mighty lifeguard throne. They seem impressionable and willing to start a cult for you, if only out of boredom while their moms participate in their beachside bookclub.
Quote:
Afternoon
Roll 1d4
1. Illegal Substances
Select one or several or all from these prompts: - A group of people are acting oddly, they appear jumpy and nervous, even in the light of day. - You notice groups forming and breaking up regularly, and people acting secretive nearby. You glimpse money changing hands at least once. - Someone has what looks at first like a seizure on the beach. They cough up what looks like a half eaten candy onto the sand. Touching it, you realize it's something very like the FEAR candies that get fed to minipets. - Several times you're called out to rescue people stranded on rocks in shallow water, who refuse to swim back themselves out of fear that they will drown.
2. The Temple
Select one or several or all from these prompts: - A parent notices their child has gone missing and a search is called. - You notice several birds seem to disappear into thin air around a section of the cliffs. - Someone comes to you complaining of some sort of poison ivy on the beach. What you find is a patch of plants that are not native to this part of the world, growing near a section of the cliffs.
You eventually approach the cliffs, and with your weapon's help, see beyond the illusion to reveal an intricately carved opening that leads into a temple.
3. Terror of the Deep
Select one or several or all from these prompts: - Beach goers begin to complain they something is pulling them down into the water. You have to help at least one person having a panic attack. - Several people complain (and several more are all praise) concerning "the topless girl on the rock". Every time you go to look, though, the place they referred to is empty. - You hear a strange song that pulls to you. A man walks into the water without trying to swim as his family shouts for help, it's up to you to rescue him!
4. Wild Card
Select your choice of the above prompts.
Quote:
Evening
Illegal Substances Your investigations lead you to a someone selling small candies you may recognize as similar to FEAR candies.
Encounter
Roll 1 d4
1. You find the source at an evening bonfire. Partygoers are strange and manic as they dance, or huddle, or even cry to themselves, shivering all the while. There is at least one injury that needs to be treated due to someone hurting themselves in a sudden, panicked attempt flee nothing in particular. One person seems to be unaffected, and as you approach them you may recognize them as another hunter, one Obadiah Thompson. They lack recent scars however, and don't recognize you at all. When you approach them, they run off into the night. If you follow, you'll find yourself suddenly attacked by a being that is definitely not a hunter. Mob: Hunter Clone HP: 60 + regen (it will heal constantly, blood being sucked back into wounds and sealed over as if nothing happened) Auto Damage: 5 Special: Every time you do 8 or more damage, you may remove a limb. Remove 2 limbs, and you will capture the clone.
Should you fail, a stranger tries to rescue you. Roll 1 d10 to determine if they survive. (6-10 means they live.)
2. You notice something off about one of the people you kept seeing in groups. Following them later, you notice they don't go to the parking lot or any of the small parties. instead they go into the showers after everyone is gone, despite not being dressed for swimming or showing any interest in the water all day. You enter the shower just in time to see them removing their face. The illusion drops, and you find a creature slowly removing a suit made of actual human skin. Nearby is another human, knocked out but still alive, probably their spare. The Dealer is a creature of Halloween in disguise. Upon seeing you they try to run. Roll 1d20 to keep them from escaping, 13-20 is success. Mob: Dealer Creature (species/race is your choice) HP: 40 Auto Damage: 3 Special: If you bring their HP between 1-5 then you may capture them and bring them back to Deus. Otherwise they dissipate when they hit 0.
Should you fail, a stranger will try to rescue you. Roll 1 d10 to determine if they survive. (6-10 means they live.)
3. You notice people going in a strange direction, and follow a group to what looks like an abandoned warehouse. Sneaking past security, you discover what seems to be an underground fight club of sorts. Blending in, you notice a large number of audience members appear affluent. Many of them seem to be wearing special glasses, and you overhead someone complaining about them while admitting they were necessary to see the whole show. Your eyes catch sight of a number of people acting much the same as those on the beach had, and witness several of them putting candies in their mouth. In the center of the building is a cage, and within it there is a human with a regular weapon trying to fend off some sort of monster as the crowd cheers on the bloodshed. In the heated frenzy of the fight, one of the spectators clutching at the cage suddenly gets hit with some sort of slimy, smoking substance and begins screaming. There are people rushing to subdue the creature in the ring, but no one knows what to do with the sudden victim. It'll be up to you to help them.
Roll 1 d10 to determine if they survive. (6-10 means they live.) If they live, you'll be able to sneak out without drawing negative attention. If they die, roll 1d20. 13-20 means you're successful. Anything lower and you're pursued, constantly being shot at and sometimes hit until you can find a quiet place to stand still and use your pendant to get out.
4. Wild Card
Select your choice of the above prompts.
The Temple You enter the temple, and the air of it is different from the beach. Turning around you notice the exit is now gone. Horseman runes are carved along stone walls, alongside the intricate patterns carved by a vast multitude of insects through the ages.
Encounter
Roll 2 d8, for two prompts. You may roll more if you'd like.
1. You enter an empty room, full of dust. 2. You enter a room filled with vines that seem to shift and move in the corner of your eyes. There's a patch of red blooms in one corner, and closer inspection leads to the realization that they are growing through a human body. If you have any open wounds, you'll soon begin to have audio hallucinations and even feel something crawling under your skin. When you get back to Deus, the infirmary will give you something to purge the vines growing within you, and you may end up with a vine-like or even floral scar from the experience. 3. You find a room filled with clothes and accessories. If you are on for looting bodies, you'll find several expensive watches, jewelry, and even some wallets. You end up with about a thousand dollars worth of finds you can comfortably carry. 4. You find a room filled with neat piles of body parts. At your presence, they begin to shift and move. If you choose to run, roll 1d20. Anything over 13 means you successfully escape and close the room's door to keep whatever was in there, inside. Fail, and you find yourself overwhelmed by humanoids with shifting features that settle quickly into your features. Clone Mob HP: ??? Auto Damage: none Special: You must land an attack four consecutive times to escape them. If you miss even once, they overwhelm you. You wake up later, naked and alone except for your weapon totem. 5. You find a room full of old scrolls and dried herbs. Diagrams of bodies, both human and otherwise, have been tattooed across large leaves, still supple despite their obvious age. 6. You find a beautiful underground orchard with a fountain at the center. 7. You encounter a passageway full of traps, roll 1d20 to determine how much damage it does to you. Roll 1d10 to treat your wounds. 8. There is a click as you step down, and a section of wall slides up to reveal a massive beetle. It barrels toward you all pincers and shell. Beetle Mob HP: 30 Auto damage: 3 Special: Whenever you miss, it blocks your next attack for 3 on top of its auto damage!
Terror of the Deep Eventually you catch the mysterious girl, and there is no doubt at all she's a mermaid.
Encounter
Roll 1 d4
1. They try to run away. To them from escaping, roll 1d20, 10 and over is a success. The mermaid is extremely frightened of you, and tries to explain that it was juts fun, and nobody had gotten hurt, and that she'd only stayed in the area all day because her tail had been injured on some glowing netting earlier. You can choose to help her with her injury so she can leave or fight her. Mermaid Mob: HP: 30 Auto Damage: 3 Special: Special: If you bring their HP between 1-5 then you may capture them and bring them back to Deus. Otherwise they dissipate when they hit 0.
2. She is friendly and just wants to talk for awhile. She doesn't understand what's the problem with teasing a few humans at all. It's very lonely and boring where she lives. If you try to convince her to be weaponized, she will agree very easily.
3. What seemed like one mermaid was actually two, they don't run away or talk, they just attack you. HP: 25 x 2 Auto Damage: 2 per mermaid left Special: Special: If you bring their HP between 1-5 then you may capture them and bring them back to Deus. Otherwise they dissipate when they hit 0.
4. Wild Card
Select your choice of the above prompts.
ayeavast
Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 9:13 pm
This really, really, reeeeeaaaaaallllly wasn't what Abbi had expected would happen on her promotion mission. The beach had been, if not wholly expected, at least partially simply because she lived on an Island, it seemed reasonable that one would show one's worth at their home. Going undercover wasn't a real surprise, not that she had been off Island more than maybe twice, she had had to pretend she was someone different when she had so that was easy. Investigating something potentially spooky, also not a far fetched idea, it was her job, after all, to weed out the shadows in the night. All of that had been clearly explained to her once she arrived at the portal, excited and all too eager, her phone clutched in her hand with the message to arrive for her promotion still flashing on the screen. The bathing suit had been a surprise though.
"Why's it gotta be red?" The teen mumbled out loud as she shimmied into the thing the next morning, honestly more upset that she had to be up so early. The sun had only been up a few hours more than her and it didn't have to wear some stupid bathing suit. Half the reason she had to arrive so early was to scope out the area, but also to make herself look the part. All her recent jogging had really defined otherwise normal looking muscles and while she had serious doubts about who would let a ginger man a life guard tower, at least she was able to assure the higher up's who'd assigned her the mission that she was well acquainted with all the necessary understandings of first aid. Maybe that was why they had handed her the red bathing suit and whistle, though thankfully she had been permitted to don an additional garment, all in the name of preventing a severe burn given her lack of tanning ability.
Once properly suited, the teen left the shower stall she had claimed despite no one else being there and snatched up the red, sheer shirt off the bench. She didn't put it on quite yet, instead tossed it and her bag onto a shelf next to the full sized mirror at the front of the women's bathroom, just inside the door. "Wow... This makes my boobs look awesome!" Abbi cooed to herself as she tried a few poses in front of the mirror, a bright smile splashed across her mouth, honestly proud of herself as she pinned her hair up into two rather large buns. The whole mission was about being undercover, so an additional disguise to her hair was needed. Although no one would know her here on some Californian coast, she still felt it a prudent thing to do. That also meant taking a fake name, just in case anyone asked, of which the girl was quite distracted with deciding on. There were a lot of options, all various aliases taken from her favorite fictional characters, but there was one thing she wouldn't be able to fake.
Her right leg moved forward, the toes pointed down so that the whole of the limb was showcased in the mirror. No garment appropriate for the beach could cover the scars. Not the small, thin lines that she had plastered bandaids on before, and certainly not the wide blooms of pink skin that had healed in awkward attempts at flowers on her shins, left over reminders of the Sahara. Remembering that makes her sad, for Nevada had been there. The older girl had been so kind, had carried Abbi to safety and brushed bugs off her shoulders and pigtails and together they had tried to get Stormy back. Everyone had come out so hurt and broken from that event, but there was one person the teen couldn't even see anymore. "Hey Vivi... What's Nevada's name spelled backwards?" The leg was pulled back, a hip jutted out for a pose and then returned to rights.
{ ...Adaven. } A moment of silence as Abbi turned her back to the mirror, twisted her waist and looked at herself over her shoulder. "What do you think about... Adaven? Addie for short." Two jagged, dark pink lines curved over the girl's shoulder blades, peeked out from under the low back of her red bathing suit to curl up on an otherwise pale, mildly freckled back. { Ah think it sounds a lot like yer regular name. Not good for... Whassit? Undercover work? } One fingertip edged toward the top of the left scar, brushed over the pucker that had healed in record time. "Adaven Shepard. Addie Shepard. I like it. Suitable for a cute ginger like me." Viveca rolled her eyes, but Abbi only grinned. The red tunic was shrugged on, followed by sandals and a liberal application of a high SPF sunscreen. Maybe this would be fun! Sure, she had to scout a beach for something weird and creepy and get rid of it, but that didn't mean she couldn't actually enjoy the beach first. And given how down she'd been for the past few months, she was going to make the absolute best of looking hot in some stupid Baywatch swimsuit, accompained with an overdose of smiles.
AyeAvast
Sparkly Bunny
Offline
AyeAvast rolled 1 8-sided dice:
6Total: 6 (1-8)
AyeAvast
Sparkly Bunny
Offline
Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 10:01 pm
From up on the top of the lifeguard chair, Abbi could see practically everything on the beach. It was like being Lady of the Beach... And she much preferred to be down among the people, poking her head in between chatting groups to ask how their day was going, waving energetically at the children who ran up and down the shore, and even going as far as to count laps for the man who looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger and The Rock had a baby. "You're at 16! 4 more to go!" The teen called from the edge of the water, only a quick wave from the man any indication that he'd heard her at all before he dove down to swim off.
The morning had started very slowly, for the first two hours only early morning joggers who had no interest in the water inhabited the beach. They all raced by pretty quickly, giving the teen nothing to really guard, so she turned to her phone. Able to pick up a Wifi signal from a nearby hotel, Abbi sat crouched in the chair with her phone nearly touching her nose and watched the first two episodes of the new Sailor Moon anime. By the time she had finished, she was teary eyed and excited to make a difference, which definitely explained her enthusiasm to keeping the people who finally trickled onto the beach safe. Normally chatty, Abbi was totally surprised to find that nothing she said was really given more than a mild eye blink, even when she started telling a mother about the chemical make up of sunscreen. They only smiled and nodded and introduced their two children to the lifeguard before moving along to find a place to set up.
{ Tch. Are all humans so absent? } "Nah... I don't think that's it..." The teen mused as she headed back to her chair, thinking on why no one found her strange as she climbed up the ladder. Do ya think its cause I'm a lifeguard?" { I don' follow } The girl moved around in her chair, pretended to adjust her cover up but really just unbuttoned another snap. "I just mean like... I can save them if something happens. And not like in the spooky way, like... More basic." She sighed, leaned back, her hands stuck down between her knees. "I'm basically in a position of power... When I was just some kid in high school... Everyone thought I was weird. Now I'm a Lifeguard... With great boobs... So maybe they think I'm Somebody now." Both girl and ghost shrugged, one after the other as neither of them really had any thoughts other than speculation. "No one's even said anything about my legs either." { Yeah, well. Ain't nobody got any room to say nothin'. Ah've seen more bad tattoos here than all my years undead. Fer Jack's sake... }
Both hands covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud, mostly because people would really think she was odd if they found her laughing to herself. But so far this wasn't so bad! Not what she had expected, and maybe it would have been more fun with a friend along, but Abbi didn't mind. Used to going things on her own, she still found a lot of enjoyment in her own solidarity, this mission made all the better because she did really love the beach. And goodness, was she glad there weren't any scary things in the waters! She hadn't really gotten a chance to swim, since she was technically on duty and all, but it had been hours since she'd taken her post and not once had Abbi seen anything untoward in the waters! Everything was... Peaceful.
Until she saw a purple tentacle curl up from the water, only to splash under an oncoming wave. With a start the teen sat up in her chair, eyes wide as she stared into the water. That hadn't... She couldn't have just seen what she thought she had... But maybe she had? After all, Deus had sent her to this beach because something weird had been going on and they'd flagged it for inspection. And they weren't the kind of people to flag things if the reports coming in were only for something the police could deal with. They would have only been concerned if it was definitely, at least highly possibly, Halloween related. How could Abbi have been so stupid? To think this was just going to be a fun excursion to the beach, that the worst she'd come away with was a sunburn despite her liberal and constant reapplication of sunscreen? They had sent her here to investigate, not play nice with the beach bums.
"I can't believe I'm such an idiot." She mumbled to herself as she slid down the ladder and made her way toward the shore. A few eyes found her moving form and looked out at the spot in the water she was staring at, those with more nervous dispositions attune to potential worries. The girl stopped at the end of a wave that curled over her toes and ran away, another crashing on its tail. The purple tentacle hadn't come back, but a green one had appeared now, waved angrily in the air before it too disappeared into a wave. A loud roar, very different from the ocean's own, floated on the wind alongside an ethereal "keekeekee" and Abbi squinted against the harsh blue sky to try and make out what was in the water.
"JOEY! Don't hit your brother like that!"
The girl jumped, whirled around to see a woman standing only a few feet from her. Both hands were on her hips and she was pointing at the sea monster. Abbi blinked twice before she looked back out into the surf and saw... Two boys, one with a purple swim noodle and the other with a green one. She laughed and waved a hand at the woman. "I'm sure they're ok. I got whacked in the face with one of those once and I didn't even get a bruise!" The mother looked at her, laughed and nodded, before she turned back around and yelled at her boys again. A bit embarrassed, Abbi hustled back up the beach and hurried back up onto her tall chair. { Ye might be the one in charge around here, but ye got a lot to learn about responsibility, eh Little Bit? } Abbi didn't say anything, instead engrossed with picking at the hem of her sheer tunic.
Morning 1
6. You think you see a sea monster, but it's just some kids having a water noodle fight.
AyeAvast rolled 1 8-sided dice:
8Total: 8 (1-8)
Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 10:17 pm
Initially deflated from her less than fantastic Hunter abilities, Abbi spent the next hour or so just sitting in her chair, her mind alight with a multitude of thoughts. She had been completely caught up in her acting, had totally forgotten that she was here for a reason. That something needed investigating. But what? It had been a good few hours and nothing strange had happened. Not beyond people actually taking her seriously, but that wasn't really strange, it at least it shouldn't be. So that was out, but everything else seemed fine. It was sunny, the water wasn't rough but still had some decent waves the kids could ride on floaties without worries of being pulled under, and everyone seemed in good spirits. If Abbi started asking if anything weird was happening, people would question her back and right now she just wouldn't be able to think of a good alibi.
"I'm the worst Hunter. Who let me Hunt. How do hunt?" Abbi moaned as she dropped her face into her hands. She was supposed to be protecting these people and she was failing... It was a full tilt pity party up in the life guard's chair until a small voice sounded from down below. "Hey lady! Whatcha doin'?" The teen sighed and looked down between her fingers to see a group of around five or so children at the base of her chair. They each were watching her intently, covered in various combinations of sunscreen and sand. "I'm... I'm protecting the beach! What are you all doing?" "We're BORED." The one who appeared to be the ring leader, a blonde boy with glasses announced. Abbi laughed, mostly because one couldn't be in the act of bored, but she wasn't going to argue semantics with a group of kids. Instead she propped her elbows on her knees, dropped her face into her hands to grin back at them. "What about your parents? Are they bored too?" All at once the children turned and pointed to a spot down the beach where a collection of large umbrellas loomed over a group of ladies, each with a book in their laps. "Our moms are in the Beach Bookclub." A brunette in two long braids squinted up at Abbi and spoke around a gaggle of missing or half grown in teeth. "They meet a lot... But they're boring."
Wow, a Beach Bookclub. Damn, if Abbi had known she could have gone to a beach bookclub and live such a simple life of talking literature by the sea before she left for Deus she might have reevaluated her life. It would be fun to start a similar club on Island, but at the same time the beach wasn't quite as tame as it was here. "So what's the book they're reading about this month?" Most of the kids shrugged, but a dark skinned boy rose his hand. Abbi smiled and pointed at him for the answer, of which he gave in a loud shout. "SOMETHING ABOUT A CULT." "What's a cult?" Another girl asked, echoed by two others. They all looked at the Lifeguard. "Its um.... Its a group of people who are like... Following someone?" How did you explain something like a cult to little kids? If she told them about brainwashing they would tell their parents and she could get into trouble! ...Maybe. Kids were weird.
"WHAT IF WE FOLLOW YOU?" Abbi shook her head and waved her hands at the children. "You guys do not wanna follow me... Especially in a cult. Cult people look up to their leader and worship them and its really spooky." "WE WANNA BE IN YOUR CULT!" Now three of them were shouting at her, the others starting to get excited by the bright thinkers in their group. The more Abbi waved her hands in a reply of 'No', the more the kids started to yell and it was when the teen looked over to see that their mothers had begun to notice that she finally relented with a wail of "FIIIINE!". All at once the children erupted into cheering, which thankfully appeased the mother's worried looks. "But if you're gonna follow me like... At least call me The Shepard, ok?" Quiet for a moment, each child looked at its fellow before they all looked up at Abbi and spoke at once. "Yes, The Shepherd." Kids were cute, but kind of creepy sometimes too.
Morning 2
8. A mob of adorable and adoring children surround your high and mighty lifeguard throne. They seem impressionable and willing to start a cult for you, if only out of boredom while their moms participate in their beachside bookclub.
AyeAvast
Sparkly Bunny
Offline
AyeAvast rolled 1 4-sided dice:
4Total: 4 (1-4)
AyeAvast
Sparkly Bunny
Offline
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 7:08 pm
Awarded a packed lunch of a pretty decent sandwich, alongside a few snacks not all of which were necessarily healthy, Abbi decided to continue taking her undercover work seriously and ate in her chair. It offered a deal of shade, which was nice since she could feel her legs and cheeks cooking in the sun and was sure she would be red faced for a week after this. Then she would peel... Great. That would be such a sarcastically awesome return to Deus after getting to parade around in a bathing suit as the hot lifeguard and then go back a lobster. Ah well, she could make the most of it for now and enjoy her little gaggle of children crowded around her chair, all eating their own lunches. "Anybody got anything good?" Abbi asked around a bite of sandwich, bending over to grin at her little followers. "I got a sandwich." "Me too." Two others agreed. "Some sort of salad." Everyone awww'd the kid and Abbi offered him a bag of chips. Things seemed fairly easy, the teen totally unsure why this beach had been flagged at all. Thankfully, or well unfortunately, she didn't have to wait long to find out.
Hardly a full minute after Abbi had forced her little sheep to scatter back to their parents for a little while, a woman approached her, looking stricken and shaky. After a bit of poking, as gentle as possible given the woman's seemingly fragile condition, she finally told her about something that had pulled her leg underwater. "Pulled your leg? That's kind of... Weird? Like... Someone in the water?" The words were hardly out of her mouth before a teenage boy jumped into the conversation and quite vehemently agreed with the first woman. It took some time, but Abbi managed to calm them both down and promised to watch out for anyone being sneaky. It was probably just some prankster, or some seaweed or something! Nothing to worry about! That's what she told them, at least. Abbi knew better as she marched back to her chair, taking a more proactive stance once she got to the top. Her eyes scanned the waters, but her mind was turning with the possibilities. Was this why Deus had flagged the beach? Or was it something else? Was this just a red herring? "Ha ha... Red herring... At the beach. Oh I'm funny."
It was like the flood gates opened after that, people kept coming up to her post and telling her things, asking her to help with this or that, nearly nonstop. Abbi had figured everyone would clear out for lunch and come back later, or the ones who brought their food would be too sleepy from a full belly and the sun to really be very active, but she was rather wrong. Reports of someone pulling on swimmer's legs were most common, though no one seemed to experience anything other than a gentle tug on their ankle, but there also came a report of a topless girl out on the rocks that littered the far west side of the beach. There was a grotto over there, off limits to most beach goers since the waters were rougher around the rocks and since the public had a general habit of getting hurt when they got curious. Not at all sure what to do about the girl, Abbi kind of floundered in the public scrutiny until one mom suggested she do something about it. "Do something? Like... Go get onto her?" This was definitely not the way to make everyone think she was fit for the position, but the mothers all nodded. "Get rid of her!" "Alright... I mean... Yeah. OK. Everyone stay safe, I'll be back... Soon."
Thankfully the rocks were only a short jog, at least when Abbi really put herself into the action, and the girl got there in no time at all. The beach from this point East was pretty tame, but a large rock formation hadn't been eroded from the sea and jutted out into the waters. One had to hop onto the rocks to cross over in front of the grotto's entrance, but that was tucked back away from the beach. People would have had to climb the slick rocks to even reach it and though Abbi was careful, she still almost fell into the ocean a few times. Curiosity, and a natural instinct to actually try and help the people making reports, drove the girl to at least stand at the front of the grotto to peer in. It was mostly dark, even if Viveca was quite vocal about the fact she could light the area, but the teen was disinclined to venture further. No one was here, not even in the general area of here, so Abbi left. It was another tick in the mystery she was trying to even figure out, let alone unravel, but she couldn't write it down like she wanted. With nothing else to do, and a beach to look after, the girl ran back to her post just in time to find a small group huddled around her chair.
It took some shouting, but the group parted to reveal a young preteen in the middle, clinging to her mother and breathing deeply, cleary upset to the verge of having a panic attack. "What's wrong? What happened? Is she ok?" "S-s-s-s-somethin-g-g puh-pulled me under the w-water!" Abbi crouched down in front of the girl, offered both her hands to her palm up. "Hey, hey slow down ok? Here, take my hands." The girl looked at her with wild eyes, concerned for a moment, but slid shaking hands into Abbi's. "Now take a long, deep breath in through your nose. Hold it for a second and let it out you mouth. Yeah! Just like that, now do it again!" Familiar with such intense panic, Abbi lead the girl through some more breathing exercises until she seemed able to tell her story. "I was... Just floating on my raft and something grabbed my leg. I shook it off, I thought it was like... I don't know, I don't know... But it grabbed me again and pulled me off my raft and under the water!" "Did it feel like anything? Like a hand? You keep saying grabbed, did it feel like fingers? Could you see anything?" The girl shook her head, said she had closed her eyes and maybe hit it or kicked it before she was released. Those crowded around all mumbled to themselves, questioned what it could be, whether they should stay or go home, what to do. As much as she hated possibly putting people in more danger, Abbi told them all to just stay calm and try to relax for a few hours more. She was going to keep a serious look out, so they didn't have anything to worry about. If she saw someone pulling people under, she would handle.
That seemed an acceptable thing to do, for the people went back to their umbrellas and beach blankets to sit and watch the water. No one wanted to get in, or wade past the shallows, of which Abbi couldn't really blame them. She returned to her perch, but had hardly climbed the ladder before something started. It was an odd noise, like someone singing that floated on the air. "I think I... I know this song." { Ye sure its just a song, lassie? } She wasn't at all sure. But others had heard it, Abbi could see the children she had befriended all with their heads turned up to better catch the sound. A few people have begun to stand, even take a step toward the water, but its the shouting that catches Abbi's full attention. "The Shepherd! The Shepherd! Help!" With a whirl and a dramatic jump off her chair, Abbi sees the leader of her cult rushing toward her. His hands grab at one of her's in attempt to drag her somewhere. "Its my dad! He's walking into the water and he won't stop! He ignored Mom and now he's going out too far! He's really bad at swimming, he'll drown if you don't stop him!" Oh this was just great. But the teen let the little boy lead her to where a man was walking off into the waters, not even bothering to swim. "OK. Everyone... Just... Stay calm. Or calm-ish. Whatever happens don't come out into the water... And tell everyone else to stay on the shore? That's an order!" { Yer not their leader...} "For all they know, I sure as heck am!" Abbi told herself as she rushed the water's surface, finally took off her cover up to toss onto the shore before she dove into the water. Now was not the time to enjoy the water, but even though she was swimming to rescue someone, a part of her still appreciated the cool rush of the ocean. Jogging was one thing, but swimming was something she wasn't totally used to so by the time she reached the man, she was a bit winded. "H-hey! Mr Uh Dad... You uh... What are you doing out here?" The teen found her feet, though the water was at the bottom of her bust and each wave made worry about staying afloat. The man did not seem to notice her, but he at least was having a harder time moving forward. As for the song, it was much clearer now, its words not a language Abbi could place. "Look dude, we gotta go back to shore... You'll drown if you just keep walking and look there are much better songs out there!" She reached a hand out to hook on his elbow, but the man only pushed back on her until Abbi lost her footing and slipped under the water's surface.
She hadn't wanted to do this at all, but she was not going to let this man commit accidental suicide. Careful to hold her breath while under the water, Abbi summoned Viveca (who had serious protests about being completely submerged like this) before she stuck out the pole arm and hooked the blade around the man. Careful not to pull too hard or cut him, Abbi tugged until he too fell into the water. She popped up with a gasp, desummoned her weapon and waited for him to surface too. When it was apparent he wasn't going to without help, the teen went fishing.
With father in tow, and seeming to be more himself, Abbi began to lead him back toward the shore. Despite his shaking voice, he was polite and apologetic, talking quickly in attempt to reason his sudden trek into the water, but there was something strange the girl had seen. A flash of blonde hair had caught her vision, but it disappeared back into the water before she could chase after it. Careful watching showed the hair reappear a good number of yards away, closer to the grotto. Yeah, Abbi could work with that.
The Afternoon/ Terror of the Deep
- Beach goers begin to complain they something is pulling them down into the water. You have to help at least one person having a panic attack. - Several people complain (and several more are all praise) concerning "the topless girl on the rock". Every time you go to look, though, the place they referred to is empty. - You hear a strange song that pulls to you. A man walks into the water without trying to swim as his family shouts for help, it's up to you to rescue him!
AyeAvast rolled 1 4-sided dice:
2Total: 2 (1-4)
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 9:22 pm
As soon as her feet touched mostly dry sand, Abbi deposited the man to his family and bolted off down the shoreline. That grotto had to be housing whatever it was with the blonde hair that had been pulling people and singing them to the sea and Abbi had been tasked with getting rid of it. Which was exactly what she was going to do. { Careful Little Bit. She's probably a siren or somethin' similar. } Focused on finding things out, there was no reply to her headmate. There was only her feet against the sand and the rush of ocean water next to her, the two mingling so that the girl pretended it was her own theme music.
The rocks still tripped her up, their slick surfaces made all the worse with the tide beginning to rise. Abbi only fell once, bad enough to scruff her calf on the rock, but she used the pain to push her faster. If she didn't stop this now, someone was going to get hurt way worse than she did. Maybe it was a bit on the overly dramatic side of logical reasoning, but this was her chance. This was an opportunity for Abbi to really get something right, to shine all on her own and make a difference. It didn't feel over the top when she thought of it like that. At the entrance of the grotto she took a few moments to look back and make sure no one had followed her before she summoned Viveca. The runes glowed bright in the darkness of the cave, Abbi's eyes darting from side to side. "Alright... You! Come out! Show yourself!" Her voice echoed around, but it was the reply that startled her. "I'm right here!" A tiny shriek popped out, the teen shuffled backwards quickly with a wild swing of scythe that finally stopped a few inches from another face. The face was attached to a body that was sitting at the back of the cave and as Abbi's eyes adjusted to the low light, she saw it was not a normal body. "Ohmigosh you're a mermaid?" Wow! A real live mermaid! Only her hands looked really sharp and her teeth were pointy and her scales looked harsh. She was pretty, in a way, but mostly Abbi felt unnerved looking at her.
"Yeah! And you're a Human! Woooooow! One with a shiny weapon too..." "Yeah, I'm... Have you not heard of... Humans with weapons?" "Sure I have. Just not glowing ones like that." Huh... Weird... "Well! I'm going to show you what this weapon can really do!" The teen pulled back the scythe to ready a swing. "You've been terrorizing the people of this beach for too long!" Webbed hands shot into the air in a sign of defense, of pleading. The mermaid's formerly carefree expression had morphed to something startled, not at all scary like Abbi expected it to be. "No, please! I'm... I'm confused! I wasn't hurting anyone!" Eyebrows drew down on the teen's face, her scythe never once dropping from its initial position to strike. "I wasn't! I was only having a bit of fun! Its so lonely where I am, it was nice to see people... Even if it wasn't my people!" So, like The Little Mermaid! If she was blonde and had rusted scales and sharp fingernails. OK, sure... Abbi's mouth pursed for a moment while she thought it over, finally lowering the scythe a little. "Talk."
The mermaid was quite obliging in that regard, as well. She was exceptionally chatty, happy to have someone to listen even if that someone still held their weapon close to her body. There seemed no hesitation in her mannerisms or speech, no sign that she was worried at all. Part of Abbi felt that just meant she didn't look imposing enough as a Hunter, but she was only wearing a red bathing suit instead of her awesome coat, so she didn't stay upset about it for long. Exceptionally forthcoming about her life, Abbi ended up sitting in the cave for far longer than she expected, caught up with asking questions about the mermaid's life and why she would bother humans like she was. "Its part of who we are! But it was all in good fun... I didn't want to hurt anyone." Her voice sounded genuinely regretful. "You sound like... You like humans? I thought... I thought Halloween hated Humans?" What she would give for her notebook to jot all this down! Now the mermaid laughed, waved a webbed hand at the girl and flipped her spiny fin in a sign of mirth. "Not all of us! Some of us do, sure, but its not universal. Everyone's got their own opinion." "And what's yours?"
A moment of silence lapsed between the two, the glow of Abbi's scythe brightening in the quiet as though to remind the girl that her ghost was still there. The mermaid's face had taken on a far away look before she shrugged her shoulders. "They're not bad. Fun, sometimes a little easy to spook but... You're nice!" She smiled widely, surely meant to be sweet but all those rows of sharp teeth only made Abbi giggle nervously. With a sigh the teen leaned back against the cave wall, pursing her lips to think. "I'm not really sure what to do then... You obviously don't want to hurt people, but Humans are... Kinda squishy. And really easy to get riled up... If you stay here they'll hunt you down, most likely." Even if the existence of Halloween was pretty clear, the general public couldn't handle something like that. "So I can't leave you here..." "Please don't make me go back home! I barely managed to get out the first time, they'll never let me leave if I go back and everyone is so... Mean. And angry. I hate it there." Once again Abbi sighed, pushing up onto her feet. She bent down to retrieve Viveca and paused.
"Wait... You said you... You don't mind Humans?" One hand held the pole out while the other pressed a palm to her own forehead. "Yeah! If there are more like you, I like them!" That was meant as a compliment, but the girl was stuck in the track she was currently thinking on. "What if I brought you back with me? To the Island? You wouldn't be able to stay like you are... You'd be... Changed, just a little. Like this!" She held up her scythe as an example. "This is Viveca! She's from Halloween too! She was a will'o'the wisp! Er uh fae-something whatever. A ghost!" Glassy eyes blinked up at Abbi, unsure as to what she meant. "If you come back with me... You won't have to go home. I'll take you someplace safe. Someplace where... Where you'll get to pick out your own Human to follow and help and... And it'll be happier for you!" That was by far the worst explanation Abbi could have ever given on what would happen to the mermaid, but it was the best she had at the moment. And it seemed to work, for the mermaid smiled again a moment later and nodded her head.
Abbi could not bring her back to the beach and instead instructed her to stay in the grotto just a little longer. She promised to be back for her in just a little bit, promised to take her with her. The mermaid made no move or gave any indication that she would run, instead actually looked excited for the new place she could go. It felt strange, Abbi thought as she desummoned her weapon and headed back toward her lifeguard post, to convince someone to give up their life for something strange and unknown like that. { If ah recall correctly... I know a little bunneh that did just that thing too. } The teen laughed, "Yeah, I guess you're right." More time had passed than she expected, the sun was further down in the sky than it had been before and most of the beach had been cleared. That was for the best, really, since Abbi was starting to realize how exhausted she was and it would be easier to sneak away with less people watching.
One last time she crawled up the ladder to her chair, found her phone and sent a text message to the crew that had set up the portal to the beach for her. It was important to let them know she was bringing someone along, a someone of a certain kind, and was unwilling to surprise anyone who might be more of the 'fight first, ask questions later' inclination. Curious as to where her coverup ended up, Abbi figured it was a casualty of her promotion mission and didn't bother to look for it. She waved goodbye to the few people left over, didn't hesitate or give any indication that she would explain where she had gone or that the beach was safe. Instead she turned and began to march back down the beach, her sights set on the grotto once more. But leaving was never easy, as a voice from behind called out "The Shepherd!" and she found herself stopping. "What's up buddy?" The teen asked with a smile, turning around to see the blonde with glasses whose father she'd saved. "Here! You forgot this!" In his hands was clutched the sandy and still damp coverup she'd torn off. Blue eyes widened in gratitude before she took it from him, patting his head. "Thanks. I would have hated to lose this." "Thanks for saving my dad. And letting me be in your cult." "You gonna tell people about how The Shepherd saved your dad?" "And everyone on the beach!" She laughed and nodded. "Saved the whole beach? Wow, what an honor." The boy grinned at her and Abbi couldn't help herself before she pulled him into a quick hug. "If you ever need help, don't hesitate to ask. You never know who's gonna answer. Might be a Shepherd, might be a Hunter. But anyone who helps is good, ok?" Confused by her mysticism, he only nodded. Abbi let the child go, smiled at him and waved at his parents that he rushed back to before she turned to return home.
Today really did feel more like being a shepherd than a hunter, but as Abbi crawled back to the grotto, she didn't think that was a bad thing. Shepherds carried crooks to gently lead their sheep, but also to fight. She had a crook, one with a nasty blade and a sharp personality, but she would protect what she could. She would herd if able, even offering a hand to help the mermaid back into the sea. The creature's skin was slippery despite being out of the water for hours, and rough where it looked like it should be smooth. It was chillier than Abbi expected, but her smile was warm and she didn't swim away at all. She stayed in the shallows on the other side of the grotto, kept from the remaining beach goer's view by the rocks, and talked to Abbi who stood in them with her, the two even going quiet every once in a while to just enjoy the ocean. Too busy staring at the horizon, Abbi didn't see the portal open up behind her, didn't notice at all until someone called her name. It wasn't the fake name she'd thought up for herself and hardly got a chance to use, and it wasn't the name she had taught the little kids to call her. But the teen turned with a smile and a wave, motioned for the mermaid to follow her and headed home. So even if she would peel like an onion in a few days and no one she knew got to see her in her slamming bathing suit, Abbi still got to visit the beach all day and save everyone. And today, she had saved every last one of them.
