Re: WormXWere Part 2 | Rated M

[Weredrakka]

((Time-skip over sleeping, perhaps...?))

[Wormgod]

((Yeah. Sorry, but this past week I've been working a lot.))

[Weredrakka]

((It's alright! I have been, as well...
Would you like me to start?))

[Wormgod]

((Yes please...))

[Weredrakka]

((Can and will do!))

Slowly, and mercifully in less pain, Svenja began to stir, her bandaged form tensing slightly as tired muscles contracted to move her body. Managing to find enough energy to prop herself off of the compacted dirt that formed the cave floor, she groaned a little, her face set in a grimace as she slowly became aware of a dehydration headache pounding in the rear of her skull. Reaching slowly for the bottle of water lying next to the bag, she pulled the liquid-containing bottle towards herself, smiling as she tasted the welcome liquid.

After draining about half of the bottle, Svenja capped the bottle, setting it aside. Wanting to know where Lambda had gotten to, she looked around herself as best as she was able, wincing as she moved too far, a wound opening slightly along her side. "Lambda?" she called, her voice quietly rasping out of a still-raw throat. "Where are you?"

[Wormgod]

((So I had this dream a while ago, where I was in the Harvard Courtyard--at least, I thought it was, but it probably wasn't the actual courtyard.--and there was this fifty foot tall statue of a Roman man, made entirely out of marble. He was called et colossus, even though he wasn't big enough to be a colossus. He had made a deal with the gods to be immortal, so they gave him a ring that turned him into a solid marble statue. I was fangirling pretty hard over this, for some reason. He took it really well, tho. Then he gave me a box of really expensive earrings, and I woke up.

Weird, eh?))

Lambda was having a hard time staying cooped up in that burrow. He had left about an hour ago, preferring instead to crouch at the entrance, hidden behind a large fern. His green-brown skin blended well into this forest floor. He liked it.

They were much too close to the base. He could feel the soldiers and scientists running around, trying to detect them with various tools; geiger counters, (yep, apparently they've been "treated" with radiation. Yaaaaaay.) thermal cameras, plain old binoculars...None worked, though. He had used his powers to shield this area. This forest was now cloaked with a massive amount of energy. Lambda had to stay concentrated on this or they were doomed.

Also, that marmot came back. Lambda choked it, and was still holding it by its neck. It would make a nice meal for both of them, once cooked. He was too afraid to start a fire, though. It might show their position.

"They've got to be here somewhere! No way could they run in their condition!" Some annoyed scientist shouted, cutting off Svenja's calls from inside the burrow.

[Weredrakka]

((That's pretty weird, dude... All my dreams lately have involved me being an aware sandworm, or at least part sandworm (one involved me being the child of a sandworm; not sure how that works...).))

Down in the burrow, keen ears pricked as the voice of the scientist wove its way into the earth. Hissing slightly at the sound, Svenja pried herself up off of the ground, one hand on the wall, and the other pressed against an opening wound on her side. Stooped so as not to hit her head on the ceiling of the burrow, she half-walked, half-crawled up to the entrance, making sure to stay as low as possible.

Seeing Lambda crouched behind the fern, the were-bear chuffed a quiet greeting; she didn't know about the cloak Lambda had placed over the woods, and had assumed that near-silence was necessary. Flattening herself to the ground as armed guards passed perilously close to the entrance where she hid, Svenja bared her teeth in a silent snarl, wishing that she was able to move without pain. Were her wounds not so severe, setting up an ambush would be simple in these dense woods. Looking over at her Vortigaunt comrade, she wondered if he had a plan to get them out of the immediate danger posed by these humans.

[Wormgod]

((Beastiality, I guess...Maybe artificial insemination.))

Lambda watched as the guards slowly paced back and forth, making their journey into the forest. He stayed completely still, unblinking, his only movement being his stomach as he breathed. He was completely absorbed in the task at hand.

Something moved beside him. His concentration faltered, but only for a moment. Lambda's side-eye saw Svenja, and he gave her a small glance to let her know he was watching, then went back to his task, "We have to leave." He whispered, "Lambda hides us, but he must stay concentrated. He cannot move."

[Weredrakka]

((I suppose... But sandworms reproduce by a strange form of fission, at least the sandworms of Dune do... I dunno. Logic need not apply, I suppose.))

Flattening herself further to the ground as Lambda's concentration flickered for the briefest of moments, Svenja hissed softly as an armed human almost looked at the unlikely pair. Hearing clearly what he said, she grimaced in displeasure, at a loss for how to escape in her current state.

Running was definitely out of the question, given how much the were-bear was bleeding again from wounds opened as she moved up the burrow. Svenja's stamina, as well, had been rather depleted in the berserker rage that had allowed she and Lambda to escape. Contemplating the few options that remained, she realized that she was at a loss; she could not imagine a way to escape from the current situation.

((Mind if I drag another character of mine in?))

[Wormgod]

((What...like starfish? My minions are weird. Also, does this mean you're my minion now?  ))

((Sure! I was gonna find a way to stick some more in here too!))

The guard looked up as the air around him seemed to grow hot. It almost shimmered too...but just as he grew interested, his attention was directed elsewhere, to a very interesting berry plant. He suddenly wanted to know more about it...Lambda's shield was working again. Anyone looking there would forget what they were doing.

"Svenja can escape. Lambda will protect her. Go." He hissed. He would have to stay to save her, but she could leave whenever she wanted. She was protected by his shield, no matter where she was. He couldn't move until he dropped the spell...He would have to sacrifice himself, unless this situation suddenly changed...

[Weredrakka]

((Kinda, although sandworms usually dissolve into sandtrout (which aren't trout-like at all)... I think it does! XD
Awesome. Been wanting somewhere to stick Sha-Ulud for a while now.))

Relaxing somewhat as the guard was distracted by a suddenly-fascinating berry bush, Svenja turned her head to stare directly into Lambda's main eye. "If it means that you have to stay, than I'm not moving," she hissed, throat still raw, and her voice rasping painfully. Stubbornness was clearly visible in her eyes, the steel-grey eyes serious. "I'm not going to have nearly killed myself, just to leave you behind, Lambda."

However, an intense discussion between the pair of escapees would have to wait, as something large, tan, and leathery-skinned crashed into the clearing like a comet. Whatever it was that had crashed was about twenty-one feet long, with its skin divided into worm-like rings running the length of its body. Its eyes were a deep, and quite intense, indigo, and it smelled strongly of cinnamon. As the newcomer got to its feet, it shook itself off, seemingly unharmed by its violent landing.

((Gotta love leupaks. Here's some information about them.))

[Wormgod]

((  Get me some ice cream, minion!))
((Did you just freakin' throw your character into the roleplay!? XD))

Something huge and scaley flew into the ground in front of them like a downed plane. Lambda literally jumped a foot in the air and landed right back on his tailbone, which caused a stab of pain and a soon-to-be bruise. His concentration was broken, and the shield fell. It could not be returned, now that the guards and scientists knew it existed. That giant...reptile ruined it.

But...it was huge. It hid them both with its massive bulk. The scientists were focusing on it, not Lambda and Svenja. They had a short opening to escape before they were spotted.

Lambda climbed to his feet and roughly grabbed Svenja's hand, "Svenja wins. We both go, now." He ordered--When did he get so aggressive? Lambda was always the timid one. He thought--and started running deeper in the forest.

[Weredrakka]

((Sure! *grins* Do you like cinnamon ice cream, by any chance...?
*shifty-eyed grin* Maaaybe... XD))

Jaw dropping as she saw the monstrous, vaguely reptilian, creature not only survive the impact with the ground, but get up and yawn, Svenja wondered what new terror had been unleashed. Staring at the rings of leathery skin that covered its body, she wondered what this animal--if it was an animal--could possibly be.

Feeling Lambda grabbing her hand roughly, and pulling her towards the deeper woods, Svenja had to consciously remember how to use her feet. Running after she got her locomotion under control, she still looked back over her shoulder, wanting to know what the newcomer was.

The newcomer, although biologically genderless, preferred to be called a male, and called himself Sha-Ulud. As the leupak got to his feet, he yawned, exposing opaque, yet crystalline, teeth set into his jaws, along with a strange tongue. This tongue was ringed, just like the rest of his body, and it was about twice as long as the leupak's head. The tip of this tongue had a curious appearance to it, like it could split into three distinct triangles, although the purpose was not known.

As Sha-Ulud became aware that he was now the focus of an entire woodland full of very angry-looking humans with guns, he sighed, rolling pure blue eyes skyward. "Can we maybe talk about this first?" he asked, his voice carrying the dry quality of someone who had spent their life in the desert. As he spoke, a powerful scent of cinnamon swept through the air in front of him, although he seemed not to notice.

[Wormgod]

((I've never tried any. I prefer the insanely chocolatey "Extreme Moose Tracks".))
((  ))

Lambda didn't bother to look back. He knew that creature was bad news. It carried the aura of something powerful and unknown...Like him, the one that rules behind the scenes.

The scientists jaws dropped, "It talks!" Someone shouted. The guards raised their guns and aimed the lasers at its head, "Catch it!" Someone shouted, and the scene became one of sudden violence and chaos...

[Weredrakka]

((Oooh... You should! I'm in love with cinnamon...
*grins*))

Svenja, unlike her frantic companion, was fascinated by the creature that had dropped onto the scene. From the tips of its odd teeth, to the odd henna-esque drawing on its forehead, to the wickedly sharp-looking claws on its feet, she was captivated by its sheer oddness.

"Lambda!" she called up to the Vortigaunt, who was pretty much pulling her along. "What if that thing's not going to hurt us? It'd make a good shield, if we run into trouble," the were-bear continued, her voice starting to show the pain she was feeling all over again. Blood was showing through her bandages from wounds that had reopened along her flanks, and she was beginning to stumble more often.

"Yes, I talk. What were you expecting, grunts?" Sha-Ulud asked, giving the shouting person an exasperated look. Hearing the command go out to 'catch it',followed by people streaming towards him with lasers, guns, and nets, the leupak sighed. "Oh, I was hoping to avoid this today," he muttered, then closed his eyes.

As his eyes closed, a strange pattern, one that seemed to resemble a coiled serpent-like creature drawn in henna, visible on his forehead seemed to move and start to twitch. The leupak paused for a moment, seeming to get himself under control, then opened his eyes again with a terrifying grin. It was then that all hell truly broke loose.

Laying about with terrible claws, Sha-Ulud ripped into the humans surrounding him, his thick hide turning most of the blows he was dealt; the only wounds he was really sustaining were on his face, paw pads, and tail. However, as he accidentally stepped in a pool of spring water that gushed from the rocks, Sha-Ulud let out a roar of agony, blue blood suddenly pouring from his foot.

[Wormgod]

Lambda slowed to a stop as Svenja started protesting their escape. He turned to her, confused. Help out that other creature? All signs pointed towards trouble. How could she believe that something could help them? It seemed like this whole planet was trying to kill them.

"Fine." He growled out, "But one sign that the creature is bad...Lambda will get rid of the creature."

[Weredrakka]

"F-fine with me..." Svenja replied, turning her head aside as Lambda growled at her, one hand firmly, but uselessly, clamped over her bleeding side. Blood was oozing out, staining the bandage crimson all over again. Now that the adrenaline of the flight, and the sudden arrival of whatever-it-was was dissipating, the were-bear fount herself unable to stay standing, and she collapsed, her knees feeling like they had turned to jelly beneath her.

Back in the clearing, Sha-Ulud had managed to free himself from the water's deadly embrace. Water was truly one thing that could kill him quickly, and easily, and was quite abundant in this place he had now found himself in. The guards, with their laser weaponry, could hurt him, and tear open the thinner skin around his tail, feet, and face, but it would be much more difficult to kill him with the weapons they possessed.

A few minutes, and quite a lot of pain later, the leupak was able to finally nurse the wound the water had given him. Guards lay in haphazard piles about the clearing, and those that had survived had run away. Looking back at his foot, Sha-Ulud winced visibly; a thick, and quite blue, ichor was flowing from between the rings of skin on his foot, and the skin looked like it had been shriveled by the water's soft caress. Sitting down as best he could on a stump of a tree, he began to exhale hot, cinnamon-scented air onto the foot, trying to dry the water in the only way he knew.

[Wormgod]

((Finally time for me to post something. My brain's been like, "Post something? Hahahahahahahah! Yeah right!"))

Lambda took this second to look over Svenja. Her wounds were open again. The bandages had pressed them shut for a while, but without some other way to hold them tight, they bled freely. He needed something to keep them shut...Like fire, or a clamp...They didn't have clothes on his planet, so he did not think of the painless and obvious solution of a needle and thread.

Lambda took her free hand and held it, guiding her back toward the lumbering...thing. It was hurt now, and oozing out blue blood. The evil humans were dead, though, laying around this way in that.

"Greetings." Lambda asked, "This is Lambda and Svenja. And this being is...?"

[Weredrakka]

((Yeah, I know the feeling... Been getting it a lot recently.))

Lambda's guiding of Svenja was, honestly, more akin to the Vortigaunt dragging her along by the hand. Her limbs weren't really answering the signals from her brain that would tell them to move, the joints feeling like they were made of rubber. Looking out at the world through blurred vision, she smiled slightly as she realized Lambda had actually gone back to the strange creature.

Looking up as a strange voice cut through the clearing, Sha-Ulud's eyes widened a little as he saw the creature the voice belonged to. "Lambda, your name is? Mine is Sha-Ulud," he responded, assuming that the more feminine name belonged to the semi-conscious humanoid being dragged by her arm.

Sitting back on his haunches like an overweight, reptilian kangaroo, the leupak returned to trying to get the last bits of water off of his injured foot, hand-like paws quivering in pain. Realizing that the appendage was probably as dry as it was going to get, he sighed, trying to block away the last of the pain. "So," he asked, looking up again, "Where are we? I've never been any place quite like this before."

[Wormgod]

((Hey, if you were an animal god (like how I'm the god of the worms) what would you be?))

Lambda slowly shifted his grip on Svenja from her hand to a wrap-around and under her shoulder. That way, if she collapsed (which was seeming inevitable) he could stop that and carry her somewhere safe.

And keep her away from this...reptilian. It introduced itself as Sha-Ulud, and then asked where it was. Lambda narrowed his eyes, "This is a planet known as Earth. Earth is inhabited by humans such as the Svenja..." Was? Is? Hard to tell. Svenja might have been born this way, "The humans the Sha-Ulud fought are the humans that trapped the Lambda and the Svenja. Those humans also experimented on the Lambda and the Svenja. The Lambda and the Svenja are escaping.

[Weredrakka]

((God of cetaceans, or possibly cephalopods. Corvids could be fun, too (the only birds to be self-aware, joining the whales, pigs, and elephants for self-aware animals), but I would choose whales, or squid, over corvids. Why do you ask?))

Svenja, as Lambda shifted his grip from hand to shoulder, tensed slightly, as if afraid the Vortigaunt would drop her to the ground. When he didn't, the were-bear relaxed once more.

She was drifting in a state of semi-consciousness, and wasn't entirely sure what was real anymore. Given how much blood she had lost, though, and how much she was still losing, this state wasn't really a surprise. What also wasn't a surprise that, with a final flutter of her eyelids, Svenja passed out once again, surrendering her consciousness into welcome velvet darkness.

"Earth," Sha-Ulud repeated, testing the semi-familiar word on his odd tongue. Deciding it was a fine word for a world, he continued to listen to the creature that had identified itself as Lambda, otter-like ears twitching occasionally. "Humans? Humans I know, just not like this," he said with a vague smile, gesturing with a paw to the piles of guards strewn about the clearing. "Well, I'm glad I got rid of them, then," he replied, smiling again to expose crystalline teeth the color of opalescent milk.

"Escaping, eh? Do you mind if I come with you? I've really got nowhere else to go," the leupak continued, reaching behind his head to scratch behind his ear, a disconcertingly human gesture; had Sha-Ulud been something other than a vaguely reptilian horror, he would have seemed like a sheepish human.

((Just another thing about Sha-Ulud in particular. That curving design on his forehead is his facet, the seat of his supernatural talent. His talent is to turn, temporarily, into a wild animal. One guess as to what it is...))

[Wormgod]

((Hmm...You are now Whale! Join Us, Whale, as We rule the Beasts as Totems!

I got an idea for a book. It kinda stems for another idea I had, where I wanted to explore various religions, but now I'm dumping the religion part and just sticking with the central theme; Worm, Monkey, Coyote, Whale, and other Animal Totems that do...something. So far, no plot. Except that Ant--God of Ants, Bees, and Wasps--is the main villain. Spider may fight with Ant.

Do corvids really count as self-aware? I mean, seeing your own reflection and recognizing it as you is what makes us self-aware. They think it's someone else and attack...))

((One guess? GODDAMNIT! Uh....uh...uh...*anxious scream* I don't know! Whale? Sandworm? Human? I dunno...Hint?))


Lambda still didn't really like Sha-Ulud. But, now that Svenja was incapacitated and only standing thanks to his firm grip, he needed an ally, and fast. All of his powers required concentration and time. He could not react fast in a life-or-death situation, which, seeing the massive amount of guards this place has, could come soon. The massive size and power Sha-Ulud provided would be very useful.

"...Yes. Sha-Ulud may come. But first..." Lambda said slowly, shifting Svenja in his grip so he was holding her in what the humans call "bridal style." Then, he starting walking in the same direction they were going before--directly away from the building. He passed the burrow they spent a few hours in, and the point they reached when Sha-Ulud was thrown into the universe. Soon the forest grew silent. All the birds and insects had ran away when the fight broke out, or from Sha-Ulud. It was eerie.

And, slowly, the landscape changed. It was still a forest...but the trees and the ground were very sparse. There was still undergrowth, but it was patchy, and made out of weed-like plants with just a root system and a few grass-like stalks. The trees were shorter, or completely dead. Some of the surviving trees had roots sticking out of the ground with...odd holes in them. Lambda paused to squat and examine one of the holes.

It was nearly perfectly round, and branched off in many different directions. Definitely not a natural thing. And, an odd sound came out of it...It almost sounded like someone slurping really loudly. The soil around the roots had holes in it, too, and was a very grainy and dry mix. That was odd, considering the forest near the evil human compound was average soil. If anything, that dirt should be of worse quality. He had a bad feeling about this...

"Sha-Ulud, the Lambda thinks something bad lives here. The Sha-Ulud should watch for anything that moves." Lambda warned.

((My new charrie will come soon!))

[Weredrakka]

((I join with you gladly!

Sounds like a fun idea for a book! Are you going to write it?

Some of them, yes. Ravens, and possibly crows, can look at their own reflection without attacking. Ravens are, honestly, obscenely smart...))
((You got it! He turns into a sandworm. *grins* The design on his forehead is a stylized sandworm, and the venom in his mouth has pretty much the properties of the spice (addictive mutagen that's lethal in large quantities). It's also why he has violent reactions to water; a hard thunderstorm could probably kill him, to say nothing of complete immersion.))

Unbeknownst to Lambda, the feeling was mutual from where Sha-Ulud sat. Despite his questions, the leupak was still somewhat suspicious of this unknown creature, as he didn't recognize it as anything he knew, be that dreamkin, immortal, or mortal. However, even though Sha-Ulud didn't particularly want to admit it, the leupak would need the pair of strangers he had stumbled upon, either for the blood he needed to remain sane, or for protection from the water that could kill him.

"Thank you, Lambda. You're quite kind," Sha-Ulud replied with a slight bow of his head. Getting to his feet as Lambda readjusted his grip on the limp form of Svenja, the leupak gingerly placed weight on the injured foot. Satisfied that it would heal soon enough, he followed after the Vortigaunt, making surprisingly little sound for a creature of his bulk.

Staying a pace or so behind Lambda as they walked through the forest, Sha-Ulud continued to be aware of the changing surroundings, looking around cautiously as the forest began to change. Even though he was definitely an unnatural creature, he was not above being unnerved by the changed landscape.

Stopping as Lambda did, Sha-Ulud dug his feet slightly into the grainy soil, standing as stock-still as he could. He was feeling for vibrations through the ground, a stimulus he was very keenly aware of; should unfamiliar vibrations become overly rhythmic, a world of trouble awaited the creator of the sensation.

"You've got my agreement there, Lambda," Sha-Ulud agreed, his voice low, and smelling heavily of cinnamon. As he looked around with eyes of pure indigo, the leupak's jaws opened slightly, revealing the tongue of the creature twitching, the three-scored point flexing as if it would open.

((Ooh!))

[Wormgod]

((Woohoo!

I dunno...I've tried writing books before, and they all stopped at the middle. I have a hard time with the middle.

Yeah. Ravens steal the lunches of ice-fishers.))
((Meeeeeeeeeep...OOoohh...Evil plans forming!! Mind control plans!))

Lambda watched as Sha-Ulud dug his large feet into the ground. It looked like he was feeling for something. Vibrations, maybe. Lambda couldn't, since his feet were mostly bone with little to no nerve endings. He did feel his breath waft over him, though, but could not smell it--he had no sense of smell either. So, Lambda just settled with his superior listening, thanks to his vortal imputs, and his large, external ear-tubes.

That slurping sound continued. Honestly, it creeped the Vort out. But, it couldn't be someone drinking...It went on for far too long, and the sound was getting louder...It had to be--oh dear Vortessence.

Something was moving under their feet. Something huge...No, many somethings, were burrowing up in water-filled tunnels. The sound was made by their bodies squishing along air bubbles and water pockets. They were heading right for them, and Lambda didn't notice until it was too late...ugh, he really needed to rest. He couldn't think straight. If he was fully rested, he would have felt their auras in the Vortessence a long time ago.

"Sha-Ulud--the things are coming!" Lambda shouted. As they got closer, their psychic auras increased violently, as if they were forcing them upon everything in the area. Lambda knew that feeling well. It was the feeling of a hive mind, of one master controlling millions of underlings. However, the feeling was not pushed into his mind; he was nothing like these underground burrowers. But...Was Svenja affected? Sha-Ulud? Hard to say. Lambda had not felt a mental signature like this. It was primitive, and yet strangely advanced, like something that was so very old, but so skilled it need not change...Like the Earth creature known as a "shark."

They were just a few feet away. Lambda started to step back, and charged up his electrical attack. These things might just attack...

[Weredrakka]

((Yeah, I'm familiar with that particular set-back. I've found that occasionally skipping the middle, and writing the end, can work to get over the middle's road block. That way, because you know how everything must tie together, the middle's just a fill-in-the-blank.

Exactly! And, they know how to use crosswalks to their advantage.
Also, dolphins 'name' other dolphins with a unique set of clicks. That's totally an awesome thing, and may be another indication that cetaceans have a legitimate language!))
((Yeah? Oh, this is gonna be awful, and great, all at the same time!))

Tensing as he began to pick up vibrations through the strange almost-sandy soil, Sha-Ulud's body seemed to be on the verge of quivering, his eyes focused on nothing in this world. Something about the vibrations he was feeling, the sensation of things tunneling beneath him in a somewhat rhythmic fashion, combined with the sickly squishing noises he was hearing, seemed to be driving the leupak to some breaking point.

Snapping back to reality with a jerk of his head, Sha-Ulud looked over his shoulder at Lambda, his indigo eyes refocusing on the Vortigaunt's face. Before those eyes had refocused, though, there had been a pure animal stare there, a stare more wild than even Svenja's stare, when she had been overtaken by her wilder side. Shaking his head a little as if to clear his head, the leupak's eyes became serious, holding once again their keenly human intelligence.

"Coming?" he asked, his voice the one of someone who has spent their whole lives being blasted by waves of sand. Unearthing his feet, the deep jet claws pressed strongly down on the ground, seeming like Sha-Ulud would be more than willing to start digging down to the unknown tunnelers, to take a fight to a place below the solid ground.

"What's coming, Lambda?" Even with his feet out of the dirt, the leupak seemed to be getting more and more agitated, his eyes flickering between animal anger and curiosity, and human understanding. Given that Sha-Ulud was not really a creature of a hive mind, he didn't really get as much of the brunt of the approaching mental sensation as did Lambda; what was agitating him was the physical presence of the multitude of unfamiliar presences below.

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