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 Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2021 6:32 pm
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.
Destiny City was large. And alive. And covered in lights, which Alastor seemed to be constantly distracted by, and would sometimes pause for a second just to stare and admire. The concept of electricity was not foreign to him, but mastered in this way it seemed to simply astound him. He’d mentioned how dark his world was, and how impressed he was that Destiny City could just decorate with lights. He supposed, in a way, that wasn’t so different from what he’d done–only, he didn’t do it out of celebration, he did it out of necessity.
He’d inquired if the youma could be kept at bay by the light, in a similar way that the Chaos on his world was, but it seemed it was only for convenience that they avoided it, not necessity.
Alastor very much liked the Christmas lights, anyway.
The park had more than a few strung up, and Alastor seemed to like to stay close to any light source even with Michael and Oberon.
Something had flickered on his radar a few times, just barely there and disappearing shortly afterwards. They were following it, but there was something strange about it now; it would appear at random points, like it was deliberately circling them, skirting around, testing how close it could get before they changed their course.
Alastor wasn’t annoyed, but a part of him wanted to just run after it and see what this thing was, that it was pretending like it was some crafty predator. But, he pretended to be patient, and let the others lead the way. They were more of an expert on Earth than he’d ever be.
“How often do you do this, every night?” he asked, the most recent question of a long line of them. He was still listening for movement around them, but the distant sounds of the city was the only noise he’d been able to make out for the past few moments.
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2021 6:48 pm
Michael took his time watching Alastor. He wanted to make sure there weren’t any ulterior motives, or any hints that he might be working as a double agent. Maybe he wasn’t what he said he was-- maybe he was really just from Earth like everyone else and was really good at pretending like he wasn’t.
Like how he paused to look at and admire pretty much every display of lights they passed. He seemed mesmerized by them, and Michael wasn’t sure anyone who’d been on Earth for possibly thirty or so years wouldn’t have become at least somewhat disenchanted by the holiday decorations. Or at least desensitized to their magic.
There was something almost endearing about the look of awe in Alastor’s expression. And Michael realized that he’d been pausing to look at the displays of lights as well. Something he hadn’t done in many years.“Not every night, no,” Oberon answered when it looked as though Michael was either purposefully not answering, or had become distracted by the aura near them, or maybe the lights. “I usually try to come out when I get the chance. It was hard for a while when I was taking classes and studying for those. And I had a couple internships that took up a lot of time. But I have friends I meet up with sometimes. Also Senshi,” he explained, thinking of Perdita and even Oort when he was in town.
“Others keep a lookout, and if they need help they’ll send a message.” It wasn’t as organized as it could be, but they also didn’t have a secret otherworldly location to gather and commiserate. Unless the moon counted.
“I wish whatever that thing is would hold still,” he sighed as they walked in the strange aura’s general direction.
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2021 7:21 pm
It seemed an impossible thing, to wrap his head around the fact that there were so many Senshi here. That they could live what sounded like normal lives. Strange, for him, but masquerading as the mundane. “It sounds like an interesting system. I’ve never heard of Senshi being born on the same world, I can’t wrap my head around it. Cosmos must be doing something odd. I feel strange being so far away from home. Like I’m floating on water that’s just about to pull me under. I can feel my world, but.”
He shuddered, and not just from the cold that seemed to be very slowly working its way into him. “How often do you visit your world?”
…Oh, wait. There was something of a flaw in his plan to get home–he still didn’t know how to.
“...How do you get there from here?”
The oddity had disappeared from his radar once more, but it reappeared suddenly, just to their left. Very close, to their left. The trees were completely still, and it was still silent in the darkness.
Whatever it was, it was watching them. Closely.
This time, it wasn’t moving away.
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2021 7:35 pm
Oberon didn’t really get a chance to answer. And that was probably a good thing. Especially when the strange sensation reappeared close to them and--
“A reindeer?” Oberon frowned as he watched the animal through the trees. It was watching them so intently that it seemed unnatural. “Uh, it’s an animal that lives on Earth. Usually in colder climates. They’re popular for Christmas decorations-- the fake ones with lights and stuff, not the live ones,” Oberon explained. He was certain they’d passed a few lit reindeer just recently.
"It's pretty weird that one's out here," he frowned some more, wondering if maybe there was a petting zoo that it escaped from. “There are worlds that have been taken over by Chaos, and left nothing,” Michael explained as they stared down the deer, cautious about giving Alastor too much information but also wanting to make sure he knew something. “I guess Cosmos thought it was important that Senshi are born somewhere, if they don’t have anyone to be born to on their own worlds.”
If Alastor didn’t know who Oberon was, or where it was for that matter, then it was likely that there were plenty of others he didn’t know about, either.
Of course, they didn’t get to continue their conversation immediately, because the reindeer seemed like it was in the mood to trample someone.
It suddenly lunged from its place in the trees to attack them, and all Michael could do in that moment was shove Alastor out of the way of flailing hooves. Not because he didn’t think the other man could handle himself, but because he was unfamiliar with Earth animals.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 4:55 am
Alastor wasn’t used to getting shoved, not for his own good. It wasn’t a common technique used by the shadows back home, and it wasn’t a common technique in the fights he’d been in here on Earth. He wasn’t one to panic, but he was one to react.
If Michael hadn’t pushed him, he probably would have stayed right there. Maybe he would have tried to grab its antlers and see if it was as strong as it thought it was, but he certainly wouldn’t have moved. Michael made that decision for him, and probably for the best. Except, in the split second that Michael decided Alastor should not be in the way, Alastor decided the same for Michael.
If he wasn’t supposed to be there, the only one of the three that wasn’t powered probably shouldn’t be, too. He grabbed Michael’s arm as he was thrown off balance and tugged him with. The momentum alone probably could have caused a tumble in the snow, but Alastor had good enough footwork that he kept upright, even if he’d accidentally smushed Michael against him.
“Sorry,” he said briefly, but there was that feeling of familiarity, heavy against his chest that made him think of home. Like he could feel the core of his world reminding him that it was alive. For a second, he was reassured that his world was holding on and doing okay without him. For now, maybe, but it was enough to bring him a strong sense of relief.
Oh, but there was still a great, charging beast; the reindeer had skidded to a clumsy stop and seemed like it was fumbling to right itself. It stomped at the ground and turned, pawing at the ground to find solid purchase so it could strike again.
He hadn’t quite let go of Michael when he asked, “A good thing Cosmos put you all here if your creatures are so unfriendly.” And big. “--And that’s a youma, or…?”
…What were they supposed to do when it wasn’t a youma?
It looked good enough to eat, though. Probably good for at least a few meals.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 5:31 am
Whatever Michael had expected, it certainly hadn't been for Alastor to grab him, much less pull him out of the way. He'd intended on trying to divert the reindeer's charge, whether by grabbing hold of its antlers or just trying to block its path.
In retrospect, as the reindeer crushed the ground where they'd both been standing, it was probably very good that Alastor had thought to pull him aside. Michael was used to being powered, so taking on a charging reindeer while not having the extra boost of strength would have likely ended poorly.
That didn't mean he wasn't surprised enough to nearly lose his balance, and while he hadn't fallen over, thanks to Alastor keeping a hand on his arm, he did manage to collide into him.
For someone who was just a basic Senshi, there was a surprising strength behind his grip, but Michael was more concerned about how his chest had tightened-- from fear? No, it wasn't quite that. His heart didn't race that easily.
"Thanks," he mumbled as he finally pulled himself and his arm away from the other man, and reached up to rub at his chest. The orb was still beneath his shirt and now his winter jacket, so he didn't have to worry about losing it at least. Oberon, being the smart one of the group apparently, had jumped out of the way when the reindeer came charging. "Looks like this guy has been causing problems for everyone nearby," he said as he browsed the articles about reindeer in Destiny City 2021 on the burner phone he'd bought specifically to have for when he needed to contact someone not powered while powered.
Mostly it had been for talking to Haven before the big hilltop battle, since she'd been busy with her ice skating, but now he kept it in case he was bored while on patrol. The Mauvians really needed to update the connection on their Senshi phones.
"I don't think it's a youma," he frowned as he watched where the reindeer moved, and as it tossed its head in agitation before turning back to eye them. "There have been others like it. Not quite youma but not able to explain why they're different," Oberon said, and tucked the phone into his pocket.
"It's probably just scared, or thinks we're going to hurt it," he suggested with a shrug. "We could try to catch it and bring it back to wherever it escaped from. Ah, but I don't think it wants that. Heads up," he warned and made sure to get out of the way when it charged again.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 6:11 am
This time, it was easier to move out of the way; the reindeer seemed to have thrown itself off course by dipping its head low and scraping its antlers against the ground. At first, it seemed like it was just stumbling, but when it yanked its head back up it sent a spray of powdery snow up at the group.
Alaster huffed, brushing the sudden coldness from his face as he watched it skid to a stop and trot in a circle as it prepared to make another run towards them.
“Maybe it shouldn’t attack people if it doesn’t want to be hurt,” Alastor protested, but he supposed it wasn’t fair to judge an animal for being nonsensical when people had a hard enough time making sense. That ugly face didn’t really look scared though, it looked mad.
In other circumstances, Alastor might have found himself endeared to the creature for its persistence, but it was really just an inconvenience right now. He was trying to understand Chaos on this planet, not wrangle deer. Although, rain deer sounded like something cute that belonged on Jupiter. With little thunder hooves.
He wasn’t sure that the best solution wasn’t just to stop it, cook it, and eat it, but Earth did have food everywhere and it was probably easier to just go stand in line for a minute, give them some paper, and walk away with something already prepared. If it was a troublesome creature, maybe it could just be chased back into the woods. Or returned, sure, but. He wasn’t really sure where you return a creature like this, or how you wrangle it safely to take it home. If it ran away once, it probably wanted to be somewhere else, anyway.
A car horn honked in the distance and the reindeer lifted its head. Its ears folded back and the noise only seemed to agitate it more. It bucked twice, and then charged again–away from the noise.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 7:30 am
Michael shielded his eyes as best he could when the reindeer showered them with snow, snorting softly in amusement at the sight of Alastor covered in the snow. Maybe it was something to do with how the powder stood out so crisply against the black of his outfit and hair.
"Are you used to snow?" he couldn't help but ask. Alastor didn't seem surprised by it, but he also could be so focused on everything else that it didn't really register as something to pay attention to.
It seemed that they were lucky in that the reindeer didn't want more to do with them once the car horn agitated it enough to run off into the trees again. "Oh, great, now it's probably going to harass us later," Oberon signed as he watched the reindeer buck and charge off. "Good teamwork," he mumbled sarcastically. Alastor and Michael were busy hugging or whatever, and Oberon was trying to figure out how to help the poor creature. Great.
"Well, it's gone now," he added as the strange aura from the reindeer disappeared from his internal radar. Go figure.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 1:59 pm
“Not used to snow anymore,” Alastor said, tilting his head to the side so he could shake a little more snow out of his hair. “Winter’s hard on my world these days. It stays dark all the time, so it gets too cold to go outside for long. The pipes don’t run as hot as they used to, so there’s not really an easy way to warm up. It’s not so bad here on Earth, though. Your shower runs nicely.”
He could spend another hour in there when they got back in. But, he wasn’t properly frozen yet, and the night was still young. The shifting shadows still put him on edge, but he kept reminding himself that Earth was different. He didn’t know how many more opportunities he might have to go out with people interested in showing him how things worked around there and he wanted to make good use of the time he did have.
“We could go after it,” Alastor suggested. “Just to make sure it’s not getting into any more trouble. And if it is, we can stop it. If it isn’t,” he shrugged, “Then, maybe it just figured out where it was supposed to be.”
Either way, it would keep them out for a while longer, and they could make good use of their time just by making sure no one else was in trouble.
And, Alastor wasn’t sure he’d really gotten enough out of these youma and Earth creatures, yet; this hardly counted as an exercise.
Although, at this point, even just a warm-up was sounding pretty good.
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