Gisk

Here Be Dragons: A Horror/Mecha RP on the Dark Frontier

Hey all, I'm gonna officially announce that I'm dropping out of this, before my character becomes too entangled in the story.

Of Blood and Magic

Cassandra

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“Maybe they did it on purpose?” Cassandra suggested. “I also can’t help but see the color of your magic in the stone. It’s kind of funny if you’re a water mage. My element is fire.”

She eyed the crystal, her hand hovering hesitantly. The whole “Awakening” thing had never had good associations for her, but it’s not like the crystal was harmful itself, right? Her eye flicked up to Lilie, and she seemed to firm up in the face of an audience. She dropped her hand onto it. More forcefully than necessary, as if to prove it didn’t bother her.

The crystal began to glow, a deep dark red, with a heart of bright orange.

Watching Cassandra as she would place her hand on the crystal, Lilie’s eyes lit up, fascinated. ”Fire?” She repeated the word, although she found herself grinning at her previous comment. ”Actually, I am a water mage! Funny coincidence, water and fire. I can put you out if needed and you can…” She trailed off, trying to think of another reason they would be paired together. ”...well, I’m sure there’s some reason.”

“Thought so, from the color…” she trailed off, focusing on the crystal, tongue poking out of the side of her mouth. If she put in too much, she’d blow out like Lilie did, but if she was too hesitant she’d give a pathetic glow and go out anyway. May as well fail spectacularly.

She pushed it out, the magic. The fire, as she had always thought of it, though now she would learn to do more than just burn. But not this moment, apparently. The orange heart of the crystal expanded outward, but unevenly, with spikes reaching through the red. One of the spikes reached to Cassandra’s hand, and a small flare of fire burst from the back of her hand. Then, she too lost the glow.

She looked at the back of her hand, where there was a small, irregular black circle.

“You didn’t put me out,” she grinned at Lilie, trying to cover up her embarrassment, make it a joke.

Lilie was completely silent as she watched Cassandra, completely entranced. She couldn’t imagine actually being able to control fire of all things, though as the small burst manifested she gasped. Maybe she should be grateful she had water, it seemed a little more predictable than other elements. Even if fire was cool to watch. Unpredictable, but it had its own little pulse of life and vigor.

She smiled at Cassandra’s joke, shaking her head. ”I don’t even know if I could, honestly,” She admitted. ”Control is one thing I’m sorely lacking at the moment.”

Taking her turn, Lilie decided to try to learn from her mistake, furrowing her brow in concentration as she rested her hand on the crystal. The soft, blue glow lit up once again, although this time it remained steady. Right, if she put in too much, it would burst and she’d get that weird feeling. Focusing, she pushed just a touch, watching the crystal brighten slightly, though it wasn’t enough this time, the light fizzled pathetically.

Sighing in defeat, she gestured towards it. ”This is the first time I’ve actually tried to control it, and...I suck,” She took it in stride, shrugging. ”How about you? You managed to make a fire already, you’re probably leagues ahead of me.”

Cassandra opened her mouth to agree, then closed it again. Her usual bluster felt uncomfortable in the face of Lilie’s easy humility. Instead, she shrugged, and came up with an excuse for it.

“I had an early awakening, and been stuck with tutors ever since. I don’t have any practical experience. I’ve only been able to actually use my magic for a few weeks now.

“I had a thought, though,”
she placed her hand on the side of the crystal, and then her other on the opposite. “She said it was a circuit, sort of, didn’t she? Maybe it would be easier if it goes in one side, and out the other.”

With her left hand, she pushed at the magic. She didn’t do anything in particular on her right, just letting it flow back into her. The orange heart in the crystal made a kind of bridge between her two hands. It glowed brighter and brighter, and then stayed steady.

“Okay,”
she said, biting at her lip, “Wait, I might have it.”
Her hands were gripping the crystal hard now, and she was starting to sweat. She stared at the light, which stayed the same bright orange, until finally she gave an exhausted sigh and pulled away, the light dying all at once.

“Maybe that’s not right. I can't get it to slow down like that.” She was breathing heavily, trying to quell the dizzy light headedness.

Focused on Cassandra’s progress, Lilie tilted her head as she watched, curious to see her method. So she had an early Awakening, too? She seemed a little more nonchalant about it, but she was right about Cassandra having an edge. All Lilie had gotten out of the ordeal was being put under house arrest.

Deciding to take a turn again, Lilie decided not to focus so hard, hoping a more relaxed method would help. ”Tutors, huh? I haven’t really tried to use my affinity after my...incident,” She put her hand on the crystal, her sigh matching the light dimming before she would push a little. ”Do you come from a family of mages? You don’t have to answer, I’m just curious since I’m the first in my family.” She decided to inquire.

She shook her head. “No, I only know of one other in my family.” She didn’t care to elaborate, the subject of her brother was a wound long since healed, but that didn’t make it any less personal. Instead, she changed the subject, slightly. Still talking about their past and magical discovery, just not about family. “So you had an incident, too, huh? I set my kitchen on fire, what’d you do?”

Keeping her eyes on the crystal, the light dimmed slightly before glowing, the girl managing to keep a steady rhythm as her heart beat against her chest. Flickering her gaze to Cassandra for a second, she returned her attention to the crystal. ”My Awakening...was unpleasant,” Lilie admitted quietly, removing her hand and extinguishing the blue light completely. ”There aren’t a lot of mages or vampires where I’m from, but...”

As she trailed off, Lilie closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. So much for moving on. ”Sorry, I don’t really like to talk about it. The whole ordeal happened a while ago, but it feels pretty fresh to me,” Lilie threw on a small smile. ”No one in my family had magic, so it came as a complete surprise. But now I’m here, and I’m going to master it.” A rather bold declaration all things considered, but she was determined. ”Just have to keep at it, right?”

Cassandra shrugged off the apology. “Don’t worry, I get it. I feel the same way. I can’t escape it, so I’ll make sure I’m the one in control.”

She took her turn again. If Lilie had gotten it, she had better do it right this time. Humility be damned, she wasn’t going to be left struggling. Cassandra looked down at her hand touching the crystal. It was glowing passively, the way it did when a newly awakened mage touched it. And she looked at the palm of her other hand. That wasn’t right. Her body was irrelevant. The only thing that mattered was the fire. She closed her eyes, and pushed… then pulled. She thought she felt it; like breathing but… in reverse? Once she got some kind of rhythm going, she opened her eyes to see the effect.

She smiled watching the orange heart growing and shrinking in a sea of blood red.

“Yes… Now what, though?”

Lilie clapped at the other girl’s demonstration, happy to watch. ”We keep practicing ‘til it comes naturally,” She replied, grinning. ”But before that…”

She pulled out her cellphone, offering it to Cassandra. ”Since we’re neighbors and classmates, it’s a good idea to keep in touch,” She suggested hopefully.

Cassandra blinked at the phone at first, then it clicked what Lilie was doing.

“Oh! Yeah, definitely!”

She dug into first one pocket, and then the other, not used to reaching for her phone. She handed it to Lilie, with a slight flush. It was a little brick phone that slid sideways to reveal a keyboard for texting. They traded phones, and with some fumbling in menus, Cassandra managed to input her name and number.

All too happy that her gesture wasn’t rejected, Lilie returned the favor, amused by Cassandra’s phone. It looked like the kind her dad liked to use, complaining that he couldn’t quite figure out smartphones. Not that she was one to talk with her own older model, but she enjoyed the little sense of nostalgia as she put in her own name and number.

”Excellent!” Lilie was probably a little too giddy, but she was all too happy to have someone else to talk to.

Of Blood and Magic

Cassandra

Tired, but excited, Cassandra trudged into class. She had been up too long the night before, her energy drink making it hard to sleep until early afternoon. It might be fitting, though, that she started her first day right after seeing the sunrise, possibly for the last time.

No, that was dramatic. She would get to be out in the sun less often now, but it wasn't really all that bad.

“Okay, Cassandra right?” One of the TA's approached, to direct Cassandra to her table and class partner.
“I like your name. I’m a little jealous. Everyone pronounces mine wrong and yours flows so nicely. I think you’re going to be a natural. You’re at table six with Lilie Dionne. Good luck; you’re gonna do great!”

When she got to her table, it looked like Lilie was already getting started. Cassandra watched as she approached, seeing Lilie apparently blow the stone out, just like Allison had warned could happen.

"You okay?" she asked as she sat down.

@Hero

Street Samurai

Bones smirked behind his helmet and leaned to the side as the sickle launched to his side. Ever so cocky, he didn’t consider that the chain would wrap around. ”Dark and mysterious it is then.” He retorted, slinging his Odachi to his front and gripping the handle with two hands and keeping it in a low stance. His whole demeanour was very cocky and punk-ish. He charged forward, gearing up for a wide swing.

The man kept his right hand outstretched, the chain that coiled around it slunk forward like a off of a spool as the scythe flew. His left hand came up, and made a gesture, gripping nothing and jerking his elbow backward.

The scythe changed its direction, coming back toward him, spinning in the air now, above their heads. The chain trailing behind it spun in a cyclone, and when it reached Bones it began to whip around him.

Bones continued to charge before he felt the cold steel of the chains wrap around him, which trapped his arms and movement. Twisting around, the young Samurai attempted to go for a pretty ballsy manoeuvre. As he attempted to unwrap himself by twisting in the air at the same time jumping off and kicking off the alley wall to give him more speed spinning and create a new angle of attack. He then activated his clone ability, creating three Bones descending down upon the mysterious man, swords raised and ready to swing down.

The man took a step back, moving into a semi crouched position, and pulled his hand back again. The chain, still spiraling in the air, pulled in quickly, and wrapped around the middle Bones. He grabbed the last end of the chain coiling around his arm with both hands, and pulled to the left, swinging both chain and one of the Boneses down on the left hand copy.

Bones grunted as his clone was sent into him, making him collapse to the ground and collide with the wall. As his clones dissipated, Bones took the opportunity to make a strike at the chain, attempting to throw the trajectory way off before making another charge to get within his sword’s reach.

“Nice trick,” the man grunted, whipping at the chain to try to wrap it around Bones’ sword. The length of chain that had been extended was too heavy, and it swept along the ground instead, passing under Bones in mid stride.

He cursed and started to pivot to the left, pulling some of the chain back to his arm, and trying to get it between the two of them.

“Which Oni’s dick did you have to suck to get that?”

Bones couldn’t help but chuckle as he continued to run in. Once he was within range, the Samurai lunged forward, thrusting with his sword and then making a diagonal swipe to the upper right, trying to catch the kusarigama wielder’s face. The stream feed appeared momentarily in his upper left corner of his helmet, showing the camera angle was fixed on them from above. As the stream disappeared, he caught the man’s comment.

”All natural here. I think you’re the bigger culprit hanging out with an Oni in an alleyway man. Am I gonna find some condoms on your corpse?”

He came away with a bloody gash across his face, and the black hospital mask on his face falling down. Underneath, his lips were completely black, with tendrils like veins under his skin running back toward his ears.

“Just wanted to know if we should offer you a job or waste you. Aren’t you so special, though. We should all be so lucky!”

On the last word he whipped at the chain toward the right, now light enough to move it swung about waist high at Bones, as the man stepped backward.

Bones felt the chains wrap around his waist. Shit… He tried to flick the chain away but he wasn’t sure if he caught it with his sword. ”You know what, I think I’ll pass…” He quipped back, trying to figure out a way to escape the chain again.
(tag)

“That’s too bad,” he said, taking the other, weighted end of the kusarigama, and tossing it around Bones’s neck. He caught it with his left hand, and it started to coil itself around his forearm. The rest of the length started to coil back on his right arm, tightening the chain around both body and throat, constricting Bones like a snake.

“I’ll make sure your sword gets put to further use.”

Bones began to choke a little, having to use his free hand to try and pull at the chain around his neck and make some breathing room. He tried to raise his arm, feeling the chain get tighter as he did it. If it could work though, it could change the battle. Once his sword was raised, he swung down as hard as he could, aiming at a link in the chain trying to sever the weapon in two.

It wasn’t enough. Bones’ sword clanked down hard, but couldn’t sever the chain, it needed a little more force. That force came in a black boot landing hard on the back of Bones’ sword, as a yellow blur swept past.

“Thought you wanted to be our Black,” the voice coming out of the mask was modulated and difficult to pin down. They stood back, backstepping toward an alley, their scabbard in their hand, empty. “Eyes up next time.”

The man in black tried to lunge forward to grab the severed end of chain, but was held back. The other end, coiled tightly around his arm, was pinned into the ground by a sword with a yellow hilt, the head of a bee or wasp on the pommel.

Street Samurai

While the chain ban battled Bones, Shinobi was kept on the ropes by the Oni, Kuro Kohai. Shinobi was a good deal faster, but no matter what side of Kuro he got on, it seemed the Oni always knew where he was, swinging his club before even turning his head.

"YOU'RE DEAD MEAT!"

Kuro turned his head halfway, reaching one of his bottom hands behind him and grabbing hold of the bat as Destructo drove by. The spike went straight through his palm, and as Destructo continued, still holding the bat, the spike ripped from his palm up to the webbing of his hand, tearing it down the middle. A thick, black ichor oozed slowly from the wound, and while the Oni was ever so briefly distracted, Shinobi reared his sword over his head and brought it down on the elbow of the same hand.

It sliced through muscle, but skidded off bones harder than steel. Kuro threw a vicious kick at Shinobi's chest in the opening he had made with his swing, and the Ronin was launched backward like a ragdoll.

Kuro held his injured hand close to his chest, snarling from behind his mask as he backed toward the alley that the chain man had come out of.

@Spike@Deskais32

Street Samurai

@Zaphander@Deskais32

Yeah, you're both good.

Feel free to start your own scenes, don't need everyone to dog pile on this one guy.

Street Samurai

Yeah,good idea.

Here y'all go

https://discord.gg/v3UQjd9

Street Samurai

@Zaphander Guns are taboo among Ronin, because they are basically useless against Oni(and therefore would only be wielded by someone who meant to kill humans).

I'm not going to tell you not to use it, I'm just warning you about the reaction she would get from other characters.

Street Samurai

I'm going to include two more things to the CS. Well, I'm going to add one and modify one.

Mask: Ronin are largely an illegal movement, and most of them use at least some kind of mask, helmet or other obscuring article. If a mask is pictured in the photo ref, feel free to omit.

Sword: I'm gonna call it optional, but I think it would be cool if se had picture refs for their swords too. To add personality. I have a lot on the pinterest board.

Street Samurai

Just sent a PM.

If anyone else is gonna jump into that fight, let me know so we can work it out.