Re: The Great Belligerency [Round 1: The Rainy Place]
09-30-2010, 05:37 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by SleepingOrange.
Ur's lips twitched several times like someone trying to force out words; her eyes narrowed slightly at the Spirit of Fairy Tales who was trying desperately to look serious and ingratiating while simultaneously stomping madly at several vines that threatened to wrap around her ankles. The goddess's face eventually returned to its usual melancholy impassiveness and she simply stared at the spirit before her. Cole and Reinhardt were finding their battle against the aggressive vegetation increasingly easy; even the latter was unable to miss the ever-more-obvious infection that wracked the weeds. As more and more of the plants withered under steel or illness, the room ceased to be an impenetrable jungle and became a comparatively-mundane basement once again. Visibility increased without the writhing plants filling the air, and gradually the three arguably-sane contestants became aware of what UR had brought with her.
The fungal growths that had been following their creator's path had continued to do so, slimy grey mold and uncountable mushrooms slithering their way across the stairs, walls, and floor. It so choked the stairwell that it would be difficult for anything human-sized to pass and was still rapidly expanding. The tendrils that advanced across the walls, floor, and ceiling were even more active than the masses of mold that were currently filling the other rooms in the house; it was no longer possible to fool oneself into believing their movements were simply a product of their growth: small hands, reminiscent of the ones reaching out of the water, were forming, as well as a multitude of sneering, mocking faces. Ur reached out a hand and caressed a particularly large mushroom, gaze still focused on the spirit and head slightly cocked; as her fingers touched the bulbous fruiting body, there was a slight rippling of the air around her hand and a feeling of mental pressure that formed in the minds of those nearby. The entire fungal growth trembled and the faces in it began moving more animatedly, each whispering dark threats and shaking laments. As the room filled with the hissing cacophony of hundreds of whispered invectives, Balance slid down the stairs and Reinhardt lunged at the goddess.
The tyrant's blade sparked as Balance's pillar deflected it. The imperious god drew himself up, his every syllable clanging with fury. "Do not attempt to strike another blow. Attack mother, and you will pay with your life." Soft and Cole each took a step back as the fungal faces jeered at Reinhardt, but the kind stood his ground, spitting a disdainful "Stop the protest, she was the one who attacked us! That wretched monster-"
He was knocked to the floor by Balance's apoplectic retaliation. The bubbling chortles of uncountable quiet voices greeted his undignified position. "Mother is not a monster; she is confused as to where she is. You shall not speak ill of a god!"
This was looking worse and worse for the Spirit of Fairy Tales; how was she supposed to dole out punishments for naughty children with all these gods running around imposing their will on things? The fact that dirtlady didn't seem to be completely, or even a little, sane was bad enough, but the fact that she was the other one's mother... Soft just wanted them gone. "Hey Mister Balancer whoever? He's right you know. Dirt-life goddess attacked us first, with a gorilla even!"
Balance, faced with the accusations of the group, turned forlornly to his "mother". "Mother... is this true?" With no more reply than another incandescent shriek that set the hair of the present mortals on end, he felt compelled to believe them. His brow furrowed as he pondered the implications and his next course of action; deciding he had to do his best to protect his poor addled mother from these violent competitors, he reached for her hand. Another scream pierced the air, matched by hundreds of smaller ones from the faces on the walls, and Ur's jagged nails dug into the immaculate skin of Balance's hand. "But mother, I want to bring you to safety."
The Creatrix was having none of it, however, and succeeded in pulling her hand away from her doting "son". With an expression that managed to convey both hurt sadness and bottomless affection, Balance altered his plans. He turned to the others, who had primarily been watching this spectacle in the hopes it would get rid of both gods, his face setting into the stony blankness of one who has a job to do and intends to do it.[color="sandybrown]"Very well. I'll save the others then.".[/color] With a wave of his hand, he sent a squall whistling towards the others, knocking the surprised humanoids into the grasping hands of the water. He sent one final glance back at the impassively-hovering Ur before diving into the puddle himself.
Ur watched as myriad hands dragged the others down into water that by rights should have been less than half an inch deep. There were several moments of comparative quiet as she simply hovered by the stairs, watching the rain pour in. The basement was filled with the hissing patter of rain that didn't quite manage to drown out the quiet voices muttering things like "They don't deserve to live." and "Crush it all."; when the taciturn goddess moved again, it was simply to splay her fingers and raise her hands above her head, then ball her hands into fists again.
Globs of fungus began dripping and oozing off the walls, their threats and wheedling turning into wicked cackles and wordless chittering. That mold that did detach from the walls began pulling itself into larger piles as well as snatching handfuls of festering black from the parts that hadn't detached. In less than a minute, about a dozen of near-man-sized columns of free-roaming fungus stood in the basement, each with no less than five gibbering faces and possessed of dozens of arms. Ur, hands still above her head, jutted her chin at the largest puddle; their laughter rising in volume, the mold creatures slid towards the grasping watery hands, eagerly diving into the portal. Despite having no clear means of locomotion, the pillars of decay moved unnervingly quickly; it was only moments before they had all disappeared, leaving only trails of slime and rapidly-growing mushrooms in their place.
Once she was alone again, save for those whispering faces that still lined the walls, Ur slowly lowered her arms, hands shaking like someone trying to shift an enormous weight. There was no immediately-apparent result save for a deep groaning sound from far above her. With her hands held at chest height, white-knuckled fists still clenched furiously, she began to slowly hover towards the puddles herself. The mold that covered the walls was less active than it had been, or at least would have appeared so to most observes; in truth, however, it and the fungus that had been filling the rest of the house was growing more inward than outward, impossibly-heightened growth rates and metabolisms digesting wood, plaster, and stone. Once she reached the edge of the water, the hands from the puddle tugging at the hem of her dress and her feet, she jerked her hands to her side and finally unballed her fists. There was a loud crack, followed by several more, each louder than the one before it.
From the outside of the house, if one could see through the driving rain, one would have seen nothing out of the ordinary save some blackish mildew around the edges of the front doorframe. The loud sounds of destruction from within would have been disconcerting, especially with no obvious source; however, the idyllic image would remain so for only moments more. After only ten seconds of loud snapping, the sounds abruptly stopped, at least briefly. The entire house shuddered, and a sodden black tendril, thick as a treetrunk and several meters long, crashed out of one wall. Several more joined it, sending splinters flying through the air and cracks along the sides of the house, until the little home resembled some sort of parody of an octopus or spider or similar baleful multilegged creature. The tendrils slammed into the ground and began twisting the entire building on its foundations; construction materials not designed to withstand even an earthquake stood no chance, and before the mind truly had time to absorb the enormity of what was happening, the near-ruined structure was lifted off the ground. A cacophony accompanied the house's ascent, and the entire structure continued crumbling even as it lifted itself onto its new feet. From every crack and hole protruded slimy masses of fungus, and at every window and doorway there was an enormous, furious eye.
Ur watched from the now-roofless basement, driving rain pounding into her unblinking eyes. The mold-house-creature let out a warbling roar and slammed one of its fungal arms into the road, sending cracks lancing across it and asphalt flying. The goddess turned in place to follow her creations progress as it trundled towards another house; as it crashed into the building, tendrils flaying the walls and innumerable mouths filling the air with inhuman shrieks, the first thing that could be loosely described as a smile hovered briefly around Ur's lips. Now facing directly away from the puddle that was still actively trying to pull her in, she idly watched the destruction of the unlucky house, several lampposts, and every tree within flailing distance. Apparently satisfied as she watched the monster move on to its next victim, she fell backwards into the puddle, unmoving and silent as hands wrapped around her and pulled her under.
Ur's lips twitched several times like someone trying to force out words; her eyes narrowed slightly at the Spirit of Fairy Tales who was trying desperately to look serious and ingratiating while simultaneously stomping madly at several vines that threatened to wrap around her ankles. The goddess's face eventually returned to its usual melancholy impassiveness and she simply stared at the spirit before her. Cole and Reinhardt were finding their battle against the aggressive vegetation increasingly easy; even the latter was unable to miss the ever-more-obvious infection that wracked the weeds. As more and more of the plants withered under steel or illness, the room ceased to be an impenetrable jungle and became a comparatively-mundane basement once again. Visibility increased without the writhing plants filling the air, and gradually the three arguably-sane contestants became aware of what UR had brought with her.
The fungal growths that had been following their creator's path had continued to do so, slimy grey mold and uncountable mushrooms slithering their way across the stairs, walls, and floor. It so choked the stairwell that it would be difficult for anything human-sized to pass and was still rapidly expanding. The tendrils that advanced across the walls, floor, and ceiling were even more active than the masses of mold that were currently filling the other rooms in the house; it was no longer possible to fool oneself into believing their movements were simply a product of their growth: small hands, reminiscent of the ones reaching out of the water, were forming, as well as a multitude of sneering, mocking faces. Ur reached out a hand and caressed a particularly large mushroom, gaze still focused on the spirit and head slightly cocked; as her fingers touched the bulbous fruiting body, there was a slight rippling of the air around her hand and a feeling of mental pressure that formed in the minds of those nearby. The entire fungal growth trembled and the faces in it began moving more animatedly, each whispering dark threats and shaking laments. As the room filled with the hissing cacophony of hundreds of whispered invectives, Balance slid down the stairs and Reinhardt lunged at the goddess.
The tyrant's blade sparked as Balance's pillar deflected it. The imperious god drew himself up, his every syllable clanging with fury. "Do not attempt to strike another blow. Attack mother, and you will pay with your life." Soft and Cole each took a step back as the fungal faces jeered at Reinhardt, but the kind stood his ground, spitting a disdainful "Stop the protest, she was the one who attacked us! That wretched monster-"
He was knocked to the floor by Balance's apoplectic retaliation. The bubbling chortles of uncountable quiet voices greeted his undignified position. "Mother is not a monster; she is confused as to where she is. You shall not speak ill of a god!"
This was looking worse and worse for the Spirit of Fairy Tales; how was she supposed to dole out punishments for naughty children with all these gods running around imposing their will on things? The fact that dirtlady didn't seem to be completely, or even a little, sane was bad enough, but the fact that she was the other one's mother... Soft just wanted them gone. "Hey Mister Balancer whoever? He's right you know. Dirt-life goddess attacked us first, with a gorilla even!"
Balance, faced with the accusations of the group, turned forlornly to his "mother". "Mother... is this true?" With no more reply than another incandescent shriek that set the hair of the present mortals on end, he felt compelled to believe them. His brow furrowed as he pondered the implications and his next course of action; deciding he had to do his best to protect his poor addled mother from these violent competitors, he reached for her hand. Another scream pierced the air, matched by hundreds of smaller ones from the faces on the walls, and Ur's jagged nails dug into the immaculate skin of Balance's hand. "But mother, I want to bring you to safety."
The Creatrix was having none of it, however, and succeeded in pulling her hand away from her doting "son". With an expression that managed to convey both hurt sadness and bottomless affection, Balance altered his plans. He turned to the others, who had primarily been watching this spectacle in the hopes it would get rid of both gods, his face setting into the stony blankness of one who has a job to do and intends to do it.[color="sandybrown]"Very well. I'll save the others then.".[/color] With a wave of his hand, he sent a squall whistling towards the others, knocking the surprised humanoids into the grasping hands of the water. He sent one final glance back at the impassively-hovering Ur before diving into the puddle himself.
Ur watched as myriad hands dragged the others down into water that by rights should have been less than half an inch deep. There were several moments of comparative quiet as she simply hovered by the stairs, watching the rain pour in. The basement was filled with the hissing patter of rain that didn't quite manage to drown out the quiet voices muttering things like "They don't deserve to live." and "Crush it all."; when the taciturn goddess moved again, it was simply to splay her fingers and raise her hands above her head, then ball her hands into fists again.
Globs of fungus began dripping and oozing off the walls, their threats and wheedling turning into wicked cackles and wordless chittering. That mold that did detach from the walls began pulling itself into larger piles as well as snatching handfuls of festering black from the parts that hadn't detached. In less than a minute, about a dozen of near-man-sized columns of free-roaming fungus stood in the basement, each with no less than five gibbering faces and possessed of dozens of arms. Ur, hands still above her head, jutted her chin at the largest puddle; their laughter rising in volume, the mold creatures slid towards the grasping watery hands, eagerly diving into the portal. Despite having no clear means of locomotion, the pillars of decay moved unnervingly quickly; it was only moments before they had all disappeared, leaving only trails of slime and rapidly-growing mushrooms in their place.
Once she was alone again, save for those whispering faces that still lined the walls, Ur slowly lowered her arms, hands shaking like someone trying to shift an enormous weight. There was no immediately-apparent result save for a deep groaning sound from far above her. With her hands held at chest height, white-knuckled fists still clenched furiously, she began to slowly hover towards the puddles herself. The mold that covered the walls was less active than it had been, or at least would have appeared so to most observes; in truth, however, it and the fungus that had been filling the rest of the house was growing more inward than outward, impossibly-heightened growth rates and metabolisms digesting wood, plaster, and stone. Once she reached the edge of the water, the hands from the puddle tugging at the hem of her dress and her feet, she jerked her hands to her side and finally unballed her fists. There was a loud crack, followed by several more, each louder than the one before it.
From the outside of the house, if one could see through the driving rain, one would have seen nothing out of the ordinary save some blackish mildew around the edges of the front doorframe. The loud sounds of destruction from within would have been disconcerting, especially with no obvious source; however, the idyllic image would remain so for only moments more. After only ten seconds of loud snapping, the sounds abruptly stopped, at least briefly. The entire house shuddered, and a sodden black tendril, thick as a treetrunk and several meters long, crashed out of one wall. Several more joined it, sending splinters flying through the air and cracks along the sides of the house, until the little home resembled some sort of parody of an octopus or spider or similar baleful multilegged creature. The tendrils slammed into the ground and began twisting the entire building on its foundations; construction materials not designed to withstand even an earthquake stood no chance, and before the mind truly had time to absorb the enormity of what was happening, the near-ruined structure was lifted off the ground. A cacophony accompanied the house's ascent, and the entire structure continued crumbling even as it lifted itself onto its new feet. From every crack and hole protruded slimy masses of fungus, and at every window and doorway there was an enormous, furious eye.
Ur watched from the now-roofless basement, driving rain pounding into her unblinking eyes. The mold-house-creature let out a warbling roar and slammed one of its fungal arms into the road, sending cracks lancing across it and asphalt flying. The goddess turned in place to follow her creations progress as it trundled towards another house; as it crashed into the building, tendrils flaying the walls and innumerable mouths filling the air with inhuman shrieks, the first thing that could be loosely described as a smile hovered briefly around Ur's lips. Now facing directly away from the puddle that was still actively trying to pull her in, she idly watched the destruction of the unlucky house, several lampposts, and every tree within flailing distance. Apparently satisfied as she watched the monster move on to its next victim, she fell backwards into the puddle, unmoving and silent as hands wrapped around her and pulled her under.