hugtopia_logs | feb catch-all

[ And off Somnus goes, this time warping up the entire length of the building and then higher into the sky. From there she spots the few flashes of blue, divine light that mark his warps across the area as he takes pictures of the ground.... ]

It's like he's flying... [ She comments, absent-minded. OOps, right, her voice carries through everyone's comms, so the both of them might have heard it. Is at this point that she notices Noctis' awkward shuffling as well. Looks like they're both impressed of the older king's abilities, too.

Smiling as Somnus touches down, she makes her way over to stand beside him so that they all might browse through some of the photos. When they return, they can start assembling it into a proper map of this northern portion, but as she takes a look through them now: ] ...It... seems like the wall had been further out at one point. If that's true, then we're still not even outside of this city's residential areas.

[ They should head out further, but there is also this tower near them. Hm. What do. ]

[Noctis makes it obvious by trying not to make it obvious.

Somnus dismisses the communicator while Pyra speaks. The gods truly are dying when evidence of their once waning power surrounds them. He wonders how long it'll be before their company empties out of former city grounds, and if the city's wall receded more than once in its history. Regardless, it's time to get moving.]

The passage of time has eroded the tower. It has naught else to offer.

I think that describes most of the buildings out here. The whole place is a wreck.

[Certainly gives credit to the claims that the world is falling apart. At the very least, their little corner of it has been doing very badly for a long time.

He sets his hands on his hips with an impatient huff. They don't have much time, so they can't waste it standing around deliberating.]

So what else are we looking for, here? You wanted samples, right? Besides the air and the dirt, what would help the research you guys are doing?

[Maybe they can keep an eye out for hints of something related to those subjects. He's done some survival training, he can solve ancient puzzles and stuff! But he doesn't know research and his warping is lackluster, so he's trying to feel a bit more useful as the third member of the group.]

Samples of metal from structures that are still standing. [ A city like this, even worn down, is bound to have some. ] If its structure has remained intact for all of this time, its composition is vital for us to obtain.

[ At this, she looks to the tower again... It's half collapsed on itself. Maybe they'll find something better further out. ]

Organic samples, too. [ She looks from Somnus to Noctis, then to Calda, and then back northward. Time to march, and as they do, she'll continue to speak through the comm, if either of them should decide to warp to keep lookout. ] There was mention of plantlife and, ah, I believe-- lizards? Still out here. [ Or so she's heard. ] I'd prefer living samples for smaller creatures or plants, but anything, even fossilized samples, we should bring back with us to analyze their genome.

There were also those gigarachnids, whose blood contained a toxin. This toxin produces the same effects as those experienced by the wall breach a few months ago. The expression of this toxin was not coded for in their original genome, from what I could discern... They seem to have been mutated by it.

[Calda peers up at the tower, studying what's visible of its construction from their position, and makes a disapproving noise.]

Don't know if you'll get much from the building... the resources in this region are kinda limited, I'd guess it's the same as this bod of mine, that's why it holds up decently out here. But, uh... listen...

[There's an unsubtle clanking noise as she shifts from foot to foot, somewhat nervous body language exuding from her metal form.]

You folks are tough, yeah? With your swords and your- zooming around. And you're out here, so you're not afraid of getting into danger...

[Could she possibly sound more reluctant, the longer she goes with this?]

[And Noctis perks right up, because of course he does. That thing! That he's good at!]

Is there something to fight? We can handle it.

[ ...If she didn't know better ~~which she doesn't~~ it almost sounds as if Noctis is wanting to fight something.

Patiently, she waits for Calda to answer. ]

[She waits for an affirmative - or at least acknowledgment - from the majority before she sighs and half-turns to point in the distance, beyond the tower.]

About half a month ago I was scouting around this area, and I caught signs that something might be... nesting, for lack of a better word. The storm was raging pretty violently at the time, and from the noise of whatever it was, they're either too numerous or too big for just me to take 'em on, even if I'm, you know. [QUALITY BEEF.] ...Look, I'm not supposed to show you. Please do not tell the council if I show you. But if you want, we can go there.

[Yes, yes, very quality beef. Calda certainly made short work of the dirt, and that's not sarcasm speaking.

It isn't Somnus' intention to look for a fight, but a preemptive approach to hostiles has always been his solution. Calda's going beyond her station, and he won't squander the knowledge she's imparted. Besides, it'll give Noctis a place to concentrate all that nervous energy.]

You have our word.

[There's a moment more of resistance, but it isn't long- she'd already made the offer, and their time out here is limited, after all. Best not to waste it. She does huff and point a sharp finger meaningfully at each one of them in turn, first.]

You all best promise to turn tail and run if things get too hairy, got it? And if I say the word, we're out of there. I'm not going back on interior duties, I'll go raving mad in a week.

[And with that she turns and leads the group off in the direction she'd indicated, her pace steady but more careful than before.]

[Noctis uses every ounce of willpower to not fistpump at this unexpected conversational victory, because that would be incredibly irresponsible and childish, not at all princely. He does grin at the other two, though, and starts off after Calda's clunking footsteps. It isn't reckless if you're careful about it! And so what if he's itching for a bit of action? It's been months...]

You heard the lady. Don't fall behind!

[ .....Oh wow, he’s excited to seek danger. Hm. Hmmmmmmm.

She glances at Somnus, then back at Calda and Noctis as they begin moving forward. Well, alright then. Adjusting the strap of her pack over her shoulder, she follows them while keeping vigilant of their surroundings.

It feels strange to her to be walking for so long without holding a hand. ]

[Somnus exchanges glances with both Noctis and Pyra before they go on their merry way. Keeping his senses on high alert, he lags a step behind to watch the rear as previously discussed. It won't do to give Calda a poor showing before they even make it to the nesting spot, and all of them will suffer the consequences if they do.]

[Calda guides them down a side road - if one can still call it that - and through a path around a handful of buildings, a route not especially difficult to follow but one that she'd clearly mapped out before. As they go further in, she slows her movement and quiets her footsteps as much as a hulking robot can, which considering her size is quite a bit, actually. She stops at the corner of a building though, bending down to whisper in their direction,]

I don't dare go closer, or I'll wake the whole nest up if anything's out there; the rest of you would have a better chance of sneaking in. No worries, though, I'll be right behind you if anything happens.

[If they look past her, they ought to be able to see what she's indicated: through the dust and the wind, tucked away between two broken buildings, there's a white shape sticking out of a collection of stones and dead brambles, long and curved with several obvious humps. It could be a number of things, including a skeleton... or a living creature. Something glistens on one of the white lumps.]

[Noctis pauses to look, then glances over at Somnus.]

You can warp with other people, right?

[If something goes wrong and they need to get out fast, Pyra'd need a quick escape route, too. Getting Somnus to take her with him is a safer plan, with how unreliable his warping is still.]

[ Looking Beyond Calda, she can make out what appears to be bones. A nest, however?

Her attention returns to them when Noctis asks a question of Somnus, guessing that he might want Somnus to warp her out of the building of need be. To the detriment of their exploration, she still does not reassure them that she might fend for herself with abilities she has yet to reveal. This is a risk she knowingly takes. ]

[The implication is also obvious to Somnus. Pyra is more than capable of taking care of herself, even if he himself is largely unaware of what she can do. While she needs no mortal to guard her, he nods in lieu of saying anything, then turns his attention to the indiscernible shape in the distance.

Noctis' role in this expedition is the vanguard. Somnus, poised to warp into the scene at a moment's notice, will wait for Noctis' advance and respond accordingly to what he sees or otherwise senses.]

[He's not a thief or exceptionally stealthy, but thankfully Noct's had to do enough sneaking around in Nif bases or daemon-infested caves that he can act accordingly. Very carefully he edges forward, watching where he steps and keeping aware of his surroundings, trying to keep close to the edges and spots to take cover behind in order to stay hidden from whatever's out there that might see him.

Eventually he has to leave the more protected area, though, as there's a wide space between himself and the white shape in the dead grass. He gestures behind for them to come closer - safe so far - before venturing further out. It's so quiet now, eerily so. Even the distant howling of the storm is buffered by the buildings around them, and while it's convenient for noticing anything that might be nearby, it doesn't help his rising dread that implies something is absolutely coming to ruin their day. That's how these expeditions always go back home.

Nothing happens as he draws closer, though, and when he finally reaches the shape he gives it only a passing glance before he tucks himself away into a corner of one of the busted buildings, back out of sight, and peers around to get another look. The shape is definitely a skeleton, he can confirm that much now, a tall, long-necked creature curled up in the nest as if it had laid down to sleep and died that way. There's a nasty black film beneath it, like a slick of dried oil, and a single long, curved horn poking out of its skull, the other side broken off apparently, and a shattered, sharpened snout. There's also... huh.

He pulls out his comm and texts to Pyra:]

flower??

[Something's actually alive out here?]

Picture?

Is it safe for me to head there, too? [ Whether alive or dead, that he's discovered that there is a flower is significant enough. If he gives her the okay to proceed, with a nod towards Calda and Somnus, she will quietly trace Noctis' movements to his location.

She would like to observe it for herself, if not collect it for a sample. ]

[Pyra's role is support, which means they'll be better off if Somnus goes with her instead of hanging back. If and once Noctis gives the okay, they leave Calda, who should be more than fine on her own, behind to investigate his discovery. Somnus doesn't ask what it is, because he'll be seeing it soon enough.]

[There's still nothing really happening here - no movement, no creatures skulking about, just a dead thing in the muck - so he edges back out of cover, cautiously approaching the skeleton. Once he's close enough to get a decent shot, a step away from the bramble, he snaps a photo of the flower and sends it to Pyra, along with a quick text.]

carefully

[Now that he's alone and out in the open, he doesn't want to spend more time looking down at a screen than he has to. Trusting them to join him at their own pace, he tucks the communicator away and takes first one step onto the nest, then another. It remains quiet aside from the cracking of dry, dead branches under his feet. Every move he makes is careful at first, but the deeper he goes with no incident, the more relaxed he becomes. It's totally dead. Maybe an ambush, still! But this thing, so dead.

Nothing happens until they're about halfway between their original position and the nest. In that moment, when Noctis crouches down and reaches out to examine the skull, his boots touch the oil and it moves.

There's a wretched gurgle from the (not so dead) creature as it jerks away from his hand, twisting its head around like a pendulum, and -wham- suddenly there he goes, the Prince of Lucis, flying through the air in the opposite direction and vanishing into the collapsed building with a messy crash. In the center of the nest, the creature wobbles to its feet. It stands at least 20 feet high, and the gooey tar that coated the surface of the nest collects inside its body, pulsing like a gruesome heartbeat and wearing the bones as an armored exoskeleton. It pitches its neck in the direction of Somnus and Pyra and heaves a "breath", spraying black oil that sizzles against whatever it touches.]

--Noctis! [ Pyra calls through the communicator as she sees him hurdle through the air. He crashes meters away from where he started, his fall enunciated the echo of his fall in the otherwise silent valley of decaying buildings. The only other sound is that of crackling joints coming together as the bony armor assembles; she whips her head around, spotting the giant rearing to its almost full height.

And she leaps out of the way, throwing herself to the ground and into a roll as the acid sprays above her, narrowly missing the top of her helmet. The substance dissolves the earth behind her in a hideous sizzle, leaving behind scalded, digested ground, molten-red at the edges of its pool. Its burning scent is strong enough to irritate her nose, reminding her not of acid, but of gravepyres.

The creature lumbers forward, unfurling the talons to imprint its first step outside its nest, cracking the ground with its weight. As it draws back its long neck as its spinous bones rattle into place, she notes the seven-pointed flower atop of its head. It moves its skull side to side like a puppet guided by where the flower spouts from its cranium. Yet by the time she's pulling herself to her feet, the beast is already prepared for another attack. It has three targets: two close, one far.

This time, it spits its attack into the air to have it rain bullets of acid upon the entire area. ]

[While Noctis goes airborne, Somnus never takes his eyes off of the creature. The sound of the crash alerts him from a distance that Noctis has found impromptu cover, which leaves himself and Pyra standing out in the open. Calda was right, and he has a fleeting thought about whether this big presence is the only one she heard or if there's more lurking between other nearby buildings (in which case they're in considerable danger).

Either way, there's no time to waste. He warps away from the initial breath to an intact portion of the opposite building's wall, not chancing the exo-suit with a barrier or phasing maneuver. This separates him from Pyra; he knows her to be quick and agile, however, and the building in which Noctis lies is not too far from her.

Somnus kicks off, hurls his blade between the droplets of acid, and warps past them altogether to increase his altitude. Then he warps even higher with the intention of descending on the skull where the muck is absent. Chances of a successful landing by himself are rather low, but he makes the plunge to hold the creature's gaze. Hopefully by this time Pyra and Noctis will have regrouped or otherwise acted accordingly, though that doesn't mean the enormous, fluid-like appendages are a nonissue for those on the ground and in the air both.]

[Regroup... about that. Logic and planning are not Noct's strong suit when it comes to battle - there's a reason why he leaves the tactics to Ignis, assuming he even follows the advice. Quickly he extracts himself from where he'd crashed, scrambling past the fresh rain of acidic goo, and since he can't see Somnus or Pyra from his position, only the creature lurching around the nest, he flings his blade into what counts as the haunch, catching it right between ribs and thigh bone, causing it to rear onto its back legs and emit a sound that is more gurgle than shriek. The movement takes its head out of range of Somnus's descent, but its chest becomes a pretty open target as a replacement.]

Hey guys? Not safe! [He sounds entirely too pleased about this turn of events- not laughing, he's not crazy, but it's an odd mix of seriousness and amusement.] We want that flower, right?

[ --Right. Okay. Somnus warps between the acid raidrops themselves and Noctis essentially does the same. This leaves Pyra to... duck and roll under the cover of a metal beam. She just so happens to be lucky enough that not one drop hits her, but it does strike against the metal supports, causing it to creak beneath its weakened structure. Wisely, Pyra chooses to retreat further, taking cover as the other two battle. somnus is silent as he fights; Noctis seems to have energy to burn. ]

Yes! [ Pyra calls from their joint comm. She keeps vigilant, worried that their fight might attract attention of any other similar creatures (or flowers). ] Ah-- as... disgusting as it sounds, see if you can sever the creature's head with it!

[ She would of course be happy with just the flower. ]

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