(no subject)

[schrodingerscockroach]

Who: Everyone
When: Day 58, Morning
Where:

[It's a mingle y'all]

Comments

[shintaiprotagonist]

The former when working as intended, perhaps. The latter now.

[it's quiet, for now. the banks of the honey river are close. the sugar-grass doesn't move in the wind quite the same way grass should, but it doesn't seem like there's something disturbing it. yet.]

[bad_crowmance]

Not sure I'd want to trust it even when it's working the way it should. Something about eating candy from the ground seems weird.

[ Crow is watching that sugar grass out of the corner of his eye, though it may not be obvious from his seemingly casual body language. ]

[shintaiprotagonist]

I can't say it would be my preference either. Now...

[Tide pauses on the banks of the river and waits, peering into the thick honey.

but Crow may notice that some of the grass is now definitely shifting against the wind...]

[bad_crowmance]

[ Crow notices and he's pausing himself. He drops his hands casually from the back of his head to his sides, brushing against his legs. The guns aren't visible, they're stowed away in his inventory, but he can pull them out any time he wants. ]

[shintaiprotagonist]

[the movement seems to subside. maybe it was just an odd breeze?

Tide tilts his head questioningly, then abruptly wrinkles his nose. there's a faint, foul smell in the air -- coming from the opposite direction, upwind.]

[bad_crowmance]

[ He's still keeping some of his attention on that area of the grass, but he tilts his head to take in a whiff of that scent. ]

Hmmm...

[shintaiprotagonist]

It seems our guests have arrived early. Shall we?

[bad_crowmance]

[ Crow's response is to grin, pulling out his guns with a flourish. ]

[shintaiprotagonist]

[it's not strictly necessary for Tide to gesture for this, but any Exalt soon learns the value of a good dramatic moment.

so he raises his hand and a wide swath of the tall sugargrass is severed at the root, each stem parting in the same instant, a shower of candy fragments revealing the dozen or so gingerbread zombies lying flat beneath their cover]

[bad_crowmance]

[ Crow absolutely, 100% respects the need to to be a dramatic shit. There isn't more than an instant's pause between the reveal of the gingerbread zombies and Crow laying down a shower of shots all at once-- a wide spray meant to take advantage of the surprise while they've got the advantage. ]

[shintaiprotagonist]

[the gingerbread zombies are only caught by surprise -- assuming they can even feel surprise -- for a moment, but a moment is enough for the shower of bullets to hammer into them, blowing dozens of neat holes in their overbaked bodies. the foul stench intensifies as icing splatters the ground for yards around.

unfortunately, it barely seems to slow them down.

they're silent as they leap to their feet and break into a run. it's almost worse than a roar or hiss or battlecry would be, their faceless heads intent, their sprint covering far more ground than it has a right to. they don't bother to dodge, even when Tide turns to narrow his eyes and a hurricane of unseen edges blasts through their formation, severing limbs and heads with abandon. it doesn't stop them; even severed legs only force them to hop with eerie grace instead of run, though it slows them.

they've covered half the distance now, and are still coming.]