Virani

Chosen

Is this still going? The discord group has gone so I'm wondering if the rp is dead?

The Endeavour Six (Open, read first OOC post and I'll brief you if you're interested)

I'm still here I've just been very ill, sorry guys. I'm still not well so not sure when I can get a post up.

The Endeavour Six (Open, read first OOC post and I'll brief you if you're interested)

I'm working on my post but I was wondering, should I have Octavia head to the camp/explosion or stay where she is? Just wondering which would be easier for plot and character meetups?

The Endeavour Six (Open, read first OOC post and I'll brief you if you're interested)

I'm still hete sorry for being quiet. I am definitely still interested! Ill have a post up tomorrow :)

Chosen

Thea was still kneeling on the ground firing arrows at the zombie horde when she saw the light chosen charge forward, he ran into the horde leaving himself exposed to becoming surrounded and overwhelmed.

"Idiot!" She muttered under her breath.

Thea didn't pause in her firing but did alter aim to target those coming at him, she needn't have been concerned however as K'aora suddenly appeared beside him. She fought with fierce yet controlled force and Thea doubted that the zombies would hold against the two of them for much longer. She focused on picking off any that seemed to be coming at any of the other Chosen from unseen angles and let them deal with the bulk of the horde. She inwardly thanked Karkand for his rigorous combat training, she might not have a close combat weapon but she was deadly efficient with her bow. Her eyes moved constantly as she continually searched the combat for appropriate targets.

She had begun to think that between them they would soon be free of enemies when she saw several zombies forcibly pulled into the water by what appeared to be large tentacles. Before she had time to fully register this more tentacles came from the water and grabbed K'aora. Thea yelled a wordless alarm to the others as she saw the tentacles begin pulling K'aora towards the water. At the same time forms rose from the water and Thea could see now what the tentacles belonged to. She wished they had stayed hidden below the surface. She had never seen anything like the creatures before and couldn't stop the near paralysing terror she felt rushing through her.

She had known that this mission would be dangerous and that the chances were high that they would come across monsters but knowing that and seeing it were two very different things. All the mental preparation in the world couldn't fully prepare you for coming to face to face with a nightmare. The creatures were big, very big and had multiple thick tentacles like the ones currently gripping the Lightning Chosen. Thea pushed the terror back with an effort concentrating on breathing deeply and evenly, remembering Karkand's lessons with effort, and once her breathing was calmer and her arms steady she targeted the tentacles gripping K'aora. She growled in frustration as she realised she couldn't get a clear shot.

"Dammit, I can't get a shot!" She shouted to the others.

She was about to try again but with her other specialty when she realised two of the three creatures were coming her way clearly intent on the rest of the Chosen. She glanced behind her checking Vita was still there before she looked forwards again at the two monsters.

"Dart I think now might be a good time to show off." She called upwards.

Dart didn't reply but instead began to glow with an orange/red flame that grew in size and brightness, the shape surrounded by fire continued to grow until it was similar in size to the dragon. Though instead of a dragon hovered a flaming massive bird with wings that trailed fire as it moved. Dart let out a piercing screech before he plummeted towards one of the two monsters approaching Thea and the others. Flaming talons extended Dart pulled up short of slamming into the monster, instead raking it with burning talons and a stream of fire poured from his beak as he screeched again. He then wheeled around preparing to come in for another attack. The monster reacted to the talons and fire breath, clearly Dart had hurt it, but the damage done seemed minimal at best.

Trusting Dart to deal with the other one at least for now Thea focused on the other one still approaching. Realising her normal flaming arrows weren't going to do much here she decided she needed to do more. She concentrated on increasing the flow of her power to the arrow and then loosed. The arrow hit the monster on one tentacle and then promptly exploded in a gout of flame, the monster staggered slightly but continued moving forwards. The tentacle Thea had hit was clearly damaged, the limb black and smoking, but it was still attached and useable though the tentacle seemed slower now.

"I've more where that came from!" She screamed at it and readied another arrow.

The Endeavour Six (Open, read first OOC post and I'll brief you if you're interested)

So I am waiting on @Flynn before I can post again. As the two of us are the only players there currently lol

Essence of the World: Flesh Reborn [Adv. Roleplay]

Ashlyn Olivia Gauthier

Location: Charmaine's Charms and Oddities, Loom Slums.
Time: 4:30 am

Ashlyn Olivia Gauthier better known as Ash was not in a good mood.

Unable to vent her frustration on her true targets, seeing as they were safely tucked away in the comfortable and secure Gauthier mansion, she settled for taking it out on the puddles instead. Admittedly it wasn't the same since puddles of water generally didn't fight back, well not unless a demon was involved, but it was better than nothing. Thankfully her black knee high boots were decent leather and waterproof otherwise her mood would have no doubt soured even further. She zipped her leather jacket up higher and turned the collar up against the rain as she stomped through the streets. Anyone seeing her would probably assume she was lost in her thoughts and not aware of her surroundings, and taking in her small stature, might see her as easy pickings. They couldn't be more wrong and part of her hoped some idiot would be fool enough to try their luck. Though knowing her already bad day it would be someone human and not her usual prey, then she would have to be all careful not to kill them and that would just suck. Thankfully the street she was currently walking on was relatively quiet, everyone no doubt taking shelter from the rain or partying it up in the nightclub a few streets over.

For a moment Ash debated giving up on her errand and going home, re stocking could probably wait till tomorrow and she was tired of the rain. The fact that she was closer to her destination than her home made the decision for her, she would be out of the rain soon enough. She turned the corner and saw her destination in front of her, Charmaines Charms and Oddities was an old somewhat ramshackle building on the corner of the street. Heavy windows with bars on them and a solid wooden door made the place seem unwelcoming but such measures were essential for a shop in this part of the slums. Besides Charmaine didn't need to advertise, his customers knew where to find him and everyone else didn't and that was how he liked it.

The door was locked, unsurprisingly given the lateness of the hour, but Ash knew that he was in. She banged on the door several times and waited.

"Come on Charmaine, open the bloody door! I'm soaked out here." She called through the timbers.

She heard a slight muttering, several bangs, muttered curses, and then finally the sound of the locks being pulled aside. A moment later the door swung open and Ash hurried inside. She stood dripping in the middle of the 'fake' shop, the front area of the shop where Charmaine kept all of the goods that he sold to tourists and those without any knowledge of magic or the supernatural. Bookshelves, shelves and racks were all filled to the brim with everything you would expect to see in a 'magic shop' Basically utterly useless items suitable only as decoration and some not even then. There were candles in a seemingly endless variety, multitudes of various pendants, rings bracelets all of appropriate symbols such as pentagrams, the tree of life and various animals. The bookshelves were all filled with books on the occult and witchcraft and there was also numerous shelves filled with fanciful dragons, and other fantastic beasts. The counter had stacks of tarot cards of varying styles and a colourful collection of wind chimes and dream catchers hung from the ceiling. Ash hated it but she understood the necessity of it. Charmaine was a independent not employed by any group and as such needed to not only earn a living but avoid scrutiny as well.

"When you said you were by I thought you might wait until morning, no?" Charmaine said grimacing when he saw the puddle of water around her.

Charmaine D'poiner was a small man though still taller than her by a couple of inches, and thin with long grey hair and a wispy grey beard. He was dressed in his usual clothes brown trousers, untucked white shirt and waistcoat. Charmaine loved his waistcoats said they fit the look of his shop and the more colourful the better. Tonight's was a bright red and green affair that made Ash wince. Personally she thought they looked ridiculous but then she didn't have to wear them.

"You know I usually come at night Char, besides you keep night hours too despite what the normal townspeople think." Ash responded drily.

Charmaine chuckled. "True, true but still I would rather you had not come with a river of water."

"Yes well I'd rather you delivered but we don't always get what we want do we." She answered sweetly.

Charmaine muttered a curse under his breath in French and Ash sighed, he was probably going to complain about this all night now. Charmaine was brilliant at what he did and a good friend but he did so like to complain. A lot.

"I'm sorry." She sighed. "Now can we get on with it?"

Charmaine turned and led the way through the shop towards a door marked 'private' it was of course locked and not just with conventional methods. Charmaine was a wise man and had some very good protections for his genuine stock. Of course it helped that he was friends with people like Ash, that sort of put off potential robbers. He opened the door and Ash followed him into his real shop. The room was slightly smaller and filled with items of a different sort. The layout was similar with bookshelves, shelves and racks but they were filled with actual magic tomes, genuine magical ingredients and a variety of charms and other enchanted items.

"Aaah much better." Ash sighed. "This makes this whole sodding day worthwhile."

Charmaine busied himself behind the counter pulling out boxes from drawers under the counter whilst Ash walked the aisles. She wistfully touched an item here or there wishing she could afford them but knowing they were out of her league money wise.

"So what has got you in such a foul humour eh?" He had finished laying out the boxes and had placed a couple of glasses and a bottle of spirit next to them. Ash approached the desk and lifted the lid on one of the boxes, gleaming silver bullets greeted her eyes and she smiled again. Charmaine passed her the bottle to pour whilst he began to pack a bag with her order, Ash had been coming here long enough now that he knew her regular order without having to ask. Ash poured some liquid into both glasses and then took a healthy swallow of hers. The whiskey, a good Scottish malt, burned it's way down her throat and she sighed with pleasure.

"You always know how to cheer a girl up Char." She said. "As to what's up just the usual."

"Ah." Charmaine nodded knowingly as he finished loading her goods. "Family of course. Let me guess you were coerced into attending another soiree no?"

"The blasted thing seemed to go on forever and I couldn't even carry my guns." She grimaced. "Mom said you could see the holsters through the dress. That is why I don't wear the damned things."

"Oh to see you in a dress, that would be a sight." He smiled eyes twinkling. "Such horror this standing and drinking, no monsters in sight. However do you cope?"

"Badly."She said. "You know that. Me and social gatherings...well the less said the better."

"Indeed." He agreed with another chuckle. "Still, I can imagine with your figure..."

"Not another word. Char." She warned though she was smiling, Charmaine was fond of teasing her and she didn't mind it much. Only Zee and Char were able to get away with it though.

"I yield." He said with a swift grin before gesturing to the bag he had packed for her. "You order madame."

"Thanks Char, payment as usual?"

"Of course my dear. I trust you." It was true he did but then she had saved his life once and that went a long way towards building trust in his mind.

Ash finished her drink and picked up the bag, it contained her standard hunting supplies, silver bullets, several protection charms and a few other items. She headed back out to the front of the shop and waited while Charmaine relocked the door to his back room.

"Thanks again Char, see you in a few." She headed to the front door but then stopped and turned back. "Oh I almost forgot here."

She passed him a small pouch which he took and looked inside with a grin. "Courtesy of my last hunt. Enjoy, they were not easy to get."

"Ah my dear Ash you always deliver. My thanks to you. Be careful out there."

"Always." She answered before heading back out into the rain.

---

Location: Loom Slums, Alleyway to Club Ambrosia
Time: 5:45 am

The rain had lessened somewhat and Ash was in a much better mood thanks to Charmaine and his whiskey. She was no longer feeling the need to hit things and instead was looking forward to getting home and sinking into a hot bath. She didn't have a contract at the moment and though she regularly patrolled the city for unpleasant nastiness of the supernatural variety even she was entitled to a night off. The soiree or party to those not well versed in wealthy speak, had been long and tedious and now that her anger wasn't fuelling her she was just tired.
She was thinking of her coming bath and about the events in 'The Duke's wager' her latest Mills and Boon Regency novel, Duke Hawthorne sounded gorgeous, and how she could finally get through a few more chapters when something caught her eye.

She was walking through one of the alleys, automatically keeping an eye out even while she was lost in thought, which led towards the nightclub and was a shortcut for her route home. Whilst it was usually unpleasant due to the smell of urine and vomit from those inside the club stopping here to either throw up or take a toilet break, it was worse than usual. It was the flies she noticed first, quite a few of them, clustered around something a little further away. As she drew closer she sighed quietly.

"Ah bloody hell. What a waste." The woman had been killed and dumped here like leftovers, which she supposed wasn't too far from the truth, most demons killed for food after all. This one had left her in quite a mess. At first glance she could see that the body had been struck in the side and neck. The skin was greyish and Ash guessed she had been drained of blood.
"Bastard demons." She muttered angrily.

No matter how many dead bodies she saw she never got used to it, the look, the smell, but above all the general wrongness of it. This woman, whoever she had been, surely hadn't deserved to die like this and left like a pile of refuse. With a sigh Ash bent closer to the body, needing to examine the body further. She needed to be sure what had killed this woman.

The Endeavour Six (Open, read first OOC post and I'll brief you if you're interested)

Octavia is going to stay right where she is lol unless they drag her ass to the Novus Ordo camp. Maybe you guys can end up at her clinic after finishing at the base? Just a random thought

Chosen

Thea decided early on that she didn't like walking. Not one bit. It wasn't that she was particularly unfit, quite the opposite in fact thanks to her mentor, but more the unending sameness of walking. Yes these were new surroundings and she did distract herself for a time by noticing the terrain around them but there was only so much scenery watching she could do. After a while she fell into a sort of trance, her mind wandering, whilst her body automatically put one foot in front of the other. Dart spent his time flying above them and she knew that he would warn her if danger arose and so she spent the time thinking. On the surface Thea didn't come across as a deep thinker, people saw what she wanted them to see, portraying herself as more of a joker but at times like this she let her mind chew over things that bothered her. The others all seemed to handle the walk in their own ways, some no doubt used to it more than others, and she mulled over the group. Karkand had taught her that fighting with another was about trust, you had to know completely that they had your back. You couldn't concentrate fully on fighting if you were worried about what your team mate was doing. Yet she knew next to nothing about those she travelled with and that bothered her a lot.

When she and Karkand had trained together they had known each others strengths and weaknesses and fought as a cohesive team. He would be in at close range ensuring their enemy, in this case a wild animal as they didn't have monsters to train against, and she would target them from a distance. But how would this group react in a fight? As far as she could tell she was the only one with a weapon designed for long range. Would the others recognise this and fight accordingly? Even her magic was tied in with her bow and she worried that her fighting style would not go well with everyone elses. As time wore on and they had walked for several days she had begun to grow frustrated with herself. She was not a worrier nor a person to doubt herself or the value she brought to a situation so why was she doing so now? With a sigh she realised that losing her mentor had shaken her more than she had been willing to admit. It was not in her nature to show her feelings to others and by burying those feelings she had convinced herself they no longer existed. But here now, faced with an unfamiliar and dangerous world she could not avoid acknowledging them. She had failed him and perhaps the true root of her new found anxiety was that she would fail this group as well.

When the first tendrils of fog began to form around them it pulled her forcefully from her thoughts. In mere moments it had enveloped them and was so thick that Thea struggled to make out the others around her. This was obviously not a natural fog even she, a city girl, guessed that much. Unsure if it would help or not, but feeling the need to do something, she concentrated and a small globe of fire grew in her hand. It provided a small amount of heat and light and she felt better for it's presence even if it provided very little of actual use.
Dart landed on her shoulder and she breathed a sigh of relief, she didn't like the idea of not being able to see him. She watched with not a little awe, as Esmeray's familiar grew into a dragon. An actual dragon. She flew into the air clearly at home on the beasts back and seeing it gave Thea an idea.

"I think it would be a good idea if you flew above this too." She murmured quietly to Dart. "You might be able to tell us how far it spreads."

Dart sighed heavily but made no other objection and was soon winging away, working hard to fly above the fog layer. Thea watched him until she could no longer see him and hoped he would be okay. A howl tore her mind away from her familiar and had her wincing and looking around for the source. Another howl and then the source was all around them. Thea stared up at the creatures in a combination of morbid fascination and fear. They were huge and could have stepped straight out of one of her nightmares and she couldn't help the primal fear that rose within her. Thankfully Karkand had taught her about fear and how to control it but use it as well and she focused on not letting it overcome her. She had her bow out and an arrow knocked as soon as she saw it reaching for Ka'ora, it was dead if it reached her, and her arms were steady waiting. But instead of attacking them the creatures seemed to be herding them somewhere and soon it was all Thea could do to keep up as they began to run. She was not about to be the one that fell behind and got eaten by the monsters.

It was reaching the point when Thea was sure she wouldn't be making it out of this alive when the fog was suddenly gone. She stumbled to a stop and saw the creatures were gone too. They stood on a hillside overlooking the remains of what was once a city, it's buildings covered in wild foliage and water pooling everywhere. Thea scowled, of course there would have to be water everywhere, it wasn't enough that she had just sloshed through the bloody stuff. She was just beginning to smile realising that Ka'ora was going to suggest another break, she had definitely worked up an appetite, when all hell broke loose. They had walked into an ambush and were now facing a horde of what Thea guessed were zombies. Ka'ora didn't hesitate, and Thea had to admire the woman's reflexes, killing several that were on the verge of attacking Ethan. Jonah joined in then using the water to his advantage, and Esmeray also moved into action.

That is some serious ass kicking Thea thought as she positioned herself in front of Vita on one knee bow drawn and ready. She glanced back at Vita briefly grinning briefly before facing forward again. She fired three shots in quick succession, the movements almost too fast to follow and three flaming arrows shot unerringly to their targets. The first caught a zombie lurching at them directly ahead, in the face. The second and third took out the legs of two more approaching from her right. Two more arrows sprouted from their heads, Thea wasn't taking any chances and wanted to make sure they were dead. Deciding that now was the time she had to start trusting her companions she focused on picking off zombies on the edges who might slip through and was confident that the others, experienced in close range combat, would deal with the rest.

"Man these things stink." She muttered as she aimed and fired. "Seriously, you guys ever think of taking a bath?"

The Endeavour Six (Open, read first OOC post and I'll brief you if you're interested)

Octavia jumped when the blue light suddenly appeared from ORB and focused on Tinker, vertically panning up and down his body, before ORB began listing facts about the man. It was only when she realised that it was some kind of scanner and not a weapon that she relaxed and breathed a sigh. Tinker had frozen when the light had come on and he too relaxed when ORB stopped scanning.

"Phew. You had me there for a minute." He said shakily clearly trying to make light of the situation.
"Well you asked him a question Tink, I guess this was his answer." Octavia said before turning to ORB.

"It looks like you have at least some version of a medical scanner in there ORB." She said to the machine. "That is going to come in very handy. If you don't mind using it to help me?" ORB was just a machine but she had no idea what that actually meant, she was a doctor not an engineer, ORB seemed pretty damn advanced to her and for all she knew he was capable of feelings. So it never hurt not to be rude.

"Well he sure is a clever machine."Tinker said. "I'd love to have a nosy at how he works sometime."

Octavia rolled her eyes. "You do realise that you're not an actual engineer right Tink? Just a bored old guy who likes to mess around with things."

Tinker put on a expression of mock hurt. "Now Octavia, don't be mean I fixed your wood burner when it was on the blink right?"

"Yes but you still haven't got someone to fix my damn stairs yet." She pointed out.

A groan from the table pulled her back to the present and she mentally chastised herself from getting distracted whilst she had a patient. She hurried to the bed and saw that Jeff was waking up. He opened his eyes and groggily looked around the room before trying to sit up. Octavia gently pushed him back down and kept her hand firmly on his chest to keep him from trying to sit up again.

"Take it easy Jeff, you had a bad fall earlier." Octavia said.

"Doc?" Jeff winced. "Ouch my head is killing me. Guess that's what you get when you fall off a roof. Sorry to mess up your morning."

Octavia shook her head. "It's fine Jeff, I mean what would I do without you fools to keep me occupied. Now follow the light please." She examined him again and then nodded. "I don't see any signs of concussion but I'd still like to..."

Her back door opening and her dogs beginning to bark interrupted her. Apollo and Artemis trained to recognise that not hearing the bell meant possible intruders pushed past Tinker and Dunk and into the clinic. They stopped just in front of Octavia clearly recognising the woman standing in the doorway. Apollo huffed a greeting and pushed his head into the woman's hand, Artemis looked at Octavia and whined.

Octavia sighed and crossed her arms. "Gloria." She said her voice clearly not happy.

Gloria smiled sheepishly continuing to pet Apollo. "I'm sorry Doc, I know I'm supposed to ring first but I just got really excited."

"Excited?"

"Well I'm not sure excited is the right word really but well I think something's happened at the camp."

Tinker and Dunk both looked startled. "Like what?"

"I think there's been an explosion or something. There's all this black smoke." She grinned then noticing ORB for the first time. "Oh wow you got it working!"

"Well I think ORB had more to do with that than I did to be honest but yes he's working now. Right ORB?"
Tinker and Dunk both moved past Gloria and stood out on the street looking at the sky. Gloria stepped back outside with them and Octavia followed them to the door. Black smoke was indeed visible in the distance and she frowned.

"Well it's definitely a fire of some sort." She said thoughtfully. "ORB would you like to come and see this?" She called inside figuring that if the robot was going to stay with her she should try and include it.

"Maybe we should see what's happened?" Gloria asked.

"Are you kidding?" Octavia demanded. "You know what that camp is, we should stay as far away as possible."