Everything was so...tall! Beth felt that she must have traveled for miles, scampering under leaves and climbing roots twice her height. It might have been easier without the large, metal pin she'd been compelled to drag with her.
She had fallen down the very steep incline of a tree trunk--tumbling right into the water of the bayou. She swam for solid ground, clutching the disk of metal between her teeth even as it threatened to drag her down below the surface of the green water.
Crawling into the mud, she shivered, suddenly freezing cold, her ears swiveling around as she localized the sound of perils--predators everywhere around her. It wasn't far enough. She could run until her little heart hammered its last against her breast bone and she still wouldn't be safe.
Perhaps if she had retained her human form, she would have curled up in a fetal position and cried in the mud. As it was, she did the dormouse equivalent. Her body was racked with shudders and she, strangely, felt like a nice long nap might help. She pulled herself up into what seemed to be a solid resting spot, sheltered from wind, rain, and the idle animal who might find her a tasty snack. Hiding behind the pin seemed like an effective plan.
As she slipped off, she had the presence of mind to hope that her friends found her. But would they know where to search? Would they even make the attempt?
Quote:
This is not a monster fight but a spar with any PC that has been turned into an animal. We suggest two Chosen per turned PC!
Turned PCs do damage based on their weapon weight. This means that base damage and bonuses match the standard weapons:
Balanced weapons, or weapons of a middling/average weight, do a base of 6 damage. Agile weapons, or weapons that are small and light, do a base of 4 damage but give +1 to your hit roll. Heavy weapons, or weapons that are big and heavy, do a base of 10 damage but give -1 to your hit roll.
However, in this case, PCs always attack first. Instead of rolling init, the class of your weapon is used to determine HP.
Turned PCs with Ranged weapons have 60HP. Turned PCs with Melee weapons have 70HP. Turned PCs with Defensive weapons have 80HP.
Once Turned PCs are brought down to 5HP or below, they can OOC choose to submit to capture -- aka, taken back to camp and kept safe until a solution to the problem can be found -- or run away, at which point they escape the thread and recover all HP for their next battle. Either way, all parties who participate in the thread get standard Spar XP: 10XP for completing the spar, and an additional 10XP if they hit 800 words.
Until PCs have been captured, they cannot participate in any kind of thread except this one. After capture, they can do PRPs or battles with other players, but still cannot speak.
Weapon: Whip (agile ranged) HP: 60/60 Dmg:
Character Name:Beth Almasy Brief description of character: A sweet but skittish beauty who's lived in the lap of luxury her whole life, Beth doesn't quite know what she's doing. She's always willing to support and cheer on her friends, mostly so she doesn't actually have to lift a finger.
Deity: Hera WC: 248, Total: 248
Shaddaling
Mika_Yumi
shortgreen
grasshopper pie
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 1:07 pm
Lex walked out of the swamp, somewhat frantic, okay, completely frantic. Beth had turned into an ity, bity mouse. Who was in a swamp! Where there was alligator and all sorts of predators and dangerous and she was so tiny. He was concern, and rightfully so. And ended up running about to find Brian, because Beth was a mouse! He needed help to find her.
Now a group was gathered he was back into the swamp, leading the group back where he and Beth had defeated the fox, and where Beth had had her accident.
“… Rather sure this is where she ended up turned,” It certainly looked familiar. “Beth! Are you around here?” Why did she have to turn into a mouse!
Yekaterin
Mika_Yumi
shortgreen
grasshopper pie
Shaddaling
Wrathful Shapeshifter
Offline
Mika_Yumi
Dapper Dabbler
Offline
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 10:51 pm
Sylvia had only met Lex once before, in the battle with the macaw Sid, but the brief encounter, he’d seemed like a fairly collected person. So when he came out of the swamp looking frazzled, she worried a bit. She kept an eye on him as he ran to find Brian, brows furrowed as she followed to see if everything was alright. As it turned out, it wasn’t alright – Beth had apparently been turned as well. Into a dormouse, no less! A teeny tiny dormouse running around in a lush, green, wet swamp. She could understand why Lex was so worried, and of course she offered to help and find her and, hopefully, bring her back to camp safely.
When they arrived at the clearing, Sylvia tried to scan the area for any sign of Beth, but the truth was that she wasn’t sure where to look. Or that she would even see Beth if her eyes crossed her. There was a reason humans had to create mouse traps – they weren’t very good at actually finding the tiny things, so they had to lure them out. Could they lure Beth out similarly? Not only that, but how long had it been since Lex had left the area where Beth turned? If she was as afraid as the others had been, she had surely run, and who knew how far her tiny legs had carried her?
“Uhm, did she run like the others? Did you maybe see what direction she was headed? That… might give us some small clue of where to start looking, at least…” She had no idea where to start. But they had a good group, they were all determined to find her – and one of them was turned into a serval cat, which would undoubtedly be useful. Realizing this, Sylvia spun to find Misha, crouching to speak with her, “Do you have any idea where she might be? If anyone has an advantage in this situation, I think you’re it.” Ironic, given the situation, but true.
[ 339 words ]
Yekaterin
Shaddaling
ShortGreen
grasshopper pie
Character Name:Sylvia Owens Brief description of character: Sweet, optimistic, always trying to be helpful – even if it means bluntly telling you how stupid you’re being. Remains tentative about her new life as a Chosen, having never been a fighter…
Deity: Aphrodite Weapon: Tower Shield [heavy defensive ; -15 init, base 10 dmg, -1 hit] HP: 56HP Items: Piece of Map; Fine Wine (1); Moly Flower (1) Minicert: [none yet]
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 4:45 pm
Lex had found him relatively easily, considering he was still going in and out of the forest looking for Turned folk. Of course he had heard Beth's name and panicked. Misha had turned into a cat and they'd gotten her right away, fine. Beth was stuck out here and probably running terrified. How were they even supposed to know it was her?! Those raccoons had come at him for no good reason, and he was pretty sure that even a bangle wouldn't be able to keep hold when its owner turned into something that could be measured in fractions of ounces.
They'd gathered up others, Sylvia and Misha, and now they were back out looking for her, but how in the hell were they going to find her? They didn't even know for sure which way she had gone! The people who had turned definitely didn't react to their own names, either. Panic seemed to spur them on, and that was bad news.
His expression was entirely unremarkable, of course, and he was keeping himself under control, but deep in the pit of his heart he was absolutely terrified. He scanned the ground for signs of movement. (197)
Character Name:Brian Watterly Brief description of character: A passionate, competent leader-type with a bit of difficulty expressing the emotions he feels. Deity: Zeus Weapon: Bow (balanced ranged) HP: 47/47 Minicert:
Misha considered Sylvia's words with deep thought. Diverting her worry and applying her mind to the problem seemed to help calm her enough to walk a straight line, at least. Even if her heart was pounding out of fear for her friend. Of course, Beth would end up as something dainty and cute and impossible to find. Some god somewhere was probably laughing their a** off.
Closing her eyes, Misha sighed and nodded acqueisence to Sylvia's suggestion. She would try. She wasn't sure what Mouse Beth would smell like but maybe she still smelled like Beth. There was a chance, right? Always a chance.
She reopened her eyes and instinctively looked towards Brian. His face was certainly locked into thoughtful and neutral but she liked to think she knew him a bit better than that. If she was worried about Beth, he was undoubtedly so as well. She shook her head. She had to focus. After all, she only barely knew how her nose worked.
Misha moved to stand next to Brian and leaned against his leg. Then she closed her eyes once more. Inhaling deeply, she tried to untangle the myriad of scents. Dampness and green and rotting things and growing things. Musk? Perfume? She pulled away from Brian. His scent was confusing her nose.
Shrugging mentally, she sniffed again, more noisily this time, and started a slow, deliberate pace forward. She was crossing fingers and toes. But it almost seemed like this might be the right way to go?
WC: 251
grasshopper pie
Shaddaling
Mika_Yumi
Yekaterin
Yekaterin rolled 1 4-sided dice:
2Total: 2 (1-4)
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 7:37 pm
Speech jolted Beth from her nap and she lifted her head from her belly toward the noises. Her nose twitched as tried to distinguish the source from the generic smell of muck and decaying foliage that seemed to surround her. It was hard; almost as soon as one voice started it stopped--but she thought she might have found them. She waited, not seeing anything--and then they moved.
With a surprised squeak, she tumbled from her warm nest and onto the wet, muddy embankment. She considered her options for a moment and then something with the shape and mannerisms of a Predator moved, suddenly visible in her sight. With what felt like a blood curdling screech (but was probably, to human ears, a particularly high pitched whistle, barely present over the incidental sounds of the bayou), she grabbed her pin and started scampering in the opposite direction of the sounds. She was a hazel spot against the dark and occasional green of the earth--but the sun glinted off the emblem, twinkling and beckoning.
But she was small and fast, capable of shifting direction at a moment's notice. She refused to be caught.
Weapon: Whip (agile ranged) HP: 60/60 Dmg: Beth defended for 50% of the next attack!
Character Name:Beth Almasy Brief description of character: A sweet but skittish beauty who's lived in the lap of luxury her whole life, Beth doesn't quite know what she's doing. She's always willing to support and cheer on her friends, mostly so she doesn't actually have to lift a finger.
Deity: Hera WC: 194, Total: 442
Shaddaling
Mika_Yumi
shortgreen
grasshopper pie
Yekaterin
Offline
Shaddaling rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3Total: 3 (1-6)
Shaddaling
Wrathful Shapeshifter
Offline
Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 7:55 am
"Sorry, I took her clothing back so you aren't going to have anything to sniff to find... Beth!" He called, watching a streak of brown jolt and race away. "Beth! Come back, don't run away."
Lex started off after the mouse. "Come on, Beth. Don't make us chase you around the swamp, I don't want to squish you." She was just so tiny.
HP: 50 Weapon: brass knuckles 4 base +1 to hit roll Damage: 4 - halved =2 Beth HP: 58
Character Name:Lex/Sasha Tavei Brief description of character: Impulsive to the bone and flamboyant, Lex is a ball of energy, making rash decisions and depending on his/their luck to carry him/them out of trouble.
Sylvia nodded back at Misha, then stood and tried to do what she could – which was… not much… Tiny mouse tracks were not exactly easy to find, if they even made an imprint. She had been looking in another direction when Lex called out Beth’s name. She turned, but wasn’t in a good place to see around the others, having wandered towards the other side of their clearing.
Sylvia hopped into a run, following Lex’s lead, and as she finally caught up a small glint ahead caught her eye – and she saw Beth, tiny tawny ball of fur trotting over leaves and mud, and dragging her emblem beside her. Did she even know what she was carrying?
“Beth! Wait!” A silly request, but it was worth a shot. She was fast, but she was small, and they all had longer legs. Sylvia was sure it would only be a matter of time before they caught up to her – as long as they could keep sight of her. Though even if they caught up, she could slip away, and they would have to be careful not to, as Lex said, squish her.
“Honey, we want to help you!” She let out a breath and added, almost to herself, “Please, try to trust us…” It perhaps didn’t help that they had a large cat with them, but hopefully she Misha would help their endeavor at least as much as she might hurt it.
Shhh, it's okay! <3 I would'a rolled with it~ ; w;
ShortGreen
Character Name:Sylvia Owens Brief description of character: Sweet, optimistic, always trying to be helpful – even if it means bluntly telling you how stupid you’re being. Remains tentative about her new life as a Chosen, having never been a fighter…
Deity: Aphrodite Minicert: [none yet]
bobaTJ rolled 1 6-sided dice:
1Total: 1 (1-6)
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 10:43 am
Brian gave Misha the same stoic glance, although now his brows had furrowed slightly. He was indeed worried, more worried than he was going to let anyone in on. Misha had been one thing. She had been rather large. How were they to know that any one mouse was the right mouse and not just... a mouse?
Misha bumped against him briefly and then wandered away. He wasn't sure if that was a comforting hug or what, but he was pretty sure he could hear Misha whuffling. Did cats whuffle normally? He had never met one of this type and already Misha was making bizarre sounds.
Hopefully Beth the Mouse smelled like Beth and not just a mouse, or else their secret weapon was already running on empty.
The he saw it. It was just a shape moving among the brown but it was something. Lex seemed to see it too, and he seemed sure that it was Beth. Maybe he was right? "There." Any mouse would run at the scent of a cat, though, wouldn't it?
He was less worried about not looking like a fool than getting Beth to safety. No way was he going to attempt to fire an arrow at a mouse, especially not a running one. He did pick up the pace in following it, though.
"She's gonna run a lot faster than we can," he said, and then looked to Misha. Well. Except her. "Come on, Beth! You and I went through this once!" With Misha, granted. (459)
Damn straight, they had already done this before! Misha's nose and ears and eyes worked just as well as she hoped. She quickly spotted the tiny brown blur carrying her awkward accessory as Beth darted towards what she clearly believed to be safety and sanctuary. Her sense of hearing far more acute than was almost comfortable for her, Misha hear the tiny noises of distress over the rustling of the grasses and her heart ached at her friend's fear.
She hated to cause any more stress to Beth but they could not let her get away. If they lost her in the swamp, who knew if they would be able to find her again? Offering endless apologies in her head and promising herself to totally and completely make it up to Beth, Misha raced after the scurrying Chosen. Once she was close enough, she gulped a breath, double checked that her claws would not cut and catch, and pounced.
Whichever gods were paying attention at that point clearly smiled; Misha's aim was dead on and she landed perfectly atop both mouse and talisman, catching and containing with soft paws. Though surprised at her success, she was extra super careful to avoid jerking back or pushing down. Instead she simply held position with her paws keeping the mouse safely enclosed but not putting any weight at all on her. She looked over her shoulder and the amazed pride shone in her wide golden eyes. "Mrrr!"
Misha's HP: 80 Damage: 8 Beth's HP: 45/60
WC: 495
yekaterin
grasshopper pie
shaddaling
Mika_Yumi
Yekaterin rolled 1 4-sided dice:
4Total: 4 (1-4)
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 2:50 pm
Something in the mouse made her slow, unsure of what to do. The big booming voices were saying something. She couldn't rightly make out what the words were, but something about them made her want to slow, to stop, to race...towards...them?
As she hesitated, she was suddenly jolted from above, and she instinctively screamed, a high pitched sound that did not sound natural to her own ears. She flailed in a circle desperately, caged in place by the paws of the Predator. She thought for only a moment and let go of the disc, throwing herself at any gap in the paws she could find, but there was precious little she could do without the threat of being gutted by claws that she only imagined might be there.
So Beth flopped down, scraping at the ground below until she had widened a hole. Her paws were not made for burrowing, but she tried anyway, pushing her little head underneath and up, gratified when she felt fresh air. Once her shoulders were free, she shot out from under the paws and into the underbrush. Her heart thundered and she squeaked with the success of escaping. Though she had lost the pin, she was alive and headed straight for a tree. If she could get higher, she could lose them. She had no advantage on the ground. If only the trees weren't so impossibly tall!
She forced herself under a root that had pulled free enough from the earth to offer a mouse-sized hole and wrapped her tail up in the hopes that she would remain unseen and out of reach.
Weapon: Whip (agile ranged) HP: 45/60 Dmg: Beth defended for 100% of the next attack!
Character Name:Beth Almasy Brief description of character: A sweet but skittish beauty who's lived in the lap of luxury her whole life, Beth doesn't quite know what she's doing. She's always willing to support and cheer on her friends, mostly so she doesn't actually have to lift a finger.
Deity: Hera WC: 269, Total: 711
Shaddaling
Mika_Yumi
grasshopper pie
ShortGreen
Yekaterin
Offline
Shaddaling rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6Total: 6 (1-6)
Shaddaling
Wrathful Shapeshifter
Offline
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 3:22 pm
Chasing after her was not the best of ideas. Perhaps they could have moved about freely if it was just one or two, but with three and a cat, Beth was nimbler and faster. And not as brightly colored or as large as Sid and couldn’t fly. Calm down. He stilled and exhaled through his nose, letting all his muscles loosen and shift.
Okay, that was better, now let’s focus. Lex moved over to Misha, kneeling slowly in the Bayou filth and looked down. “Did you get her? Beth? Can you hear me? You are a mouse and it going to be okay, because we are going to change you back. I have your clothes back at the inn.” He said softly, trying to calm the mouse and not knowing that she had long since flown the cup paws by digging into the earth. (wc 330)
HP: 50 Weapon: brass knuckles 4 base +1 to hit roll Damage:8 - none Beth HP: 45
Character Name:Lex/Sasha Tavei Brief description of character: Impulsive to the bone and flamboyant, Lex is a ball of energy, making rash decisions and depending on his/their luck to carry him/them out of trouble.
“At least we have longer legs,” Sylvia responded to Brian’s comment as he and Misha joined the run after the tiny mouse ahead. Beth had a head start, and being tiny made it harder to keep an eye on her, especially with so many following and weaving in front of others. But Misha was quick now, as much a hunter as Beth was afraid she was. The serval sprang forward and cupped the tiny mouse beneath her paws. Sylvia was a bit afraid, as she wasn’t sure if animal instincts could kick in at any point, but Misha’s glance back at them, eyes wide and as impressed as they were, reassured her.
Sylvia slid to a halt beside Misha and Lex as he tried to sooth the certainly frightened mouse. Unfortunately his calm approach was falling on deaf ears – which Sylvia knew when she saw the tiny hole dug beside Misha’s arm and turned to see the flash of Beth’s brown about a foot before it disappeared at the base of a nearby tree.
“Beth! Come back!” She ran to the tree, but she’d been too far to see where Beth had gotten to. She looked around the tree to make sure that Beth wasn’t running away; at least she didn’t see a mouse refuge anywhere. She could only hope that Beth was still at the tree’s base as she spoke again, “I know you’re scared, sweetie, but we’re here to help you… We want to keep you safe.”
Character Name:Sylvia Owens Brief description of character: Sweet, optimistic, always trying to be helpful – even if it means bluntly telling you how stupid you’re being. Remains tentative about her new life as a Chosen, having never been a fighter…
Deity: Aphrodite Minicert: [none yet]
Mika_Yumi
Dapper Dabbler
Offline
bobaTJ rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6Total: 6 (1-6)
bobaTJ
Offline
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 1:19 pm
Alright, so chasing her was probably a bad idea. He imagined that he would run too if he had turned into something tiny and vulnerable. Hell, even Griffin had run and he was larger than anyone there as a rhinoceros.
He saw Beth flee from the clawless, cupped paws and sighed. Rather than sprint after her, he watched where she had gone and jogged to the area. It seemed that Sylvia had had the same idea in being gentle. For him to get up close into the roots in which he had seen Beth cower would probably be a bad idea too. He had a big head, and it wasn't going to be comforting.
Instead, he crouched by the base of the tree and offered out his hand in the same way that Beth had offered her own lap when they had tried to recover Misha. "Come on. I promise, we'll keep you safe." Just look how big and warm his hand was! (622)
