Eternal Rains (IC) [M] - Closed

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

At the rude gesture, Witt cracked up. He reached out one hand to Paige's shoulder, barely able to breathe, he was laughing so hard. Finally, he managed to straighten up, the grin across his muzzle threatening to split the top of his head off. He raised the bottle at Cross in a salute. "Crude gestures, that's another one!" And, suiting actions to words, he took another drink, before offering it to Paige, and then Epyon.

Turning back to Cross, he shouted "Yeah, that's the way! Now put that somewhere where she'll like it!" He paused for a moment, then added "Did yer want some hints?"

[Tapewolf]

The hand gave a thumbs-down gesture.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Witt sniggered. A remarkably evil snigger, for all that.

"Right, well, if you think of anything you want a hand with, we'll be right over here." A beat. "Checking you're up to standards." Another snigger. "How about you, birdy? You want a hint or two?" Witt absently took another swig of the bottle.

[Tapewolf]

The tentacle made a cheery wave.

[SpottedKitty]

Fal'taq walked around the side of the airship a few paces behind the others. When he saw what Pandora and Pettersohn were about to do, he grinned slyly, paused, and rummaged in his coat pockets. From one pocket he took out a small message orb, from another a roughly square crystal a little smaller than his thumbclaw. The mole cast a quick spell on the crystal, and touched it to the orb. An eye-like glyph on the crystal glowed for a second, then faded. Perfect. As unobtrusively as possible, he walked off to one side of the others and wedged the crystal into a hollow of a tree, at about head height and with a clear, unobstructed view of the action.

All set. Now, whatever the crystal "saw" would be relayed to the orb sitting safely in his pocket and recorded. Everyone knew what a message orb looked like, of course, and knew what it meant when one was discovered overlooking something of interest. But only mages specialising in communications spells — and those with Fal'taq's particular hobbies — knew what these little crystals were, and what they could do. Quietly whistling in an almost cheerful way, the mole walked away from the crystal's hiding place, taking care not to pass in front of any of the others. He watched with an appreciatlve leer. Witt's commentary was entertaining, at least. He had contacts who would pay extremely well for an orb recording like this. And if the 'Cubi lost control and Pandora came to an extremely messy and painful end... no matter. He had other contacts who would pay even more for that recording.

[Tapewolf]

As soon as there was a lull in the banter, Cross prepared himself, gently probing Pandora's thoughts.  This was the old "'Cubi charm" as it was known.  Slowly he began to morph into the man of her dreams.  It had the added benefit that if there was a perv out there with a camera, it would not be the face of Cross who ended up caught on film.

[e_voyager]

Epyon had fallen into a patter standing next to Witt. the hedgehog would offer the bottle and he'd take a drink  then pass it back. if the hedgehog took to long to offer the bottle the would reach for it to take a drink unless his hand was smacked away by the cheering hedgehog. he was feeling more relaxed  and his eyes began to only half open as he watched what was going on. soon he had four eyes mildly luminous half watching half wondering the the area around them taking in interesting things not that there was much. he saw the mole Fla... something or another who though ripe with age was still a little immature in believing that he was self sufficient. he remembered when he was like that. he died young for his kind. barley more then a baby as it were. what was it that the mole had been doing? ah well he'd ask about it later right now he need more of what ever it was that Witt was supplying for their drinking game so he reached for the bottle again and  for the first time noticed Witt's strange aura. but then that could be the alcohol muddling things up.

[Paladin Sheppard]

After Fal'taq had returned to the group and had been standing still for a moment a tentacle tapped him on the shoulder, before wrapping itself around his neck and jerking him off his feet. The next thing he saw was a the wickedly sharp grin of a brown and black furred blond haired succubus going by the name Paige.

"Mister Fal'taq, would you mind explaining what that crystal you just planted was? And is it transmitting anything that may be considered a homing beacon..." This was delivered in her usual sultry purr, but there was no mistaking the menace hidden behind her words.

[SpottedKitty]

Fal'taq was taken completely by surprise when Paige's tentacle wrapped around his throat. His hat fell off, and his glasses dangled from one ear as he clutched the tentacle with both hands, trying to ease some of his own weight that was clamping his windpipe shut. "Hrrrrkhhh," he said emphatically in the face of the 'Cubi's ivory-fanged grin, "ghk hghhh!"

[Paladin Sheppard]

"I'm going to put you down now, but that tentacle is staying where it is..." Still Paige purred with menace as she let the mole's feet touch the ground. Another Tentacle come to hover her shoulder this one sharpened and sat pointed at Fal'taq's eye.

Summoning some power, Paige lifted a hand and pushed at his mind wards attempting to dispell them.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Witt glanced over his shoulder at the noise, and frowned, a little, at Paige. "Keep it quiet, would ya, lass? The choking sounds are terribly distracting." He grinned at her, and turned back, only to turn back for a last comment. "Of course, if you're trying to shake popcorn out of him, I'll have a box as well, k?"

With that, he returned his attention to the goings on in front of him. "Ah, shape changing. That's another drink!" With which, he gurgled down another gulp of the bottle. "Mind reading." Gulp, then pause to offer the bottle around.

He considered what Cross was doing, then offered "Have you tried setting yourself up as a tree? Then she can be the pecker!"

[SpottedKitty]

The mole gurgled and gasped as the pressure on his throat eased. "My dear lady," he hissed at Paige with icy calm, "I have no intention of attracting anyone's attention to us, beyond what we have gathered by crashing into the wilderness like this!" He gestured with one hand at the bulk of the airship, sprawled among a nest of crushed and flattened trees. His other hand rubbed his throat, smoothing his ruffled fur.

In the privacy — he assumed — of his own thoughts, Fal'taq was rather less calm. No-one lays hands... or tentacles... on me like that, woman. Give me the opportunity and, 'Cubi or not, soul-drinker or not, you will die... The lupine 'Cubi had just changed, in the mole's mental tally sheet, from possibly useful to expendable. All that showed outwardly, though, was the white-hot fury in his eyes, barely held in check as he glared at her.

[Stygian]

It was nearly enough to make magical static spark and fizz in the air. Paige was pressuring Fal'taq rather hard in a situation where the mole would soon realize that he was in an inescapable, possibly lethal predicament. The indignity in the air did nothing to help either.
   Calmly, a pair of hands reached out of the dark, sleeves rolled back over glossy black and red skin, and settled with strength, one on Paige's tentacle, the other on Fal'taq's shoulder. Eyes gleaming and her face set in stone, Sal looked at them both, neither disapproving nor angry, but simply and coldly serious. The mole might not deserve much friendliness, but she had learned a long time ago from firsthand experience that one should never corner a rat. Sometimes from being the rat herself. People with no space or nothing to lose always became dangerous, no matter how good or wise normally. And to her Fal'taq seemed neither good nor wise.

[Boog]

Tyrannus, former scourge of a kingdom, former barbarian hero, former shopkeep of a shop by the docks in a port town, was blushing deeply. He was trying very hard not to pay attention to Witt or the subject of his amusement, as he could think of no part of civilized behavior that made that alright. Except in certain types of parties popular amongst Verdele nobles, which- Something caught the Mythos' attention before his mind could go any further and thus permenently burn his blush into place. The quiet Fisher from before, standing apart and looking irritated with the rest of the group. Oh thank the Pantheon Of The Listeners Choice- (another tenement of Civilization that Ty had taken to heart was being politically correct) A bastion of practicality!
"Glad to see someone else lacks their fascination," he chuckled as he made his way over to the Fisher. "Any idea where exactly we've landed?"

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Penny was interrupted in trying to set the cheering, drunken fools alight with a heated glare by the question from her largest companion. "Aside from far closer to the ocean than makes me comfortable, no," she answered with the roar of the sea a background to the rowdy sounds nearer the airship. "We should be trying to figure out some sort of defense. Fixing the airship won't be an option if the mer destroy it or us first."

[Boog]

"Urr... I find myself doubtful that it can be repaired at all. I'm no expert, but the flame needed to stay inside the round part, yes?" Ty gave the wreckage an incredulous look, "I very much doubt more can be acquired. We may be better off breaking down the remains for some manner of shelter and fortifications."

[Paladin Sheppard]

For a moment Fal'taq might have seen something in the wolfess' eyes, as if all that he had just thought had been broadcast and received. Paige was about to respond with word or tentacle, when the Spider placed a hand on her tentacle. Her head turned fractionally towards Sal and Paige nodded at her indicating that yes she had maybe taken it a little far. Lowering the sharpened tentacle she turned her gaze back at the Mole, "sticks and stones may break my my bones but nasty thoughts will never harm me....ANSWER. THE. QUESTION. What was that crystal." She growled suddenly no longer purring.

[SpottedKitty]

Fal'taq glanced sideways at Sal for a moment, not really paying much attention to her, but his glare at Paige was no less intense now that the wolf's razor-tipped tentacle was no longer poised to thrust into his eye. He straightened his glasses, then resumed his two-handed grip on her other tentacle, still loosely wrapped around his neck... just in case. "Do you take me for a fool, woman?" he replied angrily to the snarling 'Cubi. "The crystal is quite innocuous, nothing more than a simple recording enchantment. There is a... market for such things, if you know where to find it. A quite lucrative market..." The mole's voice, back at his usual whining tone, ended in another of his laughs, as a toothy leer spread across his muzzle. Hehehe. Hehehehe.

He hadn't missed the look in Paige's eyes, though, or its probable significance. At the end, as a small experiment, he thought intensely about his tail catching on fire from end to end.

[e_voyager]

Epyon laughed at Witt's wit. the hedgehog thought crude was pretty funny and his lightheadedness seemed to reach it's maximum point . he swilled the bottle Witt had given him. it was almost empty true but then that was  fine. a  short burp reminded him that he';d has  around half a kilo or raw meat in his belly digesting. that could take a while yet he didn't fell so have. it felt like it was almost gone but that made no sense. he digestion was slow as a snails race over green leaf. it happened but it took days and that was just his stomach.  he drank form the bottles and handed that last swallow to Witt. " i do believe we need another bottles." he said  putting his hand over his mouth to cover a silent burp a the drink dissolved away the meat in his belly better then his own digestive acid  could hop to. he kept himself in good condition. he was fresh as a newly killed being. he shook his head. he would not think like that but it was true. all his work and healing magic that he put into his self. he was almost like he died this morning instead of years ago but he was still dead the magic that brought him back to like kept him alive and kept his well conditioned body marginally functioning. Even so he was getting full. he wondered idly how much he drank and if he should lay down. as watching the wolf melt form one forum to another made him think that dead or not he was definitely getting  dead drunk. ha ha he'd made a joke.

"He Witt?"  he asked. " what is in that bottle?"

[Stygian]

As whiny as the mole's excuse was and as quick as he was to switch the subject right back to something of decrepit perversion, things seemed to improve and to be going well. Momentarily. Until he went right overboard again.
   The moment Fal'taq started another one of those hideous little laughs, Sal's eyes started twitching, all eight of them in a disjointed sequence. After about half a second, Paige felt a strange little jolt of rage from somewhere, feeling in the strangest manner as if it shot up her tentacle from where Salticia touched her. And then, in an eyeblink, the spider whipped out a clenched fist, knocking the mole right on the head.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Witt raised an eyebrow at the grey fox, and glanced down at the bottle. He hefted it, shook it gently, peered into the neck, then tipped it upside down over his muzzle, and swallowed the remaining drops.

He then turned back, and stated, succinctly, "Nothing. It used to be a tasty wee drop, though." He waggled a paw. "Perhaps 130, 140 proof. No more than 150, at most. Nothing serious; I mean, it's not like it's a decent sized bottle." He slipped the litre-sized bottle into a pocket, and withdrew another, full one. Opening it, he stood there for a moment, meditatively gazing at the view, before shouting, in a slightly irritated tone "Oh, come on! Stop fanny-arsing around, we're all bloody adults here. Get yer daks off 'n' fuck 'er! We ain't got all night!"

[e_voyager]

Epyon laughed. "Proof enough to knock my wit's for a loop." he laughs again realizing he'd made an joke. before realizing he'd better sit down. as he sat he sat he saw Witt pull out another bottle. did he ever stop drinking? "ah well bottom's sir Witt. bottoms up" through as he looked at the couple by the tree it occurred to him that, that statement might have a double meaning as well and he started to giggle not sure whom the other were more interested in. Pandora or the wolf? he wasn't sure whom he thought attract at the moment.

[Sunblink]

...Keaton and Pandora:
Not long after Keaton brushed by Sal, she learned that, once the last occupants of the overturned tree had departed, there was plenty of room for her to spread the length of her body down the trunk. In disregard to Cubi psychology and how sleep was rendered obsolete in their enhanced metabolism, Keaton took full advantage of the vacancy and reclined on the tree, shifting into a comfortable position. Not since her little accidental contact with Sal's hand did she hear any antagonism from her imaginary audience of mind-demons. For a while, she simply laid there, on the periphery of sleep, reveling in the uncharacteristic tranquility of her mind's silence and halfheartedly ruminating, with the utmost appreciation, on how rarely she experienced these reprieves. Keaton almost convinced herself she was something close to content when she heard a skirmish break out not far away from where she was resting.

Keaton's eyes snapped open, and, operating purely on reflexes, turned her head to look at the source of the escalating volume. She felt her lip twitch in anxiety. Deep down, Keaton had no experience or expertise with leadership. For most of her life she had been abused and treated as a virtual doormat, therefore servitude came naturally to her after learning to adapt to her unfortunate situation. Being in control of a situation was an overwhelming ordeal. She had no finesse and no capacity for rational thinking, as she overreacted to the smallest transgression as a personal failure - she had adopted Izria's philosophy of beating and berating any obstacle that fell into her path instead of formulating possible solutions. Cogidubnus was an unfortunate outlet for this concentrated frustration.

In the end, as the conflict escalated, Keaton wanted the opportunity to storm over and wrench apart the offenders, then insult them nonstop. However, in a rare exercise of rational thought, she refrained from letting her unstable emotions dictate her actions, just this once. Pandora, on the other hand, did not have the patience or temperament to deal with hecklers during her Angry Sex Time. Especially not Witt's rude commentary. Peeking out from behind a very conveniently-angled tree that sufficed as a thorough censor, Pandora snarled, "Oh, all o' yah SHUT UP! If any o' yah go' any issues, deal wit' 'em someplace ELSE! Can't yah see I'm fuckin' BUSY? Have some goddamned consideration, will yah?"
   
Pandora cast a Very Irate glare at Witt and brandished her middle finger in the universal, crude salute. "'EY, I probably 'ave more patience than y' do, y' fuckin' wanker! An' in th' middle of y'r cock-strokin', try no' t' get y'r rocks off t' early – seein' as y'r probably sufferin' from th' biggest case o' blue balls I've ever seen if y'r gonna MST my performance in sex!"

Pandora spun around to face Paige, ""Oi! Leave th' short one, an' restrain y'r fuckin' boyfriend! I've 'ad enough wit' 'im!"

With that venting finished, Pandora seized Cross, who was out of sight other than the expressive and helpful wing-tentacle communicating with Witt, by the trenchcoat sleeve (or his arm) and dragged him away, marching with all the grace and dignity she, under her circumstances, could muster. Although most of her fitful cursing was inaudible, Keaton and a few other individuals could indistinctly hear her mumbling about how they took all the fun out of public sex.

Keaton stared after Pandora for a moment, then sighed and let her head rest against the trunk again.

---

...Axiyne:

With luck, Axiyne had found a beautiful grove not far from the airship wreckage. Most of the clearing was populated by thick foliage, fringing the periphery of the grove, and was home to a sizeable lake in the center of the formation.  A waterfall cascaded from a series of outcroppings in a stone wall and spilled into the frothing, crystal-clear lake below; Axiyne could tell that the unusual geography formed a virtual "staircase" up the side of the tall outcropping of rock, but was uninterested in investigating. Although he was fascinated with the sublimity of the clearing, he was more preoccupied with cleaning himself. Removing his goggles, he draped them over a nearby branch and approached the water's edge. Axiyne kneeled, testing the water with his talons, and then started to swallow mouthfuls of the liquid. Once he had satisfied his thirst, he started to clean the dollops of foam still hanging onto his pelt.

Axiyne sighed in-between his scrubbing, utterly focused on removing a stubborn piece of flotsam stuck in his fur. The grove was just so peaceful and serene, undisrupted save for the roaring of the waterfall, that the rustling of the bushes seemed almost obscene to him. Ears quirking, Axiyne inquisitively looked up, self-consciously grabbing for his goggles.

Axiyne was fully expecting for a wild, ravenous animal – possibly infected with some hideous disease like rabies and being a renowned carrier of Ebola to boot - emerge from the bushes. Understandably, it came as a profound shock when another Gryphon stepped out of the foliage.

---

...Keaton and Pandora:
Time passed between the members of the group, and eventually most of the excitement from the previous altercations seemed to have, mostly, diminished, aside from still-smoldering grudges. Keaton was negligently sleeping (or imitating some Cubi equivalent of temporary hibernation) on the tree, looking shockingly peaceful in her slumber aside from the occasional, erratic twitch that occurred whenever the wind rustled the bushes or the trees.

Around an hour after Pandora had intervened in the argument between Paige and Fal'taq, she returned, with Cross in tow, looking perfectly unperturbed and refreshed. Grinning, Pandora stretched her arms languidly over her head, oblivious to the pointed and slightly disgusted way Keaton was looking at her. "Tha' was great," Pandora said, "I feel jus' about ready t' get back t' work.

"Ax, wat's th' condition of th' shi'?"

Pandora waited expectantly, as though she was anticipating for someone to answer. Suddenly realizing the absence of the Gryphon's hesitant, but inquisitive voice, the look of bliss on her face was replaced with one of surprise. "Ax?" She looked around the clearing, but still no sign of the Gryphon. Signaling for Cross to wait for her, she jogged up to the nearest person, Epyon, and asked, "'Ey, did y' see Axiyne anywhere 'round 'ere?"

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Witt raised one eyebrow as Pandora started to vent, then started grinning. Then snickering. At the comment about having consideration, he attempted to comment, but couldn't keep a straight face. As she went on, the grin spread wide enough to split the top of his head clean off, and he started giggling, then laughing out loud.

"Oh, f... f... for... " He couldn't continue, and cracked up, reaching out one paw to lean on Epyon's shoulder, nearly dropping the bottle. "Bl... bl... blue balls! Bwahahaha! That's a good one!" He managed to stabilise himself, drew himself up, and saluted the departing Were with the bottle. Taking another drink, he swallowed, and promptly started giggling again.



He was still giggling, albeit intermittently, when she came back an hour later.

[SpottedKitty]

Fal'taq never saw the blow coming. He knew Sal was strong, and fast-moving, but he'd dismissed her from his attention for some time. Her fist smacked into the side of the mole's muzzle, snapping his head back with a strangulated cry. His glasses fell off again, and he collapsed like a sack of wet spaghetti, completely unconscious.

[e_voyager]

Epyon blinked his eyes and thought for a moment. the were-bird was actually coming to him looking for someone and she seemed worried. Axiyne Axiyne? which one was Axiyne? it didn't sound like a girls name so that counted out the tentacles she wolf and the spider mythos. maybe it was the mole. or the huge reptile mythos?  could it have been the griffin? he'd seen all of them recently the griffin least of the the others followed by the mythos in scarcity. " which one was Axiyne again miss?" he asked. "i'm pretty bad with names"

[Sunblink]

...Pandora:

Pandora gestured a little with her hands, tracing Axiyne's outline in the air with her fingers. "Y'know, he's a wee lil' thing," she explained, "Brown, missin' one eye... 'e's a Gryphon... four legged type... always wears 'is goggles. 'ave ya seen 'im?"

---

...Keaton:

In the background, Keaton finally woke up from her nap, languidly leaning off the side of the tree and stretching her arms lazily over her head. She looked the closest thing to content that she had ever been in the trip; or at the very least comfortable and not like she was cringing at sounds no one else could hear or sights no one else could see. A definite improvement.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Penny was just wandering back out of the ship when Pandora returned and was shouting about the little gryphon. The fisher didn't know where he was but he would have been helpful in her search of the nearest parts of the ship for supplies that might be handy for those trekking inland searching for civilization. Unfortunately she hadn't come across anything like the machetes, backpacks, or canteens that would have been useful. What she had found was lots of equipment and oddments that suggested the were and the gryphon might be able to repair a lot of the damage.  "I didn't see him anywhere inside, but I didn't go very far in."

[e_voyager]

the undead his head clearing as it were dreaded his memory. he seemed to remember something about seen and griffin in the tree heading away from the camp but he couldn't be sure. he'd had other things on his mind and well and in his eyes. eve now as he looked at Pandora his undead blood or what ever served for such was forcing it's way into his face  generating a sort of delayed action blush that had been underway since he first turned and saw whom was addressing him. the only way it would have been worse would have been if it';s been the male cross. he could read mind or so they say about his kind. then again they say that all three eyes can see souls in their third eye. that may no be true. "Er well i think i did see a griffin or something similar heading away form camp but i was kind of distracted at the time. i this it was over that way" he said gestures in a general direction past the ship and were the mole and wolftress had been having their altercation. he'd only seen the figure for a second but it might have been Axiyne or it may have been someone else entirely, but it was the best he'd had to offer..

[Tapewolf]

While Pandora asked about the gyrphon, Cross looked at the mole with idle curiosity.  Something was different... the large lump on the side of his muzzle.

"What happened here?" he asked.