Inside

[Earl of Purple]

Real Arcade

"Sure, but I figured it out faster! Stop complaining, you're still playing." And she might not be, if she'd not figured it out in time.

Agate draws back another shot before remembering she hasn't pulled an arrow out of the quiver, and starts again this time with an arrow, aiming for the goblin king's head. Eye would be ideal, but she's not expecting such perfect accuracy.

[Rebonack]

[Draco Street Bakery]

Wow that's a whole lot of unspoken speculation!

Sadly Lex can't hear any of it and so he doesn't have anything to say. BUT! He might learn the answers to some of those questions as time goes on! After all, he only hatched recently and he's still learning how to dragon properly. No doubt he'll make some headway eventually.

Anywho!

"Maybe it doesn't really matter what a dragon is," Lex wonders aloud. "The place my home town came from, some people got fussy over what counted as a REAL dragon or not. Like, what if they've only got two legs and wings? Or what if they're just a big snake with lots of heads that breaths poison gas? Or what if they're a big snaky critter with NO WINGS but can fly anyway? I don't think it really matters very much, especially since I don't want to gate-keep anyone who thinks they're a dragon. If thinking they're a dragon makes them happy then that's just fine!"

[Morty]

[Cry Havoc]

Anyone else might be a crumpled heap against the nearest wall by now, but Wenomir somehow sees the elf coming and bends out of the way just in time. With little time to react, he tries to slice through the elf's leg, to see how quickly he'll regenerate from it. Regardless of how well it works, he springs away to a nearby burning car... then thrusts a dagger he took out of its sheath into the flame.

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

"I mean, I feel like a dragon." Rowan insists.
He doesn't mention that he sometimes likes to roll around on his pile of baubles and "get in character." That's kind of embarrassing.
"Um. Well. I guess I should ask if you know something about...dragon spirits? Dragon ghosts? Um. Immaterial dragons that possess people." he decides to ask.

[Gold]

Octavia pauses doubtfully, unsure whether to take Micah's word for it. But upon seeing the demon obey his command without question, she relaxes. A flick of her wrist dismisses her sword into light, which reforms into her usual video camera.

-ah, i'm sorry! i didn't realize that you were in control of the beast- She laughs, more in relief than anything else, a sound like bells ringing. -you must think me awfully silly for being so jumpy-

Stepping forward, she zooms in on the demon's face. -this is very impressive. you say it's not real, but can it affect the real world? or is it only to be used in the game?-

[To Lore & Game]

Micah breathes a sigh of relief when Octavia puts her sword away. In hindsight, summoning a demon monster around an angel might not have been one of his smartest moves - but then again, he had simply summoned the monster he happened to draw, and Micah placed enough trust in his deck to believe that there was a reason for every card he drew.

Distracted by the soothing bell-like sound of Octavia's laughter, Micah almost forgets to say anything, but he snaps out of it soon enough to respond with an unconvincing "Don't worry, Octavia - it's a perfectly normal reaction to seeing this kind of technology."

Watching Octavia get closer to the still-stationary archfiend, Micah explains "Well, the disk makes your opponent feel each hit you land. Usually through gusts of wind and shockwaves, but occasionally extreme temperatures and, in my Archfiend's case, light shocks too.

[Shadowcaller]

Draco Street Bakery

"Well, classifications are important for various scientific endeavors, like mine, so for those it matters. However, as we're dealing with dragons that are also people they should have a say in things. Besides, classification systems have used subcategories before so there's no reason to not do so now and see different kinds of dragons rather than restrict it so heavily." Ambrosia looks down at her notes and is about to steer the conversation back to guardian dragons when Rowan asks her something which catches her interest.

"Oh, plenty. It's in fact the kind of dragon I know the most about since it sounds similar to the ones of my home world."

[Rebonack]

[Draco Street Bakery]

Lex just shrugs and eats another cookie.

Trying to fit living things into neat little boxes doesn't strike him as a very important activity. But then again, his interest is in other realms of knowledge. Whether something is the same species or not seems way to subjective too him when compared to how one compound will react with another.

But then!

A new topic!

"Oooh, ghost dragons! Like the spooky dead kind? Is that even a real thing? Why would a dragon possess someone?" Lex asks.

The whole idea of a dragon of all things possessing someone strikes him as incredibly far fetched.

[bc56]

Cry Havoc
Kothar is grabbed and thrown. However, the angelephant might be surprised when he turns in midair and strikes at its wrist with his axe; his enhanced strength (he could also throw cars around if he wanted) might be enough to shear clean through, and regardless, the arcane and divine flames swirling around his weapon will probably cauterize the wound.
He continues on his trajectory away from the creature and lands on his feet, sliding across the ground a short distance before raising his axe and shield again to prepare for another assault.

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

"Well I think I mentioned it, but my boyfriend got here because he was eaten by a dragon but he appeared in the Nexus in her shape. It's kind of ephemeral and poofs if he gets too excited. But one time he spoke in his sleep as her and she threatened me so...I think he's kind of possessed?"
It is actually weirder than his own circumstances, which are fairly unusual.

[Shadowcaller]

[Draco Street Bakery]

Ambrosia looks to Lex and nods. "I haven't actually talked or even seen a 'ghost dragon' but I've read about them and I've even seen a dragon conjuring something similar, the spirits of their ancestors." Which weren't strictly ghosts since they didn't exist independently or did any of the classic ghost stuff despite also being spirits.

"Ghost dragons usually don't possess people but it's theoretically possible since they seem to be similar to any other kind of ghost."

She turns back to Rowan. "But that said, the dragons of my own plane were not strictly ghosts but were capable of doing similar things such as going through walls or interacting with spirits. They were physical beings however and I never read an account of them possessing anyone."

She makes a flat handed gesture. "But what I'm saying is, this could be a lot of things so I would need more information before I could identify it."

[quillpleasant]

Cry Havoc

Raheeda's glaive flies through the air, the sudden attack catching the mutated woman off guard. It slices her normal shoulder, the burning metal hissing against her flesh. But she barely reacts, only glancing down at the wound with a look of annoyance. Perhaps she doesn't feel pain?

The rodentipede certainly does though. The glaive bisects the monstrosity, the heat scorching its flesh as it falls in two halves, and it lets out a wailing death shriek. Inside it's strangely dense, with no visible internal organs and a very rudimentary skeletal structure.

But its twin is ready, dodging to the side with lightning reflexes before rearing up to strike at Raheeda's neck. At the same time, the two halves of the first rodentipede, still twitching, lash out to entangle her legs.

"What's wrong with us?" echoes the woman, her voice bitter and detached, "Nothing we chose."

The masked elf sprawls in the street after Wenomir's evasive maneuver, his leg bouncing down a few feet away. It takes him only a moment to recover, spinning around with gnashing teeth. But there's something odd- he doesn't seem to know where the swordsman has gone.

He tilts his head, listening. After a moment he scuttles over to his leg and presses it against his stump, shadowy fibers knitting them back together in an instant.

There's a lot of limb chopping going on. Kothar's axe sheers halfway through the angelephant's wrist, the cauterizing effect releasing a powerful scent of vanilla into the air. Unlike the rodentipedes, this creature seems to be almost entirely bone on the inside, its skeletal structure far more complex than most humanoids.

The behemoth bellows in rage, beady eyes fixed on the lizard warrior. Raising its other arm, there's a reverberating hum of power before a beam of energy lances out towards him, the air ripping with heat. It's an exceptionally powerful attack, but there's a moment of charging time that might allow a rush for cover.

---

To Lore & Game

Octavia leans in close to the demon, clearly fascinated. -so its effects are just to create the illusion of a real combat, and increase the thrill of the game? and everyone taking part agrees to this? how delightful!-

It's not irony. To Octavia, combat has always been an unfortunate necessity, but mimicking aspects of it in a controlled way sounds... well, fun. Which is still a concept she's exploring.

-i imagine you could use it to intimidate people who are unaware of its nature. few would dare to attack someone they perceived as being a demon master- Seems like a useful, if unintended benefit.

The angel studies the creature for a moment longer, then impulsively reaches out to poke it before teleporting a good fifteen feet back. She knows it's safe, of course. But she's not taking any chances.

-so you can create other beings as well? like the herald of the arc light?-

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

Rowan reaches into an apron pocket and pulls out a very large phone which is quite small in his hand.
”…would you be willing to meet him? He could probably be here in twenty minutes if I called.” he asks Ambrosia.

[Shadowcaller]

Cry Havoc

Raheeda's glaive flies through the air, the sudden attack catching the mutated woman off guard. It slices her normal shoulder, the burning metal hissing against her flesh. But she barely reacts, only glancing down at the wound with a look of annoyance. Perhaps she doesn't feel pain?

The rodentipede certainly does though. The glaive bisects the monstrosity, the heat scorching its flesh as it falls in two halves, and it lets out a wailing death shriek. Inside it's strangely dense, with no visible internal organs and a very rudimentary skeletal structure.

But its twin is ready, dodging to the side with lightning reflexes before rearing up to strike at Raheeda's neck. At the same time, the two halves of the first rodentipede, still twitching, lash out to entangle her legs.

"What's wrong with us?" echoes the woman, her voice bitter and detached, "Nothing we chose."

Cry Havoc

As the cover misses its mark Raheeda is still tracking it with her mind. It might be too fast for her eyes to follow but they gave her enough information to predict its path.
And the moment it would be at her neck.

In a flash she slams the pommel of the glaive into its head and then grabs a hold of it. Attempting to use its momentum against it in an elaborate judo throw. Swinging it against the new creatures now going against her legs. Demonstrating strength well beyond what she looks capable of.

She then steps away from her foes in a way that makes it appear more as if she's leaping backwards.
Ending with her bumping into the back of Kothar just as he's readying himself for another assault.
"Ouff."

[bc56]

Parkside Cafe
Jade likes this place. They have chairs for people with tails, the breakfast is good and the coffee's not bad, and the view of the spooky forest outside contrasted with the homely, rustic architecture creates a cozy atmosphere.
... What is it with Inside's parks all being spooky forests and other deathtraps? But ghat's not important right now.

The nine-tailed foxgirl sits by the window and sips her coffee. She's dressed in athletic wear; this is a break on her daily morning run. Just 15 or so minutes of rest and coffee before setting out again.

Cry Havoc
Kothar sees the weapon charging. He doesn't know exactly what it is, but he's familiar with dragon breath and other attacks that need to charge up before striking. He prepares to dodge out of the way...
And then someone bumps into him from behind.

All of a sudden his attitude changes. "DOWN!" He practically shoves Raheeda to the ground and raises his shield to cover both of them. The enchanted object will resist the plasma blast unharmed, and Kothar will take the brunt of what gets through.

[Morty]

[Cry Havoc]

Curious. Is this elf blind? Or did the decapitation accomplish it? No time to speculate. Wenomir stays still for a moment before leaping into the air and dropping down on top of the elf. He seeks to pin him to the ground with his feet and his sword while thrusting the dagger into him, releasing the held fire charge to scorch him from the inside.

[Keeper]

Parkside Cafe

The calm air is pierced by a chilling interruption: a scream of pain from somewhere behind the restaurant and a low rumbling. The other patrons seem worried, but no one else gets up.

[bc56]

Parkside Cafe
Nobody's calling the cops or anything? Inside is weirdly full of bystanders, isn't it?
Jade quickly sets her coffee down and runs out the door, circling around behind the restaurant. She pulls her phone out, intending to dial 911 as soon as she ascertains that there's an emergency.

[Keeper]

Parkside Cafe

Behind the restaurant is a sight alright. Hiding behind a trash can is a white fox with hints of red in his coat, bleeding badly from a number of black spikes pierced through him. Looming over him is a strange floating beast of bizarrely bright colors shape somewhat like a stingray with eyes all down its back. Even as Jade watches it fires more spikes from its underside at the fox behind its thin metal cover. From the sound it made, the trash can isn't helping much.

[bc56]

Parkside Cafe
"Hey! Stop!" Jade isn't armed. She's not armored either. If that thing manages to spike her, she's in trouble.

But letting an innocent fox get killed is not in her nature.

She twists the dial of her watch and a shield of light springs forth from it. "Leave him alone!" She lashes out with a kick, hoping it will have some effect, even just to distract the entity from further wounding the fox.

[Keeper]

Parkside Cafe

The monster seems well, like a thing that got kicked by a normal person. It felt it, but it seems mostly just annoyed.
It turns its attention to Jade, and fires a bunch of spines at her chest!

[bc56]

Parkside Cafe
It's not targeting the injured fox anymore! Success!

Oh wait.

Fortunately, Jade has a shield. She deflects the spikes with the luminous barrier, then steps forward and slams the edge of the hardlight surface into the creature, aiming for its eyes (it seems to have plenty of those to hit). Getting hit with it is like getting hit with any blunt object, except this one glows brightly and is warm to the touch.

[Keeper]

Parkside Cafe

The ray counters this daring move by-

Flying up about six feet.
And continuing to shoot spines at her.
This might be problematic with a melee weapon.

[bc56]

Parkside Cafe
Oh come on!
Jade holds the shield above her head to deflect the rain of spines and searches around.
She needs a rock, a brick, a branch, any kind of random debris. Something she can throw.
Sadly, the area seems barren of aerodynamic projectiles.
"Fine. Fine!" She raises her hand, points, and concentrates. A blitz of green fire lances out at the floating eye-ray-thing. It's not a pretty spell; it sparks and sputters along its way, but a blast of fire is a blast of fire.

[quillpleasant]

Cry Havoc

Raheeda is able to block the rodentipede's attack, its teeth scraping against the shaft of her glaive. Not expecting the acrobatic maneuvers, it's sent flying, tangling up in its dying brother as they thrash around wildly.

But of course, Raheeda's movements put her next to Kothar, and thus in the way of the plasma burst. Its lucky they have that shield, as it succeeds in blocking most of the energy. But some cascades around the edges, splattering on Kothar and burning painfully.

The angelephant seems to need time between shots, but it's not standing idly by. Wrapping its trunk around its half chopped hand, it rips it the rest of the way off. Then the tangle of bones within seems to shudder before extending into a bladelike protrusion from the stump. In moments, a large bone cleaver has been created, and it knocks it against its tusks with a dreadful clatter, bellowing a challenge.

The living rodentipede has given up the chase for now, and seems more intent on consuming the dead one than continuing the attack. So that's probably not worrisome at all.

The helmeted elf seems to catch onto Wenomir's position a moment too late, glancing up with a snarl just as he drops down, knocking the mutant onto his back. But since Wenomir is pinning the elf, that means he can't really dodge. Rather than struggling, the elf grabs at the swordsman's ankles, trying to dig his fingers in with terrible, bone snapping strength.

Then the dagger pierces his shoulder and he lets out a horrible scream of pain, his diseased flesh beginning to burn like fresh kindling. But despite this, he's not down yet, still determined to cause as much damage as possible.

The elven woman, who had been watching Raheeda battle with the rodentipedes, looks over at the screaming, and her eyes widen in horror. "Aranin, no!" she gasps, temporarily freezing.

[Keeper]

Parkside Café

The monster screams its rage as several eyes burn. It seems quite distracted as its bumps clumsily into a nearby building.
At her feet, the fox has dragged itself to Jade. It's still bleeding quite badly.
"Sister, pray let me avenge myself. Avail yourself of the last of my strength." there is a shimmer in the air, and then at her feet is a simple silver knife with a red wrapped handle, elegant characters etched down its blade and balanced perfectly for throwing.

[bc56]

Cry Havoc
"You alive?" Kothar is badly singed, but he'll live. He pushes himself back to his feet and prepares to meet the angelephant's challenge.

Parkside Cafe
"What?" Jade manages, staring at the knife for a moment. She's not in the business of revenge; she's a guardian, not an avenger.
But at the same time, she probably should get rid of the monster.
She picks the weapon up, hefts it, and then throws. She's not much of a knife person, but the blade really is exquisitely made.

[Shadowcaller]

Cry Havoc

"I'm livin'!" Raheeda exclaims, her mind reeling from the fact she had just been shoved to the ground.

There had been intense heat a moment ago but that seemed to have calmed down and she was becoming aware that they were hiding behind a shield. Raheeda had her own shield but she preferred to keep at least one hand free while she was wandering around. Besides, you couldn't poke things with a shield meaning it wasn't nearly as practical.

It turned out she had been wrong though, she would really have needed that shield here.

Managing to at least turn around on the ground to get a look the shield guy. "How about you?" She could taste something scorched on her forked tongue and she was pretty sure it wasn't her.
He wore a lot of armor and his smell tasted peculiar even not considering that burned smell now coming from him.

[Shadowcaller]

Draco Street Bakery

Rowan reaches into an apron pocket and pulls out a very large phone which is quite small in his hand.
”…would you be willing to meet him? He could probably be here in twenty minutes if I called.” he asks Ambrosia.

Draco Street Bakery

"Er, sure." Ambrosia replies with a shrug. "It sounds like its a serious condition after all."
But then she raises her index finger. "But I cannot guarantee being of much help however. As much time as I've dedicated to research into them the nexus hold dragon-secrets even for me. Nor am I a doctor or warlock specializing in afflictions or curses which this might be a case of."

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

"Okay, sure one second."

Rowan pulls out his phone and hits contact number 3 (after "Frank" and "Boss 1").
"Simon? It's Rowan. I'm at work. Um. I kinda bumped into a dragon expert. Do you want to stop by and see if she can figure out what's going on with you?"

Parkside Cafe

The knife sinks into the flesh of the monster with hardly a sound. The creature roars in pain, and a clear voice rings out from the blade.
You who would desecrate this land of many,
To you I lay waste
and expel your vast defilement
The beast, put simply, explodes. A spray of ichor that instantly contracts until a single point, a burst of light.
Nothing of the creature remains as the light fades. A fox falls back to Jade's feet.
"Well I suppose that's it for me. You'll have to handle the rest, Sister."

[quillpleasant]

Draco Street Bakery

Simon's voice comes crackling over the phone. "Dragon expert? Sounds radical. On my way, hang tight babe." Sounds potentially really helpful, and it's not like he's doing anything else.

Well, he was actually playing Fortnite. But some things are more important than maintaining his K/D ratio, and this seems like it might be one of them. Plus, he's not going to pass up an opportunity to come hang out at Rowan's work regardless of dragon expertise.

It should only take around ten minutes for him to get there- Simon is fast in dragon form. He bounds into the shop with a wide grin on his face.

Of course, the effect is a little unsettling given the excessive amount of teeth in his crocodilian snout. He's about thirty feet stretched out, but his body is skinny and serpentine, and he typically coils up so as not to take up too much space. He has four limbs, rather short compared to the rest of him, and his eyes are bright green and full of curiosity. His tail ends in a rather vicious looking stinger.

"Hey, what's cookin good lookin?" he calls out to Rowan, waving a claw in greeting. "This the expert?" He raises a scaly eyebrow at Ambrosia.