Half-Dragon

IC: Keran | Misty islandPeople who only knew Keran as a friendly, easygoing Toa who didn't know the meaning of the word 'serious' would be surprised at the speed with which his spot in the group was suddenly vacant. There was even a Keran-shaped hole in the mist. A brief scan of the surroundings, however, would reveal him crouching atop a large, rocky overhang, hopefully out of reach of the Muaka's maw, with his bow unslung and an arrow set. But he didn't draw the string yet. Instead he called down to Diomi, who had the look of a Toa of Psionics about her. "Hey! Think you can calm this thing down? Maybe make it forget how hungry it is?" He sounded nervous at the last part - got good reason, considering how much bigger that thing was than him.^^H-D^^

IC: Keran | Misty islandKeran glanced at Diomi, shrugged as if to say 'like we've got a better idea' and took off after Alfon, not quite fast enough for his liking but better than walking. He'd heard stories of strange Rahi that lead explorers to great treasures or sources of food and water. He'd also heard of them leading travellers to their horrible demise, but it would be just pessimistic to assume that.^^H-D^^

IC: Keran | Unknown islandKeran skipped sideways and turned around in one fluid movement so that he was walking backwards in front of Diomi, facing her. He bowed his head politely and replied "Keran, Toa of Air. At your service." He grinned. "Nice to see we're off to a good start, right? We haven't even been travelling that long and already we've found an unknown, uncharted island (probably) and not a single pirate attack yet! Good times, right?"^^H-D^^

IC: Keran | Unknown islandKeran quickly joined Diomi in whistling cheerfully. He didn't know the tune, but he could whistle along well enough on the spot. Le-matoran had a natural ear for music. And besides, it was nice to see he wasn't the only one willing to just enjoy this whole situation - the way some of them acted it was as if this whole place was trying to kill them. Like they'd never seen fog on an island before.^^H-D^^

NPC: "Assuming the signal is electromagnetic," Ultionis pointed out, dropping another bird as it tried to dive-bomb him. "It's more likely sonic. Maybe if you try to read their senses and hear what they hear we'll know for sure." Animals were capable of percieving sounds on a level no human could, that much was common knowledge. It's how dog whistles work. It probably wouldn't even be hard to build a sonic emitter or find a sonic supervillain who could generate a supersonic frequency that drove these beasts wild. (H-D)

IC: Keran | Unknown islandKeran was actually quite happy with how all this had turned out. He'd expected to spend much longer on the ship, whiling away the hours, steadily going mad with boredom, and so on. Instead the worst thing to happen so far was the unpleasant surprise of rain on the first night and subsequent hour or so spent bailing out the nest (though the looks on some of the crew's faces when he yelled 'Look out below!' and dumped water on the deck made up for that). After all, this uncharted island business was the entire reason he joined up! It might not be the one with the minerals, but who knew what else might wait for them? The Toa grinned to himself. Adventure time!Then he realized he'd fallen behind the group and hurried to catch up. He looked at Alfon expectantly, awaiting some sort of order or guidance or just a general idea what to do next. He'd never been on an uncharted island before. He wasn't sure Alfon had, but he was in charge so he probably had a better idea what he was doing.^^H-D^^

IC: Keran | At seaAfter a few failed attempts to get comfortable in a hammock indoors, Keran decided there was only one place on the ship he'd feel truly at home. And he was looking right up at it from the deck. He grinned. Here was one of the advantages of being a Toa. Without so much as a running start he leapt up, turned in mid-air a couple of times and planted his feet on the side of the mast, then sprang off in the same moment to grab onto the net-like rigging leading up the side of the ship, with one hand holding him steady, the other clutching the side of the rigging and his legs set firmly under his torso.Without a second's rest he pushed out again with his legs, letting go of the net and holding on only to the side. He swung around and let go just at the exact right moment, leaving him feeling briefly weightless as he pivoted in the air above the other side of the rigging before he landed atop it in a crouch, like a muaka ready to pounce. And pounce he did, moving across the net as though he'd been doing it his whole life, until he reached the edge of the kahu's nest. At the very end of the run he hopped up, planted one foot on the edge of the nest and leapt up once more, grabbing the very tip of the mast with one hand at the last possible instant to bring his momentum to a halt. For a few breathless seconds he just held there, balanced upside-down atop the highest point on the ship as though he was on the top of the world... then he allowed himself to drop gracefully into the kahu's nest, where he finally made himself comfortable.Now the only thing left to do was let the soothing, swaying motion of the ship rock him to sleep... and hope it didn't rain.^^H-D^^

IC: Well, the nanite analysis nonsense was certainly taking its time. They'd confirmed the machines were in fact designed to connect with one another, but to what degree was uncertain - it could simply be a convenient method of patching up. One of the techs had suggested the actual vehicle was made of nanites. Theoretically feasible, but even with automated assembly by the thousands it would take forever to press out that many nanites. And with the constant need to repair the outer layers thanks to simple wear and tear, the nanites would have to be configured to self-replicate, which would require the exact right materials (you couldn't make nanites out of tinfoil, whatever the cartoons said) in significant amounts for long-term prospects...Omega was so wrapped in his thoughts that he didn't even notice he was on a direct collision course with Doctor Om. Being moderately invulnerable he still might not notice if they crashed right into one another, but the doctor was less likely to shake it off without a close encounter with the floor.|H-D|NPC: Ultionis had worked out a simple system for the animal attack: With one hand, shoot the ones that seem to be causing the most trouble. With the other, anything that came for him personally. So far with this he'd bagged twelve birds, three badgers and a very lean-looking bear. At this rate he ought to get into hunting. "Anyone got any thoughts on stopping this stampede? I don't have enough bullets for every animal in the forest." And then there was PETA to consider...(H-D)

IC: Keran | At seaKeran tended to miss clues and obvious flaws, and altogether wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, but he knew when he was being told to shoo. He still decided to part on friendly terms, rolling his eyes a bit and smiling. "Yeah, I remember that. Should cut a day or two off our travel time, though, so I'm not complaining too loud. You should get some rest too - y'know, in case we find pirates." He backed out of her broom closet and gave a small wave. "'Night." Then he went off to claim a sleeping place of his own. Maybe the nest atop the mast...^^H-D^^

IC: Keran | At seaKeran scratched the back of his head. "That sounds like a really good idea if you're going out to sea. Kinda wish I'd thought of that." He never thought of the smart things to do. "Still think we could try talking it through." Apparently he did realize what her response to that would be, though, as he abruptly switched topics. "So why pick this closet?" He asked curiously, looking around the tiny 'living' space (and incidentally making no attempt to disguise the change of subject). "There's plenty of bunks, most of them are nicer than here. They don't even smell."^^H-D^^

IC: Keran | At seaKeran looked at her oddly. "That is one bleak view. You're just not a very cheerful person, are you?" Something occurred to him. "Wait. I thought you said you hadn't been on a lot of ships. What makes you so sure we'll run into a lot of pirates? For all you know the sailing could be smooth, quiet and boring."^^H-D^^

IC: Keran | At seaKeran backed up a bit. "That... is vicious," he remarked. "You're really prepared for the violent end of things, aren't you?" He stepped back to where he had been, peering this time at Lesvera herself. "Do you, like, get a lot of that? Violence, I mean." In his experience people weren't usually this vicious unless something happened to make them think they had to be. Unless they were just crazy, but she seemed lucid enough.^^H-D^^

IC: Keran | At sea"Cool," remarked the Toa, watching the process. He would concede that, while Toa as a whole preferred non-lethal solutions and he distinctly tended toward the non-violent, he was still currently carrying a bow that transformed into a dual-bladed staff and a quiver full of sharp arrows, some of which could pierce armor if propelled with enough force. "I think I see it. The little blades pop out to the sides of the big one. But how's that used? I mean, what's it actually do that a normal blade can't?"^^H-D^^

IC: Keran | At sea"Good policy," he agreed, nodding in what he hoped was a sage manner. He peeked at the instruments on her table, which seemed to mostly consist of gears and blades. "Whatcha makin'? Looks pretty dangerous." He also took the time to look around the little broom closet she had apparently chosen to inhabit, judging by the hammock and how the boxes were shifted about to make a poor living space. He'd have to add 'why live here?' to his list of questions.^^H-D^^

IC: Keran | Ship leaving SakrinilKeran was restless. This, in and of itself, was a perfectly natural state for him, but on ships it posed a problem. Sure, there was always a mast and some ropes to climb, but... it was just the mast and some ropes. Climbed it once, there's no more. As he was considering the deeper ramifications of such spaces, he spotted Lesvera discreetly making her exit inside and, acting purely on the impulse that had guided him for as long as he could remember, decided to follow her.He didn't make much effort to conceal himself, but the brief distraction of the ship's galley tying him up for a few minutes seemed to convince her he wasn't, in fact, following her. When he found her again she was apparently busy rearranging a broom closet. After mulling this over for a while Keran decided he wasn't going to figure out why on his own. "So," he said cheerfully, "whatcha doin'?"^^H-D^^

OOC: Yeah, Omega and Shard could really use something to do. Seeing as they're my actual characters. Though last I noticed Omega was supposedly helping to analyze some of KILL's component nanites that got left behind.NPC: Ultionis had by now switched back to normal ammo for both of his pistols - no sense wasting the incendiaries - and had both silenced firearms aimed outward. He was willing to bet he knew why these animals were attacking. The Coalition had some good tech, but things like this were usually the result of some super at work. Now they were officially found, there seemed no more point holding back, so he sighted down on the largest beast he could find and fired a round right at the skull.(H-D)

IC: Keran | Sakrinil DocksKeran slung his arms behind his head and leaned back, looking up at the sky. "So how long does it take to get to... wherever we're going?" He asked. "I mean, I'm still up for all this, but I don't do so well on these long voyages. Get a bit restless, y'know?"^^H-D^^

OOC: I don't know how or why, but the issue seems to have resolved itself mysteriously. IC: Keran | Sakrinil DocksKeran peered into the bag, making no effort to hide his stare. "Man. We could probably buy any of half the ships in the docks with this." Somehow, in the middle of a busy port, it did not occur to him to say this quietly. "What're we gonna do with it all?"^^H-D^^

OOC: So after about, what, two weeks of that message popping up every time I open a browser to BZP? The darn thing is finally gone!... for now, anywho. Might come back. Here's hoping I'm wrong. But allowing for the optimistic assumption that it's gone for good or at least for a long time, what'd I miss? H-D

So now would be a good time to explain my hitherto unexplained absence. Thing is, I really don't get it myself.When I try to access BZPower from home I get some kind of CloudFlare message telling me the site is unavailable and it can't find a cached version. I've tried this with three computers at the same IP address, same result. It only recently occurred to me to check from a different IP and find out that, as I'd kind of suspected, this is not a problem affecting the site, but my IP. Hence why I haven't been on at all. I'm planning to contact tech support now I know it's a local problem, but... Yeah, in case anyone was wondering why I've been gone for so long, now you know. Sorry to those interacting with my characters. It's kind of out of my hands.

So now would be a good time to explain my hitherto unexplained absence. Thing is, I really don't get it myself.When I try to access BZPower from home I get some kind of CloudFlare message telling me the site is unavailable and it can't find a cached version. I've tried this with three computers at the same IP address, same result. It only recently occurred to me to check from a different IP and find out that, as I'd kind of suspected, this is not a problem affecting the site, but my IP. Hence why I haven't been on at all. I'm planning to contact tech support now I know it's a local problem, but... Yeah, in case anyone was wondering why I've been gone for so long, now you know. Sorry to those interacting with Keran - it's kind of out of my hands.

IC: Keran | SakrinilThe Toa of Air nodded happily, beckoning to Kaladin to come along. "You coming, doc?" He asked. "I don't know about you, but I never turn down a free drink."^^H-D^^

IC: Keran | Sakrinil"Sounds good to me," Keran agreed. "Haven't checked out the local establishments yet. I've just been so busy with Toa stuff."..."Okay, yeah, I've been running. But the buildings are just perfect for it, y'know? Anywho, I'm parched. Any good spots around here?"^^H-D^^

IC: Keran | Sakrinil"Keran," answered Keran, extending his fist in greeting. "I'm a leafrunner. Well, I was, not a lot of trees around here. Turns out buildings, rocks, most things work pretty well. I just like a bit of altitude and plenty of jumps to keep things interesting. I can climb, leap or run anywhere." He grinned even more broadly as Kaladin confirmed his part in this newly-formed party. Sounded to him like he'd finally found something to occupy his time.The fact that it was supposed to be occupied with actual Toa work didn't even cross his mind. ^^H-D^^

IC: Keran | SakrinilKeran's grin was undiminished. "I can so totally live with that," he said happily before turning his attention to the curious Matoran closer to the ground. Some small, beleaguered part of his brain that did actual thinking proposed the conundrum that this one's coloration clearly marked him as Ga-Matoran, but all Ga-Matoran were universally female. Or so he'd been told. He knew there were Ga-Matoran back on his old island and they were all female, and all the water Toa he'd met were too. He mulled this over for all of half a second, then returned his attentions to here and now, where it would probably be rude to ask. Also in the present, it seemed the conversation had progressed without him. He hurriedly caught up as best he could. "You're going exploring soon? I could definitely get behind that. Wait, it's not on a ship, is it? Man, I like the sea as much as the next guy, but there is nothing to do on a ship. Actually in this town the next guy's probably a sailor, so I guess I don't- Nevermind. Point is I like running around and finding stuff too!"^^H-D^^