plot } the creatures descend.

[synergismus]

Who: Everyone!
What: Creatures descend!
Where: All across the city, although attacks will be most fervent at its heart.
When: Friday/Veerdi evening and into the week.
Notes: Slow and back-tagging is, as always, permitted. If you are confused, look at these two posts for more information.
Warnings: Violence, creepiness, swearing knowing these characters.

On Veerdi, the presence of the creatures reaches a fever pitch. Something has provoked them into launching an all-out assault, though it is one that begins slowly. The pipe-crawlers, generally harmless though they may be, are seen across homes in Baedal, sneaking up through the pipes and into bathtub drains or sinks. They come by the dozens, and their keening makes most homeowners nauseated--but it's their appearance that leads to a number of distressed Network calls.

This is just the distraction for the rest.

The call of the crawlers draws in the armored, sickly creatures with the tiny primates carried inside of it. They are inelegantly lumbering, but much faster than one might expect, and certainly hostile. They trudge across the city, barreling over anyone who gets in their path and leaving them half-crushed in the street. They're certainly unsettling in their obvious unhealthiness, and the disease-ridden animals they carry are downright vicious, especially once they escape (messily, bloodily) from their fleshy cage.

It's the birds that are the worst, though; the cleverest, and the cruelest.

These strange black birds are resistant to typical attacks and flying in large groups. They descend on pedestrians, picking at their eyes and faces, ready to rapidly tear flesh from bone until there's nothing left but skeletal remains. They fly out of range when they can, only to divebomb anyone who might think they've escaped.

Comments

[suninhades]

Integra isn't shaken by the accusing shriek, just angry. The last thing she needs are reminders of Iscariot - at any time, but even less when she's supposed to be keeping a cool head in a chaotic situation. She gives Dean a look, not sure if she should accept that as a compliment or roll her eyes, but instead peers at his offering before dismounting. She pats over her horse's neck, letting it shift in place for a bit without her weight; it's been a worthy destrier thus far, but she suspects conditions won't be improving any time soon.

"Hellboy brought those back as well," she says. "His samples are in a containment unit in the subterra. There doesn't seem to be anything malicious about them, but further testing will be done." So, keeping them? Looks like it. She nods towards where he had the civilians hole up. "We need to get them moving north. It's not as bad further out towards the borders."

[wearyheadtorest]

...He really did mean it as a compliment. It's okay, though--it's difficult to tell, sometimes, when Dean's being genuine versus when Dean's being a troll.

He nods. More testing. So until these pearls can be in the containment unit in the subterra, they'll be in the containment unit known as Dean's coat pocket. He drops them in and shoulders his shotgun.

"You got it. We should be able to make good time without the damn birds."

For a moment, he considers saying something about what the birds had to say. They were rude to Integra but she doesn't strike him as the type of woman who needs a guy to say look, it's not true or anything like that. The bird mouthed off and she cut the son of a bitch in half.

He supposes he was trying to do the same. They unnerved him, he can't lie. He's so far past his expiration date he'd almost forgotten--or maybe he just hoped, a little--that the contract was null and void. That had been a nasty little reminder.

Time and place, though, and this didn't feel like the right one of either to open that can of worms. "What's the best route for getting those people out of here, quickly?" he asks, pulling out his CiD.

[suninhades]

She is, demonstratively, quite fine. That particular insult doesn't hurt, really, it just angers her - the implications are personal, though the Paladin who dubbed her doesn't know the half of it - half over the language, and half over the fact that those damned Catholics don't even know what it bloody means. Arsehole.

"If the train is still running, up to one of the northmost dead ends. Don't cross any of the rivers, I suspect they'll be unstable. Tar Wedge, there's older buildings out there. The less indoor plumbing, the better. Those pipe crawlers seem to be the first sign of infestation - avoiding giving them the opportunity seems prudent."

Integra pulls three of the flares out of a pack on her saddle - it looks like there's something sewn into the sides of them, inexplicably - and hands them to Dean. "Princess Nuala was kind enough to do an emergency hack job on a rather insistent 'go away' spell," she tells him. "Are you escorting these people to the central train station, or can I give you a lift somewhere?"