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Post by Stage on Jun 16, 2020 0:11:00 GMT
The area east of Bladeback Ridge did not see the same heavy snowfall as western Migma, where the New Lexian Empire resided, but a respectable layer of sleet had fallen during the night, covering the flat, pine-dominated landscape like frozen dew.
With a stuttering shuffle, a large, low-profile tent- one of three on the edge of large, grassy clearing- was freed from its shell of ice. Unzipping, it birthed a young man with a well-groomed goatee and unruly hair.
"Morning, Hall."
Stretching his arms overhead and halting himself mid-yawn, the young man turned and saw an older woman, dressed in thick khaki and bearing a voluminous bush of curly hair, sitting on a folding chair, faced towards the still-starry western horizon.
"Good morning to you, Uta," he said cheerfully. His rich, clear voice was laced by a thick Noraagean accent, and he enunciated very carefully, sometimes stopping almost completely between words. His English, while very good, was almost too rigid.
"Thought you'd be the first one up?" the woman asked with a smirk.
"Yes- I had hoped I would be. I feel inadequate a guide now."
"Hey, we're both guides. Plus, I mostly just wanted to try and see some night dragons while they're still airborne."
"You had luck, I hope?"
Uta shrugged. "Not tonight. Fingers crossed for tomorrow."
"You are a very tenacious woman. Many admire that- me among them."
A smile cracked Uta's squat, somewhat stern face. "Flirting this early in the day, Hall?"
"Is there ever a poor time to flirt?" came the chuckled reply.
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Post by KayKay on Jun 17, 2020 2:43:45 GMT
"Morning, Uta," yawned a second, Asian man who emerged from Hall's tent. He had a thicker build than Hall, which served him well as he carried a heavy camera case, a tripod, boom mic, and a bag of sound equipment out of the tent and set it down on a dry patch of earth. He patted down stray hairs from his scalp and quickly ran a comb through his pony tail.
"Don't know how you Noraageans survive without shampoo," he smiled, before marching over to a third, unopened tent.
"Boots, Big Al, rise and shine," he shouted.
"It's cold..." came a moan of protest from within the tent.
"It'll heat up later in the day, Boots. I can't carry everything now."
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Post by Stage on Jun 17, 2020 2:59:25 GMT
Hall grinned and ran a hand over his mussy yet thick and healthy hair. "On the contrary, Mao- I think the rest of you fuss too much over your hair. We give ours room to bloom. That is why mine is so good, yes?"
"Speak for yourself, Hally Boy," Uta said, joining the heavier-set man by the unopened tent. "You don't have curls like mine. I need my conditioner, okay?"
After smiling a greeting at Mao, she hollered towards the tent. "Yeah, rise and shine, Al! Come on, it's not like you to sleep in."
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Post by KayKay on Jun 17, 2020 4:57:59 GMT
"She's not in here," said the voice within the tent. The flap unzipped, and the face of a sleepy-looking Caucasian woman poked through. Her hair was short and stylized in a half-shaved pixie cut, cut down to only a few centimeters on her left side. Sky-blue eyes squinted sleepily at Uta. "Howdy, Hall. Think'n she left to get breakfast."
"That's not Hall, Boots," laughed Mao.
"Sorry, Uta," the woman yawned. "Just let me get my contact lenses in and I'll be out in a jiffy."
As the woman retreated back inside, Mao turned around and shouted, pointing in the direction of Lake Serene. A tall, red-haired figure was marching towards the camp – a fishing pole in one hand and a large freshwater fish nearly a meter long in the other. As she drew closer, they could make out more clearly that she was Hispanic, and that her red hair wasn't natural. The tall, muscular woman smiled as she approached, and as she raised the fish towards them her amber eyes twinkled in the morning sun.
"Looking for me, Uta?"
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Post by Stage on Jun 18, 2020 1:11:53 GMT
Rather than offer a greeting to the woman or give a response to her question, Uta instead looked at the hefty, eel-like fish she carried. Dense, dark speckles dominated its otherwise green scales and a long spine emerged from its nape.
"Hey, you caught a mediterraneus!" she chirped, almost at the same time Hall noted, "Oh- it is a re'em," causing the pair to lock eyes for a moment before sharing a smile.
"You know it too, huh?" Uta asked the Noraagean, turning to face him with playfully hooded eyes.
"Yes, I do- it is very tasty. I do not wish for its bite however."
"No kidding," Uta agreed with a shake of her head. "Their jaws are adapted for crushing shells. Fingers wouldn't stand a chance. And, you know, from what I've gathered chatting with some Lexian naturalists, it's actually a type of shark, even if lots of them call it the unicorn trout. I wonder if the varuls eat it a lot. It's common here and gets to be big. Seems like a good fit for them."
Hall shrugged. "I am not sure. On Noraage, varuls ate mostly heidrun- goats that they raised. They are very large compared to what you know. Away from their homes, they preferred to buy rations- even though it was very expensive. At least those I know did. Hunting is the realm of the vargar, so I think varuls left it to them."
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Post by KayKay on Jul 14, 2020 9:03:28 GMT
"Shark for breakfast," Mao couldn't help but chuckle. "It's not the strangest thing I've eaten here. And I'll take it over field rations again."
He strode over to a crude fire pit that had been built the previous night; yesterday's fire had been long put out, leaving only blackened wood and white powdery ash behind. Mao placed fresh sticks and kindling into the pit with what was now growing confidence, but still he glanced to the others as he worked to ensure he was doing a proper job.
By the time the 'Boots' crawled out of her tent – blinking sky-blue eyes with freshly applied contact lenses and shivering in her black leather jacket – a small fire was already burning, and the re'em had been prepared.
"Hey, Max!" greeted the muscular woman who had caught the fish.
"Well look who's finally awake," grinned Mao.
"Yaoting, I'm not..." Max paused to yawn. "Not like you and Alondra. I'm a nightlife kind of girl."
"Nightlife?" Alondra asked, now smiling as well. "That what you call staying up past midnight watching movies?"
"Yeah, yeah, well..." Max slumped onto the grass near the warm fire and stared back at Alondra as she searched for a comeback. When nothing came to her barely awake mind, Max turned her attention towards Hall and Uta.
"So what can we expect today?"
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Post by Stage on Jul 17, 2020 22:00:44 GMT
"We will need to have caution," Hall, who was seated next to Uta and held a sharp, charred stick with strips of fish on it, explained. "The further we are from the lake, the more wild beasts we will meet. The Vaeldrskougr- the Wolf Woods are very thick, but the land ahead is not. There are both trees to hide ogres and bandits, and sky to make us vulnerable to dragons. It may be the most dangerous part of Migma."
Uta sat forward. "It's not all bad news though. We also might meet travelers from Ness. A lot of them swing north to avoid Prarienfach. They're locals, so they can give us the best info on routes and possible threats. Maybe even Mattuger's mood."
"Oh, yes- that reminds me." Hall was smiling now. "I know friends ahead. Perhaps we will meet them."
"I sure hope," Uta agreed. "The folks we've met so far have been talking about some sort of giant wolf or... shit, what do you call them, Hall? Your wargs."
"Do you mean the vargar?"
"Yeah! A big black dog basically. One with fire in its fur supposedly. Some real Hound of the Baskervilles shit. Usually I'd just write it off as superstition, but with how Lemuria is, it's best we look into it as best we can, so I'd appreciate hearing from these friends of yours."
Hall stroked his well-maintained goatee. "I wonder if it not a garm. They appear to be black, but light shows the red in their hair."
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Post by KayKay on Jul 18, 2020 6:54:58 GMT
"But the garmar are domesticated, aren't they?" Alondra asked after swallowing a mouthful of fish. She raised an eyebrow as something behind Hall caught her attention: a video camera pointed in her direction.
"Just getting some B-roll footage," Max called out from behind the camera with a sideways smile. "Pretend I'm not here."
Rubbing his hands near the fire, Yaoting looked up in Uta's direction. "How many days until we reach the Wolf Woods?"
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Post by Stage on Jul 21, 2020 18:57:11 GMT
Hall, who had become conscious of the camera and struggled not to glance over his shoulder, took a moment to answer. "They are domestic, yes- but domestic does not mean safe. Especially if you are a varul."
"A little more than one," Uta told Yaoting, standing up and doing a few light stretches. "We'll probably camp right outside tonight. We'll have almost the full day tomorrow to make introductions."
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Post by KayKay on Sept 16, 2020 11:07:03 GMT
"The more time we have for introductions, the better," Alondra said with a smile, trying to push out of her mind the thought of the giant garmar, and how it might threaten the lives of the varuls they intended to meet. "It's not something we want to rush through."
Yaoting sat up with a groan, wandering towards the tents. "Sometimes I don't know if I'm the lucky one to be behind the camera," he said, kneeling as he began breaking down one of the tents. "Sure you're up for this, Big Al?"
Alondra, who was now quickly trying to finish her half-eaten breakfast, nodded vigorously until she had swallowed. "Beats suiting up in Armor. I'd rather be out here, on the grass, than cooped up in a Colossus."
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Post by Stage on Oct 26, 2020 2:32:30 GMT
Hall leaned forward and scooted closer to Alondra. His feet shifted restlessly. He was obviously excited. "A Colossus- the living armors, yes? You must show me one day!"
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Post by KayKay on Dec 11, 2020 8:58:34 GMT
"If you think you can handle the warmer weather," Alondra told Hall with a cheeky smile. "And don't mind being underground for a while. I'd be happy to show you around the Pit."
"We store them all in a big, big hole deep underground," Max quickly explained as Alondra ran off to help Yaoting break down the tents. "Protects the hanger from most of the silverbloods. Might have some stock footage on my hard drive – can show you later, yeah?"
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Post by Stage on Dec 17, 2020 1:35:46 GMT
Hall's eyebrow knitted together as he searched for words. "You mean on the- what do you call it? It is like a living manuscript. It has only one page, but it produces light and stretches beyond itself."
Uta, meanwhile, approached Alondra and Mao. "You two need any help?"
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