Wotz

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) ... My eyes were fixated on the meat. Partially raw. The smell was blended with something else, more metallic. ... The meat grew and grew. Soon I could see between the cracks in its flesh, its ore veins burying me in darkness. The smell. ... The meat had become my whole world, I was but a microbe, a peasant in its realm. Flesh hallways and cartilage doorframes, and windowframes with sinewy cagings, hair follicles extending like roots beneath the earth, growing, growing- ... -and the smell, the smell was all-encompassing, burning flesh and hot metal, burning flesh and hot metal- ... ... knock. What...? knock. I was back on the mountain. It was cold. The meat was burning. Aru was there. And...? knock knock. ...The meat was knocking. But there was no handle. I couldn't let it in. kock. knock. knock. ...No, it couldn't let me in, I was outside, scratching on the door frantically like a F O R G O T T E N P E T- KNOCK i KNOCK was KNOCK alone ... ... hisssssss The snow around me vanished in seconds, turned to steam. Then the rock beneath it began turning to magma. My measly cooking setup was swallowed into the melted sludge around me. I couldn't see. My eyes were just pointed into the middle distance at nothing in particular. That particular morning had just become the worst one so far. And that's counting the ones where I died.

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) ... "...I don't understand." ...

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) "Aru. Explain."

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) "...Didn't know...what...? I thought he was in on this whole thing...?"

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) "There were others! Our entire species wasn't localised to that one room, now was it?"

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) I took a large, heavy breath, exhaling hard enough to growl. "Is this what you wanted? We'll be outcasts now, killers of our own kind." I scoffed at the cave entrance. "No wonder we have to live with that savage in there. You haven't tried to contact our people, have you? You wouldn't ####ing dare!"

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) "-And who's fault was that? Allow me to rephrase - Do you know how many good people I saw die in that cave?"

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) "Over? Sure, it's over all right. More over than I ever wanted. How many people died in that cave?"

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) "What was the deal you had with Zarnarax?"

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) "No. You're the one who's going to talk. You have a lot of explaining to do."

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) knock knock I nodded glumly, still fumbling with the leg. Still, the apology didn't feel exactly apt. knock kn-knock What it really felt like was that she was apologising for the wrong thing. Or, perhaps that I was wrong about what was bugging me. I prodded the meat. The ph- knockknockknockknockknock -the phantom of memory has an intrusively wide presence, making it difficult to sidestep. Considering the physical state I was in, the last thing I wanted was a confrontation. But we both knew already. It hung- knockknockknockknockknockknockknOCKKNOCKNOCKKNOCK -in the air, sucking the warmth from us. It was all around us, in the snow, those caves- KNOCK. KNOCK. -that now reek of savagery, deception- KNOCK. -the smell reminded me- KNOCK. -the smell of burning flesh. ... The doors were open. I couldn't sidestep it anymore. I looked at her.

IC: Noka (Fowadi Gym) She pushed off the pillar and stood stock straight. "Okay. Where do I put my feet?" It was a Po-Koro expression, meaning something to the effect of "How do I start?"

IC: Kuhrin (Lake Pala North) "...a little personal space to stash things..." - What kinds of things, I wonder? I haven't eaten anything but fruit in days.... No. It would be wrong of me to do even what my gut screams I must. ...But could I fall any lower? What is there to lose? It isn't like this would be the first time. Then again, the others were all thieves - most of them at least. Am I to find some reason why this person deserves to be robbed? Saying that, did any of them? If anyone deserves to starve - Keep listening.

IC: Noka (Fowadi Gym) "...The, uh, media- no, meditation. Would you be willing to teach?"

To anyone at Obsidian: Kahlynn is asleep at the top of the watchtower by the fire that Mar made earlier - just thought I'd make it totally clear since he sleeps like a rock and I can't get a post out of him.

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) That was more biting than I had really intended - the result of my hunger-induced frustration. I glared at the Mahi leg, sizzling idiotically, only half of it able to fit on the 'pan'. I was half-tempted to simply melt it into atoms, clip my wings and throw myself off the mountain. Needless to say, that would have been foolish. Half-heartedly, I rolled the leg around in the butter a little, frowning.

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) I ran my claw down my face in exasperation. "I am trying. My head's still foggy," without entirely meaning to, I shot her a bladed look - "I supposed your first day back - after years in hibernation - was nice and easy?"

IC: Noka (Fowadi Gym) "I'm- Noka-" she replied between crunches. There was a silence as they both continued honing their herculean physiques at either end of the room. After some deliberation, Noka got up and leaned against one of the beams supporting the ceiling. "Anything you'd be willing to share?"

IC: Kuhrin (Lake Pala North) Newcomers. A pair of green-armoured Toa. I raise the Resonator to my ear. The Huna keeps flickering.

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) ...then I was outside, igniting the coals, the heat from within me shooting as steam out of my nostrils. I had no kind of grease or oil to lubricate the pan, and the meat kept sticking. In hindsight, I realised I should have looked a little more thoroughly for usable utensils and such. Pan frying an entire leg of Mahi meat is far from being my finest moment. But I was hungry, and the hunger brought frustration and rash thinking - I hadn't eaten in literally years. I looked over my shoulder to see if Aru had followed me outside.

double post, internet etc etc

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) While the other two bickered, I disappeared into the adjoining 'storage cave' as Aclaraung put it - it was more just another chamber much like the rest, only filled with piles of mostly useless and entirely disused detritus. I picked out a sort of metal disc that looked like it might work as a sort of pan, and managed to find a sack of coals. Then I returned to the Mahi and, setting down my things, extended my index finger. A thin beam of energy shot out, and sliced cleanly through the hip of the creature. Its leg fell stiffly onto the metal disc 'pan'. I picked it and the sack of coals up again. "Care to join me on the veranda, Aru? As you can see, there's a... Wonderful meal in store," I soughed as I left the cave, my voice still hoarse, shooting a sideways glance at Aclaraung on my way out.

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) I sighed. This was going nowhere. "Have you two been snapping like this for weeks? Aclaraung, we heard you... shouting. On the mountain. Your voice really travels, believe it or not."

IC: Xaruthan (Dragon Nest) "What a pleasure it is to be spoken about so flatteringly."

IC: Noka (Fowadi Gym) "No kidding," she replied, not entirely understanding the first part, but certainly the second. The lactic acid in her left arm was telling her to switch, and she did, creating a thud as the rounded part of her right hand struck the padded floor under her weight. Now facing away from him, she spoke at the empty wall, musing, "Meditation... Isn't that what they do in Ko-Koro...?"