Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

If you like, sure. Don't forget that Gallus is going to want to see what is up with Lorag soon.

G'night!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus felt his wooden sword swipe cleanly through thin air right before he jumped back. He was thankfully quick enough that he didn't suffer a counter-attack and he had just had possibly the closest clash to defeating Ri'vashi than ever. However, the gains he had made were somewhat offset by Ri'vashi acquiring a means to parry without losing her other hand.

Now that he had lost his shield, Gallus changed his stance again. This time, he had his sword hand forward and his other hand held out slightly behind him for balance. There wasn't much he could do with his off-hand now unless he got in close. Still, he had the advantage of a weapon and he pressed it. He shuffled up and attempted a combination of slashes high and low to try and put pressure on Ri'vashi. He suspected it would now be as difficult for him to land a hit as it was for Ri'vashi to attack without retribution.

---

"Okay," Tzirret said with a hint of helplessness. He wished that the situation would be resolved quicker so he did not have to keep second-guessing himself. There didn't seem to be anything else he could do.

Throughout the sitting, Sabine had tried her best to hold her pose. She had her eyes narrowly open and her mouth pressed up against Peiter's, but between La'khay's graphically recounted story and the time spent sitting still, her previous rush of affection had mostly diminished. She had no doubt that Peiter would probably be feeling similar but with the added affect of slowly numbing legs. Sabine had a very light build but she wasn't an infant. Anyone who had her on their lap for a protracted period of time would get a pinched nerve eventually.

The knocks and voices at the door caused Sabine's eyes to widen in surprise. She turned her head towards the door and wiped her lips on the back of her hand before it was answered. She didn't exactly feel the most proud of her position right now, although it was not enough to ask La'tahne to not open the door.

Meanwhile, Tzirret was just as surprised to hear La'khay's voice coming from behind the door. She was the last person he expected to hear. He wondered what on earth they were doing in there. When the door did open to reveal La'tahne's face, Tzirret's ears angled halfway up in confusion. "Um, hello again...La'tahne?" Tzirret said, cautiously remembering the gardener's name, "Are Sabine and Peiter within?"

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

I'm barely two paragraphs in and already I have the amazing image in my mind of Zephyrion awkwardly holding a potato-flute in his huge hands and frustratedly trying to work out how to get a tune out of it like so many others. In a rage he dashes it against the floor, "STUPID ZELDA SOUNDTRACK!"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yeah, I've noticed that as well. Oh well, I guess it means that it's not a big deal if either of us trip up in that area. Not that it was in the first place, I guess. >_>

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The balance that Gallus maintained in his lunge gave him little leverage against Ri'vashi's brute strength. By the time he let go of the shield he was off-balance, but any longer holding it would have put his face into the sand. The shield's placement of course did not obscure anything from Ri'vashi's uncanny senses as it was swatted away as well. Gallus was fairly sure that the edge of the wooden blade ran across Ri'vashi's palm, but he was not going to break off to tell her. Instead, he took advantage of the distance he had closed. His sword twisted away from Ri'vashi's parrying hand and cut diagonally upwards, heading for her hip.

He hoped he could land a hit before Ri'vashi's now shield-occupied hand could return to punish him. He intended to try and spring back as soon as he could.

---

Tzirret looked to one side and narrowed his eyes. "This one is not sure. He does not think they had any plans. We might be able to find them in their room." Tzirret's ear angled itself slightly and the volume of his voice decreased. He added quickly, "If there is something tied to the door handle then...they are busy."

Before they headed off, Tzirret turned his eyes to Ma'tanza for a moment and narrowed one eye, looking somewhat worried. "Is Ma'tanza sure she is alright?" He reached a hand up to her shoulder, "You are all...Tzirret can see you are troubled."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

My brain is out of gear. It took me way too long to think of a setting-appropriate synonym for 'hanging out.'

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Unlike most other times that he would be fighting an unarmed opponent, Gallus was as focussed and as cautious as possible. He held no illusions as to Ri'vashi's capabilities, let alone how particularly reactive she was here.

While he tried to think how to land a hit he realised that he could not rely on dizzying tricks or overwhelming power. He would have to outplay her with a combination of speed that would put her in a position where defence was most difficult. It was not an obvious puzzle to solve in the heat of the fight. In the meantime, Gallus mirrored her strafes and periodically changed stances to play havoc with any plans she was hatching.

As soon as something plausible crossed Gallus' mind, he lunged forward. With his sword against the side of his shield again, he thrust high, twisted his shield to face upwards, and the thrust low with both of the items. Gallus hoped that Ri'vashi would run out of ring space and not be able to push his shield away before he could tap the blunt end of his wooden sword to her abdomen.

---

Tzirret peered up at Ma'tanza. He was nothing short of surprised. "She is...not angry anymore?"

An uneasy chuckle came from Tzirret, more out of relief than anything else. "Well, uh...Tzirret promises never to do it again! He will never try to manipulate Ma'tanza, he swears on the moons." Tzirret pointed up at the ceiling with a bewildered face, but perked ears. His eyes twiched away for a moment, "Right, uh, no more dwelling on it. Do you..." Tzirret angled his head forward slightly and looked to Ma'tanza again, "...Do you want want to find a place to chatter like we usually do?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus did not drop into a guard right away with Ri'vashi's intention to fight hand-to-hand. He only raised his shield and sword slowly once he realised that it was intended. As much as Gallus would have preferred to spar with equal equipment, it was impossible to say that they would be equally matched in such a bout. "Unarmed?" Gallus said with a tilted head, "...As you wish."

To start off, Gallus biased his shield slightly to Ri'vashi's right and held the flat of his sword against its edge. He feigned a jump forward to test Ri'vashi's awareness before switching the position of his sword to be horizontal above his head and lunging forward to take a small swing at her arms and push her back. If Gallus could get a cut in before or while Ri'vashi closed to attack, he hoped he could end the bout before any of those mace-like strikes landed upon anything more sensitive than his shield.

---

Tzirret followed to the side without any protest. Now with Ma'tanza in front of him he scrambled to try and find the words that he laid out in his mind not long ago.

"Yes...it is about before." Tzirret had trouble keeping eye contact, his ears were held back and he unconsciously had his hand up rubbing the back of his neck. Tzirret bit his lower lip momentarily before continuing in something of a dejected voice, "Look...this one knows that Ma'tanza does not like to be manipulated. He understands that...trying to act bravely to prove a point..." Tzirret's stopping and starting was not helped by his different thoughts trying to get out at once. "W-what he means to say is that he should have known that it would make Ma'tanza upset, what he tried. It was selfish. He should not have caused all the worry, he..." Tzirret sighed, "But he knows that he does not want to be liked for something he is not, so he never wants to manipulate Ma'tanza. He does not want to lie to her or insult her because he really...does not want her to be hurt. He...still wants to be with her."

Tzirret's eyes darted from Ma'tanza's eyes to the floor again and he fidgeted. "He spoke to Gallus and is no longer going into the fight at all. He is staying back with the camp." Tzirret's arm dropped and hung loosely at his side. He seemed to relax into a guilty bow of his head now that he had said all that he could think to. "He understands if Ma'tanza is still angry. Tzirret is sorry."

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

One Such Gambit

Toun and Vestec

A great many things flowed through Toun’s mind as the tide went up and down against his Cornerstone. The great act of creating a spot of perfection had helped his thoughts to flow smoothly. Plans ran through his mind, simulating and analysing. It was little extra effort to set commands to his disciplined slave hain.

The angels in the distance caught Toun's attention before the hain ever saw them. He assumed they were agents of Niciel about their business. There was no need to heed them. That is why it was so curious to Toun that they would dive forth to attack.

The slave hain on the walls were taken by surprise, but the warrior caste wasted little time in pulling spears and shields from the floor and seeing to the defence. The most talented kaolokineticists made quick work of the first attacker, impaling the angel upon a spike that erupted from the wall itself.

As the small battle raged, Toun stood and stared. His eye was narrowed, trying to discern the meaning of it all. His perplexed state was disrupted when Vestec appeared next to Toun, also watching as the Angels and the Slave Hain battled.

Vestec looked...odd. His form shimmered, and his colors were muted. "My, my. I didn’t think she had the guts to do it!" He giggled, looking back at Toun. "Niciel took issue to the fact that you have slaves. She wasn’t able to free them via regular means, so she decided to give them ‘the mercy of extinction.’ Evidently, she thought so little of them that she only sent a handful of her Angels." Another Angel fell, pierced by porcelain spears. "Evidently she made a mistake, wouldn’t you say?"

Toun did not acknowledge Vestec’s appearance by turning to him physically. He didn't even move from his standing position at all. A few moments passed where Toun's mind allocated a hissing sigh in anger. Vestec was one of the least welcome in Toun's domain. The only reason that he was not immediately expelled was Toun's curiosity competing with his rage.

"Vestec," Toun began slowly after considering his disdainful words, "a mistake would imply that Niciel expected to gain something from this. My servants are more numerous than to be the prey of a handful of angels." Toun's head gradually turned to face the apparition, "I am no longer the gullible fool as I used to be. Kyre has told me of your hostile intent." Toun’s voice dripped with disgust, almost spitting out the last word. "What reason should I have to trust you at all?"

Vestec giggled again, amused by the perfectionist’s hatred of him. He hadn’t even marred his perfect face. "Because Toun, I’ve already got my entertainment on the way. A bunch of Fallen Angels and Corrupted Hain. Your fortress will come under siege, and blood will flow. What would I gain from lying to you about this?" The God of Chaos circled around Toun, as another Angel went down in a spurt of blood.

Toun straightened his head again as Vestec circled. There was the possibility that the skirmish was not Vestec’s doing. Still, it did not make the scenario any more rational. It made Toun’s rage gain a greater foothold over his curiosity. To think that Niciel would jab at him so spitefully after all that he had done. She would answer for it.

As for Vestec right now, Toun had little patience left for him. "I can promise you, Vestec, that no amount of spatters and blemishes upon this fortress will stop me," Toun closed his eye as if to concentrate on something, and then craned his neck upwards to address Vestec with a bellowing shout. "Your flying rabble is no more a threat than the tide!"

The concentration Toun displayed was made evident by the sudden movements of the slave hain at the walls. All who were not in the warrior caste scuttled away into the hollows of the fortress wall where they made their homes. When they were all inside, the white ceramic around the entrances began to ripple and flow like watery milk caught in time. With kaolokinesis, the inhabitants took on a slow, flowing dance that made the porcelain move. They secured the entrances with weaving grates of thick porcelain, the likes of which would not be battered down easily.

The warriors on the wall let their spears and shields drop and melt back down into the floor before they took up positions in a uniform line against the crenellations. In a single, synchronised movement of all their bodies at once, they lifted their arms and willed the triangular, tooth-like crenellations to take mass from the concaving wall below and elongate. Another flowing form of kaolokinesis had them bend their upper bodies to one side, willing the crenellations to bend over like reeds of grass to shelter them all. The last form, harder to see as obscured as it was by the teeth, narrowed the gaps between the bent porcelain. The slave hain sat entrenched and sheltered by Toun’s walls. Gleaming white spearheads poked out from the remaining gaps to dare any attackers to break through. The last of the pure angel blood flowed off the curved roof in gathered rivulets, making one interrupting mark upon the otherwise perfect and endless repeating pattern of the wall.

"So be the tide, Vestec! Watch as every attempt you make becomes more futile than the last." Toun made his declaration with fire in his blue eye.

Vestec drew the shattered remnants of the Angel’s minds towards him. "Here you go Toun. Just in case you need evidence to throw into Niciel’s face." He giggled as he sent them towards the perfect god. "And then we’ll see how futile everything is in the end."

As if the motion of the Angel’s selected physical remains were pre-planned by Vestec’s toss, Toun’s arm curled upwards in a movement independent from the rest of his form. His fingers splayed, split, and extended with a snap and in a blink of an eye every drop of the Angel’s remains were in his possession. Not a drop fell on the tiles below him. Just as unnaturally, the fingers contracted and brought the pieces together, reforming the angel’s mind like an impossibly detailed jigsaw puzzle.

Toun turned his head slowly to the material in his hand and became oddly still. While his form seemed like a statue, the oppressive force of Cornerstone’s aura began to thrum. It was an emotional resonance, lined up with the mind of its creator. Toun could read enough of the angel’s intentions to realise that Vestec’s words were supported by them. It was impossible, but at the same time increasingly likely.

"Begone, brother," Toun murmured as quietly as the eye of a cyclone.

"Have fun…" With those words, Vestec’s apparition faded away until there was nothing more than the echo of his giggles.

Toun gave no answer to Vestec as he took his leave. The atmosphere only grew more and more furious as his statuesque form fumed. Only two moments after the last of Vestec’s laughter faded from the echoes of the vast white courtyard did Toun suddenly and abruptly lift his foot. The movement looked as natural as a raging humanoid would in full motion, but for the sickening sudden extension of his leg and lower body bringing it greater momentum . Just as quickly, the foot came down to stomp viciously onto the tiles below. The strike caused the receiving tile to shatter in place as the earth shook below.

Galbar felt that strike. Immediately, every slave hain in Cornerstone was tripped onto the ground. The ring wall seemed to shudder as a single object and transfer the force out. The displacement pushed the water around Cornerstone to climb high and fast from its centre in colossal waves. In the air was the sound of the stomp; coastal inhabitants around the white ocean all felt a sudden, unexplained, deep clap upon earth. Where the clouds were above, it was waved off as thunder. Where it was clear it was instead a worrisome omen.

The waves travelled all the way to the coasts of the white ocean, blue as it was, but was thankfully dissipated enough to result in nothing more than a peculiar surge in the tide that day.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

@Antarctic Termite What I love most of all is the touch of giving different pronunciations of Jvan to the various mortals after our player discussion of how everyone here pronounces Jvan.

Also, the sculptor dying was a god damn heartbreak.