middaeg | Septeril Quest and Catch-All Log [OPEN]

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Septeril Quest and Catch-All Log [OPEN]

Who: Berserker (Cú Chulainn Alter) and you!
When: Throughout Septeril
Where: Various places
What: Quests and event threads and other things
Warnings: None so far but check the thread headers for specific warnings

[ 1. An Apple A Day (Wilde Quest #3) ]

[ It's difficult to disturb someone who's been plagued by nightmares for most of their life. Memories of bloody battlefields, mountains of corpses, a wall built from the bones of his enemies...What the moths are showing him in an attempt to get him to go away is nothing his own mind hasn't shown him before. Even the bloodied dead bodies of his bonded aren't enough to disturb him.

It seems that whoever he's working alongside to eliminate the moths isn't as lucky, though. Berserker gives them an indifferent look. ]

Get a hold of yourself...Do you always give in so easily? If you do, you might have a worse problem here soon.

[ Because how do you deal with nightmarish illusions? You fight them with ones of your own -- in this case, his poison breath. ]

[ 2. Wildcard ]

[ Got an idea? Did we plot something out? Drop me a starter or PM me here/on discord glitzkrieg#0673! ]

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[Rude had heard the warnings but this was just ridiculous. He was used to dealing with tough prey, even some that were poisonous or otherwise deadly in nature by single touch or spell, but it didn't usually quite work this way. On top of how insanely easy it was to be "poisoned" by the moths and suffer their nightmarish effects, he didn't have any gear or spells of his own to fight back with which irritated him further. Nor did it wear off very quickly.

Visions he saw were mild at first and because Rude suspected the cause he ignored them easily. But the longer he was out here and being exposed to the dust the worse the nightmares got. He could handle visions of old faces pleading to him for mercy--but it was harder to ignore the cries of help from his closer associates.

Especially Reno. His one fear--well, it didn't help that Reno was actually here in this world. Rude logically knew he had left his partner behind for this mission but the visions were so real--]

Huh?

[A brief break in the nightmare as he heard the other man say something to him. He peeled his eyes away from the current bloody vision and focused on the blue haired man instead. What was he talking about?

Rude's mouth thinned. No, he wasn't usually so easily disturbed. He'd seen plenty, done plenty of awful things. But the visions were so realistic...and he only had one fear for them to play against, which naturally they conveyed so readily to his mind while effected. He tried to focus on the blue haired man to keep his attention on something less horrific--even if his mind was trying to tell him the guy was a bloody threat. That he could handle with ease whether it was true or not.]

What are you talking about?

[ The nightmarish visions he's being shown are nothing his own mind hasn't decided to show him when he sleeps. Losing those he cares about in disturbing ways...And yet he seems so coldly indifferent to all of it. There's a job that has to be done and that's all there is to it. ]

I've got a way to dispatch these bastards quickly...But if you can't handle the effects of their defenses, you probably won't be able to deal with my solution.

[ Not that it matters to him -- he's going to do it, anyway. ]

My poison causes hallucinations like these...and intense panic.

Great.

[That sounded wonderful. More hallucinogenic on top of hallucinogenic. Add in a sense of panic and this was going to be a ball.

Rude frowned slightly as a thought occurred to him.]

Is that even a good idea? Most creatures with such effects are immune to similar ones where I'm from. [It could be the same here for all he knew.] What if it doesn't work?

That's not my problem. I can kill them without it, too.

[ He's just going to do it anyway. The poison won't have any effect on him and the concentration may be strong enough to make it deadly to the irritating moths. ]

I'll ask again...Can you handle yourself?

Then why not just kill them without?

[Grumpy? A bit. This was bad enough without his supposed ally making it worse.

He made a noncommittal noise and then turned away from Berserker.]

I can handle whatever I need to.

If I can do it faster, so much the better.

[ Rude's answer is good enough for him to continue with his own agenda. A bitter, acrid scent, not quite overwhelming but certainly unpleasant fills the air as a sticky, blackish substance drools from Berserker's mouth. As he breathes out, it turns into an even more unpleasant mist, a dark cloud that stretches out over the moths.

It certainly seems to have some effect as they scatter and panic, slamming into each other in their haste to flee. The unfortunate side effect is that they release more of their own powder into the air.

Oh well. ]

[It was about the time Rude saw how Berserker released the noxious gas that he wished he had some of Shinra's high end tech on hand. A top-notch gas mask would have been great right about now. Unfortunately he hadn't had one on him when he arrived in Aefenglom and he certainly didn't have one on him now.

He did his best to cover his nose and mouth with his jacket lapel. He knew it wouldn't be much help--no more than against the moth's dusty version--but the reaction was natural and better than nothing. It made him feel better for not standing around like a complete idiot anyway.

Unfortunately it didn't really help at all. He took a step back from the other man...dragon...Monster. It was a little hard to focus as the combination of hallucinogenics hit him. Rude took another step back and then closed his eyes and stood still. The best he could do right now was to shut out the visions and ignore what he heard that he repeated in his head wasn't real. He said he could handle it but this was brutal. (He wished he had a (working) elemental-poison materia pair right about now. Even better than a mask.) He was determined though, stubborn to show that he could keep his words and 'handle whatever he needed.']

[ He recognizes stubborn when he sees it. Unfortunately for Rude, it's not exactly a windy day. The poison lingers in the air as a dark grey haze, covering the part of the grove they've been working on. Berserker could help push it off by flapping his wings, but then there's less chance of it affecting the moths.

He walks forward through the fog of his own poison to check his handiwork. As he observes the panicked and now fleeing moths, a thought occurs to him. He turns back towards Rude. ]

I should warn you...The effects can last for over an hour if you get a high dose of it.

[ Probably would have been better to warn him sooner. ]

[Asshole.

He doesn't say it but if Berserker could read it in his look then that was fine, too. Rude wasn't exactly hiding the expression despite the sunglasses that hid his eyes.

With the gas lingering in the air Rude suddenly found himself quite useless here. If he moved forward into the gas he'd be gone for hours; staying put back here was relatively safer (marginally) but he couldn't do anything back here. He had no long range weapon. Both reasons they were here in the first place were in front of him, not behind.

Rude clenched his free hand into a tight fist, white knuckled. This was fucking fantastic.]

...Thanks for the warning.

[Hello sarcasm.]

[ One of his bonded regularly calls him an asshole. He deserves it. The look on Rude's face doesn't surprise him in the slightest -- all he does is faintly smirk as he turns back to kill the straggling moths. ]

It's the least I could do. [ Literally. ] Does the fact that it's working make it better for you?

[ Asshole. ]

No.

[It anything it was just making it worse. Partially because the sight was more gruesome than the reality. Rude wouldn't mourn dead moths and killing them, no matter how brutally, didn't really bother him. But tact on an acid trip from Hell and the sight became much worse than he thought he could imagine. Apparently he was wrong. If he had a lesser constitution he might have puked his last meal but instead he kept it to a few small gags.

The other part of course was their death throes. Sending out more dust into the air and causing Rude to back up a little more. At this point he wondered why he came out here at all.

The only thing he'd accomplished so far it would seem was to provide some dark entertainment to the other man. Whom he really wanted to punch at this point. What if he just...aimed for a moth and accidentally missed? He could just blame it on all the toxins in the air.]

[ Do not start a fight with him. Rude would be in for a far worse time if he decided to do that. ]

You'll still get paid. Does that help?

[ Normally, he wouldn't be taking any sort of enjoyment out of this, but something about Rude's reaction to the toxins pleases him. Maybe it's because it's been so long since someone has fallen victim to his poison -- whatever the reason, it's fucked up. He keeps his attention on the other man as he continues his work. ]

I'd offer you my share, but...don't mistake me for someone that benevolent.

[ ... Okay, maybe trying to fight him is a good option with that attitude. ]

[It wouldn't be the first time he made a bad choice of when to start a fight.]

Not as much as it might under different circumstances.

[He sounded as stubborn as he looked at the moment. And as irritated, a small growl escaping with his words that he didn't necessarily intend to let slip out.]

I can't imagine that anyone could.

[He squinted his eyes at the awful scene in front of him and tried to take aim at the nearest moth (deformed, gruesome, leaking something that decidedly wasn't dust but might have been in the real world) but quite frankly Rude wanted nothing more than to punch the dragon over in that general direction. He wanted it bad enough maybe his vision lied to him about what he aimed that punch at--he didn't really care at this point anyway. He was building up towards just wanting it to end, whether that meant getting the job done quicker or causing a distraction or, hell, just forcing the other to knock him out so he wouldn't be conscious anymore. That had to end the nightmare, yeah? Either way.]

[ The words don't bother him -- because it's true. Many have begged for mercy only to be run through without emotion. The irritation doesn't surprise him, neither does the 'missed' punch. Berserk catches his fist, holding him there as he stares. ]

So you can't handle yourself, can you? [ His grip on Rude's fist tightens. ] Do you want to test my patience further?

[Rude frowned as he found his fist caught, not expecting it. But when Berserker spoke up Rude realized he really had thrown the punch at the other Mirrorbound instead of one of the monstrous moths in his vision. He started to reply when the grip on his hand tightened and he grimaced instead.]

Let go.

[Not a plea. A demand.]

Fine.

[ Instead of just letting go, Berserker shoves him back as he lets go with as much force as he can manage. Unfortunately for Rude, that's a lot of force -- sometimes he conveniently forgets just how strong he is. ]

I let go of you.

[Rude may have been a dragon in the making as well, but he wasn't prepared for how much strength the other put into his shove. ~~And his fight with Loz was a distant memory of the future.~~ He fell back and landed on his hands, and then quickly repositioned to a kneeling posture for better readiness. He glared up at Berserker.

A part of him was tempting to retaliate. It was his fault in the first place, though, and he wondered if it was worth a fight either way. That strength.... Rude knew he could take some powerful creatures here nearly on his own--the Nuckelavee had been heavy hitters that he held down for another to kill--but he had no idea how strong that really meant he was. And he knew the general consensus was that dragons were the strongest monsters of them all. He had no idea if that was what he was yet. If his strength wasn't that of another dragon, he might regret a fight with this one.

Fuck it.] Yeah, after you decided to throw me.

[He started to stand up, hands fisted and held up in a loosely defensive position.]

[ Berserker doesn't move to attack nor even take a defensive stance. He just calmly resumes his work of killing the moths. The way he turns his back to Rude is a dismissive gesture -- he's not a threat, nor is he worth fighting. It's a huge insult, really. ]

Is it really worth it?

[Rude reached up to adjust his sunglasses, breaking his stance but not his tension.]

No, but that doesn't make me want to punch you any less.

[ He looks back over his shoulder with cold indifference. ]

It's a fight you won't win...Don't bother.

[ He looks away again. ]

I'm doing you a favor. Take it and go...Or stay here and make a mistake you'll regret. It's your choice.

Hmph. I've heard similar lines before...

[He'd said similar lines before--right before he decked someone and knocked them out cold.]

...it didn't always end the way they expected. Don't be so easy to dismiss something you know nothing about.

[Or do and get fucked one day. Rude would like to see that day. For now, he was stuck between a desire to force the fight to fruition or walking away because it was pointless.

He was still going to get paid either way. He'd started off doing more before this all went down and made it worse. He could get out of the noxious area and wait for the effects to wear off, then go to the farmer and collect his pay for helping. Wham bam thankyou ma'am, done.

But he still kinda wanted to punch the dragon again and this time land the blow. Ah, decisions. Reputations to uphold. Etc, etc, etc.]

And they are nothing like me...That's all the more I have to say to you.

[ A warning of sorts. His violence in a fight is unrivaled by all but the most uncontrolled individuals. It's not that he likes to fight, it's more than he only knew violence and fighting for so long that it's all he's good at. Berserker is dangerous and has a reputation for a reason. He doesn't go looking for fights, but he will not let a challenge go unanswered.

He keeps his back to Rude, only glancing back to ensure he's gone. So much the better... ]

[Rude gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and concentrated on his breathing. He didn't normally want to get into a fight so badly. Sure, sometimes he went looking for a thrill even when one wasn't offered through his line of work for the day. But it wasn't usually like this.

He enjoyed a good fight. Was content with his job leading down that path more often than not. But he felt different right now and that was irksome.

...Maybe it was just the toxins. He felt a little ill again as the thought settled. At least it also had the added benefit of calming his fevered mind. There was no reason for this. He'd let this one go. For now.

He let the tension leave him completely and glared daggers at Berserker's back for a moment as he tried to adjust to sight once he opened his eyes again. His vision spun and he finally gave way, turned from the big dragon and gave up the would-be fight. He needed a place to sit down and rest, and try to calm his messed up head. Or sleep it off.

He walked away. Reluctantly, but for the best. He walked away and didn't look back. But he would remember.]

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Septeril Quest and Catch-All Log [OPEN]

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