Mortim

My swimming instructors a dragon. [Mortim / Siaya Dragalorn]

I definitely understand that life happens, no worries lol.

Darsby's powers started the car so Anora shouldn't have to worry there. I'll have a hider on here for what happens if she gets in. I hope its okay for me to write all of that out? I know her perspective on the matter will be set aside from what I've described. I just wanted to give you a picture of what would happen the moment she gets in the car.

'car magic stuff'

The moment Anora fully enters the car in pursuit of Darsby an entirely new set of sensations will overtake her. Firstly, her car door shuts in result to some unseen magnetic force pressing lightly against the vehicle; from there, everything is unnatural. Her skin would feel as if it had liquefied, this tingling maelstrom of nerve-based calamity creeping into her muscles then shortly into her skeletal structure. All sensation is folded into itself, her once whole body is melted to take the shape of a curdling wave of chaotic colds and hots. Light and heat splinter her innards whilst rivulets of cold pierce the entirety of what may have once been called her spine. She swirls and bobs as her vision follows suit to this chaotic existence. Roads wrap around the sky as buildings tumble like laundry inside a lazily swirling washer. Anora's perceived world had spun violently again and again as all rules pertaining to balance and gravity are eaten up by liquid dismay. Then all at once, as if her body were a cup and the entirety of her consciousness is a tall drink, she'd be reassembled via 'filling up' the allotted space in her freshly stolen vehicle. Her body and our encapsulating van remained exactly as they were before hell had overtaken them, except, their location had changed after being harshly put back together. Somehow she'd been moved quite a distance during that horribly experienced conundrum. They were on some country road quite a distance from the city. County road 15 stretched in meandering streaks far into the gently rolling distance ahead. Darsby sits next to Anora, only now he is painted an even paler shade than before. His truly ivory skin shakes and stretches against an emaciated exterior, that body of his curling into the seat it occupies as if it were but a small creature in a world of menacing giants.

Side note: He totally is being tracked ;P

My swimming instructors a dragon. [Mortim / Siaya Dragalorn]

Darsby had become distant the moment he'd stepped from the hospital. Goal-oriented drive enveloped his mind in swathes of deliberate planning he felt he'd likely need to make. Anora appeared kind and dependable to him so long as she wasn't given a scenario which contradicted good morals. This had its uses and downfalls in their present circumstance. From his perspective, she'd be invaluable upon finally leaving the hospital premises; contrasting this, she would become a hindrance should she see this predicament as her responsibility. An inexperienced native magic user against the possible beasts to be faced here would require excruciating guidance Darsby is far from presently being able to provide without extreme action. Then, he felt her hand.

What she'd first perceive is cold, porcelain skin; its surface is smooth to the touch yet as unyielding as stone. Darsby would likely be a marvel if he weren't notably trembling, those labored lurches one might call a stride full of an exhausted malaise. Her grasp had pulled him from his deliberation to face the very thing he was deliberating over. She was more present in this event than he likely had been from the beginning. Her fresh, young eyes held many wonders he'd somehow misplaced some time ago.

"You do your people an injustice." Darsby would firmly state, wrenching his hand from Anora's grasp with whatever physical strength he could muster. Despite all weakness, something about this man was undoubtedly resolute. One could think they'd be able to peel away every bit of his body before his mind and speech would give in to any demand but his own.
"Do you honestly believe humanity has no defense for this?-" An unknown plagued Darsby's features, something Anora hadn't yet seen. Genuine distaste split the air between them, his features wrinkling into mildly angered disgust for the first time. His emotions had a disarming purity to them as if each separate feeling had been worn into place by vast breadths of time. "-The very forces prepared for these threats are about to make our lives a lot harder the second they arrive." He didn't appear to have any reason for lies here. In fact, one could say there were hints of unease over these spoken truths.

Our once more callous hospital patient immediately continued his sickly limp to the nearest car after initially speaking. Upon reaching a black family van, and likely taking little heed to whatever retort Anora may have had, Darsby goes to work. He snaps several times, thin bands of electricity arcing from his finger to collide with the car. The van's two front doors open as if by some powerful magnetic force, it's engine roaring to life by a vigorous howl. Darsby then moves as if to step into the passenger seat, yet, he stops halfway there. Gently, one hand is placed on the hood of the car to support him as he half-turns towards Anora.

"Look, it makes sense. You can help, so you want to. But, is it your job? Or are the people who do this for a living nothing more than an after-thought?-" Darsby's typically exhausted nature has once more overtaken him as he finishes turning towards his young companion to address her fully. "-Right now you have somewhere you need to go. I intend to get you there." Truthfully, Darsby was betting more than he'd be likely to share on those last words. He wasn't entirely sure she was his first lead, but she'd caused him a hell of a lot of inconveniences, and he'd be damned if she didn't owe him for that.

Regardless as to all these events, the initial emergency personnel are closing fast. They'd likely be overwhelmed in less than a minute, police and other such institutions have been on their way for quite some time before Darsby and Anora's exit from the hospital. Escape from this parking lot itself was far less unlikely than one should count on. Leaving in a car, let alone on foot, was more of a fantasy by each passing second. You couldp ractically see flashing lights entering our respective parking lot already.

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"Yea... Yeah, we're on our way. Don't worry about clean-up. You know I don't mind paperwork." Thin, leathery fingers pull a cellular device from its familiar position near an enamored expression. Drake didn't mind his job; in fact, he rather enjoyed it. Communicating with his superiors over small incidents like this were hardly ever a hassle. Yet, he had a bad feeling in his gut that the current case he's following is going to be anything but simple. After just now getting off the phone with local HQ he'd at least make a simple task of covering this blouth event.

Red and blue lights screamed alongside their companion sirens up ahead, several law enforcement vehicles peeling through a four-way intersection on their way to what's being presently reported as a terrorist shooting. Drake's leather-coated foot presses ever-harder into the gas of his jet-black vehicle, it's sport engine booming into the ambiance of this small city. He and his partner were close behind the cops on this.

"I've finished the shroud. Don't expect anything else out of me today." Rippling muscles throb in contrast to powerful effeminate features next to drake in the passenger seat of his Camaro. His dominant wizard partner had spoken, her callous voice caked in its constantly conceited overtones.
"I would never." Drake responds after passing her a sidelong glance. 'She'd be beautiful if she didn't think the world was beneath her' He thinks to himself after shortly resuming his focus on the road ahead. He never minded small events like this, they were easy to cover-up with memory-magic and minor conflict. Regrettably, the one these two are genuinely tracking is anything but a small-time target.

My swimming instructors a dragon. [Mortim / Siaya Dragalorn]

It's totally fine! I'd have no reason to be upset over someone helping to be a better RPer lol. I'm always incredibly grateful for how understanding you are. I'll definitely be working to leave more up to Anora.
I'll be sure to if I see any major errors on your part.

If Anora does get in the car, Darsby will have some interesting magic for her to experience.

My swimming instructors a dragon. [Mortim / Siaya Dragalorn]

You're a seriously amazing RP partner to have! Thank you so much for being real with me and humbling me in regards to RPing on here and working to control only what should be under my reigns. I'll go to correct that now.

He's rather exhausted so it depends on how persistent Anora is as to whether or not he evades her. If she goes to grab him or step in his way he would initially stop. I'll cut the post off at that first quote you grabbed.

My swimming instructors a dragon. [Mortim / Siaya Dragalorn]

I hope I didn't overstep my bounds in that last post. I promise I'll be much less controlling of your character from here on out. If she didn't do something that I made it seem like she did then just let me know and I'll edit my post. I don't want to be overbearing.

My swimming instructors a dragon. [Mortim / Siaya Dragalorn]

'Well.. She understands instruction.' Darsby grins to himself, knowing the value of someone who can understand commands far exceeds that of a needlessly rebellious free-thinker. His eyes, imbued with complex magics, steer from left to right for observation of a fading barrier. Blouth alpha's trap their prey in invisible cages few can detect. Luckily, escaping the barrier is always as easy as eliminating the nearest alpha.

Darsby spins on his heel to turn into following Anora. He feels his sealed body quake in protest to the sudden movement, tremors surging upwards from either trembling knee. "Crap.." He mumbles to himself whilst taking a moment to deliberate over his present situation. Circumstance dictates healing is less essential than escape, using whatever magic stores remain to achieve this goal is paramount. Blouth aren't our pair's only worry; there will undoubtedly be influential earth-based organizations coming to investigate this magic-filled event.

"Lestiess-Lestuary" Grey smoke permeates the air surrounding Darsby as ethereal words pass into conscious space near him via supernatural speech. His body merges with the smoke, splitting into several surging tendrils of cool mist. These flowing masses rend the air in passing through the window Anora shattered. Said grey mass reassembles itself into Darsby's familiar form once having emerged from the hospital.

"We're taking one of these metal wagons. You're piloting." Darsby speaks quickly, weakly gesturing with his gun towards the nearest parking lot. He begins to hobble in that ordered direction, his bare feet softly pattering against pavement and grass.

My swimming instructors a dragon. [Mortim / Siaya Dragalorn]

Sorry about the wait here! Just had another visit to the hospital so I got pretty pre-occupied. I'm working on a response now though.

My swimming instructors a dragon. [Mortim / Siaya Dragalorn]

"You don't have the sense for it yet." Darsby gave a quick response to Anora's earlier question as to why he was sniffing the open air.
"..Body Snatchers..?" Would be his self-directed answer to her question over the looming threat, his relatively alien origin offering no assistance in explaining her societal slang. After this pair came upon the beast, things may have unfolded in haste.

The aberration, having instinctually sensed Anora's preparation to catch it, moved only too late to avoid her grasp. After darting to the left, her net would have wrapped its crackling surface over one moist, pulsating exterior. The beast writhes and twitches, squirming moment after moment whilst Darsby neglects to fire upon it. Our frail wizard's arm rises, ready to shoot, though his aim appears to be slightly above the captured entity.

"They're called Blouth's. These are the scouts of their species. I need you to hold it; we're drawing out the nearest Alpha... Assuming there's only one.." As if in recognition of Darsby's dry tone of voice and it's nutshelled explanation of current events, the creature ceases its movements to begin a process of signaling whatever brethren may be nearest.

The blouth scout curls its legs into itself, shuddering in paced succession as aberrant croaks slip from its glowing orifice. The entirety of the fiend swells before croaking, deflating as each crackling reverberation clashes with the silence about it.

"With the doors sealed shut like this, we're facing a pack. They were drawn to me when I forced a quick recovery. If we kill the nearest Alpha, it's possible we can escape through the closest window. The barrier section it's maintaining might cease for a moment." Darsby's voice may hold it's typical level of exasperation, yet somehow he sounded severe. This explanation was meant to give Anora a slight picture of things before it all comes to a head.

*Creeeee!* A door several yards behind the blouth scout slowly opens. One trembling foot slams clumsily against the ground just beyond the now open threshold. The thing eventually emerging can only be described as a horror. What was once the female law-holder, the cop we'd previously witnessed in the ER, was now an emergent scourge of the mind. Her entire body was caked in crimson and yellow fluids all the way to the tips of toes and fingers. Her chest was that of shredded cloth and bulging blue tubes tightly wrapped against sundered flesh. Her head no longer rested atop this shambling form, all that remains is one massive orifice emitting intense beams of ethereal blue light from where a neck should be. Small claw-like tendrils twitch and flail all about its upper body.

"Remember, look away from the light!" Darsby would quickly say as he closes his eyes. Should Anora have gazed into the light, she would instantly feel her mind slipping, as if she were only a faint wisp of mist near an enormous tornado.

*BANG!BANG!BANG!* Three bullets are loosed from his weapon in quick, precise succession. Firstly, the scout is hit through Anora's barrier. Yellow fluids spray everywhere several yards from them as if having burst from a paint-filled balloon. Next, two rounds are loosed directly into the chest of our freshly presented nightmare, impact causing either clumsy leg to stumble several steps backward.

"Crap..-" Darsby grumbles as his second target fails to collapse via blind accuracy. "-Anora, get to the closest window and break it on my signal. We'll sprint for your car. I'll be right behind you." His voice, holding that quaint severity, is like the eye of a storm. Regardless as to all happenings about him, he remains only faintly moved from his typical tantrums of exhausted callousness.

Darsby relinquishes a deliberate sigh as his weapon-occupied hand begins to tremble visibly. Focus paints his features in narrow lines against an angular surface of sharp cheekbones and steep temples. Slight ebon threads swirl in ethereal spirals near his barrel, some faintly visible magic being prepared from oblivion as the targetted entity in it's proposed trajectory is nearly recovered.

*BANGBANGBANG!* Three bullets, nearly sounding like one, emerge from metallic chambers. These projectiles collide, yet, rather than exploding with momentum against fleshy surfaces, act as blades with powerful cutting force. What was once a headless opponent is now separated into three sections of twitching mass before one could blink. All three substantial chunks slide for several meters away from the location of impact.

Darsby opens his eyes, looking about him. He shows expectation for Anora to be away from his side, standing by the nearest window. Should she be, he'd be obliged to shout "Now!" and attempt her transport through shattered glass. Should she not be, or if our madam followed a separate course of actions, some entirely different chain of events may have been prone to unfold.

My swimming instructors a dragon. [Mortim / Siaya Dragalorn]

I know it's been more than a few ages since I've responded, I got caught up in training and then in the hospital and appointments for a while. I kind of lost track of other things during that whole process. Sorry about that, I understand whatever your feelings may be about continuing but I thought I'd at least post something to get a bit back into writing.

Hope all is well!!

My swimming instructors a dragon. [Mortim / Siaya Dragalorn]

Darsby found means to propel himself to the intersection ahead, one hall rushing into crimson oblivion on either side of his stumbling form. The lean humanoid shape this man found himself piloting continued to sway and tremble under the duress of walking. He stopped for a brief moment to heave against another apathetic sigh before turning to address the woman rushing to catch up. His chapped lips relinquished an entirely relaxed tone of voice upon Anora by her request of an explanation.

“Well, you could say something rather hungry has arrived, and it’s likely that we’re both considered… erhm, edible.” Darsby shrugs at that last word, turning from left to right whilst clumsily scratching the back of his head with the aforementioned compact revolver. He takes time staring down each aisle, leaning forward to sniff the air as if some peculiar scent should be presenting itself.
“They’re small, assuming they haven't taken a host. But, the...-” He paused, apparently deciding on the left passage as suitable for whatever palette of aroma’s he’s been sharpening. “-the important thing is to not look directly into the blue light they spit everywhere.”

Darsby glanced towards Anora with a somewhat different expression before he disembarked down the targeted hall full of panicked staff and patients. Sympathy purses those lips and cheeks while his eyebrows show faint furrows of unbiased concern. Perhaps some present part of the man stepped aside to realize Anora isn’t experienced in the least with these matters.

“Stay close to me, okay? I’ll answer the rest later.” He spoke in a mildly softer tone than usual, for the first time committing to express emotion. His outbreak of oddly positive sentiment is soon swept under familiar waves of exhausted concentration, half-shut eyes bearing vigilance above darkened craters of skin.

They’d have taken four or five steps before another alarming noise occurs. Nurses had been rushing to and fro on their comfortable shoes, panicked sweat beading their brows whilst attempting to console patients in this time of unexplainable crisis. Several alarmed shrieks are heard upon witnessing Darsby with a firearm, disparate people's immediate thoughts being that this man is the one who’s caused such an uproar. One particularly fierce looking woman in her middle years had been staring as if to intervene just as gunfire rang further down the hall *Bang! Bang!* two shots followed by one effeminate scream. Silence now momentarily envelops both Anora and her injured guide, most individuals present being too immediately frightened to do much other than hide and remain quiet.

About twenty feet down the corridor several emergency lights flicker. Underneath the uneven strobe, a figure emerges from behind one of many vacant stretchers lining the walls. Four black limbs carry a round body of similar color. The whole thing looked like an ebony pumpkin with spindly legs supporting its frame. This dog-sized creature moved in uneven ways, an unnatural cadence producing slight scraping sounds upon the tiles beneath it. There was no head, only a small blue light against what was the front and leading end. It went from left to right, crashing frantically into objects as if it were frenzied into searching for something.

“Anora-..” Darsby whispered. “-.. Can you try to hold it still…?” His firearm is raised to point directly at the scuttling thing.

Should Anora comply, or should she wait for it to come closer than fifteen feet in its progression towards them, she’d likely spot further details of this queer beast. Its limbs were more like vines, thin, scaly things with an odd oozing substance leaking from between cracked flesh. This mucus had left tracks and stains on the walls and floor wherever it proceeded to go. The spherical torso throbbed and convulsed as if it were an enormous beating heart, thick exterior veins pushing the aforementioned fluid into its legs. That singular blue light looked to be an opening of some kind into the rest of its body. Overall, it was rather silent by nature, not projecting any sounds aside from its strut and collisions with external forces.