Fantasy ━━ 𝐍𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄 || ic

[Cosmos]

"Well, Well... Fancy seeing you here again... little wulf." The form of a somewhat well-built man loomed over the girl, arms shackled behind her tightly in the dark confines of a separate holding cell, one clearly intended for those- less than human, placed on a separate side of the main arena.

The man let out a slight scoff as he took a step forward, fiddling with a small and sharp dagger with the distinct shine of silver. "And to imagine! You, grouped together with that lot of veil filth? I knew you were a disgusting creature, but who knew you'd betray your own kind like that, Aeryna".

Aeryn's previously lightly trembling glance towards the floor in front of her tensed as she flicked her head up, the man just as quickly moving the dagger to lightly scratch her cheek, briefly wincing but not a flinch present as she let out in a strained whisper, "Take... my name... out of your fukin' mouth." The words trickled out dripping with venom that would impress a viper. The man however all but placed the dagger back in his belt and gave a mocking shrug. "That's the thing with you dogs. All bark, no bite." He flashed her a grin as he turned and walked away, "Well- till we say anyhow. Best of luck pup~... you're gonna need it against that one." The clatter of the metal gate slamming behind him throbbing in her already sore ears from the shouting of the crowd, a human alone would find the place loud. But a beast like her? It was near deafening.

The distinct clink of a lever being pulled triggered the release of her shackles from outside the holding cell, now time for her own metal gate to slowly rise up. Staggering to her feet briefly Aeryn took the chance to rub at her face as she moved slowly forward, loitering in the cell would only cause more issues. She hadn't eaten properly in a handful of days, and though it wouldn't kill her, it would make resisting the urges much more complicated when surrounded by so much meat.

She knew the moon cycle by heart, Even if not in mind, her body knew it, it always knew. An instinct built deep within her beyond her own understanding.

Looking up properly as she stepped through the doorway to the sudden roars of the crowd she spotted the unmistakable face of the one acquaintance from the group she had least wanted to see. Not helped by the woman's immediate change of stance. Whether she liked it or not there would be a fight. And it was up to Aeryn to stop this from ending in bloodshed on either side, after all... She'd never escape this place alone. And killing any of her veil-hunter companions would doom her to being left alone by whoever survives for sure.

"Oi- Miss holy knight!- listen up!.." Aeryn managed to get out before her pupils retracted violently, a sudden pounding in her body cut her words short, she should've had more time- Looking up quickly to the moon's light trickling in from the heavily enforced bar ceiling she swore under her breath, they changed the damn roof since she was last here. The sudden familiar crunching of bones as she straightened her back in an uncomfortable-looking strain, opening her mouth and letting out a loud, initially human, but very quickly monstrous-sounding growl of pain as she visibly began to shift, much to the crowds rejoice. Managing to glance at the other briefly, a troubled look in her now red-colored eyes.

She couldn't risk transforming slowly, It left her too open. She'd have to force it and work out some other way to let the other know her intentions. Clenching her now clawed hands tightly her form warped quickly, the large form of the lycan seeming to almost burst forth from its human shell, black fur tearing through skin and panting heavily as it lowered its large form into a slouched position near landing on all-fours, barring fangs with a low grumbling, clearly not designed for the more anthropomorphic position. Eyes of crimson red fixated on her opponent. Transforming this quickly would cause problems later, no doubt some level of internal injuries.

Aeryn would not make the first move, she could take a few hits. And right now? Were she to move without thought, there would be no convincing the other of her lack of rage. Desperately searching her now foggy mind for a solution. She remained conscious in this state, but with her change of physical appearance also came an intense haze of the animalistic instincts screaming out.

____
RascalRoadkill

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

Iosif Komnenos

hunter

fighting a chimera

i'm too pretty to have these problems

interactions

maggie elanara

The little dull sword was insulting, honestly. You could still hurt a person with it (smack anyone hard enough with a metal stick and bones would break), but it wasn't going to do much against anything bigger. Maggie grumbled a complaint about her own sword, which Sef had to agree with.

The monster released into the arena with them was large, with three heads--lion, goat, and snake--and a thrashing spiked tail. "Son of a bitch," Sef muttered.

The sword was definitely mostly useless.

"How the fuck do we kill this thing?!" Maggie asked next to him.

"Well," Sef said, "Usually with lots and lots of arrows." The original story of slaying a chimera involved a spear and a winged horse, but most of them didn't have the luxury of a winged horse at the best of times. But that wasn't the only option.

"If we stay at different parts of the arena, we can try and divide its focus," he said. "One of us does distraction, the other does damage. Or tries to, at least." He gave the dull sword in his hand an experimental twirl. The balance on it was decent, thankfully. "Then it'll--probably--turn its attention to whoever hit it, and they're distraction, and the other person takes a stab at it. So to speak. And we pray we get lucky before it does."

And then Sef looked at the chimera and grinned. "I'll go first," he said, and then moved to the right, circling away from Maggie and closer to the monster. "Hey, ugly!" he called to it, and then whistled, making sure to attract its attention instead of Maggie.

coded by natasha.

 

[Lost Echo]

Her body grew weaker as the days passed and still they refused to give her meat. The half orc could digest the bits of bread given, but it lacked the protein she needed. She moved little to conserve energy, fantasies of eating their captors gracing her thoughts.

Once it was decided to wait--by the humans, though she could see the argument of not being able to control the craft--she talked little with her fellow prisoners. While it amused her the veil was in the same predicament as her, it did not hold her interest for long. Instead she rested, listening to the restless ghosts search for vengeance.

Perhaps she should not have, but she was still an orc. Her thirst for violence grew with her hunger. The Veil might have been willing to let these monsters go--likely because they were human too--but she was not. She left her body in a slump, not knowing how long she’d have. Her soul stretched, free of the tight confines of her weakening body.

A laughing crow greeted her, “Who’d have thought the monster’d die first?” She turned to the jeering ghost, a man who’d worked for the captain until he’d been betrayed. Or so he’d whined for the past day, though none of the former prisoners cared to listen.

“Speak again, and I will banish you. Remain quiet and you’ll get your revenge.” She stepped out of her cage, going through the bars, but having a solidity that spirits didn’t.

“Re-” With a wave of her hand, she did not even bother looking in his direction, she sent him back to the cycle.

“As a guard, he did not deserve vengeance.”

The spirits were scared silent. One brave soul whispered, “You can’t kill ghosts…”

It caught her attention. She was a shaman, a shepherd to spirits. Her duty was to the orcs, but she could choose to aid any. Like most, he stayed in the cell that he died in, a rail thin dwarf who hadn’t made the trip. “You cannot kill what is already dead. That is true. But your spirit belongs in the Great Wheel. Once you have your revenge, you shall reach it. I merely sent him along…early.”

“I am here so that we can help each other. With my power, you shall have our revenge.” Going one by one, she gifted some of her strength to the spirits, turning them more solid. Solid enough to affect the world again.

Her body may have been weak, but she knew herself. Her spirit was as strong as ever. Even after the last, a fellow orc whose forehead she kissed with a prayer, she was largely unaffected. “I ask that you wait until I am off of the boat to kill them if you wish, but torment them as much as you’d like.”
~
She slept the remaining day. A true sleep with her soul curled up in her body, strengthening her tether. She did not wake when the captain returned to fill the hull with gas, nor during the transport.

It was only the roars that woke her. Her head raised sharply, unable to tell if she was safe. Looking around she found herself in a cage alone. Well, physically. A human, half mauled, had been left there to die. Her eyes skated over the spirit, uncaring. Roars, both in spirit and in life, were coming from the same direction. Where the fighting pits were. A frown creased her face. While she wished to return to her tribe, she could not physically defend herself in this weak of a body. And spiritually…why should her sacred skills be used to entertain the weak? No, if she were to fight, she would take the audience with her.

She stood unsteadily, stumbling forward to catch herself on a bar of the cage. She was weak. She was hungry. She would eat the first to enter this cage with her.

 

[RascalRoadkill]

ALEXIS​

Well… one thing can be said in terms of similarities between Magdalena and Alexis: the plans are not going to plan.

Mind, Alexis did not get tricked and betrayed- more that he'd stumbled into this mess on the trail for Morgaine. Alexis also had actually made it here before the rest of them, having undertaken his own plan independently. Morgaine taught him enough to get all the way here by himself- things also became easier traveling by himself in his usual, stealthy way… and not being hunted down for treason.

He's sure the Veil will notice eventually- when they realize that there's an apprentice that hasn't yet been reassigned in their notes, search the compound, and be unable to find him. As far as he can tell, nobody's yet caught up to him.

Alexis knows he's in hot water already- especially when he wanders into the depths of the city trying to follow a clue. They just… can't know he's a Hunter like the rest of them. He's mostly obscured by his dark cloak- perfect for lurking in a crowd and staying out of sight, out of mind.

The first thing he notices: well, the smell of being stuck in a crowd of people betting on bloodshed. Ugh, what an unbearable stench of sweat and… more sweat. He's gotta get out of this crowd and *quick*. Alexis, hood up, casually scoots along the fringes of the crowd as the sounds of steel, shouting and roaring echo throughout.

As he nears the edge of the stands to peer down into the arena, his eyes widen almost saucer-like. It might not be entirely clear to those surrounding him, but Alexis is positive these are *Veil* hunters. It's their skill, the way they carry themselves… and are they Roman, too? He's certain he's had a passing familiarity with a couple of these people. And as it stands, Alexis is the only one walking free- he furrows his brow. Inside, he's frantic- but he keeps his head for now and melts back into the crowd to try and find a proper entryway downstairs.

Alexis slips out of view, finding a dark alcove to read under his cloak for his lockpicking implements- he figures he's going to need them. Ooh, boy- he sure hopes this is the right door.

A few moments of fiddling with the lock, and Alexis gently clicks it open and carefully pushes it open a sliver to peer inside. Just rows of torches and cages… good so far, unless anything tries to eat him. Alexis steps lightly, door shut behind him, keeping to the sides and the shadows.

He nearly jumps when something beside him hits the cage bars- he steps back, eyes wide, but it's just… somebody else, he thinks. He nearly yelps, but he clamps his hand over his mouth before he can.

She looks not-monstrous..? At a first glance, at least. Alexis pulls his hood back and reveals his face. If she is a monster- well, he wouldn't be opposed to help. He's not sure if he can get everybody out on his own.

"Uhhh. Hello," he says, whispering, and scooching eeever-so-slightly closer. "I don't work for anyone here. 'M trying to get my friends out."

Lost Echo

 

[Lost Echo]

Sharp icy eyes seemed to catch the little light there was in the cage, taking in the details of the human. Its soul was young. She brought her soul forward, causing her edges to fuzz, as she stood up straight. “Your friends are lucky that you would even try.” Her voice was wispy, mystical as she used her soul to control the body instead of her brain. “I will not eat you or your friends, but I shall eat the first dead thing we find…or make.” She gestured to the door. “I am the shaman of the Erriacl Tribe. I have a connection to animals. Of which there are many in this place. Shall we free them as well?” The slash across her face, more vindicative than amused.

RascalRoadkill

 

[elanara]

Every part of Maggie was shaking, utterly terrified at being confined in this cage with this monster with nothing but her friend and a dull blade to defend herself with. But she knew better than to panic. If she learned anything in all her whopping twenty-four years in the Veil, it was to remain calm, control her emotions. Keep her fucking shit together.

Having Sef along for the ride made her feel a little better, of course. At the very least, she wouldn't get ripped apart by this hideous creature all by herself.

Not having a better one of her own, Maggie opted to follow Sef's plan. The three-headed monster hissed and growled before lunging at Sef with all it's might. Behind it, it's heavy, spiked tail swished violently. Maggie somersaulted out of the way, just barely dodging a fatal blow. Afterward, she jumped to her feet and rushed forward, swinging at the monster with her sword.

Keeping in mind the dullness of the blade, she struck harder than she normally would have. The metal sliced through the skin, though not as cleanly as she would have hoped. The monster let out a pain-stricken, blood-curling screech. Relentlessly, Maggie struck again. And again. And again — doing her best to weaken it as best she could.

But it wasn't long until the chimera turned around, eyes flared with anger. It let out a terrifying roar, displaying three sets of pointy, razor sharp teeth. Its breath was horrid, Maggie thought as she stared back up at it with wide, petrified eyes.

"Shit." Was the last word to escape her lips as the chimera hunched on its hind legs ready to counter attack. Maggie anticipated anxiously, ready to dodge at a moment's notice, then glanced over to Sef. "How about a little help over here?!"

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

Iosif Komnenos

hunter

fighting a chimera

too pretty to have these problems

interactions

maggie

The chimera lunged for Sef just like he expected it would. That didn't make facing down three gaping mouths with huge teeth any easier, though.

Sef grit his teeth and swung the stupid little sword up, driving it at the mouth coming closest to him. He felt the dull tip make contact with flesh, and the creature screamed. It thrashed upward, away from him and his sword, and Sef had to dart away from a second head lunging at him before it turned away from him, rounding on Maggie instead.

Sef took a moment to exhale hard, flicking blood off of the sword.

"How about a little help over here?!"

"You keep telling me you're good at this!" Sef called back, but he started moving, breaking into a run as he approached the monster's wicked, spiked tail. He could see the gash Maggie had already left on its hind end, but he went lower, aiming for one of its hind paws, hoping to cripple it.

coded by natasha.