EVENT: HERE THERE BE MONSTERS

[initiatesnpc]

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.

Comments

[strategic_guile]

[Follows behind her making little sound, though not trying to be ninja on purpose. It's a habit he never saw the point in breaking.] How big are you, exactly?

[onblackwings]

Large enough that the creatures out here will know better than to intervene.

[ She stops once they're suitably out of sight, turns to face him, and begins unbuttoning the jacket to hand back. ]

So there really shouldn't be any problem in teaching me to use a gun today, should there?

[strategic_guile]

[Takes the coat once she holds it out and puts it back on himself, more to get it out of the way than because he's cold. He purses his lips.] If you really want to, we can go to the Hold to do it. Unless you can handle a gun when you transform or whatever, I don't think it'll keep them away long enough to be able to concentrate.

[onblackwings]

[ She shrugs. ]

I'll kill a few of them to establish myself.

[ And, that said, she closes her eyes and envisions her proper form. It's delightfully easy to slip back into her own body. The change is nearly instant; in one second it's Dagger standing before him, eyes closed, and in the next a great black dragon is arching her next and folding out her wings, stretching luxuriously. Seriously, nothing beats transitioning back into the easy grace and raw power of her own body.

Her eyes open to fix a fiery golden-orange stare on him, and she continues with barely a beat lost, in a deep, baritone rumble of a voice. ]

It won't be an issue.

[strategic_guile]

[You need to stop startling him like this. Okay, maybe it's more like sending a jolt of fear and awe through him the way she changes from one to the other in an instant, just like when she went from cat to human. That pales in comparison though, because she is huge and all those other words that mean large, glorious, frightening predator that you respect and hope it doesn't eat you.

He took a few steps back out of shock and he's rapidly blinking, but quickly schooling his features back to his pleasant smile.] You really like doing that, don't you?

[Her eyes focuses on him and now that he's gotten a handle on- oh who's he kidding he's staring at a dragon. She expects some kind of awe and praise anyway.] No, I guess it won't be an issue at all. You are a large dragon than can tear them all to pieces. I am impressed.

[onblackwings]

[ It's a little paltry, as far as expected awe and praise goes, but it will do. Besides, she's confident in how absolutely powerful and beautiful she is, so she doesn't really need the praise, as long as it's felt. And she's quite sure it is.

There's a low rumble somewhere in her chest, which is about level with his head, which could be amusement. ]

As you should be.

[ She shifts, uncoiling a little to glance around them. There's enough room here to take off, as calculated, and now that she's in the right shape, she's eager to do it. ]

Shall we go?

[strategic_guile]

[Well, his auto defense again fear and other unwanted emotions was deadpan snark or flirting. Sometimes some hideous mixture of the two. He's not sure about that rumble, but he refuses to back up again. He just looks up at her.]

...go where? [He is dripping with suspicion.]

[onblackwings]

To the outlands. [ One brow-ridge shifts along with one of the three horns rising from her skull, in what's apparently an approximation of cocking an eyebrow. ] I hope you haven't forgotten our deal already.

[strategic_guile]

...you're about to make some kind of dragon rider out of me, aren't you? [He starts to walk around her, looking at her closer. Why couldn't she have picked the sex first? Oh wait, he was the one who gave her the choice. Silly him.]

Alright, let's go before I start really thinking about this.

[onblackwings]

I'm no horse, to be ridden. You'll be a passenger and nothing more.

[ She likes this guy, but not that much. She watches him with that cool, reptillian slitted gaze, still save for the idle flicking of the tip of her tail. When she moves, it's to sink into a cat-like crouch meant to offer a way up— it'll still be quite a climb, though. ]

Sit between my wings, and try not to fall off.

[ And lucky him, she's not the kind of dragon with a ridge of spines down her back. All features seem to be sleek, smooth, and vaguely aquatic, from the fin at the back of her neck and tip of her tail, to the catfish-like whiskers. ]

[strategic_guile]

[He half expected that response from her, but he didn't really see a difference. I guess it was the way she thought about it. He was riding her, just not steering or any of the other implications of a her being a horse.

He stared up and took a breath before he started his climb. Slick meant there weren't good footholds but he scrambled up somehow. It was not an elegant ascent, he'd say that.]

What am I supposed to hold on to?

[onblackwings]

[ ...Huh, she never thought about that before. The nyphids usually have no trouble hanging on while she flies, but the nyphids have wings and probably don't mind being jarred or losing their grip. She twists her neck around to eye him in his seat, hesitating. If she had a rope, or something similar... ]

Can't you hold with your legs?

[strategic_guile]

While my legs are long, lean, and strong, they are not meant for dragons. [He sighs.] Do I need to start praying?

[onblackwings]

[ She considers the issue a while longer before heaving a deep sigh. Or maybe just a moderate sigh, but with lungs that large, any sigh from them is sizable.

She rears up without warning, twisting around to reach one forearm back. Wickedly curved black talons wrap around his middle before he can fall, and almost immediately after twisting straight again, she's launching herself into the air. Wide, leathery wings snap out to catch the air, and with a few strong beats they're rising rapidly.

Hopefully he doesn't mind being carried about like a ragdoll. ]

[strategic_guile]

Ahhh, wait a sec-! [He scrambles to try and not fall off, but if he could do that then he would have been able to hang on in the first place. This is the most uncoordinated he has been in years and he shouts in alarm because huge CLAWS and then they're around him and they're lifting up. There's tons of wind as her wings beat and he's clinging on for dear life.] Shit...!

[onblackwings]

[ The frantic beats of her wings level out as they gain altitude, and in a short while it's a relaxed, steady pace. She ignores the natural inclination to tuck all limbs under her body, and keeps the talon gripped around him out far enough to keep an eye on him. ]

If you'd had a rope, this wouldn't be an issue.

[ There's not much heart in that, though, because her attention is more fixed on the ground, and the beasts roaming below them. She hadn't noticed before, but man, she's starving. One or two of those would suit her nicely... ]

[strategic_guile]

...are you blaming me for not having rope? [He is incredulous at this.] I just found out you were a dragon 2 minutes ago and you're blaming me for not having rope to strap myself to your back?

[He's still clinging to her talons/claws/what have you, not that it would matter if she decided to let him go; which is why he stops antagonizing her with questions. He just... tries to relax and look around. It is a nice view, despite the shitton of monsters that are roaming around down there. He is seriously questioning himself on why he agreed to this.]

[onblackwings]

[ She hardly hears him, lucky for Blaine. Now that she's noticed her hunger, it's nearly all she can focus on. Up comes the familiar pound of blood in her temples, and she swoops down a little lower, to pick a target. She has just enough presence of mind to pause at a rooftop and hover long enough to drop him a short ways to the concrete of the roof. ]

Wait here.

[ And off she goes, diving straight down the side of the building. The shrill screams of an animal start along with a jarring thump, but don't last long. Immediately after comes a grizzly snapping and tearing, and it won't be a pretty sight if he happens to look over the edge after her. ]

[strategic_guile]

[She's sweeping down and he is getting this bad feeling about why she's lowering her altitude like this. It's only confirmed when she releases him and he falls through the air to land solidly on his feet. Lucky for him... maybe.] Don't you leave me here!

[Oh, too late.] Damnit.

[He pulls out his gun and looks around to make sure nothing is nearby before inching over to the edge to look. Yeah, that is so not kosher. He inches his way back.] Nasty.

[onblackwings]

[ Fortunately, Khisanth is a fast eater, and there's a good amount to pick from for her next dish when she finishes the first one. She makes three more kills before she's satisfied, and then makes three more to mark the area as property of a very large predator. It's completely cleared out by then, for several blocks, and Khisanth is content that it will stay that way for a while.

She wings her way back up to the roof she'd left Blaine on, taking a vulture-like perch at the very edge, and still licking the blood from her jaws as she does. ]

We won't be bothered here. This will do.

[strategic_guile]

[Blaine has found a place to wait for her after he scouted out there was a stairway going down. When she appears again he is giving her a dirty look. He heard the screams of the other animals and he is definitely noticing there is a distinct lack of monsters around them now where there had been at least a few visible at all times before. He gives a large sigh.]

Are you full now? [He puts his gun up and walks towards her.]

[onblackwings]

For now.

[ One last lick of that long, forked tongue, and she starts forward. One step taken as Khisanth, and the next taken as Dagger, who runs the back of a hand over her lips just to be sure she's gotten all the blood off. It still stains her fingers, but that doesn't bother her much. She drops her hand and smiles. ]

Where do we start?

[strategic_guile]

[Okay, he now puts flying under terrifying instead of exhilarating, thanks to you. Blaine walks around and finds a few pieces of rubble to line up for her to practice on. He only has one clip of bullets. If he knew she was going to fly away with him he would have been a lot more prepared.]

The basics. [He pops out the clip and the round in the chamber. He beckons her forward.]

[onblackwings]

[ And forward she goes, already watching the gun with interest. There are parts to it?? Will the wonders never cease. At some point here she's going to notice that she's freezing again, but for now he has her whole attention. ]

[strategic_guile]

[He finds a fat space and sits down. He looks up at her and crotch in his face. He lets out a sigh.] Put this jacket on before I change this to a sex lesson instead.

[Takes his jacket off and holds it up for her. While she's putting it on he sets the gun and clip down for her to look at.]