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Post by The Wyrd on Jul 1, 2021 17:59:00 GMT -8
 As gravel and dust grind into a flurry, Linden beholds the twisting flesh, hands and agonized mouths pulling against its host in a pulsing heart beat.
The woman screams as the hoard reaches for the Ogre. |
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Linden
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Presence (3) Steady
Posts: 325
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Post by Linden on Jul 1, 2021 22:33:14 GMT -8
The scream kicks Linden back into gear, already flinching away from it in the fear it will be like the last sound the creature made. What the host was experiencing, they couldn't imagine and didn't want to. Gravel churned under their feet as the Ogre took off running, trying to find a path forward that wasn't as exposed. It had cleared the highway easily, dashing their initial hopes, but if they were lucky it wouldn't be quite as good at ducking and weaving through the urban landscape.
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Firebringer
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Elemental Ifrit, Presence 3 (Intimidating)
Posts: 634
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Post by Firebringer on Jul 2, 2021 0:02:22 GMT -8
This feels like a horror movie and Fire is running as if it is a horror movie. The only thing she can hope for is that she is the one that doesn't get caught. She hears the scream, but barely registers it as she focuses on running, careful of anything in her path. As she is running, she is looking to make sure she isn't going to end up in an area that is going to corner her.
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Post by Krakenbox on Jul 2, 2021 10:39:56 GMT -8
Linden recalls the myth of running downhill with a grizzly bear in pursuit, and knew it was a bunch of bullshit as the abomination thundered behind them on all fours—bones popping as skin was stretched and forced into a disturbing corruption of the human form. They serpentine as they break for the field before the block, trying to use their smaller size against the careening weight of screeching spirits to keep it pivoting.
The Darkling feels the tug of the anchor swing wide, feet almost skidding as his center of gravity tilts off its axis. His ankle rolls as he stumbles and overcorrects down the slope.
Ahead, Agrippa's incredible speed sends them flying in a tumble, regal unicorn limbs bending in a tangle as everything drags to a halt with the storm roaring behind in the dark landscape. Linden feels the sudden weight of two adults add to the ritual item, reflexively gripping with protective instinct as their shoulder yanks from the unexpected force. They see the flash of the other two on their asses as their eyes close.
Firebringer yelps as the wind of the monster careens past her, forcing her to take her wig off as it posed a major hazard to her vision.
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Linden
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Presence (3) Steady
Posts: 325
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Post by Linden on Jul 2, 2021 11:40:19 GMT -8
The tug spun Linden slightly on one of their heels, turning them toward a different street and they went for it. The creature behind them needed more obstacles, and they were afraid to put too much distance between themself and their companions at the other end of the tether. Instead of the all-out sprint across the field, it turned into shoes sliding on the pavement as they took a sharp left and vaulted over the top of a dumpster, scraping against the opposite wall as they pushed off and kept going. Their path kept to the backstreets they had come to know best, knocking stacks of pallets and bottle bins over behind themself whenever possible, in the vain hope it would make a difference.
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Post by Krakenbox on Jul 2, 2021 12:31:55 GMT -8
Linden landed in the alleyway.
The monster leapt over the dumpster easily, barreling Linden over with its host's legs as it sailed overhead, cutting off the Ogre's retreat as the body squished and stretched against tight quarters like a blob.
Firebringer sees Linden and the monster launch over the dumpster, knowing she will need to clear it as well if she wants to help.
Rowan and Agrippa feel the tether pull them towards the alleyway, seeing the swirling mass fill the ethereal echo of concrete over Twilight. Rowan has a bad limp, groaning when the dumpster manifests in a weak outline as others feelings imprint onto the plane.
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Post by Agrippa on Jul 2, 2021 14:37:13 GMT -8
Agrippa wasn't quite sure what was happening, but their fight or flight instinct had already kicked in, and flight was suddenly off the table. If they had even a moment to think they would have done literally anything else, but alas they didn't, and the instinct wasn't exactly all that smart. They got their footing back in a flurry of flailing limbs, turning on a dime to face the horror behind and charging towards it.
A pallet acted as a ramp and the lip of the dumpster a foothold, and once it was cleared the unicorn kept on charging, bowing their head with the intent to bare their horn to the mass of spectres
...Unfortunately for them, they were met with open air. The storm appeared aware, splitting and swirling to part from Agrippa's attack. I fell for the distraction, several ghosts reaching and sweeping at Beast, who immediately vaulted back over the dumpster in a practiced arch of retreat.
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Post by Rowan on Jul 2, 2021 16:36:20 GMT -8
Between the panic coiled around his gut and the fire spreading across his ankle, cohesive thoughts weren't really an option for the Darkling. He was operating mostly on instinct, surrendering his higher brain functions to that part of him that Mitch insisted didn't exist. Right now, Rowan really needed that part to exist.
He watched Agrippa climb over the obstacle and fight whatever it was that had caught up with them. He wanted to follow - he trusted his claws do hurt, a lot. He took one step and almost keeled over from putting too much weight on his leg. He swore. 'Fight through it.'
It was difficult. Like, Mount Everest difficult, or at least that's how it felt. Gunting through gritted teeth, Rowan scaled the makeshift barricade to behold it. Energy, radiating like a tiny sun from it. A dam, floodgates wide open to let everything poor out. He could close them, but the current was too strong.
He swore. He was a Gravewright right now, not some Bloodbrute who solved everything through sheer force. He remembered how he had treated Golden Boy, who had some similarities to what they were facing. That was when he saw them, at the edge of his vision. Chains, catching the light of an otherwordly sun. Reaching out with his hand and his will, Rowan plucked at one of the metaphysical fetters that tied the whole thing together. 'Here goes nothing.'
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Firebringer
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Elemental Ifrit, Presence 3 (Intimidating)
Posts: 634
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Post by Firebringer on Jul 2, 2021 19:02:20 GMT -8
Fire is vaulting through, her senses going crazy with stimuli. She can feel fire and ice going all at once in her veins and she can't tell if she's terrified, energized, or both all at once. Probably both. She knows she should feel pain right now. She knows she should be getting ready to pass out, but she can't right now.
The Ifrit watches as the monster, this living nightmare of a beast, gets the jump on Linden and she turns on her heels. As she does, for just a moment, all she can see is the look on Riley's face when she woke up to them in the hospital. I can't end up there again. Focus. Oh, dumpster. Fuck. She jumps over and nearly misses, her foot skimming the edge as she goes over, almost falling.
She uses that momentum to try and land a hit on the creature, but she's wobbly, her stance not as strong as it should have been.
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Post by Krakenbox on Jul 2, 2021 20:00:55 GMT -8
The chain snaps, screaming and twisting fading from the swirling entity. The size of the phenomenon is reduced.
Rowan is dimly aware that his power is tied to his connection to Arcadia, and he can only influence one more thing until significant time has passed. There was also the issue of The Door, which this entire research dive would be moot if he could not open it to use the token of divination. He had helped, but there was a question whether he was going to abandon the mission to further deal with this thing.
The creature pounces as Firebringer charges forward, coming down on Linden with a swipe. As the bone-claws drag across the their body, veins zigzag from the site of impact that ate away at their skin in a corrosive frenzy. What lands is smaller, not filling as much space in the alleyway.
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Linden
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Presence (3) Steady
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Post by Linden on Jul 2, 2021 20:54:43 GMT -8
Linden hit the ground with a pained wheeze; if they lived, Bonnie couldn't give them any shit about breaking whatever was in that backpack. Bonnie wasn't allowed to complain about anything, at all. It was a relief to see Firebringer as she came blazing over the dumpster; they had run from their joint Nighmare together not so long ago and come out worse for wear but alive, maybe they could weather this too. She'd see them right, if she could.
The Ogre didn't try to get up- most fights went to the ground fast anyway, they could work with it. As the claws raked across them Linden let out a sound that was a mixture of a laugh, a yell, and a growl. While the creature was still close to them they swung, a brutal, clawing blow.
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Post by Agrippa on Jul 3, 2021 4:39:11 GMT -8
It was only once Agrippa hit the ground on the other side that they even had the chance to realize that Rowan was no longer there. They spun again, watching in horror as their ally scaled the dumpster. They honestly had no idea what the darkling was capable of, but what they did know is that they couldn't really help- the last few seconds was solid proof of that, if nothing else. A part of them reasoned that they would be more likely to cause harm by getting in the way if they jumped back into the fray, though it was overpowered by the burning need to do anything at all but stand idle on the sidelines. They were retracing their steps back over the dumpster before their next breath.
Having at once considerable momentum and very little idea what they were even attempting to do, the unicorn once again skied along the wall with momentum, sending the edge of the storm whirling and grasping.
They didn't miss a beat, pivoting off the concrete and sailing right over the dumpster again.
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Firebringer
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Elemental Ifrit, Presence 3 (Intimidating)
Posts: 634
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Post by Firebringer on Jul 3, 2021 15:22:26 GMT -8
Seriously? Her last punch didn't connect like she wanted to. Try again. She throws another punch, hoping that the combination of the hits from her and Linden will put it down. Or at least do some kind of damage.
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Post by Krakenbox on Jul 3, 2021 22:23:57 GMT -8
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Linden
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Presence (3) Steady
Posts: 325
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Post by Linden on Jul 4, 2021 10:12:13 GMT -8
The blows kept coming and the Ogre was fighting to hold onto consciousness, grasping at anything they could. Despair turned into dread and then white-hot rage. In a desperate attempt to protect themselves, Linden tried to force the metal up from the scars of where they had lost their gauntlets; with glamour, a flex, a scream- but nothing came. Lashing out again, there was little thought to their action beyond base survival.
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