[Center][color=ed1c24][h2]Fujiwara no Mokou[/h2]
Level 6
2/60 EXP

Location: Frozen Highlands - Krat Zoo
Wordcount: 2069 (+3 EXP) [/color][/Center]

Without anything responding to her calls, Mokou continues walking, her lone steps echoing off of the boardwalk as she moves on. Surprisingly, nothing else chooses to jump out at her in the moment, either frightened by Mokou’s presence… Or frightened by something else that lurked in this area. Either way, Mokou didn’t mind, it was a bit more peaceful now that she could look at the sights. All the exciting, frozen over sights that just screamed of intrigue.

Another sigh escapes Mokou’s lips as she keeps walking, kicking the floor as she walks and knocking off snow and ice from the boardwalk. As per usual, her boredom was a constant plague. She had seen dozens upon dozens of frozen buildings and locals, and even this park of horrors barely excited her at this point. Yet out of the corner of her eye, Mokou spotted something that actually did catch her attention: A small building that seemed to be a staff center: Wide open and abandoned, much like the rest of the complex. It was different from the ransacked gift shops and empty exhibits, and that was enough to get Mokou to shift her direction, idly walking into the darkened building, [color=ed1c24]“Hey, any vikings in here?”[/color] she asked as she approached, knocking on the door frame to get anything’s attention before entering the building proper.

[center][hider=Items Obtained][b]Meat Block[/b] x4
A 1ft by 2ft by 4" slab of emulsified carnivore feed, meant for zoo animals and not fit for human consumption. Exposure to the cold has frozen the meat inside its package

[b]Crow Bar[/b]
A hefty metal rod with a hooked, flattened end, meant for opening nailed-shut shipping crates but very wieldable as a bludgeon

[b]Tranq Rifle[/b]
A weapon loaded with 5 tranquilizer-injecting darts usable over medium distances, meant for subduing zoo animals for relocation or medical attention

[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/mfYAXl2.png]Zookeeper Outfits (M&F)[/url][/b]
Two sets of attire meant to distinguish zoo workers tasked with animal welfare. Not very suitable for the cold of winter, but they can act as identification for scanners that control access to staff-only areas[/hider][/center]

Mokou glances around the main room, whistling a little tune as her feet echo off the ground, taking note of everything she noticed. Truthfully, nothing in this location was of actual interest for Mokou. But even still, she could recognize some value in what she was looking at. Ignoring most of the debris and frozen meat, Mokou walks over to the hanging zoo worker attire, raising a finger to the clothing before a concentrated flame appears over it. Then, slowly and carefully, Mokou burns a square off of the shirt, specifically cutting off a patch that designated the outfit’s role while also snuffing out any chance of the rest of the outfit igniting. She wasn’t sure if any scanners would accept it, but hey, it would save her some energy burning the door down. With it in hand, Mokou turns on her heel, walking back the way she came… Whilst also picking up a crowbar that was resting on a crate.

[b]Mokou acquires: A crowbar along with Zookeeper patches![/b]

With her loot in tow, Mokou continues her travel throughout the zoo, continuing to call out to any vikings that may or may not be listening. Eventually, her walk takes her to a small clearing, that seemed to have once been a small gathering place, with a few empty exhibits and a frozen waterfall. In an instant, Mokou came to a stop as she took notice of a mass of grey flesh within the clearing. One that was clearly moving, having also noticed her approach, pushing itself off of the ground and turning to face her. Much like the beasts before, this one had clearly, once, been an elephant… But was now horrifically mutated, a massive growth residing on its head and various tendrils hanging off of it. The rest of its body was hardly pleasant either, but that was to be expected of a place like this.

Once it had fully turned around, the elephant roared, before rapidly crawling towards Mokou, kicking up a cloud of snow as it did so. Mokou, for her part, hardly seemed phased by its charge, casually dropping her new crowbar onto the ground, before her free hand rose, a ball of flame forming in her hand. She was growing a bit tired of her own theatrics. Thus, she simply met the charge by unleashing a stream of fire towards it, engulfing the monster entirely. Yet even with the flame, the beast refused to slow down, charging through the fire… And finding nothing as Mokou leapt up, hopping onto its back, and then casually stepping off behind it. 

With a small flick, Mokou disperses some of the lingering fire from her fingers, turning around to face the beast again as it recovered, before a pair of rotting hooves slammed directly into her face, the creature having kicked out with its mutated hindlegs to catch her off guard. Mokou herself is sent flying from the force, crashing into the ground and tumbling over herself before finally rolling to her feet, staggering slightly as she recovered from the blow. For a brief moment the girl blinks in surprise, a small smile forming on her face before she spits upon the ground, staining it with red. The creatures here were freaks, that was for sure, but the mutations gave them an element of surprise that Mokou was consistently surprised by. The fact that this elephant had horse legs that were still functional was not what she had expected, but it was something that led it to be able to land a hit on her, something no other creature she had encountered here could boast.

With a small spring in her step, Mokou brushes a hair from her face as she approaches the beast, right as they swung their body to the side to catch her approach. But, as with before, Mokou simply hops back a bit, a small fingersnap emitting a jet of flame that scorches its face, causing them to cry in pain before pushing itself off the ground, momentarily supporting itself on its hind legs before slamming its body to the ground, a move that was once again avoided by Mokou simply sliding underneath it as it rose. Now behind it, Mokou simply shakes her hand, casually walking over to the crowbar she had discarded and kicking it into the air in order to catch it. 

For a brief moment, Mokou twirls the weapon in her hand, her eyes narrowing as she focused on something… Before the crowbar suddenly ignites into flames, Mokou adjusting her grip to hold it as a javelin, aiming for a second as the elephant turns back around to face her. And in that moment, Mokou throws, the ignited metal launching forth and impaling itself straight into the bulbous growth on its head, a loud roar emanating from the beast as it staggers back, black blood gushing from the wound.

A few seconds pass as Mokou simply watches the beast’s agony, waiting to see what it would do in response. It had already surprised her multiple times, so she felt like it could do it this time as well. Sure enough, after a few moments, the growth began to pulse, a larger spray of blood erupting from it before it exploded, sending the crowbar flying out and nearly striking Mokou head on, just barely going past her head and impaling itself into the ground. Mokou, for her part, barely reacted to the crowbar, instead raising an eyebrow as she witnessed what the beast had done.

Specifically, the growth had erupted into a massive ‘trunk’, and upon it were the heads of a variety of animals, with a massive crocodile head resting at the end. Each head screeched in agony, a mist of white smoke trailing from their mouths before the beast refocused its attention on Mokou, each head roaring at her… A sight that caused Mokou to simply roll her shoulders.

With that, the two forces charged at each other, their clash becoming more chaotic with the addition of the new neck of heads. Each head snapped at Mokou as the trunk flailed about, each barely unable to catch the girl as she continued to dodge and toy with the beast, not even bothering to go on her own offensive aside from the occasional small blast of fire that scorched its hide. Truthfully, Mokou was simply trying to get the beast to offer any more surprises. The mist that it spewed out seemed interesting at first, but wherever it lingered, her flames easily dispersed it. Evidently, with how it seemed to add another layer of frost to the ground, the mist was some kind of freezing gas… Which was hardly something for her to worry about. With the beast seemingly out of surprises to catch her off guard, Mokou let out a loud sigh as she once again leapt over the beast’s neck, lamenting her situation as her hand prepares to snap once more and launch a wave of flame.

And then she felt something clamp down on her leg.

In an instant, her momentum was shifted as she was brought along with the neck of the beast, a stray hyena head having managed to catch her mid jump, before letting her go and causing her to slam into the ground.  With a groan that indicated more annoyance than actual pain, Mokou pushed herself off the ground… Only for the crocodile head to clamp down upon her torso, lifting her off the ground before it began to angrily shake her in the air.

Mokou grimaced as she was flung around within the beast’s jaws. She couldn’t feel her torso anymore, and she could feel whatever gas the beast emitted seeping into her, freezing her from the inside. Yet, she didn’t scream or writhe in pain… In fact, after a few moments, a small grin formed on her face. Despite the agony, Mokou felt alive for a brief moment, and even though the cold spread within her, she could feel her heart burning, blood pumping in response to the thrill of the fight. Ultimately, she knew that this was pointless, that the beast could never hope to kill her no matter how hard it tried… 

But for the moment, she could thrive in its attempt.

With a crack, Mokou rapidly ignited, her body turning to ash within the beast’s maw, resulting in them scorching themselves as they clamped down on the flame, screeching in pain as it staggered back. In its wake, a small orb of light floated in the air… Before it erupted into a pillar of blue flames, the force of which causing the beast to stumble further as the fire roared towards the sky, swiftly shifting its blue hue to a standard orange before dissipating as quickly as it appeared, revealing the unmarred form of Mokou slowly floating back to the ground. The girl regarded the beast with both of her hands in her pocket, her expression shifting from dispassionate to a small trace of excitement, [color=ed1c24]“Alright, you’re a bit tougher than the other freaks here”[/color] Mokou comments as a pair of wings blazed into existence behind her, slowly lifting the girl off of the ground, [color=ed1c24]“Let’s see how much longer you can bear the heat.”[/color]

With that, Mokou’s hand shot out to the side, her fingers snapping as the air around her shimmered with heat, dozens of small ‘feathers’ of fire appearing around her and shifting to aim at the beast. Finally staggering to its feet, the beast regards Mokou’s wings and feathers with a multitude of mutated eyes, before each mouth screeched in unison, a wave of freezing mist pouring from the beast as it charged forward. It did not have the capacity to understand how Mokou was still alive or the threat she posed, but it knew one thing: Something was alive and moving, and it had to silence it. In a way, Mokou could respect the simplicity. But it hardly stopped her from moving her arm forward, sending a barrage of feathers down at the creature, her wings flying her backwards as it simply plowed through her assault and attempted to snatch her from the sky with its jaws.