+- Court of the Fallen (https://cotf-rpg.com)
+-- Forum: Out of Character (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=26)
+--- Forum: Important (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=27)
+---- Forum: Archives (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=38)
+---- Thread: [SE] devils in the canyon (/showthread.php?tid=10321)
Pages:
1
2
devils in the canyon - Flora - 11-03-2024
Despite the fact that Jack had said he never wanted to fly the Ark back into Halo...here they were.
Moored somewhere in a haze of white mist, the captain was off doing Captain Things, leaving Flora to her own devices. Not one to remain in solely her own company for very long, the Doubletake had gotten dressed and wandered out of Jack's cabin to see if she couldn't stir some drama up among the crew, when a flash of orange caught her eye. Peering over the railing the queen spied what she was sure was Melita's companion rolling away in the snow, though before she could get a good look at it, it was swallowed up by thick mist.
[say]"Shit,"[/say] Flora muttered as she made a beeline for the upper deck, thinking that Melita's mischievous companion had managed to wander off.
[say]"MEL—your..."[/say] Finding the Honeybee, the queen's words died on her tongue to see Fanghorn rolling about at the demigod's side. [say]"Oh. Huh."[/say]
RE: devils in the canyon - Melita - 11-04-2024
Melita couldn’t decide how she felt about Halo. Cold, but charming in its own way. But then still cold. But rather than shivering as they flew over the aspects of the land, she’d dug in deep for parkas, scarves, and thick mittens, determined that she couldn’t be beaten by a land.
And of course, Leafchange meant Fangorn season.
At Flora’s abrupt call, the smuggler glanced over to the Queen, brow arching, until she leaned over and saw the cluster of gourd allies and friends. Obviously not of the keen, wise, and stalwart personality of her own beloved companion, but she couldn’t help but be fond of the cretins. Shrugging her shoulders, she pondered over weapons, wondering if they’d have to maul the little guys. [say]“Yeah, Leafchange seems to bring ‘em out everywhere.”[/say] She placed Fangorn on the edge of the wood, so he could lean down and wave with his vines to his fellow demons. [say]“Did I ever tell you about the Punking?”[/say] A Cheshire grin flickered right over the depths of her features, before placing the pumpkin down on the deck.
RE: devils in the canyon - Flora - 11-04-2024
[say]"Sorry, I panicked and thought Fangorn got down somehow."[/say] Flora explains, huffing out a breath of relief that saw a small cloud forming before her lips. Making her way properly over, the queen's gaze flit between the vampire gourd perched on the railing and those she could make out through the mist below, in an attempt to see if there was anything about him that she could have recognized as being distinct from the others.
[say]"The what."[/say] Widening her eyes in exaggerated surprise that quickly became genuine the more the words pun-king echoed in her mind, Flora gave her head a shake as she turned to properly face the Honeybee. Leaning against the railing to give Melita her undivided attention, she nodded for her friend to say more things.
RE: devils in the canyon - Melita - 11-05-2024
[say]“All good,”[/say] Melita shrugged, entirely unbothered. She was grateful Flora had even been on the lookout; and though her beloved companion was arguably the wisest of her demigod trio, that didn’t mean he couldn’t get hurt or lost or wandered off somewhere. She watched some other movements through the mist, listening to the distant rumblings. Fangorn called out to his fellow brethren with a wave of vines and a few responding grumbles, but otherwise it seemed relatively decent below. If a little fuckin cold. [say]“Maybe they’ll all freeze to death,”[/say] she considered.
But then it was story time, and her golden eyes became nearly luminous with all the Cheshire fancies. [say]“The Punking. Our first years in Caido were reallllly interesting – but anyway, giant ass vampire gourd.”[/say] She expanded her arms to indicate the enormity of it all, even if her span would never truly encompass the gigantic creature. [say]“We had to stop it from getting into the Greatwood and spreading the Blight.”[/say] The memories conjured, though nearly disastrous for some, had been a highlight of her ventures, and she cackled with delight. [say]“Your father flew me around as a lion, while I shot arrows at it. Rexanna was almost squished, but we made it out all right.”[/say] And the plague hadn’t spread – unlike whatever infectious shit was still going on here.
RE: devils in the canyon - Flora - 11-06-2024
[say]"I've never seen them before."[/say] Flora murmurs, also squinting down into the mist. [say]"Or, well.."[/say] Glancing at Fangorn and his waving vines, the Doubletake smirks. [say]"Present company excluded. Are they all like him?"[/say] Which was to say harmless if not a bit troublesome?
Gauging simply by the way that Melita's eyes had all but lit up from the inside, Flora was sure the story she was about to hear was a good one, but as the Honeybee spread her arms in an attempt to convey the type of scale they were talking about, Flora's mouth dropped comically open. [say]"Shut up."[/say] Imagining something impossibly large with eyes the size of houses, mention of her father--Remi presumably--had the Doubletake merely sniffing. They still weren't on speaking terms, but she wasn't about to let that ruin Mel's epic tale. [say]"Rexanna?"[/say] Lifting her brows and giving her head a little shake to indicate she didn't know who that was, Flora glanced surreptitiously over the side of the Ark as if expecting to see some vast critter rolling out of the mist.
[say]"Just all in a day's work, huh?"[/say] Laughing, movement caught Flora's attention out of the corner of her eye, as she glanced back overboard expecting to see vaguely orange and cream shapes below, she was instead treated to a cluster of dark round shapes hovering in the mist. [say]"Uhhh. Is that...normal? for them to do?"[/say]
RE: devils in the canyon - Melita - 11-06-2024
[say]“Fangorn is the best,”[/say] she designated with a Cheshire grin again; would’ve been all teeth and fangs had she encompassed the latter. [say]“But more or less irritating as fuck, yeah. They like to gnaw on ankles, that sort of nonsense.”[/say] Her own gourd waved his vines around in protest; given his proclivity to save her ass on any given day, yeah, present company excluded – she reached into her pocket to give him, and Sila, a piece of jerky for the troubles.
The inquiry over Rexanna had her remembering, and realizing sometimes, that Flora had only been born well after the former Grounds Queen had long since perished. [say]“Oh. She was a ruler of the Hollowed Grounds for a time. Really nice.”[/say] Motherly. Kind. Forgiving. Regal. There’d been no need to utter Ascended or how she’d died; the tragedy only seemed to linger in vivid memories of those who’d bore witness to the terrible and defiant LongNights – all different now from the past. No doubt Remi could see her if he wished – making Melita wonder if that was a gift or a curse.
Shrugging the motions off her shoulders entirely, she rapped her knuckles against the wooden deck, nodding along. [say]“The usual,”[/say] well before hunting monsters had simply become happenstance and common. Her eyes roamed down to where Flora stared though, catching sight of the…well, hovering masses. [say]“Uhhhh no.”[/say] She peered at Fangorn for a moment, but the gourd simply grumbled and rumbled. [say]“Maybe they’re adapting and shit.” [/say]
RE: devils in the canyon - Flora - 11-10-2024
Grinning at the special (read: mildly chaotic) affection that passed between Melita and her companions, Flora chuckled under her breath, suddenly very much aware of the fact that her own companion wasn't with her. Spice preferred to remain at the bar where compliments were as plentiful as scraps of food.
[say]"Oh."[/say] Flora murmured, perhaps a touch indifferently. History wasn't her strong suit, and knowing nothing of the ties the former queen had to her family or even to Melita, she offered up little more than a shrug and small smile. [say]"I mean, all of that sounds so cool, though."[/say] She says, of the Punking and the way they'd all managed to take it down. [say]"Shame all the fights that seem to happen lately are the trauma-causing kind, y'know?"[/say] It was perhaps a crass thing to say, but gods, it'd been a while since there had been interesting things to fight, and not just ones hellbent on destroying their lives.
[say]"Oh. Well isn't that nice for them."[/say] Frowning, her eyes still narrowed to see through the mist, a Cheshire smile begins to tug at Flora's lips. [say]"Hey. How mad do you think Deimos would be if we fired the cannons down at them?"[/say]
RE: devils in the canyon - Melita - 11-11-2024
Thinking back, she tapped on her chin, then scratched the top of Fangorn’s head. [say]“I mean – to be fair – we had some fights that were really, really bad. I’m sure you heard about the mud one at the Fiat Lux before.”[/say] Deluges of absolute catastrophe for bystanders and fighters alike, with heartbreaking and unsettling loss, especially amidst Flora’s own family. Melita hadn’t been so bothered by recent war-time events like the giant roaming through Torchline, but she also hadn’t been witness to Enzo’s devastating demise. Maybe it was all relative in the end…but they hadn’t had it easy in the past.
Leaving that out there, her gaze drifted back to the beasts below, in swirls of fog, mist, and grumbles. The indication left by Flora already had her glancing towards the cannons, the sentiments of her grin unfurling again. [say]“We’d be doing him a favor, right? Can’t imagine he’d like all of these monsters roaming out there.”[/say] Not that they were much of a threat to begin with. Plus – if they missed, what were they going to hit? More fucking snow? Batting her eyelashes back at Flora though, they did have to mire around one portion of politics; and mostly on pretense, because Melita didn't care. It could certainly affect the Doubletake though. [say]“Do I have the Queen’s permission?”[/say]
RE: devils in the canyon - Flora - 11-12-2024
Swallowing, Flora nods. [say]"Yeah...that's the one that killed Aoife, I think."[/say] She murmurs, despite knowing that it was. For some the idea of a giant mudball rolling through was probably humorous, but of course know what she did, it only made Flora frown. Was the same true for the Punking?
[say]"I mean, I think we would be. Besides...there totally could be some frost giant down there that we're trying to scare off."[/say] Flora adds, the implication of course being that'd be what they told Deimos if he didn't buy the floating Vampire Gourd narrative. Really, they should have been worried about Jack's reaction, but as the captain wasn't on board, that basically put she and Melita in charge, right?
Right?
Bouncing her eyebrows in response, Flora grins and bounces lightly on her feet. [say]"Oh you absolutely do."[/say] Planning to position herself behind Melita should any of the Ark's other crew decide to come over and try and stop them—they'd find themselves having to go through Jack's first mate to do so (
RE: devils in the canyon - Melita - 11-13-2024
Melita confirmed the sentiment with a single nod, and let the topic dissipate. No need to resurface and tear apart all those old wounds, even for ones Flora never saw; she’d likely felt it within her household, regardless.
Frost giants were more amusing anyway, and the menacing smile thereafter wove her chaotic contentment for the world to see again. [say]“Very true.”[/say] And of course, she had zero issue with doing something without Jack’s permission, considering she’d rarely entertained or asked for it before. She figured the Captain was used to it.
With the extension of her Queen granted, Melita slid easily towards the cannons, patting her favorite one as she loaded it up. After a few moments, she steadied her gaze upon the bizarre pumpkin snowman (it would’ve been cute if Fangorn had done it with friends, but out here? What?), maneuvering the bulky armament until she was certain, with adequate timing, she’d be able to blast the bitches away. Then she pulled the switch, and it fired down into the sanction.
RE: devils in the canyon - Flora - 11-16-2024
Having utterly no idea how cannons were loaded or fired, Flora stood to the side and let Melita do what she did best. None of the other crew did more than glance over their shoulders toward the pair, and in fact the majority of them found things to do on the other side of the ship as if already wanting to distance themselves from the mischief about to take place.
The crack of the cannon was impressive as it gave a might belch and spit Melita's cannonball hurtling below. Rather ominously, the mist seemed to swallow up the sound once it left the Ark, such that despite the initial boom, for a few seconds there was nothing; it was long enough for Flora to wonder if somehow the Honeybee's magic had sent the ball into some other dimension. Ahh, but then the screams of exploded gourds came ringing up from below.
At first it was a hollow whining sound before snarls and growls of anger and upset followed. Then, through the mists, came dozens of furious eyes, rising up: possessed vampire gourds covered in the innards of their companions.
RE: devils in the canyon - Melita - 11-17-2024
For a moment, in the hovering silence, Melita was also stunned. She hadn’t done anything different, and her wild magic hadn’t been unleashed. She even thought to briefly glance Flora’s way with an askance arch of her brow and sheepish shrug; but then the answering wails were enough to have her peering over the railing. Fangorn screeched down to them, content.
[say]“Hm. Might’ve made it worse,”[/say] she admitted. The dozens of furious little eyes, though very out of reach towards the Ark, still gave the Honeybee a mutinous and seditious fervency. [say]“I can shoot at them with the cannons again,”[/say] she offered, for she always would in any armament capacity. [say]“Or use my arrows.”[/say] She’d leave the decision up to the Queen – though her accuracy would likely prevail more to the bow.
RE: devils in the canyon - Flora - 11-19-2024
[say]"Uhhh.."[/say] Frowning, though it was more of a comical gesture than one of dissatisfaction or disapproval, Flora marks the various eyes that rise ominously up out of the mists, trying and failing to gauge just how many gourds might be on their way up.
[say]"I mean, I sort of love anytime you get to use the cannons."[/say] The Doubletake admits with a crooked smile, her eyebrows bouncing up beneath the curtain of her bangs for a moment before turning back. Very likely Jack had heard the cannons go off from wherever he was, but regardless, he would be too far away to do anything about it. [say]"Maybe just...
Accuracy was one thing, but cannons were another, and gods knew the Ark did not make use of them quite as often as Flora thought that she should.
RE: devils in the canyon - Melita - 11-20-2024
Needing no other provocation, Melita glanced over the rail again, and started adjusting the cannon. [say]“Okay. Maybe it’ll just blast them to pieces.”[/say] Or they were looking at a weird hydra vampire gourd situation, which, while not ideal, still sounded kinda funny
With the rest of the crew clearly avoiding them because a. they knew better, b. Jack would be pissy, or c. all of the above, the Honeybee readied the armament, before firing it off down towards the possessed little demons again. There was another loud boom barely echoing off the mist, and this time, when leaning over, she didn’t see any others meandering or crawling upwards on their bizarre bullshit. [say]“Think we got ‘em all?”[/say]