thequietmods | TDM #1

The ice isn't the only thing cracking right now. Spring storms can be violent, and the thunder is strong enough to reverberate in your chest. Outside of the chilly cave, a torrential downpour makes it nearly impossible to leave the cave and get your bearings. However, through the weather, and past the giant things that seem to be moving in the weather, something large looms in the distance.

The rain and the moving things make it hard to be sure, and you can't even see the horizon line, so it's either a very large body of water, some sort of man-made structure off in the distance, or both. Until the storm clears, no one can be sure which it is.

1. Someone, though, their voice just barely echoing off the walls, seems to be coming up with theories. Is it you? Do you think this is a waste of time?

2. Are you trying to go out into the hostile weather, risks be damned? Is it because you don't care? Do you think you can survive it?

3. Being trapped in a cave full of people stuck in pillars of ice is weird, isn't it? Isn't it even weirder that you used to be in one and now you're not? Are you going to help the others trapped in the ice? It should be warned that trying to break someone out when they're not awake to help will shatter the pillar, and the person inside.

4. As the storm clears up, night has fallen. Thunder booms in the distance and the sound of insects and wild animals picks up. Wolves howl in the darkness. Is now the time to make a move, or are you going to stay in this uncomfortable, but untouched, shelter?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If she says she's fine, Rose is going to trust her. No use offending her by insisting, right? There's an indulging smile that freezes onto her face when she turns to look at the owlbear.

"What. Is that." It doesn't even come out as a question as she just. Points. A bit of panic enters her eyes and she glances at Nora again. "It's huge!" And somehow kind of pathetic, stuck in the pillar like that, but still. Big monster is big.

"He is Astrid. An owlbear. Have you really never seen an owlbear before?" The surprise in her voice was evident. "Then again, if you're from one of the smaller, southern towns, I guess you wouldn't see them that often."

That, and they tended to like their forest. Nora grunts as she frees herself, but Astrid's big head swivels towards Rose and he hoots at her sorrowfully.

"He's trained, so he isn't going to bite you," she adds as mostly an after-thought

"No," she says flatly. Then, more defensively, "And I'm from Sternbild, it's not exactly a tiny town. I've never even heard of owlbears." Then again, she's not quite into tabletop gaming, either. Her schedule's pretty busy, after all, and even if it wasn't, that was something old people were into.

Still, it seems more... pathetic than bloodthirsty. Unless that was part of the trap? But Nora seems pretty together about it all and Rose had offered to help... Ugh. Wincing slightly, she closes the distance and cautiously pulls a chunk of ice away from it. "Steady there..."

"Sternbild? Never heard of it," Nora says as she knocks the remaining frost and ice off her clothing. She frowned at the pillar, and pulled on her gun. Didn't they know the water in the ice would ruin her weapon?

Astrid, for his part, clicks his beak at Rose and turns his face away from her, crunching on the ice carefully. It cracks up his side hard, and he turns his face to hers again, as if suggesting she do the same thing.

Now who's the backwater? "Sternbild's huge. You must have heard of it somewhere." Rose gives her an odd look, then leans back away as Astrid does his thing.

No. Not gonna chew on his ice. What she will do, however, is rear back and give it a good kicking, splintering chunks of the ice off of his side. She may not look it, but she's no pushover when it comes to physical power.

Astrid makes whuffing sounds, but once it appears that the ice is cracking away, calms down and continues to bite at his own ice. Between the two of them, it doesn't take long for the owlbear to break free.

"No, I've never heard of it, but considering all the in and out time shenanigans I've had to deal with lately, it wouldn't surprise me if it was buried under the ice." That was just the way of things with her home planet. No warmth, only ice. She pulled her rifle free and checked it over to make sure there was no damage on it. When it appeared that it was fine, she breathed a sigh of relief. "I've never seen anyone with blue hair before, though. Is it natural?"

Once the owlbear's free, Blue Rose takes a few steps back. She's not entirely sure how tame any 'bear' can really be, especially not one with an owl for a head.

"Time shenanigans?" That sounds like something science-fictiony to her. But then, who really knew what all was out there? This woman didn't seem like she was from the same country as Karina, and that gun seemed absolutely antique. At the question, she blinks, then laughs a little and shakes her head. "No, it just looks like that when I freeze it in place." A bonus effect in protecting her identity!

Astrid makes a beeline for Nora and who fluffs his head affectionately. "There's a good boy, yes you are. We'll figure out something for you to eat here shortly." She turned her attention back to Blue Rose.

"Huh, I didn't know you could do that to hair." Nora nodded, sounding a bit impressed. "But yes, we had to do a lot of things involving time before I left my group. I'd had enough of it."

Maybe the thing was tamer than she'd like to admit, but she's still going to feel more secure the further it is from her. Especially if it's hungry.

"It's not precisely healthy," she admits. "I have to condition it pretty strongly, or else..." She gestures at her head, making jaggedy motions with her hands to illustrate the damage. Then, she shakes her head and offers a little smile. "Well, hopefully your life's turned out for the better since then? I can understand feeling fed up." Maybe not the time stuff Nora's dealt with, but with a job? Sure.

"I decided to go join the ancient God of the Hunt. I imagine a life of hunting and keeping the status quo is much better than just..." Nora made a dismissive gesture, "Bowing to parasitic gods."

She had Feelings about divinity, it seemed. Astrid clicked his beak and rumbled deep in his chest as Nora gave him attention. "Though, I can understand needing to condition your hair. I am unable to wash my hair frequently where I'm from, so I use a combination of bear grease and washing it once per week. It's very long and healthy because of that."

TDM #1

Re: 2.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject