2024.4.25: Orrery Adventures: Pangea Pt. 1
| Adventures in Orrery Making: Pangea | |
|---|---|
| A trip to Mercury for an orrery stone turns into a Wyrm siege at a corrupted Hermetic college. | |
| IC Date | January |
| IC Time | Afternoon |
| Players | Pancake Branton Irsa Rhapsody Boots Abril Stephen Patrick Jackie Evan Pacorro Libby Keeku George Kaz |
| Location | The ancient memory Realm of Pangea |
| Prp/Tp | Adventures in Orrery Making: Pangea Part 1 |
| Spheres | Gaian Garou |
The time has come, DINOSAURS!
Iris has made sure everyone's gotten word of where and when, she's not exactly covert about her stupidass field trip ideas, so you know, word gets around. Possibly even to people she's never even fuckin met! Or also to alts that are totally here but in the background for the moment. It's a clearing off the Bawn that she has people meeting at today, nothing amazing, just a large gap in the trees and underbrush that's large enough to contain a buncha weirdos.
Iris is packing light today, she's just got her Bigass Purse and that is all. Branton probably has WAY more stuff because he actually cares about important things like being comfortable and supplied while camping. While waiting on Folk to arrive, she's making herself busy with studying a nonsensical map.
Stephen's probably just touched base with Libby to make sure she knows where to go, then makes sure Daci and the little ones are good for a while before heading out, since this MIGHT be taking them out for a while. So when he shows up, the Wendigo is cleaned up and has a small backpack over one shoulder with some basic gear in it, just in case. A hand is raised to wave at branton and Iris, waiting until he's closer to call out, "Hey you two. And here I figured I would be late..."
Branton does have a large frame back pack and a duffel bag. And a number of belt pouches. Along with an assortment of enchanted jewelry and bits and bobs. So yes, in this couple he's the one who over packs but if it turns into a war or disaster flick he's FOR SURE ready. For his part he's just chilling near Iris and smiling as folks start showing up. Stephen's comment gets a grin "Late's kind of a strong word."
It may not be a full moon, but it's close enough. Plus, DINOSAURS! Boots didn't sleep - not a wink. He's here, all but vibrating in excitement at the thought of being able to go after thunder lizards! He hops from foot to foot, waiting for the whole shebang to get started.
Iris looks up with a grin at the sound of Stephen and waves like an idiot at him. "HI! A Boots as well! I should have known YOU'D be one of the first people here." she tells the Gnawer while standing so she can offer her packmate a side hug. "We'll start walking once the rest of the everybody shows up. It's not too bad, a hop, skip and a jump and then boom shakalaka. I've been nervous and excited about getting started," she tells the three.
Stephen turns around to look at the newer arrivals and offers everyone else a bow of his head, "Good to see we have a good group then. I know several people were looking forward to tyrannosaur burgers..." He might be joking about that. Maybe. Turning back to Mercy, he tilts his head, "I didnt really make anything extra since I guess this is more of a, well, straightforward trip and not something tricksy that needs to be set up?"
Keeku gathers along with everyone else in his usual attire, which is odd to begin with, but is even more odd now that they are going on an adventure. "As long as there aren't any wires in those burgers, I'm looking forward to it." George had warned them about cyborg T-Rex and Keeku wants none of that. He smiles though and asks, "Was I supposed to bring anything special? Other than myself of course?"
Boots is still hopping, foot to foot, ready to rumble! "We got to be in wolf form right? Is that what it is? I can't remember." He asks, looking to Iris for an answer, and greeting everyone else.
Branton shakes his head at Keeku and grins "We've got plenty of party favors, as such things go. Do you have any allergies or restrictions we should know about? Like there was this one pack I did a thing with a couple of years back who followed Boar and part of their totem ban was avoiding pork products. I got alternatives for a lot of things, I just try to be considerate."
We're in a clearing in the woods off of the Bawn, word's been sent around for when and where and all that good stuff. There's probably also alts in here that are 'totally here but off to one side'. So like there's more than a handful of people here. Iris says, "Yeah I mean... Getting there and back is pretty straight forward. And um. I mean you don't *have* to be in Lupus, but you'll probably be super inclined to be. I mean it's a primal zone, it's gonna really tickle your Lupus and Hispo testgump." She starts walking around, passing out the hair/silk/copper bracelets she made for everyone with the strands she collected from them. "Nope, you're good!" she tells Keeku in agreement with Branton. She'll help get the bracelets tied on while he's asking people about their restrictions.
Keeku considers Branton's question for a moment. As he does, he waves to the others as they gather, "The only allergies I have are to dressing normally." He winks. "I suppose I should mention, I get really motion sick. I'm not sure how we're going to be traveling exactly, but if we're riding anything, I did bring my own personal bag-o-voms in case I need it." To Boots, Keeku nods, "I wouldn't mind stretching my four legs in lupus either."
Iris' note about it scratching that wolfy itch makes Keeku give a big thumnbs up. "Just let us know when we should shift." Keeku allows Iris to attach the bracelet and he mouths, "Thank you."
Stephen nods once at Iris' statement and offers to Keeku, "I usually stay in hispo unless I need glabro for some reason. I'm better skilled with tooth and claw anyway, so that usually works better. Take the form you feel most comfortable in and go with it." When he gets approached for a bracelet, he offers Iris a smile and rumbles, "Thank you..."
Branton grins at Keeku "Well this field trip is not on the Space Boat so I'm sure you'll be fine in that regard. Well some of this I'm not sure what's in it because it was a gift from Ares. Well they stuck to me after I got thwapped through a trophy case so I've counted them as gifted. Are you trained in a particular form or style of combat?"
Jackie shows up looking pretty chill, at least considering today's out of this world plans. She waves at the others before jamming her hands into her jacket pockets and leaning one shoulder against a tree.
Boots is all over the place, attention-wise. "What do the bracelets do?" He asks, though he's certainly not opposed to having more stuff to decorate himself. He extends his arm to Iris to allow the Elder to put on the new jewelry.
Iris gives Jackie a big ol grin while coming to put her bracelet on her. "Good to see you!" She waits for Branton to get some specs on Keeku before launching into any blah blah blahs, but when there's a pause in important things, she fills the gap with words. "Okay, small safety briefing for the trip. First and foremost, stay with the group while we're in transit. It's a short walk, but still, stay with the group. Second! Stay with the group when we get there! No wandering off alone, you'll get eaten by a saber toothed squirrel or something and bring shame upon your house! Buddy system. And last, don't let the bracelet I put on you get broken. They're already dedicated to you cause they are actually you, just take care of them is all. They're your safeguard against losing yourself to Pangea. And ummm... Take only pictures, leave only footsteps, all that considerate jazz. Any questions or anything before we go?"
Stephen falls quiet as Iris goes over the warning rules, but smiles just a little more when she talks about take only pictures, clearing his throat, "Well, cept for the couple tons of tyrannosaur meat we hope to bring back. Did we bring enough containers? I mean, I can eat, but a celebratory bar be que after would be wildly popular with those who didn't go...." With that said, he sets his backpack down and drops to all fours, taking on the hairier Hispo form before nosing the pack back onto his back.
Keeku gives an exaggerated 'phew', wiping his brow just under his hat's rim when Stephen says they aren't taking the space boat. "Don't get me wrong, I'd still put on my Navajo face and go, but I wouldn't be as much fun as I normally am." He winks.
To the question of being trained in any particular form of combat, Keeku states, "I am proficient in hand-to-hand riddle contests, dance offs, and scratching my own back - but only if we're going up against that T-Rex for the last one." He gives a shit eating grin there. As Iris gets into the pre-flight messaging, he grows silent and serious. He makes a hand 'check' with each of her notes.
Branton grins at Iris and offers a slight edit "And take some steaks along with those pictures right? We'd discussed dino meats with Libby. But yeah, do it all with respect and all that jazz."
Boots looks over the bracelet, then to Iris. "It is me?" Clearly, he's not aware of some of the challenges of going to Pangea. Or doesn't care. Or is too excited to care. Pick one, any one! "I got a lil' freezer setup. I'mma have meat for a long while."
Iris hoists her bag and makes sure all the definitely totally here people have their shit together before producing a moon bridge with a gift stolen from the Ragabash. We're gonna skip the 1 in 10 chance of a Wyrmish oopsie though. We got places to be, damn it! The moon bridge is nothing new for most people, probably, so she tour guides to keep things interesting. "So, Pangea is sort of the red headed step child of the Epiphamy Realm family. It's not so much a place as it is a traversable memory, or a collection of memories and ideas, really. Its divorced enough from reality that it's a deep umbral sort of place, but it's tie to earth is SO strong that it's position is in the Near. It's a really unique contradiction of cosmological laws that somehow still manages to maintain a very wibbly, wobbly balance in the grand scheme of things..." And she keeps going, cause... that's what she does.
Stephen glances back to make sure everyone else is ready to go and steps aside, possibly waiting to see if Libby's going to make it just a little late. For now he seems to be volunteering to take up the end of the progression, just to make sure.
Pacorro rattles his bracelet and peers at the copper wire with interest. "My relatives will be so jealous!" he tells Boots. "It's like I told you yesterday: I was born to wander and have adventures." He's completely enraptured with Iris' speech and practically vibrates with excitement. "Yes, memories. These are always good. I will add these to mine and carry them forward. I can't wait to see where our feet carry us first."
Rhapsody has totally been here! She is so totally ready for this and ready to go through the moon bridge. She's nearly bouncing on her toes with excitement. She has her bag - mostly empty, and ready to roar! "This is going to be a dream come true." She is glad to see all the new people she has not met just yet too. "These trips are something you never forget."
Branton is just moving around the group, making sure everyone's got their braces settled as Iris gets the tour group moving, being the good assistant. Eventually he takes a position near the back of the group with his hiking backpack and duffel bag, ready to go.
Keeku has seen moon bridges before. He's been into the umbra before, he just hasn't traveled a moon bridge himself. He decides it is time to shift into his hispo form, after Stephen's suggestion, and follows along not too far from Stephen. The red wolf on steroids gives a little yippy howl as he trods along playfully.
Libby, the MistSeekers, George, they're totally here, somewhere! Toooootally here, packing along, able to catch up at their leisure!
The moon bridge lets out in a stupendously thick jungle, like every step has a body tripping over a vine or a weird wiggly tree root or getting slapped by some fucknormous leaf. The canopy is thick and high over head, the air filled with the buzz and clicks and chirps of unseen things. A steep hill rises to one side, fully engulfed in nature. "This is not Pangea!" Iris announces, "This is uh. Brazil? Something. Amazon! That's what. Okay this way to the gate. Anyone that needs help getting through the gauntlet, please get super high with Branton. Anyone that cannot get through at all, please come give me a hug and we'll get you tethered up." This might include some of those totally here people that haven't logged in yet.
"This way" is along the very straight foot of the hill, which appears to be made of aged, stepped stones stacked just so.
Kaz cracks his neck as he steps into the moonbridge. He grunts and grumbles, "Finally an umbral realm that shouldn't make my stomach churn immediately." He stands near Branton for now and pulls out his large shock knife. "I've been meaning to thank you. Your steel has proved itself many times already."
Beaded Lizard hums happily as the group sets out. He stops for a moment to change his skin when the others do, opening his mouth wide in a guttural, rasping hiss. "Hurry, wolf-skins! The wilds await." And with that, he waddles along at top speed. He's not fast, but he's certainly determined.
Branton takes out a jar of gummies and shakes them offering to those who need "I've got these or joints if you'd prefer to smoke. All home made by myself or other gaian kinfolk. The spirit blessed plants grown in my greenhouse."
Rhapsody is busy looking at all the nature here when Iris announces it is the Amazon. "Amazon?" She follows along to the gate, and is happy to help anyone that needs any help to get through anything to get there. "That's the spirit! Let's go!"
Broken Fang snuffles along the path that Mercy follows, giving the Beaded Lizard the appropriately respectful sniffing-up when he changes forms - I mean, come on, how often can you get a snootfull of lizard? But then he's back to following Mercy's lead, glancing around to make sure everyone else is still with the group and mosey-ing along.
Once in the jungle, the mighty jungle, Boots does shift to a four-legged form. Dire wolf! He's ready to go!
Iris leads the way into a mass of ancient structures that have been entirely swallowed by nature, marked only by gaps in tree growth and their orderly placement. Towards a large temple, she starts picking her way up the lost steps towards an equally lost opening into the building. And then a brief stop! "Capable people, would you kindly clear this opening?" She catches up with anyone that needs a spirit tether to get across the gauntlet aaaaaaaand also snags a gummy as well. Cause you totally want your tour guide to be stoned, right? Absolutely. As for the opening, it's just vines and stuff, nothing that cant be bitten or cut or whatever.
Branton did even nod to Kaz "I'm glad its worked out. Better in your hand than sitting on my shelf." Then he steps up at his mate's direction and starts clearing vines with a sword that wasn't there a moment ago.
Kaz looks up as Iris calls for clearing. "Not what it was originally made for but it'll do." He nods to Branton and starts helping clear the way of vines with the large knife.
Beaded Lizard clambers up to perch on a crumbling stone wall. His thick tongue darts out to taste the stone. He peers up at Branton when the man offers smokes around. "Yes, please. That would be very nice." He waddles up to help the others, using his jaws to pry off hunks off vegetation and spit them out.
Broken Fang yaps at the request and pads up with the others to bite and tear at the vines to rip them away from the portal area, tossing bits aside while others make even more progress with actual sharp implements and claws. There's even a couple of 'blahs' at the taste left in his mouth.
Rhapsody helps with ripping vines as well. She'd totally use her sword, but as it is filled with sizzling power, she does not want to risk burning anything so hands will work! "We'll get this done fast."
Branton will totally provide the lizard with a joint, lit with a tap of a finger tip. Nods at Kaz as he puts the knife to work "A nearly indestructible sharp edge has a wide variety of uses."
Once the way is clear, a final instruction from Iris: "Step through the gauntlet at the same time you step across the threshold. We're using the power of Between to get to a place that used to be."
No rolling boulders or spike traps in the temple, just an absolutely huge, unfathomably old stone pillar with a path going around it. The walls, the pillar, even the stones of the floor and ceiling are carved with pictograms from a language no one remembers how to read. "Uhhh... Widdershins." Iris says while starting on the circular path that'd take the gang on a counter clockwise walk around the big pillar. You'd need very good hearing to catch the 'I think.' that follows Iris's totally confidently spoken directions. Honestly she has no idea what she's doing. Just wingin' it!
Claws and teeth for FAFO - though he's all too happy to rip and tear. He's channeling his inner Doomslayer!
The Uktena has been plodding along in his Direwolf form keeping his thoughts to himself and just generally observing their surroundings. Keeku, or Dances-In-Darkness perhaps now that he is in Hispo, didn't hear Iris, but then again, the Ragabash wouldn't expect anything different from someone leading a group into the unknown - wing it and deal with whatever pops up. The Wild is chaos and it is hard to plan around chaos beyond winging it.
"The ancestors of the Urucu people lived here once," the Beaded Lizard says, looking up at Branton with that burning plant-stick in his mouth. Yes, he's definitely imbibing, he exhales smoke when he speaks. "A famine struck here, then disease, and the people all moved away." He watches Iris with interest, he's never seen her in action before.
Kaz follows Iris with confidence and trust. Whether he should or not is an open question. "The large lizard things we will hunt are on the other side of the veil here?"
Broken Fang might be used to catching Iris' 'i hope I got this right' comments, so if he overheard her? He doesn't say a damned thing, he just follows her lead anyway, tongue even panting out as he pads along after her, claws clicking on the stone as he moves. To Kaz' comment, he yips, <<If these are as big as Mercy-rhya says they are, I bet we hear them coming from a long way off>>
Rhapsody waits for the others for a moment as Iris speaks. "Sounds right to me." She waits her turn and will step through the gauntlet - across the threshold - turning widdershins as she does. Poof! Hopefully as each of them make it across.
The path is old, dusty, and very dim, the carvings making unsettling shadows all around. The path is large enough for people to walk together in clusters, and Iris does her best to keep an eye on everyone to make sure no one gets lost on a road with no forks in it.
Passing the entrance way again, the snapped vines are whole again but thinner, there's the scent of wood-smoke on the air and the murmur of voices somewhere outside. The group is herded past the doorway and on another lap around the pillar. The carvings seem newer the pathway cleaner.
Passing the entrance yet again, there are no vines at all, and the babble of voices is loud, the light is brighter and the scents spicy and full of life. "Nope nope, keep walking." she tells people and herds them past.
She answers Kaz, "Yep, a totally enclosed Realm. Excellent tourist destination, too."
Branton nods at the Leeeeezardd and then grins to Kaz "After a fashion, as we walk the path around the pillar we go further back in Memory and to access the path we have to be stepping across specifically because we're going to a memory of a time before the Gauntlet was a thing."
Beaded Lizard bobs his head up and down, a clear sign of excitement. "Home," he says wistfully as he follows Iris. "What once was, what will be again." He lets out a gurgling hiss of approval at Branton's words. "Yes! You understand much. Are you one of the Wise among your people?"
Dances-In-Darkness is the one who slows down when the babble of voices starts. The red wolf's ears perk up and swivel, trying to pinpoint what the voices are saying instead of the cacophony of noises. When Iris says Nope twice though, he looks crestfallen: his tail falls and his head lolls. With a yip, he starts prancing, there's really no other word for it, and catches up to those ahead of him. The prancing does, for all intents and purposes, look like he's doing a Native dance, so perhaps that's where his name came from. The red wolf listens to both Branton and the Beaded Lizard intently as they talk.
Branton chuckles at the Lizard's question, as the group passes through the gauntlet and back through time his skin gets pale as ash and his veins glow through from underneath, and his eyes practically burn. For words though he just answers "Yes. Kind of."
Rhapsody keeps following along to the right door - she hopes they can find. "There are so many places we could go see." She takes time to see the carvings as they go along.
FAFO's nose is low, scenting the earth as they travel. He's taking in all the things he can - scents, sounds, sights. Everything. It's so much!
It takes quite a few laps, I mean Pangea was a goodly while back, after all. The carvings start to fade away, the smoothness of the walls is replaced by rough stone bricks, then stacked rocks and ceiling-ed with rough timber. The civilization rises and falls in reverse, heard but unseen beyond the walls of the path. And then it's gone. One moment you're walking a path enclosed by simple peoples long long ago, and then BAM. Dappled green and gold from the sun high above ancient, huge trees, a time before anyone sensed the path to begin with. It's nothing more than a big tall sticky uppy rock in a little hill at the edge of a jungle enclosed meadow, a little dirt path circling around it.
"Ta daaaaaaaa!" Iris looks so fucking proud of herself. Yay, I didn't get everyone killed! Her yell startles a dragonfly that's a good two feet long, the thing zipping away with a hum of its bigass wings.
Beaded Lizard swells with curiosity, looking proud of himself for his guess. "Good! There are not enough, and that is a shame. But now we have returned to the Time Before, and my heart and spirit truly sing." And with that, he joins right in with the dancing, bringing his stubby legs up high and whipping his heavy head and tail from side to side. "Lunch!" he hisses as he spots the dragonfly and darts off after it.
Broken Fang yips at Rhapsody, <<That sounds like a good way to take a long vacation for a while.>> Of course, Iris' proclamation of success makes the wolf jump a little then stop and look around at the meadow they've ended up surrounded with, <<This is different. Anyone see really big lizard footprints?>>
Kaz grunts and nods in understanding at Branton's explanation. After the group shifts to the other side he sniffs the air several times and kneels down. He places a hand on the ground and lets out a very audible sigh of relief. "I already like this place much better than the other places you have taken me Mercy-rhya."
Rhapsody stops in her tracks as they have arrived. "Oh my... where to start! This place... amazing." She's looking everywhere to just take it all in.
Branton takes his own look around as everyone reacts to arriving, taking a deep breath he grins "This place smells great, the elemental in me *loves* it here."
The red Direwolf blinks at Branton once the Beaded Lizard makes a note of him being a wise one. This is the first time he's really stared at the man while in the umbra, so the markings make him curious, <<How have you come by those markings Branton?>> He assumes Branton speaks Garou, but if not, ah well. Like Broken-Fang, Dances-In-Darkness is startled by Iris' pronouncement of success. When Branton says something about an elemental being inside of him, the wolf head-tilts for a moment before making a mental check to ask him about that later. <<So, do we stick together or spread out in groups to find what we're searching for?>>
The Gnawer is reveling in the primal world he's been brought too. As he spots the lizard going off after the dragonfly, he chuffs in amusement. Then FAFO drops to the earthy ground, rolling around and kicking up dirt onto himself. <<Going to blend in with scent!>>
At first, maybe it just seems like the regular old ho hum amazon. I mean if you could call the freakin Amazon ho hum. But it's definitely bigger, taller, wilder. Off at one far end of the meadow, a pack of small turkey raptors is chasing down their larger, singled out prey, and they disappear into the trees with distant shrieks and hisses. And with a crunching, smashing sound, a small mountain emerges from trees at another edge, some bigass foraging herbivore chasing the scent of its preferred snack.
"Well, first get comfortable, establish camp, we're gonna be here overnight. Get the lay of the land, put smells in your face, that sorta thing. I need to meditate for a few for Theurge reasons, soooooo... Just have some fun, I guess. Chase something. Just don't go too far!" And with that, she goes to find a spot to sit down and get some Realm Law shoved into her head.
Beaded Lizard trundles out of the undergrowth, huffing with disappointment. The winged scaredy-dragonfly was too fast for him in this shape. << I don't know, >> he replies to the red Direwolf in the same language. << But we will food prey here, it is everywhere. >> He bobs his head and hisses laughter at Boots antics. << Roll in the cycads, too! But not these ones here. They are poisonous. Try those ones over there. >> He pads over to inspect the chosen campsite, flicking out his tongue to taste the air.
Kaz sniffs the air and looks up at the giant creature. "Is our goal to bring down one of those?" He asks with genuine interest.
Branton sets down his duffel and takes off his hiking pack, a matter of unbuckling a few straps and starting to get things set out. The first part of setting up camp is securing a fire pit so he needs "Pile some rocks over here, about fist sized at least, we're making a ring to make a fire pit."
Broken Fang tilts his head to watch the turkey raptors charge off, then yips at the Lizard, <<Some of the food prey here might consider US food if they can outnumber us. Careful not to go off alone.>> When Branton talks about making a pile of rocks, he happily trots over to forage a bit for candidates without getting too far away from the group, <<Libbykin said she was hunting for a tyrannosaur, but I think maybe anything big like that would be okay if we cannot find one?>>
Rhapsody checks out some nearby foliage. "These could be helpful if you are caught in a rainstorm." Since each leaf is half the size of a person. The call to move rocks comes and she's happy to help with that as it does mean a chance to explore around a bit. She starts collecting a few and brings them over about 4 at a time to Branton. "There is just so much to look at, it is good to get camp set up first though before going down that rabbit hole... or is it dino - hole?"
Keeku chuffs as FAFO rolls in the dirt. <<I'm pretty sure you're still going to smell like 'not here'.>> The red Direwolf does another little prance in excitement only to stop and spread out all four legs, lowering his head with wide eyes, <<Holy Dinosaur, you really did it.>> Beaded Lizard's note to him snaps him out of it though, <<Oh, you speak our tongue too. Cool.>> When Branton gives his call to action, D-I-D goes off to hunt for rocks, trailing behind Broken Fang so they don't go off alone. >>I think Miss Libby would take anything we find her and still have a smile on her face.<<
In answer to hunt-hungry Garou, perhaps, there's a very large, very loud roaring from somewhere off in the jungle, something that makes the herbivore nope nope nope more quickly across the meadow. There are bigass lizard prints here and there, too, mostly just depressions in the grass or half washed out mud puddles. The mosquitos near those puddles are huge! While camp is being set, Iris is entirely useless, super busy with deep meditation.
Meanwhile, the group's arrival has not gone unnoticed. Small creatures poke their heads out of hidey holes to look at the people and wolves (and lizard) that's come a'calling. Some bugs found under rocks are disturbingly large. The heat probably starts to get annoying for people in homid, that smothering humid sort of heat that makes your butt crack all soggy. Those in critter form are probably fine though, insulated as they are.
Kaz keeps watch to make sure no one goes off alone and nothing too large or potentially dangerous gets near. He crosses his arms as he glances at the large beast nearby. "This Ty-ran-o-saur..." he says the name slowly and deliberately. "... a predator of these parts?" He stops as the roar goes out and snatches one of the large mosquitos out of the air and crushes it as an afterthought. "Is that what we hunt?" He wipes his sweaty brow and looks off to where the sound came from.
Beaded Lizard does a slow, slow blink at Broken Fang and bobs his head at Keeku. << It is a Gift, so my people can speak to all the beast-skins. >> He moves to help move things with his jaws, right up to the point that roaring sounds from the jungle. He lets out a guttural hiss and lashes his tail, scuttling up atop a rock perch to claim the area. "Mine! Go find your own!" he threatens the natives.
The roar gets FAFO's immediate attention. <<That's the one.>> He chuffs, trying to gather where it came from - which direction. His claws dig into the soil, ready to go tearing off after his imagined T-Rex.
Branton cut some topsoil into squares and setting it aside in a pile of puzzle pieces, so he can replace it when its time to go, and he digs out a little pit with a folding shovel he had somewhere in all the supplies be brought. Looking to the rocks everyone has brought "That'll just about do, now fallen sticks, dead grass, stuff that would have burned off in the next forest fire anyway. That we'll pretty much always have a use of for more."
Rhapsody has a look in her eyes. "I just want to ride the dinosaur, not kill it. Unless it wants to try to eat us." Now that Branton is asking about sticks, "I'll see what I can find. I did see a downed branch when collecting the rocks." But also keep her ears and eyes open as she sweats in this humidity.
Before anyone can go git sum... From out of the jungle runs a pack of Garou. You can tell they're definitely Garou because they're in crinos. Clad in brown pelts and war paints, armed with fang and claw, their leader sticks out as the only one wearing armor. I mean if you can call it armor? It's actually a bucket, but it's got eye holes and a strip torn up to lay along the top his wolfy snout. They aren't running towards the group, not at first, more running away from the roar. But once they see the gang all spread out near the path stone, they alter course to head towards them. It'll take them a second to get here, it's a big meadow.
<<From the stories I was told, tyrannosaurs consider anything moving is potentially food, so yes, I think it might try to eat you if it is hungry.>> Broken Fang sounds more amused at that rather than wary. <<But if we're ready to go scout it out?>> Oh but the lupus gets sidetracked at the sight of a pack out hunting as well - well, of COURSE they aren't the only ones to have this idea (facepalm), and while he surely isn't the only one who sees them, he does yip a little warning, <<Incoming>>
Dances-In-Darkness came back with rocks and kindling little by little. He's been playing ball with the rocks, rolling them one by one. A particularly large branch caused him to get stock while going through two bushes, ala dog with stick in its mouth. He had to go sideways to make it through, making it evident that lupus is not his birth form. Broken Fang's incoming gets D-I-D to stop playing around and get serious. He makes a bee-line over to the camp and, while not an Ahroun, he does make a defensive stand in front of the kin present. A thin snarl escapes his lips, <<Friend or Foe?>> It is a question to the group, like...what do we make of these foreigners.
Kaz's head snaps over to the other pack of Garou when Broken Fang calls them out. He shifts his stance and glowers at some of the nearby furry critters. They scurry off quickly away from him and back into the brush with various squeaks. He watches the incoming Garou warily. "What tribe are they?"
Beaded Lizard stares unblinkingly at incoming Garou, dinosaur talk can be had later. He wisely sticks to this skin since the strangers appear to be a hunting pack.
Branton frowns and pats a couple of pouches on his belt before drawing a carved wooden knife as he says "I'm as concerned about what could make a whole pack of garou run."
FAFO is just ready. Garou, dinosaurs - whichever. He's ready to tussle. His big claws dig into the turf, the young Ahroun sharpening them in preparation. If the incoming Garou aren't a problem, then the beastie chasing them will be. <<Ready.>>
Getting closer, the unfamiliar Garou's slight oddities can be seen. Snouts more like a hispo's mouth, slightly longer arms that let them more easily switch back and forth between running on two legs or loping on four. They have no obvious pure breeding, no tell-tale pelt colors or designs, no fetishes or insignia on their person. They're very... proto.
"You! Going!" the leader barks out roughly, a bit out of breath with a clawed finger pointed off the way they came. "Bad! Smashing! GOING!" He is *insistent* about this, trying to lead some of the group back the way they came. The other Garou with him just sort of grunt.
Rhapsody takes out her power blade, and has it at the ready... wooooosh! "There are a lot of questions - but right now - prepare yourselves!" Because as Branton made clear - Garou running means - nothing good is coming this way. She shifts to Crinos as well.
Dances-In-Darkness tries to break the tension a bit, <<Why did the Garou cross the meadow? To get to the other side.>> Yeah, it's bad, but he doesn't know what else to do and then he remembers, <<Beaded Lizard, does your gift work on talking to Garou that don't speak - or look like - Garou? Anyone able to sense wyrm?>>
Broken Fang for the time being stays in his fire wolf form, though he does hunker down a bit further while the look to see if the Unfamiliar Garou are running FROM something, or TO something. When the lead Garou grunts explanations at them, he narrows his eyes a bit and defers to Rhapsody and Iris, <<I am not fluent in grunt, but that sounded like they wanted help<<
"It does," the Beaded lizard replies quietly. "But you understand them as well as I do. These are the Before wolf-skins." He huffs and clambers off the rocks. "They may attack me when I change skins. But I think they will listen to you, if you tell them I am a friend."
Branton grins and nods as he stands up and looks to the others "Looks like we're being recruited as reinforcements? They don't seem tainted or anything so why not help out?"
When Beaded Lizard states he doesn't understand them any better than we do, Dances-In-Darkness chuffs, <<Great. So much for explaining the situation. Think they understand Spirit Speech?>> Then ol' Beady turns into a Dinosaur himself and Keeku just wasn't ready for that. He takes a step to the side, but remembers what was requested, <<Friend - it's a Friend.>> 'Don't eat us', he thinks, unsure if he's more worried about his 'Friend' or the 'proto-Garou' coming their way. He manages to catch himself and takes a few steps forward, putting himself partially in front of Flame-of-Lost-Kings. With more confidence, he yips, <<Friends!>> He repeats it in Spirit Speech too, for good measure. Branton's note about them not being tainted makes him feel better, but that just brings back up the horror of what could make a pack of Garou 'run away'? Something with big, pointy teeth. That's what!
Well, hell. If the fight is coming, it's time to get into the warform. FAFO concentrates once his claws are nice and sharp, rearing back on two legs and roaring in challenge to the big beastie that may or may not be following the new garou.
The proto-Garou begin running back the way they came, yelling, "GOING!" and waving the group to follow, just sorta assuming that they're totally gonna. Iris doesn't notice any of this, she's busy. And other people that aren't logged in opt to stay back and defend the homestead while the current characters run off for fortune and glory. Following along is easy enough, and these guys are definitely way adept at jungle running. The air is the cleanest air you've ever sucked up your snoot before, the shadows a crazy patchwork from the tree canopy overhead. Bigass beetles and dragon flies GTFO when the group comes tearing through. Muted by the thickass foliage but still quite loud comes the sound of a stomping, smashing battle raging up ahead somewhere, and there comes that huge reptilian roar again, bracketed by smaller, equally scary roars.
You've got just enough time to throw down some gifts or talens or whatever before you run head long into whatever the hell this is!
Broken Fang barks once in agreement with the rest and shivers, his fur clouding over as his body transforms into a moving ice sculpture, complete with cold fog for breath. Shaking out a few snowflakes from his new fur, he joins the charge forward. Not an ahroun, but still willing to chew a piece off of whatever the threat is.
Flame-of-Lost-Kings rattles his feathers and lets out a piercing, ear-shattering shriek. The sound is truly terrible, like jagged claws scraping sharply across rough obsidian. ~ Who comes?! ~ he roars in the Mokole tongue towards the unseen hunter. That might be one of his People out there, and tragic mistakes are best avoided. He races after the Garou, moving swifter than the wind.
Branton jogs along with the group, and with a flicker of white lightning at his ankles he picks up enough speed to be supernatural and keep up, carved wooden knife in hand.
Smoke trails wind through the foliage, wood burning. No Mokole calls answer FoLK. The proto-Garou lead the way, bursting out of the trees and into a clearing where there's an all out attack on a tiny village happening. Village is probably too generous a word, it's more a collection of shit that's stacked up enough to keep the rain off. Rocks, branches, that sorta thing. Any how, it's on fire. There's more proto-Garou fighting here, their few leaders marked by the buckets on their heads, and they're fighting against a pack of raptors AND an actual T-Rex. But why, I can hear you asking, I mean aside from the ST being high, what possible reason could there be for dinosaurs working together to smite cave-rou? Well I'll fuckin tell you why. Nazis, that's why. Nazis riding dinosaurs.
Look, man. The Wyrm gets around, people slip into different realms and realities all the time. If a squad of SS from WW2 just happened to enter Pangea, oopsie, fuck yeah they'd turn these bigass birds into war machine mounts! So, yeah. Nazis riding raptors, and their commander on a T-Rex.
Boots scream-howls like a maniac and activates his feisty rage fetish before hurling himself into the melee. Like ya do. (DM Action since the player was in transit)
Protector-of-Hope, being the theurge that she is, checks for wyrm taint before attacking. She shouts out to the others, >> Go for the riders! The dinos are being used! Not tainted! KILL THE NAZIS! << She prepares for the the best way to take them out.
Kaz leaps into action a heartbeat after his pack theurge calls out the targets. He leaps into action as his knife ignites into sparks. He dives into one of the mounted nazi's blade first and takes him off the mount to the ground. He yells out to his pack mate. "One is free for riding, Rhapsody!" He plunges the electrically charged blade into the nazi's skull nonchalantly and watches as the electricity burns the hair and eyebrows off of him before blackening the skin. "Seems like they don't like the taste of thunder." He laughs as he wrenches the knife free and stands to go after his next target.
FAFO has been fucking DYING to get him some t-rex after all this foreplay, and he- wait. The riders! DAMN IT! Althooooough... The commander is pretty high up there, he still has to take that thing down to GET to the nazi... WOO! Wishes still fulfilled! He rushes forward and splats his crinosed self into the terrible thunder lizard to ass kick his way upwards.
Meanwhile, proto-garou are fighting in small pack groups against individual raptors and their riders, getting a bite or a boot for their troubles.
Listening to Protector's warning makes it easy enough for Broken Fang to alter his charge and *leap* for one of the incoming riders, ice claws and fangs splayed out to use his bulk to just tackle the Nazi off of his raptor and try to do some damage to anything soft and squishy he can get his sharp pointy bits into, even if it means just LANDING on the guy with all his claws out. He'll leave the Trex for one of the ahrouns.
Flame-of-Lost-Kings lets out an furious shriek at the sight. Nazis riding dinosaurs are a sure-fire way to outrage Mokole. He sprints forward and leaps over the barriers, clamping his jaws over a very surprised Nazi sergeant's face and tearing him right out of the saddle. Alarmed shouts and screams ring out as the Mokole-raptor pounces on the sergeant, disemboweling the man with a kick from a sickle-clawed hind foot.
Branton grins at Kaz when he mentions their thunder aversion, and gesturing strangely over the blade of his wooden knife and then points with the carved blade and a blinding flash and wrist thick bar of lightning cores one of the Nazis like an apple. Looking to Kaz "You're right, they don't like that at all."
Winning jeers turn to shrieks of pain and alarm as reinforcements show up with considerably more badass magic than what the proto-garou have at hand. No one expects the Gaian inquisition! Raptors not driven by riders any more scratch and bite their way out of the attack and run off into the jungle, leaving just half a dozen Hitler praising bastards! And like, they're already fighting werewolves, right, so the new group isn't THAT weird to them, at least. They look a LITTLE bit scared but mostly determined. They whip out machine guns! Cause of course. Turning to face the enemy, they open fire and charge their mounts forward, teeth first.
Kaz leaps in the way of a few bullets meant for the proto Garou. He spits out some blood and grins as his wounds already start to close. Running up to the one who had shot him he swings his crackling blade and slices off one of the arms holding the machine gun. Leaping up he plants the blade into the offending nazi's chest and drags him off his mount to the ground twitching. "Mercy-rhya, this is now the best place you have brought me!"
Protector-of-Hope is beyond ready to take nazi blood. She gets a bit of running start before /leaping/ in the air, to swing her power blade at one of the Nazi dino riders, and strike with a WOOOOOSH and a SIZZZZZZZLE! >> DIE YOU SCUM! << She does her best to avoid the dino, and hopefully free them from their captors - and not be eaten!
Broken Fang probably takes a little longer to turn the Nazi he pounced on into indistinguishable red paste, but the sudden TinkTinkTink of bullets bouncing off of ice and chipping off pieces of his 'fur' is enough to make the wolf wheel around and growl annoyed at the gunfire, and charge after THAT one as his next target.
Nazis?! ON DINOSAURS?!?! FAFO is all but in a furious frenzy - being a mix of Chinese and Hispanic! The big wall of T-Rex that he's clawing at, deserves what it gets - letting facists ride it! FAFO seeks to drive claws into the beast, harming it and serving as handholds to climb upwards towards the real monster.
Flame-of-Lost-Kings darts aside as the machine guns spit fire. Hot shrieking lead thuds into the earth behind him as the Mokole bobs and weaves, distracting the attackers from targeting his Garou allies and their Kin. "DIE!" he shrieks.
Branton is going to be diving for cover! Because for all that the Nazis are the baddies they know what to do with Machine guns when a sorcerer is hurling lightning bolts. Shoot the Mage FIRST.
Dances-in-Darkness has never been the strongest fighter amongst his kin, but even the weakest Garou are formidable warriors. The Hispo red wolf lets out a growl as the scene unfolds in front of him. He does question for a second whether or not the bullets are made of silver, I mean, the proto-Garou were running for a reason. Still, he shakes that thought loose and goes to attack the legs of whatever Nazisaurus is closest to him. Can't get to the rider, take the horse down. The red Direwolf gnashes with fangs and claws at the rear tendons and hopefully does something there to drag the critters down. He yips out <<Your Mothers were ugly.>> Yeah, he'll have to work on that heckling.
The raptor mounts screech their proto-chicken screeches and the nazis fire their machine guns, Wilhelm screaming their way to hell one at a time by fang and electricity. Meanwhile, the Rex has a dude kind of chewing and clawing its way upwards and that's much more upsetting to it than the tiny guy holding the bridle. It starts stomping around in an uncontrolled rage, roaring and thrashing around, giving FAFO the mechanical bull treatment. "Scheisse!!" the commander yells, whipping out a hand gun to start firing down at the Ahroun. It's stormtrooper aim though, so no crits to the head or anything. This whole stomping fiasco starts moving right through the middle of the raptor battle, giant feet blindly thudding around, huge tree trunk of a tail swooshing around. It's pandemonium! Pure b-movie chaos! AAAAHHHHHH!!! *pewpewgunnoises* Raaaaaaar!
Kaz hurls his lightning blade at one of the nazis shooting at Branton. He takes a dinosaur claw to his back for his trouble but grins as the blade sinks into the nazi's side and they drop their gun as the start twitching as the lightning from the blade courses through them. Seeing that FAFO seemingly has the T-Rex handled he dashes up and rips the blade free from the convulsing nazi and only manages to get hit by a little of the entrails that spill out. His bones shift and twist as he bulks up to his crinos war form. The bleeding from the dino slash across his back healing he turns to Branton. >>Unleash your fury! They will not touch you!<<
Protector-of-Hope this time just goes for the full tackle to the rider of the raptor, having hurt them once, now she'll nail him with a cross buick body shot and take him off the raptor, and hopefully set it freeeeeeeeeeeee! As they land on the ground, she tries to squish the Nazi with her size and what does not break, she's going to shred with claws until it is a fine red paste.
Those sharp, ragged claws dig in - grabbing handholds of scaly hide like it were rock grips to latch onto. FAFO snarls and roars, eyes looking up to the pistoleer as he fires down at him. <<RUN. RUN YOU LITTLE SHIT!>> Inching upwards, he continues to rend at the beast he's climbing - no rest for the wicked.
Are there Nazi's left? there are ALWAYS Nazi's left. While Broken Fang is aiming for the first one he can get to that isnt already being perforated with claws, he's not that picky - if a fellow wolf needs some help ripping an arm off, Ice Wolf Zebra has their back! Though by now he's probably stained mostly red from the bloodbath going on...
Flame-of-Lost-Kings darts back in and goes right for the closest nazi targeting Branton. Two bullets strike his neck, and he lets a blood-curling shriek of rage and pain as blood spurts from the wound. He zig-zags in place, evading more gunfire, then zips right past the gunman. His stiff-feathered tail slashes right across his enemy's face, laying it open to the bone. He darts under the T-Rex as it thunders past him, using its thick legs for cover. Clever boy.
Branton will pop back up now that he has living angry cover and throw another lightning bolt, blasting a Nazi off the back of another of the raptors like a tumbling spark riddled charcoal briquette.
The Red Direwolf sinks its fangs into the Achilles tendon of the dinosaurs and it snaps. Wait, can it still be called an Achille's if we're in the pre-time era before the man that became legend even existed? The Nazi-Saurus-Rex falls under its own weight and comes tumbling down fast. DiD prances out of the way, but the Nazi that was riding on top is flung (we're blasting off again) from not properly securing his harness-belt. Seeing the flying Nazi, Dances-In-Darkness goes for the hail-mary catch. It's Going, Going, and the Red Direwolf 'catches' the Nazi in its maw with a bloody squish, GOOOOONE!!! There is an endzone dance with the body in his mouth, followed by a bloody, <<Touch>> spit, hack <<DOWN...ugh, I have Nazi blood in my mouth. Am I a were-nazi now? AAAAHHHH.>> And a barrage of bullets come flying at him, causing him to stop being a jackass in the middle of battle and make a bit of a run for it.
And soon it's nothing but smooshed SS Ubermench and fleeing raptor mounts. Oh and also the commander and his super big huge angry mount. The proto-Garou that have survived and also aren't too injured all howl like maniacs at FAFO and whomever else take that mother fucker down. (Witness!) They don't get the whole nazi thing, but like, the biggun's some good eats once you get the human off it. The commander resorts to trying to give Boots the boot when he's up there within range. Which is just insulting, really, that's Boots's whole thing. Shit, but sadly there isn't really anywhere to run. He looks back and forth between the psychotic werewolf and the ground and um. ... Picks the ground. Screw you guys, I'm going home! He manages to (somehow) not break his legs, and immediately starts hauling *ass* into the jungle. And now FAFO has a t-rex. Fear him!
Throatcrusher lets out a howl as the nazis turn tail. He looks to the T-Rex and contemplates for a moment if FAFO can take the beast on his own. >>No wolf hunts alone<< He charges towards the T-Rex and slashes at its legs with crackling blade and claw. Blood sprays as he dashes past and he turns to see his handiwork. He unfortunately sees the wounds he inflicted but misses the large tail coming his way. The sound of large meaty tail hitting garou fills the clearing and Kaz is sent careening through the air to slam into a nearby tree, splintering it.
Bullets have landed on FAFO, he's no Neo. It's the pain and rage that keeps him going - even after the Nazi commander flees for his life to the treeline. Finally atop the T-Rex, he digs claws to avoid being toss off like a ragdoll. A howl of approval as he sees Throatcrusher go for the legs - not seeing the the tail smack. He's too busy chomping down on the back of the dinosaur's neck, trying to get a good hold on the spine. He's going to shake that thing like a chew-toy!
The tyrannosaur's still up! Broken Fang watches Throatcrusher pounce and get whacked like a baseball, and gets a case of 'you dont get to beat my fellow wolf like that!' He leaps after the big beastie and while not quite enough to land high up, latches onto a leg, aiming to tear a tendon or hamstring, something to help take the huge thing down before those little arms swt him off.
Flame-of-Lost-Kings hisses like an outraged steam kettle and attacks the T-Rex's legs. Bites, sickle-claw kicks and razor-edged tail slashes begins to land, opening wounds designed to wear the larger beast down. He dashes out to taunt the beast, drawing its attention so the Garou can focus fire it down.
Branton is staying way the fuck back from the T-Rex, leaving the city bus sized monster, leaving that to the interested garou, and he turns his attention to the survivors of the proto-Garou village to see if there's any medical attention needed.
Protector-of-Hope is not ragey enough to go after the T-Rex - leaving that to the others. She's more concerned with any other dinos here, or villagers that may need help. She's starting to go around and check them out to see what she can do to help.
Having dodged the machine gun fire, DiD comes back around to see who else might be needing help. Seeing Flame of Lost Kings drawing the beasts attention with taunts, he shuffles on over and throws a few of his own, <<Your breath smells of elderberries!>> Whelp, his work here is done, he leaves the fighting to the Ahroun types and trots off after Branton, >>How can I help?<<
Proto-Garou rush forward to help as well. A couple get the chomp and fling, its stomping and flailing shake some free, others join Kaz in the cartoonishly smacked across the clearing zone. Its roars of pain and rage are ear splitting, but it's stumbling now, limping real bad from the leg wounds, until, totally in slow motion, it begins crashing down to the ground with a long, low groan. At least one person gets squished because they didn't get out of the way in time. The locals hoooooooooooooowl! And yeah, there's medical attention required here and there. I mean they'll walk it off eventually, but ow. The bullet and bashing wounds don't matter much, but the bites are pretty bad.
Allllll the way down. FAFO does not let go, does not stop until said T-Rex is not moving an inch. Once the colossal beast hits the ground, FAFO throws his head back in a howl of triumph! Good guys won! Nazis died! WIN WIN!
Throatcrusher gets up stumbling from the tail slap. He shakes and splinters of wood and dirt go everywhere. He's running towards the now downed T-Rex before realizing its dead. He notices its not moving and grunts in irritation. He takes his anger out on the beast's offending tail and starts hacking at it with his blade and claws. >>Bah!<< He hits the large tail bone and rips the blade free kicking the tail a final time. Now covered in T-Rex gore he lets out a howl >>Victory!<<
Flame-of-Lost-Kings shrieks out his victory and struts back and forth in front of the downed Nazis, scratching his clawed feet in the earth to show his contempt for them. "I do not have a healing Gift, but I can fetch things if you need them," he tells the others. "Should we help them rebuild their wall?"
Branton will direct DiD to help dig bullets and splinters out of folks to speed regeneration along, taking his time to not startle any of the group's new....'friends'.
It takes Broken Fang a moment to realize the Trex isn't actually moving anymore, leading to the blood smeared ice wolf lifting his head at the victory howls and finally cluing in. So he's a few seconds late, but happily joins in on the Woohoo!ing howl of victory - Hey, maybe the Grunty Wolves will join in!
Keeku would shift to Glabro and help out where he is needed as a triage nurse. He has some basic medical skills and some brains on him. Plus, he follows orders well enough. If Branton is as super at healing as he is shooting off magical bolts, their work is handled quickly. Once there is a pile of bullets and scrap metal/wood, he looks, and asks with a grunt, <<Meat processing time?>>
There's probably a couple of slain raptors around as well, sorry FoLK. And like, raptors probably cant be nazis themselves, but maybe they were sympathizers or something. Don't lose sleep over it. An older tribal with grey in his brown pelt and rust on his bucket, shakes off attempts of healing in favor of other people receiving the attention. He instead attempts to seek out the leader of this band of newcomers that have helped his people. Why, it must be that Cliath over there standing triumphantly atop the Village-Smasher. He makes his way towards FAFO and grunts out a greeting. "Good smashing. Thud. Clan Whacking Bucket." he introduces clumsily.
So yesterday we arrived in a place that doesn't exist using liminal magics and time shenanigans. We met the locals kinda sorta on accident, they were running for reinforcements when they came across the Gaians, and it turned out the characters were closer than their own folk. Half of the group stayed behind to establish base camp, the other half ran with the local proto-garou to fight nazis on dinosaurs and save the little village getting smashed by fascists, raptors and a t-rex. Afterwards, there was butchering to be done. Libby wasn't actually online but like, she's totally here. And there was much feasting with Clan Whacking Bucket. Dinner conversation is mostly grunts, extremely broken simple english, and revolves more around physical displays. Arm wrestling with the Ahroun, stuff like that. Rhapsody has to deal with a hairy caveman kinfolk sexily eating dino meat at her like Tormund at Brienne.
But eventually everyone was able to get back to camp, get some sleep and stuff. And now it's morning! GUESS WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST?! Big fuckoff slabs of meat sizzle over a fire, the sun is rising on the unblemished majesty of Pangea, the air is filled with the reptilian cries of proto-birds, and the ground shakes slightly as a fucknormous herbivore enters the clearing to chew on some tree tops.
Who needs English anyways? Strikes-Twice is sticking to her four footed form since well... she can. The raise of her snout to the air and a pointed sniff-sniff-sniff about the cookfire surely a sign the lupus looking for some of that tasty dino-breakfast.
Irsa does what she always does when she wakes up: she hops up, looks for coffee, and grumbles when she realizes such a thing doesn't exist in primal Umbral realms. "Rise an' shine! Get up! We got things t' hunt down, and I got presents for folks. Up up up!" She flops down next to the fire with a bunch of rock cores stacked up around her. While everyone was running around having a great time last night, she was out hunting for resources to use here.
Rhapsody has barely slept as she is filled with excitement. Her eyes may have been closed, but she was listening and thinking. When she hears others wake up, she is out of her 'bed' and out with the others. "Can we all just take a moment to take in this all. The air, the views, the nature." She looks at the large herbivore. "The local wildlife."
The hugeass brontosaurus or whatever it is is polite, I mean it's huge and stompy and cant help shaking the earth and all, but it's extremely considerate about not getting too close to the teeeeeeeny tiny werewolves where it might step on them. Much like how elephants are very courteous of small creatures near them.
Bright and early, a troupe of Whacking Buckets step out of the tree line of the jungle, starting across the field towards the group. As usual, their leader is wearing a bucket on his head, a metal thing with eye holes cut into it and a strip torn up to lay across his muzzle. Brown pelted, their bodies thick and primitive, the locals are... interesting, to say the least. They're carrying with them some breakfast delicacies. The height of their cooking prowess is limited to 'I beat this meat with a branch that smells super good', but you know. It's the thought that counts. They grunt a greeting at the ladies as they approach.
"Hell yeah we can!" Irsa backs up her pack-sister. "Last night I was pullin' up plants I've never seen before, and fightin' off ants longer than my hand. And check this shit out. Flint!" she proudly picks up one of the rock cores and shows it off. "I'm making some spear heads, and a couple knives an' axes. Who wants one? We're gonna need 'em for th' most epic dinosaur hunt ever." She rolls the flint nodules towards the coals to warm up and starts rummaging around in her pack. Gift time! She eyes the incoming Garou and grunts back at them. "Damn, ya'll weren't lying about these guys. Uh..where did they get th' bucket from?" she asks.
Strikes-Twice has spent most of her life not cooking at all, so it's not like the lupus is really picky about meat. She dubiously looks over Irsa as she starts going on about spears and axes. << Can't stick to teeth? Dire teeth? >> A snarl as her lupus mouth tries to imitate the larger hispo fangs.
Rhapsody stands at her tallest when the Whacking Buckets arrive. She is not a fan of the sexy eating meat at her, but she's not going to piss off relations with the primative rou. "You honor us with your gift of meat." Irsa's offer of weapons, "When in Pangea... fight like the pangeans?"
It's a compliment, Rhapsody! All that fighting prowess, you're *clearly* gonna be a badass mate, and what attracts a strong woman but a strong man, a strong man that can eat meat *sexily*! Or... Something. ANYWAYS... There's a grunt and a head butt just for you, Rhap, to share the honor.
The warriors of Clan Whacking Bucket add their meats to the fire in an offer of friendship and all that jazz, and sit amongst the group. They kinda smell, just sayin. Talkin' dude sweat and bi-monthly bathing. Now, they're very curious about you lot, but they don't really understand you. Not your weird activities, not your super fast, super complicated language, none of that. They kinda get Abril though. I mean, wolf. Granted, such a tiny, tiny wolf, not a dire wolf, but still. So they're fairly quiet and just watch, mostly what Irsa is doing with the flint.
Oh and Mercy is totally here, she's just like 'over there' doing some protracted ritual shenanigans on her own. Available for emergencies, but not sucking up the ST's attention.
"Look, you got teeth and strong jaws in your birth form," Irsa points out to the lupus. "I don't, and I ain't truly a bad-ass 'til I can take on a huge slab of walkin', breathing meat with nothin' but a goddamn spear." She nods at Rhapsody and pulls a leather lap apron out of her pack, along with a hammer stone she picked out yesterday. "Hold up, I got things for ya'll. Here!" She hands around some leaf-wrapped bundles to everyone. Hell, why not the Whacking Buckets leader too, she has extras.
<OOC> Irsa says, "Inside the leaf bundle: A 100 recycled cotton, colorful green jungle pattern tie-dye t-shirt. The front has the words 'Pangea 2024 World Tour' screen-printed in white in a dinosaur font, with claw marks underscoring the legend. The back has a bunch of little stick-figure men being chased by a T-Rex. Do they fit when tried on? Of course! Irsa's got a knack for spotting people's preferred sizes, ya'll.
Abril totally squeezes into the t-shirt in her wolf-form. All on her own. She's a big lupus that don't need know thumbs!
Rhapsody takes the leaf wrapped bundle and opens it up. "Oh fun! It's like we are all on the same team! But it is the same vacation tour." She'll slide the shirt on, which probably fits her just right. The head butt surprises her, but she takes it /like a champ/! She offers a grunt in return (please do not let that translate into accepting a marriage offer!), and goes about helping with the meat to be cooked and not just turned to carbon. "You really planned this all out. I get the wanting to use weapons of the stone age, but if things get hairy, then do not hesitate to pull out the big guns."
The leader of the proto-garou, Thud as he was named yesterday, takes the bundle and figures out what to do with it by watching the rest of you. The shirt is... Baffling. The fuck is this? Poke poke. Sniff. Small bite? No. Watch the smart ones, they will show you the way, Thud...
He takes off his bucket, and his wolf face is nothing remarkable, just another brown pelted crinos head really. The bucket is sat aside and Thud shifts down to Glabro while standing, and taking cues from the smarties, manages to get his head through the head hole. SUCCESS! I mean he's wearing the shirt as an infinity scarf but baby steps! He grunt-howls his joyous thanks and his comrades make some very 'looks amazing, dude!' type noises at him. He reaches out to give Irsa a friendly thwap on the arm in thanks. It kinda hurts, but it's not meant to be mean. Thud looks thrilled!
It should be noted that this (super naked) caveman has some really baller body art. Several well done tribal designs, the Sex Pistols and Black Flag logos on one arm, an interesting sun design, things like that.
Irsa grins at the leader's reaction and thumps him right back, just like a mighty woman-warrior should. She whistles as she checks out his sweet tatts. "Yo, check this out. Dude's gone native. Pangea at work, ya think?" She shrugs and sits down to work. She splits open the flint cores neatly with a series of controlled blows from her hammerstone, and begins shaping out a bunch of spear head, knife and axe blanks. "Yeah, but I gotta -try-, ya know? Don't worry, I got a fang dagger for back-up if I got no other choice." She switches to bone tools and retouchers to finish up her work. "Done with this lot. Just gotta lash these spear heads t' shafts and we're set."
<< Fight as pack, as always. >> Strikes-twice says in between noms on a giant only slightly charred chunk of meat still on the bone. There's a bit of licking at the grease about her lips. << And teeth weapon of every age. >>
Evan wanders back into camp from stepping off to do his morning ritual, and ruby tipped spear in hand he looks around to catch up with what's going on.
Rhapsody cannot help but look at Thud, and notice the tats. "Huh. I'm not sure this guy is native." This is more a warning really to what could happen to them all. She offers to Thud, "Would you like some help?" She demonstrates a bit showing her arms in the arm holes, and all that.
You're saying all these words, Rhapsody, what do they *mean*?! What is this 'help' that you speak of? But if you throw some gestures in there, then sure, help me!
Oh but this just creates more problems. Once she lays hands on Thud to like get an arm through an arm hole of the shirt, the cave-kin that'd been giving her the sexy eyes earlier just HAS to have a problem with this, jumping up to his feet to chest bump Thud away. "UGH!" he announces at Thud, and while it's not an actual *word*, per se, it's got a real 'mine!' type vibe. The kinfolk attempts, unwisely probably, to grab Rhapsody. Too much time has been wasted, my love, let us blow this grilled meat stand and I'll give you the world! This all comes out as "UUUUUUGH!"
Irsa picks up some spear shafts she prepared last night, notches them to fit spear heads, and lashes the sharp things in place with braided vines. "There. That's.... three of everythin'," she says, counting out the spears, knives and hand axes. "That should be enough." She narrows her eyes as the squabble breaks out, and shoots Rhapsody a look. The message is clear: she'll gladly back the Black Fury up, she just needs to say the word.
<Mistseekers> Irsa says, "Oh, great. Sing out if ya want us t' jump in an' help, Sister."
<Mistseekers> Rhapsody says, "Thanks, I think I got this for now."
As soon as Irsa says that's everything, Strikes-twice takes a few more bites of the dino-meat and then the lupus rises to all fours, gives a good solid streeetch and shifts on up to hispo. Without taking the t-shirt off. It stretches and probably tears in a place or two but the distressed look from the trip is really how you're going to know it's been to pangea and back. The dire-wolf watches the love scuffle without amusement, but she doesn't step in. Instead, she gives a little yip. and a hop. A clear Let's Get The Move On. There's hunting to be done!
Evan stands there and blinks at the dude grabs at Rhapsody and then just chuckles as he knows what comes next. Deciding he needs snacks so he goes for some of the cooked meat as the show gets started.
Rhapsody grrs, and does not even shift just yet. Nah brah. She stomps this cave kin on his toes, then uses the heel of her hand to smash into his nose, and then - just to make her point - she does a quick, sharp, strong knee thrust right into the cave kin's family jewels, before she pushes in to the ground and then stomps her foot into his bread basket. "NO. That is NOT how this works." After a moment she wipes her hands off on each other and walks away from the cave-kin. "We should get ready to hunt."
Were Iris paying attention and here and not doing whatever ritual shit off out of the way, she'd say 'no no, let the naked men squabble, I'll pour tea and Mimic some porno funk music. By any chance does someone have some Pam we can spray them down with?' But she's NOT here, so. No 70's porn music for you.
The kinfolk (we'll name him Cronk for simplicity) grabs his crotch and "HUUUUUUURK!"'s as he bends double, nose gushing. See, this is why you cant just walk around naked and hang dong all the time. Not like pants would have armored his beans and frank much, but still.
There's a a thumpthumpthumpTHUMPTHUMP! of paws hitting the ground and rushing towards the group. Just as Cronk is starting to straighten up off the ground, just BARELY beating back the urge to fucking *die*, a small white and purple creature zips out of the trees and into the group, headed straight for the kinfolk. It stops, whirls around, and kicks him in the beans again. Urge to die, renewed! Cronk falls over again, dry heaving and holding his boys.
The creature is a sort of... zebra dog. About the same size as a dog, it's got four paws, but its build is more equine. It's face too has a weird sort of dog/horse vibe to its build. Its pelt is snow white with deep purple horizontal stripes, and there are two teeny little under developed wings at its shoulders, half scales and half feathers. It proceeds to yell at the fallen kin in proto-pegasus, a cross between neighs and barks.
The other Whacking Buckets silently behold this spectacle. And then burst out laughing raucously and pointing. HA HA!
Irsa lets out a loud, "Oooooh!" as this forward dude gets slapped down and put in his place. She's just about to congratulate Rhapsody on her victory over the forces of Dude-Broness when this crazy creature pops out of nowhere and joins in the ass-kicking. "What th' fuck? Who let this wild My Little Pony thing in here?"
Evan is eating roasted dinosaur and clapping for Rhapsody "And she nails the dismount." The proto-pegasus gets a blink before he asks "And what's being hunted today?"
Strikes-Twice is equally befuddled at the winged-zebra-dog, giving a little blink of golden eyes. A look about as if anybody else knows what the heck that thing is?
Rhapsody awws over the nut-butting pegasus. "Where have you been all my life?" She kneels down next to the small horse-like creature and offers, "Friend? That was a great shot. Want to hang out with us? I would love to have you hang around with us."
Broken Fang must have been out finding a prehistoric tree to mark up since he chooses this particular moment to lumber his way back in, catching the business end of the Rhapsody smackdown, and then the proto-pegasus suddenly showing up. Well, THATS enough to make the lupus stop, blink and promptly sit his butt down in the grass. Too bad he doesnt have popcorn, cause this got good fast. He does manage to aroo, <<What the hell did I miss?>>
Proto-Pegasus is very keen to give Rhapsody some nuzzles and a once over, and in spirit-speech is like omg r u ok? while periodically looking back at the kinfolk to bark 'NO!' She snorts her agreement to hang out with the crew and sticks by the Fury for the moment.
Thud grunts at his companions and they get up to hoist their groaning kinfolk up and walk his rejected ass back home. Thud seems to have found this whole thing super funny and invigorating, and makes a 'come with me' gesture and grunt, picking up his bucket and placing it on his head again while getting crinosed up. "HUNT!" he agrees, without the articulation necessary to communicate much more than that. He keeps the pace leasurely at first so everyone has time to get up, grab a thing, snag some meat for the road, wtf ever.
Irsa just boggles at this whole chain of events and picks up her flint weapons. Where did that vine bandolier come from? Whatever, she's putting the thing on now. "Looks like you got picked, just like I did!" she congratulates Rhapsody. "Ready t' take your own menace out with us?" She follows after Thud, trusting the proto-Garou to know his business.
The good thing about fighting in Hispo, Strikes-Twice is ready to hit the road. If there was a road. She hits the direction thud leads out. one furred foot after another.
Broken Fang just shakes his head and shrugs, lumbering back up to all fours. Looks like they are all heading back out on a hunt, so the big hispo is happy to fall into line and follow the group out. Something to sink fangs into, yay!
Thud leads the way! Across the meadow, into the jungle, and past so many probably delicious things. Honestly, there is SO MUCH LIFE here. Critters everywhere! I mean sure, a lot of them are super big horrifying bugs, but fear not, there's a familiar lizard (Flame of Lost Kings/Pacorro) running around gorging himself on them. There's SOME mammals, but they're small, inferior, strictly prey creatures. Thud waves them off as things to hunt with a snort.
There's a herd of herbivore lizards about ostrich sized, but Thud waves those off too. "Puny." he insists. "No fun." Way over yonder is a sleeping t-rex hidden beside some rocks, but Thud scoffs. "Weak."
Oh no, no paltry, puny, weak bullshit for you guys! Thud leads the way into the swamps. The lighting darkens, mists rise up to obscure the land and swirl around ankles, and the air smells like soggy leaves and mildew.
Evan is following along with his spear propped on one shoulder and gnawing on meat in his other hand. Just taking it all in until someone else calls a shot, at least assuming that the local guide knows what's good.
Rhapsody is happy that they get to move on from this. She'll find some snack they have there (plant based) to give to the proto-pegasus to share, as well as have her bag to collect things on the way. "This is just the best." She's so happy seeing all the creatures that they can. "I hope to find some feathers really." But chances may not be good. As they move along, she talks with her new pal, asking what their name is, and what they like.
Irsa eyes the smaller herbivores and nods. She can fight ostrich-sized things at home, no point in hunting these here. She growls as insects begin swarming her in her soft homid skin, so she opts for Glabro. She still has to use weapons, so hey! "Should ask that Mokole where t' find some. He was nabbin' some colorful ones and rocks too."
Thud slows the group as they get into the swamp proper, moving from walking to creeping, choosing his steps carefully and keeping an sharp eye out. The bucket surely cannot help but he's not taking it off. "Shhh. Big." he grunts out in a whisper. A large lizard glides overhead on patagea, mournful calls echoing in the gloom. There's a watery sound as some big, semi aquatic dinosaur raises its head out of the swampy water, a delicious mouthful of vegetation hanging from its chewing mouth. It regards the group curiously, standing its bulk on the soggy ground and munching. Huh. Tiny people. How neat is that?
Just then, the water EXPLODES violently as a mother fucking dragon bursts out and grabs the veggy munching dino by the neck. There's big loud reptilian screams and the ground shakes with the thrashing and wrestling between the creatures. Blood and water flies, and Thud points and says, "Look good!"
Evan bulks up into glabro just in case one of the insects decides to make a try for him and since breakfast meat has been finished his ruby tipped spear is now being carried in a ready position in both hands. When the giant croc river dragon thing appears? That gets a "Oh hell yeah."
Rhapsody has kept close to her proto-pegasus new friend, but when they stop - she watches the amazing dino before SPLASH! and the fight is on between two monsters. "Damn!" she utters before she feels she must shift to crinos here. You just never know what is going to happen. With it, she pulls out her power blade to have at the ready. WOOOOOOOSH!
"Holy shit!" Neaderthal-Irsa blurts out as blood sprays everywhere. She brandishes a flint spear and lets out a loud whoop of approval. What a savage.
Hopper's ear lay back against his head at the sight of the huge Reptile an his eyes shift around, making sure the huge creature is the only threat.
Broken Fang has enough time to grumble about the swamp muck is going to soak into his fur...when the big predator explodes out of nowhere ahead of them. A few members of the hunting party change forms and BF hunkers down and growls, ready-ing his own charge as soon as someone calls out the attack.
Strikes-Twice watches as the fucking DRAGON emerges and devours another really big but more peaceful dinosaur. And this is the time she chooses to channel a bit of Gnosis and tack on some good ol' Luna's Armor. Just to be Safe. As safe as one can be when hunting a dragon.
Is this the only threat? Well... no, but it's the one you can see right now, and any threats that aren't as big as that are probably backing away slowly right now. Also, just for your FYI, whether you're relying on Lore Fera or some Scent of True Form or anything like that, this is not a Mokole or anything, don't worry. Just a suuuuuuuper big alligator to be honest, but it's got that primordial, draconic sort of look to it. Spikey bits, boney ridges, ponty-ish plate scales, you know what I'm sayin'.
Anyhoo, it bites the dino duck's neck clean in half, the severed head plopping noisily into the water in a spreading puddle of red, the body crumbling lifelessly with a crash in the mud. The huge gator chomp chomp swallows the bit of neck in its mouth, and as its crawling up out of the water to enjoy its feast, it notices the group and HISSSSSSES menacingly. This is my lunch, you puny mammals, fuck off!
Primal Figure is not about to annoy another predator enjoying its rightly-caught prey, nuh uh. That is, until it turns to the group and gets all bristly. She lets out a growl and invokes a Gift to shrug off the pain of injuries (juussst in case) and lets out a warning growl. The message is clear: don't mess with us, we've got teeth too.
Hopper's hackles raise as the creature challenges the make shift hunting pack and he almost effortlessly grows to the size of direwolf. As he does her begins moving towards the creature and to the right, trying to divide it's attention.
Strikes-twice's now very silver-y coated hispo form slinks lower in the prehistoric grass as she assumes a hunting pose. Like yeah, the dragon knows they're there. But it doesn't know which one of the group might lunge first. And she starts slinking forward.
Broken Fang digs his claws in as the biggo predator turns towards the wolves, his entire form freezing into translucent ice. Shaking off the dusting of snow, he lowers his head and stalks forward, eyeing the best place to lunge at the Big Beastie.
Protector-of-Hope moves around as well, holding her power blade at the ready. She's not striking just yet - but she's ready to swat if the beast goes within her range. The tough hide of this gator will make it difficult to cut through - even with her advanced weapon.
Evan sees everyone else approaching in a traditional stalk style and hunt. For himself though, Evan swells up to crinos and activates his spear to glow as bright as the sun! And he opens his mouth to howl as he charges and a GOD AWFUL LOUD sound like an on coming freight train as he charges in.
"UUUUUUUUGH!" Thud roars, and takes off running with Evan straight at the monster. No spear or anything, just claws, teeth, and bucket. And teeshirt.
The 'gator ain't takin' this interruption to its lunch lightly, and stomps forward to meet the meat. Its mouth is SO HUGE! when it opens up to try and chomp Evan and Thud, tilting its head a bit to try and get them. Size plays against it a bit, it IS very swift, but you smaller creatures are definitely more nimble. Curtains of swamp water are hurled up by its huge clawed hands as it stomp stomp stomps! Thud does a cool action movie slide to avoid dying two seconds into the combat. Upside, survival! Downside, leeches. Deal with those later, though.
Primal Figure lets out a bloodcurling spear and chucks her spear right at the crocodile. She lets out an annoyed growl as the thing bounces off its armored hide. She whips a flint knife out of her her vine bandolier and races after the others, right into the teeth of the enemy. Yaaar! She dodges the huge jaws and leaps for its back, using the creature's jagged scales for handholds.
Seeing the other begin to engage, Hopper dashes to the creatures flank as a low roar builds in the back of his throat. Then Nimble even by a wolves standards he darts in and snaps at the creatures back leg. His teeth sink into the flesh and he rips them free as he moves to dart back from the expected reaction of the beast. He gets a taste of the creature but fails to hold onto any of the flesh in his jaws.
Strikes-Twice might not strike first, but as the Fianna leads the way and others charge forward, she wipes around. Going for the dino-gator's sweet, sweet side meat. Chomp-chomp.
If the Gator thinks its going to chump on Evan, Broken Fang at least plans on making that harder to do by charging after Thud and Evan and lunging for the big beastie's head. Somewhere there's a big barbarian screaming 'go for the eyes, Boo!', but the Wendigo might just be trying to blind it for now.
Protector-of-Hope moves in with the others as Evan leads the attack. She'll take a charge toward that belly of the beast, and SLICE with a sizzzlleeeee as her power blade attempts to cut through the gator's hide.
Collector-of-Tales sees the lunge of the beast and then as his fellow hunters make their own attacks he crouches and springs mightily into the air and comes down with his spear point first and balanced, stabbing the beast in the snout. For about half a second he's balanced there and looks great before getting yeeted off into the swamp by a headshake of the monster.
This thing's hide is THICK. Talkin' major apex predator here, it doesn't *get* shanked by puny little punks like you! DINO POWER, MUFUCKER! I mean okay, it turns out you guys have some pretty solid teeth and claws, but it stubornly maintains that you're all pussies even as it's getting surrounded by the hunting party.
The t-rex that was fought yesterday, it had huge jaws and teeth, it was stompy, pretty dangerous and all, but once people were *on* the damned thing it was basically just a flailing mess. THIS guy, however, is bendy and sinuous, it can snap at the little bastards trying to hamstring it, swipe a massive claw at someone biting or cutting its side, or whip its huge knife of a tail to try and slap some sense into you.
A Stephen and Evan on its face is a BIT of a problem, okay, but nothing that a good shake cant take care of. There, see? Evan's gone. Stephen is not gone though, and its nose hurts kinda a lot, so it attempts to get the Wendigo off its face by slamming its head into a tree hard enough to explode the damned thing's trunk. RAAAAAAAR
Thud jumps up out of the water and tries to climb the thing, but gets swiped off and then bitch slapped across the swamp by that tail.
It's bleeding in some spots now though, lookit you go!
Primal Figure stabs the crocodile's neck, snarling angrily as the flint knife breaks on its tough hide. She whips out a second knife and stabs again, this time angling under the ridge of the scales. Blood sprays as the blade sinks home, and she yanks it free to stab the beast again.
Hopper has a lot to process when it comes to this fight. Things are happening fast and his companions seem well suite to the fight. If he weren't busy making sure he does not get stepped on he might be trying to take more of it in. Movements slowly slightly by the water he manages to avoid the brunt of the blow coming his way and sinks his teeth into the same spot on it's leg ass before. Then get gets sent flying back as it's taloned back foot kick back against the pain, and slices into Hopper's shoulder. As he lands on the shore he rolls into a crouching position, facing the beast as blood trickles down his arm.
The beast can certainly TRY to tail swipe at Strikes-Twice but the shadow lord and the grace of luna's blessed armor takes it with barely an exhale of an ooofh from the force. Not even a flesh wound. Really all it does is motivate her to bite down even harder on some of that sensitive side-meat.
Broken Fang's ice body might be able to take a lot of punishment, but ice blocks werent really SUPPOSED to be used as battering rams. So give the Wendigo credit for clinging like Saran Wrap to the gator's nose despit the shakingm but surely that wasnt just ice CRUNCHING when he gets slammed into a tree. I mean, he does get torn off, taking a chunk of gator nose while he does it, but something definitely looked broken when he landed and staggered back up to all fours.
Protector-of-Hope is knocked back by the flailing of the beast, but she rolls through it with some bruising and a few small cuts that will be gone shortly. Mostly from whatever is on the ground! She strikes harder with her power blade, the burning sizzzle of the electricity that runs through it searing through the hide of this beast as she tries to jostle it to purify the innerds of the gator.
Collector-of-Tales launches himself back from wherever in the swamp he got flung like a glowing red furred meteor yelling and hollaring >>THAT FUCKIN HURT<< as he stabs into the beast's spine.
The sounds this bigass creature makes aren't distress, or pain, they're the sounds of total, frenzied rage. Y'all pissin it off! It's being nickel and dimed down, it's got light saber slices and bite wounds and spear holes, and you know what? Fuck you guys. It throws itself into a roll, rolling away from the land and the big dead thingie it was going to dine on earlier, and into the deeper swamp water.
Armored as she is, Abril may not find being force squished by several tons of reptile as uncomfortable as Evan and Irsa will, but the water and mud shoved up your nose is gonna suck no matter what.
Hopper, Protector, and Broken Fang may manage to avoid this maneuver, Thud's the only one that'll definitely not get squished because he's too busy jogging his way back into the fight. He'll arrive once the thing's submerged, with a fresh dent in his bucket.
The hell with this noise. Neanderthal-Irsa lets go of the jutting neck scale she's nabbed and wobbles to stand up on the crocodile's back, this time with one of those nasty flint spears in her hands. She lets out a booming howl as she stabs downward, sinking half the spear's length into the creature's neck. She doesn't have time to announce her success before the creature rolls. There's a loud 'crunch' as the crocodile rolls on her and crushes Irsa beneath it. "Fuckin' oww!" she snarls, all muffled by the mud she's just inhaled.
Incredulous best describes Hopper's first reaction to the monster rolls. He bounces as it starts it's roll, then he sees one of the hunting group go under and he jumps forward following them into the water.... apparently on board for getting smooshed by a murder log, as he dives in to make sure the mud logged garou is going to come up on their own.
Strikes-twice splutters and splurts against the water but breathing is secondary at the moment. She's got her teeth sunk in and she worries her head back and forth trying to at least take a sizeable chunk out before she releases and comes up for air panting.
Broken Fang takes a moment to shake himself out and snap a couple of things back into place, but the big beastie doing a rage roll doesnt seem to disuade him from growling and trying to leap back into the fight, claws and fangs splayed wide to latch onto the first bit of hide he can get at, and hang on for all he's worth while trying to rend and chew bits off, even if it means getting the 'dog caught on the car tire' rolling treatment...
Protector-of-Hope leaps away, avoiding the gator as he tries to squish with his XXXXXXL body as he rolls. If any of it comes hear, she'll swipe again, but that sucker is one large and in charge beast!
Collector-of-Tales is clinging to his spear in the beast spine and spins by a couple of times as it goes into its roll. Then after the beast submerges Collector-of-Tales bobs back up, clutching his spear and swimming for the shallows. Caked with mud and slime as he looks around to try and figure out where the creature went.
It's got big lungs, it can do the under water roll like a champ until one by one you little mammals are forced to GTFO. Aaaaaand now you're in the water in a swamp with a big hidden pissed off thing that you *know* has not just run off in fear. Your break time is limited.
Meanwhile, Thud returns, and is all "Awww!" and looks bummed, like he missed all the action. Sad caveman.
Primal Figure has had it with this ginormous crocodile. She grunts her thanks to Hopper when the lupus comes to her aid, and drags herself out of the mud when the beast goes into hidey mode. Her ribs are almost completely caved in and she's barely able to breathe, but Rage drives her on. She staggers out of the way and sinks down behind a splintered tree, wheezing as her regeneration kicks in. When that damn crocodile emerges again, she'll be ready for it.
Hopper immediately realize the danger as the beast goes under but takes time to do a head count. Only when he sees Primal Figure emerge from the water does he swim back to shore. Darting out of the water he spins back towards the mirky mire and growls. With a moment to evaluate he realizes that his should hurts and he smells his own blood. Still growling he backs away waiting for the creature to return to the fray.
Strikes-twice reluctantly is the last to retreat, but she doesn't fully leave the water. Her dire wolf paws are still staying wet (even if it's just the paws and nowhere near enough water for the gator to hide in). She keeps scanning the surface, looking for those tell-tale ripples signaling the monster's next move.
Protector-of-Hope is scanning the water. >> We are going to need a bigger boat.. if... no when we succeed here. << She's at the ready, her eyes never stopping scanning - as she sees Strikes-twice watching closer.
Collector-of-Tales gets a wicked mischievous grin on his muzzle and opens his mouth to make another set of noises that don't belong to him. He uses his gift to mimic the panic and pain noises of the beast's prey that it was nomming on when the group arrived. Attempting to lure it back with the sound of food while he prepares to stab it in the mouth when it appears.
Thud quickly gets the vibe that oh, it's not gone, we're just taking a breather, and flexes his claws, ready to get smacked around again.
The swamp is eerily silent around the dying wails of the veggie eating dinosaur whose name I've completely forgotten and don't know how to spell anyways. The mists that were stirred up by the battle begin to settle again, a low smoke on the water, a spooky cover on the bloody mud.
It's in there, moving, occasionally Rhapsody or Abril spots a slight cresting of its back through the water's surface, or there's a splash somewhere in the wan swamp light. It's pacing back and forth, thinking, puzzling the best way to murder you guys... and then it's gone. Hidden in the noise and the stank of the swamp. Just long enough for broken bones to heal and flesh to knit back together before it bursts back out of the water!
Thanks to your observance and wariness you're not caught completely unawares as it lunges out of the water to try and take a bite out of crime. You can hear it, smell it, or even feel the vibration of its bulk leaving the depths, allowing you to leap out of the way. Or not. You could Drax this shit up if you're really brave.
Primal Figure was waiting for this. With a vicious snarl she lunges forward with another spear, lodging the weapon into the roof of the crocodile's huge maw as it goes for the others. Try biting people with that thing in your mouth, primordial asshole! She darts out of the way, juuust in case it tries anyway.
Truth Keeper aka Hopper had enough time to realize his biting at the leg was not enough to slow it down. As t lunges out of the water and Primal Figure lunges with a spear, Hopper holds his ground, only moving at the last moment to avoid getting bitten in half. As he does his head whips around and he sinks his teeth into the creatures left eye.
Protector-of-Hope takes a look at the proto-pegasus. >> There's only way to do this. Come with me! << And at that moment - Protector-of-Hope leaps toward the gator's mouth, and FLINGS herself inside to slide down into the belly of the beast! This is where it is the most vulernable and she takes in a deep breath of air before she's going to need to hold it as she'll hack and slash from the inside to get out again! Burning it alive with that light saber like weapon she has! TAKE THAT!
Collector-of-Tales will continue to harry the giant from the outside, darting in to stab it with his bright glowing spear in whatever tender part presents itself for his convenience.
Hooray, the gator ate one of them! It VERY nearly gets Irsa, she can feel the wind in her fur when it snaps its face shut. The spear both does its job but doesn't fare well in the beast's mouth, ramming up to pop out the top of its snoot (unigator!) while half of its haft snaps off and is spat out during a furious shaking of its head. MY EEEEEEEEEYE! Raaaaar! Now THAT gets a serious response, it's even able to ignore the light saber indigestion that's starting up as it freaks the fuck out. Hopper's extremely awesome maneuver was also super gross, and that's in your mouth now.
Meanwhile, inside the belly of the beast, it's very squishy. it's very damp. It's very weighty. Like being buried under a ton of meat, cause... I mean you kinda sorta are. But meat is no match for a laser sword! Sure it burns the skin in here, yes it smells, of course you're gonna get sick in there, but this is gonna be a hell of a way to end a battle next round. The proto-pegasus familiar bites, kicks, claws, realize it's doing absolutely nothing and is just sorta like WHY did I make this decision!? Ah loyalty. But it tries its best in there.
Primal Figure readies her last spear and winces as Protector-of-Hope leaps down the crocodile's gullet. "You ain't Drax!" she yells at the Black Fury, who of course can't possibly hear her right now. With a frustrated growl she launches her weapon at the giant reptile, this time taking a cue from Hopper and aiming for the other eye. "Give me back my sister!" she snarls.
<Mistseekers> Primal Figure says, "You better not die in there!"
Truth Keeper has bitten into a lot of gross stuff in his short life. Most of it he enjoyed. Lizard eye goo does not make the list of things he enjoyed. If not for the spectacle of watching a garou jump the things mouth he might have wretched but come on... jumping in the mouth.... who does that. Lunging back in he clamps down on the now oozing eye socket and does his best to not let go.
<Mistseekers> Protector-of-Hope says, "Don't plan to! Plan to be out of here soon!"
Strikes-Twice rights herself from her rolling and since the giant aligator is still moving, she finds the nearest wiggly part and latches on, jaws locking and twisting.
Protector-of-Hope continues to slash inside, trying to chop her way through the meat... loads and loads of meat... to make it out a /new/ way! She directs the familiar to attack the same area she is weakening, and making sure she does not hit the familiar either. She roaaarrrs as she keeps at this. SIZZZZLE SIZZZLEE!
Collector-of-Tales will try to direct his stabs and harassments in such a way as to make the beast curl towards him and add tension to the meat his packmate is cutting her way out through. To make it easier he hopes.
Poke! MY OTHER EEEEEEEYE! It's not as bad as the left one, but a spear is definitely *way* worse than getting an eyelash stuck in there. Great, now it's fuckin blind. Stomping and thrashing, whipping its body back and forth, tail flooshing up waves of stank water and popping soggy swamp trees to pieces, god damned werewolf stuck to its face, we're really stickin with the B-Movie madness this trip.
The beast stumbles, groaning in pain, trying to back up, but you cant back up from your own stomach! It projectile vomits as a last resort, spraying down everyone except Truth Keeper (cause he's on its eye), and a very soggy Familiar is spat out. Rhapsody's more just given a violent internal hug than anything while she's got a hand on her sword, and when the beast falls, its stomach parts in a jagged, smoldering line. Like fifty tons of steaming, nasty gater guts and blood pour out onto the splat of land you're on, and Rhapsody majestically falls out, probably gasping for air and smoking slightly herself what with digestive acids on her.
You are victorious! And you smell. You all smell *so* bad.
Primal Figure growls and stomps over to the fallen crocodile, rearing back a foot to kick it right in the snout. She lets out a string of very impressive curses as her toes crunch under the blow. "Ya'll look like shit," she grouses as she limps away from the carcass. More regen first, tyvm.
Truth Keeper spats out the eye and winces as he looks around the collective group, doing another head count to make sure no one is stuck under the carcass. Then throwing his head back he howls, letting a long basso rumble fill the air. At the end the yip he makes sound almost like an exact imitation of the word "Ouch." Shaking himself he moves back to see who is going to claim the right to the meat first.
Strikes-Twice doesn't claim any of that meat. She's busy trying not to smell herself let alone everything else. And as she looks about and everybody still has the same number of limbs they started with she judges, << Easy! >>
Collector-of-Tales will throw up off to the side somewhere and then straighten up >>Let's lash this thing into some sort of bundle and haul it back to camp? If we all pull together we can...maybe get it somewhere drier at least<<
Protector-of-Hope shakes off the goo and guts all over her. >> I've been slimed. But worth it! << The smell may never go away. >> I need a shower. <<
Primal Figure gives up on this slower regeneration thing and shifts to Crinos to speed up the process. >> Now that was a hunt. And look! We have a hadrosaur as well, just like I wanted. Stolen right from it's dead killer. << She pulls her flint-spear out of the giant crocodile's eye and pokes at the headless herbivore's meaty carcass. >> How are we going to get all this meat back to camp? There's no travois in any Realm big enough for all this.<<
Not seeing anyone rush to take the first portion, Hopper moves forward and begins gnawing at the rear left foot of the beast. He might not be able to get the whole thing back to camp but unless someone object he is getting a foot.
Very few things distract Liberty from the Hunt. But there -are- some things. First, she's not quiet over the novelty of getting to see and interact with her familiar plus there were plants to explore and discover. Herbs to learn, vegetables and tubers to find and document in her little battered sketchbook. There would be another hunt, right? So she's a little bit late to the game. But the Butcher has arrived to do the job she was -actually- brought for... meat maps!
You know what'll work, is Stephen, who had to go earlier, can run back to camp and get people to get this stuff back to camp. And then we can do some Hand-Wavium and poof, we're back at the camp. And you may as well have a snack or check plants out while you're waiting.
The camp! This is where Libby is right now. It's a large, irregular meaddow surrounded by jungle and located near a big sticky uppy rock that we used as a gateway to get here. The kills the group bring back are one absolutely fucknormous alligator that's been gutted, and one big fat semi aquatic beasty that's missing a head. Accompanying the group is Thud, a local crinos proto-garou with a bucket on his head as a helmet and an absolutely *fucked* up 'Pangea Tour 2024' teeshirt on, but no pants. He's got fur though, it's fine. Everyone knows Libby's here to make STEEEEEAAAAAAAAKS so someone's sure to alert her when they see the hunting party return.
Hammer-Tooth checks out her healing wounds and growls with satifaction. Everything's regenerating nicely, you'd never guess she had most of her ribs staved in just a few minutes ago. >> Now that was fun. I didn't even need to use the flint axes I made on that thing. <<
Protector-of-Hope has done all she can to scrub off the filth, and goo, and guts, but she still smells. They probably all do. But before she shifts from crinos, she helps get things back to camp. Once it is good, and she is sure her new familiar friend is setup, she's going to find some water somewhere to get as much of this off her as possible. Probably the odor might attract that cave-kin again, sigh.
Truth Keeper is not really interested in steaks... some nice intestine on the other hand... but for now he gnaws on the foot he chewed off with the diligence that only a wolf born might show towards such a task. As he eats the bits of meat from the bone his eyes study his largely unknown companions.
"Wooo.." Libby mimics a very bad Australian accent, "She's a beaut!" Libby heads over to her pack to grab her knife set, some rope, a package of meat hooks and two hand saws one big and the other small with a razor thin blade, a tarp, and a hatchet. She whistles cheerfully and makes her way over to the prizes. Red drops into a swoop nearby to get a better look as well. "It's a shame you're already field dressed my friend." She speaks to the dead lizard cheerfully. She also glances over the herbivore and nods her head. "Ducky." She says to no one, "You could still use them to help break up these joints, if you like." She says to Hammer-Tooth setting aside her stuff to snag up her sketchbook so she can make a rough draft sketch of each carcass with maybe a touch too much glee. She's got a really big smile on her face.
Some sort of Bathing pool is set up by earth moving and water conjuring magics. Even if the water needs to be drained and replaced more than once.
And that's where Evan has gone, to get all the YUCK off. But oh god there's so much. And leeches, and ticks.
Oh hell yes bathing spots are set up. Iris and Branton can surely manage it with some other off camera mystics, cause NO ONE wants to be near you guys! Except *maybe* Libby, cause she cray like that. Thud's cool though, he doesn't see what all the bother is. But whatever, he'll do what you guys do. Psh, complicated people with your smart guy brains...
The little proto-pegasus is okay too, slightly singed but otherwise fine and keen to stay close to Rhapsody.
The dead stuff is SO BIG, Libby. And the 'gator *may* have been field dressed from the inside out. Surely there are NPC minions ready and able to help with this huge task.
Hammer-Tooth flicks her ears at Libby's suggestion. >> True. They'll fit your hands as well, so take one or two for yourself. Just tell me where to chop and I'll gladly help you. << She tilts her head wolf-like as she watches Hopper. >> You are the one who Howled not long ago,<< the dark-brown Crinos growls. >> I am Hammer-Tooth, two-legged born, Crescent Moon, Athro. Bone Gnawer leader, Alpha of the Mistseekers. We hunt under Fog's watchful eye. << She points a clawed finger in Rhapsody's and Evan's general direction. >> These are my packmates, they can introduce themselves. Our Ahroun and Kinfolk are around here somewhere. Probably looking for blackberries that don't exist yet. << She sounds amused at this.
Truth Keeper lets the well chewed foot fall to the ground and partially on his from paws >>Honored to have been included in the hunt. Honored to have fought with your pack. Honored to meet you and yours.<< He notes the bathing but does not seem overly concerned with it himself. Of course he did not get as sprayed as some. >>I never imagined a feast such as this<<
Rhapsody returns from bathing, her hair still drying, but she's at least mostly clean? She did pack a small bar of ivory soap (the most basic) and is better. Not perfect, but not soooo stank. She walks up to join Hammer-Tooth as she greets Truth Keeper. Oh good, introductions. "May Gaia bless you, I am Rhapsody Teresi, Rited Protector of Hope, born with two legs under the crescent moon, Athro of the Black Furies. Daughter of Feeds the Weak, Adren Galliard, Granddaughter of Accepts-No-Excuses, Elder Ahroun, GreatGranddaughter of Follows-the-Light, Elder Theurge. Beta of the Mistseekers Pack, children of Aelous. This certainly is a unique introduction to what can be life at the Sept of the Enduring Spirit."
Evan will eventually come back after having bathed and scrubbed and bathed and scrubbed again. And having returned to his human form he offers his own introduction "I am Evan Osian Davies, Rited Collector-of-Tales, Human born Galliard of the Fianna Songkeepers. Adren member of the Mistseekers."
Libby is indeed not even remotely bothered by gross things nor does it seem like she's bothered by large gross things. She's going to get rather gorey after all. The Wendigo Kin is grateful for help when it comes to getting some part of the job done, both for the axes and extra hands to make quick work of the skinning process. Liiby pauses to add some things to the sketch book in preparation for the much more involved job of butchering. She’s got an ear tilted towards the Garou as they make their introductions.
Hammer-Tooth's muzzle curls up in a fierce Crinos grin. She hasn't bothered to bathe yet, just like a typical member of Rat's Tribe. >> I am glad you could hunt with us, Truth Keeper. It's good to see another new Philodox here. Strikes-First was the newest before you, she'll be happy to have another wolf-born to howl with. There are not enough in the Nation these days.<< She picks up a flint axe to help Libby, staying in Crinos for now to use her greater strength for the real heavy lifting. She'll smell even worse after this, but hey, Bone Gnawer.
Thud has bathed. Thud smells funny now. Thud assumes hispo form and goes to find something to roll in.
And oh laws, smelling bad didn't summon him, but maybe cleaning up did! Cronk warily approaches Rhapsody. No sudden movements, not in her blind spot, not too close. He sets a little thing on the ground and tooooooes it towards her before retreating and giving her the heart eyes. Look, he's learned from his mistakes, you wear the pants in this relationship! I mean obviously, pants haven't even been invented yet in Pangea.
Its Pan-gea, not Pants-gea.
Patrick changes into homid with little effort and as soon as he does his nose wrinkles and he suddenly understands the bathing. "May Gaia bless you and yours. I am Hopper... know as Patrick Kelly by some. I was born on four legs under the 1st quarter moon, Cailth Child of Gaia." Scooping up the huge foot he starts trying to see if he loosened one of the claws enough to pull it free. After his first whiff of odor while in homid form the look of disgust drops from his face and he gives the group an open smile.
Rhapsody is rubbing her hair with this small towel she packed - one of those ultra water absorbing ones. As Cronk makes his presence known to her again, she eyes him a bit. She looks at what he has left for her, and signals for her new bestie to check it out first. "Well when we get back, be sure you check in with the Truth Catcher, and the Master of the Challenge as well. Good to have you on board!"
>> This is wild, << Hammer-Tooth remarks to Libby. >> Really, when do you ever get the chance to chop up things that are twice the size of a bus back home? And we get to grill them and eat them for days and days? It's a dream come true. << She discards her now-thoroughly blunted axe and changes it out for another.
Libby isn't afraid to use brute force herself to help portion up the prehistoric prey. Quite happy to let Hammer-Tooth take on some of the meatier aspects of the butchery. "Oh this is so cool." Libby gushes. Little epithets escape her from time to time as she marvels at the bounty. It's a bit time consuming and oddly meticulous for what effectively looks like a B-horror film in progress. It will become evident rather quickly that Libby feels precision is key to wasting as little of the beasts as possible. "I mean right? Plus I'm interested in what the difference in bone density will be. Excited for the marrow, though, not gonna lie." Libby chirps happily. Her knives never seem to dull, no matter how hard Libby chops.
This whole trip has been B-Movie madness. Yesterday was nazis riding raptors.
Mercy comes back around from whatever shit she'd been doing and announces, "Holy shit." the sentiment is belated but still heartfelt. "Nice job, guys! So, you wanna head back tonight or in the morning? I gotta steal my pack away for a minute before we go, but I leave the duration of the trip to you guys. I'm game to camp out one more night, if you want."
<Mistseekers> Rhapsody says, "What do you all think? One more night? Gives a chance to collect a few more items?"
<Mistseekers> Hammer-Tooth says, "I don't see why not. We can head back in the afternoon or evening."
<Mistseekers> Evan says, "I'm not in any hurry"
Rhapsody waits a minute and after a look to Evan and Irsa, she offers, "I think one more night, leave tomorrow afternoon? Gives us a chance to find a few more things, and hopefully..." she looks to the proto-pegasus "...we can have another come along." She then picks up the item left by Cronk. "Where did they get the key to a car?"
Evan is hanging out near by where Libby's working, helping haul away and sort bits she pulls off. Also running interference with the locals if necessary, encouraging them to wait or at least work at her direction to get the most out of these kills seeing as there is more meat and hides than can possibly be used by the entire village. Even with limited preservation techniques.
Hammer-Tooth eyes those knives with interest. >> Branton's work or yours? << she asks Libby. >> We have good crafters in the caern, and I know I haven't met all of them. Some stay close to their Tribe's territory. << She seems fascinated by this whole efficient approach to butchering animals. She's a city Garou, for her it's usually scavenged grub or something lifted from some hapless retail joint. >> Car keys? He probably had them in his pocket when he arrived here. Didn't you see the tattoos on the leader? I'm sure the Sex Pistols never toured out this way. <<
Also, there's totally things to put meat in. Probably this is gonna fill it all up, but there's some rite of the shopping cart'ed containers of... some sort.
Mercy makes an exaggerated wince and points at the bracelet of hair, silk and copper wire. "Yeah. Don't lose your backstage pass to reality or you gotta join the cast and crew. I mean..." She eyes some of the local cave folk nudists around the camp and says, "I mean. Theoretically you could... like get them back. Probably. Maybe. I guess it depends on how deep the regression really is." But she shrugs because she's in straight up guessing territory there.
Libby perks up at Mercy's offer. She doesn't speak up first, glancing around, but her answer is written all over her features and that big hopeful smile. "Yeah!" She echoes after the others. "Branton's work. They are spectacular, really, I've told my sister I think I might love them more than I love her." She grins and laughs to herself. "They really make my job so much easier." She'll acccept help from the tribe as well, Libby sppears to be comfortable working with and even directing a group, teaching by example. The meniton of the car key gets a curious glance before she looks to Hammer-Tooth "Whoa, really?" She looks up and around as if she might spot the 'leader' in question then to Mercy. "It's that quick?"
Rhapsody kinda looks at Mercy with that. "Could we? I mean, it seems horrible to leave them here like this. If they were all.. well, part of our world. No one left behind?"
>> That one was probably a Bone Gnawer or Glass Walker, << Hammer-Tooth growls at Rhapsody. >> We're the only ones who bind Weaver things to us that way. << She flicks her ears again at Libby. >> It's a primordial Realm. I wouldn't risk staying more than a few days here, even with these bracelets on. << She rattles hers, showing how seriously she takes these lifelines. Hammer-Tooth also points out the leader, she's helpful that way.
Mercy settles down on the ground out of the way, and since we're staying another night, that means no work packing anything up, woo! "Uh... Well. I figure one of three things will happen. They'll travel back with us easy peasy and then we just, like, massage reality back into them. Get the wrinkles in their brains working, you know? OR, they'll travel with us but be inexorably drawn back here because they're tied to the place. Oooooor, they'll dissintigrate into raw gnosis. Prolly some of each, I mean odds are all three things'll happen, and probably some weird fourth thing that I haven't thought of." And she nods to Libby, "Yeah. Well. Going native is different for everyone, just depends on how much you give in to it before it swallows you up. The bracelets help ground us, but yeah, they're not gonna *stop* it from happening. Just slow it waaaaaaaay down. You shifters will notice you still have homid and lupus forms, you know?"
"Wild!" Libby's eyes widen as she speaks. "I guess at least he's thriving?" She muses as she follows Hammer-Tooths claw towards said leader passing off more meat to those schlepping the meat away from the mess. "Just the one more day then." She agrees with a soft huff of laughter, very jolly for someone trying to split ribs.
Rhapsody is torn on this. "I want to help them, but... is it worth the chance they just... explode? Maybe they are happier here?" She shakes her head, not knowing. "That one seems to really want me, so makes me wonder if he might be drawn to return. Or is just a horn dog."
Hammer-Tooth huffs with amusement. >> I think you know the answer to that one, Sister, << she growls at Rhapsody. Look, she has a sense of humor in Crinos! >> She eyes her sticky hands, practically glued to this flint axe now. << I think I'd better clean this off. Or I'll never be able to let go, and then more giant ants will come and take it from me. << And with that she heads off to the impromptu cleaning area, 'cus someone went to all the trouble of making the thing.
Mercy gives Rhapsody a cheeky grin and says, "If he makes it back, is that true love? Do you have a boyfriend after all this? Cause. Gurl." She looks over at where Cronk is doing Cronk things, like... I dunno. Stacking rocks? What do cavemen do for fun? And then back to Rhapsody. "At least you don't have to worry about what he's packin'. And you already kicked the shit out of him, if he's *still* into you, that's gotta count for something, right?" She then snaps and laughs as she remembers, "And he already got you a car! ... I mean a car key... there's got to be a car somewhere!"
