==> YOU ARE POPPII DWELER

The hive was lit from the inside, mostly by the help of natural fire light. It danced off the colourful walls from it's high mounted torches, creating flickering patches of bright and dark throughout the open house. There was one block, however, that was lit entirely by the glow of electronic screens. This particular block is filled with husktops and grubwork connectors, mostly strewn haphazardly across the hard floor. The setup was chaotic and a ridiculous mess to boot.

Which was just how Poppii liked it.

Everything had a place in her mind, and it was all exactly where she could find it. Not like there was anyone around to tell her to clean it up anymore. Since the death of her lusus, it had gotten pretty lonely. That was one of the few reasons she almost never left this particular block of the hive. In fact, the only time she really left anymore was to get food and to do the few chores left to do. Her recouporcoon was tucked into the corner of the block now, so she could sleep her and be here pretty much the entire day. These husktops were her connection to those around Alternia, in the places she didn't dare go.

Despite her lusus's death, Poppii had decided to remain in her solitary, rural hive. For one, there was no freaking way she wouldn't get culled if she went to a communial hive stem. Not only that, but there was always a lingering fear of the unknown. Sure, she might be less lonely. But at least she knew it was safe here.

Or at least, that's what went through her mind as she booted up Trollian and began to message her moirial.

==> BE ALVARO CALLOM NOW

There was a small ding as a message came in on his husktop. For a moment, the umber blooded troll did nothing, his mind trying to wrap around the complex puzzle in his palm. It was composed of twenty five different sharp edges and thirteen different circular pieces. The goal of the puzzle was to remove the circular pieces without removing the edged pieces. He was pretty sure he was close to getting it when his husktop dinged again. He set aside the puzzle and reached for the device, knowing without a doubt who it was at this time of day.

Sure enough, he opened the top to find two messages from his moirial. He had almost forgotten what today was.

--auspiciousPetals [AP] began trolling enviousCalamity [EC] at 12:39--

AP: ALVARO! ALVAROOOOOOO! ALV-V-VARO!!!

AP: I KNOW YOU'RE THERE, SILLY! IT S-S-SAYS YOU'RE ONLINE.

EC: //Why are you even awake at such an awful hour?//

AP: YAY, YAY, YAY! I K-KN-KNEW YOU'D BE AWAKE! I'M SENDING YOU THE FIRST COPY OF THE GAME! WE HAVE TO PASS IT ALONG TO THE OTHERS! DIVIIIIIIDE AND CONQUER!

EC: //Of course. How ever could I forget that today was the day. You and I appear to be the only ones awake, as is the usual for this time of day, but I will endeavour to deliver this to the others as time allows.//

AP: YOU'RE THE BEST, BEST, BEST!!

auspiciousPetals [AP] sent enviousCalamity [EC] file "SGRUB.exe"

AP: S-S-SO YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE FIRST ONE IN, AND I'LL BE YOUR SERVER PLAYER!

EC: //You do not wish to proceed before me?//

AP: NO WAY, SILLY! YOU'RE TOTES FIRST IN! YOU'RE THE BEST PERSON AT GAMES EVER! YOU'LL FIGURE OUT HOW TO PLAY IN A S-S-SNAP!

EC: //I must say, I'm pleased to hear that. Alright, I will concede and enter first. And then you will follow suit as soon as you reach a server player?

AP: THAT'S RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT! AND OF COURSE, THERE ARE SO MANY OF US THAT WE'LL ENTER IN GROUPS! IT DOESN'T MATTER THE ORDER, BUT I FIGURED WE'D SEND IN KAITAN?

EC: //Is that the one who thinks she's the heiress?//

AP: SHE DOESN'T THINK SHE'S THE HIERESS. KNOCK IT OFF. XD

--auspiciousPetals [AP] ceased trolling enviousCalamity [EC] at 12:52--

Fleilt looked out of his window and saw the HUNTER constellation and scrambled out of his recuperacoon. Grabbing his telescope he gazed at the stars that made the troll up. He felt such a personal connection this one group of stars, it was rather strange and if his peers knew he'd likely be ridiculed for it.

Damnit, he saw the shithive maggots troll, Irevir.
Normally Fleilt could handle such trolls, but he just wanted to look at the stars. He took a page out of his sylladex, the page being his husktop and opened up Trollian. What is she doing...?

-- outlandishExaminer [OE] began trolling effervescentFeral [EF] at 21:11 --
[12:53] OE: why are you outside my hive
[12:53] OE: seriously what are you doing
[12:53] OE: i don*t really understand but you need to chill
[12:53] EF: )+ th€r€ was a høøfb€ast h€r€ twø høurs and tw€lv€ minut€s agø
[12:53] EF: )+ i'm tracking it
[12:53] EF: )+ MmMMM sm€lls GØØØØØD
[12:54] OE: i*m not sure what direction it went but
[12:54] OE: you really [12:54] EF: )+ i'm g€ttin my dinn€r
[12:54] EF: )+ i knøw what dir€ctiøn it w€nt
[12:54] EF: )+ =8)
[12:54] OE: can you seriously just smell that sort of thing[12:54] EF: )+ Ønly part øf it is sm€ll
[12:54] EF: )+ th€r€ ar€ føøtprints
[12:55] OE: you*re closer so i can imagine you see them better
[12:55] OE: also jeez hoofbeast what kind of taste do you have
[12:55] OE: gross
[12:55] OE: .
[12:55] EF: )+ wøw.
[12:55] EF: )+ i was gøing tø shar€ with yøu?
[12:55] EF: )+ but nøw, fuck yøu
[12:55] OE: listen it*s not my favorite
[12:55] OE: probably my least favorite
[12:55] OE: but i*ll eat just about anything if we*re being honest
[12:55] EF: )+ list€n that dø€sn't m€an yøu hav€ tø SHIT. ALL ØV€R MY TAST€S.
[12:55] EF: )+ stick a n€€dl€ in yøur bøn€ bulg€.
[12:56] OE: wow
[12:56] OE: you went there
[12:56] EF: )+ i was gøing tø giv€ untø yøu a kind g€stur€
[12:56] EF: )+ and yøu fukcing SCØRN€D M€
[12:56] OE: you*re wild as fuck
[12:57] OE: go away before i stab you in your glance nugget
[12:57] EF: )+ lik€ yøu €v€n cøuld yøu grubslurping fuck.
[12:57] OE: don*t message me again nibble vermin

He could've just shouted at her, so that was obnoxious, but, kind of fun to actually talk to someone. After closing his husktop, he continued to stargaze while she freaked out over the potential hoofbeast in the area. Apparently she knew where it was but he had his doubts. As a defensive person, he did often find himself in situations where he accidentally insulted someone else when he really just meant to share his opinion, but he's so forward that he seems insulting.
Nah, he was just trying to make it up to himself for insulting her, but if it came down to it if she didn't leave he swears he'd strife with her.

Most of Kaitan's time was normally spent harassing her dear, deplorable friends online. Well, the only friend that she would not consider deplorable was Irevir. But most of the time, the teal-blood was who-knows-where doing who-knows-what. That didn't usually stop Kaitan from trolling her, though. After all, it was her responsibility as a moirail to check up on Irevir and make sure she was alright. Right?

Right.

The way that her room was arranged was far enough above the floor of the ocean so that a liquid, entrancing light filtered in from the window. It was enough to illuminate her room without extra help. Her husktop perched upon a small, wooden desk near the window. It normally never left the spot, not even to be stowed away in her sylladex.

-- viciousEmpress [VE] began trolling effervescentFeral [EF] at 12:56 --

VE: IIV
VE: Where are you riight now?

EF: )+ hunting!

VE: Oh
VE: Okay
VE: Um

EF: )+ and b€ing bulli€d

VE: How ii5 that goiing--
VE: Bulliied?

EF: )+ y€s
EF: )+ øh
EF: )+ y€s
EF: )+ h€h€

VE: Do...
VE: II need two...
VE: IIntervene...

EF: )+ <w<
EF: )+ nah it's øk

VE: II5 iit that fii5h fiilet boy agaiin?

EF: )+ €€€€yyy€s

VE: ...II 5ee...
VE: Maybe...II 5hould come joiin you...

EF: )+ =8')

VE: Oh!
VE: That remiind5 me.
VE: Well, that diidn't remiind me,
VE: but II remembered.
VE: II have a que5tiion.

EF: )+ øh! y€s!

VE: Have you
VE: heard anythiing from, the uh
VE: the other5 about the game?
VE: The thiing.
VE: That we're 5uppo5ed two be doiing.

EF: )+ a littl€
EF: )+ nø d€tails r€ally
EF: )+ W€ all €nt€r øn€ at a tim€ ør søm€ shit

VE: Wa5 that twoday or twomorrow?

EF: )+ uhhhh
EF: )+ man i høp€ it's tømørrøw h€h€h€

VE: Today a5 iin, the day hour5 from now.
VE: Oh.
VE: 5o you don't know eiither.
VE: Okay.

Sighing, Kaitan leaned back for a moment before peering back at the screen.

EF: )+ i døn't =8(
EF: )+ but wøuld yøu car€ tø jøin m€ før søm€ fin€, fr€sh høøfb€ast fl€sh?

VE: Oh.
VE: II won't be, uh, eatiing iit, no, but,
VE: II 5ure wiill keep you company.

EF: )+ THAT WØRKS! =8D

VE: And iif you try two force iit down my throat agaiin, 5o help me, II wiill throw you iin the riiver.
VE: That ii5 all. (:

-- viciousEmpress [VE] ceased pestering effervescentFeral [EF] --

EF: )+ I---

===> KLESSA: EAT THE CANDY

Klessa Svetos awoke to a feeling of dread. Not the usual dread that comes with inhabiting a frozen tundra on the fringes of a civilization primarly populated with lunatics and sociopaths; no, something a bit more lingering and existential, as if, for some reason, today in particular was going to be an especially meaningful day. To her left, the tricephalic polar bear, Klessa's beloved lusus, released a grunt of displeasure as he pulled his limbs closer together, and turned over to the other side.

Hmmm, maybe he was feeling it too. Yet in spite of the overarching sense of doom, Klessa could not place her finger on just what it was. The hive felt colder than usual. She'd have to look into that. After pulling herself out of her recoopercoon, and landing feet first onto the icy floor of her respiteblock, the cerulean blooded troll caught sight of her husktop, laying open on her desk as she left it before going to sleep, lights flashing with a notification that one of her messages was relayed and a response was ready for her to open.

But that would have to wait; for now she had to get to the task of running through each of the daily hive maintence chores. Not particualrly fun, but it was absolutely necessary if she wanted to avoid the natural culling of being frozen by the harsh winds of the Alternian North. Racing up to a higher level of her hive, Klessa opened up a closet and retrieved her winter gear. A woolen coat, a pair of light blocking goggles, spiked boots, a hat and some gloves. This should be more than enough to keep her safe outside, the goggles were especially useful. During this season, the sun was out 24 hours, the already deadly light magnified by reflection off of the shining snow. A single ray like that could blind a troll in less than a second, so the goggles were a nice help in keeping her eyes healthy and functioning.

While rummaging through her pockets, Klessa pulled out something...unusual.

Candy, sweet confections of sugar and flavoring, renouned for their soperific effects, much like the drink called Faygo, favored by the clowns of the purple blood, the burst of sugar in this treat is something like a drug, inhibiting one's judgement. It is very much unlike Klessa to have this on her person, in fact, she had absolutely no idea how this even ended up in her hive at all. It's very chaotic existance is mildly offensive to you. Best to toss it into the incinerator.

Pulling back the iron gate of her incinerator, she was not met with a roaring heat but silence. Of course, the heater is out again. No wonder why the hive is so cold.

Unfortunately, there is no where to buy new parts for your heater. But, as inventive as you are, you happen to have a contact in the south who can aid you with this dilemma. You had been talking to her earlier over the Trollian chat client, and it looks like she's the one who responded to you earlier.

-- septentrionalBoyar [SB] began trolling crystalWisecracker [CW] at 21:04 --
[09:11] CW: You there comra:De?
[09:11] SB: вuт of couяse
[09:11] SB: I need a favoя fяom you, dяoog
[09:12] CW: Give me the :Dirt my frien:D
[09:13] SB: my heaтing uniт is вяoken again
[09:13] SB: I need you тo send me oveя some sтeel and some coal
[09:13] SB: pяovided you have some
[09:13] CW: Coal I got apleanty
[09:14] SB: Khoяosho!
[09:14] CW: :Dang mountain is rife with the stuff
[09:14] CW: steel...I'll have to :Do some :Digging aroun:D for
[09:14] SB: no pяoвlem
[09:15] SB: I appяeciтaтe you skяiking and soвяiaтing тhis sтuff foя me
[09:15] SB: if тheяe's anyтhing you need me тo fix, feel fяee тo send iт oveя
[09:16] CW: hol:D on, let me :Dig through my stuff, I feel like...something aroun:D here was buste:D
[09:18] SB: Enough вuissiness тalk; I am cuяious dяoog. Hoш aяe тhings in тhe souтh going?
[09:18] SB: I've noт lefт тhe noятh foя a шhile iт feels
[09:19] SB: I feaя I'll soon fall ouт of тhe loop so тo speak
[09:23] CW: Oh you know this an:D that
[09:23] CW: stuff :Down below is what is always is
[09:24] CW: Plutus is still a shy little thing
[09:25] CW: Forti:D still about as pleasent as san:Dy-shorts
[09:26] CW: Oh, I :Di:D recently come across a vien of howlite an:D will be make a necklace for Irevir
[09:26] SB: Pluтus seems тo вe тhe only chelovek тhaт ponies each slovo тhaт I govoяeeт; even if he's тoo poogly тo chaт шiтh me
[09:26] SB: Ah! Iяeviя's going тo вe geттing a loт of gifтs iт seems
[09:27] SB: I'm sending heя some pishcha fяom aяound heяe
[09:31] CW: Oh, ah um.... that is nice....
[09:32] CW: have i ever...ah...talke:D with you
[09:32] CW: about my feelings for irevir?
[09:33] SB: I don'т вelive you have
[09:35] CW: oh silt, Hmmm...how :Do I say this
[09:35] CW: I...
[09:35] CW: may... sort of...
[09:35] CW: feel flushe:D for them
[09:36] SB: ah Bog
[09:36] SB: you'яe noт going тo sтaят тalking all lyuвlyu aяe you?
[09:36] CW: noooooooooooo
[09:36] CW: probably not
[09:36] SB: doвяo
[09:37] SB: none тhe less, I hope iт all шoяks ouт
[09:37] SB: if you need some advice oя someone тo тalk тo шell...
[09:37] SB: I'm a вiт oddy-knocky ouт heяe, so I may noт вe тhe вesт
[09:37] SB: вuт hey i'll тяy!
[09:38] CW: Thanks SB, you are the a real gem
[09:39] SB: вlyaт, I jusт тo slooshy and deal ouт some sovieт шhen тhey come тo me
[09:40] SB: keep eveяyтhing all nice and oяdeяly you knoш
[09:43] CW: Its nice to get some or:Derly support
[09:43] CW: the pair of us are about the only two reasonably or:Derly trolls in this circle of frien:Ds
[09:44] CW: oh, the coal is alrea:Dy on its way, per the normal metho:D.
[09:45] SB: Khoяosho!
[09:45] SB: Da, iт seems like шe'яe тhe only dva шiтh ouя gulliveя's all тhe шay scяeшed on
[09:45] SB: I шondeя if iт шill eveя яeally come in handy
[09:45] SB: seems like you have тo вe a liттle insane тo suяvive aяound heяe
[09:47] CW: well :Depen:Ds on your :Definaition of insane
[09:48] CW: if you an:D I are the only ones not like everyone else
[09:48] CW: maybe we are the most insane
[09:48] CW: thus most useful an:D likely to survive?
[09:48] SB: Thaт's a тhoughт xaxaxa
[09:52] SB: яeminds me of a saying шe have heяe in тhe noятh
[09:52] SB: Бу́дет и на на́шей у́лице пра́здник.
[09:52] SB: means someтhing like Theяe'll вe a holiday in ouя sтяeeт тoo
[09:53] CW: Hmmm, thats an abnormally warm sentament for the northern trolls
[09:53] CW: I like it
[09:54] SB: xaxaxa, шe may live in тhe cold, вuт тhaт cold jusт makes us appяeciaтe тhe шaяmтh a liтle moяe!
[09:55] CW: that makes sense
[09:55] CW: wish I coul:D say the same about me, :Darkness an:D light
[09:56] SB: mayвe you should come up noятh; iт's daяk mosт eveяy day heяe
[09:56] CW: stupi:D mutant eyes...
[09:56] SB: if you don'т mind a couple monтhs шheяe тhe sun neveя seтs
[09:57] CW: Not to :Different than living un:Dergroun:D
[09:57] CW: but not sure how comfertable I woul:D be in the col:D
[09:57] CW: much less on the tun:Dra
[09:57] CW: I may get tire:D of being coope:D up un:Dergroun:D now an:D then
[09:58] CW: but I :Do love my conection to the stone an:D :Dirt
[09:58] CW: not sure how a layer of ice woul:D effect that
[09:59] CW: But I shoul:D :Definatly fin:D time to visit, since its like one of the only places I coul:D go without my goggles for an exten:De:D perio:D
[10:00] SB: Iт шould вe doвяo тo have someone aяound шho isn'т ouт тo fighт me oveя food
[10:00] SB: oя jusт anyone foя a visiт яeally
[10:02] CW: If only my tra:Dtional psionics were as rock soli:D as my geo-kentics, then traveling to you woul:Dn't be so rough
[10:04] SB: if only
[10:05] SB: anyшay dяoog, I вeттeя geт тo яepaiяing my heaтeя lesт I тuяn inтo an ice sculpтuяe
[10:05] SB: do svedanya!

== > QUICK BE A DIRTY DIRT TROLL
Hold up on that command, Aforementioned dirt troll is currently trolling their flush crush about an important matter.
[12:49] -- crystalWisecracker [CW] began trolling effervescentFeral [EF] at 12:49 --
[12:48] CW: Hey EF, you around?
[12:49] EF: )+ Why h€llø!
[12:50] CW: Ah! goo:D :Day to you!
[01:48] EF: )+ what is up, my inv€rtibrøth€r?
[01:48] CW: Well, you know how i'm all about the :Digging yes?
[01:48] EF: )+ Øh y€s!
[01:49] CW: I happen to hit something kin:D of rare that ma:De me think of you
[01:50] EF: )+ Dø t€ll! =8D
[01:51] CW: its a vein of crytalize:D howlite
[01:51] EF: )+ H€H€H€! Høwlit€? AWØØØØØØ!
[01:51] CW: hahaha, yes, I was stone col:D certain you':D like that
[01:52] EF: )+ HAHA! Støn€ cøld! I g€t it! =8D
[01:53] CW: I was thinking of maybe using some of it to make you something, if you':D be intereste:D
[01:53] CW: like a necklace or a ring, or what ever
[01:54] EF: )+ Yøu wøuld hav€ tø b€ pr€par€d tø r€c€iv€ søm€thing in r€turn!!
[01:55] CW: Oh my
[01:56] EF: )+ hmmm...what's yøur favørit€ kind øf d€ad thing? =8)
[01:57] CW: Ah, hmmm, while I appriciate the se:Diment, I'm not sure I qoul:D require anything like that in return
[01:58] CW: woul:D*
[01:58] EF: )+ H€H€H€! S€dim€nt!
[01:58] CW: hehehe
[01:58] CW: I just like useing what I fin:D
[01:58] CW: an:D if I can use it to make a frien:D happy even better
[01:59] EF: )+ Yøu hav€ alr€ady mad€ m€ happy, fri€nd!!! =8D
[01:59] CW: Yay :D
[01:59] CW: that wan't a "D" that was just a happy face
[02:00] CW: Oh, um...acutally I just thought of something you coul:D maybe sen:D me?
[02:00] EF: )+ Dø t€ll!
[02:00] CW: I :Don't get above groun:D much, so there are alot of neat things up there I :Don't often get to see
[02:00] EF: )+ Bøn€s!
[02:00] EF: )+ Gøt it!
[02:02] CW: Bones for one thing, yes
[02:02] CW: but flowers as well
[02:02] EF: )+ =8)
[02:02] CW: well, any kin:D of non fungie growth really
[02:02] EF: )+ HØØy€s! Th€r€ ar€ many fløw€rs up h€r€!
[02:05] CW: cool!
[02:05] EF: )+ What is yøur favørit€ cølør? =8)
[02:05] CW: Oh gosh ah...
[02:06] EF: )+ I will g€t all th€ cølørs!!!
[02:07] CW: Ah! yes that is a won:Derful i:Dea :D
[02:07] EF: )+ =8)
[02:09] CW: oh, speaking of color, Howlite is actually a real easy to :Dye crystal, so if you':D like it in any specific color I shoul:D beable to make that happen
[02:09] EF: )+ All th€ cølørs!!!
[02:10] CW: hahaha, gla:D I hit a big vein of this then
[02:10] CW: so that soun:Ds like a necklace woul:D be the best i:Dea for you
[02:11] EF: )+ €H€H€H€! I will hav€ tø shøw my lusus! Sh€ will b€ HØWLING with jøy!!! =8D
[03:09] -- effervescentFeral [EF] gave up trolling crystalWisecracker [CW]

== > if you are quite finished can we be the dirty little dirt troll?
You are a dirty little dirt troll- actually wait. They are being trolled by a good friend of theirs.

== > Of for crist sakes!
---- See above conversation between Klessa and Leshas -----

== > …now?
You are Leshas Muvaar and boy oh boy do you have a busy day planed.

Leshas sighed to herself as she closed her husk top and blew some stray dust and dirt from the delicate machine. Keeping electronics working down underground was a constant activity. The industrious young girl began to make a mental list of things she had to do and the order in which she did them in.
Check List:
Send coal to Klessa ( Check, done while speaking with her, by capture logging a metric crap tone of the stuff, then launching the coal filled geode out of a tunnel at incredible speeds via geo-psionics. In the familiar trajectory of Klessa’s hive. A fairly routine delivery. )
Get iron, use geo-psionics to rapidly refine it into steel
Send newly minted steel to Klessa so they don’t die
Work on howlite necklace for your flush-crush
Get the game client down loading for that weird game your peeps been flap’n their food holes about

‘It’s crazy how much work you find yourself doing’ Leshas thought to herself. She didn’t know how she did it but she always found a task to complete. More often or not for someone else if possible. Well, no time to waste.
After sending a quick warning about impending emergency mining that was going to likely give the whole mountain a good rumble, to her closest friend, both in the traditional meaning of that phrase as well as the proximity, Plutus. He lives way up in the mountain you live way beneath. The pair of you practically grew up together and have always looked out for one another.

She took a few steps away and closed her eyes and began to reach out with her mind. Geo-psionics are uncommon and sort of hard to describe; even those with more traditional psioninc abilities tend to only loosey grasp the idea. What she was doing now was closest to mind control. She wasn’t actually controlling anything, not really. But her mind’s will and consciousness was spreading out through the mountain and its surrounding bones, like a thought-manipulator reaching into some trolls mind and taking information from it. She continued this till she hit one what she was looking for. She had hoped to find once sizable deposited of iron. But instead she found several smaller ones. This would be a bumpier extraction than she had hopped for…but it needed to be done. A life was on the line.

The next process was seizing the ore and dragging it through miles of stone and dirt. While not as hard as It sounded for someone in her geo-kinetic weight class, it was by no means a simple operation. She out stretched her arm and slowly clenched her hand into a tight fist. Her eyes opened and a red-brown light drifted from her eyes as the whole of the mountain began to shake. In a few minutes a 5 clumps of rock and unrefined iron practically exploded in a shower of rocks and rubble into her sizable hollow of a living space.

Leshas examined the collection of rock and iron with a nod. “A good start, hope it will be enough.” She cracked her knuckles and began to work on the extracting the iron, and refining it into steel.

==> Be the cinnamon blood

Alvaro sighed at the screen as he logged off the chat with his moirial. He had extremely mixed feelings about the burgundy blooded troll. In all honesty, his true reason for agreeing to play the game was the assurance of getting to meet her face to face for the first time.

After taking a second to collect himself, he pulled up Kaitan's details and began to troll her. He sneered at the screen in distaste, soon full on glaring and growling angrily at the dim glowing rectangle as he thudded at the keys with every growing displeasure. He nearly slammed the screen shut as he signed off from the agonizing chat. One day, and one day soon, he was really going to hurt her.

A deep breath in. A deep breath out. This was why he had Poppii. Without her to temper his quick and sudden anger outbursts, he probably would have killed a lot of trolls by now. Thinking of Poppii caused him to remember another task.

He gingerly opened the husktop back up and pulled up a new screen on Trollian. Green text responded almost immediately across his screen as he messaged Strace. She was a troll who Poppii and he had befriended through her moirial, and she had a lot in common with his own moirial. The hyperactive and sweet attitude had made Strace one of his instant favourites.

enviousCalamity [EC] started trolling pleasantNaturalist [PN] at 14:32

EC: //Hello there, Strace. How are you doing this day?//

PN: i'm well!!!!!! how are you? 8)

EC: //I'm as I usually am. I come bearing a present for you.//

PN: omg i love presents!!!!!! what is it?

EC: //I think you'll enjoy this. Sending the file now.//

enviousCalamity [EC] sent pleasantNaturalist [PN] the file "SGRUB.exe"

PN: wait is this gonna make my husktop blow up

PN: my moiral got one of those

PN: i was not happy

PN: moirial* yikes!!!! sorry

EC: //I wouldn't worry about that. It's just the game package.//

EC: //Poppii gave specific instructions to distribute this to as many trolls as possible.//

PN: game? i like games!!!!! can i play with my moirial?

PN: oh yay!!!!!!

EC: //I'm entering ad we speak. And you may include them, obviously.//

EC: //I would like to offer to be your server player as well for when you enter.//

PN: i don't know what that means

EC: //It simply means that I will be your assisting player in the game. I will help you in your entry to the first level, or something of that manner.//

EC: //You must connect to a different player in order to enter.//

PN: okay cool i like that because you're really smart!!!!!! if anyone were to be my server player I'd want it to be you

EC: //I am glad to hear that. Let me know when you are ready to begin. I will be available in roughly an hour or so, according to Poppii.//

PN: okay!!!!! thank you so much i'll ttyl!!!!!

EC: //Until then. Feel free to distribute it as you see fit.//

PN: bye!!!!!!

pleasantNaturalist [PN] ceased pestering enviousCalamity [EC] at 14:51

-- enviousCalamity [EC] started trolling viciousEmpress [VE] at 10:26 --

Kaitan's ears flicked at the sound of Trollian's incoming message beeping. She spun around in her chair to face her computer screen, glaring down at the message.

EC: //Hey, Kaitan. I have your copy of the virtual reality entertainment program. You and I are to enter the game as soon as possible.//
EC: //Poppii was very insistent that we do so.//

VE: Riight.
VE: Not two be rude or anythiing but II thought iit wa5 5UPPO5ED two be Poppiiii (fuckiing ii's) contactiing me
VE: Liike
VE: II kiinda needed two talk two her about 5ome
VE: You know
VE: Potentiially problematiic peep5
VE: But anyway
VE: 5ure go on and 5end the fiile
VE: Took ya'll long enough

EC: //I would have preferred she not delegate the task to me, but she implied she would be communicating with TS about important matters.//
EC: //Which unfortunately leaves only myself to do this task.//

-- enviousCalamity [EC] sent the file "SGRUB.exe" --

Pursing her lips, Kaitan clicked around on the downloaded file and saved it under a more appropriate name. Then she turned her attention back to the current nuisance.

VE: Yeah yeah whatever
VE: Thank5 for the fiile
VE: Ju5t let her know that II need two get up wiith her
VE: IIt'5 mo5tly about Le5ha5, II think ii5 the biitch'5 name
VE: Anyway
VE: Thank5 for the fiile
VE: II'll iin5tall thii5 5hiit a5ap

EC: //It was my... Actually, it wasn't my pleasure. Communicating with you is displeasing even on a good day. I'd prefer to never do so again. Too bad we will both be playing this game.//
EC: //I will ensure that my moirail contacts you as it becomes possible.//

A wicked smirk crossed Kaitan's face.

VE: Hey
VE: Better watch your language
VE: IIf II diidn't know you more than you thiink II do
VE: II'd gue55 you were makiing 5ome...
VE: IImpliicatiion5

EC: //You should take your own advice. Implications? As of I'd ever stoop that low.//
EC: //In any case, I am currently focused entirely on a redrom relation I hope to succeed in. And you most definitely would not be in said quadrant.//

VE: A redrom relatiion????
VE: HA wiith who??
VE: POPPIIII??
VE: Good luck wiith THAT
VE: ;)

EC: //...//

-- enviousCalamity [EC] ceased trolling viciousEmpress [VE] --

Kaitan broke out into heinous giggles before clicking around her Trollian app. It would be appropriate to let the other spineless sap know what was going on. No, not Irevir. The other one. Dauxix Gallum.

-- viciousEmpress [VE] began trolling toxicAnnihilator [TA] at 11:03 --

-- toxicAnnihilator [TA] ceased trolling viciousEmpress [VE] --

-- viciousEmpress [VE] ceased trolling toxicAnnihilator [TA] --

-- viciousEmpress [VE] began trolling toxicAnnihilator [TA] at 11:04 --

-- toxicAnnihilator [TA] ceased trolling viciousEmpress [VE] --

-- viciousEmpress [VE] ceased trolling toxicAnnihilator [TA] --

-- viciousEmpress [VE] began trolling toxicAnnihilator [TA] at 11:05 --

-- toxicAnnihilator [TA] ceased trolling viciousEmpress [VE] --

-- viciousEmpress [VE] ceased trolling toxicAnnihilator [TA] --

-- viciousEmpress [VE] began trolling toxicAnnihilator [TA] at 11:05 --

VE: WTF!!!!
VE: 5TOP THAT!!!!

TA: 0H G0D

-- toxicAnnihilator [TA] ceased trolling viciousEmpress [VE] --

-- viciousEmpress [VE] ceased trolling toxicAnnihilator [TA] --

-- viciousEmpress [VE] began trolling toxicAnnihilator [TA] at 11:07 --

VE: THII5 II5 IIMPORTANT NOW 5TOP OR II WIILL KIILL YOU!!!!
VE: Al5o you mi55pelled "gog."

TA: F1rst 0ff, 1 d0n't th1nk y0u QU1TE understand where "g0g" 0r1g1nates.
TA: 1n human culture.
TA: Sec0ndly,

-- toxicAnnihilator [TA] ceased trolling viciousEmpress [VE] --

VE: DAMN IIT DAUXIIX GALLUM!!!!

-- viciousEmpress [VE] ceased trolling toxicAnnihilator [TA] --

In retrospect, Dauxix was pretty sure that constantly irritating and ignoring the would-be empress in the brash manner he was doing was the quickest way to get killed by said would-be empress. His fear of speaking to her in general was too overwhelming for him to really care. If anything, he was proud of himself that he hadn't resorted to blocking her. That didn't go over well last time. Then again, if he could recall correctly, last time he'd blocked her because he was getting quite the lecture for fucking with her moirail. Regardless, he cowered underneath his desk, even though his husktop was still in his lap and his eyes were still glued onto the screen.

-- viciousEmpress [VE] began trolling toxicAnnihilator [TA] at 11:11 --

Yep, there she was again.

VE: II aiin't even here two chew you out 5o chiill the fuck out and giive me a 5econd two explaiin.

TA: 1 d0 n0t even want any part 1n the game and 1've made th1s clear S0 many t1mes.

VE: Okay, yeah, II under5tand that, and II really would rather you NOT be apart of the game, e5peciially con5iideriing we have two work together, but gue55 what?
VE: Tough 5hiit
VE: You're part of the game
VE: Congratulatiion5
VE: Con5iider your5elf a cho5en one or whatever.

TA: 0kay, well s1nce 1'm 6e1ng F0RCED t0 take part 1n the game,
TA: What are y0u even messag1ng me f0r?
TA: What d0 y0u mean we have t0 w0rk t0gether?
TA: Y0u mean, as 1n, get al0ng?

VE: Yep
VE: 5uck iit up.
VE: Tru5t me, II'd rather be found face-fiir5t iin a piile of hoofbea5t 5hiit than cooperate wiith you.
VE: But a5 fate ha5 iit
VE: That aiin't gonna fly.
VE: Anyway II'm liiterally ju5t here two giive you your copy of the game 5o you can go ahead and throw me iin iit. II gue55, iin realiity, you gotta do 5ome other 5hiit once we're iin two help me get all around 5ome crazy a55 mon5ter5 or 5omethiing.
VE: But after all that, you gotta get up with AV.

TA: AV?

VE: Alvaro.

TA: Alvar0?

VE: No, Alvaro. EC.

TA: EC???

VE: enviiou5Calamiity, gog damn.
VE: Well, wiithout the extra ii'5 and 5hiit but you get the iidea.

TA: 1 guess.

VE: One gue55 for what?
VE: Ju5t fuckiing wiith you. II'm not a dumba55 liike you.
VE: Anyway, yeah
VE: AV'5 gonna put you iin the game when iit'5 your tiime a5 far a5 II know.
VE: 5o, here'5 your copy.

-- viciousEmpress [VE] sent the file gameshit.exe --

TA: 1'm a l1ttle hes1tant t0 0pen that f1le.

VE: Well, II gue55 II'm about two run miine, and hone5tly, we better 5tart cooperatiing iif we're gonna 5ucceed at thii5 thiing.

TA: ...
TA: 0kay. F1ne. Temp0rary truce.

VE: Temporary work5 for me. Aiin't even promii5iing the truce'll 5tiill be on when you enter.

TA: 1 can deal w1th that.

VE: Well look who grew some fuckiing 5hame globe5.
VE: Me55age me when you put them two u5e and download your fuckiing copy.

-- viciousEmpress [VE] ceased trolling toxicAnnihilator [TA] --

-- viciousEmpress [VE] began trolling toxicAnnihilator [TA] at 11:42 --

VE: Al5o your handle ii5 5tiill really fuckiing dumb
VE: You've never even hurt anyone

-- viciousEmpress [VE] ceased trolling toxicAnnihilator [TA] --

The hunt was thrilling.

Usually.

This time, the thrill of the hunt was periodically interrupted by trolls. It wasn’t as if she minded––she loved having friends––but at times like this, when she hadn’t had a proper meal consisting of about twenty pounds of raw, bloody meat, she really would have preferred some peace and quiet. At least, that was she thought about the first conversation, in which Fleilt had sent three messages, each with a loud ping coming from her pocket that threw her off at first.

Talking to her beloved moirail, of course, sweetened the deal, even if literally no one ever wanted to share her food with her except for her lusus.That was okay. It was good to be generous to the trolls she liked and threaten to kill everyone else.

She caught a break after withdrawing her nose from the hoofprints in the dirt, and following them.

The hoofbeast was injured. This wouldn’t take long. Irevir licked her lips and got moving.

---

Raw hoofbeast was one of her favorites. It was also one of Wolf-Mom’s favorites. Naturally, then, sitting beside the carcass snuggled against her lusus’ thick, fluffy coat was simply fantastic. Another ping startled both Irevir and her custodian, who let out a questioning whimper as she withdrew the flip phone from her pocket. Oh! She’d just remembered a previous conversation.

In a series of whines and growls, she attempted to convey the fact that there was a kind of rock called howlite and that soon she’d be getting a gift of the stuff.

Being a gigantic canid, the only word Wolf-Mom picked out was howl. Tail wagging, she stood up and let loose a very loud howl of her own.

Irevir hoped that Fleilt could hear this, and that it annoyed the shit out of him.

Okay. Now to check the message.

[07:07] -- auspiciousPetals [AP] began trolling effervescentFeral [EF] at 19:07 --

[07:07] AP: IREVIR?

[07:07] AP: IIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRREVIR!

[07:07] EF: )+ w€ll h€llø th€r€!!!! =8D

[07:07] AP: COME IN IREVER!

[07:07] AP: THERE YOU ARE!

[07:07] AP: YAY!

[07:07] AP: I HAVE A GIFT!!

[07:08] EF: )+ A gift!!!! fuckin h€ck darn tøøting shit y€s!!! Thank yøu!!!

[07:08] AP: I KNOW WE'VE NEVER BEEN ON THE BEST OF TERMS, BUT I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT L-L-LIKE TO HAVE THIS.

[07:08] EF: )+ =8?

[07:09] AP: auspiciousPetals [AP] sent effervescentFeral [EF] the file "SGRUB.exe" at [18:09]

[07:10] AP: YAY! NOW YOU CAN LINK UP WITH VE AND ENTER THE GAME!

[07:10] EF: )+ an €x€, €h? =8)

[07:10] EF: )+ i can't wait!!!!!!!!

[07:10] AP: ALVARO AND I HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTING IT!

[07:10] AP: AND I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO BE AN EARLY ENTRY!

[07:10] EF: )+ høw has that b€€n gøing? n€€d any h€lp? =8)

[07:11] AP: FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE IT TO WHOEVER! JUST MAKE SURE EVERYONE LINKS UP. THATS ALL THAT REALLY M-M-MATTERS!

[07:12] EF: )+ sw€€t shit!!! thank yøu!!!!

[07:12] AP: BUT ALVARO AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING FAST. HE'LL BE THROUGH HIS ENTRY SOON.

[07:12] AP: OF COURSE.

[07:12] AP: I CAN'T WAIT TO MEET YOU IN PERSON.

[07:12] EF: )+ can't wait tø kick søm€ ASS

[07:12] EF: )+ and that!!!

[07:12] EF: )+ h€h€h€

[07:12] AP: IT SHOULD BE A BLAST, BLAST, BLAST!!

[07:13] AP: IF YOU AND VE HAVE ANY TROUBPE AT ALL

[07:13] AP: ALVARO AND I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ASSIST.

[07:13] AP: THOUGH

[07:13] AP: UM

[07:13] AP: IF YOU COULD TRY TO KEEP VE FROM TAUNTING ALVARO

[07:14] AP: HE REALLY... DOESNT LIKE HER.

[07:15] EF: )+ i'll dø €v€rything i can!

[07:15] AP: THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH!!

[07:15] AP: =D

[07:16] EF: )+ =8) i'll gø wørk øn this right nøw!

[07:16] EF: )+ w€ll

[07:16] EF: )+ right aft€r i finish my fancy høøfb€ast dinn€r

[07:16] EF: )+ H€H€H€H€

[07:16] EF: )+ lat€r!

[07:16] AP: ALRIGHT! HAVE A GREAT TIME!!

[07:16] -- effervescentFeral [EF] gave up trolling auspiciousPetals [AP] at 19:16 --

Irevir announced that she was finished with dinner by letting out an enormous belch, at which the wolf beside her gave a shrug. She’d be going home alone tonight while the old wolf sated her much more intense appetite. Licking her lips, she stood up, stretched, gave Wolf-Mom a scratch behind the ears, and absconded.

==>ENTER THE MYSTERIOUS COLD AND SILENT HIVE

The hive was cold and full of silence.

A myriad of shelves covered the plain stone walls, holding everything from well-worn books to skulls and statuettes to unmarked, black-bound journals. Cobwebs and dust covered much of the room in a thick, imposing layer, though they may as well have been a testament to the hiveowner's hygiene than an aesthetic choice. Candles overhead illumined the place in a flickering, shifting light, casting dancing, gleeful shadows every place their brightness failed to touch. A young troll lay in the corner. One might assume she was sleeping, if there was not a perfectly good recuperacoon a mere three feet away. But then again, it is awfully hard to read yourself to sleep while suspended in a sea of goo.

"Mnzzf..." our sleeping subject mumbled incoherently, her voice muffled by the ragged paperback laying open on her face. "A Day for Death" the title read in a thorny print, overlayed above an image of three shadowy silhouettes in a desert. "Sun Striders - Book Five" said the smaller text below. Many would argue it was the best novel in the series, with twice as many plot twists, violent betrayals, and grisly, just murders of the damned. But we don't have enough time to go into the social dynamics between the many well-developed characters, or to explain the in-depth symbolism behind every poetically written page. Not with the ominous gong about to sound.

"GONG!" the ebony computer nearby gonged ominously. "GONG! GONG! GONG!"

"For the love of pain and misery, shut the fuck up!" the troll shouted, tossing the book that was once on her face in the laptop's general direction. It missed, thunking a nearby snakebeast on its head. The lusus hissed, coiling into a ball of anger. Nobody step on Snakedad. Nobody. Ignoring her incredibly peeved guardian, the girl leaped to her feet, running over to the noisy Gothictop as quickly as possible. Taking a moment to slip dramatically on one of the torn papers strewn about, the troll slammed her hand onto the keys, silencing the godawful noise. Who was messaging her at this time of night? Some asswipes had no appreciation for the sleep schedules of others.



Why did that poor excuse for an anything have to insist on bothering her every time she didn't want to be bothered? It... "GONG! GONG! GONG!" fucking hell, not again.



Such a self-righteous, egregiously offensive, smooth-talking asshole. It didn't help that the conversation only succeeded in deepening the hollow ache of loneliness she put up with every day. She glanced for a moment at a small slip of paper on her desk, a torn fragment with a scribbled tag. Well... she was already awake. Intense annoyance and high volume notification alerts tended to do that to a person. It might be a good time to take a chance. A good time to do something idiotic and reckless for once. Bracing herself, she opened a new chat window on her Gothictop, and began to type.



This was it. Her chance. She finally had a chance, finally had an in, finally had a reason to act on how she felt. All thoughts of her conversation with Fortid were forgotten, along with the all-important game. That shit didn't matter, it was all pointless, meaningless, arbitrary in the shadow of this massive bundle of emotion. She had to come up with something to say, had to write something down. A long, detailed art session might have begun if the still-agitated Snakedad didn't choose that time to strike.

"GET OFF ME YOU FUCKING DEMON OF THE INFERNAL ABYSS!" the girl cried as the giant lusus fwomped painfully on top of her. She grabbed it's open fangs, wresting them away from her neck with all her strength. Snakedad was furious, Snakedad was proud. Nobody step on Snakedad unless they want to suffer his scaly wrath. As for messaging this "viciousEmpress"... that could come after the threat of imminent death at the teeth of her guardian passed.

--MAASSIVE RETCONS! LESHAS HAS NO TROLL SHARING HER MOUNTAIN NOR A GOOD FRIEND IN THE FORZEN NORTH --

== > leshas, feel significantly more lonely due to these retcons

Okay buddies time to break the fourth wall a bit. Leshas did not pull iron ore out from the bones of her mountain home for a faraway friend, nor has she had to contact any closer friend about being wary of possible tremors caused by such an intense exercise of her piisonic abilities. And while she is completely unaware of either of this, she does somehow feel a sudden pang of loneliness.

== > quick be distracted from your loneliness by a sudden pestering from a not so friendly person.



== > Leshas, try to remain calm

Yeah that’s not really working.

Historically speaking, Leshas and Kaitan had never gotten along all that well. Maybe Leshas could have tried harder to foster a friendship with the more aggressive sea dweller. But what few peace shrubs had offered never went well. Kaitan’s feelings weren’t even caliginous apparently despite the intensity of the dislike. But that was fine with Leshas, she really didn’t like the idea of being in a pitched place with her.

Maybe all that tension between them made made more sense now that she knew that they knew about her ancestor. She hadn’t asked how long ago she learned this information, so she couldn’t be sure, but it was possible that Kaitan found out about her ancestor’s ugly history shortly after they met. That could have been the spark that started the years of unpleasant interactions. Or perhaps she has just always hated, you just because? And that bit about her ancestor was just another log for the hate fire. And now that hate had given way to threats…

== > Leshas, keep your cool
NO you will NOT KEEP YOUR COOL!

Leshas may have never gotten along with that bitch, but she always did her best to stay out of her way! She did her best to keep from antagonizing her! Always biting back her hot response as best as she could. But despite all of that crap she had gone through you still got added onto Kaitan’s kulling list. So much for keeping your flush-crush’s life uncomplicated! The very thought of it just rose inside of leshas like fiery magma, building into an intense pressure behind her eyes. She was just so incredible frustrated! All she ever really wanted to was to see if her flush-feelings for Irevir would go anywhere. If it didn’t work out, then didn’t work out and that was no big deal. But being given death threats just because some fish-chick couldn’t handle the idea was really just-ARGH!

The ground began to shake violently. A rumble that could be felt miles from the leshas’s mountain home. The countless tunnels of her underground hive were filled with the roaring sound of angry stone and crumbling dirt. At the peak of her emotional outburst, a pulse of geopsionic force emanated from the overwhelmed little troll, followed by a sharp crack, shocking in its volume and depth of tone. The sound of splintering stone. Shortly after there came a deafening roar from every bit of stone, dirt, and otherwise mineral object around her. The ground shook, and through her psionic connection to the minerals around her she could feel that many of her tunnels caving in. As she returned to herself, she rose her hands to protect herself from some debris falling from the cavern roof. Dust filled her hives central chamber as the silence fell.

== > leshas, cough, and pray you didn’t just fuck your cpu up with that quake

Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay. Oh holy shit, it is fine.

After confirming that her husk-top wasn’t crushed under a rock, Leshas looked down at her hands shaking a bit from what had just happened. She…she normally kept her powers on a tight leash. Mole dad had always preferred her to dig tunnels the slow and careful way with her drills. He’d often threw a tantrum or started a strife when she ‘cheated’ with her powers. She had always suspected it was because he was a competitive old mole and didn’t like his troll out doing him. She had never had an outburst like that before. Had Kaitan really flustered her that much? Was it her anger at Kaitan that fueled that…or the anger about someone trying to block any moves on her flush crush. Because if it was the latter, if she got this worked up over a romantic issue and lost control like that… that would mean Kaitan was right about her being dangerous for Irevir.

== > be distracted by a message
Seems you’re being trolled, good you could use a talk with someone…crap its Fortid.

== > well that was an okay talk with one of the more annoying friends of yours. Could have been worse.

Yeah, it could have been. It was enough to keep Leshas’s mind off her crap long enough to tidy up her central hive chamber a little. She craved an additional distraction. Now seems a good time to work on Irevir’s gift. If Kaitan does kill you, better make sure your flush crush has something cute to remember you by. As she began that little project she received a message

== > lucky you, distraction abound today, check the message. you’re being trolled by a mysterious stranger
[see previous post’s third conversation ]

== > Well shit, looks like you have a rival in love and someone wants you dead.

Much to Lesha’s surprise, the appearance of a romantic competitor didn’t shake you up all that much.
Guess when I said i don’t take well to threats I wasn’t kidding. Like, romantic rival or romantic rejection I seem to be cool with, but someone wanting me dead for wanting to see if a flush-crush could lead to anything really pushed my buttons.

Funny enough Leshas’s finds this rathe relieving. Seems it just Kaitan that makes her lose her cool, not actually affairs of the heart. That may not seem like that big of a deal to most trolls, but for Leshas, with what she knows about her ancestor, that is an important discovery. Well, she hopes her new “rainbow drinker” acquaintance doesn’t get the same shit treatment from Kaitan as she did.

== > Oh huh, shiny-toosh is messaging you again already.


== >Before you have much time to think on that you get pestered again. Oh, it’s Pompii, finally a friendly friend to speak with.


[i]Welp, the game is DLing and my gift is done. My days are possible numbered, and I apparently got a cool ass rainbow drinker moving in on my lady. Time to send this gift and a little extra.[i]


Welp, you chickened out before she got to the letter. But hay, you did it. One up that cool ass poetry rainbow drinker.

Well, Lesha’s has some additional cleaning up she could do as the game DLs, so why don’t we be another troll?

== > be another troll

===> Be Strace

Strace, after receiving her copy of Sgrub, was excited.
She was going to be able to play a game with her moirail for once she was so excited!!!
That's not new, she's always excited.

==> Troll your Moirail



It would soon come to her attention that she did not get to connect to him, which is a shame for the both of them, really.
She pondered at the thought of her potentially endangering her moirail, which she would never do on purpose.
Probably not, it's just a game. What's the worst that could happen?

As of yet, Strace eagerly waited for Alvaro to contact her once more, hoping he would connect to her so they could be able to play!

==>Be a bored lavender blood now.

Tick, tick, tick.

Aleida watched as her husktop's clock's numbers slowly changed every 60 seconds. Waiting to get the game everyone has been planning is giving her a feeling she rarely experienced: boredom. Yes, she could do one of her many hobbies but she may miss a message on her Pesterchum. Aleida decided to check on a few of her acquaintances to see if they are doing at least something.


"Well,wasn't that one of the most shortest chats I've done." Aleida said before she moved her dusktop and face planted onto the couch she was laying down on. She got up and walked over to her key collection and chose out a key to wear for good luck. Then, going back to her spot, she started to message a certain yellow-blood next.


==>Aleida:DOWNLOAD THAT GAME ALREADY! YOU'VE BEEN WAITING SINCE 1AM!

Alright, alright. You don't have to yell.

Aleida clicked on the file and started the downloading process. Thinking it will take awhile, she walked out of her room to search for something to put in the strife specibus.

Be another troll?

==>Be someone else for now.