Fantasy Nightingale [closed]

[WaffleReaper]

Amelia searched a bit and quickly found a bench, that's one lucky thing that happened. She sat down and rested as she waited. Turns out she was so tired the time she waited on the bench felt like a single minute. She thought to herself "Well I guess that's what I get for thinking this place was at the park. But it made the wait easier so I guess its okay. I still need to think about how the psychic could be crazy. I mean Goose went mad, so what is keeping her sane? Ugh, I don't even know if she is crazy or not and I'm asking because of these mind games and madness inducing shocks. I need to get my head in the right train of thought again. I would've never asked this question to myself before. Now I'm in the brood and I'm nearing the path of insanity if i don't get the science on this shit pronto." When she finished this thought and the door opened, Amelia tried to sneak past the door and find out what to do next.

 

[StoneWolf18]

As Dysis slowly wakes, she desperately tries to cling to the remnants of the odd dream. As she blinks her eyes open, it was obvious that it had ended. Slowly sitting up, not bothering to remove herself from the tangled sheets, Dysis attempted to stretch before cringing slightly. The ache in he body must have set in because she felt quite sore. Looking around, the various fledgling doing various tasks as usual. Her gaze drifted to you extremely young ones and a bit of sorrow clouded her mind. 'They have no idea' she thought 'that they will most likely remain that same age, well physically, for quite some time...'


Shaking her head, Dysis got off the mattress. Exiting into the hall she headed for the kitchen, looking for something to eat.

 

[Yoruko Katsumi]

Kathryn searched the tent and found containers with weird smelling liquids and weird talismans. Unfortunately, she couldn't find any paper to work with. Kathryn let out a heavy sigh, not sure what to do. She hoped that the others weren't to worried about her since she is taking so long. Kathryn pondered how to get back downstairs when the cards once again caught her eye.


The deck was neatly tucked underneath one of Owl's wings as she slept soundly. Carefully, Kathryn slowly tried to maneuver the cards from their feathery prison. Owl stirs as Kathryn finished removing the cards. She held her breathe as one of the mystic's feathers twitch and the girl's eye opened. The mystic blinked a few times, but fell back into her unconscious state soon enough.


Kathryn remained motionless, monitoring the girl before letting out her breathe. She studied the neatly boxed deck. Pondering over her strange dreams. What was with that horde of birds? And how come I can use these things but none of the trained mystics can? It seems like I just keep getting more questions than answers. Kathryn frowned at the unfortunate realization. Just then, the flap to the tent opened behind her. Crap. She turned to see who had caught her and what possible danger she was in this time.


It was the Blonde mystic girl with strange beads and bones from last night. This encounter feels to be a mixed blessing, for she's a scattered character with little regard for the rules and while she seems fond of Kathryn in her own funny way, there's something almost possessive in her attentions. At the very least, she might be able to help find what Kathryn was looking for.


Kathryn smiled at the Blonde who still scared her slightly and tried to great her. " Um.. Hello again." Kathryn tried to find the right words with her slightly groggy mind. "Would you happen to know where some paper is and a writing utensil are located? I had a strange dream and i would like to get it down on paper before the memory gets distorted. It was..." Kathryn paused from her request remembering reaching for the girl that couldn't hear her. "The dream was about Resplendent." She managed to squeak out awkwardly.

 

[cranboggles]

((welcome back everyone! some short recap and then we're moving forward. *tv announcer voice*"when we last joined our heroes..."))


Day 4 (continued)


@WaffleReaper


A series of strange dreams and even stranger waking realities has culminated in the discovery that those of the upper echelons of the Brood are not human at all. You've seen some unbelievable things, not least of all the total transformation of a teenage girl into some feral creature with wings like a bird.


In the chaos of the recent Brood disappearances, you escape the Nest and strike out in search of a place you've only seen in dreams. You now know the first missing girl, Resplendent, may not be what she seems. As a most respected Brood herself, as well as a “mystic” with the potential for abilities you've only read about, she's liable to be powerful, even dangerous. But she also may be in danger herself, and she could be the answer to all the strangeness and mystery of the Brood.


After a long journey and enough walking to make one almost jealous of the Brood who travel by air, you arrive at a small boardwalk villa. It's offseason, but still active enough with ships coming and going from the port. The sun is low over the water, and your grumbling stomach gives a reminder that you've gone most of the day without eating.


Lit storefronts taunt you, reminding you that this outside world will not provide for you the way the Nest did. So many of the Brood had lived like this, begging or stealing their survival, but would they really allow themselves to be so... changed, even if it meant a guarantee of food and shelter? If it came down to it, would you?


An elderly baker, closing up shop and hauling out her stale goods to be disposed of, presents a possibility. An easy mark. You could so easily take advantage, if you play your cards right.


@StoneWolf18


You had set out to find answers and, well, you found them. It's been bittersweet, to say the least. You may have made an ally out of the local medic, if temporarily, and found Goose looking far better than she was last, although very changed. Now Goose has fled the Nest on new wings, but you get the feeling she'll be back in time. She seems genuinely happy to have traded in her humanity for a shiny new set of wings, but she's also bound to the Brood now. Wherever she goes, she'll have to hide who and what she is until she returns home again. Is that really freedom?


Regardless, she's tasked you with explaining her disappearance to the blissfully ignorant young fledglings. When they know it'll undoubtedly change how they see the Brood forever. All the promises, all the hope... Goose wouldn't tell you to do this if she thought it would scare away new recruits. She is- was a guide, it was her job to keep them here, to ensure they end up like her, changed forever and yet content in that change.


Was there some trick to it, winning over the girls' loyalties? Then again, from a more objective point of view it wasn't so hard to see how the promise of long life and perfect health on top of all else the Brood had to offer, had already offered to you upon your arrival, could be tempting. And wings. You've seen them for yourself now and yet the whole thing is like a fantasy. Magic. Could it really be as simple as all that?


You go the kitchen and dig up some food for yourself. No sense heading into anything on an empty stomach. The cupboards are barer than you remember them, but that's what happens when you've got a gaggle of mostly teenage kids sharing the same food supply. You notice that the walk-in fridge is missing its lock. The door hangs slightly ajar, as if it were opened and then hastily shut again without checking to see if it had clicked properly into place.


@Yoruko Katsumi


Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Through your journey you've begun to learn about the Brood; some things that you know the other fledglings will eventually come to understand, and some that perhaps you were never intended to find out at all. Lost in the uppermost floor of the Nest, a place where the power-players of the Brood's strange, secluded world come and go and live in a fairytale-like state. Grackle, once it seemed an ally to you, is now gone. Under her posturing, she seemed to understand little more than you, and no doubt took the first opportunity she got to get herself back onto more solid ground.


The ones known as the mystics, unlike certain others, aren't eager to harm you. You get the impression from their relaxed demeanor and the state of comfort which they live in that they do not fear their more wild kin. Maybe you're safe with them, or maybe not.


Currently you're faced with the potential for an odd alliance. The sharp-eyed blonde with bluebird-like wings has some interest in you. The mystics all admire your innate ability with Resplendent's cards (or else envy it; it's hard to say) but she particularly wonders at you and watches you with an almost protective edge.


She sweeps a wing around you, not quite touching. “Like a dream journal?” she beams. “I know just where you can find something like that.”


Corralling you under the canopy of one prone wing, she leads you through the labyrinth of tents and makeshift nests, some built into the building's foundation and some standing like the colorful wagons of a caravan at rest, weaving expertly around the many sleeping figures who curl up under shielding wing, their own or that of a partner, anywhere they can. Until...


“This is it,” she says all too gleefully. “You can get lots of paper here.”


That's an understatement. If every book in the library emptied its contents onto the floor, it might come close to the scene before you. Stacks of paper piled high, on and in the shelves and cabinets alike. Up against the brick wall on the far side of the room, below a large and only slightly cracked window which paints the space golden, there is what might have once been an old armchair, now all but indistinguishable from the looseleaf that covers it; the only piece of practical furniture in sight.


A step in and your foot catches against something half-buried: a typewriter. A genuine antique typewriter. Weird. Upon closer inspection, you see many of the stacked papers have already been typed on. Some are warm to the touch (hot off the presses, so to speak) and the fresher ink smudges under your hand. Other sheets are crumpled, scribbled upon, darkened with pen and pencil until their words are no longer very legible at all.


True to her word, much of the looseleaf paper on the floor is still blank. However the mystic seems to have forgotten the original task that brought you here. She digs through the mess and rescues several books at random, so old you can hear the crackle of their ancient spines in her clumsy hands. She snatches them up as if committing a heist, expecting an alarm to sound at any moment.


“Lots of stories here,” she muses aloud. “Didn't I say? Take what you need. I always do.”

 

[StoneWolf18]

As Dysis entered the kitchen, it was like looking for water in a desert. 'Hmf, figures...' She mutters while slamming yet another empty cabinet closed. Leaning on the counter, she closed her eyes, holding her head in her hand, seeing as Dhalion forgot to return her prosthetic. Then, all the events from the previous four days began to finally her like a Mack truck. Being brought to a secret guild, magic being real, fucking wings. It was all way too much for her to handle at one time, hell in one lifetime. "I have to be going insane..." Dysis quietly murmured to self. Goose was God knows where, flying on her fresh wings. But, despite being free, she was going to have to hide herself constantly. Not really much freedom in that.


Now, with goose gone, she has tasked her with the job of telling all the fledgling the reason of her disappearance. Bloody lovely. 'She wouldn't tell me to tell them if it would scare 'em now would it?' Dysis asked herself while running her hand through her ebony hued, greasy hair. Well she was a guide. That being said it was he job to keep them here, make sure they change like her, and they are content with being changed forever...despite the various drawbacks such as not ever physically aging again.


Was there a trick to winning over the girls' loyalties? Aside from the promise of a long (possibly endless) life, top of the chart health and wings. Dysis had seen them, yet the whole thing seemed way good to be true. Collecting girls off the streets to give them shelter, food, along with performing some sort of odd ritual to steal their humanity in return for additional limbs and feathers? No. There had to be a catch, but what might that catch be? Becoming a mindless servant of the mysterious leader and overtime loose the abilities of a sentient being and become one with their unknown master like worker bees and their queen. Or, perhaps something a bit more dark such as bloody sacrafices on an alter of bone to a false god seeing as they have no regard for human life. These thoughts made her stomach churn, forming a nauseous pit that rooted itself within her. Dysis swayed on her feet enough to make her slide down the counter she was leaning on. Now sitting on the floor, it's cool surface chilling her arse. These vile thoughts just kept forming new ones even morbid that the last. She stared off into space, not focusing on anything in particular. The only the that filled her mind at that exact moment was her wondering what she was to become.


After quite a while, having list track of time, Dysis slowly stood. She needed to lie down for a bit, collect herself. No longer hungry, she turns to leave when she pauses. Looked at the walk in fridge it appeared that the lock was missing and the large steel panel had been left ajar, as if closed in a hurry with no time to double check wether it was secure or not. Slowly walking over, Dysis reached out with her left hand, slowly tugging the door open.

 

[WaffleReaper]

Amelia made it past the entrance only to see mocking shops. She thought of taking the stale bread that they didn't need seeing as it's going to be thrown away. "Well, I've got quite a few skills for this. I can beg for it but that could end up in so many outcomes I think I'd rather not. I can take the bread they don't want with a distraction and my sneaky feet. No matter what I do though, the elderly baker will be happy to get rid of it. I know what to do. This is the routine me and rose usually did anyways. I was usually the distraction anyways, I can think of something."


She waited for the elderly to get to the dumpster then, she threw a rock at the water making such a big splash it was nearly impossible to ignore it. After the distraction was set and the man walked to the water with his back turned to Amelia, she got behind him, cut the bag of bread so that some bread would fall out and she got away with 6 slices of bread. she put 5 of it in her small ration pouch and ate a stale but filling bread piece. And thanks to her handy work, there was nothing but a confused old man.


She thought about how she managed it without the man discovering her. It was the first time she did it without her old friend Rose making the snatch. The two of them only took what was going to be thrown out so they were always just taking what wasn't wanted or needed by anyone anyways. It brought back memories of taking others trash with Rose to Amelia. She sat down and smiled with eye's closed thinking of the great time she had with her long gone friend.


She thought of what might be happening at the broad and her little trio. "Well, kestrel is going to be busy but Dysis, she probably found her way back to the main area by now. She's probably noticed I'm not there. If not, she's going to later, and both have the same outcomes. She looks for me, or she doesn't care." She snaps back into motion and begins searching for resplendent.


As she searches she thinks of what she'll do if she can't find Resplendent. "Well, I guess I'll ask around the area. If I can't get a directions or some sort of clue I guess that's it. Other than that, I'll go back and try to get help. Hopefully I can find the other two. Let's continue the search for now." She continues her search for Resplendent hoping her friends are safe.

 

[cranboggles]

@StoneWolf18


The fridge- more like a downplayed meatlocker really- is unlit, all the energy it consumes supposedly going to keeping it cold. However the light from the kitchen behind you is enough to get a decent look around. There are long cuts of meat in crates and suspended in place on hooks like a proper butchery. Many of the hooks are bare.


The freshly cleaned and surprisingly orderly state of the meatlocker contrasts with the rest of the Nest- the first floor at least. Even Dhalion's semi-sterilized personal infirmary didn't come across so clinical, nor did the graveyard of a garden come across so macabre. Such is the nature of any butchery though. The real oddity is why it's here.


It's not too bizarre for the Brood to have a hearty backup supply of rations. In the back of the space there is a stack of more nonperishable goods, such as would be practical for someone looking to store up for an impending winter (literal or metaphorical). But this amount of raw protein does come across a tad strange.


There's a soft humming noise- no, not quite humming. It's a churning, like the tumbling of an overfull dryer. It sounds like it's coming from the floor, or something beneath it. All you can see other than the food however is some blanket protecting a few other crates from freezerburn, and what appears to be a drain affixed to the tiled floor. It's loose, rattling in place, and partially clogged with something sticky. Best not think too hard about that part.


@WaffleReaper


The act of theft is a survival instinct, not exactly but natural but neither is it unfamiliar. You make off with your prize unseen, except for some kid in a bulky hoody spraypainting a wall, and they wouldn't be able snitch on you without revealing themself. You take a chance in asking the stranger for directions and luck out once again.


As you go, you absently regard a bit of graffiti under the messy tag the kid is painting now: a crisp white wing painted onto the brick. It's not uncommon to see that symbol painted on homes and businesses around the city, but it's rarer among the wealthier districts because of the number of police. Whoever's doing them must be getting ambitious.


Finally you come to boardwalk, the thin strip of docks and colorful shops designed to catch the eye of beach-faring tourists that parts the city from the sea. It's the right place for sure, but something's... off.


The boardwalk stretches on from beach to pier like an unmarked slate, but the amusement park at the end of the pier is all fenced off, abandoned. The clouds rolling in from the sea block the sun and paint the miles of white sand a dingy gray as the dark tide laps anxiously up onto the banks .


The sea-damp wood creaks underfoot, rough with grit and the occasional barnacle clinging to the beams and boards below. It's like looking at a photo negative of the place you saw in your dreams. You move instinctively to the spot you remember from those brighter visions, recalling the image of Resplendent and the others standing beside you, but it's all wrong. There's a feeling of absence. That's the only way to describe it. In your dream you could hear the music of the amusement park and the far off commotion of the shops and the seagulls on the beach. In your dream you were definitely not alone as you are now, but it doesn't look like anyone's been here in a long time.


The old ferris wheel, standing stagnant and neglected on the abandoned fairgrounds, creaks in the wind. You look out at the horizon line, but there's nothing but mist. Nothing you can see from here anyway. If you were higher up you might be able to see whatever it was those dream-visions of Brood were looking for.


There's a fluttering noise on the wind that sounds frighteningly familiar. Just the wind? Or wingbeats in the distance?

 

[StoneWolf18]

As Dysis opened the door, she saw that this makeshift meat locker was was unlit which implied that most of the energy being used was directed at cooling the food that lay or hang, rather within. Yet, despite this fact, the light from the kitchen behind her was enough to get a decent look around. Meat. All the meat. There was an abundance of giant cuts suspended on hooks, many of those bare.


The cleanliness of the gigantic fridge was stark in comparison to the rest of the nest, well the first floor anyway. Even her new friend's-if you would even call her that, infirmary didn't come across as clinical nor did the graveyard of a garden as macabre. Such is the nature of any butchery thought. 'Are brood carnivores?' Dysis silently asked herself as she entered the frozen room.


In the back, a giant stash of nonperishable goods caught her eye. Quite practical unlike this strange amount of raw protein. Then, her previous thoughts resurfaced in her mind once more. The vile cogitations now hung, ever present like a think fog on a gloomy day. Pausing, Dysis forced herself to calm once more.


Then, a not so soft humming noise. As if an overfull dryer was tumbling nearby. The sound seems to be coming to be coming from the floor, or beneath it. All she could see that isn't edible, is some blankets (I mean, if you really wanted to eat a blanket...) protecting a few other crates from freezer burn and what appears to be a drain affixed to the floor. It's quite loose, rattling and partially clogged with something sticky. Not really wanting to know what that might be but couldn't resist the pull of curiosity. She walked over and knelt by the drain, glancing at the door before bringing her focus back to the rattling duct.

 

[Yoruko Katsumi]

Kathryn was slightly taken aback by the mystic's eagerness to help her. Before she knew what was going on, her body had been enveloped by the girl's soft wing. "Like a dream journal?" The blonde beamed. "I know just where you can find something like that."


Before Kathryn could say another word, she was corralled through the tent and nest filled labyrinth. The make shift structures don't appear as menacing now with the light, but Kathryn knew better than to let everyone see her. She struggled to keep up with the blondes quick movements past the countless sleeping bodies.


Finally the two reached the blonde's destination. “This is it,” the strange blonde says all too gleefully. “You can get lots of paper here.”


That's the understatement of the year. Kathryn thought as she laid eyes on the mounds of paper. It was if someone had torn all the innards from the books in the library far below and scattered them everywhere. Even that wouldn't come close to this sight however. Stacks of paper piled high, on and in the shelves and cabinets alike. Up against the brick wall on the far side of the room, below a large and only slightly cracked window which paints the space golden, there is what might have once been an old armchair, now all but indistinguishable from the loose leaf sheets that covers it; the only piece of practical furniture in sight.


"Wow. Umm Thanks." Kathryn said stepping out from underneath the blonde's wing into the room. Her foot caught against something half-buried, a typewriter. A genuine antique typewriter. Weird. Upon closer inspection, Kathryn saw many of the stacked papers have already been typed on. Some are warm to the touch and the fresher ink smudges under her gloved hand. Oops.. I hope that wasn't important.. Other sheets are crumpled, scribbled upon, darkened with pen and pencil until their words are no longer very legible at all. But there was still mounds of blank paper, true to the mystic's word.


The blonde seemed to have forgotten the original task at hand. She dug deep into the sea of paper and rescues several books at random. They were so old Kathryn could hear their ancient spines crackle in her hands. The strange mystic acted as if she was committing a heist, expecting an alarm to sound at any moment. “Lots of stories here,” she muses aloud. “Didn't I say? Take what you need. I always do.”


"Thank you for helping me. I'm still not sure why you are, but thanks." Kathryn said wanting to stay on her good side. She got to work freeing the typewriter from it's paper prison and tried to make some sort of clearing so she could work. Kathryn's fingers flied from letter to letter, describing the strange dream in as much detail as possible. Thankfully, for the most part, it was seared into her mind. However, she began to forget a few details here and there. At this point, it felt like her fingers were in a race against her mind. Kathryn managed to fill two sheets of paper with the jest of her dream. She tried to find something to draw with. a pencil, pen, hell even a crayon. She needed to try and put the island onto something the best she could.

 

[WaffleReaper]

Amelia stood there just trying to think of what to do. She thought "I guess I need to decide if I'll follow the rabbit down the hole. I need to get on higher ground but I can't see with this fog. I guess I can't just walk around and hope to find something that will help. The noise is oddly familiar too... damn, at least with the shit that's happened I can say this is not the craziest thing that's happened to me. Down the rabbit hole I go.", she followed the noise hoping she made the right decision.


While following the noise, Amelia thought of how to help the others with an almost sad look "If I can't find resplendent, how will I help the others. Supposing their still in danger. Well, I can go in the air vents and find my way to them if it comes to it.". She then sighed and thought to herself "Why did I even come here? It seems like more and more things are happening so now I think that a simple dream is a message from a missing girl."


She had doubts about finding Resplendent, but she continued following the noise. "Everything's been so crazy I could just curl up into a ball and say I'm done. Hopefully I can find Resplendent and get myself out of this madhouse. I believe that finding her is in my best interest, but when I do... I need to be ready for anything. After all, a sweet girl like Goose turned into a monster, and lost almost all sense of me living when I tried to stop her. If Resplendent is like that, I need to keep my guard up." She followed the noise hoping to find something.

 

[cranboggles]

@StoneWolf18


You kneel. The tile hums with the rattling vibrations underneath. You pull up on the loose drain and feel something snag, like a string pulled taught. Another tug and one of the tiles comes up with it, attached to the bottom of the drain with a wire.


Under the tile there is a short, narrow shoot lined with notches like the step to a ladder, which opens up into the basement. You can hear the noise better now, the clunking and whirring of machines. The air that comes up from the depths is dry and cold, and there's an odd smell, not unlike the garden. Earth and rot.


If what's down there is anything like the garden, you ought to be careful proceeding. If you run into trouble or pass out down there, odds are no one will be coming to help you out. Or if they do, it might not be someone you want to encounter. Dark and unpredictable as it likely is, at the very least, you'll need a light and someone to spot you before you go barreling into underground danger.


The memory of the gardens also bring to mind something Dhalion said about them. Or rather, something she didn't say. When you asked about them, she dismissed the question all too quickly, saying it was bad luck to talk about death in the infirmary. Being a medic, it wouldn't do for her to be the squeamish type if she were only making reference to the meat hanging in the fridge. It was something she had expected you to know already, thinking at the time that you were already an initiated Brood, but if this were something known to everyone but the fledglings, why keep it so carefully hidden? What could they not want you to see?


@Yoruko Katsumi


You come across a few pencils and a thin ballpoint pen. The girl watches with interest as you set to work. She is still, watchful, like the Brood the night before peering from the rafters. They are a patient kind, it seems, but when the lingering ghosts of memory turn to words and images on the page, this one becomes animated once again.


“You're the next big thing, you know,” she says, as natural as if she were commenting on the weather. “Which means I'm on my way out.”


She takes a clean sheet of paper and one of the pencils and begins to draw: a simple figure, human shaped with wings from it's back just like her.


“Brood are something like there's never been: not human, but different than the ones who came before us, the ones from the stories. Humans saw them, and see us, and think we all live forever. Nothing lasts forever, because if it did there'd be no room to change and grow, and living would be the same as being dead.” She frowns as if her own words are new to her. “We live a very long time, but we do awful things to live that way, and we leave who we were behind with our names. Mystic girls come and go, and the older ones teach the new; sometimes they learn and sometimes they don't- can't. But the ones who can, we live more than any other, and burn up bright and fast.”


She shakes her head. “I'm not right with words. Haven't been since I tried to learn the deck with Resplendent, one of the oldest still with us. Three chances she had to pass her lessons on before it was time to go.


“I was first, but something went wrong and I never recovered. The second she was more careful; she gave the girl a test- a book that was owned by one who came even before her. But that girl was a common coward. Even now she only uses the book to get what she wants. After that she was afraid, but time was running out, so she gave it to you, and gave you the way to find her so you could learn.


“Still, she was worried about what would happen if the third also failed, so she only gave you a piece of the puzzle, and put the others in the heads of two other fledglings. The other two have their own paths, their own importances. I don't know it all yet. I might not ever.”


She looks up and smiles, but her eyes shine with dampness. When she speaks, her voice is clearer, more sure than you've ever heard from her in the short time she's held your acquaintanceship.


“Resplendent taught me to use her cards to learn the stories of all my Brood sisters, past and future. I love stories, I've always loved stories. She told me not to look too far, not to go too deep, not to try and see where my own path could lead. But I didn't listen, and now all I see is the road, and where it ends.”


She drags her wrist across her eyes and instantly falls back into that dreamy, gibbering state. She laughs, a single note coughed into the open air.


“My name's Jedda, by the way,” she says. It's not the name of a bird in any way, shape, or form. It's not a Brood-name, but a given name, a ghost of a girl who existed long, long ago. “And since I gotta keep you in one piece for Resplendent and the others, I'd suggest you hide. Now.”


@WaffleReaper


You follow the sound of wingbeats to the abandoned fairgrounds. The fence that surrounds it is high and wide, but the chain-link provides a good foothold for climbing and though it wobbles a bit, it holds firm under your weight.


The old amusement park is a grim parody of what it once was, long ago. The rides stand dingy and rusted and what few tents haven't been packed away or scavenged by some curious passerby are faded and full of holes, which is coincidentally the only thing that keeps them from being swept up by the mounting wind. A storm is coming for sure.


On the concrete beneath your feet, you find the huge chalky shape of a white wing painted onto the pavement. It's bigger than you've ever seen, simple in shape but no less impressive.


That moment's intrigue is what saves you from walking straight into trouble as a flock of winged Brood touch down in a circle not far away. You're out of their sight, but just barely. The fairgrounds are more open and therefor don't provide as many solid hiding places as the city itself.


There are eight Brood, give or take. They stand in a state of celebration, puffing out their wings and clapping each other on the shoulders in a show of camaraderie. Two of them, dark-winged girls who show their own excitement by knocking their foreheads together in a gentler headbutt, only because their arms are currently busy supporting the body of a full-grown man.


If he were standing, the man would no doubt dwarf the girls by inches if not feet of height. But here, tossed indelicately to the ground and lying limp and lifeless, he doesn't look nearly so big. The clearest indication you have that he's no longer living is that his hands and feet are not bound. No matter how strong these girls- these things- are, they wouldn't take that risk.


One of the others stoops down and squeezes at his forearms and calves. At first glance, one might think she were double-checking for a pulse, but the gesture is not nearly so caring.


“He's a big one,” she says.


“Are you complaining?” asks another.


“No, just sayin'. Might be hard getting him back home.”


The ones who carried him seem to take offense at that, taking it as a jab at their strength.


“It was clean at least. Better than the last.”


She shrugs, scrunches up her face.


“What's wrong with you? It's been a good hunt, and the night's not even here yet.”


“It's nothing,” she dismisses. “Just... are you sure no one will come looking for him? He's not our usual case.”


“We can't say for sure, but once it gets out what scum he was, who's gonna care?”


She looks up, meets her cohort's gaze. “And you're sure this is the guy?”


The other scoffs. “Do I ever make mistakes?” One of the other girls coughs and she amends, “Do we ever make mistakes? We staked him and his disgusting little friends out for days, now all that's left is the reaping. Their kill count is probably even higher than hours when you come down to it. I almost hate to do it so quick.”


Her worries assuaged, the girl, presumably the leader of the pack, stands and raises her fist to the sky with a steady smile. The others grin and mimic the motion with clasped hands, splayed wings, bumped fists, all over the body of a dead criminal.


“Hunters!” chants the leader.


“Hunters!” all emphatically reply.

 

[Yoruko Katsumi]

Thankfully Kathryn found a few pencils and a thin ballpoint pen within the paper sea. Ecstatic with her find, she began sketching out the island the best she could. She was by no means an artist, but she wasn't all that horrendous either. Her hand seemed to move on it's own at this point, making the island take shape before her eyes. The blonde girl watches with interest as Kathryn worked. She was still, watchful, like the Brood the night before peering from the rafters. They are a patient kind, it seems, but when the lingering ghosts of memory turn to words and images on the page, this one becomes animated once again.


“You're the next big thing, you know,” she says, as natural as if she were commenting on the weather. “Which means I'm on my way out.” Kathryn blinked at the words. She had no idea what to say at that. What is she talking about now? Next big thing? She watched the blonde pick up a clean sheet of paper and a pencil from the corner of her eye. Kathryn had finished her island drawing and turned to watch the blonde curiously. The mystic began drawing as well. It appeared to be a human figure with wings from it's back.


Kathryn had begun blowing on her dream notes, hoping it will dry faster and not smudge. The Blonde began talking once more.


“Brood are something like there's never been: not human, but different than the ones who came before us, the ones from the stories. Humans saw them, and see us, and think we all live forever. Nothing lasts forever, because if it did there'd be no room to change and grow, and living would be the same as being dead.” She frowns as if her own words are new to her. “We live a very long time, but we do awful things to live that way, and we leave who we were behind with our names. Mystic girls come and go, and the older ones teach the new; sometimes they learn and sometimes they don't- can't. But the ones who can, we live more than any other, and burn up bright and fast.”


She shook her head. “I'm not right with words. Haven't been since I tried to learn the deck with Resplendent, one of the oldest still with us. Three chances she had to pass her lessons on before it was time to go.


“I was first, but something went wrong and I never recovered. The second she was more careful; she gave the girl a test- a book that was owned by one who came even before her. But that girl was a common coward. Even now she only uses the book to get what she wants. After that she was afraid, but time was running out, so she gave it to you, and gave you the way to find her so you could learn.


“Still, she was worried about what would happen if the third also failed, so she only gave you a piece of the puzzle, and put the others in the heads of two other fledglings. The other two have their own paths, their own importances. I don't know it all yet. I might not ever.”


Kathryn's mind spun with this information. She wanted to ask questions but didn't dare interrupt her. Has this type of thing happened before? Why the hell did Resplendent just disappear if she was supposed to teach me and these other two? One piece of the puzzle, the cards maybe? Why me anyway? God damn it. Once again I have more questions than answers with these crazy place...


She looks up and smiles, but her eyes shine with dampness. When she speaks, her voice is clearer, more sure than Kathryn ever heard from her in the short time she's held her acquaintanceship.


“Resplendent taught me to use her cards to learn the stories of all my Brood sisters, past and future. I love stories, I've always loved stories. She told me not to look too far, not to go too deep, not to try and see where my own path could lead. But I didn't listen, and now all I see is the road, and where it ends.” I thought they said only Resplendent could use them? What went wrong? Kathryn listened intently, like a child that was being told there favorite story.


She drags her wrist across her eyes and instantly falls back into that dreamy, gibbering state. She laughs, a single note coughed into the open air. Kathryn was shocked by the sudden movement. Was.. She crying? What could she have seen?


“My name's Jedda, by the way,” she says. It's not the name of a bird in any way, shape, or form. It's not a Brood-name, but a given name, a ghost of a girl who existed long, long ago. “And since I gotta keep you in one piece for Resplendent and the others, I'd suggest you hide. Now.”


Kathryn blinked at her sudden command, not comprehending at first. But too soon, she understood the urgency of the situation. The sounds of beating wings floated towards her, growing in volume rapidly. Ssssshit. Can I not be in deep Shit for more than a day? Panicking Kathryn dove into the sea of papers. moving to the coroner next to the door way to provide a bit more cover. There was a large mound of paper and something solid. A crate perhaps? She pulled the heavy, paper covered object forward far enough to squeeze behind it. Kathryn knew it wasn't going to be enough to hide her. All she could do was pile papers on top of her and hope for the best. She gulped and held her breath as she waited for the moment of truth.

 

[WaffleReaper]

"Fffffffuck. I managed to get away once, my luck will run out at the sight of eight monsters!" Amelia panicked realizing the bird noises must have been brood. "This is not okay! This is NOT okay!". she quickly hid behind the nearest ride peeking her head out so she can see what the group was doing. She felt a chill as they all said "Hunters!". "Could they be those guys that hunt traitors?! That's especially bad right now! Not to mention they can block my flute! Everything is getting worse. Okay, I have the element of surprise on my side, I could use the song but if one of them is quick enough, I'm done for. I'll watch from a distance for now"


She felt completely terrified about the brood finding her. "What would they do to me? They'd probably kill me. Especially since I have that cell phone. Unless I can find resplendent, I'm screwed! Damn! Well, I can't take them in a fight or even stab them in the back through stealth, I'll have to follow them and see if resplendent is with these guys. I still don't know the full potential of these things but if I underestimate, or overestimate... I'm as good as dead! I just need to stay at a distance and make sure they don't get out of my sight."


She decided to follow the "hunters" until they left or she found a clue or resplendent herself. "Even If being caught by these guys means torture and death, I need to find resplendent or I can't get answers. This is my only option for the time being. Since these guys could have a connection with the disappearances, or even just happen to know where resplendent is".

 

[StoneWolf18]

As Dysis used her left hand to up the drain and something appeared or felt to snag, like a taught string. Tugging once more, the drain was free along with a tile from the floor, and attached to the bottom of the drain was a wire.


Leaning forward as to get a better look to see what had been under the tile. A short, narrow shoot lined with notches like a ladder, which opened to the basement. Tilting her head toward the opening, Dysis was sure she could hear the previously muffled noise much clearer now. The sound of clumsy machines whirrling and tumbling along with the vile scent that rode with the currents of air wanting to escape their imprisonment. The smell was of earth and rot, bringing memories of the garden she had seen to the forefront of her mind. 'Another garden...no...there isn't a source of sunlight...something worse? But what could be worse then using remains...human remains for a....' This then asked the question, if they cared about their own enough, Dysis was sure that the brood would give a proper burial. But...if she remembered her various lectures from biology correctly...there were what appeared to be human sized bones and not just animals as she first had assumed. 'Brood eat...oh god...' whether this surprised her or not, it still spooked her a bit. Dysis glanced at the meat hanging around her and leaned a bit back, not really wanting to know what type of flesh it was, though she most likely already knew.


Turing back to the now opened drain, Dysis realized that she would have to be careful. If not, she most likely wouldn't be found for quite some time. And she would probably need a light in order to see pretty much anything. Oh, and not to mention it would be quite hard climbing down a ladder with one hand. Frowning in distant, she set the cover back on the drain, curiosity gnawing at her like a dog would a tough bone. Dysis needed to know what was down there, what the brood was hiding. She wanted to put herself at ease, but to do that, she needed a few answers. And not any more questions.


Turning back, being careful to stay as far away from the mystery meat as possibly, Dysis exited the kitchen and headed for the stairwell. She needed her prosthetic back, not only for her new discovery, but for basic function as well.

 

[cranboggles]

@Yoruko Katsumi


You hide yourself from view, hastily taking refuge wedged behind the shelves and cabinets. But Jedda, she doesn't move a muscle. She stands still, backlit by pale sunlight from the window, waiting. Only waiting.


The sound of wingbeats kicks up, slows down, and then stops all together, and then someone enters the room.


She's tall, pale, and so thin that the bony joints of her elbows and knees are daggers under her skin and the drape of the sweeping garment- a poncho, or something like it you imagine- that hangs over her, easily swallows up her too skinny frame. From where you lay hidden, you can only see up to just below her shoulders as she passes in and out of your view.


She speaks liltingly, with the barest traces of an accent you can't place. At first her voice is too soft to pick apart the words. You can't see her face, but the hands on her hips reveal her anger. Jedda does not move, doesn't even shuffle a foot or twitch a wing. Then abruptly the imposing pale figure reaches out and grabs her by the shoulder-blades, trailing her fine hands down to where each wing meets the junction of muscle and bone.


She grips so tightly, it must be hurting her. Jedda stiffens, but doesn't make a sound. And then, even more startling than the act of violence, the woman uses her grip to pull Jedda in towards her chest, guiding her to the cradle of her neck like a mother comforting her child. You can just see the tight lines around her eyes, the maturity that feels so out of place in the Nest, where young girls run wild without fear of aging.


“Why did you come back here?” the woman asks, voice unwavering. “I told you what would happen if I caught you here.”


Jedda shrugs. The other sighs, calls for two other Brood who arrive so promptly they must have been waiting just outside the door. Even as they escort the mystic indelicately away, the older one's hands linger, as if reluctant to let her go. Jedda does not return the gesture nor make any effort to struggle free. She lets them take her, and soon she is gone.


Your back is to the wall, figuratively and literally. She has not noticed you yet, but it's only a matter of time. You feel the press of something cold against your back and turn to see the polished metal of the dumbwaiter shaft, like the one in the library.


You must be directly above the library, give or take a few floors. The primary purpose of this device seems to be delivering books to and from the upper and lowermost floors, for some reason. A lever beside it reads Up and Down, but the lever is already as far up as it can go. The dumbwaiter itself sits empty.


The tired-eyed woman paces the room with careful steps so as not to disturb the bodies of text. She walks, pauses, scribbles things into the margins of the papers, and restlessly cycles back around to start the pattern over again. You could make a break for it while her back is turned, but the risk is great. Something about this one gives a different impression than rest. For worse or for better, who can tell?


@WaffleReaper


Employing all your stealth, you quietly trail the flock of Brood. You watch as the leader, using nothing but the nails of her bare hands, makes a small incision along the arm of the stiffening corpse and presses her mouth to it. Apparently satisfied, she prods a little more at the body, lingering at the small fatty pouch of its stomach, and then signals her approval to the others.


The two who carried the victim take flight again with the body in tow, as do a few others, no doubt off in pursuit of more prey. The presumed leader, however, stays. She tells her remaining cohorts to secure the area. It's unlikely that anyone else would come creeping around these parts, but one can't be too careful these days.


Without the others to guard her, this leader doesn't look so tough, even less so when the storm finally hits and the sudden rain leaves her feathers limp and ruffled like a baby bird thrown from the nest. She curses under her breath while she takes cover under the canopy of the old carousel. You follow undetected.


From the other side of the carousel, you get a bit of a better look at this so-called hunter. She's short with the barest hint of muscle along her exposed arms which cross over her chest for warmth. Her wings are a light brown, darkened by the rain, with an interspersing of bright read primary feathers. As leader, she's more somber-faced than her fellow hunters, but otherwise seems to be all bark and no bite, compared to the others at least.


She's unarmed and unguarded. The others could be back any minute. This could be your only chance to make a move, whether it's to confront or escape this morbid scenario.


@StoneWolf18


You head for the stairwell, but your way is blocked as you enter into the lobby and into a crowd, much like the assemblage which had come together that first day when you were all granted your new Brood-names. The uproar now is even bigger than it was then.


One of the guides has returned, you gather from the gossip that travels through the mob; the one called Grackle. You can just see her through the crowd. She looks tired, but not pale and pained the way Goose had been before her transformation; rather she mostly looks relaxed, relieved, baring an almost drugged exhaustion that comes from an abrupt lack of adrenalin. Perhaps there's some good news at last.


“- doesn't hurt at all, honest. We've all been through it. Getting the wings does feel pretty weird, but it's not any worse than, oh, getting a tooth pulled,” you hear her say with enthusiasm. You strain to get a better look and- oh.


Standing to either side of Grackle, as she preaches and holds her book of poetry tight to her chest, are several full-blooded Brood, wings and all. There are five of them front and center besides the guide, none of which you recognize, though all hold themselves with a sort of proud seriousness, a self-importance that is older than they are.


Grackle addresses the fledglings, spinning a lovely tale of lasting life, freedom, power. She calls forward the others occasionally, using them as living examples, pointing out the fine sinuous muscle along the bones of their wings and requesting from them little shows of their various skills.


A gangly girl with many piercings named Vulture takes out a leather belt and bites it cleanly in half with almost no effort. An ash-winged girl named Hoyl meditates cross-legged on the floor and lets the fledglings take swings at her. She never so much as flinches and the blows leave no lasting marks.


So these are the true benefits of the transformation. The fledglings are understandably enticed, but this guide is only telling part of the story! Is this why Goose wanted you to be the one to explain her disappearance?


“So what's the catch?” an astute fledgling cries out from the crowd.


Grackle flinches but quickly settles herself. No doubt she's been expecting this question.


“Naturally you have to abide by the rules of the Brood,” she explains. “But that's nothing you didn't know coming in, right? Once you're blooded, you can start to explore the rest of the Nest and find your place in it. Some Brood girls help with repairs and basic chores, or you might look for more exciting with the hunters, the gatherers, even the scouts who will help find more fledglings like you guys. No matter what, you'll never be bored, trust me. This stuff isn't exactly your usual nine-to-five. There's tons of fun recreational things to do too. And it's not like you'll be short on time.”


This raises a nervous chuckle from the crowd. Immortality- or something like it- is a lofty promise, equal parts tantalizing and terrifying. Grackle goes on to explain all the different things there are to do to help out your dear fellow brood, all with a sort of nervous excitement, until someone asks,


“What do you do?”


“I'm a guide of course,” she laughs forcibly. “I don't have my wings yet, as you can see, so I do my part for now by helping the newbies adjust. And it's a good thing too, huh? With Goose getting her own wings so suddenly and Flycatcher... taking a break. We've been stretched a little thin I guess.”


“But what will you do when you get your wings?”


“Oh that probably won't happen for while,” she differs. “Any other questions? Not about me.”


There's a pause. Questions. These girls ought to have plenty of questions. But whether they voice them or not you can be certain Grackle won't be telling them the full truth.

 

[StoneWolf18]

As she enters the lobby, heading for the stairwell, Dysis' way is blocked by a large crowd. Similar to when they were all granted their brood-names but a bit more of an uproar.


As waves of various gossip wash over her like a tidal wave, it wa apparent that a guide by the name of Grackle has returned. Dysis strained her neck to spot her through the mob. She looked tired, exactly how she felt at the moment. Fatigued, gritty, and hungry.


"-doesn't hurt at all, honest. We've all been through it. Getting the wings does feel pretty weird, but it's not any worse then, oh, getting a tooth pulled," Dysis catches her say with enthusiasm. She frowns hearing this 'no more than a tooth...right...' She thinks as she gets a better look.


Standing beside the guide, there are several brood. Five of them to be exact, and none of them are familiar. Guess that's a good thing. The way they hold themself is in a way older then they are. A prideful seriousness that was a bit too exaggerated.


The guide tells wondrous tales of the new life they were about to enter. The winged-girls showing off various skills of strength and endurance. Yet only if the knew the price! These girls young and old in a trance of fascination, mystified by the fairy tale before them. Dysis, slowly shook her head, knowing all the lies being woven into these false promises.


Someone asked about a catch, and there were no truths told in return. These poor children had no idea what they were getting into, and it wasn't as amazing as it sounded.


As Grackle continued with her speech, it quite forced with words of plastic. Then, when she finally asked for anymore questions, Dysis finally began moving her way through the thick ranks of fledglings. And when she had made her way right in front of Grackle, Dysis asked in a low voice audible to only her. "I need to speak with you." It wasn't much of a questions as it was a statement. She needed to see Dhalion about her prosthetic, and possibly rant about how she was presenting the brood to these girls.

 

[WaffleReaper]

"If only this was a matter of heads and tails. Pick one and let luck tell you what to do. This is a matter of life and death. Escaping means guaranteed life, well... at least a little longer. But if I confront the fatigued brood, I can possibly get answers. If I play my cards right, I can get an upper hand on her. This is a gamble, but if I get my back covered in cloth or a blanket I can convince her I am one of them." Amelia thought it over and saw a part of the carousel canopy hanging nearby. Doing her best to keep her movements small and quite, she grabbed her knife and cut a large enough section to drape over herself. Well, I suppose it's now or never.


Amelia approached the girl, but kept at a distance with her trusty flute in hand. She said "Uh, hello. My name is Chickadee. I was looking for a friend here, and then I found you guys.", there was a hint of fear in her tone of voice. I'm going to blow it! Alright, I'll tell her I'm worried about her. If I question her, I should make sure I don't ask about what happens to the fledglings. She'll suspect me due to the fact she thinks I have wings already". She said "You see, I'm worried about her. I think she came here and I don't know where she is in this place.


Amelia gave a shy smile, hoping that she didn't make the wrong decision. "You see, I was supposed to meet her around here. She wanted to tell me something and now I can't find her. Do you think you could help me? Her name is Resplendent." Amelia's voice shook as she spoke. She was terrified by what the outcome might be. Her hand tightened around the flute like it was a safety blanket. Amelia's mind raced and alarms were going off in her head, telling her how stupid she was for not running.

 

[Yoruko Katsumi]

As Kathryn hide Jedda didn't move a muscle. The blonde just stood like a statue while the sound of beating wings drew louder. Someone entered the room. Kathryn held her breathe as she looked upon the figure from her spot. She was tall, pale and so thin you could see her bony joints of her elbows and knees are daggers under her skin and the drape of the sweeping garment- a poncho, or something like it- that hangs over her, easily swallows up her too skinny frame. Kathryn can only make out her shoulders as the girl passes where she lay hidden.


Kathryn couldn't make out her accent. At first, the girl's voice was to soft to hear anything. Even though Kathryn couldn't see the girl's face, she knew she was angry due to her body language. Jedda does not move, doesn't even shuffle a foot or twitch a wing. Then abruptly the imposing pale figure reaches out and grabs her by the shoulder-blades, trailing her fine hands down to where each wing meets the junction of muscle and bone.


She grips so tightly, it must be hurting her. What is she doing? Jedda stiffens, but doesn't make a sound. And then, even more startling than the act of violence, the woman uses her grip to pull Jedda in towards her chest, guiding her to the cradle of her neck like a mother comforting her child. Kathryn can just make out the tight lines around her eyes, the maturity that feels so out of place in the Nest, where young girls run wild without fear of aging. A shiver ran down her spine as concern for her strange ally grew.


“Why did you come back here?” the woman asks, voice unwavering. “I told you what would happen if I caught you here.”


Jedda shrugs. The other sighs, calls for two other Brood who arrive so promptly they must have been waiting just outside the door. Even as they escort the mystic indelicately away, the older one's hands linger, as if reluctant to let her go. Jedda does not return the gesture nor make any effort to struggle free. She lets them take her, and soon she is gone. What the hell is going on? Why are they doing this to her?


Kathryn's back is against the wall, literally. She can't go help her or the girl will notice her and probably do worse to her than they will Jedda. She hasn't noticed Kathryn yet, but it was only a matter of time. Pressing her back against the wall, or what should of been wall. Cold metal jabbed her back. A dumbwaiter, just like the one in the library. I must be a few floors above the library. Kathryn thought with a glimmer of hope. The primary purpose of this device seems to be delivering books to and from the upper and lowermost floors, for some reason. A lever beside it reads Up and Down, but the lever is already as far up as it can go. The dumbwaiter itself sits empty.


The tired-eyed woman paces the room with careful steps so as not to disturb the bodies of text. She walks, pauses, scribbles things into the margins of the papers, and restlessly cycles back around to start the pattern over again. Something about this one gives a different impression than rest. For worse or for better, who can tell? Kathryn decided to make a break for it. It was risky, but she had already overstayed her welcome by far. Clenching her notes, Kathryn slide inside the dumbwaiter as quietly as possible, and pulled the lever. She released her breath as she was plunged into darkness. The girl had no doubt heard the dumbwaiter clanging. Kathryn's heart pounded as the metal around her banged and squealed.


Light filtered into the dumbwaiter as it reached the library. Kathryn didn't wait for it to stop before throwing herself out onto the floor. Her hands shook as she got to her feet. I got to find the others. I have so much to tell them.


((Sorry it took me so long to post. Broke part of my hand. I have been in and out of the doctor's to get blood drained and nails pulled))

 

[cranboggles]

((sorry i've been gone for so long! i've been super busy with school not to mention the campus wifi stopped working for like a full day ; but i'm here now and hopefully will get back to a more normal schedule hereafter. also @Yoruko Katsumi im super sorry about your injury that sounds awful! i hope you have a good recovery and please dont stress about how much you post rn. take it easy and get well soon!))


@StoneWolf18


As you push through the crowd, Grackle catches your gaze, or perhaps just notices you coming at her, and twitches back instinctively. At first, she is a fight-or-flight reaction in motion, but something- recognition or resurfacing common sense- takes over and now she's less nervous and more perturbed by the interruption.


“In case you haven't noticed, fledgling,” she intones cooly. “I'm in the middle of something.”


She shrugs you off like one might bat at a mildly bothersome insect and tries to return her attention to the other fledglings. The other full-blooded Brood mostly regard you with a sort of distant amusement, not caring enough to intervene one way or another. You persist, and the guide goes on the defensive.


“If you wanna talk so bad, talk,” she bites out. If she had her feathers, no doubt they would have ruffled. There's something beneath the surface of her, something afraid and at the same time defiant, daring you to just try and make a scene. “Anything you can say to me, you can say to all of us, hm? After today there'll be no more secrets.”


@WaffleReaper


The hunter turns, a sharp flicker of a glance, alert but not violent- not yet. Keeping your distance, you get as far as Resplendent's name before the gap between you is abruptly closed, fast enough that if you'd looked away you might've missed it.


Your hand tightens around your flute, and her hands tighten around your shoulders. She jerks her head back, leering, making as if to ram against you, and then, at the last second she seems to reconsider. It all happens and subsequently ceases to happen within the span of a minute at most. You don't have so much as a second to react before she lurches forward and- whack! Instead of connecting her brow to yours, the hunter swivels and knocks the crown of her head against something- someone- behind you.


The other hunter recoils in shock and pain. The damage is superficial- whether the shorter girl has any real fight in her or not, anyone would do more damage with a punch or a kick than a headbutt. The attack was more for show than to really do any harm, and the other recovers quickly enough, her pride more wounded than her head.


“Jeez! What was that for, Redtail?” the studded brunette asks, rubbing her forehead.


The little leader uses her leverage to direct you out of her path, away from where you would've been sandwiched between the two brutish Brood.


“You were supposed to be securing the perimeter, not bullying baby birds.” There's a touch of wry humor in her voice.


The injured looks from her to you and back again, baffled. “I was securing it,” she whines.


“If you were doing your job instead of playing around on the rides again, she never would've slipped through in the first place.” Redtail looks at you and seems almost impressed. “That was pretty sneaky for a wingless Brood, but you gave yourself away. Not so smart.”


The other huffs. “Not that sneaky. I saw her coming. And no one sees me coming.”


It dawns on you that if you hadn't gotten the leader's attention, if Redtail hadn't seen her cohort creeping up behind you, then she would've captured you for sure. Said cohort is clearly put off to have been robbed of her chance to show off her hunting skills, denied by her own kin, but she makes no move to hurt or restrain you, not so long as Redtail is watching.


Reading the mood, the leader curls a wing loosely behind and around you, fixing her friend with a stern look.


“Chickadee, huh. That's what you said right?” she asks you. “Haven't seen you around before, and I know you're not a hunter, not even one of our wingless groupies, never mind a carrion. So why would you be looking for little old Resplendent?”


@Yoruko Katsumi


The steel cradle of the dumbwaiter shudders and creaks under your weight. It's a tight fit getting yourself into something that previously lifted nothing larger than stacks of books, and even a toe out of place could be disastrous once the thing starts moving. You pull the lever and pull back fast enough to prevent you losing any fingers, but not fast enough that you miss the low grinding sound as it clunks into its downward position. And neither does the one other.


For one terrible moment the lift stalls, straining with an awful sound, and catch a bare glimpse of the woman coming towards the sound- towards you- in alarm before the stuck gears and pulleys flash into motion and you are gone.


You have little time to process what you saw as you go down down down into the dark. You pass short bursts of light, small and often boarded over or blocked windows into the other floors and cracks in the inner walls. The contraption is picking up speed , unused to human cargo, and before you reach the bottom there is a distant snapping sound and the smell of something burning.


When you hit the bottom, it is not gentle, but neither is it enough to stop you from climbing out the open window of the shaft and getting to your feet. There's soreness and possibly some future bruising from where the tight sides of the contraption squeezed around you, and a predictable dizziness from the fast drop, but otherwise you are unharmed. You can't say the same for the dumbwaiter, which will probably be out of commission for some time if not permanently.


It is only after climbing out of the tight space that you see that you are not in the library at all. There's light, but only barely and the dim florescent lights overhead peter out further in. You know you went down, you know you felt yourself hit the bottom, but it now seems that the first floor is not as low as you could go.


The basement is bigger, yet without the openness of the rafters, proven by the way your steps echo as you enter into it. From where you stand it seems to have no end, but the wall at your back reassures that a room is just a room no matter how dark it may be. If there's a way in, there has to be a way out.

 

[StoneWolf18]

Dysis, just about fed up with the whole situation frowned and retorted "Then why are you lying to these girls, hm? No price, no cost for this so called amazing gift?" Now, holding up her right arm, she pulled down the cuff of her hoodie revealing the metallic stump where the claw had been attached. "Anyways, I need to go see Dhalion. She has my prosthetic." Dysis waited for a response. Though being sick of all the secrecy and bull shit that was going on, she was 90% sure she was about to get blown off by them acting like they had no idea who she was, 9% she and the medic were about to get their asses handed to them, and 1% sure that she was actually going to be able to get her claw back.


Thinking about it a bit more, an answer seeming like an eternity and then some away, what would happen to her if they got suspicious. Dysis recalls Dhalion rushing her out of the makeshift infirmary due to Goose arriving. Did she just screw up royally? Most likely.

 

[WaffleReaper]

Amelia stood there for a second thinking "Well I could've just been captured... And I think I just royally screwed myself. Okay, all I have to do is tell them about what happened. I may not trust the brood but, right now I don't have much of a choice." She sat down and slowly let go of her flute as she said "Well, here's the short version of the story. I saw a lot of crazy things after my friend Kestrel mysteriously went somewhere in the building I couldn't go. Soon after the guide Goose came into the room I was sleeping in and wanted me to follow her to the freezer.".


She sat down thinking she was in slightly less danger, and continued with the story. "I followed her and peeked under the blanket she used to hide her new wings. I realized that the brood had wings and I decided to stop Goose. I was unsuccessful and then some people showed up. I put the blanket back on Goose and I ran to the beds. I received what I think to be a message from resplendent and I started a search for her so I could get answers and I ended up here."


She then said with a sigh of relief "Well, that's the story." she thought "I hope they believe it. I feel like I'm going to be killed by these guys. Not to mention since these guys are hunters, this might be where Kestrel will end up. Everything's gone bad, I'm so screwed. Everything that happens now depends on how these hunters see my story." Amelia sat and decided to wait for response.

 

[cranboggles]

@StoneWolf18


Grackle is incensed. One of the fledglings coos happily at the prospect of drama, and the hype catches on quick.


Luckily one of the winged Brood intervenes. The pierced one grabs Grackle by the shoulder.


“'Ey, what the hell, sister? You heard her, girl's just trying to get her arm.”


The guide locks up under her touch. “I'm not a liar,” she grits out. It comes out weaker than she probably intends.


One of the other Brood girls rolls her eyes, so at least they're not all in total solidarity with Grackle's bull.


“Fledgling,” piercings says to you. “I'll bring you up to see the medic. I'm sure your friends'll catch you up on anything you miss.”


Grackle shoots you a look like she wants to say something else, probably just wants to get the last word in. She rolls her shoulders, clenches her fists, but says nothing. She'll have a hard enough time doing damage control as it is now that you've called her out in front of the fledglings. Better for her to hold her tongue. If you pushed her she'd definitely crack, but then again you've already got what you wanted.


@WaffleReaper


Redtail looks dubious. “Okay, slow down, kid. That's a crazy story and all, but the truth is,” she leans in with a whisper, and then... “I don't really care!”


She laughs. The other hunter snickers too until she smacks her with her wing.


“You don't get a pass,” she says to her. “You were supposed to secure the area. If this little songbird had been a real threat it would be your fault.”


She looks at you. “You get points for actually managing to catch me off guard.” And at the hunter girl. “And this is your first strike, so here's the deal. I've got work to do tonight, so you two get to settle this among yourselves, hunter style. Chickadee, if you win, I'll help you on your little quest. And,” she says to her hunter. “If you win, I'll let your misstep slide and give you the glory of taking the loser back to the boss.”


The hunter, already certain of her victory, looks equal parts thrilled and unnerved by the prospect. “Really? Back to Nightingale?”


The rain is coming down hard. Redtail flaps her wings and lifts off, heedless of the weather. She has other plans, and no referee is really needed for a last-Brood-standing battle. She smiles as she goes.


“Yep, back to Nightingale.”


((sorry about how short this one is. hopefully that one namedrop will at least partially make up for it))

 

[StoneWolf18]

Dysis had to bit her tongue hard to keep from laughing but it didn't hide the amusement in her pale eyes. It was amazing to see how Grackle reacted to being confronted, she most likely never had a fledgling approach her like that anyway. The pierced one tells her that she will take her to go see the medic and how the others will fill her in on anything she missed. 'Oh I think I already know much more then indented' she thought before following the brood. The guide looks like she wanted to get the last word in, a sly retort but nothing except a glare. The damage was already done, and honestly, she could have done much, much worse. Like her suspicions of them eating a bit more then just your average cut of beef.


Following the one with the piercings, Dysis began wondering what Dahlion would say, or if she even kept her prosthetic. That thought lingered in her mind a bit to long and soon enough, worry began to claw at her stomach one more.

 

[Yoruko Katsumi]

Kathryn blinked, trying to adjust her eyes. She gasped at the realization of where she was, or rather where she wasn't. Damn. Where am I this time! Her relief was far to short lived for anyone's comfort. Kathryn's brain tried to make sense of it all. She knew she went down and she knew she hit the bottom. I should be in the library damnit! The bony woman flashed before her eyes once more.


Sighing, Kathryn slumped to her knees. Great. I guess I found the basement. Lucky me. Her mind fluttered back to Jedda. What could they be doing to her? And why was she being so ominous? God could something make sense just once! Kathryn felt angry, but wasn't sure why. She shook her head to disperse her thoughts. I gotta get outta here. I need to find Chickadee and Nightjar.





Finding the energy to continue, Kathryn quickly made sure she still had her papers and stood up. Time to get a move on... The room was eerily dark, and seems to go on forever. Bracing herself, she began searching for a way out, be it door, tunnel, or hole. She moved lightly, watching carefully with hand at the ready to grab her knife. Kathryn has had enough surprises for one day and felt sorry for the next one to come along.

 

[WaffleReaper]

Amelia sighed as she thought "Why couldn't this be simple? Well I guess I have to duel this freak, one on one.". She got up and said "Well I guess I should've expected this. I mean, why should you care? Not to mention I gave a bit of an annoying speech.". She shook her head and continued with "It's funny how I thought this would be easy.". She thought to herself with a worried expression "I'm going to have to fight her, and I'm not sure luck is on my side. Aside from the fact the brood are monsters, and I have a very little chance of winning, I just might be able to win if I play my cards right."


She calmed down and thought "That's right. If I can get those wings out of commission, I can use my flute. Hopefully I have the power to make her sleep or even throw the match. If I can't do that I lose, but it's all I've got at the moment. Okay, so I have a strategy(a flawed one), but this place is insane so anything could happen. I can't let my guard down if this ends up being a magic card game.".


She grabbed her knife and said slightly annoyed "I lose and my silly quest is over, so I either win, or get extremely screwed. What do I have to do?". She thought about the others "I hope the others aren't about to fight these guys. With enough luck they didn't get so much as chased by the brood. Aside from that, this situation is especially bad since I might not even get the chance to see those guys if I lose. Well, I guess all I can do until this starts is wait for the rules."


(Sorry about the late post. ( ))