Re: Intense Struggle Season 2! (Round 1: Training Facility ONX)
07-16-2010, 11:22 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by bobthepen.
Lillian scampered down the monotone hallway, her strawbrush sandals flapping on the ground with each step. She had been following a thin trail of the green goo that had remained with her after she had left the other splotches behind. It was a little thicker than the rest of the goo, with a texture much like gelatin. It did not taste at all like gelatin, however, a fact Lillian discovered after curiosity drove her to wipe up a bit with her index finger and taste it. She quickly spat it out.
"It tastes like wet soot! How awful! It's not right for something to look like something you know tastes good and then end up being wretched. It makes it much more disappointing than if you had expected it to taste bad all along."
The trail continued down the hallway and so did Lillian, all the time wondering what strange creature could leave behind such a substance. "Perhaps it's a snail, or a spider that hasn't quite figured out how to make a thread. Of course it would have to be a very large spider..." Lillian shuddered at the idea and decided not to think about what the creature could have been for some time, or at least not to think about spiders.
Of course, deciding not to think about something and not thinking about it are two very different things and often work towards quite opposite ends. So, it was not long before Lillian found herself tightly clutching the talisman to her chest and wishing that the hallway was not quite so narrow and worrying that her next step would give way and drop her right into a den of uncharacteristically large and hungry spiders. It did not help things when Lillian saw the trail of goo veer into a hole in the wall at the left, and realized that all the scratches and scorch marks around the hole meant that the creature that had made them must have been very formidable and at least half of her height.
It just so happened that the creature had bore its way through the wall just as the hallway took a sharp turn to the right, so that as Lillian peered into the dark makeshift corridor her back was turned to the portion of the hallway she had not yet gone down. It was then that Lillian heard the rapid thud of boots on steel and the Kindred Spirit frantically told her that something very agitated was quickly approaching from behind. Thus, Lillian was forced to make the difficult decision of fleeing into the unknown tunnel, or turning to face whoever or whatever had spotted her. As the thudding grew louder and the potential assailant rapidly closer, Lillian nearly made a dive for the lightless crevice but an odd thought entered her mind. It occurred to Lillian that fleeing into the tunnel without even facing her perpetrator was a very cowardly thing to do, and that, in situations such as this, bravery was a very important trait. So, with talisman tightly clenched, the young girl mustered a great deal of courage and turned to face the stranger.
What she saw was not a spider or a snail or any of the other monstrous things she had imagined, but what appeared to be a young woman. I say "appeared" because there were some key differences between her and the ladies you often see laughing about with their friends in malls and the like. The most obvious being that the woman before Lillian had broad feathery wings where her arms ought to have been. The feathers were dull and downy, and on the tip of each wing sat a small wire grip, one of which held a long, highly decorated ceremonial pole.
Lillian scampered down the monotone hallway, her strawbrush sandals flapping on the ground with each step. She had been following a thin trail of the green goo that had remained with her after she had left the other splotches behind. It was a little thicker than the rest of the goo, with a texture much like gelatin. It did not taste at all like gelatin, however, a fact Lillian discovered after curiosity drove her to wipe up a bit with her index finger and taste it. She quickly spat it out.
"It tastes like wet soot! How awful! It's not right for something to look like something you know tastes good and then end up being wretched. It makes it much more disappointing than if you had expected it to taste bad all along."
The trail continued down the hallway and so did Lillian, all the time wondering what strange creature could leave behind such a substance. "Perhaps it's a snail, or a spider that hasn't quite figured out how to make a thread. Of course it would have to be a very large spider..." Lillian shuddered at the idea and decided not to think about what the creature could have been for some time, or at least not to think about spiders.
Of course, deciding not to think about something and not thinking about it are two very different things and often work towards quite opposite ends. So, it was not long before Lillian found herself tightly clutching the talisman to her chest and wishing that the hallway was not quite so narrow and worrying that her next step would give way and drop her right into a den of uncharacteristically large and hungry spiders. It did not help things when Lillian saw the trail of goo veer into a hole in the wall at the left, and realized that all the scratches and scorch marks around the hole meant that the creature that had made them must have been very formidable and at least half of her height.
It just so happened that the creature had bore its way through the wall just as the hallway took a sharp turn to the right, so that as Lillian peered into the dark makeshift corridor her back was turned to the portion of the hallway she had not yet gone down. It was then that Lillian heard the rapid thud of boots on steel and the Kindred Spirit frantically told her that something very agitated was quickly approaching from behind. Thus, Lillian was forced to make the difficult decision of fleeing into the unknown tunnel, or turning to face whoever or whatever had spotted her. As the thudding grew louder and the potential assailant rapidly closer, Lillian nearly made a dive for the lightless crevice but an odd thought entered her mind. It occurred to Lillian that fleeing into the tunnel without even facing her perpetrator was a very cowardly thing to do, and that, in situations such as this, bravery was a very important trait. So, with talisman tightly clenched, the young girl mustered a great deal of courage and turned to face the stranger.
What she saw was not a spider or a snail or any of the other monstrous things she had imagined, but what appeared to be a young woman. I say "appeared" because there were some key differences between her and the ladies you often see laughing about with their friends in malls and the like. The most obvious being that the woman before Lillian had broad feathery wings where her arms ought to have been. The feathers were dull and downy, and on the tip of each wing sat a small wire grip, one of which held a long, highly decorated ceremonial pole.