Predatory Puddles (6) : Summer rains aren’t uncommon, so finding puddles dotting your path isn’t in itself particularly surprising or abnormal. However, as you walk past them, you feel the sensation of being watched, like eyes are on you. If you look into the puddles, you don’t see your reflection--nor the reflection of anything familiar to you. Instead, you see strange, decayed buildings, and odd, rotting plants. Something is watching you through the puddles, but before you can investigate, between one blink and the next, it’s all gone. When you look back, the puddles are oddly non-reflective, and then in the next blink, they’re all gone. The feeling of being watched doesn’t fade, though.
Quote:
The lowdown: Faustite thinks these puddles have something to do with DMC shenanigans. He's going to punch some face until he gets some answers (that he likes).
While this ORP is focused on the DMC, anyone is free to join — people who want to stop the violence, people who want to join in, allies who want to deter Faustite, anyone!
About Faustite: He currently has no access to his youmabilities. It's a lot like fighting an Eternal senshi who used up all their magic. He's also Very Tired, so even Basics should be able to exit the ORP without much damage!
The summer rains were a tribulation — one Faustite weathered angrily, with his weighted hood up and his fists clenched. The rain proved the tenacity of his dwindling fire, as a sudden swarm had put to rest his worry of being snuffed out. The smoldered General hated getting wet, however. Hated how his soaked uniform clung to him and his hair hung limp.
The weather broke, and a rare spangle of sun touched down as liquid gold in the abandoned puddles. It was blinding, headache-inducing, and fueled his ire for weather. They were everywhere between the Arts and Industrial districts, across the rail lines, in the alleyways, and in Faustite's case, along the back end of a factory where he expected to find workers.
It was in glaring down at one fo these puddles that Faustite paused, shocked, and stared down at what he saw. In a blink, it vanished, but he was loathe to doubt himself. Whatever it was in that reflection, it was otherworldly. Disgusting. Suspicious.
He knew of only one faction that tainted reflections. He recalled their dealings with wraiths, with powers they couldn't control. He remembered worse, and it was that bitter memory that sent him scaling up the factory wall, to roof height, to start looking for their ilk. The Mirror Court was unique in their signature, and seldom showed, but he would find one even if he had to scour the city for it, and then he would find out what they knew of these puddles.
moxiethriller
littlelilykitty
Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2021 6:06 am
Strickenized
Basyl had never been offended by a summer storm. The heat in Destiny City was ungodly, so what could a little cloud cover hurt (and not just because Basyl saw the sun as a harbinger of cancer and little else)? The wind was blustery, rattling the edges of his blinds where he had his windows open. Thick water droplets spilled onto the windowsill and loudly spattered against the glass panes.
It was such a constant, calming white noise. Even when thunder rumbled in the distance, Basyl felt at peace.
This was clearly the most reasonable time to not sleep and focus on his studies. He curled into the corner of his couch with a blanket covering his feet, a heavy book propped open on the armrest, a notebook folded atop it, and a pen in hand. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t in school anymore. The studying was never done, and he’d be damned if he was sputtering around with no idea what was going on in rounds tomorrow.
Basyl kept to himself. No one texted him as a distraction. No tv, no music. Even the noise from the filter on his fish tank was drowned by the sound of the storm. He quietly read over notes and texts until a particularly strong gust blew through the open window, picking up the pages of the heavy tome and blowing indiscriminately through the chapters. Basyl flinched at the burst and scrambled to get back to where he’d been in the book, but as he flapped through the pages, trying to remember the last thing he’d seen, the thought occurred to him that he should maybe take a quick break.
…It had grown dim outside. The rain had stopped. He hadn’t even noticed. It was silent besides his tank, and the only light in the room came from the lamp on the end table. His knees felt stiff at the joints from sitting still and bent.
He should move. He should get up and do something. Stretch. Get the blood flowing.
It seemed as good a time as any to sneak out and let his wraith do a little work. There was never time for an actual break when there was so much that needed his attention. And he could be quick about it. If he used the mirrors, it wasn’t like home was ever far.
Narcissus found himself stepping through a mirror down a dark alley that served mostly as a bypass for waste disposal trucks.
Usually when he drained, he preferred the most populated places, so he could discretely siphon just the tiniest portion of energy from each passerby while his wraith was still more or less intangible and translucent. No one needed to know he was there, and none of his victims needed to leave worse for wear. It just seemed like the most courteous way to go about things.
But given the recent downpour, crowds were scarce, and the most populated place he could think of were where people were forced to be: work. Factories.
He’d briefly debated if it was perhaps too unsafe to drain people working with heavy machinery at this time of evening, but he reminded himself they’d barely even feel a difference if he was careful. It was fiiiine.
As Narcissus lept from the ground and moved toward a higher vantage point, he became aware of pulses of energy on his radar. One was familiar, in the sense that it was a particular brand of magic that radiated with him: other Dark Mirrors were out and nearby. And the other…
Familiar in a different way. Over the past year, Narcissus had began to be less wary of Negaverse signatures. One in particular followed him frequently. He was aware of the aura and alert to its presence, but not necessarily frightened of it. He decided to disregard to the best of his ability and continue with the task he’d set for himself.
It was a hard task to ignore Faustite, whose aura was more volatile than most of his Negaverse peers. He knew this, knew it had to be so, that the fledgling Mirrors whose paths he near crossed had gone skittering because that aura was portent for trouble. He doubted there were rumors circulating about his past misdeeds with their kind, but the natures of their factions were antithetical enough — two predators nosing up energy.
Faustite had grown near to brushing a Super, but the thing had skittered away just as he came into line of sight. Some tiny thing, silver haired, with too much flowing bodice and too little attention paid to her wraith. She was texting on her Senshi phone while the thing swiped through a few crowds at one of the festival's pop-up food trucks, though her attention wasn't so far gone that Faustite could bludgeon her for a few answers. Faustite had watched her and her wraith shrink away against the skyline, then disappear around the corner of an L-shaped building. He hadn't the energy nor effort to tail her.
But there were more, and Faustite would find them.
A second Super wasn't far, and Faustite nearly second-guessed himself if it was the same person. But this one did not flee, even as his General's aura encroached on the stranger's senses. Maybe this one made a few friends with their rank and file. Treasonous, it should be, making friends with this lot.
He leapt from an adjacent rooftop, the main building for the factory, onto a connecting set of popes, and followed them back to an auxiliary building crowned with the foreman's office. It was there that the senshi lingered, his pale wraith darting to and fro through the people below. None had looked up, remarked, or noticed.
Faustite approached at a purposeful walk, not risking eye contact on this violet-haired thing. When he was close enough, he reached for a handful of hood to wrench this one to his feet. "You. Spill it or I melt your face. What's your Court doing now?"
EchosSweet
omg i'm so sorry, i keep forgetting your discord name is different!
Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 12:17 pm
Strickenized
No worries, I saw it go up!
Narcissus had already decided he wasn't going to spend hours and hours out draining that night. There weren't enough people around to make a whole expedition of it, and he needed to be at work pretty early the next day, so he couldn't afford to be out late causing trouble.
He hadn't gotten comfortable on his perch, instead opting to stand and peer as much over the edge of the building as he dared without giving too much risk of being spotted by anyone down below. His wraith flit through the scattered workers on the ground, darting once through its victims before retreating to the shadows and waiting for another passerby. No one seemed debilitated by the experience, besides maybe a few extra weary sighs once the wraith had moved on.
Nothing moved after the creature, which was surely the easiest and most efficient target any other chaos entities could hope for in the night. Though Narcissus did become ever more aware of the Negaverse aura drawing closer.
Even if he wasn't afraid of it, it was hard not to notice that it seemed to be specifically moving toward him. Maybe something to be more 'wary' of, rather than just 'aware.'
He flicked out his Mirrorshard, drawing his wraith back to him with a flick of his wrist in beckoning, before the creature disappeared back into the fragile shard of glass. And, because Narcissus might be feeling a little worried, he tucked the shard safely into his space pocket.
It wouldn't be him breaking and losing necessary resources.
Boots landed on the rooftop behind him, and Narcissus turned his head to peek over his shoulder. Brisk movement from the corner of his eye made him turn more fully toward the boy, head canted slightly in question as he prepared a greeting. But there was perhaps a little too much determination in the way the agent approached him to be anything good.
By the time a hand was grappling for a hold on him, Narcissus was more than prepared to get out of the way. He ducked and twisted beneath the arm, moving away and stepping carefully along the edge of the rooftop.
"Uhm, excuse me?" He prompted uncertainly. "I-it's not-" There was a lengthy pause here as Narcissus tripped over the words in his confusion and ultimate misunderstanding. He was more accustomed to being accosted by the White Moon than the Negaverse, barring the exception of youma. His finicky gaze darted down to the boy's abdomen before flicking back to his face and then out to his hand. "Uh, nothing d-different than usual?"
Bellerophon hardly went out by himself without Itokawa, but tonight they didn't have time off together so he had decided to see if he could gather some energy with his wraith. He had only done it one or two times before, so he was still getting the hang of it. As he lazily watched his wraith on a rooftop nearby, he had felt the aura of another Dark Mirror, this one a Super, but had ignored it as he didn't really feel like talking tonight.
It wasn't until he felt the other chaos aura, one that he was sure belonged to a Negaverse Agent considering how different it felt, that he had gained some interest. He had put his wraith back in his mirror and moving over a few buildings and saw a... well he wasn't sure if it was a person or someone who was spontaneously combusting along with what appeared to be a Super Dark Mirror. One he hadn't met before which wasn't surprising. He had hardly met any of them bar... two.
He wasn't sure if he should intervene as he had only just arrived, but decided that if he were to be a Dark Mirror, then that would mean he had to help his fellow Senshi. He had only heard a little bit of what the General had said, something about the Court doing something. That could only be the Dark Mirror, but why the General thought they were doing something was the question.
Were they doing something? Had he missed a meeting of some sorts? He looked over at the other Dark Mirror. "Did I miss a Dark Mirror meeting or something?" He asked, though the Dark Mirror appeared to be just as surprised at the General's questions.
She supposed she was still getting the hang of doing things in a different way but old habits died hard. Lacerta of course had taken precautions to alert people that she was stepping out for some air but other than that she had no real defined notion of what she could do. Sure gathering energy for the court was always an acceptable option but tonight the bandage senshi was just out for a stroll. She needed to reacquaint herself with the city. Even in her old life as Izobel had she not seen all that Destiny City had to offer but she was hoping that as Arianna that that would all change.
Scowling at the remnants of the puddles from the rainstorm earlier Lacerta wondered if perhaps she should have waited for accompaniment by either Acubens or Remarque but she needed to feel like she could stretch her wings and fly without assistance. The springing up of other auras nearby piqued the interest of the red-headed senshi and she leapt to the nearest rooftop in order to travel more easily. Using a mirror would have been acceptable but even after joining the court she still needed to suss out the mirrors hidden in the city.For now the tried and true method of using the rooftops was adequate enough as she closed in on the auras that she could sense.
Finally she came into sight of those that she was sensing and caught the tail end of the question that another dark mirror had posited.
"There hasn't been anything meeting wise that I'm aware of and I would know,"
The aura of someone stronger than her gave Lacerta pause and she glanced at the individual in question. There was a twinge of a familiar feeling that washed over her before she narrowed her gaze,"So what is going on here?"
He'd had his last class canceled and he didn't work today, it was one of his few days off, and rather than head home Xi-Wang had decided to power up and go hunting down some energy. The problem was that many people weren't out and about, not after the heavy rain shower earlier. That was why he'd headed for the factories in the city. People would be there - they would be working. It would be easy to hide amongst all the walkways, pipes, and metal workings of a factory. It would also be easy for his wraiths to hide while they worked.
As he mirrorwalked his way closer he felt several auras and decided to pick u pthe pace, curious what was going on. As he arrived he heard the super senshi speak up and tilted his head a bit - he didn't know her.
"I'd also know if there were some meeting or something going on in the court." As he was an eternal and he worked for their prince. He would know if anything was going on.
Carefully looking over the gathered group he stepped closer to Bellerophon, who he didn't know, as they seemed knew and even if they weren't new they were weaker.
"Would someone mind filling me in on what's going on? Perhaps we should also move this else where before someone notices." Jerking his head towards the workers down below, who for now were still working unaware of them all. For now they were clueless of the happenings above them but he wondered how long that would last.
(Time I jump in as well.)
EchosSweet
SSBrosB
tefla
Strickenized
Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2021 7:19 pm
General Faustite
Sad that his target slipped out, but there were more to pick on. Find one, find 500, he told himself. More showed like flies to rotting meat, and while the Super he found hadn't put out any kind of call, he wondered if they had a secret second method, or if their Court glommed together frequently, or if their gather was dumb luck (or karma). He looked to each successive senshi, every one vastly different from each other, and felt crowded.
"Don't believe you." Faustite took a pace back from the lot. Their gather was convenient for him, too — overload his core, and they would suffer for this pretty plan of confusion. But as he tried to conjure the magic, he felt nothing. His malaise barred him from defending himself.
But there were other ways. Two Supers, an Eternal (that he recognized, tragic as that was), and a Basic. Faustite darted toward the easiest target, sought to restrain him, sought to hover a hand over the horned one's chest.
"The puddles," He answered, nodding toward one of the pools that had formed on the factory rooftop from recent rains. "Explain them."
Lacerta didn't recognize any of these senshi around her. That didn't stop her from wanting to get to know them afterwards though. Being relatively new in a sense to the Court she had been keeping a low profile while trying to learn whatever she could about the history of her new faction. It wasn't always the easiest thing to concentrate on. Wanting to make new acquaintances would have to wait though as she took in the new development. A memory flashed through her head at seeing the hand poised over her fellow comrades chest and she grew cold at the insinuation of what could happen. Hadn't she seen something like this before? Before she became a dark mirror? Clearly the stranger was strung taut like a rope ready to fray and break and maybe antagonising wasn't the best idea. Instead Lacerta tilted her head to the side to glance at a puddle in question before clearing her throat.
"What about the puddles? What makes you so sure we have anything to do with the puddles? Look, I am trying to understand things here and I'm a little confused by your insinuation that we are doing something."
Was placation really the right move? Well, it was that or attack en masse. That idea didn't sit too well with Lacerta. Not yet at least."Look ... why don't you release him and talk. I mean aren't the puddles just a thing that happens when surfaces get wet?"
Strickenized
EchosSweet
SSBrosB
Sleet Tempest Snape
(( just to clarify - Lacerta's still green when it comes to dealing with the negaverse ))
Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2021 6:40 pm
DMS Avignon of Sphinx
"He's talking about what you can see in the puddles." Came the soft spoken voice of Avignon. He wasn't familiar with a single person here but he knew they felt like the eternal who had brought him into the court. Some felt weaker and others as strong as her. He had been lucky perhaps in happening upon all these signatures while leaving the gym. The gym he went to was near to the factories, apparently near enough to feel these signatures.
He'd decided that after two hours at the gym he'd power up and go for a run along some roof tops, as a way to work on his stamina while powered and get a feel for things a bit more.
Now he was here and he really wasn't sure what to make of it all. "At least I'm assuming that's what he's talking about. I also assume he thinks we are behind it in some way. Though aside from seeing something in the puddles nothing has happened." At least not from what he'd heard people gossiping about at work, the few who had noticied the puddles anyway, no one had been pulled in or anything stranger than seeing things in the puddles.
"I'm guessing thoguh that we have nothing to do with it." He was, as he said, only guessing because he didn't know a single thing about his court and it's members. Maybe they were doing something but that was no need for what looked like some sort of threat, judging by this person who looked like none of them and had a hand raised against one of them.
Keeping to the back of the group Avignon was doing his best to be heard while also tryhing to be unnoticied.
(trying to toss baby here out so he can get some things. Maybe also this'll lead to follow up rp's with other dms?)
tefla
Strickenized
SSBrosB
EchosSweet
Sleet Tempest Snape
Noble Vampire
Offline
SSBrosB
Springtime Noob
Offline
Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2021 7:26 pm
DMS Bellerophon of Chimera
Before Bellerophon could react the General was already up against him and he was in a precarious position. He certainly couldn't move forward at the time and he wasn't able to mirrorwalk... He had to keep his cool and not make the General angry. At least angry enough to take his starseed out. If he could just get him to move that would be different... though if that hand got any closer he would be using his attack on him, whether or not it made a difference.
It did make him feel better that so many Dark Mirror were here and that others were willing to stand up for him. It was just unfortunate that he hadn't been quick enough to move out of the way and he cursed inside of his head as he tried to think of a way out of this.
He decided that he wouldn't speak for the moment, hoping that the others might be able to convince the General to back off before he did anything.
tefla
Strickenized
EchosSweet
Sleet Tempest Snap
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2021 4:03 am
General Faustite
"Don't speak for me," he cautioned the new one. Cocky thing, thinking his court innocent. Flame eyes passed over him balefully.
The wrapped one mouthed the lines of a crime drama. Trying to deescalate, he guessed, but sticking to accusations, sticking to judgments about his behaviors. Schörl would've laughed at this one, laughed at him, but Faustite only felt tired as he listened to her.
They were all so sure of themselves. Faustite thought it must've been easy to play innocent if they hardly did anything at all. But — their court never needed their activity to do wrong with the world.
His hand remained still over the horned one's sternum. "Summer storm filled every pothole, every sag in every roof. Look in one, and what do I see? Portion of another world. Somewhere rotting. Somewhere that watches. Now tell me what magical group has dominion over reflection: the Dark Mirror.
"The Dark Mirror, who let their wraiths run haywire. Who let Mirrorspace leak into the world and try to swallow us whole. Stop espousing your innocence; makes you look naïve."
tefla
echossweet
ssbrosb
sleet tempest snape
Strickenized
Garbage Cat
Offline
Sleet Tempest Snape
Noble Vampire
Offline
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2021 4:48 pm
Kiuchi
Another world - that's the problem. We don't have a world of our own. Hallways and empty rooms - all white. We have islands of mirrors. No buildings no world in ruin. You know that - yhou saw mirrorspace and mirrorscape - you know of their emptiness." Normally he wasn't the sort to speak up, much less first, but he spoke now and his voice was cooland calm. He was not going to let the General take out his anger on one of his fellow court members. He couldn't - they were family to him.
"You've lett your youma run wild as well. Enough of us have seen it, so I'd not point fingers at the wraiths we have. Neither side is in full control when it concerns wraiths and youma." Shaking his head as he spoke he ignored the others insults, they were pointless to argue, and focused on facts. He knew Faustite had seen both mirror space and the mirror scape - he'd taken him personally. He also knew youma weren't fully controlled - who didn't know that?
"Maybe I shouldn't have ever shown you what lies beyond the mirror, since you've obviously forgotten. Unless you're saying some ruined world is ours as well, rather than something else entierly." Some new enemy, something for them all to be concerned about. It was something to bring up to Remarque when he had the time, when he saw him next.
Was it just that the General wanted to come after his court or was there another reason? A reason for his obvious dislike of them? They were a small court and didn't do much, most of what happened was out of their control and grabbed them up as well.
