Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Sept 28, 2020 6:11:36 GMT -6
Mear Stamina: 5 (+2 Gym) Strength: 7 Resistance: 6 Dexterity: 7 Mentality: 5 Special Abilities: Swim, Fly Moves: Dodge, Bite, Summon Wooden Spear
- Character Profile -
There was a weird kind of energy in the air - a static, a buzzing, a sense of quiet excitement. The sphinx would have liked to claim it to be from neither her nor the agate’s empathic connection, that it was the other people busying themselves around them.. But that wouldn’t have been entirely true..
The day was slowly waxing into the night as dusk was beginning to fall, and yet the group of scientists were already looking to set up camp and fortify their little location on the hillside near the City edge. It wasn’t quite close enough to the borders of the Beyond to be in full threat range to any wandering wildlife, but it was far enough from the light pollution of the Labs themselves to provide a crisp, clear sky, as slowly dots of light began to shine down more and more when the hours would pass.
For now, it was still the orange and purple hues of the evening sky, as the sun slowly dipped beyond the horizon’s edge, already casting the City beneath the hill in darkness while the hillside and nearby mountains remained in the final dwindling streaks of the dying light.
(1) Mear: 154 (3/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Sept 28, 2020 6:12:15 GMT -6
Even so, the hillside and below was hardly bereft of activity. The scientists were busy transporting their gear to and from the roads to the base of the hill. Given the steepness of the curve, the agate took it from there and ferried the crates and boxes up in alternating trips by flying them up to the top, setting them down and returning back down to get the next ones.
It wasn’t an easy offer to make.. Some of the scientists were understandably a little concerned over letting a large creature handle boxes of delicate equipment, both measuring instruments and pieces of a larger telescope that included glass parts. Any one of those boxes dropped on accident could cause a severe set-back, if not cancel the entire endeavour entirely.
Which was also the point the sphinx tried to make when explaining to them that it might be best to let Mear handle the transfer to the top, as he’s quite sure-handed (despite the two fingers) and it would mean there isn’t a risk any of the scientists could stumble and fall with any of the boxes.
(2) Mear: 154 (4/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Sept 28, 2020 6:12:52 GMT -6
Perhaps it was the easy-going, assuming smile, perhaps the tat-lung’ well known ability to be graceful, the scientists had eventually agreed (Although the one responsible for logistic seemed to gradually increase in sweat with each box lifted and ferried up, as if expecting something to go wrong out of pure probability). The sphinx tried assuring them the first few trips, but given it didn’t seem to have any affect on their nerves, figured to just let them be after that and focus on helping elsewhere.
The two didn’t have jobs, as such. The flier was quite vague about what was needed help with, so they just showed up with a lot of enthusiasm, a tiny bit of magical ability and some go-getter level of confusion. For all the scientists seemed an organized lot in terms of their logistics, equipment and the estimated timing of the comet, they seemed a bit more chaotic once it got around to actually setting things up.
(3) Mear: 155 (0/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Sept 28, 2020 6:13:26 GMT -6
Both the sphinx and agate supposed it could just be that they’ve been wrapped up in-doors for so long, the out-doors can sometimes throw City-folk for a loop. A hill was only a theoretical ideal destination from afar, until you reached the base and saw its curvature, realizing how steep a climb is really ahead (and not many of the scientists seemed of a more athletic kind of sort).
When one approached the tat-lung with a question on whether he could, perhaps, ferry some of the people up the same way as he had the crates, there was an awkward pause and look exchanged between agate and mammalian, before Darky had to be carefully and apologetically explain the sensitive nature of tat-lung taboos. Primarily the one dealing with carrying people and why it’s not considered a good thing.
Granted, as she explained, she had to artfully dodge the facts that it had happened in the past on a few occasions. But those weren’t exactly ‘voluntary’ and the two had a general unwritten rule that such instances simply didn’t need to be discussed about, to make things easier.
(4) Mear: 155 (1/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Sept 28, 2020 6:14:16 GMT -6
The disappointment didn’t take long to show on the scientist’s face, and strangely it seemed to spread to a few others once they returned back to their group. Darky wasn’t sure if it was more dejection at the thought of having to climb the steep hill on their own, or missing out on an opportunity to fly through the air. Perhaps it was a combination of both, as the scientists didn’t seem to be the creature-taming types, save for a few who had smaller pets (or perhaps familiars?) hanging around and on them.
That might not necessarily be a bad idea, the agate interjected to her wandering thoughts.
What, familiars? the sphinx blinked and raised a brow at him, waking from the pensive state.
Flying, I mean, he leaned his body to gently bump the sphinx’s side. Given it barely flinched her considering the agate’s size, the move was well-measure to avoid completely toppling her. You have the magic to do so now. And if not your own magic, there’s plenty other options by proxy, sarane foremost.
(5) Mear: 155 (2/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Sept 28, 2020 6:14:49 GMT -6
A pained look crossed the mammalian’s face and he could sense the impulse of avoidance rising. It was an instinctual reaction to the topic, he knew, so the sensation itself wasn’t unfamiliar. It’s.. I don’t.. the sphinx vaguely waved a hand, as if to dismiss it, but stumbling over the words. Finally, she gave a deep sigh, shoulders slumping, I appreciate the offer, but.. It’s not time yet. I’m not ready. It’s still.. Too soon.
Nor would I expect you to ever be ready, but let’s be honest, he leaned the head lower, You’ve been making a habit of falling from heights for a while now and it would so all us a great deal good to know you won’t be crashing into the ground whenever any of us aren’t there to catch you that one time it matters.
The sphinx gave him a glance and immediately turned it away, conceding to the point, but not all too happy about it. It wasn’t that she was purposefully getting thrown or jumping off of things of late. Circumstances have just been.. Difficult. And sometimes split-second decisions need to be made.
(6) Mear: 155 (3/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Sept 28, 2020 6:15:30 GMT -6
Even if those split-second decisions involve, for example, sliding down the back of a giant nyssa and throwing yourself into the air so your companion can catch you before you hit the ground a bloody mess. Darky knew Mear had a point, but it didn’t stop that phantom cold bottomless feeling in her gut whenever she thought about flying through the air, aided or otherwise. The same feeling, which wouldn’t be so bad otherwise, if it didn’t completely shut down her brain in a fit of panic, pushing out all other reason and leaving only instinct which didn’t really know what to do in such a situation.
I’ll.. try, she slowly drew up, turning the head to look up at the tat-lung like a child only kinda-sorta promising to do a thing the parent asked them to do.
The agate smiled, Good. And remember, you don’t have to do it by yourself. gently bumping his head into hers. If nothing else Amonuro can be there to catch you.
(7) Mear: 155 (4/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Sept 28, 2020 6:19:08 GMT -6
The escape from the conversation could not happen quick enough, and the call from a scientist asking for assistance in moving some of the last boxes was well-timed. The agate drew away, to ferry the final crates up to the hill, while the sphinx escaped into the nearby wood for a short bit and came back with an armful of some sturdy meter long sticks.
With the equipment up top, it was time for everyone else to get there as well. As not everyone was exactly athletically-inclined (Except for one of the data processors, who the sphinx was surprised to note seemed to have a hobby of jogging) the climb up seemed more daunting than it really was. She handed out the sticks to each and gave a short instruction on how to use it in helping one’s self feel more stable on the walk up, before the they all set off.
The sphinx lead the way and the tat-lung followed behind, ready to catch any that tumbled.
(8) Mear: 156 (0/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Sept 28, 2020 6:19:33 GMT -6
The problem with steep hills wasn’t that they were hard to climb. In fact, unless the side of the hill has loose soil or gravel, pretty much any hill can be walked up given enough effort and time. No, the problem was the verticality of it, not in a physical sense, but a perspective kind - if one was to remain on a highly uneven surface for long enough time, the brain can sometimes want to return to a sense of equilibrium by having the climber stand straighter and recover. However, if one did so and leaned back too much (as the steepness is so sharp that standing at a ‘normal’ angle to the ground one’s centre of balance immediately pulls them backwards) they could close their balance and look at a long tumble down the hill again.
Climber and people with good balance weren’t too affected by this, as their brains had long since been trained to accustom for the weird equilibrium senses. But people who mostly worked behind desks and in offices weren’t necessarily quite so lucky.
(9) Mear: 156 (1/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Sept 28, 2020 6:19:54 GMT -6
The data processor agent was the first one up the hill, for example, even passing by the sphinx as they pretty much jogged up the steep slope with steady breaths. The rest weren’t doing quite so good, as the back of the sphinx was covered by a lot of huffing and puffing. A few times she felt that spike of empathic alertness when the tat-lung noticed someone leaning too far back or about to slip and quickly leaned forward with his head to support them, before taking a step back and returning to keep vigil.
By and by, one by one, the scientists eventually made it up to the top, however, where half laid down on the grass for several minutes and the rest found a box to sit on or lean up against. All except the data processor, who was doing post-workout stretches. In a strange kind of way, both the agate and the sphinx were mesmerized by the sight of a single person, among this surrounding pile of very exhausted bodies.
(10) Mear: 156 (2/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Sept 28, 2020 6:20:17 GMT -6
For all the good it did at the time, the sphinx assured the climb back down would be much more easier. Some seemed to smile, while most of the scientists seemed too preoccupied with catching their breath.
Eventually, one by one, they got back to their feet and began to open the crates and boxes to set things up. The sun had been gone by that point, so the whole hill was cast into a hazy dimness until they brought out the small lanterns. It was enough to see one’s way around and put things up, but not so much as to blind them to the night sky that was increasing unrolling its glory across the expanse above them.
At least three scientists kept making calculations and keeping an eye on their watches, while the rest scrambled to assemble the different instruments, devices and mechanisms needed to record, document and observe the event itself. While everyone worked fast to the sphinx’s eyes, there was an assuredness, a calmness and a determination where each one knew what they were doing.
(11) Mear: 156 (3/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Sept 28, 2020 6:20:39 GMT -6
Less so for the duo themselves. Eventually, feeling a bit out of place, the sphinx offered to open and carry some of the equipment pieces for assembly (even if she largely had no idea how to assemble them without instructions) while the agate took off to fly in lazy loops around the hill, keeping an eye out for any intruders or interrupters.
Both jobs seemed more easier said than done. The scientists weren’t kidding when they had stressed how delicate some of the equipment was, and although the agate had been extra careful on handling the boxes, the sphinx felt like so much as looking at some of the lens-filled frames and objects could crack them. When the scientist enthusiastically explaining the device went into the exact microscopic details of the lenses themselves and how minute of a fraction an error could be, Darky almost wanted to just back off from it, in case breathing on it wrong caused an issue.
(12) Mear: 156 (4/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Sept 28, 2020 6:23:53 GMT -6
Whether any of them showed it or not, the pressure was ever present there every step of the way. The scientists could smile and joke and seem at ease when they set things up, but an observant enough on-looker could see the nervous ticks, the pen clicking, the constant checking and over-checking and nervous glances to the skies. This was a once in two centuries chance, after all. Should they fail, only their grandchildren can try again (and that’s assuming they would have any).
Sticking to the easier tasks, the sphinx eventually tried to keep herself more out of the way than involved, as it seemed the scientists not only knew better about what they were doing, but also seemed to have it handled.
On the agate’s side, the forests were dark and largely quiet, aside the faint breeze rustling the canopy. That wasn’t the same as the forests being empty, however, as the verdant expanse was more likely to hide more lives within a single square block of forest, than a dozen square blocks of the City combined.
(13) Mear: 157 (0/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Sept 28, 2020 6:24:14 GMT -6
There was life there, unseen and largely unheard, but there all the same. The agate had no ability to see the darkness, as his eyes were mostly the same in make and ability as the mammalian’s, but he didn’t need to spot the individual life signs to know them. For the time being, at least, it seemed there was nothing big nor humanoid looking to interrupt them, so he made a slow pass around the base of the hill and brought up a deadwood palisade wall across their back, before snaking back up to the top.
The wall would crumble eventually, the magic binding it not a permanent feature, but it would leave a furrow and an uneven ground that could produce noise, should something creep up behind them. Not that there necessarily would be someone, but it paid to be careful. The questing board was surrounded by a lot of curious people, after all, which probably didn’t help the scientist’s need for peace and quiet once the event itself was about to happen.
(14) Mear: 157 (1/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Sept 28, 2020 6:25:07 GMT -6
With the equipment all set up and each scientist at their station, all eyes turned to the skies, to spot the first signs of a coming meteor. Darky moved to the front of the hill, where the slope was starting, and sat down, laying on her back to watch the starry skies above. Following the raising of the palisade wall, the tat-lung eventually flew near and landed beside, mimicking the motion of laying on his back, though the bulk of the serpentine body was nearly reaching the steeper part of the slope further below them.
It’s been so long since I’ve looked at the stars, I’ve forgotten how beautiful they were, the sphinx reminisced, faintly smiling. You don’t really see them this clearly in the City itself.
The tat-lung mused, azure eyes skyward, There’s a lot more light in the City. The small stars and the bird’s way disappear in that haze. There was a pause, a sense of wonder slowly rising, as he quietly adds, I don’t think I’ve seen it this clear before. Watched them, certainly, the kennel roof is a good place to stargaze, and the farm has enough open space as well. But never like this..
(15) Mear: 157 (2/5)
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