Of Forests, Flowers, and Fuzzballs (Open)

[Gaius]

((I know what you mean, Schingie. I was afraid I'd choke on my sammich! Well-played, sir! And...
Oh. Right. Err... Guess the ice cream was home-made, Zero...? ... Well, at least that means the detached bits were kept on ice. *rimshot*
Alternate joke: Well, at least you can get a headstart on a Gangrene-flavored ice cream. Helpful in securing that vital zombie demographic!))

As surely as the fiery bird had convinced the two nekojin and the Quillirian that she meant business, so had she convinced the donkey. Devon wondered briefly if she was in truth an angry mother, ready to fight flame, beak, and claw to defend two oddly shaped chicks. The display also brought some of the former human's own protective instincts to the fore; he had a brother, after all, and while he couldn't remember much about the little guy, he got a familiar 'feeling' from the two catboys. Or the 'at least one catboy,' as Dev had so far thought -- Ro had been right about how the flower made him look. Yes. The flower that somehow managed not to fall out during his trip to the ground and subsequent scramble. That one. If it was any consolation to the nekojin, Devon wouldn't have been sure how to respond to the Fairy Tale-esque monikers the twins had given him.

Though the more recent of the two, saddle notwithstanding, was soon to become more accurate. After giving a nod and a "Gotcha," to the phoenix, he took a clomping step toward Dalsh, ears perked and game face back on. Not to say he was completely in control; getting a little closer to those spiky and, now that he got a look, snake-headed tentacles, he was a little worried about himself. But Devon was standing his ground. The only hint of hesitancy visible was his tail's nervous twitches. Well, and the at-first unsteady tone of his voice. "R-right." Then he came out with more force. "Just put them away. Now. Nobody wants this coming to blows." Despite his fears, the donkey was still leaning forward, forelegs up in an aggressive stance. He made clear that if it did come to blows, Mr. Delash would know who to blame his hoof-related injuries on.

However... a) Dalsh would probably never enter any such straight fight, if he could avoid it, and more pressingly, b) Devon's efforts were both unnecessary and completely ignored by the Quillirian. The ex-human pieced this together quick enough when the lock of abject terror changed not at all as he spoke. 'Huh. Guess she's doing all the intimidation.' He didn't mind that one bit; he'd just try to help get the rest of the tension as diffused as he could. Then the maw withdrew its tendrils, and shut. One gray, tufted ear went up, the other sideways, perplexed. '... Well, that was easy.' Ears going back to 'neutral,' Devon knew that probably meant it wasn't. After all, tendrils or no tendrils, the only thing Dalsh needed to better resemble a cornered animal was a corner. ... And it would help if he wasn't the least animal-looking of the grove's five figures.

"Stay back." Cue the claws. "That's the idea right now. Let's just calm down. This was all a misunderstandi-- Err, what are you doing, n--" And then Dalsh's preparations were done, and Devon's ears, which thought they'd been through enough today, learned what it really was to be assaulted. Pretty much from ground zero, no less. At least Simi and the twins were better off for having someone in the way of Dalsh; it probably dampened the sonic attack, if only a little. For Devon at least, the result was what the Quilirian expected: the donkey crumpled to the Forest floor, hooves smashed against his ears, and eyes squished shut as though to keep the stimulation count to a minimum. He probably cried out in pain, but at the time, it wouldn't have registered as background noise to the furry and feathered ears present, and the unliving ones had sealed up.

Eventually, it ended, and Devon lay there, squinting up at Dalsh. A bit out of it, naturally. And wondering if the ringing was going to give any other sounds their turn at being heard. Also, wincing. Definitely some of that going on.

((And damn you, Schingie! Made me choose between ending on a semi-serious or on an unrealistically lighthearted note... *shakes fist*))

[Sky Lily]

OOC: Isn't drama fun?

BIC:

The unliving man’s stare grew fearful as he took Simi in with his gaze, and he stumbled back, crying out in alarm and causing her to flinch.

The donkey’s reassuring nod and “Gotcha,” helped her to relax a little bit, and she breathed out, slowly. Ok, you’re not alone. Someone’s helping us, see? We’ll all be ok.

The donkey then stepped a little closer to the reaper, his tail twitching with some anxiety, but his front hooves raised warningly. "R-right," he started. Then more forcefully, "Just put them away. Now. Nobody wants this coming to blows."

Dalsh’s eyes faded from purple to black, his terrified expression still obvious. As she watched him, feeling uneasy of the situation but confused with the creature’s fear of her, the donkey’s peculiar request concerning her fire echoed again in her mind. ...Move those flames away from him.... He never did ask for the flames to be moved from them both...

The reaper took another step back.

The phoenix blinked with sudden realization, wondering why she didn’t get it, before. Of course! He must be afraid of her fire!

A wave of confidence washed over her as she took another deep breath. Fire was, perhaps, one of the only things that could truly harm Dalsh. As long as the reaper didn’t touch her and realize how harmless the fire actually was, she was virtually invincible. However, Simi was unaware of the fact that as a unicorn at heart, the man’s hands would still burn with her touch.

To what must be everyone’s relief, the tentacles, and the abdominal mouth, sealed. "Stay back," Dalsh growled, curling his fingers nervously.

"That's the idea right now,” the donkey again tried to coax Dalsh into letting it go; Simi found it frustrating that she didn’t even know his name, but perhaps she could ask that later, when thanking him for his help. “Let's just calm down. This was all a misunderstandi-- Err, what are you doing, n--"

The unliving man slumped forward as if giving up, and he stretched his mouth open, fangs glinting in the pale sunlight, robe falling back into place as his arms settled limply at his sides. The next sound that came from his mouth was a living nightmare.

A screech, louder than any cry of pain and fiercer than any terror exploded throughout the forest, ghostly echoes bouncing against Deep Forest’s huge trunks and causing a chorus of a hundred screaming Dalshes.

Simi’s eyelids stretched wide in terror and agony, and she turned her face away and shut her eyes tightly, just after catching a glimpse of the donkey crumpling to the floor. She flinched back and her wings folded against her. Chances were, because they were her close friends, Ze and Ro’s pain would also be felt by the phoenix- this was not going to end well.

However, as Simi’s terror rose and her emotions spun, the fire only grew stronger, the flames that were so strongly feared reaching higher.

She did not like this man.

When the scream finally died (though its echoes had not) she shook her head, desperate to get the ringing out of her head, flapping her wings to shoo away some of the anxiety and adrenaline coursing through her. “Are you mad?!” Simi finally screeched, the stress and the pain too much for her to bear. “You're only making it worse! No one wants to fight you! Calm down or your stupid fire will never be able to go away!!!”

How many times, now, had the reaper been told this?

Her eyes flickered over, briefly, to the donkey with concern. He seemed to still be on the ground, staring wide-eyed up at Dalsh.

No scream, no act of defense, could stop her flames and neither could any act of Simi's. Once the unliving antihero could realize this, things would go a lot more smoothly.

OOC: I'll probably have her turn unicorn in the next post. ^^

[Sky Lily]

OOC: I'm not sure if we'll be able to finish this before the 3 day lockdown and the locking of all winter topics. If anyone is interested in continuing, we could always keep this roleplay going in "Hidden Visions Reflected" form =)

[ZeroDrawn]

===OOC===
The drama llama is parading openly through the center of town! And I'm up for continuing this through whatever means necessary if everyone else is!

===IC===

Suspense was high in the air as the situation was moving in uncertain directions. Simi, proud and brilliant stood poised against Dalsh, who was on the defensive. Ro had risen to his feet and Ze had shuffled up behind him, paws upon the black twin's shoulders and chin rested there as well.

"Stay back," said the Quillirian, tensity apparent throughout his form. Sir Arthur Gallaoats, Knight of the Round Stable had made himself known just prior, trying to diffuse the situation with a call for peace. Dalsh began to back up, and the furr on the back of Ro's neck prickled - he sensed something bad was soon to happen, and it was likely that Ze felt the very same thing with the way the white neko gripped his brother even tighter.

"That's the idea right now. Let's just calm down. This was all a misunderstandi-- Err, what are you doing, n--" Neither of them could have truly been prepared for what happened next, and it seemed that the donkeyknight and Simi herself were affected in much the same way.

An obsidian nightmare of a scream tore it's way out of the Quillirian's lungs and sliced as audible knives through the air. Ze flinched first, reeling backwards suddenly and screaming in terrified fright as he jammed his paws over his ears and tripped over his feet, tumbling backwards and falling into the fetal position, squeaking and rubbing his ears frantically Tears streamed openly down his face, and Ze's mind was clouded with fear, pain, and panic.

Ro was abruptly forced to one knee, paws also over his ears as he cringed and let out his own cry of pain, body twitching with miniature convulsion as a shock to his system. Utterly disoriented and confused, he could do naught for that moment but utilize all his strength just to keep from falling down.

It almost felt like an eternity...so intense and deeply affecting was the scream, Ro had no idea it had stopped until many moments after it had, nor had he any sense of the condition of the others near him. It was only then that he felt the stinging pain in the sides of his head, and pulled his paws away to witness his claws stained with blood. Without realizing it, he had dug his claws into his head, puncture wounds bleeding openly near his ears - unlike normal people, his blood would not clot and those wounds would not mend themselves for quite a lengthy span of time, leaving them to bleed continuously. He grunted with frustration, but had no time to pay attention to it, for it was now that Simi spoke.

“Are you mad?!” Cried the UniPhoenix, clearly much frustration and stress apparent in her voice. “You're only making it worse! No one wants to fight you! Calm down or your stupid fire will never be able to go away!!!”

Once again Simi was showing an impressive side of herself...something that Zero as a whole respected and envied. Even in the face of what had just occurred, the uniphoenix was not backing down...Ro may have dwelt more on this, until the sounds of a soft, squeaking sob pierced the ringing of his ears. His gaze snapped over his shoulder, to where he witnessed the curled up form of Ze, who's eyes were shut tight and who's cheeks were stained with tears.

Nothing else mattered to him as he stumbled a bit unsteadily to his feet, about-faced, and ran to his twin, skidding to a halt on his knees next to the snowy white feline. He gently slipped an arm under Ze's head to prop it up, causing the neko to squeak and go tense. Ro whispered gently to his twin - it was the voice of his familiar that calmed him, but only for a few moments as Ze began to openly cry. Ro hugged his brother's head against his chest and nosed him, meowing quietly. He no longer had a mind for the situation around him - Simi was perfectly capable of handling it on her own. All that mattered to him at the moment was comforting Ze.

It wasn't hard to imagine why, either - Ro knew exactly the emotions Ze was experiencing, and without the emotional support normally brought on by the full Zero's counterbalancing thoughts and logic, Ze was far more sensitive to emotional trauma. He needed to be calmed down, lest something terrible were to happen to him.

"It's okay....it's okay..." Even as small driplet trails of liquid blood seeped from his headwounds, Ro registered naught but his brother alone.

[Schingiuire]

The flames only increased causing Dalsh to take a quick step back, his black eyes wide as he watched. He seemed to come to his senses a bit, shaking his head and looking down at the donkey beast he had been talking with before the infuriating interruption. As he had hoped, the scream took out most other distractions, but did nothing it appeared but add fuel to the fire with the creature he was most concerned about.

"Perhaps you should look before you lunge into a situation!" he snarled at the flaming creature. "I am not here to do anyone ill, and I do not appreciate having such things declared to my face by a bird and its kittens!" The necromancer looked down at the donkey, frowning. This one had done nothing against him, other than, it seemed, trying to get everyone calm. Pity.

He never did understand those that jumped in the line of fire to save another. Dalsh's black eyes leveled upon the phoenix. "Your own stupid actions of dashing into this conversation where you are not welcome nor wanted with whatever intentions you had are no fault of mine."

[Gaius]

((First blood! By Ro on... Ro. ... Damn you, absence of lightheartedness! *begins assembling wards against drama, resembling comedy masks*))

There had been a brief dip in the area's tension when the Quillirian scream came to its end, as its recipients were no longer directly assaulted, and the screamer saw some of his problems dealt with. But the dip was small, and things tensed right up again. The five dealt, in one way or another, with damage to mind, body, and friends, and with lingering threats. Simi and Dalsh entered into a shouting match, as Ze and Ro shared a brotherly moment, the eye in the storm of fire and words around them. And Devon... Well, with volleys of glares and harsh words shooting about over his prone form, he was obviously there in some ways, but in others... not so much.

The poor guy couldn't hear a word anyone was saying (or that they were saying anything) and could only barely perceive through his squint the unliving shape before him, much less its facial expression. Devon could detect that damn ringing, though. He wished it would go away. Of course, when it did, his ears' sharp pain would have nowhere to hide and he'd have to deal with that, too. And the pain wasn't just from the wail they'd been subjected to: it hadn't tickled when that pair of clumsy hooves had clamped down on them. The donkey-person couldn't remember when he'd hurt this much. He could barely think; after the one-two punch of Dalsh's laughter and startled cry, taking that haymaker head on had been just too much. It was the price of having some of the keenest ears in the Forest, but he was really not enjoying the payment.

Devon's mind really wasn't in any state for coherent, italicized thoughts, so let's look at something more interesting: Congress. ... No, the drama hasn't driven me batty: this is just the set-up! Okay, the Congress of Devon's mind. It in some ways like the US Congress, but a bit more meta and a lot more freeform. As was especially apparent at that moment. Usually, the bits and pieces of his self went about rather peaceably, but there were times when events in this Congress could be likened to the caning of Senator Sumner. With a dash of Hamilton vs. Burr thrown in. Dialed up to eleven.

It was a duel. In one corner, Guardian, wearing armor split into black and white sides by a line of blue down the middle, with a feline head on each shoulder and a blue plume in the helmet. In the other, Mediator, garbed largely gray armor, though not without its own blacks, whites, and blues, with quill-like spikes ornamenting the helm. Mediator's shield featured an odd scene: a teaparty, in attendance a bird, a corpse, two cats, and a figure that, depending on how the light fell, was either a man or a donkey. Guardian's shield featured no scene at all; he'd been a bit busy casting 'Smite Undead' on his sword, as a symbolic gesture. There was much murmuring from the crowd. The two were often the best of friends. But each faced the other, determined and stubborn as mules -- not inappropriate, given Devon's shape. In any case, it was going to be quite a battle.

So, let's cut back outside the metaphor of donkey boy's mind. He wondered if he should try getting up. But, aside from concerns that he might not be able to pull it off, part of him didn't really want to. The ground was sturdy. It was something he could rely on. Which, at the moment, was more than he could say for any other direction: he was feeling woozy and dizzy, and there was a good reason for this. That ears play a role in hearing is news to nobody, but people often forget about how vital they are for one's sense of body position and balance. This was a discovery Devon made when he felt -- and not 'decided,' as he was in no state to properly decide anything -- he should pull himself up. Shakily, and still in a functional vacuum of sound, he moved a bit, and managed to raise his upper half onto his forelegs. That did feel better. For a bit. Then the donkey slid forward, neck and muzzle's underside smacking into the grass, and he gave a pitiful little "Haw." And, to banish any question about just how addled his mind was, he found nothing embarrassing about this.

((Apologies for the self-indulgence in there; the idea just came to me and I couldn't let it go. ^_^o

Anyway, unless you can post crazy fast, Sky, I guess I'm claiming the last post in The Forest. Though it means you'll get to break in the Hidden Visions Reflected thread. Sorry for taking a while, and see ya in the new forum, everybody!))

[Sky Lily]

OOC: Yeah, I'll just wait it out ;P Poor Devon, though, those ears certainly aren't good for hearing unworldly screams!

[Sky Lily]

"Perhaps you should look before you lunge into a situation!" the reaper snarled with a thick gravel voice, his dark, fierce eyes boring into Simi’s. "I am not here to do anyone ill, and I do not appreciate having such things declared to my face by a bird and its kittens!" He gave a brief, frowning glance at the donkey, which she thought may be a look of concern. Maybe.

Simi took a slight step back with her left foot, spreading her wings slightly in warning. The quillirian was intimidating in his shape and appearance alone, and though nothing could be as awful as that screech, his black glare had actually forced the phoenix to blink. She was beginning get a little dizzy and her focus was struggling. Ro’s pain, and Ze’s trauma, were affecting her, and not in a good way. Within the phoenix’s head spun thoughts concerning the reaper, a burning, bleeding pain in the ears, and a deep, shaken fear that was causing her own heart to race a little faster. It hurt the phoenix, knowing how much her companions had endured, and it gave her some guilt. If it weren’t for her fire, that scream........

If only I could have controlled it....

"Your own stupid actions of dashing into this conversation where you are not welcome nor wanted with whatever intentions you had are no fault of mine."

The unliving man’s words caused Simi to raise her head, sharply. He clearly was addressing her alone, though he may have also been referring to the two nekojins behind her. Either way, she found his last sentence highly insensitive to his own faults, and the pain he had caused to everyone around him.

“I told you already,” Simi spoke in a low, pushed tone, “I can’t control my fire. I came here being as polite as I could, but all you were focused on were my feathers.” It was you who over-reacted, not I! she wanted to add, but didn’t want to say anthing more than what was necessary. It might anger the creature to do something even worse, and her presence alone had made everything bad enough. However, at least her fire was slowly, but steadily, starting to die down.

“And it’s a good thing I ‘dashed’ in, isn’t it? Otherwise you would have ended up ripping apart two obviously harmless newcomers with those.... th.... things of yours.” That was probably the one thing she didn't regret about her actions. If the situation had been left in the control of Dalsh alone, who knew what could have happened to Ze and Ro?

Speaking of which, now the phoenix found herself leaning forward slightly, blinking as her dizziness began to take hold of her. As uncontrollable as Simi’s fire was, so were the emotional waves coming from Ze and Ro. She was losing her focus due to the nekogins' own dilemnas, and her mind and emotions were growing weary with the burden.

She looked up one last time at the undead man, her gaze unforgiving. A.... a newborn foal could stick his tongue out at you, and you’d think he wanted to eat you alive. However, she was well aware of the unneeded drama her flames had caused, and decided that it would greatly benefit the situation if she did her part to take out some tension. After all, since Dalsh clearly wasn’t going act responsibly, she could just be the mature one here.

So, turning her head disdainfully away from the reaper, Simi pushed her wings out in front of her, putting some weight on them as if she was on all fours. She was going to return to her shape that held no fire- that of a unicorn.

The transition wasn’t rushed, but it wasn’t slow, either. Within a minute her feathers changed into fur, her beak morphed into a muzzle, her wings and legs stretched into an equine’s legs and hooves, and a horn slowly protruded from her forehead as a unicorn’s mane fell down her neck. The shape left standing was a sky-blue unicorn with a dark purple spot on her back and a horn the color of ice. The blue fire had ceased to exist.

Behind her, a low moan sounding like a “Haw,” came from the donkey, and Simi turned her head to look at him with concern. The poor guy... with those ears the scream probably had even worse of an effect on his long, swivelling ears. However, Simi wasn’t ready to go by him. Not with that decaying man standing right by the hybrid. He may still feel threatened by her, and might put up yet another wonderful show if she tried approaching.

So the unicorn came to the two victims who were closer in her range. She walked toward them slowly, not wanting to accidentally startle either one, and lowered her head to a level where they wouldn’t have to look up at her. She nosed Ze’s ear gently, trying to give some comfort and to ease his shaken state. “It’s okay, everything’s okay, now....” Her eye glanced over worriedly at Ro, whose throbbing wounds were bleeding freely. Apparently he had gripped his ears too hard in trying to block out the quillirian’s scream.

“You want me to help you with that?” She asked softly.

OOC: Hey look, it's Dalsh's uni!