towerofanimus | monsters in the dark

Hear--?

[Anise's eyes narrow and she immediately pulls Tokunaga down from her back, growing it to full size. She glances briefly at Luke, then begins to look around the room for whatever might have made that sound.]

Stick close and get your sword ready! Something's not right here.

[There's no more warning before the monster launches itself out of the shadows at what it deems to be the easier target of the two: the redhead who hadn't yet readied his weapon.

It moves at a blindingly fast speed, seeking to land blows with whatever it can on this first pass-- claws, fangs, you name it.

If Luke is hit, it will feel as if an impossibly numerous amount of strikes were compressed into a single instant.

If its fangs manage to break skin before it retreats back into the shadows to prepare for its next attack, Luke will begin to feel, overwhelmingly, that it's hard to care about fighting back.]

[Excuse you, he's not that easy of a target. But he is the one currently off-guard, though he gets his sword about halfway out before he's attacked.

He's surprised at how fast the thing moves--he only gets a glance of something large and black--and barely has time to get into the best barehanded blocking stance he can. No time to cast Guardian, and by the time the monster retreats, his arms are covered in scratches and at least one bite mark.]

What the hell was that and where did it come from?

[And where did it go? He unsheathes his sword the rest of the way, but he's thinking he might let Anise lead the fight. Or maybe just do the fighting, period. Just a little.]

How should I know?! It came out of nowhere!

[Tokunaga's a little too bulky to catch the monster before it vanishes back into shadows, which isn't to say Anise doesn't try to strike it anyway with one of the puppet's big, heavy claws. She curses under her breath and glances around the room wildly.]

Come out and face me like a man, you big bully!

[Or... whatever it was. Anise's hands are tightly threaded into Tokunaga, ready to attack at a moment's notice should the monster show itself. Whether it leaps at her or leaps at Luke, she's planning to meet it head-on.]

[There's a sound somewhat resembling a bark from somewhere in the dark before, surprisingly enough, the monster does reveal itself, having slowed down enough to clearly be visible. It doesn't seem to be particularly aggressive-- at least not overtly so, though its stance is defensive and its jaws snap warningly every so often.

Its teeth would be just as brilliantly white as its mask were it not for some lingering bloodstains.]

[Clearly that was a dumb question, but it doesn't stop Luke from making a face at her anyway. Then he, too, is glancing around the room to look for...whatever it is.]

Hey, don't taunt it, you'll just piss it off mor--agh!

[The bark caught his attention, and he turns in the direction it came from, staring warily at the now revealed monster. He's certainly not moving to attack yet, and is totally not subtly trying to use Tokunaga as a shield. Nope.]

Edited 2013-06-13 04:34 (UTC)

Shhh! I got it to come out, didn't I?

[And with it visible, there was a chance they could do something about it. The bloodstains on its teeth are obvious enough, and Anise swallows hard. This could be a tough one. She's going to have to fight hard... especially if Luke is inching behind Tokunaga.

It's fine, she tells herself. You're trained for this.

She takes a breath.]

Nice monster... easy, boy... [She directs Tokunaga to take a step forward, then another, ready to raise its arms in defense if the monster attacks.] ...uhhh... you are a boy, right?

[...You don't really expect an answer to that, do you? Either way, the monster doesn't look very impressed, but then again it doesn't look much of anything, so.

It begins to growl again as Tokunaga approaches, falling back into a defensive crouch, ready to react on a moment's notice-- and mind you, a moment's notice for it is a fair sight shorter than conventional reaction times might be.]

[Don't hate, Anise. Tokunaga is much bigger and surprisingly durable for a giant stuffed toy.]

It's listening to you...hey, keep talking to it, maybe it won't attack us.

[Hopefully? It's already proven to be capable of moving more quickly than either of them can see or hit.]

Okay, uh... Crap, what does Gloomietta say to her monsters?

[She stares at the white-masked thing as she approaches carefully, keeping an eye out for any sign of movement. Its teeth look sharp - she doesn't want to get bitten...]

Nice... vicious monster thing... good boy... we're just going to go over here, okay? [Careful, careful...] If you're a good boy we'll even go hunt you a different monster for you to chew on! Wouldn't you like that?

[...Anise please.]

[It stops growling for a moment to cock its head slightly, the unexpected reaction breaking through the haze of bloodlust somewhat. This is a strange kind of fear, or method of fighting back...

'Different monster' means 'another unsuspecting victim,' right? Does that mean it'll get three kills instead of two? It'd wag its tail if it could.

No, here, see, it's making a vaguely responsive bark. Maybe the prey is so afraid they'll help it kill things. And as a favor to them it'll kill them a little less messily by the end of it.

And if the prey doesn't perform satisfactorily it can just go straight to the killing them part anyway.]

Edited 2013-06-15 05:56 (UTC)

Are we really gonna get another monster to fight this one?

[He's trying to talk softly enough that the silver-masked monster can't hear him, but it's slightly harder when Anise is perched up on her puppet.

He's half-tempted to approach it by himself and see if it'll attack him again. But not yet. Right now, he's just staying back.]

We won't have to hurt you if you leave us alone.

[See, he can do this 'talking to monsters' thing too!]

[She keeps her voice low, hopefully too low for the monster to pick up clearly.]

It might keep it busy...

[At least busy enough for one of them to get away. Luke's the civilian - so he's going to have to go. Anise is fully trained, the type of person that people three or four times her age trust to take care of herself regardless of the situation. It's obvious which of them should stay and which of them should run to safety if they get the chance.

It's okay if Luke stays back. That's what Anise was hoping for anyway - that he'd stay where she could protect him. She can't find Ion right now, but -

Maybe she's not entirely worthless as a guardian if she can keep someone safe - ]

Just let us go to the stairs, okay? And we'll find another monster for you. Or maybe two or three! Big juicy ones, with bigger bones for you to gnaw on when you're finished. Doesn't that sound nice? ❤

['Have to hurt it.' Poor wording, there; the monster breathes something that sounds almost like a scoff.

Two or three more, this is starting to sound a little too good to be true; prey that's scared witless doesn't tend to carry itself so well.

It growls lowly once more and stands up taller-- but it'll allow them to reach the stairs.

Just not unaccompanied, as it'll follow them to it.

It's almost like having a pet dog or wolf, maybe, standing watch over them.

Just, you know, for the wrong reasons.]

[Scoff all you want, he's sticking by his words.]

Or they'll all attack us at once...

[He doesn't know what Anise is planning, but if he did know, he'd probably agree with her...he's not really up to fighting the monster unless he absolutely has to anyway. And if he got bitten again, he'd probably be more or less completely useless in battle.]

[Damn, it's following. So much for just slipping away. She'll have to find another monster for it after all, one of the Tower's usual monsters. That should be more manageable than one of Ruana's pets, she thinks.]

Look, let's just find one of the regular monsters and cut its legs off. We can play fetch with it or something.

[Up the stairs they go. Anise, for her part, is keeping her eyes peeled for anything they might be able to use to distract the masked monster, but she cna't help but glance over her shoulder nervously every few feet to see if it's still following, if it's wandered off, or if it's decided to just attack them.]

[The monster barks sharply once when they start arguing. Kids, kids. This is just delaying the kills, you don't need to bite each others' heads off--

Wait, no, never mind. Please do bite each others' heads off. Preferably literally. Don't worry, it can keep it from becoming a huge mess.

It's keeping pace fairly well, trotting up the stairs alongside them without a hint of issue. When Anise glances back at it every so often it tilts its head and stares back at her through the mask in an eerily human manner.]

monsters in the dark

don't you mean yes good this is glorious

oh, please do give it a good shot!

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so this thread.

So late, so sorry!

c: <3

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Sorry this is so late ._.

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