Avatar of Muttonhawk

Status

User has no status, yet

Bio



Dear Mr Curly,
I have done little travelling lately because I have been so dreadfully weary. Can it be true as the old Ecclesiastes said; that all things lead to weariness? Surely not. Perhaps the opposite is true: that all nothings lead to weariness. I have a peculiar feeling, Curly, that I am worn out from something I haven't yet done and the more I don't do it, the more exhausted I become. How strange. Could it be something I haven't realised? Perhaps it's something I haven't said? Something I haven't finished! It must be very large and true whatever it is and a lively struggle in the doing but I look forward to it immensely. I know I need it. First, however, I must curl up in my chair and sleep deeply with the duck. Perhaps I'll dream of this thing and wake up refreshed and do it. My fond wishes to you Mr. Curly, and to all Curly Flat.
Yours sleepily,
Vasco Pyjama
xxx
P.S. Not having breakfast can make you weary. That's for sure!
Michael Leunig. The Curly Pyjama Letters.

Most Recent Posts

New Canton wasn't a place to carry an umbrella if you didn't want it stolen or swept away in a crowd. Serge instead walked amongst his colleagues with a clear plastic poncho that some street kids were selling for candy bars. The many oppressive droning sounds of the city were at least somewhat cancelled by that patter of water on plastic around his ears. Then again, he relied more on his eyes to navigate and watch his back.

The team today gave Serge mixed feelings. He raised an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder to check that they weren't lagging in the crowd.

Andi was skilled, but you could not rely on her to disregard what needed disregarding. She had a knack for expanding the scope of their missions together. Especially if something whiffs of Sinsek.

Siofra was an enemy that you would want to keep closer than your friends. Serge preferred to keep her close no matter their disposition to one another. As long as that little secret between eight and eighteen years old she kept was safe, she could focus. If half the shit she let Serge know about that story was true, he had other reasons to keep that detail out of the firing line.

And then there was Jack. When Serge first arrived in New Canton, he thought the local operators telling him he 'didn't know Jack' was a borrowed western slight against his inexperience in the city. They said it every time he underestimated their chances of something going arse-over-head on the job. He knows Jack now. Everyone does. She is as likely to reverse gravity on the tits of the mission as she is to blast enough heads open to make it all better. It was neither Serge's area of expertise nor his preferred method of doing things.

Freelance operators weren't picked for missions where their skills wouldn't be needed. That told Serge this mission was going to me rough. Though, he needed the job.

Serge wasted no time in pushing into the restaurant so his senses could be overwhelmed by something different. Even if the food could increase your risk of cancer around these parts, spices still passed hands occasionally. It was a much better smell than outside.

The contact caught Serge's eye in short order. He frowned at the others and nodded in the man's direction before peeling off the water-beaded poncho. His grey suit underneath was spotless as always as he approached.

When the contact spoke, Serge looked left and right and pulled a sturgeon face. "They must put something charming in the kway teow if it's that good," Serge said, gesturing to the man's many discarded bowls. "Mister Wu, I presume?" He extended a hand. "Serge."

Once introductions were cleared up, Serge took a seat, weaved his fingers together and leant forward on his elbows. "How can we help you today?"
Sabine sprung up standing and staggered away when Hal-Neesa discorporated in front of her eyes. So many moments beyond the realms of assumed reality had passed that she felt she was no longer on Nirn. Lunise stepped forward to support Sabine and gently pull her back two paces.

"Prepare yourself," Lunise murmured. Sabine could feel magic still held in Lunise's arms. The much taller woman did not let a single movement escape her eyes. She believed that Neesa would turn the fight into a brawl at any moment.

Molag Bal's voice made the entire scene freeze once more.

The pack was no more enthused with Neesa and her cult joining their invasion, let alone Molag Bal's own daedric underlings. The practical benefits of the arrangement were lost to the fear and tension left over from the previous life-and-death situation they found themselves in.

Janius snapped back into awareness the earliest. He looked at Kaleeth through his lowered visor and nudged her arm. He nodded to the altar. Wasting Molag Bal's time would not favour them.

Meanwhile, Lunise let Sabine go and walked closer to Meesei. "Is this something we have a choice in?" she asked quietly enough to only refer to Meesei.
$ S:/// > threat-coeff assetB16234 -inv
Querying records...
assetB16234 experience index: 1
assetB16234 credentials investment: 2
assetB16234 credentials reserve: 3
Threat level: 1 [negligible]


SHORT TERM STATE:
assetB16234 hold "It all fits together!": 3
$ S:/// >



The duel was too quick and blinding for most to gather the details. While Meesei's absorption of Neesei's power was something that dropped the jaws of Janius, Sabine, and Lunise, the horror that was Neesa's defeat was hard to watch, hard to listen to, and hard to smell. Those in the pack were struck dumb by how closely it could have gone the other way, and the sheer hate that Meesei poured into her magic.

Sabine would have held on tighter to the Staff of Magnus had anyone else tried to pull it from her hands. She freely let the relic fly to Meesei, believing that she would only need it to defend herself and the pack. But the protests Meesei shouted struck Sabine to nausea. She was back amongst Vile's cultists under Arinette's command. She was ready to flay the nerves from their skin out of sheer overwhelming revenge. She saw Meesei thinking as much and she paled.

In disregard to the clear threats around her, Sabine walked out towards Meesei and the immolated Hal-Neesa.

"Sabine, what are you doing!?" Janius hissed. "Stay back! Stay with us!"

She did not regard Janius' words. She walked forward with a blank, if intense, expression, and brought a healing magic to her hands. She sank to her knees beside Neesa and slightly gasped when her magical energies touched her. "She is still alive," Sabine said quietly.
W-where am I? Did this thread fall inside New Chronos without me again or something?

Jokes aside, I'm making progress in my next post and I'm really feeling it this time!


We're here. Stuff is still happening. I'm still writing endless stuff.


You're not feeling it hard enough.
Sabine did retract her arm holding the staff and Lunise did back off. Neither did so with any hint of reassurance. Especially Sabine, for her more expressive face was backed by memories of the previous time this happened. All she could do was hold her staff ready to react to the cultists on the other end of the room.

The pack collectively tensed up when Hal-Neesa readied her magic. The hair on the backs of their necks, where present, stood on end before Neesa even lifted her arms.

There was no time to ask questions or even give comments.
<Snipped quote by Muttonhawk>

Realised I didn't respond to this part. I'm happy to collab it out (perhaps not for a few weeks at least though >.<)


No problem! Let me know when you're ready.
@Kho So, I got a couple of questions.

That divine script. It sounds an awful lot like Tounic calligraphy. Is it that or is it some branch of Belru's pacts or something?

I'm guessing you want to collaborate regarding Toun's subpoena as well, huh? He's not going to be happy about delaying his hunt for Xos, but I think 6 PR is a while before the confrontation is to take place. It could work out alright.
All good. Sorry for the late night reply, I had a busy night last night.
The way Meesei fought back was at first surprising. Fear gripped everyone by the necks. But it soon turned into a unifying rally in their minds. Perhaps it was pack instinct, maybe it was knowing when to stand after many harrowing experiences in the past. Either way, it felt like a battle already, even if it was a verbal one between a mortal and a god. Janius, Sabine, and even Lunise stood fast beside Meesei, retaining their wariness all the same.

Still, Molag Bal would not be browbeaten. The demand for sacrifice could not be refused. Whether spilt by Meesei or Hal-Neesa, Bal would have his blood.

Everyone in the pack reluctantly obeyed Meesei's order to stay back, except for Lunise and Sabine. Sabine held out the Staff of Magnus to Meesei and whispered. "It's the only way."

With her other hand, Sabine held Lunise back by her midsection. Their eyes met and Sabine worriedly shook her head. Lunise slowly stood back, but not without keeping her eyes hawklike on Hal-Neesa. Sabine could feel magicka priming to move in Lunise's body. It would be hard to keep her from protecting Meesei should the impending duel go wrong.
© 2007-2024
BBCode Cheatsheet