Mokley

The Zephyr Extinct

I guess it's not as long as I thought it'd be, but enormous by my tiny standards. 😂 Here's where the fun part begins, I hope! You guys are in the lead!

The Zephyr Extinct

“OUR EXISTENCE,” Ruskali hollered from the stairs, his brown hands gripped on the sun-bleached banister, his eyes big and shivering with the sight of the end, “IS BORROWED! WE’RE ALIVE ONLY AS LONG AS AMALGAM IS AMUSED WITH US, AND THEN ALL IS LOST UNLESS WE TAKE A STAND!”

His beard was flecked with spittle, his black hair flung afly as if struck by lightning. Yellow and orange and red hung threadbare from his wasted frame, and perhaps he didn’t own any other clothes. The stench that clung to him implied the same.

“Shut up!” someone roared out of the crowd. “You trying to get the Ze after ya?!”

“THE ZE AGREE WITH ME!” Ruskali’s voice seemed permanently screaming. He pointed with a rigid finger down at the masked figures gathered beneath the bright tapestries. “THERE, SEE?! THEY’RE HERE TO LISTEN! THEY KNOW!”

Archer’s scanners flickered green and blue. The shifting, glowing eyes of her mask stared up into Ruskali’s twitching face, but the square of her shoulders revealed nothing of what she truly thought of the end of all things.

Her scanning eyes swept away from the madman, and-- as if in succession to the same grim thought --observed her newest recruits.

There was Iris, sharp and smooth and all-embracing as the sky she was born in. Even her posture stretched toward the clouds that she loved. Iris carried herself with an easy strength, watchful understanding, and a sunny glow of connection and trust and safety, as if she could embrace the whole city if she stretched her arms wide enough.

There was Cedar, his expressionless mask full of splinters, blank as a shadow out of Moonlight. Cedar moved with calm comfort, at ease with the dim and the quiet and an old book. Beneath the splinters was a sharp mind and a soft presence, fueled by a low murmur of longing, a silent anchor of honesty that could put anyone at ease.

There was Listener, with her diamond etchings and her keen sense of fashion, who seemed each moment to fall in love with every person she met. Her voice was always smiling, always chattering, always quick to make friends, as if her finger rested comfortably on the pulse of Rig’s culture. Her determined enthusiasm could rouse even the most apathetic hearts.

There was Steel Rose, a duplicity of bright flowers and churning metal gears. She moved and spoke with friendship and with pride in the unusual and the unexpected: a defiant creativity, unaffected by the opinions around her, that blossomed in her mechanical creations and in the way she questioned every fact or claim. Hers might be the solutions to problems long unsolved.

And then there was Fluke, almost childlike in his unending play. He made a game of not speaking, messed about with his mask when he was bored, and seemed to take amusement in how much he could annoy someone else. He was doing a good job of making himself out to be more of a nuisance than an asset. But perhaps being underestimated was his advantage.

Archer folded her arms in appraisal and, though her face was hidden behind the deerlike mask, a friendly tilt of her head suggested a smile.

”Iris! Glad you could join us!” Archer looked up at Iris with a wink of her scanners. ”Lookin’ sleek! Love the staff, that’ll knock the Nox right out of their hosts if ya aim it right.” She demonstrated with an imaginary swing and laughed.

”Now, the lot of ya, listen up, pay close attention.” Archer beckoned them all forward, her voice dropped quietly while the market blared all around them.

She turned her head and jumped a little to see Fluke’s mask looming an inch from her face. ”Not that close!” Archer shoved at him as if he were an overly nosey dog.

”We’re meeting up here,” Archer continued, when she had everyone’s rapt attention, ”because of that guy up there.” She gestured with her antlers at the shouting man on the stairs.

”We have some intelligence that claims he’s harboring a horror in his apartment. It’s likely a small one, maybe a cat or a dog, but the Nox that multiply in these minor cases are just as dangerous as the big ones, and we can’t ignore them.”

She reached out and laid one hand on Rose’s shoulder, the other on Cedar’s. Her scanners swept over all of the Ze recruits with low whirring sincerity.

”I know ya haven’t had any training, but before I show ya how I would handle a situation, I’d like to see how you would do it. Show us where your real strengths are, yeah? The only advice I’ll give you now is this: there’s extra credit for teamwork.”

Her scanners winked, and Archer took a step back and dropped her hands in her pockets.
”Get a move on, then!”

player notes!

Archer will refuse to answer any questions your character may have. If a question is asked, she’ll just say something like “Can’t answer that!” or “Up to you!” What happens now is entirely in your hands.

The Zephyr Extinct

Next post miiight be a long one!! It's long already and I haven't even got to the actual point of the post yet, haha whoops. 😂

The Zephyr Extinct

Poor Steel Rose! At least she brought dessert for everyone? ❤

The Zephyr Extinct

Nooooo don't be sick!! 💚 And no worries! Please take care!!

Woohoo Iris!!!

The Zephyr Extinct

Post is up! This one's short and sweet under the assumption that you guys have enough to react to each other as well as Archer and Fluke. This is your shot at proper introductions before you're kicked out of the nest, so to speak. 😂

The Zephyr Extinct

As she pondered which weapon to choose, Listener mumbled loud enough to hear. "I'm not sure how squeamish I'd be around a Nox..." She shuffled through the gear occasionally picking up an item and saying, "Hmmm... no." Finally, she removed a spear with a metal shaft and the spearhead had an Illuminati Eye etched onto the flat of the blade. "This one. I like this one. What do you think?"

@drewccapp

"Listener, there you are!" Archer piped, leaning an elbow on her knee. The scanners in her helmet flickered thoughtfully. "That one's a poofer, I call them. Enough ta skewer a horror well enough, but if ya manage to strike a Nox with that thing, chances are it'll go up in smoke. Might want to invest in some shades for yer mask, though: the fireworks from one of these things could make ya go blind. Just a thought!"

He turned to the chest of weapons. Many he found not to his liking, but eventually settled on one. He picked it up, testing the weight. It seemed to be a halberd, though slightly smaller than an average one. He tested his fingers along the axe blade first, then the hook on the back end, then finally on the spike at the top. All sharp. It seemed manageable to carry and versatile enough for multiple scenarios. Rather plain, almost brutish in design, but serviceable. A weapon for the working man, perhaps. "This one will do," he said, putting the blunt end into the ground like a staff.

@Grey Omen

"It suits ya well, Cedar!" Archer stood with her fists on her hips, and she nodded approval. "Don't need anything flashy ta get the job done, I always say. That one's not much against the Nox alone, but horrors should be terrified of ya. One strike from that blade and the Nox inside that horror is a goner. Sometimes, if you can aim it right, you can kill the Nox and let the host live. But don't sweat that just yet, yeah?"

"This looks like a nice all-round one..." She pulled out a bladed pistol, the knife a foot long and patterned with veins like a leaf, the materials sturdy yet lightweight enough for easy wielding. She studied it, taking in the design and what she could glean of the mechanics, before turning back to Archer. "More of an energy weapon than one with conventional bullets, right? I'll call it Thorn."

@LuckyBlackCat

"Steel Rose!" Archer made a wide gesture to Rose's clothing. "Looks like you're wearing half your breakfast. It's a bold look, I like it. Now, that pistol there is a great choice! Works a lot like Listener's spear, there, except that one's long-range. You've got to have a sharp aim under pressure, and remember to warn your comrades. We don't want them goin' blind, now, do we?"

---

"Listener, Cedar, and Steel Rose!" Archer clasped her arms behind her back and marched back and forth before them. "I suggest you get to know one another-- trust one another --because there will come a time when your life will depend on someone standing here now. The Nox are dangerous. Does anyone know why we use masks and codenames?"

A hand rose up behind the new ZE recruits. Archer craned her neck. "Fluke! Didn't see ya sneak up on us. Go on, tell us your answer."

Fluke shoved his hands in the pockets of his shorts, and his heavy metal mask-- made of pipes and little aluminum sculptures that must have been extremely hot under the glaring sun --forced his head to flop a little to the side. He was skinny compared to the others, but bronzed by the sun and weathered by years of climbing.

"Soul snatchers," he replied in a high voice.

"You got it!" Archer crowed. "Human souls are too complex for the Nox to feed on like they do other animals, but if they get to know your true name they've got you. The mask makes them think you're an animal or not alive at all, so they'll either pass over you or try to possess you without a name, which never works-- hey, are you listening?"

Fluke had plucked a bit of pastry off of Steel Rose's tunic and popped it in his mouth just as Archer spied him. He scuffed away as if he hadn't done anything at all, and he rocked on his heels while he studied Listener's mask and Cedar's shoes with great interest.

The Zephyr Extinct

@LuckyBlackCat To answer your post question: I figure each of these weapons is enchanted in some way, so yours could totally work the way you propose!

And if anyone else has any more inspiration for tech/magical properties of their weapons, you're welcome to edit up until you actually have to use it the first time. 😉

The Zephyr Extinct

What would you guys think if I made separate posts for Flaw and general mod posts? I feel like Flaw's posts can serve in-between you guys' posts as more of a social encouragement, then general mod posts move the story.

Lantern

Aw man I wish I were quarantined. I work for the health department -- I've got overtime and everything is chaos. 😂 Stay safe!!