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+---- Thread: [PQ+] ready or not (/showthread.php?tid=10825)
RE: ready or not - Maea - 03-09-2025
Calling out the moment she spotted the wriggly creature that was Thalassa, Maea cawed in triumph. Allowing herself a moment of smugness, she took off as the new countdown began.
Now, where might she be able to hide? The tiger was too big, and anything that burned was, as showen here, impractical. Her hair was too easily spotted, and technically so was the crow. But at least that was smäller than the rest.
Choosing to dart in among the merchant stalls, she found one selling woolen blankets and piles of fleece; she did her best to tuck herself as deep into the fluff as possible while still able to breathe, and settled in to wait.
----
Maea stays a gorecrow and tries to hide in a pile of wool, among the merchants stalls.
RE: ready or not - Thalassa - 03-09-2025
Well, that sucked.
As she slithered her way through the bush, she encountered an extra-large stick that lay in her path, blocking any further progress. Because of that and being hunted, she wasn't able to hide fast enough to avoid Maea's avian eyes. A caw and a smug Ancient appearing before her were enough to let her know that she'd been spotted.
Sighing with annoyance, Thal shifted back to her Ancient form, trying not to let the loss sour her mood too much. However, as she counted, she thought of all the ways Maea was going to rub this in her face later. By the time she finished, her eyes were burning with a vengeance. A flick of her wrist sent a ring of fire around her as she walked through the village. Her eyes scanned for tracks or signs of people hiding while her magic would let her know if any invisible participants managed to make it into her vicinity.
---
Thalassa uses her fire magic to scan for invisible people while looking for tracks or clues.
RE: ready or not - Melita - 03-09-2025
The dispersal was quiet at first. Melita scurried up the tree as if she’d been born to it, unlike last time, and willed her breathing to a low, steady sound. Her companions were elsewhere, settled upon the base bench until she needed them otherwise, taking in a nice nap in the sun.
Then it all seemed to unravel from there. Alys kept her illusion and air magic in use, but either due to error, too much concentration on one or the other, the footprints were left behind, angling and inching their way in the direction she sought behind buildings and outcroppings.
Maea too, seemed content at first until the Fae merchant lifted the wool to sell, and unearthed the gore crow. With a massive shriek by the seller and the buyer, the former started hurtling insults rapidly. [say]”Out! Get out of here!”[/say] and shook at the materials, intending to send the Ancient flying.
Which meant Thalassa would have her fair share of places to seek out – traversing after Alys’s tracks, the Honeybee’s silence, or Maea’s ill-timed fleece pursuits.
In the interim, Melita remained low and still; watching, waiting, hoping for distractions so she might flee and race to the base again.
--
[say]Melita has shown no signs of her location. Alys and Maea unfortunately have given off signs of where they could be, and Thalassa can try and track either.
Your character must decide on whether to move, remain, and whatever other antics they want to do to conceal/hide/run to the base. Thalassa must post last.
Points:
Thalassa: 0
Maea: 1
Alys: 1
Melita: 1[/say]
RE: ready or not - Alys - 03-09-2025
Alys was feeling rather good about herself, concealed with her illusions amongst the little Fae buildings - that is, until she looked out over the field of play to find footprints leading right to her. Cursing her luck - and apparent misuse of magic - she hurriedly departed from her hiding spot, utilizing her air with renewed concentration to hide her steps behind herself.
She considered a new hiding spot, but then thought she might have better luck if she stayed on the move. Perhaps, if she concentrated on staying hidden and making her way back to base, she would avoid discovery. As a result, she angled herself back towards the bench in the distance, slowly sneaking from one tree to another and peering out in an attempt to avoid being seen.
—-
Rinse and repeat - Alys uses illusion magic to stay invisible, air magic to hide her tracks, and tries to head back towards base.
RE: ready or not - Maea - 03-09-2025
Hissing and snapping her beak after the sellers fingers, Maea's only real concern about being ousted from her hiding place was the racket they were making. Rather than taking flight and thus giving away her location immediately, she tumbled to the ground, landed on her feet and scurried off to the next stall.
This one sold arrows, and bows, and other archery equipment. There wasn't really anything to blend in with, but she ducked in behind a stack of empty crates all the same, tiny bird heart hammering with excitement; had she been spotted? Would the game go on? Shuffling feet nearby had her ruffle her feathers warmly, but it was only the shop keep; they didn't appear to have noticed her yet. Good.
-----
Maea drops to the ground and scurries over to the next stall, attempting to hide again behind a stack of empty crates.
RE: ready or not - Thalassa - 03-09-2025
As she walked through the village, Thal's eyes spotted a trailing of footsteps off to the back of the buildings. She immediately went to follow them, scanning the ground for more tracks so she might catch whoever was hiding there. However, as she stepped to pursue them, a loud shout from nearby drew her attention. Her head whipped around to see where it had come from, noticing a merchant swatting at something in her stall.
A wicked grin spread across her face as she changed courses towards the commotion. Her fire lingered around her, but she diminished it to weave through the various vendors, keeping her eyes peeled for what may have aggravated the woman.
---
Thalassa searches the stalls!
RE: ready or not - Melita - 03-10-2025
What goes up must come down, or something of that nature. Regardless, any luck that had prevailed from the last round diminished entirely, save for one.
Melita’s undisturbed moments came to a grinding halt as a bird, typical of forests and trees, landed precariously upon her head. Shocked and befuddled, the Honeybee gave out some ridiculous screech, and then found herself making a shit ton of noise from the canopy, until she could quiet down and scurry away, down to the depths of the ground – but gods, the damage had been done.
Alys too, would find herself the victim of a root sticking up from the ground around the back buildings – another common occurrence in a world inhabited almost entirely by wood. Tripping and falling would leave her susceptible, and nowhere closer to the base either.
Poor Maea ’s scurrying would cause a great lapse in judgment, and as talons went for empty crates, the vessels ended up scattering around, causing a great racket – which meant Thalassa would be able to locate her prey rather seamlessly.
Except for the merchants, who weren’t impressed by any of the fire around them. [say]Get away from my wares![/say] caused a general outcry, as several more began to hiss and wave their hands in swooshing motions to the Ancient, which might ultimately buy Melita and Alys time, but not Maea.
Striving to make the most of her error, the Honeybee kept her invisibility up, making to dash towards the base.
--
[say]Absolutely atrocious rolls means Melita has made a ridiculous amount of noise, Alys has tripped, and Maea has unsettled the merchant stalls. Maea has unfortunately been found. Thalassa, however, due to her use of fire, has upset the merchants.
Melita is now heading towards the base using her invisibility.
Your character must decide whether to move, remain, or whatever other antics they want to do to conceal/hide/run to the base. Thalassa must post last.
Points:
Thalassa: 1
Maea: 1
Alys: 1
Melita: 1[/say]
RE: ready or not - Alys - 03-10-2025
Alys felt things were going well. She’d yet to be found, and she was getting to practice her magical abilities, which was desperately needed. Now, in this second round, she was on her way back to base, still hidden, and everything was going -
A tree root appeared suddenly, and she tripped, sprawling out across the forest floor with a curse. Her illusion flickered for a moment, her concentration broken, but she reinforced the magic quickly, hoping that she hadn’t been seen. Scrambling to her feet - and trying not to make noise in the process - Alys looked around surreptitiously, glad that she’d been invisible for that particular moment. How embarrassing.
In any case, she gathered herself, taking a deep breath, and set off once more towards the base, illusion reinforced and air magic clearing the steps behind her.
—-
Alys trips, gets up, and continues towards base, keeping her illusion and air magic going.
RE: ready or not - Maea - 03-10-2025
Oh, karma, what a swift and unforgiving mistress. It punished Maea for even a moment of smugness and made sure that she didn't last a moment longer than Thalassa had. Once caught fleeing the scattering crates and darting out of the way of irate fae shopkeepers, she flapped glumly back to the base and settled on a bench to wait for the turn to end.
Shifting back to the petite albino woman, she sulked quietly with chin in hand, reflecting on the swift ups and downs of life. This morning she had been sure she'd never hold a conversation with Melita again. Now they were playing games like Maea had never been shot. At some point this would all make sense, she was sure, but right now..?
Again she sighed, resigning herself to wait.
‐-----
Maea returned to base, waiting for the next round.
RE: ready or not - Thalassa - 03-10-2025
Spotting the white gore crow, she gave a teasing grin, her frustrations lessening at finding Maea. However, despite her victory, shouts and calls from nearby vendors had her ducking out to avoid their ire. She'd diminished her flames, but apparently hadn't been enough. Thal grumbled a half-apology, putting out any fires that may have caught.
When she made her way out, she had plenty of leads to follow. A loud, suspicious sounds came from nearby, but a puff of dirt from the tracks she'd found earlier was what ultimately enticed her. Like a woman on a mission, Thal quickened her pace, a low tendril of fire reaching forth to look for invisible people.
---
Thalassa pursues the tracks/sound behind the buildings (Alys).
RE: ready or not - Melita - 03-10-2025
And just like that, another round concluded in a fast and furious pitch.
Melita’s speed, and lack of Thalassa pursuing her, meant she was able to get back to the base, materializing close to Maea without a sound. The smug grin was simply an accessory.
Alys and Thalassa were another story entirely – and quite an intriguing thing to see. Where the Abandoned had been mastering the enchantments, most of the time, they seemed to falter in the state of the Ancient’s puffs of smoke, whirling around the outline of the Seer before she could scamper off to the bench. Alas, seen.
Which meant it was time for another round. [say]“You’re up, Alys!” [/say]Melita hollered, then disappeared again, leaving them all to find other hiding spots – changing it up and not going for a tree, but scurrying towards the merchants, opting to risk ire.
--
[say]Melita has made it safely back to base, while Thalassa has found Alys!
This calls for a new round! Alys must post last.
Options for hiding spots this round are:
- By the angry merchants still putting out small fires
- Chicken coop
- Shockingly, trees and/or bushes
Points:
Thalassa: 2
Maea: 1
Alys: 1
Melita: 2[/say]
RE: ready or not - Maea - 03-10-2025
As the third round commenced, Maea fell back on her Gore Crow shift once more, being the more practical of her options. With her failure among the stalls in fresh memory she headed upwards this time around, opting for a more natural hiding spot among the branches and nooks of the towering trees.
The main point was to hide her white plumage that would prick eyes like a thumb had been shoved into them. Searching for a hole or crevice large enough to fit her, Maea eventually settled down in the bowl-shaped hollow between two branches and huddled down as much as she could. From below she was well hidden, though from above she'd look like a pile of snow - or a dead chicken - among the branches.
Figuring a loss was the worst outcome if the failed, she once more settled in to wait.
-----
Maea shifts to the Gore Crow and head for the trees, hiding in a hollow between two branches
RE: ready or not - Thalassa - 03-10-2025
She caught the outline of Alys through the smoke, chuckling lightly at her luck. But as they reset for the next round, Thal wondered if her good fortune would last. Alys was seeking, and there was a starting pattern where the last seeker got found first (okay, it was one instance, but that still made her more cautious than cocky).
As the seer counted, Thal scan for her next hiding spot. She decided against shifting again, since that hadn't really worked out well for her last time. Her other options were a chicken coop, and the market she'd somehow still left in flames. Quite certain that the shopkeepers would help her get caught more than stay hidden, she made for the chickens; however, she wasn't going unprepared. On her way past the trees and bushes, Thal lit a small fire that might draw the attention away from her hiding spot.
---
Thalassa starts a small fire in the trees while she hides near the chicken coop.
RE: ready or not - Alys - 03-11-2025
Alys wasn’t sure what had happened. One moment, she was invisible, and the next, smoke had swirled around her, highlighting her petite form and allowing the seeker to find her. Disappointed, and already thinking of ways to potentially counteract such things in future, Alys made her way back to base, where she closed her eyes and began to count.
When she’d hit 100, she opened her eyes and began to seek. Her first instinct was to scan her surroundings, but she also knew that her eyes weren’t the only weapon in her arsenal. She reached for her magic, calling upon the emotional telepathy she possessed and tried to hone in on a particular set of emotions, following them towards the source.
—-
Alys tries to sense the others’ emotions, using that to track them.