Ask to Join The Dream

[Godjacob]

----Zera------
​

The place Zera seemed to open up into was what seemed to be a brewery of some sorts, closed and with no one inside it seemed as she was shocked at her newfound raw strength. Still though she wondered what they were to do now as she scanned the place while she worked to close the door in case one of those creatures that rounded up the other Dreamers looked in the ally.

-----Emerald Vanguard-----
​

"Well, seems we got lucky that nobody is home." Emerald mused as the masked sentei-hero noted people being rounded up in the windows ahead of them and his eyes widened, he moved to have them hide behind the bar. Seemed the people were being gathered to the nearby plaza for something, but what?

-----Jada Glitterdash-----​

Naturally this whole thing had been a bit concerning to the fairy, but as they settled behind the bar and watched as people were being gathered toward the plaza. Her ears seemed to be a bit sharper than they had when she was a normal girl, so she could pick up on some words being spoken even as they hid and given the distance.

"S-seems there is some...authority....and he seems to be evaluating the Dreamers..." Jada mused to her two newfound companions.

 

[MegaAbsol]

If the skitter of rats wasn't enough, Raven was met with the creak of floorboards, straight out of a horror movie. She jumped, face still stony and looking suspiciously ashy if the Stagnant could discern colour in darkness, watching in growing horror as... another Stagnant made its way down the stairs. Except this one looked different, broader than the average slim Stagnant she'd grown to be familiar with. Much like humans, Stagnant also seemed to suffer from obesity and general disproportionality. But it looked especially disturbing on this Stagnant, between the stout trunk and the slender arms. His face seemed to transition far too smoothly into his chest, which then tapered continuously to the typical tenuous lower limbs. Raven lowered the lantern as she looked him up and down before he approached to speak.

This Stagnant was not like the others. He didn't treat her with the almost instinctual disgust that the others had written all over their inexpressive faces - he spoke more freely and acted more naturally around her. He did not speak in suppressed tones and shameful mutters like his brother, and he even willingly extended his hands towards her, complete with a gift of surprisingly clean cloth, given the state of the kitchen she'd just passed through. And... he was polite, even. Spoke with a curious accent, and when he said it was nice to meet her, she detected no malice or deception in his words. She hurried to hang the lantern back on the wall, flinching as it clinked noisily against the wall, hastily moving to clear her arms to receive the fabric.

The burlap was not soft, but it was also not coarse. They clearly hadn't handed her just about any waste sheet lying around; they'd been considerate. The girl glanced upwards shyly, features softening in gratitude, though she remained silent, taking in the mans maw full of fangs. Ra'geb, he said? She wondered what her brothers name was - he never did introduce himself. She rolled the name 'round in her mouth, familiarizing herself to the intonations of their spoken language. Her glance flitted over the apron he wore, grimily reminiscent of the kitchen and now the dusty, musty, crusty cellar, and she suppressed a wrinkle of her nose. The town was alive with urgency now, but the minute the shroud of night fell, she knew what would be her first actions, starting with washing- well, washing just about everything.

 

[Gamingfan]

Flora
Flora raised an eyebrow at the old man's accusations. It wasn't like they chose to invade those place, even if it was very nice.
When the Lord Kroak Smiter (she didn't quite catch it all) asked for a volunteer, she suddenly lit up, raising a hand, and shaking it for extra emphasis.
"Ooh! Me! Me! I will!" She cried out.
Flora really had no idea what she was signing up for, but it was sure to be interesting and educating. Or just plain fun.

 

[Draco Nightshade]

Farah

Looking around nervously at the wide assortment of monsters was Farah, an anthropomorphic tiger girl with a toned physique, dressed like a belly dancer. Though for Farah, the most shocking bit about herself was not the change in species so much as the fact that she used to be a guy! Honestly, she was in such a state of shock that she only caught tidbits of information and did not even realize what had been happening around her until she was already in what seemed to be the town square with everyone else, listening to this alien looking creature called a Stagnant accusing everyone, including herself, of invading their land.
"What the actual hell!" Farah exclaimed to herself, still frustrated that the only thing about her past life that she remembered was her being a human male. Even her old name had disappeared from her memory! Unable to take it anymore, Farah roared in anger and frustration, not caring what everyone else thought. For now.

 

[DevVoid]

Null
Located in the library, seated by an empty table in the far back was the changeling, reading up on some books about magic, weapons and the like. There were four he had decided to save for last - a bestiary containing all the local wildlife, plants included. A book about magic as a whole. A book about the aspects and fine details of summoning magic.. and a compendium of this world's history, from facts to written stories of the past, from the history of slimes to the culture of these 'Stagnants', as Null had come to learn they were called.

Raising his head up, Null could hear commotion from outside. Sounded like the others were discovered and the guards, or whoever else was in charge of his town was hunting them down. To this, Null quickly lowered his head and hid behind the large book about elemental magic he was currently reading, right until the library was clear again.

In order to get some peace (alongside making first-hand experiences with the monsters outside the settlement), Null begun heading toward the librarian of the building, the four that took his interest being locked under his arms, two clamped under each shoulder. The librarian gave him a raised eyebrow that someone would pick those books in particular. Usually, people would go for the stories written by authors in recent times. Still though, it was nice seeing someone willing to learn, especially a stranger such as this grey-skinned individual who the librarian hadn't ever seen before.

With quick exchanges, Null was allowed to borrow those books and with this, the changeling exited the librarian, quickly rushing to get out of town, which was rather easy to do seeing as the guards were pre-disposed with keeping what Dreamers they gathered at the plaza and ensuring there would be no further chaos caused. Escaping the boundaries of the Stagnant City, Null wandered off beyond the green hills and massive trees of the lands outside the populated area, ready to start his own journey.

 

[Psymallard]

Lord L'Khroagh Smitter
The alien's pale grey face displayed his disgust at the two outbursts. The first one was a stray cat, that apparently could speak, announcing that it was the leader of the people. Smitter took this as disrespect, he would not stoop to conversing diplomatically with a beast. Then, before he could speak, an outburst in the crowd.

"What the actual hell!"

This group was rather unaware of their position; ungrateful for the kindness extended to them. Fury was in the eyes of L'Khroagh now, as they searched the crowd for the perpetrator, a potent rage that made Stagnant and Dreamer alike timidly stiffen. Luckily, that creature roared, and her position was given away. The Lord nodded at her, prompting three guards to walk towards her, roughly shoving aside any Dreamer who got in their way with strength that was much greater than their wiry frames displayed.
"You have come to my city, inspire mass panic among my people, and now insult my charity. All of you are gathered here as an alternative to extermination. But do not be under the incorrect assumption that extermination is still not an option. If you doubt this, I might as well make an example of your peers."
As he finished, the three guards would have made their way to Farah, and one holding a small club swung at the back of her head, with the intent of dragging her before L'Khroagh afterwards.

Ra'geb
The hefty Stagnant took one step back up the stairs, signifying the near-end of the interaction, before opening his mouth to speak.
"Well I'd better get get back t'work, my baby brother's been in a real sour mood lately. See ya around, Miss...?"
He trailed off in a questioning tone in a polite attempt to fish for his newfound assistant's name.

 

[Draco Nightshade]

Just as the club was about to make contact with Farah's skull, the tigress instinctively ducked and kicked the Stagnant holding it in the groin with her claws extended. As the other two rushed her, Farah somersaulted over them and struck the back of their necks before glaring up at L'Kroagh. Adrenaline still running through her system she declared. "Just you try doing that again." This of course, was followed by a menacing growl, not that it mattered. Shortly after her little stunt, Farah felt something collide with the back of her head and blacked out.

 

[Godjacob]

-----Jada Glitterdash-----
​

As the group remained hidden in the presumed brothel, the window had given them a peak of what was going on as someone seemed to be picking a fight with the local Stagnant who the trio had guessed were the locals in town. The youngest, Jada, looked on with concern as she glanced at her two concordantial companions.

"W-what do we do?"

----Zera------​

"I...am not sure, if these are the locals well...people are not making a good first impression with them." Zera mused, this was all still wild far as she had been able to seen it. These creatures had rounded up everyone, panic seemed to hit least a couple of them and now this already chaotic situation had grown so much worse.

-----Emerald Vanguard-----​

The masked man watched the situation and seemed to contemplate over what to do, on one hand these creatures had been as unnerving to him as either of the women, but by the same extension if these HAD been the locals in this town, they needed to get along with them or otherwise they'd likely have to fend off in the wild as low level fugitives.

And their odds of survival had the chance to sink in that scenario.

"Well, perhaps we should least show we are not hostile. If we get off on a good foot with these Stagnant, then perhaps they'd be wiling yo lend a hand. We can't just try hiding from them forever, if we are to find a foothold to grow and get out of this, we need the support of locals." Emerald Vanguard said with what seemed to be a newfound leadership zeal.

 

[~Nilion~]

Gene hadnt the faintest idea as to where he was going, all he knew was that he needed to get away from the panic. He needed to lay low and wait till it was calm enough to seek out others who had appeared, only then could he get answers. He needed to think about food and water. He needed to consider the implications of being stuck here forever. He needed to jump-

“Huh? Shit- agh!” While the young man’s mind was racing, he lost focus on the path ahead, and stumbled right off the edge of a low-hanging roof.
His body bounced off the loosely packed dirt without causing physical harm. Though he quickly jumped to his feet and began dusting himself off in embarrassment. He really needed to stop doing that.

Crunch~

The sound of twigs snapping caused the silver-eyed dreamer to ship his around. Someone was in the ally with him.

“Don’t hurt me! Please!” A high pitched voice pleaded from the darkness. It sounded… young.
Cautiously, Gene waded towards the voice, keeping his hands exposed and his movements slow.
As he got close enough to see, he was somewhat startled to find it was one of those things. The natives of this place- only this one was much smaller- much younger- than others. He was curled up in the corner of the ally, attempting to appear as small as possible.

“….I’m not gonna hurt you. I just don’t wanna get captured. It’s alright.” Gene ushered the small Stagnant out into a more well-lit section of the ally. The little guy was clearly still very scared, but he also seemed ever so curious.

“Why are you all here…tryna hurt everyone and take our stuff?” The small stagnation muttered his question while gently tracing lines in the dirt with his feet. He still hadn’t made eye contact.

“What? No- no. I don’t know why we’re here. I think we all just appeared here against our will. Last thing I was doing was…” Gene trailed off as thoughts of his recent fall reemerged. He’d fallen so hard, “…I need to find a way back home.”

“Hm…well I don’t know about that stuff, but I could show ya where to get food n’ gear n’ stuff.” The young Stagnant didn’t sense any ill-intent from the strange man, instead feeling sorry for him, as most children would.

“Really? You sure your friends or family won’t find out you’re helping of the people who appeared?” Gene watched one with genuine surprise as the small Stagnant hoisted his little body along the wall and onto the roof Gene had previously fallen off of.

“Don’t got none. Live by myself all around the city.” The stagnant replied while excitedly watching Gene follow him up onto the rooftop.
Gene couldn’t help but feel a little torn up as he realized this kids situation. Orphans existed here, too. It made sense, of course… just a sad fact to think about.

“So… what’s your name, kid?”

“K’terza. Whattabout you?”

“I’m uh…you can call me Taros.”

 

[Sol the Lycanroc]

Thud. "Ow, damn.." He had a habit of falling out of bed. They flicked an ear... odd. That wasn't possible before. Who was he again? All they know is the components of a virus called the X. He concluded that his name was X after all. Nervous, they decided to carry on with their day.

He jumped up and dressed into a loose-fitting tank top and khaki shorts, taking note of an odd beating thing on his chest, 4 fingers on each hand, an odd skin pattern, and a small tail. They decided to look in the mirror and became fully aware of their new appearance, complete with long, pointed ears, reversed tear ducts, and stripes on his nose. They yawned and took notice of sharp fangs in their mouth.

"Ehehe, this is fine." He cautiously turned the doorknob to exit, fully unaware of what was about to unfold outside.

 

[Psymallard]

The Plaza
THUNK

L'Khroagh looked upon the unconscious catwoman with disdain as she was thrown at the bottom of the white stairs that lead up to the city hall building. Then, he started to descend those very stairs, beginning an angrier monologue as he did.
"Listen well! Do not mistake my benevolence for compassion; my people have the latter in its entirety. I do not intend to incite the slaughter of you lot, but if the majority of you threaten us, I will NOT HESITATE to give the order!"
Then, the rustle of robes and a flash of steel, and a curved dagger was in his hands. He was nearing the bottom of the stairs.
"So let this rowdy one be an example- I will spare them, for now. This knife, like most, brings the insides to out, but this one is unique, being the only one to do so in a figurative sense. Any marked by this knife are banished not just from this city, but all towns!"
He snatched up the limp hand of Farah, and raised his blade.
"I hereby banish thee."
As he said that, he plunged the knife through her hand, and when he pulled it out, there was no wound, but an ugly scar that glittered with purple energy.
The lord dropped Farah, and on cue the guards came up to drag the woman's body into the wilderness a couple miles away from the city.
L'Khroagh moved himself back up a few stairs before turning to face the Dreamers.
"My patience has been worn thin. The next interruption will not be given the mercy of banishment. If I am allowed to continue, you will be shown my benevolent side again. I have gathered you all here to give you an opportunity. This opportunity is only for you all, any not present will have missed this chance."
On this cue, a few soldiers carried wooden tables and chairs in a line between the Lord of the Stagnants and the Dreamers, soon followed by less military-inclined Stagnants that sat down with lage stacks of paper.
"My gift to you is citizenship. You may argue that it isn't much of one, but I disagree, as the next town over has your people's heads on pikes. It will not be a full citizenship, as I have previously iterated, my people are my first priority. Perhaps someday I could consider you as a part my people. But to earn my love, you must first earn my respect. And to earn my respect, you must first earn my trust. Now, order yourselves into lines before these desks, and receive your gifts. If you are found without your documents, there is no way to prove your citizenship."

- - -

Many Dreamers filed into lines, with a couple that wanted to run being quickly and roughly detained. Elinore and Max made it to their respective tables almost simultaneously.
"Name."
"Oh, it's Elinore." "Maximilian Sunburst."
The Stagnants scribbled down the names with feather and ink, and then wrote down a short physical description of the Dreamers they were to deal with.
"Anything to declare?"
"I'm happy to be here!" "I'm hungry."
The scribes scribbled down the statements, and then stamped the documents with a red symbol of validity.

The Plains
Now that Damon understood that he was unwelcome from civilization, he wondered the plains for a while. It was a sea of shimmering emerald grass with their rolling hills, the gentle breeze helping to calm Duke's nerves.
That's when a blue gelatin creature rolled over to him. Damon stared in curiosity, only giving the slime an opening to throw itself at Damon's leg with unexpected force!
The Dreamer fell over, as the slime prepared itself for a second attack. Before that could happen, he threw out a kick with his undamaged leg, stunning the blob momentarily. He scrambled to his feet and drew the knife, managing to plunge it down into the slime before it could attack again. The creature lost its form, and melted into an amorphous goo.
The Duke rocked back onto his bottom and exhaled after this unexpected encounter. He did feel ever so stronger after killing the thing, though...

 

[=Nightshade=]

Rain lay against a tree, the claws of her front paws slicing thin strips of wood from the bow she had been carving for the last hour. Her hands turned the roughly carved stick, appraising its shape. She wasn’t sure how she knew the right shape for a bow or how to carve it, her only experience the idle whittling she had done at home, carving tiny animals out of chunks of wood. And yet there was the instinctive feeling that this was right, that the intestines of the pig creature she had killed would make a good bowstring, the desire to run through the woods and firing arrows at anything that moved. Rain shook her head. She was not a predator, a killer— she was human.

Her claws worked into the ground, pulling up clods of dirt and grass, as if to remind her that, here at least, that wasn’t true.

Rain hefted the unstrung bow, feeling its weight and flexibility. Even if she didn’t string it (an endeavor she still wasn’t sure how to complete), it would make a decent staff to use at midrange. She took a few test swings, then froze at the sound of breaking twigs, labored breathing, and something being dragged? Her ears flicked, tail lashing, as she opened her mouth. An odd, earthy scent flooded her senses, one that she recognized as the natives of this… nightmare? Realm? Dream? And another scent, this one not unlike her own.

Quietly, Rain approached the sounds, her feline paws hardly making a sound on the forest mulch. She peeked around a tree, her catlike lower body hidden behind its trunk, unfinished bow clutched in one hand. The grayish humanoids dropped what they had been carrying unceremoniously, throwing up leaves with the impact, before the natives began to leave. Rain approached slowly, cautiously, hair pricked in curiousity.

The natives hadn’t been dragging a thing, but a person. The person had its own set of catlike features, though they showed themselves in a way different than Rain’s own. Rain scuffed a paw in the dirt, considering, then nudged the other cat person with the tip of her unstrung bow. “Hey,” she half-whispered. “Hey. You okay? Wake up.”

@Draco Nightshade
(OOC: long ik I’m sorry making up for my month long hiatus lmao)

 

[Sol the Lycanroc]

Stepping out of the place, X found himself immediately falling through a portal of sorts, causing him to fall right into a tree. They whacked themself on a few branches before catching one, digging in with claws. "Hhh, that was close." He pulled himself onto it and began to make his way to the bottom of the tree. Peering out to see the surroundings when near, they saw two cat-people creatures of sorts.

One was unconscious. He decided to stay hidden for the most part. They might be dangerous..

His newly sensitive ears tuned in to the sounds around him, turning and flicking at every chirp and whirr. This new sensation sent tingles through them, and they felt that they were becoming in touch with whatever they were, besides human, of course.

In a heartbeat, however, he felt every muscle tense in his body. Someone, or something, saw him.

 

[TheJustinMann]

Carrow

Immediately after falling asleep in his hometown, Carrow found himself awake in a rather lush forest, somewhere completely alien to him. But, given his collected nature, he was not quite as worried, disoriented, or excited as one may be when being transported to a new world as such. Although he was not quite adjusted to his new surroundings just yet, he didn't let any of it bother him personally. "Well, this is certainly strange. I'm sure I didn't fall asleep here." He said to himself, now checking his body and clothing for damage. He seemed to be in his usually everyday attire, but his skin was no longer a pale white, and was instead a very light grey color. "Huh, that's new." He continued, now looking to find some sort of reflective surface so that he could see himself. A small puddle of water laid near by, and upon looking at it, he noticed his hair was no longer golden blonde, and his eyes were no longer deep brown, but now both were the same shade of a grey deeper than his skin, but still a lighter grey. Again, he was not very much taken aback by this, and instead began to think of where to go. "I need to find somewhere to shelter before nightfall." He thought to himself, now realizing that he should probably not draw much attention to himself, and choosing not to speak aloud. He could've sworn that he'd saw something through the trees, but yet again, he brushed it off, and began slowly treading through the trees.

Maveryn

Maveryn was, more or less, a bit weary of her new situation. Now, this was not because of her body, she'd always been an insectoid creature, as her homeland was full of beast people and animal folk similar to her. They weariness came completely from the fact that she was now in a small grassy field, just to the outside of a forest, all completely new and unknown to her, without any other explanation than "I fell asleep and woke up here." And to that note, she was confused and worried. "Where... Where am I? I do believe I was in my bed chamber upon falling asleep..." She muttered quietly, unsure if any hostile creatures were nearby. She was sitting low enough in the grass for it to be cover for her. She quickly checked her body for injuries, and luckily there were none, even on her frail wings. She thought for a moment about flying, but decided not to, as she was still unaware of her surroundings. For now, she laid low and looked out for potential aid.

 

[Draco Nightshade]

"Ugh." Feeling something poking her, Farah swatted it away and grabbed the back of her head. "Where am I?" Noticing the cat girl in front of her, she then asked in a groggy voice. "Who are you?"

@=Nightshade=

 

[Sol the Lycanroc]

X felt the sensation leave him and he relaxed. He climbed up to get a better view of the surroundings and to find the next tree to jump to. A moving figure caught their eye. It was the one who saw them, and they were now moving north. They also noticed that the unconscious cat-person had woken up. He decided to follow the grey humanoid, leaping to the closest tree, and trying to stay hidden. Maybe I can trust them, they seem willing..
@TheJustinMann

 

[TheJustinMann]

(Quick OOC: I format my text differently depending if I'm on phone or computer. This next text wall will be on computer. My last text wall was on phone. It might get confusing, so just keep this in mind.)

Carrow

As Carrow wandered, he felt a bit uneasy, though it was not present in his facial expression. This was because Carrow felt as if he was being watched, but was unsure if this was truly the case, or if it was just paranoia taking it's toll. Either way, he brushed it off and continued to wander the forest, aimless in his path, and time moving on.

 

[Sol the Lycanroc]

X continued to jump between some trees, but soon they started to thin out and he knew that he had to climb down. Luckily, though, they spotted an old, black one without leaves nearby. He crawled across the limbs of the current tree, this one appearing like an oak tree, and made a leap for it. As they landed on it, their claws dug in a bit more than usual, and they knew something was up.

He heard a loud snap and the tree began to fall. Fuck. Their ears flattened and they froze in fear. The loud crash of the tree on the ground sent him flying and he landed on his back, knocking the wind out of him. They strained themself and got up, wincing as their back hunched.

As he stood his ground near the fallen tree, ears and eyes alert, a strong energy ran through his body, almost like adrenaline. They felt themselves tense up like before, but in a more defensive way. The grey humanoid had clearly noticed the fallen tree. Even though X thought that they could be trusted, he wasn't so sure now. The current grew stronger within him and he started to feel extremely energetic, like he could take on anything. Mounting themself on fours, they prepared to attack.
@TheJustinMann

 

[=Nightshade=]

Rain leaped back without thinking, completely reactionary, her paws splayed. As the other girl began to groggily come to and growl out questions, Rain padded closer again, gripping her unfinished bow. The girl opened her mouth, the blue patterns in her fur glimmering with uncertainty, then closed it, considering her words. The next time her mouth opened, no sound came out, and she had to make a conscious effort to remember how to speak. Finally, she managed to get a few words out. “I… you’re in a forest just… a forest just off the edge of the town. And I’m Rain… my name.” Her tail lashed back and forth a few times, restless, sending ripples through her purplish fur and the swirling patterns within.

A snapping sound from the trees made Rain whirl, ears twitching in alarm, hand reaching for a bowstring that wasn’t yet there. Her eyes searched the canopy, but she didn’t see anything, just the rustling of the leaves. “Thought I… heard something…” Rain slowly lowered her unstrung bow. “I guess… was nothing…”
@Draco Nightshade

 

[Draco Nightshade]

Farah slowly lifted her upper torso off the ground and seated herself properly before introducing herself. "You can call me Farah." Reaching for the back of her head, Farah noticed the glowing mark on her hand. "What the hell?!"

 

[Godjacob]

-----Emerald Vanguard, Jada Glitterdash & Zera-----​

The trio at the nearby brothel to the plaza listened to the head Stagnants in this area who seemed to outline its warning to the Dreamers after the stunt of the one that tried to fight them, and in that chaos the trio had decided it was best to sneak over and get the proper citizenship. They shuffled from the Brothel and made their way to a line each on one of the tables, as they worked to take advantage of the confusion that had proceeded them.

They worked to get to their turns and get their papers, if it meant they had a leg to stand in and work from there, they'd be prepared to play ball with their hosts for now.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Rain turned from her scanning of the trees to look back at her semifeline companion. She bounded over, clearing the distance in barely a leap, skidding slightly on the leaves. Rain crouched beside Farah, folding her four furred legs beneath her, her brow furrowed as she looked at the vibrant purple wound. “What is that?” she murmured. “Looks infected… or poisonous… or magic, I guess— wouldn’t put it past anything here…” She was still a cautious distance away, but close enough to see the puckered, glowing purple mark in detail. It looked painful at the least, and definitely not normal-looking. But then, what since she’d woken up here had been anywhere near normal? “Does it hurt?” she asked. “I’m no doctor, but… I dunno.”

@Draco Nightshade

 

[TheJustinMann]

Carrow

Carrow was slightly startled by the loud crashing of the branch, but again, his reserved nature made his reaction minimal. A sort of creature seemed to fall from the canopy of green above, landing a few feet in front of him. Looking at the creature, they seemed to be a sort of elven humanoid, that seemed to be hunched in a hostile position. As to not provoke the creature further, he stopped where he was, a completely neutral and unphased expression on his face, standing and waiting for the elf to react.

Maveryn

Now more adjusted to her surroundings, and tired of sitting and waiting around just being cautious, Maveryn slowly rose out of the tall grass and chose a direction to begin walking. "I suppose wandering will be better than staying put. I might be able to find help around here somewhere." She told herself in a softer tone, still not wanting to draw too much attention to herself. After wandering for a little while, she saw two figures in the distance, both having cat-like ears, and one seeming wielding a bow. Though she was brave, she was unarmed and unaware if they were hostile or not, so she chose to observe from afar rather than get closer.

 

[Sol the Lycanroc]

X stood his ground for a bit longer, and seemed to relax when he noticed that the other seemed calm. An exhale escaped them, and they stood, returning to an idle position. "You're not gonna kill me, are ya? I mean, this place is already weird enough."

The energy within still flowed but grew calmer, more controlled. X brushed the leaves off of their clothes but found that upon contact to the leaves, they disintegrated in a flash of blue. Huh, so this gets even weirder. He stretched slightly as he waited for a response of sorts.

 

[MegaAbsol]

"Raven,"

The girl bowed her head slightly, eyes fixated on the bottom most stair as Ra'Geb mades moves to leave. Her mind buzzed with thoughts, relentlessly making a methodical list of things to be done, places to be cleaned, rats to be rehomed, floors to be swept as the creaking of the stairs grew distant and finally stopped altogether. She glanced down at the cloth in her hands, neatly wrapped it in the hoodie she took off, and got to work.

- slight time skip -

The cellar was a right mess, as one would imagine any unfrequented place to be. She tapped each spigot as she passed them idly, quickly forming a habit of it, as she walked up and down the dim room, carefully noting the locations of the posts overhead and the squeaks of rats all around her. She'd never been bitten by a rat- well, by anything before and she didn't intend to start now - her feet were thinly clad in socks and a homely pair of sneakers, and she'd need something tougher than that to ward off a rat. Her hand brushed against the dagger at her waist too, as though that were any small comfort.

She busied herself in finding a broom, although locating a dustpan seemed out of the question for now. It would take her the rest of the day to slowly, thoroughly, systematically sweep out every exposed bit of flooring in the cellar. The kegs in the way were... unfortunately, in the way, and while Raven grew curious to taste what was in them, she made no moves to disturb the tavernkeepers' property. As it grew darker and darker, the rats grew bolder, and she had to resort to carrying the lantern on her person to see, and by the time it became too dark to work, she was satisfied with the absolute mound of rubbish she'd accumulated at her feet, a considerable pile of dust, litter and rat droppings. With a quick word from the brothers, who were winding up for the night, she shook off the old, moldy carrots from a sack she borrowed from them (borrowed used loosely, as they would never see it again) and with one final sweep, knocked the bag out the door and the filth from their lives. Well, for now anyways. She was content, even if the cellar dwelling rodents weren't.

Night fell, and the brothers were just beginning to wind up the kitchen when she stopped them - there was cleaning to be done here, too. She met their incredulous looks with an even-tempered one of her own, and firmly escorted them out of the door. They needed only concern themselves with finding their beds; this field was hers to tackle. And tackle she did, somewhat noisily; the neighbours would toss and turn as pots and pans clanked away for a good hour further before they were satisfactorily cleaned and finally put away. The kitchen floor got the same treatment the cellar did, and then some more; a miserable looking mop that she had managed to wheedle out of Ra'Geb. Raven pursed her lips - she wasn't certain whether the conditions screamed poor hygiene conditions or just... poor conditions, but either way, she'd got it handled. First task at hand was boiling every rag she could find; even if the kitchen wasn't in the state that it was in, Raven would have started her conquest from Ground Zero anyways. Certain conditions allowed her to be thorough, and some begged her to be so.

Dawn crept up on the horizon and the first avian visitor to the tavern window found her still busily scrubbing away at the metal fixtures in the sink. The floor, as Raven had discovered, was actually a lovely granite under the dirt and neglect, and she'd very much enjoyed peeling away the layer of filth and allowing it to revel in its stony hue. The tables and countertops were not what she'd call coordinated, or even organized for that matter, but they were all rather lovely, some even looked quite vintage. Not necessarily because they appreciated old art though, she suspected. They'd all received a careful cleaning, and their contents now rested on them neatly organized, but the sink and tap that she was working away on needed something stronger than just elbow grease and soap. It shone, where the metal remained, but for the large part it was rusted over or lost its plating. Underneath was some dull copper piping, and all of Raven's grim determination and the sponge she'd been terrorizing for the better part of the last hour weren't enough to save it. She carefully packed away the sparkling clean vessels for the brothers to find when they returned, first thing in the morning, afternoon, whenever they return, and closed the door behind her as she crept through the back alley it opened out into. Looks like it was time to employ external help.

Ah. Yes. External help was expensive, of course, (even though she wasn't) and Raven had to close her heart to the struggle of a kitchen yet unfinished, and her purse strings to a price tag too large. She'd be back for you, tarnish remover, oh she'd be back for you alright.

And that's how she found herself milling uncertainly around the plains, dagger held inexpertly in her hands. Not even a full day since they landed in this world and already resorting to murder to earn some coin.

This was off to a great start.

@Hecotoro

 

[TheJustinMann]

Carrow

The tension that had built in Carrow had quickly disapated, as the elf seemed to get up from it's attacking position and brush themselves off. After hearing the elf ask it's question, he slightly smiled with a small relieving chuckle. "No, I'm not going to kill you. I don't even think I'd be able to come close, I'd no idea you were even following me until you crashed in front of me." He explained, though it was true he felt as if he was being watched earlier. He was mostly saying this to hopefully put a more peaceful tone in the situation. "So, do you have any idea where we are right now?" He asked the elf being, hoping they could possibly answer.

(@Sol the Lycanroc )

 

[Draco Nightshade]

"I wouldn't say it hurts so much as it just feels tingly." Observing the mark on her palm, Farah answered Rain. Looking away from her hand, Farah grabbed her head and started talking to herself. "I know was a human man when I went to sleep last night, now I'm a female anthropomorphic tiger with no memory of my old name. Can someone please just wake me up?!" Farah was on the verge of tears as she spoke, but she didn't care, everything that was going on was getting to be too much to take mentally.

@=Nightshade=

 

[Hecotoro]

Hecthor

"Well what a nice lady." The horned individual spoke to himself as he made his way back to the slime fields.

After showing the shop owner what he was capable off in bed, in return she bought all of his slimes. He had a nice pouch with what he believed to be a good amount of money and had gotten some red and blue potions to go, two of each to be exact. The shop owner was so satisfied, she agreed to buy more from him in the future. Which was great, to get started. It seemed slime from the Slimes had a lot of potential and he was going to get that for himself sooner or later. For now, he needed to gather more slime, not to sell, but to practice making potions.

"Hello you bags of money." He prepared his knife as he approached a blue slime, jumping around, oblivious to what was about to happen. Just before he was about to plunge his weapon into the creature, he noticed someone else around the fields, something odd considering it was already dark. "You lost or something?" He lowered his weapon, trying not to look threatening, "I don't think you should be out so late."

@MegaAbsol

 

[=Nightshade=]

Rain paced back a half-step, feeling her ears pin themselves back and the desire to hiss at the sudden display of emotion. The cat didn’t like that— an emotional creature was unpredictable, and an unpredictable creature was dangerous. Rain didn’t particularly care for the cat. She lashed her tail in rebellion of her instincts, shaking her own head and stabbing her roughly hewn staff into the ground.

“No kidding,” she agreed with Farah. “I’m pretty sure I had regular legs back in the old world. And back then I’m also pretty sure I didn’t feel the urge to lick myself. Or kill things with my bare hands—well, paws—and eat them raw while they’re still kicking.” Rain made as if to sit heavily on a rock, momentarily forgetting her quadrupedal form, and ended up walking in an awkward circle. “Son of a gun,” she sighed, before thinking way too hard to finally settle on her haunches, feeling rather tall and more than a little awkward. “I have no idea how to get back, though, or if it’s even possible. So I guess we may as well make the most of it. Maybe I’ll pick out a nice tree to live in for a while. Ah, a glamorous living situation.” Rain cast a sidelong glance at Farah, feeling more human than she had since she’d arrived. Maybe the presence of another person was slowing her imminent descent into insanity. “Sorry. Not helping, I know.”
@Draco Nightshade

 

[Draco Nightshade]

"No, it's alright. It wouldn't be fair if I was the only one allowed to vent." Farah rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself before she continued. "Thanks for listening, Rain. Would it be alright with you if the two of us teamed up?"

 

[TheJustinMann]

Maveryn

While watching from afar, Maveryn noticed that the tiger being seemed to get a little emotional, but went back to normal after a little while. This made Maveryn even more hesitant to directly approach, as she didn't want to get in the middle of whatever just happened. "I'll creep maybe just a little closer, but... I don't know if they're in the mood to be hospitable enough to at least help me set my bearings." she thought, slowly and quietly getting a bit closer to them, her nerves eventually making her stop to where she could go no further.

(I'm referring to Nightshade's and Draco's characters here, I posted a little while back about Maveryn spotting two cat-eared travelers a while back. Sorry for not pinging to make it clearer in that earlier post.)

 

[MegaAbsol]

As Raven stood there uncertainly, watching the mysterious little globules hop around, she couldn't help but muse over the nature of this world. It was very real, that was for sure, and yet it was the kind of fantastical that movies and games would hope to recreate. It had the typical tavern where adventurers come to rest, pick up quests, discuss plans, whatever have you. She half expected to hear murmurs of a dragon everytime she passed its windows. She'd spotted a large plaza of sorts, much emptier than the time they'd ben dropped in, and now here were the typical starting plains as any RPG should have, complete with active, rather harmless looking slimes. Despite the thing... "Lucid", despite it dropping them in and promising them growth, she somehow didn't quite believe she was the protagonist of this story. Something about the possibility of being permanently killed in this Dream... should she even believe it?

Her rambling mind was silenced by the approaching of another... person. She'd been watching him come closer for a while, and silently appraising the figure - it was a form more similar to her own, a humanoid male, with the addition of horns and some interesting looking face markings. He looked closer to her age than some of the characters she had seen yesterday, atleast from what she could tell visually, and he sounded like it too, when he came over and asked her a question. Lost?

"Lost? Ah, no, no," She spoke softly, hand waving equally gently as though she was afraid of disturbing the very air around her by making too large a movement. With very measured movements, she continued, "I came here to see what I can do to earn some money. I'm fresh out of coin and I'm not too skilled at battle. You, on the other hand," She clasped both her hands together and stood still, watching the man quizzically; pointedly stared at the bag overflowing with its contents at his waist and then diverted her gaze back at him, continuing to speak in a slow, scripted sentence, "Seem to know your way around here. What do you say? Could you show me? I don't have much, but I'll make it worth your while," She held out an open hand, in which lay a few of her remaining gold coins. The way she saw it, any skill worth learning could, would and frankly should need some prior investment, and she wasn't afraid to shell out what she could, if the man accepted.

 

[Hecotoro]

Hecthor

"Nice, I do enjoy a little reward. But I don't think you should be giving away the few coins you got." He took out his dagger and pointed at the slimes. "These little fellas don't really seem to care if you stab em to death." He paused a bit, since he had said it out loud, he noticed what he was doing was a bit cruel maybe. But, he couldn't stop his new business now. "It's not as bad as it sounds, it's like stabbing jelly."

The horned individual walked over to a blue slime, stabbed it twice and with a poof! The slime disappeared, leaving behind a blue jelly drop. Hecthor picked up the item and placed it in an empty pouch. He walked over to a yellow one and repeated the process, except he used a different pouch for the yellow drop.

"That's it. I've become really good at taking them out, took me like ten or so stabs at first but now it's quite easy. Anyways, if you help me gather 50 drops of each, I'll sell em and we can split the earnings, forty sixty?"

 

[MegaAbsol]

Raven blinked as the man seemed to refuse her offer of pay, and in fact, counter offered with... partnership? He was offering to pay her? Was that how well off he was? Slime killing seemed to be more profitable than she seemed to give it credit. She watched carefully as he confidently strode up to a slime and stabbed it, all in one motion. Scary how naturally it seemed to come to him. In his defence, the slime didn't seem to show any semblance of pain before disappearing in a tiny puff of smoke. Interesting, no corpse. Or maybe this was a slime exclusive feature? Well, actually... she wasn't sure if she wanted a corpse to deal with, frankly.

"Er, okay," Taking a deep breath, she approached a red slime, the one closest to her. It didn't seem to notice her right away, and Raven began overanalyzing the entire thing, mapping out aggro ranges and attack pattern projections in her mind. It was only after standing in its near vicinity for a while that it finally turned around to face her, and both seemed equally shocked at finally making eye contact. "Ah, ah," She fumbled for a bit while the slime continued to look shell shocked, and both of them moved at the same time.

A battle of epic proportions unfolded. The slime lunged, bouncing heavily off her foot, Raven lunged, and equally harmlessly missed it entirely. The bonk to her leg was enough to sweep out her legs from under her, and she rolled to the floor, blinking in a daze. She had bad combat posture, that was for sure, but the round gelatinous orb had struck her with surprising force, it had driven the air from her lungs. Thankfully it seemed to have taken the same amount out of the little red slime, and the two reeled on the floor, dizzily watching each other. She scrambled to get to her feet while the slime reoriented itself with frenzied hops to prepare for its next onslaught. This time Raven was quicker on the draw, despite her throbbing foot, making a quick sweep towards the slime, slashing a shallow cut across it's face, although the monster barely seemed to notice it was attacked. Then she prepared, expecting the lunge to come any second now and-- there!

The slime bounced off again, and this time the girl retained her footing, after bracing herself for the impact. She was definitely going to feel this in her legs in the morning; she couldn't go around taking too many of those hits. While it was off balance, she chanced in two more cautious slashes, each one too shallow to really do anything. She was hesitant to extend her hand any closer, and warily turned her head to see what the horned man was doing, keeping her foe within her sight. The man was leaving behind a wake of destruction, casually killing and collecting slimes as though he were picking toys off the floor. Was this really one of the Dreamers who arrived to this land yesterday? How was he... so casual about this?

No time to think, this time the slime seemed to change tactics, and lunged upwards, right towards Raven's face, and on reflex, she dropped the knife and clapped her hands together, just in time to grab the slime like a basketball. "Ahhhh ewww," escaped her mouth on reflex, and they both paused for a while, the slime looking spectacularly hurt. "Oh, uh, sorry, that's... not what I meant," Raven trailed off, unable to look the slime in the eye, despite it being held very much at eye level. Her arms sagged under the karmic weight of the slime and her guilt.

"Okay, this is awkward dude, sorry, you have to die now," The girl concluded, giving the slime a little squeeze - it was surprisingly heavy, a little bit more so than it looked - and dropping it, stooping to pick up her dagger. The slime seemed to have given up entirely, hurt and moping, just lying there as though say 'hurry up and get it done with'. Raven made a face, looked away, took a deep breath and plunged her dagger into the slime. It vanished in a puff of smoke, just like the man showed, and left behind a small red slime drop. She looked at her free hand as she flexed it open and close. It did kind of feel like touching jelly. It was soft and wobbly and didn't actually leave any residue on her hands, just the uncomfortable feeling of moistness. Sparing a glance at the man, still busily mowing down the plains, she pocketed the droplet of slime and readjusted the dagger in her hands. She was going to have to be quick if she wanted to return to the tavern and resume her work.

 

[Hecotoro]

Hecthor

"Maybe we should consider buying equipment better suited for this." Hecthor walked up to Raven, dropping his pouches with slimes. "Here you can store the drops you collected here. Do you live around here? Once we're done I can go sell them and then take your share over to ya."

He looked at the pouches and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Having someone else helping out wasn't as fast as he thought it was, but maybe cuz they needed more practice to kill the slimes better. If they did get some gear though, they could probably increase their slime slaying skills.

"What would you say is an ideal weapon for you?"

 

[MegaAbsol]

Raven had been silently, busily hacking away at the slimes, guilt washing away one kill at a time as she slowly accepted that it was them or her. The slime striking her twice, as hard as it had was enough to tell her that it was no joke, they can and will kill her given a chance, and she didn't feel like testing Lucid's words just yet. The slime farming was an uphill struggle though, the dagger was sharp but too small to be effective in her hands, even as she gradually built up the courage to draw closer and closer to her targets. She did her best work by striking slimes that hadn't noticed her yet, slaying them before they got a chance to turn around and look at her. Strike first, strike hard, get out.

The man who'd essentially employed her approached her, finally giving her a space to dump out all her collected globules - they were beginning to jostle her in her pockets, and she'd taken to straight up awkwardly carrying some in her free arm. She dropped them on the floor and knelt, beginning to sort the array of jellies by colour. Buying better equipment definitely sounded like a good idea, these old jeans just weren't doing it. It was kind of him to look out for her though, especially after she wasn't much help at all, he was clearly more experienced and much faster. The work definitely wasn't split in a 40-60, and she decided to modestly speak up.

"I do live around here, I'm temporarily working in the Tavern, where I'm also housed. You should swing by some time, drinks on me," Well, actually, drinks weren't on her, she wasn't sure why she said that, "and please, you really needn't pay me for this. It's the least I can do after you let me hone my skill in relative safety. Thank you, I will remember this." She scooped the last of the slime droplets into the bag, pulled it shut and out of habit, neatly tied the string into a little bow.

Ideal weapon? She paused, staring at the ground as she thought. She really hadn't given it much thought, and even now... she knew what that choice would entail. She swivelled her head to follow the hopping path of a slime that spawned into being, somewhat close to them. "Weapon? I'm not sure, maybe a sword or a sickle? Or a spear maybe, I haven't thought of it," She fought the urge to tilt her head, and got to her feet, mechanically dusting off her clothes. "Today was enlightening though, thank you. What is your name?"

 

[Hecotoro]

Hecthor

"I am Hecthor, nice to meet ya." He offered to shake the girls hand before continuing on, "What should I call you?"

With the introduction out of the way, he wasn't about to let someone who just walked into the business, that's what Bill Gates did. "Don't worry about the work today, I was slow at first. How about this, I will use today's gains to buy us some better weapons and armor so we can work faster tomorrow. Then once you get the hang of it, we can head deeper into this world. If we got slimes here, maybe there are more things we can farm or even bigger slimes, maybe some new colors. Anyways, I'll drop off your stuff at the tavern when I'm done shopping, in return I'll accept a beer."

He gathered the drops into their respective pouches and slung them over his back. He cleaned the slime filled dagger with the grass, even waved goodbye at the oblivious slimes and turned towards the village. "It'll be an hour or two, depends on how the shop owner is feeling, then I'll head over there."

 

[MegaAbsol]

"My name? It's," Don't say Raven, "Raven. Nice to meet you."

Looks like she was committing to the Raven cover. She wasn't sure what compelled her to say that, she remembered her real name just fine. Maybe, somewhere, she hoped not to be called by that name again. Her hand slipped into her pockets and closed around the cards in them, the Joker and the Ace of Spades.

She ducked her head in embarrassment as the man consoled her, having evidently noticed her struggle to kill the slimes in any sort of a respectable pace. She nodded silently as the man packed up his belongings, eyes straying to the rest of the field. Slimes hopped around intermittently, and even between them, she could see little bushes and herbs, weeds and other plants she could bring back to the tavern. Oh! The tavern! She hurried to face Hecthor - what a curious name, by the way. Hec Thor as in the god of lightning and thunder? She refrained from commenting - and frantically spoke.

"Ah! Wait! I suddenly remembered... I came here to find a way to earn money to buy something. Please don't- well if the amount allows- but no, I mustn't. Please don't buy me anything, is it- would it be possible- can I just have the money? I really must buy what I came here to get," Her mind hovered with some irritation on the unfinished metal fixtures in the tavern, the stubborn markings of rust and grime that just wouldn't leave. And more promisingly still came the prospect of weapons - could she learn how to make them too? It was shaping up to be a busy day, if she were to commit to the tavern as well as the alchemist as well as the blacksmith and leatherworker, if they'd have her. Her eyes strayed back to the shrubbery between the slimes - and then there was that as well.

"The beer is still very much on me, so please do swing by. I'll be waiting, and even have something nice for you." With that, she waved, and hurried off, warding off any slimes that came too close with her dagger. It was a risky game, trying to harvest herbs while the slimes hopped threateningly around her, and Raven scurried to get things done, using her dagger more freely to trim off leaves and parts. Sure, she had to improvise a basket by holding the front of her shirt up, feeling rather like a medieval peasant who collects berries in her apron, but she supposed that's exactly what she was at this time. She was quick to hack off the plants she did recognize, plenty of dandelions growing like weeds, a berry bush or two, and fine sprigs of garlic mustard. There was even a plant that looked awfully familiar, and while she just couldn't place her finger on what it is, it got harvested in the blink of an eye too. If not in food, she'd find another use for it. She really had to hurry if she wanted to bring this haul back to the tavern in time to greet Hecthor with his beer.

 

[=Nightshade=]

“Team up?” Rain looked surprised. “I mean, sure, I don’t mind.” I haven’t felt the urge to attack at all yet… maybe it’s because she’s also part cat, my new instincts don’t mark her as prey. “It’s definitely better to have a friend here than to be completely alone. That way if one of us screws up accidentally, we’re not alone in the consequences,” she added wryly.

Rain scuffed a paw along the ground, hooking a leaf on her claw and batting at it. When she pinned it down under her paws, she seemed to realize what she was doing and blinked sheepishly. “Um… do you want to set up camp in the forest somewhere, orrrr… I dunno. I killed a weird pig-thing back that way—” she gestured with her tail. “—and haven’t eaten any of it yet, so…”

@Draco Nightshade
(OOC: sorry for the wait my guy ^^”)

 

[Psymallard]

The Plaza
After all of the Dreamers were given paperwork, L'Khroagh referred to them for the final time.

"Now, you all are free, please be wise and make use of yourselves."

With that final statement, Lord Smitter turned around and disappeared behind the mahogany doors of his white-brick castle.

--Two weeks later...--

Damon Duke
The banished Dreamer sat on a large rock, staring at the sky that was just as blue as ever. Out of the fourteen days he'd been in this new world, only one was cloudy. The rest had been almost perfect days, straight out of a utopia. Damon had been doing a lot of exploring, and had found other towns, but made sure to steer clear considering his treatment in the city he spawned in. There was also a blue river north of the starting city, which would explain where they got their water.
Finishing his sky-staring, the Duke kicked off his rock, beginning his morning run. The Dreamer had figured speed was the best stat to train, since it'd help him both avoid damage and make it harder for enemies to avoid the vice versa.