The Great Chili

The Sangheili Separatist wrote:

https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/2/worlds-largest-baseball-bat-louisville-kentucky-gregory-ballos.jpg

Bet

Not big enough

Synnadine wrote:

OOC: I had a sneaking suspicion she was either Synnadinean, Pureblood, or both.

BIC: A Synnadinean? Lydia rapidly processes the situation to herself. Not good...even if she's only a century old she might still be better than me. Could she have been sent by the Nation? No, Roy is right, she might not even be a vampire in the first place...still. Too many things I'm not certain about to be confrontational with this . As long as the situation doesn't turn south I just have to play along...

Naturally the question of this woman's 'girlfriend' immediately brings forth memories of her encounter with -REDACTED-. Lydia has no idea who that girl was but she remembers her face and the entire encounter clearly, but...she's also fairly certain that what she remembers isn't the truth. But it's the only thing that fits what this woman is asking about. Despite her own doubts as to if what she remembers is even the truth Lydia answers the question plainly and confidently. "I hit one thousand last century if you must know, and yeah. There was a girl. Teenager back on December 14th. Attacked two of my people right here in this motel, no idea why. She was strong...wasn't able to beat her but I did fend her off. No idea where she ran off after that. Brown eyes, amber hair. Wouldn't call her small though, she was pretty average from what I remember. Probably could've traded clothes with her if I wanted and would've fit fine. Pretty soft facial features. Still sound like your girl?"

"It certainly does. And it looks like she had fun rewriting your memories. Oh, I'm sure that's a real b*tch to deal with." The woman pulls the sucker out between her pouty lips with a pop. "Maybe that hunk you were talking to noticed which way she went."

I think the hospital could leave off there, unless either of you have something else you want to add to it.

Also John if you want to do anything with Kirk in the undead city before he heads to the capital, I left an opening.

Wabacha wrote:

I think the hospital could leave off there, unless either of you have something else you want to add to it.

Also John if you want to do anything with Kirk in the undead city before he heads to the capital, I left an opening.

I've got nothing myself

Wabacha wrote:

"It certainly does. And it looks like she had fun rewriting your memories. Oh, I'm sure that's a real b*tch to deal with." The woman pulls the sucker out between her pouty lips with a pop. "Maybe that hunk you were talking to noticed which way she went."

I knew it.

With an exasperated groan, Lydia grips the bridge of her nose with her right hands while she crosses her left over her torso to grab her opposite side. "I had a feeling our memories were altered...something just didn't add up." She physically relaxes a bit, crossing her other arm to her opposite side and shifting her weight visibly on one hip, though anyone with experience could tell she's not entirely off guard. Just in case. "That 'hunk' is named Roy, and his memories were rewritten too. The lie your girl fed us nearly left Roy with a broken neck from a chokehold she put him in, before I got involved to save him. Supposedly he was on the ground regaining his ability to breathe the whole time I fought her. No way he saw anything from there, if he did she wiped it. Though-" There is Oliver...

"I have another guy who met your girl. His memories weren't spared either but the fight was out of his league, so all he could do was watch. He might at least have a direction for you." The woman looks to the side, pausing in thought for a moment, before looking back to the woman. "I can show you to him, but first I have just two questions. Please understand I'm the Master of this Colony and its safety is my first priority, and I have no desire for things to turn violent for any reason so if my questions pry too far just ignore them; Did the Nation send you, and...are you even a vampire? We can't see a daylight charm on you but you're in the sun like it's just a lightbulb. I'd just like to at least have an idea of who I'm inviting into my Colony."

Wabacha wrote:

I think the hospital could leave off there, unless either of you have something else you want to add to it.

Synnadine wrote:

I've got nothing myself

Nah I ended my part in that scene with Overload walking off. Only other thing I could think of possibly including would be King Zack maybe talking to Sam and the Zero about Wuddy's condition with Kutters arrival being a sudden thing.

Other than that? Nope.

Wabacha wrote:

Also John if you want to do anything with Kirk in the undead city before he heads to the capital, I left an opening.

Oh thats why you posted that, I thought that was going to be something else for a larger post later.

As for anything I may want him for in the city itself... I can at least have the Undead King come greet him before he goes to the Capital. I'll work on that soon.

OOC: ZOCOM By the way I chose not to send the usual youtube link this year due to recent legislation in the States. Saying "F you England" didn't really feel right this year since right about now, I'd rather be in England myself XD

Synnadine wrote:

OOC: ZOCOM By the way I chose not to send the usual youtube link this year due to recent legislation in the States. Saying "F you England" didn't really feel right this year since right about now, I'd rather be in England myself XD

I was wonderful where the link was XD

We accept all previous colonials looking to escape the shattered states of merica

An unwelcome Reunion - Part 2

“I guess that's why she chose to be a fairy. Far more freedom… Plus the Queen couldn’t order her around like her underlings.” Theo’s words trail off in the old King’s mind as he remembers better times. Times when he and Yanna would wander the rolling hills and sparse yet wonderfully colourful forests of the Aetheran Heartland… Even wandering the other parts of the land…

The icy peaks of the frozen north and the cavern built settlements and unexplored tunnels nestled within…

The mild mists of the eastern wetlands and their floating villages and cities built to withstand the tides…

The Volcanic wastes to the West and all of the bountiful wonders of the old Dragon country that existed out there…

Even the varied lands to the sound, filled with mountains and pristine vallies…

How he pined for those days… But he knew that not all things can last forever unchanged. To think that most of this once wonderous continent has sunk. If he were his father then raising them, restoring them to their former glory, would be as easy as reaching his mind out into the world and snapping his fingers.

Kutter even looks down to his hand, resting on his knee, and tightening it slightly. Even for all his power it would be a lengthy and energy consuming endeavour. If he did not have to currently worry and handle several different matters such as Salem, numerous powerful outsiders, an unseeable phenomenon gnawing at his peripheral senses, and history once more bearing its teeth… He would easily devote himself to this country's restoration with glee.

Theo notices that the King was deep in thought, letting his mind wander to something that has really mired him deep. He reaches out with his voice, wanting to pull him back. “Kutter-”

“Why have you made an ageing potion Urich?”

But the King had beaten him to any sort of course he may have wanted to take this conversation. At least he wasn’t talking about his sister anymore. He could hardly trust Kutter with her safety just yet… But the fact that Kutter hadn’t just ordered him to tell him where she is was the whole reason he was humouring Kutter still. Because if Kutter asked, he would have no choice but to answer. He couldn’t refuse.

No Zoconian can refuse the command of Kutter.

This was the governing law bound to them by Moria as per their original bargain.

And it didn’t just end with simple orders. Kutter could command a slime to evolve to its Apex and it would do so without question. He could ask a villain to become heroic and he would do so, their personality would shift to accommodate their new outlook on life. Their very nature, their very race, their very creed can all change with an order. His word was an overwriting imperative to their existence… He was their King. No one else held this right to the Zoconian populace but him.

Fable Blooded could no longer hear the commands of Kutter thanks to the tainted blood coursing through their veins. Only able to feel the weak pull to the King.

And those who have entered a contract with an Old Spirit could still feel the pull of Kutter’s will. And still feel inclined to agree with his absolute will. But only if it was an order.

But Kutter valued free will above all else… He would not infringe on the wills of his subjects unless he deemed the need great enough. Such as his desire to have his people band together against the Great Cataclysm that tore apart their land. In the end it ended with Kutter’s death, alongside most of Aetheran’s S-class at the time.

But back to the matter of the conversation…

Theo leaned forward in his chair, setting his head in his hands as he hunched over. Brow furrowing under the weight of such a question. He chose to answer with a question of his own. “Kutter… You can feel it can’t you…? The world coming apart at the seams? The steadily growing unease from across the horizon… The smell of rotted earth blowing in from the southern lands. The sound of The Hunt.”

Kutter was silent. His eyes fixed on Theo before his once sorry and soft expression turned stern and strong. He knew of what Urich spoke of. He has been looking ever since he returned. The sector at large was in danger… And once more he was left wondering if he should brave the coming storm, having died to it once before. Urich was saying with this question, would he be able to sit still with such dangers on the horizon, being as capable as he was but stuck in a less than able form? “I can… And I will fight it with everything I can muster.”

“Then you know my answer already.” Theo says as he closes his eyes.

Kutter was not satisfied with that kind of answer. But he understood and accepted the reasons for Theo treading this path. And if he was going to allow himself some level of honesty… He could certainly use ‘Theo’ in the future. Even if he was no longer the leader of the Terraka tribe. “Then… Will Aetheran’s ‘Avatar of War’ stand with me? Or with the new generation? This UKZ? As they call themselves?”

Theo opened his eyes and sat up, looking puzzled. “Are you against them?”

Kutter gave a shrug as his answer at first. Silence filling the room for a long moment before Theo pressed further. “Kutter.” To which the King gave a soft and uneasy sigh. “I don’t know. These foreigners. The Wabachan… I don’t remember their kind from my last time in this sector.”

Theo could understand some of Kutter’s hesitation now, which he voices with an audible ‘Ah’ before he sat back into his seat. “The strange mortals with the ability to leave time… Believe me, I wanted to corner one and test them the moment they came here. But that would have put me on their radar big time…” He wanted nothing more than to lay low and keep his sister away from Salem’s grubby mits. He’s been doing nothing but that for the longest time… Crushing all that were sent to grab her and enact whatever ill conceived ideas of ‘revenge’ these warped worms of the shattered God think they are entitled to.

“... What do you think of them?”

“Dreadfully naive.” Theo didn’t even miss a beat. Replying right after Kutter finished his sentence. “Eager to explore. To understand… But it’s eerie how efficient they are. How capable they are at understanding magic despite the fact they are completely incapable of wielding it. Just looking at them… Even humans born without magic can eventually tap into the very nature of the world. But these Wabachan’s? They can’t. They defy it with every breath. You’d think after this long they’d show signs of adapting, using magic innate. But no… It’s like something is stopping them.”

“Mmm… I have felt this lack in-” Kutter struggled to find the right words for it. But he did find a word that may fit. Even if it was insensitive. “Belonging?”

Theo snapped his fingers and nodded. “Yeah. That’s exactly it. It’s like their very nature wants to resist belonging to the world. Like they’ll never fit in. But why the hell would a race like that exist naturally on Immensus? Did a dragon make them?”

“If a Dragon did make them, these Wabachan’s wouldn’t be here. They would be the honour guard of a sector spanning Palace with that Dragon at its centre.” He only had one such example that came to his mind. But that Golden Dragon was a peaceful sort. Not the conquering type… But everything Urich said made sense. A race like this shouldn’t naturally exist here. Even his own kind had a place in this world. “So you can see my issue. My dilemma with approaching them without something to give them pause.”

“Hah. The only answer the Wabachan’s have capable of giving you a chance to shake off that rust of yours was mortally wounded earlier today. Turning up as you are would give them pause.” Theo laughs dryly, devoid of humour as he looks at Kutter with arms crossed over his chest. “Re-entering the sector, gave the sector pause.”

“Mm…” Hummed the ancient King. He could see his brother-in-law's point. “True enough… But my intentions are not to be hostile with them. Even if they are strange beings devoid of magic, I want to test their character and see for myself if they are worthy of the stake they claim to have made.”

“Aaaaah, feeling territorial are we?”

“I have been away far too long to think I have much of a claim that would be considered valid in this era. If Moria herself gave her blessing then I would. If the new generation asked. Then I would… Until such a time. I am merely an old man, coming back to protect a land he once knew.” Kutter says with a soft and weary smile.

Theo raised an eyebrow before slightly tilting his head to the side. “Are you saying that so Zhu won’t cause a fuss about you being back?”

“Oh that judgmental sod will kick up a fuss regardless of what I say. I’m not one of this sector's mortals. I’m a foreigner with potential beyond the scope of his pantheon’s might. He will always be wary of me.” In saying that, Kutter’s eyes climb to the ceiling but look past them to the skies above. Knowing full well that the nosy Divines and those below were likely looking towards him at one point or another once he returned. “I just haven’t done anything worthy of sending an Archangel to read me my list of grievances yet.”

“So you do expect Zhu to invite you up for a chat?” Theo says with an even more puzzled look. Buying himself more and more time to dodge the earlier question.

But Kutter already gathered that was what he was doing. “I expect him to frown at his scales and judge me for jaywalking.” Kutter’s dislike of the Divines was as strong now as it was in the past. With them maintaining and steady disdain yet easy enough truce for each other. They don’t kick up an apocalyptic fuss and he doesn’t kick them in the face and beat them in their own absolute realm. “But… Yes. I expect Zhu to have a messenger come along sooner or later so he can whine at me about Salem… Or read off a list of ultimatums about leaving the sector that I will readily ignore.”

“Well that's awfully rude-”

“You mean like you, as you dodge my question?”

“F*cker.”

“Yanna could have told you that.”

“Oh you can f*ck off now that that.” Theo says as he starts to point out of his lab, but all of that previous hostility he had in heart was smothered by this nostalgic feeling… He had forgotten what it was like to just talk to Kutter like this.

Kutter smirked at his reaction and profusely apologised for what he said, knowing it was in poor taste. That apology got a huff out of Theo before the old soul just gave a sigh. “... I’ll stand with you. I may not rule over the tribe anymore… But you have my aid.”

Kutter’s smile lessened before it grew more sentimental. “Thank you… Theodore. I’ll come and get you when I’m ready to confront Wabacha and the rest of the foreigners that think they can just stake their claims on this land.” The King says as he proudly rises from the seat made of roots before it starts to wither and recede into the earth beneath his feet.

“Yeah yeah just give me enough time to get used to my adult body when I drink this will you?” Theo says as he rises back up from his seat, that too withering into the ground as he goes back over to his alchemy station. “Take care of yourself… I’ll tell Yanna you’re back too.”

“... Thank you… I’ll be off.” The King disappeared before Theo could even look back at him. No bright lights marking his exit. No flashy portal. Just an absence of his being where he once stood. Now Theo was along, looking down at the vail in his hand… His resolve strengthened with renewed purpose beyond personal desire.