Weird Apes [Magna/Shade]

Jerb:

Life changed a bit since some robot went rogue. From what Shade gleamed after the events it’d been an “ally” or something of the sort to Black Rose before going rogue. They’d since relocated to a new, quite lively place that left Shade a bit mystified at times. So much to do, so much to see, and she couldn’t figure out what was wrong with taking the back street aside for people constantly trying to sell her something or buy something off of her. The place required plenty of exploration still, the girl either unsure if she’d been here before or if it’d merely changed beyond recognition since her last foray into the world of the living.

Donning her usual, casual clothing, as she pulled the laces on her boots Shade considered the plethora of stuffed animals on her bed. She’d created something of a collection, most of them sewn together by her hands and a few she’d particularly enjoyed bought. Of those hand-crafted a multitude of them housed broken down souls pieced together into new beings so they may forget the horrors of their lives or mistakes made – such as betraying her. Even now a small portion of that one silly fellow who dared to try and turn one of her denizens against her, the crow-like Aetas now amidst those adorning her bed. For the moment though she couldn’t fully summon him, not without sacrificing someone else for the moment. It was something that’d been on her mind though since the end of their prior job of escorting that lousy couple.

For this time she decided to stick to one of the long-eared bunnies, her fondness for them something she did well to forget, the memories too painful to really bother over. Instead she focused on something far more pleasant, the floppy-eared and smiling animal tucked in the crook of her arm as she raced up some stairs towards the inn’s dining room, and more importantly: the kitchen. ”Magna!” she cheerfully called out, forgetting about any sense of volume as only two things stayed on her mind – one of which being the chef himself, ”Do you have anything yummy ready? I slept so well that I’m famished!” To be fair he had promised her a feast or something along such lines, just that certain events pushed it off a little.

Magna had been having some difficulties in the kitchen. This might seem to an outsider like a rare occurrence for the red-haired chef mage, but in reality it was something that happened quite often. After the aforementioned job of escorting a couple across the mountains Shade and himself had gone to the star lake, a rather beautiful location popular with couples and tourists travelling the mountains. There he had explained that the crystals within the lake were not only some of the best whetstones, but if you had a strong enough knife that needed sharpening against them then the dust produced was one of the strongest seasonings in existence. Its taste was hard to match, but it did have a few flaws. For one its taste was so powerful it had a tendency to overwhelm any other flavours within the dish. Due to directly stimulating hunger and the top quality savoury components and amino acids that made up the dust it was also highly addictive. So much that when he'd tried it the first time, back when he'd travelled to star lake before, he'd been unable to stop eating it till it was gone. He had quite a lot of sharpened tools from back then. Some he honestly felt were so sharp you could practically cut yourself by looking at it.

Yes the crystal dust was his problem right now. He had promised Shade and her denizens a new dish. Something that would utilize the fish from star lake with the crystals from the same lake. He had thought that they would work well in harmony, but so far he had not been able to create a fish dish potent enough to work with the stardust and thus he had been stuck. It was just before Shade arrived to ask about food that he had a breakthrough.

He had decided to forget about what the dish itself looked like or what he knew about fish for the time being and to just listen. Souls were now something he could sense and even hear and this was particularly apparent when it came to the souls of food. These were not necessarily souls in the conventional sense, but in the way a ship has a soul. Those who could listen to the soul of an ingredient were said to be able to bring out its maximum flavour. He closed all six of his eyes and held a tool in each hand and both tails. With a deep exhale he began to work relying purely on instinct until he felt somehow that the dish was done.

It was Shade entered that he had applied a thin layer of the dust upon the fish. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't the huge shining brightness that seemed to shimmer throughout the entire kitchen. It was like an aura of golds and silvers. It was almost as if the scent of the dish had become visible to the human eye. He turned to look at Shade and smiled.

"Just in time. I've just finished my latest dish Shining Star Sashimi." With that the six arms reached forward and grabbed numerous plates and moved them over to the dining table where they were placed. Each plate contained the same ingredients. A mixture of fish from the lake coated in a thin layer of the star dust. In some areas on each bit of sashimi the star dust would be thicker than others. This would mean that the taste would change as the user bit into them. "It was a difficult one, but after the trouble you went through to help me get this...I had to make a good dish."

617 words

The name certainly sounded promising, though admittedly at first the dish looked simple enough: cut and uncooked fish. However taking a closer look the pieces glimmered in a way very reminiscent of the lake itself despite some glowing more brilliant than others. Some sour feelings remained in regards to the event itself, but Magna had a way about phrasing things that soothed her mind even as metaphorical fur became a little unruffled at the recollection. If she unleashed her twin tails then they might’ve puffed up, but Shade still lacked comfort in revealing much to most of the guild and remained wary of someone popping in at a moment’s notice. The notion of devouring some – very likely – tasty fish though gave her a moment’s pause as she further locked down the shift. Cliché maybe, but a minor love of fish seemed to be something Shade couldn’t help.

Setting the chocolate colored Haigha on a free spot of the table as she claimed one of the chairs for herself with enthusiasm. Selecting one, however, she found difficult as the smile gave way to a pondering expression. Should she opt for one of a lighter powder concentration? See what the fish tasted like with light flavoring? Or should she opt for one of a higher concentration and get a better notion of the powder’s influence? Maybe one in a middle range to compare against both?

The first piece found its way into Haigha’s plush mouth, the normally on, curled smile opening to reveal an impenetrable darkness that the slice of sashimi slipped into never to be seen again. Cheeks moved as the plush toy made a chewing motion, a shocked Shade watching as she eventually sighed, ”Delicious!”

Well, she couldn’t remain angry at Haigha for long though annoyance remained as she finally decided to close her eyes and pick a piece at random. That first – admittedly large – bite found itself sitting in her mouth after only a few chews, eyes opening again. It became a strange battle of wills between the desire to simply let it melt, to devour more, or to keep eating this piece at a reasonable pace. They all sounded tantalizing, the girl’s jaw slowly working again as eyes closed in bliss and she hummed with pleasure. The nice, cool feeling, the taste of both fish meeting this crystalline powder they’d fought for: it all felt refreshing and tasted delightful at the same time. She almost didn’t mind Haigha reaching for another piece, though too many and they might be at odds if only because Shade wasn’t always the best at sharing. ”Soooo goooooood. Though I wouldn’t mind if you made sashimi for me for the rest of my life!” Not that she wouldn’t want other things here and there, but she liked the simplicity almost as much as the flavor.

It seemed that the dish had gone down well with both herself and her plus friend. His gaze swept across the chocolate coloured rabbit. This was, as far as he could remember, not one he had seen before. It seemed she had more friends hidden away that he didn't know about or at least had not met. He was certain she'd mentioned names and of those names he could only place a few faces so there must be more. Still, whilst her opinion was highly valued, perhaps more than any other person, it still was not quite as valid as his own. He was very critical of his own cooking and as an expert chef could tell where he had gone wrong and how things could be improved quite easily or at least without spending days on it. As such he sat down calmly a slight smile on his face and conjured up a pair of chopsticks with which he picked up one of the pieces with the least powder.

The visual effect was not as impressive. There was not as much of a glow, but the smell was quite tantalizing as he held it up to his nose. He nodded to himself and placed it upon his tongue and allowed it to sit there for a moment without chewing. The fish was tender. Almost enough to melt in the mouth and the small amount of dust stimulated the saliva production causing it to actually melt slightly. He nodded again and began to slowly chew savouring the flavour. Even the sound of the food as it broke apart reminded him of the star lake. Somehow it symbolised the star light itself. With another nod he picked up a piece with the largest amount of powder. This one had a lot more of the glow. So much that it was almost blinding when held up to the eye. The scent was much more pronounced. However, rather than overpowering the scent of the fish it blended with it and enhanced it without make it disgusting. Once more he held it on his tongue and this time it did melt significantly and quite quickly. The powder seemed to not only stimulate hunger, but the amino acids helped break the food more quickly partially via saliva generation but also through just breaking it down. The tenderness was beyond anything he had before and the juicyness was as if he'd just bitten into an A5 grade steak.

"Well, I have a few other fish dishes in my repertoire, but if sashimi is what you want then sashimi you shall have." he said with a smile and wondered if the rest of her life thing meant she wanted them to stay together forever like he did. "So was it just food that brought you to see me today or was there something else? Another couple needing our help?" As he waited for an answer he considered something.

"I wonder if this dish might even be more beautiful at night, perhaps even the taste would enhance." he said out loud with a slight tilt of his head. After all, the star crystals had only shone at night when they absorbed starlight. So perhaps the dish would also have that aspect and become even more delectable. It was certainly something he would have to try. "Do you think it could do with a sauce of some kind? Or perhaps something to accompany it?"

574 words

To his credit Magna was half right. She had been hungry and looking forward to the man whipping something up for her, each thing a new delight for a tongue that hadn’t tasted anything for some odd years. However her mouth had been full of a slice, thoroughly enjoying the texture and taste of the morsel as she considered the ensuing questions after. The idea that their food could be glowing with the same brilliance of the moon at night…”Woah…then…one could dine by the light of their food alone maybe?” It was an amusingly romantic thought to her, most people going for candle light and yet the fact one might not even need that…the glow would also be gentler and dissipate until the food was gone. Then the couple could enjoy the stars…

…and well other things couples enjoyed under moonlit nights. She wouldn’t let her thoughts wander too much.

”Something worth trying for a late night picnic at least…could be a bit of an appetizer or side dish since it’s not too heavy. But…I can imagine it’d also be something quite fun.” For sauces, lacking a culinary background yet always willing to mix odd things together she shrugged, ”I do like it with simply the powder as it feels…errm…how to put it…refreshing? But I don’t think a sauce would harm it either…what goes with sashimi? Cocktail sauce doesn’t seem right…almost a little too bland…mustard? Could be a fun zing…hmm…”

At this rate, if she weren’t careful Magna might give her a lesson on sauces and their usual dish accompaniments. She feared such a thing might take a bit more time though than they had to spare, at least to stave off a nuisance from a village requesting help. She wouldn’t mind a lesson on sauces and hopefully an ensuing taste test to best understand the material, but for now other things stood higher on the totem pole of importance.

Like a bit of vengeance.

She hadn’t quite forgiven the brutish species for a slight against her in their previous job. Just the mere thought of it caused the girl to frown before the expression smoothed out to minor annoyance as she contemplated the plates between them. ”Admittedly…it wasn’t just food that brought me here – more like a third of the reason really – another third is there may have been a job that caught my eye. Seems some of those obnoxious “Vulcan” things are harassing some villages – and worse – stealing their food! Though given the nature of the ones from our previous escapade I wouldn’t be surprised to learn they’d been peeping on women or something equally rude!” Puffed up in anger at remembering, Haigha provided an entertaining contradiction as the calm and still cheerful stuffed toy slurped up another slice of fish, seemingly unconcerned with these events and insinuations.

The member 'Cielle' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Dining alone by the light of the shining food. With each mouthful the light fading and the romantic atmosphere increasing till at the last moment they were dining purely by the real star light or perhaps their lips met on the final bite. The image was quite intoxicating. However, his thoughts were disturbed from their revery when she mentioned various sauces she thought might work. A cocktail sauce could be interesting if done correctly. They hadn't got any shellfish so it wouldn't be a shrimp cocktail sauce. That would be wrong, but perhaps he could form a new sauce. "Maybe a cocktail sauce made using the powder and some rainbow fruit...with a few other ingredients." he mused. It would be incredibly sweet and the flavour would change as would the colours. Aesthetically it might work nicely though you didn't really get rainbows at night. Perhaps it could symbolise an aurora. Starlight Aurora Cocktail. It would certainly be something worth trying. He raised an eyebrow at the mention of mustard. The zingy almost spicy flavour of mustard with fish was not one had considered. He had heard of it in a few areas, but had not got around to trying it. "A zingy sauce could be interesting. Perhaps if we mixed the mustard with something more traditional like soy or wasabi...or maybe some sake or rice vinegar." He nodded to himself. "Right...next experiments are to find some sauces to match this dish or at least these ingredients." However, in truth he did agree that without a sauce this dish was almost perfect and was indeed very refreshing. What's more it seemed the crystal regrew over time so it was almost limitless in supply. "When we're a bit stronger let's go get some more of the crystals and fish...perhaps try to bring back some roe so we can start a farm of sorts. Then we can sell this and everyone can enjoy it." He wouldn't risk taking them there until they were a bit stronger. They'd almost died last time and he didn't want that to happen again.

When she mentioned the vulcans a slight grin game to his face, but it was a grin that lacked humour. It was almost sadistic in nature. He remembered how they had treated Shade and he'd not got a chance to pay them back for that so now he could go and pay some back, protect some people and perhaps even get some ingredients. The villages near where vulcans normally resided tended to supply some quite tasty ingredients and the forests nearby likely would supply some more. Yes, it would be an ideal job. "Sounds like we should go teach those vulcans some manners" he said grimly and then paused and placed a hand on the knife at his waist. There was a negative feeling as he touched it and he nodded. "Though this time Aegis will be staying out of it. He got hurt by some werewolves and hasn't yet recovered...which reminds me I need to go teach them some manners again in the future. Even if they won't appear again for a while." Yes, the cerberus slayer would be paying them a visit in the future. He'd cure that village of lycanthropy, get some ingredients and get payback for Aegis. He wasn't normally one for vengeance, but Aegis was his closest and oldest friend. Nobody hurt him and got away with it. Aegis would do the same if anyone hurt him.

"Let's go and stop them monkeying around." he said with a chuckle. "I'll show them how a real monkey should act."

598 words

’Theoretically, with the powder…one could make an entire glowing meal…’ Between sauces, the fish, and more than likely other dishes entirely…one wouldn’t have need for a candle at all. The musings fell away though as her mind again shifted back towards the horrible apes and their lewd, crude ways. Besides she could use the bit of training they’d supply so that the next trip to Starry Lake could go far more…swimmingly. The farm could easily be figured out, the thing likely housed somewhere else and a portal set up to maintain it since the middle of Rose Garden lacked sufficient space for a fish farm. ’Especially such large ones as these fellas.’

Her expression cleared to one of curiosity as she tilted her head, Shade trying to glimpse the knife that housed the armored hero. It sounded worrisome and she fretted mildly, hoping he’d recover quickly. As much as she wanted to offer to help though her powers remained limited on this plane so unless she revealed part of her true self and dragged some of the werewolves to...Paradise, then she would likely be more of a hindrance than anything. ”I hope he recovers swiftly then…I’ll try to make sure Amaraylis picks up the slack in his stead!” It was the only thing she could offer even if the guardian wasn’t too keen on protecting others. However as it came as a subtle command there stood little the beast could do as she manifested.

Shade spent a fair bit of the travel to the village asleep on Magna’s shoulder, the rocking of the carriage simply too lulling to the girl. Once there she stretched upon exiting their ride, feeling quite refreshed from her little cat nap and then stopped. ’Hmm…I’m used to villages being a little more…rural?’ Not that it held much on the towns and cities, but seeing real buildings rather than huts or tents gave her a moment’s pause. ’I guess definitions do change over time though…’ It looked cozy though, some residents eyeing them questioningly as others continued about their work. Shade wouldn’t be surprised if they all knew each other to varying extents, smaller communities like this generally tightknit. Not too far though she could spy what looked to be a vast field of gardens, a myriad of greens and other colors decorating the expanse as people toiled about the trees and bushels. ’Oh my, maybe a mini Magna Heaven?’

Magna nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything more when she said that she hoped that Aegis would recover swiftly. He indeed wanted the knight to recover swiftly, but that did not need saying and he didn't want to speak further less he cause undue worry for Aegis or Shade. No, he was worried enough without spreading it about too much. Those who said that sharing the worry was less worry for you were wrong. It just created more worry. Right now he needed to get his mind off of Aegis and going to beat up some of the vulcan's sounded like an ideal way to do that.

The carriage journey was fairly length and Shade spent most of it asleep on his shoulder whilst he merely sat there staring out the window into space not really focusing too much on where he was though he did enjoy having her close. Eventually when the carriage came to a halt and they exited he noted that the area was indeed something that could be classed as a mini Magna heaven. There were lots of ingredients being grown and harvested around here. None, from what he could tell at this distance, were particularly special, but Magna had a great appreciation for all ingredients and it was said that this appreciation helped the ingredients flourish and make more delicious dishes. This was said by others, but he did see the point. His food did seem to come out more delicious than some who were just cooking because it was their job. In fact, thinking back it was only once Jin's passion for cooking began to grow whilst training beneath Magna that the dishes became truly delicious.

"I think we will have to look around here once we have dealt with the vulcan threat." he said with a nod and noticed that a market place was also set up. "Hopefully the market will be open on our way back. If not we'll have to go talk to the villagers." He added and then began walking towards the woods a frying pan appear in his hand as he did so. He'd use this as his primary means of attacking today. It would be good practise and it would stop him relying so much on his gauntlets. Though they would be a good backup should things get dire. His magic of course would be useful here as it always was though in the woods he would have to be careful with his fire spells, perhaps using more precise ones, so as not to cause a forest fire of some kind. From his pocket he pulled out a chef's hat and donned it upon his head feeling magic surge through him. "Let's go mash some monkeys. Maybe afterwards we can try the dish chilled monkey brains." This was more of a joke than anything though he had made the dish in the past. He wondered how Shade would react though.

493 words

”We can always see about spending the night worse comes to worse,” she assured, not in a particular hurry anywhere aside for teaching a few apes their places. Beyond that her schedule remained open to whimsy, something that made her stop for only a moment. ’Odd.’ It’d never really bothered her before, but for a brief spot in time it left her curious and maybe a tiny bit empty feeling? ’Well, no matter,’ she reassured herself and followed Magna, ’if it’s worth thinking about it’ll come around again. If not then no biggie!’

The pan from before appeared in his hands, small flashes of the thing increasing to almost comical and ridiculous proportions, but in his hands it wasn’t simply something for slapstick purposes (or making ridiculously large pancakes). It’d held back an avalanche after all, though as they headed into the forest she pondered on the choice. ’What form of Morganna would be best? And…are chilled monkey brains good?’ Mildly distracted by the thought, she eventually settled for the dual dagger form. While there might be some occasions where “shooting” Magna could prove useful – such as with Celty present – Shade wanted to avoid such accidents and didn’t want to find issue with any of the long-arm weapons. She held the blades so they pointed back, more ready for a defensive stance than anything, though there’d been a few thighs in the past that might say otherwise. Their fault for being grabby.

Finally curiosity got the best of the girl, brow scrunched up in thought as she asked, ”What do they taste like?” The girl stopped though, the slight crinkling of grass underneath boots ceasing as she frowned further and whirled about, ”DON’T YOU EVEN DARE!” The pair of adolescent Vulcans jumped, hands thrown in the air in their surprise at both being caught and her fury. By Shade’s side the black fox gave a fanged smirk, though it fell within a few seconds as she sniffed the air. The stench of them struck her as too strong for all of two, wily beasts.



(rolling one more so the two strongs can combine into a boss)

The member 'Cielle' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

As the two vulcans leaped in surprise Magna had also leaped...straight at them. Both of them received a powerful blow to the face from his gauntlets. This alone would of been pretty painful as they were of a metallic substance, but Magna's Black Velvet were rather special. They could launch off kinetic bursts of energy at short and mid range. This pair of vulcans had just got that damage at point blank and been sent flying into trees. What was perhaps even more surprising then them being caught and smacked was that as they struck the tree they hit it with such force that their hidden allies, or at least some of them, were knocked down. These all appeared to be children or young adults of the species, similar to the two he'd struck. In total he counted that they now had six vulcans to deal with, but the air still stank of their scent. His sharp nose, enhanced ever since he gained the cerberus slayer power, seemed to indicate that there were probably around ten of them in total though one didn't smell quite like a vulcan.

"Why don't you all come out from hiding?" he said his tail uncoiling from his waist and twirling about. "Or perhaps you're scared of a two teenagers?" The six vulcans, including the two he'd knocked down' all had got back to their feet now. The two he'd hit were dazed and looked a bit worse for the wear, but were still combat capable. A big issue here was that his strongest combinations, which could likely take down the entire pack in two spells, were too dangerous to use in a forest. They all used fire and he did not have a way to douse a forest fire yet. So this was going to be a bit tougher, but that just made it more fun. Besides, these vulcans needed to be beaten so soundly that they didn't come back.

"As for chilled monkey brains. Its not bad. A bit like squishy ice cream." he replied having tried the dish in his travels.

348 words

Satisfaction filled her at watching the two hound dogs…of apes fly and smack right into a tree. The fallen group their concussions caused surprised her a bit, some of the frown giving way to raised eyebrows. ’Did he do that on purpose?’ Had he sensed or figured out where more of them were lurking? And maybe these weren’t simply two ambitious and rambunctious youngsters, but maybe some sort of little spy squad? Or…whatever people called them. She couldn’t be bothered to remember right now.

”Mmm all right, I’m intrigued then. Guess we’ll need ingredients first.” Would seem the lot didn’t look too pleased being knocked from their perches as a family of glaring apes stared them down. Even the two who received the unlucky blows managed to do so despite some growing lumps.

Fueled by anger the lot rushed the trio, a cacophony of noises ringing through the air and even from this distance likely alerting the villagers to a growing brouhaha. With mouths agape she couldn’t resist chucking something towards one, the other black pebble missing the other mark unfortunately. The adult Vulcan gulped the black seed down, to hell bent on reaching her and then stopping before it might slam into the sudden growth of a pitch black, bramble wall that sprung up between them. Two of the youngsters ran right through it, stuck with thorns all over and stopping to swat at them even as they yelled in rage, too inexperienced to stop in time and yet it slowly dawned on them that neither the white haired girl nor the black fox remained on the other side. This only seemed to further their annoyances, teeth grinding as heads whipped this way and that to find their targets.

Through the grass slithered black bindings, the things quickly rising up to hover around their limbs. As one of the adults cried out with a howl it became too late, the pair finding their legs and arms succinctly and summarily pulled close, their sudden lack of center causing the duet to fall over with almost audible – if not for the growls and roars from the rest of the family – ‘thunk.’

Behind the bramble wall Shade summoned Haigha, the black rabbit and her moving to different sides even as Amarylis took to other shadows. The once white outfit of Shade’s quickly turned dark as a multitude of bandages formed around her, leggings swapped for them even as some hung loosely around the dress she now adorned and others spilling out a jacket not unlike the Black Rabbit’s. Together they’d forced the two young’uns to the ground and with a simple ‘snip’ of the line, there they’d remain until or unless they broke out. Though as she walked towards them Shade popped a similar black seed into their mouths when both troublesome pests made to hoot at her in their fury, both somewhat choking it down and now merely confused and a little out of breath.

Six opponents. Two disabled by the wrappings used by the black rabbit and Shade. Her clothing seemed to have changed when she summoned up the rabbit. He couldn't recall that happening before. Perhaps it was an optional ability of her denizen summoning. He had no idea what the black seeds were, but knowing Shade and how she fought it likely wouldn't be a healthy nutrion pill. Three had ingested those seeds, including the two bound. The two bound were children and likely the weakest. The rest were young adults, including the two he'd hit earlier. Four opponents still able to fight freely and one of those was infected. The recipe for success became clear in his mind and he threw himself up into the air using his gauntlets and came slamming down in the middle of the remaining four.

As his feet slammed down a pit opened beneath the foot of the one that had ingest the seed and said vulcan dropped down into it before the pit closed sealing it inside. The vulcan inside would be slowly frozen by the combination because he'd not only used his cooking pit spell, but fused it with his chill spell essentially forming an ice box. Another received a flick of water which when it hit the vulcan caused a bubble to form. A bubble that rapidly began to boil because he'd combined the spell with his cooking flame low.

They were two low level spell fusions, but in truth they were enough to get rid of two opponents without much difficultly. The other two stared at him, both were young adults, and beat their chests before leaping at him. Much to their surprise Magna caught one on each balled up fist and held them there without any visible strain. "You two need to eat more." he said and then suddenly a blade pierced through each of them. There was no visible wound, but their eyes clouded over with death mist and then they fell off. Magna had no sign of blood on him nor did his gauntlets. The blades themselves were energy and appeared to be strangely translucent and eerie. This was the power of the cerberus slayer. The ability to attack the 'soul' of an object rather than the object itself. In this case it struck the 'soul' of the vulcan's heart stopping them instantly and causing them to die. It wasn't the nicest way to kill someone, but it was generally painless and they were much better as ingredients.

"Six monkeys sitting in a tree, two jump down to play with me." he chanted trying to taunt the remaining ones into action. "Four monkeys sitting in a tree, two on the ground go flying with a whee. Now there are no little monkeys sitting in the tree."

466 words

Spells:

Things went rather spectacularly…maybe too much so? While the freezing and boiling seemed right up his ally the summoner tilted her head at the move that took out the other two. No blood, no screams: nothing. They simply laid there unmoving and unbreathing after those ghostly blades pierced them. Though he’d mentioned the Cerberus abilities to some extent she mostly associated them with his intimidating “Asura” mode, forgetting it likely held other capabilities too. ’What did he do?’ It worried her a little, though she couldn’t quite touch on ‘why’ it did.

Surveying the area though the liveliest of the bunch proved to be the conked young duo as they continued to wiggle in the layers of bindings. ’Probably not long before they tucker themselves out like that.’ Eyeing them the girl nodded to herself: coupled with their previous injuries and the other drain they should start feeling it quickly. As long as things stayed good then they could even take them home alive and thus quite fresh! If things turned sour then she’d have to drain the life from them much quicker.

There, she felt it. A large presence hovered nearby, almost distracting her from the smaller ones amidst it as Magna spoke his little rhyme. Any small hopes that maybe that’d been the bulk of the troupe found themselves dashed as the leaves above began rustling up a fierce rhythm, soon accompanied by hooting and howling. Wrappings from Haigha shot out, yanking Shade to the tall rabbit as a thick branch dug into the ground where she’d been standing moments before. It’d shot from the tree tops like a javelin, the last of its leaves falling to the ground around its resting place. The largest of the trees in the area rustled, some of the vibrations felt like tiny tremors in the ground as even the sturdy being shuddered a bit under the angry force of whatever started descending.

”Careful Magna…this one’s…large.” As silly as it sounded the warning came out before she knew it, a small fear for her chef bubbling up. Part of it likely stemmed from their recent trouble at Starry Lake, but just the momentary thought of something trying to squash him like an insect sent a small shiver of fear down her spine.

’I really don’t want him to end up in Paradise…’

The size of the branch was in truth rather impressive and the shudder through the ground caused by it was even more so. There was no way that was hurled by a vulcan. Even a vulcan at the prime of its strength wouldn't be able to do that. Them working together to do something like this wasn't their style. The question was what exactly was it? The smell was strong, monkey-like, but different to the vulcans. He didn't have long to wait though for with a bellow a huge ape with four bulky arms came out the trees. It was muscular, green-furred and was at least 12ft tall and its eyes were rather piercing. Rather than cowering at it though Magna just stepped forward his face splitting into three and the four arms forming. His eyes began to glow red as a second tail, this one serpentine and tipped with a snake head formed. The huge beast bellowed again and began to beat on its chest before thrusting out with two of its arms to try and grab Magna.

Yet this was exactly what Magna had been planning for. Its huge fists collided with Magna's smaller ones, but he stood there holding his ground which seemed to confuse the beast, but not for long. Its other two arms swung forward trying to collide into him, but Magna cause though as well. Despite its strength and size Magna's own strength, enhanced by the gauntlets, meant that this beast was a lightweight to him.

"Guess what big boy? You're going for a ride" Magna said with a slight twisted grin on all faces. He dug his feet into the ground and bent backwards lifting the vulcan off of the ground and slamming it down head first into the ground. The three remaining vulcans who had been hiding in the treetops hooting away went silent as Magna let go and turned to face the giant beast. Would it rise to its feet? Or had his attack been enough? There was a loud groan as the beast slowly began to get to its feet. That was when Magna stroke with another technique.

"Underworld Guardian's Sage + King Sleep Fragrance. Sage King's Sleep." he roared and from his head launched a spiritual head of a monkey. As it hit the troll kong it would iimediately feel its body weaken quite heavily, but what's more it would find itself robbed off a sense. Which sense wasn't immediately clear, but he hoped it would be sight.

(Rolling a D6. If this is a 1 or 2 it loses sight, if its 3 or 4 it loses the ability to speak or make noise and if its a 5 or 6 it loses the ability to hear.
Its also had its speed reduced quite a bit and if it takes some more damage before the duration is up it will be put to sleep. There are also three vulcan remaining)

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[spoiler=Magic]
88% MP at start
19% MP used
67% MP remaining(4 posts till regen)

Coolbox(Chill+Cooking Pit): 2/3 posts duration used
Bubbling Brine (Cooking flame low + Brining): 2/3 posts duration us
Sage King's Sleep (Underworld Guardian's Sage + King sleep fragrance): 1/3 posts duration used

The member 'Shard' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Normal Dice' :

Indeed they must’ve stumbled across a member of the Kong family as the troupe leader came down to finally greet them. Unlike the others it differed not only in size, but even the amount of arms. ’Do these things gain arms like foxes gain tails or something?!’ At least she’d heard stories of races of fox-like beings and creatures that gained a tail every thousand or so years of life. While it visibly towered over Magna and boasted larger muscles to boot the thing found its fists locked with smaller, yet equally (or more so?) fists. Turning their leader down on his head silenced the incessant howling from above, a pleasant turn from the cacophonous noise.

As it rose something became noticeably off with the beast, its sense of balance thrown off in the face of confusion. If she didn’t know better it almost looked to be attempting a form of drunk fist fighting, but more than that the great beast appeared to have a hard time regaining its bearings. ’Is it going to fall asleep?’ Such was her guess based on the name and yet the way its eyes and head swiveled about insinuated an inability to concentrate maybe?

However her attention diverted, noticing one of the trio in the tree making its way down. Judging from its renewed howling it sounded quite peeved at seeing its leader being bested and confounded. Its rousing display started stirring the other two into action, their hair raising and lips beginning to flap with that obnoxious sound of their’s. ”A demonstration’s in order I guess…” Briefly Shade’s magenta eyes turned to one of the wrapped up younglings before she decided against it. It’d be best not to waste ingredients after all. Instead the daggers in her hands shifted, becoming a pair of pistols, though a glass-like blade extended from each barrel. Taking careful aim at the distracted Vulcan she fired, the seed causing it to choke and subsequently miss a hop down. Hitting the last few branches down it hit the ground with a pained gasp. Another breathe never came as its body jumped and spasmed until a brilliantly glowing vine  slipped from the Vulcan’s mouth as similar ones forced their way out through various spots of its torso. Their rapid growth and rise towards the other two stopped short of them as the vines hardened and dimmed slightly, gripping the trunk of the tree and wrapped around a few branches.

”Wait your turn.”

They were too busy eyeing the celestial looking vines to be bothered noticing the dark rabbit hiding in the shadows, her glowing eye trained on them as bandages snuck up the back side. It’d only be a matter of moments before they’d be wrapped up nice and neat just like the two young ones.

The eyes of the beast had clouded over. Its sight had been stolen. That was probably the best sense that could of been stolen. It would make the eyes feel weird which could potentially make them droop all the quicker. The beast swung out wildly trying to strike Magna, but wherever he struck was exactly where Magna was not. Suddenly, a blow came down on him at an angle towards the ground and Magna moved out of the way and leaped up onto it using the gauntlets to fire himself downwards to force the fist further into the ground. That was enough for Magna to then run up the arm and leap once more striking down at the head in the same manner he had the hand. If this had been an anime or a cartoon then stars or little birds would of been twirling about its head as it teetered about before collapsing in a heap. Magna cracked his knuckles and turned to the other vulcans, the ones that Shade was dealing with.

She seemed to be dealing with them fairly well without any help from him so for now he wouldnt interfere. He did not want her to think that he thought her incapable. He knew she was capable and skilled. Besides this way he could reserve his energy incase something else came along. He had not expected to see a troll kong out here and generally where one of those was another was present. In fact, like wolves they often went in packs and were lead by one with silver fur. He didn't smell any more nearby. Perhaps this was a lone wolf exiled from the tribe. One that had perhaps gone off and got the vulcans working for it to replace its pack. That would explain why they were more active with a much more powerful leader.

312 words

Freedom turned to bonds as the pair still up in the trees found themselves quickly wrapped up like presents. As their limbs became bound to their bodies and they fell to the ground large bows even bobbed up from their backs before Haigha cut them loose from herself. From the shadows of the branches only her single, glowing red eye and bright, never failing smile could be seen staring down at the now helpless creatures. ”I suppose we’ve got multiple brains now…do you suppose that’s all of them?”

They’d caused a bit of a ruckus in the area, though Shade felt confident the forest could repair itself. They certainly hadn’t blasted a huge hole or anything just crushed some of the plant life at best. Okay…maybe some minor holes found themselves made in the ground because of the their oversized leader, but she liked to think that meant something could eventually be planted there! Even the obnoxious troupe of Vulcans found themselves wrapped up like tidy packages for transportation. Given their dislike of the species they’d more than likely end up as some new flavor of the month for Magna’s cooking experiments – hopefully more treats than anything for the guild.

Black bandages started curling around the behemoth of the group, slithering down from the tree before the rabbit finally dropped down, carefully wrapping around all the big lug’s limbs and wrapping around it in multiple layers. At least Shade figured it safe to assume he’d want that one too for whatever dishes might come to mind. As her summon busied itself typing up loose ends she walked to the two from the tree, forcing a black colored seed into their mouths like a fair bit of the troupe before them as she figured it didn’t hurt to be safe rather than sorry. ”There, now if any of them try anything on the way home then bam! A painful death!” The sentiment came with a cheery voice, Shade hardly caring about their outcome either way. They were simply more of the same perverted species after all.

He sniffed the air. There was no scent of any remaining primates anywhere nearby. They had taken out quite a few and now they were about to head back to town for the reward. As proof of their defeat they would be taking the vulcans and troll kong with them. However, it did seem that Shade had taken his suggestion of monkey brains rather seriously. He had meant it as a joke, but it seemed she was quite adamant about it. Of course, he had cooked with monkey before and had indeed done chilled monkey brains, but he'd never tried it with vulcans.

"Well, i'll have to experiment a bit to see if I can come up with anything good with these guys...not cooked with vulcans before, but still...should be fun. Maybe you can help out in the kitchen." he suggested as a response as he began to haul some of the vulcans back towards town.