Nephele looks up as the horizon as it flashed a bright orange. Something large tore its way through the thermosphere, screamed through the mesosphere and burned through the stratosphere where most foreign objects would be reduced to embers. But this chunk of rock was too large and kept hurtling towards the ground at destructive speeds, the glow only growing brighter as the massive asteroid burned with the intensity of a sun. People screamed and ran, but Nephele leaned back and flipped a pair of shades on while she cranked up one of her favorite tunes. People were running away, sprinting in every direction as the asteroid impacted with a Earth-shattering explosion of debris and viscera. Nephele stood after the tremor passed beneath her and started walking to the crater that was left in the wake. The stones around the impact zone were still glowing cherry-red as she walked up to the lip. Smoke was rising, hiding whatever managed to level the most of this town that the kuja had been trying to lose herself in. Of course something had to have shown up when she was in such a foul mood. Of course it had to been thirty feet tall, be covered in blood, and look like it just walked out of a nightmare. It wouldn't be interesting otherwise right? Nephele hardly blinked as she stared up at the creature towering in the dusty smoke, its silhouette clear in the smoke afire with the glow of the evening sun. Slowly she pulled out one of her earbuds and cleared her throat.
"Ahem..aftó pou sérnetai ston kólo sou kai péthane? (What dragged itself into your a** and died?)"
584/950
North Lotus
Cor Contritum generated a random number between
100 and 200 ...
182!
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 12:53 am
Legs were stiff and heavy, like magnets to the cement as she would plod on after the woman and the male who had been speaking about the infamous name she knew from somewhere deep down inside. It was like a cobweb in the back of her mind from cleared out memories she had deserted long ago when she still sported the footprint, something that had vanished under her thick fur and looked similar to that of a paling scar. Fur didn't grow in the place that mark had formed, but her long hair covered the larger part while the smaller nodules were easily brushed over with the longer fur, a mark of shame she bore to no one. A sudden tug on her hair had her reeling back again as she would feel a smaller form wrap an arm around her shoulders.
"Hi there!"
A cheerful sing song voice rang lightly in her ears as she would immediately began to tremble, the smell of lilies wafted over her nose and the faint scent of something spicy though the name of the spice wasn't something that came to mind. Red eyes glanced upwards to a fair skinned young lass with blue to pink hair, the artificial coloring a top her head was obvious, but her bright blue and red heterochromic eyes were mesmerizing. Hae Soo stared with clear captivation as she was unsure how to react, the woman wasn't the least bit threatening as she would continue to hold her in a strong grip.
"H...hello."
She all but whispered the greeting as she remained entrapped while the young lass moved her with the utmost ease, but somehow, someway she had done it in the most unforceful and gentle manner, almost as if she yearned to obey whatever this human woman wanted.
"You look a little dazed and out of it foxy."
The cheer was kind and her eyes were gentle, Hae Soo hadn't seen that look on a human before and this female was very human by the look and smell of her. As she took a step back as the girl pushed on her shoulders and looked her up and down as if analyzing her, the outfit she bore was...definitely unbefitting of her personality, but with how clean the garments were she assumed this wasn't this girl's normal wear. The young lasses nose scrunched up gently as she would look almost irked, before reaching down and grabbing Soo's paw and tugging her away from the plaza.
"Wh..wait!" the words came out before she could bite them back.
The sudden stop as the girl turned a looked with a light smile on her face, "What's up?" she asked looking curious, "I...I was...following those.." she turned to indicate, but then realized quickly that she had most definitely already lost them. The pinkette raised a light eyebrow before looking about, "What for?" she questioned before gently squeezing Hae Soo's paw and urging her along again, "Gol D. Roger." she murmured as she felt heat start to rise through her skin, "Oh. That grandpa?" she questioned with a kind smile, "What did you wanna know?" she asked casually as they would stop in front of an Inn with wings as their symbol, "I...don't know..." she murmured as she would be tugged in and met with cool air over her hot fur, "You can ask me, I mean I know a lot, though I don't look it!" she chirped as she would drag Hae Soo to a bar top and sit her down.
"Um. Where are we? Who are you? Why did you grab me?" the questions came spilling out as the young lass hopped onto a chair and tapped the counter, a man with blue hair swung by and placed some food down, "Bianca. Bianca Bailey, Bibi for short." she said with a bright toothy smile, "This here is a rest stop my husband went and got for all his travelling people." she continued before picking up a fork and stabbing into a piece of shredded chicken, "Husband...?" she wondered, "Yup!" Bibi murmured with a smile, "As for why, I could see you got something wrong with you. It's like...watching an abused child walk in front of you ya know?" she murmured before spearing another piece and holding it out to Hae Soo. The minkman stared a long moment before hesitantly taking a bite and feeling the flush of joy that rolled across her as she savoured the taste, "Since I answered you, you get to answer me right?" she asked with a smile. Hae Soo would stare at her as she chewed and started to dig into the plate.
"...I...I guess."
The quiet murmur was all she could hear as she would wait for the woman who was...exuding so much casual friendliness it was hard to keep her guard up, "You wanna tell me who abused you?" she questioned bluntly and without skipping a beat. The girl only glanced up from her own plate when Hae Soo had failed to answer, "Hmm, guess thats a no, probably high powered someone huh?" she wondered absently before shrugging, "Kay, how old are you?" she continued on while eating. This was a question Hae Soo had to think about, "I'm twenty." she murmured while Bibi stared at her, "That big ol mark on your back is old." she stated clearly which forced Soo into a crippling fear as everything dropped and she almost fell out of her seat. A hand shot out and grasped her shoulder and kept her up, "I won't tell no body, I mean I had friends who were um. Ya know." she stated quietly before smiling again, "...it was awful huh?" she asked quietly looking sympathetic. Hae Soo stared as she felt like she had been utterly exposed, like her fur had been ripped clean off and everyone could see how vulnerable she was, "....." she gritted her teeth as she felt her eyes prickle with tears, "That's too forward huh? Bael must have rubbed off on me, though maybe Husband is to blame for that too." she laughed lightly as she swiftly changed topics, "What about family?" she wondered idly.
[ The nerve. The sheer audacity. The gaul of these humans! How dare they survive the holy purification stone?! How dare they defy the song of his kind?! This...cannot be allowed. One foot rises from the gore filled pool, pressing against the edges of the burning crater. Looming eyes look upon the remainder. Their struggles, their desperation, their ever present will to survive. It all fills it...rage. Insatiable rage. The beast snarls before dragging its full form out of the hole. Its nine masked tails snickering and snarling every which way, like a parade of predators celebrating a successful hunt. And then it happens.
Before him, moving CLOSER, is a single human lifeform. Her face shows no the despair of the others. Rather, nothing. No...pain? This aggravates the monstrosity more. Its head lowers as the nine tails looms about over the girl, speaking vile insults and degrading phrases. Questions about her mentality, and her foolishness. The end result is the full beast lifting its head, roaring in the woman’s face. Its voice is unlike anything on the planet. Filled with the calls of various animals in a morbid unison, an almost orchestra of wild life. “H̳u̼̮̬̲͝.͘.̨̙̺͉̘̹.̨̟̰̻m̪̘a̵͍͎̫̪̝n̗͟!̶͔͙̠ R̴͍͖e̮̟̼̻̳̮t̩̺̬͈̱̭͡u͍͙͟r̳̥n̬̹̰̫̠ ̵͔̺̠i͍͔̫̗̜ͅt͔̺̪̖͘…̵̻̩!͓͍̟͍̮̮͡ͅ ̥͓̭̺͈̙̮R̗̱̘͉̩̟̀ͅE̯̳͕͖̬͈̙T̻͈̬̲̺Ṵ̦̤R̩͘N͙̟ ҉͉O̧Ú͉͚̟R҉̬̤͚̙ ̛̥̱͈̩͓̬̙W̫̯̫O͈R̳̺̳͈̘Ḻ̦͇D̠͓̟͖͔!̻̖̙̜̬͈͍͝” it screams in an almost alien voice, lifting one of its front paws preparing to smash the woman into the earth in one go. ]
Nephele wiped the spittle from the giant beast's roar off of her face. Her wrist flicked as she rid herself of the drool, the gooey substance slapped against the smoking ground with a wet smack. It then sizzled from the sheer heat of the stones around it. "Are you quite done?" She asked as it screamed in a discordant voice. Her stony face placidly stared up at the fox demon thing as it lifted one of its paws and smashed it down on top of her. Now normally you would expect to hear a crunch of bones and see red jam leak out-between the pads of that massive foot. Not this time! No, perhaps this alien creature had been weakened during its imprisonment because this time it felt resistance! Nephele, just as her song changed, caught the paw and gripped the furry appendage with both arms. Those deceptively muscular pythons squeezed harder as she clenched her hands together and leaned backwards. Every muscle flexed in that small woman's body as she lifted that fox creature off the ground and over her head with one swift, practiced motion attempting to slam him into the ground behind her! "You picked the wrong day to f**k with me!"
[ Fool of a human. You walked before a true inhabitants, expecting your meager courage to guide you to salvation. Now, you’re nothing more than a stain of red beneath its foot. Or so, the story should go. And yet, despite the futility of her presence, this human...this woman, struggles! Her strength far surpasses the great creatures expectations, as she struggles to lift against his mass and power. All before somehow flipping it onto its own back! Though the resulting crash only serves to cause more damage to the already ruined city. With its lower half suspended in the air as the upper rests against the stones beneath, banter can be heard. All of different voices emanating from the creature. The tails swish about wildly, as if expressing emotions of their own, until finally one breaks away from the whipping frenzy and swings at the girl with terrible speeds, hoping to knock her away before the whole beast flips itself upright in an enraged snarl. “HUMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!” it roars with a thundering bellow, causing the immediate area to rumble faintly. ]
CRACK! Yep! That was definitely a rib. She feels the curved bone give as a tail slams into her side. "Guh!" Nephele grunts as the appendage slam into her. But that wasn't the end of the furious kuja, face becoming more and more excited as a fire build in the pit of her stomach. Those arms would grip on to that tail as it impacted into her side, lifting her off the ground before she forced herself back down to the fractured earth below. A subtle grin slowly spread into an unbalanced crack across that normally aloof mask. Digging her heels in, the woman would turn and swing with all her might spinning in place as she attempted to whirl that monster around in a massive hammer-throw! With one full rotation, Nephele would untangle her fingers from that soft fur and allow the fox to fly! "Che! Chahahahahaha! N-now you got my blood fllowing!" A maniacal laugh escaped from her normally stoic mouth, now an insane beastly simper. Her eyes were similarly changed, the pupils contracted and the white almost shown in its entirety as she sprinted after the demon! Dust kicked up behind her as she hopped, ran, and jumped over the rubble to come crashing down to in an attempt to smash directly into the fuzzy body! Blood spurts from between her clenched fangs as she moves, but still that aroused expression remained.
[ Impossible! That blow should have ended it this time. This feeble, tiny human, should have been reduced to nothing more than a mist of red, splattering about the ruins of her human civilization. She should, by all accounts, be dead! And yet, once again, the beast finds itself hoisted by her whims, slung across the rubble and gore like a damned sports ball. In its flight, the beast has several thoughts, attempting to process this madness. It's tails plunging into the ground, slowing its momentum until it finally comes to a halt. But at that very moment, black blood spews from its maw and its body is caved into the ground, much akin to the meteorites impact. Just, on a much smaller scale of course. The shock of the pain, normally, would send signals to flee into most creatures.
But here, for this beast, it only serves to anger it. A horrible roar sets off once again as the monster flais about, slamming its tail all about the environment. Release me! Release me! RELEASE ME! Its mind runs rampant, until a black ooze like substance juts up from the ground around it and the woman atop of it. The foul, almost evil goop forms a sphere around them blacking out the light, leaving only darkness. Slowly, the woman would find the creature’s form descending until its completely swallowed up by the liquid, leaving her stranded in an atmospheric ocean of black. It’d look like the outside, rubble, bodies, and all, but made of this horrible liquid. Soon enough, she’d feel like. Eyes watching, preying about in the darkness. A rush from one side, and then to other. Like a predator stalking its prey. “What are you, human? Why do you refuse to DIE?” the voice booms, as if coming from various directions. Though in truth, the creature looms behind her mouth agape, going for her lower half. ]
A searing torrid pain flashes through Nephele's body, enhanced by the utter eclipse of her other senses. Just as she had begun to turn, vaguely feeling the fetid breath of the beast behind her, massive swords clamped down on her right leg. Cardinal cruor erupted from the punctures as the fox clamped down on her lower thigh and calf. Not one to waste an opportunity and gritting her teeth through the white-hot flashes of pain, Nephele gripped onto the beast's neck with a herculean bicep wrapping her arm around his carotid artery in a choke-hold. While her flexing muscle sought to cut the flow of blood to his head, Nephele, despite the blood streaming from her mouth, gums and leg, brings her free arm up and prepares a behemothic blow. "What am I?! WHAT AM I?!" She screams into its ear, or what she assumed its approximate location was as she hammers her elbow down towards the creature's skull. "I AM Ripper... Crusher... Breaker. I am the claws in the Darkness, the fangs in the Night. Mine is Strength... and Lust... and Might!" She raises her bloodied elbow with each word, the torn skin attesting to the sheer ferocity of her attacks. "I AM NEPHELE!" Blood continues to pour down Nidus's gullet, profusely as she exerts her body to the absolute limit.
"If I die, I die dragging you to Tartarus with me! THE DAMNED WILL SCREAM IN LAMENTATION AT MY ARRIVAL!"
[ Delicious. The savory taste of the human’s red innards. That delectable metallic ooze. Blood. Despite his rage, the beast nearly smiles in glee at the victory caged between his fangs. He had prepared to snatch the woman about, break the body a bit. Maybe even remove the leg. But before he’s given the chance, a powerful hold braces his throat, forcing his eyes to widen in both surprise and pain. Even now?! Even now you resist?! The woman, in her almighty defiance, roars out her response, giving way to several powerful blows on the beast’s head. Enough so that his vision goes blurry after a few of the strikes. Growing ever more furious, he bites down further in a snarl, while tendrils of ink rise up and viciously swing down one after the one, attempting to tear and crack at her back like whips. “KNOW THE WEAKNESS OF YOUR RACE! REMOVING YOU, IS REMOVING A THREAT TO MY KIND! KNEEL, HUMAN!” he growls between his teeth. ]
Nephele feels the lash for the second time in her life, the familiar feeling of sharp-tongued serpents flaying the spectral flesh of her back. Cerise liquor slid down her back, red streams pooling and collecting with the blood from her leg in the fox's mouth. The irony crimson wine continued to seep out of her many wounds as Nephele used her free hand to aim a earth-shattering punch towards the monster's eye. "YOU WILL DROWN IN MY BLOOD BEFORE I KNEEL!" She screamed, her voice exploding in the darkness of his inky world as she slammed her elbow down towards his head again. They would be locked in death before she surrendered! "EVEN IF THE SKY WAS SHORTER THAN MY KNEES! I! WOULD! NOT! KNEEL!" The ferocious roar echoed around them. If she had been able to see, the edges of her vision would have been blurry. But in this pitch the only feeling she had was the pain and the weight of her own body. The pain was becoming numb, a dull throb in the back of her mind, and her body was becoming heavier with every movement and every wound sustained.
"I WILL STAND BEFORE THE GATES OF HEAVEN AND WALK BACKWARDS INTO HELL! DRAGGING YOU WITH ME!"
A heavy mist washes over the fallen town. Those who were lucky to survive were unlucky to discover all ported ships were blasted away by the meteor's shock wave. Dread consumed the survivors until the vomit green glow of a ship neared the dock, a small cry of happiness would echo between the survivors. Only for their hope to be crushed at the sight of a pirate flag. A pirate crew had arrived to take advantage of their chaos and destruction. The survivors stood there dumbfounded and in shock at what transpired in their head, until the ship sailed right into the island. The sounds of shouting as they scrambled to escape the ship's trajectory but instead of the hull breaking as it dragged against the ground the ship would rise above land and above the survivors. Joyous laughter would come from the ship as a crew of a dozen pirates climb down to the island below.
A young buccaneer with an eye-patch on his right eye and a scar on his other eye would take the command. "Redecorating the town I see. Yarharhar" The crew echoed the laughter. Walking towards one of the survivors, grabbing a woman by the scruff of his shirt and lifting her up. "Do you want to live?" The woman trembling in his hand would give herself brain damage from how fast she nodded. The man would let her go and from inside his coat would pull out a piece of bread, handing it to her before going around asking the same to everyone else. Without the shirt grabbing, intimidation was no longer needed until one rowdy individual decided to be vocal about his distaste of pirates. "Stinkin pirates! You caused this destruction and you...AHHHH" The man was cut short with a knife driven straight in to his knee. The buccaneer twisted the knife until a popping sound would cause the man to cry out in pain once again, his leg being dislocated from the knee. "By no means did we cause this but we sure find it amusing." Placing the barrel of the gun at the man's forehead waiting a couple of seconds before firing a single round. Blood splattering the ground and parts of his clothing which he quickly tried to wipe away before it stained. Blood was difficult to remove once it settled in.
Most folks had the brains to realize that they had no option in whatever plan the pirates had for them. "Now I consider us fair people. Just somebody trying to make a living like any one of you. Having said that you are in dire need of help and we will provide that help. And all we ask in return is very little. Just any jewelry you may have and our flag be shown in the center of town." There was quiet mumbling between the crowd, mumbling that was silenced with a warning shot. The man's body laying in the floor was a quick reminder that they could easily end up like him at any moment. Without much of a choice the townsfolk, the ones who could walk, went with the pirate crew around town getting any valuables and sending them up to the ship. No one questioned the floating ship or at least no one asked the pirates. As they edged on closer to the center of the town, ground zero of the meteor impact, the public grew concerned of the circle. Some had seen the beast that caused the disaster and were apposed to getting close. "A monster!...There is a monster in the center of town. He caused the meteor" The pirate crew would not give the concerned citizen even a glance. Arriving at the edge of the crater there would be no monster, no jewelry, instead there was giant black sphere. The eye-patch pirate grabbed a civilian by the hair and flung him in to the sphere curious of what would happen.
[ Things were not supposed to be this way. It was supposed to rid this area of humans, and be on it’s way to the next. Far be it from it to expect a champion of man-kind to show up here of all places. The feral beast can only release its vice grip on the woman’s shredded leg as a blow is met with its eye. It lashes about violently now, it’s ink constructed tentacles whipping and slapping about wildly, no longer completely under control. The roar of pain seething from its lungs causes the dome-like world of ink to sway and shirk, but it manages to maintain. After regaining its composure, the ninetailed beast is silenced as another blow meets its head. Another painful blow. Annoying. It hurts. And it wants the hurt to stop. Its only good eye would pry open in fury as the ninetails spread outward like a peacock. Each of the individual masks face Nephele ominously, looking about her in malice. Bit by bit ink begins to swirl into the center of the masked shell, above both the woman and the beast. The mass grows further and further until a globe of ink remains. “This world, will be your grave. Rue the day you crossed me… and blame only yourself for being born a mere human!” Upon finishing, the orb would lift very subtly before descending at terrible speeds to try and crash onto the pair. They may both go to hell, but he’ll make certain she is first. But before impact can be made, a small tinge crawls up the beast’s spine. Did...something just enter the world of ink? ]
Nephele grinned. The sadistic woman leered from ear to ear as she continued to smash her bloodied fist into the thing's head over and over again and again. Three bone-crushing strikes against the orbital bone, his skull, and his ear. She held on to his throat, still refusing to release her hold on the creature's neck. Still attempting to cut the blood flowing to whatever this thing called a brain. But, it roared. It was hurt. Nephele was causing it pain. It could bleed. IT. COULD. DIE! She leaned over and dug her fangs into its furred flesh as its own daggers released her mangled leg. The pain was gone now, her body nearly completely numb. Every fiber of her being was being pushed beyond its limit. Whatever happened next would be the deciding factor. A knee rose to slam against the creature's open jaw, the uninjured limb snapping quickly in an attempt to fracture osseous material. "Strap yourself in beast!" She yelled into its triangular ear. "KNOW THAT A MERE HUMAN DRAGGED YOU SCREAMING INTO TARTARUS!" As the inky orb descended towards them both, Nephele unaware of the attack and still raining blows with her nearly exhausted body, she screamed in defiance.
"WE'RE RIDING THE ENGINE OF HELL TOGETHER! STRAIGHT INTO THE ABYSS!"
[ The final blows had done much to the beast. Far too much. So much so it could no longer consider this mere woman to be human any further than this. For she, at this point, is nothing more than a battle crazed demon. A vile mockery logic. Regardless of what it does, be it searing her very flesh from the bone, plunging gaping holes into her, crushing her innards… it doesn’t matter. She yet stands, ever ready to continue her descent into damnation. And by her words, she truly does plan to take the alien with her. A crude smirk brandishing the beast beneath the crevices of its mask. It had grown content. It never expected to fight something as fun as this right after landing...but it still doesn’t want to die either. Not yet. With one large slam, the massive orb of ink of crater atop the pair, sentencing the end to the ink world. Bit by bit the done would begin breaking down at the seams, oozing out and spilling onto the blood filled, burning city.
All that would remain in the pool of ink is the body of the random man thrown in, and two inky bulges. With no beast in sight. A hand reaches up, grasping onto the broken stone floors, and then another. Soon enough, a whole figure rises from the pool of black. A man. His blue hair dripping with ink, the liquid sliding off as if the person’s body were inkproof. Mixed with the ink are streams of red. Blood covers his body from head to toe, some leaking from his lips, and more from his head. His movements are strained and unfocused. He teeters to-and-fro, fighting with all of his might to retain his balance. Then finally, he stands up tall, arms hung to his side, and head tilted back to face the sky. Every cell of his body screams in pain and exhaustion. Beautiful eyes matching the flow of an aurora stare up to the direction of the moon, weak and fighting to stay open. His bloody teeth grit as heavy painful breaths escape his throat.
“What the hell do you mean… I failed? I’m still...standing! I’m...freakin’ alive! You kiddin’ me, you shitty old bat?!” he roars up to the sky, as if speaking to someone, or something, up there.
Frustration clearly takes him, but it’s all he can do to remain standing. His body shakes and nearly gives out for a moment before he slides a foot over and braces to retain balance. His torso leans forward as his arms remain hanging. He can barely maintain consciousness now, and yelling probably wasn’t the best idea. Now forced to look downwards, he’d face the ink surrounding his feet and scowl. “s**t...s**t...s**t… You b***h. You’re the...the damn cause of this. I’m gonna make you pay for this…!” he snarls, referring to the woman who caused him this degree of suffering. ]
A hand would shoot out from the inky mass, wrapping strong, yet slender fingers around Nidus's ankle. Those bloodied digits would pull on him as Nephele emerged from the pitched tar. One hand at a time, Nephele ripped herself from the black ooze. Her eyes burned up at the man who stood above her, those burgundy hues aflame with defiance. Blood streamed from the many wounds that covered her chiseled form, red runnels dripping off of her and pooling beneath her. "We...aren't...done.." The words growled hoarsely, the image of a massive, wounded beast punctuating her ragged voice. Despite her wounds, and her body clearly near collapsing, her eyes glared up at Nidus as clear and as sharp as a bodkin piercing a gambeson. Slowly she crawled to her knees, then to her feet. Shakily standing, Nephele straightened herself to her full height. Her face was the expression of rebellion. Perhaps it was defiance in the face of death or perhaps she was not ready to pass until she dragged her opponent kicking & screaming past the gates of Hell. Wobbling slightly, Nephele set herself and clenched her fists as her whole body tensed. Every fiber of her being was focused on keeping herself upright at this point as she bored fiery pits into Nidus's eyes with her own fiery hues. Droplets of cruor stained the ground beneath her the same inky darkness as the sable dome that she had just been encased in as she flexed and clenched her fists so hard the knuckles were brazened white.
