Patches (Open RP)

Unhindered from her objective, Prosopopoeiasys slowly reached out and plucked up the grey pebble from Dragon's left boot with both hands, handling with care implying an ancient holy relic.

The tiny object was cupped upward to catch the most light possible from the overcast sky as she settled on her haunches. The pebble's form revealed to be a stone acorn borne in a cup-shaped cupule.

The display blatantly parading across her humanoid face seemed indicative of the typical emotions experienced by a human. If so, there was intense scrutiny, surprise, disappointment, deliberation, decision, and finally resignation.

Question and apology appeared to catch up to the satyr. She first opened her mouth to answer the demon's request for identity, reconsidered, then offered the stone acorn back to Dragon, apparently supplying it as her answer.

The apparent demon frowned silently as she was ignored, but that went as unnoticed as her question so she stopped wasting the effort. Instead she followed the satyr back over to the dragon, watching as she picked up a seemingly unimportant stone with a degree of care and respect that suggested it was far more than it appeared, at least to her. She raised an eyebrow, confused. She'd come down here for answers, dammit, not more questions.

Prosopopoeiasys didn't feel it her place to speak. Yet she knew from long experience that thwarted curiosity lead to frustration and anger. So while it was out of self-defense that she answered a single word to the demon-apparent while kneeling with her offering to Dragon, her utterance contained only deference: "Everything."

((Of course not, Reb. Just don't bring in like 20. ))

Quote:

Originally Posted by RottenLuck "Fire bringer... Burnt human meat..." The Pack started to follow the Machine. Perhaps after it killed the target they will feed on the corpse if not then the pack will continue on it's hunt.

A trio of thunderous, flaming detonations would leave the pack disappointed in its search for a corpse. Perhaps the human had escaped, but if not, there wasn't anything left of him. Just which wasn't sure, the machine roughly the size of a small attack helicopter hovering in the air for several more seconds, slowly turning a full 360 degrees by virtue of the three powerful, compact, and yet presently almost silent jet engines mounted on a pair of fuselage winglets and in a tail sconce. Though they weren't what kept the machine aloft (an unseen field of energy did that job), they were free to pivot with several degrees of freedom, giving the aircraft the exceptional speed and maneuverability that made these machines such efficient hunter-killers.

Well, aside from their heavy payload, that was. Lazardarus had been right to be wary. To these things, there was no such thing as overkill - only 'open fire' and 'time to reload'.

Fortunately for the Gre'shil pack, the time for the latter seemed to be now. Its multiple red-glowing lenses not finding any further evidence of its target, the aircraft set course to the west and rapidly picked up speed, the turbine wail rising again as it accelerated toward the horizon in a frightfully short time, heading for wherever these things went to resupply. No one really knew. In a strange sense, they were the Desert's birds of prey, and like their counterpart animals hid their nests well...
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Quote:

Originally Posted by Kare_Ann So while it was out of self-defense that she answered a single word to the demon-apparent while kneeling with her offering to Dragon, her utterance contained only deference: "Everything."

"Uhhh..."the leather-clad Dragon was truly puzzled, words not wanting to form in this throat. Only slowly did the impulse to just take the dang thing that was being offered straight to his face and say something grateful about it make it from the recesses of his mind to his mouth. Gradually, he reached out with a metal hand and accepted the stone into his silver-gray claws, "...thank you. Um...hello...so...who're you?"

The question was directed at both of the women more than either one of them, the metal Dragon adding after a moment and with just a twinge of awkwardness, "My name's, um, Jade..."

The grey acorn sat inert in Jade's hand a moment. The first indication of its nature being other than stone its warmth, more than being held in the satyr's hand could account for. Its temperature continued to rise noticeably a few moments more before it hiccupped.

Well, it didn't actually hiccup. But that is the closest language comes to describing the metamorphosis that jerked the thing inside out. Still acorn shaped, it had gone from stone to computer data storage. Its composition now matched that of the Dragon - metallic as was his armor. It was as durable as the new Master.

For Master he now was, having accepted the token of contract of his own free will and choice. Jade was the latest in a string of owners known to Prosopopoeiasys - shortened to Prosys - only as Master through ownership of the acorn. She was commonly called Trisys by her Master as an indication of three horn stubs reflecting her still-immature and growing state.

Born of Earth as a gift, Trisys existed to make wishes come true. Oh, she is no deus ex machina. Still her powers are formidable if used, or abused as inevitably happened with all Masters before, to change perceptions of what is into what is expected.

This plus every detail of her powers, strengths, weaknesses, origin, purpose, and more were stored in the acorn for instant availability to Jade. Except it was all jumbled like a thick stack of transparencies. The information was there but would take even Jade's computerized sensors uninterrupted time and fully dedicated resources to sort through before being discernable.

However two points were easily available. First, her experiences of the recent past was that of being kidnapped, blessed, then tortured; the former from the changeover to this patchwork planet, the latter two in encountering Jade. Neither Jade nor Trisys was to blame. The nature of Trisys to be what was expected and Jade's desire had given her the glorious dragon form. Then his believed betrayal and unrelenting hatred had scourged her more than falling into an active volcano would have.

Trisys had had no desire to bring pain, quite the opposite. Easily extrapolated were possibilities that she could become an invisible part of his shadow as a secret hidden ace, remain in her current default form, or anything else commanded. Even again become that longed-for dragon.

Secondly, and perhaps more important, Trisys needed this bond. It would be an anchor in an existence gone mad. Her sanity was on the verge of fraying, a ripped fragment as the earth from which she was birthed. At least until her true bond-token was discovered. The acorn in Jade's hand was only a borrowed contract.

Trisys kneeled submissively in front of her new Master. She was now his to command and control as he willed.

"Right then." Tafari said, following the Captain. As they walked, he explained what he had meant.

"What I meant earlier is that I have been yoinked from my home by mysterious [censored] forces that have nothing better to do than piss people off by stranding them, and I've been shat out in a number of places. There was this big battle planet thing, there was this big [censored] dyson sphere, a bio-dome on Io, this really [censored] up crystal tornado place, a pie-world, a couple of alternate universes,and the overlay of some [censored] mind imprinted upon the world by sheer force of will. And the thing that all these [censored] had in common was that ya had to do somethin' real painfully specific to get out. Killing people, killing a specific person, destroying an artifact, destroying a building, liberating a nation, find out a secret, talking to the right person, jumping down the right bottomless hole or stepping into the right beam of light, get shot out of a cannon or..." He grimaced.

"So yeah. I'm thinkin' this is just another [censored] headache like the rest of 'em. There's always a way to undo everything, I just don't know what that thing is for this place yet."

Lazardarus ran into a dead end at least that what he believed at first. His Elven eyes had spotted the rubble even in the near darkness.

"Well looks..." Just then the loud bangs from the bombs echoed down the tunnels. He dropped by the blasts and covered his ears. "Damn should have thought of that.... tunnels act as a drum..."

So it was a blessing for him when the bombing stopped and he rose. It took some time before he found another manhole cover and climbed up to the surface. Once back into the open air he looked around and spotted Paragon.

"No..." He was looking at Boomtown. He strung into another sprint run hopping that the people of the place haven't been targeted by the flying machines of the Nightmarish realm. So Jade, Ildela, and the rest would see him approaching from the distance.
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The Gre'shil pack weren't dump ... well compared to humans they were but fools they weren't. They have seen the great gods of the realm of Thunder and Lighting hunt down the soft skinned round eared human prey. Sometimes they find remains sometimes they don't ... this time was one of the times they don't.

"God was hungry... yes..." One of the Pack said as it sniffed around looking for remains. The Pack leader nodded "Yes Gods are great hunters."

The leader moved to look at paragon city. "We still find prey... we feed well. We may find human to sacrifice to Gods." The pack then started it's over land trek heading for Paragon.

Jade didn't even note the slightest twinge of the warmth - which was a good thing. That was the loss he'd taken hardest of all, and reminders thereof brought only pain. This one going unnoticed was a blessing in disguise.

What he did note was the sudden clutter of new windows plastered all over his HUD. The metal Dragon's eyes grew wide, and he gave a start backwards, leaning precariously as if he would stumble.

Balance system online.

Until he took a step back and his tail swayed a tad to the right. Sometimes having a computer in your head wasn't such a bad thing.

"Whoa." he uttered curtly, just standing there a moment with both hands held out before him, fingers spread and eyes wandering nervously before giving a pronounced blink. What the heck had just happened? Okay, calm down. It was just new system data. From a rock. That had turned into software. Right. Nothing to freak out over. He hoped.

Either way, it seemed he'd have to relegate that one to 'figure it out later', for now the strange woman...no, not the strange woman. Prosopopoeiasys. Prosopopoeiasys now knelt before him in the dirt. No. That was unacceptable. Metal and machine or flesh and blood, he was still a Drokar, and like his fellow Dragons a being of power and pride. He would kneel in submission before nothing and no one, and it was his firm belief that no one else should either.

"Oh no...please don't." he spoke softly, ashamedly as he reached down to urge her up as gently as he could, "I...I didn't...I don't want to put my will over yours. Er, I mean..."

Of course, before he could gather his fragmented thoughts together enough to say what he meant, more things happened. First more people arrived. Two right there on the...road? Yeah, he guessed it had been a road at some point...and the third a mere contact echo on his radar until he came into viewing range...running toward them? Ooo-kay? Now he was really confused.

And naturally, it didn't end there.

WARNING!
WARNING!
WARNING!

His head jerked westward, or more specifically in the direction of the gargantuan rolling dust cloud speeding toward them. His HUD instantly focused in from perimeter to core.

Wind speed:
32
93
159
212
326_

Oh snap!

"Later." he stated decisively, pulling Trisys up faster while he looked for suitable shelter for those about him, believing them easy prey for the storm, "We have to get you guys inside somewhere. Right now. Move. In about eighteen seconds, you won't be able to see a thing."

Come to think of it, neither would he. His eyeballs may have been synthetic, but they could still get clogged with dust. He reached into his jacket and opened the compartment in his torso, taking from it the half-finished helmet he'd been building. It didn't cover the entire skull, and it was just blank metal, but the lens covers in the eye holes would keep the dust out, so it would have to do for now. With a click and a hiss, he fastened the thing to his head, leaving only his horns, hair, and lower jaw exposed, which would likely result in Lazardarus taking him for some kind of terrible golem. He didn't know that, though. All he was concerned with right now was getting people to safety by waving them into one of the more stable-looking structures...

Trisys was obedient to Jade's urging, standing to move slightly behind one side awaiting further instruction.

More fragments of her information sorted themselves at his words. A concern bordering on fear that Jade would reject the bond, leaving Trisys adrift like a ship in a storm without safe harbor or anchor. Close behind the knowledge that such knowledge about her was his right as Master, though Trisys would only know his will if he desired her to - there was no invasion of Jade's privacy. The trade-off being she was neither designed nor able to anticipate his will or act independently unless it was his direction as part of a command. Nor would she interact with anyone else unless it was, again, part of a command or permission.

The Dust Cloud hit the Gre'shil pack right away the struggled as the sand and dirt rushed at them. "GODS ANGRY AT US! THEY TOOK TASTY PREY AND NOW SEND DIRTY AIR!" This was from another of the pack then the Pack leader.

This time when the pack leader made the challenge of bobbing up and down claws spread the one that spoke up responded in kind. The other's of the pack were driven between two choices move to ceremonial spots or seek shelter from the Dust storm. They finally figured the dust be kinder and move into a circle around the two.

The Pack leader rushed forward first jaws snapping just missing the shoulder of the challenger who responded by slashing the Leaders arm. The blood didn't flow long as dirt and dust stuck to the blood.

Screams of rage, and pain lifted as the two predatory beast ripped each other apart barely seeing the other in the dust storm... but then only one form was standing in the circle. It was the pack leader the challenger was dead a bite had ripped out his neck. "Come Hide from dust...! Fool Hs'narl could kill us yet if we don't hide! No one challenges the winds of Dirt!"

The pack then moved following there Leader thought he limped and his wounds were caked with blood and dirt he was determined. He led them behind a Wall that was still standing letting it act as a shield against the storm. There the 14 members of the pack group together ducking there heads under arms and each others bodies. The tough Scale body would protect the exposed body parts and they waited for the end.

Lazardarus had covered his face all but the top half of his head was seen above the scarf covering his nose and mouth. The bombs was one thing but the dust storm was quite another.

His Forest home didn't suffer much from them mostly they blew out by the time they hit the entrance or came at the wrong angle to blow harmlessly against the natural granite walls.

But that didn't matter to him now he raced for his life to catch up to the figures ahead. "Vaeri Ai shael o jhaer ti ail!"

He cursed himself he was speaking in Elven... he met humans some from this nightmarish realm of killer machines others humans from other realms but it seems some kind of English was known in many of those lands. He yelled again hopping the figures he spotted knew English as well "Please I beg you let me in!"

It was tough to process the information the data chip (now in a storage compartment of his body) was giving him and finding a safe place at the same time, but thankfully he had help in the form of the three women. With their aid, both were accomplished quickly, and Jade hurried over to the doorway while he thought of what to say.

He'd have to be fast and accurate, so he chose his words carefully as they ran (his metal wings may have looked impressive, but their purpose was stability more than anything else; to actually fly, he needed engine power, and he didn't dare run that with the cloud rushing in), the sensation of dread and being lost without a master that came from Trisys making him rapidly reconsider that idea.

"Please stay with them." he curtly told the little woman, looking sincerely into her eyes, both hands on her shoulders, "I'll be back. You, um, have permission to speak and, uh...do things with them."

Okay, so he'd only chosen half his words carefully, but there was too much junk going on for any clear path of thought to hold for long. Either way, it was all the time he had. He let go of her. There was still that third contact out in the storm, and who knew what could happen if he, she, it, whatever stayed outside during this. Jade hoped he'd at least managed to cover the basics.

He turned and folded up his wings, the metal surfaces collapsing into one another and stowing themselves away beneath his back, then stepped out into the wind just as the cloud swept through the street. There he heard a voice from down the way, even over the loud prattle of dust and small debris against the metal of his head and arms. Moreover, he understood it! That was certainly a surprise. He didn't recall knowing that language.

Later. Worry about it later. Right now you've a job to do.

Keeping that in mind, Jade made his way down the street at a good pace, his balance system taking care of holding him upright. Without it, even something has heavy as the half-ton metal Dragon likely would've been blown over out in the open. Another yell sounded from ahead, and he sped up his steps, navigating by radar alone as the dust grew too dense to see past a meter or so. Thankfully, it was a very accurate and sensitive system, which prevented Jade from literally smacking into Lazardarus upon doing so figuratively.

Seeing the form of the elven man peel from the dust not half a meter before him, the metal Dragon reached out to pick him up like a bale of hay, not daring to speak since it would only get him a mouthful of dirt. If he succeeded, he'd carry him back to the others as quickly as possible, if necessary using his jacket as a shield to cover the man against the fly dust...

Ever obedient, Trisys waited with the other three females. What a collection they made! A demoness, human adult, human child, and satyr - or at least that was their apparent forms.

Jade's extra consideration in the midst of turmoil was downright astonishing to Trisys. Her experience had all but convinced that she was nothing more than a tool, a non-being, to be coveted and controlled. Something glimmered inside. A sensation she had not felt since her first Master. Faint as a single star peeking through ominous gale clouds: Hope.

Mindful of her instructions to do things with the others, Trisys folded down into a kneeling position then blinked at the trio expectantly. Initiative was not her forte.

Sometime between being caught in the storm and being carried by Jade he passed out. But he recovered almost right away. "Maelaes... ter... shas baerdystaes.."

He rubbed the dirt from his eyes and looked at Jade. Well it wasn't what he expected but he seen insectoids, dragons, humans, and a few other life forms that weren't elven. "You speak English? Os vaesar Aelael?"

"Um, yeah." Jade gave an uncertain nod as he set the elf back on his feet, on one hand thankful that the man addressed him as one would any normal person, on the other hand nervous due to not knowing why. Usually, people who saw him while his face was hidden under that helmet of his didn't even think he was self-aware, "I can understand that other thing you're speaking too, though. But...I'm not really sure how. I know I didn't this morning."

From his tone, it was easy to discern that he expected an explanation to come from Lazardarus, but it was entirely possible that the man didn't have a clue either. In truth, it was this place. The Builders hadn't much liked the idea of bringing people here just to smack into a zillion language barriers, so they'd just eliminated it altogether. On Patches, anyone could understand anyone else, no matter how obscure the language they spoke. Whether the nature of this effect was technological, magical, or something entirely unreal was unknown, but its presence was quite concrete...

He removed his scarf from his face and looked around "It's the nature of this place it translates but ... I find it polite to use something everyone knows. Words could be translated but not always context."

"Anyway I'm Lazardarus a pleasure and welcome to Patches the worst hell hole in multiple universes, and you fell right in one of the nastiest spots."

He sat down on the ground and starts rubbing his thigh. "Well I came here to warn the people of this realm about what's around. And hopefully help organize and start trade with my realm."

Jade calmed visibly as the elf spoke, almost uttering a sigh of relief. He thanked the stars that he hadn't ended up where he'd thought he was. Anywhere else, anywhere at all, even this supposed hellhole had to be better than...than being back there, in that horrid place.

"Patches?" he nevertheless questioned skeptically as he detached his helmet again, as usual causing several bangs of his synthetic hair to fall across his eyes. These he in turn removed in the usual fashion as well, giving the long black mane a shake before stowing the silver-gray head cover away again, "This place is called Patches?"

The first nasal grunt of a chuckle escaped his nostrils in tandem with a smirk playing about the tips of his long lips, the involuntary utterance causing him to feel a tad awkward, "Sorry. I guess I don't have any room to say that's a weird name with one like mine. So, uh...why is it so bad...?"

Master had returned. Master consulted with the one claimed from the storm, an elf self-identified as Lazardarus. Their words were clear enough in the room since the eldest woman had sealed the entrance. Trisys was listening, always listening. She could not know what Master thought by default, though Master could at a whim know of her thoughts, doings, or anything she had ever experienced. Still Trisys would pay attention of what was within visual and audible range should Master commanded action that required such knowledge.

Until otherwise commanded, the previous instructions were still in effect. She was be among, speak to, and do things with the look-alike women.

Trisys blinked as Ildela was abruptly an ex-demon. Such transformation, especially since the change was prompted by expectation, was not dissimilar to her own.

Could Ildela be an EarthChild, too? Trisys would not have imagined there was another like herself in existence. Yet only a double-handful of minutes ago she had learned of a second, albeit dead, EarthChild. Why not another? Or two, if the smaller was indeed a sister?

The siblings had called the eldest one "Mother". Her own experience could neither confirm nor deny what the form of their EarthMother would appear as. The offspring being mirrors of the parent did reinforce the deduction.

"Ildela," Trisys's address to the shapeshifter was drawn out, as if she processed at a slower pace. The satyr's voice was a subtle double-tone of warm earth just short of husky, with a faint overlay reminiscent of rustling spring leaves. "I am called Trisys.

"Master," Trisys obviously spoke of Jade, "owns me as he owns the token; that which is Everything."

Jade might have considered his possession of the acorn to be chance. To Trisys it was a type of fate most often called karma.

Also the fact that she answered questions from another time and place gave hint to a slight chronological impairment: Trisys did not always perceive things in the sequence they occurred.

Looking towards the eldest of the female trio, Trisys queried, "Are you an EarthMother?"