Construction, deforestation, typical Destiny City mishaps–you never know what you’re going to get around here. It starts with a squeak in the sky, and the flapping of heavy wings. If it’s dark enough, maybe you don’t even see the giant bat descending on you. They were pests a few years ago but seemed to have cleared out for the most part–except for a stray one here or there. This one is large even by comparison. It has an eight foot wingspan–a behemoth, growing fat and large in the years since the bats last descended on Destiny City. Maybe you’re lucky, maybe it just swoops by.
Maybe it’s hungry, or mad, and you look like a prime target. If it attacks, you’re in for a rough time. Scratches cause an itch that might last for up to a day, but the bites are the worst. Being bitten by these bats leaves two small marks that will itch for a few hours. Then, exhaustion and fatigue sets in and you become extremely sensitive to external stimulus; skin feels like it becomes overheated in sunlight, bright lights are painful to the eyes, and smells and sounds can seem overwhelming. The victim will feel constantly cold and hungry, no matter how much they eat or drink. They may also be prone to agitation and bouts of violence. These afflictions may last only a few hours or a few days and then suddenly disappear.
(Being attacked by the bat can be counted as a battle once per character provided there are at least two powered characters involved; no matter how much you seem to damage the bat, it will always fly away and hardly even seems worse for the wear. You cannot track it or severely damage it. This prompt can be used for the battle or the afterwards of being attacked, or anything else you might be inspired to play!)
Step one: get a check list Step two: check the checklist Step three: watch the checklist be eaten---
Again.
For the sixth time.
None of these things were parts of the original concept he'd tried to wrangle into a whole and functioning thought of a thing. Of course that was what he got for making said checklist on paper, and then making said paper list with green crayon, and -- worst offense of all-- trying to do anything around Cerbirborbus! (Tenth of it's name, highest flier, lord of pecking the eyes!)
Without first taking Cerb's into account. That should've been the first thing he put on any list his every single step one for every future project - Check Cerbs, and then, once Cerbs was checked?
He could check on other things...
Like Hestia! First of her name, baddest of them all! He'd practically fallen the ******** over himself the second he'd learned, secondhandedly, that she was part of the team. That he'd had to hear it from Borax -- who had no end of urge to brag in his recruitment of the newest eternal Senshi! He was elated for the other man as he was chiding of himself for not being more ears to the earth and on the ******** top of things!!
He hadn't even prepared a muffin basket---He didn't even know her favorite color, or if she liked to spar, or!! He was bound to fix it though! With his surefire-could-not-fail-vampire-capture-mission-extraordinaire! For Borax to find any interest in her? She must've been a gal of many talents, and he aimed to impress!
What better way to do that than hunt down one of DC's many rumor's that milled about this time of year? There'd been bats before, same as lizard people, there were maybe bats again -- of the sexy, sun fearing, heat scorched, vampiric variety! All sorts of talk about getting bit, n turning, n -- and he wasn't about to lie to himself or anyone else -- if he could bring a real life vampire or vampirine home?
If there was even a chance, then he was so ******** doing it! It hadn't taken much thought after that to text Hestia and tell her to meet him in the park. To tell her to be ready to go cave diving while in said park; (because weirder things had happened then caves opening up in the center of what used to be normal a** earth on a bright n moony night).
To also bring Cerbs along--- because the bird was always good as a lookout for such adventures as this could've been! Even if bringing his birb meant watching him hack up a variety of Crayola colored labels from where he perched heftily with claw feets splayed one on each shoulder.
"How many stomachs do you actually have? Is it eight...nod if it's eight...I can't actually tell if that's nodding, Cerbs. Though I swear -- if either of you s**t on me? Y-you--the left head--head on the left with the eyes--I will cook you. You in particular, I like the other two more sometimes," and the look the head he dubbed 'barbra' aimed at him was viscously cold, icily cold. Chances were he was indeed getting s**t on -- he wasn't even sure if it was actually real s**t --- or if Cerbs was stealing s**t-adjacent looking substances from other dimensions entirely.
For all that he treated the bird like a real pet! He hadn't missed the fact that it was extra planar, could die, had personalities! *Bled.* He chided them as he babied them, lamented the days of when they were just orby little blorbs of wisps---
Checked his tablet one final time -- just to make sure he'd pinged Hestia properly. Something a checklist would've helped remind him of if only it hadn't been eaten!!
Eight -- entire -- times ----
Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2023 10:08 pm
The name of Albite, Eternal Albite, had been heard first from General Faustite, in suggestion that he be found eventually about a room for herself. But since then she'd heard it whispered, murmured, cackled, groaned, intoned, laughed, and hissed near daily in the barracks and around the castle halls. He was clearly someone very popular and important. Especially to her General King! She'd heard him referred to as Faustite's righthand senshi and lefthand senshi, and sometimes just as his handies senshi, with a certain, somewhat confusing emphasis. Of course, if the Order Database had been correct, he was also the General King's husband. And a very dangerous fighter as well!
Basically it all amounted to an intense desire to make a good first impression on Corrupt Eternal Albite, Senshi of Retribution! Thinking about it again she gave a little fist pump at such a cool sphere, and double-checked her space against the notes document on her tablet.
On her head she had a miner's helmet, complete with light, another rope slung over her shoulder because you could never have too much rope, and a pickaxe. Yes, she was entirely prepared for cave diving!
Teleporting was still a new and rather delightful experience, but she'd made sure to teleport just a little ways away to make sure she didn't have an uncool, stumbling entrance. Albite would first feel her signature and then see a diminutive maid/miner senshi step into view.
With a slightly more burdened bow than her usual, Hestia greeted him, "Mister Albite, sir!" From her ponytail came an echoing series of squeaks.
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Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2023 10:05 pm
<********, if she ain’t smooth with it —— and it wasn’t any one thing she did, because it was a culmination of everything!
Her walk, her vibe, her flow! The way the little bow definitely took core strength and powerful thighs what with how prepared she was!! He hadn’t even considered bringing gear with him—Course the kind of preparedness he considered was always the more mental and emotional variety than actual, honest to goodness, gear!!
It felt like he let miles of silence shaped as ‘wow’ spanning out between them, like it lived on his face, obvious as the most obvious thing could’ve been—-it was his excited a** face beneath the label ‘obvious’ in the dictionary. It was also beneath a few other labels — but that hardly mattered right now! Not when he was blurting more obvious words breathlessly—
“Holy s**t you’re cool,” and his canyon of a smile only twinged as Cerbs ever so strategically yanked on his ridiculous lengths of locs, as if it were fed up with all his glimmering glee in the face of Hestia ‘Sir-ing’ him the one time. He’d never been sir’ed before!!! What was he even supposed to do with that!?!
“I mean—holy s**t you’re cool! Hestia! It’s so — I’m sorry I didn’t meet you from go, yeah? But — it was worth the wait, right? I mean — wow, actually wo- oww ow—C e r b s—,” because the pecking had turned pointed and the trio of heads with six gleaming eyes behind them were no longer for him. They were fixed instead on the rustling squeak of darkness he’d failed to pay attention to, at least, not until right now.
“Ohmygod—don’t tell me your hair is sentient too?! No ******** way! Does it talk, does it cary things for you? Mine doubles as rope and kindling — don’t ask — ” he didn’t actually care if she asked, was practically on the toes of his boots with joy for this one singular instance, a moonlight mission, with his best new Eternal companion and his very distracted bird!
lizbot
Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2023 11:55 pm
The internal fistpump at being called cool (so cool!!!) was a lot more external than Hestia likely intended. Straightening up with a distinct flush, she gave a prim little cough into her hand, "No, Mister Albite, I am afraid I can only aspire to the heights of your own coolness. Both among the ranks of the Negaverse and within the files of the White Moon, the reputation that precedes you is a veritable parade of a...a badassery most grand!"
There was an almost fervent seriousness in her words, like she was explaining that they were in some sort of danger, or that he was invited to a cult she was very excited about.
"What a legendary creature!" Hestia gasped, noticing the three-headed bird that was clearly preening its master in a display of loyalty and affection that was no doubt earned through his great deeds.
"My hair is, sadly, nowhere near as amazing or useful as your own, sir. But I don't think many could reach the high bar you've set for us all." Reaching back one gloved hand, a tiny fuzzy creature stepped onto her finger to dangle upside down. "It simply likes to hide there."
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 12:23 am
"Y'hear Cerbs? She called you majestic, you're a lucky bird--" Wait--wait--waaiiittt--- if one'd been possessed of a mental magnifying glass they could've watched the wheels turn in his head in real time. As it was, he spent long seconds looking perplexed over the concept of being part of some gossip shared amongst all sides, before ever so slowly looking like he might preen about it. His ego hardly needed inflating, but ********, if people were gonna talk? Let it be about him!
"Oh, Hestia, you've no idea how tempted I am to ask exactly *what* kinda badassery our other side-ah the moon Cosmos-companions are saying about me! I mean, I'm sure its exciting stuff! But--uh---" he wasn't sure it was all good things, or anything good at all, and who would be writing about his assets, and in which bathroom stall were they writing it!?
ON WHICH MOON WAS IT WRITTEN!? Maybe an asteroid, a planet? A piece of space debris?!
Present questions that became past curiosities quickly as a full a** bundle of itty-bitty-buzzy-bat popped outta Hestias hair like 'surprise ********!' Albite felt Cerbs shift gears and finally slide gracelessly offa his shoulders to watch the cutely clinging bat from the ground, bobbling heads n all, making those bird-interest-acquired motions.
Albite let Cerbs go, clasped his hands and made a decidedly un-badass noise, one of glee, of awe, because Oh, my god -- A CHILD! A bat child! A real life, wings aplenty, bat!! An assurance that vampires would be even easier to locate now! As a man who was a believer in the odd and obscure, who put stock in most superstitions; even if the amalgamated snippets made little to no sense to him -- they made sense enough to someone!
And bats had ties to vampires -- and caves -- and echolocating fair maidens in lakes..or something like that?
"Look at this baby! What's its name? Where did you find it! Does it use echo location---" the way all his joy felt so nostalgic, how he let that excitement show, for he missed in tenthousand unspeakable ways when Cerbs had just been a compilation of orbs -- a k-pop bands worth of bright floaty wisps -- before going solo act solid and growing three hungry heads.
"Such a ********' cutie!"
lizbot
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 1:03 am
"A dangerous himbo, deeply committed, one who binds and breaks," Hestia began to recount, tone hushed and giddy as she dangled the bat over the creature he called Cerbs. Was that short for Cerberus? How charming! But then the little bat-thing decided it had enough of the bird's many tiltings and noddings and took to the air on its undersized wings. After gaining a few feet of height, it suddenly puffed up like a fuzzy balloon and proceeded to gently bob in the air.
With a sigh, she explained, "I haven't picked a name yet. I was trying to be collaborative, but it refused to choose between Deathmonger and Fleshrender. A hard choice, I know...but..." she looked away, forlorn at the indecisiveness of her new little pet.
"It found me as a wisp, while I was bleeding out in an alley one night." After a pause, she added, "Captain Borax," as an explanation. The name was spoken with the sort of familiarity that silently added, Oh that guy and his blades, always such a rascal.
Understanding both the positive attention and that cutie sounded nicer than Fleshrender, the bat-thing bobbed closer to Albite.
"May I ask what we're to retrieve from the cave, sir?"
