Unseelie
(Verified True Fae)
- Location
- Tír fo Thuinn
If it came without control, sure.
(Though it's a kind of immortality not even Cynric wants, so...)
A Conjuror's journey
(Though it's a kind of immortality not even Cynric wants, so...)
'Give me your energy!'
PieceThruWar
Not an eldritch abomination
- Location
- The Server Farm
Flying Southwest until you are out of several streets beyond hearing range of Trobror's shotgun blasts, the two of you descend upon the unsuspecting masses. The first to notice you points and exclaims their surprise loud enough for a number of his fellow to follow suit. By the time you're touching the ground once more, the entire street has come to a halt in order to watch the spectacle.
Questions over who you are and what you're carrying go ignored for the moment as you focus on cancelling the magic cast on Amy. Not one of the mid-day shoppers or lunch seeking employees were expecting the face of their country's greatest healer to be revealed from within the crumbling ash.
"Oh my God, what happened?!" An older woman asks amid the shock and dismayed onlookers.
Worthless bodies taking up space and wasting time though they may be, their numbers would be dangerous if caught up in the sways of passion. Which is why you take it upon yourself to preempt any foolish ideas about your complicity. "The one known as Hookwolf has struck down your beloved healer!"
It is with supreme restraint that you withhold a sneer at the outrage your statement causes. Not a single person among them even bothers to question the truth of your words. From aghast elders, to frightened teenagers who should be in school, and ending with menacing oaths from a trio of burly laborers; every one of them is more than willing to accept that Hookwolf is guilty of Cattleya's crime.
"God damned Nazis!" One of the stained clothed laborers growls as he steps closer and demands, "Why aren't you taking her to the hosp- Christ..."
His accusatory words stop with a grimace at seeing her purpling, angled neck come free from the hardened ash. Nodding at his growing comprehension, you use the opportunity to announce, "I can help her, but I need more energy."
"What kind? Like batteries or food or gas or something?" A worried boy asks with a shaky voice, not looking away from the broken girl of around his age.
You halt his fumbling to remove the battery from his phone, along with several others that are quick to react. "No, my... powers need something you cannot purchase from a shop. I need to drain energy from the soul to heal her."
The panic gives way to momentary silence, turning to wary murmurs as your words register. People take a step back, some dismissing you as insane, others going so far as to turn their phones toward calling whom you presume to be the PRT while they hurry away. The boy however steps forward after only the briefest of hesitation.
"O-okay... do what you need to, I..." His eyes meet Panacea's and he swallows thickly. "I... uh... You probably don't remember, but if you can hear me... I just wanted to say thanks for helping my cousin."
While the child closes his eyes and pointlessly goes on about the details of some family matter, you drain what little magicka he has and move on to the others that are coming forward. Each seems to want to tell her something about how she helped a loved one or how inspiring she is. It all rather emotional and perhaps it would be considered touching by someone else if they hadn't turned into a jumble of voices desperate to be heard over the others. To you, it is simply a distraction from your work.
Regardless of whatever they're hoping to accomplish, you slowly drain each and every one of them before turning the gathered magicka toward fixing Louise's friend. You start with mending the shattered ribs and damaged organs from Cattleya's swipe before moving to the scrapes caused by her slide across the ground. Once all the rest is fixed, you grab her head and pop it back to the correct angle in order to heal that as well.
Of course, you do take the liberty to fill up your reserves again once the process is complete. No point in wasting the opportunity when so many willing donors are present after all.
Finished, you look up to see the closed eyes and expressions of grim determination on the faces of those around you. Couples are embracing one another, some are kneeling in prayer, and one large man is openly sobbing for some reason. Raising a brow, you ask, "What are you people doing?"
Still squeezing her eyes shut while an old man continually makes a crisscrossing gesture over his torso, a scantily clad brunette declares, "J-just hurry up already!"
"I have finished already." Comes your bland reply, causing him and the others to open their eyes in confusion. "I have no idea what you were expecting, but your assistance in this matter has been appreciated."
Amy takes that moment to sit up and cough, "Wow, that was... weird. Scary, but weird."
"Near death experiences are like that at first. It, like most other supposedly traumatic experiences, gets easier every time." You tell the girl before helping her stand. Keeping your grip on her hand, you pull her into the air and leave behind the bewildered crowd of imbeciles.
Awkwardly waving to her adoring public, the healer calls out below, "Uh... Thanks for the help! Really appreciate it!"
------------------------------
Fury, hunger, and fear fought her for control. She refused to let it win. Not after almost eating that nice guardsman when training with Louise. She could stop it, she knew she could if she just stayed focused.
It wasn't easy though.
Every cut made her angrier. Hookwolf was really good at making her angry, being made of cutting things. She must have lost at least a gallon of blood since throwing Amy to safety. She wasn't sure how much longer she could risk it before she would need to retreat and wait to change back.
It would be a long wait since she didn't know how to shift back on her own.
"-ove y- -r ass!" A deep voice roared in challenge before a sudden weight pinned her to the ground just as Hookwolf flew over them both, having abandoned his turtle impression.
She picked the weight up and stood, lifting it above her head and looking through the transparent lenses of it's head shell. Pupils narrowing and vision sharpening as she saw the reptile's own eyes widen in instinctual fear, she clamped her jaws down on the creatures neck and thrashed around.
No blood came. No tearing flesh. No satisfying meat.
Discarding the shelled reptile as she remembered it was a packmate, she leapt upon the spinning sharpness of her prey. Hookwolf tried to fight her off, but she let the blades bite deep into her arms with a snarling grin. Even if the blood loss made her hunger grow, this thing didn't have the burning touch of her sister's sword to stop her wounds from closing.
Howling in anticipation of victory, she twisted her blade riddled arms outward to clear her path. Striking forward with powerful jaws, she felt a searing pain as her prey's quills tore out her eyes and carved into her snout. The creature beneath her bulk was a helpless porcupine inflicting what wounds it could with it's death.
It didn't matter. She would heal.
The meat within was elusive, but even coated in her own ichor, her nose was good enough to track the promised meal. Repeated blows, rending claws, snapping jaws, tight quarters, supernatural speed, sheer power, and dogged persistence. These were the traits that proved too much for the meat's protective layers and it attempted to flee in desperation.
Caught up in the mess of spines and sharp hooks, she took a split second too long to snap at the fleeing orb of flesh. In the moment it took to free herself, the meat was already growing another metal body. Her eyes had just healed enough to witness the first layer forming when the friend-turtle's weapon roared once more, the noise deafening her. Again.
Her anger abated when a quarter of the meat and metal orb turned to mist. The meal grew in size, entirely flesh this time rather than shell. It staggered against the see-through wall of their cave. A dull banging reached her healing ears as it beat on the wall and cried out.
It's bleating only fueled the sudden flare of intensity in her hunger. Fresh blood dripped from the circular hole in it's gut. Entrails dragged on the ground behind it.
Salivating, she leapt in for the kill.
----------------------------
"For the love of God, help me!" Hookwolf begs as you land next to the twin Victorias with Amy.
His pleas soon give way to incoherent, wet screaming and then silence. New Wave watches on in shock, horror, and disgust; none of them able to tear their eyes from the carnage. Lady Photon is the only one who even seems capable of noticing your arrival, due to needing to focus to keep the barrier containing Cattleya up.
"Holy fuck." You hear Amy whisper over the snapping sounds of your apprentice's sister gorging herself.
Victoria just stares with unseeing eyes toward the gruesome scene while Glory Girl empties her stomach on the ground. Sarah appears to be quite desperate to keep her barrier between the werebear and herself, a smart decision in most cases as even Trobror appears to be keeping his distance from Cattleya. As for the last two, Neil seems unsure of how to react at all while Carol... looks to be torn between disapproval and fighting not to smirk.
Status: Healthy, tired.
Magicka: (650/650)
Choose:
[] Since the situation is contained and New Wave now knows about the werebear situation, strike up conversation while Cattleya eats. She's earned it.
[] Ignore the others and secure the area.
[] Paralyze Cattleya, collect your people, and say your goodbyes. It is time to get your bounty money and return to base.
[] Write in.
Questions over who you are and what you're carrying go ignored for the moment as you focus on cancelling the magic cast on Amy. Not one of the mid-day shoppers or lunch seeking employees were expecting the face of their country's greatest healer to be revealed from within the crumbling ash.
"Oh my God, what happened?!" An older woman asks amid the shock and dismayed onlookers.
Worthless bodies taking up space and wasting time though they may be, their numbers would be dangerous if caught up in the sways of passion. Which is why you take it upon yourself to preempt any foolish ideas about your complicity. "The one known as Hookwolf has struck down your beloved healer!"
It is with supreme restraint that you withhold a sneer at the outrage your statement causes. Not a single person among them even bothers to question the truth of your words. From aghast elders, to frightened teenagers who should be in school, and ending with menacing oaths from a trio of burly laborers; every one of them is more than willing to accept that Hookwolf is guilty of Cattleya's crime.
"God damned Nazis!" One of the stained clothed laborers growls as he steps closer and demands, "Why aren't you taking her to the hosp- Christ..."
His accusatory words stop with a grimace at seeing her purpling, angled neck come free from the hardened ash. Nodding at his growing comprehension, you use the opportunity to announce, "I can help her, but I need more energy."
"What kind? Like batteries or food or gas or something?" A worried boy asks with a shaky voice, not looking away from the broken girl of around his age.
You halt his fumbling to remove the battery from his phone, along with several others that are quick to react. "No, my... powers need something you cannot purchase from a shop. I need to drain energy from the soul to heal her."
The panic gives way to momentary silence, turning to wary murmurs as your words register. People take a step back, some dismissing you as insane, others going so far as to turn their phones toward calling whom you presume to be the PRT while they hurry away. The boy however steps forward after only the briefest of hesitation.
"O-okay... do what you need to, I..." His eyes meet Panacea's and he swallows thickly. "I... uh... You probably don't remember, but if you can hear me... I just wanted to say thanks for helping my cousin."
While the child closes his eyes and pointlessly goes on about the details of some family matter, you drain what little magicka he has and move on to the others that are coming forward. Each seems to want to tell her something about how she helped a loved one or how inspiring she is. It all rather emotional and perhaps it would be considered touching by someone else if they hadn't turned into a jumble of voices desperate to be heard over the others. To you, it is simply a distraction from your work.
Regardless of whatever they're hoping to accomplish, you slowly drain each and every one of them before turning the gathered magicka toward fixing Louise's friend. You start with mending the shattered ribs and damaged organs from Cattleya's swipe before moving to the scrapes caused by her slide across the ground. Once all the rest is fixed, you grab her head and pop it back to the correct angle in order to heal that as well.
Of course, you do take the liberty to fill up your reserves again once the process is complete. No point in wasting the opportunity when so many willing donors are present after all.
Finished, you look up to see the closed eyes and expressions of grim determination on the faces of those around you. Couples are embracing one another, some are kneeling in prayer, and one large man is openly sobbing for some reason. Raising a brow, you ask, "What are you people doing?"
Still squeezing her eyes shut while an old man continually makes a crisscrossing gesture over his torso, a scantily clad brunette declares, "J-just hurry up already!"
"I have finished already." Comes your bland reply, causing him and the others to open their eyes in confusion. "I have no idea what you were expecting, but your assistance in this matter has been appreciated."
Amy takes that moment to sit up and cough, "Wow, that was... weird. Scary, but weird."
"Near death experiences are like that at first. It, like most other supposedly traumatic experiences, gets easier every time." You tell the girl before helping her stand. Keeping your grip on her hand, you pull her into the air and leave behind the bewildered crowd of imbeciles.
Awkwardly waving to her adoring public, the healer calls out below, "Uh... Thanks for the help! Really appreciate it!"
------------------------------
Fury, hunger, and fear fought her for control. She refused to let it win. Not after almost eating that nice guardsman when training with Louise. She could stop it, she knew she could if she just stayed focused.
It wasn't easy though.
Every cut made her angrier. Hookwolf was really good at making her angry, being made of cutting things. She must have lost at least a gallon of blood since throwing Amy to safety. She wasn't sure how much longer she could risk it before she would need to retreat and wait to change back.
It would be a long wait since she didn't know how to shift back on her own.
"-ove y- -r ass!" A deep voice roared in challenge before a sudden weight pinned her to the ground just as Hookwolf flew over them both, having abandoned his turtle impression.
She picked the weight up and stood, lifting it above her head and looking through the transparent lenses of it's head shell. Pupils narrowing and vision sharpening as she saw the reptile's own eyes widen in instinctual fear, she clamped her jaws down on the creatures neck and thrashed around.
No blood came. No tearing flesh. No satisfying meat.
Discarding the shelled reptile as she remembered it was a packmate, she leapt upon the spinning sharpness of her prey. Hookwolf tried to fight her off, but she let the blades bite deep into her arms with a snarling grin. Even if the blood loss made her hunger grow, this thing didn't have the burning touch of her sister's sword to stop her wounds from closing.
Howling in anticipation of victory, she twisted her blade riddled arms outward to clear her path. Striking forward with powerful jaws, she felt a searing pain as her prey's quills tore out her eyes and carved into her snout. The creature beneath her bulk was a helpless porcupine inflicting what wounds it could with it's death.
It didn't matter. She would heal.
The meat within was elusive, but even coated in her own ichor, her nose was good enough to track the promised meal. Repeated blows, rending claws, snapping jaws, tight quarters, supernatural speed, sheer power, and dogged persistence. These were the traits that proved too much for the meat's protective layers and it attempted to flee in desperation.
Caught up in the mess of spines and sharp hooks, she took a split second too long to snap at the fleeing orb of flesh. In the moment it took to free herself, the meat was already growing another metal body. Her eyes had just healed enough to witness the first layer forming when the friend-turtle's weapon roared once more, the noise deafening her. Again.
Her anger abated when a quarter of the meat and metal orb turned to mist. The meal grew in size, entirely flesh this time rather than shell. It staggered against the see-through wall of their cave. A dull banging reached her healing ears as it beat on the wall and cried out.
It's bleating only fueled the sudden flare of intensity in her hunger. Fresh blood dripped from the circular hole in it's gut. Entrails dragged on the ground behind it.
Salivating, she leapt in for the kill.
----------------------------
"For the love of God, help me!" Hookwolf begs as you land next to the twin Victorias with Amy.
His pleas soon give way to incoherent, wet screaming and then silence. New Wave watches on in shock, horror, and disgust; none of them able to tear their eyes from the carnage. Lady Photon is the only one who even seems capable of noticing your arrival, due to needing to focus to keep the barrier containing Cattleya up.
"Holy fuck." You hear Amy whisper over the snapping sounds of your apprentice's sister gorging herself.
Victoria just stares with unseeing eyes toward the gruesome scene while Glory Girl empties her stomach on the ground. Sarah appears to be quite desperate to keep her barrier between the werebear and herself, a smart decision in most cases as even Trobror appears to be keeping his distance from Cattleya. As for the last two, Neil seems unsure of how to react at all while Carol... looks to be torn between disapproval and fighting not to smirk.
Status: Healthy, tired.
Magicka: (650/650)
Choose:
[] Since the situation is contained and New Wave now knows about the werebear situation, strike up conversation while Cattleya eats. She's earned it.
[] Ignore the others and secure the area.
-[] Let the locals have the Empire parahumans.
-[] Fenja, Menja, and the Cultist are now Xcom property.
-[] Fenja, Menja, and the Cultist are now Xcom property.
[] Paralyze Cattleya, collect your people, and say your goodbyes. It is time to get your bounty money and return to base.
-[] Relax with something less complicated, like helping Raymond turn his daughter into a mechanical abomination.
-[] Timeskip two days: Bulk resource delivery day.
-[] Timeskip two days: Bulk resource delivery day.
[] Write in.
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- Location
- St. Petersburg
God damn it Cynric, can't you give people a show!?
[x] Paralyze Cattleya, collect your people, and say your goodbyes. It is time to get your bounty money and return to base.
-[x] Give Trobdor a hand
-[x] Let the locals have the Empire parahumans.
Not sure what to do after.
What obligations do we have left? Do we owe anything to the Undersiders, like healing Tattletale? Are there any debts we are forgetting to collect?
Anyone we need to heal after the fight, or will they heal on their own? Vicky, Trobdor and Cattleya seem to have regen of their own.
What came out of studying Case 53 for Faultline? Do we need anything from them?
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PieceThruWar
Not an eldritch abomination
- Location
- The Server Farm
"Are you not entertained?!"
Tats got healed already, no outstanding debts unless you count this mission as a favor against you, healing Amy means any minor wounds such as cuts or bullet holes can be fixed without spending your magicka... Though Trobror would probably like it if you could give him a hand, and the 53s have given you dimensional coordinates and two chemicals that can be synthesized in small amounts: Newter's narcotic fluids and Flame retardent/high friction slime.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
Is there any benefit in getting Hookwolf alive? He seems to be still breathing... and he will be powerless on our side of the Gate, but do we need him?
Or is he finally dead? If so, is there anything we could use his corpse for? Have we tested if zombies retain their powers?
Or is he finally dead? If so, is there anything we could use his corpse for? Have we tested if zombies retain their powers?
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PieceThruWar
Not an eldritch abomination
- Location
- The Server Farm
Hookwolf could have been used to generate free metals once tuned to the specific type, but he is dead now. His corpse is 10% pink mist, 25% devoured already, and the rest will go soon if you don't stop Cattleya.
Zombie parahumans proved no more capable than regular zombies, hence the idea to try a partial zombie pan-pan.
Edifier
Trusted within thoughts.
- Location
- Court of Moon Wizards
- Location
- canada
Heh, true enough. With filled up Magicka that shouldn't be hard to do via healing, hopefully.
[X] Ignore the others and secure the area.
-[X] Give Trobdor a hand
-[X] Fenja, Menja, and the Cultist are now Xcom property.
While Fenja and Menja's powers aren't all that special, the cultist should be Othala, who can temporarily grant one power of her choice at a time to another person, with the selection including invincibility, flying and regen. The tactical and strategic flexibility could be useful if even part of the power can be extracted and used for XCOM.
- Location
- The United States
I believe it would be worthwhile to keep our new Empire friends!
If only so that we can use their passengers to get access to their eldritch cooking ingredients.
If only so that we can use their passengers to get access to their eldritch cooking ingredients.
Parzival094
The Observer
- Location
- Ontario
[X] Paralyze Cattleya, collect your people, and say your goodbyes. It is time to get your bounty money and return to base.
-[X] Relax with something less complicated, like helping Raymond turn his daughter into a mechanical abomination.
-[X] Relax with something less complicated, like helping Raymond turn his daughter into a mechanical abomination.
[X] Ignore the others and secure the area.
-[X] Give Trobdor a hand
-[X] Fenja, Menja, and the Cultist are now Xcom property.
-[X] Give Trobdor a hand
-[X] Fenja, Menja, and the Cultist are now Xcom property.
nmWarden
Webcomic Glutton
- Location
- Texas
[X] Ignore the others and secure the area.
-[X] Give Trobdor a hand
-[X] Fenja, Menja, and the Cultist are now Xcom property.
First of all I am enthusiastically happy with what Cynric did to encourage support from the locals. His mentality was amusing, the citizens were genuinely heartwarming, and Panacea actually survived! Back to the vote now. I hope Victoria has mentioned how terrible the PRT is at holding onto imprisoned villains. I want our decision to seem justified, possibly even supported by New Wave. On another note this chaos should help shield us from Clockblocker's mysterious death.
Any ideas on how to help Cattleya? We definitely don't have the magicka to paralyze her. I wonder if underneath the bridge (after we remove the heroes, villains, and Trobror) is isolated enough for her to turn back.
Edit: Do y'all think we can learn anything useful from Trobror's experiences in the Empire?
-[X] Give Trobdor a hand
-[X] Fenja, Menja, and the Cultist are now Xcom property.
First of all I am enthusiastically happy with what Cynric did to encourage support from the locals. His mentality was amusing, the citizens were genuinely heartwarming, and Panacea actually survived! Back to the vote now. I hope Victoria has mentioned how terrible the PRT is at holding onto imprisoned villains. I want our decision to seem justified, possibly even supported by New Wave. On another note this chaos should help shield us from Clockblocker's mysterious death.
Any ideas on how to help Cattleya? We definitely don't have the magicka to paralyze her. I wonder if underneath the bridge (after we remove the heroes, villains, and Trobror) is isolated enough for her to turn back.
Edit: Do y'all think we can learn anything useful from Trobror's experiences in the Empire?
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- Location
- St. Petersburg
Hm?
It's Mass Paralysis that costs 900 Magicka... I imagine a single-target spell would be cheaper.
Ash Shell could also - probably - isolate her quite nicely.
Cynric probably knows Sleep, even though we haven't used it once.
PieceThruWar
Not an eldritch abomination
- Location
- The Server Farm
All true, though Sleep is more of a sideeffect of high-end drain/damage fatigue spells rather than a single action effect. At least for Elder Scrolls magic. Werebeasts aren't impervious to drain/damage fatigue, but their stamina is restored fast enough to make it a moot point anyway.
Vicjer
The One Who Knows Less Than Nothing
- Location
- The Space Between Spaces
Never change, Cynric. Never. Fucking. Change.
rofl:
Emotional Nonsense
PieceThruWar
Not an eldritch abomination
- Location
- The Server Farm
Sitting with his back to the bridge's support column, Trobror kept a wary eye on the alien trapped inside with him.
Humans had been weird ever since joining the Citadel species; fleets focusing on carrying absurdly large swarms of fighters rather than dreadnoughts, varren-like aggression despite looking like a mix of Quarian and Asari, soft and easy to wound yet surprisingly hard to kill compared to all the other intelligent races... most Krogan and Vorcha weren't exactly what he would call intelligent, even the occasional pyjack could learn to drive a Tomkah and mimic speech if given the chance.
Still, other than their whole 'run it to death' style of hunting showing through in their dangerous amounts of stamina, he'd thought there wasn't much they could do that would shake him.
Then the bigger pink haired one had turned into a giant beast, clamped her jaws on his throat, and picked him up like a hatchling! The transformation on it's own would have been fine, he'd have just written it off in the same vein as 'Hookwolf' and his ability to turn into a living mulcher. Strange, but manageable. No, there was more to it than just that. Her strength had shot up to levels that he just couldn't wrap his head around and her eyes spoke of desperate hunger. A dangerous combination that only an idiot wouldn't wouldn't find frightening in the best of situation... which this certainly wasn't.
Being effortlessly thrown around brought back memories of his youth, the battlemaster of his clan tossing him into a den of klixen. The acid spitting bugs chased him up and down those tunnels for days until he learned to build deadly traps and use the dead ones to make armor to stop them from burning him. He'd gone on to use that experience to salvage and improvise gear to beat the other welps during his proving, but the memories stuck with him. Nobody likes being hunted, least of all by something they can't even fight back against.
With how quick she healed from the meat grinder they'd just been fighting, he doubted his shotgun could do more than piss her off. Not something he wanted to do, given the fact that the other female was still maintaining her barrier to imprison them.
Tuchanka wasn't a world that tolerated life too dumb to feel fear, even if most Krogan were still too stupid to admit it. Fear is healthy, it is the body's way of letting the mind know something is wrong with the situation even if the mind hasn't figured it out yet. It helps boost awareness and reaction times. It didn't mean running away so much as recognizing danger and that there were more options other than charge in blindly. Fear was just one more blade in a wise warrior's arsenal that kept the young and eager alive to become old and cautious.
Still, he couldn't just sit by and let Cattleya eat his mark's entire body or a lost hand and days of torture would be wasted... not that torture was really a problem for him, redundant nervous system and all.
"Hey!" He called out to let her know he was coming closer, even if her ears twitching at his steps meant she already did. The shout did bring her attention fully to him however, causing her to peer over her shoulder. Halting at the sight of her crimson eye and similarly colored teeth, he tensed to dodge.
When she did nothing but watch him, Trobror slowly stepped closer. She gave a light growl as he walked around her and approached the mutilated body, but he persisted after she made no move to attack. Carefully, the Krogan grasped the dead human by the neck and tugged the head free. Not the cleanest of ways to do it, but he didn't have a knife on him and was hesitant to use his Claymore to do the job with his 'ally' so close at hand.
The last thing he wanted to do was startle her.
Retreating just as slowly as he came, he sat back and watched her finish her meal. If she kept an eye on him as she ate, she at least didn't try to add him to the menu. By the time she was done, the group of humans that'd arrived with his rescuers had wandered closer to the barrier. Trobror recognized Victoria by her failed experiment appearance, but the others he didn't know, but he never claimed to be an expert on xenobiology and sometimes had trouble telling individuals apart if they weren't wildly different. At least the Asari usually made it easier with their face painting being almost always in unique patterns.
Judging by how most of them shared her hair color and one even had the same face, he guessed they were related in some way. His suspicions were confirmed a moment later when Victoria shouted to him, "You... uh... you okay big guy?"
"I'd be better if you got me out of here." Trobror replied, snorting at the way they all looked ready to vomit at the sight of the female's gorging herself.
"Not happening!" The blonde with the glowing energy sword declared, pointing said weapon at Cattleya. "Not with that thing waiting for a chance to escape. You'll simply have to wait until we can figure out a way to deal with it."
"Mom, that thing is Louise's sister and a friend of mine." Victoria hissed.
The one that looked like her, who he was fairly certain was the one with Cynric in the basement earlier, turned a glare on Victoria. "You're taking her side?! She almost killed Amy!"
"I'm fine now, Vicky." The brown one, probably Amy, tried to reassure the blonde.
The one making the barrier looked Amy over briefly and shook her head. "And we're glad you are sweetie, but look at this from our point of view. This girl is an unknown who's first real action was to turn into a bear of all things and she nearly killed you immediately afterwards."
"You don't think I know that?!" Amy growled. "Yeah, it was scary, but if she wanted to kill me, she could have. She was probably just trying to help me escape from Hookwolf!"
"Oh yeah, a broken neck is really helpful!"
"I said I'm fine! I'm the one who got hurt, so I have more right to be mad than you!"
"That's not the point and you know it Ames. That bitch just punched you across the street. If the old dude wasn't here, you'd be dead because she couldn't control her strength!"
"That's rich coming from you." Victoria sneered at Vicky. "What even was that guy's name? The one who went after Andrea? That couldn't have been that long ago, surely you remember. Amy, you remember, right?"
"Fuck, fine just shut up already!" Vicky shouted, tugging at her hair. Tears began dripping down her cheeks as she whined, "I almost lost my baby sister and our new friend's sister is fucking eating Hookwolf, I'm kind of freaking out right now okay?!"
Honestly, he would have just taken a nap or something else to distract himself until they let him out, but that would risk Cattleya turning on him in his sleep. After all, just because she was friendly so far didn't mean her predatory instincts wouldn't kick in if he made himself even more vulnerable. That kind of thing had almost cost him when he'd been smuggling thresher maw larvae a few centuries ago and he wasn't keen on a repeat. As it was, he really didn't care to watch the awkward apologies or embracing that followed Vicky's last statement.
Mammalians were weird about that kind of thing and even the Asari had picked up that damned 'hugging' thing already. It was unnatural and left too many vulnerabilities to betrayal for any sane being. If Turians or Batarians were next, he'd find a way to Relay Omega into their homeworlds.
"Alright, alright. Everyone just take a few deep breaths and lets sort this out." The lone male among the family ordered, though even he seemed to be losing his wits. "Amy? You're sure she was trying to help?" At her nod, he continued, "Okay then, I'll trust you to know best. Now somebody should call this in to the PRT so we can sort this all out."
Being the only one even remotely close to collected among the group, Victoria stole Vicky's primitive communicator.
------------------------
Emerging from within the building with a trio of unconscious women being dragged by the scamp that miraculously survived, you witness a strange scene.
Victoria is furiously tapping away at a phone while cursing like a Altmeri noble stuck in Blackmarsh, in quantity if not sophistication. While she performs that strange ritual, Amy is holding her clearly distressed sister in a tight hug and the adults are arguing over what to do with Cattleya. The werebear herself is busily lapping the last of Hookwolf's blood off of the pavement with only the slightest of her attention directed toward the parahumans.
Noticing your arrival, Victoria shouts, "Hey Cynric, can you chance Cattleya back? We just got some news from Taylor."
"Tay- Vicky, you're supposed to be calling the PRT not texting your friends!" Carol snaps, immediately shooting an apologetic look to the other Victoria, who obviously didn't need to hear that tone used for her name at the moment.
Rolling her eyes, Victoria replies, "Yeah, that's not gonna happen, since Taylor says they're busy dealing with an attack by the Travelers."
"How does she know that?" Carol asks before coming to a realization. "Wait, they? I distinctly remember telling her not to speak with the PRT without consulting me. Please tell me she didn't let them pressure her into joining the Wards after what Shadow Stalker did to her."
Amy, Victoria, and you all share a look of confusion on her incorrect deduction, but none of you move to correct her. Instead, Victoria shrugs. "Uh, yeah... Something like that. Anyways, good news is that Circus and Trainwreck decided to team up for some reason and they're fighting the rest of Hookwolf's followers."
"We have enough to deal with here, so you will have to let her know that she will have to rely on her teammates." Carol says with a sigh and a shake of her head. "Honestly, that girl... If she triggered from what Shadow Stalker did to her, she could have come to us... did she mention anything about it to either of you?"
Stepping in to distract the situation... or rather to shift it back away from the distraction, you ask, "Miss Photon, if you would be so kind as to lower your barrier, we can transport these criminals to Xcom for incarceration."
"Are you sure?" She asks with a nervous glance to her sister, who may as well be pouting for all the exuberance she seems to lack after this victory over an enemy faction. As a whole, New Wave should all be more cheerful than they seem at the moment, but are not for whatever reason.
Rather than chastise them for their sobriety, you nod to her question. "Yes, with the Oblivion Gate shutting off parahuman powers, these three will be unable to do much in the way of escaping even if the cells were substandard. Which they are not."
"That's... nice. But I'm more concerned with the giant bear that's licking itself clean."
Giving Cattleya an inquisitive glance, finding that she is indeed bathing herself like a common animal, you sigh in disappointment. "She will be fine and I can stop her if she decides to do anything foolish. Either way, I need to heal Trobror and somebody should search for some clothing in Cattleya's size. I rather doubt she will be happy to remain nude once the transformation wears off."
"If you're sure." The woman says nervously, but nevertheless, she drops the barrier and allows you to heal the reptile. True to your word, Cattleya barely seems to notice that anything has changed and continues to groom herself while you do so. The following trip back to the outpost is uneventful, as New Wave are all too preoccupied with Vicky trying to wriggle her way out of some trouble over something that was said while you were gone and Amy trying to make up a story with Victoria that won't expose Taylor's parahuman identity to Carol's questions.
All in all, you can consider the day to be an unequivocal success. Even if you now have the distinct displeasure of dealing with Cattleya's embarrassed fidgeting while carrying her, nothing but a thin, much too small black and red robe taken from the cultist to keep her voluptuous figure from pressing against your back. If you were interested in that sort of thing, you might have been less annoyed, but unfortunately you fail to muster up any form of satisfaction at the situation and can only imagine the pointless complaining Louise will do when she finds out.
Status: Healthy
Magicka: (400/650)
Choose:
[] Leave the prisoners to Xcom and go to sleep early. Tomorrow-
[] Offer to show New Wave around and introduce them to key figures.
[] POV Switch:
[] Write in.
Humans had been weird ever since joining the Citadel species; fleets focusing on carrying absurdly large swarms of fighters rather than dreadnoughts, varren-like aggression despite looking like a mix of Quarian and Asari, soft and easy to wound yet surprisingly hard to kill compared to all the other intelligent races... most Krogan and Vorcha weren't exactly what he would call intelligent, even the occasional pyjack could learn to drive a Tomkah and mimic speech if given the chance.
Still, other than their whole 'run it to death' style of hunting showing through in their dangerous amounts of stamina, he'd thought there wasn't much they could do that would shake him.
Then the bigger pink haired one had turned into a giant beast, clamped her jaws on his throat, and picked him up like a hatchling! The transformation on it's own would have been fine, he'd have just written it off in the same vein as 'Hookwolf' and his ability to turn into a living mulcher. Strange, but manageable. No, there was more to it than just that. Her strength had shot up to levels that he just couldn't wrap his head around and her eyes spoke of desperate hunger. A dangerous combination that only an idiot wouldn't wouldn't find frightening in the best of situation... which this certainly wasn't.
Being effortlessly thrown around brought back memories of his youth, the battlemaster of his clan tossing him into a den of klixen. The acid spitting bugs chased him up and down those tunnels for days until he learned to build deadly traps and use the dead ones to make armor to stop them from burning him. He'd gone on to use that experience to salvage and improvise gear to beat the other welps during his proving, but the memories stuck with him. Nobody likes being hunted, least of all by something they can't even fight back against.
With how quick she healed from the meat grinder they'd just been fighting, he doubted his shotgun could do more than piss her off. Not something he wanted to do, given the fact that the other female was still maintaining her barrier to imprison them.
Tuchanka wasn't a world that tolerated life too dumb to feel fear, even if most Krogan were still too stupid to admit it. Fear is healthy, it is the body's way of letting the mind know something is wrong with the situation even if the mind hasn't figured it out yet. It helps boost awareness and reaction times. It didn't mean running away so much as recognizing danger and that there were more options other than charge in blindly. Fear was just one more blade in a wise warrior's arsenal that kept the young and eager alive to become old and cautious.
Still, he couldn't just sit by and let Cattleya eat his mark's entire body or a lost hand and days of torture would be wasted... not that torture was really a problem for him, redundant nervous system and all.
"Hey!" He called out to let her know he was coming closer, even if her ears twitching at his steps meant she already did. The shout did bring her attention fully to him however, causing her to peer over her shoulder. Halting at the sight of her crimson eye and similarly colored teeth, he tensed to dodge.
When she did nothing but watch him, Trobror slowly stepped closer. She gave a light growl as he walked around her and approached the mutilated body, but he persisted after she made no move to attack. Carefully, the Krogan grasped the dead human by the neck and tugged the head free. Not the cleanest of ways to do it, but he didn't have a knife on him and was hesitant to use his Claymore to do the job with his 'ally' so close at hand.
The last thing he wanted to do was startle her.
Retreating just as slowly as he came, he sat back and watched her finish her meal. If she kept an eye on him as she ate, she at least didn't try to add him to the menu. By the time she was done, the group of humans that'd arrived with his rescuers had wandered closer to the barrier. Trobror recognized Victoria by her failed experiment appearance, but the others he didn't know, but he never claimed to be an expert on xenobiology and sometimes had trouble telling individuals apart if they weren't wildly different. At least the Asari usually made it easier with their face painting being almost always in unique patterns.
Judging by how most of them shared her hair color and one even had the same face, he guessed they were related in some way. His suspicions were confirmed a moment later when Victoria shouted to him, "You... uh... you okay big guy?"
"I'd be better if you got me out of here." Trobror replied, snorting at the way they all looked ready to vomit at the sight of the female's gorging herself.
"Not happening!" The blonde with the glowing energy sword declared, pointing said weapon at Cattleya. "Not with that thing waiting for a chance to escape. You'll simply have to wait until we can figure out a way to deal with it."
"Mom, that thing is Louise's sister and a friend of mine." Victoria hissed.
The one that looked like her, who he was fairly certain was the one with Cynric in the basement earlier, turned a glare on Victoria. "You're taking her side?! She almost killed Amy!"
"I'm fine now, Vicky." The brown one, probably Amy, tried to reassure the blonde.
The one making the barrier looked Amy over briefly and shook her head. "And we're glad you are sweetie, but look at this from our point of view. This girl is an unknown who's first real action was to turn into a bear of all things and she nearly killed you immediately afterwards."
"You don't think I know that?!" Amy growled. "Yeah, it was scary, but if she wanted to kill me, she could have. She was probably just trying to help me escape from Hookwolf!"
"Oh yeah, a broken neck is really helpful!"
"I said I'm fine! I'm the one who got hurt, so I have more right to be mad than you!"
"That's not the point and you know it Ames. That bitch just punched you across the street. If the old dude wasn't here, you'd be dead because she couldn't control her strength!"
"That's rich coming from you." Victoria sneered at Vicky. "What even was that guy's name? The one who went after Andrea? That couldn't have been that long ago, surely you remember. Amy, you remember, right?"
"Fuck, fine just shut up already!" Vicky shouted, tugging at her hair. Tears began dripping down her cheeks as she whined, "I almost lost my baby sister and our new friend's sister is fucking eating Hookwolf, I'm kind of freaking out right now okay?!"
Honestly, he would have just taken a nap or something else to distract himself until they let him out, but that would risk Cattleya turning on him in his sleep. After all, just because she was friendly so far didn't mean her predatory instincts wouldn't kick in if he made himself even more vulnerable. That kind of thing had almost cost him when he'd been smuggling thresher maw larvae a few centuries ago and he wasn't keen on a repeat. As it was, he really didn't care to watch the awkward apologies or embracing that followed Vicky's last statement.
Mammalians were weird about that kind of thing and even the Asari had picked up that damned 'hugging' thing already. It was unnatural and left too many vulnerabilities to betrayal for any sane being. If Turians or Batarians were next, he'd find a way to Relay Omega into their homeworlds.
"Alright, alright. Everyone just take a few deep breaths and lets sort this out." The lone male among the family ordered, though even he seemed to be losing his wits. "Amy? You're sure she was trying to help?" At her nod, he continued, "Okay then, I'll trust you to know best. Now somebody should call this in to the PRT so we can sort this all out."
Being the only one even remotely close to collected among the group, Victoria stole Vicky's primitive communicator.
------------------------
Emerging from within the building with a trio of unconscious women being dragged by the scamp that miraculously survived, you witness a strange scene.
Victoria is furiously tapping away at a phone while cursing like a Altmeri noble stuck in Blackmarsh, in quantity if not sophistication. While she performs that strange ritual, Amy is holding her clearly distressed sister in a tight hug and the adults are arguing over what to do with Cattleya. The werebear herself is busily lapping the last of Hookwolf's blood off of the pavement with only the slightest of her attention directed toward the parahumans.
Noticing your arrival, Victoria shouts, "Hey Cynric, can you chance Cattleya back? We just got some news from Taylor."
"Tay- Vicky, you're supposed to be calling the PRT not texting your friends!" Carol snaps, immediately shooting an apologetic look to the other Victoria, who obviously didn't need to hear that tone used for her name at the moment.
Rolling her eyes, Victoria replies, "Yeah, that's not gonna happen, since Taylor says they're busy dealing with an attack by the Travelers."
"How does she know that?" Carol asks before coming to a realization. "Wait, they? I distinctly remember telling her not to speak with the PRT without consulting me. Please tell me she didn't let them pressure her into joining the Wards after what Shadow Stalker did to her."
Amy, Victoria, and you all share a look of confusion on her incorrect deduction, but none of you move to correct her. Instead, Victoria shrugs. "Uh, yeah... Something like that. Anyways, good news is that Circus and Trainwreck decided to team up for some reason and they're fighting the rest of Hookwolf's followers."
"We have enough to deal with here, so you will have to let her know that she will have to rely on her teammates." Carol says with a sigh and a shake of her head. "Honestly, that girl... If she triggered from what Shadow Stalker did to her, she could have come to us... did she mention anything about it to either of you?"
Stepping in to distract the situation... or rather to shift it back away from the distraction, you ask, "Miss Photon, if you would be so kind as to lower your barrier, we can transport these criminals to Xcom for incarceration."
"Are you sure?" She asks with a nervous glance to her sister, who may as well be pouting for all the exuberance she seems to lack after this victory over an enemy faction. As a whole, New Wave should all be more cheerful than they seem at the moment, but are not for whatever reason.
Rather than chastise them for their sobriety, you nod to her question. "Yes, with the Oblivion Gate shutting off parahuman powers, these three will be unable to do much in the way of escaping even if the cells were substandard. Which they are not."
"That's... nice. But I'm more concerned with the giant bear that's licking itself clean."
Giving Cattleya an inquisitive glance, finding that she is indeed bathing herself like a common animal, you sigh in disappointment. "She will be fine and I can stop her if she decides to do anything foolish. Either way, I need to heal Trobror and somebody should search for some clothing in Cattleya's size. I rather doubt she will be happy to remain nude once the transformation wears off."
"If you're sure." The woman says nervously, but nevertheless, she drops the barrier and allows you to heal the reptile. True to your word, Cattleya barely seems to notice that anything has changed and continues to groom herself while you do so. The following trip back to the outpost is uneventful, as New Wave are all too preoccupied with Vicky trying to wriggle her way out of some trouble over something that was said while you were gone and Amy trying to make up a story with Victoria that won't expose Taylor's parahuman identity to Carol's questions.
All in all, you can consider the day to be an unequivocal success. Even if you now have the distinct displeasure of dealing with Cattleya's embarrassed fidgeting while carrying her, nothing but a thin, much too small black and red robe taken from the cultist to keep her voluptuous figure from pressing against your back. If you were interested in that sort of thing, you might have been less annoyed, but unfortunately you fail to muster up any form of satisfaction at the situation and can only imagine the pointless complaining Louise will do when she finds out.
Status: Healthy
Magicka: (400/650)
Choose:
[] Leave the prisoners to Xcom and go to sleep early. Tomorrow-
-[] Help Raymond with his daughter project.
-[] Take Trobror and help with the war against the Brotherhood.
-[] Study parahuman powers and symbiotes.
-[] Take Trobror and help with the war against the Brotherhood.
-[] Study parahuman powers and symbiotes.
[] Offer to show New Wave around and introduce them to key figures.
[] POV Switch:
-[] Louise.
-[] Cattleya.
-[] Cattleya.
[] Write in.
Last edited:
- Location
- Canada
Never go full Mengele. Only half Mengele at max
[X] Offer to show New Wave around and introduce them to key figures.
[X] POV Switch:
-[X] Louise.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
Half Mengele for Cynric, half Mengele for Moira, it all evens out.
[X] Leave the prisoners to Xcom and go to sleep early. Tomorrow-
-[X] Study parahuman powers and symbiotes.
Though I kinda like New Wave, or at least the Dallon family. If we ever contemplate Omochikaeri-ing them, I am all for it.
What is Taylor - and by extension, the Undersiders - currently doing? I vaguely understand we must have upset the balance of powers around here, but I am not sure about the exact mechanisms tying the various groups together.
[X] Leave the prisoners to Xcom and go to sleep early. Tomorrow-
-[X] Study parahuman powers and symbiotes.
Though I kinda like New Wave, or at least the Dallon family. If we ever contemplate Omochikaeri-ing them, I am all for it.
What is Taylor - and by extension, the Undersiders - currently doing? I vaguely understand we must have upset the balance of powers around here, but I am not sure about the exact mechanisms tying the various groups together.