Re: The Battle Majestic (Round 2 - Firestar)
03-01-2010, 10:26 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Baphomet.
Vexmagog held his left hand to the side of his head. He tried desperately to send his thoughts off in another direction, any direction, but he could not. John Swift. Sen. Wolf. Possibly Steven. The first three were with Alex at the time. The fourth does not need to be physically present to launch an attack. The escape pods were feet away. Life was lost, but more importantly our opportunity was lost. Our opportunity to return home. Home. Vexmagog's attempts to divert his thoughts to images of his home were about as fruitful as a man trying to plug a running hose with his thumb. Islands like this one. Astonishingly like this one. They sent me here to tease me, torment me, I'm sure of it. But if I dove into this ocean, I would not find an infinite sea. Ungol does not reside in these waters. This island does not float on them, beneath the swirling crystal. This world is godless. If I were to look up at that mountain right now, I would see a mindless mockery of my world. One island, alone, isolated. Vexmagog looked up, if only to prove himself right. A pair of beady black eyes looked back at him.
"This creature is strange. This black at my feet is strange. Where is my tree? Where can I plant another?" Vexmagog didn't even notice as his mind unconsciously connected with the tender's and extracted a minimalistic translation. He just narrowed his eyes. We didn't escape last round, because of him. We don't escape this round, he reasoned quickly, caring less and less about Magog's influence on his thoughts. We are too far from...anything. No, we don't escape.
This thing dies.
Vexmagog stood, veins of glowing indigo winding their way up to his shoulder. He took notice of Blitz, running towards them down the beach. "Hey! Hey Sen! Crrk-clack-tick, kuh-bluh-kee, ting tang walla walla bing bang! Get away from him! He's not in control of himself right now!"
The human brain has a whole segment devoted entirely to interpreting the facial expressions of other humans. It's actually pretty amazing how nuanced these expressions can be. A tiny difference in the angle of the corner of the mouth, the tilt of the head, the placement of the eyebrows -- any number of things, really-- can denote almost the entirety of the emotional spectrum. Vexmagog's face was far from human, but when it turned to face Blitz, he could still read it. He read the angle of the sneer, the narrowed blue slits of his eyes, the slight twitch on the right side. It hit Blitz with its meaning like a wall of "stay the fuck out of this".
Vexmagog turned his attention back to the giant green menace. Sen saw double. Two Vexmagogs began to move, in different directions, circling him. He clicked in confusion, looking back and forth as they both drew in behind him. Suddenly feeling threatened, he bared his teeth and hissed, drawing his head lower and raising one hand full of enormous claws intimidatingly.
Both Vexmagogs leapt. With unexpected dexterity, the tender whirled around, simultaneously swiping at one with his claws while swatting the other with his tail.
His attacks passed through both. The sand behind him jumped onto his back in a green blur and drew its right arm back, bringing it down on the tender's head with a dull thud. The surprisingly light creature doubled over, the unidentifiable mass on his back clinging around his neck. Sen brought his tail back up quickly, and the seed pod collided with Vexmagog's right horn. The sickening crack knocked his head forward jarringly and left his vision swimming. The tail swung in for another blow, but the deity had already slid off the tender's back, leaving the feeling of his weight in his place.
The creature bowled himself over while Vexmagog grabbed at his horn. A sizable chunk of the side came off in his hand. Adrenaline kicked in and he felt lightheaded. He pulled a fog over Sen's vision and filled it with shifting shapes menacing him from the opposite direction as he ran forward and grabbed for one of his feet. He tried to dull the sensation of his clinging, but the creature began to take a step at the wrong moment and instantly felt the difference in weight. He instinctively flung Vexmagog off, who was surprised to see the glass hands take his place, wrenching Sen to the ground.
Standing over Sen, Vexmagog felt himself afflicted with an urge not his own. Beneath the tender's translucent skin, he could see brown orbs standing out against the dull green of the creature's innards. There were two right beneath the surface on the leg closest to him, the one the glass hands were pinning him down by. Pull it out. Take one. Hold it. His arm twitched in indecision. He did not know the source of the urge, and thus worked to deny it.
Then, with a lightning-fast motion, the glass hands released and swiped at something in the air, catching it. Vexmagog found himself staring at the tip of a crude spear, inches from his face.
Sen took the opportunity to leap up and dart away. Vexmagog was dumbfounded as he watched the small group of humans emerge from the trees and fling more sharpened sticks at Sen, to little effect. What he saw did what his thoughts of escape and his home could not. What he saw took his mind off his intended killing. His snarl closed in on itself as he watched the women give chase.
Vexmagog held his left hand to the side of his head. He tried desperately to send his thoughts off in another direction, any direction, but he could not. John Swift. Sen. Wolf. Possibly Steven. The first three were with Alex at the time. The fourth does not need to be physically present to launch an attack. The escape pods were feet away. Life was lost, but more importantly our opportunity was lost. Our opportunity to return home. Home. Vexmagog's attempts to divert his thoughts to images of his home were about as fruitful as a man trying to plug a running hose with his thumb. Islands like this one. Astonishingly like this one. They sent me here to tease me, torment me, I'm sure of it. But if I dove into this ocean, I would not find an infinite sea. Ungol does not reside in these waters. This island does not float on them, beneath the swirling crystal. This world is godless. If I were to look up at that mountain right now, I would see a mindless mockery of my world. One island, alone, isolated. Vexmagog looked up, if only to prove himself right. A pair of beady black eyes looked back at him.
"This creature is strange. This black at my feet is strange. Where is my tree? Where can I plant another?" Vexmagog didn't even notice as his mind unconsciously connected with the tender's and extracted a minimalistic translation. He just narrowed his eyes. We didn't escape last round, because of him. We don't escape this round, he reasoned quickly, caring less and less about Magog's influence on his thoughts. We are too far from...anything. No, we don't escape.
This thing dies.
Vexmagog stood, veins of glowing indigo winding their way up to his shoulder. He took notice of Blitz, running towards them down the beach. "Hey! Hey Sen! Crrk-clack-tick, kuh-bluh-kee, ting tang walla walla bing bang! Get away from him! He's not in control of himself right now!"
The human brain has a whole segment devoted entirely to interpreting the facial expressions of other humans. It's actually pretty amazing how nuanced these expressions can be. A tiny difference in the angle of the corner of the mouth, the tilt of the head, the placement of the eyebrows -- any number of things, really-- can denote almost the entirety of the emotional spectrum. Vexmagog's face was far from human, but when it turned to face Blitz, he could still read it. He read the angle of the sneer, the narrowed blue slits of his eyes, the slight twitch on the right side. It hit Blitz with its meaning like a wall of "stay the fuck out of this".
Vexmagog turned his attention back to the giant green menace. Sen saw double. Two Vexmagogs began to move, in different directions, circling him. He clicked in confusion, looking back and forth as they both drew in behind him. Suddenly feeling threatened, he bared his teeth and hissed, drawing his head lower and raising one hand full of enormous claws intimidatingly.
Both Vexmagogs leapt. With unexpected dexterity, the tender whirled around, simultaneously swiping at one with his claws while swatting the other with his tail.
His attacks passed through both. The sand behind him jumped onto his back in a green blur and drew its right arm back, bringing it down on the tender's head with a dull thud. The surprisingly light creature doubled over, the unidentifiable mass on his back clinging around his neck. Sen brought his tail back up quickly, and the seed pod collided with Vexmagog's right horn. The sickening crack knocked his head forward jarringly and left his vision swimming. The tail swung in for another blow, but the deity had already slid off the tender's back, leaving the feeling of his weight in his place.
The creature bowled himself over while Vexmagog grabbed at his horn. A sizable chunk of the side came off in his hand. Adrenaline kicked in and he felt lightheaded. He pulled a fog over Sen's vision and filled it with shifting shapes menacing him from the opposite direction as he ran forward and grabbed for one of his feet. He tried to dull the sensation of his clinging, but the creature began to take a step at the wrong moment and instantly felt the difference in weight. He instinctively flung Vexmagog off, who was surprised to see the glass hands take his place, wrenching Sen to the ground.
Standing over Sen, Vexmagog felt himself afflicted with an urge not his own. Beneath the tender's translucent skin, he could see brown orbs standing out against the dull green of the creature's innards. There were two right beneath the surface on the leg closest to him, the one the glass hands were pinning him down by. Pull it out. Take one. Hold it. His arm twitched in indecision. He did not know the source of the urge, and thus worked to deny it.
Then, with a lightning-fast motion, the glass hands released and swiped at something in the air, catching it. Vexmagog found himself staring at the tip of a crude spear, inches from his face.
Sen took the opportunity to leap up and dart away. Vexmagog was dumbfounded as he watched the small group of humans emerge from the trees and fling more sharpened sticks at Sen, to little effect. What he saw did what his thoughts of escape and his home could not. What he saw took his mind off his intended killing. His snarl closed in on itself as he watched the women give chase.