The Violent Melting Pot (23rd's Roleplay)

[23rd]

(I'm sorry Elle, but I will have to take a pass. No hard feelings. Also, it's true there wouldn't be any trees for Claudius, or anyone really, to chop down. There's a small forest of Lumpy Evergreens, but they're a vast distance away from everybody. Plenty of stumps though.)

 

-

 

Oh! Do you smell that? So many scents! Copper, snow, bread! What do you think is out there?

 

Under the cool shade of lumpy leaves that blotted out the sun, he awoke to Lucy's high pitched voice. To anyone else, it would be the most grating voice in the world, but every time he heard her speak a goofy smile spread over Woodie's face and he felt a comfortable warmth spread through his body. Still, he felt extremely exhausted. His shirt was ripped to pieces, feet were bare, and all he had to cover him was his rugged facial hair and a pair of torn brown shorts. They'd started as pants, but enough Hulk-like transformations had torn and ripped them to the point Woodie looked like a cartoonish castaway, when he was human at least. "I don't think we'll find out Lucy, not without some more lunar kerfuffles." He'd gotten better at "waking up" near his campsite, a tent and crockpot were mere meters away from him now. The Canuck hardly saw any point in leaving to the swamps beyond their oasis, really. They had a pond for fishing, a fire for lighting and most importantly trees for chopping. Still, those black skittering creatures were getting more aggressive lately.. like they were trying to drive him out of his haven. It wasn't Vancouver, but he liked where he was now, damn it. Far better than he liked the rest of the world around him. He knew the beast sleeping inside of him liked it too..

 

Woodie? Woodie, what's wrong?

 

Woodie snapped out of his daze, looking out past the forest to the swishing tentacles and rampant Merms that ran wild just beyond. "Nothing, Lucy, just planning out the day."

 

-

 

Wright had never considered himself a scientific or practical man. He'd never had the freedom to explore such ideas, and when he did the only thing that seemed to matter was survival. Still, when he saw a serpentine creature fly into the sky a short distance away from him he found himself dumbfounded. How was this possible? This didn't seem like an earthly creature, despite what little zoology Wright possessed even he could understand that. It took him several seconds to realize he was slack jawed, mouth hanging open at the spectacle. He took the time to close his mouth, all but forgetting about the food he was supposed to be foraging for himself. Was it hostile? Was it friendly? How would it react once it noticed him?

 

"Hey! What are you, some sort of angel?"

 

Wright half regretted what he had blurted out without thinking. It made sense that the thought entered his head, although he would've hoped to compose himself better in the face of uncertainty. Alas, what had been said had been said. Now all he could do would be to stare up at the leaf covered creature and wait for its reaction.

Edited December 3, 2013 by 23rd

[Ellebelly24]

(That's fine. It's gonna be hard to bring Kitt in though now.)

[KidneyBeanBoy]

Velage sat down, sighing tiredly as he surveyed the world around him. In the three hours he had, he had nearly gathered the entire area's supply of twigs and grass which left many barren patches of ground. The stumps, however, were not caused by him. He could only guess who left them. Perhaps this land was colonized, he thought to himself. If so, they were terrible at resource management. These forests, or remnants of forests, would definitely have been great for hunting game. But that wouldn't be of any use to him. After all, with what he'd been through, he couldn't even bring himself to pick up a sword.

After a few more seconds of contemplation, Velage got up and started to walk south, carrying his bundle of twigs and grass. Amongst the scattered stumps that lined the horizon, he saw a man wearing a suit of armour, of English make. Surely this wasn't England. The creatures he saw so far surely weren't from anywhere on earth. After approaching the soldier, Velage said, apprehensively, "Hello there, sir. Am I right in assuming you aren't from here?"

[Tesability]

"Hey! What are you, some sort of angel?"

 

Only a few seconds after she had stopped fleeing from the strange creature did she hear a voice calling out. Calling out to who, Celevoir didn't know. She almost didn't want to know. Even so, she turned her head toward the source while maintaining her flight and found herself tilting her head to one side.

 

It looked like a girl, but not quite. It was strange, she had never seen a girl look that different before. And now that she thought about it, the being sounded like it had a deep voice. The lady that had found the bird just before appearing here had a somewhat-deep voice, but nothing like that.

 

Slowing her flight, she turned fully around and floated down toward the stranger, her head moving up and down slightly as if she was studying the appearance of the one she landed in front of. She gently gave a poke on the shoulder, careful not to let the edges of the large leaf touch and cut open her inquiry.

 

While she tried to give a trio of hoots, as if to try and ask a question, the pitches and tone easily matched a common sound pattern used for a rather-common question upon meeting another in odd circumstances.

 

Who are you?

 

(I should probably say now that Celevoir has never seen a male human...)

Edited December 4, 2013 by Tesability

[Blewcheese]

"Hello there, sir. Am I right in assuming you aren't from here?"

Claudius whirls towards the voice, instinctively putting his blade to the man's throat. "Be you friend or foe?" Immediately after taking this course of action, Claudius regretted it. One part of him told him that anything could be a danger, and this wouldn't be the first time Shatter had taken the form of some meek man and tricked others, silently consuming their souls. However, another part of him felt an emotion that Claudius had long since abandoned... Pity.

Almost as fast as he had brought the blade to the man's neck, Claudius withdrew. He still couldn't comprehend the alien emotion swelling in his mind. Pity? A man who murders his dead friends does not feel pity. A man who slays his Soulless parents does not feel pity. But despite this, the feeling spreads through Claudius's veins. He would apprehend himself later, for there was a strange man before him. "Sincerest apologies for drawing my blade so... Swiftly. I have been fairly nervous ever since arriving in this foreign land, as your assumption would indeed be correct."

[23rd]

Three frames became four, another sepia toned grainy picture appearing in the haze of ashen smoke in front of The Throne. Maxwell wasn't quite as experienced in magic regarding time displacement as he wanted to believe, it seemed; the English knight wasn't supposed to arrive on the world for another day. For once, Maxwell was doubting himself, and he felt fear. Would others be arriving at times they weren't meant to? Would he be able to control these people, or did he just act irrationally in an attempt to deal with Woodie, only to bring in yet more people who would be able to drop off his radar? His sly smile twitched faintly, but fortunately no one was around to see it. Perhaps the solitude was affecting him, knowing even They weren't keeping an eye on him caused his mind to wander and reflect on things he'd not considered in the time he took The Throne. As each pair of beings met each other the screens converged from four into two, the left showing a former slave staring at the slithering appendage that touched his shoulder, the right showing a wiry man and an imposing knight conversing in the midst of what used to be a forest but was now a mass of stumps.

 

Would They be patient while he tried to set the pieces in place, or would he need to act fast to achieve his endgame? Velvet covered fingers strummed the cursed stone of his armrest, considering his next move. Uncertain anxieties gave way to the more common and, admittedly, comfortable feeling of aggravation. If They expected results, They should've left him with more than an ominous warning. Regardless of how he approached the situation, he decided he would need to instill an objective in at least one of these four by tomorrow. The ashen smoke enveloped the four sepia toned screens, replacing them with a quill and aged parchment once the wisps cleared away. Time to get to work..

 

-

 

Wright's shoulder shuddered as he felt the sky blue appendage pressing into it. Well, the creature hadn't tried to assault him, the gesture seemed more curious than anything. Whatever he was faced with wouldn't necessitate him to spontaneously learn self-defense in the span of several seconds against creatures with alien geometry, and that's what people look for in a first impression! He could clearly hear the structure of the question "who are you?" come from what was in front of him.

 

"You can call me Wright. I'm just a man who walks the world now. I'd offer to shake your hand, but it looks like you're short one." He half chuckled at his own terrible joke. Was that even a joke? It was more a humorous observation. Wright immediately felt quite silly, coughing into a closed fist as he tried to play off the fact that his humor was worse than a drunk patron on open mic night. It wasn't until he'd introduced himself that he'd noticed the sun was beginning to set, the sky turning a dark orange hue. He had completely forgotten to forage for food, but he was still interested in the fantastical creature in front of him, and it would be crude to just take his focus off of it and walk off. He made a mental note to make something to help him see in the dark tonight so he could look for whatever he could find. Nuts, berries, sap.. if it was out there it wasn't going anywhere.

Edited December 4, 2013 by 23rd

[Tesability]

(Better pic of the birdie, this time with her glow...which would probably give off a rather-faint amount of light, now that I think about it... Here be a Celevoir.)

[23rd]

(I spent that whole post wondering if I was getting her features right or not. This'll definitely help.)

[Tesability]

(...who's turn it is? Because last round, Kidney posted before me...)

[KidneyBeanBoy]

(Would this be considered racist? I'm not trying to have it that way, of course, I just want to make sure this isn't insensitive.)

Instead of a reply, Velage's query was met not with a response but with being held at knifepoint. Flinching, this action immediately reminded Velage of a moment of his life before this world. He had only been 19 at the time, though his multilingual talent had been noticed by the king, who then ordered for him to be sent to work as a translator. Being so close to kingdoms that held people of different tongues, such a role was highly sought after in order to maintain allies. After his first mission of sorts, he was called to the king's chambers. "Bonjour, ton majesté. Pourquoi as-tu apportes moi ici?1" Velage replied, speaking with an almost perfect French accent. He had not noticed the king's irate composure. The king jumped down, and forced Velage to the ground using his scepter. "Écoutes, homme, Je n'ai pas un seulement motif savoir si tu dire que je dis toi dire dans cette langue à toi, et jusqu'à ce je que fais, je vais avoir toi torture. Écoutes-toi?2" Velage was terrified, but he nodded yes. Torture? And for what? For being able to speak a language he doesn't? But that didn't matter, as the guards were already dragging him away. After this unpleasant flashback, Velage looked up. The man had drawn back his sword, and seemed much less angry at him. He then replied, saying, "Sincerest apologies for drawing my blade so... Swiftly. I have been fairly nervous ever since arriving in this foreign land, as your assumption would indeed be correct.". After hearing the warrior's words, Velage said, "I thought as much. This place does seem quite strange, after all. But look at me, I forgot to do a proper introuction," he said, both jokingly and with an air of nervousness, and held out his hand. "My name is Velage. And yours?"

1: Hello, your majesty. Why did you bring me here?

2:Listen, boy, I dont have a single reason to know that you say what I tell you to say in that language of yours, so until I do, I will have you tortured. Do you hear me?

Edited December 5, 2013 by KidneyBeanBoy

[23rd]

(I should definitely have clarified a turn order, I just figured it would fall into place naturally. The way I see it right now it's me, Kidney, Tesability, Blew. If any of you would like an alternate order then it doesn't matter to me. I don't see any racism in your post, Kidney. If anything it's more negative towards nobility than anyone of a certain nationality, and even then it only shows the short temper of a specific individual. I would request you provide translation to your French, something even I'm guilty of forgetting to do with Wojtek's Polish in another roleplay I'm a part of. The cleanest way to do this would be using footnotes. For example.

 

Szybki brązowy lis przeskoczył nad leniwym psem. ^1

 

Then at the bottom of your post..

 

1. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

 

Any sort of indicator would be fine. This saves everyone a trip to Google translate.)

Edited December 5, 2013 by 23rd

[KidneyBeanBoy]

(Okay. I did that. It's a bit small, though.)

[23rd]

(That's fine, thanks for being accommodating.)

[Tesability]

A short low-to-high whine came out of her beak as if trying to repeat the name she was given before tapping the tip of one of her foreleaves against her beak in thought. She couldn't speak like a human, how would she introduce herself...?

As the sun began to slowly set, the faint light-blue glow she gave off, which wouldn't be visible against the blue sky, became more and more noticeable to the normal eye as she thought. After a moment, her eyes landed upon a tree stump, which made her shiver slightly at the sight. Though, the fact that it was starting to turn grey gave her an idea.

Munching much of the soil around the trunk to expose almost all of the roots, she pulled it up with her wings, snipping away the small roots that would try to keep the trunk in the ground still. Tossing it up, she swiftly swiped her leaves through the wood, allowing it to fall into pieces upon the ground in a weird pattern.

The pattern looked like a name after it all settled, a name that she pointed at before pointing at herself.

Celevoir

Edited December 5, 2013 by Tesability

[Blewcheese]

Claudius stared at the man, Velage, and his hand for a moment before heartily lifting his broadsword and resting it on his heavily armored shoulder, centimeters from slicing the man's face on the way up. He smiles and shakes the man's hand. "Sir Claudius, first ranked knight and King David III's top guard, at your service." The smile remains on his face as Claudius withdrew. He was surprised how his mechanical arm felt so natural in the handshake. In fact, he had almost forgotten it wasn't real.

 

Claudius could tell that Velage was nervous. It stuck out against his air of confidence. How long had the man been there? Where was his camp? Did he have one? Questions such as these swirled around Claudius's mind. However, he had to put priority first. There had been something on his mind ever since he arrived in the strange land. A possibility that he had dreaded while sitting by his fire in the night. "Have you seen any signs of the Soulless around here?"

[23rd]

A note on withered parchment came from seemingly nowhere, blowing about in the warm Summer wind about the edges of the grasslands. The rolled up bit of paper landed smoothly atop one of the many stumps in the area, just out of view of Claudius and Velage. The thing was written in Maxwell's handwriting, not that anyone would ever recognize it.

 

March 23rd, Year Unknown

 

I have lived off these lands for so long that the faces of my own family have faded from memory. The creatures have always been unforgiving, but lately they grow even more restless. I wake up to the sound of spiders in my campsite, hounds stalk me when I search for firewood. They used to be scared of me when I killed off enough of their numbers, but the fear in their eyes is no longer my causing. There is something new out there, something terrifying. I'm going to write down my thoughts as they come to me, I may need to keep track of the strange happenings that have been occurring recently. If there is something out there powerful enough that my predators come to me for shelter, then God help me.

 

-Higgsbury

 

-

 

Watching Celevoir munching soil made him suddenly remember that he hadn't eaten that day.. "Sell-ee-vore.. oh, that must be your name. And you even glow, I bet that's really nice to have when night hits." Instinctively, Wright bent down to scoop up the bits of chopped up firewood, he knew he'd need them for some sort of structures if he was going to be here for an extended period of time. He was able to stuff the smaller chunks into the pockets of his ragged pants, although he did have to cradle much of what remained in his grasp. "Well, Celevoir, you seem friendly enough. How about we travel together? I could use some help to find food before nightfall." It seemed like the best step forward to take, Wright would not have survived if it wasn't the countless nameless travelers just like himself he'd met along the way interested in mutual benefit. Wright knew he needed to secure a supply of food quickly, he'd fallen asleep with pounds of tea and bread only to wake up with nothing. It was the second most distressing part of this day, next to having no idea where he was. "Heck, I bet I could make you a warm blanket out of grass if you help me out."

[KidneyBeanBoy]

"Soulless? Well, I've seen my share of soulless people over the years, but the way you described it makes it seem like some sort of army. And so far. I've haven't seen any signs of human settlements, besides these stumps and you." Velage said, as he gestured towards the stumps around him. Almost immediately after doing this, his eyes rested on a small note that in turn rested on a stump. "Did you write this?" He asked Claudius, before picking up the note. "Zut.1" Velage's already feeble and forced smile immediately vanished. "C'est mal. C'est très mal.2 He then turned to Claudius. "I think it would benefit you to see this." Velage said, and handed the note to Claudius.

1: Crud.

2: This is bad. This is very bad.

Edited December 6, 2013 by KidneyBeanBoy

[Tesability]

Wright soon discovered how flexible the two leaves that seemed to be the bird's ears were when one of them became bent over enough to scratch the area between them in confusion as she tilted her head slightly to one side. The memory of the supremely-thick blankets she used to curl up under floated past her mind almost as quickly as it came before trying to picture such a thick blanket made entirely of grass wrapped snugly around her.

The image just couldn't come to mind, though the sight of the man trying to carry all that wood by himself had a hand in that. A small faint chuckle that should have been impossible from the bird became heard before taking the largest of the wood pieces in her beak and carefully picked up the tiny man with a foreleaf around the waist before placing him on her back. The leaf felt like an actual leaf, as if it had been attached to an actual normal plant, but it was more sturdy than such. If he had dared to try to feel the edges of the leaves, however, he would immediately notice their sharpness, hence Celevoir's care in lifting him.

And as for the blue-green shade she was, it felt like she had a mix of feathers and fur, the fur being relatively-short under the feathering and meant to try and hold body heat in.

Amazingly, even with her forced passenger on her back, she was still floating in the air, as if he and his cargo weighed nothing.

(ALL ABOARD THE CELEVOIR EXPRESS. And yes, she would force a person onto her back if she thinks it'd be easier for her to pull 'mount' duty.)

[Blewcheese]

Claudius skims the letter. Somewhere deep in Claudius's mind he felt another banished emotion: Fear. Fear was something he had worked out of his system during early childhood. Fear meant weakness. Due to this, Claudius now hid his fear, keeping his face of confidence. "This is clearly a note from a coward. The Lord shall not intervene to aid the superstitious." Claudius announces his statement, hoping to convince both himself and Velage.

 

"No human settlements?" Claudius changes the subject. "So you mean to say there are no others here?" Claudius surveys the french man, or at least that was what he had assumed Velage was after hearing him speak in an unknown language to Claudius. Claudius looks around, still wary of a Soulless wandering through the trees, or lack thereof.

[23rd]

(Chugga chugga chugga chugga chugga chugga CHOO CHOO!)

 

Excitement overtook him, and Wright's arms were instinctively wrapping themselves around Celevoir. This was exciting, enthralling, exhilarating! It was all kinds of positive words that begin with E! Not the channel, the letter. Of course, Wright had no idea what the channel was, or even what a television was, considering he was from a century where doing your business inside of a big metal pot and letting it fester until even the dung beetles wouldn't touch it was the closest thing they had to hygiene, which makes the fourth wall breaking author of Wright's actions look quite ridiculous for even making the reference. He looked even more ridiculous for breaking the fourth wall! If Wright had any idea this was being written down, he would likely sock the person writing these things right in the gut for poor roleplaying, in addition to making him realize he's just a concept within a written form of entertainment; that's the kind of thing that can cause an internal crises. Fortunately, Wright was blissfully unaware that his actions were being dictated by a man trying to simultaneously type and keep a cat from climbing onto his keyboard, so his existential existence remained intact.

 

"To new lands!" Wright flung out his arm with vigor, pointing over the horizon towards the edges of a savannah just barely visible beyond the rotting stumps that dotted the landscape. A great place to find grass and meat, undoubtedly! He wouldn't forget that he'd promised the fantastical creature a blanket, and he knew well enough that grass would be useful for a plethora of things, not the least of which being rope. And the meat.. there had to be something to hunt out there, he was sure of it. Already Wright's mouth was watering at the idea of warm morsels, strips of bacon made from whatever animal was out there, maybe even a ham sized chunk of food if there was anything big enough. So long had he been eating spoiling crops, trail mix, whatever he could salvage.. it was all he could do to keep from drooling at the idea.

 

-

 

It was difficult to hear, but as the sun finally set and night fell over the world there was a howl in the distance. A strange howl, while definitely a howl it couldn't have possibly been from a wolf. Minutes later, the sound of a large tree hitting the ground rang out.

Edited December 7, 2013 by 23rd

[KidneyBeanBoy]

(Er, couldn't you just edit your first paragraph? Then it would be less wall-breaking.)

Edited December 7, 2013 by KidneyBeanBoy

[23rd]

(But I like wall breaking! Besides, it won't affect the roleplay in any way.)

[23rd]

(Not to be rude, but it is your post Kidney.)

[KidneyBeanBoy]

(Sorry. I was really busy. Here's a short one.)

"Nope," Velage said, tiredly. "Though you couldn't really say that I've been here long enough to know or sure. Well, the sun's setting, so it won't be safe for long. The beasts of this land will be waking up soon, if they haven't already. I'm fine, as I have already supplied myself with materials for a torch." Velage said awkwrdly, nodding towards the bundle of grass and twigs beside him. "I wouldn't mind if you took some. I have too much."

[Tesability]

While she was full on soil, the leafy bird found her throat getting dry as Celevoir flapped up higher and higher into the air with her passenger on her back. While the weird, see-through creatures on the ground started hissing at her in challenge, she found her black and white eyes focused on the large patch of brownish-green ahead, the Savannah. Another flap and the pair started soaring toward the area, the large wings outstretched to either side as she did.

Against the night sky did her light-blue aura appear bright like a star to a distant being, though her light wasn't bright to the person on her back, thankfully.

She damn near froze in mid-air at the howl that cut through the air, netting a growl out of the creature's throat and the feathers and fur around the back of her where the base of her skull connected to the rest of the snake like body began to lift slightly. She kept her gaze on the ground as she flew despite the creepy critters, watching for whatever made that roar...

...and also finding herself thankful that they were both in the air.