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

[ofminastirith.livejournal.com]

Boromir slides the zip-lock bag closer to him. Not that he's particularly fussy about anything in any situation, but he can't help note that whatever clear thing it's made of feels odd. Another nuance in his new life. "Thank you."

"No. None of my companions are here. And as far as I can tell, no one from my world." Or at least that's what he thinks, because that's quite an underestimation of this city. Somewhere there will be the trace of a Silvan elf or another familiar being. Lurking. "I've not had much of a chance to make new ones. Nothing so far has extended beyond introductions."

Well. Except this. "But for the most part people have been helpful."

[suninhades]

"You do your people proud, to fight for this world so selflessly." She says it with a proper measure of respect - no matter who he is, or what he does, he's certainly not obligated to do anything besides save himself and hole up somewhere. This is a city-prison, full of strangers, and while the notion of being resigned to community efforts eventually wins over almost everyone who is abducted, three days is quite the speedy effort. (It matches her own, practically.)

"Do you know how to use your CiD?" If not, she aims to show him, apparently, for some purpose she will get to shortly.

[ofminastirith.livejournal.com]

Giant men of Gondor don't blush, it bears noting. And he still thinks he has a lot to do to make up for past indiscretions (which...makes no sense because he was like this before the Fellowship, but guilty consciences don't have much in the way of reason). "It would discredit them not to."

Ha ha, the answer is no. Boromir fishes it out of some fold in his clothing. "If I press this button, pictures appear." Shut up, that's impressive where he's from. "It does more than that?"

[suninhades]

In return, it's worth it to point out that Hellsings - even the relatively sane ones - have no shame for their coldness, but when Boromir remarks about pictures appearing, Integra has the thought, Oh, I should have told him about the refrigerator.

"It's a communication device," she tells him, and if he'll let her, she'll show him how to operate it. "A very tiny machine - people made little clockwork bits smaller and smaller until they became absurd like this."

... History of the world, with Professor Integra. She demonstrates how to pull up the map of the city, and find the cohort network. (Doing it all wearing her gloves, still, with the sort of easy dexterity that suggests she all but lives in them.) "You can use it to address your peers if there's an emergency, or speak to a single person."

[ofminastirith.livejournal.com]

At least they do have clockwork where he's from. And it doesn't sound in the least bit crazy -look, long ago someone managed to trap the light from two trees into three jewels, and even though it was thousands of years ago, he has since met close relations of the elves involved.

He watches her fingers move, the pictures changing on the screen. "It's more efficient than our methods," he says, thoroughly amused with the device. Boys and their toys. "Does this mean other people can contact me?"

[suninhades]

Small blessings.

"It does." She gives him his back, and takes her own out of her pocket, and then sends him a quick message: Hello. (Beep?) "There's different buttons - there - for showing pictures of people meanwhile, or just hearing them. If you end up wounded, or cornered somewhere, you can contact me, and I'll make sure one of my people knows to catch you while they're out. If you see anyone in the city fighting wearing this-" she indicates the red and black badge on her shoulder, "They're one of mine."

[ofminastirith.livejournal.com]

He seems to be following quite well. Although like tech things for most people, it will require a bit of tinkering with over time. He's not going to acquire mad hacking skills any time soon.

"I may have seen, and met, a few of them already. But thank you. If there's anything I can do to repay the favour, my sword is ready."

[suninhades]

That he picks up quickly doesn't surprise her; he doesn't seem exactly panicked to be out of his depth. She appreciates the attitude of reacting to the unknown with curiosity, instead of fear. (Integra herself is not truly so blasé about all things technological; being from 1999, she still won't touch her laptop unless she must. There was a bit of learning for her, too.)

"Hopefully they've made a decent impression." Now that she's got a plastic bag with a few sandwiches for herself, Integra nicks a few apples and heads back out to the front. "And I hope that your sword, as well as your integrity, weathers this storm, Captain. I feel we'll meet again."

[ofminastirith.livejournal.com]

Boromir tucks his CiD and sandwich away, and picks up a bar cloth to wipe the gore off his sword, before following suit. He listens carefully for a moment. The chaos throughout the city can still be heard but it has kept its distance in this short meeting. He keeps to a wall and tries his best to keep directly out of sight, peering down the street. No immediate threat that he can see, and so he goes to unsecure the door for Integra and her horse.

"May a brighter star shine upon that meeting," he says, still keeping watch. "For now, I wish you well Sir Integra, and that the wind rides with you."

[suninhades]

Integra lets him take the lead, giving her horse the pilfered apples meanwhile. She's not about to let the animal over-drink or eat and end up sick, but she has to be mindful of its exhaustion, too. When the coast is clear, she leads it out, and that there's no skittish responses to be had ensures the notion that they're alone, at least in this immediate vicinity.

Food packed away in a saddlebag, Integra swings easily up onto her horse and seats herself. She nods at Boromir. "Fight well, Captain."

And she's off, seeking out more civilians, making the rounds with her agents, and working to uncover the source of this hellish infestation.