Stanifly

Dragonbone Liar

Red rocks, check.

Bulging river, check.

Reeeally tall cliff, check.

Lia glanced between the map in her hands and the cliff edge she was perched on. There was a disappointing lack of giant centipede creature in the canyon, but she supposed there was a reason behind all the reported night sightings. Even crusty, old gods needed their naptimes. Stuffing the map into her belt pouch, Lia stood up and stretched her wings.

Hypocrite was a common label people liked to slap on her whenever they caught sight of her in uniform. Well, uniform was a bit of a strong word, but the navy tasselled capelet that was draped around her shoulders and pinned by the white mana gem embedded in her collarbone usually made her status as a Royal Hunter pretty clear. If it didn’t, the wings and the scales climbing up her neck more than made up for it. The elders in the mountain village she’d passed through hours ago was a charming refresher for complaints.

‘Why do you wear those?’ they’d cried. ‘Is it not enough to slay them?’

Yeah, no need to thank her, truly. Just doing her job. Not like she was saving lives or anything.

She stepped off the cliff. Her wings folded into a dive. Strong, pushing, pulling – the winds here were unrelenting, but that was okay. All she needed to go was down. Look for an opening somewhere. She’d been somewhat hoping that the creature would make her job easier and nap on the cliff face like a freaky spider but if that had been the case, there would’ve been reports of that in the daytime. The thing probably had a hidey-hole somewhere.

About halfway down, Lia snapped her wings out, forcing herself to stop and hover. She caught sight of a cave near the bottom – but not before she spotted someone clambering down the cliff face with a length of rope. The helmet, the sword, and evident wishful thinking – was this person just trusting that no one was around to chop off his rope? – were all obvious clues as to who they were: another hunter!

Lia darted lower, her wings working double-time to hover a fair distance above the climber. The wind tugged at her, threatening to rid her of the possessions clipped to her belt – her leather pouch, her quiver, her crossbow – but they held fast. Her black hair was tied back into a high ponytail, save for a few loose strands that whipped across her face.

‘Hey,’ she called, drawing the word out. ‘You haven't seen a giant monster anywhere, have you? Lots of arms, creepy, needs killing?’

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

normally I'd be fine with either option too, but Teresa's already gone ahead and spoken to the glasses dude so mayhaps some direction might be preferred :o

Dragonbone Liar

who is lying and why are they dragonbone 👀

(these are some fire refs, thankuu)

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

I'm so glad Morgan's there for Sirpa 😌 Teresa is not the most comforting person unfortunately

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Lost in Translation

@Tlazolteotl@silver21@Auragreedia

The deep, rhythmic thrum of bass hummed through the soles of her boots to the tips of her fingers as Teresa’s gaze flicked between the bespectacled man and the employee addressing them.

Witnessing the businessman’s private battlefield, finding themselves thrust flat in the middle of another’s apparent mental anguish – it stirred a mild sense of disgust somewhere within Teresa. These were people’s minds, casually paraded around as, what, things the server collected? Who was the server? This green-haired employee didn’t sound at all like the server, but did in a way Teresa couldn’t pin down. Were they working for Arts? Helping him collect from these entrapped victims? Making them the unwilling spectators of others’ suffering like this, too; how sickening.

Almost as soon as the thought occurred, the sounds around her dipped. The violent thrum of bass in her bones faded to a distant tremble. For just a brief moment, the bar they had just been standing in flickered back into view. If anyone had been looking at her in that moment, they would have seen Silver Blade briefly flicker out of existence, before fading back in.

Teresa blinked, hard. The lights and music returned with a vengeance. The girl and the cyber-cowboy were still there. She clenched her right hand into a fist – and then relaxed.

Reality was loose here. And, apparently, somewhat moulded by their thoughts. She couldn’t lose sight of the mission.

Didn’t you, though?

The voice of the cyber-cowboy drew Teresa back to the present. His words seemed to relax the girl somewhat. Teresa looked back at the bespectacled man, considering.

‘If that man is the key,’ she said, ‘then we talk to him.’

The girl still seemed nervous about the situation, but as things were now, there was nothing to do about it but to carry out the task that the server – whatever they were – had given them. And the cyber-cowboy seemed benign enough. The faster they could resolve this, the faster they could all go back to where they came from. With that thought in mind, Teresa moved ahead, laser focused on the man sitting alone.

The mass of dancing people around them may have been a difficult obstacle to navigate for some. Teresa, all too used to facing crowds of screaming citizens running from the newest villain on the loose, simply moved with the flow of movement, squeezing and sidling through the narrow gaps between bodies. She got to her destination in short order, coming up to stand next to the table the bespectacled man sat at.

It was a moment before she spoke, gathering her thoughts. She wasn’t Silver Blade talking down a villain right now; she was Teresa, talking to a civilian, who, by all rights, didn’t seem to be having a great time.

Relax, chided Caden’s voice somewhere in the back of her head. Don’t you have fun sometimes?

‘Hey.’ It came out soft. Maybe too soft, considering the pounding music around them. Teresa cleared her throat and tried again, a little louder, jerking her thumb towards the dance crowd. ‘Hey. Not joining them?’

Dispatch RP Anyone?

hmm... I've seen the Dispatch trailer but haven't played or watched gameplay of it, and I'm not sure yet if I can commit to another RP, but... I love superheroes and I love slice of life, so I'm very interested 👀

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

‘That’s ‘cause deep down you don’t wanna leave.’

That was... ridiculous. And unhelpful. And, as ridiculously unhelpful as the server’s answer was, there was the oddest ache in Teresa’s chest, like a wound that wouldn’t hurt unless someone called it out. For a brief moment, Teresa had the faintest impression of something pressing her to stay.

Get a hold of yourself. You’re imagining things that aren’t there.

Still, what option did she have? This place was clearly not in the realm of normality, not if the softly shifting shadows and the fuzzy, warped edges the furniture seemed to have were any indication. The possibility that Arts’ weapon did hit her was growing likelier by the minute. She might not be dead, but she didn’t have to be for it to be so. The mad man dabbled in soul magic; messed up mental landscapes were not out of the question. Her gaze shifted over to the girl in the armchair, who seemed increasingly uncomfortable. Did that mean the other people here were victims of his, too?

He was studying Desire, thought Teresa, grimly. There’s no better way to do that than ripping it right out of people’s hearts.

She would play along. See where that got her. When the time came, she’d get everyone out of here. Decision made, Teresa sat herself at the bar.

‘You mentioned catharsis,’ she said to the server. ‘How, exactly, would being here achieve that?’

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

I'm ok w a demo! as it stands, it might be a while before Teresa starts opening up lol

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

In the face of the server's imperturbed response, Teresa maintained her guard. Their calm demeanour wouldn't fool her. She had spent far too much time with Caden to think someone was harmless because they portrayed their self as such.

That didn’t change the fact that their words struck a chord in her. When the server nudged her sword down, she went with the motion, though her grip remained unrelaxed. She opened her mouth for a retort, but was promptly interrupted by someone crashlanding through the wall and into the floor. A man with a cowboy gimmick, it looked like. Cyber enhancements too.

Okay. This is a little weird for an illusion.

Was she hallucinating? Had someone gotten her with a dart? Maybe Arts’ blaster had hit her after all and she was dying, caught in the throes of delusion in her final moments. Teresa brushed the front of her suit with her free hand. There was nothing but the faint remnant of ashes crumbling beneath her fingertips. The coarse feeling of plexifibre felt real enough.

Simplest answer, then. If this was real, her priorities were unchanged. The cyber-cowboy was already picking himself out of the rubble; there was no need for her to intervene. The server didn't seem intent on retaliating to the threat she'd made; instead, they were walking away, offering a drink. Slowly, Teresa sheathed her sword. It was then she finally regarded the girl in the armchair and, at the sight of her frightened posture, Teresa’s tense expression fell away to something more contrite.

‘My apologies if I frightened you,’ she said. The server’s remark echoed in the back of her mind. A muscle in her jaw tensed. ‘I’m... needed elsewhere.’ The terseness of her words would have her supervisor throwing a fit if she could hear them – ‘Reassuring, Teresa! You’re supposed to be reassuring to civilians!’ – but right now, her headspace was a million miles away. All she could think of was the hum of Arts’ gun, and pushing Eri out of the way, and if she was here and not there, then–

Focus. That’s not helping anybody.

She swept away, heedless of the girl’s response, quickening her steps to catch up with the server. As she did, she caught sight of another customer breaking a plastic, little doll, tossing it onto a mound of other plastic, little dolls – and then proceeding to receive a new doll. The absurdity of the scene had her turning back to the server without comment.

‘I appreciate the offer,’ she said, ‘but I can’t stay. Do you know how I got here? Can you send me back to where I was before?’

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

ah yes, I did think that the Keeper was the only thing consistent in Catharsis at first, but it makes sense what you're going for now.

yuz summary sounds p handy for the stuff that all the chars universally perceives 👍🏼 I'm onboard w that!