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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 28, 2024 10:34:39 GMT -6
It was as if it went from the consistency of "almost water" to "almost air", a little wisp of light floating in her hand. It moved and undulated slightly in a bright blue color and Fiera twitched her ears with curiosity as she turned it from side to side, examining it. It wasn't just a mote of light, there was SOME structure to it... ah! Her ears perked up as she recognized a small face tucked into one side of the shape. Sure enough- it was a little creature, somewhat serpentine but mostly amorphous in shape. Its body was rising and falling softly as it slumbered, still fast asleep even after Fiera spent nearly five minutes dragging it across the bottom of the pool and handling it roughly with her bare hands. Perhaps it was sleeping so heavily because the pool was so cold. Fiera's hands were still numb after pulling it out.
Fiera 9 Zazzle 11.4/11.4 24
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 28, 2024 10:38:31 GMT -6
Perhaps it was supposed to be warm then, and the pool had put it in a torpor of sort. It certainly didn't need to breathe if it was underwater for so long. It didn't seem to be in ill health though- just sleeping deeply. "What do you think, Zazzle?" Fiera said, holding it up so he could see. The inkrum was still flying in large circles around the enormous room, but at the sound of Fiera calling his name he tilted himself slightly to try and see what she was holding up by peering out of the dark void of his face. She saw just a peek of his little eyes, his ears twitching with curiosity... Before he flew smack into one of the crystal spires hanging from the ceiling, having not been looking where he was flying. Fiera recoiled in sympathetic shock as a loud clang rang out from the crystal, all of the tines on it vibrating ominously.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 28, 2024 14:47:31 GMT -6
Zazzle immediately lost his "balance" in the air with the force of the impact, tumbling down from the sky. Fiera swore loudly and stuffed the little mote creature into her bag, just barely throwing the cover back over it before leaping forward to catch Zazzle. Her fingers brushed shell and in a split second, the hairs on the back of her neck went up, standing straight like spears. The fur of her tail puffed out. Instinctually, she swung Zazzle up and over her head, the top of his shell up. Sure enough, in a short enough time that she couldn't even get an extra breath in, she felt several impacts on the top of his shell, and she crouched for extra cover until it was over. When she cracked open her eye, she realized that the worst had happened- the impact of Zazzle striking the crystal on the ceiling had made it shatter.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 28, 2024 14:56:44 GMT -6
All of those pretty, tantalizing spikes of crystal coming out from the center had vibrated heavily upon impact, and dozens of them had broken off as soon as the inkrum started falling out of the sky. She had caught Zazzle and used him as a shield just in time to keep herself from being skewered. Shards of crystal up to three feet in length sat scattered around her, many of them having bounced off of Zazzle's shell. A realization occurred. "Zazzle!" Fiera yelped, and checked her pet. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized none of the shards had pierced or broken his shell. Thank goodness the Labs designed inkrums' shells to last. Next, she checked her bag. The wisp critter seemed to have been woken up by the shardfall and was trying to wiggle its way out. "Oh no you don't." Fiera said with a huff and pushed it back in, now properly securing the clasps.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2024 6:45:35 GMT -6
Turning Zazzle back over, Fiera noticed that while he was unharmed from the crystals, he was still knocked out cold from the impact. "Shoot..." Fiera muttered under her breath. She tried to rub his ears to revive him, but to no avail. She glanced around. There was nothing else to be grabbed in here- it was best to move on. She looked up at the crystal again. So many spires had broken off already, but the rest of it was still quivering with residual energy from the impact, and she could see the tiny tines shaking back and forth. "Ugh... yeah let's find somewhere safer." She said to her companions, and started making her way towards the door she saw earlier. She stepped carefully over the dropped spines on the floor. They couldn't do her any harm now, but something about touching them still felt like bad luck to her.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2024 6:50:03 GMT -6
The stairs weren't that bad in comparison to everything else, and soon she had left the pool and the crystal far behind. Even if more spines fell by this point Fiera was no longer standing in the shadow of the firework shaped crystal, so she and Zazzle would probably be safe from being hit by them anyway. She put a hand on the doorknob. Just like before, it was a normal, ordinary door albeit set into solid rock. As she turned the handle, she turned back to the crystal, Zazzle tucked under one arm. "And good riddance!" She called out, but her tail fluffed out and she quickly opened the door when the crystal quivered ominously again at the noise. She stepped through the door without any more fuss, shutting it tight behind her. She held Zazzle in front of her instinctively, almost like a shield as she examined her new environment.
Fiera 14 Zazzle 12.4/12.4 29
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2024 6:55:17 GMT -6
"Let's see what we have here..." She said, looking around. It looked like she had stepped into... some sort of arena. The sun blazed directly overhead even though it hadn't been high noon when she arrived. She didn't think she had spent that much time down in the tunnels either. It was probably another one of the mansion's tricks. High walls- stands- made of carved stone arced up around her, the edge too high for her to immediately hop up. She didn't see any entry tunnels either- as far as she could tell, the door she had just come in through was the only way in or out. There was no audience in the stand either though- not a single sign of life other than Fiera and Zazzle. "Well that's not eerie..." Fiera said, and she couldn't help but notice the similarities to a fighting arena... though there was no sign of any opponents either.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2024 6:57:31 GMT -6
As she thought that however, the shell tucked under her arm started to wiggle. "Oh! Zazzle!" Fiera said, and set her inkrum down. His legs burst out of his shell again and his ears perked high and were then immediately pressed back as he woke up- and no doubt a headache was blooming in there. "Yeah, you hit that crystal pretty hard. Maybe look where you're going next time, eh?" Fiera said, nudging him with her boot. He stabbed at it angrily with a foot, but stayed close to Fiera as she walked towards the center of the arena. He might be upset, but not necessarily at her- he was relying on her to keep him safe while he was nursing that migraine. Despite that however, Fiera couldn't see much to actually do in here. As far as she could tell, it was just a wide open circular arena of sand.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2024 6:59:44 GMT -6
She didn't think she could even get up into the stands if she tried. Just to test it out, she walked up to one of the walls under the arena seats. It was made of heavy blocks of stone, perfectly aligned and worn down to smooth. She crouched down and leaped up as high as she could, but her fingers didn't even brush the top. "Well... at least you could make it if you flew." She said, looking back at Zazzle. He gave her an unenthused expression- he wasn't looking forward to flying again any time soon. As fate would have it however, he might have to. Fiera's ears perked up as she heard a whooshing noise- like the flame on a stove turning on. Suddenly all around the arena gouts of flame came up from the stands in a rainbow of color, one plume after another. Each standing a couple of feet apart.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2024 8:58:40 GMT -6
Fiera stepped back, surprised as she looked at them. Despite the massive amount of flame however, she couldn't feel any heat and they didn't seem to be combining into a single inferno. The way they twisted and shook, undulating in the air, it was almost like these individual flames were meant to represent... "An audience?" Fiera muttered. She didn't like that. If there was an audience for an arena, then that meant there was an event to be seen. As if on cue, Fiera heard a creak come from behind her. Even as she whipped around, Fiera checked her pockets. It was her own fault for not bringing a weapon of some sort with her. Snacks, rope, yes yes, but a sword? A gun? When she came face to face with the creature that came through the door she had just passed through, all she had found in her pockets was a tiny pocket knife.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2024 11:34:18 GMT -6
It was a pathetic thing, dull and only a couple inches long. And Fiera knew instantly that it would have no effect on the creature in front of her. It was a creature the size of a wild boar, but made entirely of stone. Brown boulders made up its body with amber colored eyes peering out at her. Fiera quietly prayed that it was friendly. Perhaps it was just as lost as she was, and they had both wandered in here on accident. She could leave, and they could both go about their business. It became rapidly apparent that that was not the case as it charged at Fiera. Zazzle flapped madly to try and get away, but couldn't take off from the ground. "Don't worry about that right now, just- come here!" Fiera said, wrestling the flailing creature off of the ground. Unfortunately, trying to wrestle Zazzle and escape at the same time made her rather slow.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2024 11:38:29 GMT -6
The beast collided with the stone wall mere moments after she pulled Zazzle out of its way, who was still flapping desperately. The audience "roared" with approval in a sound that Fiera soon realized was the sound of crackling flames resonating a thousand times over. The creature pulled its head out of the wall, shaking it slightly. With the time she had, Fiera threw Zazzle as far as she could in the direction of the door. "Hurry, just- fly!" She said, giving one of the few commands he knew. Luckily that worked- it gave the inkrum enough lift and distance from the ground that he was able to catch the air again and fly. Fiera sprinted towards the door, but heard the pounding beat of the beast's footsteps right behind her, and closing fast. She swore under her breath and dove to the size, tucking herself into a roll to get away.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2024 14:15:42 GMT -6
She felt the wind from its charge ruffle her tail as she just barely managed to pull it away in time, and she scrabbled forward on all four limbs for a few moments before finally gaining purchase with her feet again. She couldn't let the creature push her off course- she had to make it to the door. She sprinted towards it again, but the rock beast was already adjusting its course again, aiming right for her. Fiera glanced over her shoulder to see it pawing at the ground again, ready to charge. She wasn't sure she could dodge another blow- but as fate would have it, she didn't have to. A mess of white feathers landed on the creature's face as Zazzle dove at it, slapping it with all four wings. It wasn't a very strong attack- Zazzle wasn't combat trained- but it was certainly enough to give Fiera the distraction she needed.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2024 14:25:26 GMT -6
The rock beast growled and swatted at Zazzle, but its dull feet were no match for his hard shell, glancing aimlessly off. After a few moments of struggle, Zazzle managed to land on its face, clinging heavily as he stabbed at the beast's head with his legs. Then Zazzle rapidly scuttled down its back as it slammed its own head into the floor in an attempt to dislodge him. He kept jabbing his little legs into cracks in the creature's hide for purchase, causing it to howl with irritation as it thrashed, trying to throw him off. Unfortunately, inkrum were VERY good at climbing, making such an action hopeless. Finally the creature threw itself on the ground, trying to roll over to crush Zazzle. Fiera cried out as the inkrum went under... and then came back up again, completely unharmed due to his thick shell. She could tell from his pressed back ears that Zazzle was quite upset about it, though.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2024 14:33:38 GMT -6
Zazzle seemed to be getting bored of all of this, actually. The creature threw itself around which didn't seem to do much other than irritate Zazzle further. Finally, the inkrum seemed to get fed up entirely. While the beast was on the upswing, Zazzle took the opportunity to let go, and let himself be flung high into the air. Once more he unfurled his wings and sailed around the arena. By this point, Fiera was ready by the door and had it held open wide. "Zazzle, come here! Come!" She said, calling as loud as she could manage, hoping to be heard over the deafening "roar" of the false audience. Sure enough Zazzle dove down towards her, tucking his wings in at the last moment to latch onto her shoulders, clinging to her back like an extra backpack. Fiera wasted no time, darting in and slamming the door behind her.
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