[SE] a maze of unmapped ideas

Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins

“It’s actually really pretty out here,” she mentioned, mostly to herself, out of surprise as they drifted amidst the ice – the frozen sea, the spiderweb of sheets clinging to one another. She'd been expecting something else - hardened, old, teeth-clenching. Her brow arched at the skeleton protruding nearby, but she’d heard enough stories to not have to listen to any explanation on that one – just seemed odd to see the prehistoric beast in the flesh, er bone.

She’d long since stolen more of his sweaters and jackets, layered again in downy mittens and an immensely large hat that covered most of her head, save for her crimson hair that billowed out from underneath anyway. The snow pants slowed her down, but not wholly significantly, through boundless determination and spite.

The shrine in the distance wasn’t much of a surprise either, but she knew Ludo would hate it. “I’m gonna drop some offerings, and then we can hunt?” Knowing their luck, something would emerge nearby anyway. Shit always did.

Melita

ISKRA

"Yeah, it is," he says in response, though his gaze has been steadily trained on her for most of their recent walk, mainly because she looks fucking ridiculous again. Now that it's even colder than before, she looks like a balloon animal come to life with all the padding from her layers. It's a wonder she can even walk, but she manages, she always does.

Goose meanwhile, is ecstatic with their choice of location and the season change. He gallops along beside them, darting ahead just to burn out in the snow and then dash back, a growled bark tossed by in passing as he flounders around behind them among the ice. On one such drive bys he leaps over Fangorn, trying to tempt the gourd into giving chase.

Iskra's new axe is slung over his shoulder, held there by his arm as they meander across the open expanse of frost, the occasional squall cutting across with fierce intensity that he does his best to block with his body to keep it from cutting across Melita, lest she blow away with all her sails of clothing. "No rush," he reassures, though he can't deny a little excitement at being out here with her doing something that feels like it matters.

I think I lost my mind a while ago
'Cause I've been seeing some ghosts
And I'd be lying if I told you I'm fine, but I lie

Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins

Fangorn and Sila seemed less than inclined to join Goose; far too used to their comforts of Torchline as well. Eventually the gourd bit though, eyes rolling as he waved his vines, then bobbed around on the snow. The dragon took more to Melita’s shoulder, and together they well, didn’t leap nor press very elegantly, as the Honeybee would’ve done in any other element. More than once she tripped with the large boots, hissing and cursing under her breath as she righted herself before either of them went headlong.

Making sure not to look back at Iskra, because she was certain he’d be laughing, her nose wrinkled, determination, diligence, and defiance set in her pace, as she stomped her way over to the shrine. Even when squalls whipped around, she put her face down to its cold, unrelenting inhibitions, bristling under the surface of too many sweaters, coats, and mittens.

All the baubles and bubbles were entrancing, and despite the inclination, she didn’t reach over and see if she could pop any. It seemed blasphemous – she figured something might happen were she to wound the delicate things. So instead she merely grabbed her bag and lurched her way through it, finding the pieces she wanted.

One by one she placed, as carefully as she could given the state of her covered hands, each offering. For Safrin, a mirror embedded and embossed with constellations along the sides, for Frey some assortments of fruit from Torchline’s markets, and for Ludo, she gave some cinnamon candies, intentionally so that there might be some warmth found.

Thereafter though, satisfied and content with the arrangement, she rose from the sanction, and tossed her bag back over her opposing shoulder. “All right, I’m ready,” she shouted, shielding her eyes against the bright snow and glancing out over the rest of the expanse. “What do you guys have out here for shitty void stuff?”

Melita

ISKRA

Goose is pleased with any response he can rouse from all of them, so when Fangorn starts to toddle around, vines waving, his speed and bounds increase. He leans into his front paws, nose driving sideways into the snow as he side eyes a nearby vine, snapping at the air around it with a grumbling whine of a bark before rocketing off in a wide circle around everyone.

Iskra is content to watch these antics unfurl as Melita crouches at the shrine and unloads her assorted gifts. She's ever dutiful in her honoring of the gods, which he supposes comes with the territory of being a demi-god, but it's got him reevaluating the relationships (or lack thereof) that he's forged with them. Maybe he could try being a bit more grateful instead of cursing them for every mishap and moment of misfortune.

He glances back at her, abandoning the playful displays of the gourd and the hound, when she calls out over the ice. Having left her some distance to pray in peace, something that has always felt a bit intimate for him, he closes the distance between them again with an anticipatory grin. "Oh, you know, angry spiders, shadowy luxere, purple foxes, and tentacled ursurs. Can't forget the creepy memory snow either." He'd prefer to forget it actually.

He glances around them, the open landscape of this area not one that boasts too much permanent life. "Out here, we'll probably mostly find the foxes or the ursurs is my guess. Maybe the memory snow. The spiders tend to be more in the city, the luxere stick to the woods." The foxes and the ursur also tended to prefer the woods, but they would wander whereever food beckoned and well... the void made them all do strange things indeed. Perhaps they'd even find a luxere and a fox teaming up out here, like old friends.

I think I lost my mind a while ago
'Cause I've been seeing some ghosts
And I'd be lying if I told you I'm fine, but I lie

You know how sometimes you step outside and the cold just catches your lungs? And you cough and gasp and desperately try to inhale more oxygen?

Congratulations! You probably just wandered into a breath snatch!

Yeah, that glittering cloud of glittering frost wasn’t friendly either. Who knew?

---

You’ve encountered a Breath Snatch. This counts as an uncommon creature encounter for the purposes of levelling, but does not count as a Random Event for levelling or MP. There will be no further admin/re intervention. If you choose to follow this creature, you do so at your own risk, however, just having it in this thread is enough to satisfy your levelling requirements. (You may not kill this creature without admin permission. )

Breath Snatch (uncommon) - A minor Halo nuisance, the Breath Snatch is a small elemental spirit that lingers in open areas on cold days. They're easiest to notice on bright days, a concentrated cloud of glittering frost lingering in the air, but if not noticed and walked into, the elemental will disperse in a puff of freezing air, often freezing the breath in the lungs of whomever was unlucky enough to come across it. It doesn't seem to possess enough sentience to be truly malevolent. Large groups of the spirits are rare, but potentially deadly if walked into unknowingly.

Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins

There was no way for Fangorn to be as fast as the dog; even if he could bob across the snow. So instead the vampire gourd growled and rumbled, twisting his face to look rather ferocious, with elongated fangs for emphasis, seeing if he could scare the canine back.

Melita was listening though, for once, to the descriptions laden amidst Halo’s potential hunts – brow furrowing slightly under her overly large hat as the creatures continued on, like some damned endless list. While she didn’t say ‘why the fuck would anyone live here’, it existed in her brain momentarily, before flittering off the rest. “All right, well, let’s go find some purple fuckwads then.” Whatever she could snag, honestly, all full of vitriol and venom from her own recent experiences in Stormbreak.

Of which she proceeded to vent and fume. “Oh, did I tell you about going to Stormbreak with a team – they just fucking channeled in Remi, Ronin, and Hadama, like why even ask me to go, fucking dragon fell on top of us-” and she would’ve gone on and on, arms waving as much as they could under the ridiculous bulk of her clothing, when she walked straight into the glittering air.

She hadn’t known to even be on the lookout for it. Who the hell would. But suddenly there was a freezing, solidified feeling in her chest, locking over her lungs, and she was choking, sputtering, coughing uncontrollably.

Melita

ISKRA

Goose, slowly having warmed up to Melita's companions, takes the display of fangs playfully for once and continues to zip around, though he does eventually abandon the slow gourd to race up and down the ice like a horse finally given room to sprint. Would that he could bottle that energy.

A chuckle escapes at her derision for the void creatures, but there's an agreeing murmur under the sound as they strike out down the frozen wasteland. He glances around for any signs of tracks or other fuckery, keeping tabs on Goose as they go. "No shit?" he asks as he cuts a look towards her, the frame of irritation around her somehow lending to her terrible beauty in a new, fantastic way. He's just grateful it's not turned on him and he can safely admire it instead. "Does seem a bit overkill," he admits with a hum, although never having personally fought a giant void dragon, he might have gathered all the forces he could manage as well. "That's pretty fucking cool though," he bumps his elbow against her, trying to rouse excitement instead of ire. "Dragon slaying used to just be a game, after all." She's always played a knight too, never a princess for her.

Abruptly though she's caught in a fit, and it's instantly clear this is no prank or mild inhalation of your own saliva. "Mel!?" he demands, grabbing for her shoulder to wheel her around to face him, concern narrowing every portion of his expression. His gaze roams the portions of her left visible through clothing, but he can see no immediate cause, and the area around them has remained as desolate as before. Someone who's invisible? Air magic? Maybe a little bit of both.

"Breath snatch?" he asks as he glances over his shoulder, more closely searching for something hard to see now as his hand eases from her shoulder to her back, thumping a bit there to help jostle air back in.

I think I lost my mind a while ago
'Cause I've been seeing some ghosts
And I'd be lying if I told you I'm fine, but I lie

Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins

When the dog didn’t take the latest round of bait (where Fangorn probably would’ve inevitably tried to bite him), the gourd bobbed his way around portions of ice, and Sila floated down towards him, away from Melita’s shoulder as she began flinging her arms about in rage.

At his response, which seemed to be simply letting her vent, she huffed again, warm puffs of air streamlining from her mouth. “Overkill, yeah. Hardly anyone else even got a shot in.” Which, while she could admire Hadama for his prowess, she’d also taken out a yeti almost entirely on her own – never called for help, never deigned for assistance – just engulfed herself in rage. “I didn’t want to be useless like last time,” likely the heart of the real issue at hand, but then she rounded her features back over to him, pouting as he made his joke. “Yeah well, only one doing any slaying were the others.” Her nose wrinkled again, not out of amusement, but clear irritation, a very large pout forming beneath the hat, before she sent Sila overhead, watching as her own dragon went off, looking for anything the Honeybee could maul.

Then, of course, was the gods damned breath snatch. The whole looking like a ‘gods damned weakling’ lately wasn’t fitting with her usual image, and while she tried to fight off the maelstrom, it only seemed to be a matter of time before the frost dissipated from her lungs.

She could feel Iskra at her back though, and the pats seemed to jostle the shit away. She took a few more coughs, doubled over for a second. “So -,” she panted, catching more pockets of the chilling air, but nothing sticking and suffocating. “How the fuck am I supposed to avoid that?”

Melita

ISKRA

She comes out of it easily enough, as they all have had to do a time or two around here. His concern eases, the threat familiar and minor, her recovery bound to be swift and certain. The glimmer of fire still searing along the edges of her keeps his laughter in check, even if the smile remains, because who hasn't been fucked over by a breath snatch?

"I think avoiding Halo is your best bet," he admits as he releases her from his hold, resuming pace alongside her. "Especially here, they don't like the crowded areas like the city too much. Otherwise," he shrugs, like it's an inevitable happenstance. "A mild glimmer here and there. Not worth going mad for." Kind of like frozen spiderwebs, they will be found, one way or another. "I could always walk in front," he offers, holding out his axe in front of him like it might carve through tricky spirit or spiderweb alike.

Down the way, Goose suddenly comes sprinting back towards them, but this time it's not with energy, it's with fear. He crawls behind Iskra's legs, tail tucked. "Something's up there," Iskra warns, all his lightness tightening as he brings his axe back down more properly to his side, gaze narrowing against the glint of light on ice.

I think I lost my mind a while ago
'Cause I've been seeing some ghosts
And I'd be lying if I told you I'm fine, but I lie

Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins

She rolled her eyes – she’d been looking for some telltale sign of the shits, not just ‘don’t even bother coming out here’.

Not worth going mad for made her snort though, because the Honeybee could find all sorts of reasons for becoming completely feral, but she kept that to herself. “Sure. Go right on ahead,” she offered with a gesture of her parka-laden arm and a snicker, as if she had ulterior motives. She did, but he didn’t need to know.

Sila and Goose must’ve seen the same things though, amidst and across the frozen horizon, because the dragon’s reports through companion bonds gave an ease to Melita’s movements now, all bluster and rage, as she smiled. “Mm. Sila spotted two of your tentacle bears.” Already grabbing one of her arrows and notching it along the bow that appeared in one wide, sweeping gesture of a taut string, she hummed, excitement and vengeance flickering around her form.

Here was an opportunity to exact some justice.

“Over by those rocks,” she jutted towards the vague outcropping some yards away, likely used as cover for the ursurs, and could be helpful for their own venture. “I say we use it too.”

Melita

ISKRA

"Ugh," he groans as she delivers more information, a frown cutting in on his face. "
I was betting on luxere." He says it like he's lost all his coin, but truthfully he's just a little more wary of going in melee range with a beast who's paw could dwarf his head. Yet again her notion of him never letting go of his axe mid-fight comes back to haunt him a bit, and he makes a reminder for himself to see what Ludo might be able to do to put some recall back into the axe.

"Can you set it on fire?" he asks as he glances at her bow, fingers wriggling at his sides with the ability to call to the flame, but not summon it. "Where you send it burning I can fan it out more, maybe surprise them." He follows her point towards the stony outcrop, nodding like they've just set the rules for a new game. "So we sneak up, keep it between us and them?"

Turning to Goose, Iskra mutters something as he pets the dog, Obedient when he chooses to be, the dog remains seated, stiff, as Iskra starts to pull away and move towards the rock, each foot step cautious. His flingers flex around the axe, ready to set Ampere crackling through this type of darkness to cleave it apart.

I think I lost my mind a while ago
'Cause I've been seeing some ghosts
And I'd be lying if I told you I'm fine, but I lie

Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins

She shrugged at the luxere comment, hardly in control of which demonic figures would appear, and carried onward, seemingly unbothered by the prospects. “Of course I can,” she scoffed at the question. “And so can Sila.”

Far more overt than Iskra, probably due to the clothing choices, she still hastened across the snow in calculated endeavors. It would do them no good for her to give the game up so quickly, so she took a deep, long breath and tried to bolster through the enormous padding and huge boots. Winding her way over, she peeked across the top of the rock, narrowing her eyes. “Going for the big one first,” was a whisper to Iskra, and a sign to Sila. They’d only have the element of surprise on the initial blows, and if he could fan some portions out…

On her signal, the dragon took off, unleashing her own set of flames to descend from well above, while the Honeybee drew her fire arrow and aimed the initial one directly at the bigger of the grumbling, disturbing, massive duo.

Melita

ISKRA

He can't help but shake his head a little at her scoff. Clearly she's still rankled by the dragon event if she thinks he'd been asking her if she was capable of flame, instead of asking her if she would set something ablaze for him to draw upon. Although, knowing her, both might have been equally upsetting, because as sure as the fire that is her head of hair, Melita does like to burn things.

They hunker down by the rocks, although as he glances back for her, he has to stifle another laugh. The look of focus as she wades through padding and snow with the intent of quiet is nearly too much. She makes it though without alerting the void ursur, though he doesn't trust his voice not to break with humor when she points out her target, so he just nods, eyes twinkling with the mirth and the excitement.

Knowing that now is their only time to strike with surprise, Iskra opts to wield her flame from her larger target into his own, selecting the second, smaller one while it's also still unawares. They're close, they have to be in order for his concentration to last steady enough to arc the flame over, his control still weak. So all the more important that this has an effect, and that this rockface gives them some leverage. He won't have the time to focus on his magic once the void ursurs turn on them, but for that, Ampere will do the trick next.

---

Iskra uses his fire magic, drawing off Melita's, on the 2nd void ursur

Fire Manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can manipulate flames. Must be within a 5ft radius, control is weak and unstable and requires concentration.
Type: Dark | Rank: Basic

I think I lost my mind a while ago
'Cause I've been seeing some ghosts
And I'd be lying if I told you I'm fine, but I lie

Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins

Her eyes narrowed dangerously in his direction – but she didn’t say anything. He was permitted his amusement, she supposed, even if it was at her expense; it’d been a long while since he’d seemed that happy and content anyway.

But then there were much bigger things to focus upon, so she steadied her fire and flames, and Sila launched, coinciding with Iskra’s incendiary incantations. The bigger ursur roared with ferocity and pain as the embers burned at its hide, turning towards them and no longer lumbering, but with clear, disastrous, and dangerous intent.

Grabbing another arrow before its buddy could join in on the fray (confused, but lumbering nearby), she launched it again, glancing below as the beast crashed into the rocks. “Can these fuckers climb?” She voiced, wondering how much time they’d be allotted before the jig was up.

Melita