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BZPRPG - Ga-Wahi


Nuju Metru

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[OOC: Boy, been a while, huh? Krayz poked me to get a few posts in to get the plot rolling again.  I can't commit long-term to the game, but I can at least unblock y'all after folks have spent eight months (or two years depending on how you count) waiting for Sor to turn around and acknowledge the person standing there waiting to talk to her.]

 

IC: Soraya [The Great Takea]

Soraya turned around and acknowledged the person standing there waiting to talk to her.

 

At least, she hoped she did.  She absolutely was not drunk; she knew her limits and she had the tolerance of a dozen women.  So she definitely was not hammered from what she had managed to swallow of that giant's explosive-in-a-mug.  She just didn't feel like exposing her eyes to any sort of light at the moment, that was all.

 

"Don't tell me," she said, momentarily opening one eye to see the Matoran and Toa in front of her and immediately regretting it.  "A creepy Matoran told you to take me on a mystical journey to save your Great Spirit."

Hey: I'm not very active around BZP right now.  However, you can always contact me through PM (I have email notifications set up) and I will reply as soon as I can.


Useful Topics: The Q&A Compendium | The Official RPG Planning Topic
Stories: Fractures | An Aftermath | Three Stories | LSO 2012 Epics: Team Three | The Shadow and the Sea | The Days They Were Needed | Glitches | Transformations | Echoes | The Kaita and the Storyteller | Nui

BZPRPG: Komae · Soraya · Bohrei

Blog: Defendant Lobby no. 42

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IC: (Mons Shajs, The Great Takea, Ga-Koro)

 

The Sergeant had done his rounds and had clocked in for the day. It'd been a rough week, for sure, a raid on a bandit camp there, galley duty another. Walking down the lilly-pad roads of his adoptive home, he passed over the same old fish-mongers and flax-weavers on his way towards the Great Takea. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for the small little group gathered around the entrance. He thought he recognized one of them, a fellow Marine in the company of some other Toa. The others, he didn't know...

 

One seemed to be an out-of-towner. Ta-Matoran, oddly enough. The beat-cop instinct in him kicked a little. Telling him to ask what his Marine compatriot was doing, possibly drunk, with two random enough strangers.

 

"Hey, ya lot," he said, half commanding, half barking. "Me name'a Sarjant Mons Shajs, Ga-Koro Marines. Might I'a 'quire as ta who ya are, an where yer goin' with me fellow Marine."

 

Something seemed vaguely familiar about the others. Vaguely.

 

OOC: Good lord, it's been ages. Sorry for dropping on in and all, but I figure it's as good enough a spot to insert him as any.

 

 

I occasionally return to BZP for a nostalgic trip back. Hit me up on discord if you need anything. 
 
BZPRPG Characters that I will possibly revive, Mons-Shajs-Tarotrix-Aryll Vudigg-Jorruk Yokin-Senavysh Angavur

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

IC: Zyrgahk (Ga-Koro, Nearing The Great Takea)

 

It had been days since Zyrgahk had placed the Parakuka on his back, but still his every muscle ached. He'd been walking aimlessly, like an animal who's lost its habitat. The truth was he could scarcely think or remember anything, all day long he thought he'd recognize someplace and then get lost again. Images appeared and disappeared, he'd feel angry, then sad, then angry again. He knew the Parakuka was trying to communicate but he could barely understand.

 

"Aaagh! Just shut up, I can't understand you."

 

Unfortunately the Parakuka didn't care to stop, and Zyrgahk suddenly felt like he'd been run over by a stampede of Kikanalo.

 

"I'm pretty sure that means 'No'."

 

Then another image appeared, it looked like a Kane Ra.

 

"Unless that means that your hungry, I still don't know what you want!"

 

Truth be told, Zyrgahk was starving and he'd been answering the same thing over and over regardless of what was shown to him. At this point he would kill anything to satisfy his hunger but he hadn't run into any rahi moving slow enough, and was unable to hunt because of his massive frame and the rahi moving fast enough would get away, he would've probably even killed Matoran if he had run into any. Then a he noticed a smell, it was rather faint but he knew it was the smell of cooking mingled with alcohol, he began moving towards the sent. In the distance he could make out a building of sorts although he wasn't sure, his vision was quite blurred he thought he could read a sign.

 

"The Great Takea? Lets hope there isn't that many people there, I'd rather not fight an entire bar's worth of scum just yet. Although... that might not be such a bad thing, it might just make me use that intense power of your's I keep hearing about."

 

He suddenly felt reinvigorated.

 

"Now I think we're on the same page."

 

As he got closer, he could see a group in front of the tavern.

 

:A Skakdi, three toa, and a Ta-Matoran sticking out like a sore thumb. Maybe this could be interesting, or they could just run away and leave the tavern to me, either way would be fine. But it's not like a Toa to run, nor Skakdi for that matter. Although if I could get a hold of the Matoran I'd likely dissuade the Toa from any further attack, the Skakdi on the other hand might just not care and either leave or continue the fight.:

 

That was as much as Zyrgahk was going to strategize for know, he was to hungry to think much more. In this state of mind all he was thinking of was, destroy the tavern get as much food as possible no matter who got in his way, after all a man fighting because of starvation was deadlier than a soldier fighting for his master.

 

He began to approach slowly, like a Muaka stalking it's prey, careful not to attract attention. His shadow began stretching in front of him, the sun behind him darkening his face down to his torso, his furious glowing red eyes stared attentively. He no longer cared for rationality he was now thinking and behaving like a predator. His ominous, monstrous body moving almost thoughtlessly towards the tavern.

 

OOC: Hope you don't mind my barging in like this, but I thought this would be a good a place to start as any, so i kinda went for it. This is my first post feel free to correct anything I may have skipped, constructive criticism is welcome. Zyrgahk is open for interaction.            

Edited by The Forge of Artakha
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  • 4 weeks later...

[Ga-Koro, Tourist District (Lucira)]


Lucira looked at the skakdi, then back to the pair of toa, then back to the skakdi.   This was quite a pickle. She was hoping to have a nice uneventful trip without strangers subjecting her to questioning.  At least this was better than getting assaulted by a malicious lava plant. Something, however, was hovering at the edge of her peripheral vision, something she didn’t much like.


The ta-matoran extracted her papers from the outer pocket of her bag, holding them up so the skakdi marine could read without squating.  “Lucira Bohren, Ta-koro guard, lieutenant colonel. Currently on leave.” The paperwork also contained the Akiri’s seal and the special permissions that authorized her to meet with Hahli, but Lucira did not feel like bragging at the moment.  She was trying to be discreet. “I saw these toa standing outside and thought the bar might be full, so I thought I might ask what the situation was.”


She glanced over to the side.   There was definitely someone, or something moving in the shadows of two nearby huts.   “Can we sort this out quickly? I think we might have a situation on our hands.”


[Ga-Koro, Slightly Above Tourist District (Talli)]


When the call came, Talli nearly rocketed down the ladder of the crow’s nest.   Finally, finally, finally she was going to get something to hit.
 

It wasn’t the strangest story.  Some big and rokking ugly Skakdi stumbling around the tourist district close to where The Silver was stationed.  But from her position on top of a nearby hut, the Ga-matoran disk arm could see that something was definitely off about mister tall-dark-and-ugly.   For one, he was getting bigger.  Oh well, that meant a bigger target.

Talli was vaguely aware that her heartbeat was speeding up as she reached for a disk from holster bag next to her.  She felt almost exhilarated, but there was a pressure building behind her eyes, a need to smash something, anything.  To get control of--


“Private Anach, you will only throw on my orders, understand?”


Talli was startled out of her calculations by the voice of her captain over the radio.  She rolled her eyes, which she hoped the captain couldn’t see.


“Roger.”


She lowered the disk slightly, still mentally calculating the curve and momentum that would send it right between the skakdi’s eyes.

There's a dozen selves inside you, trying to be the one to run the dials

[BZPRPG Profiles]

Hatchi - Talli - Ranok - Lucira - FerellisMorie - Fanai - Akiyo - Yukie - Shuuan - Ilykaed - Pradhai - Ipsudir

And some aren't even on your side.

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  • 1 month later...

[OOC: Boy, been a while, huh? Krayz poked me to get a few posts in to get the plot rolling again.  I can't commit long-term to the game, but I can at least unblock y'all after folks have spent eight months (or two years depending on how you count) waiting for Sor to turn around and acknowledge the person standing there waiting to talk to her.]

 

IC: Soraya [The Great Takea]

 

Soraya turned around and acknowledged the person standing there waiting to talk to her.

 

At least, she hoped she did.  She absolutely was not drunk; she knew her limits and she had the tolerance of a dozen women.  So she definitely was not hammered from what she had managed to swallow of that giant's explosive-in-a-mug.  She just didn't feel like exposing her eyes to any sort of light at the moment, that was all.

 

"Don't tell me," she said, momentarily opening one eye to see the Matoran and Toa in front of her and immediately regretting it.  "A creepy Matoran told you to take me on a mystical journey to save your Great Spirit."

IC: The Seventh

 
The Ga-Matoran that had been granted the name Jaliax the Seventh (or for short, just Seven), was silent for a moment. There were a million (actually, more along the lines of six or so) things that she wanted to say, but none of them really felt right to her. Was she even supposed to say something big in the first place? Not saying something just felt incredibly anticlimactic after everything that'd she run into. But what was she supposed to say? How was she supposed to respond to something like that?
 
"Uh, yeah."
 
Like that, probably.
 
Well at least she was finally here.
 
"I'm Jaliax the Seventh, and my bro here's Wraith." She gestured to her loyal friend and companion with her thumb. "And yeah, things went down ... exactly like you just said."
 
She didn't expect aliens to get drunk so easily though. That was one interesting factoid. Drunk aliens. But that wasn't the point. Drunk or not, both of them now had a job to do.
 
So -
 
"Sober up, alien girl. We got a Destiny to fulfil."
 
OOC: KO-KORO A-GO-GO.
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  • 3 weeks later...

 

 

OOC: KO-KORO A-GO-GO.

 

 

 

IC: Wraith

 

Wraith gave Soraya a nod in greeting, but otherwise he just stood sentinel, letting Seven do the talking. This was Seven's journey, her Destiny. Wraith was simply there to support her and make sure she got through this safely. 

 

"..." This alien appeared to be drunk, Wraith had a solution for that. She went over to Soraya and picked her up. "I'll carry her till she sobers up." 

363513066_tobecont.png.5b057f495e0794e9450207c84546738e.png
My Bzprpg ProfilesGhosts of Bara Magna

Skyra | Hakari | Oceanna | Taleen | Arisaka | Zanakra | Kaminari | Drakkar

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IC: Soraya [The Great Takea]

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Soraya yelled as the latest strange giant in her life picked her up.  "I may be further from home than I've ever been because I wanted to yell at an empress, but I can still-"

 

She slipped free of Wraith's grip and into gravity.  There was a colorful crash.

 

"...Walk," she muttered from the floorboards. 

 

Wraith helped her up again and she shook her head.  "And for the record, you're all the aliens.  But whatever.  This day can't get any weirder."

 

[OOC: off to Ko-Koro, even if Sor may need a few additional limbs to keep her ambulatory for the first bit of the journey.]

Hey: I'm not very active around BZP right now.  However, you can always contact me through PM (I have email notifications set up) and I will reply as soon as I can.


Useful Topics: The Q&A Compendium | The Official RPG Planning Topic
Stories: Fractures | An Aftermath | Three Stories | LSO 2012 Epics: Team Three | The Shadow and the Sea | The Days They Were Needed | Glitches | Transformations | Echoes | The Kaita and the Storyteller | Nui

BZPRPG: Komae · Soraya · Bohrei

Blog: Defendant Lobby no. 42

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  • 1 month later...

IC: Rannin

 

"Oceanna," rumbled the baritone voice of the Iron Toa. "I see you're still in high spirits."

 

IC: Oceanna

 

"Yeah ya know...enjoying not being a hobo, having some money, not living underground, writing music to my heart's content. Life is pretty good." 

363513066_tobecont.png.5b057f495e0794e9450207c84546738e.png
My Bzprpg ProfilesGhosts of Bara Magna

Skyra | Hakari | Oceanna | Taleen | Arisaka | Zanakra | Kaminari | Drakkar

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  • 5 months later...

OOC: Dorian from Ta-Wahi.

IC:

Part of me never understood why anyone would want to live anywhere but Ga-Wahi. I say that as someone who was born in Ko-Koro, worked in Ta-Koro, and once reigned uncontested and undisputed as Xa-Koro’s Hottest Sheriff. It’s true; I was award winning, a unanimous shoe-in all three months they ran the contest. The runner-ups got so mad that they sank the island. Brykon made me do a bunch of calendars and stuff for PR, but I think they all sank. Which is good.

The Naming Day shots would have come back to haunt my political career.

I’d visited every Koro on the island, explored all these old haunts, and tried making a home in more than one of them. But Ga-Koro was different from the rest, an almost spiritual place where the silence became meditative and the sea breezes touched places in your soul that rarely came up for air. The Koro itself was within walking distance, with its lights and activity; the place had been bustling since the arrival of the aliens, and after a few early snafus on first contact the Ga-Korans had taken a real pride in forming their own alliances with the warrior-women from across the Endless Ocean. By now it wouldn’t even have been a stretch to call them friends. 

A whole race of psychic ten-out-of-tens who had made landfall and befriended the only island’s most female-dominated Koro. This was the greatest place in the #####ing universe. Nobody who knew me would ever really claim I fully knew thyself, but I knew enough about me, myself and thy to guess that even fairly recently I would have been trying to spend my last night as a strand on the mortal coil, well...put your euphemism here, you perverts.

I just wasn’t in the mood. Ga-Koro was hustling day and night with alien activity, with some Dasaka touring the town itself and others coming back from scouting trips with the Marines. I had sat down on the beach to unwind and wait for the city to do the same; with the thought of Echelon in command of the Vault and the flamberge doing a villainous cackle in the back of my head, I allotted myself an hour after plopping down to relax and look at the water one last time. That was this morning.

The justifications for staying a little longer had kept on coming. At first I had wanted to feel high tide against my legs one last time, then I wanted to see the gulls skimming the bay. I convinced myself I had seen a Tarakava, first in the ocean then in the clouds. Eventually, I made a sand Koro. Then another. I had been in the process of trying to come up with the names for their Kolhii teams when I noticed the orange and pink in the sky. I wanted to see the sunset, so fiercely that I kept imagining it long after the sky was black, and then I told myself I just wanted to stay and watch the stars a while. 

Mangaia is going to be blacker than any night, I told myself quietly. I only want to see stars one more time.

I inhaled deeply, a calm breath, graceful and dignified. The exhale left my mouth in a shallow gasp, and my teeth grazed against my lip. It feels pretty early for me to have to die, I thought, staring up into the shades between the stars. I doubted they felt the same.

By now, it was midnight. 

I already felt dead, even with the strong, salty breeze in my lungs. I tried to fight the tendrils of the unfamiliar feeling in my chest, strangling me from inside, by taking quicker and quicker breaths, but it was too late. The beauty of the waves breaking under the cover of darkness was starting to shimmer in front of my eyes, hidden behind a film. The peace that I had enjoyed for hours had changed with the day, flipping on a dime and becoming a sick, unfamiliar dread. The feeling in my chest stabbed through my heart from the inside.

Fear.

I was finally feeling fear, and it was #####ing gross. So gross that I almost wanted to laugh. Of all the times for fear to kick in…

My fingers sank into the sand, deep into the sand, like I could dig my way through its thousands of layers to find the earth beneath. If I could just keep digging, I could burrow, and I could wait this whole #####ing #####show out. Or I could dig into Mangaia the long way and hit Echelon when he wasn’t expecting him, hit him somewhere beside the Vault door, there was only one door, there was only one way in and one way out, what the ##### kind of assassin would take this job even the most concussed #####ing idiot hitman would tell you this job was a joke--

My train of thought, trying to catch up with my weak, scared heart, reminded me then that sand didn’t have layers. I dunno why I thought it did, but I laughed hysterically.

I laughed until the film over my eyes was running down my cheeks.

I laughed until the laugh became a scream.

I tried to destroy the whole beach in my fit of panic, yelling and kicking and throwing handfuls of sand everywhere. It was the most useless fight of my life; whenever sand hit the water, the water would swallow it greedily the way that a thirsty man would have swallowed the water in kind, and no matter how hard I tore and kicked and tantrumed, more sand would flow so I never left any wounds on the shore. Finally, cowed into submission and exorcised of my terror, I dropped back into the sand next to the satchel I’d brought. 

I used to lie back in sands like this with Tuara, her head on my chest. I met Joske in sands like these. 

Cael, too.

I wiped at my remaining tears angrily and picked the bag up, abandoning my failed conquest and the momentary peace of the beach. My mission to tear it asunder had been a complete failure. 

I didn’t even have the heart to break my sand Koros.

Ga-Koro was still awake by the time I reached Cael’s door, but I had no idea if the healer would be. The people who roamed the lilypads and docks of Ga-Koro at this hour were curious Dasaka, or locals who were around my age, leaving the restaurants and bars for the comfort of their beds or a late-night swim off the docks. On my way past the Tidalpool I saw two women, both in Marine garb, but one wore the unfamiliar colors of a Dasaka and looked a little flushed with the unfamiliar liquors of Mata Nui. 

I hope you didn’t give her Salamander’s, babe, or they’ll declare a #####ing war on us.

Her partner had caught her drunk lover in an embrace, complete with a laugh and a kiss, but the affectionate moment broke off when I passed by them. I heard a confused voice ask “Goldie?” on my way by, but that could have just been the drunken alien, asking for someone she left across the ocean. Or it could’ve been #####ing nonsense. I’ve said worse to people after a few rounds of Salamander’s. When I didn’t stop to answer, they kissed again. Good for them.

When I was outside Cael’s clinic door, I realized I’d never actually been here before. I was sure Joske had been on the operating table more than once, and maybe Tuara had even dropped by for a visit. She and Cael hadn’t exactly been close, or ever parted on the best of terms, but Joske wasn’t exactly renowned for working around Cael’s schedule either 

She deserved better than all of us. Tuara did, too. I wanted to go to her, apologize for not trusting her, ask her what was wrong and what had caused the fiercest, most just woman I’d ever known to turn on everything she loved. But I didn't always have a grasp of what was going in my head. Nobody should have ever trusted me with hers. I’d said goodbye to Tuara; she had shrugged it off. 

So I didn’t go back. I dropped the satchel gently by my feet and walked up the first step of three outside her front door, gripping the top of the frame with both my hands and thump, thump, thumping my forehead against the wood. By slamming my cranium against something solid to get her attention, I hoped to recapture the full Cael experience.

“Hellooooo?” I called out, not loud enough to wake up her neighbors  but hopefully enough to rouse her if she’d fallen asleep in there. Great. Wake her up to sledgehammer her. I was the best man for this job, for sure. “Doooctoooor?”

This was how house calls worked, right? Or did you need symptoms? Cael was a pretty woman, and had a personality that was easy to love; she had to have had admirers trying to scam her for reasons to visit, long before Joske. Maybe her type was just doomed, destined heroes. I only had two thirds to go.

“I have...Dorotosis?” I asked, hesitantly. “I mean, #####, uhm. I have...Dorotosis. Yeah. Definitely. My tongue, it goes too fast. And it never shut ups no good. It’s been getting me in trouble at work.”


Water splashed. Humming tunelessly, Cael lifted a dish from the basin and gently shook it dry before placing it on the rack.

Soft light filled her hut, cast by a jellyfish floating peacefully in the lamp hanging from the ceiling. It illuminated a room decorated with restraint—the only non-functional item in the place was a glass vase of flowers on the table. Cael had never been one for frivolous things. She preferred her possessions to have a purpose. It was an ascetic quality she vehemently denied when anyone pointed it out.

So, of course, Joske had pointed it out at every opportunity.

“Do my eyes deceive me? Is that a bowl of fruit on the table?”

“Don't look now, dear, but I think one of the monks is smelling flowers in the garden.”

“What should we do tonight? I was thinking we could alphabetize that bookshelf...”

Joke's on him. She liked organizing bookshelves. Bringing things to order was what she did best. Sometimes too well.

She rinsed the suds from a bowl, and realized this was the first time today she had thought of him. Maybe the first time this week. It was like he had been pulled back into the Legend, and her memories were following one by one. She used to hold them like a newborn, cradling them to her chest and breathing in their scent wherever she went. But like children, they aged in an outward direction, leaving her mind and attaching themselves to other people and places. She would walk through the village and catch the sunlight gleaming off something gold, and it would look just like the light on his armour, just for a moment. And like a string pulled from an old sweater, the memories would start spilling out one after the other until she fell apart.

It didn't happen often, not anymore. But every now and then she would hear his voice and could almost swear it was coming from just around the corner. Just beyond the door.

Sometimes it was other voices too. She'd had a patient the other day who sounded just like Agni, only for a second. Perhaps it was the way he inflected a word, or maybe it was a particular turn of phrase—but the Toa had to turn away to hide her surprise and the sudden pang of guilt that surely would have shown on her face.

Or sometimes, late at night, she would overhear someone talking with just enough brash confidence in his voice that she would stop mid-stride and turn, eyes scanning the crowd for those bluegreen eyes—

“Hello? Doctor?”

She paused, the bowl hovering over the drying rack, clenched in suddenly trembling fingers. It's a house call, that's all, she reassured herself. She put the bowl down and dried her hands on a dish towel, opened her mouth to reply—

“I have... Dorotosis? I mean, #####, uhm, I have... Dorotosis. Yeah. Definitely.”

A house call at this time of night? Accompanied by that voice?

“My tongue, it goes too fast,” the voice prattled on. “And it never shuts up no good. It's been getting me in trouble at work.”

The towel lay forgotten on the floor. She was already at the door, pulling it open, as convinced it was a mistake as she was sure it was real, but she had to see for herself to know for sure—

It was him. As real as the night, or she had finally gone mad.

“Dorian...? Is it really...?”

“Serious? Super serious. I said some rude things to my boss. I’ve been acting sincere at weird times. I think I even got dumped. And they were all yesterday. Which now that I say it out loud makes my whole life sound like a gigantic cluster##### that’s one bump away from flying off into space, so,” I cocked my head and smiled, slinging the bag over my shoulder - gently - onto the top step, “yeah, I guess it’s gotta be me.”

I didn’t expect her to look shocked to see me; for a second I felt absurdly guilty, like I’d somehow failed as a friend for not visiting or startling her with my own survival. I remembered the last time I saw her stunned like this; amazed by Joske’s survival, lost for the words to greet him, but driven and fierce when it came to the head-taller-than-everyone-else task at hand. The fact that she was here and Tuara was in a cell in Ta-Koro must have meant that somewhere along the line, Utu’s death march of a life had finally fallen by the side of the road.

I suppose that should have been sad. But it was a mercy. Just like it was a mercy the last three or four times he died. It’s not that sad, I thought again, but I didn’t really believe it. This wasn’t sad, either. It had been ages since I’d seen Cael. I wanted to close the personal bubble and grin down on her, play with her head a little, or needle her about what she did with the scarf I’d left her with down there at that submerged temple. The last time I’d seen Cael, she was literally in her element; even though the midnight waters were lapping away at the docks behind her hut, instead of yawning in our ears and entombing us like the grave of Xa-Koro, this was her element still. She was always a pro.

I had never really thought about it, but I realized then that I had hated walking away from her.

“You look so good,” I finally decided on saying through my smile. The Dorotosis must have dried up in one last gasp of symptoms. “How’s the biz?”


“Same— same as ever,” she managed, afraid to blink in case this mirage evaporated while her eyes were closed, however briefly. The night air spilled around her and through the open door, cool and smelling of salt.

She shook her head. Not knowing what to say, she fell back on pleasantries rehearsed a thousand times: “I'm sorry. Please, come on in. It's getting cold out. Can I take your bag? I missed you.”

The last phrase slipped in like an unexpected guest as she reached for his bag. Golden eyes met blue (had they always been that bright? like ice on water) and she paused for a long moment. She allowed herself one blink, which would hopefully be enough to keep the tears at bay, and he was still there. She allowed herself another. Still there.

“Let's—“ she cleared her throat and managed a half-smile. “Let's get that Dorotosis looked at. I think you're right. It's serious.”

“Chyeah, it is.” My brow furrowed a little before my smile’s right edge tugged a little further, stretched a little wider. “I missed you too.”

I let her take the bag without complaint, and a deep breath left my chest. When she led me inside, I took a brief once over of the whole place - the kind of trick that even the most flamboyant, hands-over-eyes moron learns quickly when in a new locale for the first time. I was probably the last of Cael’s friends to actually see her place. It looked nice. A little bare, though. Had she just moved?

I thought of my place in Ta-Koro - the booze cabinet, the closets, the excavated piano in the living room…and another breath left my chest, more ragged than the last.

“I saw Agni and Merror in Ta-Koro, and they didn’t say anything about you. This was on my way, so I figured I’d come by and give you a—“

I drummed twice in the air, winking and brandishing an imaginary drumstick at her.

“—Check-up!” I was waiting for the applause when—wait

what the ##### is that

it’s just sitting on the floor oh no

“Cael.”

I knelt down and picked up the towel on the flor, face scrunching up in a frown that was more pout than scowl. The fabric wrapped around the prosthetics on my right hand’s fingers like boxing tape, and I shook the resulting fist at her like a Turaga being hip checked at a road crossing.

“Patients come here. They come to see you, not a slob like Joske. Tsk tsk.”

She couldn't help it. The laughter came like rainfall, irrepressible but welcome. 

“Dorian Shaddix, I swear—“

Cael slung the bag onto a chair and snatched at the towel. “Give me that. I was just cleaning up.”

“I can tell. I think you mopped up all the decorations on accident, doc.”  I jerked my hand back, and the towel loosened around my fingers and I threw it around my neck like a scarf for a second. “This fall...Rage, by Shaddix. Live like a Toa. Feel like a Mark Bearer.”

I tugged the towel over my left shoulder and underhand tossed it to her.

“You know, I think this aesthetic rubbed off on Tuara. She was always trying to can my shhhtuff. When we were moving in together she asked me why one person needed all those guitars and I swear I felt my Mark coming back. Like I couldn’t have bugged her about turning our guest bed into her place to store her #####ng punching bag collection.”

She caught the towel and primly folded it before hanging it over the sink. “I like my place. And you should listen to Tuara. She has a good head on her shoulders.”

Cael turned her attention to the cupboard, clearly looking for something, then paused, brow furrowed, recalling an earlier quip thrown out so casually she almost missed it. “Tuara. She ended things?”

“Uhm.” I was quiet for a sec before sitting down on Cael’s exam table and exhaling through my mouth. Just the very question made me want to explode. “Not in those words, but…”

She’s gotta know. It should be from me. Tuara and Cael had been close; there was no point in her finding things out from Agni after I was gone. 

“Did Tuara say anything to you on the road about her brother? Or her parents?” At a head shake from Cael, I tried to figure out how to best put it succinctly. “They were killed. A long, long time ago. It’s why she became a Guard. Brother must have lived. Or she thinks he did. Whatever happened, somebody wound up dead and cut into two dozen pieces. Scattered across the Koro. We’re not sure which of them did it or why, or even who dickhead was. Haven’t found enough of them yet.”

To Cael, it must have felt as hard to hear as it was to say. I doubted that was true. Tuara. Fierce, irritable, just Tuara, always ready to throw fists instead of talk things out. Angry, drunk, self-pitying Tuara, who tried to ply free poison out of her boyfriend with a smile and a joke, then the threat of tears. Affectionate, playful, kinky Tuara, who one time broke into the Guard HQ with me so we could—

My voice choked in my throat and rattled there, dying slowly. I didn’t want any memories of Tuara. Not right now. Maybe never.

“Everyone always, uh, worried she was learning too much from me,” I joked, forcing a grin even while the jest cracked coming out of my mouth. “Guess I should feel vindicated that she didn’t. It was the sloppiest job I’d ever seen. Xa-Koro alleyway #####. I thought maybe she’d done it that way on purpose, left a trail for the Guard, but when they tried talking to her they made a break for the volcano. I just happened to be there doing some stuff for—for Joske, and, uh...I helped them detain her.” The story was spilling out now, unbidden. “She was holding her brother or whoever hostage, she wasn’t making any sense...I thought if we could sit her down in Guard HQ with Agni, Jaller, Angelus, me, the people who cared about her, we could do something for her. I was ready to break her out if the story made sense, you know I’m stupid enough. She knew I would have—“

Sigggg-ggg-gggh.

gulp

“I chattered at her for twenty minutes and she wouldn’t even look at me. Told me she was doing what she had to and to have a good life. And that was it. Soooo. Yeah.”

The ensuing hug was almost as much for Cael herself as it was for Dorian. She leaned into him, arms around his neck, and took a deep, shaky breath.

“I— I'm sorry, Dor,” she said, voice low. “I didn't know.”

“Yeah, well, what can you do. It’s not like I’ve never torn someone apart in the heat of the moment. And like I said, all happened yesterday. That’s when I realized that my mouth zone was saying stupid at random. Really hampering my natural charisma.”

I hadn’t been hugged in a while. For a second, the return motion felt as alien as the Dasaka who had flooded into Cael’s home. But eventually my arms locked around her waist tightly and I took a deep breath, calmer than my last handful and grateful for the doctor’s comfort.

Her eyes were so deep, deep and golden like the hues on Joske’s armor had been. Burnished to perfection.

“Missed you, too. I shouldn’t have left the way I did. It was a tantrum.”


“It wasn't your fault. I was an #####.”

She leaned back and wiped her eyes. “I got so caught up in trying to save you. And Utu. Tuara. Everyone, really.”

The light pulsed gently overhead as she laughed sharply. “Old habits die hard, I guess. I treated you like a patient instead of a friend. And a day hasn't gone by that I haven't regretted it.”

Joske hadn't helped. They enabled each other —two do-gooders reassuring each other that their do-gooding was doing good. She saw that now. Being good was sometimes better than doing it. She hoped Joske had figured that out too, wherever he was now.

“I'm sorry, Dorian. I really am. For everything.”

“Don’t worry about it. I mean, apology accepted, but you never threw any of my fits or pulled any of those triggers. You weren’t there to goad me, and there was never anyone that could’ve stopped me from doing what I wanted to do. Or Joske. Me, I never really learned much over the years about how to change myself, but what I did learn was that you do the best you can with who and what you got. Getting a couple idiots like us was a bad beat, but you stayed the best of us.” 

A thought occurred to me then, and the smile that had started so gentle when I listened to her apology turned cheeky. The knuckle on my left index finger reached out to tap on her heartlight playfully.

“Did you end up hanging on to my scarf?”

Cael smiled sheepishly. “I did. Do you want it back?”

“Wha? Nah. Belongs on you.”

“Let me get it anyway. Maybe you'll change your mind.”

She pulled herself from the embrace. The scarf was hanging in the closet next to the front door. It rarely got cold enough in Ga-Koro to warrant wearing it, but sometimes she would take it out just to wear it again, and remember.

“Look,” she said, carrying it back. “It's got Dorian written all over it. I look like I'm trying too hard.”

“Trying too—hel-looo? When I said ‘live like a Toa, feel like a Mark Bearer,’ were you even listening? Am I a ghost? Is this thing on?” I grinned and flicked the limp end of the scarf with the same index finger. “The whole point is to try too hard. It’s what keeps the memories solid.”

I flicked it again.

“I said I don’t want it. It’s got Cael written over all the Dorian now. It makes you look hotter than me.”

“Stop that,” she retorted with a grin. “I know all about you and your flattery.”

She wrapped the scarf around her neck. “But I'll take it.”

“Good. And no leaving it around my headstone kind of in some big romantic gesture, because I’ll know. And I’ll tell all your patients. Whisper it in their ears and tell everyone to make sure you haven’t been using grimy towels as bandages.”

The joke tapered off into a long breath. For some reason, my eyes were threatening to sting.

“That’s...a good reminder, actually. I’ll be away for a while. The old ‘one last job’ routine. This time I might really mean it.” I could see her brow furrow in confusion and her mouth open, lips pursing for the first query I knew was coming. I rested a finger lengthwise over her lips and shook my head.

“No, you don’t gotta tag along. It’s gotta be me. And no, I’m probably not gonna die,” I lied. “It’s Echelon. The Vault. It’s that old routine, too. Guys like him always break their ankles before the finish line, but this time...I think everyone really needs me to trip him up. So if it’s...the last job, then I…then we…”

I bit down on my bottom lip gently to prevent a tantrum. A freakout like the beach. She had to see I had grown up. I wanted her to tell everybody I wasn’t afraid. That I walked into Karzahni like Dorian Shaddix should.

“It always burned me up how Joske left again and again without a goodbye. You deserved one. And it’s about time I gave a girl one, so...so. Guess it’s a first for both of us, Cael.” My teeth scraped my lip when they left it, and I felt steadier again in their absence. My finger left her lips and ran down the length of her scarred cheek, a show of more defiance and strength in the face of evil than I’d ever shown. “You really won’t need it. I’m comin’ right back. But just hang on to it for me, too.”

Her hand reached up and pressed his to her cheek.

“You've got a lot of nerve, Dorian Shaddix,” she said quietly. “Coming in here, reminding me how much I like you, just to run off again.”

She gently pulled his hand away. Had they been talking for minutes or hours? She half-expected to draw back the curtain and see sunlight spilling over the horizon, lighting up the water and the sky. Time was fluid; this night was eternal; it was one night and every night. It was the night she left Joske on the water, and it was the night she let Dorian go. It was every night before and after, and all of them in between.

Cael leaned in and kissed his cheek, then embraced him one more time.

“I'm expecting you back,” she whispered. “I'll plan a hero's welcome. The whole island'll be there, so don't you dare miss it.”

“Never said I was that different from Joske,” I drawled, swallowing hard and wrapping my arms around her. “Whole island. That’d be #####ing hysterical. Wear your best accessories, then.”

I should kiss her back.

##### it. I’m going to die anyway.

I pushed off the exam table and buoyed slightly on my feet, tightening one arm around her waist and pressing my lips to hers. Nothing crazy, just…

What she deserved. No, nowhere close to what she deserved. But it was all an idiot like me could offer Joske’s girl.

“Take care, kid. Night. Sleep tight. Don’t tick off the aliens. That doesn’t rhyme. Whatever. Bye.”

I poked her heartlight with a finger, then the bridge on her mask, before breaking the embrace and walking towards the door.

“Goodbye, Dorian,” she said. “Go be the man I know you are.”

It seemed like everyone knew what kind of man I was, or was supposed to be, except for me. Cael probably would have given me a straight answer as to who that was, the one I had always craved. But all things considered, on that whole long walk to Kini-Nui, I felt better off not knowing. We would have just wound up fighting about it anyway.

OOC: Dorian Shaddix, meeting destiny.

-Tyru
 

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SAY IT ONE MORE TIME 

TELL ME WHAT IS ON YOUR MIND

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IC [Ayiwah - the Great Takea]:

There were a number of double-takes as Ayiwah re-emerged on the deck of the Ryuu, the odd sight of her clad in a rugged poncho that all but obscured her armor confusing those crew members standing watch. She'd slung a messenger bag across her back, laden with all the supplies she foresaw a need for on the trek inland. But even so, her posture left no doubt as to her authority.

 A stiff breeze was tugging at her poncho, flapping against her side like a badly secured sail. Glancing up, she saw clouds moving rapidly, offering ample glimpses of clear sky above, but also carrying the threat of bad weather. In the distance, she could see them pile up against the rising mountains. Yes, they would definitely encounter rain and snow on this trip. Then her gaze drifted down, and she took a moment to take in the sight of Ga-Koro stretching out around them.

It still struck her how unfamiliar everything appeared. But they had been on Mata Nui long enough to know things weren't quite as different as they seemed. The expressions were different, but there were similar close-knit coastal communities on the archipelago, one just had to look past the crystal splendor, rigid tradition and protocol of Sado and the clan homesteads, and see the small fishing villages that served them. 

Then she approached the gangway, where she was joined by the second mate. Ayiwah knew her well - she'd proven her reliability aboard the Yukanna as third mate, so the commodore had transferred and promoted her when she had been assigned the Ryuu. Since she was not in uniform, the officer greeted her with a sharp nod. "Ma'am."

"How is the ambassador?" Ayiwah asked. "Still unchanged. No better or worse than it has been the past weeks. We will notify you at once should anything change."

"Good. But I will be out of contact for a few days. Dashi Plangori Soraya has become involved in Mata-Nuian affairs. Allegedly, she is part of a prophecy. I want to ensure no harm comes to her."

"I understand." was the curt reply. No further clarification was needed. With the Commodore ashore, command of the ship fell to Tazera. And if she wasn't aboard, the second mate was in charge. They briefly cross checked each other on the whereabouts of all the Dasaka currently not aboard, to ensure nobody was unaccounted for. Then Ayiwah disembarked and made her way to the Great Takea. Sinshi was waiting outside, just as she had reported. Just as she arrived, the door to the tavern opened, and several Matoran emerged, Soraya among them. She was clearly inebriated and needed support to keep her upright.

Aya exchanged a glance with Sinshi. The other Menti understood. As a member of the delegation, Soraya had a certain amount of responsibility and this was...negligent, mildly put. If Soraya hadn't been busy with her head down, examining the texture of the ground beneath her feet, she would have seen the stern look in the commodore's eyes. Luckily for her, there were more important things to worry about. Especially if this whole prophecy business turned out to be correct. In addition, Ayiwah could think of no better disciplinary action then a good old-fashioned cross-country march to cure a hangover.

She stepped out in front of the Matoran called Seventh and Wraith. "Hello again. I see Plangori Soraya has taken the prophetic news well."

There was a brief pause, before she continued. "Unless there are any more preparations to be done, shall we be off?"

OOC: Ayiwah and Sinshi off to follow the Matoran to their date with a prophecy.

Edited by Vezok's Friend

 

 

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OOC: from Onu-Wahi, and thanks Razgriz for the PM regarding your character's thoughts.

Arero: 

During the first day of travel with Cipher I learn two key things about him: he lives out of his monstrous backpack and he has absolutely no sense of direction. It becomes obvious that simply walking in the intended direction and having Cipher follow along like a hapaka is the safest way to get to Ga-Koro. I stick with that system for the next three days.

Cipher also is a survivalist. What I learn in books Cipher learns through first-hand experience. I appreciate that he’s so willing to teach me to start campfires and stops me from eating the wrong berries. Often he has a small anecdote about his past, I love learning about his adventures. When I asked about a scratch on his armor Cipher said;

“Fell into a Kofo-Jaga hive once. Not fun burning my way out of that.”

Despite his misadventures with direction, or perhaps because of them, he’s good at fighting. The second night of travel I get him to show me how to throw and block a punch. I want to say I learn fast but I know he doesn’t want me to get hurt. I ask about his friends and what it’s like being a mercenary for a living.

Day three. I feel the border of Ga-Wahi about an hour after I see it on the map. The ground becomes sandier underfoot, even near the end of the trade tunnel Cipher and I walk.  The sounds of coastal birds echo down the tunnel to welcome us back into the sunshine. It’s a bright morning.

“Here we are, Ga-Wahi.” We’re on a sloped hill that leads down toward the coast. In the far distance I can make out Naho Bay and the city of Ga-Koro floating in it. “I’m glad we didn’t take the dark walk. It would have been faster but less likely we’d live.” 

I remember the rahkshi attacks on the cities with a shudder. If Joske and the Maru hadn’t defeated Makuta I probably wouldn’t be here as I am. I almost felt indebted to my heroes.

“Know any good places to have brunch in Ga-Koro?”

Happy chat.

 

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OOC: From Onu-Wahi. Dialogue permissions from Unreliable Narrator.

IC: Cipher (Ga-Onu Border)

He seemed to think my life would be much more interesting than his own.

That was the lasting impression I'd gotten of Arero in the three days I'd known him. He was sociable enough, easily, and wasn't the type where talking about himself was an anathema by any means. Those types were always much, much gloomier. Rather, he simply dismissed my questions with a chuckle and a wave, reassuring me that he really didn't have all that much to speak of. Not suspiciously, but more... from a feeling of self-awareness, I would venture. Kind of like me and my sense of direction, but dialing back the irritability in favor of shyness.

Speaking of that, I was lucky that he was a spry thinker, especially for a Po-Matoran. By the third hour or so he'd already adjusted to checking back on me every so often as he lead the way, and redirecting me onto the road whenever I inexorably and inevitably veered off-course. After the first night, he was already a pro.

I should thank him on that one, actually. Arero of Onu-Wahi, thank you for not making too big a deal of keeping me on the path. You have this humble wanderer's gratitude for your continued understanding. In return, I shared what understanding I could.


....

Our first trip went smoothly, in and out of tunnels as one often did in Onu-Wahi.

I'd given him first watch then, after recruiting his help in setting up the tent. Habitually, I liked to start camp around sundown, utilizing what ensured light I had left before rolling the dice on flames. I could do it myself without problem, but four hands were better than two. For the most part.

"That corner looks a little flat. Pull up the stake and bring it..." I gave it a second's thought, leaning in to get a close look. "About three inches further back."


"Ah. I'm sorry, this is all still new to me," Arero explained somewhat sheepishly. "I've only read about it."

"S'fine." I returned to my work on the opposite side, getting the last line secure as I spoke. Only so much day left to work with. "It takes a couple goes to really pick up— And I'd rather a little slack as opposed to nearly snapping. If you pulled it too hard, once I put in tension on this side, we'd be liable to not have shelter anymore."

Without complaint, he had corrected the mistake by the time I was done. Very coachable guy. That'd be good in the days to come, with the state the island was in currently; I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I think my life speaks for itself when it comes to surviving danger in the wild. The night passed uneventfully, with him reading for a few hours before waking me for my shift.

....

"Excuse me,"

He said that a lot. "Excuse me," and "I'm sorry, but,". As though always a bother. Politeness was one thing, sure, but I didn't want the poor guy to be smothered by it. I'm a rough sort, you know? I'm fine with casual. The fact that I'm answering your questions about my battles should be good enough, right?

I looked up from scraping the back of my knife against some flint.


"You're a Toa of Plasma, aren't you? Why go through the trouble?"

"Good question. I'm making sure I can still get a good spark," I replied, lazily pointing the knife back at him. "So I can show you. We can both use this method, but I doubt you can superheat things."

A small "Ah," escaped his lips as understanding blossomed over his face, and he took a few steps closer to watch intently as I worked through the process in low and focused tones. Our impromptu pit was a simple ring of stone upon clear soil— easy enough to find here. As for the tinder you struck those sparks over, not so much. Onu-Wahi's surface was fairly stark and barren, a karst mess of stone pillars, black earth, and entrances to the many tunnels beneath. Not much vegetation beyond mosses and small shrubbery to go off of— the ground was too porous for rivers aside the occasional inlet from the sea. I'd had Arero help me hack off a few smaller branches and twigs from the two trees we'd passed that day. Thankfully, that relative lack of moisture meant that these hardier plants made for good tinder and good wood. We constructed the usual "teepee" of the twigs without issue, and once the dried shrubs caught, I let him stick the starter in the center. He had a good feel for how it all worked.

....

"Have you taught someone before?" he asked later on, practicing a simple one-two in the air as the fire crackled. It was still slow and unfamiliar to him, but the coordination was coming together as he got more repetitions in. "Any of your friends?"

He'd spent much of the day getting me to open up about them, about my coworkers, and the stuff I'd gotten up to in general. Guess we were starting to get used to eachother, and I had to admit that it wasn't altogether unpleasant to revisit some of the highlights with a captive audience. He'd gotten a good rundown: My first meeting with Dorian when I'd stirred up his fight with the Valkyr, our little dip underwater to the ruins of Xa-Koro when I'd taken his prized jacket hostage— The trek through Po-Wahi with Rhea Heartsflame and her group in tow seemed to be a favorite for both of us, not in the least because I gave a great retelling, in my opinion, of how we busted down Stannis Maru's using Skyra Daring as a battering ram. Wonder if she still had her stickerbook— no, right, I'd given it to Sola.

It was nostalgic.

"A little bit here and there," I replied, slowly dropping in to a knee and driving forward a bit off to the side from his shadowboxing. A solid, wrestling-style double leg takedown was next on my list of things to teach. Important that he learned how to hold somebody down as well as just knock them out. "It's not too often that I'm hanging around people who don't already know their way around a fight, so not terribly much."


"Hm." He punctuated his thoughtful noise with the quickest jab and cross yet. Good progress.

"Taught Flay how to work up her control over her element, I guess. Mainly I'm just teaching what I learned. Guess if you ever become a Toa in your life, remember what we're doing right here," I said, miming my rear hand near my jaw. Reminder to not drop your guard. He caught it quickly. "Start with the small stuff, get comfortable with it, then work your way up."

The guardswoman in question was another of the group I'd gotten separated from in the drifts. Hoped she'd gotten used enough to working with fire to keep herself warm...

....

"I'm sorry, but these are actually safe."

"Huh? They're magenta, aren't they? Same as the ones you tried before."

"Oh, no, not the berries." He held up a bundle of leaves to my confused face. "These make a very nice Ga-Koroan tea. I knew I'd recognized them. The toxins are all concentrated in the fruit, but you get a good smoky flavor if you steep the leaves long enough."

To reinforce his assertion, he showed me the page in one of his books, denoting the specific three-pronged shape.

"...Huh. Guess you're right, man. My bad."

He had more useful tidbits in those things than I'd previously given them credit for. Even I could still learn. Guess I was lucky he kept managing to remind me of that, whether he meant to or not.


....

It was a pretty good trip. Nice to not do these things alone, and without the weight of stuff much bigger than yourself over your head.

We had eyes on the Koro proper by the middle of morning, a couple hours after he'd made a killing on his tea harvest. The gulls were already in the air, raucous as ever, the soil had given way to sand at our feet, and the distinct spray of salty ocean was carried along the breeze. Slowly making its way towards us from the horizon as Naho Bay, and the village nestled within. I got the sense of something strange going on there... but then again, we were living in strange times. It had been ages since I hadn't felt that way.

"Brunch? Hm. I know a pretty good diner that the Marines like to frequent. Hear their sundaes are pretty killer. There's also The Great Takea if you're looking for something a touch more tavern-y. Not a bad atmosphere there."

I'd've killed for some good, professionally cooked food. For weeks, Arero's half a homemade sandwich aside, I'd been subsisting off of my usual road fare. Dried meats, raisins, simple oats, stews...

I'da killed.

I fought to stay behind my guide, even though Ga-Koro was effectively straight ahead. I'd probably lose sight of the bay at the bottom of this hill, and from there there was no telling where I'd end up.

Edited by Razgriz
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helo frens

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Ooc: how big is Ga-Koro? Is it still small like in MNOG or is it more developed up to a town or city?

 

IC: Arero

I think about going to a diner full of Ga-Koro Marines. It doesn’t sit well with me. What if I violated a small clause in some legal document or they saw me J-walk before entering the premises? I needed a bath. I wasn’t presentable in a diner. What if the book I was reading had been banned earlier this week and I didn't know it because of traveling? A brunch place with a tavern-y vibe however…

“Let’s go to The Great Takea. You seem like the tavern-type. Who knows, maybe you’ll see Dorian or one of your other friends at the bar? I’ll bother someone for directions once we’re in town.”

I lead the way down the sandy bluff and across the beach. The buildings are well developed. Impressive estates line the coast and the rest of Ga-Koro is on lily-pads stretching out into Naho Bay. The sounds of rigging clacking against the mast and the thrumming of boat engines carry across the water. At few Marines stand by the gates to Ga-Koro proper. 

“Excuse me,” I pipe up and throw in a timid wave. “I don’t mean to bother you but, um, well…”

I look at Cipher with eyes that say help.

Happy chat.

 

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OOC: From what I understand, we play everything as a bit upscaled. More a city sort of feel.

IC: I stepped forward languidly, meeting Arero's look with one that said not to worry.

Nothing ought to be wrong with the truth.

"Travelers from Onu-Koro," I declared, raising a hand in greeting and keeping both clear of my obvious weaponry. Routine procedure, don't look threatening. Even the idiots that got the bright ideas to attack places like this could figure that part out. "We've some friends who made it here from Ko—refugees."

They briefly looked us over, one frowning as he stared for a long moment at the Halberd at my back.

No sir, you don't recognize anyone who got into a fracas with an extradimensional Valkyr way back when. That guy (and his scarf-wearing buddy) sounds like a real charmer, though.

The moment passed, and the Marine nodded to his partner before calling behind himself.
"Let 'em through!"

I threw Arero an easy smirk.

"See, pal? Nothin' to it. Just don't point a gun in their faces, and nobody's got any trouble."

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helo frens

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OOC: Okay thanks! Is there anywhere to read up on the Great Takea location? Search doesn't seem to work. :(

IC: Arero

"I'm not quite sure that's the issue," I mutter as we pass into the city of water. The soft lily-pad beneath my feet ripples with the tide buffering beneath. I gather myself by reading a tourist map posted near the entrance to Ga-Koro. It's the kind of map with the you are here marker and the color-coded neighborhoods designed to please those who aren't trying to actually read. 

"It looks like we just need to keep on down this road, then make a left once we're at the docks." I say as my finger traces the route. "I think I know where we're going now."

Ga-Koro is a marvel unlike the other cities because of its aquatic architecture. Ta-Koro may be built into a volcano, but even it can't match the creativity of building out into the bay on lily-pads. I watch matoran diving off the streets to lower levels of business. It's physically impossible to escape the smells of raw fish and seaweed. Flowers grow in abundance in window boxes. I lead Cipher slowly through the crowds to avoid losing him.

"I think this is it," I say as we turn the corner on the docks. Ahead of us is a large structure built to toa heights. It smells warm and cozy once we get closer. Dusty from the road I reach out and push open the door...

OOC: hello anyone in The Great Takea?

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Happy chat.

 

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[Ga-koro, The Great Takea (Lucira)]

The ta-matoran looked up from her waikiru bacon burger and fried jicama as the door to the restaurant creaked open.

 

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There's a dozen selves inside you, trying to be the one to run the dials

[BZPRPG Profiles]

Hatchi - Talli - Ranok - Lucira - FerellisMorie - Fanai - Akiyo - Yukie - Shuuan - Ilykaed - Pradhai - Ipsudir

And some aren't even on your side.

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IC: Cipher

"Oh, dude, they brought the bacon burger back. You're in for a treat." I said scanning the menu and then the seating area at large. Mildly busy, buuut we had just beaten the lunch rush—perfect. That meant all their good cooks and servers were getting here to handle that. I flagged one of the said servers down. "Table for two!"

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helo frens

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IC: Zyrgahk

Zyrgahk had been lurking close to the tavern for several minutes although to him it felt like hours inching closer and closer, hiding behind huts and staying away from prying eyes. The sudden change of plan was not his own but the Parakuka's, as it did not see fit to charge in like a demented creature and waste it's own power on what, to it, was basically a whim. Against his own will Zyrgahk did as the Parakuka instructed, he was not in the mood to argue. 

"You know you can't hide that power from me forever." Zyrgahk whispered between his teeth. 

The Parakuka answered nothing. At this Zyrgahk began to growl at it. After a while, and some close calls Zyrgahk was at the kitchen exit of The Great Takea, the stench of garbage, rotten fish, and what he was certain was some dead rahi stung his eyes. 

:Wonder what in Karzahni that thing must've eaten to have that happen to it.:

He pressed his right audio receptor against the wooden planks that made up the wall, from the inside he could hear some footsteps.

:Two, three, no... two sets of feet. They seem calm, not much movement between them, there probably isn't that many people within the establishment to cook for. Hmm...:

Suddenly the two pair of feet begin to move away.

:Interesting, someone must have arrived. Rather fortuitous, for them.:

Less of an initial struggle would be best, Zyrgahk knew the moment his presence was known there would be trouble. He neared his large head toward the door window keeping it low, to make sure no one was there. His right eye began scanning the room.

:The kitchen seems momentarily empty ...wait...:

There was a Skakdi washing dishes.

:Great. Hmm... Maybe I can lure him out.:

Zyrgahk purposefully began knocking over some trash cans. The Skakdi heard the commotion and closed the dishwasher valve. 

"Darn rahi again." spat the Skakdi as he walked towards the door. When he opened the door he only got a split second look at his attacker.

"WHAT THE..."

Zyrgahk took him by the back of the head and smashed it against the lily pad below them. Weather the Skakdi had survived that or not was of no concern to him although he was sure that something was definitely broken. Zyrgahk looked at the door, his shoulders alone wouldn't fit.

"Pfft. There is no way I'll be able to go through that."

Even the Parakuka felt giddy at the remark.

"Sure, now you laugh." Zyrgahk said with a hint of sarcasm. He drew near the wall, a low growl could be heard as Zyrgahk placed his right hand on it, slowly he began to dig his claws into the crevasse between the wooden planks. Within a second he brought his massive claws down creating a new entrance large enough for him.

:Someone would have heard that.:

He didn't waste any time getting to the food. There was a pot with what was probably some sort of stew brewing, he picked it up and downed the contents within as if it were a glass of water, without paying any heed to the burns it was causing. As he finished this, he began rummaging through the kitchen to eat whatever he could find.             

     

Edited by The Forge of Artakha
Contextual inconsistency
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IC: Arero

A Ta-matoran looks up from her meal when I enter. She looks at me. I look at her. I look away because this is awkward. 

The table Cipher and I are escorted to is a plush booth with a window at the edge of the tavern. There's a great view of the door to the kitchen behind the bar and the main entrance. I let Cipher have the tactical view while I disappear into the large menu book.

"Bacon burgers, huh? They seem to have lots of toppings here. Look, third from the bottom. That one has seaweed on it. Oh, sorry, it's a crab salad not a burger. Do you think I could ask for it to be a sandwich? It wouldn't be too much trouble right?"

Edited by Unreliable Narrator

Happy chat.

 

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IC: Cipher 

"Nah, it shouldn't be," I began, menu flat against the table. I always get the bacon when I drop by and it's on promotion— they smoke it too well to ever pass up. "Most it oughta be is a small gratuity for a custom order— if that. Go for it."

I had a direct line of sight to the kitchen door from where we were seated. I'd first figured it to only be useful for an early warning regarding out food arriving— but then I heard a muffled, snapping crash through it. Living the majority of one's life between cities and off the beaten path had given me a sharp ear, more than most. There was no sonorous, hollow ringing quality that I could pick up, as one would expect from the usual loud kitchen mishap of dropping pans. No, this was wooden— like a branch being snapped underfoot. A door being chopped down.

I doubted anyone was karate-chopping cutting boards in half for fun. It was always Ga-Koro with me, wasn't it? Never a dull moment here— and I had the optimism to think the weird thing today would be those strange-looking folk I'd caught sight of milling about the crowds every few people. I didn't realize Crystals was such an abundant element last time I was here.

Nope. Always a (probable) fight.

I placed a hand on the table, tapped it twice, and rose, keeping the door directly in view.

"Stay here."

My tone to Arero is low and sangfroid, and I doubt he missed my demeanor changing for this moment. Eyes narrowed, mouth a hard line full of suspicion, and gaze sharp— I smelled trouble.

In the next moment, I forced a lot of that down as I stepped out from our booth in an unwitting saunter, right hand mildly hovering near the guard of the blade at my hip as I played the part of someone a lot more relaxed. I didn't stalk forward like a hunter— not yet. Acting jumpy would make everyone else jumpy— if this was nothing, I didn't need to be causing a panic thanks to my own road paranoia. I could project a relaxed image for now.

"Yo! Everything good back there, Chef?"

That said, there's not much subtle about loudly asking if the people behind the door are okay, is there? 

I met eyes with our server for a moment, and waited for a response from the other side. If they didn't recognize the voice, or if we didn't hear any, I'd count that as suspicions confirmed. At least enough to duck in and investigate.

See, I kinda liked this place. Wasn't too keen on somebody jacking it up.

Edited by Razgriz
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IC:

Onuzek liked Ga-Koro.

It was bright and sunny most of the time, with a salty smelling breeze and just as satly tasting water keeping the Koro comfortable.

The giant leaves were bouncy and very fun to walk on, much stronger and much larger than other leaves that weren't supposed to be walked on. Other places only had hard rocks to walk on--not very fun. Even some of the houses were made of big leaves.

Oh, of course there were many nice Ga-matoran too. This was very good; Ga-matoran were also very fun, they made good friends, even if small and difficult to not squish. They also had places to stay, and big stuff to move. Usually food too! After large things were moved. Food was nice, mostly fishy.

It was then, the distinctive sound of wood snapping not so cleanly in half interrupted the Ba-toa from thoughtful reverie. The sound made Onuzek wince, it was all-too familiar, and normally the result of clumsiness on his part. But that wasn't right, he hadn't moved from his spot just off the main road, and he was pretty sure he hadn't broken anything recently. Onuzek frowned. Slowly, careful to not break anything else because something else had already broken and it wasn't nice to make things worse, the hulking toa got to his feet.

The sound was close by, and with plodding steps that bent the flexible material beneath his feet the Ba-toa made his way over to the source of the report; a building he recognized after a moment as being a big shark. Or at least, that's what the tiny Ga-matoran had called it before. Strange, it still never really looked like a shark to him.

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IC: Zyrgahk

"Yo! Everything good back there, Chef?" 

The words cut through the air. Zyrgahk slowly began to raise his head before accidentally bumping against one of the roof's support beams. This was not a good spot to be in, he could scarcely stand straight without hitting something.

:This was faster than I thought. The voice said 'Chef' instead of calling him by name. So I've got either a city guard, the new guy, or some concerned citizen, that or this place is far more formal than I thought it was.:

Zyrgahk neared the door slowly and quietly hid beside it, with his left palm on the ground and his right arm raised above his head.

:Even if they opened the door most of the people outside would not be able to see me. If they hear the commotion most of the patrons would leave screaming, they'll probably think it's some rahi and wouldn't be able to describe me later. I could still gather the spoils from the kitchen then beat it while the guards can't get in.:

Zyrgahk waited, attentively listening to know how many were coming. 

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IC: Arero

While Cipher smelled something strange from the kitchen I smelled jicama fries from the bar. 

"Jicama," I mutter behind the menu. "Jicama, jicama... ah. Oh no."

It's not on the menu as an appetizer. It's only available as one of the options with the burger. Getting the same order as Cipher would be weird. Asking for an additional favor from the waiter would be presumptuous. Maybe as a fallback then if they can't turn the crab salad into a sandwich though. I lean in closer to the menu as the light from the window disappears. It's probably a cloud blocking the way. Looking outside I find I'm wrong. It's not a cloud. They're just huge and blocking my view. I lean back into my seat. Should I be planning to slide under the table?

Maybe I should have gone to the place with sundaes. 

 

Happy chat.

 

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[Ga-koro, The Great Takea (Lucira)]
Lucira shrugged and went back to her burger as the onu-matoran continued to look awkward.  She was taking a long swig of her beer just as a loud clatter echoed from the kitchen.  Lucira squinted from her position at the bar...she couldn't see much through the slit where food was passed, but she had spent enough time in Onu-koro to recognize the sound of something big moving through a small space.

"Yo! Everything good back there, Chef?" 

The grizzled toa who had come in with the awkward onu-matoran had strode to the front of the bar and was looking at the back with the same weary trepidation Lucira felt.  She picked up one of her jicama fries and dipped it in mayo, crunching on it as her other hand felt in her bag for her sheathed knife.

 

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There's a dozen selves inside you, trying to be the one to run the dials

[BZPRPG Profiles]

Hatchi - Talli - Ranok - Lucira - FerellisMorie - Fanai - Akiyo - Yukie - Shuuan - Ilykaed - Pradhai - Ipsudir

And some aren't even on your side.

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IC: Cipher

Not a word. Not one word, positive, negative, or otherwise, answered me.

Utter silence— scratch that. Another thump is what answered my call, and it sounded high up. That told me two things— one: whomever was in there was still conscious, in there, and moving about roughly, and two: they weren't keen on responding, or letting me know all was well. If I could hear what was going on in there, they could certainly hear me raising my voice. No chance of them missing it, not when orders were called in and out of the back regularly. Staff would be listening, and staff would have reported back.

Knew it. We had an intruder.

Now I began to move with a sense of the clandestine about me. I crept forward, maintaining a solid base beneath me all the while, towards the door. Footfalls can never be truly silent, but the can certainly be softened, and I had gotten very, very experienced at balancing the fine line of feather-light and stably balanced. The less information I gave our intruder, the better, especially after he had already learned that I was aware something was amiss. Simply put, we both knew I'd be headed in there soon. Heightened readiness on their end as well as my own.

I made it to the door without the floorboards exploding under me, so I would count that, personally, as a "good start". That said, I was faced with a bit of a problem— our trespassing friend could have been anywhere in that kitchen area that I didn't know by heart, but they knew for a fact that this was the only place I could be when I moved in. Easiest ambush of their life— just focus on the door and kill them when they come through. By now they'd be coiled and waiting to pounce. But with that said... they still only had the information I gave them to go off of. I'd told Arero a lot about fighting in the past three days. Now I had an opportunity to put it all into practice for him.

I'd said that there were universal concepts no matter the rules, no matter the arms.

Guess it was time to win my Academy Award.

"What's the plan?" I call out to the room behind me in a stage whisper, addressing nobody at all. "You'll go out to the— Got it, catch him between us. Good call."

Deception. Introduce the idea of a threat from any other port of entry— like the back door. None of these places didn't have a back door. Chances are it was where they'd come in themselves— probably made that crash kicking the door down or something. It would plant that seed of doubt in the mind. Even if they kept a large portion of their focus on my end, there was now the chance of getting blindsided. If there were side exits, even better. It would divide their focus, between, at minimum, two points, even if that split was 90% on me. Work up their nerves even more.

My hand fell upon the knob of the door softly, and before I turned it, I took note of the hinges, which way it would swing. A push. Standard enough for anything public—leave the back as the workers' refuge that you could bar from intruders, not the opposite. In this case, it swung out to the right. First order of business, then, was the near corner. Direct line of sight, and the only area that didn't at some point have a door in the way.

Alright. Got a plan of attack.

I twisted the knob and pushed— then I waited, still an arm's length behind the frame and obscured from the blind angle by the wall. It swung open wide.

Heat coalesced in my palm, giving way to light. Plasma. A ball of the stuff, luminous and eminently eye-catching. Few people could ignore a streak of superheated energy sailing across their line of sight.

My right hand, free, fell to my falcata.

I waited still. The door had been thrown open, but nobody had come through. Play with expectations. Drive the nerves one notch further. Ratchet it up as hard as I can. When is it coming? When is he coming through? When do I stop having to coil up like a spring? When do I have to be ready for?

Get them sweating. Get them spinning off in their head.

Engineer a situation where they are dying for something to come through, before they get stuck between two enemies.

I waited for two breaths.

Three.

Four. I activate my Calix.

Now.

I threw the orb in at head height, now almost a white-hot streak. It sailed through the "empty" kitchen, dispersing in a fizzling sort of burst an instant before it would have struck the wall and set the whole establishment on fire.

Misdirection. Flying in the face of the usual "one, two, three, go" rhythm by adding an extra beat, I broke the most common pattern anyone would have expected. As for my projectile, nothing caught they eye like two very specific things— something shiny and something in motion. By simple nature of being plasma, the first was a no-brainer. Definitely bright enough. Sending it in high would draw attention, even momentarily, to the very bright, very fast, and very distracting thing that had suddenly entered their space when their every instinct was ready to keep an eye on whatever had done just that.

So saying, off the door.

I had bought maybe a moment as the mind scrambled to divert the eyes from where natural, hardwired reaction had taken them.

With the Calix, I only needed maybe a moment.

I dropped low, almost to a knee, as I swung into the blind angle of the open corner with my falcata, now free of its leather scabbard with next to no sound. Proved my diligence in maintaining both— a well kept blade doesn't sound like a chef honing his knife against steel. My physical abilities are all heightened, and I felt a surge in capability as my strike came out like a cobra. As was most infamous regarding this mask, my dexterity had gone through the roof. I could make a lot of options work where one normally couldn't.

I aimed to chop at the legs early. It only made sense to go low after I'd drawn attention high— made it take as long as possible for him to adjust from that to the actual threat. The forward curve of the blade helped with this pursuit, a shape that amplified chopping power to the point where it was comparable to an axe whilst maintaining the long cutting edge of a sword— and had that extra bit of reach around things that straight, traditional swords didn't. I loved this thing.

The door was at my back on one side, blocking that angle. The room ahead was clear. I was attacking the most dangerous region left after engineering the best possible context I could for making that strike. There was no hesitation left to be had.

Let's start the party.

Edited by Razgriz
wording clarification
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IC: Zyrgahk

:Multiple attackers, the door in front of me and now the back end. Could be a misdirect but considering the circumstances taking this as false could be far worse.:

Zyrgahk momentarily moved backward without taking his eyes off the door. Still in a squatting position he used his left hand to take hold of a three kitchen knives and returned to his original post keeping a weary eye on the newly created hole to the back of the kitchen.     

:Lets just see how well sharpened they keep these.:

Within a moment the door flew open but no one came through.

:This might be a concern. Anyone would generally just opened the door slightly and take a look around not fling it open, this guy has experience and not your run of the mill guard either.:

Zyrgahk retained his position waiting for the right moment to strike.

:He's toying with me. Rrrgh. Waiting for back up won't save you, nor them.:  

Zyrgahk readied the knives in his left hand, to make sure if anyone did come through the back they didn't have long. Suddenly there was a flash, a fire ball was created in front of him, he squinted at the burn. No matter how long you have trained or even if you know it's a trap when the fire ball was thrown, his eyes were hesitantly drawn to it. He quickly returned them but when he did, his eyes were still recovering from the sudden change in light, he could only gather that something was attacking him low and fast. His original plan was in shambles anything that could've gone wrong, did. Unable to jump backwards without hitting the roof, and making things worse, with a bone chilling howl he decided to bring his right arm down against the sword as it began contact with his knee hoping to either pin the sword against the floor or snap it.        

 

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IC:

A light flared up, surprisingly bright as it shown out of what could only be the source of the sharp sound earlier. By the time the glint of it caught his attention he had lumbered his way over to the building. Initially going to attempt making it through the front door, the relative size of the opening dissuaded him, and the far more interesting flash of light changed his mind completely.

A few heavy steps later and the Ba-toa had made his way around the Big Shark building, and peered around into the rather jagged hole of broken timber.

"Hello!"

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IC: Cipher

The Calix is the Mask of Fate for good reason.

The wielder of this Kanohi, as previously stated, experiences an amazing increase in capability across the board, allowing them to perform feats that defy known limitations. Like they are guided by fate itself to act even where their bodies could not.

As I swung my sword into the blind angle, I naturally found my opponent with my eyes, and a host of important things became apparent in that instant. I faced easily the largest Skakdi I had ever seen, one that very clearly would tower over my Toa-sized frame. He was composed largely of scarred and pitted muscle, evidence of both many fights and many injuries. So, easy to see that I had no reason to chance muscling a guy like that around. Maybe with my Kanohi, probably with a Pakari— that mask simply made you unreasonably strong.

I doubted, though, that the muscle on his back was all his, even taking the trademark Skakdi spines into account. Parakuka. I would bet my life that those parasitic backpacks had one of their number on the unit in front of me.

He had one hand to the floor and the other high when I saw him. Presumably one to feel the vibrations of my approach and the other to club the mask right off me as I entered. Well, that wasn't a good sign for me— Even though he was loosing a howl better suited to Rahi than someone sapient, it took at least something of a brain to consider the sense of touch. I knew Ussalry liked the idea. As my Falcata bit into his knee joint, he thunderously brought the hand meant for my skull straight down.

I shouldn't have been able to stop it. By all rights, this was a counterattack that I couldn't avoid without some form of disarming— either drop the sword or suddenly stress-test the steel's flexion while I had the front end caught in his patella. I was supposed to be committed to the strike, and it would have taken the hand of the Great Spirit himself to arrest that momentum.

Nevertheless.

Even as his lunchbox of a fist careened down towards the flat of my blade, yanked it back, sharply. Just drawing my extended arm into my ribs wasn't enough: my lead foot, bearing the majority of my weight in that exaggeratedly low position, shoved hard against the floorboards as I bodily pulled away, maximizing distance with all the force I could muster as it came through the region I had begun to hack into. Sacrifice wound depth for keeping my sword on me. Fair trade. I'd have another opportunity now, one that would have probably been forever lost to me.

"Mask of Fate" indeed.

"Hello!"

...I had heard that huge voice before. Somewhere important, but I hadn't known the owner too well. Where...

Threat in front of me was more important. I could handle it, but not if I played it stupidly.

Keeping my blade interposed between him and I on our very shallow angle through the doorway, I reached my free hand behind me as I stepped back again to return the steel to my front side— Spirit knew if I was pointing it at the right person, though.

"Arero, crossbow!"

 

Edited by Razgriz
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IC: Zyrgahk

Zyrgahk's opponent had just removed his sword as his hand came crashing against the floor boards, broken pieces of wood came flying upward. 

:My leg is still good enough, I can still fight him. Can't out class him on a contest of speed or agility, gotta make this a battle of strength.:

Suddenly from the back end of the room a voice was heard.

"Hello!"

Without thinking or hesitation Zyrgahk threw the knives in his hand at the source of the voice.

:What kind of ambush was that?! Hello? Is that a joke, you don't just advertise your presence to the person you're trying to ambush!:

Without dwelling on the matter to much he turned his attention for a second to the new attacker, he was big and had a Pakari.

:The ambush itself might have lacked quality, but this guy might have just evened the odds regarding brute strength for my sword wielding friend here. It seems it will come down to experience and their ability to work together.:

"Arero, crossbow!"

Two melee attackers were bad enough adding a third ranged opponent, well he didn't like that at all.

"Like Karz I'll let you do that!"

Zyrgahk charged against the opponent in front of him with his left arm forward so as to parry his sword. He knew the Toa would dodge that charge, it was the plan.

:The moment you're out of the way that door goes shut. You've had as much help as you're getting.:    

     

Edited by The Forge of Artakha
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[Ga-Koro, Tourist District (Lucira)]


Lucira’s hands closed around the blade of her sheathed knife as a spot of light in the kitchen flickered out, followed in succession by several clangs and very audible, beastial snarling.

“Arero, crossbow!” came the previous toa’s voice from the embattled kitchen.

Lucira took one look at the onu-matoran cowering under the table and decide he probably wasn’t going to spring immediately to action.  Taking her knife in hand, she stepped up onto the bar counter and dropped down to the other side, slipping into the doorway the grizzled toa had left open.  She didn’t want to trip the toa up--so she stayed back as the massive hulking brute in the kitchen snarled “Like Karz I’ll let you do that!” and charged straight at the Toa.

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There's a dozen selves inside you, trying to be the one to run the dials

[BZPRPG Profiles]

Hatchi - Talli - Ranok - Lucira - FerellisMorie - Fanai - Akiyo - Yukie - Shuuan - Ilykaed - Pradhai - Ipsudir

And some aren't even on your side.

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IC: Arero

The Po-koro sentinels had a program they taught to civilians during the dark days: run, hide, fight. When confronted with an armed and violent individual or group you pick one and stuck with it. I choose to  hide.

I see the ta-matoran take off toward the kitchen with a knife. The server is standing still, unsure if they should run, hide, or fight. We’re not the only customers in the tavern. Most are still seated. They’re tense. But living in a world of constant violence under Makuta’s reign dulled their sense of morality. So what if a violent armed brawl starts in the kitchen? I have fries with mahi cheese curds to finish.

“Arero, crossbow!” Cipher yells from the kitchen. 

Okay, crossbow. Got it. I yank the crossbow off from where it’s strapped to Cipher’s backpack then crawl out from under the table. It’s a pretty heavy crossbow. I’m glad it’s sturdy because the kitchen door is probably twenty feet away and I’m not the best shot putter. But if this is how I can help Cipher I know I have to try.

“Incoming,” I reply and throw the crossbow. So much for committing to hide.

Edited by Unreliable Narrator
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Happy chat.

 

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IC:

There was scarcely little time for the massive Ba-toa to properly address the situation at hand, not with how quickly an attack was set against him. Granted, assessing situations quickly, or quickly for him, was never his greatest strength. With that in mind, he barely had enough time to register the knives whipped in his direction with a prodigious strength, and even less to react by raising his gauntlets in their path. He felt their impact against the armor, whoever had thrown them was very strong, and heard them clatter to the ground a moment later in front of his position just inside the makeshift entryway.

That wasn't very nice, he just wanted to help, now people were throwing stuff at him. He frowned.

Gingerly, Onuzek lowered his arms and focused his attention back towards the scene before him. His eyes widened, and his frown was replaced by a smile as he regonized at least someone in the immediate area. A particuarly rugged, blue-armored toa who was currently across from his spot, on the other side of the massive green skakdi that was as large as he himself was.

"Friend Cipher!" Onuzek beamed, happy to have met the aformentioned toa again. His view of Cipher was then obstructed as the huge skakdi made to charge. That was a problem.

Still not entirely sure what was going on, Onuzek lumbered forward towards the melee, ducking slightly to avoid the rafters above.

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IC:

Well, that timing worked out swimmingly. I had set up the threat of a pincer attack just as psychological warfare, but the jolly gravitic giant actually did it. The absolute madman!

“Incoming,” called a familiar, and welcome voice.

In the second my opponent had diverted his attention off of me and onto the familiarly hulking figure standing outside the hole he had ripped through the wall, Arero had managed to respond to my command about as quickly as I could have hoped. For a normal Matoran who'd never been in a fight in his life near as I could, the guy was proving to be stunningly reliable as the chips went down. Guess I'd found a spot of good fortune joining up with him.

"Like Karz I'll let you do that!"

The Skakdi charged forward, howling and furious at how this turn of events played out as he ate what little distance remained between us. He was holding his left arm out— reaching for me? No, not all the way. The way he'd positioned it... Almost akin to how I'd been holding my Falcata this whole time. Interposing it between himself and I. I get it: you've a fair bit of protection on that arm, huh?

A clattering noise as my crossbow made contact with the floor and began to slide, followed by the footfalls of what seemed to be an unfamiliar Matoran (he'd have just handed it over if it was him) in their wake. Beneath my Calix and within the stretched time it gave me, I found myself wearing a bit of a grimace. This would be close.

Rather than falling neatly into my hand, I knew my second weapon had arrived when it made contact with my heel. Lucky me that I shop smart— a little tossing around wouldn't affect the thing in slightest. 

I scooped it up— and sprung forward. Low. Fast. Under his guard.

My first instinct would be to run him through, but... hm. That was a lot of mass to meet head on, and despite still being capable of stabbing attacks, Falcata weren't nearly so designed for it as more traditional swords. Not worth chancing. This wouldn't be an easy angle anyway.

Striking distance. No attack came. Maybe he simply meant to bowl me over?

It occurred to me that if I had my hands free right now, I could have conceivably ankle picked him or some utilized some other reactive takedown, given how freely he was charging into me and giving so much commitment.

But I had already committed myself. Too late now.

As for that, forget going under his guard— with this ridiculous a height disparity, why not call it going under him entirely?

One moment, I looked to be nearly shoulder-checking his stomach.

The next, I'd ducked off to the left side mere moments before impact, my forward momentum carrying me clear as I drew the sword through my wake. How well it did against the Skakdi's thigh, I didn't immediately see, because in his place another giant was looming over me.

"Friend Cipher!"

...The Bubble.

"Onuzek," I began, face alight with recognition as memories finally surfaced. "What are you doing—"

The door slammed shut behind me and I whirled, back in the fight with my loaded crossbow brought to bear—

Wait, that was their cabinet.

Another turn and I saw my hunched-over foe's scheme— albeit with one flaw. He'd intended to isolate us from outside help coming through the front of the Great Takea, but a Ta-Matoran wielding what looked to be a combat-issue knife had slipped in moments before. I regarded her stance as I saw it. Cautious, but stable and obviously at least somewhat trained. Guard form, maybe.  Good handle on her nerves. More used to this than, say, Arero was. And he was doing pretty well already.

So.

3 on 1. Getting a little cramped in here. I racked the bolt as everyone took stock of the situation, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

I was thinking keep the "kneecap him" thing, at present. But, since I've got the help I wasn't planning on...

"Alright, big guy. Looks like I need your help for this one. Can I have some..."

what to call it that he'll get

"Floaty fun times for our green pal here?"

OOC: posting at 4am in the morning is refuge of true champion and cannot backfire on you ever

tried to square away everyone's relative positioning as best I could

Edited by Razgriz
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IC: Zyrgahk

As Zyrgahk lunged towards the door the toa ducked beneath him and left a wound on his thigh, not deep enough to cause significant damage, although at the time Zyrgahk barely noticed. Zyrgahk had reached the door and slammed it shut, but not before a Ta-Matoran had managed to slip in.

:Alright, that should keep most people outside. Now I've got a clear view of them and the back and...:

"When did you get here little one?" he said almost with a growl as he turned around and faced the matoran.

:Knife in her hand and as composed as could be expected of a matoran in this situation, she has at least been trained.: 

Then he realized that the Su-Toa had acquired his crossbow after all and was pointed at him.

"Alright, big guy. Looks like I need your help for this one. Can I have some... Floaty fun times for our green pal here?"

:Wait, what was that last part? Perhaps this Ba-Toa isn't as perceptive as his friend, that would explain his earlier blunder.:

Zyrgahk readied himself and got on all fours, not very comfortable due to his Tekko-Kagi, but it allowed him to keep center mass away from the potential bolt from the crossbow.

:Shoulders and head still exposed, but at least like this I don't have to worry about hitting the roof. That crossbow is still a problem, gotta find some way of taking it from him, I can take a few shots if they don't hit anywhere vital but I don't feel like testing that out if at all possible. Or I could use his own ally as a shield if I could get a hold of him. Oh yeah and the small thing, almost forgot about her. Knife too small to get anywhere particularly useful, but I should make sure she doesn't try to go bull riding, that thing could still tear my back open or worse.: 

Taking a good look at the situation at hand this was going to be a tough fight, just the way he liked it.                 

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IC: Arero

This has gone on long enough. I'm standing in a tavern without ordering and there's a brawl in the kitchen. How did I think traveling to Ga-Koro would be better than relaxing at home with a good book? I could have been reading a book about Ga-Koro taverns.

I hear Cipher yelling at someone behind the closed kitchen doors. I look around the room to see everyone fleeing. The server is standing by the entrance waving customers down. She's obviously done this before. 

"You, let's go," she says to me and points with her notepad, "outside. The Marines are on the way."

I take a step toward the door. Then another. My mind is racing as I step out into the street with the rest of the customers. Would I be considered a part of the brawl because I'm with Cipher? Because I tossed him the crossbow? I'm sure there's an honest explanation, officer -- some version of the truth paints us in the best light. I'm just a traveler looking for my refugee friends. I'm Arero of Onu-Koro. It's not that I don't want to go to jail. It's that I don't want to go to jail again.

Repeat offenses are the worst.

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Happy chat.

 

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[Ga-Koro, The Great Takea (Lucira)]

The eyes of the bestial skakdi flicked toward the toa and the hulking newcomer.  The small amount of oversight was all she was going to get, and she took advantage of it, sprinting at the skakdi.   She registered a lazy sort of recognition in his eyes.  He thought her small, insignificant.

Well she was small, and in the cramped kitchen, that was an advantage.  Lucira lunged, sliding on her knees under the skadi on the well-waxed kitchen tile.  Her diagonal trajectory took her right behind the his right leg, and she snapped her arm back with all the force she could muster, aiming to plunge her knife into the vulnerable flesh behind his knee.  She planned on putting all her weight forward once the knife connected.  She didn't know how high the his pain tolerance was, but even that wouldn't account for severed tendons.

[Ga-Koro, Tourist District (Talli)]

"...a what..."

"I don't know, something big!" Talli yelled, as she sprinted toward the sound tearing and muffled clangs.

"Private Anach...you should wait for back-up."

"No time, back-up should hurry the rok up!"

"Wait--"

Talli clicked her radio off, taking out a disk as she reached the source of the noise, a hole ripped in the back of a restaurant with a hulking figure standing in the doorway.

"THIS IS THE MARINES.  STAND DOWN OR I WILL USE FORCE."

She gripped the disk tighter, fighting down the nausea that her serge of adrenaline seemed to have dredged up.

Edited by Mel
better wording
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There's a dozen selves inside you, trying to be the one to run the dials

[BZPRPG Profiles]

Hatchi - Talli - Ranok - Lucira - FerellisMorie - Fanai - Akiyo - Yukie - Shuuan - Ilykaed - Pradhai - Ipsudir

And some aren't even on your side.

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IC: Onuzek

"Floaty fun times for our green pal here?"

The sentence had scarcely left the toa of Plasma's mouth for Onuzek to already begin moving, taking a half step to the side to both clear his blue friend. That he could do, though there was a small issue. Or rather, two large ones. Neither him or the huge skakdi fit inside the enclosed space well, making any possibility of floating around somewhat... difficult to say the least.

Of course, that was an easy enough problem to fix, at least in the mass Ba-toa's mind.

"Onuzek likes that idea!"

Said toa reached out with both his massive arms towards the green assailant before drawing them back in a sharp motion, as if miming pulling the skakdi by two large ropes. Seemingly ineffectual, until the motion was paired with a sudden powerful pull from gravity itself as Onuzek made to throw the skakdi out of the hole he had created to enter and into the open. A stray pot fell sideways and clattered to the wall next to him.

It was then that another voice sounded behind him, though it was too late to do anything about his use of elemental power.

"THIS IS THE MARINES. STAND DOWN OR I WILL USE FORCE."

oops

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BZPRPG -

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IC: Arisaka - Ga-Koro, Tourist District- 

Arisaka walked through the tourist trap that was Ga-Koro, ignoring the many stares she got from the endless sea of natives. She was definitely getting used to it by now, not that the Dasaka had cared before.  No, the soulsword cared very little what they thought of her, whether it was mere curiosity or something else.

What did bother her was being stuck in this village. From what she’d been hearing, there were villains somewhere on this island. She was growing restless, desiring to test her power against the scum of this island. Standing guard for the submarine was growing old. 

 So when she saw some sort or commotion happening at The Great Takea, one might forgive her for getting really excited, or the fact that she literally crashed through a window to get inside said establishment. Yeah, she wasn’t even a little sorry about it, there were criminals to punish.

”Alright! What criminal scum need to be punished!?” She put a fist in her palm.

"THIS IS THE MARINES.  STAND DOWN OR I WILL USE FORCE."

Ah. Well, it seemed she’d arrived a bit late huh. 

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My Bzprpg ProfilesGhosts of Bara Magna

Skyra | Hakari | Oceanna | Taleen | Arisaka | Zanakra | Kaminari | Drakkar

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IC: Zyrgahk

The Skakdi had thought he had calculated the circumstances as best he could but had underestimated the Ta-Matoran's mental state. As she slid underneath him and began plunging the knife, he could feel no more than a prick, generally he wouldn't care but where the jolt was coming from he knew that if he allowed it to continue weather or not he could  feel it it would mean nothing if he couldn't walk.

"You little swamp rat!" he blared out as he raised his body quickly, smashing into the roof and breaking support beams, bringing his right arm back to swat away the matoran at full force. Weather it had worked or not he couldn't tell, his mind was on the crossbow.

:Go ahead take your best shot you won't get another I'll make sure of that.: 

But it never came as he suddenly felt his body getting pulled down and get thrown out the hole he had created. He could barely make out that someone was shouting.

"THIS IS THE MARINES. STAND DOWN OR I WILL USE FORCE."

And he was certain there was a window smashed, or something.

:Well this can't get any worse. Oh wait it did, the wooden structure was the only thing keeping the Su-Toa from using his elemental powers. As much as i hate it, I gotta get back inside. I should try tackling the two toa in front of me.:

OOC: Thanks for the heads up Mel  

 

     

Edited by The Forge of Artakha
Contextual inconsistency
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