Dreams of the Past (inactive)

Paladin Sheppard · January 15, 2011, 04:38:25 AM

The clearing was quiet and peaceful, and empty. Its trees placed it somewhere in Europe, their leaves full and green indicating it was spring, and a small creek gurgled past with icemelt.

The nighttime noise of the crickets and nocturnal animals was silenced as burst of light deposited a sleeping figure upon a roll up mattress, then another and another, till the clearing was filled.

A shadow detached itself from a tree and walked to the center of the clearing, and once there placed a bundle of wood in a small prepared fireplace. It did not worry about any noise for it knew the sleepers would not wake for some time. Finishing the campfire's preparation it lit it yet the light it produced did not illuminate the shadow.

The shadow then went to the sleepers and pulling traveling packs from somewhere lay them next to each. Finally it pulled a set of weapons from the same place as the packs and placed them next to the appropriate sleeper.

Done the shadow slipped out of the clearing and its dozing occupants, stepping over a large humanoid cow...

********************************************************

Kandela woke with a start as the morning birds began their song. Blinking she adjusted her position and yawned sleepily, then her eyes widened, for where she awoke was not a zeppelin on its way to Mulgore.

Her eyes swept the clearing taking in the other figures also in the act of awaking. Noting the humans in the group, and while having served with them in many conflicts, Kandela was very much aware that not all humans were friendly to the Taur'ahe, and she was also not where she was meant to be. She grabbed for a weapon and found that she had something a Gnome might have come up with in one of their labs.

Yet this 'gun' felt very much at home in her three fingered hands, and as she stood it automatically came up to her shoulder and Kandela found herself along through its sights at the humans.

"What in the name of the light is going on here?!" She half shouted as her aim shifted from one person to another. "Where am I? And what have you done with the crew?"

**OOC: Well we are now open! Feel free to post at this time.**

Ren Gaulen · January 15, 2011, 06:56:41 AM

Raymond was always a light sleeper, and when a bird song invaded his sleep, he immediately woke up. There shouldn't have been any song birds where he was. Or where he thought he was, because as soon as he opened his eyes, he knew he was not in his room on board of the landship anymore. There were no steel walls and the hum of mighty electromagnets around, only the birds singing, wind rustling in the leaves.. and several unfamiliar figures around.

Ray's hand almost unconsciously grabbed for a weapon; it was an automatic shotgun, on of unfamiliar make, but still similar enough to the weapons he always used. The other people around Ray started to wake from their slumber too. Much to Raymond's dread, they were more than unfamiliar - none of them seemed to even be of his species!

Eyeing those around him suspiciously, Ray silently crept back an inch, getting into a crouched position and holding the shotgun at the ready, his finger hovering over the trigger.

Lisky · January 15, 2011, 08:38:27 AM

Wraith sprawled in his sleep after finishing the the final planning with Darkshine. He could picture how it would go in his dream, a perfect visualization: 1:40, scale the south wall, using the scaffolding to get to the roof. He would attach a rappel line to a reinforced section of handrail, Darkshine plants his breaching charges. 1:48, neutralize rooftop patrol silently, 1:50 Darkshine blows charges, enters northeast rooftop access, eliminates 2 guards, simultaneously, Drop down to west wall, 17th floor, breach window, eliminate... songbirds? What the hell were songbirds doing in his...

The feline's eyes bolted open, he immediately reached for his thigh first, he found a weapon, long, a bit cumbersome, and yet somehow familiar. It's extended suppressor gave him some comfort, as the panther silently slid the chamber back and flipped the safety off, readying the weapon in it's holster. Meanwhile his other senses started to take the situation into account. Someone else was rousing, or perhaps awake, crouched, combat stance, large-bore chem-burner judging by the magazine... Canine, wrong species for shadowhand, maybe a scout, or guardian ascendant. Other forms some rousing, some still supine. No additional data... no suit... Something is wrong here... something is very wrong.

Very slowly and deliberately, Wraith eased to the back of the lumpy mattress with which he'd been deposited. He very slowly rotated his entire body roughly 20 degrees so as to keep his thigh pointed at the canine. Things were odd, and he seemed to be awake. He kept his ears pinned for the sound of a safety clicking off, the internals of the weapon being worked, the mechanical give-aways that weapon was being readied. He kept the rest of his body perfectly still as he very slowly got up, and craned his head around, observing all those around. Total hodgepodge, and it seemed like more than half were stupid, hairless apes.

The crack of a knuckle as the panther eased himself into a sitting position would pretty clearly signal that he was awake to anyone with enhanced hearing. His eyes locked onto the dog for now, if he noticed the pistol, the look on the feline's face would be obvious, a faint smile that just oozed, "Well, we seem to be at a deadlock, your move?"

Inumo · January 15, 2011, 06:13:16 PM

Sifa's eyes flickered open as the sun shone down. That is really bright... that means... "Fffffffff--!" She scrambled out of bed and headed for the bathroom, tripping over some dirty laundry along the way. "I'm gonna be late for class!" Stepping into the room, she looked around. Wait a minute, where's...? The blood flow had finally reached her brain, provoking more coherent thought. Looking around, she thought, This is not the house. Looking around, her eyes first fell on the variety of guns people seemed to have. She recognized some of the types from the video games her guy friends played. Some, though, were totally alien to her, especially that one the... "Oh god, don't tell me I'm seeing a Tauren right now." World of Warcraft was a popular pastime at her university; one would be hard pressed to find someone that didn't at least recognize the races. Looking at all of the people either holding a weapon or still asleep, she thought, Fursuiters, too? And pretty creepy ones, at that, if they sleep in their suits.

Sighing, she looked at the bed she had recently vacated. Or portable mattress, as it were. A traveling sack was placed next to it, along with her gun. When did I get a gun? Eh, must just be bad memory. She left it where it was, instead saying to the people in general, "Look, is this some kind of hazing? 'Cause I didn't sign up for it. Just tell me which direction the dorm building is, and I'll be going." As a breeze rolled by, she shivered and rubbed her sleeved arms for warmth. I didn't wear this to bed...

Shachza · January 15, 2011, 07:26:49 PM

Tommaso opened his eyes groggily; he had spent way too much time in surgery yesterday to be willing to wake up now. The lightening sky seen through the trees overhead was a welcome soothing sight. Tommaso knew he was still dreaming so he closed his eyes, intent to let this dream run its course. Then the yelling started.

Must be another wounded operative. he thought.

He opened his eyes again, but didn't move. The sky hadn't changed to the small basement room's ceiling under which he should be sleeping. As the breeze teased his face he heard the sounds of people rising in a hurry and the readying of weapons. Sitting bolt upright Tommaso took in the view from his matress. The various figures still sleeping, the strange hybrid creatures already awake, and the guns they were holding that were tracking back and forth between the others in the clearing. His hand reaching instinctively for a gun that his mind wasn't sure should be there, but he stopped it several inches away from the grip as the business end of the Cow-lady's automatic weapon came to point in his direction.

A moment of confusion followed. A Cow-lady, a dog-man, some kind of crouching cat-thing, a young-looking lady in what looked like college attire, a winged man, a couple more sleeping humans, something with very large rabbit ears...

"Oh fuck me!" he said in Italian instead of grabbing the gun just below his hand. "There's a Marauder in the area!" This led to further confusion as he tried to remember exactly what a Marauder was, and why it was so bad.

He switched to English for the benefit of the Cow-lady; still staring worriedly at the finger she had on the trigger of her weapon. "Look at me. Albina, is that you? Nadia? Cristina? It's me, Tommaso. I'm a friend. Something is very wrong here." He wasn't sure where these names were coming from, but he felt that he should know them.

Is this what it feels like to lose myself to a Marauder?

Tipod · January 15, 2011, 08:20:02 PM

Angel roused under the light and clamor of those around him, lips twisting in a grimace as he awoke. His first thoughts weren't angry so much as perplexed at his new surroundings.

...what the hell happened to my roof?

The last thing he recalled was crashing after a long, tedious day of paperwork. Hell, he didn't even recall having these clothes on... unless the missus wanted to see him in uniform. Did he put on his clothes, sit down, and just pass out waiting for her?

Such pointless thoughts gave way to a much more serious observation: he was surrounded by armed strangers. Not just people like him, but a small number of metahumans as well, and several of them had already raised their guns and were aiming between each other in a Mexican standoff. His hand immediately gripped the sidearm lying next to him, safety clicking off as his sights swept across the animals. These were no petting zoo people, he could sense that much.

"San Francisco Police Department!" His next instincts were to shout 'drop it,' but screaming wouldn't help things at all. If anything, it might set them off. "...nobody wants to get shot here, right? Let's just take a minute to cool off."

Of course, he had no desire to lower his weapon first.

SquirrelWizard · January 15, 2011, 09:59:11 PM

Cinna opened one green eye in response to all of the commotion in the clearing. Shutting the eye, she stretched and yawned, all the while the blue eye on her forehead opened.

"Strange crazy people pointing strange weapons at each other while standing in a clearing with a fire and a bunch of other people sleeping on mattresses... Yup, sounds like an adventure.

AWESOME!"

She rolled back onto her shoulders and kipped up. "Hi everybody... did anybody think to bring something for breakfa..." she saw the humans in the clearing, "Wow! I thought humans disappeared a long time ago... hmmm..." she thought for a bit then smiled and then spoke clearly and slowly, emphasising each word, "HELLO... DO... YOU... UNDERSTAND... ME?... MY... NAME... IS... CINNA... WHAT... IS... YOURS?..."

AmberCross · January 16, 2011, 12:15:03 AM

That cloud looked kind of like a dolphin. And there was another over to the right that looked like a fairy if he squinted and tilted his head to the left a bit. Somewhere along the way it had occurred to him that he was not in his house, he had what he knew to be a gun though he couldn't recall having ever seen one before, and he was wearing the most peculiar set of clothing. Also there were about two handfuls of people going crazy more towards the center of the clearing he was in. He figured that wasn't something he wanted to get involved in just yet. Young people could be so excitable and the best thing to do was give them time to calm down a bit.

Part of his mind was wheeling in circles trying to figure out how he'd gotten here with these people, who (and what) these people were, etc but like car tires in a snowbank (another thing that he couldn't recall anything about, but still made sense) it was going nowhere. Another part was listening in and assessing the situation, learning what he could about the others here. And finally (to be mentioned here), another part was keeping calm and not adding to the confusion while he did perhaps the most productive thing anyone had sought to do yet.... he cloudwatched. Oh hey look, a bunny!

techmaster-glitch · January 18, 2011, 08:05:00 PM

In the thong of various people waking up and pointing weapons at each other for not knowing what's going on, yet another person roused to wakefulness with the sun on his face.
"What the hell--"
Nick's head started zipping around as the first thing that registered was that he was not in his bed. He was lying down on grass in what looked like a campsite.
The next thing that reached his conscious mind was that he was not alone. There were a number of people, and they wree all pointing weapons at each other and speaking in angry voices
And quite a few weren't human.
Very slowly, he tried to lie back down inconspicuously and feign unconsciousness, and simply listened to what they were saying. He also felt something large and hard in both of his pockets, but he decided to figure out what those are later...

Tezkat · January 19, 2011, 01:11:42 AM

The spirits had abandoned him. He could barely make out their faint whispers, but they were muted, indistinct... distant. He reached deep inside himself and found only dim remnants of power. The painful silence in the spirit realm made his remaining senses all the more acute. Dancing winds. Swaying trees. Gurgling water. Chirping birds. Crackling firewood. Lumps in his mattress. Panicked and confused voices. The sharp scent of fear.

Tor nudged the wide brimmed hat up out of his eyes. It was morning. He scanned the clearing, noting both the foliage and the company. The odd gathering shared no obvious common traits, though roughly half appeared to be members of the same nearly hairless simian species. Artificial underbrush rustled softly as he pulled himself into a sitting position. He raised an eyebrow and ran his fingers through the loose fibres. The ghillie suit was a reasonably close match to the local terrain. A little customization, and he should have no difficulty blending into the woods. Many of the others wore military camouflage patterns. Hopefully, being dressed as a tree wouldn't present a problem.

Everybody was armed. Beside him lay a large calibre precision rifle, its design at once both strangely foreign and intimately familiar. He instinctively checked the magazine, comforted to note a full complement of rounds he somehow knew were tungsten cored explosives. Bolts of thunder. Of course. He smirked. Another, smaller weapon rested on his thigh. It too felt like an old friend.

His mind scrambled to understand the jumbled haze of fragmented memories and unbidden knowledge. Had he been drugged? Enchanted? He must have been captured after the battle in the valley, and... no... that made no sense. He shook his head. No sane army would leave prisoners armed to the teeth. But then how and why had he arrived here? Wherever "here" was...

In the camp, confusion reigned. The strangers evidently shared his amnesia--if indeed that was what it was--though some were coping markedly worse than others. Several were already yelling at each other with weapons raised. None were specifically pointed at him, so he left his own at his side rather than become a new threat. Instead, he plopped his cheek against his hand and quietly observed the unfolding drama. He had a genuine mystery to solve, and he loved mysteries.

So long as he lived through them.

Paladin Sheppard · January 22, 2011, 03:20:52 AM

The group's attention was diverted from each other as what appeared to be a B1b Lancer heavy bomber roared over head, a mere 200m off the ground, on full afterburners.

The sound as it passed was deafening, distracting, and quite painful. But what happened next was even more so.

A bright wave of ghostly white energy, flooded out of the east. Those that could still see the bomber saw it stagger in mid flight, its control surfaces lock in place, and the noise of its engines died.

Then the wave hit the group, sapping them of their energy, draining them of their will.

All was silent again, at-least for a few seconds then the group could the bomber hit the ground somewhere down in the distance, and after a few more moments whatever was in its bomb bay went up, and the concussive force rippled through the ground. Any of the group still standing after the force wave was knocked to the ground.

********************************

Kandela was speechless, whatever that had been overhead was not of her world, and from her half kneeling position she'd managed after both of the blasts, she finally noticed that although there seemed to mostly humans here, there were others not from Azeroth. Time to reevaluate her position, yet she was still not sure of these people and her Machine gun stayed in both hands, though it was pointed at the ground.

She looked at the Rabbit thing that had a third eye who had tried to introduce itself, and realized while the Rabbit had not spoken in any language the Tauren knew, she had clearly understood it.

"M-My" Kandela coughed from the dust in the air "My Name is Kandela Sunbless, of the" The Tauren sneezed this time "Of the Argent Crusade."

She looked at the rest of the group "Does anyone know what that was, or where we are? I don't think this is my world"

AmberCross · January 22, 2011, 05:41:47 PM

Shaken, not stirred

After several moments of confusion and disorientation where Chris struggled not to pass out from that strangely weakening light. If his thoughts were scattered before, they were downright chaotic now as trains of thought ricocheted off each other and around his brain simultaneously.

'By the will of the ancestral hummingbirds, what was THAT?!?! And that light! And that explosion! And these people! Some of them look like creatures from my world (or at least myths) but others look off. I mean what happened to the people's wings anyway? There can only be one explanation for this... I'm dead. I have died and that right there was the light. Guess the Christians were right and I'm in heaven now. Or purgatory anyway, non-believers don't get to go to heaven. Would certainly explain why the rest of my life seems so fuzzy and why I'm so weak. I seem to be getting stronger now, I should get up.'

'I am too old for this. Twenty years ago I would be up and moving already instead of fighting to breathe like this. Do these people have anything to do with this? I should ask. Too bad I can't get up. I'm spry for my age, but not quite THAT spry. Oh how youth is wasted on the young... though it would be wasted on me too probably. Youth is wasted on everyone. But I'm not out of this fight yet! I've lived too long to die now... just... got to get up and beat this thing.'

'... And THAT cloud looked a bit like an airplane, a military one. How do I know that was an airplane? And just where am I anyway? It looks like home, but does not feel like it, not even some strange part of it that I haven't been to before. Is this a dream? It seems as if the rest of my life is a dream to me but then I think I remember a lot of my dreams are like that. This is the strangest dream I've ever had though... I think. I can't seem to remember any other dreams so I guess I don't know. Well no point spending it all lying down here, may as well try getting up.

'So the one that looks like a minotaur is Kandela. And she's talking to the weird one that looked like a rabbit named... Senna? I should go introduce myself perhaps. Antisocial and crotchety I may be at times but I have a feeling I'll be stuck with these people and I may as well be polite. Too bad I can barely speak right now, let alone stand up. But then I never was one to accept the truth. Stubborn as a goat they called me! Well time to put that stubbornness to use and get up!'

And perhaps one or two others that all eventually wound up with the decision to get up. Easier decided than said however as he was still fighting to breathe and stay awake after that draining light. It was getting easier though and he was soon able to roll onto his side and start pushing himself up. Finally he had gotten himself to standing and was leaning somewhat heavily on a tree. He had spent the last twenty years learning how to be as active as ever on less energy to go around, but none of that really accounted for having all his energy stolen in bulk.

Inumo · January 22, 2011, 07:17:53 PM

... Campus isn't near any airfields... Sifa sat up slowly, yawning. "What the heck could make an EMP blast like that, though? Freakin' huge..." Getting onto her knees, she turned to the Tauren and said, "My name is Sifa Lorienda Machnovi, student of the mind." Pausing, she continued, "Is that how you roleplayers say everything? I've met one or two at parties, but I don't think I've ever seen one in such a detailed costume, I admit. How'd you make it?" Shaking her head, she realized that, seeing as the Tauren was currently in-character that probably would make no sense to their persona. "Right, sorry, forgot you wouldn't want to break character. To answer your questions, then, that looked like a bomber of some sort, I'd like to know where we are as much as you, and no, this isn't Azeroth." With a last yawn, she added, "Wonder if we're near a weaponry testing ground, that might explain the bomber and EMP blast... Really hope we aren't caught in a game of subterfuge..."

Lisky · January 23, 2011, 03:41:18 PM

The panther hybrid watched those around him, a hairless ape, behaving like all the hairless law enforcers tend to, drew a weapon and yet, tried to "de-escalate" the situation... failing miserably, as he seemed to be trying to claim the high ground... but at least the intention of calming things down was there. Something to keep in mind for the future, maybe. There was a 3-eyed bunny, an oddly bubbly individual. She seemed to have the right idea for keeping things calm though, despite her rather unorthodox approach. His eyes darted around the circle, and he continued looking for anything that indicated he was the target of aggression... which seemed to not be the case for the time being.

While the others seemed to be relaxing a bit, Wraith very subtly lowered his hand from the grip of the pistol still holstered on his hip. He moved as silently as possible, watching those around him as he slunk further back. He wasn't wearing any armor at all, just some clothing that provided adequate protection against the rubbing the combat harness would have caused against bare fur and flesh. He noted the large female, with a large, belt fed weapon. Usually in increments of 50, his instinct told him the box was either 100 or 150... and in either case, she wielded the slug-thrower as if it were a compact rifle, not unlike the one he himself had strapped to his chest. She was the center of attention for the moment, and it made Wraith uneasy. If she was lulling the group, she certainly had the best weapon to hose the circle down once everyone else was too relaxed to react when the first slugs started cutting through the air. Hell no am i going to be the fool, you fuckers do your own thing... The woods are safer than...

Thoughts cut-off with the thunderous roar. He instinctively raised a hand to cover the ear facing the jet's direction as it passed overhead. A faint whine above the thunder. "Turbojet, how quaint. Good size, good aerodynamics, but still just a turbojet. probably can't even hit mach-4."

Shockwave overhead... not unlike the air-burst ion guns used for target suppression against unshielded electronics. Then again, -everyone- shielded their delicate electronics against high intensity EMPs, right? He felt a little dizzy, his arms and legs felt weak as the wave passed and the aircraft suddenly lost it's control surfaces. His eyes locked onto the bomber as it slipped and slowly glided downward, loosing speed and altitude, before disappearing behind the treeline. More instincts kicked in as the panther rolled the opposite way, getting off and behind the mattress he'd been on as the concussive wave seemed to kick the air out of lungs with it's heavy shove.

Unlike the others, who seemed more concerned with getting to know one another, Wraith decided that now was a perfect opportunity to slink into the woods. Hopefully no one would notice as he very slowly got himself first up on one knee, then up in a low crouch. He took a tentative backstep. then another, and another. He drew his pistol on the 4th backstep, eyes darting around the party, and, assuming no-one noticed, he prepared himself to bolt into the woods.

Shachza · January 23, 2011, 06:14:38 PM

As the cow-lady's eyes darted around in barely controlled fear and anger, Tommaso took the moment to signal his implants to erect a basic kinetic barrier around himself. Or that's what he tried to do. He got no response of any kind which was pretty weird. Thinking about doing a diagnostic resulted in only more silence.

The consternation was quite visible on his face as he reached behind himself and felt the small of his back and found no indication of any implants; no residual irregularities that signaled the presence of a compact biometric power core. Touching the back of his neck revealed a total lack of concealed data ports that should be the external connections to his Trinary Anode DEI computer implant. The jet screaming by overhead interrupted him examining his hands in shock; discovering that they were purely flesh and blood.

He threw himself back to the ground; both the jet and the cow-lady's gun registered as mortal threats to him now and he needed to be out of the way. The sound of explosions that soon followed were familiar, yet filled him with a newfound fear. He felt helpless without the power granted by his missing enhancements.

After a few moments he looked up from where he was covering his head. He wasn't going to die yet apparently. Nothing seemed to have impacted close enough to harm anyone in the clearing, though the older-looking gentleman with the wings seemed to be having trouble standing up. Instinct kicked in and Tommaso grabbed both "his" gun and "his" travelling pack before crouch-running over to the winged human.

He tried to speak in Italian first, not sure what would come out of his mouth or whether the man would understand him, but hoping that if this was one of the friends Tommaso remembered, then the man might be galvanized in to remembering Tommaso right back. "Are you feeling well? Do you feel hurt anywhere?" He couldn't immediately see any injuries, but nearby explosions didn't always leave any. "I'm accomplished at medicine and can help if you need."

AmberCross · January 23, 2011, 07:18:01 PM

Not paying attention to anything in particular and the group as a whole (as much as he could in his condition), Chris was in a good position to see one of the group members, the one that looked like a panther, back away and disappear. With luck he was scouting, without luck, he was hostile. Either way Chris was hardly able to do anything about it. He also noticed that his plight had caught the attention of another person or two and one of them, a human, was heading over to help.

By this point he had pulled himself through the worst of it and was able to stand on his own, albeit with heavy breathing and wings tense in a half unfolded position and he responded to the other person's query with, "Nothing... nothing I haven't been through before." Okay, so that was a lie. He had never experienced anything quite like that. "Anyway, I'll be fine in a moment. You young people are lucky you can keep going after something like that so easily..." He took another deep breath as he considered the young man in front of him. "May I ask... what happened to your wings? There seem to be quite a few humans here missing them."

Neither spoke in a language the other was accustomed to, but that hardly seemed to be a problem just as Chris suspected from his brief observations of the other people who had already said stuff in other languages.

Ren Gaulen · January 25, 2011, 02:56:28 PM

Noticing a black-furred feline aiming at him, Ray prepared to quickly roll to the side, getting out of his line of fire while being able to take aim at him at the same time. Glaring at the panther he thought: "What's your deal, oversized cat?" He knew the panther's hand was on a pistol resting in his hip holster, while his expression was enough to see that he was willing to shoot. Why was it so was beyond Raymond's understanding, though; not only he never saw that person, he never saw an anthropomorphic cat before. "Must be a cat and dog rivalry thing," - flashed in his mind. But as he waited for an opportunity, the panther seemed to relax somewhat; at least he removed his hands from the handgun.

Raymond was starting to relax himself when the sound of an approaching aircraft caught his attention - just as attention of pretty much everybody else present in the clearing. Looking up he saw the silhouette of a large plane pass over the clearing. It strongly resembled some of the bombers used by Kadagan, his nation's prime enemy, and for a second Ray's heart sank as he prepared for it to drop its deadly payload. But the bomber passed above, merely spooking those on the ground.

And then they were all hit by a shockwave of.. something. It was not like anything Ray was familiar with, and its effects were almost incapacitating. The following explosion from the fallen plane did not help the matters either. His first thought - after he could think coherently again - was that it could have been a neutron bomb; but it was different from what he knew of such weapons. The explosion made him drop and roll to the side almost involuntarily, so now he picked himself up from the ground; a bit shaky, but strength was returning to him. From the side of his eye he noticed that the panther was now sneaking off from the clearing. "You sure took that blast well.." - Ray thought to himself. He wanted to take aim at the feline, mostly out of spite for aiming at him earlier, but the whole situation was so confusing that he decided not to complicate matters further, instead switching his attention to the other people present.

Shachza · January 25, 2011, 07:27:33 PM

The question caught Tommaso off guard. Did I have wings?

He didn't think so, but strangely enough it didn't seem that farfetched of an idea. Then another thought really surprised him: I bet I could make some! Could he? Seriously?! Another part of him really doubted it.

Realizing that he was just standing in front of the winged older man with a surprised look on his face Tommaso shifted nervously before answering.

"Uh... I don't think I ever had wings. If I did, then I'm not feeling their loss; no shock or other ill effect that I can tell." He paused to consider what to do. "If I may, I would still like to check you for injuries."

A glance over his shoulder toward the others in the clearing made him wonder if there was really anything he could do to help. Something in his fuzzy memories made him think that he was no longer equipped to analyze and treat such varied physical specimens.

techmaster-glitch · January 25, 2011, 09:30:08 PM

The man feigning unconsciousness was not able to keep up the act as two blastwaves ripped through the camp.After getting jerked around, he lept to his feet unsteadily. There were many figures around the camp, and quite a few seemed monstrous. Unreal.
He reached into his pockets and pulled out the two objects that were in them; a stungun and a taser. As he held them, he found they felt...familiar, as if he had used them before, despite having no memory of it.
Still not wanting to draw attention to himself, he put the two weapons back in his pockets and kept quiet, hunching over ever so slightly as if to make himself smaller, and stood behind a few of the larger things. If bullents from the weapons everyone was holding weren't flying yet, he figured he'd tag along surreptitiously with this group and maybe find out what the heck was going on here.

SquirrelWizard · January 25, 2011, 09:46:22 PM

Cinna picked up the sounds of the jet's seemingly just before the others, and before she could say anything the sound rose to very uncomfortable levels for her. She tried to cover her ears with her hands, but the combined shockwave from the emp blast and the deafening explosion from the bomb threw her to the ground in a whimpering heap.

It had been several moments of excrusiating pain as her ears weathered the assault. All noise muted for her, she could barely make out anybody else's voices over the ringing of her hears, and those she could hear were mere muffled echoes. Cinna curled up into a ball as tears streamed down her face.

AmberCross · January 26, 2011, 01:13:33 AM

"No wings? You are a strange human indeed. Though perhaps..." Chris trailed off before continuing almost to himself as he looked at other people in the clearing, "Perhaps it is me who is strange."

It had been a strange day and after everything else it wasn't as startling a thought as he would have expected. However in regards to the stranger's question... "No really. I'll be fine. You may if you insist, but nothing hurts right now."

Inumo · January 26, 2011, 01:24:19 AM

After a moment, Sifa noticed the rabbit-girl curled up in apparent pain. Without thinking she went to her side, asking, "Are you okay?" Crap, what did she say her name was again? Sifa thought frantically. Right, Cinna. "Cinna? Is there anything I can do to help?" Either this chick's a good roleplayer, or she actually put some amps by her ears. Here's to hoping it's the first; that blast could've killed her hearing.

Shachza · January 26, 2011, 01:42:53 AM

Tommaso paid close attention to the older man's eyes as the man responded.

"No, your reactions seem normal enough. I'll trust you about this."

"Is everyone else...?" He turned around to the rest of those in the clearing. Everyone seemed to be doing well enough at first glance, except the person with the rabbit ears who was lying on the ground being tended to by the girl dressed like a college student.

Tommaso gave a nod to the winged gentleman before jogging over to the rabbit-eared person.

"So..." Noticing her three eyes scrunched in pain he paused. "Um. Where does it hurt?" After a blast like that he was assuming her ears, but there was no telling how far the shrapnel from that plane had flown.

I'm definitely out of my league here.

That_wolf · January 26, 2011, 03:52:07 PM

Greg stirred from his sleep. He didn't want to, but he couldn't sleep with the people talking loudly. "Will you shut up!" He called out, rubbing his eyes. 'Wait a minute...' He thought, as he realised he was in a field, surrounded by others. "Uh... where am I-" Greg started to say, as a plane flew overhead, followed by a blast. With a yelp, the fox rolled off the mattress, covering his head in a fetal postion. 'I'm going to die,' Was all he could think, 'diediediediedie.'

(OOC: Hope my first post isn't to late.)

Tezkat · January 28, 2011, 04:33:07 AM

The coyote watched the jet crash, still reeling from the strange energy drain. The poncho whipped around his body as the shockwave swept over the clearing. He should have felt the wind cry out at this assault, but the spirits remained silent as the breeze.

"Damn, that was a big bird." He readjusted his hat and glanced down to the rifle by his side. "Reckon I might need a bigger gun."

The clearing suddenly felt very exposed. Most of the others were still on the ground, either recovering from the blast or curled up in submission, although he did note the panther trying to slip away.

It seemed that everyone in the clearing had their own mattress and pack. Tor certainly didn't remember packing his and could only guess at its contents--several pockets along the side looked suspiciously like ammo pouches--but this was neither the time nor the place to take inventory. In any event, being lost in unknown territory without supplies would be less than ideal. If he needed extra mobility later, he could lose it then.

He knelt by his mattress, quickly rolled it up, and fastened it to his pack. He didn't personally mind sleeping on rough ground, but there was no point in abandoning any potential assets at this stage. He lifted his poncho so that it hung over his shoulders like a cape, revealing a combat vest patterned in the same multi-terrain camouflage as his pants. He secured the pack and tightened the shoulder straps, paying careful attention to weight and balance, before pulling the poncho back over everything. He then grabbed his rifle and stood up.

"Pardon me, gentlefolk." He doffed his hat, hoping that whatever magic allowed him to comprehend the others' foreign sounding speech made them mutually intelligible. "This clearing may not be the best place for introductions. I, for one, would rather not be caught out in the open should another bomber come by. Or, for that matter, whatever downed it..."

Tipod · January 29, 2011, 01:46:40 AM

Angel practically hit the dirt when the jet roared above them, the following wave almost knocking him unconscious. A great way to start his new adventure, nearly getting blown to smithereens after a bunch of crazy mutants and strangers start pointing guns at each other. The most suspicious of these people, the feline, was already making a break for the woods. He'd barely even noticed until the panther had slipped away until he caught the sparse movement in his peripheral vision, his brain trying to keep track of everybody. But could he let this guy just up and vanish on them?

...fuck it, let him. Having this person as far away from them as possible would be a blessing. He clicked the safety on his pistol back on and gave everyone else a cursory glance. The coyote in particular.

"...if that thing was about to carpet bomb us, the largest piece of us left would be the size of a postage stamp. We might just be near an airfield." Although how they even got there was suspect. Jesus, so many questions he could ask these people, the minotaur-woman most of all. Crusades? What century did she just fall out of?

But come to think of it, which one did he fall out of? He could recognize the bomber only vaguely, probably having seen it on TV somewhere... but when, exactly? And which channel?

Paladin Sheppard · January 29, 2011, 02:45:16 AM

The general silence of nature returned as the explosions from the bomber settled down to just the occasional secondary.

Wraith was just about to turn and leave when her heard a growling of something small but aggressive and pissed off behind him, a glance would reveal something small with black fur and a white striped tail, which at this moment was raised in his direction...And then he was engulfed in some sort of gas, non-lethal to be sure, but boy did it smell.

((OOC note: it has been pointed out to me by a non player and has concerned me a little that players have miraculously spotted Wraith (Salem) sneaking off. Considering his skill set I have a problem with this many people spotting him, in future please take this into account, and if your character isn't looking right at a sneaking character (assuming they CAN sneak) You will not spot them without the GM noting so.))

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Kandela watched in sympathy as the three eyed rabbit curled into a ball from the sound waves, her own (large)ears were still ringing. letting the machine gun hang on its sling, she got to her (slightly) unsteady hooves and walked over to the girl, one to be beaten by the somewhat hyper female human. Reaching her at the same time as the human man what seemed to have some semblance of medical training (Kandela knew a little but her studies had been some time ago).

"Here let me try" The Tauren said and attempted to summon some of the Light's healing power, but while she could still feel it in a distant manner all she managed was a small glow of power, which fizzled immediately. Concerned She tried again to the same results. Now certain this was not her home she turned to the black haired man. "Sadly it seems I lack the power."

She looked at the Coyote (being the same height as him even kneeling) as he spoke about his intention to leave the clearing. "Where do you plan to go? It seems that this place isn't anyone's home."

She arched a rather large eyebrow.

AmberCross · January 29, 2011, 04:12:14 AM

Once more steady on his feet, Chris tried once more to take stock in his situation. He was mysteriously stuck in the middle of seemingly nowhere with a gun, a pack, and a bunch of strangers who may or may not be on a hair trigger. None of these strangers seemed to be of a species he was familiar with though many came close, if only to mythology. Roughly half were humans who did not have wings for some reason, and the other half seemed to be half animal. Just from what he could remember there was a half-cow, a half-dog, a half-rabbit, a half-cat and he also seemed to remember a half-squirrel though he couldn't find that one anymore and was not sure if he was making it up or not. Sometimes at his age, his mind would play tricks on him like that.

Of a more immediate nature however, the majority of everyone had calmed down and were now mingling of a sort, but Chris wasn't quite ready for a crowd of people just yet so he decided to check his pack to see what was in it instead.

Lisky · January 29, 2011, 09:59:44 PM

Wraith almost stepped on the small rodent, as he pivoted to bolt. The black and white rodent looked utterly terrified, while the panther looked mildly amused, with a little bit of confusion. However, that was because the smell hadn't quite hit yet. The small black and white fuzz-ball flicked it's tail at Salem, spraying droplets of a horrifically foul smelling oil across the belly of his hoodie. Had he been bare-furred, the experience would have been horrific, instead, it was just miserable.

He coughed involuntarily as the stench hit him like a freight train. He could smell the source rather acutely, and moved to imidiately rectify the problem. He took several backsteps, putting him right back in the edge of the circle, he rather quickly unfastened the harness around his chest and shoulders, leaning the rifle against a near-by tree. The shirt disappeared into the wilderness with both violence and velocity. The feline coughed again, holding himself up by another tree as he fought every urge to vomit. Well, the stealthy option was gone... looks like it's time to play nice.

As the stench eased, the feline braced his body against the tree, muscles and fur rippling as he urged the sudden influx of adrenaline out of his system with the stretch. He picked up the harness, smelled carefully for the smelly, oily substance the skunk had flung at him, and, after finding it clear, he strapped the harness over his topless form, rifle still attached.

By now he was fairly certain he'd become the center of attention, he raised his index and middle fingers together, along with his thumb curled underneath in a sort of half salute, half wave. An intentionally informal gesture. He said, "Just call me Wraith..."

Straight and to the point, Salem was rather irked at what a fool that little bastard had made him look. At this point, however, he had no choice but to roll with the hand he'd been dealt.

Inumo · January 29, 2011, 10:26:21 PM

As Sifa saw the panther fursuiter stumble back into the clearing and rip his shirt off, she noticed that whatever material he was using for his suit made for a rather athletic figure. The tribal tattoo that was inked on his chest was a nice touch. "Sifa Machnovi," she said in response. "Psych student at Lilliput University. Where'd you get the fursuit?"