[event-b-awa] binary ignition [casablanca/kom el shoqafa]

[Noir Songbird]

Quote:

Prompt 10 (Runaway Reindeer): Someone thought it would be a good idea to get real reindeer to pet while visiting Santa, and someone should have considered that might be a bad idea. No one knows how they snuck out, but one by one they disappeared–and now they’re wreaking havoc on Destiny City. Or, so the reports say. The reindeer have been spotted eating everything, running in front of cars, chasing people down. It’s strange, almost as if they are possessed. They’re aggressive and hostile and not having any of this holiday nonsense. Are all reindeer like this? …Or have you run into a very aggressive youma masquerading as one?

Note: If you use this for a powered battle prompt, it does not count for the ‘one youma battle per growth’ ; this is a special prompt where the creature will attack anyone. It can only be used as a battle if there are two powered characters involved; you cannot write a solo and count this as a battle, and your character must be powered to count this for a battle. The reindeer will not respond to any commands and cannot be destroyed; it will always run away before it can be defeated.

Of all the things Cara had expected to encounter while rushing her way back to the dorms before curfew, a reindeer was not it.

She was still a few blocks away from St. Mag's. She should be booking it to get to the dorms on time. The clock was ticking down on her making it without a demerit. But between her and the alley she needed to cut through to get to the school was a massive, hulking reindeer--and it looked pissed.

She'd heard rumors flying around the school about hyper-aggressive deer being spotted around the city, but hadn't ever expected to encounter one herself. And yet, here it was, staring her down--and the longer she looked, the more she realized that while it definitely looked like a reindeer, something was...subtly off.

Not that she had time to study it. It charged, and she screamed, diving out of the way and ending up sprawled on the ground.

lyricalballads

 

[lyricalballads]

The best way to end a day, so far as Lucis was concerned, was a walk in the brisk evening air, bundled up in a coat and scarf as he took his time going down the street. Of course, he'd heard about the escaped reindeer, but absolutely didn't expect to run into one.

And to make matters worse, there was a girl screaming and terrified, down on the ground.

There wasn't even a moment's hesitation as he quickly ran towards the girl, to get her out of harm's way at least -- or give her a chance, arms waving in the air as he began to yell. "Go on, git outta here, y'don't belong here, go 'way!"

Not that he expected the animal to understand him -- there was no chance of that, but the girl, he hoped would listen and get up and gone, moving to physically step between the two. (Far from the stupidest decision he's made, he'd admit, but there wasn't time to think of something else.)

Noir Songbird

 

[Noir Songbird]

Cara knew that she was lucky, to have someone jumping in to defend her. And she knew, practically, that she should be turning and running to try and get away. But the idea of just tucking and running, and leaving someone else to get hurt....it didn't sit right with her. Still, she pushed herself to her feet and started backing away.

And that was when she caught sight of it. The bright white cloth, the sparkling golden star attached to it--it drew her attention, and made her heart jump into her throat. It called to her, in a way that was almost irresistible.

She needed it.

It needed her.

Cara Langley reached out her hand, and wrapped her fingers around the cloth. Her eyes squeezed s**t, she gave a little prayer that this would somehow, improbably help.

Casablanca, Page of Cosmos opened her eyes.



"Hey!" The new Page shouted, moving with her new magical speed to get at an angle to the monster. "Get gone!"

And then she pulled off one of her new, cute pumps, and hurled it heel-first at the beastie.

lyricalballads

 

[lyricalballads]

Lucis didn't bother with looking, checking to see if the girl had moved, had left. Doing so would only risk leaving himself completely open, and while he was trying his best to taunt the beast, he was still alert, still on guard.

And then there was a flying shoe.

Not at all what he expected to see, turning and seeing...

What was he seeing? Bright colors, barely covered, that couldn't be the girl who'd been on the ground. But...still, someone who could all too easily get hurt, as far as he was concerned.

So it was when he saw the reindeer (was it a reindeer it looked so much more menacing than one should look) moving towards the girl (new girl?) that he himself was quick to run at the thing.

...still not the smartest of ideas, given the thing was so much heavier than he was, with horns that could easily cause real damage, and a lot of muscle, but there sure weren't any police or animal control or even zookeepers coming after a missing creature, so he would have to do.

Which, really, he almost immediately regretted, his body immediately being slammed by the side and neck, avoiding the antlers but he was flying through the air, not...too far, but far enough that he landed heavily on the ground, body turned away towards nearby bushes -- bushes which had something that caught his eye as he groaned, fingers reaching out.

Noir Songbird

 

[Noir Songbird]

Casablanca could feel power at her fingertips. Not a lot of power, and nothing she could call on immediately, but she knew, somehow, that she was stronger and hardier than she had been just a moment before.

And the monster was vicious, attacking the man that had stepped in to help her, and that could not stand. She straightened, and moved to charge, heart racing. She had no idea what she was doing, really, or what had happened, or why she was suddenly special--just that she was.

"Get out of here," she said, "I got this!"

She probably had this.

She kicked her other shoe off, and this one, she used like a bludgeon, whacking ti into the reindeer's side, which made it snort angrily and turn on her.

Good. Great. Success.

....What now?

It charged her, and she yelped, dodging out of the way, glad that she wasn't wearing only one shoe. Sure, barefoot in the street wasn't great, but better than balancing on a single heel.

lyricalballads

 

[lyricalballads]

Lucis wasn't leaving, not with someone in danger, even if it was from a strange animal. Surely this wasn't how reindeer typically acted...right?

Regardless, his fingers reached out, stretching, stretching until he was able to wrap them around what felt like a thick, yet short stick, taking hold of it--

--and suddenly everything was different, bits of knowledge slotting themselves into his mind, though it was scattered and not quite full knowledge, but as he pulled himself out of the bush, he looked different, felt different, still feeling the pain from being tossed aside, but it was pushed more to the back of his mind now.

Kom El Shoqafa had work to do.



Upright once more, things clicked in his mind -- the two girls were the same, they had to be, how could he not have noticed that before? The reindeer was no ordinary reindeer, aggressive as it was.

He still had little at his fingertips to really do much about it, but he wasn't going to give up. Especially with knowing he wasn't the only one dealing with it.

"Not alone, you don't! Any suggestions besides trying to scare it away?" Even as he called out to the girl, he was moving towards the large animal once more, having less than twelve percent of a plan, but something had to be done.

"Don't suppose you can try calling animal control? Surprised they haven't made it out here already." It certainly seemed as if they'd been out there for a while, instead of the short time they had been there. The stick, a length of freshly cut cane, remained in his hand as he thought, and he thought.

What could they do that would actually send the creature packing? The best he had in the moment was raising his arms, trying to look threatening, yelling wordlessly at it, doing his damnedest to chase it off.

Noir Songbird

 

[Noir Songbird]

Casablanca inhaled sharply. This man---he was like her, like...whatever she was now. Not that she really had any idea, practically speaking, what that meant, but....there were two of them now.

This was much better.

"Uh," Casablanca said, frowning, "I actually don't know? Maybe just..." She moved to go for her shoe again, heart racing as she watched the beast. It seemed focused on him for now, which gave her an opportunity to grab one of those pretty purple heels, pick it up, and throw it. Again.

The reindeer-monster looked between them, and seemed to gauge its odds, almost; smarter than the average animal, then, and something about it felt...strange. Off. Wrong. Not that she could explain what she was feeling, but....it was something.

The beast huffed. Then, it turned and ran away.

"Oh," Casablanca said, and that was about when her knees gave out in relief and she sank to the ground. "That's....oh, that's good."

lyricalballads

 

[lyricalballads]

Shoqafa did feel...something, a sense of newfound kinship, if distant, but all that did was make him that much more determined to keep the other safe.

That, in turn, only made him feel worse when the thing looked between them -- was this thing truly intelligent? Was it something other than the reindeer that it appeared? -- an unease that didn't dissipate even as the creature left, leaving him feeling more than a bit alert as he jogged over to the girl, expression concerned.

"Hey, it's alright. You did alright, the thing's gone. Are you hurt anywhere? Do you need help getting back home? Your...shoes?" They had been used rather interestingly as weapons, but if she was wobbly, heels would be bad...right? His attention was almost entirely on Casablanca, but he wasn't completely tuning out their surroundings.

What if that thing came back, after all?

Noir Songbird

 

[Noir Songbird]

"I'm okay," Casablanca said, and she slowly stood up, stepping back into her pretty lavender heels. "I think I was just...shocked?" She sighed, softly. "I don't really know what happened."

Perhaps she shouldn't trust a strange man, but she was going to anyway. "Uh, could you walk me to the St. Mag's dorms? I guess I can't show up back there like this..." She sighed, and practically at the thought of the self she used to be, she changed back into her uniform.

"....Oh, uh. I guess...that's easy...."

lyricalballads

 

[lyricalballads]

"Anyone would be shocked by...animals acting not like an actual animal." Shoqafa's gaze turned to look where the creature had left for a long moment, almost as if expecting it to reappear before turning to the girl once more, giving what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of. Things are...well."

He cleared his throat, closing his eyes for a moment before he, too, looked as he had before -- though he distinctly felt odd, he wasn't going to bring it up. He looked scuffed up in his usual clothing, fingers loosening the scarf around his neck.

"Let's get you home." Thoughts were rushing in his mind, but -- that could wait. Who knew exactly what else could come between there and the girl's dorms, after all.

Noir Songbird

Fin.