Outside 42

[Slii Arhem]

A Stone Table

She visibly droops, slouching slightly as she regards him, "You don't like me very much. My name's Lee, though. You said you wanted something, right?" She seems almost despondent for a moment, apparently either very empathetic or perceptive about Walter's frustrations with the lack of progress in the conversation.

[Cyber Punk]

A Simple Contract

Evan doesn't need to finish, as Hotaru leans over and hugs him. "I know how you feel, Evan. I've been there before." Should he let her hug him, she'd lean her head on him as they walk. "You're well built."

To Sandy Oaks

Hotaru considers mentioning that her father told her that before he died by her hand, but she holds her tongue.

"I'm curious, Zither: apart from going to see the Tower, have you ever wanted to leave?" Hotaru says, glancing at the spire-top that comes into view. "Sandy Oaks."

[DoomITP]

A Simple Contract

Nothing quite like human contact for someone like Evan. He melts ever so slightly. As they walk and he hears her comment, he turns pink in the face.

Thanks, you aren't bad yourself.

There is a strange smell, like burning ozone that slowly becomes stronger as the two walk. Evan doesn't say anything but he does seem to be made uneasy.

[Deathkeeper]

A Stone Table

Walter shakes his head.
"Sorry, I'm just a bit confused. Yeah, I was trying to call something that could help me with an issue or two. Do you have any special abilities that you can use to help people?" he asks more politely.

[Cyber Punk]

A Simple Contract

Hotaru smiles as she hears his comment, feeling a blush coming on as well. Then the strange smell hits, and she slowly stands straight up, wiping her eyes for any stray tears. She crouches as she narrows her eyes. "You smell that, too?" She sticks her stick in the ground, making sure it sticks.

[DoomITP]

A Simple Contract

Evan nods, sticking his hand inside his coat, his eyes lit up with anger.

Daddy dearest is coming.

As he finished his sentence the four guards teleport in, their assault rifles barking as they aim at Evan, striking him in the thigh.

He drops to his knees, screaming in pain, his face contorted with rage as he produces a very short shotgun seemingly from nowhere and points at at the first guard and pulls the trigger.

The shotgun roars and flames burst forth, turning the man he was aiming at into a pink mist from the waist up before Evan drops down further to the ground, evidently in excruciating pain.

[Slii Arhem]

A Stone Table

Walter shakes his head.
"Sorry, I'm just a bit confused. Yeah, I was trying to call something that could help me with an issue or two. Do you have any special abilities that you can use to help people?" he asks more politely.

A Stone Table

A slight pause as she tries to shake herself of her sudden melancholy and figure out a reply, "Well, I mean I have abilities, I'm able. I don't know how you'd tell if they're special or not. What did you need me to do, I guess I can tell you if I can do it after that."

[Cyber Punk]

A Simple Contract

"EVAN!" Hotaru screams as he's shot, then turns to the nearest guard and blasts him with electricity. Then Evan blows off another soldier's torso. *Serves him right for hurting Evan.* Wait, what? Hotaru shakes those thoughts off. She unsticks her stick and morphs it into a shield, then attempts to shield-bash another guard.

[Deathkeeper]

A Stone Table

"Well, about a month ago this being have me these awesome wings, but they vanished after a few weeks. I'd love to have them back, but it's okay if you don't do stuff like that." he looks away, embarrassed.
"I got lots of compliments on them. It was a real confidence booster while it lasted..." he says to himself.

[DoomITP]

A Simple Contract

Evan is down, skin turning pale and sweating profusely as he lies on the ground, trying to stop his own bleeding.

The other remaining guard runs at Hotaru, gun raised.

[Cyber Punk]

A Simple Contract

Hotaru looks briefly at Evan, then at the guard running at her. She runs as well then slide-kicks the guard while shielding herself from any shots fired. She charges the metal of the bullets with electricity and sends them back to the guard in an attempt to neutralize.

If that attempt was successful, she'd run back to Evan, attempting to tend to his wounds and... be there for him. She probably would be at alert, but would be more focused on Evan than her surroundings.

[DoomITP]

A Simple Contract

As Hotaru comes up to Evan, his eyes are wide, desperate and filled with pain.

Behind...

With that there is a click and old man Armire is pointing a gun at Evan and Hotaru.

Evan, you failure. You couldn't even kill me. Does she know how many men and women you've pulled the trigger on and you can't kill me?

The old man was the spitting image of Evan if he was in his late fifties.

[Slii Arhem]

A Stone Table

"Well, about a month ago this being have me these awesome wings, but they vanished after a few weeks. I'd love to have them back, but it's okay if you don't do stuff like that." he looks away, embarrassed.
"I got lots of compliments on them. It was a real confidence booster while it lasted..." he says to himself.

A Stone Table

"Oh, no. That's not what I am at all. Why'd you make me here if you wanted that, that's some sort of... it's another thing. I don't even know what it'd be. But you want compliments, right? And more confidence? I could maybe do something that'd do that." Lee adopts a pose of exagerrated thinking, trying to determine how best to go about such a request. If that is truly what Walter wants, anyway. If not, he should speak up.

[Deathkeeper]

A Stone Table

Walter waves a hand a bit at her almost-question.
"I wasn't trying to call you specifically, just the kind of person who might. I'm not good enough to call specific entities, so I had to go for as close as I could manage.
And yeah, I guess that's what I want. I know there's lots of different ways to do that. For different people, confidence can come from looks or skills or just being really strong or fast. So...yeah, that's what I want, but I'm not really good at figuring out how I want to go about it." he says, tapping a finger to his chin, a bit annoyed at himself that he's so unable to make a specific request. You'd think he'd have thought of that before he summoned something, but he thought that the being would be more forthright about what he/she would be able to offer.

[Cyber Punk]

A Simple Contract

*Well, he should have. Let's fry 'im.* Hotaru shakes her head to ward off the thoughts. The look of Evan in pain makes it harder and harder to resist. Hotaru turns around and faces John. "I told him not to. How's the knee, old man?" The shield turns back to a staff.

[DoomITP]

A Simple Contract

John Armire grins.

Oh, darling. You've no idea about him. You really don't. He wants to kill me so badly it's driving him insane. That's the real reason. He's caught up in conflict. Just how I raised him.

With that John lets loose another shot into Evan's uninjured leg, releasing a dry heav and a soundless scream from the assassin.

[Slii Arhem]

A Stone Table

Walter waves a hand a bit at her almost-question.
"I wasn't trying to call you specifically, just the kind of person who might. I'm not good enough to call specific entities, so I had to go for as close as I could manage.
And yeah, I guess that's what I want. I know there's lots of different ways to do that. For different people, confidence can come from looks or skills or just being really strong or fast. So...yeah, that's what I want, but I'm not really good at figuring out how I want to go about it." he says, tapping a finger to his chin, a bit annoyed at himself that he's so unable to make a specific request. You'd think he'd have thought of that before he summoned something, but he thought that the being would be more forthright about what he/she would be able to offer.

A Stone Table

"Okay then. Well, I can try." With almost exaggerated and dramatic care, Lee reaches up to her hairline, grasping her bangs firmly with two fingers and pulling them to the side. The eye she reveals is utterly unlike her left one, with an enlongated, deerlike pupil that stares intently, unblinking and seeming to capture all in its gaze.

Merely looking is enough for her. She can see the potential, the parts of the animal within all things living. Everything came back to that one desire eventually, and those who succumb to it passed it on to their kin, in an endless cycle of rebirth and struggle.

There were very good springs here, in the Nexus. Inevitably, the magic inherent to this place would bring about more than simple mating seasons with the melting of the snow. Eventually the mere concept of breeding would become a thing unto itself with all the attention paid and thought given to it. And from there, all it takes is a summoner with a lax idea of what he's pulling on and the right conditions to bring things to this moment.

An eye, hidden behind an innocuous curtain of hair that held back the frenzy of an entire plain, graces Walter with its gaze. Within moments, he may feel the power leap from that glimpse and latch hold, taking possession of his form and writing over what evolution, havoc, magic, and meddling have already set into the wet clay of his physical being.

When it's done, if he nor his player has anything to say about it, he'll be left feeling the cold, early spring breeze across his bare chest, and without yet knowing quite what has happened to him as the hair is brought back into place across Lee's eye.

[Cyber Punk]

A Simple Contract

"My father raised me that way too. And until I made a turn around, you should have seen where it g--." Hotaru is cut short by a gunshot. Evan's been injured. She screams, looking at Evan. This man she hardly knew was being injured by his own father. One that was treating him like trash. Just like her father. Oh, how she loved cleaving him in twain. And now, though she barely knows him, she knows she'll invite him for a drink later.

*He has to be alive for that to happen.* And just like that, Hotaru's eyes turn red, the blue tron lines on her body turning to red.

"You'll die. Just like my father. I loved killing him. I try to supress it. I hated the fact that I loved it, but I did. You'll die, but not before I enjoy hearing your screams." And with that, Hotaru lunges at John with the staff turned electric sword, a devilish look on her face. Where has the sweet talkative girl with a playful look on her face gone?

[Deathkeeper]

A Stone Table

The first thing Walter notices is the cold. He vaguely remembers what Lee did. She moved her hair and looked at him with her eye, which was weird. But the sudden effect of it all was so jarring that he's a bit too discombobulated to really be thinking about it. He's much too busy feeling winter wind across his bare chest. March might be almost spring, but that's a pretty big almost!

He shivers, rather dramatically, and looks around frantically for his clothes as he realizes that they're not currently covering him. His jacket might have been cheap, but it sure as hell beats nothing! It's only after a few seconds of looking (probably unsuccessfully) that he looks down at himself with more than a quick, panicked glance, though mostly he's doing so because he's trying to rub his arms together for heat.
"Wh-wh-what was all that?" he mutters as he does so.

[DoomITP]

A Simple Contract

John Armire, even on an injured leg seems rather nimble, barely avoiding Hotaru's sword, pointing the pistol at her and firing a quick succession of shots.

Evan looks up at Hotaru in evident shock. Afraid for the woman and her promise to never kill he is determined that either he would kill Armire or no one would. And with that Evan struggles to get in enough breath to call out.

H...

[Cyber Punk]

A Simple Contract

Hotaru dodges a few of the shots. The ones that should hit are stopped by a rather strong electromagnetic field, before dropping to the ground. "The more shots you fire, the more painful the rest of your short life would be." With that she sends a sustained stream of electricity his way, intending to affect his nervous system. Not to make them numb, mind you, but to make him feel a constant stream of pain.

[Slii Arhem]

A Stone Table

Walter likely will find his voice rumbles deeply from his chest, a chest that glistens and shimmers in the brisk, wintery air for the moments that his eyes glance over it on their quest for his shirt. No shirt will be found, but plenty of torn shreds of cloth litter the ground around him. His shivers cause his broad, sculpted, muscular pectorals to twitch involuntarily, his tree-like legs tensing against the next chill, biting wind despite their too-small covering of pants. His tail sways and swishes back and forth irritably of its own accord, ears flicking at the sounds of foraging animals a fair distance to the east.

The next thing he probably notices is how natural all of this probably feels to him, despite just moments ago he likely recalls distinctly not having a massive, muscular, powerful masculine body, nor the lupine ears and tail he now sports. Lee stands wringing her hands, somewhat worried that he won't like it, especially as the wolfish additions weren't exactly meant to be, merely a side effect of the unchecked power.

[DoomITP]

A Simple Contract

Armire screams and drops to his knees in clear pain though he still tries to point his gun at either Evan or Hotaru.

[Deathkeeper]

A Stone Table

Indeed, Walter feels almost uncomfortable comfortable with all of these things. The feeling of moving a limb around where his legs start is quite natural, right? So he doesn't think to question it, and doesn't notice either of the fuzzy additions placed in spots that he can't actually see (at all for the ears, and without deliberately trying for the tail). He looks in wonder at the odd shimmery-ness of his very large muscles, which, truly, he doesn't remember having at all. It doesn't see bad, not by his standards, though the shine seems a bit much. What's even making that happen?

"Oh, dear." is all he can think to say. "This is....this is a bit much, don't you think? I think you just doubled my weight. It doesn't look silly, does it?" he says, more seeking her approval than disapproving himself. Another cold breeze wracks his body, and he's reminded of his upper body's lack of cloth, his lower body's lack of adequate cloth, and the feet similarly lacking as they bear the remnants of shoes sized for a much different person.
"Geez. I didn't bring a change of clothes with me, and there's no way I can walk all the way back to Inside half-naked and barefoot. Especially not in uncomfortably tight pants." he grumbles. "I don't suppose you have some sort of power to supply coats and deal with bare-footedness, do you? Otherwise my best bet to avoid hypothermia's gonna have to be finding a cave to sleep in or summoning something dealing with transportation."
He's probably joking about that last part. Hopefully. Probably not. At least he knows not to go for heat spirits...

[Nalix]

To Sandy Oaks

Hotaru considers mentioning that her father told her that before he died by her hand, but she holds her tongue.

"I'm curious, Zither: apart from going to see the Tower, have you ever wanted to leave?" Hotaru says, glancing at the spire-top that comes into view. "Sandy Oaks."

((It's not clear what "her father told her that" refers to, though I suppose it doesn't matter since it's in her head anyway))

Phil looks at the passing scenery and considers Hotaru and the upcoming spires. He still hadn't decided if he thought she was pretty or not. He charged a mid-grade ball of chaos in his hand about the size of a marble and let it dissipate without discharging, or resulting in any effect. Sometimes he did this when he was nervous or bored. He does it again, finding the novice exercise somewhat therapeutic.

[Slii Arhem]

A Stone Table

"Uhm, well you look very manly I suppose, from where I'm standing. If a bit sweaty, which might explain why you're so cold." Lee, of course, doesn't seem to mind the cold one bit as she stands there in what amounts to a tube top and miniskirt made from furs.

She fidgets, though, and Walter may find himself covered, feet and manly chest both, in a similarly fuzzy getup. A fur cloak and set of mocasins have appeared, and his worries about freezing to death may be assuaged by that.

Of course, now a second insidious side effect of Lee's tampering may begin to be unveiled. Walter may begin to feel the (completely natural, of course) urge to find a proper mate, settle down with them, and start a family. By the roots of his unexpected chest hairs, it's as much a part of him now as the physique and masculinity that's been inflicted on him.

[Deathkeeper]

A Stone Table

Walter looks at the suddenly existing clothes. "Well, that's nifty." he says, glad he didn't have to go get a crash course in sleeping in caves and skinning deer.
"Are you really not cold? You're in less than I am." he says, pausing to adjust his too-small pants and grumbling as he does so.

[Slii Arhem]

A Stone Table

"It's past time for hibernating, why would I be cold? I can feel them all out there, marking territory, tracking each other, courting their new mates for the year with gifts and affection." She gestures out to the visibly empty plain, but as Walter's new ears can attest, eyes can be deceiving. He can sort of hear what she means.

[Deathkeeper]

A Stone Table

Walter's ears twitch. Weird.
"Woah. Did you mess with my ears? The place was a lot quieter a few minutes ago." he says, pausing to listen. There's something oddly relate-able about what she's saying. Though in terms of the ears? She might have to tell him.

[Slii Arhem]

A Stone Table.

Lee droops again, slouching forward slightly with shoulders hunched, "Noooooot intentionally?" She walks over hesitantly, reaching up to run a hand over his left ear to alert him to the change.