|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2024 9:17 am
Quote: Snowy Showdown (16) : There’s something magical about fresh fallen snow–completely undisturbed and untouched by the rest of the world. It should be relaxing and peaceful–a sign that no one has been around and you’re perfectly safe. Except, the best predators lie in wait, completely invisible to their prey. What do you do when a patch of snow starts clumping together and taking shape right before your eyes? When it all comes together, it looks like a person, only there are no features, just a snowy white form. Maybe there wouldn’t have been an issue if you hadn’t seen it, but it’s too late. In frantic, panicked movements, it lunges at you with icy fists. It feels like being pelted with snowballs, but each hit lowers your core body temperature–rapidly. The creature is highly susceptible to heat and will melt if exposed to it; if you hit it, snow splatters everywhere. It may attempt to reform, but eventually it loses strength. You might not want to stick around to see if it just needs a little more time. If the creature manages to knock you unconscious, you may wake up covered in snow and with a bad cold. You may be more aware of strange, snowy figures that seem to be standing around in odd places; who knows where these things are hiding? Note: This strange snow monster 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 meet battle requirements. You can use the prompt for as many characters as you like and it will count as a battle requirement, however if you repeat the prompt with the same character, only the first time will be usable as a battle.
Sighing a little in contentment, Nis had swept a patch of snow off of a park bench in order to sit down and admire her latest find. The kerosene lamp still had kerosene in the little reserve and she’d managed to get the silly thing lit. The shadows it cast on the fresh snow made the Cosmos squire think of shadow puppets. There wasn’t a lot of heat to be felt coming off of the lamp either. But, in fairness, it was quite cold and the lamp quite small.
It was nice to look at, though and it seemed to fit in with the snow and silence of the park. Once she got the metalwork cleaned a bit and shined up, she’d take it to her wonder.
A soft noise nearby had her nearly blow the tiny flame out, but then she realized that the aura she felt was one very like her own. Relaxing, she turned her attention from the lamp and scanned the area.
“I can tell you’re friendly, so you may as well come out and say hello,” she called cheerfully. “I promise I’m mostly harmless!”
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2024 7:05 pm
Kiringul’s luck during the holidays was, as ever, abysmal. He wasn’t sure what did it, but before he could even process what was going on, something had effectively pounded him into and buried him under the snow. It hadn’t successfully knocked him out, but he had lost all will to live–the sheer embarrassment was what had done it–for a few minutes, and only when he sensed an Order aura approaching did he finally stir from where he lay in the snow.
At their words, he shot his hand directly up to break up the snow, and then his upper body followed.
The Cosmos knight was cold, wet, and deathly pale–if not for magic he probably would have actually died–as he glanced over at the other knight. He looked…uncomfortable, but otherwise the scowl on his face was about par for the course. “Not sure that’s something you wanna announce to the general public,” he said, wiggling where he sat until he was finally free of the snow. He stood then, and dusted the rest off while sighing.
“There’s something here,” he went on, “that might hear you and try to take advantage.”
eldriitch stardust I forgot a word so I edited it in.. |D; Sorry, that must have been confusing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2024 1:02 pm
Of all the places for another knight to appear from, under the snow had not been anywhere on the bingo card. Staring a little in bemusement, she watched him surface and dust himself off. He looked terrible and she wished that she had a blanket or the like to toss over him. Maybe she could get him a coffee? There were plenty of places that didn’t care if you looked like a freak or not as long as your money was good.
Shaking her head a little to bring herself back to the present, she tilted her head and ‘listened’, searching for any other auras.
“What else could be out here?” she asked, puzzled. “We’re the only two auras around. Just how did you come to be buried like that in the snow?”
Clearly something was going on. Knights just didn’t bury themselves under a snowbank for the fun of it. Nis, just needed to understand what it was.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2024 4:43 pm
”Not really sure to be honest,” he replied as he slowly made his way out of the snowbank and back onto the path. He couldn’t fight “I didn’t sense anything either. I was just walking along this path, patrolling as usual when something like a snowball smacked me upside the head.”
His cheeks were already pink from the cold, but as he spoke they deepened significantly in color, and actually grew a bit hotter. Embarrassing as it was,.it was more important to him to warn the other knight so he pushed through with his explanation. If his bad experiences would benefit someone else, that was good enough for him.
“A lot. I fell into the snowbank and was turning around to get back up when I was suddenly just…buried in snow.” He visibly shivered at the memory as he made his way over to them, pausing for a second because he thought he saw something happening in the snow behind the bench. Nothing happened, though, so he let it go and went on with his explanation. “It seemed like something jumped in, actually. It was bizarre, but…I don’t know. DC holidays are weird.”
He flopped down onto the bench beside them soon enough, and extended a hand. “Kiringul, a Squire, believe it or not.” He still didn’t fully understand what he did to earn more power, but clearly his Wonder thought he was doing just fine. “You are?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2024 11:36 am
”Nis,” she answered the other squire’s question, taking the offered hand as she considered his words. “Squire of Cosmos and holidays can, indeed, be really ******** weird around here.”
She offered a smile and wished that her little thrifted lamp was big enough to produce some decent warmth. Though, if she really opened the tank, it might be enough…? Couldn’t hurt to try.
“Come over here, please,” she pointed to the bench she’d been occupying before picking up the lamp and opening the kerosene reservoir a bit more. Humming to herself, she pressed a fingertip against the glass that sheltered the flame and nodded. It would suffice for now.
“Here, put your hands against the glass. It’s not a lot, but it should help you a bit. You said a snowball hit you? It didn’t get your temple did it? No knocks to the head when you fell?”
She was already carefully examining his head, looking for signs of bruising or anything that might need a doctor. As she looked, she saw movement from the corner of her eyes that looked like something big heaving up from under the snow. Turning her head, her eyes went wide as the snow itself rose up to form a vaguely humanoid shape.
“Ah, please turn slowly and look. Would you say that the rather large snowman over there could be responsible for your mishap?”
This ******** town.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 10:25 pm
Ah, a fellow Cosmos knight. Kiringul wondered if it was obvious enough that he was one as well, but there wasn’t much of a benefit in pointing it out so he didn’t bother. There was enough camaraderie from them both being on the same page about the tendencies of the holidays in this particular city. At least he wouldn’t have to convince her of that; he wondered about some people’s optimism with this city…
Not that he would ever move, but there were very valid reasons to sometimes consider it.
Blinking at the lamp, he reached over and pressed his hands against the glass as instructed. Even just the bit of warmth it offered was most welcome after his ordeal, relaxing him enough that a rare smile actually settled on his face. Small, sure, but there it was.
“Thanks,” he replied after a moment, “and yeah. Big one, I feel like, right to the back of my head.” He saw the way she was examining his head and was about to comment when she suddenly mentioned something behind him. Turning his head, his face immediately scrunched into a right scowl at the sight of the snowman.
“Honestly, not sure. But knowing this city, that probably is the ******** thing. Maybe back to finish the job?” Before he could throw the lamp out of irritation, he handed it back to Nis, stood up, and turned to face the snowman. They locked eyes…or maybe they would have if it had eyes…and he froze, just in case it decided to attack based on how he moved.
“Any ideas?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2024 8:52 am
Suddenly having her lantern thrust back into her hands, Nis worried a little that she was becoming very jaded to weird s**t happening. Watching Kiringul square up shook her out of her daze and when he asked if she had any ideas, she was both pleased and surprised with herself when she answered.
“Buy me time.”
Which was quickly followed up with, “Try to avoid getting hit in the head, please. I’m still not sure that your tumble and being buried in snow didn’t hurt your brain.”
She didn’t have time to say more as the snowman moved, arms flailing, trying to strike at both of them. The damn thing was fast. Strong too. Dancing out of the way, she felt a glancing blow on her back and shivered, feeling herself get cold. Right. Well, she’d better work fast then.
Shielding the lamp as best she could, she seized up a bit of her skirt and worked to tear away a strip. As the thin fabric tore, she looked for a decent stick or a big rock. She needed a carrier for this to work.
“How you doin’ over there,” she yelled. “Don’t suppose your weapon involves a metal stick does it?”
She found a dead branch sticking up from the snow and seized on it, tying her bit of cloth around and tearing the glass globe from her lamp. It hurt her heart to do so, but such things could be repaired. Cranking up the flame, she touched her makeshift torch to it and grinned as the cloth caught fire.
“My turn!” she yelled, running at the snowman, armed with fire. She had no idea if it would work or not, but fire made snow melt. Maybe it would drive this guy away. She’d left the burning lamp a few feet away and hoped that Kiringul would be able to cobble up his own torch.
Hers was burning hot and bright now and she speared it at the snowman’s face. Or… where his face should have been. She could see the snow melting and grinned.
“Hurry up and make a torch! Make two! Just don’t break the lamp! Damn thing’s an antique!”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 3:00 am
Didn’t hurt his brain?
Too little too late, he thought with a huff. The Squire was fairly certain his brain had long since broken when he first picked up his “weapon” and powered up in the middle of a hot summer day, in the middle of a park of all places. He’d accepted it for what it was, and was at times grateful it was something he and Melody shared. It was hard to imagine how much he would worry for her if he was the only powered one between the two of them, knowing what all was out there. A person could only properly defend themselves against things that they knew about, after all.
More often than not, though, he wasn’t a huge fan. It was a responsibility, he knew, but just because it was didn’t mean he had to like it.
When Nis asked for time, Kiringul gave a nod and did his best to keep most of the snowman’s attention on him, suffering through more than a blow or two and feeling a chill growing steadily from inside of him. It felt like freezing from the inside out, but he did his best.
“Alive,” he called out in reply, “and no, unfortunately I’m stuck with a horn I’m not totally sure how to use.” Again, he wasn’t sure how he’d survived this long or why his Wonder had entrusted him with more power, but he used it as best he could. He knew he had a long way to go, of course, but between civilian life and learning about his past life…
He took a solid punch to the stomach that jarred him back to the present, but Nis was at this point jamming a torch into the thing’s head. He saw it melting, too, and glanced over at the wide open lamp. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together. Quickly pulling his headband off, he stuffed it into his horn and dipped that into the lantern’s fire.
With it being distracted by Nis, he tipped the whole thing onto the thing’s head, giving it a cone hat of flames and causing it to melt that much faster.
“Looks good on him, what do you think?” he chuckled, but not wanting to give it any room to recover he kept going. He tore a bit of his sash and ran for a nearby stick to make his own torch. Soon enough he was starting to jab at the thing’s main body, and gradually it stopped struggling against them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 1:29 pm
”Don’t get too carried away,” Nis cautioned. They had to be mindful of the kerosene since it wasn’t a limitless resource. “Let’s just melt him down nice and steady…”
Still, she couldn’t fault Kiringul for his exuberance when it came to fighting back against the snowman. But he’d taken an awful lot of hits in addition to his original tumble. She just wanted him to be careful.
Her own torch was sputtering out and she’d dipped it in the flickering flame of the lamp. As she approached and shoved the fire towards its chest, she was more than pleased to note that the thing was moving more slowly now. And it seemed a lot more sloshy around the edges. Taking her stick, she slashed through the air, aiming at where the snowman’s head connected to its trunk. Between the fire and force of her hit, the snowman’s head wobbled for a moment before falling to the ground. And after a confused moment where it seemed like it was trying to reform but just couldn’t, the body began to break apart and topple.
“Melt down what’s left of the head, would you?” she glanced over at her fellow squire and half-smiled. “I don’t think it’s got any fight left, but best to be sure.”
Frankly, she was beginning to feel the cold and she couldn’t imagine how Kiringul wasn’t shivering himself to bits. The sooner they could get this sorted, the sooner both of them could go and get warm.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 26, 2024 7:41 pm
Kiringul gave a singular nod and walked on over, kicking his cone off of the thing and, when the bits of remaining flame fizzled in the melting snow, he very happily hopped right onto the head, very effectively squashing it to sloshy smithereens. He marched, for good measure, not at all minding the water and snow seeping into his shoes and the bottom portions of his robes.
“I’d spit, but that’s just gross,” he said, making a face at the remains of the snowman’s head. “But ******** this thing, and all its iterations that have probably been attacking innocent passersby all winter.”
The Squire sighed and watched the other work, hoping the now half-melted mess of a body that remained of the snowman was not enough for it to reform and take revenge on them. When that seemed to be the case, he offered the other a grateful smile and extended a hand.
“Thanks for the save,” he said, a rare, if small, smile on his face despite the cold that was slowly creeping back in.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2024 12:52 pm
Inspecting what was left of the snowman, Nis allowed herself a moment of gleeful spite as she stomped and kicked at the melting lump that was its body. Taking the offered hand, she smiled and nodded.
“I agree. ******** this thing and almost every weird thing this city seems to attract.”
Some of the weird wasn’t bad, but living snowmen that attacked people were absolutely Not Okay. Giving Kiringul’s hand a friendly squeeze, she sighed and let go, intent on rescuing her lamp before one of them wound up kicking it accidentally. Scooping the main lamp and glass globe up, she carried them carefully.
“I think we used up every bit of kerosene this thing held, but I’d call it a good use of resources. Now I can experiment with more modern accelerants before I take it up to my wonder. More importantly,” she said briskly, turning her full attention to her fellow squire. “How are you doing? I continue to not see any bruising around her head and neck, so I am comfortable in assuming your earlier escapade didn’t result in any concussions. But you are close to looking like ice yourself. Do you live close? Can you get home safely on your own?”
Though the words could have been construed as patronizing, Nis was genuinely concerned and thinking purely in terms of making sure her ‘brother’ would be okay.
“If you don’t mind some old granny advice,” she said with a quirk of her mouth, “drink some hot tea once you’re home. And maybe soak yourself in lukewarm water depending on how cold you feel once you power down. You can gradually add more hot to the mix once you're sure you’re not frostbitten.”
Suddenly, Nis gave Kiringul a dazzling smile before laughing softly.
“Personally? I think I’m going to start a fire and warm up some socks and my robe in the dryer. I might even heat up some mulled wine in the crock pot and give in to being cozy. I hate being cold.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2024 6:36 pm
The sentiment about weird things in the city was certainly a shared one, and Kiringul nodded in total agreement when she said it. Eyeing the remains of the snowman, he wondered how many more people had been victim to these things before Nis spoke of the lamp that ultimately saved them both.
“Best use case for any lamp,” he again agreed with a little nod. “You should think about carrying something around with you that’ll help weaponize it a little better, so you don’t have to tear off clothes and find random sticks to make torches or whatever other kind of weapon might be useful. Maybe an aerosol for maximum damage?”
What he’d give to see how the other side would react to something like that.
He waved off her concern, though he could feel himself slowly freezing over. “Appreciate that, and honestly will probably take the advice. Hot shower, cozy PJs, and some tea in front of the fire’ll probably do the trick.” Her plans sounded just as good, too, and he considered adding the dryer bit just as he started shivering.
“I really wish teleporting was in our repertoire, too,” he grumbled slightly as he wrapped his arms around himself and pointed in a random direction. “I’m that way. You?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2024 6:42 pm
"Teleportation would solve many problems," Nis agreed. "But since the only way for that to happen is joining the Dark Side, I think I'll pass. But who knows, maybe one of the cats can figure something out."
Not that she had a lot of hope for that one. More concerning was Kiringul's shivering attack.
"I'm the opposite direction. It's not terribly far for me, though."
She considered for a moment, 'listened' for any bad auras and made a snap decision. Powering down, she grinned and shrugged out of the thick parka she'd donned before heading out to shop. She'd be okay until she got home as long as she didn't dawdle. Tossing it around Kiringul's shoulders, she held up a hand to hold off any protests.
"The color doesn't suit you at all," she said impishly. "But should help keep warmth in until you get home. You can always return it to me later! Now scoot!"
In an effort to keep from arguing, she turned and jogged off through the snow, lamp pieces in hand. She hadn't been lying when she said she wasn't far from home. And within about twnety minutes, she'd made it to her door. And not a moment too soon, either. Her teeth were chattering and all she wanted was heat soaking into her body. Ducking inside, she shut the door behind her and went directly for the fireplace. She'd bask for a few moments before getting that hot shower.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
