"Oh fine, run away then." The knight huffed into the indifferent summer evening as an amalgamation of cat, fish, and fern loped beyond his sight. In the cool light of dusk, Scholomance struggled to catch its trail. Beyond frustratingly vague auric catches, Scholomance failed to locate his target quickly or efficiently. He peered through broken alleyways, beyond streets crowded with recently-released workers, and through the large, toothy rows of old town homes built into the Business District center.
But no sign of the quiet youma reared out of the city's sleeping nightmare. Much of the city sat suspended in a dull listlessness, nervously stammering over the transition to full nightfall, with no awareness of its infesting bodies. No wretched yowl broke the sleepy dream, the span of tired minutes before a Friday night in full.The knight only slipped from tiled roof to concrete to stone parapet ineffectually, waiting ever long for that telltale scream.
Because there was always a telltale scream, he found. Youma were unsubtle creatures, and the city wizened to the antics of their urban mythos — those caught by creatures unkind screamed out their misfortunes for others to fix, and fix they did, if Scholomance was any indication. He just couldn't find the damned thing.
Quietly it slipped from one alley to the next, always loping, always searching out feet and legs and faces with eyes like crescents in a too-long skull. Its head dipped low, sampling the hot air, and the creature stilted. Suddenly its head craned tall on a spindly neck and shoulders stretched for a broad stance. Retractible claws hugged the concrete with abusive tallies. The shadow cast from sodium lights cloaked it fondly. A low grumble burbled up in its throat, rising in pitch, until an indistinct meow erupted from its throat. It tried again and again for the luring sound of an expectant cat.
Gl!tch~
lmk if you want anything changed!
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 5:16 pm
Ever since she got mugged, Di's life strayed off into something a bit different than before. Less naive, for one. She knew crime happened, that the city could be like any big city; she came from Savannah, after all. You had crime, you had unsavory characters taking advantage of quiet times and spaces. But maybe she had gotten a bit complacent after a while. Now, not so much. Her mace hadn't come out fast enough, and Di didn't know how to make up for that. There were other things out there, like tasers and stun batons, but they were so expensive. Though her parents were willing to pay for whatever, after she told them what had happened...well...the condensed version. She was accosted but someone intervened and scared them off.
Di failed to mention that the person was in a nightgown and heels. Who'd believe that?
Shaken up as she was, she knew there were bystanders willing to help when the police couldn't. It didn't mean she should just go around like she was completely safe, but it did help her keep her head high when she walked the streets. Signing up for self-defense classes helped, too.
So she ended up in a less-than-stellar neighborhood because, that's cities; they happened, too. On a Friday night, though, there generally wasn't much to fear...soon she'd be around bustling establishments and it wouldn't matter.
As she passed through, she contemplated what the difference must be between a rowhouse with a tiny, microscopic yard and one without. Then a sudden sound made her halt. Was that...?
Di waited for a second, listening closer. Sure did sound like a cat! And she couldn't leave something like that alone, not in a place with so many cars. Di pursued the noise further.
Food approached. Food on two legs. Food that fit into tight spaces without a care.
The creature scrambled forward, possessed of an unearthly grace despite too-long limbs, and sniffed the air for scent. It meowed again, plaintively this time. Pitifully. It darted forward again with errant gravel spraying from the force of its launch. And finally, just on the cusp of dark, it found food — food would be consumed on the spot that night.
Bending low, the creature serpentine wound toward the girl. Tall, with cotton candy hair, food looked easy to topple. The creature slithered up, near legs, around them, tail searching and winding and coiling until it caught whip-tight around an ankle and the creature wrenched with unconscionable strength. Its hiss rose into a shriek as quickly as its claws deployed. Food would be flayed.
gl!tch~
feel free to operate the youma if there were any specific injuries you wanted!
Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2018 4:13 pm
She searched more and more, growing more concerned all the while. The cat sounded sad, maybe scared. Perhaps...lost. Di looked every which way.
Dione did not notice the movement, or the tail, until it was too late. All she had time for, before the painful yank, was The cat?
No, it was not a cat. She learned that very, very fast, as the youma bore down on her. Dione tried to roll and kick, screaming. She should have gotten the taser! For now, all she had her fists, for whatever good that might do her.
Barely comprehending what was in front of her, clawing at her and drawing blood, she shrieked and fought. Tears in her eyes, inhuman weight on top of her, she refused to just take it.
Screaming. The sweet, dulcet sounds of screaming that chilled his blood. Would it ever get easier to run toward danger?
Scholomance spared the thought no chance to form. He jogged to one end of the building, leaned over the side, waited, then jogged to the next. Sonance echoed upward and spread like a bad itch until he could hardly discern its origins. But volume told him enough about where he should go, and that the commotion happened somewhere off to the east. Again, he propelled himself forward before he could give himself a thousand reasons to turn around and go home.
Food wanted a fight. Baring fangs in a low hiss, the creature snapped at any offending hand or digit that tried to slap it away. Food was weak, however — weaker than its leash-holders or the prickly ones that banished it away from its hunting grounds. It hissed a second time, spreading arms and legs to cover food's arms and legs, then leaned in to try to bite into food's collar.
Scholomance hadn't prepared a fancy greeting by the time he reached the scene. And as he leapt down, helpless in the air while the youma crawled atop her, he spared even less time to presentation. He landed with the summon of his whip in his hand, coiled about like so many trophies wound together, and shouted to the girl the strictest, simplest message he could manage — "Crawl away from it when the world goes ********!"
No time was spared for questions; the whip struck the ground near Scholomance's heel and the world unbound, peeling away like the perfect skin of an orange, and spiraled upward into an unseen eternity.
Quote:
specifics are in the spoiler, but basically his magic can make di go ethereal / the youma's limbs pass right through her
Magnum Mortum ;; Pool: 30 seconds Distance: Targets up to 20 feet in line of sight Targets: Up to 6 Extra: Magic 'tethers' at 30 feet from Scholomance barring sight interruption Description: Scholomance summons a death knell that will immediately affect 'tagged' characters (anyone focused on by Scholomance within line of sight). Any targeted character will have their corporeal form turned into a ghastly spirit-form, and will find that any attack or attempt made toward corporeal bodies will only pass through their form. In trade, corporeal characters will be unable to strike or harm those who are rendered as spirits. Spirits will see the world around them as an inverted, crumbling version of their current location. Corporeal characters will look to them as blots of energy rather than people. Spirits can still attack each other, and both corporeal and incorporeal characters can attack Scholomance, as he is the link between the illusory otherworld and the real world. Breaking his concentration will end the attack prematurely.
During channeling, Scholomance's magic actively damages him as tradeoff. Effects start at full body ache and exhaustion and can lead up to immediate collapse or beyond, depending on circumstances. He is also completely immobile while casting and cannot attack any targets.
