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Post by ShadesofGrey18 on Sept 25, 2018 10:26:01 GMT -5
(Content warning: Gonna be a looooot of disturbing/gorey imagery in this one.)
Crashing into a snowbank was never a fun experience. Fur or not, this place was nothing like Mount Garou was. At least, Keaton had thought, he'd landed near a building of... some kind. He wasn't going to complain about how creepy it looked (not that he'd really noticed anyway); he'd just hurried inside to get out of the freezing cold.
He ended up very quickly regretting that decision. "Eugh... Gods, it reeks in here. What died here?" It was hard to see... and he was alone. The wolfskin's posture stiffened as he looked around, very quickly putting his back against a wall. "Hh... where'd everybody go...?" He reached down for his Beaststone... and found nothing. "Oh, great..."
Exhaling slowly to try and keep his breathing steady, Keaton slowly began to walk along the wall, not daring to blink.
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Sept 25, 2018 10:56:14 GMT -5
Kaden wasn't sure what he had expected, but a snowbank was not what he had expected. The kitsune pulled himself free from the snow, and then pulled his arms close to his body, shivering, a cloud escaping from his mouth. The Kitsune Hamlet never got this cold. "B-Brr... Where am I...?" he questioned aloud, before realizing he was all alone... in this frigid mountain range. Kaden reached for his beaststone, only to find nothing. He gulped. "Great..."
With even self-defence out of the question, the kitsune looked around for somewhere he could use as a shelter. He found a rather creepy-looking building. "Ugh... It'll work for now," Kaden mused. Walking up to it, he found an window. Carefully opening it, the kitsune slipped through the opening...
The stench of death assaulted the kitsune's nostrils. "E-eugh!?" Kaden pulled a hand over his nose. "What died in here...?!" He looked around, noticing a fluid in a glass vial, sickly green, illuminated by the dim light. The wall did not seem fully solid in the room he was in. Still, the kitsune put his back to the wall, ears perked for any signs of noise...
And then, he felt it.
Something scraped along his back, his tail.
Kaden slowly turned around, and...
"GGGGGGYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGHHHHHHH!!!!!"
The vial of sickly green fluid began to shake and stir...
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Post by ShadesofGrey18 on Sept 25, 2018 11:02:55 GMT -5
Keaton hadn't noticed how not-solid the wall was as he walked along it... and he definitely didn't expect something to brush along his back. He jumped, and a rather high-pitched scream escaped from the wolfskin as he turned around.
"AIIIIEEE!"
He wasn't exactly light. Keaton's feet hitting the ground after he jumped made the vial shake further...
When he realized who it was, Keaton's frightened expression turned into a slight grin. "Kaden! Gods, I wasn't expecting to see you here, buddy..." He very quickly shifted his expression to a more neutral one... though his tail was wagging quite quickly.
It didn't last too long, though. He heard a light clanging sound, then looked up. ...The vial was falling. He threw his arms up to try and protect his face, and the glass shattered against his arms. "Augh!"
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Sept 25, 2018 11:18:14 GMT -5
Kaden's breathing was sharp, heart rate high... before he realized who it was. Seeing Keaton, his heart rate and breathing slowed down, and his tail wagged somewhat. "Keaton, buddy!" He said, placing his hands on the holes in the wall. "Boy, am I glad to see you! You wouldn't believe it, but I lost my Beaststone! Brr... I wasn't looking forward to fighting anything in this state!"
And then, the vial. Loosened by his screams and released by Keaton's jump, the vial was falling. "Yipe-!!" Kaden placed his arms over his face as the vial fell on Keaton, sending glass shards around and splattering the pair with the sickly green fluid.
Kaden felt a burning sensation as the green fluid hit him. Red flashed in his vision, his muscles felt sore and yet so strong at the same time... And yet, he felt as though he had been permanently dirtied.
Taking a few seconds to compose himself, Kaden lowered his arms, examining his body for damage. No glass shards had embedded themselves in his skin, and while his sleeves and tunic were stained green, he was sure that a good was could take care of it. "Um... buddy... How're you feeling?" He asked, concerned. "I feel... filthy..."
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Post by ShadesofGrey18 on Sept 25, 2018 18:43:15 GMT -5
"Gah!" Keaton hissed through his teeth as he felt the vial shatter against his arms, a few stray shards cutting through his shirt and cutting his arms lightly. When the vial's contents splattered on him, the wolfskin's pulse started to race, and he dropped to a knee.
"Hhh.... aahhahh... w-what the..." He felt like he was on fire. His muscles ached... "...I feel... rrgh..." He growled lowly, glancing over his shoulder. "...You... you smell that...?"
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Sept 25, 2018 19:32:42 GMT -5
Sniff, sniff...
Kaden's face scrunched up. "Um... if by 'that' you mean death, then yes." The kitsune looked where Keaton was looking. In the faint light of the building, there was... something. He squinted, trying to make something out. "Ugh! It smells like death, but... but... somehow, worse...!"
The pair began to move in the direction of the stench, Kaden's heart pounding against his chest, his stomach twisting into knots, dreading what he might see.
And then, the horrible sight became clear. "Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods, oh gods..."
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Post by ShadesofGrey18 on Sept 25, 2018 21:58:36 GMT -5
"Hh!" Keaton's eyes went wide as he saw what was there in the light...
A dead Wolfskin was laying on the ground; their form was disfigured, one arm only partially shifted, looking very jarring in contrast to normal, though fitting right in with the areas of partial transformation leaving the body horribly mangled.
"H-Hrrk... mrrgh..." Keaton gagged, before turning and emptying his stomach behind one of the nearby dusty tables. "BLEARGH! O-Oh, Gods, why..." He snarled, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Who. Who did this? I'll... rrgh... I'll rip them apart!" As his body heated up, he howled in anger, and in a flash of light, Keaton's form shifted, the Wolfskin standing transformed. "Wh-huh?!"
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Sept 26, 2018 13:19:37 GMT -5
"Oh gods, oh gods, oh g- B... B... BLAAARGHHH!!!"
Seeing the mutilated corpse of the wolfskin, combined with Keaton's reaction, Kaden too gagged, and leaned over, regurgitating the contents of his stomach onto another table. When he was certain his stomach was empty, the kitsune slowly stood up, wiping his mouth with his already-dirty sleeve.
And then, Keaton transformed. The wolfskin seemed confused. "W... Wha-?! You... You transformed! Without a beaststone! How...? How is that...?"
Something built up in Kaden. He felt his body grow cold, a wave of sadness and disgust washing over his body. Something wasn't right, this wasn't right at all, oh god what was going on with them-
There was another flash of light. Kaden's form shifted, and an orange fox stood where he did, looking over himself, confused. "Wh- what?! What's going on?! How?!"
Then the lights came on, a disturbing shade of a red. An alarm sounded, piercing the silence of the lab. There was the sound of something below the floor moving, a clicking sound.
And then, the sounds of a mob, a mob of feral creatures, moving in the direction of the kitsune and wolfskin.
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Post by ShadesofGrey18 on Sept 26, 2018 19:37:23 GMT -5
"That..." Keaton glanced at the floor a moment, thinking. It didn't make sense. Unless... "...That liquid! That's gotta be it; it's the only thing that we've touched since we got in here!"
He would've known if that was happening before, given how gross he felt at the moment. He didn't have time to think about it any longer, though... he could smell them. More like that dead one before... the scent was almost overwhelming.
"We... We gotta fight. Stay close to me, buddy!"
---
[Chapter 27: The Feral Frontier]
[Select Units]
*Keaton
*Kaden
[Support]
[View Map]
[Equip Skills]
Keaton: Collector, Odd Shaped, Beastbane, Rally Strength
Kaden: Reciprocity, Evenhanded, Beastbane, Rally Magic
[Inventory]
Keaton: Claw
Kaden: Fang
[Save]
Fight or die.
---
[Objective: Rout the enemy. All units must survive!]
Keaton's eyes scanned around the area... darkness. His beastial senses made it easier to deal with the darkness, but even still... he didn't like their odds. "We're in a real bad spot here... too open."
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Sept 26, 2018 20:08:27 GMT -5
From the hall across from them, the crowd from below rushed out. Although their forms were indistinguishable in the darkness, the red light revealed the contents of the mob when it passed over them. "Guh... huh?! Buddy, look! Something's not right with 'em!"
[Kitsune: Hoshidan? A rabid fox with sharp fangs and great speed.]
As Keaton took in their open location, Kaden searched around, finding a strained-looking rafter above them. "Hang on, buddy. I'm gonna get us some cover!" Without waiting for a response, the orange fox made a running start, leaping off the wolfskin and towards the rafter. The rafter shook, and with the added weight of the kitsune, it came crashing down before the mob, a makeshift barrier between the pair and the feral horde.
[Kaden will cycle between forms faster. Keep an eye on his transformation gauge.]
But as the mob drew closer, so did their stench. The kitsune's snout crumpled, his sensitive nostrils assaulted. "G-Gaugh!! Can you smell that? I can smell kitsune, but... there's something REALLY wrong with them!!"
[Kaden
Transformation gauge: 30/30 -> 25/30]
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Post by ShadesofGrey18 on Sept 26, 2018 20:21:24 GMT -5
"...Eugh. They're like that Wolfskin from before..." He glanced over at another beast that was similar in form to him... they were hunched over heavily in comparison, though.
[Wolfskin: Nohrian? A rabid wolf with powerful claws and great endurance]
[Keaton
Transformation gauge: 30/30 -> 27/30]
Keaton grimaced as another feral-looking fox slipped through a gap in the 'barrier', coming after them. The Wolfskin moved between the feral fox and Kaden. "I've got this one!"
As the fox struck, Keaton took... very little damage from the attack. Even less than he'd been anticipating. His eyes widened a bit before he swung a large arm out, his claw striking the Kitsune and sending it sprawling on the ground, dying from the impact shortly after. "Whoa!"
[Keaton
Transformation gauge: 27/30 -> 20/30]
[Keaton can maintain his form more easily, but combat affects his transformation gauge more heavily and he builds up energy more slowly untransformed. Be cautious about picking your fights!]
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Sept 26, 2018 20:49:06 GMT -5
"Huh? Buddy? You okay? You seem surprised," Kaden noted, before letting out a barking sound, pouncing and biting at the more hunched-over wolfskin that had gotten close to their position. As it lashed out with its claws, Kaden released his grip and bounced off it, avoiding the swipe. "... Hmm? I seem... faster?" As the wolfskin recovered from its swipe, the kitsune lunged at it again, biting at its jugular, causing the tainted beast to emit a growl before slumping to the ground, dead as a doornail.
[Kaden
Transformation gauge: 25/30 -> 22/30]
[Str: 14 -> 17
Skl: 12 -> 15
Spd: 19 -> 24
Def: 9 -> 11
Res: 14 -> 19]
"What kind of chemical was that?!" Kaden questioned. "It seems to have made just stronger and faster, but... there's gotta be some catch!"
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Post by ShadesofGrey18 on Sept 26, 2018 20:54:50 GMT -5
"I dunno, but I ain't gonna complain about it!" Keaton actually laughed a bit, swiping against another Wolfskin that came after them; Keaton felt lighter than usual, and he was able to get a second swipe in, felling the other beast, then another Kitsune. The Wolfskin was like a wall that the feral beasts just seemed to crumple against. "We... we can do this. I-"
He was cut off by his form suddenly shifting back to his usual state; the Wolfskin he'd been fighting looked down at him, huffing through its nostrils.
"...Oh no."
[Keaton
Transformation gauge: 20/30 -> 13, 6, 0/30]
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Sept 27, 2018 13:14:53 GMT -5
"Aiiiieeeeee got this!"
When Keaton untransformed, Kaden jumped into action against the enemy wolfskin, biting at it, fangs sinking into the mutated creature. This time, however, he failed to avoid the retaliatory swipe, yelping in pain... although, it wasn't quite as much as he had expected. A second bite sent the wolfskin down, falling. "Phew... that got ugly..."
[Kaden
HP 30 -> 19
Transformation gauge: 22/30 -> 19, 14/30]
Glancing back at Keaton, the kitsune was concerned. "Hey, buddy, how're you holdin' up? I think we'd better find somewhere to hide...!"
The lights dimmed, and moved over the staircase, temporarily granting the pair a cover of darkness.
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Post by ShadesofGrey18 on Sept 28, 2018 0:11:13 GMT -5
"Hhh..." Keaton grit his teeth, nodding at Kaden as they slipped into the shadows. "I'm doing okay, but... urgh. I feel drained. Tired. I dunno what that stuff was, but..." He shook his head before sitting down, hiding under one of the desks with his ears folded down. "This is bad. How're you feeling?"
They'd managed to evade the feral beasts for the time being at least.
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