exsiliumlogs | EVENT: HERE THERE BE MONSTERS

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EVENT: HERE THERE BE MONSTERS

Date & Time: October 24 - October 31
Location: Throughout Exsilium
Characters: ALL; tag yourselves in
Summary: The Transports return from their mission to find the island crawling with monsters.
Warnings: Violence, possibly injuries (notify a mod if there's cause to add a particular warning!)

The Transports return from their mission to Medieval Russia, but the Initiative Hold is eerily deserted. Normally, their would be a number of Initiative personnel prepared to meet the Transports at the end of their mission for debriefing.

Instead, there is only silence.

That is, until a distant thumping sound can be heard. It is growing closer, and suddenly the beast is bursting into the room. It lets out a roar and charges. Within minutes, it is easily defeated, but damage has already been done -- it collided with the Transporter machine, which is now making a low fizzling sound and lets off a couple sparks. The commotion is enough to draw the attention of the few remaining Initiative personnel who still inhabit the Hold, who arrive immediately afterwards. They are able to tell the Transports two things: that the machine is broken and currently unable to sent anyone back in time, and that the island has been overrun with aggressive, mutated beasts sent by the United Earth. They have been under siege for months, with the island's population reduced to a mere fraction of what it had once been.

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( Collette lowers her head to place her stop watch on the ground. That is exactly how this is going to end, Mystique. )

< I picked up a horse when we were back in Russia. I'd forgotten about it, since I haven't practiced with a hoof beat down or anything, and the territory here is all about scrambling, but for distance? A horse is much more effective. And if I can get you to keep time... >

( She gives another slow wag of her tail. Sound like a plan? )

...sure, okay, as long as you don't end up calling me fat after you have to carry me for a few hours.

[She cants her head to the side with a smirk, bending to pick up the watch from the ground once Collette puts it down. This is actually going to be extremely useful, she thinks.]

( Collette laughs, sitting down. )

< I would never! Probably. I'm going to start demorphing now. I seriously suggest you don't watch -- this gets real gross, real fast. >

( It's always a suggestion over a demand. Collette only cares to the extent that it's kind of embarrassing to be watched by people who don't have to do the same sorts of things.

On the other hand, she trusts Mystique enough to feel she'll make the best decision for her stomach's safety on her own. So it is that the coyote changes in fits and spurts, muzzle shortening, ears moving down the side of its head, fur lengthening on the top of its head and sucking in with an almost audible schwoop. Her hind legs change direction, elongating as the knees come around to the proper position, and her ankle comes closer to her toes. All told, in a minute, Collette the girl is sitting on the ground, dressed in an off-white tanktop and cherry-colored underwear.

Hey, she made do with what she had with her morph suit out of commission. )

I really hope you're good with riding bareback!

( She states while she still has a mouth, picturing the Mongolian horse she'd acquired in her mind's eye. Morphing horse was like sprouting four uncoordinated legs all at once, falling onto her side and squirming around as her neck arched and thickened, nose stretching down low until being horse faced wasn't just a statement on looks, but an actual reality.

Collette rolls to her feet, standing and shaking herself off as the morph finishes. A tail pushes out on the top of her rear, her own wavy dark hair remaining as a mane for a few seconds, bizarre and out of place, until it pulls back in and she's left with a stiff, upstanding bristle.

If there was one thing she could definitively feel right now, in all the mess of the horse's instincts, it was how supremely male and top of her game she was at. Tossing her head in the air, she turned around to face wherever Mystique was. )

< Am I a stud or what? >

( If horses could smile... )

[...yeah, okay, from what other people have been saying about shapeshifters, she decides it's probably better to just turn her face away while Collette is doing her thing right up until she hears the other woman's voice again. She doesn't miss a beat at the barely-dressed state that she's in, even.]

I can't say I've got that much practice with it, but I've been on a horse a time or two so I'm sure I'll find a way to adapt.

[And she's just chuckling once she hears Collette's comment after she's shifted.]

Oh, definitely. I'm sure you'd get all the lady-tail that you wanted. Or the man-tail, even.

[With that said, Mystique slings her bag over her back again and tries to figure out the best way to get on Collette's back without being ... too awkward about it. She settles for a sort of vault after placing her hands on the thickest part of her back.]

( She laughs, flicking her own tail, holding still as Mystique tries for vaulting on her back. Her skin twitches reflexively at the other woman's touch, and she swivels one ear around to listen to her as she moves, testing out the scope of vision she's got in this morph. Two big blind spots she noticed, but moving her head let her see into them -- by changing where she had blind spots. )

< Steady up there? >

( Collette was going to start walking if the answer was yes. She had to get used to the feeling of a passenger, and Mystique would probably want to adjust to keeping on a moving animal.

At least Collette wasn't too tall, and her back was broad enough and healthy with optimal fat to not leave her withers as a painful accident waiting to happen. )

I think I should be all right.

[Her reflexes were good enough, at least, for her to be able to adjust to any sort of sudden falls she might have. She smiles, letting her hands rest gently in the horse's mane to give her a little more balance as well.]

Wouldn't want to waste too much of our time, anyway.

< Tell me if you feel you're falling! I'll slow down. Let's see how good the roads are heading out that way. >

( In the spirit of not wasting time, Collette keeps an ear trained on Mystique, going from a walk to a trot. She's waiting for a sense of how Mystique balances and compensates; soon, she moves up into a canter. It's fast over this initial stretch, clear enough roadways that she can easily navigate around the debris and craters from the month earlier.

She has to slow back down to a trot as the terrain gets more chancy, slowing further to a walk to dampen the sound of her own hoofprints. )

< Just letting you know the horse's fight or flight instinct is going crazy right now. I'm smelling something funny, and the horse is taking it as a threat. >

[Well, that was just great. At least Collette was being informative. Rather than respond verbally, she gives the horse's neck a firm pat to let her know she's heard what the other girl is saying, and then slowly puts her hand into her pack to fish out the slingshot and a handful of ammunition. It won't do much, but if they can make a distraction that'll allow them to head the other direction, maybe they can avoid the creature altogether.

If not ... well, Collette might get to try out that trampling she mentioned earlier.]

( Collette keeps moving, tossing her head up and scenting the air with her lip drawn back from her teeth and gums. She'd always thought horses looked silly doing that, but she knew now it was helping her get a better scent reading on the situation.

Not that it changed the looking silly part.

Moving forward at her cautious walk, her ears swiveling around to pinpoint origin points of the sounds she could make out, Collette hoped they'd pass through unnoticed. Unlike a pack of animals, this was just one sort of sound. She passed that information on to Mystique, bringing her head back down and resolutely picking her way out around rubble leading to an alley way. )

< I don't hear anything down this way, but if we keep going straight up this road, we're going to run into whatever's snuffling around. The next street over might not be parallel, but I figure it's worth checking out. Does your map have this city on it as well as the countryside? >

[Mystique keeps the slingshot tight until Collette confirms that whatever it is that she's hearing isn't directly in front of them, then draws in a breath of relief and relaxes her grip for the moment. It takes a little more shuffling to get the map out of her bag while Collette's still moving, but she manages well enough with a bit of juggling.]

Nothing detailed enough to let me know what the street layout is like.

[She glances ahead, though, lips pursed.]

We might as well try to avoid it if we can.

[She keeps her voice hushed, leaning down so that she's nearer to the horse's ears.]

< Definitely agreed. >

( Collette doesn't back down from challenges, but seeking them out when they had other things to concentrate on that were far more important... she picks up her pace, clip clop off unshod hooves sounding out dully as she moves across some smoother stone. Her ears flick back, and without a word, she starts moving faster.

She thinks she heard something, but she's not sure. Stopping now is going to be worse if it means letting things catch up with them. And while running does catch predator attention... )

< Hold on, I'm going to pick up the pace. If I remember, we'll hit that parallel street soon! >

( And when they do, she veers right, feeling and listening for Mystique's sense of balance along the way. )

[Mystique is actually unsure whether she's heard anything either, and she's still on her guard. She nods when Collette lets her know she's going to pick up the pace, carefully knotting one hand in the horse's mane so that she'll have a better grip in case they hit something bumpy along the way.

They need to get to the compound sooner than later, after all.

She keeps the slingshot on her hip rather than setting it back into her bag, reasoning that if she's going to need it again, she's not going to have time to rummage.]

...we're making pretty good time, so far.

< Yeah, but by that time, I think I'm about due for a morph out, morph in. Does anywhere look like a good stopping point? I've got funky vision, and the horse doesn't like getting into too tight of a place. It's a little distracting. >

( Her ears perk forward, head rising to scan over the area. She wished she had predatory vision right now. )

Let me get down and take a closer look.

[It's surprisingly easy for her to dismount and then start looking around. She guides them into an area that's at least relatively secluded, but not too narrow.]

How's this look?

< Perfect as far as I can tell! >

( Collette walks carefully after her, coming to a very awkward seated position once she was assured she could fit her horse butt on the ground.

If anything looked silly, a sitting horse ranked pretty high up there. Her ears swiveled back and she snorted. )

< This shouldn't take more than two minutes. >

( Demorphing started suddenly, the grotesque, illogical process. She barely catches a breath as her own self before morphing back to horse.

It turns out horses trying to stand after sitting look pretty silly, too. )

..wow, so you weren't joking about the whole 'really quick break' thing.

[She raises her eyebrow once Collette is back in her horse form, and then glances out toward the direction they'd been heading.]

You're sure you're good to go already?

( If she were her most honest, she'd say no. Not precisely. Instead; )

< Next time we break it'd be good if I eat something, but right now? I'm fine. Drat, I should have had a little water! >

[Woah, okay, hold up.]

Is it worth it for you to stop now and have some, or will it be more tiring in the long run if you shift back right after something like that?

[She understands that holding a form can be exhausting, brosis.]

( Honesty is difficult when it comes to her limitations in ways she doesn't want people to think about. But this is Mystique. Mystique who understands shape-shifting, and who wasn't going to make silly demands if she simply owned up to reality. )

< It's not worth the energy. Morphing's a little like what I imagine sprints to be like. You don't feel the effects until later, but every morph takes up a heck of a lot of energy. >

[Definitely not going to make silly demands out of her. She can sympathize, really.]

Then I'll remind you next time we stop to eat and drink something. Sound like a deal?

[Seriously, please don't collapse on her or anything. That would be ... unfortunate.]

< Deal! Ready to mount up? >

( She tosses her mane, doing her best to make a coy horsey sideways trot forward. )

Sure.

[Another sort of half-hop and she's onto her back again, smirking.]

Is this the part where I shout 'onward, fair steed'?

< Only if you want me to shout, "Neigh!" >

( She snorts, tossing her head again as she takes off at a trot. No time to waste! Especially if they had to get out to where that military base was located. All in all, they'd started out with fifty miles to cover. An hour by car on straight roads... longer on hoof, but pending luck staying on their side, it shouldn't be as bad as two people on foot. Or wing. Or paw.

Collette keeps up a mild mental chatter as they go, slowing down when she thinks there might be something stalking them, though nothing appears the first time she felt like they were being watched. It's the second time in the last hour that she pulls out of the easy-to-sit-through canter and trots with more nerves than she likes to suffer through. )

< Do you feel watched, or is that just me? >

[She's taking Collette's senses for advantage again when the horse stops, and she lets herself take in their surroundings with a furrow of her brows.]

No, I think ... you might be right.

[She sighs, glancing over to a bush not too far away from them -- it's shaking, and it is very definitely not just a small creature behind it.

This is normally the part where you'd start running, but she just tightens her hand in the horse's mane.]

Just ... don't move yet.

( Collette shifts her weight so it's evenly distributed on all four legs, ears focusing on what was moving their way through the brush. She breathes in, trying to pinpoint a scent, tensing underneath Mystique. )

< This Pony won't be turning into the Pony Express without a reason! I'm a rock until you ask me to roll. >

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