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THE.WHITE.COMPASS | |
 | The Key to Luminescence | "The White Compass points to where humanity ends and magic begins...." ORIGINS & CREATIONS: | Unknown. Likely spawned by some belief. | TYPE: | Teleporting-Artifact | LOCATION: | The White Compass’s last known location was in the Pit, but now it's believed to have been taken to St. Portwell, Oregon. | NOTABLE OWNERS: | Edmund the Seeker: A renowned Adept who first discovered the White Compass and used it to journey to Luminscience, gaining unparalleled magical insights. Edward Elrich: A scholar of the Accordance who documented the properties and potential of the White Compass, though he never used it himself. | ABSTRACTION-GRANTING: | No. | ............................................................................. | The White Compass is an artifact of unparalleled significance, designed with a singular purpose: to teleport its bearer to the realms of Luminescence and the Oasis. When activated by merely touching it, The White Compass emits an ethereal glow, transporting its user to the very heart of the All-Verse. It functions as a gateway, effortlessly bypassing the barriers that separate dimensions and leading directly to Luminescence or the Oasis. The creation of The White Compass is shrouded in mystery. Legends suggest it was a gift from above intended to provide a means for select beings to access the essence of all life. It resonates with its wielder's deepest desires and intentions, ensuring that only those in need or those destined for higher purposes can harness its power. Throughout history, The White Compass has been sought by many but possessed by few. |
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when's mahvel
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Did somebody say... hookers?
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"Never could trust you, I still got your location on, fell out of love, I delete all the nudes out your phone. Can't get a reaction out of me, that's what you want."
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You have to live every day as if you've dropped your pants and told the whole world to suck your dick.
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so are these nuts
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Bio
"You're a fine warrior. Call me sentimental..."
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Currently updating...
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REALLY PUNCHY GUYS _______________________________ @redbaron1234 @Kamen Evie @KaiserElectric @Drag @KremeSupreme @Megsychan @Oddsbod | THE DISAPPOINTMENT CLUB _______________________________ @Spoopy Scary @Junkmail @Maxx @Luminous Beings @Dragonbud | OTHER SCRUBS _______________________________ @Zombiedude101 @Lord Wraith @FernStone @Atrophy [@Moth] @Skai @silvermist1116 |
SETTINGS _______________________________ The Tyrant Shell Universe - Mechapunk (Mecha and Cyberpunk mixed together). The Black Fall Universe - Modern-Superhuman tale. | LINKS _______________________________ The Collective - My Discord Server. The Ghost Lounge - My 1x1 Thread. The Ghost Archives - Character storage. |
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Most Recent Posts
THE.KINGDOM.KEY | |
 | The Key To All Gates | "No door remains locked, no realm remains hidden, and no threat remains unchecked. " ORIGINS & CREATIONS: | Human hands or other sentient beings did not forge the Kingdom Key. Instead, it was born from the collective belief and desire for security and sanctity across the All-Verse. This artifact embodies the primal need to protect one's domain from unwanted intrusions.| TYPE: | Sealing/Key Artifact. | LOCATION: | The last known location of the Kingdom Key is shrouded in mystery. It appears only to those with a true and desperate need to seal away a dimension. | NOTABLE OWNERS: | Throughout history, the Kingdom Key has passed through the hands of various notable figures, each chosen for their unwavering dedication to preserving the balance between realms. | ABSTRACTION-GRANTING: | No. | ............................................................................. | The Kingdom Key is an artifact of immense power, taking the form of an oversized key that, despite its grand and intricate design, feels utterly weightless in the hand of its bearer. This paradoxical nature underscores its unique capabilities, which extend far beyond its physical form. The primary power of the Kingdom Key is its ability to seal entire dimensions, making them completely inaccessible to any form of teleportation or magical entry. When activated, the Kingdom Key channels the latent energies of the All-Verse, firing a beam of light that weaves an unbreakable seal around the targeted dimension, regardless of whether the user is within or outside the dimension. This seal is impervious to tampering or destruction other than the Kingdom Key. Additionally, the Key can break seals placed on dimensions through other means, restoring access where it was once restricted. Beyond its primary function, the Kingdom Key possesses several other abilities. It can unlock or lock any ordinary or magical lock with a tap. The artifact is supernaturally protected, rendering it indestructible by any known force. |
THE.JADE.RING | |
 | The Withering Cirlet | "They rise and bloom, but all shall wither in my sight." ORIGINS & CREATIONS: | Yoko Hatanaka forged the Jade Ring with the help of Luca Olivera. It was designed to combat the terrifying Calamities, specifically the Vulture and the Floral Wreath. | TYPE: | Decaying Ring | LOCATION: | The last known location was in the Hatanaka Sanctuary, where Yoko stored it in case it was ever needed again. | NOTABLE OWNERS: | Yoko Hatanaka, the creator, who used the ring in several fierce battles against the Calamities. | ABSTRACTION-GRANTING: | No. | ............................................................................. | The Jade Ring is a small yet incredibly potent artifact, crafted from a rare, vibrant jade gem that glows with an ethereal green light. The ring's magic is directly tied to its creators', Yoko's, intent: to counter the relentless destruction of the Calamities - specifically the Vulture and the Foral Wreath. When worn, the Jade Ring can emit powerful blasts of concentrated decay. These blasts have a unique property: they specifically target and wither undead beings and plant life, causing them to rot and disintegrate almost instantaneously. This makes the ring an invaluable weapon against the armies of reanimated corpses raised by the Vulture and the monstrous flora controlled by the Floral Wreath. The ring's decay power is not limited to direct attacks; it also creates an aura of decay around the wearer. Any undead or plant-based creature that comes too close will begin to wither and weaken, their life force rapidly drained by the ring's influence. The Jade Ring's power, however, comes at a cost. Prolonged use of the ring can take a toll on the wearer's own vitality, causing physical and emotional fatigue. |
The House on the Hill.Jack began yapping, and Adora tried to pay attention, but some details slipped through the cracks. Pale Horse, this. High-Priestess, that. They were going on a mission to find an artifact to help Luca and Lila - that was great, but he also brought up a great point: he would be useless without the Rot (Just like me). However, Adora knew better than to tag on a mission like that. Most of it didn't sound useless, and Jack just wanted to hear his voice...
“Isn’t this great? You, me, and our friends? My, I really feel like I’m part of the team. It’s really great. And all done without you. While you were busy wasting the coven’s time, I found out key information that’ll push us down the right path. The path of the victorious, pushing us one step closer to that Father Wolf you hate so much. And now I’m off to find a way to track down the Pale Horse and the High Priestess. Enjoy sitting around being useless.”
... Of course, Tsukino had to go and stir the pot. Adora stared daggers into the girl as she spoke. She knew that Drake had fried her at Kari's house - but as far as Adora could tell, it was entirely justified. Though, what was not justified was Luna insulting Drake and trying to push his buttons. Adora facepalmed. The girl finally got back in, and she let it get to her head. Adora was desperately hoping that she wouldn't have to put up with Tsukino's bullshit every goddamn meeting. However, Sully stuck up for his boy, and Adora suddenly didn't feel the need to say anything. She apologized to Drake and didn't get turned into a lightning rod. Adora sighed as she crossed her arms, leaning against the bar counter.
All they had to do was stay focused on the task and wait for Greenwood...
“Speaking of journeys, the future points towards one filled with horror and tribulation. There is one artifact that can answer all our questions and needs for security. One that would tell us where Kari is, one that would find all of the stolen artifacts, one that would reveal the location of each and every member of 8th street in case a war to break out, where farther wolf truly is. Kari’s Wayfinder. That, or one of its replicas. I know where they are, I know we will be able to get them. Do you all remember Goro? They have a sibling named Yoko. Goro has been missing since searching for the Abberation killer in New York. I believe he found it, but can’t get away from where he is at. As such, his sister has departed with the Wayfinder and several replicas and we will be able to get one or the other. And we will find all of them. In a place where hope goes to die. The Pit, and in each ten possible futures I’ve narrowed down it is a vital piece of the puzzle to solve this Kari drama.”
... Then this bitch started yapping.
Adora went back to facepalming. Now, she had no clue about the Wayfinder or the Pit, but she knew about Yoko and Goro. She thought highly of Goro, not so much his little sister. Adora was surprised he wasn't there, but she found out why. Everyone immediately shot down the idea, and Adora shook her head at Lynn. Adora wasn't sure if it was just a ploy to get some attention, but the Coven was doing so good at staying focused, and then this bitch comes and fucks it all up.
Adora stepped forward and then spoke to the group, ”Yes, we all agree it's a stupid ass idea. Let's get back on topic and-”
A shadow creature burst through the doors, and Adora's heart almost burst out of its chest. She was prepared for a fight, only to recognize it somewhat. Her eyes fell on the part of the creature's face that was still intact. It was Clancy's face, the boy she had seen earlier today. She was not sure if it was Clancy or... a monster that ate him and assumed its identity. Adora was careful and sighed as she glanced at the seemingly extra Trinity Ring that had entered her possession - no one would have noticed. Well, it was time to put Sloane's work to the test. Adora raised her ringed hand, her palm facing her, as two copies of herself appeared next to her in a cloud of smoke.
Adora wasn't expecting much, but this was the best that she could do. All three Adoras stuck their hands out at Layla and shouted at Layla.
”Layla! Don't touch that thing! You don't know what it's trying to do!”
The House on the Hill.Drake didn't listen to Jack at all; it was a lot of yapping because, ten years later, Jack still didn't know how to get to the point. Though he didn't stand there twiddling his thumbs...
“Isn’t this great? You, me, and our friends? My, I really feel like I’m part of the team. It’s really great. And all done without you. While you were busy wasting the coven’s time, I found out key information that’ll push us down the right path. The path of the victorious, pushing us one step closer to that Father Wolf you hate so much. And now I’m off to find a way to track down the Pale Horse and the High Priestess. Enjoy sitting around being useless.”
... All of his attention was on Luna. The audacity of this bitch made Drake grit their teeth, and his right hand started crackling with electricity. Charging up a bolt of lightning to fry her. The fact that, just like Britney, Luna had the nerve to show herself after hurting the Coven just pissed him off - but unlike Britney, she had the decency to keep her mouth shut. Though, Sully stepped in and put a hand out in front of him - immediately, Drake deactivated the spell, not wanting to shock his homie as Sully went and got on her ass.
Soon enough, Luna came over...
“Shit. I got ahead of myself, Drake. I'm sorry. I'm still sore about what happened at Kari's House, but I realize you were just trying to keep people safe. I came to the meeting with information, and no one has chased me away, yet. I'm… just trying to be useful. That doesn't give me the right to try and lord it over you, though.”
Drake crossed his arms. He knew it was bullshit; she didn't mean any of it and was only doing it because she got called on it. However, the rest of the Coven, for whatever reason, didn't immediately throw Luna out the door (like they rightfully should have). While Drake wanted to throw her out, he knew better than to push against the wave - which was the entire Coven. Drake shook his head as he pointed a finger at her and said,
”... Don't let it happen again, okay?” He commanded. ”I don't want you here, but obviously everyone else doesn't see the same way, so let's just stay away from each other.” He rolled his eyes.
”Capice?”
“Speaking of journeys, the future points towards one filled with horror and tribulation. There is one artifact that can answer all our questions and needs for security. One that would tell us where Kari is, one that would find all of the stolen artifacts, one that would reveal the location of each and every member of 8th street in case a war to break out, where farther wolf truly is. Kari’s Wayfinder. That, or one of its replicas. I know where they are, I know we will be able to get them. Do you all remember Goro? They have a sibling named Yoko. Goro has been missing since searching for the Abberation killer in New York. I believe he found it, but can’t get away from where he is at. As such, his sister has departed with the Wayfinder and several replicas and we will be able to get one or the other. And we will find all of them. In a place where hope goes to die. The Pit, and in each ten possible futures I’ve narrowed down it is a vital piece of the puzzle to solve this Kari drama.”
Unlike Jack, Drake listened intently to Lynn because she spoke something essential and exciting... the Wayfinders. Drake had no clue what the Wayfinders were, but Lynn answered a burning question: What happened to Goro and Yoko? Now, Drake knew all about the Pit because Adam (Papa Blackmore) told the Blackmore siblings all about the Pit when he was trying to get them to learn teleportation. He warned them why it was essential to be careful with teleportation because they might accidentally end up there. So, were those two in the pit of all places?
However, from Lynn's speech, all she spoke about was the Wayfinder - either get the Wayfinder or find Goro to make one. But what about Yoko and Goro? That didn't sit right with Drake for a number of reasons. Sure, Yoko was a pain in the ass back in the day, but that didn't mean she deserved to be stuck in a hell dimension. And Goro would have done everything in his power to get them out if they were stuck down there. Bastards.
Drake sighed, turned to Lynn, and laid out his terms,
”... I'm only going down there if we're getting Goro and Yoko out, damn the Wayfinders,” Drake narrowed his eyes at Lynn.
That was when a whole ass monster burst through the doors; Drake immediately created a Voltblade, crackling with blue electricity as he faced the thing down. It ran in, collapsed, and then begged for help... it had pieces of a face, and Drake recognized it. It looked like the kid, kind of. Drake tilted his head as everything seemed to want to help it, but Drake was prepared for a fight.
Adora said what was on his mind, calling for Layla to get away from the thing before it killed her!
THE.BLACK.ENVELOPE | |
 | The World Ending Parchment | "Look. You don't know what you're doing. If you find this thing, find some way to destroy it." ORIGINS & CREATIONS: | Who knows? It probably came out of the All-Verse's butthole. | TYPE: | Cursed. That's all you need to know, idiot. It's cursed. | LOCATION: | Long as you're not in the same universe as it... don't worry about it. | NOTABLE OWNERS: | You know, they're all dead. | ABSTRACTION-GRANTING: | No, but it does things to you. Things to your soul. You won't last long after you touch it. | ............................................................................. | Hey there, you don't know who I am, but you'll thank me later. I am the last person to hold the Black Envelope. I thought... I thought it was the key to gaining the power I always wanted. I thought it could be the solution to taking out threats like the Stygian Snake, the Rampage, and the Deathpile. I thought it could solve all the problems. I thought it could help people. I thought it could help me. I thought it could help me. But, I didn't realize - until it was too late, of course - that it's worse than every Multiversal threat put together. Whatever this artifact is, it's easily the most dangerous thing in the All-Verse. It does things to your mind. It gives you power, yeah, but it makes you a slave to its power... and the scariest part is that you won't even realize it. None of that "a prisoner in your own body" bullshit; it alters your mind, your memories, and your personality to suit its dark needs. With the help of others, I managed to break free, but I realized that this thing was too dangerous. So, I made it my mission to spread the word of its danger... and erase all knowledge of what it can do. It's powerful; it can change the world, but it changes the world in its image. So, I tracked down the Compendium, tore the page out on it, and burned it. I replaced it with this warning: Please. Don't look for it. It's gone. I took it somewhere where nobody will ever find it. I'm probably dead by the time you read this. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... |
The House on the Hill.“Hiii, Britney. Uh, can we talk later?”
Britney noticed the hesitation in Layla's voice but disregarded it as Britney just smiled at her and said,
”... Sure thing!”
However, Jack began a long-winded yapping spree, and Britney rolled her eyes as Jack went on and on. Man! For all his genius, Jack never heard of the word brevity, now, did he? She chuckled at her joke as she sat by Greyson, though she zoned out for a bit. A lot of it was shit she already knew, except for their expedition into Gloom. She would volunteer herself to go, but she and Kenshiro... yeah, they don't get along, and it probably be would be best if Britney remained in Shimmer. However, the next person to speak up was Lynn...
“Speaking of journeys, the future points towards one filled with horror and tribulation. There is one artifact that can answer all our questions and needs for security. One that would tell us where Kari is, one that would find all of the stolen artifacts, one that would reveal the location of each and every member of 8th street in case a war to break out, where farther wolf truly is. Kari’s Wayfinder. That, or one of its replicas. I know where they are, I know we will be able to get them. Do you all remember Goro? They have a sibling named Yoko. Goro has been missing since searching for the Abberation killer in New York. I believe he found it, but can’t get away from where he is at. As such, his sister has departed with the Wayfinder and several replicas and we will be able to get one or the other. And we will find all of them. In a place where hope goes to die. The Pit, and in each ten possible futures I’ve narrowed down it is a vital piece of the puzzle to solve this Kari drama.”
”So that psychopath did yeet herself into the Pit…” Britney spoke out loud to nobody in particular. Britney tried to get Yoko to realize that going down there was suicide, but she wouldn’t listen. That was on her - though Britney couldn’t help but admire Yoko’s dedication to her brother. However, Lynn suggested they go into the Pit - taking Blackmore, Luna, Leon, and herself down there for the Wayfinder. While Britney could care less about Luna or Leon, she wouldn't send Blackmore down there (woman-beater or not). Now, Britney had no clue what the Wayfinder was or what it did, but from what she could infer, Kari and Goro made it. Britney stared at Lynn like it was the dumbest thing she’d ever heard….
”…. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
It was. Lynn had no clue what she was even suggesting! Were they all so desperate that people were throwing out crazy ideas just because? Britney tilted her head at Lynn. Unfortunately, Aaron entertained this craziness instead of just treating it as one of Lynn’s intrusive thoughts that she let out. This meant the others would join soon, but Britney wanted to tell Lynn why it was a lousy idea politely. So, it was time for the Coven’s magical expert to magical expert.
”I mean, look, Lynnie, I know you probably put a ton of thought behind this,” Britney lied through her teeth because it was just the most head-empty ideation she ever heard, ”But, it’s not going to be that simple. You know the Pit is not just full of monsters, right? It’s big, like huge. It’s the fragments of several worlds colligated. Going through it hoping to find one artifact is like looking for a needle in a haystack, but the haystack’s on fire. And the needle is infected with HIV.”
Britney then clapped her hands together, hoping that Lynn would finally get it. Get what she meant, and stop wasting ”But, let’s say you do find the Wayfinder or Goro or…” Britney visibly cringed, before she said, ”... Yoko. How do you suppose this ‘expeditionary party’ gets out? The Pit redirects any teleportation back into it. Meaning it's going to be next to impossible to get out.”
She shook her head before she added”Look, I don’t know what makes this ‘Wayfinder’ so special, but all we have to do is find a half-decent Artificer, and we make our own version of it. I know Goro's work was special, but it can't be that hard to imitate.”
Then Britney turned to Aaron.
”Aaron, let’s stop humoring this,” Britney began. ”Like Jack said, we finally have a tangible plan. Let’s stick to that then start coming up with these crazy-ass ideas if they don’t work out. Which I doubt, but I don't think we'll ever be desperate enough to enter the Pit.”
Lisa climbed back down, gracefully landing on an upright computer desk. She looked to the left and then the right, as she whispered,
”Lord,” She began. ”I never thought I’d say this, but making a flying spider would be a bad idea.”
Lisa looked to the left and then to the right.
”I don’t think we should leave the way we came”
Saskia had also climbed up, dropping back down beside Lisa and pulling the blood tendril back into the cut they’d made on their palm. "Agreed. We need to be stealthy… quiet and unnoticeable."
They turned their gaze to Ella. "No magic."
"Hey, I’m not stupid!" Ella threw up her hands. "I can be stealthy too."
Saskia snorted. "Sure. Let’s get to the ground level and walk."
”Sounds like a plan,” Lisa whispered as she slowly and surely made her way to the staircase. It was still intact enough for all three to climb down, and Lisa was the first down - however, slowly and carefully. The stairs shook with every step that those giants outside took, and Lisa stopped when the stairs got wobbly - however, she kept pressing on until they reached the ground level. With every step those monsters took, it felt like an earthquake was going on…. Lisa stumbled before she pushed herself back to her feet.
”... We came from that way,” Lisa pointed to the left before she pointed to the right, ”.... And we need to go this way.”
Ironically, the direction the first monster was going.
"Great," Saskia frowned. ”Let's try to stick close to the buildings…"
Ella gulped, didn't say anything, and nodded. Saskia started towards the right, eyes narrowed as they looked for a way out - before the building collapsed on them. Not guaranteed, but definitely a possibility. Lisa pushed the door open and opened the door into the main lobby. Lisa carefully raised a finger as she walked to the door and poked her head out. The monster was already down the street… but two more were approaching, so she quickly dipped inside. Lisa carefully walked back over to Ella and Saskia, as she said,
”... I think,” Lisa thought out loud. ”They’re looking for something. I mean, look at how they’re moving and how many of them there are!.”
"Maybe we can just wait it out, then?" Ella suggested.
"Or better, we leave the city, if they're looking for something here. Hopefully they'll ignore us," Saskia shrugged.
”Let’s just leave,” Lisa whispered. ”One, we don’t know if they’ll ever stop searching. Two, we don’t know if they’re looking for us. And three, we don’t know if they’re going to start trashing the city.”
With that final word, Lisa nodded as she added, ”There’s two coming down the street - should I make a spider we can all ride on? Even the giant ones aren’t that loud, just in case it can also have wings.”
Then she paused, ”Or would it be easier if we went by foot?”
Saskia frowned. They’d be fasted on a spider, but it also gave them more limited mobility. It was much more difficult to hide when they were all on one. "Let’s go by foot. We’ll have an easier time hiding if we need to. Let’s wait for the two coming to pass, then go out."
They went to the door, carefully looking out. The two walked past, shaking the earth with every step, and Lisa walked up behind Saskia and nodded.
Saskia nodded back, holding a finger to her lips - namely in Ella’s direction, who took up the rear. Then they stepped out into the street. They went in the same direction as the two creatures, sticking close to the wall of the building they’d come out of. Lisa grabbed onto Ella’s hand and tailed behind Saskia as they tailed behind them. They approached an intersection - however, one of those monsters was coming from the right.
Lisa lunged forward and tried to yank Saskia into an allway they passed. Saskia wasn't that far ahead, silently pulled back into the alley. They pressed their back against the wall, frowning. This was going to be difficult when they had no idea where they were even going.
She shoved her hand into one of her many pockets and pulled out a small notebook and pen. She scribbled on it and held it up to the other two.
'Let's try take small alleys they can't fit down.’
Lisa nodded as she continued down the alleyway; it wasn’t long before they made it to the other side… and she poked her head around the corner momentarily before quickly darting back. Lisa put her hands out, fingers open, and then summoned spider webs from underneath her clothes that quickly weaved webs in the shape of words:
A few are coming down this way. Let's go through this building.Lisa nodded her head in the direction of the metal door that was slightly ajar.
Saskia nodded. They very carefully pushed the metal door a little bit more open, wide enough that Ella would be able to fit through, before slipping in. It was darker inside and took their eyes a moment to adjust… they gestured for the other two to come in too.
Ella held up her hand as she stepped in, head tilting questioningly. Saskia shook their head. Better to deal with the poor lightning than risk drawing attention with a bright pink flame. The door led to a convenience store… the building had been ransacked before, with only a few snacks and rotting food lying across the floor. There was glass shards scattered all throughout the floor…
Lisa immediately grew spider legs out of her back and climbed onto the ceiling. She looked at Ella and then at Saskia. Then back to Ella. She grabbed her chin, before making a gesture with her index and middle finger - a walking motion but veeeeeeeeeery slowly. Then she put her hands together and gave Ella a closed-mouth smile with a pleading look.
Ella held up her hands with a pout, looking a bit upset. Saskia rolled their eyes. Lisa was right to be worried. They went first, bones lightening to make it even less likely they'd make any sound, carefully stepping their way through the broken glass. Hopefully Ella could follow the same path… they checked behind them as they walked to see Ella following them at a very slow pace. Painfully so, really, but it was better than stepping on a piece of glass.
Saskia made it to the other side without incident. Ella was still going, carefully twisting her body and going on her tiptoes. She made it to the other side, letting out a sigh of relief, lowering to her heels.
And immediately put a heel on a shard of glass. Thankfully, it didn't shatter, instead it just shoved right through Ella's shoe and into her foot. Saskia immediately threw up her hands, shoving them over Ella's mouth before she could shout in pain. Lisa gently lowered herself to ground level, waving both hands downwards pointing at Ella’s foot. Ella silently lifted up the foot with glass embedded in it, hands gripping Saskia's shoulders for support.
Lisa put a finger to her lips as she looked up at Ella and Saskia, then her healing spiders came out of her pores and onto Ella. She then grabbed the shard glass with both hands and yanked it out - and immediately, the healing spiders went to work and began healing Ella’s foot.
Saskia still had her hands over Ella's mouth, and pressed them harder to once again stop any screaming. Ella's whole face was scrunched up in pain, which quickly relaxed when the healing spiders did their work. She put her foot back down and Saskia finally moved her hands away.
They looked around, then at Lisa, gesturing back to the ceiling, and then forward. It would be safest for her to lead them through from up there. Lisa nodded her head, and climbed back onto the ceiling, though her footing was shaky due to… all the shaking from the titanic beasts outside. One of them approached, and Lisa gently lowered herself to the ground for a few moments to wait for it to pass by. When the coast was clear, Lisa poked her head out through the front and quickly gestured for the other two to come along.
Across the street was another alleyway; no monsters on the street could see them. Lisa raised her hand in the air and then used her opposite hand to count each finger. Then she pointed at the alleyway and smiled at the other two.
Saskia nodded, finger and thumb pressing together in an ok symbol. Ella looked between them both, looking confused… but that didn't matter. Saskia reached behind them and grabbed Ella's hand, before raising the other one. Five fingers up.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Saskia ran across the street, dragging Ella behind her - she quickly got the message and ran fast enough to get just ahead of Saskia, practically leaping into the alley opposite. Saskia immediately got close to the wall, looking down the alley to make sure there weren't any nasty surprises - Thankfully, none. All three of them got across, and Lisa sighed out of relief.
However, there was a door to a reasonably large abandoned apartment complex, and Liea pointed at the door, sticking a thumbs up and rotating it up and down, waiting for approval.
Saskia looked at the apartment complex, thinking about it… yes, probably safer to go through that. They gave a thumbs up, as did Ella.
Then they carefully went over to the door, pushing it slightly open to peer inside. This revealed a primarily intact hallway illuminated by a dim overhead light that flickered on and off. Saskia motioned for the other two to follow them in, beginning to make their way down the hallway. They glanced into any doors they passed… just in case. Most of the doors were closed, but the few that were open were just typical apartment rooms - some of them wholly trashed and others too dark to see into.
However, as they proceeded down the hall, one of the doors they passed opened…
Saskia stopped, immediately spinning around and holding an arm out… primarily to stop Ella immediately blasting the door with fire. They wriggled their fingers before a long, thin blood whip formed from it. They carefully manipulated it so that they could wrap it around whatever came out of the door.
… It was nothing.
Saskia shuddered, hair on the back of their neck standing on end. They didn’t like that one bit. But they gestured forward with one finger to keep going, proceeding slowly and carefully, listening for anything. And keeping the blood whip formed.
Lisa silently grabbed onto Saskia’s wrist and pulled them down the hall. Lisa then stuck her hand out and summoned a hundred Darwin-bark spiders that quickly created a wall of webs that blocked the hallway. Then she kept proceeding with the group until they made it to a staircase. Lisa put her hands together, and this time used Snare to make a message out of webs.
Maybe get up to a high vantage point so we can decide where to go next?
The ground began shaking more intensely, signaling a monster was close.
Saskia nodded in agreement. They needed to figure out where to go so they weren’t just running around hoping they’d get out. They gestured up the stairs, moved two of their fingers and moved them quickly to signal walking fast, then put a finger on their lips again, looking at Ella. Ella threw her hands up silently, before folding them over her chest with a pout.
Then they started to climb the stairs, as quickly and silently as possible. Followed by Lisa, who had her Spider-Legs already coming out of her back.
A door was slammed on the ground floor, and Lisa stopped dead in her tracks to look over her shoulder…
… only to see nothing.
Ella jumped, eyes wide, trembling slightly. Saskia grimaced. She once again gestured up the stairs, motioning for them to go quickly. They grabbed Ella’s hand and tugged them, taking two steps at a time, assuming Lisa would spider leg her way up faster. As expected, Lisa left the stairs and ascended to the top floor with lightning speed - but never left their sight.
Once the other two made it to the top floor, Lisa pointed at an open door.
Ella was the first up the stairs, going to run right through the open door… Saskia caught her, and went in more cautiously, still ready to attack at any moment. The room was completely untouched by the chaos of the Pit. It had all the furniture you expected to see in an apartment, and the windows, as Lisa expected, gave a great view of the surrounding area.
Out the window, there was a forest, a thick, lush, green, paradise… Just a few miles away.
Saskia frowned, approaching the window and looking out. It looked… nice. Too nice. The apartment and the forest. The pulled back out their notebook, scribbling down something before holding it up to Lisa and Ella.
‘Isn’t it strange this room is fine?’
Lisa quietly laughed as she stuck her hands out and used Snare to cast another message on the walll…
Only if THIS is the only room that’s alright.The webs dissolved as she made another message.
Maybe we can make a flying spider and jet… Me and Ella can use Crack Spiders. The monsters don’t seem to be that fast.Saskia flipped to another page and wrote, ‘Worth a try. If we fly high enough we can avoid them.’
Ella nodded her agreement, having no way to communicate beyond that.
A spider crawled onto the ground, enveloped in a glowing white cocoon, and grew larger. The webs dissolved, followed by another message.
Ella will have to punch the wall down or something.There was a faint growling down the hall…
Shit. Saskia gestured to the wall, and made a punching motion to Ella, before flicking out their blood whip to shove the door to this room shut. Ella shook her head, pointing to the cocoon, even as her legs started to glow with prismatic light.
Still not wanting to draw attention to them, just in case whatever that was didn’t know they were there, Saskia crouched down, blood running along their back to form their blood tendril. They pointed it at the door. Meanwhile, spiders came crawling from all the hidden corners of the room, and pooled right above the door…
The growling grew louder, as they heard slow footsteps approach, sounding as if whatever was coming dragged its feet with every step and it was heavy. Though, it stopped directly at the door… the growling continued.
Saskia looked up at the spiders, then down at the door. She raised a hand to shoot through it, before pausing, getting a much better idea. She quickly pointed to the Ice Scepter, then the door.
Ella grabbed the Ice Scepter and shot a beam of intense, cold energy to freeze the door. The creature could be heard pounding on the wall - loudly roaring - hard enough to knock over some items on top of the furniture. The spider was at half size, but the noise was attracting the sounds of the bigger monsters - which were now heading their way. Lisa bore teeth as she looked to the left and the right.
"Shit," Saskia swore under their breath - wasn’t exactly louder than the roaring. She jumped away from the door, and pointed to the wall, motioning again for Ella to kick through the wall. Then to Lisa, she pointed to the spider, then the wall, and finally to her own back.
As Saskia shifted their backpack to their front, wings started to push through their back.
”... But-” Lisa tried to protest before she shook her head, and the spider burst out of the cocoon. It had dragonfly wings half the size it typically was for when to ride it - and all the spiders on the ceiling fell onto its back. Lisa hopped onto Saskia’s back.
Saskia let out a quiet oof, but their wings had finished growing and… it should be fine. Probably. Ella kicked the wall, making a sizable hole, before kicking it again so that it was big enough for them to get out. She turned back around… freezing in confusion for a moment.
Saskia just pointed to the spider. Ella threw her hands up and jumped onto the half sized spider.
"Sorry if we die," Saskia said before stepping through the hole, sinewy wings stretching out fully… and just about stopping them from falling to their deaths after a few flaps. They wobbled a bit, grimaced, and just flapped harder. Fuck, this was harder than they’d expected, but they tried to get as much height as they could.
The spider with Ella on top trailed behind, as Lisa nuzzled against Saskia,
”... At least we’ll die together,” Lisa said.
As they flew through the skies, all of the giant monsters in radius began following after them. Lisa looked down, and her eyes shot open.
”I’m not sure if they will follow us into the woods!” Lisa shouted. ”But, I have an idea!”
The spider carrying Ella flew right in front of Saskia, one of its eight legs in arm’s reach.
”Grab on!”
Saskia frowned, reaching forward to grab onto the leg… it couldn’t exactly make things worse.
”Ella! Crack Spiders!” Lisa shouted.
"Got it!" Ella shouted, pressing her hands against the spider, imbuing it with dazzling rainbow lights. Saskia had to close their eyes to not get blasted in the face with them.
The Spider cut through the air at lightning speeds, taking them both far into the air - and out of the city into the woods…
Interactions: Luca (@FernStone), Edict/Kenshiro (@AtomicEmperor), Luna (@Estylwen), & Lila (@NoriWasHere).
The House on the Hill.Thankfully, nobody jumped on Adora for having ties with 8th St. Though, she wasn't Edict! She knew they were probably harboring some deep-down feelings or thoughts that they were waiting to throw in her face at the perfect opportunity. However, that wouldn't stop her from doing the right thing, and this was one hill that Adora would die on. Though she was far from impressed by Luna, Edict had a more sensible plan/idea/whatever (even though she didn't trust him). However, there was one thing that she had an issue with.
"Lila to... Act as bait a little bit."
”... We're not using Lila as bait,” Adora added, crossing her arms. She couldn't care less about what Britney did because if she got hurt, she probably deserved it. ”I'm cool with working on the 8th St front. I doubt I'd be of much help recovering the notes.” She finished that statement with a shrug.
"I refuse to be a part of plans involving the cooperation of 8th Street members. They all smell of Emily; even if their ideologies no longer align, they did at one point! Someone must be responsible!"
Adora turned towards Kenshiro. She had a lot to say, like how people need a second chance (and a third and fourth after that) or how people's past actions do not define them if they're no longer doing it. However, she kept her mouth shut as Luca asked him the tough questions, and she felt slightly proud of the little guy. Adora realized that a majority of these people, these magic users, have become so invested in magic that they have no clue about people.
”I think this is the most organized since I got here!” Adora laughed. ”But, let's take things slow. Like Anya said, we don't have all of our-”
Dramatically throwing the door open, like a bolt of annoying coincidence, was none other than Drake Blackmore. He strutted in, wearing a black leather jacket, jeans, and some black and yellow Jordans - naturally, shades indoors. He said, ”What's up, gang!? Sorry, I'm late! I had to watch the triplets until 'Toria got home from work.” His eyes then landed on Lila as he grinned and said, ”... How do you like the new jacket, bird-homie? I loved that thing so much it might as well be my channeler!” He laughed before he said,
”Take good care of it for me!” Drake said before he turned to Sully, and shouted, ”Sully! Did you forget... the... beer...” Drake slowed down as he noticed Luna.
Drake then pointed at her and looked around as he asked (no one in particular),
”... Why is she here?” He tilted his head.
Lynette Domínguez
Interactions: I guess the Coven.
The House on the Hill.Did Lynette want to attend a Coven meeting?
No, no, she did not.
She did more independently and heard about their amazing track record so far.
However, circumstances changed, and Lynette needed to speak with Sloane for help. Was it selfish to finally decide to attend a Coven meeting after she finally required them? Yes, it was, and it was also suspicious for the former third in command of the 8th St Coven to attend a meeting after they attacked Sycamore - Lynette wouldn't lie about that. She pulled into the House on the Hill parking lot in her black jeep with tinted windows and stepped out. She was wearing a black leather jacket, jeans, and some combat boots that she tucked into the jeans. Around her waist, she had a black fanny pack, not just any fanny pack, but a fanny pack with a holster. She kept her Glock hidden in there, just in case, along with some scraps of paper with some glyphs - in case she needed magic.
Speaking of which, she gently unzipped it and pulled out a scrap of paper with an earth glyph drawn on it. It began glowing with a soft, gentle blue glow as she pulled the back door of the jeep open, and a chunk of concrete was pulled out of the ground (she'll put it back later!). Lynette reached inside the jeep, pulled out donuts, chips, coffee, soda, and other snacks, and placed them on top of the rock. With a sigh, Lynette walked up the stairs to the House on the Hill, with the rock carrying her snacks behind her.
Lynette walked through the doors naturally. Most of the Coven hadn't assembled yet, but she saw Sloane, perfect. However, she would talk with Sloane about her little problem later since she didn't want to draw a lot of suspicion onto herself. Amara wasn't here, so that was good for her so Lynette stepped in and smiled.
"Hi, everybody! It's been a while," Lynette said. "Sorry, I missed the first... three get-togethers? It was three, right? I was busy with work, you know. "I got snacks for you all..."
Lynette stepped aside, and the chunk of concrete with all her snacks floated to a nearby table. Lynette gently placed all of the things she got. Before she turned to the group, "So, what did I miss?"
Interactions: None.
Cascade Pines National Park.It was the morning of the meeting, where Britney, ideally hoped that the Coven would stop taking lame-ass digs at each other and devise a plan to handle the 8th St Coven. Britney never expected to ever run into Emily G. Reed and Vashti Nour again, but it seems like all hell is breaking loose, and all of her past mistakes are coming to haunt her at once. Not that she shouldn’t have handled them before all of this got out of hand, but there are sooooooooo many things that Britney should have done better.
There’s not enough paper on this planet to write them all down.
The fact is that, as it stands, their current capabilities aren’t sufficient to handle threats like 8th St. Britney knew that they weren’t ready to take on anyone beyond that - there was always someone better. She wasn’t like Jack or Stormy, who felt they could take on the world because they defeated the Stygian Snake ten years ago (with an artifact designed to defeat beings like the Stygian Snake). Britney knew that she was very out of her element because after mastering Floramancy, she just gave up on learning new spells. Looking back, this was an unwise choice, but she can’t do anything about that now.
What she can do is learn from the other Adepts and train in preparation for the next time they get into a fight with 8th St, the Wolfpack, or any of the other psychopaths that roam the streets of St. Portwell. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that, but Britney knew it would, regardless of how hard they tried. So, Britney waited in the Cascade Pines National Park… a location she’s trained in several times for her Floramancy.
Britney heard some footsteps approach.
Britney pivoted.
Britney smiled…
”Good, morning-” Britney’s jaw dropped, as she was utterly stopped in her tracks. ”... Why in the world are you two booty-out naked?!”
”Don't act like you haven't seen it all before,” Linqian laughed, winking at Britney. She then held up her hands. There was a gentle heat radiating off her, her body
temperature manipulation stopping her from completely freezing. ”I can't afford to lose another set of clothes, so I left everything in my car.”
”Oh am I still naked,” Aryin joked as she looked over her body, ”and same. With the 317 going all hands on deck for some coming war I can’t lose any more clothes,” Aryin paused as she stared off in the distance, ”do you know how hard it is to find clothes that fit both bodies shapes, sizes, and still look good both ways?” Aryin
”... You haven’t met Bean, have you?” Britney chuckled. ”And, uh, I hope you don’t mind me asking but who are the 317? I know Greenwood’s leader lady brought it up when we met last night.”
Then she paused again. ”... And what war?”
”I have not, would she be able to help with my unique problem,” Aryin chuckled as she rubbed her arms with her hands. She wished she had more control over her green lux like Linqian to heat herself up. “The 317? We’re a supernatural art collective bro,” Aryin said with a raised eyebrow, “By day we sell our art and make money and during the night we’re usually busy training lately. We’ve been the group behind the industrial area restoration. We try to keep out of coven business when possible,” Aryin paused as she looked around, “I don’t know much, but we think something is coming our way. Trying to prepare ourselves for whatever it is before it gets here, you know. Thus, we’re friends with Greenwood now,” Aryin paused as she looked at Linqian. Aryin embraced Linqian in a tight hug to warm herself.
”Basically some kind of artsy nerd group,” Linqian laughed, hugging Aryin back to spread that warmth a little bit. She lowered her temperature a little so she could keep it going longer, and as the light glow off her skin reduced the marks all over her were obvious. Some were a few days old, but plenty weren't from the night with Edict and Britney… rope burns, bruises, bite marks (so many)… Linqian didn't seem bothered at all about how obvious they were. She turned towards Britney with a grin, patting Aryin's back. ”Maybe they'll help us with our little Emily problem?”
Aryin smirked as she looked back at Britney. “I think we have a few people who would want to help. If you wanted introduced to the leadership let me know and I can set something up
”Sure,” Britney said with a smile. ”We could use some more friends - though, I’m questioning how good they would be in a fight.” She laughed before playfully rolling her eyes.
”Okay, yeah, that’s rich coming from me, I know,” Britney laughed again. ”And yes, Bean can help you out. She’d be happy to - but let’s get to work already!”
Britney turned both palms upwards and shot a burst of various foliage, flower pedals, and pollen out of her hands.
”... Who’s ready to learn some Floramancy!?”
”Do we get to learn the cactus?” Linqian asked with a smirk, before laughing. ”Let’s fucking do it. I also got a spell I want to develop, I'll need your help with that, bitch.” Saying that, she slapped Aryin's back.
“Were not the worst fighters, but we have a lot who have not had to fight,” Aryin paused as she let go of Linqian, “which is why I’m ready to learn. I’ve fought George twice now and lost, fought Greenwood’s best and lost. I need to be better in this form, and I need to be able to fight back without swapping.
”No, you’re going to learn how to connect to Gaia and generate plant-life including the cactus,” Britney chuckled, though she continued. ”Now, listen up, Floramancy isn’t just wrapping people in vines and cactuses; it’s understanding life itself and channeling it.”
Britney gestured towards a cluster of flowers and smiled, ”First lesson, understanding life-force, now watch closely.” Britney extended her hand as a wheat-colored light surrounded the flowers… she hoped these two would understand what she’s saying, though sometimes, while she loved them, she felt like she was talking to a wall!
”With Floramancy, you’re not commanding the plants or forcing them to do anything but forming a bond between yourself and the plant. And with this bond, you can… command it to do whatever you want because I just ruined my own metaphor,” Britney slapped a hand on her forehead as the flowers began to grow much more significant than they naturally would.
”Just like, you gotta feel the energy between you and a plant - and I know that sounds crazy, but you gotta try it!” Britney began before she lowered her hand. ”Now, each of you try, just close your eyes and reach out not with your mind, but your soul. Form a connection. Feel the connection. Use the connection. Once you establish it, you can do anything.”
”Righhhhttt…” Linqian raised an eyebrow. That shit sure did sound crazy. Feel the energy? Form a bond with… a plant? She could barely form that with fucking people! But it was worth a try. ”Don’t be too disappointed when this doesn't fucking work.”
Linqian stepped towards a different cluster of flowers, crouching down in front of it. She then reached out her hand and closed her eyes. Feel the energy between her and the plant… yeah she wasn't feeling shit. But it was kinda like temperature, right, something she could just sense in the air. She reached out a little further so her fingertips brushed the flowers. She could literally feel it, obviously. There was an energy or whatever… just try communicate with it? Grow. She concentrated before pulling back her hand and opening her eyes. Nothing. Still the same amount of flowers.
”Well that did fuck all,” Linqian rolled her eyes, gesturing with the hand she'd held towards the flowers… except it was now a whole fucking vine from the elbow downwards, with little flowers dotted across it identical to the ones she'd been trying to grow. She just hadn't realised yet because it didn't feel all the different.
Britney laughed, putting a hand to her mouth as she said, ”You’re a natural!” She pointed at the vines. ”When I first learned Floramancy, they just died a lot.”
Linqian looked heated though, ”But you have to let go of your anger, you have to replace it with a nurturing spirit. I know you see me hurting people with plants a lot but with Floramancy you gotta have ‘building’ in mind.”
"The fuck you mean natural- oh shit!" Linqian finally looked at her hand, eyes widening at the vines it'd turned into. It really hadn't felt all that different from when she changed her temperature, but now that she was looking at it… she wriggled the bottom of the vine arm, where it split into four, experimentally. "Right, lemme just conjure up a nurturing spirit right now, sure that's real fucking possible."
She laughed before furrowing her eyebrows, eyes closing again. Nurturing… She thought about Henri when he was younger. The warmth she'd felt raising him, the pride whenever he did well. As she thought about it the vine arm grew, extending out as it got longer. Flowers bloomed along it, and the split ends curled as if to grab something, even if it was only air. But then Linqian started to think about the danger he was in. All the ways she'd have to protect him, everything she'd have to do to not leave him worse than nothing if she died…
The vine arm retracted, Linqian's body heated up, and it burst into flame. Her eyes shot open. She twisted herself to hold the now flame coated arm away from Aryin and Britney. ”Shit.”
”Wow, you got a funny idea of what plants are!” Britney laughed as she walked around Linqian without fear and playfully laughed. She used her developing Aqua Bloom spell to splash some water on the fire and kept splashing water on the fire until it was all gone. ”Now, we have experimented, and we found out that plants do, in fact, burn when you set them on fire!” Britney teased, sticking her tongue out.
”I didn’t do it on purpose,” Linqian rolled her eyes with a groan, shaking her arm - even though it was a plant, she could still feel the water hitting it.
Aryin watched it unfold and was impressed with how easily Linqian was able to summon the vines. She knew that she wanted to show that she could do that too. In her own way. Aryin closed her eye and took a deep breath and reached out to the forest around her. She felt nothing. No connection, no feeling, and no sensation. She tried again, feeling out with her life force to try and connect with a more spiritual level but the forest did not budge. Shit. This was already harder than she thought it would be and that made her concerned for the rest of this training day. She knew she had another every source she could use for this, Leon had gotten her fully charged last night and some of the stored energy remained from that. Maybe she could use that energy instead?
Aryin exhaled as she opened her eye and looked at Britney and then Linqian. She took another deep breath and reached out but lowered her hands towards the ground more. The ground was her base, it was what allowed her to be this immovable force, and maybe it would hold a better connection with the fauna underneath. She reached out and pushed the connection and found something reaching back. Interesting. She could not tell what she was making a connection with but she could tell it was not that strong of a link, at least yet. Her hand trembled as she groaned. She sent commands of growth to the fauna but she could not tell if was doing anything. Aryin dropped to her knees and sat down on the ground below, placing her hand firmly in the dirt. She pushed for the plant life to follow her command, grown, and she felt it listen. A second later she opened her eyes and saw that she was now in the middle of a perfect mushroom circle. The mushrooms were a vivid red color and seemed to almost glow Not quite plant life but a close mistake.
“I think I made a mistake,” Aryin joked as she looked at the mushroom circle.
”Oh shiittt, you made a bunch of shrooms!” Linqian laughed. She squatted down just outside of the mushroom circle, narrowing her eyes at them. ”You think we can get high with them?”
As she asked, she experimentally moved the vine arm she still had, sending out a small tendril from the split end to tap one of the glowing mushrooms.
The glowing mushroom glowed even brighter at the tap before it exploded with a small bang, no louder nor bigger than a firecracker. “Oh shit!”
”Fuck,” Linqian laughed as the tip of the vine was caught in the explosion, the nearest bit burning off and leaving it gently smouldering. It hurt a bit, but not that much… thankfully. ”Good thing I didn’t just fucking grab it.”
Britney facepalmed, before laughing. These two goofballs really didn't get it.
“I am so so so sorry, I used some of the stored energy I had to fuel that connection so it must’ve made it explosive.” She put her arms back to the ground and, this time, tried to make the connection the way Britney intended. She reached out with her soul this time completely, devoid of intention or any other thought which was very easy for her to achieve. And then she felt the connection. It was the same network that bore the explosive red caps but this time she felt like the connection was more subtle. She gently pulled on it and guided it until, at long long last, another fairy ring appeared around her, this time the mushroom caps were as white as snow.
”Ahhhh, you’re getting it!” Britney shouted, shaking with excitement. A wide smile on her face as if she was a parent finally proud of her disappointment for a child! Though, there is a lot more to her magic than just making plants.
”You two are getting there! Making baby steps! First you begin with making plants that don't explode! Then you gotta learn how to materialize the exact plant you want, then shaping, then moving - then it’s all up to your imagination!”
Linqian rolled her eyes at Britney's over the top excitement and smile, clamping down on her more irritated reaction - she didn't really want to set her arm on fire again, even if it hadn't hurt… and could be useful in a fight in a different way. ”Y’know, just cause we're not academically brilliant or whatever doesn't mean we're shit at spell casting. We were the ones fighting in the front fucking lines before- I only stopped working on my magic cause I didn't have time around working multiple jobs.”
”I never said you were,” Britney calmly answered.
She took a step back, holding up her normal hand to her forehead, taking a deep breath. ”Sorry, barely slept last night. Let's keep going… different plants, right? I think I'll have to keep mixing it with green lux, shit just feels more natural like that, but I can still do all that.” To demonstrate her point, she flexed the vine arm, stretching out one of the four split tendrils. It shifted, growing thorns and blooming with blood red flowers.
“I was a much better student back when,” Aryin paused as she frowned. She was a much better student when she had her friend Ella by their side. Ella had helped Aaron develop his spells and they had hoped that she’d be able to help Aryin do the same. Yet fate had another path in store. “I had a friend back in the old coven who helped me expand my red lux. I am ready to put in the effort to do the same with my green.”
“I hear what you’re saying Britney but it just,” Aryin paused as she reestablished her connection with the fauna and commanded it to grow bigger. It responded by following her command, quickly erupting up to the size of a very small tree trunk. “How do you go from this, to bringing out something I want? Something that makes me more useful in this form?”
”You practice!” Britney shouted, walking over to Aryin and touching her shoulder. ”How did you make this form in the first place? Did you pull it out of your coochie?! I mean, I hope not but you took some time to develop these spells, right?”
“Well the kindling got me started about what I could do and this,” Aryin pointed to her body, “this spell came intrinsically from there. Felt like this was just another part that was ready to come out. Like I knew I was fluid young, and when I needed to swap for the first time she was the one that was waiting.”
”Your affinity,” Britney said. ”You didn't just make the spell, you felt it.”
”You could just fucking throw the exploding mushrooms at people,” Linqian suggested with a laugh. ”But maybe you gotta… combine it with your green lux? You don’t use red much in this form, do you? Like think of this shit as an extension of your body… that’s how I got it to work. Sorta.”
She held out her other arm, expression screwing up in concentration for a moment. From her fingertips to her shoulder, her skin turned green and hardened, sharp thorns pushing out through the new plant skin. Sap leaked sluggishly from where the thorns had pushed through, and it hurt, but she pushed through it. She raised the second, much thornier vine arm and elongated it to wrap around a branch well above her head and well out of reach. It snapped it and she pulled it down with a grin. ”Shit, I dunno how to explain it better, I just kinda will my body to change. Don’t you do shit like that with your durability?”
”You know, this is a random-ass thought, but what if you threw mushrooms that exploded into spores?” Britney began, letting her intrusive thoughts out. ”If someone huffs it, they start tripping balls. Wouldn’t that be nuts?”
”That would be so fucking cool,” Linqian grinned, twisting her head around to look at Aryin expectantly. ”Then you can give those 8th Street assholes a taste of their own fucking medicine.”
“Oooooh that is a good idea Britney, though I’d want that trip to be as bad as possible,” Aryin said as she cracked her knuckles. She looked to Linqian with a smirk. “I can also learn how to make the trip as good as possible.”. Aryin winked at Linqian.
”But, that’s an aside because mushrooms, technically, aren’t plants,” Britney playfully said, sticking her tongue out. ”They’re fungi. They just act a little bit like plants.” She pinced her fingers together.
”Ooo, Aryin failed the plant exam, gonna have to retake,” Linqian joked, laughing. ”... even if they're not plants, definitely make us some shrooms later, yeah? After we’ve mastered plants… like the cactus. Especially the cactus.”
“I just felt called to them shut up.” Aryin looked off to the side.
Linqian paused, turning to Britney. She raised her hands… except they were still vines, with one comedically more spiky than the other. ”Speaking of cactuses, I’m surprised Greyson isn’t hanging onto you like a fucking barnacle, all things considered. You abandon him in a ditch somewhere?”
Britney was silent for a moment… narrowing her eyes, and that smile erased itself from her face. She knew where he was; he was with Leon and the Temple. Despite their conversations, she still didn’t approve of them, and she didn’t want Greyson to hang out with them. However, she would stay out of Greyson’s business, just like he was staying out of her business (... when requested).
”... He said he had business,” Britney answered, and left it at that. Britney’s smile returned as she clapped her hands together and said, ”Let’s sate your obsession with the cactus in the meantime, yes?”
“I have heard about this cactus, I never saw the appeal but who am I to judge.”
”Don’t know it till you try it,” Linqian laughed, slapping Aryin’s shoulder, completely unbothered by Britney’s non-answer. She didn’t care that much about where Greyson was, there was just a bit of curiosity there. ”Wouldn’t do much for you, but the possible pain, you know?”
She turned back to Britney. ”Let’s fucking do it.”
Britney facepalmed.
”... You know I used a spineless cactus, you know? Key word here: spineless!” Britney laughed.
”Fuck, that's kinda boring,” Linqian rolled her eyes good naturedly. ”But y'know, I ain't looking to use it on people like him, y'know what I mean.”
She winked, before looking down at her arms. With a frown, the less spiky one slowly turned back to normal. ”I’m guessing it's kinda similar to this, right? Just… trying to make a cactus.”
”Yes,” Britney said. ”But, I meeeeeeeean, sis, a cactus isn’t the best weapon you can use with Floramancy. Have you ever heard of the manchineel? Or you can just shank someone with a vine.”
”I can already shank someone with this,” Linqian pointed out, stretching out the vine arm they had until the end turned into a sharp point.
“Can I turn parts of myself into a plant like that with this magic,” Aryin asked with a blank look on her face.
”I mean, you have Green-Lux, so you can turn your whole body,” Britney said with a shrug. ”I don’t know how that’s going to work, but hey, it’s magic!”
”Yeah, just like you’re normal shit, y’know? You just gotta combine it… shit it’s hard to explain cause that bit comes naturally to me, it’s the separating I struggle with,” Linqian frowned, trying to figure out an easy way to explain it. ”Just like with how you got the shrooms, but use that energy on yourself.”
“Hopefully this training will allow me to bring a little more power to my kit,” Aryin focused on her hand as she tried to summon forth this undiscovered power. She felt the connection with the fauna around her and with a surge of focus and energy she forced a change to her knuckles. Out of the tips of her knuckles were a few of the vibrant red mushrooms. “Well that’s not a cactus,” Aryin joked.
”... They’re not even plants!” Britney laughed.
”I don’t think magic cares,” Linqian shrugged, and laughed. She then turned to Aryin, turning her arm back to normal and holding both up in front of her. At the same time she started to cool down, trying to channel the coldness into a tougher exterior. ”Punch me! Let’s see if they explode too.”
”I care! But, let me get back!” Britney laughed, before she took a few steps back until she was a good distance away. She gave them the thumbs up. ”... Go crazy!”
“Let’s see what they can do,” Aryin raised her fist up and sent another light jab Linqian’s way and on contact, the mushrooms exploded with more force than before.
Linqian’s attempted durability enhancement using the cold worked a little… that was until the mushrooms exploded. The coldness offset the heat that came with the explosion but it knocked Linqian back, her back hitting hard against a tree trunk. The bark scraped her bare skin, and the outer layer skin where they’d been hit had been torn away. She grimaced. At least her skin was cold enough it didn’t particularly hurt or start bleeding.
”Fuck, you know, I think you’re onto something with that,” Linqian commented, stretching out her arms. ”Now you help me with something - how the fuck do you do the hit tanking? I’m trying to fucking… make my skin tougher with the cold but as you can see, didn’t do shit.”
“It’s two things really,” Aryin paused as she looked towards Linqian, “the first thing is this form is a spell you know? I’ve made myself just incredibly durable within just the body. The second is I use my body to absorb the impact of attacks, and store that energy for use like these mushrooms. As long as I’m like this, and expend energy, it’s really hard to hurt me,” Aryin stuck out her tongue with a chuckle.
Linqian nodded, frowning slightly. How Aryin explained it made sense, but figuring it out in a way she could use it was the difficult part. She'd just have to keep trying. ”Alright, fuck, I think… I can use that. Fucking hit me again.”
She held her arms up in front of her again, temperature cooling down further. As it did she concentrated on how it affected her whole body - the slowing down of everything, using the loss of energy as a form of protection. More than just hardening her skin.
Aryin channeled her new found power again and, without problem, another row of mushrooms grew across her knuckles this time they were bigger. Aryin wanted to see how durable her friend could get, and while these would not be that much stronger than the last they would be noticeably stronger all the same. She punched out a moment later towards Linqian.
Linqian took the punch full on again. This time she felt the explosion ripple across her skin as the blow was spread out. It pushed her back, but nowhere near the same as before, and the damage wasn't as bad. Visible cuts still appeared all across her arms but… it was progress. ”Fuck, I think I can get it with more practice.”
She put her arms down and turned her head towards Britney. ”Brit, how much time we got till that fucking meeting? I want to grab food on the way first, haven't had a chance to eat since…” she frowned. ”Sometime yesterday.”
”It's at six so we got all day!” Britney playfully said, before she raised a finger and then added, ”But, one, we have to remember we on black people time, and two…” Britney laughed before she pulled it together,
”… And two, you know we ain’t getting shit done no how!”
”Fuck, you're right, can be on fucking time, that shit wouldn't be right,” Linqian grinned. ”Fucking miss me with the bullshit they always start with.”
“Did you manage to absorb any of that impact,” Aryin said with a chuckle.
”A bit,” Linqian nodded, stretching out her arms. ”Spread it out more than anything… fucking finicky this lux combination thing. But if I tried it without the cold it wouldn't do shit. I don't have that separation shit you got.”
She crouched again, arms once again in front of her, body temperature lowering even further as she channeled it even more across the surface of her skin. ”Just gotta keep practicing! You're favourite fucking thing, punching me- I quite enjoy the impact, y’know.” She laughed and winked at Aryin. ”Brit says we got the time, so beat me up till you're fucking exhausted! Maybe when you're done you'll be punching with some actual plants.”
“You forget, I never get exhausted,” Aryin winked as she once again summoned forth the new spell and this time instead of five smaller mushrooms she had one large on erupting out of the top of her wrist like an extension of the bone that connected to it. She raised back her fist and sent it flying towards Linqian.
Linqian crouched, stance widening as she took the blow with her arms. The explosion was even larger this time, once again knocking her back a couple of steps. She felt the damage rippling outwards across her arms as some of it was negated, some of it spread. More wounds opened up but they’d spread even further this time - all the way up to her shoulders. Just surface wounds, too. Nothing awful. ”Fuck, that was definitely stronger - but I’m getting the hang of this shit. It’s hurting less every time.”
She seemed unbothered by all the blood sluggishly dripping down her arms - she was. It didn’t really hurt. Honestly, compared to the bruising and bite marks all across her body it was nothing. But still… ”Lemme try something else. I, uh, found Jinhai’s spellbook this morning. He wrote down how he thought I could use his self-heal… may as well give it a shot.”
Linqian closed her eyes and tried to do what Jinhai had suggested in his spellbook. Channel her need to survive to protect her brother… combine it with heat. Her body temperature ticked back up to normal before continuing upwards, skin going from pallid to glowing hot. She concentrated the temperature on only her arms and the various wounds started to glow. Intense, burning pain seized her. It was much worse than when she got hit- it was so excruciating that her vision went black for a moment. Linqian knees buckled underneath her as she continued to heat them up. ”Fuuuccckkkk!”
She cooled back down, and looked at the results which were… clotted up wounds, still there. Not healed at all. ”Fucking- alright, fuck that, let’s keep practicing the not getting hurt in the first place shit.”
“You got this Linqian. The stored energy is, like, apart of me? You know? I’m not storing the energy anywhere in particular but it’s like the energy infuses into my body at its deepest level,” Aryin paused as she held her hand up, “I’m not taking the energy and storing it myself, but my body is always ready to take in that energy at a moments notice,” Aryin paused as she made a fist with that hand, “and my spells are always ready to draw from that energy as well. You need to have your body ready before impact, and not try to make it ready during you know?”
”Bitch, I am, that wasn’t from your fucking punch,” Linqian rolled her eyes up at her friend - clearly not actually pissed about it. She pushed herself back to her feet. ”I was tryna fucking heal myself and it did the complete fucking opposite!”
She was more irritated by that failure, clenching her fists as her temperature came back down to normal. But it made sense. She had to do the cooling and the durability at the same time, rather than one then the other. It was all part of the same spell. But she held up a hand. ”I need a few moments. If I go cold now I’ll hurt myself more. But then, you can fucking punch me again all you like.”
”... You two have a weird friendship,” Britney giggled.
”Well we did become friends after beating each other to shit,” Linqian laughed. ”Which I won, by the way. Just someone’s in fucking denial about it.” She then grinned. ”Y’know what they say, friends that fight and fuck together stay together. Actually, that means you’re both fucking stuck with me.”
“One that’s lasted the decade since the coven,” Aryin smirked as she looked at Linqian. “How about we keep practicing the plant spells and once you’re ready we’ll get back to it?”
”Actually, there was an idea I had in mind for a Joint-Cast,” Britney said as she rubbed her chin before she pivoted towards Linqian. ”With her, though. Sorry, Aryin.” She gave Aryin a catty smile as she grabbed Linqian’s hand and turned towards the clearing…
Interactions: Jack (@Blizz).
The House on the Hill.The doors were thrown open as Britney held them open for Linqian and Aryin. After they were through, Britney stepped in, a warm smile on her face as she saw the group assembled... and her eyes landed on Luna as she put on a bit of disappointment. Of course, she was here, and so was Leon... though, she went back to forcing a smile. Everyone here was probably looking for a reason to jump on her after the disaster that was Kari's house, so the last thing she wanted to do was pick a fight with one of them.
”Heeeeeeeeey everybody! Sorry, we're late!” Britney announced herself before she turned to Jack and raised the Noble Vow in the air. ”I still got Reza's sword, Jack! I didn't lose it!”
Then Britney grabbed the nearest sat and then said,
”What did we miss?”
Who am I kidding? I can already tell a pointless meeting when I see one.
The buzzing of the spider’s wings couldn’t drown out the roars and screaming in the distance, even though Lisa tried to make it buzz louder. The trip was silent… as everyone was on the lookout. Wasteland as far as the eye could see… until they saw it on the horizon.
A city.
Or at least something that looked like one. Lisa smiled, pointed forward and went,
”Let’s take a break there! That place looks s-”
However, high up as they were, they couldn’t avoid noticing the ground shaking beneath them… as something colossal burst out in front of them. Lisa screamed as she suddenly swerved left, spinning out of control, and then they crashed against the barren stone ground of the wasteland. They came to a skidding stop before they could go off a cliff, but Lisa’s spider mount was done for. Lisa looked up at the colossal entity - dust and debris clouded the creature’s complete form, but it was enormous, the size of a skyscraper.
However, the dust settled, and it was a skeleton. Its head touched the skies, and Lisa looked on in horror.
”Maybe it didn’t notice us…” Lisa awkwardly laughed.
It took a step towards them… it was prolonged and deliberate, but it covered so much distance. With this one step, it appeared as if it was about to fall onto itself, but it held steady. The ground shook; it paused momentarily before raising its other foot.
"We can’t fight that," Saskia hissed.
"Let’s run!" Ella shouted, taking one look at the thing and knowing she didn’t want to fight it. How could they even take on something that size?! "It’s slow enough that we can probably… avoid it!"
Ella grabbed Lisa and Saskia’s hands, dragging them to run away from it as fast as she could, in the vague direction of the city they’d seen.
The ground violently shook with every step the giant skeleton took; while each step was slow, it covered enough distance to remain in close pursuit. Lisa peered over her shoulder.
”... We’re not getting away from that!” Lisa shouted. ”I have an idea! You’re not going to like it!”
The ground shook one more time.
”... Everyone! Pick a direction, and run! Split up! It’s the only way!”
"No, I don’t like it!" Ella shouted. "Before we do-"
Ella channeled her magic through their held hands. "Magical Girl Aurora, squad transform!"
Lisa and Saskia’s clothes changed to magical girl outfits just like Ella’s, except themed after their magic. Both were dark coloured, with Lisa’s covered in spider web designs and other spider theming, and Saskia’s with blood and skeleton designs. It would protect them better than their normal clothes.
"Ok… Go!" Ella let go of the two of their hands, spinning around and setting off to her right. Saskia ran in the opposite direction. While Lisa continued to run straight ahead… the skeleton turned to its left toward Saskia. Lisa stopped, turned on her heel, and slowly raised a hand into the air… and trillions of spiders crawled up the skeleton’s leg. The sheer impact of its steps killed a majority of them; however, plenty of spiders were still attached to its leg.
”Saskia!” Lisa shouted. ”Get ready to dodge!”
All of the spiders became miniature acidic bombs that dissolved the Giant Skeleton’s bones… it took another step on this leg, and it snapped with the most sickening sound. It fell forward… towards Saskia.
"Shit," Saskia ran as quickly as they could, blood tendril forming on their back and throwing themselves into the air. They launched to the of the Giant Skeleton’s trajectory, falling face first into the ground with a horrible crack.
But it didn’t fall on them and squash them, at least.
"SASKIAAA!" Ella wailed, turning around and running over to them. She started using her healing spell as Saskia rolled over with a groan, holding up a hand.
"Not a big deal, just some broken bones, I can heal them. It’s probably still alive."
"Oh yeah!" Ella turned around, lobbing a massive fireball at the Skeleton, hoping that it’d be hot enough to… burn the bones to ashes or something. It just put ashes on it.
Lisa sighed, grabbing her arm, as she nearly stumbled forward.
”... What are you two doing!?” Lisa shouted. ”Run!”
The Skeleton raised a hand that gently drifted towards the three…
"My bones are broken."
"Ok, ok, ahhh, run!" Ella bent down, lifted Saskia into her arms, and started running like her life depended on it (it did). However, they managed to escape the reach of the giant skeleton… which dug its fingers into the ground and dragged itself forward. The ground violently shook from this act, as if the three were in the middle of an earthquake. Lisa was still panting and fell over onto her back. However, Lisa managed to use her little strength to create a flying spider, and she was panting the entire time. It was in a glowing cocoon… she just needed some more time.
"Lisa!" Ella shouted. She was the only one still standing… She put Saskia down beside Lisa and stood in between them and the skeleton. One hand on the Ice Scepter, the one pushed forward and a massive blast of freezing snow shot out of it. Hopefully it would… freeze it or something. She didn’t know how to deal with a skeleton! (Ella needs to git gud)
The skeleton's bones were frozen by the ice blast… which slowed it down significantly. However, it was still going.
"Really?!" Ella wailed. She didn’t want to get any closer to it… she pulled bright blues from the ton of bracelets along her arms, forming a ball of colour in her palm before shooting it - fast enough and hard enough it would be like getting smashed by a brick. Which might as well have been a cotton ball to a giant skeleton - though it shattered the ice around its face.
Thankfully, the spider managed to force its way out of its cocoon - not at max size, but big enough for all of them to pile on top of to escape. The spider flew over to them, and Lisa smiled as she found the strength to push herself to her feet - with some spider legs, she managed to force herself on top of the spider…. Ella grabbed Saskia and climbed onto the spider with them in one arm, shooting another blast of ice behind her at the skeleton.
"Go, go, go!"
The spider jetted off high into the sky, far away from the skeleton… and they were against the red sky of the Pit as they flew towards the city.
After a little while, they managed to make it to the city… which, as expected, was a destroyed mockery of a significant metropolitan area. The streets were cracked, buildings were knocked over, tunnels had collapsed, and there was just nothing. No life, just chaos and ruin. The spider landed on top of a several-story office building - and Lisa tumbled over, falling off. She panted on the ground as she said,
”... We gotta take a break,” Lisa said, panting. ”I can’t go any further.”
"Agreed," Saskia groaned. They were walking now, but there were still the telltale, horrible sounds of their bones snapping back together. "Let try get somewhere more sheltered…"
"I’ll look!" Ella started looking across the roof (as much as it could be called that) they were on. There were plenty of holes, and it just took kicking one in more to give them an opening. "Let’s go down here!"
Lisa pushed herself to her feet again as the spider legs gently carried her through the hole, and she hung from the ceiling. The office was, well, an office. There were rows and rows of desks with computers on top and chairs pushed against them, as far as the eye could see. However, it was like a tornado flew around the room! Most of them were flung around, with trash and debris all around.
Lisa climbed down, pushed one of the chairs up, dropped her backpack, and sat on it, leaning back in it.
”... This place is scuffed.” Lisa sighed.
"It fucking sucks," Saskia agreed. They took their rucksack off, rummaging in it and pulling out some of the food supplies they’d brought. A whole bunch of stuff they didn’t need to cook. They offered up some of the protein bars. "Want some?"
"Ooo, yes please," Ella snatched one up, immediately grimacing when she started eating it. It was gross. She was pretty sure the various rations packs they’d brought would only be worse… "Wait, you’re just tryna make your bag lighter!"
”Hold on!” Lisa dug into her bag and pulled out the glowing green potion inside of a mason jar that was one of Greta’s healing potions; she raised it into the air and twirled it a few times. ”Surprised this didn’t break, but I guess these are built to last. Right, girls?”
"Greta’s the best!" Ella nodded.
Lisa awkwardly laughed as she took the protein bar, downed it briefly, then laughed, then looked to the left and right as she put the potion back into the bag. ”Let’s make sure this place is safe, then let’s… I don’t know, take it easy.”
"Yeah, we need to go slow, I think," Saskia sighed. "I hoped we could get it done quickly but… if we just keep walking around we’ll get eaten. Or worse."
"I don’t want to get eaten!" Ella said, looking around. "Hopefully there isn’t anything lurking in here…"
”... There probably is,” Lisa shrugged as she stood up, the spider legs retracting into her back. ”I almost passed out, getting us away from the skeleton… I can’t do any more fighting right now.”
However, they heard some rustling down the hall, and Lisa quickly turned her head towards it. There were footsteps, and a girl was stepping out of the shadows into the light illuminated by the Pit’s red sky. A Caucasian girl with a black bob cut was dirty, covered in scabs, and oozing red wounds. Her clothes were tattered—typical goth clothes with a black shirt with a star, shorts with stockings, boots, and a spiked choker. She hesitantly walked up.
“... A-are you people?” She asked. “... Where the hell am I?”
Ella’s eyes widened. Another person! And she looked really hurt… oh no! She jumped up. "We are-"
Saskia wrapped their blood tendril around Ella before she could step towards the girl, pulling her back. "Are you a person? Prove it."
“How?!” The girl said. “I just… I just… fell through a crack. I’m from Gary, Indiana… I don’t know what’s going on! This place is hell!” She began panting.
”... Tell me about it,” Lisa rolled her eyes.
“I just want to find a way out of here!”
Saskia let go of Ella, frowning. "We’re stuck too, so can’t help with that."
"Let me heal you!" Ella said, holding up her Channeler and hitting the girl with a healing beam of light. She didn’t actually step forward, though, in case Saskia grabbed her again. "What’s your name? I’m Ella!"
“Chloe,” the girl said, sighing in relief as her wounds healed. She sat on the chair across from them.
However, Lisa leaned into Ella,
”... Are we going to, um, bring her with us?” Lisa whispered. ”I mean, we shouldn’t leave her by herself, but we also shouldn’t bring her along when all we want is the All-Blade.”
Ella frowned, whispering back. "I don’t know… I don’t want to leave her behind, but we only have enough for three! Maybe… maybe if she fell in nearby, there’s a way to fall back out?"
Lisa paused for a moment.
”... I think we should, instead, eat her,” Lisa whispered back. ”Think about it: it’s a win-win! Just for us, though.”
"No way! I refuse," Ella whisper shouted.
Saskia leaned in too. "I agree. We can make it quick. It’ll be merciful, really."
”Okay, so I’ll just put a spear thro-”
“... I can hear you all,” Chloe said, scoffing.
"Oh, well," Saskia pulled out their knife with a shrug. "Don’t worry, I know exactly where to cut so it doesn’t hurt."
"No, we can’t do this!" Ella jumped up, standing in between Saskia, Lisa and Chloe. "It’s- It’s not right! It’s not very magical girl!"
”But no one has to know!” Lisa shouted, throwing her hands in the air. ”We can just head back and have Greyson wipe our memories; then it’s all good!”
"That’s…" Ella frowned. She was stumped. Lisa was right, they could have their memories of eating Chloe wiped, and then they’d still be magical girls. Was it even the wrong decision? They probably couldn’t keep her alive. Like Saskia said, it was merciful! But killing people who weren’t possessed was wrong… Also she didn’t look all that tasty. Was there even enough flesh there?!
She turned to Chloe, and asked, "do you want to be eaten, or die alone?"
“How about neither!?” Chloe shouted. “You people are crazy! I’m out of here!” She shouted, as she turned on her heel and took off running down the halls.
Lisa stared at her for a few moments, before she shrugged.
”She was cute,” Lisa began. ”We should have kept her.” She shrugged.
"Yeah, Ella, you had to go and ruin it," Saskia said.
"Consent is important!" Ella threw up her hands.
”... Even when we’re talking about eating her!?” Lisa shouted.
"Yes! She probably would’ve tasted nasty if she didn’t consent!" Ella shouted back.
”HOW WOULD THAT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE?!”
Lisa shouted, grabbing both sides of her head.
"It- It just would!" Ella flailed her hands about. She couldn’t explain it, it just seemed right.
"Well it doesn’t matter now, does it?" Saskia rolled their eyes. "Let’s move on."
Lisa just shrugged, ”So, let’s secure the building and find somewhere comfortable t-”
They heard a shriek of terror from what sounded like Chloe, and Lisa came to a stop, her jaw-dropping for a moment. She looked to the left and then the right….
”... Rip Chloe.” Lisa said.
"Do you think whatever it was left something behind? I’m still a bit hungry," Saskia intoned.
Ella grimaced, looking a bit sad. They should’ve kept her with them… or just killed her right away. It would’ve been better! Faster! Kinder! "Let’s not go that way."
She turned the opposite direction to the scream, starting to walk that way, creating a small flame in her hand in case it started to get darker.
”Let’s just find a nice room with no windows and one door, and we’ll just hunker down with some spider webs, okay?” Lisa said as she looked around before her eyes landed on a door with a sign next to it that said
CAFETERIA. Lisa walked over to it, pushed the door open, and looked around - it was, as expected, a mess. Tables and chairs were tossed all around, there was trash and debris all over the place… but no windows or holes in the wall.Lisa glanced over her shoulder at Saskia and Ella and said,
”Perfect, right?”
Saskia looked around the room, before nodding. "Let’s put up some of the tables as extra protection too."
"Oh, like they do in survival movies!" Ella grinned, going over to pick up a table and put it on its side in one corner. "This is pretty perfect."
”Hurry up,” Lisa yawned, ”I think I can summon enough spiders to throw up a web...”
"I’m only one person!" Ella wailed, grabbing a few more tables and setting them up like a wall, with a gap that they could get through. She stepped in and took off her backpack, sitting down. Saskia and Lisa followed in, but Lisa placed her backpack down like a pillow and lied down on it.
”... Oh yeah,” Lisa raised a hand in the air, and summoned a few thousand spiders that threw up a web in front of the door and behind it. With that, Lisa passed out asleep and began loudly snoring.
Saskia just lay on their side, falling asleep pretty quickly. Ella waited until both her friends were peacefully asleep before even trying, eventually passing out…
The earth shook.
It was brief.
Violent enough to wake all three of them up.
It was a footstep.
Lisa immediately climbed to her feet and grabbed her backpack. ”... What was that?” Lisa whispered as she slid the backpack onto her back.
"Another skeleton?" Saskia jumped up from where they’d been curled on their side, backpack not even taken off.
"Let’s… let’s not find out," Ella whispered, struggling to pull her massive backpack on. She looked around. "Maybe if we stay in here it won’t find us?"
”... That’s a big ‘if’ there, Ella,,” Lisa dug into her bag and pulled out a survival knife; she sliced through the webs she put up over the door as she pushed it open. ”Let’s just go out there and check it out, okay? Okay?”
Ella frowned. She didn’t really want to… but they had to stick together! She quickly followed right behind Lisa, before pushing past her so that she could be at the front. "Fine! But we need to stay close together!"
"What else would we do?" Saskia rolled their eyes from the back, pulling out their own knife.
”We could have been eating a white ho’!” Lisa hissed.
Ella just shrugged, taking the front and beginning to go back the way they’d come - so they could get back onto the roof. Lisa’s spider legs left her back, and she climbed up the walls until she was on top of the ceiling. Once she was by the hole they entered, Lisa poked her head through it, and her eyes shot open.
Directly outside of the building was a giant creature that towered over the building. It slowly sauntered away, but that wasn’t the only problem.
There were dozens as far as the eye could see.
”... Oh,” Lisa’s jaw dropped.
”... Maybe we should go.”
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