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Post by syrano on Jun 20, 2019 2:57:20 GMT
[ Oto Syrano | Tall Grass | Archer IV ]
The horrid noise, it came back. It was louder, and accompanied with trembling. He could barely keep his balance. His skirts flared and reorganized themselves so he could stay standing. It hurt, it hurt very badly. He felt the explosion, and now he was fully convinced of the impending danger.
"T-there's an outcropping around this hill--Take cover there. If you truly would like to 'get moving', I will help you. But I expect recompense." He found himself blurting out, and beginning to move towards the same outcropping. In fact, outcropping wasn't quite the right word. It was more like a single step, and then a particularly large puddle, a spring, covered in algae not native to the planet...
Syrano maneuvered the best he could. He was not capable of running, but his skirts curled up and lifted off the ground enough that he was not dragging himself either. He left a continuous trail of slime in the grass, ropes of it connecting the soft blades to his skirts or his feet. When he came to the water's edge, he crouched nearby. He allowed himself to fall forward, head first, in a sort of roll.
It was surprisingly deep. Syrano felt relief allowing his skirts to unfurl to their full size, and gracious was he large, even for his own kind. His cerata came to life, spreading in every direction and standing straight up to make himself seem larger. Even his colors seemed just a touch brighter...He glanced around for the strange creature, wondering if it would follow. And wondering if he would live through this.
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Post by Absinthe on Jun 28, 2019 4:36:49 GMT
[ Helen Locke | tall grass and wetland area 2.5 KM from the Miolian Research Outpost | Archer IV ] attn: syrano Without another easily available option, Helen followed after the strange alien. She wasn't certain she quite liked the odd creature, he came across as more stuck up then even her ex-wife had been when they had first met. The outcropping was not an impressive shelter, but it was better than nothing. She did her best to avoid walking in the alien creature's slime trail. She wasn't certain what the effect would be on her if she did. She knew that the planet had a pollen known to be harmful, so she had a feeling that life on the planet would have some kind of problem with it. She did her best to press herself against the wall of the outcropping and was amazed as the alien disappeared into the algae covered depths of what looked like nothing more than a small pond. With a second to think she sent a ping to the outpost to let them know she was okay, she didn't dare send anything more complicated than that, as close as she was to the ship that had crashed there was a good chance anything more than a single ping would likely summon them to that exact spot. What happened next was the result of many factors, not least of them was the fact that of all things Helen was, outdoorsy was not high on that list. Thus as a combination of her own ineptitude, a slime-covered ground, and a lack of focus, she lost her footing as she turned to try and scan for life signs again. She had turned the device on but it slipped in her hand and in an attempt to catch it she stupidly reached forward and slipped, falling forward and into the pond. her respirator mask quickly got saturated and became useless as slipped into the water. |
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Post by syrano on Jun 28, 2019 4:55:58 GMT
[ Oto Syrano | Tall Grass | Archer IV ]
The thing fell. It was quite an amusing scene, if they were not in some immediate danger. It was confusing to him that the creature did not immediately sink into the water, just as he did, and as he watched it swim he realized why. This creature was not at all built for underwater navigation. It swam like nothing he had ever seen before. It’s coverings had such a significant amount of drag too.
He didn’t realize it’s mouth was actually just a covering. Strange, why would it have the need to do such a thing? Perhaps it’s mouth was sensitive? If that was the case, he pitied this creature’s gills then.
Syrano’s own gills came to life, filtering out the water. It felt strange here--too freshwater for his liking. It didn’t hurt, but it felt wrong. He watched the creature struggle in the water and truly contemplated the next move--did he really want to extend any mercy? It was truly a pathetic, weak creature that shared the pond with him. He could easily leave it. No, he decided, this was his leverage. Strike while opportunity was here. He reached out and grabbed the ankle of this creature--goodness, what powerful limbs it possessed. How did it stumble around so much on land with power like this?
Regardless, Syrano pulled it down towards him and wrapped his arms around it’s chest--wait, what were those horrid lumps? Tumors? And that awful mop of fibers sprouting from it’s head swayed every which way. Disgusting--but he did not pay it further mind. In a swift motion, he began movement, descending deeper into the pond, dragging this creature with him, though he did not descend all the way to it’s depths. There was a cavern here, the entrance to a spring. It was horribly dark,but Syrano’s eyes adjusted to the low light.
More than that, they were fighting a current. However Syrano did not struggle. His body and the creature’s made it through the entrance, skirts billowing behind him like shoving a jellyfish through a crack in the wall. It took some time, precious time that he did not know this creature did not have to get them all the way through. However, once he fully collected his skirts, he placed one leg on either side of the crack in the walls. He crouched down, power building in his skirts, and then…
He was off. With her in tow, fighting a current, it felt like they were going impossibly fast, in near darkness. Much to Syrano’s frustration, he was actually going slowly, in his mind. This creature was horribly suited for water. They left behind the crashes, the screeching, the horrible noise and now there was only the rush of water…
So it continued for moments, with no flashes of light to illustrate where they were going, save for mild bioluminescence from Syrano himself. Bubbles were the only way to tell which direction they were going, angling down and to the left a ways, and then turning sharply upwards. It seemed to go on forever, until finally Syrano broke water’s surface, taking the creature’s head with him.
“You are impossibly slow in the water--how do you swim? In fact--do you?” He had begun to suspect, perhaps she was not quite so waterborne as he was. The cave around them was dark, but the purple glowing lines on Syrano’s face--not visible in daylight--made the water around them sparkle. Below them, the currents pressed on, but Syrano held fast so that she did not have to struggle to tread water.
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Post by Absinthe on Jul 3, 2019 4:48:40 GMT
[ Helen Locke | Underground cave system, 2.5 KM from the Miolian Research Outpost | Archer IV ] attn: syrano Swimming was hardly an option, between the shock of slipping into the water and her filtration mask coming off, along with a mouthful of foul-tasting water, Helen was all but useless in the water. She all but panicked when the strange alien grabbed her and began to drag her to the murky depths. She figured that was it and she was going to die, not quite how she saw it coming, but there was little she could do. Her world spun as he dragged her through the water. The edges of her vision seemed to fog and the water burned her eyes. She didn't know how much longer she could hold on. Her lungs burned and she needed air, she had to breath, she was going to suffocate in a dark muck-filled pit fill of murky water and her body would never be found. Knowing her luck the alien thing would eat her and they'd never even find so much as a bone. And then suddenly she was pulled up and into a pocket of air. She gasped and choked as more of the foul water entered her mouth as she bobbed in the darkness. She couldn't see a thing, but she could feel the alien still there. She thought she heard him say something, but she couldn't be sure. Her eyes burned so badly she thought she saw some kind of light, but she couldn't be sure, everything was blurred. " Wha?" she coughed and held onto the alien. It felt disgustingly slimy to the touch, but it was, at that point, the only thing keeping her from drowning in the darkness. |
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Post by syrano on Jul 3, 2019 5:06:15 GMT
[ Oto Syrano | Behind the Outpost | Archer IV ]
Ugh, the flesh of this creature was disgusting. So textured! So rough! It smeared off the slime coating his own skin. Disgusting, horrible!!
“I said,” He began again, an overtone of distaste entering his voice, “Do you swim? Though, I’m guessing the answer is no. Hold your breath then, this is the longest part of the journey, you will be without air. Take a breath. And--” He placed his hand over the creature’s face and smeared. A gob of slime covered the orfices that he recognized--mouth and nose and eyes. It might make the creature sick, he recognized, but it would keep the bacteria and parasites in the water out--which would definitely make the creature sick.
With that, he dove once more, and with all the power in his body, forged onward. They went down this time, down a narrow crevice, deeper into the earth, and then there was a tight pinch. A fork in the caverns--he could go left or upwards. He chose upwards. That path led to the side. It all went by so fast, he had no time for details, just motion. Move, move faster, go faster…He had no use for a dead body.
There was light. There was light up ahead, like heaven itself rushing towards them. A tiny pinprick. Syrano could make it through on his own, though his shoulders occasionally impeded him. Would he be able to make it with a guest? He didn’t have much of a choice, did he? He fought the currents, he shoved his way through the hole, he kicked and shouldered and bruised himself rather spectacularly--but he made it. He forged on upwards and broke the surface once more.
They were in another part of the planet. There was a waterfall feeding this pond. The sound was roaring. Syrano did not bother to talk, but instead gently eased himself and her towards the shore. In the distance was the outpost--they were close. This was the pond Syrano used to spy on the aliens. As he came closer to the shore, he let her go.
“This for that. You are in my debt now.” He warned her.
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Post by Absinthe on Jul 3, 2019 7:38:08 GMT
[ Helen Locke | Pond in the tall grass, 0.5 KM from the Miolian Research Outpost | Archer IV ] attn: syrano And with barely a chance to catch her breath the disgusting creature clamped it's slime covered hand over her mouth and dragged her under the water once more. Only this time it was both worse and marginally better, at least this time she got the feeling that he wasn't actually trying to drown her, though he might have done just that. This journey was much tighter and she found her legs and arms slapping against the cold hard stone. She wondered if she was getting cut up or just scrapped all to hell, either way, she knew she was getting bruised the fuck up. And then they emerged into the blinding sunlight and before she could stop herself she was gulping down the fresh air, trying desperately to fill her lungs. Her limbs ached and stung. She had a couple of minor cuts from the jagged rocks down below. Her crimson blood leaked out at barely a trickle, but she knew well enough that thanks to the filthy water she was at a high risk to wind up dead from infection unless she got back to the outpost and to a med kit. " Fuck..." she breathed as she collapsed on the shoreline of what she had thought was a small pond when she had seen it before. It was familiar enough that she basically knew where she was. If she pulled herself to her elbows she would have been able to see the outpost. " I owe you one... sure..." She was in no position to argue, she felt like she had been hit by a truck and she had learned nothing. The whole trip had been a bust and she felt like she wanted to vomit, the foul taste of the water and the slime of the creature clung to the inside of her mouth. " I suppose I should thank you..." With a soaked hand, she did her best to wipe off her face, but the soft muddy ground had already gotten on her hands and she only smeared her face with mud instead. All she could do was just lay there and try to regain her strength. " So, for what it's worth, thanks..." |
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Post by syrano on Aug 3, 2019 1:50:00 GMT
[ Oto Syrano | Behind the Outpost | Archer IV ]
What a horrid thing this creature was. It bled! It bled, but it bled a strange color, something bright and vibrant. As he scanned her over with his eyes, he concluded that it must bleed some toxic substance. Perhaps that was it's defense mechanism?
"Place the mucin on your wounds. It will offer some antibacterial protection. Provided that you have immunity to my bacteria in the first place. And...words are not worth what I have given you. I will give you my terms: I want passage off this planet. The next ship that comes by, you will find me. I will be here. This for that." He offered her a pointed look, and his colors subtly became more vibrant. At home, it was a threatening look. He sank beneath the waters once more, though only just. He was submerged, but still watching Helen...
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Post by Absinthe on Aug 4, 2019 3:42:11 GMT
[ Helen Locke | Pond in the tall grass, 0.5 KM from the Miolian Research Outpost | Archer IV ] attn: syrano Helen breathed through her wet uniform and nodded. She needed to get back to the base and out of the quite possibly pollen rich air. "Sure, fine whatever. The second a ship comes by I will come and get you and you can get off this planet," she said not even really thinking about it. The next supply ship wasn't due till nearly the end of the year, months out. It would hardly matter to her if he got on board. She was halfway tempted to join him and transfer anywhere else. She was getting tired of all the slime and muck on the planet. She wanted to return to a clean and sterile spaceship, far away from the poisoned air and pissed of growling aliens on the comm. Maybe she'd see if she could get herself stationed on Earth. " I'll make sure of it," she said as she got to her feet. She could already feel her anxiety rising. She wasn't sure if it was the odd alien or just pollen messing with her brain. " But I need to go. Next ship, I'll come to this pond and meet you here." She turned and hurried back to the outpost, doing her best to keep her face covered. By the time she got back she knew damn well that it was the pollen because her vision was starting to get messed up. She hated it, but she knew she was going to have to ask Sabre for more of his special anti-toxin. The only problem was that he liked to suspend it in alcohol and that usually led to half a dozen beers and a night of hearing about all of Sabre's previous asshole lovers. |
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