The Battle Majestic (Round 4 - Magpie Skies)

Originally posted on MSPA by redskap.

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As the creature stepped forward, hand outstretched, Blitz felt that something was...off. It was only for a moment, but he could have sworn he saw a pool of red at the satyr's feet(?). He looked closer at the asphalt, and it seemed to be just as normal as it was a few moments ago. He rubbed at his good eye. Hopefully this one isn't going blind, too... He regained his focus quickly, as the goat-headed man spoke to him.

"Vexmagog, unemployed. May we walk and talk?" He gestured toward the distance as he spoke.

Wykerr breathed an inward sigh of relief when Vex pointed across the square. Thank goodness those two men (was one of them the snow creature from before?) were fighting in the distance; otherwise, he might have actually taken the previously offered handshake. He wasn't sure if he would have kept up this disguise or just tried to fry the bastard. Lead me not into temptation, hmhm...

On the outside, he nodded and smiled, keeping in step with Vex as well as he could, despite their physical differences. "My surname is Wykerr, but you can call me Blitz. I suppose I'm unemployed as well." He nodded back at the plant man and the snazzy fellow. "I guess they're not fighting either? And what's the deal with that suit? I caught a glimpse of him earlier, and he just disappeared, before I even had a chance to say 'hey'. I don't think he saw me, though." Blitz shook his head and looked at the battle they were headed towards.

"I suppose it falls on us to talk some sense into them, eh?" He snapped the fingers of his left hand idly, and sparks shot out in several directions. "Hopefully it won't get to the point where we have to knock the sense in." But wouldn't that be a lovely way for an accident to happen? Blitz's face stayed blank, but he was grinning widely on the inside.

Originally posted on MSPA by Schazer.

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Sen's thoughts as he excavated a sizeable hole in the town square would've been rather strange to Vexmagog, were they anything bordering on pointed and articulate. As it was, the Tender was simply revelling in the sensation of being awash in sensory information, and the little buzz in his head as each pod processed the incoming data and tossed the conclusion back at him.

Some senses dulled; others sharpened to intoxicating keenness as the task dictated. Most prominent were Sen's senses of touch and smell, while sight and sound faded into the peripheral. The soil wasn't particularly ideal, Sen could figure that much. It was too artificial; formulaic. This would've been more of a problem if the time since the Tender's last proper meal hadn't been quite as long.

Pale green fingers suddenly met the resistance of something which did not share the consistency of the soil around it. Contemplating for the briefest of moments, the root suddenly writhed like a stabbed snake; wriggling desperately free of the dirt as though all its cells suddenly yearned for sunlight. Nobody noticed the movement, as it was at the bottom of the pit and Sen swiftly dispatched it with a graunching bite once it had shaken all the dirt off itself.

As Sen pondered the properties of this part of the tree (along with some unexpected fungi that had come along for the ride) Vex's cry for help was heard. The Tender popped up from its little trench and trilled back, adding a slightly interrogative series of clicks and throaty groans towards the end. Trailing off with a rattlesnake-swift chitter, Sen looked around for the nonexistent Tender. Failing to spot it, he reached the logical (?) conclusion it must've been housed in the nearest building.

Heaving itself out of the hole, Sen shook the dirt off himself and took off up the stairs.

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SpoilerHave to cut this off here, so semi-reserved. You can post, but just nothing about Sen for now :P

Originally posted on MSPA by Not The Author.

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So Sen was an herbivore? Something like that, anyway. On the one hand, it didn't seem intelligent, and could probably be easily avoided. On the other hand, it had just ripped through a tree. "Hello!" <Wait, did Vex seriously just greet that thing? ...Well, he is the friendly sort.> Sen took a moment to stare at the two, before becoming disinterested and... digging up the tree? <Bioterrorism 'gone wrong' indeed. Eh, whatever keeps it away from me.>

"Hello there! I notice you three aren't smacking each-other around like idiots! Mind if I join you?" <Speaking of 'keep it away from me'...> Maybe it was the scarring. Maybe it was the red eye. Maybe it was that when you want a fight to be entertaining, you don't send in someone who's already half-dead without good reason. Whatever it was, he simply didn't like the looks of this 'Wykerr' kid. "I was actually gonna get some coffee. Vex?" "I will stay here, for now. Thank you for the offer." <The very friendly sort.> Jacob shrugged, facing the coffeeshop again. "Suit yourself." He grinned, not that the boy or satyr could see, of course, and added "You two play nice, now!" before finally earnestly heading out to get himself a drink.

Jacob stepped inside the Starbucks and was immediately greeted by the familiar artificial chill of air conditioning. No one was inside, of course, which made a little something start to nag at the back of his mind. He ignored it, and stepped behind the counter, seeking wherever the beans were kept. Meanwhile, his mind was churning. <Alright, we've got Dude With Fire and Dude With Ice. They're fairly dangerous, but hate each other, which should keep them away from me. I'll leave them to simmer; leaves one less person for me to deal with later. Then there's that guy with the gloves, but I haven't seen much of him and can't tell how much of a problem he'll be. Vanilla? Yeah, a vanilla latte sounds good.>

<...Then there's Vex. He should be easy enough to lure into a false sense of security, but that hand of his... I'll have to ask him about that. Sen doesn't seem too dangerous either, except maybe in a kind of feral way. Ah, here we are. Just gonna take these... And then there's Wykerr. No, no, Blitz. I'll bet I know what he does. And we've got that Wolf, too. Probably like Sen, that one. Maybe a bit smarter, wherever the hell it is.>

<And then there's me.> He chuckled quietly to himself, loading coffee powder and syrup into the espresso machine. <Ah, but I'm just a man in a suit with a sword, right? Easy prey for anyone here.> His laughter returned. <Or so they probably think...>

Vaulting the counter, he nabbed a stool and brought it back to wait on his black nectar.

Originally posted on MSPA by Drakenforge.

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Wolf stealthily watched the group of taillesses. The smells-like-forrest creature busied itself by feeding from a tree, which Wolf had seen no creature do before. They were hard and tall, and good at getting rid of back itches, but as food? He turned around, suddenly disinterested by it. There were more taillesses. One with a strange air around him walked into a hut with a large shape hanging from the wall. He had the smell of a leader, Wolf could even smell authority. The others... Danger!
Wolf smelled blood. He knew not whats, but where there was blood there was danger. His senses screamed at him. His shackles raised, he bared his teeth, and he had to control himself from bounding down the street and gnawing whatever was closest to the smell.
Calm! Stay! He screamed to himself in his head. He forced himself to stay put, to think before acting. The taillesses were talking. One had moose-like-fur and horns, yet stood on his hind legs. Wolf was confused. Why would someone so like animals hinder themselves with only two legs? They would stumble and fall and were so slow compared to four. Again, Wolf had to remind himsel that everything was new and definitely different, The other one, loud-bright-danger danced around his hand. Wolf had experianced storms, seen how as hit crashed through the sky, burned down trees and tore them apart with one swipe. He would be wary of that one. Much further away, he found th source of the smell of bright-beast-that-bites-hot. Someone was fighting with another who had fluffy-crunch-under-paw snow, and dropping-sharp-hard water that flew as he commanded.
That left one person he could not see, covered-paws.
Wolf wondered what to do. He could stalk the forrest-one longer, but then what? He could try to communicate with the two in the road, but that was where the blood smell came from. And Wolf had no idea if his mouth could manage proper speech, as he had done was yell before, he had yet to say anything legible in the taillesses yip-yap talk.
He climbed through a broken window and jumped down to the floor. He lay down, and started to recite parts of the language to himself, and to think aloud to better himself at "talking".

Originally posted on MSPA by Baphomet.

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Vexmagog mulled briefly over the meaning of "What's the deal with that suit" before coming to the conclusion that he must have misheard the last word. From context it must have referred to another contestant, and regardless, if any of them had the ability to disappear (besides himself) he did not know about it. Is it possible I am not the only illusionist present?

Before he could respond that he did not know about the whoever-it-was, Blitz continued. "I suppose it falls on us to talk some sense into them, eh?" Vexmagog looked up to see if something was, indeed, falling on them, before realizing it must have been a colloquialism. He refers to Alex and John. If he believes fighting now is idiocy, he means it is up to us to stop them from fighting. That was my plan exactly. I believe this man and I are of a similar mind about this contest. He observed Blitz summoning sparks from his arm and correctly gleaned the meaning of the next sentence. Or perhaps not. Fighting them to get them to stop fighting does not seem like the best plan. Or maybe...

Maybe it is. Maybe the next setting will provide an opportunity for escape better than this one. Maybe I can demonstrate my power now, and destroy one or the other of them. At least then they will not have each other to fight.

He shook his head and balled his right hand up into a fist, making a sound like a footstep on gravel. Most divergent course of action. Befriend them both. No, make them stop fighting. No...

Vexmagog mentally searched through a list of possible courses of action, before deciding that thinking too hard about it wasn't going to get him anywhere.

"I also hope that will not be necessary," he said to Blitz, his eyes still on Alex and John. He smiled slyly. I remember well the females of this species. Petite, curves in the same places as my kind. Longer hair, generally. And so...

He stopped himself before his thoughts became too libidinous, and connected with Alex and Johns' minds. Alex's perception of his opponent shifted. He grew fingers, and his legs grew longer. His waist shrank, and his hips grew. His features softened, and he grew breasts. His hair grew to mid-back length. I'm not sure that females of John's species follow the same pattern, but it's the best chance I've got. John's perception of Alex shifted as well. He took on all the same prominent female characteristics, and lost his fingers.

If this doesn't stop them from fighting, he thought, at least it will be funny.

Originally posted on MSPA by Korbz.

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John was about to be slashed by Alex when the fire mage turned into a woman. "What the hell?" They said synonymous to each other. "How'd you do that?" John was questioning what Alex meant when he said it, likewise, Alex was questioning what John meant. They both stopped what they were doing, John's sword melting, and just stared blankly at each other. "What," was the only word coming out of their mouths for several minutes.

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SpoilerMy posts seem so poor compared to everyone else's. They're so short [img]images/smilies/pc_bemused.gif[/img]

Originally posted on MSPA by Schazer.

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Sen loped up the stairs and peered into the half-lit gloom, inhaling deeply. The room stunk of dry; a state intrinsically tied in Sen's head to lifelessness. There was nothing alive in this mausoleum, and the Tender turned to depart to keep searching for its ailing kin when it heard a crash from the rear of the building. Sen deliberated for a moment before following to investigate.

Wolf was working his jaws around the long 'e' sound when a scratching started at the oaken double doors. Rising with slow fluidity from his curled position on the rug, the beast slunk behind the large desk occupying the windowed side of the room. Hackles rising, Wolf's lips curled up in a snarl as the scratching intensified into a more insistent scrabbling; when it stopped. His senses were not fooled, and he could smell the earthen musk of the Tender still behind the door. It seemed to be having difficulty opening it, though Wolf would've been unable to offer much assistance even if he'd wanted to.

The wood groaned quietly, though nothing had impacted against it. Wolf pinned his ears back as the aged grain seemed to writhe a little, and little white hairs appeared at its base. The double doors were spontaneously dotted with buds, bright as spring. Wolf backtracked until he bumped against the wall, wondering what strange power the larger beast was exercising. The doors' moans intensified as shoots grew in the gap between them, forcing it slowly apart. The pale roots inched across the rug Wolf had been resting on only moments earlier. Finally a critical stress occurred in the barricade, and a much louder crack emnated from it, followed by more shoots frantically wriggling out of the stress fracture, widening it.

The whole process had taken a considerable while, during which Wolf chose to stay and watch. Finally, the shoots were followed by slender, pointed fingers; more like smooth twigs than fingers. A snub head in which two blank, black eyes glittered forced its way through. The shoots' frenzied growth seemed to speed up imperceptibly in the green glow of Sen's skin, or was it Wolf's imagination?

Sen stared down at Wolf, who in turn glared balefully up.

Chrrrerp-click-chrurk-click-chlick.

Wolf wasn't sure how to respond. Sen concluded Wolf was probably a non-intelligent member of this planet's ecosystem, and was prepared to leave him be if he didn't get in the Tender's way. Still, something was off. Sen figured it must've been Wolf who made the noise, as the window was broken and Sen could already feel the cool, slightly damper air streaming in. No Tender here. Sen extricated himself from the gap in the now-verdant mayoral office's door and set off.

"Wrur-wait!"

Sen stopped, blinked, and returned to the doors. The leaves were already starting to fall limp, though the scars of the sudden growth remained. Turning to the side to appraise Wolf with one eye through the gap in the door, Sen's brain started working furiously.

It was doubtless the furred creature, the way it was looking at Sen, possessed intelligence. Of what kind Sen wasn't sure; perhaps this planet had intelligent creatures as well as the one sentient race? This place was certainly a construct of the latter; the materials and apparent phobia of unexpected life was uncannily similar to the research ships which had landed on Sen's homeworld. It seemed rather foolish to build things without personal use, though. Though it was completely different in appearance to Sen's kidnappers, Wolf was obviously of some importance.

Sen retreated for a moment, then rammed the door in the region of the handle. Buckling the mechanism, the door swung lopsidedly open. The Tender purr-clicked at Wolf, wondering what the purported native would do.

Originally posted on MSPA by Odinod.

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SpoilerI been reading this and I think I saw some discrepancies in Korbz's post; I hope you don't mind the intrusion.

Korbz, I think Baphomet was saying that you each look like a woman to the other person; like, Alex would see John as a woman and John would see Alex as a woman, but they would both still see themselves as men.

If you get what I'm saying. [img]images/smilies/what.gif[/img]

Originally posted on MSPA by Korbz.

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SpoilerI been reading this and I think I saw some discrepancies in Korbz's post; I hope you don't mind the intrusion.

Korbz, I think Baphomet was saying that you each look like a woman to the other person; like, Alex would see John as a woman and John would see Alex as a woman, but they would both still see themselves as men.

If you get what I'm saying. [img]images/smilies/what.gif[/img]

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SpoilerI realize this, and posted that way, but I guess I just didn't make it clear enough.
EDIT: Changed the "he turned into a woman" into "the fire mage turned into a woman" so hopefully that'll clear it up.

Originally posted on MSPA by Baphomet.

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Vexmagog observed the curious look on Blitz's face as Alex and John stopped fighting and looked at each other in confusion. That worked out better than I had expected. That should keep the other contestants guessing. Still cautious, he formed an image of himself in their eyes and approached them individually, in lieu of doing so in the flesh. The image grew in size and a fire blazed in its eyes. Light from the artificial sun dimmed as a horrible, swirling red fog rolled in with surprising speed, crashing over them all like a wave. To each, they were now alone in the bloody mist with the towering, flame-eyed creature.

"You want to go home," he stated with slow deliberateness, his voice deep and resonating like a thunderclap. "I may be able to arrange that. All I ask that you do is refrain from killing anyone for the time being. Do you agree?"

To Blitz and any other contestants who happened to be watching the event unfold, Vexmagog simply stood there in the street, facing the altercation between John and Alex. They stopped fighting, looking at each other confusedly and asking nonsensical questions, and turned to face Vexmagog (or, to be more accurate, some space between Vexmagog and themselves), who said his words in a perfectly normal voice.

Originally posted on MSPA by redskap.

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Blitz watched the two elemental mages, eyebrows raised and a bemused expression on his face. They were confused at first; they stared at each other, mouths agape, like they had finally realized that they were fighting, and that the act of fighting was, in fact, wrong. He did something to them...but what? He looked a bit closer at the rock encasing Vex's right arm. Was it possible that that was the source of his power, whatever that might be? There were cracks running through it, and a shifting purple substance shone out. Scars reached up his arm, nearly to the shoulder. Blitz clenched his own ruined fist, feeling the warped flesh stretch and twist. He felt an emotion inside...it was coming from his son. It was sympathy. No room for that in this place, boy. The only thing feeling sorry for someone will get you is an early grave. There was no response from the child, but that feeling persisted.

Wykerr sneered and went back to focus on the two who had been fighting to the death only moments before. They were no longer looking at each-other; they each seemed to be staring at Vex, as he voiced a possible bargain. Another alien feeling...hope. <...we can go home?> Ah, the lad talks once again. Yes, we can go home. We can go home once our opponents lay broken and bleeding behind us. It seemed the boy had no response to that, and the...hope...quickly faded from his mind. But, despite his plan to eventually kill everyone, Blitz was nevertheless curious about Vexmagog's idea.

"What's this about getting home?" He glanced knowingly between the sartyr and the mages. "...and I hope I'm not interrupting?" He wasn't sure if whatever Vex was doing required total concentration, and he honestly didn't want to bother him, if that happened to be the case. Despite his strong desire to feel only hate and sadism, his son's emotions were leaking into his persona. He felt a sort of...bond with this Vexmagog creature. He figured it was mostly the scars, and accepted the fact that he sorta liked the guy...grudgingly. His son, however, knew the real truth.

The boy's peaceful nature was, slowly, slowly, ever-so-slowly corrupting his father's sadistic tendencies. He had inherited his mother's morals, and they were once again taking root in the mind of Father.

Originally posted on MSPA by Korbz.

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"I don't really see why not, big and scary goat thing, though I'm not entirely sure why you'd want to help us, aren't you one of the competitors? Why should I trust you? Hmm..."

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SpoilerNot really much to write when you're saying "I AGREE"

Originally posted on MSPA by Weldar.

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Steven slowly backed away from the fight that had unfolded in front of him. The left glove twitched with anticipation, it was eager to begin fighting, Steven however was happy to stand back and watch, see what these other two were capable of. The magical battle between fire and ice ended quickly and predictably with fire coming out on top. The two then moved onto a battle of the swords. Both seemed to be quite skilled with a blade and were neither one appeared to have a clear advantage just yet. After watching them fight for a while Steven had concluded he definitely didn't want to have to try to fight one of those two in a duel with the little sword he'd made. Steven turned to look back at the park. Jacob seemed to be gone and the Satyr was talking to someone else now, probably the third guy who he'd been unable to identify earlier. Now he was a little closer he recognized him as the kinda creepy looking guy, Blitz or something. Steven turned back to face John and Alexander, to his surprise the two of them had stopped fighting and were staring at each other with a look of utter confusion, curious. Suddenly the two of them turned and faced him, no wait they were looking somewhere past him. Steven followed their gaze and found they were looking towards Vexmagog, who in turn was staring right back at them. Vexmagog said something, Steven was too far away to hear it clearly but apparently John had as he replied. That certainly Satyr seems to be quite a popular fellow, and not too hostile either. Steven sped up to a brisk walk. May as well go and talk to him myself

Originally posted on MSPA by Baphomet.

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John was the first to respond. Vexmagog made sure to silence the words in Alex's ears, so as not to break the illusion of their solitude with his mental avatar. He sent the word "goat" through the humanoid's brain a couple of times, getting the impression of a quadrupedal hoofed beast with a head vaguely comparable to his own. Odd, he mused, how their world has a similar creature. He does not trust me yet. Blitz interrupted, and Vexmagog ensured Alex did not hear.

"What's this about getting home? ...And I hope I'm not interrupting?"

John's mental image of Vexmagog faded, and the red fog dissipated. The former deity nodded to the humanoid. Alex, still not having responded to the question, remained under the influence of the illusion.

Vexmagog gestured to the buildings-- the Target, the Starbucks, the city hall, and made his response inaudible to Alex. "These buildings are from your world, correct, Blitz? The being from the beginning of the contest, S, said that the former inhabitants of this place fled. Surely the means of their escape still exists somewhere in this colony. I have, in my past, had contact with other humans, like you, Alex, Jacob, and Steven." He nodded to Blitz, gestured to the prone Alex, then the Starbucks, then nodded to the approaching Steven. "On their planet, they had technology to traverse the barrier between universes. Even if this is not the same universe, it at least operates under the same rules." He pointed to the hole visible in the sphere, near the pylon, but opposite from their position. The blackness of space and the twinkle of the stars were visible through it. "Several 'stars,' each likely to have 'planets,' which in turn have 'moons.' Many planets and moons have life on them. It is likely that, if this universe has the same laws, the same creatures, the same language, and the same buildings, that somewhere around one of these stars exists similar technology familiar to the humans I knew."

He looked back down at the two humans and the humanoid in turn. "I am under the impression that the death of any contestant will result in the rest of us being removed from this place and taken to a new arena to do battle. I have no idea if the second arena will provide such an opportunity for each of us to return to our respective homes. Regardless, it would be foolish to prompt that 'change of scenery' until we have exhausted all possibilities in this place."

He turned to Alex and released the hold of the illusion from him. Blitz, John, and Steven turned to face him as well. "Alexander Streinsand. We are all..." he looked back and forth at the three contestants around him to judge their reactions, "...seeking a way to return home. I would be honored if you would aid us."

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SpoilerIn case it's not clear, Vexmagog's home universe has only one contiguous mass of habitable space. There are no stars, planets, etc. There is also one dominant species, which look like him minus the goatlike characteristics. Basically, while the satyrs of human legend are an amalgamation of goats and humans, he based his appearance on the dominant sentient humanoid species on his plane and a goatlike creature also native to it.

While he is aware (likely because he was told while meeting humans the first time) that life exists on more than one planet, he does not understand that the life on those planets evolved separately and is not entirely comprised of humans. The only model of universal creation with which he is familiar is the one that he participated in many eons ago with his fellow gods. This model does not allow for multiple sentient species, or at least it is not an obvious outcome.

I doubt the information he has given so far would make this apparent to the other characters, though.

Originally posted on MSPA by Kaitostrike.

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"Ah-eh-wh-what?"This was all too much for Alex to process at once.He beleived that his oppoenent had made an illusion to change his form,but with the recent response from Vex,this hypothesis was shattered.This 'Vex' guy can make illusions?Alex began to form fire in his hands,before quickly extinguishing it.
"...Fine."
I'm going to keep a close eye on him.

Originally posted on MSPA by Drakenforge.

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SpoilerI wonder is wolves see in colour. I don't think they do, but those scientists could be wrong.

Okay. I have it's attention. But... I don't think it... whatever it is, speaks tailless. Or wolf. And it's big. Name! It had a name, maybe it will respond to it! Sen, yes, that was it. Maybe it remembers me too!
"Umm" Being the universal noise for when something speaks, Wolf had no trouble knowing it's use, "Are.. y-you s-Sen?"
Ok! good, I think. I hope it's friendly. Wait, what if it's not? We were told to fight... I don't want to fight. These creatures are strange, and I am jsut a wo-
No. I am not-wolf. Neither wolf nor tailless.

These thoughts depressed Wolf, and that was an emotion that was totally alien to him. It came with the language, he guessed.

Originally posted on MSPA by Not The Author.

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A black, fluid mass hurtled through space at speeds in excess of thirty-thousand meters per second. It didn't know this, mind you. There were a great deal of things the dark substance did not know. It didn't know, for instance, that its very path was an abomination against physics. It was moving against the flow of natural forces, for where it should have fallen, it rose instead. It would soon be broken into fragments of itself by a much larger mass, then recongregate merely to be shredded into it's molecular components - then fused with other matter in a multitude of ways that would ideally produce a rather large quantity of heat. It was already quite hot... but the inky mass, of course, didn't know this. In fact, it had no mind with which to know anything at all.

Jacob Helix, on the other hand, knew these things well. They were not at the forefront of his mind, but he knew them. All he really knew regarding his coffee, was that it would soon be ready to drink.

He fiddled with his watch, and waited.

Originally posted on MSPA by Schazer.

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SpoilerHaha NTA, the start of your post made me think of Vyrm'n xD

Sen had little comprehension of Wolf's words, but the reaction to his researcher-given name was evident. Head cocked to one side, the Tender gave enough movement to let Wolf relax a little. Recalling something about the niceties of civil introductions, Wolf continued.

"Good! I-I'm... uh..." Wolf was unable to find an adequate end to that; he finished rather unsatisfactorily, "Wolf." That'll do, I suppose...

The Tender's only response was a inscrutable twitch of the head; Wolf had no idea whether it was a tic or an acknowledgment. He tried again, simplifying a little. "Sen," he murmured, pointing at the Tender with a flick of his snout. "Wolf," he followed, motioning at himself.

Hrruuuf, Sen purred. It was a reasonable effort on his part.

"Y-yes, that's right, Wolf!" Wolf's tail waved a little as he felt cheered on by this development. "Sso, Sen, whu-what do you th-think... of thiss... uh... co-compuh-battle?"

A blank stare, followed by; Hrruuuf. Sen walked off. Wolf deliberated for a moment, then decided to follow the green beast, through the town hall, down the stairs, into the square. The canine couldn't help but notice the bite taken from one of the trees; he glanced with some trepidation towards the long-limbed creature walking ahead of him.

Sen cast his eye up and around, studying the layout of the colony planet, looking for something. Opposite from the pylon from which the fake sun was suspended, the Tender spotted a large region of green; segregated tidily off from the buildings around it. The fact its ground was a 90-degree angle to that which Sen and Wolf currently stood on did not particularly phase the Tender. Turning to stare meaningfully at Wolf, then up at the patch of green, Sen's posture changed imperceptibly as he launched into a tidy trot, leaving the town square and heading for the large park.

Originally posted on MSPA by Korbz.

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SpoilerI would post, but I don't really know what to do at this moment.
Also, did NTA just talk about making coffee in a very detailed manner?

Originally posted on MSPA by Baphomet.

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SpoilerI would post, but I don't really know what to do at this moment.
Also, did NTA just talk about making coffee in a very detailed manner?

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SpoilerThat was my impression, but thirty thousand meters per second seems...a bit excessive for falling coffee. Unless you're accounting for the orbit around whatever planet this station is orbiting around? Please explain, Not The Author.

Originally posted on MSPA by Kaitostrike.

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"As much as I sympathize with your dilema,you do realize all of us getting out of here alive is impossible,right?Whoever brought us here wants to see bloodshed.And they have gone to the extent of bringing eight fighters into enclosed spaces;among them mages,sentient animals,and even gods.I think keeping us in line is within their capabilities.
"They are watching us.They are watching right now.It is foolish to think they aren't;why would they bring us here then?They want bloodshed,and as far as they-as far as we all can tell- they're going to get it."

Originally posted on MSPA by Sruixan.

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SpoilerI would post, but I don't really know what to do at this moment.
Also, did NTA just talk about making coffee in a very detailed manner?

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SpoilerThat was my impression, but thirty thousand meters per second seems...a bit excessive for falling coffee. Unless you're accounting for the orbit around whatever planet this station is orbiting around? Please explain, Not The Author.

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SpoilerMy interpretation was that the black mass in question was something completely different that Jacob knows about, as part of his knowledge of quantum magic and such forth. The black mass and the coffee are separate entities, linked by the fact that whilst Jacob knowns a fair bit about the workings of the universe, he is somewhat unsure as to the state of his cup of coffee.

Anyway, some housekeeping: redskap, feel free to change to the pure red - it's not overly different and you're right, it does work better. I've updated the first post in reflection of the change.

The previous inhabitants of the bubble, taking my concept art for literal truth, would have gone through the bubble just underneath the pylon and out to a dock of some description. Bar that, I didn't really think that through, so feel free, if you get that far, to suit things to what you wish.

There are now also some pretty colours in the first post. The spiral thingy I made served a slight purpose:

Originally posted on MSPA by Korbz.

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John phased out while Alex was speaking. I wonder if the goatman will keep his promise...Then again, I could just kill these guys now and get home, but they outnumber me. Some other people are missing from this group, aren't they? The wimpy wolf and the large green thing. And the guy who brought us here mentioned a hole in the bubble, wouldn't that kill us? This is all very confusing, and I sort of want to fight someone, but goatman won't let me....Wow, I must be bored if I'm thinking this much. John squatted away from the group and created a little snow town. He proceeded to create little snowmen and monsters and had them fight, often adding sound effects.

Originally posted on MSPA by Drakenforge.

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Wolf studied the beast as they walked. Or was it a bark-hide? Bark-hides never moved and tended to contain many secrets. But like Wolf, they were never hunted, escept by greedy pelt-stealers. He saw the bite, and winced. It ate other bark-hides? No, if it was eating it would not stop with one bite. What purpose does that fulfill.
Words were not working. That was easy to see. So Wolf decided to talk through actions.
He pounced forward overtaking Sen and turned in one fluid motion, barring his way. He dug his claws into the concrete without knowing what he was doing, following an unwritten code in his body. His fur stood on end, he bared his fangs, he raised his tail. In every way he knew how, he challenged Sen for a reaction.

Originally posted on MSPA by Schazer.

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Sen halted as Wolf stepped in front of him; not really breaking stride but still managing to come to an elegant halt. Weight shifting so he was fully balanced on the pointed fingertips of one hand, the Tender crouched a little, profile lowered and one limb rising.

He was not aggressive, per se, but Wolf's behaviour confused Sen. His own kind had no sense of hierarchy so the actions served little logical purpose in his head. Still, Tenders had biologically imprinted protocol in their heads for this kind of situation. Suffering from disuse, perhaps, but definitely there. With the knowledge of his ancestors, Sen finally concluded this was some kind of test of which of the pair was in charge.

He took a step back, settling his balance on two limbs again, staring Wolf down. Wolf crouched a little lower, ready to leap, perhaps, when something shifted beneath him. Leaping out of the way as the concrete yielded to more tenacious sprouts, the canine launched itself at Sen's throat.

THWACK.

Wolf's flight was interrupted by the arc of Sen's lengthy fingers as he swung his arm around and pinned him to the ground. Wolf scrabbled desperately with his claws, but the Tender's freakish fingers danced out of the way while still keeping him pinned down. Lowering his head, Sen opened his mouth with a creaky ticking to reveal row upon row of needle-like teeth.

Click-tchlick-clitchk-crick-click.

Sen let Wolf admire his maw for only a few seconds before finally unpinning him and helping him up. Assuming he'd done it right, the Tender stalked off for the park. He was getting that feeling that if he didn't get a move on, he'd be hungry and only able to sit and wait around. With no intention of doing as such, the Tender cantered for the green.