(ooc - no worries, site was offline for ages coz I had to move it :P It's 40C today, I have get to see it get too hot over east :)
DreamScape
Daemun appeared more buoyant which made a nice change from being all dark and emo. Phoenix scanned the area again, but wasn't seeing anything untoward. She could understand why some people got emo and stuff but a lot of the time it seemed they just clung to that to feel sorry for themselves or to get attention, subconsciously or otherwise. It got grating after a while. Especially because some of the youngsters seemed to think being emo was cool and would mope around the place being...well...emo.
There were some higher level demons that weren't going to be too thrilled about this latest development though. They liked to keep it a secret that a demon with a good command of a full complement of emotions was a lot more powerful than the ones who just raged.
-=o=-
(ooc - and now that everyone is alseep and/or dreaming we can cut to the morning :P)
Byte's mercenary reflexes kicked in and her body snapped into awake mode as soon as she heard the door buzzer going. She rolled out of bed and grabbed her utility belt, smoothly pulling her blaster out of it. The rapid motions kicked her brain awake and the first things she realised was that a) she was naked, b) she wasn't in her room, c) there was a certain very hot and very naked Lupe in the bed she'd just vacated and d) she was a little sore -down there- but the delicious feeling she was still harbouring made up for that fact.
She pushed to her feet, relaxing her grip on the blaster. She gently caressed Derek's groin with the very tip of her long tail. "Wakey wakey, loverboy," she purred, "someone wants at least one of us."
DreamScape
Phoenix noted Daemun's attention attracted to the void. She switched hers over to it as well, scrutinising it carefully. Something kicked her in the depths of her brain. Her eyes frowned as she mulled it over, then snapped back to Daemun. Another glance between Daemun and the void proved that yes, they were now in fact nicely in resonance. She had previously dulled both of them due to the chaotic sounds not unlike out of tune violins being scraped at by tone deaf people convinced that they were musical genius, but she carefully tuned in now.
The colours were playing nicely, and now they sounded like a pair of wooden windchimes clanking in the same non-existant wind. Wonderfully, spine chillingly creepy but still melodic and pleasant.
She had exactly no idea what had caught his attention though. She dropped into a low crouch with her hands and feet bunched close together, wings partially unfurled and ready to make the leap, but refraining from doing so.
-=o=-
Byte leaned back against Derek's warm torso and tilted her head to expose her neck to Derek's nuzzle, her left arm sliding up around his head to hug him, the blaster in her right hand pointing safely away from both of them.
"If you want more, I think I kinda like you." Byte gently rubbed her tail up and down Derek's left ankle and calf. She hoped her overly casual, somewhat flippant tone hid the fact that she was hoping that this wouldn't be just a one night stand, she didn't want to seem like the desperate type. At the same time she could have kicked herself for the automatic flippancy, in case he thought that's all he was.
She could have easily swept up her clothes with her tail, but she opted to bend over at the waist, deliberately pushing her curvaceous butt up against Derek's hips, as she retrieved her underwear.
"I donno baby," she responded to his question as she did, "you better go see who it is." She grinned. "It's not my brothers. If it's Starzi we're gonna get two more warnings before she and Streak see who can pick the lock quickest."
The door buzzer buzzed again.
Dreamscape:
This was going to be a problem. If what Daemun seeked was at the center of this void it would take a great deal of effort to get to it and a skill he had to master. A skill he wasn't used to nor had, at least not in the 'real world'. Flying. That was the only way to get to it. Even if he tried pulling the box toward him somehow, which he attempted to do, all he recieved in return was a good zap of electrical energy down his arm that forced him to stop with a grunt.
"So much for that..." Daemun frowned with a growl to his tone, rubbing his arm and taking another moment to study the void and consider his options. Or better put his only option.
It was a crazy idea but he had to get to it. Even if he was risking a lot by doing so it was either that or sacrifice all of his efforts thus far for nothing. Looking over at Phoenix now he sent her a strong yet calm message.
"I'm going in..."
Meanwhile...
"You have no idea how much that means to me babe..." Derek smirked, kissing the side of Byte's neck just a little higher now before then with a grin and his arms wrapped lovingly around her he added "'Cause I know I sure as we are standing here right now love you. Go ahead and think what you want but there's the honest truth." He was gentle in his tone, sincere and his confidence had strengthened even more so after last night. But above all he was genuine in what he had to say. Derek didn't want to make Byte feel like 'just another female for the night' or anything as such. No, this was official. It did scare him a little and this was the first time, as hard as it may be to believe, for Derek. But he knew in Byte he found a mate and by the looks of things she seemed to feel the same. At least he hoped so.
When Byte bent down to get her clothes and delebrately pushed against Derek as she did Derek REEEEEEEALLY had to control himself. In fact he found himself holding onto her hips and ready to start another ride for the morning but immediately stopped and pulled his hands away, blushing deeper than ever before and swallowing hard.
'Easy Derek...' He thought to himself, staring at Byte's...assets as he struggled to control his...pride. To no avail...
Looking down Derek's eyes widened as he realize he was...well it should be obvious what happens to a male when they are...*ehem* tempted. Derek tried to ignore that though and listened to Byte though before he could respond the buzzer went off again and quickly Derek pulled away to get himself dressed and ready.
"Snap! I don't even have time for a shower! Oh man...Shit! Uh...Clothes! I need those!" Derek snatched his clothes from the floor and quickly slipped them on, slapping on his boots and grooming his fur quickly before straightening his clothes and ripping his trench coat off the foot of the bed, doing some fancy little move even he didn't know he could do as he slipped that on. He hadn't even noticed though and gave Byte a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Sorry babe, gotta trott! Oh! Here" Derek handed Byte a chip looking card as he noted quickly "It's got my PDA number on it. Contact me anytime. I want to see you again." With a smile Derek winked with a click of his fingers in a typical macho way at Byte as he added "Thanks again babe. We'll keep in touch." And with that he slipped out of the room and headed in a hurry to where he would be needed.
(ooc - I keep hearing it gets hot over east but I haven't seen much high temps there on the news, but I'm not there. Also crazy weather, we had a thunderstorm at omg o'clock this morning, with RAIN! It DOES NOT rain in Perth in summer :O)
DreamScape
Phoenix turned her head slightly as Daemun got zapped the first time. The lightning was probably unnecessarily theatrical but it did look suitably impressive. Despite his scorched appearance Daemun looked none the worse for wear. And he was going to have to use those wings of his. She could see them shimmering stronger, still not quite with the corporealness but definitely visible now. He looked like he was going to jump and not even he was going to make that jump. Unless he used those wings of his or could fly by wingless methods like some could.
She figured he'd make it, but she knew she could cover the distance between where she was and where he was going to end up in the unlikely event he didn't.
-=o=-
Byte shook her head in amusement as she put on her underwear and then shimmied back into her slightly rumpled pilot suit, sighing at the thought that she might not be getting out of it til later that night. Although that wouldn't bother her so much if she was back here tonight. Derek's declaration of love were giving her warm fuzzies but she didn't want to put too much stock in something said in the aftermath of passion in case it was just a transient emotion.
He made such a nice change from the mercs she usually hung out with though, with their rough, slightly offbeat sense of humour. Derek h ad managed to maintain an innocent sense of comedy which came out at the best moments, like the little flourish with which he'd donned his trench coat, and the rush to answer the door. She also had the feeling he may have emporarily forgotten they were at his place.
She walked out to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee.
-=o=-
Streak and Starzone had been just about to wire up their comms for the lockpicking competition when the door opened and a slightly flustered looking Derek popped into the doorframe. Both immediately put on the air of loitering with intent, one of the skills necessary in their chosen professions, grinning at the Lupe's slightly dishevelled appearance.
"Have a good one?" Streak inquired, tone teasing, eyes sparkling mischeviously. The eyes of both had automatically glanced into the room, and Starzone's expression changed slightly when she saw Byte pottering around the kitchen.
"Hey guys," Byte called, waving from the kitchen and too far away to notice the subtle change.
(OOC: I know what you mean as far as random weather goes. It's been very hot today but it was like that yesterday too and it rained for about ten minutes or so and then just stopped...o..O. LOL! "What time is it?" "OMG O'Clock!" XD!)
Dreamscape:
Daemun took a moment to stare down into the swirling void. He knew even flying down there would take some effort for the wind patterns and currents in that void could not be that easy to slice through. But he had to do it. What he would do once he reached that box he didn't know yet but he figured it may become apparent once he was there. Maybe all he needed to do was destroy it. It seemed to be nothing more than a mental block, so to speak, and it needed to be cleared one way or another. It was during his preparation to jump that Daemun finally started to feel his wings. It was all very new to him and yet here it also felt so natural, like he had them all his life.
"Alright Daemun...here goes..." Daemun encouraged himself and closed his eyes, slowly bringing his arms out in preparation to dive, taking a few deep breaths before then opening his eyes and diving into the void.
Daemun faught against the twirling winds, if you want to call them that, and did his best not to let the swirling around him steer him from his path as he swooped down into the void at great speed, his wings becoming more and more solid as they appeared as though particilars of their outer shell shed to reveal them. They were very bat-like, almost gargoyle-like in appearence, jet black and shimmering like new. Now he had to use them...but how good could he handle them?
Meanwhile...
Derek probably forgot a lot of things in his rush out the door but he wouldn't mind at all if Byte stayed a while. Heck if she decided to move in he wouldn't mind at all but right now he was more concerned about who needed him and why. It had to of been important. Well at least it better be since they interupted a very important moment and Derek hated to leave Byte behind. Maybe indeed it was love and what was said must have been, in that case, more genuine than Byte knew.
"Oh! Hey there!" Derek suddenly stopped in his tracks with a quick salute, clearing his throat as he tried to straighten his clothes before anyone could tell he was rushed out of a situation that could have otherwise been very awkward indeed but Streak picked up on it quick enough. "Huh? Oh...Hehe..." Derek's blush was pretty deep at this point as he rubbed his neck nervously, trying to act the tough guy and answer Streak's question confidently but not wanting to offend Byte who was in the kitchen and no doubt within ear shot. "You could say it was a night to be remembered" Derek then replied with a small grin. He sure hoped those were the right words...
"Hey! Why don't you come in for a coffee?" Derek then blurted with a grin and a gesture to the kitchen, trying to ease things a little and sort of trying to change the subject. For a moment there also forgetting Streak and Starzone were here for more important matters. Or so Derek assumed.
(ooc - and once again I'm in denial about rain in summer, despite the fact it's currently sprinkling oO I'm using the DRYER in summer. Inconceivable.)
DreamScape
And there was the leap of faith.
Phoenix cocked her head the other way as she noticed Daemun having some dramas. There must be some major crosswinds going on down there. She couldn't see any wind effects, but considering the DreamScape that didn't mean a thing, it was the DreamScape. If she had external ears one would have perked at this point. As it was, all she did was lower one wing slightly and look over those shoulders as she sensed a rather large buzz behind her.
"You shouldn't be here," she commented idly.
The energy mass behind her coalesced into a cherubim. Phoenix arched an eyebrow as she looked up into its eyes. That was a fairly high level demon to be sending over, although it would probably take something about that high to slice in as effortlessly as this one seemed to have, seeing as Daemun didn't appear to have noticed its presence. But then again he was kind of preoccupied.
Phoenix got to her feet and turned around, wings and tail flared warningly.
-=o=-
Starzone's return salute was fairly automatic, Streak didn't seem to have noticed the gesture at all. He was probably desensitised to it seeing as he'd lived among the mercenaries for so long. Streak looked at Derek carefully, then grinned again.
"I bet," he teased. When Derek made the offer of coffee Streak quickly grabbed Starzone's arm, a movement which seemed to get her attention as she blinked, her eyes going back to normal. "No more coffee for Starzi."
"You're no fun," Starzone pouted, playfully shaking Streak's hand off her arm before grabbing his hand in hers. Turning back to Derek, she said, "My regular training partner's still out and I really need some exercise. Wanna play?" Her expression was very playful, somewhat cheeky, leant an air of danger by the slightly maniacal grin.
From in the kitchen where she was pouring four mugs of coffee, Byte's ears perked and her tail curled up slightly.
"Ooh," she said excitedly, "can I watch?"
-=o=-
Geiser stirred. There was an unusual warmth next to him, where normally there was nothing. His sleep hazed brain immediately thought of Lyric and he reached out, his hand running over silky fur. Confusion kicked in. It didn't feel or smell like Lyric. Logic kicked in. Lyric had been dead for years. Reality kicked in. Geiser opened his eyes and was initially stunned by the beautiful naked cat stretched out languidly beside him.
As with last night, initially all he could do was stare.
Then reality slapped him one while his now fully awake brain finally engaged and gave him a mental dash of cold water. He quickly scrambled for memories of last night, ensuring he hadn't done anything stupid or ungentlemanly. As far as he could tell he hadn't taken advantage of the situation, he still had his boxers on. He'd probably done plenty stupid though, seeing as the blood had been drained from his brain to another part of his anatomy.
In his haste to escape the bed he snagged in the sheet and hit the floor. He managed to keep it to a sharp exhale as he jarred his arm and shoulder on landing. Speaking of stupid. Correcting the sheet with his tail as he slowly eased to his feet, Geiser once more glanced at Rav'una before heading out into the kitchen. He had eggs and he had squid tubes (sausages! XD) and he had coffee. Hopefully those would suffice.
He really had to get over that mental block, that it was okay for him to quite possibly be in love with someone else. That loving someone else didn't mean he was betraying his dead wife, or that he was replacing her. Nothing would ever replace Lyric and he would always love her. But moving on with his life was okay, and loving someone else was okay. Really.
He was messed up.
He found a saucepan and retrieved the squid tubes and eggs, and started frying up squid tubes.
(OOC: A dryer in summer?! That's just unheard of! Blasphomey even!)
DreamScape:
Funny thing about places like the DreamScape is that things were not always as it seemed. Not to mention one doesn't always know what to expect so Daemun, by now, expected the unexpected and would deal with things as they unfolded. Like a bird of prey latching onto a large catch Daemun, after quite the struggle to get to it, latched onto the black and clutched tightly onto it, tar-like matter leaking onto his hands and a little up his arm in streaks of black. Pulling back as best he could, wings out spread and catching onto whatever 'wind' he could Daemun knew the flight back up would be just as hard, if not harder, to deal with as it was to get down here in the first place.
He had to act fast. Not only was he awfully close to the bottom of the vortex, a place he did not want to venture down, but something else seemed to make its presence known...
And so Daemun's battle to the top and out of the vortex began...
Meanwhile....
A small "Heh..." escaped Derek before he attempted a distracted with the ol' coffee offer card which seemed to be met with a better deal, the no answer, and so with a "I guess not then?..." Derek just blinked some a moment before shrugging it off and leaving it at that. With a smirk he tried not to laugh out loud at the interaction between the two martian mice in regards to the coffee before then Starzone's question caught his attention more so.
At first Derek was surprised to have Starzone make such an offer but his grin showed he was enthusiastic about it enough, as too did his enthusiastic "You bet!" response, his eyes shimmering in excitement. Oh how Derek loved a good challenge and he needed a training session big time! He could use the practice plus it sounded like something entertaining.
Byte's voice travelling from the kitchen caught Derek's ear quick enough and he looked over his shoulder, ears perked, a moment before turning back to Starzone and Streak with another grin.
"Yeah, can she come along? Huh? Can she?"
Meanwhile...
Rav'una was comfortable asleep by Geiser's side though too was surprised in her own reality check when she suddenly felt someone runny their hand over her fur and at first instinct to react kicked in. Fortunately she grasped it in time before she did anything she could well regret, a split second decision that lead to her calming down with a smile as she remembered who it was. Though there was something amiss in the vibes she was getting however for now she didn't question it. Perhaps it was wise not to. At least for now.
This was still very fresh for Rav'una and never did she think she would wake up beside any male, yet alone so soon into her stay at the Tir. Now she really didn't want to go back home. Not that she could in a hurry anytime soon with her long made into scrap metal but even if she could she would have chosen not to.
She had opened her eyes only for a moment when she was caught by surprise by Geiser's touch but since now had eased and was purring happily behind her smile as she kept close to him, ignoring any discomforts her body silently moaned to her about and instead cherishing the brilliance of the moment. To her it was still perfect.
Then suddenly he was no longer beside her and there was a thud on the floor, Rav'una opening her eyes with a perk of her brow in time to see Geiser's tail correcting the sheets and she did her best to hold back from laughing. She didn't want him to know she was awake by now and pretended to be asleep, though her eyes were open and she was quite aware of what was happening. You had to give her kudos for a job well done though. She could have fooled the dead if she wanted to.
The smell of eggs and squid tubes (XD!) and coffee soon filled the air and Rav'una decided now would be a good time to officially wake up and get out of bed. And so with a typical feline stretch and yawn she got herself up at least on all fours before laying down on her front a moment, her tail swaying from side to side a moment before curling up against her side as she gave her body and mind a moment to catch up.
Eventually she got herself up and was about to walk out into the kitchen when she realized she was still wearing her traditional "Love Initiation" attire. For a moment she too had to think in a hurry and try and recall what happened the night before and she sighed in relief when she remembered it was perfectly okay. Nothing happened that night...did it? Well she had best get herself ready she thought to herself and so ducking out into the shower she took a quick shower, dried herself up and put on her usual armor-like gear on. Even then she hardly wore much but it was enough to cover...certain parts of her. That and her gauntlets and ankle guards kind of made it more "complete". Never the less she still looked like she could kick some butt and kept herself well groomed and nicely presented like the truly proud Assassin Warrioress she is.
And with that she made her way into the kitchen, smiling at Geiser with a "Good morning my love" and leaning her side against the kitchen bench, arms folded and tail casually relaxed behind her. "Whatever you are cooking smell devine" She complimented before then asking with a small smirk "Did you sleep well?"
(ooc - indeed, and today it's cloudy. Poles shifting and climate change!)
DreamScape
Move, the other demon said. Phoenix's mind stepped around what was otherwise an overwhelming compulsion to obey with practised ease. Keeping wary, she folded her arms loosely, glaring up a fair way at the intruder.
"That was rude," she said, not sounding offended. "You wanna tell me what you're doing here?" She wasn't certain how well verbal stalling would work on a demon, but it would be nice if Daemun could get out of the vortex and finish off what he was doing and then come and deal with this guy himself. Although if worse came to worse she could always pluck the newcomer's eyes out (which doesn't do a whole lot of good when your opponent regenerates but still hurts like buggery which was the main thing) and go from there if necessary.
(ooc - new demon = dual control if you get any brilliant ideas ;)
-=o=-
Starzone looked past Derek to Byte. "What the hell kind of question is that?" She smiled and shook her head in exasperation, stepping in through the open door at the same time and giving Derek a friendly shove towards the kitchen to indicate that he should go and have some breakfast and drink his coffee. Streak stepped in after them, the door sliding shut after he walked in.
"Excellent," Byte pulled out four mugs and poured four coffees. "Have some coffee."
Streak sighed as Starzone bounced over and hopped up onto the kitchen counter and picked up one of the mugs, only slightly sloshing the contents, in what looked like one fluid movement.
"You gonna be okay with him going evil shadow demon in plain sight?" Starzone asked Byte idly.
Byte glanced at Derek as she poured out two bowls of cereal. "I'd like to know all of him," she said neutrally. Starzone nodded thoughtfully as she sipped the coffee, though there was a definitive twitch in her tail.
-=o=-
Geiser glanced around from where he was cooking up the squid tubes and smiled at Rav'una, dressed in the attire he had met her in. "Best sleep I've had in years. We can get you some clothes if you want," he offered, as he transferred the squid tubes to two plates and then proceeded to cook eggs in the oil left behind. "How many eggs do you want?" He wondered how long she would stay. That ship of hers had been completely totalled, there was nothing they could do to salvage it. At least the Lupe's ship could be fixed from spare parts, once they stopped in near another city to pick some up. So if she wanted to go home they were going to have to find alternative methods.
He didn't really want to think about that. But at the same time he had to know.
(OOC: Lol! True that. It's crazy and kind of concerning too to be honest.)
DreamScape:
It was an effort and like something out of an action movie suspense scene but Daemun managed to just barely make it out of the vortex, shooting out of it like a bat out of hell, wings spread out as he moved into a glide and landed back on a near by floating piece of land. He had to do something with this box. Maybe it just needed to be destroyed? All he knew was Phoenix had told him this is what he needed to find. But he wasn't too sure if she also was specific about destroying the box or what.
Shortly after landing however Daemun felt a sudden change in the vibes of this world and looked over to see Pheonix and some kind demon standing before her. This made him frown both puzzled and irritated at this intruder. What did it want? Or, for that matter,...was it even an intruder? It had to be. Daemun didn't recognize it and the vibes he was recieving was unnerving even for himself. He wasn't affraid. Far from it actually. Daemun was just curious and a little annoyed is all.
(XD! *Pluck!* "OW! Meh eyes!" *Regenerates eyes* "That bloody hurt!" "I'll do it again ya know! Unless yeh piss off!")
(OOC: Thanks though I'll...need to think of one when I have more time unless you come up with one by the time I check here again.)
Meanwhile...
Derek stumbled a moment as he was pushed toward the kitchen, blinking some as he quickly regained his balance and with a small smirk resisted the urge to shove back and took the hint. Making his way toward to the kitchen he soon sat himself down at the kitchen bench on a nice high-tech looking stool of sorts.
With a "Thanking you" and a smile to match he took his coffee and began to sip at it. Derek coughed a little as he choked on his coffee at what Starzone said, clearing his throat and trying to act as though nothing happened and it didn't effect him at all as he slowly placed the mug back down on the kitchen top. Unsure about what Byte would say or how she would react Derek was pleasantly surprised and even touched by her response, looking at her with a smile as though to say 'likewise' and 'thank you' all in a single expression.
Derek's expressions slowly began to fade into a more slight concern as he noticed the way Starzone reacted to such a response though he kept note of it secretly in his mind as he guided his mug to his lips and took another sip of his coffee.
"Awesome coffee by the way" Derek complimented with a small smile, raising his mug at Byte as he did so. It was a genuine compliment but also in part to help ease any tensions or discomforts he was suddenly feeling. Derek still had a feeling others were still so-so about his...gifts.
Meanwhile...
"Ah, very good" Rav'una smiled as she sat herself down at the table in the kitchen, not really expecting by default that Geiser should cook her breakfast but it was soon apparent he was cooking for two. At first she perked a brow curiously at Geiser in regards to getting her some clothes before then with a small laugh and a shake of her head she replied "I hardly think there is much at all which would suit me my love. My armor of which I currently am wearing seems to be rather more suited to my rank. But if you so wish then I will try some for you."
"Hmm, I think I will have two this morning" Rav'una answered in regards to how many eggs she wanted "I will need the energy for my excercising." Rav'una smiled.
She didn't want to leave even if she could. But wether she would have to was another story. In fact Geiser didn't know it yet but Rav'una was more than just an Assassin Warrioress back at her homeworld. In fact, much more than that. But Rav'una didn't want to leave. She was happy here and finally found a mate and one she loved dearly and more than anything. She would risk her life for him, give him the world if need be. To leave all this behind would break her heart and kill her spirit. She hoped she would not have to leave but if she did she would be sure to come back. It was not an option, it was a must do.
(ooc - it happens every few thousand years or so apparently, so nothing to worry about really, just gotta adapt the lifestyles, be more mindful and roll with it)
DreamScape
Arrested by her voice, or at the very least by the surprise that its domination had been so easily withstood, the cherubim paid more attention to the small subject in its path, turning its head slightly and viewing Phoenix with one large, saucer sized eye.
Phoenix couldn't suppress the shudder as it reaved her, feeling like an ice cold bucket of water had just been dumped directly on her brain. Her eyes flashed as she did actually contemplate tearing out the cherubim's eyes just for that. If she had teeth she might have snarled at it, as it was her beak clicked in annoyance and her crest stiffened right up, then flattened back along her skull.
"Oh, you're one of those," the cherubim commented then, in as normal a voice as a demon was going to have. It looked over her head, not really an issue seeing as she only just touched its waist if she had her crest up, and fixated on Daemun. Then it moved towards him, leaving a jetstream of black smoke.
It was blindingly fast. To those that could move in bullet time though, it was about normal, just everything else slowed right down.
The cherubim had barely gotten to her level when Phoenix's reaction kicked in and she flew at it, trailing sparkly jetstream, and slicing raggedly through abdomen and groin with her claws. She changed direction rapidly as she heard the demon hiss, tucking her wings right in as she managed to avoid swiping claws, only losing a few feathers in the process.
A hard object slammed into her back and pinned her to the ground before she registered that she'd had the wind knocked out of her. Her attempts to struggle were epic fails, she could barely breathe much less move under the crushing weight.
The cherubim lowered its head close to her.
What shall we do with you, little flea?
-=o=-
The twitch in Starzone's tail increased as she consumed her coffee, to the point where it was very lightly drumming about quadriple time on the counter. The noise was barely noticeable, it was softer than finger drumming, the movement was somewhat less subtle, confined as it was to the end of her tail. Upon reaching close to the end of the cup, Starzone sculled the rest, then leaned over to put it in the sink. As she did so, one of her antennae touched one of Byte's. There was a flash as things were transferred, Starzone put the mug in the sink and sat up, all traces of the antagonism that had been visible in her countenance before well and truly gone.
"When you guys are right," she said, looking amused.
"Yeah yeah," Byte pretended to grumble through a few more mouthfuls of cereal. "How'd sparring go?"
"Did all right with Epoch," Starzone smiled. "Rex is harder to sneak up on."
Byte finished her cereal, rinsed the bowl in the sink and then moved around the counter, slipping under Derek's arm and putting her arms around his waist. "You sure you gonna be okay to spar again after playing with Epoch AND Rex?" she inquired quizzically, arching an eyebrow.
"I am in a bloody good mood," answered Starzone with a broad grin. "And," she added, just about levitating off the counter and landing beside Streak, "I'm fucking WIRED!"
"Too much coffee, nuttin' but trouble," Streak said affectionately, catching Starzone around the waist and pulling her against him to give her a quick love nip on the ear.
-=o=-
"You'd look good in anything," Geiser said, earnest and sincere, as he cracked four eggs into the squid tube oil, lifting the pan briefly and moving it around very gently so the eggs floated in the oil and didn't stick to the bottom before replacing it on the fire to cook. "Hard, soft, over?" he inquired as he left them cooking for the moment. "And do you like coffee?" He hadn't thought to ask. Almost everyone in the Tir drank coffee, including the young'uns who according to all of "civilisation's" health laws shouldn't be.
He noticed the thoughtful expression on Rav'una's face and wondered what she was thinking about. He thought perhaps a more appropriate time to inquire would be after the breakfast was cooked and they were settled and eating. Then he should go and check on the Mercurite ship, and inspect the damage done to the Tir. At some point, Strike was going to call the engineers and engineer apprentices together to discuss the hows of repair work. Hopefully it would all be over with by late morning or early afternoon so he could spend some time with Rav'una and maybe get to know a bit more about her.
(OOC: Well gee, that's reassuring to know that those few thousand years are tapping at my windows and melting the streets away =P. Okay so it's not THAT bad but I do see what you mean. Not much else we can do really.)
Daemun, now looking like some kind of evolved version of a demon martian mouse combination that was both impressionable and something to admire, stood now with the black box in his hands, watching the Cherubim with an unsettling calm. Though in the back of his mind he was alert and cautious toward it, tightening the grip on the small black box, evidence that even the smallest of items could cause a heck of an impact and a lot of trouble if that was indeed the case, in his hands as he stood at a collected ease. But he was firm in his watch, the slit-like pupil in that eye of his thinning as he focussed on the Cherubim. It was coming his way now. For its sake it better not be approaching with ill intention. Daemun was not one to be easily intimidated or to back down without a fight. At all. For now he gave it the benefit of the down but did not throw caution to the wind.
He did nothing but stand and watch, even at the speed the Cherubim moved Daemun could, somehow, watch him as though he moved at a normal pace. Perhaps Daemun was just as fast? Who knew. It wasn't until it became a threat to Phoenix that Daemun leaped over in a single bound and landed close behind the Cherubim, black box in hand and up closer now Daemun was looking more like a devlishly form of something out of a Hellraiser movie. And just as cold. His clothes were woven together by chains linked upon rings at the center that trailer down to just past his chest, the rings hooked into his very flesh. His wings looked like they were carved out of black flesh, bones exposed as though the skin had been torn from them, his fur much paler and over all he looked quite the fearful figure. Holding the box in his hands like Pinhead and his famous puzzle box (and yes I am very inspired by Clive Barker as you can tell =P) he stared coldly at the Cherubim. His hands were pierced through at the knuckles by sharpened blades, his own fresh blood still smeared accross them. Whatever happened to him happened during the vortex dive and gradually during the journey to the black box. But the black box in itself too seemed to give him some kind of power...very dark, very deep and twisted...very "you shouldn't fuck with this" kind of thing. Of course the Cherubim may or may not be intimidated by this but it should at least take it all as a sign.
"You can start by leaving her be..." Daemun warned, his expressions hardly changed but firm, his tone far more creepy and almost unnatural. Ever ounce of his darkness seemed to be poured into every single word and it trailed like cold water down one's back.
"If you harm her, you will suffer. Count my words. What do you want Cherubim?...Do not make me ask you again..."
Oh there was something different about Daemun alright. Maybe he needed this but it sure was something to make even Pinhead himself, if he existed, cringe. Or cry a happy tear, one of those.
Meanwhile...
Silent as it was...Derek could still hear the tapping. In fact it was starting to drive him a little nuts but he did his best to ignore it. That's the trouble with having such sensitive hearing. Even the slightest noise can be louder than one expects. Eventually he managed to tune it out, sipping away at his coffee and reading an old magazine, ironically about bikes, and in his own little world. Until, that is, Starzone sat up and something told him his secret was out. Well at least what happened last night between Byte and he, even if it was a brief flash of it all or the whole event either way Starzone had to know about it by now.
"Note to self: Remember the antennae." Derek noted to himself quietly as he lowered his gaze back to the magazine, sitting up then as Byte came over to him and shutting the magazine with a smirk he wrapped his arm over her and pulled her in close. Nice and confidently too since he wanted everyone to know just how close he was to Byte. Heck, he didn't care anymore how many knew that. He wasn't ashamed and figured Byte wouldn't mind at all.
Derek couldn't help but chuckle at the effects of the coffee apparently coursing through Starzone's veins and looking at Byte with a smile and then over to the others Derek said with a small laugh to his words "Well then it might be an idea to get this show started before that coffee drains out of you. That and you can say I'm pretty fucking wired myself." Derek looked at Byte then with a smirk. "You still coming to watch babe?"
Oh yeah. Derek was back to confident self again. Doesn't take long it doesn't. Nay long at all.
Meanwhile...
Rav'una could only smirk thankfully at such a pleasant compliment and her expressions were enough of a grattitude. She didn't have to say anything to show she was touched by such a kind compliment. No one had ever made her feel the way Geiser did and he was the first to ever make her feel as complete as she felt. Of course there was still a lot of mystery between the two but that would be something to be revealed later.
"Soft" Rav'una replied before perking a brow curiously at the coffee inquiry. "Actually I do not believe I have tried this...coffee" She explained, almost hessitant to respond to that as she didn't know what to expect from such a thing. Though by now she had heard so much about it maybe it was time to see what all the fuss was about. It seemed everyone drank it and no one was dead from it yet.
Anything at this point to keep her mind off even thinking about returning home would be of great help. If and when Geiser was to go inspect the Murcurite ship and the Tir damage she would probably go with him to help if need be. Of course she still had her excercises to do and was in need of it really. She had missed a day and already was feeling anxious to get back into shape even though she was well and truly fit and well kept over all. But like any fitness aware type, and especially one as herself and her rank and all, it was something of a default to keep up with such things. Well more of a need than something just to kill time. Hopefully, like Geiser hoped, she would have some time to get to know him a little better also. In fact that would be awesome but for now Rav'una took things one step at a time, dealing with things as they emerged and all with a grain of salt so to speak.
(ooc - it's actually getting colder, not hotter. We're due for a mini ice age from memory, nothing too serious. Hot would be fine, Perth would end up in a lovely temperate/mediterranean/pseudo tropical climate rather than semi-arid/temperate. This is why they're suddenly whining about "climate change" rather than "global warming" :)
(more game realted ooc - Clive Barker
awesometastic)
DreamScape
Keeping its large, clawed hand over Phoenix, the cherubim turned to look at Daemun as the latter landed behind it.
"I was contemplating returning the favour," it commented, the newly healed wounds apparent on belly stretching downwards. It looked at the black box in Daemun's hand, then up over his head, as all three felt a sharp incision in the mind. "I suggest you do whatever you need to do with that fast," it scrutinised Daemun carefully for a second before smirking and appending "Prince," almost as an afterthought. It dropped its weight, deliberately squashing Phoenix a little more and making her wince before it lifted off in an angry flurry of air, powering using only the two larger sets of wings. The third set snapped out when it reached cruising height as it shot towards a couple more intruders.
Phoenix pushed herself up to her knees, gasping for breath.
"Bastard," she muttered. Looking up towards where the cherubim had gone, her eyes flicked. "More cherubim. Guess you were going to become Mr Popular if you suddenly jumped two ranks." She looked up at Daemun.
-=o=-
"Let's go." Starzone grinned and danced out of the bolthole, dragging Streak with her.
"Course I am," Byte answered in response to Derek's question, grabbing his hand and towing him along after Streak and Starzone. Speaking so the other two wouldn't hear, she added, "She's prolly been wantin' to play with you since we found out you could go evil shadow demon. Don't think she's fought too many shadow things."
The group headed towards one of the lifts, and Starzone took them down to a floor that was a level above the medlab but seemed to be lower than most other things at least in the immediately surrounding area.
The corridor they stepped into looked a bit more complete than most of the corridors from the rest of the Tir, there were no missing panels and no cables running along the roof held by metal brackets and cable ties, and it was also a more normal sized corridor, one that you would expect to find in a residential building rather than t he ridiculously massive "lots of traffic passes through here" corridors that made up the transits of the rest of the Tir.
The short walk spat them out into a locker room with a slight difference, there were no lockers. Just two long benches running parallel to each other down the middle, and six full body suits made out of some kind of silvery lightweight material, three hanging on each side of the wall. Each came complete with anime style wraparound visers, boots and what looked like arm bracers.
Streak watched appreciatively as Starzone began stripping down in preparation to suit up.
"Seen or used these things before?" Starzone inquired as she shrugged her vest off. Her tone suggested she wasn't sure if he had seeing as the whole evil shadow demon thing seemed to be a fairly recent development.
"Come on then, getcha kit off," Byte added playfully.
-=o=-
Geiser waited til the whites were fully cooked before expertly moving Rav'una's eggs one at a time onto her plate with the two squid tubes and slice of toast. He flipped his in the pan and let them go for a few more seconds before transferring them onto his plate. Turning off the cooktop, he brought the two plates over, placing Rav'una's in front of her before putting his at the empty seat.
"I'll grab the coffee," he said, heading back to the cooking area and pouring out the coffee into two mugs. "Do you like strong bitter things or do you prefer sweet?" he asked, wondering if he should put more milk and sugar in hers seeing as she hadn't had coffee before.
(OOC: So I figured cutting and pasting is evil as far as the forum is concerned. I used to be able to do it all the time but for some reason it's denying me this now. Nothing much we could do though so I'll just have to either re-write what I have written down or, better yet, retype my post out again. Actually the second option seems like a better idea since I can then fix up any mistakes and thrown in some fresh ideas. Grrr! Frustrating >..< . But on the other hand at least I can start fresh and refresh my memory on what you posted and correct any mistakes I may have written, etc. So it's kind of a win-lose situation really.
I'll try and make it as close to what was originally going to be posted as need be but again I think it's best I start a fresh post. Odd how it doesn't let me cut and paste though. o..O
In regards to the Clive Barker thing, absolutely! I got a lot of inspiration in my posts from him and his creations (eg: The alternative world Daemun is in and the platform path idea. I recommend watching his movie Nightbreed. It's awesome! =D
And now onto my post! XD)
IC:
DreamScape
Daemun watched the Cherubim almost emotionless, coldly staring at it with a warning stare and when the incision through his mind was felt he curled a lip against its effect in order to hold his stature, easing once more to his prior state as the effect settled to a stop. It was right on one thing. Whatever Daemun needed to do with this black box he now held in his hands he had to do it soon. But what caught his curiousity and puzzled him most was not the reason behind the attack, which irritated him to say the least, but what was added then as somewhat of an afterthought.
"Prince?..." Daemun questioned in a quieted tone as he watched with a perked brow as the Cherubim shot off toward other intruders and do what it must.
Daemun frowned as he became confused as to why such a label would be thrown his way before with a shake of his head he turned to Phoenix, stepping up to her in a calm and collected manner. His appearence was quite different, a more, shall we say, twisted theme to his already eery tone. Even his voice sounded particularly more "cold" or the type of tone that sends a chill down your spine. However Phoenix would react he couldn't really tell but at least he showed he still was capable of his own level of care when he questioned her condition.
"You're right but that isn't my concern right now. If they wish to attack, let them come. Are you hurt?"
Meanwhile...
Derek quickly finished off his coffee as he was suddenly dragged away from the kitchen, stretching his arm out and placing his mug down in a hurry on the bench before stumbling a slight as he turned to follow Byte. "Great!" Derek managed to say before his ears perked as Byte proceeded to note her view on what Starzone could want out of this.
Looking over to the others to be sure they weren't too close to hear what he had to say Derek then leaned in toward Byte as they followed the others, keeping his tone down and his concerns as subtle as possible, as he replied "I don't know if that's such a good idea...I mean, I've barely got any control over it and any control I do have is still fresh. It will be like trying to tame a Sand Squid with a sewing pin. It would just look at you and laugh."
Once in the locker-less locker room it didn't take long for Derek to gleam with geeky joy as he saw the body suits and he wasted no time in scurrying on over to one to check it out. It was a good thing too as it also acted a good destracted as Starzone stripped down to slip into her gear, Derek turning to look at her only enough to acknowledge her question before with a grin he enthusiastically continued to study the body suit as he gave his response.
"I've seen similar body suits back home, in particularly the arenas and military and there's a number of mercs that wear similar things too, but not this make in particular, no. I love it! So sleek, so elegantly designed and light weight too! I'd even say that-"
Derek cut himself short when he heard Byte encourage him to get his gear on, turning to her with a chuckle and then a smirk as playfully saluted her with a "Yes ma'am!" before slipping shameless into his new gear.
Once done Derek was looking like a true sci-fi anthro wolf. The body suit suited him perfectly apparently and he seemed pretty comfortable and happy with its fit as he moved about a moment and checked himself over before standing proud with his hands on his hips and a confident smirk.
"How do I look?"
Meanwhile...
Rav'una gratefully accepted the plate, not having expected breakfast to be cooked for her but needless to say apreciating it all the same, and she would wait now, being polite more than anything, until Geiser would sit himself at the table and start eating before she would start eating.
Since she had never had coffee before she didn't know what to expect but everyone was making such a fuss about it she figured she should probably give it a try. If Geiser seemed to recommend it then it must be good was one theory she was basing her decision off.
"It really all depends" Rav'una began with a small shrug, smiling then as she explained "However since I need the energy and it is my first time I will try the sweeter version of this...coffee. Perhaps later I could try the bitter mix."
(OOC: May be just my laptop or something but the other problem that suddenly emerged was that holding the shift get to capitalize certain letters would input the italics or bold html code then it suddenly stopped doing it. I don't know what's going on anymore...it hurts mah brainz. XD)
(ooc - copying and pasting from a text file shouldn't create any problems. Nor should copying from Word or its ilk really, but not like I've been looking too closely.)
DreamScape
"I'm fine." Phoenix sounded more irritated than anything else now that she'd gotten her breath back, and was giving a very good impression of not having noticed the other two cherubim with preening her rumpled wings. At Daemun's softly puzzled query she looked up at him.
"Demon, archdemon, principality...prince...?" she offered, looking for any sign of recognition of the somewhat convoluted hierarchy both the angels and the demons liked to use. "Whoever's watching you can feel you getting more powerful. And my guess is some think it's good and some would much rather be rid of you."
Far away but close enough to be clearly seen, the three cherubim were violently clashing, their snarls and the uncomfortable sound of rending flesh easily audible as they rained dark vitae on the landscape below.
-=o=-
Byte smiled appreciatively, fingering the zipper. "Think we're gonna haveta getcha one o' these," she murmured, looking like she was ready to jump him right then and there.
"He's mine til one of us wipes the floor with the other," Starzone interrupted playfully, pulling Derek's tail lightly. "These are Psion training suits. I got exactly no idea how they work, but basically they're kinda like a virtual reality suit, you use your psionics as per usual, the suit pretty much nulls it but if you score a hit you feel it. But it doesn't do any damage. Good for practising." She grinned and bounded through the other door.
"Streak an' I will be watchin' from the control room upstairs," Byte said, gesturing to some stairs that were leading upwards through a doorway in the wall next to the large opening Starzone had just shot through. She kissed him quickly on the nose and followed Streak towards the stairs.
-=o=-
Geiser made two standard coffees, adding a little extra milk for Rav'una to sweeten hers up that little bit more. He brought them over, setting hers down next to her plate and seating himself in his seat.
"Dig in," he invited, tucking into his own breakfast. "I'm not a great cook but I can make squid tubes and eggs," he smiled with his mouth closed, chewing mouthfuls of food. He went thoughtful for a little while before venturing: "You looked a little thoughtful earlier. Something on your mind?" Yeesh. He wasn't the most eloquent person in the universe but his heart was in the right place, at least where people he cared about were concerned. The people he tortured information out of would think otherwise.
(ooc - I hope my input filters aren't playing up, they're a pain in the arse to fix. This is why I try to keep them to a minimum! You don't have sticky keys or anything silly like that enabled on your laptop do you?)
(OOC: I know but for some reason it was causing me problems. It puzzled me because like you said it shouldn't be a problem at all. Thus why I wrote out my post again because unless I wrote it in the forum and posted it in the forum it wouldn't work. It does now though so that's a plus! I have no idea why it didn't before though...I dunno, could have been a hiccup on my end too though. Wouldn't surprise me really.)
DreamScape:
Daemun was still puzzled by the whole "Prince" label though Phoenix had a point. It could have to do with his power and thus in turn by default gave him some kind of demon based rank. But there was a side of him that nudged at the back of his mind and told him that there had to be more to this than that. To his knowledge no one calls anyone "Prince" for the sake of it in the world of demons. At least not in these parts. This was another mystery in need of solving it seemed.
Looking at Phoenix now after she listed off the possibilities Daemun gave a small shrug and a shake of his head before responding "Your guess is as good as mine. You're right on one thing though...and that's in regards to how some would feel about this. I still don't understand...why "Prince" of all lab-"
Daemun cut his sentence short as he turned to see the Cherubim clashing and it was eery how calmly he observed it all. He wasn't sure if he needed to stop this or focus on his mission at first but then the commanding side of him kicked into gear and he turned to the black box in his hands, holding it up and staring at it for a moment.
"So what the hell do I do with this?..." Daemun wondered with a small perk of his brow.
Meanwhile...
Needless to say Byte's approach to Derek's question certainly helped inflate his ego, evident in his proud smirk as he wrapped an arm around Byte's waist with a playful growl as he held her closer in his response.
"I think we should get two."
The moment was broken however when Starzone stepped in, Derek yelping at the tug at his tail before laughing and pointing at Starzone with a playful taunt and glare to match. "Only one whiping the floor with anyone will be me with you" Derek taunted before playfully sticking his tongue out with a chuckle. With Starzone now explaining what she did know about the suits Derek's curiousity and intrigue once more kicked in. "Sounds all great but what makes anyone here think I'm a Psion?" He later questioned with a small perk of his brow, pointing at the suit as he further added "Not to mention this thing might not be able to stop everything, right?"
Derek worried too much sometimes but he had a point. Would the suits be able to stop him from causing serious harm if he went all dark shadow demon on everyone? Only one way to find out it seemed since Starzone was already gone by the time Derek threw his concerns out.
Turning to Byte now as she made note of where she would be Derek smiled and leaned in to kiss her cheek only to be beaten to it as she kissed his nose, Derek making a quick snort mostly only of surprise like a dog would when its nose is bumped and with a chuckle and a wave Derek replied "Enjoy the show!" before scooting off to wherever he needed to be and go to.
This should be interesting...
Meanwhile...
The smell of the coffee was actually a rather pleasant one. It wasn't so new to Rav'una as she had grown familiar with the scent in her time at the Tir, in particularly ever time she visited the what she referred to as "The Feeding Area".
"I am sure you are better than you give yourself credit for" Rav'una complimented with a smile of her own before testing one of the Squid Tubes with a "Mm!" and expression that showed she certainly liked what she tasting. "This is very good!" Rav'una once again complimented with a mouth full of food before taking another bite. Once done with the two bites she decided to try the coffee.
At first she wasn't too sure about the flavour. It was hot so she could only sip at it but none the less in the end she seemed content with it. "I must admit I can see why everyone enjoys this...coffee" She smirked, taking another sip.
Her expressions slowly changed however when Geiser asked if there was something on her mind, slowly placing the mug back next to her plate on the table as she lowered her gaze a moment.
"Well..." Rav'una paused a moment to find the right words before then looking at Geiser with her emotions evident in her eyes despite her efforts to keep them hidden behind a firm mask as she explained "I do have some things on my mind but one in particular that stands out is the wonder when I will have to return home. I do not wish to..."
(OOC: Yeah I see what you mean. I don't think I do, no. I usually avoid activating those kind of things as they just get in the way more than help really.)
DreamScape
"Because," Phoenix said, "apparently you're now a Principality, not 'just' a demon. More people are going to notice you." She glanced over at the brawling cherubim like one might glance over upon hearing a balloon pop. She didn't take her eyes off them when Daemun pondered what he was supposed to do with the box.
"If you think you can deal with the memories, and what'll happen when you're whole again, open it." Her thoughts touched Darkmoon very briefly, and in the DreamScape she frowned slightly as her thinking about him caused her consciousness to flit across his very briefly, and something had changed. "Otherwise, keep it close."
-=o=-
The training dome was, in essence, a junkyard. There was scrapped machinery everywhere, stuff that was too damaged to be recycled or could serve no other useful purpose than something for people to play wargames in. Starzone looked over her shoulder as Derek walked in, her tail kinking to balance her out. "You're a Psion til we find out you're not," she said, the sentence probably cryptic but her tone fairly matter of fact and straightforward. "If it looks like you're gettin' outta hand Epoch will crash your suit long enough for me to get outta mine and deal with you. Whatsisface seemed like a nice guy so I can't see you gettin' outta hand though." She grinned.
Perhaps it could be construed as amusing that not only could she seem to not remember Sydonai's name, but she also referred to the "evil shadow demon" as a "nice guy".
"Wanna play tag or you jus' wanna spar?"
Up top, visible in a long observation window, the formidable looking Epoch could be seen overseeing the area. Not too long afterwards Streak and Byte appeared beside him.
-=o=-
Ah. The whole idea of going home. That had to crop up at some point. His heart jumped when she said she didn't want to go home, though. Maybe there was some hope. Maybe he could let himself get attached, without fretting too much about having to let go, again. Flailing for something less agonising to think about, he latched on to the fact that he was glad she liked the coffee.
"If you don't want to go..." he said, the care he took with his words evident in the unconscious projection in the form of very carefully dipping his sausage into his ehh yolk and making sure it was all covered before popping it into his mouth. Something occurred to him then and he looked up. "Why would you have to go?"
DreamScape:
"Great..." Daemun simply responded with a roll of his eyes. On one hand in felt good to know he held some kind of importance and was considered more than, as Phoenix noted, "Just a demon". But on the other hand there was that side of him that seemed to hold some level of uncertainticy in regards to how this would effect his every day life from now on. Well he couldn't exactly blame anyone else for the position he was in than himself really. Or if you're a believer of destiny one could put the blame on fate however Daemun was fairly uncertain in regards to destiny and fate and how that actually effected things.
Curious. That brief moment when Phoenix's consciousness crossed his, as brief as it was, it still gave him enough time to catch a fair glimpse of this Darkmoon fellow. Of course names remained a mystery and for now it was but an image in his memories. Tempting as it was Daemun thought it best to let the answer to this mystery come in due time.
Looking down at the box for a moment, then over to the battling Cherubim, Daemun took a moment to think about his options. Soon enough he made his next inquiry, looking at Phoenix with a firm yet calm expression and tone to his voice.
"What if I decide to open it?...What do I do then?...I'm going to assume if I leave it closed all of this would have been a waste of time, right?"
Meanwhile...
Derek would have began his entrance with a smart arse remark in regards to what they've done with the place but Starzone's response caught his attention quicker than he could do so, Derek turning his attention to her, ears perked and listening with a nod to what was noted.
"If you say so" Derek responded, knowing full well not to argue if he wasn't sure about the facts. Starzone seemed certain enough and if Starzone was certain enough it had to be a fact, right?
It was the mentioning of the suit crashing solution that maybe him make an unsure "Eeeeeeh..." with matching expressions as he noted then "Well nice as he is and as easy as that solution sounds...uh...what if that doesn't work? I mean you're right, I don't think anyone would be hurt that bad and all but...you know...better to be safe than so- Wait a minute..." Derek perked a brow in sudden realization at what was being said. So Byte was right then about Starzone wanting to challenge Derek's 'other half' so to speak? Derek raised a finger concernly as he hastely noted "Uh, you're not suggesting you want to challenge Sydonai, are you?"
"Well sparring sounds good and I could use the practice but-"
Meanwhile...
Rav'una didn't even want to think about it but she knew as well as Geiser did that it would have to come up sooner or later. It would be easy to say that she could just stay but there was a side to this she could not ignore. Something that nudged at her and she wondered if by now anyone was starting to look for her. Which was very likely indeed.
Remaining silent until Geiser replied and then asked her why she would have to go home she kept her gaze lowered a moment more before with a sigh she looked up to Geiser with a her concern evident in her gaze. Rav'una also seemed irritated by the fact she revealed but she did her best to remain subtle and calm about it. Probably to no avail.
"Because I am not just another civillian with the freedom to go where she pleases and have no one concern themselves about what they do with their lives..." Rav'una began, pausing another moment as she turned her gaze a slight before with a small frown she explained "I am royality. The only daughter of our leader, my father. I believe one of this world would call me a "Warrior Princess" though it seems like a rather clitche' title. I do not wish to lead...I would much rather remain here, with you and make this world my new home..."
DreamScape
"At least half the battle is getting it, usually," Phoenix replied. "I wouldn't call jumping two ranks and attracting that much attention a waste of time either." She nodded towards where the cherubim were still brawling. "Someone I know, when he finally managed to reach his, he still can't bring himself to open it. He keeps it at his centre. The problem with opening a black box, you need to be strong enough to deal with what comes out. The probem with not opening it, if someone can get into your head and work out where you've put it, they can use it against you. The former leaves you vulnerable for as long as it takes you to deal with it, the latter..." she paused as the cherubim that was fighting off the other two roared and plummetted out of the sky. The other two, torn and injured but still going, shot towards the tower where Daemun and Phoenix were. "...you're fucked til you can get away from whoever's using it against you."
The malevolent intent of the two cherubim could be felt as a dark heatwave preceding their all too rapid approach. Phoenix's hands flared almost blindingly white hot starfire, the flames arcing up her arms.
-=o=-
Starzone stopped when Derek mentioned challenging Sydonai. She looked at him curiously, her ears perking up, then dropping back to normal level. A thoughtful expression crossed her face as she struggled for a subconscious memory. "Thought you were the same person," she murmured, more to herself than to him. Shaking her head, a motion which seemd to continue invisibly down her spine and work out in the short flick she gave her long tail, she half shrugged. "Ehh. We'll see how we go. Bring it." She grinned and turned slightly side on to him, arms half curled, hands apparently relaxed, and seemed like she had a bit more weight on the back foot than the front one.
-=o=-
Streak glanced at Byte, who was staring hard through the glass at their two friends down on the floor.
"You right?" he inquired softly, the volume more for suitability to the situation than any attempt to keep the heavily cybered Epoch (who had hearing amplification) from overhearing. Byte blinked and looked up at Streak.
"Hm? Yeah, I'm fine." She turned her head back down to look at Derek, looking slightly pensive. Streak smiled slightly.
"The firs' time is always the freakiest," he commented.
A smile broke through Byte's pensive expression. "Considering I grew up with these dropkicks you'd think I'd be used to it." Byte playfully flicked Epoch with her tail. The older mouse's only indication of having felt it was to glance sideways at the teenagers and smirk. "Think it's just the whole shadow thing. I've never seen anything like it."
"Dey'll be right." Streak sounded jovial but he looked like he was trying to convince himself.
Epoch remained fairly neutral in expression, carefully observing what was going on below.
-=o=-
Geiser exhaled softly. "Great." He put down his fork and rested that elbow on the table, hand massaging his temple. She would have to leave. He couldn't get too attached. Not too much more attached than what he was already getting. His heart wouldn't take it. Better quit while he was ahead. And yet...
Stop thinking. Think about something else.
Always had to give himself contrary orders and confuse himself more. His thoughts jumped to the Tir. "Someone gonna come lookin' for ya?" he asked. "More the point, they gonna come lookin' with guns blazing?" If Rav'una's people were searching for their lost princess, ideally they would track her down and come talk. Misunderstandings being entirely too easy to occur, it was equally likely they would misconstrue her presence in the Tir and the Tir's honourable intentions of giving her a place to stay seeing as she didn't have anywhere else to go on the alien planet she was on and launch an attack. Being in dire need of high level repairs, the Tir had far too many weak points, and they currently didn't have enough materials to fully repair all the combat capable mechs, which left the combat bikes as the last line of external defence before they would have to fall back and try to defend from within.
Hopefully, if anyone came, they were of the friendly negotiable sort.
Either way, if there was a chance there were going to be people coming, he would have to tell Strike.
DreamScape:
Daemun listened very carefully to what was explained to him, the option of opening the box seeming like the smarter thing to do granted that he could deal with whatever lay inside ready to be unleashed. And at this point it could be anything. A replica of himself, a past enemy turned into some evil power, a god, a possessed pineapple...anything at all really. At least so Daemun gathered from what he was understanding from this all thus far. On occassion he looked over at the battling Cherubim, particularly when the injured pair shot toward said tower, before bringing his attention back to Phoenix and the situation at hand.
"I don't like the idea of anyone having any kind of advantage over me..." Daemun began, bringing the box up to eye level with one hand as he noted with a firm and ice-cold tone, something very different to his usual cold and firm tone, as he curled his lip at the black box.
"The time to face what this hides has come..."
Seeing the Cherubim quickly approaching Daemun lowered the box down his chest level, his left hand's palm out flat so that the tops of his fingers pointed to his right, his left hand laying accross the top with its palm out flat but the tops the fingers pointed to his right, Daemun slowly gripped the black box. He hessitated suddenly, closing his eyes and taking a moment to calm himself. Quickly Daemun, the Cherubim were close now. There was a reason he was turned the way he was emotionally and physically in this world. He needed it to face what this black box held. Or perhaps it was because he needed to be stronger in this world. One of the two would be about right. Perhaps even both.
Whatever it was this black box held inside he had absolutely no idea (OOC: Feel free to throw in some ideas or something if you'd like, XD!). Whatever it was had best be ready and he had best be ready for it. With a deep breath he then opened his eyes and tightened his grip on the top and bottom of the black box and with a grunt he pulled his hands to his sides, gripping the box tightly as he did and literrally tearing the thing in half. A loud boom and a ripple of energy burst from the black box along with a small flash of light once it was open...but what was to happen next?
Meanwhile...
"We are" Derek replied "But I guess when I'm in that mode I refer to myself under a different name" With a smirk Derek amusingly added "To save confusion more than anything I'd guess."
Derek's confidence began to shine through but more so on an excited level and eagerness to get the spar on a roll than out of letting himself become too proud and overconfident. That was something he tried not to do, even though it did happen from time to time. "You're on!" Derek replied, readying his stance and focussing now more seriously on the spar. He should have waited for Starzone to make the first strike. But he didn't. Instead he dashed forward in a surprisingly skillful dash and leaped at Starzone, bringing his fist up and then hurtling down toward her front fast like something out of some gladiator movie.
Meanwhile...
In her mind Rav'una was already coming up with a list of possible solutions to the situation. She didn't want to go back and was actually tired of the whole 'You're royality and therefore destined for this' deal she so commonly has heard throughout her life. It was partly why she became an Assassin Warrioress. Not only was it suitable for her but it helped her keep her mind of things and find a way to vent out her frustrations on those deserving of a punishment. Still according to her people that only made her more suitable as a leader for she had battle experience and tactics. That was always useful it seems. Especially with the higher ranks and such.
She could see that Geiser wasn't taking this very well and she couldn't blame him really. If it was her choice Rav'una would never have said anything and just stayed. But at the same time it needed to be noted and she had to be honest with him.
Rav'una remained silent up until the point when Geiser asked if they would be looking for her and if they would come armed and dangerous like. "Yes" Rav'una began with a few slow nods, looking at Geiser then with a small shake of her head before explaining "They will come in search for me however though they will no doubt come armed I do not believe they will come with the intention of attacking here. First of all they require permission from my father and while that can be easily aquired our people and this planet that is your home are classified as allies. Secondly we share a common enemy. Attacking your people and this world would be foolish of my people and homeworld for we would be creating an enemy much preferred to stay as allies and friends. You may not know this but this world and ours go back a long way."
"So..." Rav'una rubbed her chin in thought a moment before with a small wave of her finger she noted "There is still a chance I could convince them to let me stay. It is a small chance however one worth trying none the less."
(OOC: So if one were to attempt to contact the Tir where and who and how would they do so? Or should I just use my imagination? XD!)
DreamScape
(ooc - possessed pineapple! *dies laughing* possessed durian would be more dangerous :P Erm I donno, it's Daemun's black box :P If it helps Darkmoon's contains an event he doesn't want to remember and he knows opening it means reliving it hence he hasn't opened it)
There was going to be a bang. Phoenix leaped into the air, aiming for the cherubim but gaining altitude at the last minute and surrounding herself in a buffer of flame as best she could, appearing to be consumed by the fire. The enregy that burst forth from the black box snuffed the flame like a candle in a gale, but only knocked Phoenix forward slightly, whereas it upset the approaching cherubim a lot more, tumbling both head over heels twice before they regained orientation.
Phoenix rexcovered slightly before they did. Fire again flaring over her forearms, she flew into the faces of the slightly dazed cherubim.
-=o=-
Tir Tairngire Games Room
Starzone blinked as Derek dashed forward. Even as her brain grappled with whether to meet or retreat, her body dove forward, tucking into a tight ball, narrowly avoiding blocking his punch with her head. As he jumped she was rolling under his feet and kicked upwards, aiming to take his legs out while her tail flicked very lghtly at his nuts and not in so nearly a pleasant fashion as Byte's had done earlier.
-=o=-
Geiser's Quarters
(ooc- Tir is a bitch to contact. Basically near impossible unless one has had delings with the Tir and been given contact details or has a member of the tribe with them that can do the contacting for them. You may be lucky enough to spot the Tir by flying over but investigations are likely to be met with pseudohostile wariness considering the current heavy damage. Alternatively you could wait til they've stopped for repairs as groups will go into the nearby cities for supplies and to fnd contracts, and there's aso a couple of roaming charcters in a dead thread that can be hijacked)
An alien alliance they didn't know about. Not terribly surprising, the government was fairly selective about what kind of stuff it let the public know, and it was anyone's guess how accurate that information was. Though seeing as they were allies in common against the Catatonians it was curious as to why this allance hadn't been divulged, unless the Catatonians were that thick and hadn't worked it out yet. It was mind boggling to say the least.
However, he didn't really care about that right now, whether o not he hould have.
Geiser downed the rest of his coffee. A small part of him wished it was alcoholic but he'd gotten over working himself half to death and then trying to drown the other half in liquor. "Tell me this chance of yours," he said, only partially succeeding at trying not to sound too eager, "then we're gonna haveta go see the Commander."
(ooc - sorry, my hips and back are rooted so had to sit up, an very hard typing lying down hence short posts.)
(OOC: XD! That's Daemun ultimate fear. A possessed pineapple! Or better yet a possessed pineapple FUSED with a durian! As for what he could find...hmm, not to sure myself at this stage apart from re-living parts of his past he's kept more or less bottled up. I don't know, I'll just improvise, lol! And since for some reason I'm having problems cutting and pasting again I'll have to re-write my post again. I think I'll scrap what I have written re-write my post and start again anyway. I will have to do so tomorrow though.)
(OOC: And now for the RP =D. Gods I've missed this so much!)
Meanwhile as Phoenix was dealing with whatever had happened and was happening at the time Daemun opened the black box the world around him began to tear and peel away like something straight out of a Sci-Fi horror film, revealing beneath the twisted mask of the Otherworld a series of memories of the worst moments of his life zipping past him, fractured and in a form of highlight segments. For once in a very long time Daemun was feeling the emotions of what he hadn't felt in so many years, the fear and anger, anxiety, all the negative emotions came flowing back as he began to re-live each memory in a hurried blur and flashing scenes.
Daemun fell to his knees, holding his head and gripping his teeth together as he growled through the overwhelming rush of things like some kind of emotional extreme rollercoaster with enough loops, dips and turns to make even the most hardcore rollercoaster fans want to throw up and run away screaming. That's exactly what Daemun wanted to do. Run. Run from it all and never turn back.
But that's not what he had to do. No, this was the challenge. To confront his memories, challenge his emotions and shatter the chains that held him so tightly bonded to it all. Everything from parts of his childhood to the loss of his troops on that unfortunate day and the banishing all the way into the day he bonded with the demon that he now had become. It was all happening so fast though. The more he faught it the more it began to boil over and soon he felt his heart begin to pound against his chest, his body almost ready to explode from all the energy he was gathering and collecting before then with an atomic bomb-like boom of energy Daemun threw his arms down, fists clenched tight, still on his knees and roaring to the heavens as the aura around him burst into violent shadow-based, flame like energy.
This is what he had to do. Take control of himself and his emotions. But the real challenge was yet to come...controlling it all in his demon form. The very form of which fueled itself on anger and rage. But how to do you maintain power to something if you take away the very fuel source it requires? For that matter, did Daemun even have to? Or more importantly...could Daemun accomplish this and make it through in tact?
Meanwhile...
Derek was surprisingly agile and a lot more skilled than at first may had been assumed. But then again Starzone too was a skilled fighter and she proved that in how effectively she dodged his punch. Derek felt Starzone's foot colide with his right leg, knocking Derek into a forward dive which he quickly stabilized somehow as he pushed his hands out and forced himself into a forward-back flip. Along the way he quickly ducked his tail between his legs, growling at the sting of Starzone's own tail whipping against it before he slipped it out quickly as he flowed into a back flip, landing into a crouch and immediately pushing himself forward toward Starzone's back, his elbow out and aiming for the center.
Good thing he put his tail to good use! Otherwise he'd be in a world of pain right about now, even with the armor suit on.
Meanwhile...
In truth it had been such a while since Rav'una's people and the inhabitants of Mars had a real need to fight together or even have to contact one another that it was not surprising that many didn't even know about. Naturally Rav'una's people knew about it well and always reminded themselves of such an important alliance. In fact the alliance went as far as when the previous main enemy, before that Catatonians came along to the destroy what peace had been made, had attacked Mars though that was something that very few even knew about. At least on Mars it seemed.
And now here was Rav'una, speaking of an old alliance and concerned that she would have to return home. Though she hoped the alternatives of which she had in mind would work.
"The only thing of which occurs to me now is something of a risk with the current situation at the Tir" Rav'una explained, trying her best to remain as calm as possible, sipping at her coffee and placing the mug back down on the table as she looked at Geiser and further added with a small sigh "However since it has been so long since my people have contact your own I am concerned that it will be difficult for them to contact one another. My father would have to speak with your leader and discuss possible alternatives such as perhaps allowing me to do my duties from here. Or, if need be..." Rav'una stopped there, lowering her gaze as she thought deeply of what she was about to say and though a side of her felt a great deal of discomfort about it none the less it was an option. Finally after a suspenseful moment of silence it was broken as Rav'una once more looked at Geiser and added in an almost sorrowed yet willing tone "My position could be passed down to another family member, of which I have no more of apart from my father, or one worthy of the position...at the risk of possible exhile. A challenge could even be made but...I would be willing to take that risk."
DreamScape
Phoenix had exactly enough time to grab the heads of the cherubim and fireblast the crap out of their faces as best she could before they stopped reeling from the aftershock of the open box. Badly burnt and fuelled by rage fuelled by the pain she'd just inflicted on them, she felt the energy level of the cherubim spike as they both turned on her. She put up another flame buffer and squeezed her wings in against her sides as she flipped head down, making like a fiery bullet earthwards. White hot pain lanced through her side as claws raked her. Hot blood seemed to drift upward as she beat it downward, tattered flesh flapping like unholy flags from an injury which would have easily disembowelled her in MaterialScape, but was just agonisingly painful here. Well it could have been worse, if not for the buffer the blow would have probably sliced her in half and that would have dumped her, and then she wouldn't have been much good to anyone.
She needed to keep them preoccupied just while Daemun was in his vulnerable state. Hopefully he wouldn't take too long to pull himself together. She twisted in the air, pulling enough energy from the buffer to fire some goading shots at the cherubim. They would make shrt work of her if they caught her and currently were determined to catch her.
Temple of Sol - Mercury
He had that apparently glazed expression that most geeks have when they're engrossed in coding or computer games. It was also the same expression that technomancers have when interfacing. The glaze dropped immediately, replaced with the keen expression of a predator having heard a noise that may be prey, may be danger, as he felt lines prickling along his flank. His eyes glazed over again immediately as he easily made the switch from MaterialScape to Aether, tearing through the various veils, tracing.
He stopped a good way away as the trace he was following ended inside a Mindspace, currently in a massive state of upheaval. Hovering impatiently, he orbited it slowly, watching. Diving through turmoil was never healthy, he would wait til things settled if he could, but he was going in if he had to.
Tir Tairngire Games Room
Starzone was back up on her feet just in time to catch Derek as he leaped backwards into her. On the one hand leaping backwards like that was just asking for trouble. On the other hand Starzone had only just gotten back to her feet and regained her balance herself, and didn't have much in the way of time to be dodging again. Starzone was faster than almost everyone else on the grounds of being smaller and weaker than everyone else. This was highly evidenced when she put up one arm to deflect the elbow thrown at her, at the same time planting a palm heel into the base of Derek's skull with her other hand. She didn't want to hit him too hard, the blow could kill if applied with more force than she was going to be able to generate under the circumstances anyway, but still. She managed to take the sting and the winding out of the blow wth the deflection but the force knocked her back. She took the forced four steps and then took another two just to give herself more room.
A fireball flared in her left hand. Or a fireball would have flared in her hand if it hadn't been nulled by the null metal, the energy then being converted to a simultation flame that flared around the glove. She clenched her fist and doused it, grinning.
Geiser's Quarters
Geiser listened attentively. The options weren't sounding great for Rav'una. He reached across the table and touched her hand. "If you need to go back..." he understood these things well enough. He stood up and offered her his hand. "We better go see the commander," he said. He didn't want to talk about them. Not just yet. Not while it looked like she would have to go.
Command Post
They sat up one end of the conference table studying the holomap. Compared to the hey day of the existance of the three tribes, it was quite a pathetic turnout, back in the day the table would have been filled. There would also have been more of them back in the day, when each tribe was several thousand strong. Now there was only Tir Tairngire, made up of a handful of native Tairngirans and a bunch of refugees from the other tribes, plus the "outsiders" they'd adopted.
After some debate they had decided they were going to park near one of the canyons just outside the crack in the ground known as Vein Valley, and from there deploy riders to Brimstone for parts and supplies. The only problem was that there were supposed to be a tribe of rats somewhere in the area, they would have to be careful in setting up the guard. If the rats were still there, they didn't want them to think they were being invaded.
Raven had contacted Gryphon, the Mercurites were sending another twelve techies to join the three already in the Tir. They would eventually be followed up with another shipment of mercurite, and hopefully another depending on how fast the miners could pull more out. The riders they sent out were going to have to work extra hard as they not only needed to pull in extra supplies, they were also going to have to scout a hell of a lot of jobs, and probably some dangerously high paying ones.
Chase was going to take an advance scout to the Vein Valley area, which while slower they figured would be less visible and less threatening if they did get spotted than the Scout mech star.
They had plans, all they needed now was action. And hopefully no glitches.
(OOC: Nice and long post! Excellent =D!)
DreamScape
As agonising as Phoenix pain from the injury the Cherubim had inflicted upon her may be Daemun's head was absolutely killing him. His body began to ache, his muscles giving the occassional twitch every now and then as he fell forward onto his hands, now on all fours and breathing heavily as he clenched his teeth together and growled as he tried to pull himself together. Daemun clawed into the ground as memories and what looked like shadow ghouls swirled and zipped around him, the ghouls screeching almost as though taunting, or perhaps even encouraging him, as he held onto what strength remained. The battle became increasingly difficult until Daemun looked up to see a black and crimson red sphere just ahead of him. The more he stared into it the louder a high pitched noise was heard. So loud in fact in hurt his ears and he held them shut.
"Urrrghn!"
Suddenly Daemun collapsed, nothing but his heart beat heard and it seemed all was lost and that he had failed in his task. But then...he gradually arose, new found strength guiding him toward the sphere that defended itself with the loud high pitched noise. Only this time it didn't stop Daemun, even if his ears began to bleed, and reaching out once he approached the sphere he wrapped his hand around and with a single squeeze shattered it. The sphere exploded with the sound of breaking glass, the world around him suffering another ripple effect as it was torn back into its previous state, the world in which Phoenix was fighting the Cherubim, and as it did Daemun's skin was torn and shredded, revealing the demon beneath which formed as it does once the "mask" or "outer shell" if you will is removed, snout forming, tail thickening, feet becoming more digitgrade, and so on.
Daemun had successfully destroyed the core to this black box. But how would it really effect him? Would it be enough to succeed in the whole purpose as to why Phoenix took him here in the first place?
Well one good sign was that Daemun, now in his demon form, was not as out of control as would usually be the case. There was the rage and anger still there, yes. But it seemed all so much more...tame now. However that was not to say Daemun was weakened by this at all. Not by a long shot. And proof of this became all the more apparent as he calmly looked up toward one of the Cherubim swooping toward Phoenix in an attempt to grab and take her down. Daemun thrust his open palm forward, hooked chains tearing from his forearm and palm and latched themselves onto the Cherubim, Daemun in turn yanking the chains toward him and bringing the Cherubim straight into the same hand, the chains vanishing back to where they came as in one quick turn of his wrist Daemun held onto the Cherubim's throat, bringing it closer so to meet it eye to pure white eye.
"Enough!" Daemun hissed, his tone creepy enough to send a cold chill down even the bravest man's spine, his brows furrowed into a firm frown and his words cold as ice with a more darkened, formal touch. "Are you the one responsible for her injuries?...Speak truth Cherubim...lies will only lead to your suffering."
Oh yeah. Daemun certainly didn't loose his touch. Looks like however he had that level of control everyone was hoping for. Normally he would have just killed the Cherubim without question. Perhaps this was not all a waste of time after all. However...nothing as yet was official as far as Daemun was concerned.
Tir Tairngire Games Room
Derek was fairly quick and agile himself but Starzone had the advantage of being more skilled in the field. Her quick reflexes all the more apparent as though while Derek did manage to make the strike so did Starzone, Derek letting out a small yelp as he felt the base of Starzone's palm colide with the base of his skull which knocked him back a few steps himself. With a quick shake of his head Derek blinked some at the fireball Starzone had produced and simply smirked back as he run his hands through head fur confidently.
"So that's how it's gonna be, huh? In that case...time to bring out the big guns!"
Derek dashed at Starzone again, waiting until the last second to bring his leg up into a kick but right at the last minute he bent his knee, using his momentum to thrust his knee toward Starzone's stomach while bringing his right fist up and back down into a punch toward her temple. Not hard enough to cause a knock out but enough to cause a knock back if successful.
Geiser's Quarters
=
Rav'una wanted to tell Geiser she didn't want to go and would fight it if need be. But she just couldn't find the words nor was able to say anything as she looked at Geiser with a look of sympathy. She felt more sorry for him than anything and was even angered on the inside that she even had to say this at all. Instead she held his hand with a small squeeze, lowering her gaze a slight as she nodded in agreement in regards to seeing the commander.
"Yes...Yes I suppose we should..."
(ooc - wanted to have been, took me two days to get it done and not because it was long ;)
DreamScape
The Cherubim blinked as its position in time and space was rather forcefully changed. The voice of the owner of this Mindspace snapped it out of borderline frenzy and into more of a cold calculating mode. If it had existed inside an anime it might have responded, maybe something like "You'd best be worrying about yourself," or something to that effect. As it was, all it did was transform its arm into a blade and slice off Daemun's arm at just below elbow level, thus working itself free from his grasp.
It looked him up and down. Maybe demonic entities had a penchant for talking too much. "Are you worthy of your rank, Prince?" the Cherubim smirked, showing just the foremost of three or four rows of needle sharp teeth, casually tossing the severed limb back to Daemun.
-=o=-
Phoenix curled into a ball to avoid having her head removed by the Cherubim Daemun had snared, and promptly got slammed in the back by the other one. She figured she must have been batted pretty hard when she hit the ground with a resounding thump that shattered her ribcage, filling her mouth up with blood. She coughed a globule out, squeaking with pain as her bones started knitting themselves back together.
She felt the rapid approach of the Cherubim, and the presence of her brother seconds before his foreclaws struck dirt on either side of her head. She shook her head as she felt blood dripping on it. He was injured.
Gryphon glowered at the Cherubim, his head down level with his back, both the feathers and fur along the length of his spine ruffled up in annoyance, wings flared. He looked like he'd been through a gauntlet of monofilament whips, his entire form bore gashes with tatters of flesh hanging off. A sharp hiss escaped him before he lunged at the Cherubim. Sensing a somewhat more powerful opponent than the one he had been facing, the Cherubim took stock and held ground.
Phoenix dropped her head back on the ground as she heard them clash, and concentrated on trying to repair her broken form.
Tir Tairngire Games Room
Starzone moved slightly sideways, dodging the knee by not a lot as it brushed the material of her suit. By stupid dumb luck she managed to avoid getting hit in the head by the punch, which she hadn't seen but sensed as it was approaching, it clipped her ear and STUNG LIKE BUGGERY, enough to bring tears to her eyes as she grounded, it affected her judgement some and her leg collided with Derek's instead of sliding past and neatly slotting between his so she could knock him over. It made her lose her balance slightly as she threw her elbow at his torso as much to try to regain her balance as to try to hit him, as it didn't really feel like her hitting him accidentally in the leg had shifted him much.
Tir Tairngire
Geiser looked at Rav'una for a moment before he led the way out of his quarters and into the corridor. He kept his eyes on the ground a way ahead of them as they headed first for the Atrium.
In the Command Post, Strike reacted slightly as his headware comm alerted him to someone calling him. Glancing over and recognising that he was on a call, the captains lowered their voices and began discussing the current plan amongst themselves.
Strike looked down at the table. When necessary he could continue a conversation and pretend he wasn't on a call, it just required effort. And he didn't really need to hide the fact here. What is it, Engineer? he asked. They were quite safe within the many protective layers provided by the Tir, but habits, once formed, were difficult to get around.
Commander, Geiser answered, are you busy? I need to speak with you.
Just about finished up. What's this concerning?
Geiser hesitated. Old habits. The lady who joined us recently, he responded finally, telling Strike everything he needed to know and giving pretty much nothing away.
Come on up, Strike said. Looking up, he caught the attention of his captains. "We may have a situation," he said quietly. "Stay a while longer."
Murmurs of "yes sir" filled the air as the captains settled to wait, while Strike brought on more coffee.
The Tir trundled ponderously on, moving slowly in its crippled state. It was going to take them a day or so to get to Vein Valley in their current condition, should only have taken slightly less than a day. But it couldn't be helped. At least, to their knowledge, there wasn't much between their current location and their destination, so they should arrive without a hitch. Then, hopefully, if the tribe of rats was still in the area, they wouldn't think they were under attack or anything silly like that. The last thing they needed right now was to be defending themselves again.
(OOC: Lol, I take it you mean that due to the fact made ol' noggin cogs start to turn? =P I know it has for me, XD!)
DreamScape
Of course Daemun was expecting a reaction and not for an immediate submission. Normally, were in the Martial Plane and were Daemun not in his current state and form, he would have shown signs of agony and no doubt the slicing off of his arm would have boiled up a rage that would have quickly numbed the pain at least until the point were he would collapse due to the injury. However here things were different and this was, after all, his plane. "That was not very wise of you Cherubim..." Daemun coldly and yet almost emotionless, and a little calmly, began as he looked at where the Cherubim had sliced through his arm, catching his own severed limb only to have it melt away like boiling tar in his hands and to nothing while in the meantime a new arm regrew in place of the old, every bone, muscle, vein, nerve and so on growing back before everyone's very eyes. Of course a part of Daemun, deep, deep down inside was a little shocked by this but the greater part of him reacted to him as though it were just an every day expected thing. Testing his newly formed arm with an opening and closing of his hand and a swivel of his wrist or two Daemun lowered his arm calmly with a chuckle that would be the envy of Lucifer himself, a dark and wicked smirk upon his demon snout exposing a glimpse of a canine and the a part of the sharp teeth his own gums held strongly onto perhaps enough to intimidate even a Cherubim, perhaps, as he raised his gaze with his head lowered just a slight, pure white eyes seeming to read the Cherubim's very soul.
"Perhaps it is the answer to that remains uncertain however you are more than welcome to put me to the test..." Daemun then added with a much firmer tone "Why do you call me Prince? This is not the only time you have labelled me as such Cherubim and I demand answers..."
Daemun had to focus now. No time to be distracted by anything, even if there were those he had grown to care for fighting near by and with injuries that needed attention even in this plane. However one false move and all of his efforts would have gone in vain. The Cherubim seemed to be challenging him to add to it all and Daemun being Daemun was never one to put down a challenge. However even Daemun himself knew but only a glimpse of what he was capable of so both the Cherubim and even himself may end up being rather surprised at just what exactly Daemun could do.
Tir Tairngire Games Room
The collision of legs may not have budged Derek very far but even through the shin guards Derek could have sworn he heard something crack on his leg, a pain shooting through it as the ripple of the impact had in fact fractured his shin. With a yelp Derek then growled as he gripped his teeth together, the stomping down of his foot only making the pain worse and unfortunately was the reason as to why he was unable to move away in time as Starzone's elbow slammed into his side as he had attempted to move but too late in doing so, another of pain rippling through his chest as he was knocked to the floor and onto his side with a thud.
"Urrghnn!"
Derek clenched his teeth hard with a growl as he pushed aside all pains, getting himself up as quickly as possible and stepping forward and into another attack, this time side-stepping into a quick twirl and ending up at Starzone's side, at her blindspot if you will, and thrust his fist into an uppercut in attempt to slam it hard into the side of her ribs. What was unnoticed by him however was as he did so his arm had a certain shadow-like aura surrounding it...and his eyes began to glow that familiar blue...
Tir Tairngire
For Rav'una the trip to see the Commander was one of those moments were time itself seemed to taunt you, keeping you in suspense all the way and turning minutes into what felt like hours all the way there. Once there she stood at attention, as her people would traditionally greet one with a very tribal-like greeting and a gesture of recognizing authority, before easing into a more confident stance. Though it was obviously to mask what she was really concerned about however there was that small glimmer of hope she managed to hold onto.
For now she would remain silent until spoken to or if something needed to be said. But things would have to be carefully timed here and what she had to say, if anything at all, would have to be convincing enough to get approval. Honesty too went a far way. Of course Rav'una was quite well known for her level of honesty. Very much so indeed in the very short time she was here at the Tir.
Then of course there was the current matter of where the Tir was heading which may prove to be a slight problem in regards to what needed to be discussed. Though as far Rav'una knew her people had nothing against the rats either however how they would react to seeing any kind of strange ship landing on the planet near by would be a different story. Of course there was the alternative of meeting elsewhere if need be but this would all have to be discussed in due time.
Rav'una didn't like this at all. It made her uneasy and she hated the feeling of being so vulnerable in her eyes. Still, it was best to hold onto that glimmer of hope mentioned earlier than nothing at all.
(ooc - more coz I keep getting interrupted, as happens when you have kindy aged kid, a toddler and a newborn and you're homeschooling and working ;)
DreamScape
The Cherubim extended its other arm, the elbow down spiking up to match its partner, both forming wicked praying mantis like spiked blades. It matched Daemun for creepiness as it delivered a face splitting needle toothed grin. The pair of them poised for battle would have done wonderful things for Clive Barker. The Cerubim sprang for Daemun with an eardrum shattering, migraine-inducing shriek, blade arms arcing, one aimed for Daemun's head, the other looking like it meant to slice across his body.
Its wing talons were kinked over as well, poised to stab though not in so obvious a fashion as the incoming blades.
Tir Tairngire Games Room
Starzone would have danced but her leg got tangled up with Derek's when he fell, so all she could do was twist away and take his hit in the floating ribs rather than in the solar plexus.
The force of the blow made her yell in pain. Granted Derek was a lot stronger than her but that hurt a lot more than it should have, even if he did know how to do penetrating blows. It was her turn to hit the deck and she did so on one knee, turning the injured side away from Derek, clutching the afflicted ribs. Drawing a quick breath, she worked on calming her breathing as she turned to grin at Derek and congratulate him on the hit.
She paused uncertainly when she saw the trail of ethereal blue his fist had left, only just disappearing out of the air, and noticed that his eyes were a different shade of blue. Somehow in that period of uncertainty she also managed to get up ad take a couple of steps away, keeping her uninjured side towards him. Her eyes were red tinged in response to his changing shade, but when she grinned it remained the same, cheerful and slightly maniacal.
"Ow," she said good-naturedly, and went at him with whirlwinding arms, throwing in a straight solar plexus aimed kick in case the two sledgehammer like blows she threw missed, and to add injury to injury if they hit.
Command Post
Strike turned to face Geiser and Rav'una as they entered. Geiser moved a little ahead of Rav'una when she stopped and stood more or less to attention, and saluted Strike and the captains, right fist touching his chest over his heart. The officers returned the greeting, Rexanor and Chase twisting their seats around a little to see what was going on. The imposing Epoch was quite noticeably absent.
"What can we do for you Geiser?" Strike inquired, his tone somewhere between commanding officer and concerned friend.
Geiser glanced at Rav'una. "The warrior princess may have her people coming to look for her," he said at length. Strike arched an eyebrow, his flicking tail the only indication of surprise. The captains glanced at each other, shifting slightly. Old Rexanor the only one that didn't look surprised or phased at all, the others were all showing some form of "didn't see that one coming..." somewhere in their body language. "Hopefully in a non-violent fashion," he added hastily.
The captains looked unconvinced, but more or less prepared to allow benefit of doubt.
"Apparently, her people and ours have been friends for a while." Geiser looked over at Rav'una. Strike preferred first hand explanations where possible to stop things getting lost in translation.
Strike also looked at Rav'una. "What's the situation?" he asked her, authoritative but non-confrontational. This stuff was information that would have been useful to know, but he could understand why she hadn't divulged it previously. No harm done yet and hopefully they could prevent any ensuing from potential misunderstandings.
(OOC: This is a test post. Please disregard it. May be having cut and paste issues. Again.)
(OOC 2: Update. Yes I am...I will try and post again later.)
(OOC: Ah, perfectly understandable then =P.)
DreamScape:
Daemun stood there, eerily calm, as the Cherubim came swooping down at him and Daemun in turn waited patiently until the very last moment. It was then he tilted his head away from the incoming attack and in turn side stepped to the side of the arm-blade heading straight for his chest, Daemun then delivering a war God's sledgehammer like blow with his palm right into the 'wrist' end of the Cherubim's arm.
Of course Daemun could only dodge so much and despite his effort to avoid the wings he ducked down a little too late, feeling the hot burn of scraping along his back, the back end of his leathery trench coat-esque attire (think Hellraiser =D) now torn wherever the injuries had been injured.
Daemun clenched his teeth with a hiss, hopping back a foot or so away and bringing his palm and thrusting it forward, hooked chains tearing from his arm and heading straight toward the Cherubim's neck, face and middle. If successful Daemun's attack would then be followed by a yank of the chains in a downward fashion, forcing the Cherubim to come crashing into the ground face first with a bone crackling thud.
Tir Tairngire Games Room
The ethereal blue effect trail left behind from his blow that faded away like a misty flame to the breeze wasn't the only form of change that had suddenly occured apparently. Apart from already noticeable change in his eyes there a firey-blue aura that surrounded his arm, absorbing itself into it to reveal that his entire right arm had physically changed. It was now a lot more demon-like with the appearance of an almost dragon-like set of thick red scales covering almost his entire arm from the shoulder down in a very armor-like style, like that of a demonic knight, sections of where the armor was not covering the arm revealing the arm itself to have a royal/electric blue sort of glow, his hand obviously included apart from the top of it that was covered in that scale-like armor (For a better idea of what it looks like check out "Nero" from "Devil May Cry 4" on Google or something if you haven't played/are not familiar with it already =)).
His stance was ready yet eased with a confident sort of smirk as Starzone came at him with her next attack. "Time to play..." Derek grinned, his tone apparently different and almost ethereal-like in that infamous darkened sort of manner, and quickly he raised his right arm up, taking the impact of the punches with a bit of a knock back and with his left hand he reached down in an attempt to grab at Starzone's leg. If successful he would in turn have turned and tossed her into the nearest wall or structure. If successful.
Command Post
Rav'una stood straight and proud, despite her discomforts, and did her best to make a good impression upon the crowd and her especially her superiours, or who she considered as such, as Geiser and Strike had their greeting and chat. She silently listened and waited until addressed, looking a Geiser whenever he looked at her though she remained in her firm, warrioress mode and hardly made much of a reaction. Though on the inside there was a whirlwind of emotions that had she not taken a leash to control them would have clouded her better judgement in such a fragile situation. Well to her it was fragile. After all, she had no idea how they would react but if need be she would explain herself.
And that she did. Keeping her explination short yet as informative as possible, Rav'una stepped up and stopped before Strike with as much of a confidence stand of attention she could give.
"Sir, as explained my people and yours have been allies for many a century now. However it has been some time since we have required each other's aid and I will not lie to you. There is predicting the reactions of my people or your own however I must stress that it is important our leader, my father, contacts you in some way to discuss the situation. Unfortunately as there is no way for my people to currently contact the Tir, you may need to contact them. I am able to provide the information required and even the transmission coding in order to achieve this however what I am requesting is permission to go ahead with this plan."
DreamScape
The Cherubim knocked away the first volley of chains with one arm blade, then looked down with an expression well blended between confusion and amusement as the second set of chains embedded into its torso.
The first Cherubim that had invaded Daemun's MindSpace suddenly popped up behind the one Daemun had just snared, missing its lower jaw, two of its six wings completely shredded and the other four somewhat tattered, and missing a lot of flesh, skin and blood, its bloodied hands latching onto the main flight wings of the Chrubim Daemun had just chained. When Daemun went to pull the Cherubim over, he pulled it off balance but with enough force that it left its middle set of wings in the hands of the other Cherubim. Losing more balance with the unexpected limb detachment, the chained Cherubim hit the deck, sans bone crunching thud but down nonetheless.
The first Cheerubim hung back, dropping the torn limbs on the ground, wearing a smug expression. Then it started working on regenerating, starting with the missing jaw.
Tir Tairngire Games Room
Byte unthinkingly grabbed onto Streak as Derek metamorphosed before their eyes but behind Starzone's back, up to the point where she stood up to face him. Streak put a comforting arm around her. He was well on the way to being mesmerised by the supernaturalness himself before the bit of his brain conditioned to be desensitised finally kicked in and took over, disengaging his attention. He turned worriedly to Epoch, who was fixated on the game.
-=o=-
Her leg hurt. The air was moving past her way too fast. She wasn't touching anything. There was the wall at her back getting very close very fast. This went through her mind in a comparatively short space of time. The red in her eyes deepened, she flipped over in time to hit the wall feet first, momentum helping her crunch into a crouch on the wall, and then she pushed off, performing a tight flip and landing feet first very precariously on a folded over rebar jutting out of the pile of wreckage she had landed behind, out of Derek's sight and unable to see him herself.
She could feel the buzz of where he was, he could probably feel her equally well. She remained where she was a moment. Her ribs hd almost sustained hairline fractures, all she'd had to do was be slightly slower and the damage would have been worse. Her leg was just bruised. Evil shadow demon had a hell of a grip.
She scrambled through the piles, knowing the terrain rather well from the amount of time she had spent playing in here with Trajectory. She kept a tab on Derek's approximate position as far as she could seeing as she was only really able to locate anyone in relation to herself, how far, above, below, in front, behind, left, right, etc, and otherwise had no clue where in the environment they might be. He might start playing hide and go seek with her, otherwise she was going to pounce him and tickle him mercilessly.
Command Post
Strike listened, various scenarios playing out in his head depending on actions taken or not taken. Just like on the battlefield, it was all just best guess anyway given the information he had and the amount of unknown variables he had to work with. He picked out the one that was playing out best and rolled with it.
"Geiser, take her to see Xu," Strike said.
"Yes sir," Geiser responded with a salute and led the way out of the command room.
Once they were out he took her hand. "Really wish I knew what he was thinking sometimes," he commented, trying to ease the tension a little.
-=o=-
After Geiser and Rav'una had left, Strike turned to the present captains.
"Chase, take Starzi and Traj with you."
Chase looked at Strike in mild puzzlement before it clicked. Strike was going all out to avoid offensives against them. The Psions, with a bit of effort and boosting each other, would be able to sense presence of others from far enough away that if there were any rats around the Vein Valley area they at least would be aware of them and hopefully would not startle them or be startled and end up exchanging fire and accidentally killing someone which might lead to blood vengeances and other such messes. "Yes sir," she responded.
"Garnet, Flak, see what you can scrape together with the stars."
The two mech pilots acknowledged.
"Rex, when we stop, divert all power that would normally be used for the engines into the defensive grid."
Rexanor nodded.
"Go to it. Raven, we need to work out how we're going to land these ships..."
The captains saluted and took their leave as Raven and Strike got together and started scrutinising a map of the area.
(OOC: Ah, so we're not the only ones who have had blazing hot tempretures then =P. )
Ironically Daemun hated the emos. They reminded him too much of his own sorrows and that was something he tried not to carry around like some kind of fashion label. It was more of a battlescar. You're not proud of it neccessarily but it's there as proof of what you've been through. Still in some way or another he was very much a like to them in the sense that he walked around most of the time with a firm and dark sort of character. Perhaps that wouldn't change much even after all of this but he certainly was starting to change here. It was all that energy or whatever it was he was absorbing. At least for the most part.
Daemun knew that little piece of information about demons the emotion types all too well, thus part of his confidence was structured. In fact even for a demon he was something not to be recogned with.
Suddenly he caught a glimpse of something in the void. Perhaps Phoenix had spotted it too but didn't know what it was. "What is this?..." Daemun frowned, puzzled by what could be... "Is that...the box?"
Meanwhile...
(OOC: Lol! Agreed =P.)
Derek was smiling happily as he rolled over onto his back with a happy sort of murr when the buzzer and Byte's sudden reaction caused him to wake up very suddenly, his eyes widening and his ears perked straight as he lay still and slowly turned his gaze toward Byte, blinking some at her. Hey, he couldn't help but look. He's Derek, would you expect any less?
Sure he had the shit scared out of him to begin with but that pleasant touch to his groin made him smirk and without any shame he leaped off the bed with more energy than even he knew he had. Especially for this hour of the morning.
"So which one of us do they want?" He asked with a grin, moving bravely close to Byte with a smirk as he held her from behind in a gentle embrace, kissing the side of her neck before whispering in her ear "By the way, last night was faaaaaant-frikkin'-tastic. You sure know how to please a Lupe babe."
You ain't got a life 'til ya live it free!
(Thanks Nightbeat/Katana for Derek's picture! ^..^)