soul_mods: (Witch's Soul)
Soul Campaign Moderation Journal ([personal profile] soul_mods) wrote in [community profile] soul_logs2012-09-28 09:59 pm

[OPEN] Mission 156

Characters: Open to participants who signed up here.
Location: Lake Tahoe, CA
Rating: Various.
Time: March 27th, late morning.
Description: The second of the three Madness emitters outside Death City is the target for this mission. Bundle up, everyone -- it's gonna be a cold one.

The mission begins late in the morning, to allow the mission-goers as much sunlight as possible in the warmest part of the day. Not that it'll help much… Temperatures are well below freezing already -- unnatural even for early Spring in the mountains -- and a howling snowstorm threatens to blot out the sun, beginning up the mountain where the slope just begins to rise sharply.

The slopes themselves are fairly barren: a windswept-looking tree here, a cabin that may have once belonged to the snow patrol there, maybe a Madness-crazed bear or mountain lion. Those braving the storm are lucky enough to see five feet in front of their face in these conditions!

Those brave few who manage to make it to the top (enduring falling temperatures and defeating the corrupted fauna and hulking kishin yeti along the way) may come across their goal at the very summit of the half-mile-high mountain: the Madness emitter itself, in the eye of the storm… And one last obstacle: the Witch guarding it.



OOC NOTES.
- The event summary post containing all relevant links is located here.
- Make your own threads, but please indicate in your subject line [CHARACTER(S) | LOCATION | OPEN/CLOSED]
- If you have any further questions, the mod thread on the coordination post is here!
comradery: (take a deep breath)

[personal profile] comradery 2012-10-27 08:08 am (UTC)(link)
"No! I d—" Hughes barely turned to soften the blow in time, though his could hear his glasses suffering from the hit regardless.

This was going nowhere. He needed to get Roy to stop. He needed Roy to stop thinking. A thought occurred to him and reached up, trying to grab the collar of Roy's clothing.
incinerare: (srs displeasure)

[personal profile] incinerare 2012-10-27 08:18 am (UTC)(link)
He'd been about to deliver another blow to the demon's face below, when the hand caught hold of the collar of the coat he was wearing. Instead of letting the blow fall again on the man's face, he turned to try striking at the wrist or arm of the hand that held him in the effort to get it to let go of him.
comradery: (take a deep breath)

[personal profile] comradery 2012-10-27 08:28 am (UTC)(link)
Hughes's grip was firm, however. He hooked his fingers under the rim of Roy's shirt and jacket beneath the coat as well and pulled the man forward. As he did so, he raise his right hand palm up and brought the heel of his palm down hard against the side of Roy's neck, striking the bundle of nerves below where the skull met the neck.
incinerare: (leaving/srs)

[personal profile] incinerare 2012-10-27 08:38 am (UTC)(link)
A pained hiss was all he got out before everything went black and he knew no more. With the onset of unconsciousness, he fell forward against Hughes.
comradery: (hrm)

[personal profile] comradery 2012-10-27 08:51 am (UTC)(link)
Sighing, he shoved Roy's dead weight off of him before stumbling to his feet. What a mess of things this had become.

Resetting his glasses, Hughes let out another sigh before grabbing the scarf that had fallen from his hand and slinging it over his shoulders. He needed to get Roy away from the Madness. Even better would be if he could find someone would a calming wavelength. Recalling that there was typically a medical area reserved for such scenarios, he decided to take advantage of it and hoped Roy would not wake up before he got help. After leaning down and throwing Roy over his shoulder such that the smaller man's abdomen rested against his shoulder, he began the trek back toward where they had first arrived.

Several minutes had passed by the time he finally reached medic encampment. Unfortunately for Hughes, the cold was taking its toll by that point, and his already battered state proved even more of a challenge for him to struggle onward. He stumbled several yards from the tents despite his efforts, Roy remaining as a dead weight against his body. He could not help but think how dumb and pathetic this situation was.
motherofthesun: Art From: http://gen-pekinduck.oops.jp/index2.html (Swift Beast)

[personal profile] motherofthesun 2012-10-27 08:57 am (UTC)(link)
The snow broke easily beneath her paws and gave little resistance and she moved around the medical tents. Everything was still in relative order after one dash up and back. The peaks were perilous and while most traveled with the best intentions up the mountain, they should really consider their skill levels.

Prepared to make another trek up, Amaterasu froze when she noticed something fall. Madness swirled in the air and scents were tossed wildly by the snow beyond the barriers, but sometimes, they gusted in her favor.

Her nose quivered as it whip lashed again towards her and she broke into a run towards the fallen figure... scratch that, make it two. Snow broke as she dashed, making her way to the combatant and their unconscious companion. She released several booming barks as she neared.
comradery: (guess what)

[personal profile] comradery 2012-10-27 09:06 am (UTC)(link)
Hughes groaned, recognizing the sound of a canine calling out. He tried pushing himself up onto his knees, but Roy's added weight made it more difficult than he had first imagined. If the man had been conscious, he likely would have made a joke involving losing a few pounds. Still, he could use the mild humor himself and muttered it under his breath as he looked up to find the source of the barks. To his relief, they were not the calls from a coyote but were in fact from Amaterasu, who had once again come to save his hide.

"Ammy!" he called out with fervor. Hughes attempted to call out further, but Roy's weight and the cold sapped the air out of him, and he found his lungs begging for more oxygen.
motherofthesun: (Yes?)

[personal profile] motherofthesun 2012-10-27 09:11 am (UTC)(link)
Yup, her nose definitely hadn't failed her. There was Hughes with Roy on his back. She slowed to a trot and stopped before them, sniffing. Hearing the strain in Hughes's voice, she walked around and grabbed Roy, pulling him back and off of Hughes. Her muzzle curled as she pulled the unconscious Meister aside. He reeked of concentrated Madness...

Setting Roy down, she trotted once around him before laying across his stomach. And now, they just waited unless Hughes wanted to get back to the tents. That would be easy enough.
comradery: (maybe)

[personal profile] comradery 2012-10-27 09:17 am (UTC)(link)
Hughes sat up as soon as he could, glad that Amaterasu had pulled his friend off of him. "Thanks!" He brushed himself off and nodded toward Roy. "He, uh, kind of went a little cuckoo earlier, but I guess you can tell." Rubbing his bruising cheek he tried to think about what else to say. "Your able to get rid of the Madness, right?" Possibly a poorly phrased question, but he was not exactly an expert on the subject. Hopefully, Roy would have the Madness that had affected him drawn out, though.
motherofthesun: (Happiness)

[personal profile] motherofthesun 2012-10-27 09:21 am (UTC)(link)
"Ruf..."

Her tail flopped slightly and she nudged Roy's face with her nose. That's right; she would be able to get rid of the Madness afflicting him right now. Obviously, someone would be attending resistance training in the future.
incinerare: ([casual] surprise/o rly?)

[personal profile] incinerare 2012-10-27 09:54 am (UTC)(link)
The cold of the snow beneath him was the first thing that caught his attention, but the weight of something warm on top of him pulled his attention away from it. When he tried to lift his head to see what it was, 'please, let it not be Hughes' the action brought his attention to the fact the back of his neck ached. He ignored it for the moment, trying to see what was on top of him, but all he could see at first was white.

It took a moment for him to realize the white wasn't snow but fur, which was a little confusing in itself, but at least it wasn't Hughes. But just where was the other man? "...Hughes?" He thought about trying to sit up and look around, but he wasn't sure if he should disturb the animal currently resting across him.
Edited 2012-10-27 10:09 (UTC)
comradery: (yo)

[personal profile] comradery 2012-10-27 10:15 am (UTC)(link)
Hughes nodded at Amaterasu and smiled faintly. Now all there was to do was wait.

When he heard Roy say his name, Hughes' attention was drawn back toward the man lying on the ground. Leaning toward to Roy's head, he offered a small wave. "Right here, kiddo'. You okay?"

[personal profile] sayatakagi 2012-10-27 02:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[ FJHBDKJNFGKJFGKJFGBKFGBKGSFKJBGSKBGSFBKFGSJ ]

I'm fine!! [ she is mostly angry at herself.

Saya tries again, this time slower. Okay. She can do this. The girl turns the snowmobile to the door, so they could leave the cabin ]
motherofthesun: (Wolf: Bleh...)

[personal profile] motherofthesun 2012-10-27 05:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Amaterasu grinned, but then her ears rotated and she looked down at Roy as he started to stir. When he shifted beneath her, she placed her paw on his face. No, no moving yet.
incinerare: (Has no one told you she's not breathing?)

[personal profile] incinerare 2012-10-27 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Roy dropped his head back down against the snow as the paw was moved onto his face, the message simple enough to get without words.

It was good to see Hughes though, reassuring in a way even, given the confusion he was dealing with on how he'd ended up in this position. "I think so, except the back of my neck hurts." His gaze took in the redness in the other man's face that he doubted had anything to do with the cold and wind. "What happened to you?"
comradery: (don't worry)

[personal profile] comradery 2012-10-27 07:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah. What a weighted question. Hughes smiled obligingly and shrugged, his head tilting slightly. "Just a little accident. Nothing for you to worry about." If it was anyone's fault, it was likely his own, at least. He should have considered the possibility of this happening. He could have even suggested resonating to help keep them safe. Neither of those had occurred though, and Hughes was rather irritated at himself for ever considering that he was the better strategist.

"Your neck should be fine. It's just because all your nerves are there so the pain is going to linger. I'll rub it out for you later so it heals up faster." He does not bother explaining why it was sore and immediately jumped to distracting Roy from what had happened. "We're at the base area right now. Ammy's the one sitting on you. Remember Ammy? The giant, fluffy wolf I told you about? She loves pets, hehe." He reached over and pet along Amaterasu's back as he finished speaking.
motherofthesun: ([Camellia] Nuzzle~)

[personal profile] motherofthesun 2012-10-27 08:06 pm (UTC)(link)
There goes her tail again as Hughes's hand ran over her back. Her grin widened and she glanced up at him. Her attention fell to Roy as she sniffed again, seeing if all the Madness was gone for now. Even if it was, no chance they were wandering off again. She was going to take them back to the Medic tents.
vintage_magic: (skeptical | raised eyebrow)

[personal profile] vintage_magic 2012-10-27 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
She looked down at the book doubtfully but she couldn’t truly judge the strength of their link, not having any other for comparison. “Doesn’t anyone else know how to use a spellbook around here?” But then, considering that this world’s inhabitants were supposedly at war with witches, it was ironic that magical people such as themselves were even there.

“We have?” Lily peered into the distance but couldn’t actually make out anything to her left yet. She didn’t have a better clue so she followed his directions and started descending again, at a diagonal this time. (It was probably a good thing that Lezard spoke up before they ended on the completely wrong side of the mountain. This was a woman who once drove around San Francisco and stopped to check a map only to be told the address she was looking for was three blocks from where she had started!)

She paused a moment, holding the book out at arm's length with a frown. “No. I can walk!” Yes, she was tired but she wasn’t about to let that man pick her up! And besides, the tent had finally come into sight again.
Edited 2012-10-27 20:53 (UTC)
incinerare: ([casual]yeah?/phone)

[personal profile] incinerare 2012-10-27 08:53 pm (UTC)(link)
The subject change was noted, but after watching Hughes for a few seconds longer, he let his attention return to the wolf sitting on him. He'd press for more information about Hughes' accident once he was back on his feet. "Hello, Ammy. Mind telling me why she's sitting on me, Hughes?"
comradery: (heh)

[personal profile] comradery 2012-10-27 09:04 pm (UTC)(link)
"...because she wants pets?" Have your typical Hughes grin. He knew Roy could probably see through it, but, hey, how hard was it for Roy to reach out and give the cute wolf warming him up a couple pets on the head?

However, he decided to be nice and at least hint at the truth. "She has the ability to dispel Madness. You feeling better? We can get to the tents where it's warmer if you are."
lezard_valeth: (Default)

[personal profile] lezard_valeth 2012-10-27 09:15 pm (UTC)(link)
A brief spell of laughter. "As you wish."

But he would tease no more. With the tent in sight and no bodies to be found, one could only draw the conclusion that the others were still fighting hard up near the summit. There was hope, he supposed, when fighters weren't brought in by the dozens clasping bleeding wounds.

With that in mind, he could simply resume his natural form once they reached the tent, have a seat and try resting a while until word would come of their success or failure in dismantling the madness emitter.

With a short hum of content, he closed his eyes and let his mind drift, his soul wavelength clearing that last bit of static that his constantly-clicking mind caused. The Demon Spellbook entered a mental catnap.
motherofthesun: (But tl;dr)

[personal profile] motherofthesun 2012-10-27 09:27 pm (UTC)(link)
She huffed and licked Roy's cheek. Well, now was probably a good time to get up. Ammy pushed herself up and shook out her fur before moving off of Roy. He was free to sit up now.
incinerare: (Wasteland Is all that's left)

[personal profile] incinerare 2012-10-27 10:49 pm (UTC)(link)
He sat up carefully and then reached out carefully to pet the wolf on her head, scratching behind her ears in thanks for her help. "Yeah, I think so."

Except for the sneaking suspicion that the accident Hughes had mentioned was possibly tied into the reason he woke up with the wolf lying on top of him. He might be wrong, he rather hoped he was, but if he had fallen prey to the Madness.. there was a chance he thought, that he might have been responsible for that accident.
Edited 2012-10-27 22:49 (UTC)
comradery: (sup)

[personal profile] comradery 2012-10-27 11:39 pm (UTC)(link)
"Okay. Let me give you a hand..." Hughes rose to his feet again and offered his right hand to pull Roy up. Though he did not say much else, he was fairly grateful that Roy had not asked anything yet.
motherofthesun: (Just a white wolf)

[personal profile] motherofthesun 2012-10-28 12:07 am (UTC)(link)
Amaterasu trotted around Hughes and Roy, taking a seat in the snow while they got up. She wasn't going to wander ahead and risk Madness coming back. No sire... Her head cocked slightly as she waited.

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