The Good Life [Old]

[Greycat]

"Every story has an end, But in life every ending is just a new beginning..."
- Uptown Girls

Greycat: Chui Ari Lloyd http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=649288 [Taur]
Irbynx: Asto Miloslavovich http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=649332 [Zoan]
Yellow: Samantha Cage http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=649302
Mew: Alisha Oak http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=727007

The Good Life World
http://freepdfhosting.com/9fbd3b8878.pdf

[Greycat]

http://freepdfhosting.com/e615b5a207.pdf

It's a long debate. A series of them, really. What is a soul? What is it work? Does it exist? Across time and culture, it rages on. The same for fate. And for if something happens after you die. Unfortunately, you've just found out. Some of the facts, in any case. Such as the roll of fate in the life and death. Free will is an interesting thing, but when even that is violated on a crusp, then someone can step in.

And, of course, no one ever wants to die in a place as unremarkable as a fast food joint. And yet, that's exactly were they were when it all went down. It was a slow day for Richies. Between the lunch and dinner crowd, with just a handful of people chatting and eating. They were known for their cera-arms, and it was the most popular item on their menu. Skinned, seasoned then either baked or fried and done up in a nice sauce with one of there sides... But that's unimportant.

Ari had a thing for garlic and had ordered a full serving of garlic wings with some garlic bread on the side. So what if he had to snaf down a couple of mints afterwards for those who took offense to the smell. Taste was worth it.

Asto tagged along with Ari, so he was there as well. He didn't like garlic as much as Ari did, but, hell, in the time of, what, 4 years, he got already used to that. He just ordered himself some chicken, with chicken inside. Yeah, there is that dish. It also had some chicken egg roast as a covering for it, just to add to the irony and trolling of chicken. And then, probably, later, to the one who ate it. "Fun," Asto muttered, remembering all the times he tried to roast something. It worked well with electrical stoves, but should he use a gaz based one, and he went in trance, letting the food burn.

Normally Alisha wouldn't be caught in this place, she cooked herself. But today she had forgotten the spices and was too lazy to get groceries. And so she was here ordering baked cera-arms with special seasoning. Ari had recommended this place to her last week. She got herself a simple unsweeted tea to drink and went to find a spot to sit. While searching for an empty space she spotted Ari. "Hey, Ari.", she called to him. She would have waved if not for the tray she was holding.

Samantha meanwhile was looking at the menu, thinking about what to order herself. She wasn't really a fan of fast food, having grown out of that stage where she would ask her parents to take her there. Instead, her preferences in eating out leaned more to resturants. Upper class ones where waiting for the food was part of the experience. The skunktaur thought some more, then eventually chose a sauran burger while her date, a wolf zoan named Joseph, had an assortment of deep fried insects.

Ari poked a bone in Asto's general direction. "This is how food is supposed to be. Not burned and charred black like when you tried it," he muttered. "Just cause you look burning things..." He was going to go on for a bit more, but he noticed Alisha. "Crap..." he muttered, ears dropping.

"Surprised to see me?", she said to Ari walking over to him. With all the gymnastics she had done over the years a year or so ago, she started wearing her workout leotard everywhere, covered with a tank top and today a skirt. She hated pants, they just didn't look right with her tail.

Before Alisha could get close enough, Asto whispered "She's the one you called "leotarded"?" to Ari. He then made up a nice smile and waved at Alisha, with a hand that was a bit weirdly furred, having spots that lacked fur here and there.

"So," Joseph said. "What's a girl like you do on her off time?"
"Oh, a bit of this, a bit of that." Sam replied airely. "Mostly practice for the school plays and such. Have to get things just right."
"I've seen some of those, they're pretty good."
"Awww, thank you." Sam replied, blushing under her fur. With completly black fur [with any fur] though, it was totally hidden.

"That's the one..." Ari muttered back. He didn't give her the smile that Asto did, just a bland face. "Hello Alisha..."

"I told you before, I prefer to be called Ally.", she said to him, "So what's up Ari, who's your friend?"

"Asto... He's my roommate," Ari said guardedly. "What are you doing here? I though you didn't 'buy food made for the mass' since you were such a 'good' cook." He gave them air quotes. It was that claim alone that made him tell her about his favourite place to eat out.

"True but I was out of food at the house, too lazy to get groceries today so I came here to try it out. I should still live as long as I stay away from the fried stuff.", she said to him.

"But fried stuff is awesome..." Asto said, lowering his ears. From his perspective, of course, anything fried is awesome.

A man entered the store as they spoke.

Sam's ears twitched as she heard familiar voices, but dismissed them as Joseph began to tell what he liked to do. Mostly computer games, the occasional sporting ventures, and the occasional binge study session on a particular topic that he liked.

"Depends on what you fry it in, vegtable oil is healthier than hydrogenated oil which is what restaurants normally use.", Ally said to Asto.

"Tastes same to me," Asto confessed, "Never managed to fry anything well though..."

"Technically hydrogenated oil is synthesized to taste great...still worse for you than vegtable oil...but enough mumbo jumbo...", Ally said.

"...mumbo jumbo? As in "pointless talk"?" Asto asked.

"As in technical talk, I know I sometimes bore people with this sort of thing. So tell me about yourself.", Ally said.

"You'd think no one would bore someone like me with talks about oil," Asto said, chuckling, glancing at Ari, knowing that he witnessed lots of his buisnesses with oil.

"I guess so...but first I don't think I've seen you around the school much...what are you up to usually?", Ally asked.

"Everyone on the ground!" the most recent client yelled out, his cry underlined by the retort of gun fire and the gurgling scream of the cashier he shot falling to the ground.

Asto yelped as the gunshots happened, and ducked, trying to get some cover. Robbery! Great day today, damnit! "Damnitdamnit..." he muttered as he got to something resembling cover

Sam screamed and dove for cover, Joseph doing his best to cover the vital parts on the taur's body. While the two had only been dating for a few weeks, he liked her, and she him.

Alisha yelped and dove for cover and lay flat on the ground under the table during the initial gunfire. She was shocked and hoped to all the gods that she survived this. She was too scared to speak.

Ari yelled (cause men don't scream) and ducked as best he could behind the table. He peered out between the table legs to see what was going on the best he could. The man, a zoan, held his weapon out and had a twisted maniac look on his face, and held himself like he couldn't stay still, twitching as a warped smile stretched across his face, as if he found the release he was looking for, ecstasy in the act of killing.

So he did it again, maniac laughter filling the building as he shot again, and again with surprising aim....

The whole 'life flashed before my eyes' think did seem to be true. As did the whole light at the end of the tunnel. But, not in the way you would expect. Floating in a void, surrounded by images of your life, your triumphs and failures, a collage of images and impressions and memories and sounds interrupted when the harsh whistle of a train engine cut through it all and you found yourself on the platform of train station, the lights hanging above them buzzing, the smell of steam and oil and metal in the air.

Sam yelped and bolted awake, panting heavily from the fear. She placed her hands over stratigic points on her body, feeling for any holes.

Alisha's world went white as she heard the sound of gunfire. She woke up moments later in a train station. She patted herself all over, nope no bullet holes.

"Ya won't fiiind en'y," a voice with a drawl said as she checked herself over.

Ari's flashing ended just as abrubtly, the song of the strings drowned out in the whistle and he staggered, suddenly finding solid ground beneath his feet, disorientinly so. He let out a shuddering breath. "What?"

"The soul's liik dat, ya see," he continued in his drawl. The voice belonged to an older man in an even older fashioned conductor's outfit. "It dun't care awl dat much a'boot de body and what it's goo'in through." He tapped his forehead. "It's not liik the miin'. De miin' gets carr'id away wid the body."

"Who are you?" Sam asked, not liking what she was hearing already. "What are you? Where are we?"

Alisha cautiously got up. She heard the sound of an old man the the voice of a girl. Something about the soul...and the body and mind...Alisha wasn't sure what happened. She looked around to see a train station, a skunktaur, Asto and Ari..."What happened?", she asked the old man.

Down the platform from them, one of the lights burnt out with a pop. "A'ways with de questions, eh? I su'pose it does make sense. When it come on sud'en liik dat, they ah'fen do foget." He eyed the two boys. "What about you two? No words from you?"

Another light burned out as Ari swallowed and shook his head. Another shrill whitstle came up from the tunnels. Two of them. But only one had a distant light in it.

The conductor looked a trifle bit concerned. "Well den, let's see y'all tickets."

"Tickets for what? Seriously, what's going on?" Sam asked.

"Pay a'tenshion now girlie, ya got the ticket right der in ya'han."

Sam looked at her hand and opened it.

Ari sharply looked down at his own hand. There was a slip of paper there, but he couldn't read the languange it was written in. It did look like a train ticket though. "What is this?" he said, asking his first, second actually, question.

Alisha looked at the train ticket then up at the conductor. "Um...what is this?", she asked.

"What if we don't want to use this ticket?" Samantha asked.

Things progressed in the manner of a dream, and the old man suddenly had the tickects examining. "Well I'll be... Ain't this might cue'rious. Y'all aint supposed to be 'ere yet," he said, flicking a finger at the tickets. The trail of blown light bulbs drew closer as another two popped.

"We're not?", Alisha asked, she was confused by these proceedings.

"The man's the man for a reason," he said thoughfully. "Seems to me som'ones been tamper'in with de ticket's aft'trawl. You folk sure dun' look liik yer su'poss t'be on der southbound train."

"Can someone explain what's going on? I can imagine why we're in the train station, but the train...what's with the train?", Alisha asked.

Sam rubbed her temples as though she was experiencing a headache, though it was more a force of habit. "My sentiments exactly... No offence intended, but I prefer it when people tell me what's going in directly and not waste my time."

Another shrill whistle rocked up the tunnel as the light drew closer. There was something wrong with that light but it's was still coming closer. "Ya sure a'boot dat?" the old man asked. He pointed behind them. At the last working bulb before the blown out region.

"What the hell are you talking about old ma-" Ari started, then stopped, besause he saw it, something grouched on the roof, extending a hand from the zone of darkness and reaching out to the bulb. It burned out a moment later. The shape on the roof was unnatural looking. Limbs too gangly, fingers too long and sharp, even shourded in the darkness as it was for just that moment's glimpse.

"Southbound train's conductor's get'en a bit impa'chent himself. Eager to snatch y'all up and toss ya on his train," the old man said. "Prob'ly one a' his boys who mess with y'all's ticket and got ya ere before ya time."

"Don't tell me... This conductor's name. Wouldn't happen to be Lucifer or Satan would it?" Sam half-joked.
[Honestly, I doubt those would be the names, but... meh]

"What..?" Asto finally managed to say, figuring out how to form words from letters after what had happened.

" 'E ain't got no ree'zon to come 'ere when he ken jus up an' sen som'un," the conductor dwarled gravely. The figure made another breif appearance as another two bulbs popped out of functionality. He glared at the darkness were the figure lurked. "Taam'pring with people's will now? Der des'snitions too? Yer acting outside yer boun'dries!"

Like molassess and filing mixed together, insects crawling through their fur, things itching their way under the skin. There were a dozen descriptions for the sensation the voice that issued forth, yet none good enough. And in all that, what the voice said wasn't even understood. It just... was a voice.
[DC 20 Will vs fear (no fleeing, paralyzed for frightened, cower for panic), DC 20 Fort vs Nauseate]
Φαιόςγαλῆ rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 10+3 = 13 frightened
Φαιόςγαλῆ rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 15+3 = 18 -sickened
Asto Will: 20; Fort 19 Shaken and Sickened
Alisha Saves:

1d20+0, 1d20+3=[16, 0] = 16 will, [14, 3] = 17 fort Shaken and Sickened
Sam will: Yellow 13 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 12+3=15 Frightened
Sam Fort: Yellow 13 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 3+1=4 Helplessly puking

What. The. Burning. Pits. Ari felt a strong urge to run, and only the fact that there was no were to run to kept his paws rooted to the ground. Something about that voice made him not only want to run, but like he ate something a few days past it's prime. He really didn't want to know what that darkness hid anymore. Another bulb popped as he looked. Leaving only six between them and the figure.
Φαιόςγαλῆ rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 10+3 = 13 frightened
Φαιόςγαλῆ rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 15+3 = 18 -2 attack and checks

Asto stared at the darkness with a confused look. The voice that came within was probably even more scary than the darkness itself... But he shoved that scary feeling down wherever it didn't belong but would feel less scary, like something that you don't ususally mention. To there it goes! Although the voice did make him feel quite crappy in his stormach and guts. "What the hell's going on now?" Asto asked, looking around.

Sam gagged and bolted to her feet, but couldn't move. She whimpered in terror before gagging again, throwing up.

Alisha stayed where she was frozen in terror at the voice in the darkness. She felt ill just from the grating sound of that voice.

The old man stood between the children and the darkness and the figure that hid within it. "I ain't gonna be having nuhn'a yer games now," he said sternly. "Taam'pard ti'ket or no, dese ain't yers yet." Another bulb blew and the darkness inched closer. The shrill whistle of the southbound train was louder than before.

"Dese ti'ket ere... I ken do sommit a'boot dem, but it az a priic," the old man said in a low drawl. "Betta den letting than One givin ya a ride."

"W--what price?" Sam rasped, throat burning from the stomach acid and gastric juices still in her mouth and throat.

"YES!" Ari said. He didn't care what it was. Old Guy seemed nicer, a lot better than the guy in the shadows.

"I think we won't like it..." Asto muttered, having a bad feeling about this whole situation. And that was why? Just because some psycho was sold a gun. Great!

He pulled Ari's ticket from the bounce. "They marked ya, outside der rules, but dey did. Ain't nu'ting we can do 'boot dat but cova it wid anodda mark. Make it harda for dem to shove ya on dere train."

"Mark?" Asto asked with confusion.

Another bulb blew out as the man spoke. Then another followed shortly after.

"Do it!" Sam said, desperately wanting some way get out of this.

With a billow of obscuring steam and foul smoke that poured out of the tunnel and one last shrill cry, the southbound train charged into the station, brakes wailing like banshees. Another bulb blow, this one practically exploding in a shower of sparks and splintered glass.

Giiiiiiivvvvveeeeeee[/creepyfont]

"YER SOUL'S AT STAKE BOY!" The old man said, still managing to sound drawling and lazy even though he was yelling. Very odd.

Asto yelped, that was enough for him to delay the questions for later (that might never happen even if he will survive but whatever). He quickly handed the old man the ticket (if he still had it) and prayed for that to work out.

[assuming Alisha doesn't decide she wants a train ride on the creepy express]
[And what if she does? ]
[Then an innocent soul would be lost. Sad, sad.]

Alisha listened to the old man. The darkness was closing in and she didn't know what else to do.

Behind the curtain of the miasmatic cloud, doors opened with a sharp hiss. Another bulb blew. The last one. The darkness pounced and there was a rush in the air as the figure, the Other Conductor, pounced, his voice clawing at their ears as he screeched in triumph. But the old man was there. In an instant. He shed his old man form. The darkness ripped apart as if it had physical substance, like paper before the stream of a hose as blazing light punched through it, shed from someone with long hair, a tail, a sword on his waist, four wings spread wide, the tickets at the very tips, caught in a silver blaze.

Then the brilliance blinded them, resolving into the blurry glare of overhead lights.

[Greycat]

Chapter One: In a blaze of Glory...
http://freepdfhosting.com/e615b5a207.pdf

"This one is coming around," a voice said from somewhere to the left.

Asto grumbled, feeling weird again. Damnit, dying is not awesome at all. With that in mind, he muttered, "What happened...?" to no one in particular, not really expecting a good answer.

"Keep still," the voice cautioned, and a hand gently pressed on his shoulder. A Hume in the tunic of a medic and blond hair with tan streaks, hinting at mixed blood heritage, entered his field of vision. "How do you feel?"

"I have no idea... Probably better than being on fire..." Asto muttered, trying to keep still, as the voice suggested. "What happened?" he repeated with concern.    

"Do you remember the restaurant?"

Asto closed his eyes. Of course he did. That was creepy. "Yeah... I remember... Ordered some food with Ari, then... a guy went in, then... gunfire, can't remember details. Few moments later I was already having some weird dream... And then I wake up here... Where am I?" Asto coughed a bit, trying to feel if his lungs are okay. Seems like they did exist.

"You and a few others were there, and during the standoff with the protectors, he shot several people."

"...and he hit me?" Asto asked.

"A few times," the medic said. "You've been patched up well though, and the patterns are working well on the wounds."

Sam moaned softly as she slowly came to. "Uhhh..." She coughed. She hear voices and struggled to open her eyes. Where the hell was she and what happened? She coughed, her throat dry. "Wh--" She moaned.

Asto grumbled. So he did get shot out there. Uhuh. "...it won't do me bad in long term, right?" he asked with concern, because getting crippled because of some psycho is awful.

Ari was rousing too. First thing he noticed was the stabbing pain in his chest. The second thing was the grating pain in his throat. He blinked look around. People in medic tunics, and on of those hospital pallets. He tried to push himself into a sprawl.

"Easy there," one of the medics said. "You were shot."

Ari tried to ask something, but it came out more as a croak.

"You'll find it hard to talk for a while. The bullet hit a lung and the tube pumping out the blood might have left it a bit raw."

Asto's medic patted him on the shoulder. "No, you'll be as good as new in a few days."
[roll notice]
Asto Notice: 8
[He, for an instant, see a haze, like a mirage, on the medic's shoulder. might have been a trick of the eye.]

"Were we the only ones?" Sam rasped. "Water..."

Alisha came to eventually. She sat up with a start. Alisha was in pain. "What the hell happened.", she rasped.

Asto blinked a few times, probably tears gathered up in his eye, giving out a disortion. "Ari... is here too? Is he alright?" he asked nervously.

"Ari... the silver furre taur?" the medic asked.

Asto nodded.

Sam tried to prop herself up and look around, but the pain from where she was hit kept her down. She hissed from the pain and instead looked around.
spot: Yellow 13 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 20+5=25 Walls and a medic attending to things on a side cart. A heavy curtain at the side to her feet.

"Hello?" She called, rasping as she tried to find some water as well. She sucked on her tonge in the meantime to compensate.

Alisha: A firm hand pushed her back done to the pallet. "You will tear the stitches if you move suddenly like that." [also; cue the jarring pain from her abdomen wound]
Sam: She had a male nurse, dark skinned hume with pale eyes. "I see you woke up. Don't try to sit up now. The wounds are still somewhat raw."
Asto: "He's recovering as well. Took a bad hit to his chest."

Alisha felt herself get pushed back down. She then felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. How come she didn;t notice that earlier. She clutched the source of the pain in both hands and lay flat on her back, trying not to scream.

"What happened?" Sam asked again.

Ari just nooded, and slumped back to the pallet. He hated hospitals. He had to visit them far too often for his taste. He tried to distract himself by looking at the wound, poking gingerly at the shaved spot and the dark pattern etched in it.

Asto bit his lip, "How bad it is?" he asked with concern.

Alisha: "I warned you," the medic said, come closer. "Move your hands and let me see." [Name tag Oprah]
Ari: "Don't worry. We patched everything back up and put a healing ring around it. It's still setting though, so don't disturb it." the medic said. [Name take [Jen]
Asto: "He's recover just the same as you will," the medic said. [name tag Hannah. It's a boy's name too.]
Sam: "There was a shooting at the restaurant." [Name tag Bo]

Alisha slowly moved her hand away from the wound. "How bad is it doc?", she asked softly.

Sam's memory from the attack came back and she shuddered. "Did... Who else made it?"

Asto smiled and asked, just to reassure himself, "He's doing well now yes?"

Ari pulled his fingers back. Repatterning alchemy rings was a chore. They had to remove the old one, which was a task in and off itself, then reapply the first one all over again. He swallowed. His throat really did feel bad, he thought as he rubbed it. He tried talking again, this time slowly and softly. "What day is it?"

Alisha: "Mostly muscle tearing and bruising. It didn't rupture any serious organs, fortunately," Oprah said. "It could have been worse. But you did pass out from blood loss."
----
Ari: "You've only been out for about half a day. You haven't missed much. Should be good to get back to school in a few days," Jen supplied, optimistically thinking that's what he was worried about.
----
Asto: "He's recovering. What's you relationship to him?" Hannah asked.
----
Sam: "Don't worry about that for now. Though a fellow named Joseph said to tell you he's fine when you woke up," Bo responded.

"Just a friend... He helped me a lot a while ago, so I am concerned for him," Asto replied.

"Oh thank god.." Sam said smiling. "Can I see him?" She asked.

Ari-----
"Half a day?" he gasped, then started coughing, which hurt both his throat and his lung, and he actually started coughing up blood. That sent Jen into a frenzy of activity as she tried to ease his distress and keep him for causing too much more damage to himself.
"Easy, easy! You will tear the stitches and the scabs. You know you are Hemophiliac?"
Ari nodded as he tried to stop the coughs.
"We had to give you coagulating agents, while you were bleeding out. You were actually clinically dead for a minute or so. You might still open up the wound."
He just nodded absently. Clinically dead? Then that dream...
Φαιόςγαλῆ rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 12+2 = 14 notice. There was something weird on the Medic's shoulder. Like a crouched critter.
-------
Asto: "Don't worry," Hannah said. "He's in good hands."
-------
Sam: "You are in no condition to be moving around, having just been shot. Rest some."

Sam nodded. "All right..." Sam said, still wating to apologize to Joseph. Or was it joseph that should be apologizing to her considering he brought them to the resturant. "Please tell me that asshole was offed himself. By firing squad." Fitting punishment for that lunatic, really.

[Yellow and Mew; roll notice]

Yellow 13 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 4 +5=9 Just a slight trick of the eye blurr
mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 1 You dont even see the blur.

Sam ignored the blurr an wondered if the medicwoul tell her about the git that shot them.

Ally lied down and rested, she didn't know what was happening, but she was in pain and needed to rest.

Asto settled down a bit and decided to have a nap. "I'll trust you here," Asto replied.

[Timeskip. 2am]
Medical alchemy didnt take long to deal with relatively simple injury like a bullet wound. For all the damage modern tech could cause, a bullet was still a pretty small thing and when it hit the body, it s damage area was still pretty limited. For the most part, they were felling more or less better by nightfall. Which was a good thing. Something woke them in the middle of the night.
[roll DC 15 will save vs Fear][roll sensemotive]

Sam moaned and rolled over onto her side, looking for a clock. Finding one, she sighed and lay back down for more of her beauty sleep. "Uhhh..." Sam moaned. "Not now..." She felt a tingleing go down her spine. She rubbed her face as she tried to find a comfy spot again.
Will save: Yellow 13 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 13+3=16
Other roll: Yellow 13 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 8+3=11

He woke when his dreams took a significantly darker tone. When the shadows encroached on his mind, seeming to suffocate him. Ari jolted awake. It didn't help. The shadows in the room wavered and shifted, pressing in towards him. It didn't matter if he was injured. He staggered of the bed, his feet a bit unsteady beneath him as he made his way out of the room and into the hall.
Greykit rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 7+3=10 Frightened
Greykit rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 1+2=3

Alisha's dream was painful as she tossed and turned. As if she was climbing something that just kept getting taller...She would never reach the top and yet she felt she had to go on...
Choose to fail roll: Panicked and awake.

Irbynx (Android) rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 18 [Will: 18+3=21]
Irbynx (Android) rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 20 [Sense Motive: 20+3=23]
[He recognizes the sensation as similar to the train station][Wow, ain't I a scrier ]

Asto woke up with another nasty feeling, for some odd reason feeling a bit scared and nervous. What the hell? Seemed like in that creepy near-death expirience he had with that train, conductor and some "shadow". Felt kinda like that... Was that related? He remained in bed, breathing heavily, feeling that he should try to get out quickly if something would happen.

The hall. Ari closed the room door behind and looked around. Didn't feel any better. The lights were autodimmed for the night time and only those within ten feet of him brightened. He slowly made his ay down the hallway, lights moving with him. He didn't notice the thinkings moving just within the shadows as he nervously made his way down the hall. No
[Notice 12]
Φαιόςγαλῆ rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 17+4
Φαιόςγαλῆ rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 2+4

Alisha woke in a sweat, the dream...it felt so real.

Something slimy hit him from behind, but much of the force behind it was lost or just not there. He took a step or two and turned around in a tricky taur manauvour to see what had hit him.
Φαιόςγαλῆ rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 13+4+2
Φαιόςγαλῆ rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 19+2dex

He would have been better off not. The sliminess that he felt on his back was instantly explained by the almost dripping slime coated sickly purple and jaundice yellow body. About three feet long, it's body was something like a cross between a worm, centipede and snake. Four segmented legs half of it off the ground, tipped with hooked claws on long fingers, the head was eyeless, a plate on top that only started the thick segmented ridges, lubricated with the slime, that sat on the upper body like a train of deformed and mutated scabs that continued all the way to the tip of the body, it's tail. The lower jaw split open slowly into four segments, each lined with yellowed jagged things that likely served as teeth as it let out hoarse inhumane sound somewhere between a drawn out cough and a rattle that caused undulations in the softer unscabbed underbelly. [DC 10 will vs fear]
Φαιόςγαλῆ rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 6+3 Shaken

Another one of the creatures stepped out from the shadows. then two, and a third... Ari didn't wait to see how many more their were. By this point his tough guy facade was being challenged and strained beyond it's limits. He remembered the way it felt in that vision/dream/lifebeforeeyes thing and he didn't want to feel it again. The moment he turned tail, the grating cry turned into a screech that rattled windows and they charged after him.

What the hell was that thing...Alisha jumped out of bed, whatever those things were, she didn't want to be around when they tried to kill them. She remained standing on the bed...that screech was disconcerting.

Sam  yawned and heard shuffleing outside. Getting to her feet, she cleared  her eyes and looked around as she tested her weight. The coolness of the  floor went through her pads, making her shiver. Still... She was alive.  It wasa good feeling. She looked herself over, seeing the shaved area  on her chest, she made a face but went back to checking herself over.  Yeah... It was good to be alive.
Notice: Yellow 13 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 5 +5=10
[she sees her pillow. They are in alcoves now. Outside the treatment area.]

Sam froze as she heard the commotion outside her alcove and peeked her head out. "H-hello?" She asked, suddenly wishing she had the spray of an actual skunk as a chill went down her spine. Her fur was standing on end as she looked out into the halls.
Stealth: Yellow 13 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 9+2=11
Notice: Yellow 13 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 8 +5=13 [Nothing really. Lots of shadows.]

Asto blinked several times. Now the screeching. This thing is repeating itself over and over again. Keep your cool, pyrokat... He didn't know what to do, but what did he know, is that if he'd be lying in the bed any longer he'll be an easy frag for whatever is yelling and he knew this can't be good.

Except he had a bullet wound in his guts. Althoguh... It didn't feel as bad as it used to be, and with a soft growl Asto managed to overcome the pain and climb off from bed, stumbling around. Now what? The sounds were in hall and all the horror movies showed that moving towards the creepy sound is a bad idea. Not knowing what caused them is an idea even worse. But he had nothing else to do. Damnit. Asto glanced outside the window, to see if there was anything there.
[nothing out the windows][Nothing at all or nothing out of ordinary?][nope]

Ari run took him down the hall and into the large rest area. Couches, tables and some magazines and books on racks filled the room. This late, it wasn't used aside from one or two people who might have a midnight nap. Not tonight though, or not on this floor in the least. So he had it all to himself. Which, wasn't a good thing really. He was already half way into the room when he though about locking the door, and by the time he turned, they were already crawling in.

[Alisha: nothing in her room. Still panicked though]

Sam stayed where she was, not sure what was going on, but knowing that avertising her position was a bad idea. Instead, she just settled herself in the dark, her black fur blending in with the shadows of the night. She steadied her breathing while part of her brain was still reveling in the sensations of life. Her brush with death seemed to have given her a new appricieation for life. While her stomach fur would still be shown, she covered that as best she could with her hands and waited.

Asto had no idea what to do. Maybe a small peek would help? He walked to the door and slightly opened it up to peek outside.
[roll notice]Asto Notice: 17[The shadows were unnatural.][Oh derp]

Over in the common room, Ari was getting cornered by the things. Well, he already was cornered. The things drew in closer, forming a ring around him though keeping a few feet back for some reason.

The shadows seriously made no sense. Asto shivered and gulped. That is not good. Not good at all. He tried to find his lighter in the pockets, but then did a mental facepalm, remembering that his clothes were taken away... Wait, what happened to his lighter? Let's hope nothing bad, he needs to find it.

He also wondered if these weird shadows can be fought with light. Better not try though, they are creepy. He stood there, near the door that he closed just right after he peeked. He had no idea what to do again. He decided to look around the room, trying to pick out the spots to hide at, if the airvents are accessible (not that if he's going to explore them... too unsafe, but as a last resort it may work) and if he had his clothing there.
[For whatever wierd reason, you do look at the air conditioning vents, which are normal sized so around a foot or soo with fur catching screens. There wasn't really any space to hide. It was just an alcove with a bed in it and enough space for a visitor or so to chill or the doctor to work][Gah.]

Asto sighed. Yeah, the vent was too small, like it should have been. He looks out in the corridor again, to figure out if it's actually safe.

Sam meanwhile still sat there, crouched in darkness as she tried to calm herself down. She could feel her fur standing on end.

Alisha though was curled up on the bed...she could see the creeping shadows now and froze up much like she did in the train station.

They pounced, apparently deciding that Ari wasn't worth concern, leaping in in attempts to clutch his fur and body and sink those 'teeth' into his body. That was where his wresting training came in and he managed to shake them off. Didn't buy him more space, since they still surrounded him. Out of the corner of his eye, the old man from the station was standing in the doorway. Rather than his former dress, he was in a plain grey suit with a cane, steel grey hair well groomed.
Attack roll: 1d20+3=19, 1d20+3=21, 1d20+3=17, 1d20+3=20
Grapple (1d20+3+2-4=3, 1d20+3+2-4=10, 1d20+3+2-4=8, 1d20+3+2-4=9)
Ari opposed Grapple  (1d20+2+2=22, 1d20+2+2=13, 1d20+2+2=23, 1d20+2+2=14) (all -2, still pass)

"Help me!" Ari cried pleadingly in desparation, lifting first one foreleg, then the other as the creatures cackled at his, claws making soft scritchings on the floor.

"I've all'eadi dun my part a' it, boy," his drawl responded. "Da answer's in yer own soul now."

The creatures charged in again, attacking in pairs, proving to be more clever than he hoped. The two attackers managed to sink their maws around his legs. His training in wrestling at least managed to shake off one of them without too much hassle, but the other cut through his fur and drew blood from his right foreleg.
1 and 3 attack, 2  and 4 aid. (1d20+3=21, 1d20+3=5, 1d20+3=23, 1d20+3=22) (thank god it's a minion... treating it like a crippling strike though.) DC 17
Saves (1d20+3=22, 1d20+3=15)

"I don't know what you mean!" Ari cried out, stumbling from the injury. He might wrestle a lot, but this kind of injury...

"List'n to de soun' a yer soul! Den le' it out!" the old man ordered.

Sensing weakness, they charged in again, snapping at his feet again, scoring solid hits and drawing even more blood from him. His legs were burning with pain, blood flowing freely into his fur.
Attacks (1d20+3=8, 1d20+3=23, 1d20+3=23, 1d20+3=17) (Wee... down to one leg...)
Saves ([s]1d20+3=10[/s], 1d20+3=18-1 fail, 1d20+3=11-1 fail, 1d20+3=22-1 pass) (Injury count: 3)

At the moment, All Ari could hear was screaming inside from the pain. He didn't know if that's what the guy meant, but he let that scream out.
Check (1d20+2=22, 1d20+2=8, 1d20+2=22, 1d20+2=15) Power check
Extra Effort: Soul Cry:: Sonic DC 17+2 19

The window's rattled and shattered, one bench spintered apart in the face of that sound. The critters trembled and screeched, but it was lost in Ari's cry and they exploded into slime and other less than appealing bits moments later anyway.
Saves (1d20+2=17, 1d20+2=8, 1d20+2=20, 1d20+2=21) (-2, protection is vs physical)
Object Saves (1d20+3=7, 1d20+3=14, 1d20+1=15)



And since no one wants to leave there rooms (the little cowards) and give Ari a hand...

Asto - Does he look up? Ye [Paranoid much... who checks the ceiling... Anyway, you {roll notice}][He checked for airvents and for whole room. He also had funky parents. And creepy shadows. And watched some horror movies and played horror video games.]
Asto's Notice: 12
The notice might have been unnecessary. Something did quickly scuttle across the shadows in the ceiling.

Oh crap. Asto wondered if staying in one place was a good idea now. Eh... He carefully opened the door, now completely, to let him escape, and started sneakily running away in the direction opposite to that of the critter. Let's hope the tricks he learned with his parents and police would work with that too.

[Taking ten on Stealth (skill mastery): 12; -5 for running movement taken in account (15 penalty removed by Challenge feat)]

He runs right into a gaggle of the first critter's friends. They rasp their hello, gapping their foursegment lower jaws, grinding rows of jagged mandibles together, undulating underbellies rapidly to project a low wheezing cry.

Oh shit. This is 100% not cool. And 100% not hume/taur/zoan. Not even a raptor. He had no idea how to trick THIS, so the best trick from them was simple as hell - run.

And so he did, not bothering with stealth, hoping that these things would be far enough for him to find a hiding spot or something to defend himself with.

Aha! My clever ruse to get Asto to flee towards the common room has prevailed! On the other hand, he also came across another batch of the critters, and a cursing screaming girly girl taur. [To Sam's section]



Sam - Get off the floor foo! Something's Crawling up your rump!

Sam screamed when she felt something on her butt and yelped. "Ahh! What the hell? no! Shoo! Get off!" She yelped, shaking from side to side violently. The thing, whatever it was, landed right on oneof the palces on her body she could never quite easily reach. "Getitoff! Getitoff! Getitoff!" She hated bugs!
[roll grapple check]
Grapple: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4333184/ 17
1d20+2-4=1 Whatever it was went flying and went splat on the wall.
1d20+2=3 Because castle hated this in particular.

"EWW! EWWW EWW EWWWWW!" Sam yelled and backed out of the room. "Ewwewwew! Icky!"

Well, she backed out of the room into the hallway. Oh no, little skunk! Don't look to your left! Don't look to were the rasping rattle is coming from!

More and more Samantha was wishing she she had some way to actually fight back. Self defence classes. If she got out of this, she'd be taking a month solid of self defense! Instead, she just began running to her right. "Nope! Fuck this! Screw this, I'm outta here!"

Asto runs up here.

"Oh thank god!" Sam said, panicking. "We gotta get out of here!"

"LESS TALK MORE RUNNING!" Asto yelled, stopping for a moment and doing weird motions in hope to skewer the thinking of the weird critters for a while to buy Sam some time.
Distract: 9

Samantha screamed. "Ewww! Bugs! I hate bugs!" She said and scampered away.

The critters made their odd call and crawled after them with distressing speed. Distressing because it was far faster than someone being chased by them would like. Scabbed, ridged backs grated as the healthy gaggle of the unhealthy looking creatures made haste, claws scrapping at the floor and the remain lengths of their tails whipping behind them.

Look, up ahead, there was a door. It was ajar. If they decided to read the sign, it would say "Common Room."

Asto was the pioneer of that door opening, mainly because he was probably the one who ran faster (probably). Although ramming into the door then trying to open it isn't really a usual way of opening the door. And he also had to pay for it, for his poor abb started to feel pain again. Darn.
[Roll toughness]
Toughness: 6
[Wound reopened. Stunned.]

Sam didn't bother with that, instead she kept pushing forward. "Nope! I'm not doing this anymore!" She cried as she went through the door as well.

Ari's wounds were bleeding. A lot. The old man vanished just as quickly as he appeared, and that had seriously creeped him out, just like that scream thing did, but once he got over that little incidence, he focused on that fact that he was bleeding. A lot. Since he really didn't have anything else, he ripped his shirt into strips and used those to bandage his wounds the best he could.
Heal Checks: 12, 19, 17

He was tying off the last one when he heard movement. His first hope was that it was staff finally showing up, but then he heard the rasping like the ones from before... He got to his feet again, unsure of what he could do, then something hard hit the door and it burst open to let in Asto and that weird Sam girl.

Asto stumbled into the room and leaned against one of the walls, feeling that he can barely go on anymore. "Sam, close the goddamn door!" he "yelled" to Sam, glaring at his shirt that was getting red again. The wound. Of course it had to reopen. Asto growled, that was quite unfortunate.

"Asto?" Ari asked uncertainly and in a wavering voice after they barged into the room.
[He's likely quite the sight. No top (so taur naked ) with improvised bandages around three legs, likely bloody fur on his arms and splattered with goo and gunk in places.

Asto glanced at Ari, holding his own hand on his belly in futile attempt  to stop the bleeding, "Ye... The hell happened?" he asked.

Sam kicked the door shut and braced herself aginst it. "What the hell are those things!?" She panted, fur sticking on end from fear.

Ari was stumped and had no idea how to respond that that, since he didn't know what they were either. Aside from mean as the pits and having a taste for his flesh. Which was creepy as the Black Deeps.

"Krei Asag," a familiar drawl said from off to the side. The old man was back, still in his suit, looking out one of the windows that shattered from Ari's ealier outburst. "Spawn a' de moun'ains, right al' prey on de souls a' de sick. Nasty beasties."

"Well I hate them! They're icky and freaky looking and-- Wait how'd you get in here?! Does that mean they can find a way in!?" Sam yelped.

Several something hit the door and the rasping seeped into the room from the cracks around the door jam.

"Where the pits did you go!" Ari demanded of the old man. "You just talked crap and vanished!"

"Di'n de ad'vice help ya outta da rough spot?" he drawled with slight smile hinting at his otherwise serious face. "An dey nae can come in. Too anchor'd inna de physical world to sliip back'en forth like dat."

Sam breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, that's good..." She said, still bracing the door. "For now..." Her fur was still raised from fear. "So can we kill these things or something? And who are you, anyways?"

[nix] "Oh great, so this trainstation thing was real!," Asto muttered, "Can we have this nightmare end too?"

"Ye can slay der mortal bodies," the man said. "The youngin here can tell ye about da," he added, tipping his head at Ari.

Asto smirked through the painful expression on his face for a moment, "You did manage to kill 'em? That explains the mess... Argh..."

Ari tried to evade the qestion, taking up the last few strips from his shirt that he hadn't used. "Shut up and let me take a look at that," he said, poking at Asto's agravated injury.
1d20+3=21

Asto didn't resist much, even helpfully removed himself from the wall, "There are more behind us, but I guess you figured that out" Asto said, glancing at the door and Sam, the door keeper. What a glorious one to keep the door. At least she's not the leotarded.

Sam still kept bracing the door, not going to go let go until she was sure it was safe. "You know, as fun as it is holding back these freaky things, I'd really like to know if there either a way to get out of here or like... run away, that'd be greaaaaaaaaat."

"Der's always de door," he smiled as the creatures, asag spawn, continued battering away at it.

"Goddamnit, old guy, your speeches aren't helping! You can teleport and you do damn nothing!" Asto snapped at the old guy.

"Here here!" Sam said, still bracing. "And yaknow, some help here wouldn't go amiss!"

"Ya already got de help from me," He drawled.

Asto scowled and replied, sarcastically, "Oh man, I took yer heart on the surgery table off but I ain't gotta place a new one back and suture the wound 'cause, y'know, you got help from me!"

"De youn'in can tell ya. Der are ben'fits to gettin' yer soul marked," And he was gone again. Not a whisper of warning. Just gone like a flicker in your eye.

Asto glanced at Ari with the expression implying explaination request.

"One of these days, if he shows up, we should tie him down and make him tell us what the hell is going on!" Sam said as she continued bracing. "And you know, a little help would be just grand!"

"What? Me?" Ari demanded of the now absent man. He let out a growl of impotent fury. How was he supposed to explain something he didn't even know how to work himself? "He said something about searching your soul, your heart or something. Letting the thing that defines you come out." Ari pointed to the shattered windows and the pile of fragmented wood. "A yell did that."

Asto stared at Ari with a smirk, "Really?" he asked, not really believing in that. "So I can just blow and set stuff on fire? And isn't fighting closer to your heart?" Asto bombared Ari with questions. And then tried to blow out fire, derp.

"Just cause I don't want to play professionally doesn't mean I dont like music," Ari scowled at Asto.

Sam meanwhile continued bracing the door.

"...Hey, I know right? If not these dem things, we could have went on with that co idea-- And how the hell is supersonic super yell is related to music? Isn't music supposed to be "beautiful", not window shattering?" Asto said with a confused look.

"Maybe it's from the fear or something?" Sam offered. "Sonic scream means that you make them want to run away. I dunno." She looked at herself and thought. "Wonder what the rest of us got."

"Why are you asking me all these questions?" Ari said testily and irritably. "It was sound. Sound makes music. It made them pop. They already took a couple bites out of me by then. Thanks for caring, by the way."

"If that was sarcasm, sorry for not caring about something you decided  not to tell about when asked," Asto grumbled, feeling embarassed and  guilty a lot, letting his voice slip and showing that with the way he  stood and looked, "We need to get out," he stated.

"Oh. naked guy. Meanwhile: FREAKY ASS BUG THINGS OUTSIDE TRYING TO RAPE OUR FACES OFF AND EAT US!!!" Sam said. "Priorities. Maybe not the order you'd like, but that's how it is for me!"

"So why don't you try something? Whatever the old guy did to me isn't area friendly," Ari said.

Asto shrugged, "I don't even know how does it work!" he replied, making  gestures with his arms and doing focus-like meditation to start fire.
[a tiny glowing spark formed]

Sammean while closed her eyes and tried to bring up some power. Looking inside herself. She focused on herself and what felt different from how it usually was. She didn't feel too different then sighed. "You and I, are stuck in the worst places of the story, and it is all too likely that some will say at this point: 'Shut the book now, dad; we don't want to read any more.'" Sam muttered under her breath, quoting and feeling a slight twinge of hopelessness.
Power Control: Yellow 13 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 17
[totally useless power in this situation does nothing.]

Asto saw the spark. "Look! I think it worked!" he said, a bit excited,  "That might work even better than sonics... If I can make it bigger.."

"Pits... he makes fire with his mind now," Ari groaned.

"Think you can set thise freaky things on fire for me?" Sam asked.

Asto waved his hand at Sam, hoping she'll figure out that he's trying to tell her to shut up without saying anything. "I probably just need to focus..."

The first claw punched through the door, lodged there as the rasping intensified, likely from the critter that got caught in it.

"It you're going to do it do it!" Ari said in panic.

Sam yelped. "DOITDOITDOIT!" She cried, seeing the creatures through the hole and this leading her to back off. "EWWWW!"

Asto focused on the fire and tried his best at improving over the sparkle that he has created, hoping that he'll do it in time.
[power check was 9 last time, +2 rank]
[it works. What happens?]
[Should I write that as a post or just a description of events?]
[you can do it as a post, or a descript I'd summarize into a post]

Asto was fascinated by the events that happened next. Fire in his hands started and then, after a while, floated above, growing in intensity and size. As it reached the considerable size of a small fireplace, it started hovering in the air and Asto felt something...

<Curiousity...> was the feeling that he got. And he knew it came from the fire orb. And he shared the feeling as well, staring at the fire, and fire seemed to stare into him. That would last forever, and Ari probably knew that.

"He's gonna burn down the building," Ari said under his breath, scared to see Asto with something like that, "Just you watch..."

They banged on the door again.

Asto shook his head and glanced at the door. No time to stare at fires. "I hope this will work..." he said, standing, and trying to "tell" the fire orb to move around. It did. Floated around, emmting heat and light around itself. And then, with a smirk, he readied up to face the bugs. "Ari, remember my roasted chicken? Time for me to do the same dish," he said with a grin. Fires are cool.

"You burned that..." Ari said, taking a few steps back. That was the reccomended precaution whenever Asto got fire. And notice; Ari didn't have patches of slightly discoloured regrown fur.

Sam was on the other side of the room, not looking at the door, but hearing everything instead. She wasn't going to be scared.They were just icky bugs covered in slime and being gross.... She shivered.

"So I guess we have to open the door..." Ari said, not thrilled at all by the prospect. And he couldn't exactly ask Sam to do that... Nervously, he hobbled over to the door (in retrospect, asking the injured guy didn't make much more sense). "... ready?"

Asto nodded, tail tapping on his leg as he impatiently eyed the door and his orb. He can create fires with his mind! Nothing can stop him! Even this door!

"Don't you DARE set this place on fire... it's a medcenter," Ari said. As he opened the door, he muttered, "This is such a bad idea..."

The demon spawn surged in, making Sam scream and press her back to the wall as far away as she could go, a dozen of so of them.

Asto's actions were immediate. He caused the orb of fire (He needs to give it a name...) to float towards the demon spawn, trying to set them on fire.
[Any things contacting with the fire orb are getting 16 toughness save nao]
1d20+1=2 It lit up like a wick soaked in kerosene oil for years. Poor, poor Demon Spawn. It even screamed (raspily) as it burned away.

"Burning Pits!" Ari swore, then again when the thing burst into flames. He backpedaled quickly, putting all four feet to work.

Sam wasn't looking at them. Instead, when she heard the screams stop, she turned and looked to see the carnage, shivering at the sight.

"I CAN'T GET THEM ALL!" Asto yelled, moving the orb around. The orb wasn't sharing Asto's fear - it managed to burn something already, just as it arrived in this world and damnit, it liked it, Asto could even feel it.

While the orb got one demon spawn, the other eleven or so swarmed, giving the burning one a wide berth. Some went for Ari. Some went for Asto. The others went for Sam.
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4340799/ First four to Ari, Second to Asto, last three to Sam. 2 hits to Ari, 1 to Asto. DC 17 toughness? yes.
1d20+3=10, 1d20+3=9 Stunned. Wee. 2 more injuries..
Asto Toughness: 16. Injured D:

Sam screamed like a girl and ran away. to the other corner of the room... which reminds me, there is a ton of shattered glass over that side...

Asto saw the army of bugs swarming inside and started retreating slowly. Except his slow retreating didn't really help in avoiding them alltogether, and one of them managed to hit Asto in a nasty way. Yelping, he moved the orb onto one of the things and caused it to move around to try to hit them all. [Although it moves relatively slowly... but doesn't need to take an action to burn stuff. duh] Also, he tries to defend himself. (Defense Action)

Sam screamed once again and flailed mostly, cutting her paws but also swinging futilly at the creature to get rid of them. [movement cut in half from the glass injuries. We could REALLY use our healer]
Attack: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4340808/ 12
Greykit rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 12 +3 Bruised.

Again with the biting. What did these things have against him why they loved him the most?
[Ari stunned.]

Spawn attack
The spawn swarmed with renewed vigour, even as one went down to the flailing of the black and white taur and another to the little ball of fire.

The four on Ari clamoured on him, which was a distinctly creepy sensation thatnhe violently opposed, managing to dislodge one, but the other two bit bigger chunks from him. He screamed. And Screamed. The sound burst out like a shockwave, rippling outwards, covering the entire room, knocking spawn down like solid blows. And hitting Sam and Asto too. Sorry about that.
Ari: 1d20+2=15,  1d20+2=11, 1d20+2=13, 1d20+2=14: Wee...
Spawn Grapple (1d20+3+2-4=7, 1d20+3+2-4=6, 1d20+3+2-4=21)
Ari Grapple (1d20+2+2=12, 1d20+2+2=5, 1d20+2+2=20)
Ari Toughness (1d20+3=18, 1d20+3=5) Stunned Staggered. Go Go Hero point! Soul Cry DC 19
Spawn Toughness (1d20=16,  1d20=7, 1d20=19, 1d20=18, 1d20=4, 1d20=17, 1d20=4, 1d20=1,  1d20=16)

Asto: 1d20+2=4, 1d20+2=16, 1d20+2=21 DC 17 toughness
[Rolls were in chat]

Sam: 1d20+2=6, 1d20+2=18 DC 17 toughness
Toughness: http://orokos.com/roll/156899 well crap.
Sam went down like a sack of potatos instantly.

[Asto here]
Asto himself managed to get away with the blast. However... The wave extinguished Asto's fire immediatelly. He could feel fear. And pain. Loads of pain. So much pain, in fact, that as the fire died out, so did his consciousness as he fell down on the floor, out of his consciousness due to sheer pain spike that Ari's defiring action managed to do.

[reconvene around line 755]


Alisha - At the edge of her range of hearing. Something...

What was that she heard...she was still scared of the shadows. Normally she wouldn't be so worried, but the near-death expirience left her scarred.
[Assuming tt 11]

Whatever it was, it continued to move about in the shadows of her room, only the occasional sound and rattle letting her know it was still around. Moments passed, then something made a sound directly below her bed.

Notice: mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 1 +1 = 2
9:50 PM
mew77: O.o 9:50 PM
mew77: welp alisha's dead

Alisha couldn't sense any more danger. She remained curled up on her bed, but was starting to calm down.

Cue critter crawling up from the gap between the wall and the bed behind her and bitting her tail.
1d20+3=4
Or at least trying... this was turning into a comedy... the critter tried snapping at her waving fluffy tail.

Alisha squeaked as she felt something graze her tail and she dragged her tail up off the side of the bed.

The creature followed the tail it was chasing, scrabbling up the side of the bed, rasping at her.

Alisha yelped and futilely pawed at the creature in fear.
Attack: mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 9
Toughness DC 15

Alisha's swipe didn't really do anything aside from hit the pallet she was crouched on. The critter rasped and pulled most of it's three foot long body from underneath the bed and lunged at her.
1d20+3=6

Alisha was a little surprised that the creature didn't strike her at that moment. But she took the opportunity to strike again, her efforts were pathetic.
Attack: mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 2  ... O.o

It pulled the trailing length of it's tail up and snapped at her with it's jagged dentation filled four segment mouth, missing again.
1d20+3=10

Attack: mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 11 miss

Alisha slapped at it once more but again failed to hit it. Her only solace was that it missed too.

The critter launched itself at her, using it's tail for added power as it tried too grab unto her.
1d20+3=23
1d20+3-2=6 Grapple check
Str Check: mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 12

After fighting off the creature she screamed for help.

She shook the critter off, but since she didn't do anything else about it, it just righted itself and let out an unearthly sound. [DC 17 will save damage (limited stunned). If fail, she will feel the echoes of her injury]
Alisha Will: mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 3 Stunned. -1 toughness.
The cry seems to get into and under her mind and skin, and the healing wound suddenly didn't seem to be healing anymore and the pain came lancing back.

Alisha squeaked in pain once more and would dash out of her hospital room once she wasn't stunned. She bounded out of her room, squeaking in fear.
Notice: mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 16 +1 = 17

The hallway is darkened, aside from the still low lighting about ten feet either way. The creature rasped and followed her out. Quick! Move!

Alisha rushed down the hall. Many years ago during gymnastics she learned she moved faster on all fours...after further study, she learned that was due to how her muscles were arranged. Regardless this wasn't the time to think about such things and she darted down the hall to the left on all fours, only caring about getting away from the angry critter.
[Action: All out run Left...]

The creature chased after her, making good speed even through he clung to the walls rather than the foor. Just added to the creepy factor really. There were several other doors that she passed on the way, and she would be too distracted to notice other interesting things sadly. Up ahead the paths cross; and intersection of corriders. Three choices as the critter pursues. Continue, left or right.

mew77 asked Chatzy to choose between right, left and continue. Chatzy chose: continue
Also, she is running in near darkness since the motion sensor lights react too slow, leaving the lights coming on behind her, rather than with her.

Up ahead is a nurses station. It's oddly dark though. [roll perception or put an action]

Perception: mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 3 +1
Alisha rushed blinding into the nurse's station.

The nursed were slumped sleeping at their stations, not that she really noticed that. The spawn started to follow her in, but then stopped, hearing something she didn't, looking down the hallway. It rasped once then... left somehow. The effect was as if it were being sucked away by some force she couldn't see accompanied by a squelch.

Alisha found herself stuck, she dared not move out for fear that those bug things were still out there. She ended up cowering under the desk.

She knocked over one the nurses (hume female) and she fell of her chair and unto the ground.

There were footsteps. Not bug scratching, proper footsteps and a set of well polished and gleaming shoes with buckles that shined in the low lighting. "Hello lil'un," a familiar drawl said.

"Wha...who...you...", Alisha said kneeling. Her tail twitched in fear. She was cornered.

He crouched to he was closer to the girls eye level. "Ya don't 'ave de bes' mem'ry, do ya, lass?"

"I remember you...something about not getting on that train...I dunno your name...please don't hurt me.", Allie kneeled before him. The bug creatures were putting her on edge.

"Eh, lass, I ain't nobody fi ya to be wor's'ipping. And ye frien's need ya hand more dan ya know."

[mew]"What do you mean... I can't do anything about those bug creatures", Allie said standing up, her hospital gown was a mess. [/mew]

"B'fore ya write ya'self off, go en see if ye kainn't giv 'em a 'and," he said. "Jes tink a'boot 'elpin 'em reel 'ard like and see if ye kainn't touch a soul er two with ya own. Now scurry on down da hall ya should"

"But which way...the bug creature is out there.", Alisha said to him.

"Pay more atten'ion, lass. Da spawn lef' a while a'go. Ya'll really need'a get ya prior'ri'is right. Ya friends might jus' die if ya keep on da'ling."

With that Alisha rushed off on all fours towards the hall the man indicated. What did he mean by touch a soul with my own...a hand....what did that mean...

[Greycat]

http://freepdfhosting.com/8a929dd545.pdf



Poor nurse... totally ignored. Anyway, moving on. The door to the room was all scratched up from the outside and was open. Not that it was open to an encouraging sight. All three of her friends were limp on the ground. Sam was for some reason prone amidsts an unexplained mess of shattered glass [notice 15 for bleeding paws and ears] and had a bite wound on one leg.

Asto was half curled up, hands over his head, as still as the rest despite lacking any visible injuries aside from one bandaged wound around his gut. Ari already had strips of cloth, probably his missing shirt, bound and bloodied around three places, and was still bleeding out from another three messy looking wounds.

Notice: mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 11 +1 = 12

Alisha rushed over real quick she was not prepared for the sight and just about lost her lunch.
Fortitude
mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 14 +3

Touch a soul...touch a soul...what was she supposed to do about....well about this mess. She lay a hand on the closest one to her. Her hands pressed on Sam's body, she repeated what the old man said like a mantra. Slowly she could feel something...she didn't know what, but some sort of energy inside her.

Power Check: mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 18 +2 = 20 healing

And then she felt the connection...she felt oddly happy, the energy seemed to rejuvenate her. She focused on what the old man said, touch some one else's soul...She began pouring the energy into Sam, oddly Alisha could see slivers of pink energy leave her fingers and enter Sam, whereby the most amazing thing happened. Flesh and bone began to knit.

Heal Check: mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 15 +2 = 17
Sam is Stabilized.

Free recovery check at +2

[to expand a bit later
Greykit rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 8+3 = 11 1:07 AM
Still Dying, didn't die yet.]

[2 full round actions]

Shocked Alisha moved on to Ari. She repeated, trying to draw upon the feelings she had felt...always repeating that mantra, touch a soul, touch a soul...

Power check
mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 9 +2

She could feel the pink energy inside her, it felt nice..soothing in a way...kinda like a good hot bath.

Healing check: mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 7 +2
2:12 PM
Healing check: mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 19 +2

Free recovery check at +2
[Stabilize, anyway. You have to stabalize a dying character first.]

[3 full round actions]

Power check
mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 5 +2 = 7

She tried to repeat for Asto, but nothing...all she felt was fear...sadness...She tried again...
Power check
mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 8 +2 = 10

//is a 10 enough to attempt healing a third time?
//we can say she's gotten the hand of it for this encounter, so the the power check isn't needed.

Healing check: mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 18 +2

With slightly more ease, she forced the pink energy into Asto.

free recovery check at +2

[2 full actions]

Irbynx rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 20 11:19 AM +1 + 2//I know, I was looking up con ._.
Asto opened his eyes suddenly. It was like, getting forced out of a dream or something. And it didn't feel too good. His whole body hurt like hell, even though he barely got hit. Aside from this nasty wound getting opened again..He growled for a bit and tried to get up, "Alisha?" he simply asked, staring at her and then looking around and noticing Ari in the pool of blood, "Oh goddamnit..."

//okay then nyx sowwy

"It's okay...it's okay...there...", Alisha tried to say, her hospital gown now caked in blood, she was weary, but the pink energy bit gave her confidence...maybe things would be alright now. She wasn't too well herself, though fortunately she was in more danger of throwing up than passing out.

"What's okay?" Asto asked, looking around, "Everyone's having blood, and not inside but outside of them!"

"Most of it is inside...I dunno what exactly happened...met a old man...kinda like the one in the white train station...", Alisha didn't have the energy to explain fully, "Said to touch the soul...I ran....so much blood.*she almost threw up here*..energy...yes....pink...flowing from me to you three...seemed to heal you...*cough* guys..." She rested...too many words...too quickly.

"Huh... Maybe you should have some rest..." Asto muttered, "And where are these creepy crawlies? Were they here when you got here?" Asto managed to get up into a sitting position.

"None in this *cough* room...one in mine...it ran off...*cough* I wanna lie down...", Alisha lay down in a not blood caked portion of the room, on her back...panting...

Asto sighed. This wasn't good. Exploiting the moment, he decided to think. He was knocked out when Ari "screamed", he could remember that too clearly. The pain though... He felt the pain come from two sources - the one he could tolerate (his body), and horrible pain that seemed to come from the fire he conjured. Considering that he could feel it's emotions...

"Just don't jump up," Asto said and after a while of focusing, his Fire Sprite returned, "Huh, still alive, Burny" he muttered, feeling anxiety coming from the spire. Of course there will be anxiety. Getting extinguished is scary for a fire... And he needed to give him a better nickname.

Samantha groaned. Her left back foot spasming. "Uhhhh..." She coughed. "What the fuck happened...?"
//crude girl, isn't she?

"How are you doing that?", Alisha asked Asto.

"I have no idea..." Asto replied, "But he is cute, isn't he? Or is it she... I have no idea..." Burny remained silent on that matter as well.

Ari was still unconscious. Wakes up in a little while. Not now though. He did groan. Cause pain hurt.

"Not quite de wake up a' had expec'd ya lot to git," the by now familiar drawl commented from somewhere off to the side.

"Oh crap..." Samantha complained. "Mister confusing is back again."
//*points to prejudiced healing from squirrel*
//squirrel healed everyone though...

"What wake did you expect?" Asto asked.

"Aww do I have to wake up? I'm tired from running from demonspawn and now healing you guys...it's all a bit much to take in after...*yawn* almost dying.", Alisha said lying on her back.

"Nay for Asog's spawn ta be swarmin' round the clinc, fa one," he frowned. "Dey like dese places, but it ain' big enoug' to suppor' a 'festation dat size..." He looked around the room, evidently able to see something that they couldn't see.

"Lovely." Sam said asshe got to all fours. "I don't suppose we can just go out the fire escape to evade them either, huh?"

"Dey all left now. A' think yer frien' ere scar'd dem off," he said, focusing his attention back on them. "Ya should pro'lly check ta see if ye's gonna wake up."

"You do that Sam...I'm exhausted...", Alisha said.

Meanwhile, Asto already walked up to Ari and poked him. Burny followed him and floated over Ari's face, not too close enough to cause ignition, but Asto shood him away, and so, slightly disappointed sprite floated besides Asto.

Ari flinched and groaned a little, not quite waking up, still mostly on the south side of consciousness. The heat the little spark was giving off was making him a bit uncomfortable so it pulled him out of that bliss. "Ugh...."

"Heeeey, you are alive!" Asto said with a smile and poked him again. "C'mon, get up, creepy crawlies are gone"

Sam noded. "Fair enough." She said then thought. "Wait a second, what about all the damage that happened here?"

"Wel'en, dey sure gunna hav' a mys'ry to explain, ain't dey?"

"What's... going on..?" Ari slurred.

"Demons tried to eat our faces, Asto stopped them." Sam said and looked back to the guy. "If I was to look this up online, i wouldn't get anything in the slightest, would I?"

"Actually, Ari did most of the work," Asto confessed, crouching near Ari, "We are safe now. Eh... You remember the stuff that happened earlier, right, Ari?"

"Oh. Well that still doesn't change or anwser my question." Sam said, still looking at the mystery man.

"I found you all unconcious and dying...somehow I was able to heal you guys...but it was tiring...*yawn*", Alisha said.

"It hurts to remember..." Ari said, looknig around in a somewhat frantic manner as if he expected more of them to leap out of the shadows.

"Adour of Fire... Rapture of Song..." the man murmured. "Passion of Presence and Fervour of Life... Ha. Nae knew what dey were marking. Da lot of ya shoud be gettin back. Wid da spawn gone, de res a da people will be waking up now."

"So demon spawn attacked us and left the place in ruins and we got magic powers. Good to know. Wonder if we can get on the front page of the tabloids." Sam chuckled humourlessly. "Unless you can give us a reason not to tell everyone about this?"

"We won't need to explain that mess, yes?" Asto asked, "I don't want to see the director again..."

"I don't want to see anything but a hot tub in my future.", Alisha said, she remained lying down on the floor for the moment.

Old man just did his vanishing trick again. Ari swore, the fog having cleared in time to catch the last bits. "Why does he keep doing that!" he demanded then scowled. He did a bit of self assessment.

"Because he's trying to be as unhelpful as possible while still making it SEEM like he's doing something." Sam muttered. "I am so posting all this online and seeing if anyone else had a similar problem."

Asto looked around nervously, tail tapping on his leg, "Well, so far at least he said some mildly insightful stuff," Asto replied, shrugging, "It's better than what the creeps did to us, huh."

Ari would that his injuries, for the most part, were pretty much healed up. Fur was even grown back in. Which didn"t really make any sense. "Um... you said you healed people?" Ari asked, feeling absolutely stupid for saying that out loud. That wasnt the type of things people said after they pasted 12 and stopped playing pretend or was using alchemy.

"Somehow...pink energy...ack, don't ask", Alisha said, "I just want a nap."

"You know what... I'm going to sleep. If this is all a dream, it'll end. If it's not, I'll worry about it when I wake up," Ari complained. He started untying the bandages, looking more and more naked (especially to the other Taur in the room) as he removed all the bits of fabric he had on it. "Pits... I'll tell them I shredded it cause of a dream or something..." He hissed to himself and stalked off to the door.

"Should we follow him? Those things can still be out there...ack...", Alisha said, crawling onto her belly. She would follow later...after maybe some hot tea, a bagel...Alisha sighed.

"Sorry Burny, you'll have to go for now," Asto said, and felt that Burny felt a bit sad, "We'd have fun later, I promise!" he went on and followed Ari, since their bedrooms were nearby.
[stop sustaining power, duh.]


The Next Sunrise

It was... interesting. The staff really didn't have any explanation for the shattered windows all the other damage the attack in the night has caused. In the end, the public story was some complicated story about vandals and a toxin in the ventilation system that the center administration was going to look into with the full support of the local Guardians.

Of course, there was also the issue of the remarkable recovery the group made. What ever talent Alisha applied during the night had resulted in them healing a day ahead of what the healers scheduled. It was certainly something when they were allowed to leave. There were questions, of course.

[Ari] Stoic, surly, stubborn. He met every probe and question about the quick recovery and the shredded bloodstained clothes (only so much could be washed out) with a scowl and silence.

Sam got out of the bed and went through some basic streaches to test out if there was anything off in her body. She didn't feel anything out of the ordinary while she kept refreshing the details of her account over and over in her head. She was going to make a blog about this when she got home...

Alisha lay in bed, sometimes whimpering, sometimes tossing and turning before collapsing on the pillow again. She had this nightmare about hellspawn attacking her room in the hospital. She was scared, running for her life with monsters going after her. She didn't want to get out of bed, what if they were still out there. She was just a college student it wasn't like she could do a thing about it.

Asto on the other hand wasn't hurt as much as Ari, although he was still not in the most usual condition. So he had some questions for him, on which he, as he usually did, came up with a boring and unexciting story.

[they were released into the unsuspecting general public. woe be unto the unprepared.]

Ari, complete with a new shirt from the center's gift shop, decided to wait for Asto in the lobby rather than head back without him. If he'd been healed up and released, that would mean that Asto would be too. All that time spent scowling and being uncooperative mean that he'd gotten a lot of time to think. To think about the fact that last night really happened. Which was really, really distressing. He buried his face in his hands and smothered and internalized the scream he wanted to make.

[it's likely Sam would see Ari waiting.]

Asto walked up to Ari after a while of dealing with the stuff he needed to deal with to get out and noticed him in the hall. Huh, in the hands. Asto quickly walked up to Ari and said, "Hi," tilting his head, "You feel sad?"

Ari spread his fingers just enough so that he could peer out at Asto. "Confused. Scared and confused."

Asto sighed, figuring out that the thing yesterday happened wasn't a dream at all. "...so it actually happened, yeah?" he asked.

"I don't... I don't even know what I'm, we're suppose to do now..."

Asto's ears went down to his head and he sighed. That didn't sound too awesome indeed... He went on for a hug, hoping he won't embarass Ari this way, "We need to find the other one with weird healy wimey thing as a start, I guess"

Ari closed his eyes and swallowed the fears and uncertainties. Calm yourself Ari, don't lose it. "Yeah. But... you remeber were she lives?"

Asto shook his head, replying, "I can barely recall her name to be honest"

"Wasn't she our tutor for a class?" Ari said.

Asto's ears lowered. Sometimes he was just plain oblivious. Sometimes he played it, sometimes he enforced it. Couldn't help. In this case... "Eh... Still no clue. Nickname sticked, name didn't... Uh... Maybe we can find the room where she is at the moment?"

Ari looked back at the hallway that led deeper into the facility with a look that was closer to unease. "Honestly, I don't think I want to spend all that much more time here..."

"Sorry I'm late...", Alisha said, "I was just let out and those corridors are labryinthine."

"What's that thing people say? Call evil and it's comes?" Ari muttered.

"I think that's speak of the devil...", Alisha said.

"Same thing, either way," Ari grumped. He glared at Alisha without giving her much quarter. Might as well be blunt. "You remeber last night?"
//all my other characters are as much verbal weasels as they are cats lol. Might as well have one as smooth as sandpaper.

Asto stood at the side of taur, glancing at him and then at Alisha, twitching his ear, listening to the conversation.

"Sorta...still hoping it was just a nightmare.", Alisha said slowly.

Sam meanwhile was checked out and wasthankful that she had also seen Joseph leaving and that hewas okay. The skunktaur was happy to be rid of this place. She needed to make a blog about the events that happened to her and research whatever this was.

As she was heading home, she spotted the others and waved. "Hey guys." She said.

Sam threw Ari off balance and he somewhat lost the response he was going to give Alisha. But, it at least make his realize something. He aimed his scowl around the place before commenting. "I guess this isn't the best place to stay and chat..."

"Where do you think we should go then?", Alisha asked. She was concerned something else was up. That nightmare was so vivid.
//City crafting time, you people can suggest places too.

"Aren't you the Teritary school girl? Why are you asking me?" Ari wasn't impressed. Alisha was supposed to be the mature college going one and she was looking at the high schoolers for answers.

"Because I don't like being forced to make decisions, especially when I can't be sure what just happened was real...you try getting attacked by evil cthulu creatures and stay sane...oh wait you have!", Alisha was getting a little agitated by the proceedings. "But I guess we could all crash at my place.", she said.
//remind me to never let Alisha babysit lol

Ari growled and just got up and started walking to the door, thinking all sorts of unkind thoughts about Alisha and where she could shove it. At least she was hot. Mostly. He didn't really go for the two leggers though.
//Ari is my Jerk character. That and I haven;t fully gotten his character pinned down yet.

"So whatcha think...wanna regroup at my place...no sense in standing around here.", Alisha said to the group.

"And who knows where that is?" Ari snorted, rolling his eyes. "Wouldn't that be you?"

"I was just suggesting it, so is that a yes then?", Alisha said leading the way.

"Is it fireproof?" Asto asked, "Rather, is it dangerous to have open fires there?" He expected people to look funny on him. "...I just want to figure out what's up with that cute burny pal that I managed to call in yesterday"

"Not entirely fireproof no...maybe we should go to your place Asto, if you're concerned about that.", Alisha suggested.

"I was just going to go home and see if I can learn anything about what happened in the library possibly. There's bound to be something there." Sam chimed in.
//and were does Sam live?
//one of the dorms.

"Possibly, but I think it's best we stick together at least.", Alisha said to them.

"Then shouldn't we all go to the library?" Sam offered. "Personally, i'd rather find out what's going on and why this is happening before going to learn how to use it."

Asto sighed, "Do you really think that you'd find anything in library? We might try but that's so unlikely."

Ari had kept walking through all of their back and forth and was already through the door. If they were going to get all tried up about it, he would get head back to door and try to figure something out on his own. At least he got one thing worked out: they all remembered.

"It's worth a shot at least." Sam replied. "This can't be the first time something like this has happened. Besides, that conductor guy could show up in history at some point. Maybe he was a real person and took that job in the afterlife?"

"Or he's one of the people that died in The Previous Era," Asto added.

"Possible as well. Still, it's a lead and right now, it's the only one we got. I think it's worth a shot. Besides, we might also learn what's happening to us. It's possible that this has happened before. Near death experiences, cold water drowning and revivals, people comming back from the brink of death... maybe they're similar." Sam pressed. "If you want, I'll do most of the looking around. Just narrow down a list of thing for me to look AT." She said. In group projects, she was known in class as one of the best partners as she did the lion's share of the work.
//also, I did some research. The internet is going to be next to useless. At it's current development level, it's mostly cooperations and such that use it.
//fair enough. There's still books though.

"I should probably check on Ari...hope he's alright.", Alisha said to the gang.

"Wait, he ran away? Oh damnit..." Asto said and followed Alisha.

Seeing the others run off, Sam sighed. "I suppose I'll do it myself then." She said and left, half-heartedly following the others, but mostly wanting to go to the library to look for information.

[Ari walks a lonely road, the only one that he has ever known]

While the rest were still insisting on arguing about what to do, headed out to the streets, abandoning the bickerers. He was not in the mood to deal with them at the moment. (If ever). Blinking slightly as he pushed the door open, he hesitated. Maybe he should have hung around and decided where to do.

He scowled at himself for that and picked a random direction and started walking down the street, even if his steps and posture was strained. He... he was totally lost. Humes, taur, zoan, they were all just walking merrily along without a care in the world. For them, nothing changed. Nothing was different between yesterday and today for them. And yet, for him...

"GAHHH!" Ari yelled out suddenly and in frustration, vigourously rubbing his hands on his head and making a few people glance his way in surprise. The sound was slightly amplified and a few window got cracked, though he didn't notice it and kept on walking. Pits. What was he supposed to be doing? He couldn't... he didn't know...
Greykit rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 18, 7, 15
Greykit rolled a die with 20 sides for notice. The die showed: 9

Alisha walked down the street tailing Ari. She finally caught up to him when she heard a loud scream and caught him. "Whoah, you okay there Ari?", she asked him.

Ari glared at Alisha, which look rather out of place coming from a guy dressed in a somewhat cheery looking shirt they had gotten for him from the hospital gift store to replace the one he 'shredded' during the night. "Finally decided to get moving, did you?"

As Sam walked home, she had a brainwave. There was so much she could do and learn about this. she'd have to keep an eye out in the local papers... The person that shot them. He had to have been arrested. And the attack was likely to be in the newspapers by now. Or at least it would be soon. She'd also have to speak to a minister about this... Hopefully he might know something about demons and/or angels.

"Could have at least told us you'd be going," Asto said

"I had to track you down and everything"

"I did say it. You won't paying attention," Ari grumbled.

Sam passed the people as she walked. "See ya at home guys." She said and headed for the nearest temple for her first stop in her quest for knowledge.

Asto watched Sam just casually stroll by on her destination to somewhere. Probably library. "Who thinks she won't find anywhere there?" Asto asked as Sam passed on considerable distance away.

"I doubt she would...maybe somehwere in cults or ancient history, but aside from that I doubt it.", she said.

"She can go sniffing around if she wants to, good riddance," Ari grumbled. If she wanted to go dig around in the library, he wasn't gonna with her. "We should go to Kannel."
//history check! The Kannel Grove is the secluded park Asto normal uses to fire to stuff after Ari beat him up for setting fire to some of his stuff when he indulged in the room

"Good, I'd probably grab matchsticks some time on way there," Asto said and then facepawed, "Wait, I have Burny, I need no sticks."

"Do we really have to let him burn stuff again?", Alisha asked. Though she was happy, life was mostly returning to normal.

"You want to try stopping him?" Ari asked, already starting off. He found the easiest thing to do was just let Asto burn something them make him shove off before it got out of hand. Otherwise, he got all mopey.

Asto followed Ari as he started leaving, "You say this as if I burn something it'll be the end of the world," Asto replied, "It's not like I am 14 again when I burned everything in sight... Poor Ari's tail..."

"You're gonna get bitten again," Ari muttered.
[go go scene change]
[Also: roll notice
Greykit rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 10 Ari has prickling at the back of his neck
I̵̛͏r̵̶̡̧̛b̵͜͡y̧̢̡̢n̨̕͏x̢ rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 16+3 He would see things on the way. Shadows hanging around people, corners. Not many, but some.

Asto nervously looked around. Shadows. He would have blamed his imagination earlier. He isn't fully sane after all. But recent events changed it and he nervously poked Ari. "You seeing them?"

"See what?" Ari asked.

"These weird shadows from previous day," Asto replied, "I've seen them when all the bad stuff got to happen..."

Ari pulled up short, planting all four feet firming on the ground in surprise. The same things as yesterday? He whirled, looking around. He spotted three. On shape clinging to the wall of a building, about three floors up, near the roof, on a building across from the park, another hovering over a woman that was heading down the street, the third a fleeting glimpse he saw.
Greykit rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 16+2

"What odd shadows?", Alisha asked.
Perceptioning: mew77 rolled a die with 20 sides. The die showed: 18 +1 = 19
[She would see what Ari sees]

"Okay.... okay... okay...." Ari said uncertainly, taking mincing steps in no real direction, not sure how to react.

"Maybe we should follow Sam.", Alisha asked.

[Where Yellow Annoys m- I mean; Where Sam seeks Knowledge]

The haven was built in a way to promote harmony, like most were. While most buildings incorporated nature into them, the most lining the floors, creepers and so on. Havens were more often built, rather grown, using liberal applications of alchemy to direct the growth of the tree, branches and stems and trunks of a network root system, form the skeleton of the structure, dense growth between them along with standard building methods making the walls and roofing.

There were a few people inside, regular folk just having some quiet discourse in the main hall.

Sam walked up quietly. She had been to Havens sevral times before and had the list of things to ask and propose formulating in her head. Most of it boiled down to the age old questions of 'where do we go when we die,' 'is there really light at the end of a tunnel' 'if we do bad things, will we be punished for them at the end of the line' and others of a similar vein.

((Gather information check if Grey would honestly rather skip this: http://orokos.com/roll/171121 18))

The Mentor, an aging hume with brown skin and salt and pepper curled hair, was seeing to the gardens in the alcove, where the roof and walls made something of a minature green house, the sunlight filtering though the glass brightly, the dust motes tumbling weightlessly in the air, disturbed only by the slight breeze that the structure encouraged to flow through it, the air pleasantly perfumed with the aroma from the flowers that he was gently pruning.

Sam took a moment to admire the scenery. Besides, the Mentor seemed to be busy tendig to the plants. She could wait. This wasn't anything she urgently had to find out. She took several breaths to steady herself and organize her thoughts.

After a few moments, the Mentor looked up, inhaling with satisfaction. He set the watering can in a nook cleverly hidden in the wall and turned, giving Sam a small smile. "Your patience is appreaciated. How are you today?"

Sam returned the smile. "Well I've been better." She said truthfully. "Things have been happening around me that I can't explain and they're not the good kind of unexplainable things." Sam sighed.

"I see. Shall we discuss this over some tea?"

"I'd like that, thanks." Sam replied happily.

"Excellent. I have several bushes leafing at the moment. The season has been good to them. My enclove is just down this corrider, if you don't mind waiting for me to pick a few choice leaves."

"Take as long as you need." Sam smiled.

"Then you head ahead."

Sam lead the way, going down the corrider, tail low and swishing back and forth with her steps as she walked in silence, still orginizing her thoughts. She'd keep the others out of this. at least for now. If it was brought up somehow, she'd mention it. Still, she wouldn't lie about anything.

The Mentor smiled and held back long enough to select a few choice leaves from one of the plants he was just watering, making sure to pluck ones that seems to be at peak flavour as well as from places that wouldn't damage the herb's growth. He followed her a short while later.

The enclove was nicely, if somewhat sparsely furnished. A table to work at, shelves with some books and resources to reference. They was also a little niche with a sink sitting above a cupboard with a small countertop, water fixtures and a mirrored cabinet above it. He opened the cabinet and pulled out a kettle and a filled with with water, setting it to boil. "So, what would you like to discuss?"

"Well, I dunno if you heard about this yet, but there was a shootout at a diner a little while ago. Yesterday in fact. I was one of the victems..." Sam said, shuddering as she remembered the pain of getting hit and rubbed the spot when she did get hit. "As terrible as it was though, that's not what brought me here. That comes when I was taken... somewhere else..." She said as she retold the events at the 'station' with the 'trainman' and the 'train'.

"I see. It's ont uncommon for someone critically injured to see visions."

"Understanable, but it seemed so real at the time. And it mostly made sense. Usually dreams and stuff like that would be chaotic, right?" Sam paused. "And that's not it. The 'trainman' followed me to this world. He gave me some advice on how to deal with some... Bugs." She shuddered. "I hate bugs. but these things were huge! Like the size of my head and icky, but he showed up and told me how to fight them off. He even aid something about 'the hospital staff will need to explain it' since there was a bit of damage as well."

"Hmm... If I could propose something. A life threatening injury like that, a horrifying situation as you were in, so much in such a short time," he poured the bubbling water into a pot and dropped the leaves in to steep. "Maybe all that stress, confusing facts with fiction, a dream messing with the actual events."

"It is possible yes." Sam said, slightly unsure of all the events as well as him dodging the question of how the real world was affected by the bugs. Or was that just her mising something? She really did want to keep the others out of this. "Another thing I've been wondering about... Can you think of any reason as to why someone would do something like that?"

"Do what? Attack a family restaurant? Vandalism a center? Child, if people knew that, they would be able to stop all crime. Some people just give in to those impulses. It's why we teach and encourage self control and temperance."

"I guess so, yeah. Maybe I'm just over reacting." Sam said. "Still, thanks for the help. It's putting my mind at ease."

"It's what we I am here for," he said easily, giving her the tea.

Samantha accepted the tea with a nod, lettingthe warmth radiate through the cup to her fingers as she sniffed its lovely fragrance.


[[Going with Havens as the verse name for churches/temples/sanctuaries/monsetaries etc. Haven's of thought and reflection, Nature and Balance.

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