An ancient city of stone buildings lies hidden between hills and trees. Destroyed and toppled by some unknown disaster and the ages of time, now this place is a maze to be explored.
The male literally fell from the sky; like video game characters entering the world of Jumanji, the lion landed at break-neck speed without, you know, actually breaking necks. Though, it wasn't a soft land, either. The blue lion landed with an audible 'oof' coming from his maw, making contact with the ground chest and stomach first. He quickly sprang to his feet, feathered wings stretching out in preparation to avoid whatever danger may be around, eyes wide to take in the sudden change in his surroundings.
The land before him was that of crumbled, old buildings, the sound of birds calling and other strange noises, and the angles sun casting wide shadows over him from the ruins' height. Despite the foliage covering every nook and cranny around here, a cool breeze fluttered occasionally around him.
He was bewildered, utterly confused - one moment he was walking with Roxanne through a warm valley, the next a bright light seemed to engulf them, and now... Wait. Where is Roxanne?
"Roxanne?" He called lowly, worry rising in his throat, "Roxanne?" came the second call after no response. Had she been left behind? The male wasted no time now in taking flight, rising above the crumbling buildings to search for her. She wouldn't be hard to miss; her bright purple fur stood out like a sore pawpad in any setting.
Sure enough, he spotted her, not far from where he ended up, hiding in the corner of two buildings, trying her best to blend into the bushes and ferns. The male landed with a thump in front of her, but the little leopard child just hunkered down more. It seemed to take more than a moment for her to recognize him and scramble over, burying her face in his arm, "It's okay, I'm here now," he said, looking into her eyes, "Why didn't you come when I called?" Was she so scared that she was stuck in fear?
code by naboo, with alterations.
The dice roll was just a test! I had no idea how it'd work lol
Character Roll 1: Successful Attacks must be above 500 to be successful.
562 was added for Level 4.
0 was added for Arcana.
15 was deducted for C: Vagrant Penalty.
5 was added for B: Tier II Enchantment.
Whatever transported them here, it didn't have the best time frame. Roxanne ended up here, alone, for several moments before her father did. She, too, landed with an audible 'oof' with no grace to her fall, but at least she wasn't scared. At first.
She was quiet but awe-struck as she took in her surroundings. It was always exciting to find a new place, and this was no exception. She'd seen buildings before, but never this run-down and destroyed, and she wondered what could have happened to make it this way.
So engrossed in her new surroundings, she forgot to actually take it in for any danger, and as she walked, she stepped on something that made her hiss in surprise - it looked kind of like a lizard, but bigger, and way cooler, with spikes coming out of its back and bright spots on its body - just like her! She batted at its face with her claws in, but just then the little creature --
It --
IT MULTIPLIED.
Turned into a bunch of tiny lizards with the same sharp spikes and started screaming at her! The combined noise sounded like the collective voices of the damned, and they started chasing after her, and she ran but they were fast but she was faster but they kept screaming and sounding like a whole army and --
Well. Eventually she managed to escape. Hid in the little corner between two buildings and smushed herself flat against the ground, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. And when daddy started to call her name, she didn't speak a sound. They could come back at any moment. It wasn't safe until daddy came over, at which point she buried her face in the warmth of his arm fur and silently willed him to protect her.
'Why didn't you come when I called?' He asked, and for a moment she still didn't answer. But she knew Daddy wouldn't let those things touch her, so she finally spoke, “There was this thing, but it wasn't just one thing it was a bunch of 'em. And they looked like lizards and they kept screaming and chasing after me so I had to run,” her head suddenly snaps in the direction of some other place, “I think... I think they're still close.”
Reed wasn't sure why she had wondered this far East in lands so foreign to her. Well, she knew why she had wondered this far, but she was beginning to wonder if her attempt was futile. It was just when her mind was starting to think those mean bad thoughts that a scream broke her thoughts. A scream from a lady, from the sounds of it. Someone was in trouble! Someone needed rescuing! Reed suddenly darted, ignoring the fallen ruins that tried to pull her interest away and begged for her to inspect them. That could happen later. Right now, someone needed saving!
Reed leapt to clear a half-fallen wall and failed, stumbling as her hind legs caught on the tip. She landed with a grunt and continued into a roll, then got back onto her feet and continued forward in a dash. On her side bounced both her cutlass and her dagger. Though she now ran with a slight limp in her gait, she did not slow. Someone needed help, after all.
Suddenly there were voices. A conversation. Too far away for Reed to hear, but close enough that she could hear that there was discussion. Reed moved toward them, slowing her gait from a bolt to more of a trot. Her knife slipped loosely from it's sheath and hovered beside her head, point held first. "Aye!" she called out, her pirate accent thick, "I heard screamin'. Is everything alright?" Her emerald gaze looked from the large male lion to the smaller cub. "Are you alright, Lass?" she asked her directly, unsure yet if the male lion was friend or foe.
He listened as she explained in rambled breaths how she'd encountered a strange lizard that multiplied and started chasing her. Had they not just been transported here and fell from the sky, he wouldn't have believed her if she told him it multiplied. He would have chalked it up to her eyes playing tricks on her, or her neglecting to see the other lizards who happen to have been nearby. But he believed her. And it begged the question: Where are they?
The rushed footsteps of another creature puts Matthias instantly on the defensive - was it the lizard coming back for round two? - but the answer was arguably much worse. A sentient creature; a wolf whose sword hung precariously in the air beside them. Last he checked, things don't just float like that, but Matthias had seen enough magic to at least not appear fazed. Instead, he instinctively placed his body over Roxanne's, their height difference allowing her to easily stand up while under him, provided she keeps her head lowered. He lowered his neck for defense and kept his tail out for balance, wings partially outstretched in preparation for use and legs spread. The wolf speaks to Roxanne, but he doesn't even let the girl talk -- instead speaking for her, "She's fine now that I'm here," it probably would've been better to specify her father, but the male still wasn't quite used to calling himself that.
Eyes look warily behind the stranger to see if anyone else might be around. He knows the dire situation he's in, thrust into a place he knows not the terrain nor rules of. If she could make the sword float, what other powers did she have up unrevealed? It was better not to antagonize... So he forced himself to visibly relax a little, instead attempting to strike up a casual conversation, "We're new around here," he begins, "She got into a bit of a scare. Said she saw some lizards that were screaming and chasing at her. Did you happen to see them on your way over?"
Father's sudden shift in demeanor alerted her to the presence of another faster than actually hearing their footsteps. She, too, thought it was the lizards at first, and she didn't mind when he moved to stand above her... Actually, she did mind! No way was she going to let some reptile bully her, especially now that father was here! She stood to face the approaching creature defiantly, only to immediately weaken her guard when she realized it wasn't the lizard.
It was a wolf! And she looked so pretty! Father wears gold jewelry too, but she never saw him wear gold thingies on his arms! And her hair was so unique, nothing like the tufts and mohawks they had. Roxanne smiles, taking the stranger's kindness at face value and already seeing a potential friend in her. “Oh, I'm--” but she's caught off before she could even say anything by her father, and she can't help but to give him a grumpy look for speaking for her. After he asked the woman if she'd seen the lizards, Roxanne felt she had a chance to speak again, “They look like regular lizards, but with bright spots! And it multiplies -- there was one, then a bunch of them! And they scream really loudly.” Reliving the moment of running away from them, and explaining what they look like (albeit very vaguely), made her feel embarrassed she was ever scared in the first place. It was just a lizard! Wasn't even that big either...
Reed's emerald eyes watched as the male lion adjusted his stature from alert at her approach to immediately defensive. He flared his wings and stepped in front of the child. She narrowed her eyes at him when he spoke up for the child, instead of letting her speak up for herself. "She's fine, now that I'm here." Reed was supposed to simply believe that? Perhaps once upon a time, back when she was a gullible youth, she would have taken him for face value. However, she'd learned her lesson through the years. It was just as likely that he was lying to her than he was telling her the truth.
When she saw his eyes dart past her, Reed reassured him, "There's no one else. It's just me." She didn't know if it was her response back to him or simply the intents of the other party slowly become more clear that caused him to relax, but she was grateful for it. She echoed his posture, visibly relaxing herself, and let the dagger float lower beside her, more towards her shoulder than up by her head. It was a metaphorical 'lowering her weapon'.
"Me too." Reed responded as he stated that the two of them were new. "Lizards screaming and chasing you?" That must have been terrifying for the poor cub! She suddenly piped up herself, giving further details about these chasing and screaming lizards. "It multiplies!" Reed echoed, resisting the urge to step forward towards the child in excitement. This... this sounded like a monster she could hunt!
"Well!" Reed started, suddenly pulling herself up into a heroic stance as her brawny body turned sideways in a well-practiced stance. "Young!! Uh... what did you say your names were?" Her heroic stance briefly faltered as she inquired of their names. Realizing that she could still continue on without their names, she puffed herself back up and, with a flourish, unsheathed her cutlass and did a hop-skip in a circle, dramatically slashing her cutlass through the air with a fluid motion. "You're in luck, for you've just recruited the help of Reed Blackpaw, monster slayer unlike any other!" She then hunched for a moment, then flung her head up skywards, flinging her cutlass up and into the air where it twirled on it's way up, then on the way back down. She reached out to catch the cutlass between her jaws for dramatic effect. If only she didn't miss.
Dex Roll: Level 3
Success - she catches the cutlass in an amazing display of athleticism! What a hero! Hurray!
Failure - she misses catching her cutlass and stumbles forwards onto her face. Some hero! Boooooo!
Character Diceroll 1: Successful Diceroll must be above 500 to be successful.
0 was added for Dexterity.
553 was added for Level 3.
0 was added for A. No Enchantment.
0 was added for A. No Buff / Penalty.
'There's no one else. It's just me.' Matthias did not think for a second that he would believe her off word alone, but so far he hadn't found any evidence lending to the contrary. He would just have to hope that they weren't trying to set up an ambush. Looking at the stranger before him, it was quite easy to imagine that the jewelry she adorned was not quite earned in the traditional sense, and Matthias was no stranger to the idea of pirates and what they do. Still, as before, he made himself relax more, and was thankful when her own posture reciprocated the movement.
It piqued his interest when she admitted that she, too, was new, "Have you met anyone else yet? Is everyone new?" it would reassure him to know whether or not he had an even playing field to start out.
Matthias watched from his position as she propped herself up into a heroic stance, the energy exuding off her already forming a smile upon his face. Had their roles been reversed, he probably would've done the exact same thing - and that earned her a boost of respect. At his own introduction, he lowered his head and tilted it forward, showing off the true height of spiralling horns, and called attention upon his feathered wings, outstretching them to their halfway point, "Matthias Kingsley, procurer of strange wares and merchant by trade," at least, before he became a father, but that didn't mean he couldn't start back up again. He gave Roxanne the chance to introduce herself if she'd like.
A name is given back: Reed Blackpaw, accompanied by a dexterous show of magic proficiency and coordination. A charming and inquisitive eyebrow is raised at the gesture, and his head tilts slightly in knowing curiosity at her words, "Monster slayer, huh? How fortunate," it would be quite difficult to walk with Roxanne directly under him, and so he steps to the side to allow her more space, tail resting upon her back as a silent gesture to stay close.
Turning to the leopard cub, Reed still in his peripherals, he asks her, "Which way did they go? With me and Reed on the case, there's no way they'll win now," maybe they're even edible.
"Roxanne!" she exclaimed excitedly, no hesitation on her part. Roxanne's awe was clearly visible upon her face upon seeing the display before her. It was so cool how she was just able to make it float! And the way she caught it! "Cooool!" she gasped, wishing she could make things float like that too. Well, she might not be able to, but she could practice throwing and catching things in the air! With newfound exhilaration, the girl had a look of determination upon her face as her father turned to ask where they went, giving a very jovial, "I dunno!" Despite this, it didn't deter her. With all her fear from moments before either gone or pushed into the back of her mind, she ran towards the direction of the last place she'd seen them, Leaping over small pieces of fallen debris and under foliage, "But it came from this way!" And she wouldn't stop running until she ran back to the place where she'd first found it.
Roll: Success - she immediately finds the one she escaped from, and it's still pissed and ready to fight.
Fail - no luck, it seems to not be around anymore.
(Imagine the creature looks like an iguana, but with colorful dots on its body and sharp dorsal fins. It can indeed multiply, but these duplicates are merely illusions. It has a venomous bite that can paralyze its prey, but the venom will only cause a tingling/numbing sensation on larger creatures)
