Realistic or Modern We August Few

[Allion]

The Garden (Night)

The old house always seemed to change during the night, especially when it rained. With no street lights or lights from other homes, the area outside the house was pitch black, save for the little illumination coming from inside. The trees around would sway back and forth in the wind, rustling against one another and forming long intricate shadows. The old garden with its broken crumbling fence could resemble a small graveyard at night, with its decaying plants being flowers left for the dead.

As Daniel stepped off the deck and onto the muddy ground below he would notice the rain had relented a bit, now coming down as a small drizzle. It left a cold chill in the air which would slowly permeate through his clothing. The light from the house would be enough to shine over some of the old garden, allowing him to search for his flung acquaintance. It would take a few minutes of searching, but eventually, he would find an odd skid mark along the ground which looked like it came from the direction of the house. It ended in a little pile of mud, as if something had made a hard landing and stopped right there. However, there was no little squirrel to me seen. It was unknown if she had gotten up on her own or not as any tracks she might have left were now washed away in the rain.

Its around this time he would hear the back double doors slowly creak open and a rather injured feline creature steps out onto the deck. One of her hands is clutching her wounded shoulder, her claws digging into her flesh and pulling out the small metal pellets lodged inside. Her eyes burned fiercely at Daniel with nothing but a snarl along her face as she stepped to the edge of the deck. Her hair was a chaotic mess and it would seem that she had left her hat inside.

"The Study unlocks... from da inside... Dumbass." She growls out, a few more bloody bits of buckshot tumbling out of her wounded shoulder. It would appear to be the last of it and Lucy rotates her injured arm. Small cracking and popping sounds could be heard as Daniel sees something unnatural from the cat. The flesh that had been blasted by the gunshot was beginning to crawl back into place. Her wound weave itself shut and in a few short seconds she was able to move her arm again. "There we go... Much betta. Now then... GRAHHHHHH!!!" Lucy suddenly explodes into a fit of rage, her claws fully deploying as she bursts off from the edge of the deck and towards Daniel with destructive speed. That empty shotgun would do little to impede her as she leaps at him with monstrous wrath, throwing herself at him full force and tackling him to the ground.

Daniel feels those claws digging into his arms, clutching him tightly as she nearly presses her furious face right against him, allowing him to really get a good look of the strange cat thing. Her eyes were both two separate colors, one red, one silver, and each would have an unusual four-pointed star-shaped pupil. Her mouth would be filled with those needle-like teeth and her lips were completely pulled back into a snarl. "Where da fack. Do you get off. Shootin' me?! Who da hell do you think you are?! I'm done fuckin' around with ya." She pulls herself back, exposing her rather large furry chest to the man. Her chest was divided into two colors, white on the left and red on the right. He would see her chest begin to move and convulse and right where those two colors meet, a seam begins to form. Then suddenly, her chest splits right down the middle, ripping open and revealing some kind of hellish vertical maw. The inside of her chest was lined with countless jagged fangs and from the back of that death vortex, he could see several thin fleshy tendrils slither out. They would wrap and coil themselves around his head, squeezing tightly as they begin to drag him into that snapping mouth. "Dis be da part where you lose your head now, sweet-y. BAHAHAHA!" Obviously, this really wasn't a cat, but an Honest-to-God monster.

"Lacemaker, stand down!" A sudden deep male voice yells out, piercing through Lucy's maniacal laughter. She halts abruptly, those tentacles stopping with Daniel merely an inch from losing his face. Lucy's twisted zealous face twists and sours, showing heavy annoyance. Slowly, her head tilts upwards, her gaze going away from Daniel and looking off into the darkness of the tree line.

"An' why da flippity FACK, would I do that? This sonofabitch shot me!" She screams out into shadows, momentarily stopping her murder of human.

"Because he is not your enemy. He carries the name of Miller." The voice speaks out again. Lucy blinks, her enraged behavior now deflating like a popped balloon.

"H-He wat? Oh you have got to be kiddin' me!" She spits out in disbelief, slowly looking down at the overly frightened man. Slowly, those tentacles would retract from around his neck and head, slurping back into that death maw before the whole thing closes and the seam of her chest vanishes, as though it had never been there to begin with. She removes her claws from his arms and for a moment just stares down at him, her large sparkling eyes blinking in light embarrassment. "Well then... Dis be roight awkward. Here lemme just..." She slides off of his chest, plopping herself down beside him and rubbing the back of her head. That toothy grin returns to her face, though now with a much more innocent expression.

 

[DracotheStern]

As soon as he heard Lucy. Daniel turned around in shock and had to stop himself from facepalming. Of course, it unlocked from the inside. Now this was it! The young man braced himself and cried out in pain as the cat like creature jumped on him and the author cried out in pain as her claws dug into him, causing him to begin to bleed. But that was not was caused Daniel to scream. No…that toothy stomach mouth that the creature had caused that scream.

“W-WHAT THE FUCK!?”

His heart rate picked up, and blood began to pump as he tried to get out from under her grip, thrashing and trying to hit her. But he couldn’t. For such a small creature, she was strong. Thankfully Daniel’s torment ended by that male voice’s commands. Slowly as Lucy got off him, he would get up and dust himself off before taking a step back from the feline creature. Daniel was still shaking as he looked in the direction of the voice.

“S-So you know w-what’s going on….You m-must be Ludwig then…w-what are you-?”

So many questions raced through the scared young man’s head. But there were so little answers.

 

[Allion]

Lucy would still be staring at Daniel as he stepped away from her, a wide maniacal grin still along her face though she does not move from where she is sitting. Her tail would gently last back and forth behind her and she calmly rubs her claws against her chest fur, shining them and wiping off a bit of the man's blood. The voice from the shadows of the trees would speak again.

"Hmm, you already know my name. How astute." He says, his voice sounding very firm, but incredibly smooth and gentlemanly. "As for what I am-- What WE are..." He pauses for a moment as the sound of snapping twigs could be heard. Slowly, a figure begins to walk out of the shadows of the woods as an incredibly tall humanoid creature steps into the light from the house.

Spoiler: Ludwig

"...is Kivouachian." He finishes, now being fully exposed to the human. Towering before Daniel at a whopping 9 feet tall is a gangly humanoid with a skeletal frame, bone-colored skin, and long, lanky limbs. His fiery orange-and-red hair splays out from the top of his head and runs down the back of his thin, foot-long neck like a mane, and sways about on its own accord. His face is gaunt and skull-like, with beady orange eyes set in deep black sockets, sharp cheekbones, and a chiseled but flat nose that appears to be no more than two slits. His mouth stretches from ear to ear, full of red needle-like teeth that lock tight together, giving his mouth the appearance of being flayed open like a "Glasgow Grin". A smaller set of outer teeth interlace where his lips meet at the middle, making his mouth appear smaller than it actually is.

Going down Ludwig's neck are a four blood-red slits from where multiple white quill jut out like fish bones, the largest being on opposite sides of his head, curling around his head and neck like a collar. From the neck down, his anatomy is more conventionally humanoid with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His hands each have five fingers and a thumb tipped with black claws. Much of Ludwig's height is taken up by his long legs, which are digitigrade in shape and end in raptor-like feet with five huge, sickle-shaped claws.

He wears a long black and yellow-striped coat with a large collar and loosely-tied waist belt. The collars, cuffs, and waist belt are solid black. Underneath of all of this he wears a black and yellow damask-patterned vest with red buttons, a red cravat, and rust-colored dress pants that splay out at the ankle. A red handkerchief sits in his breast pocket. Much of Ludwig's outfit, especially his coat, look well faded with age. Sitting high up atop his shoulder is Hyzenthlay, the large squirrel giving a bright relieved smile to see Daniel still alive. Her body is covered in mud, one eye is swollen shut and she appears to have a bit of dried blood coming from her nose. Seems like she survived the fall after all, though not especially well.

"H-Hey, you're okay! Phew... Managed to get to Ludwig in time." She says, giving a sheepish wave down to Daniel from the towering height of Ludwig.

"Indeed. Had she not, I fear my associate might have done something... regrettable." The lanky creature speaks, his sharp narrow gaze slowly turning towards Lucy. She just looks back up at him and gives a little giggle with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Oi, don't be lookin' at me. I was just followin' orders."

"For once..." A small annoyed growl comes from the tall man before he looks back towards Daniel. "Come, simian. We have much to discuss and your survival depends on your compliance. You may tend to your wounds inside." Ludwig tells him, motioning for the human to walk in front of them into the house. Lucy would pop herself up at this point and already be making her way into the home.

 

[DracotheStern]

Daniel stared up at Ludwig and blinked. Ok just what kind of madhouse did he fall into? First Lucy and now this large fucker here. Damn it Grandpa you maniac. At least this stay wouldn't be boring. It would, of course, be a lot more life threatening it seems. A shame but there was nothing he could do to change it. At least Hyzenthlay was alright. The young man would give her a friendly wave before speaking

"Oh of course, your umm...pet? Compainion? Yes they mentioned you before."

Though as soon as the man...thing? Spoke up about what he was, that is what made Daniel even more confused then he already was. What on earth was a Kivouachian? And what was a simian? Were these aliens of some kind? That was the only thing that made somewhat sense to the Author though that being said, he was not stupid enough to disobey right now.

"A-And alright-" Compliance huh? That did not sound good at all, but once again his hands were tied at the moment. With a nod, Daniel followed Ludwig inside.

 

[Allion]

Ludwig would elegantly step his way behind Daniel as they all entered the home, but not before gingerly picking up the discarded shotgun from the muddy floor. He would grip it tightly before ducking his imposing height beneath the doorframe and going inside. He would gently place down Hyzenthlay on the dinning table, the little squirrel sitting herself back and ribbing her swollen eye. Ludwig surveys the home, his harsh gaze scanning about the various rooms on the first floor and taking careful note of the bloody streak that dragged along the floor from the study towards one of the walls. Lucy would be standing beside him as he raises a curious eyebrow at her.

"You allowed a mere simian to do this to you? You disappoint me, Lacemaker." He speaks in his deep authoritative voice. Lucy didn't seem to be having any of it though as she hisses at him angrily.

"Oh fack off! I was havin' me fun n' fergot about that damn shotgun... Fucker got lucky." She growls out, her annoyed gaze turning towards Daniel for a moment before cracking into a grin.

"You mean letting your bloodlust get the better of you. As you always do." Lucy just gives him a mocking smile before shrugging her shoulders in an innocent looking fashion. Ludwig scoffs at her. "Clean up this mess, Lacemaker. Then you may join us. Simian!" His booming voice directs itself towards Daniel before becoming soft once more. "Into the den, if you will."

Lucy would groan begrudgingly but grab a clean cloth from below the sink and begin scrubbing away her blood from the floor. Ludwig would duck below the archway leading into the living room as Hyzenthlay carefully leaps along a few of the shelves and enters along with him. Inside, the lanky ghoul of a creature takes a seat in Sebastian's old rocking chair, his long legs stretching out far in front of him as he lays the old shotgun across his lap. The little squirrel would carefully sit herself on the mantelpiece and after a bit of time, Lucy would join and plop herself down on the arm rest of one of the couches. The three of them all angled their gazed towards Daniel who was free to sit wherever he pleased.

Ludwig would clear his voice once everyone was settled in. "It would appear that some... introductions are in order. You have already met two of my associates but to formally introduce them, this is The voice of Court: Lucy Lacemaker."

"'Ello, Love!" The demented cat calls out, waving to the man enthusiastically.

"And the Sciurus vulgaris: Hyzenlay." He finishes, the little squirrel giving a shy but friendly wave from atop the fireplace. "I am Grand Voice: Ludwig, leader of my current government. We also have a fourth member, but he is currently busy running area Surveillance for the moment. I'll introduce him to you later. Might you introduce yourself as well? I want to ensure there is no... confusion." He says, Ludwig's voice deepening as he turns his head towards Lucy. The cat just twiddles her thumbs together, swinging her legs and head back and forth with a wide toothy grin.

 

[DracotheStern]

Clear up confusion huh? This entire thing has been confusing. Daniel was trying to figure all this out in his head, as such he mostly ignored the banter between Ludwig and Lucy, or at least he assumed it was. The former was probably just really pissed. Still he would follow both creatures into the house then later into the lounge, though one thing the Author did make a note of was that the Shotgun was brought up, most likely belong to Ludwig it seemed. From the way the ghoul was sitting on the rocking chair, it only confirmed his thoughts.

The young man looked around before sitting on one of the couches if there was one available, if not then he would just stand. However as the three creatures were introduced. It only raised more questions. What's this about Governments and Courts? Is this Alice in Wonderland? With the shake of his head, the young man would reply. A little bit a pause before he spoke though, making sure he did not piss these guys off.

"Daniel Miller, my name is Daniel Miller and I am the current owner of this house, or at least...I'm supposed to be."

Of course that was all there was to him, or all that he would say to them. Because now it was their town. After swallowing, the young man would look up at Ludwig, seemingly brave, more confused then anything. "Now you...you have a lot of explaining to do."

 

[Allion]

Lucy crosses her arms in a somewhat annoyed manner as Daniel introduces himself, probably because she was in the wrong in attacking him. Ludwig gives her a hard glare before turning back towards the human, an eyebrow raised with light curiosity.

"Indeed. It would seem I do. Honestly, you should really already know this information. It annoying to have to explain our whole story and is going to put me behind schedule..." The lanky humanoid grumbles out. He's about to begin when theres an abrupt knock at the front door and Lucy immediately jerks up from her seat.

"Oh! Roight on time! I got it!" She yells out enthusiastically, launching herself off the arm rest and skittering along the floor in a mad dash towards the front door. The sound of it swinging open could be heard followed by a maniacal laugh. "'Bout time you showed up! I was gettin' afraid ya got lost." A much deeper, male voice suddenly speaks out after.

"Oh fuck off. Ya know it takes more than that ta get me lost." The voice speaks out, talking with a more proper British accent than Lucy. "Had a lot of land ta cover, but it looks like there ain't much 'round here aside from an ol' hunters cabin a couple miles off. Placed looked empty though. Still, might need ta be careful here and there." The sound of claws and hooves clacking on hardwood floors follows this voice as their fourth member makes their entrance into the den. What enters is an amalgamation of different creatures mixed together, the most apparent being wolf, panther and ram like qualities. He stands on four legs, his fur mainly pitch black, with some strands on his arms and legs ending in silver or white. He has two black ears with long tufts of red at the tips that usually curl upwards instead of down like most. He has a furry dragon-like snout tipped with two small horns pointing up to a row of more much smaller horns that gradually get longer as they trail up his forehead and over his eyes. Most noticeably, he has two hollow ram horns that come out from each side of the top of his head which end at a very sharp curve next to his cheeks. The left horn is split at the tip. He has a long wiry black and red-dotted mane starting from the back of his neck all the way down to his skinny waist. Two diamond shaped red splotches are over his eyes, which are oddly the same color as his sclera (eyeballs). His eyes are a sickly yellow color.

About 13 or so bone-like spines jut out of his sides, some straight and some curved. His back is covered in large dark red spots, abruptly getting smaller as they reach his waist. The lower half of his body is longer, thinner, and smaller than the front, but his thighs still appear capable of giving a good kick.

Spoiler: Shuck

The bizarre creature enters the room with a casualness to his steps, shaking off a bit of the dirt that clung to his paws and hooves. He surveys about the area, giving a smirk towards Ludwig before making eye contact with Daniel. He would cock his horned head curiously before looking over at Lucy.

"Oi, dis be the new bloke? He definitely be too young ta be the old man." The creature speaks out. Lucy gives a shrug before walking back over to reclaim her spot on the arm rest.

"Guess so. He got da old guy's name so it all fits." She says, smirking as the strange hound takes a seat on the floor in front of her.

"Good of you to finally make it, Shuck. I had hoped recon duty would not take you all night. Simian, this is our fourth member, The Yelsh Soldier: Shuck." Ludwig would introduce, motioning a hand towards the strange amalgamation. Shuck merely gives a little dip with his head as greetings.

"Pleasure ta meet cha. Ain't too often we get introduced to a new Simian. At least not one whose still in one piece." He chuckles darkly, though manages to maintain a light presence about himself.

"Yes, now then... With all of us finally arrived I believe I can finally begin the explanation. First though, have you been told anything about us? Your grandfather should have been the one to pass on our secret on to you. At least, thats what his father did for him. We expected you to be the same."

 

[DracotheStern]

Daniel blinked and watched the interaction between the new dog like creature and Lucy. At this point he was not as surprised as he was with the other three players. At this point he was just kinda growing used to the whole thing. Of course this doesn't mean he couldn't be surprised by anything that was going to be said. It's more that Shuck didn't seem to bother him nearly as much as he thought it would have. Intead he just spoke with some confusion.

"Shuck? As in the Black Shuck? Isn't that name a little too on the nose?"

It seems someone knew his myths and legends. At the very least it should bring some humor into this situation. Hopefully anyway. Still he would shift a little bit, interesting he seemed to be avoiding looking Shuck in the eyes. His attention was quickly grabbed by Ludwig and he gave the taller being some more of his attention now, considering his question a little bit. Grandpa had told Daniel a little bit. Though the stories would have began to become more detailed as he grew up. Sadly this was the same time his father stopped him from visiting Grandpa, so he never got the full details. It was neither him nor his grandfather's fault. Just bad circumstances.

"Not much, grandpa was going to tell me more, but my father stopped me from seeing him before he could. I have not seen him in a long time before the funeral. However if I had to take a guess, a stab in the dark if you would. I would assume you four are some kind of Fae folk?"

 

[Allion]

Theres a silence in the room for a moment as Daniel makes his guess as to what they all are. Ludwig would give him a hard stare, Shuck raises an eyebrow suspiciously, and Lucy just grins ever wider from ear to ear. Hyzenthlay would nervously look from person to person as though lost and looking for an answer among the different faces. Suddenly, the main three burst out into laughter of varying degrees. Lucy cackles madly, Shuck chuckles calmly and even Ludwig gives a small amused snicker at Daniel.

"Well, I guess ya could say that. Ya technically ain't wrong, but also definitely ain't roight. Jeez, da ol' dust bucket really didn't share squat with ya. Fukkin' shame." The feline says in disappointment, interlocking her clawed hands into one another and resting her head atop them.

"I'd say so. Fae? Pfft, those be stories made up by you humans. Nothin more. Though we... Might have had a small role in influencin' them." The Hound says, scratching behind his head with one of his bony, clawed fingers. "Ya weren't wrong callin' me the Black Shuck though. You humans gave me that title back in the 1600s. Now most of the stories that spurned from it, those were you fakkers. Most of 'em anyways. N' for the record, no, I can't steal yer soul or cut yer lifespan just from ya lookin' in me eyes." He would say with a little smirk, batting his eyes several times at Daniel.

Ludwig crosses his long lanky arms below his chest, recollecting himself. "Indeed. Listen here and listen well human, for this information is to be kept secret. Few know of our existence and even fewer have lived to tell about us. We are no fairytale or fantasy. We are something far beyond. We are real. We are old. We are Kivouachian. We have existed since before the creation of your world and watched as it went from a swirling ball of rock and slag into the hospitable home it is now." He pauses for a moment and clears his throat. "Forgive me, I believe I am getting ahead of myself. It is not often I get to tell this story. The start of our tale began long ago, far longer than you may realize. Lucy, Shuck and myself hale from the world of Kivouach, a place vastly different than anything here on Earth. It was a wild, unkept world of savagery and ruthlessness. Back then, only the strong survived, and the weak were feasted upon, or cast to the wind. Despite the unforgiving world we were given, Kivouachians all possess a certain amount of control over our very genetics. The same way you can control your hands, we can manipulate the very cells in our bodies. This allowed us to adapt and change to anything our world threw at us and only allowed those with the strongest genes to survive. Lacemaker, would you mind?" He asks, motioning to the cat.

"Haha certainly!" She yells out before gripping her chest. Just like when she fought Luno in the yard, Lucy rips open her own chest, the cavity opening to reveal that vertical mouth full of teeth and tentacles. Hyzenlay seemed to jump seeing this, her eyes going wide before she shoved her face into her paws.

"What you are seeing is Ms. Lacemaker altering her body before your eyes, allowing her to create new orifices or natural weapons for battle. All KivouachIan's can do this, but some better than others." He explains, Lucy then closing the mouth and the seam vanishing as like it was never there. "Due to this intense control over ourselves, our bodies can also perfectly replicate each cell on a genetic level. Essentially, we are immortal, at least in comparison to a human's lifespan. To Put things into better perspective, if I were to use human years, I am over 7 billion years old." Ludwig told him.

"Oi! Same 'ere! Well, almost 7 billion anyways. Ya tend to lose count eventually. Shuck be older than both o' us tho." Lucy chipped in.

"Sounds about right. I think I'm almost 7 and a half billion now." Shuck confirmed, the hound counting a few numbers in his head. "If I not mistaken... I'm around 7 billion 456 million 348 thousand 206. Give or take a couple millennia."