| Title: And this, is how it ends.
(Part 2) Time: Sunday, March 21, 2004 The Thespians: Toby Darling, Lien Nguyen, Moirae (NPC) and Pascal Curio Location: Forest - Muddy Woods |
| +---[ Forest - Muddy Woods ]-------------------------------------------------+ | | | The mud around here never seems to dry up, and furthermore appears to be | | able to suck someone violently down into its depths. The branches of the | | tall black trees wind and twist and seem to grab out whenever they get a | | chance. One might swear that eyes blink and stare from beneath the waves | | of the needled leaves. Spiders crawl all over the black mossy ground and | | the wind whispers death threats across the path. It is nearly completely | | black except for the sunlight or moonlight shining through the leaves of | | the dense, frightening trees; the darkness seems to envelope the wood, | | embracing it into a void of pitch black. | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |
| There is no way back to school. Supposedly if one were in a maze, one could trail one's left hand along the wall and find one's way out . . . but there is no maze here, just masses of trees and spiders as far as the eye can see. Ever so comforting, particularly when there's something alive out there and after you . . . and spiders, evil arachnids that they are, don't give directions. Silence still for long moments . . . then the air again explodes into sound, coming alive with swirls of black wings spiraling downward toward the students on the forest floor. |
| "Gah!" Birds fly all around Toby as he swats at the cloud of them. "Can we get going now!? Let's just go back the way we came and then maybe we can figure out where we are!" He sounds hopeful... almost too hopeful given the situation. |
| It seems that Pascal enjoys reacting to loud noises, or surprises, with strings of profanities, for again they shoot out of her mouth as she lifts her head towards the wings that swoop down at the students. She doesn't have time to respond to Lien, and she barely has time to say anything other than a nice solid four letter word. She still has her wand in her hand, but this time has decided not to use it against the birds, for reasons known to few besides herself. Instead, the older girl wraps an arm around Toby, another around Lien, and drags the two students to the ground with her. "Just SHUT UP, Toby." Pascal screams at him, for lack of anything else witty to say in this situation. |
| Surprisingly, Lien couldn't agree more with Pascal's order (possibly that four letter word, too, though she wouldn't admit it). Falling down into the mud isn't something she particularly enjoys, but she was about to make a dive for it anyway. She's not paying that much attention, though; an incoherent murmur can be heard from her lips as she sneaks a look up at the ravens before burying her face in the crook of her arm. What can be seen of it is screwed up tight, whether from fear or something else. "Stop it!" she shouts. Because that works in the movies sometimes. |
| This isn't the movies, so Lien's scream doesn't work . . . but it seems that this particular creature does have a flair for drama, doesn't he? Another sound now . . . the sound of a large creature jumping downward from branch to branch, landing suddenly in the midst of them, crouched. As it rises slowly, however, one may see the figure of a shadowy creature nearly six and a half feet in height, clawed feet poised delicately on the ground for easy movement. The head is affixed with a heavy beak, the body covered with feathers the hue of ebony, the eyes gleaming a brilliant golden-orange, taking them all in at once. Human . . . but not . . . like a human crossed with raven. Powerful wings beat the air once, then fold into a guarded position, just as feasible as weapons as those gleaming claws. Around the area, the ravens settle into a circle about the group like watching sentinels, giving forth a snickering caw now and then. Safe from beasts, eh, Toby? Of course you are. |
| Toby is very glad that Pascal tackled him when she did because he really does not want to be looking at what he is right now. It's a real, living, breathing, snarling monster thing. Trembling all Toby can do is duck and cover, just like those 1950s Cold War era safety films said to do when you see the flash from the impending doom of nuclear holocaust. He's not quite so gung-ho about moving anywhere anymore. |
| This is just like some horrible nightmare that Pascal's godfather has concocted for her. Her head was pressed down against the dirt, and as the noise of a creature jumping down gets louder and louder, her head trembles as she looks up at it. And... she's rendered almost completely speechless, her mouth pressed in a thin line as the blood slowly starts to drain from her face. "Holy... shit," she manages to whisper out, and in her position right now, it almost looks as though she's kneeling in worship to the gigantic bird, with her arms over Toby and Lien. |
| Lien's stomach shrink and hardens and drops like a little rock as she fixes her glasses to peer up at the creature. If anything she goes paler than Pascal, something like disbelief--and also something like recognition?--mixing with the fear in her eyes. Slowly, she sits up, back on her heels. "Toby," she whispers. "The Orb." Like she actually thinks it'll do any good? |
| Well, this isn't very exciting thus far . . . Golden eyes eye them sideways one by one, daring them to make a move. Waiting . . . ? Or planning something? The ground ripples a little . . . more roots? |
| "What? Oh! The Orb!" Toby reaches into his deep pockets and pulls out his baseball sized, blue Orb of Wonder. He taps it with his wand, hits the red button and tosses it just in front of the huddled mass of frightened children just as the ground begins to ripple a bit. If all goes well fog and a flash will come out of the orb and transform the three, temporarialy into larger creatures than their normal selves. However, instead of working properly it instead emits a loud -pop- and a green gas that floats toward the three. It is a bit higher than Toby and Lien level and floats right into Pascal's face. Magic happens to her, but it's not the same magic that happened when the Orb was tested. Something... interesting begins to happen to the girl. |
| "AUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!" A horrible scream erupts from Pascal's mouth, the scream of ultimate suffering, and she hugs her sides, her head back on the ground as she's doubled over in pain. A disgusting ripping noise, combined with the sound of both grinding bone and flesh is distinctly heard over the noises of the forest, and the girl continues to howl and twitch in pain. A final loud *RIIPPP* results, and Pascal's forest green robe is rendered in tatters, as a pair of large black wings, the colour dark enough to rival the night sky, force themselves from the girl's back. She's going to need a change of clothes should she survive this. As she raises her head from the ground, her eyes have turned a milky yellow, and her mouth seems to be fading into her skin, as her skin starts to turn back. The screaming is now muffled as her nose morphs into a beak, and her arms and leg suck into her body, the same spine tingling crunching and grinding heard. |
| Two hands clap over the mouth of the smallest member of the party. Any color that was left in Lien's skin disappears as she watches and listens to Pascal. She looks like she's on the verge of tears, and she'd like to shout at Toby to press the button again and turn it off, but who knows what that would do to her? "It's hurting her," she whispers. "Make it stop." |
| All right, even the creature can tell this wasn't supposed to happen, and it isn't even involved. Humans aren't supposed to do that! They're supposed to stay calm, meaty little things, and probably run away. A low hiss escapes its throat, and its stance tenses. Throwing a quick glance behind it, it makes certain that it is between the bird-thing that has emerged from the noisy girl and Lien, eyes narrowed, guarded, waiting for the other creature to make its move. Strange behavior? Yes . . . and sorry, Toby, but you don't count. |
| "Oh no!" Toby realizes just a bit too late that the Orb isn't doing what it's supposed to. He cringes at the sounds of screams, crunching bones, and ripping robes as Pascal begins to turn into something... not human. He shields himself with his arm from Pascal's transformation. What's the raven doing? Why is it between Pascal and... "Lien! Don't! Move!" Toby pulls himself up from the ground and pulling with all his might to move Lien behind him. He crouches between her and the raven, wand drawn... not like it's going to do too much for him /nor/ Lien... |
| The muffled screams coming from Pascal's barely recognizable form now manifest themselves into a loud screech that erupts from the girl's, the newly formed creature's beak. It stops and echoes throughout the forest, and the black mass of feathers, once Pascal, trembles, and then unfolds itself. The student has turned into a giant bird, her yellow eyes bloodshot, and her feathers slick with some sort of thick liquid. She stands about as tall as the girl once stood, and as she opens her mouth, another wailing screech escapes from it. Her claws dig against the forest floor, and bits of Pascal's clothing are stuck to her talons. |
| "No, Toby..." Lien's eyes have narrowed, though no color has returned to her face. Her voice is quiet and drained; she slowly stands up. "Stay still, Pascal," she murmurs. Holding up a hand to deter Toby from stopping her (the same hand that clutches her still lit wand--the other is buried in her pocket again, fidgeting with something), the child walks slowly around Toby and halfway around the raven-creature, deliberately into its field of vision. Then, swallowing, she stands--just stands--and watches it, head leaning to the side. |
| This was *supposed* to be a fun game. You know . . . freak out the humans and they run and all of that. Meh. Humans always *were* spoilsports. Here, drink in this gourd for a never-ending supply of liquor and get your beak stuck. Steal magical items. What does it matter? The glance that the raven-creature shoots at Toby is positively venomous, though attention never fully leaves the bird-girl. ~Baka. She's safer with me, anyway.~ It didn't open its mouth . . . but did it speak? More sharply, darting forward toward Lien, ~Get *back*!~ That's not a tone that will take no for an answer as clawed hands reach to seize her and yank her back. This is *not* the time to play anime heroine and talk the bird-thing out of it like in the movies. |
| The... bird... just spoke? "You speak?" For some reason Toby is speaking to the bird. "Um... I'm sorry, but... who are you?" He stands and grabs Lien's arm, whispering "come on" trying to pull her away from Pascal as the giant bird demanded. Apparently Toby doesn't fully grasp the gravity of the situation. There's a giant bird that could eat him or carry him off to feed its children and one of his friends has just turned into another giant bird. This is not supposed to be happening. |
| The bird-thing formerly known as Pascal Curio, glares its yellow eyes at those standing before it, the eyes clearing over slightly as focus is regained. Another ear-splitting screech is heard, and then it spreads its wings, beating them twice, as it slowly rises into the air, sending forest debris scattering everywhere as it takes off. If Pascal is still mentally aware inside of the bird, it does not appear so, for the look in the creature's eyes is one of unfamiliarity. It glares at everything and everyone below it, and offers another bellowing screech while it continues to hover in the air. It seems to direct its attention more at the half-human, half-raven than at either Toby or Lien. |
| Get back... well, Lien gets back, eyes focused on Pascal, or whatever it is she's become. "We have to change her back," the girl confers softly with Toby. "Before somebody gets hurt." She doesn't like that wild look in the Pascal-bird's eyes, and as much as she may not like the older girl sometimes, she doesn't want her to... die or anything like that. She doesn't seem as taken aback by the other bird-thing's speech as Toby. Not much at all, really, just worried and frightened and what have you. |
| . . . They're about to be attacked by a giant bird, and Toby's asking who he is and if he speaks? Definitely he's the one that led these others off the path in the first place. You can just tell. ~Baka,~ the creature retorts, henceforth called by its proper name of tengu and proper pronoun of "he" -- for the tone is definitely masculine, although not spoken aloud. ~Stay back,~ he reaffirms to Lien, sounding somewhat relieved that she listened. ~Maybe I can at least hold her down.~ A moment of concentration and the roots come alive again, darting upward to catch at the bird's talons, the dangling vines of trees snaking out to do similar, to try to pinion the bird downward. The ravens lift into the air again, squawking, screeching, darting in to limit the space in which the larger bird has to maneuver. |
| Toby takes a few steps back and ducks as vines and roots shoot past him from all directions. He wants to go home, he doesn't care about the stupid treasure, he doesn't care who or what the bird creature is, he just wants out of here. He'd rather be sitting in the dining hall being told off by Pascal and ignored by Lien... not standing in the middle of the forest with them while one's been turned into a bird. In response to Lien's idea of getting Pascal turned back into Pascal again he dodges through the vines, branches, and roots that are snaking through the air and reaches for the orb. He taps the red button with his wand, hopefully turning it off and hopefully stopping this hideous mess. |
| Treasure hunt gone bad. Part 3. |
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