Re: The Battle Majestic (Round 1 - Bubble Universe)
02-21-2010, 07:09 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Schazer.
Sen hopped clumsily backwards from John and Alex, one slender forelimb encased in scabby, inflexible bark. The Tender was still reeling from the World Tree's destruction; the distress signals had rammed through his head like a neural sledgehammer - and it was still banging sonorously away as the forest struggled to cope with the lack of energy and sudden loss of air pressure. Standing somewhat shakily, a pale, slender root burst from the cleared earth, and twined round a green finger.
Along the fringes of the forest, saplings began to wither and die. The base energy granted them to provide the basic processes of life was sequestered through the network of roots, until it reached the breach. The fibres, flung asunder as their encasing earth was sucked into the vacuum, started to enmesh about themselves, swiftly forging a patch over the rend. Even as root ground against root, not all of the gaps could be sealed, and the air kept rushing out as the trees started to creak ominously and fall under their own weight around the contestants. The pale roots were now enmeshing Sen's freakish hands right up the wrist as it worked with an externally detached, yet feverish concnetration. Once Sen had decided the flow of air was a non-urgent sort of emergency, the linking roots died away also, their strength flowing into the impossible task. Sen shook his head, and spotted Wolf nursing cuts and gouges in the gap beneath a felled tree.
The Tender loped over, usual grace hampered by the solid cake of bark upon its thigh. The clearing was almost too dark to see anything; the luminescence of the Sun's radiation obscured by the treetops. What remained unscorched of Wolf's fur was stained darkly with blood, the canine tried to stand as Sen approached but collapsed on a forelimb slashed by Alex's blade. Sen bared his teeth and raised a hand; Wolf cowered a little, wondering what he had done this time.
There wasn't really a crunch, Sen being rather smooth-skinned and having only bitten the flesh anyway, but Wolf winced as the needles punctured the Tender's arm. He watched as the beast gingerly put its leg back down, and then wiped off the slime with a finger and reached for Wolf. Wolf took a cautious sniff of the approaching talon, but didn't want to cause any trouble, so reluctantly consented to letting Sen apply the clear goop to his wounds. The stuff didn't sting so much as prickle quietly, but he wasn't keen to lick it off.
The slime trembled, seemed to grip the skin a little tighter, then condense into a smooth, very flexible, papery bark. Wolf could feel the wound underneath it, still, but it no longer hampered his movement. An experimental lick, under Sen's watchful eye, told Wolf it was just bark. It was probably easy enough to tear off, if he wanted to. Wolf lowered his head to the green giant in thanks, whose own bite mark was scabbing over with a similar hide.
"Thank you."
Trr-chktk. The Tender appraised him for another moment, before strutting off. After a few more awkward paces, it raised a claw and tore off the thick, fireproof bark from its shoulder without flinching. As it crossed the clearing slowly towards the fountain (it was ignoring the now-neutralised Alex), more chunks of bark were ripped away to expose healed skin, and Sen's usual birdlike grace.
Spoiler
Sen hopped clumsily backwards from John and Alex, one slender forelimb encased in scabby, inflexible bark. The Tender was still reeling from the World Tree's destruction; the distress signals had rammed through his head like a neural sledgehammer - and it was still banging sonorously away as the forest struggled to cope with the lack of energy and sudden loss of air pressure. Standing somewhat shakily, a pale, slender root burst from the cleared earth, and twined round a green finger.
Along the fringes of the forest, saplings began to wither and die. The base energy granted them to provide the basic processes of life was sequestered through the network of roots, until it reached the breach. The fibres, flung asunder as their encasing earth was sucked into the vacuum, started to enmesh about themselves, swiftly forging a patch over the rend. Even as root ground against root, not all of the gaps could be sealed, and the air kept rushing out as the trees started to creak ominously and fall under their own weight around the contestants. The pale roots were now enmeshing Sen's freakish hands right up the wrist as it worked with an externally detached, yet feverish concnetration. Once Sen had decided the flow of air was a non-urgent sort of emergency, the linking roots died away also, their strength flowing into the impossible task. Sen shook his head, and spotted Wolf nursing cuts and gouges in the gap beneath a felled tree.
The Tender loped over, usual grace hampered by the solid cake of bark upon its thigh. The clearing was almost too dark to see anything; the luminescence of the Sun's radiation obscured by the treetops. What remained unscorched of Wolf's fur was stained darkly with blood, the canine tried to stand as Sen approached but collapsed on a forelimb slashed by Alex's blade. Sen bared his teeth and raised a hand; Wolf cowered a little, wondering what he had done this time.
There wasn't really a crunch, Sen being rather smooth-skinned and having only bitten the flesh anyway, but Wolf winced as the needles punctured the Tender's arm. He watched as the beast gingerly put its leg back down, and then wiped off the slime with a finger and reached for Wolf. Wolf took a cautious sniff of the approaching talon, but didn't want to cause any trouble, so reluctantly consented to letting Sen apply the clear goop to his wounds. The stuff didn't sting so much as prickle quietly, but he wasn't keen to lick it off.
The slime trembled, seemed to grip the skin a little tighter, then condense into a smooth, very flexible, papery bark. Wolf could feel the wound underneath it, still, but it no longer hampered his movement. An experimental lick, under Sen's watchful eye, told Wolf it was just bark. It was probably easy enough to tear off, if he wanted to. Wolf lowered his head to the green giant in thanks, whose own bite mark was scabbing over with a similar hide.
"Thank you."
Trr-chktk. The Tender appraised him for another moment, before strutting off. After a few more awkward paces, it raised a claw and tore off the thick, fireproof bark from its shoulder without flinching. As it crossed the clearing slowly towards the fountain (it was ignoring the now-neutralised Alex), more chunks of bark were ripped away to expose healed skin, and Sen's usual birdlike grace.
peace to the unsung peace to the martyrs | i'm johnny rotten appleseed
clouds is shaky love | broke as hell but i got a bunch of ringtones
eyes blood red bruise aubergine | Sue took something now Sue doesn't sleep | saint average, day in the life of
woke up in the noon smelling doom and death | out the house, great outdoors
staying warm in arctic blizzard | that's my battle 'til I get inanimate | still up in the same clothes living like a gameshow
clouds is shaky love | broke as hell but i got a bunch of ringtones
eyes blood red bruise aubergine | Sue took something now Sue doesn't sleep | saint average, day in the life of
woke up in the noon smelling doom and death | out the house, great outdoors
staying warm in arctic blizzard | that's my battle 'til I get inanimate | still up in the same clothes living like a gameshow