farfromgrace | post-impocalypse: a field trip

post-impocalypse: a field trip

Vengeance is a Hell that cannot forget the past. Places of violence sometimes waver and reveal their old scars, bullet holes reappearing in fixed tables. It hasn't even forgotten the fall-- white chalk outlines in some of the alleys show bodies bent and crumpled at fatal angles, bodies that if stared at long enough show the pale shadow of wings at their backs. Some of the damned have claimed these angel bodies, hoping for a patron in hell or a weapon against it should they ever stir-- or a favor from Asmodeus, if they bring a waking one to him.

Beyond that, the cramped jumble of a city has the look of a place that belongs in a film noir, the light that's cast from the sky here washes out colors, and at night the fog comes in across the dark water and envelopes the city. So, in opposition to that, the occupied buildings are garish and loud on the inside and with their neon advertisements on the outside, demanding attention and refusing to bow to an environment that seems to want them silenced.

Space suddenly shifts, in a jarring, nauseating way, and you're falling into a landscape that's definitely a city, but not your Tokyo-F.

And land, unceremoniously, in an alley, the portal closing behind you. Nothing special about it, covered in peeling advertisements, full of shadows, littered with broken bottles and crushed cans and other kinds of garbage.

No one seems to have noticed you yet...

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[ A part of her very much wants to stay and fight. It burns in her--that impulsive desire--and it's only because Amaranth reminds her that they all need to run that she doesn't join the fray. Because there is someone much more important than her own prideful need to defend (when she logically knows that she is not strong enough for this fight right now). She--has to live--to fight another day, and Suri needs to live or they've done more harm than good here.

Hiryuu grabs Suri's hand with her free one (the other grips her Heart Weapon; if trouble continues to come for them, there won't be any choice) and starts pulling her in another direction. At this point--ANY other direction.

(Rolled a 4 for running away) ]

C'mon! Let's go!

[ But... well. It would be very unlike her to not try to fight. Hiryuu summons up her Aibou, again--this time the massive brawling dragon of crimson hues from before. ]

Help them!

[ With a roar, the dragon lunges at the woman, teeth snapping.

(Rolled a 5) ]

Edited 2020-08-01 03:26 (UTC)

[ he doesn't intend on leaving, either. even if he had been listening on the edges, as a newcomer to this- he has enough physical strength to act as muscle for these good people, when things get bad. and so, he dashes in- his lance being swung in the same fluid motion as concrete jungle is activated in the same moment to give him any kind of advantage. ]

. . . Oh, come on.

[ It doesn't seem like Levi's picking me apart Again worked—and it doesn't seem like any single blow lands on her. Did she dodge them. . . . ?

No—every single person who strikes finds purchase with their weapon, but it's the crumple of carapace and wings that sound; her dress breaks apart, the chikichicki increasing in louder volume as the cloth becomes insects that swarm all around everyone's faces. It leaves the Lady completely naked, scarless and pale in the moonlight.

For Amaranth, she'll find the bugs clinging to her face, blinding her; Levi will find the bugs rushing up his legs; Duality will find his blades completely coated; Hiryuu's dragon is devoured entirely with a thousand crunches and Hiryuu herself will find that she's blocked off from the rest of the alley, a wall of chirping bugs towering over her.

Horizon is the unluckiest—as close to her as he is he won't be able to keep himself standing, the very ground itself rumbling as insects break the floor apart underneath his feet, and the woman reaches out to grab him by the hair—

You see the rest of them—everyone here, your fellow explorers—completely crushed, bodies broken beyond repair; as the insects feast upon their body you can see the woman you just attacked snap her fingers.

Suddenly, your surroundings are different—familiar. WILD CITY, your dorm—yet she's still in front of you, and the insects all have come with her. They seek out your unitmates, dragging them all out of their rooms—in parts if they have to, and even if they don't—and you can hear their screams, so loud in the reverb that it feels as though your ears themselves would break.

Every single strike appears then, on his body: Amaranth's naginata strike, Duality's blades, Levi's whip-blade, the dragon's teeth, and even his own lance—the damage of all these strikes appear on himself. Moreover, Horizon will find his scars unraveling, as though he was picked apart Again. ]

Must we, dears?

[ Amaranth swipes at her face with a snarl, clearing her vision just in time to see what's become of Horizon.
Her voice is strained. ]

I told all of you to run!

[ She whips back around to face the woman. ]

Let them be, please. Do not punish their innocent bravery in following me.

[ RUNNING ISN'T WORKING OUT SO GREAT EITHER, MOM.

She just had part of her soul devoured

or like. got to feel the semblance of that? I guess? whatever it would be like if your soul was just a giant tamale someone was hungry for.

She crying but. She's also casting Charm on all of these MOTHER FUCKIN BUGS ]

Get out of our way!

[ gonna keep trying to go forward. ]

[ Whatever Hiryuu feels through the buddy bond, she can probably feel the absolute panic rush through from Leviathan's side for a myriad of different reasons. Fear for her and what she's feeling at the moment, the insects, and the fact that--

Everything they did... backfired onto Horizon.

And this woman is made of insects. He tries to take a step toward Horizon, and that's when he feels it. Something on his legs and rushing up fast as he looks down. Immediately scrambling, he screams, kicking wildly and trying to brush them off of him.

At the same time, he activates Part of Your Property to drag the man to him and immediately try to set about healing him if it's not already too late. ]

[he's trying to shake and scrape the bugs off of the blades to the best of his abilities, wide-eyed at the mess they've ended up in, they didn't listen and someone suffered for it. he's better than this, he knows that, so this means he definitely fucked up too.

he's not frozen yet though, turning around to put himself in front of Horizon and Levi to block them from view. however futile that is, but at least he's covering them]

[ This was -- really, the worst-case scenario. The vision is-- ...Bad. It's bad. WILD CITY is all that he has, they're his home- the one's he's sworn to protect. To see them all so tortured, to see them all so hurt when he's helpless to do anything otherwise freezes him, it makes his blood run cold, but--

----But, all of those thoughts are cut short as the attacks hit him, as his manymany memoryless scars rip open. It's-- a lot. Too much. It's such an intense and blinding and ripping pain that he isn't even sure if 'pain' is the right word for it, anymore.

Dragged to Leviathan by the pull, there's barely a reaction from him. Between the attacks that shattered his body and the vision that shattered his mind, there isn't much of a person present in this pathetic husk to react. ]

Dear, don't bother casting their bloodthirst as "innocent bravery".

[ the insects part for Hiryuu, though behind them seems to be another layer of insect wall—unfortunate. ]

Wrong a demon and she'll strike back. It's simple as that, my dears.

[ Insects cling to everyone's legs—Amaranth will find herself completely immobilized by them, though everyone else is to some degree able to move. ]

Now, shall we try this again?

[ Being frozen in place is insulting more than frightening, so she grits her teeth and trusts in the bark to keep the insects' jaws from doing worse, as painful as it is to swallow her pride. ]

The attacked because I did.
I attacked because you descended on us as a swarm of hunting insects.

Attack a mother and she will defend her children, even if she knows the effort to be futile. It is as simple as that.

Who are you, and why have you come?

[ Horizon is healed for all intents and purposes. But perhaps the trauma of the mind is a completely different story. His wounds have stitched together and whatever physical pain he felt before is gone now, completely numbed.

Leviathan has already numbed himself, too, for whatever else might come. That doesn't stop... the panic he's experiencing as he continues to swat at the bugs in a panic. ]

And if you want to talk, call off your atrocious minions...!

[ IMPORTANT THINGS ]

[he's also scrambling to brush bugs off of his person. he'll leave the talking to the others though]

[ so many panicky feelings Kija please... we gotta work on your phobia when we get back home!!!!! it's making the bugs crawling up her give her heebie jeebies but LITERALLY. IT'S FINE. THEY'RE NOT BITING HER, IT'S FINE. it'sfineit'sfineit'sfineit'sfineit'sfineit'sfine--!!!!!

Just GONNA CHARM THIS NEXT SET OF BUGS TOO!!! make love not war, also just. make way make way!! ANGEL EXPRESS COMING THROUGH!!! ]

Edited 2020-08-01 06:20 (UTC)

[ suri's not bothered by the bugs at all. they're just like, kind of all over them. nbd. what's a flesh vessel for if not to get covered in bugs.

not a girl, not a person, not a robot. luggage! ]

you probably shouldn't do that?

[ He doesn't, exactly, have the Spoons to express the gratitude he has towards Levi, right now. His body is fixed, and the --- ... Feelings of it all still linger, but. That's fine! It's fine. He'll just. Pretend they don't! Because he's already said that he intends to protect everyone here.

The largest of the group, he steps forward and ahead of them, as if shielding them -- as if he wasn't just completely made an example of only moments ago. ]

...Excuse us. We're in enemy territory, and saw it fit to attack when met with someone of obvious strength and uncertainty to our goals.

What do you want from us?

[ Fortunately the insects don't seem to do much beyond this, though there is in fact another layer of bugs for Hiryuu to contend with. She turns an eye to Amaranth, hand lifting to press the back of her palm to her own cheek—incidentally, she seems to be completely ignoring everyone else, and also incidentally the insects only seem to crawl more heavily onto Amaranth and Hiryuu. ]

Attack a mother and her children will defend her, dear. These streets are mine and my children's to walk—and no one does not know the sound of the Mother of Monsters' gait.

[ Except for angels who have been on the ground for literal centuries and only got up, like, yesterday.

Still addressing exclusively Amaranth: ]

I answer to none but those I please, dear—if you want to have a chat, you ought to buy me a drink first.

[ To Suri: ]

It's okay. They're just--bugs.

[ Which is to say--they haven't hurt her, yet, even though they're swarming even more heavily on her than before. Actually-- ]

If they're bothering me, then--that means they're not bothering Levi, or you. And I'm okay with that.

[ Honestly--how can this even compare to the things that have terrified her back home or even here? It... simply can't. As long as she keeps her head and takes it one step and even breath at a time. Even though she is shaking with his fear pouring through the bond, she keeps moving--carefully--recasting charm as many times as needed to make them keep moving back. ]

As long as I can get you out of here, it's okay. I'm sorry we got you into this mess. But I promise, I'll get you out.

[ It's okay. It's okay. It's okay.... ]

If they are your children, then I can no more blame them than you can these children here.

[ So, you know. Take that as you will, given the current context. ]

But I will gladly keep your company, Lady Lilith, if you do not mind allowing those I am protecting to make their journey home.

[ then, aside— ] Levi, if you'd like to call on your elder brother after all, this may be a good time.

[ This could be going better. It could be going better!

Even if Lilith doesn't acknowledge him at all, he doesn't move from his place on the frontline. ...It's a battle he knows he has no chance at winning, and so- He isn't taking it as a battle. ]

Allow me to join the two of you, then. The more the merrier, isn't it?

[ To be honest he's been internally screaming and teary-eyed for a while now while Amaranth is talking. But through that, he's pulled out his phone to try, at the very least, to get a picture of the woman.

He's almost to Duality, intent on numbing his body should anything else happen again, when Amaranth's words register.

!!!]

Right--

[ Finally. Teeth grit he nods, pulling the paper out with the strange symbols meant to call, frankly, their best chance right now, to their side. Claw biting into his palm, he allows the blood in his hand to pool, before holding it over the paper and invoking the true name of his once unitmate. ]

Then...! With the honorable blood of the White Dragon that runs through my veins, I, Leviathan, summon you, Dantalion...!

[ This is how you summon a demon...!1! ]

Edited 2020-08-01 08:28 (UTC)

[ THIS IS PROBABLY HOW YOU SUMMON A DEMON

a blinding burst of light and a violent rush of dark energy erupts from the seal, whirling itself into a vortex. a figure appears in the center of the chaos...

it's DANTALION LOKI KALERVO SVANTOVIT REBEL REBEL

who is currently in the middle of removing a wine-stained white button up shirt ]

............. you didn't go to the safe house did you-- is that your blood? [ why are there BUGS ]

[ why are there BUGS INDEED. He is trying not to die of a panic attack right now Loki, show mercy. ]

What better blood is there than-- [ WAIT NO. ] We... We can talk about all of this later!!

Please pay attention to the bug monster woman behind you...!

Sorry to be inconveniencing you after all, Loki.

But it seems we've been trespassing in territory that belongs to more than just Clemency, so if you're able to help them home after all, I will consider myself in your debt.

[ oh boy loki's here he's gonna be
real mad
or at least Real Disappointed... ]

We can't just leave you! And what about--

[ ~~our luggage~~ our uninitiated fallen angel possible rebel ]

--our friend!?

[ she tightens her grip on suri's hand ]

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nsfw, cw bugs

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