|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 8:18 am
Quote: Prompt 4 (Fear and Feathers): The moon is bright tonight and reflects off of the snowy ground, illuminating everything with an ethereal glow. Destiny City feels almost safe, even at night. The fresh fallen snow seems undisturbed and brings a sense of peace. Only, nothing is ever as good as it seems, and there’s something eerie about it. After a while, it feels like someone--or something--is watching you. In the shadows of the trees, a set of milky eyes watches. Whatever it is, it’s tall and bulky. If you walk quickly, you feel it follow you but once you leave the line of trees, it disappears. If you try to approach it, a great beast will screech at you: a six foot tall snowy white owl takes flight. It may tackle or claw at you, depending on how you approach it, but it will always take flight and disappear in the night. If you choose to attack it, for the next few nights any time you look out your window you will see glowing eyes in the distance--or worse, hear it scratching to get in. Eventually, the temperature rises and the visits stop. For now. Note: The owl is not a youma but can be used as a battle requirement for a character. 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. If you repeat the prompt with the same character, only one will count for a battle requirement. The owl will not appear to have any magical abilities and seems to simply be a very large, aggressive owl.
Things hadn’t really been the same since Lysithea disappeared, nearly two months now. Soleiyu had taken his time to sulk, let his heart be broken, processed the grief. Well–no, he hadn’t. He’d pined for her, he’d hurt, but when he wasn’t fussing over the Senshi he still had or trying to invent some way to magically bring her back, he’d been out looking.
He was unsuccessful, but usually not as unsuccessful as he was tonight. Which, arguably, should be considered a failure. He was testing out a tracking device he’d just made and he’d been so certain that he was onto something. It led him through town, into the park. Into the trees.
He’d followed it diligently until he’d lost service, and trying to climb the trees had been a good idea–or, would have, if a giant owl hadn’t been sleeping up there. Its horrible screech sent him tumbling out of the tree–and his poor little tool broke into three pieces. Better it than him, but he was still upset about it. He’d barely had time to gather the pieces before the owl was swooping down with its massive claws, trying to crush him.
Soleiyu wasn’t much for fighting when he could avoid it, so he ran.
And ran.
And ran.
The owl pursued relentlessly, breaking off branches and sending clumps of snow falling from above.
Soleiyu wasn’t sure if it would be easier to run where he had no obstacles, or if it would be more dangerous when the owl had less of them, but it wasn’t a problem he was going to have to deal with by himself; he felt two energy signatures nearby, both Senshi and–Oh, what luck. One of them was an Eternal Senshi! They would help.
Or, watch this bird eat him.
He wasn’t really going to give them the opportunity to deny; he ran low to the ground and seemed to have gained just a little distance between himself and the owl. As soon as he saw the three figures, he launched himself into the air at them. He didn’t care whose arms he landed in, but they were big and intimidating, they could protect him from a bird. “Help me,” he demanded, just in case they hadn’t gotten the idea, yet.
The owl burst through the trees just afterwards, in a flurry of feathers and snow.
It didn’t seem the slightest bit intimidated by them, but it wasn’t clear if it was still after the cat or just after anyone; it picked up speed and dove at them, talons first.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 10:16 am
"Spirit of adventure!" Oberon called out as soon as the owl was in range. The cat had launched itself at them, but he was busy quickly sliding off his jacket so he could use it as something of a diversion for the talons, and to also make the target area much bigger than a cat or one of their faces. Since it wasn't a hard surface, Oberon had every intention of jumping out of the way once he at least caught the owl off guard.
"Sorry!" he called to it, cringing because he didn't want to use his magic on any animal, but this thing was seriously trying to attack the Mauvian. "Fly home or something," he tried, hoping that the panic that his magic would have caused would make it exhausted enough to fly away.Or he might have pissed it off enough to continue attacking them. The jacket certainly kept sharp talons from digging into flesh, but the owl shrieked and took off with its prize, leaving Oberon without his jacket.
Michael tried not to feel guilty as he glanced at the electrical burns that snaked up Oberon's bare arms from his hands, and instead tried to make the cat safe and comfortable by unzipping his jacket enough for him to hide inside if he wanted.
"You okay?" he asked the cat, but kept his eyes on the large owl. "That has to be the biggest owl I've ever seen," he grimaced. He didn't say it just for himself, but Alastor probably should know that this wasn't normal. Kyuseisha no Hikari TL;DR magic is supposed to cause a panic attack for the target, but uh. Owl.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 11:11 am
Soleiyu was very careful not to dig his claws into Michael but as soon as the jacket was offered, he burrowed himself as deeply as he could get, twisted inside of his jacket, and turned so only his head was sticking out.
“I’m fine, but I think you’re being too lenient. That thing is a menace,” the cat huffed; he wasn’t taking his eyes off of the owl either.
A wise idea, probably; it might have had Oberon’s jacket but it didn’t seem like it was through with them. A few times it looked like it was trying to scratch something off of itself, or shake something off of it. Its talons tore into the jacket, leaving large, gaping holes. The jacket fell, and it faltered in the sky before dropping after it.
Alastor watched, guarded and uncertain because for all of the creatures that had attacked them, Oberon seemed to be sympathetic to–well, most of them. And this one had no energy signature, so he might have easily just assumed it was normal to find animals of the sort here on Earth. Michael had clarified that it was an impressive specimen, and this one was easier to justify than the creature that had tried to gore them earlier–owls at mice and small rodents, so one of that size could have–was that a Mauvian?–whatever, it was probably bite sized to a bird that size.
His go-to was apparently incapacitate an animal and then cook it, but he had to again remind himself that Destiny City was not so scarce that he needed to imagine how he was going to eat every creature that crossed their path. He wasn’t thinking about eating the Mauvian. But he could have, if the owl didn’t just crash into the ground.
It looked like it was frantically digging, and its eyes were wide as it clawed, like it was looking for something.
Soleiyu’s tail was twitching furiously from where it was hidden in Michael’s jacket when he said, “Really, I think you should get inside and let this thing work itself out. I don’t like it, it’s not natural.”
Which, was something Alastor already knew but something that held a bit more gravity from a Mauvian, he supposed. He couldn't really see it, with how snuggly it was nestled in Michael’s clothes, but Oberon didn’t want to hurt the creature and the Mauvian wanted them to get away, too. It seemed like it was looking for something in the ground, but if they moved he wasn’t so sure it wouldn’t just draw its attention back to them–and between the three of them, they were out of jackets to start throwing.
Alastor had always had a habit of picking up rocks, so it wasn’t particularly surprising or interesting that he’d had a few in his pocket, and more in his subspace. Nothing phenomenal, or he might have been more reluctant to part with it, but he withdrew a flat stone, ran his thumb across it, and then threw it as if he would any other skipping stone.
He didn’t aim for the ground, but even without having water to bounce off of, it sailed through the air easily enough–past the owl’s feet. It turned immediately, jerking to see what had just gone by, and Alastor took that opportunity to throw another, this time a little further. When the owl hobbled a few steps after it, he looked at the other two for just a second, because if they were going to go somewhere, they weren’t going to have a lot of time while it was distracted.
He threw the third rock, this time into the trees. It hit something and ricocheted off, making a decent amount of noise, and the owl scurried after it hurriedly, either because it was still after a meal or because it was still trying to shake off the last bit of Oberon’s magic.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 5:03 pm
Oberon was aware of what his magic did. If anything it would just distress the animal enough to leave them alone (he hoped), but it wouldn’t physically hurt the creature. It just needed something else to focus on than them.
He whistled appreciatively when Alastor threw his rocks. “Nice aim,” he said with his hands on his hips, really wishing he had his jacket back but. Oh well, he would get it the next time he powered up. He’d probably power down and back up in just a bit, anyway.
“What’s going on with these animals. Is it a full moon?” he frowned, taking a step back to try and see around the tree branches to see if he could locate the moon. But when he couldn’t immediately find it, he lifted a hand to give a little wave to the Mauvian.
“Oberon. This is Alastor and… that’s Michael,” he gestured, since obviously Michael was still not powering up. “What happened to make it attack you? Just thought you were a good choice for lunch?”Michael adjusted the bottom of his jacket so the cat had plenty of room to move around it if wanted, and used his arms to hold his weight as well.
“It’s fine, it’s already going away,” Michael nodded in the direction the owl flew off in. He didn’t bother trying to kick the cat out yet, but obviously it was welcome to escape whenever.
“It is pretty strange to see animals acting up like that, though. Any idea what’s going on?” he asked, hoping the cat would have more of an answer, or at least a theory.
He didn’t bother telling Alastor that he was also impressed by his throwing skills.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 5:42 pm
Alastor nodded at the praise; he acknowledged it but didn’t seem like he needed to boast about it. Instead, he pocketed the rest of his rocks for safe-keeping. He looked at the treeline where the owl had disappeared and seemed like he suspected it would be returning, but as the seconds ticked on there was only silence. The trees didn’t rattle, the bushes didn’t shake. They might have been safe.
Soleiyu stayed burrowed in Michael’s coat, unwilling to move from the safety and warmth. He would have much rather been anywhere else, but. As long as the owl was gone, he supposed he was fine.
“I’m Soleiyu,” the Mauvian grumbled, and gave Michael a hard look before he decided that he had to know what a Mauvian was if he was talking to him like he was fine, though the Senshi company he kept was explanation enough. “I’m glad I ran into you, thank you. I was reckless. Maybe. I lost my Senshi, the Negaverse took her. I’m trying to find her, I thought I made something that could locate her. I let myself get distracted.” He was oversharing, he knew it, but his little heart was still pounding. “I didn't see it, it was just there. Everything’s been all messed up since those Velencians arrived, I blame them.”
Maybe it wasn’t their fault. But his life would have been a lot better if they hadn’t set the trap that cost him Lysithea, and left half the Court too busted up to even go out looking for her. It wasn’t their fault, he loved them.
They just weren’t the same without her, and neither was he.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 6:39 pm
“That sucks,” Oberon frowned at Soleiyu’s introduction. He wished he could retrieve his jacket but it was probably torn to shreds by now. Oh well.
“They’re not all bad. The Velencians. If they hadn’t lied to Caedus then I bet we would have been able to get into Negaspace again,” he grumbled, and then glanced over at Alastor. He didn’t want to reveal too much in case it messed things up, but knew he would probably ask. Or find out some other way.
“Caedus is their unawakened Senshi. He wasn’t really upfront about that but… most of his people would rather that he die than try to figure out any other way to awaken or help his world,” he explained to Alastor, even though that was a very shortened version of it. “Ignoring the fact that him dying could save probably millions of others, sure,” Michael added. He wasn’t against Caedus, but he also had a different view on his life than Caedus had on his own. He rolled his eyes at the disappointed look Oberon gave him and explained, “I don’t want anyone to die. But if I could save Earth by dying--” “There’s no guarantee it would work,” Oberon argued. “We’ve seen miracles happen before, so why give up so easily?” ”So you were working on a tracker to find your Senshi,” Michael changed the subject away from the Velencians and Caedus, looking down at the cat in his jacket. “What’s her name? We can keep an eye out for any information we find,” he said. But he was also thinking about how another Mauvian might be the extra help they needed with the Void. Lucasta was doing a lot of the work herself, so maybe another would help them complete it faster…
No, Soleiyu was looking for his Senshi and probably had more important things to do. Even if they had a way to stop the Negaverse from having the upper hand.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 8:02 pm
Alastor was perpetually grateful that Oberon was so patient and took the time to explain everything because otherwise he would have been very confused. He was still confused, but it was at least with the foundation of an understanding. He kept his opinions on the matter to himself, if only because he wasn’t there and knew he was getting the very abbreviated version of things.
…But really, he might have shared Michael’s opinion on the matter. He didn’t know how risky it was, or how much was or wasn’t guaranteed but if something could save his world? He’d do just about anything.
Soleiyu was not so easily swayed; he shivered and pressed close to Michael because even with his fur, and even with this jacket, he wasn’t comfortable out here right now. Even worse, he’d have to make his way home, too. He didn’t want to be back in the cold, or on the ground, or out alone, knowing that thing was out here.
“Lysithea is her name. She’s the Senshi of Unicorns. She’s an Eternal Senshi, with black hair. She wears purple. Mostly. I think. She did when she was my Senshi.” He was pining, he’d always pine. There was a hole in his heart without her. “It happened when the Velencians unleashed those machines. I think she was trying to help someone, but I wasn’t with her when it happened. I’ve only been able to put together bits and pieces, but she was talking to an agent, I think. And the only one I know she’s close to is Faustite. But I haven’t seen him, or found anyone who’s seen her.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 8:38 pm
“Faustite?” Oberon chirped in surprise. “I know Faustite. Or at least I met him a few years back. Half-youma Captain.” He paused, sighed, and turned to Alastor once more. “When agents eat too many starseeds, sometimes they get part-youmafied. Too much Chaos or something. Still look human, mostly. Not like the youma from earlier. But I haven’t seen him in a while,” he said with a shake of his head to Soleiyu.
“I haven’t seen anyone who looks like they might be the Senshi of Unicorns, either. But I’ll keep an eye out. We all will,” he said with a nod. “If we can rescue her, I’m sure Ganymede wouldn’t mind helping to purify her back. Oh, unless you have someone else in mind,” he added, not knowing if they were closer to one of the other royals, or maybe Cosmos.There was nothing Michael could have done to shut Oberon up in time. And it wasn’t as though he didn’t want to help Soleiyu with finding and helping Lysithea, but things might have gotten a bit more complicated than he wanted them to be.
He found himself holding his breath and squeezing his eyes shut for a few moments, wondering if maybe there were enough distractions that a name might have been lost in the rest of the conversation.
“I don’t know a Faustite, sorry,” he offered, which wasn’t much of an offer. “I met a half-youma General recently though. Said his name was Chrysocolla. Was half on fire.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:33 am
Ganymede was familiar to Alastor, he’d been on friendly enough terms with him through Percy. His ring was from Ganymede, and he reached up to touch it instinctively. Alastor couldn’t have hidden the recognition if he’d wanted to; the expression on his face was as easy to read as if he’d said it out loud. His attention was once more completely on Oberon and he listened expectantly, waiting for something, anything more.
Soleiyu was a little more oblivious to whatever personal revelation Alastor was having. “Oh, he’s a General now. I don’t know about Chrysocolla, I only know that Lysithea was trying to help Faustite. She said he was a Half-Youma. She’s in a Court, they’ve purified youma before, so they wanted to save him. Lot of good that did her,” he muttered. He was reproachful, but it wasn’t directed at her. She’d only been trying to help.
The Negaverse just ruined all things.
Parts of this conversation were interesting to Alastor, who added Courts, and purifying youma, and Half-Youma to his list of things to ask more questions about, but no matter how he tried to focus on any of that, he kept going back to Ganymede.
Was that a common name? Did it belong to more than a world, a Senshi? Was it the Ganymede? –But if Ganymede was here, then Serge had to be around, and–
Something felt strangely like a nail tapping into his temple, and from there he could feel a sharp pain shooting through his teeth. Some sort of dread welled in the pit of his stomach and he only realized he wasn’t breathing just before his vision started to swim.
His brows remained furrowed and his lips were set in a stubborn frown that only deepened. He felt guilty, like a cloudy haze of shame and regret had suddenly manifested around him and was trying to smother him. The sensation came out of nowhere and he had to force himself to shake his head and rub at his forehead to try and dismiss it
He was probably just hungry. Or cold. Or tired.
He should have waited, should have listened, but his impatience won out and he asked, “Ganymede is here? Is Valhalla, too?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 6:17 am
"That could be problematic if he's a General now," Oberon admitted with his arms crossed over his chest and frowning thoughtfully. "Probably makes it more difficult to convince to purify."
And then Alastor spoke, and Oberon realized that he said a name he probably shouldn't have. He tried not to cringe, because if it got out that Ganymede was on Earth, then maybe Alastor would figure out sooner that the person he was looking for wasn't actually alive. At least not really. Not as he knew him.
Knowing that he'd already said something he shouldn't have, Oberon kept his mouth shut to let Michael respond instead. For someone who was so smart, Oberon tended to throw caution to the wind more often than he should. Then again, he was just trying to help with a suggestion.
"Maybe," Michael answered, looking at Alastor directly when he did so. "In a few days we will see who is available for you to speak to. They might be there, but they might not."
It all depended on if they wanted to risk whatever was going on with Alastor. Although, the more they were with him, the probability of being from another time didn't seem likely, even though the other possibilities were just as unbelievable.
Alastor knew how to fight. He seemed confident enough with that, even though they hadn't come across many for him to test his abilities on. Someone like that wouldn't be so thin and sickly. It was almost as if he'd been wasting away for years and years. How that was possible, Michael didn't know. But they did know the Velencians had an extremely long lifespan compared to humans, so it was possible that this Senshi was just extremely old, and confusing reality after so long.
Or he could be from another time and they could all be wiped out by giving him information that would change the past.
"Soon," he said to Alastor, voice sympathetic. He could understand wanting answers. He just wished they knew what they were dealing with first.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 6:54 am
The hope in Alastor’s expression didn’t extinguish, but it tempered quickly with the weight of maybes. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked off to the horizon as he collected his thoughts. It took only a few seconds before he nodded. “Soon,” he repeated, like it was a word that soured in his mouth. But, the tension eased from his shoulders and he relaxed. His brows unfurrowed and he exhaled, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
Soon wasn’t so bad.
It was worth waiting if it got him closer to Percy, and rushing things or chasing away the people who were already helping him wasn’t going to do him any favors. He could wait, there was plenty to do on Earth.
His world would be fine for a little while longer; it had lasted this long, and he’d left it well-protected.
Soleiyu’s tail twitched again, curled around Michael as he remained perched against him. He knew something wasn’t quite right here, but he couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was. They weren’t quite talking in riddles but there were oddities enough about it. He listened, because it was never a bad thing to know, but he wasn’t going to pry for more context out here. Not when he was still wondering if that owl was going to come back and bother him.
He stayed quiet while they spoke, but his interest was divided by what they knew of Faustite, and what he didn’t know about their own little mystery. “Are you headed back to the city any time soon? I’d like to stick with you until I’m a little closer to home. Just in case.”
It helped that Michael was warm, and he was interested in–well, whatever was going on with these three.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 10:49 am
Michael was grateful that Alastor didn't push for more answers. It wouldn't have been fair to pull both Paris and Chris into something that they didn't have a chance at saying no to, but hopefully they had enough time to think about it before Christmas.
"We'll head back to the city. Just tell us which way to go and we'll take you as close as you are comfortable with us being," he offered the cat, making sure the jacket was zipped up enough for his temporary passenger.
"Maybe we can spar at some point," Michael offered to Alastor, since they had come out to test his abilities, or at least give him a chance to find out what youma were and possibly even the Negaverse.
Instead, they found a pathetic little youma, an angry reindeer, and a giant owl. And a Mauvian. Michael just hoped they didn't need to fight any more that night. Grateful that he didn't disappear because he ruined the timeline, Oberon let out a frustrated sigh as he peered off to where the owl had gone.
Just in case was right. Hopefully they wouldn't have to deal with it again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
