Event: Mirror Image

[trainmasters]

Who: everyone!
When: Day 19 evening and on
Where: outside

[As darkness falls in the jungle, an unusually chill breeze rustles through the trees. In its wake is silence, the purified fauna going quiet as if in dread.

Is it just you, or is the night darker tonight?

You may find the cause if you leave the train. Those who are caught alone outside will see the shadows grow suddenly long. The darkness coalesces into a vaguely human form, vague and faceless but radiating cold.

Before you can react the shadows surround you. Deep within, your most bitter, unpleasant feelings rise up in your chest. It's overwhelming, threatening to consume you, but just before it can it suddenly stops. The shadows recoil, dissipating into the jungle.

You're safe, but those negative feelings might be closer to the surface than usual.

Good luck, especially if you're one of the newbies just waking up.]

[NOTES: This event will OOCly end on Wednesday, but feel free to ICly push time forward as much as you like. There will be a followup post at that time, and you can schedule player-run trials any time after.

The emotional effect of this event can be as severe as you want. Your character could just be a bit grumpy, or they could find their emotions totally out of control. The effect lasts a couple of hours or until the character counters it with happier feelings.]

Comments

[bad_crowmance]

Just some low-level geckos, nothing really worth fighting.

[ He'd need to go deeper, probably, but he'd ditched Naeva and had intended to go back to target practice. ]

You've got a new weapon.

[voreaciously]

The farther you go, the harder they become.

[Though she still has yet to find something supremely worthwhile. She may be looking for something in short order, at this rate. Anything to take the edge off.

It's still colder. She doesn't notice or care.]

Yes. One of them.

[Now she needs forty one more. Annoying.]

[bad_crowmance]

[ Normally he'd be curious how many more she's got, but he'd distracted by the first part of what she said. ]

So they're harder if you go deeper.... that tracks.

[ He does an about-face towards the jungle again. ]

You coming or not?

[ He's going either way, honestly. ]

[voreaciously]

[Fucking rude, Crow.]

Very well.

[She does not feel like following though and heads for his side.]

[bad_crowmance]

[ Do You Realize Who You're Talking To??? ]

Alright, let's do this!

[ He pounds his fist into an open hand and starts walking into the depths of the jungle. ]

[voreaciously]

[Yes, and he sucks!! and swallows

But he wants to walk there and she is not particularly impatient, even in anger, but she wants to fight things now.]

I am going to carry you there if you do not move faster.

[She could buff his speed, she still might, but she feels like being a little shit.

Just a little.]

[bad_crowmance]

Whoa, somebody's impatient!

[ He can't help it, he laughs like the jerkbird he is. ]

I'm pretty sure my fastest couldn't rate by your standards, Miss Android.

[voreaciously]

[Crow continues to be rude, must be a day that ends in 'y'!]

It could not, hence why I am very close to simply taking matters into my own hands.

[Quite literally.]

[bad_crowmance]

By carrying me, huh? Well Miss Impatient, if it'll get us there faster, I won't complain.

[voreaciously]

Do not.

[She says with sudden sharpness.

It seems like she is speaking to Crow, at first, but when she stops, there is faint hissing in the air in multiple directions if you listen closely.

Including from above.

And that sure is a snake hanging partially off a branch, but it seems to be winding backward now.]

[bad_crowmance]

[ He opens his mouth and he's about to say something when he hears that hiss, he pauses to look upwards at the source. ]

...Huh! I didn't even know he was there.

[voreaciously]

She. There are three more to left and behind, but they are going to leave.

[bad_crowmance]

[ He doesn't know how to tell a snake's gender but he'll take 80H's word for it. ]

She, then. You can talk to snakes?

[voreaciously]

I suppose.

[And thinking about it makes her bitter, so she will not. Instead, she turns to her side and scoops Crow up in a princess carry.

Better than carrying him like a sack of potatoes.]

[bad_crowmance]

Whoa!

[ He throws his arms around her neck so that he's a little more secure when she runs. ]

[voreaciously]

[kyah~!

but she doesn't tell him to hold on, he figures he will. He will have to.]

We are leaving now.

[And she is taking off at a deadass sprint, though her grip on him is secure and surprisingly careful so he is not being jostled overly much. When they go deeper and the growth becomes too thick she jumps up and through thick tree branches.

It grows more unintelligible as time passes and she skips through branches less as they grow thicker and wider and longer, instead running along moss and lichen covered paths. There is a steep dip upcoming, but she is unbothered and simply crouches slightly and surfs downward, scattering greenery as she goes. It's like a roller coaster.

The jungle floor is distant.]

[bad_crowmance]

[ This is definitely going on a list of the top ten greatest rides of his life. Not that he remembers most of his life at this point. Shut up. Anyway.

Her grip is solid but that doesn't mean Crow is going to let up on holding on for even a single moment. He's pretty sure he hasn't had many opportunities to get whisked away by a beautiful woman like this, and while usually he'd prefer to do the whisking, this is entertaining enough that it doesn't bother him. It's exciting being around people stronger than he is!

He just hopes she isn't so much stronger than him that he doesn't get a chance to have a good fight against whatever monsters they run into. ]

[voreaciously]

[It's not long before the jungle starts attacking back. Tendrils snap from everywhere, but dodges, twists, and flips over every one, not at all burdened by Crow.

But then tendrils become shrieking mouths, and she pointedly jumps on one, freezing it in the process, to spring onto another branch and moves on like it's nothing.

Because it isn't.

She continues on until before she announces clearly, quickly.]

Tuck and roll!

[And then she's giving him a boosted toss, hoping he's nimble enough to do as she says, because within a breath of her saying so, a pillar of twisting vines that are much thicker than she is tall strike for her, narrowly missing Crow in the process, before there is a flash of gold and she has sliced them right down the middle before they could properly attack her.

Any and every way forward or backward is being blocked with interlocking growth and a shattering, inhuman cry that is a cacophonous mix of high pitched shriek and a rattling bass echoes into the evening. Birds scatter, fearing the danger.]

[bad_crowmance]

[ Fortunately for Crow, he's a pretty quick thinker-- and just as quick at moving. He manages to neatly tuck himself into a ball and roll out of danger before he springs up lightly to his feet. In an instant, he's pulling his guns out of the nothingness at his hips and holding them at ready, his eyes sparkling with excitement. ]

Now that's what I'm talking about!

[ He takes aim where the sound is coming from. ]

[voreaciously]

[A gargantuan bud emerges from the dark atop a mass of vines stories high. It continues to rise and rise. The shell of the bud peels back and pink and red petals bloom forth, with rows and rows and rows of sharp teeth that point downward. Comparatively thin tendrils emerge from the centre and lick at the air before the "mouth" of the flower shrieks again.

Let's roll for initiative

Fresh tendrils rush towards both of them in a bid to grab them while the mouth spits large, slick green spheres that are aimed roughly in their direction.]

[bad_crowmance]

[ Crow's first move is to dodge the green whatever-it-is coming at him. He's not too worried about his clothes getting grimy-- 80H is more than capable of cleaning up-- but he would really rather not get injured by goo. Not if he can help it.

He takes only a brief moment to aim before he fires off a shot at the monster. He's going for the "mouth" but since he's moving fast, his aim probably isn't perfect. Either way, he's gotta build up that CP before he can fire off anything really impressive.

(Or he could use Arts, but he's holding off on that for now.) ]

[voreaciously]

[The green spheres burst upon impact and there is a dangerous hiss in the air and an acrid smell as plumes of deep green smoke arise from sizzling bubbles.

It's acidic. Slower burning if still quick and powerful.

The mouth retreats into the shell to evade Crow's shots and golden vines lined with flowers raise themselves before firing a large volley of thorns as fast as bullets.

He may have a plan for them, but she doesn't know so before they can reach him, a magical circle appears beneath him and a glowing blue dome surrounds him.]

Azure cage!

[The thorns and there are many of them hit the shield like raindrops upon a puddle, rippling into one another over and over an infinite number of times before they freeze and dissipate.

A smaller bulb blooms open after the volley is fired.]

[bad_crowmance]

[ The magical shield is more effective than whatever he'd had planned anyway, but he's not going to take the moment to thank her for it. Later, perhaps. For now, he fires off a volley of shot at the smaller bulb that bloomed before he grits and calls out. ]

ARCUS-- activate!

[ A blue ring glows around him as he prepares his Arts attack. It's going to take a moment to be ready, though. ]

[voreaciously]

[Her shield will last a while so she is not concerned about it.

But--ARCUS? That is familiar. Hestia had one of those and so does Randy? But she will consider it, later, for now, she is dashing forward to do strike at the mass directly.]

[bad_crowmance]

[ The wait for the attack to be ready is a matter of seconds, but it feels more like an eternity. It's not until after 80H's strike that he can go, and he holds out his hand in the direction of the monster. ]

Haaaaaah!

[ A Crystal Flood attack comes slamming towards the monster, ice-cold and very strong. ]