Character Lounge

[Stygian]

Stygian had not been holding the door for more than perhaps three seconds, bowing a bit to Mel, before there was a most disturbing sound of things smashing.
   "What the H...?" Stygian began, turning his face to look a bit upwards. His eyes flared, and then his mouth opened in something like shock. Just less than a second later he was already outside and speeding down the corridor. He practically threw himself at the wall to move faster up the stairs.
   The entire top floor was on fire, and it was spreading rather quickly. Flames licked the ceiling and had already begun eating away at the wooden beams that held the roof up, and black smoke stood thick in the place. Not that the fire itself bothered Stygian much, but he would rather not have the weight of the roof come down on top of him, so he moved very fast. His eyes still flaring, he looked over the entire room, only to realize that no one was there, at least not anymore. A quick look revealed why; a window stood open at the other end of the room. Stygian sprang for it, and looked out. Four stories below lay a figure, sprawled in a somewhat trimmed hedge.
   Stygian didn't mind the cracking of the beams behind him. He just jumped out.

   Something smashed down onto the stone paving a few feet off from Cogidubnus' side with a small crack. Then, after a moment, there were steps. And then, a figure, dark against the rising sun, leaned over him. It was dressed in a prim and proper late 19th century suit of some kind, and had weird fiery eyes.
   "You don't look so good, sir. May I ask whether if, and why, you set the house on fire?"

((OOC: E, Boogey is a thought, and the rest is just gibberish and nonsense to me. Mind.))

[Aisha deCabre]

As they walked through the corridors towards the main lounge, Aisha had a smile on her face as sun-drenched light poured onto the dark pathway.  Her hand within Gareeku's gentle grasp, things seemed so perfect...

But they didn't get too far before a noise made her jump, seeming to echo throughout the entire mansion, a cascade of things shattering and breaking.  "What the...?" the panther exclaimed, looking up and around for the origin of the disturbance but not sensing anything...not until she sniffed the air and heard something splintering and crackling from above their heads.  The smell of burning wood and other materials was spreading.

"Dammit...we'd better get moving," she said with urgency...

[Boog]

Boogey looked up at the crashing and rumbling.
It's none of my business, he tried reasoning, as he heard the crackling of flames.
It's none of my business, he continued to himself at the creak of house timbers.
It's none of my business, he continued as people began shouting.
It's none of... "Aw hell, and I was going to have breakfast. Never fails, whenever you're going to eat soon, something goes all wonkey," Whirling in the other direction, he ran down the hall until he found what appeared to be a large hole in the floor, with blue flames flickering everywhere. Having little time to reason what was happening, he simply acted on what seemed like the most logical conclusion. Spitting a few arguments to disperse the flames in his path, he crawled on his belly to the smoking hole in the floor and looked down.
"Alright, I'm guessing either E, Stygian, or Gareeku is down there," He shouted down, "What just happened?

(OOC: A thought he is, yes, but he is visible to the naked eye. At least, he is where reality is particularly flexible, such as a building where two of somebody has cropped up, is owned by someone who claims to work for an intergalactic agency, has so many visitors from other dimensions it may as well be considered a physics-free embassy, and manages to attract dark beasties, robots, adventurors and flame-trailing samurai)

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel felt the house shake as a loud noise roared through it. Stygian disappeared at just about the same time she caught the first hint of smoke. Fire! She felt her heart rate double. She had to get away. She exited the lounge and realized she didn't know where she was. This room was in some part of the house she hadn't explored. Guessing which hallway at random she set off quickly to find an exit.

[Gareeku]

Walking down the hallway hand in hand with Aisha, the moments of peace were broke once again as a loud crashing sound could be heard, followed by the sound of cracking and splintering wood and the smell of burning. Nodding his head in acknowledgment as he heard Aisha's statement, Gareeku took off with her down the hallway. If the house was on fire, the wolf had no doubt that the others would be able to get themselves out safely.

Navigating his way through the house, presuming Aisha was doing the same, Gareeku turned into another hallway to find a feline appearing in it.
"I've got no idea what the hell is going on, but I think I'd state the obvious the say we need to get out now!" the wolf called to her, not realising it was in fact Mel as he ran up to her and grabbed her hand. "Let's go!!"

Running through the maze-like hallways of the house, Gareeku luckily came across the lounge that, unknown to him, Cogidubnus had crashed into. Looking around with a grimace at the blue flames burning everywhere, the wolf's ears then perked up as he heard Boogey's voice shout from above.
"I've got no idea! But if I were you I'd get out of here!" Gareeku called back, before turning to the others.

It was then that with a grimace on his face Gareeku realised they were on the third.
"Damn it... we need to go down..." he growled partly to himself, before leading the way back into the hallways. Coming across a set of stairs which, remarkably, had been unaffected by the fire, Gareeku guided the feline down,, keeping her close to him in case any debris would fall. Luckily it didn't.

Finally arriving on the ground floor, Gareeku entered a room and opened the window, before turning to Aisha and the feline.
"Alright! Everybody out!" he called, pointing to the open window as he did so.

[Cogidubnus]

Cog was vaguely aware that he probably should move farther from the burning house when something starting irritating him. He turned his head to see what it was, when he noticed that someone had suddenly appeared on the cobbles beside him. A somewhat intimidating figure, and judging by recent circumstances, probably not incredibly happy. He was apparently trying to speak to him, and Cogidubnus focused more on the buzzing sound, and managed to make out his words.
   "I..." he managed to get out before coughing up a great deal of blood. Somethings ruptured in there...fantastic... he thought, and he reached feebly inside his jacket for one of the healing charms contained within. He fumbled about for a moment before clutching a twisted piece of silver, and a feeling of coolness travel up his arm. Cog sighed, and wiped some of the blood off of his mouth.
   His mind started to come back to him, and he felt a branch sticking rather uncomfortably in his back. He was in a bush...a hedge, he noticed. He waited for a moment before trying to roll off, letting the charm in his jacket work. It was almost out of what it could do for him anyway. Time and rest would probably have to do the rest. He rolled of the hedge and hit the pavement in a rather undignified manner, and lay there again while he winced at this new pain. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the stranger.
   "I'm... sorry...about the house..." He said, speaking slowly. "Believe...me, didn't want... to...set fire to it..." He tried to rise of the pavement. To his surprise, he managed to shift onto his feet. He stood slowly and shakily, leaning on the nearby wall for support. "Where the hell am I?"

[Stygian]

Stygian almost began stretching out a dark, clawed hand for the man laying before him, when he remembered. His head snapped against the house and his eyes widened. Mel! Now, he knew all too well about her fear of fire, and he could guess at her disorientation from his fooling around with her marker. Not to mention that the other two he minded in the house were less than ideally set to escape as well. He cursed himself in his mind for his own stupidity.
   Now, he did not mind his clothing. Throwing off his singed jacket and vest, Stygian ran. His shirt tore and slipped off, as did his pants and shoes, as his skin cracked and darkened as it burst into shadow. Darkness ripped out of his back and he leapt up onto the second floor as it grew larger around him, tearing into the wall and opening a hole right through a window.
   "Gareeku! Aisha!" he roared. "Mel! Don't move! I can't find you if you do!" Barbed tentacles of darkness thick as three men's arms tore through the door into the next corridor before him as he ran, not bothering to open it. When he caught speed he started slithering, gliding fast over the floor rather than running to move better. He looked around best he could, but the smoke hid all scents, and Mel wasn't a warm-blooded creature, not to mention that the flames around confused him. Worst of all, his own power was diminishing with the light filling the hallways through the windows and by lamps and mirrors. And he had lots of wood and stone above him. If he did not find them soon...
   "Where are you!?!"


((OOC: Allright... First of all, I'm not complaining about you, Boog. You're doing just fine, if you ask me, even though your placement in the house is a bit fuzzy. But E is directly referring to people's thoughts and appears to be omniscient for the time being... in a 19th century-style mansion I might point out (no offense though, it's still hard to see since the thread is still kinda blurred). Not to mention that Joat (no offense there either) and Karl appear to be running little RPs of their own. And Karl is still trying to be the boss of all, much to everyone's dismay! Now...
   This RP stopped being random at about 30 pages (not my words, mind you), and finally gained a long-needed structure and motive, and I have noticed how glad people are for that. I've even gotten several comments about it. So here's the deal; if you can't bloody well adjust, get the bloody Hell out! We're here to play our characters and socialize, not to try and be the biggest kid in the sandbox! So use a bit of the judgment and brains that you have gained through your years, I hope, and act a bit intelligently, people!))

[Boog]

"Right!" The Boogeyman shouted down to Gareeku, "Leaving! A sound plan!"
Crawling back through the flames and smoke, spitting the occasional argument or reason to disperse the flames in his path, Boogey made his way to the hallway and stood up, thus getting a lung full of smoke for his trouble.
Can't see... Smoke hurts... Where...?
The smoke was everywhere, overwhelming. He couldn't breathe, he could barely think. He did have instincts though. Sensing the panicked thoughts of Mel and Stygian's self-derision, he made his way toward whichever seemed closer. Find a mind... Minds are safe... Find people...

(OOC: I figured E was referring to the bit about not being able to go too far from the lounge, not the other stuff.)

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha followed Gareeku closely, quickly moving past room after room and corridor after corridor.  She already felt the heat from the flames slowly starting to encompass the mansion, threatening to trap whomever was inside.  She tried to keep her senses open for anyone who was still around, but it was hard to do with the crackling flames moving ever closer, the smoke obscuring their eyes and nose, and their feet moving too quickly...the panther paused at one point, thinking she heard a familiar voice calling their names, before rushing to catch up with the wolf.

"Let's go!  Vamos!" she said upon coming up to the feline who would be Mel, agreeing hastily with Gareeku, until they came to a point where there seemed to be a dead end.  Flames licked at the walls and furniture, consuming and driving everything but the stone walls to soot.

As he pointed to a window, Aisha nodded in reply and rushed towards it.  "Don't have to tell me twice!"  She threw her shoulder out to the open window and leaped out of it, straight past the searing heat and into the suddenly-cold air, landing and rolling to her feet with a grunt.  She stepped on the edge of her cape as it had caught on fire and looked back towards the mansion, hoping Gareeku and whomever else could, got out too...

[Joat]

*OOC: No offense, Stygian, but please try the polite approach BEFORE cursing and scolding. I know you were trying to do so in the first paragraph, but you probably should have left out the second paragraph.*

*OOC: Also, Cogidubnus, I shall give you a brief description of all my characters here. Joat is a mad scientist (learning to be a Qwertish Wizard) wolf cubi. Sylver is a Calica (holy magic powered by the soul) Mage robot dog. May Cottontail is a Qwertish Wizard easter bunny. Valencia (not present) is a fox reporter with no known special abilities. Sevilin (Never involved significantly in a plot) is the goddess of Calica, who happens to be best friends with May Cottontail.

“Let me try and fix this,” I say. I put my goggles over my eyes (it’s a mad scientist thing) and begin to chant a spell. When I finish, nothing happens.

“Well, the words and rhythm were both way off, no offense,” May says. She then casts an improved form of Affect Normal Fires, but nothing happens. “Darn it! They must be magical flames.”

“So, how are we to escape this inferno?” I ask.

Just then, Sylver chronoshifts (teleports) to us. “Everyone, join hands. I can’t tell how many of you there are, ‘cause there’s soot all over my eyes.”

[Cogidubnus]

(OOC: As Cogidubnus is not invincible nor made of stone, it is unlikely that he could fall through four full stories: he merely hit the deck, then fell onto some hedges. There was apparently some confusion about this, and I was asked to clarify.)

[Stygian]

The fire was roaring now. Stygian had already leapt up some stairs, searching as best he could through the third floor, before he decided that there was nothing he could do and loped down to the second again, and headed back in the other direction, all the while shouting and calling for the others. The roof creaked dangerously over him, but he did not mind, cursing lowly under his breath as he sped through the hallway.
   If they aren't up there they have either gone back to the lounge or they're out already, you idiot! he scolded himself, and then flew down another flight of stairs through some smoke. He tried for the lounge, and no one was there. Bloody Hell!
   Something creaked. Then, there was a loud snap, and the whole house seemed to start to creak and rumble. Stygian's eyes darted up.
   Oh shit...!

   From outside, they could all see how the flames now reached through a part of the roof, and how it had begun leaning in. The house groaned in pain, its supporting structure eaten away and the weight of the structure now aiding in creating a caving effect through the attic and down, the top floor of the wing on the right from where they stood starting to topple down on it. And then it brought the second with it. And then it smashed down on the first. From the right side and on, the house began collapsing, spreading smoke and ash.


((OOC: Firstly, I have been giving hints and comments all through the latest pages, and as far as I've seen and heard, I have gotten quite some support. Sad that some can't read between the lines, though I must stress that I am in no way pissed with you or trying to offend you, Joat.
   In any case, I am quite tired of all the bullshitting that has been going on, as well as the hijacking of posts that we have seen quite a few times. And I can imagine that I am not the only one. There is sadly no way to be less outspoken and more forceful on the internet, so this I am afraid is my only way of saying that I am most irritated, and that I would be rid of certain asswipes who frankly don't deserve the attention!))

[Boog]

Hearing the place falling, Boogey reached the conclusion that he didn't have the luxury of the leisurely approach. Sprinting for the nearest exit, he found one in the form of an open second floor window. With a panicked yell, he threw himself out of the house and landed in the bushes. He clambered out of them scratched and bruised, but unharmed. He staggered up to the others standing outside the house, panting.
"So... (pant)... What... (pant)... Happened?" He wheezed, doubled over and coughing smoke out of his lungs.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel followed Aisha out the window as quickly as she could. Feeling snow underfoot was a relief. A safe distance away she could still do nothing but stand with her arms around herself, shaking and staring at the monster the house had become. It was only when the mansion began collapsing that what she was seeing sunk in. "Did everyone get out?" she whispered, smoke husky. "Where is everyone?"

((ooc:  I have to agree. I can't know if people simply aren't reading what other people write or if they are being deliberately difficult but posts often contradict the one above. It is frustrating to try to seriously RP when it feels like there are multiple gms running similar (or contradictory) games in the same thread. Styg is running an interesting game and should be left to do it. Please, read and think before posting.))

[Gareeku]

Making sure Aisha and the feline were outside to safety, Gareeku followed them, diving through the window and landing in a roll before standing once more. Looking back at the house, the wolf frowned as he saw the house burn and begin to collapse.
"I hope everyone got out safely..." he muttered. "I wonder how the fire started...?"

Looking around, the wolf then spotted someone he had not seen before.
"Hey! You!" he called out to the stranger in an authoritative tone. "Were you the one who started that fire?"

[Stygian]

The right side of the house, what must have been the left wing from the front, crumbled into a still-burning heap in the morning sun, the pressure from tons of thick wood and mortar smashing into the cellar and crumbling it as well. It brought some of the centre of it along too, and a cloud of dust and ash blew out into their faces, mixed with the heat of the still raging fire, and settled slowly over the snow-strewn lawn. A large pillair of smoke rose toward the sky, ash and cinders falling from it, though most away from them as the wind blew south.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel tugged on Gareeku's sleeve. "We need to see who got out. Mr. Don'Chel ran to see what happened. And there was a fox... I think he was asleep. And everyone else. Do you know where everyone else was when the fire started?"

[Joat]

Sylver, May, and I chronoshift outside (next to Mel) just in time.

“Y’know, when the flames were up against my armor, it actually kinda tickled,” Sylver says.

“So, did everyone get out okay?” I ask to nobody in particular.

*OOC: I would have posted this two posts ago, but my internet connection is faulty.*

[Aisha deCabre]

Relieved that Mel and Gareeku had followed her outside, Aisha got up to her feet with a light shiver from the snow, turning to watch the house become virtually destroyed, crumbled and knocked to its knees by the flames.  She released a sort of low sigh, thinking it sad to see such a thing happen, after the panther and everyone else had pretty much been in that place, for the span of so many hours, having a party and adventures, sleeping...though the surroundings had changed a few times, it still felt like they were leaving something to die.

Hrmph...so much for the investigation of a haunted house I'd started...Aisha snorted, shaking her head before glancing to where Gareeku and Mel had moved off, having spotted someone new.  Listening to the dragon, Aisha took another glance at the house, and then looked around, noticing Joat, Boogey, and a few other familiar faces.  But some were still missing, she thought with a concerned look.  "She's right...where is Stygian?"

[Cogidubnus]

Cog waited for the stranger to respond to him, to be greeted only by silence. He supposed that he was rather angry or some such. Cog turned to try and further make amends, and was startled to see that no-one was there anymore. He sighed and slid down the wall, sitting down on the ground and tried to get his bearings. In all probability, he was not even on the same plane anymore...he put his head in his hand. Could be worse. He thought. I could be somewhere that has toxin as air. He felt himself gathering strength again, courtesy of his hidden charm. He felt the energy peter out, the cool feeling halting, but he was in much better shape than he had been. He could now, for example, probably speak without wheezing.
   He sat there for a moment before hearing a commotion to the side of him. A strange group of folk were staring at the flames, and one wolf  in particular was yelling at him. Quite angrily, he thought. He sighed and lurched to his feet again, and started limping towards them. He spoke as loudly as he could at them.
   "No! Well...yes, but I had no intention of burning your house!" He said, approaching the group. "In point of fact, the fire wasn't even mine. It's somewhat complicated, you see..." He said, and began to explain what exactly had caused him to fall out of their sky.

[Boog]

Boogey watched the house burn, slightly saddened. It was a nice sort of place. Despite all that had happened, it had personality. How many concepts were probably a part of that old place, or had it had inspired? Then of course was the fact that reality would come flooding in to give him a hard time soon, but first thing was first.
Of course, noticing Gareeku getting mad at some stranger, he was distracted from his melancholy. Brushing some leaves and twigs off, he strolled over to speak with Mel.
"Alright, what-" was all he managed to get out before another coughing fit assailed him. Interdispersed within it was also a few "whos", "hows" and a handful of profanities. When the coughing eventually died down, he decided dignety wasn't worth it and collapsed on his butt, panting "What?" he managed to get out again, panting heavily.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel looked at Boogey wheezing and coughing on the ground. "I don't know what happened. I'd ask the stranger, he seems to know." She looked at the collapsed house worriedly, "I'm going up to see if I can see anything." She spred her wings and jumped upwards into flight to see if she could spot those missing still.

[Gareeku]

Hearing the stranger's reply, Gareeku was about to answer back when he heard Aisha ask where Stygian was.
"I don't know." he could only say, a look of worry on his face before he turned back to the stranger.
"I'm sure it is! But you can start by helping us look for Stygian!" he growled, before turning to walk towards the smouldering pile of rubble that was once the house.

[Joat]

“I wonder if any of the systems of the house are still online. I hope so, though I doubt it immensely,” I say as I use my laptop to try to hack into the house’s systems. Failing to establish a connection, I close the laptop back up. “None of them are online, as I suspected. I was hoping I could at least get a survaillence cam to see where some of them may be. We’ll just have to try something simpler.”

“I think I should go and search for them. Our new arrival can too, if he wants,” Sylver says.

“Yeah, you are the fireproof one around here. But be careful. I don’t know how well you’ll handle the full weight of a collapsed house upon you,” I say.

“Right!” Sylver says.

“Wait, I’m coming with you. I can make myself flame-resistant, too,” May says. She casts Resist Fire on herself.

“Alright, but stay close to me. We may need to chronoshift out at a moment’s notice,” Sylver says.

“Okay. Oh, almost forgot,” May says. She casts Resist Fire on Cogidubnus. “Now let’s go, you two.”

[Cogidubnus]

Help? Cog thought, and laughed. "I can barely stand, sir. Unless you have a very powerful healer among you, I'm not moving anywhere." He said. He turned and stared at the fire that he had, albeit unintentionally, caused, and grimaced. "I am sorry. Perhaps if I had been somewhat faster, I would never have had to come here in the first place." As he thought of fighting, he took a sharp intake of breath and checked for his sword. It was gone, probably still in the burning rubble. "Damn." He said, looking into the roaring inferno. He hoped that whoever was still trapped would be able to get out...and with any luck, that he would be able to get his sword from the rubble, relatively undamaged.

[Stygian]

There didn't seem to be much to save at all. Some of the thicker outer walls still stood up to about half the second floor, but the rest of the place looked like it had been razed by a flock of crazed demons, and it burned still, the heat and the ashes nearly getting to Mel when she flew too close.
   The rubble and scrap that had been the main lounge lay in a great pile before them. The cinders still glowed, and one could see a bit of what must have been a grand piano thrown up against the remnants of the windowed wall. A beam snapped off as fire ate through it, but otherwise nothing moved. It was dead still for several minutes as they searched.
   Then, just when Gareeku passed a pile right up the stairs and before the pond where they had met Sathariel for the first time, there was a violent crack as a blackened hand, strewn with dust and its skin seething in some unnatural way, struck out from under the debris. A bit of a rumble followed it, as an injured figure crawled out into the sun, wheezing and hacking.
   "I will... *cough!*... learn... never to... *hack!*... try and save you again...!" Stygian rasped, as he glared up at the wolf with those hellish eyes, and slowly shifted back to his bat form, his bare skin scraped and bleeding, and tore his leg free from the rubble.

[Gareeku]

Seeing Stygian emerge from the rubble, Gareeku frowned as he helped him up.
"Sorry, but I didn't even know you were trying to save us." he replied, before surveying the man's injuries. "Are you going to be ok?"

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel saw movement on the pond side of the house and landed just as Gareeku was helping Stygian up. She found herself backing away from the continued shimmering heat from the rubble. She looked wide-eyed from Stygian to the rubble and back. "I can't believe anyone..." she trailed off. Just being this close to the fire was scary. The idea of anyone surviving, walking away from, a fire that destroyed a mansion in minutes left her very impressed.

[Stygian]

Stygian got to his feet, wobbling a bit. As he stood, one could see the many wounds on him healing slowly, yet visibly. Still, there were a few that seemed downright nasty. Skin had been scraped off the side of his ribcage until black blood and muscle showed through, and through his underarm a bonepipe jutted right through the skin. A long cut across his face went into an eye, and it looked simply gross when it healed as he looked down on himself.
   "Yeah... In a bit... But I'll have to visit the... tailor again..." he said, and made a grimace as he gripped the broken arm. It snapped and cracked disgustingly as he forced the bone back in and into position, and he stifled a sound in his throat, sharp teeth biting into his lip. The blackness that he had been just then seemed reduced to his shadow now, slowly slipping into his wounds and down his legs and feet into the ground where it pooled up into his shade.
   "The others?" he asked the wolf. Then, he turned his head back and eyed Mel over his shoulder, and for the first time he actually seemed a bit awkward at his lack of clothes. Quickly, a part of his shadow slithered up and wrapped around him, before changing into some black wrappings, a pair of straight black pants and a loose black shirt.
   "You okay, Shivers?" he said, his eyes slowly reverting back to normal.

[e_voyager]

( OOC. can we calm down a bit. as i said i'm not sure who is were and i was not commenting on thoughts but what was visible and said somewhere in my preses such as what boogey said about  not being able to leave. it's true that i was plugged into the house security and was exploring it under a tour of the security program.  also i never said what i saw or when i saw it. before lights out i was with most of the members of the house and after that i was plugged in for most of the night until the announcement.  maybe i passed some of the people  as i waled to the kitchen maybe i'm just shifting through the data form my recent memories and what i learned form the house.  the only thing i directly commented on was Boogey's statement about not leaving the house. as for the thing i was thinking about Mel , You, Joat who entered the room asking for May, my observation of the way Ashia and Greeku were acting in case you forget they both left for the night together as one my expect form a couple. and yes i was there. i jacked into the wall a little before they left and that struck the curiosity of one of then so  lets just return to the Rp and not try to rip each others throats out over the net.  it's hard enough to keep up over a shaky connection with out dealing with a lot grif form arguing.  part of the reason form my statements being vague was that i had not caught up with what they said this time around. with the y exited the the post closest to where i posted i was still catching up. as for right now i'm trying to figure out how much of the house is on fire and i had time to evacuate of if i just lost one of my bodies and need to beam in a new one with backup data.  probably the latter at this point. also nice entrance newcomer i hope you have fun here with us.)