lostcarnival | ⇨ WYLD HUNT

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⇨ WYLD HUNT

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 100
Where: Shabondamashii
What: The Wyld Hunt unexpectedly crashes the Shabon's dimension, leaving chaos in its wake. Those that have been with the carnival for a while might recognize it as the personal army of a fae called the Huntsman - also known as one of the Ringmaster's age old rivals, whom she dethroned thousands of years ago. The last we heard of him, he was pursuing the carnival, and it turns out he found them faster than anyone thought.
Warnings: Violence, theoretical cannibalism.

THE AUTUMN MOON↴

There isn't any warning. You might not even notice what's happening at first, with the approach of the threat happening as spontaneously as a zombie uprising. You're minding your own business, enjoying Shabon, when a random alien charges you on foot with sudden and aggressive intent. Whether or not you can throw them off or defeat them, you'll soon find they weren't alone. An entire army is descending upon the city now, and the carnival is the target.

► THEY ARE LEGION: The Wyld Hunt comes in all shapes and sizes, with beasts and men from all kinds of different universes having been caught up in its sway. Those that have been in the Hunt for a long while have more or less completely lost themselves - they now function only as part of a pack, hunting whatever the Huntsman wishes and consuming what their prey leaves behind upon death. Some members of the Hunt are newer and more unsure, but they are all a part of a psychic hive mind that compels them to move as a unit. Everyone in the Wyld Hunt instinctively know what the Huntsman wants them to do, even if they never speak to him.

Their skills, powers, and physicalities are all over the board, but there are a notably large quantity of Wyld Fae among them, often being used as mounts by more powerful humanoids within the Hunt. When NPCing members of the Hunt for threading purposes there is a lot of flexibility to what you face, including entities and beasts from your own worlds - provided they are creatures capable of functioning independently.

► HUNT OR BE HUNTED: When set upon by the Hunt, it is easy to become overwhelmed. Unfortunately, in that situation, the only way to beat them is to join them. Beginning to hunt alongside the others will immediately pacify them against you. As soon as you start to follow, the thrum of the Huntsman's will will start to take over - the more you hunt, the harder it is to turn away from it. If you do stop, or successfully oppose the compulsion, they will be quick to set upon you again. Like the others, you will feel the craving to consume any individuals the Hunt has felled - you must resist this, because once you have eaten the prey of the Hunt, you'll be trapped within it indefinitely.

► WORN OUT WELCOME: The people of Shabon are used to crisis, but this is a bit beyond what even they are prepared to tolerate. The Hunt will be causing collateral, both of the human and the material sort. While the workers in Shabon have very well practiced escape procedures in the event of something like this, the other guests are not as fortunate. Plenty of them are capable of fighting back on their own, but they will not always be capable of avoiding the hordes. The longer this goes on, the worse it will get. Eventually, the Shabon workers will realize who the Hunt is after and start actively trying to turn carnival members over to them in order to make it stop.

► IN TWO PARTS: Tragically, this turn of events and the realization that she's managed to put everyone in danger once again will be what finally causes the Ringmaster to split in two. One side will immediately become disinterested in using violence to counter this problem, while the other will be desperate and reckless. This will also completely screw her ability to get anyone back to the carnival in time. There will be at least one Megathread dealing with her actions during this.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a conflict the carnival is meant to survive, not win. The main point of this is to get the plot rolling in a new direction, so don't worry about figuring out how to defeat the Huntsman, because in this moment it basically won't be possible. Have fun threading out the crisis, and see where it leads. I wanted to be up front about that, as opposed to letting everyone grasp at straws to prevent a result that will be inevitable, even if the details will shift.

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At first, fighting was easy, intense, and quite pleasurable, the mass amount of foes to face giving him an adrenaline rush. When talking failed, no hope for it present at all at least by voice, he was quick to join the brawl, mowing down whatever was necessary to find his own back against some sort of stable wall. At first he tried sealing off a room with his power, leaving some air to chance and considering grabbing those he knew could not fight. But the sight of those crystalline thorns prompted him to go in that direction and he was currently holding himself within Steven's protective walls. He does it best to fortify it even if it means sealing the door somewhat shut or lining the area with anything heavy and blockable.

He becomes a runner, going in and out of the brawls, fights, and fort to look for the Ringmaster, search for food, and provide an opportunity to escape above the crowds with his power to choose. It's a tough fight and it leaves Tyki winded, a mess, his clothes torn. Some of them he can handle, his Dark Matter ripping through flesh and bone with ease. Others are made of tougher stuff, easily reflecting his own attacks back at him.

Out in the bathhouse, he can be seen using lethal means, going for hearts, organs, or bones to rip from their bodies with his Power to Choose. Anything to slow so he can escape and not get caught up in their numbers, worrying less about the kill and more about trying to keep moving. Call out to him and he'll fetch someone in need.

Within the hedge fort, he might check on Steven, make sure he has enough to eat or drink to sustain anything he needs to, or dragging wounded towards somewhere to lay down. If he's alone, and he often is, he might be resting against the wall, his hands stained with blood, the occasional trickle of dried blood at the corner of his mouth from a rough blow, with his arm often dislocated or torn into from his Tease shield failing him. Either way he won't stay still for long unless someone makes him. Tyki's not one to idly sit around in this situation.

(Wildcard as usual is an option. He's just mostly sticking to one location and around it but he will go long distances to achieve something if able. He is broadening his search until he finds the Ringmaster as that is his high priority.)

Per this thread, Zangetsu will be attempting to locate the more aggressive half of the Ringmaster via soul sense. There's lots of Wyld Fae running around, mucking up the "scent" as it were, but will he be able to locate her?

"That's just the thing," she says. "I was so torn up when I realized what was happening, that he was here, that I'd let everyone fall into yet another crisis situation and that some of them would probably die... But, I don't feel that way anymore. I think I'm just over it, now."

"If I die or if everyone else dies... at least I won't be prolonging all this suffering anymore."

The chaos, if anything, has really only gotten worse. There are a few among the Carnival's number unaccounted for -- presumably, some of them are off helping minimize the chaos -- but of the ones Lambert's looking for, Hanamaru isn't one of them.

Still, he recognizes the voice from the radio, the one who said she'd find someone to help ... except it looks like she's turned out to need help herself. Lambert curses, pulling Pig up short, and dismounts.

"It's gone," he says, shortly. "Let me see that arm."

Much like she seems oddly happy, Sans is completely fucking chilled. Despite having just scored what would usually be a pretty satisfying hit, he finds himself moving backwards, looking at the acid on his barb with wide eyes as the can feel the brush of fae poison neutralize against the Prince's stone.

Anywhere else and he wouldn't have been so lucky. The idea panics him, even if he can't reason out why yet. The general vibe is pretty clear - she's a Wyld Fae, and she's the same as the Prince. Memories swirl, reminding him of what that means.

He can't get touched by that shit. Who knows what would happen? Maybe it will pollute their minds like it did at the Manor. Maybe it would do worse. He casts a glance at Yuya - he can't leave the kid, but what if it's already too late?

"Nah," is all he manages to rumble, before taking another few steps back and blasting her with some laser breath. He doesn't really anticipate this will work, but he is basically without better options.

"You fail to take into account that we don't want to die at all," Childermass all but growls the words, though he realizes it may be for naught. "You still have obligations to us, no matter how badly you think you've messed up... and if you want to try and fulfill those, well, we are trying to hold a temple against them, in central Shabon. We would be happier if you were to join us."

And if not, he really can't stay. He can leave a shadow bird behind to watch her but he's undoubtedly needed elsewhere.

Oh! It's...that guy! Dude she talked to over the radio. And he's on a real fucking big horse. Pig's size is super unexpected so when she shows up, Hanamaru scurries backwards a little, like she's afraid the horse is going to step on her.

She's still keeping a healthy distance from the horse as she raises her arm up for Lambert to see, then winces as she does so. "One of those monsters hit it real funny."

Hanamaru's biting down on her lip to keep from crying as she shows Lambert her obviously broken arm.

He will! It seems like the other half of the Ringmaster is currently trying to keep a surprisingly low profile, skulking around in a much smaller version of her usual dragon form. Of course, so far, there are several dead bodies of various hunters left in her path, which is much more true to form.

The circumstances are far from ideal for discussing this. Peridot knows that. They're under siege here in the hedgefort, it's all hands on deck defending the place, and it's difficult to slip away without drawing attention to their little group. It takes an extremely fortuitous bit of timing when the Hunt holds off long enough to rally their forces for Peridot to gather everyone together somewhere they won't be spotted or overheard.

"I'll make this quick," she starts. "With the Ringmaster... compromised, I think we should discuss what some of our options are for enlisting backup," she growls, fidgeting with her gauntlet anxiously.

Amethyst, who looks a little scuffed up and has bits of hedge sticking out of her hair, bites her lip.

"So judging by who all you've gotten over here... I'm guessing you think we oughtta give tall hot 'n scaly his firepower back, huh."

"I think I'll just talk to him, and see where that goes. Maybe he'll even leave you guys alive, if his main objective comes right to his doorstep," she says, not sounding particularly affected by his words. It doesn't really sound like a matter of life or death to her.

"It's sort of selfish to be doing this, don't you think? Getting this whole city in danger just by being here. Probably starting another fae war by making everyone think I'm stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. It's been all about what I wanted, and what I wanted to protect, and never about anything else."

As she sees it, Childermass can go when he wants. Their business is done.

"In fact, all of you can go free for all I care! Contract over."

"I am still compiling data on the matter," Peridot grunts, folding her arms across her chest and tapping her claws uncomfortably. Which is basically just an incredibly stupid way of saying she can't decide what to do. "That's why I wanted to discuss this with the whole group. There's merit to the idea but... I just don't know if that outweighs the risks."

Childermass scowls, even more. You wouldn't think it possible but apparently it is, his face is basically just one giant disapproval right now.

"You don't have the power to end our contracts," he points out. "You're only a piece of the woman who holds them."

Maybe that'll prompt her to go looking for her other half? He can sure hope it. Like, there's a lot of other things he could argue about, like them leaving being the more immediate way to lead the Hunt away from Shabon, but you know.

She hasn't felt anything magically shift, so that's probably true. She hums, puzzling that over.

"Hmm, you might be right. Well, I guess it doesn't matter at this point."

She waves a hand at him, and then sprouts her wings.

"Bye!"

And then she's off... to do something. She guesses.

Tyki will find a small version of the Ringmaster's dragon form, somewhere near where the hedge fort is being formed. She's in the process of tearing apart some kind of large animal, blood all over her face and claws.

Before, she’d been caught off guard. This time, seeing him prepare to attack, the fae — changes. Her form ripples like light bending through water, a lithe, silvery form leaping deftly aside from the blast. But she doesn’t stop there: four hooves strike the wall as she runs along it with a utter disregard for the laws of physics, mane and tail streaming in the air.

Her horn glows with pale, diseased-looking green light. Her hide glistens in the myriad lights of Shabon. The bitter, sharp smell off her has grown stronger, and she laughs.

“Let me taste you, little beast,” she says. Curved fangs glisten inside her mouth. She braces her hooves and brings her lion-like tail up sharply, flicking a spray of droplets off the tip at him. The motion is deceptively lazy.

That... hm. That's not quite what he was expecting. As it turns out, this fae is a smorgasbord of all of his triggers, and he's not really sure how to cope with that.

His only saving grace is that he can teleport, and with a fast reaction time at that. As soon as she flicks the tail, he's already disappeared - he reappears on the others side of her, crushing some tiles on the roof of a building. What is he supposed to do, here? If this is really a fae, then he already knows he can't beat her.

What if Yuya is already dead?

Sans growls, and tries to grab a hold of her with his telekinesis, hoping to pin her down to the ground with a blast of excessive gravity. At the same time, he prepares to jolt forward, hoping to get lucky and impale her with his scorpion stinger. Maybe a Wyld Fae poison is enough to damage a fae. Even if she is also poison. Jesus christ.

"He was meant to earn his power back," Childermass says sharply. No, he doesn't like the idea. Strange already let slip just what the rest of the plan is, so that doesn't particularly help. "I am aware he has shown some changes of heart towards some few members of the carnival but is it enough?"

Teleporting is a very good thing, as it turns out, since whatever those little drops touch leaves blackened, acrid-smelling holes. The gravity catches her by surprise — it’s not an element she often runs into, that — and Sans will succeed in driving her into the ground, in driving the stinger into her. She struggles for a moment, then grows limp, legs stretched out stiffly on the ground.

Where Sans’s stinger has pierced her? It seems to take at first, a patch of stone spreading, but then corrosive blood (for lack of a better word, but it certainly doesn’t have anything else in common with the stuff) starts to bubble around it, steaming and hissing as it starts eating through stone. Her body shudders, like she’s taken a chill, and her eyes snap open.

“I can do that too,” she says, dreamily lifting her head, pushing past the weight of the gravity spell holding her down. The hairs on her tail shift as a wicked-looking barb unsheathes itself, because Wyld Fae are made of bullshit apparently, and she promptly lashes out, trying to stick or scrape it against whatever part of Sans she can reach.

Edited 2018-09-25 20:24 (UTC)

"It isn't," he chimes from his spot against the wall. He's a mess, disheveled even in these fights for someone of his power, but he doesn't care right now. It's a moment of rest and this sounds like a stupid idea. "Even if it was on the constraint that no one would be going along with his idea, it is still too risky. Not to mention our Lady is still alive, simply in pieces."

He completely panics at the sight of that barb, his mind flashing back to that night at the Manor, the Prince grabbing him by the throat, the barb sticking into his spine-

The feeling of it creeping through him, slowing his joints and messing with his head-

He summons his wings, which flair out in burst of angelic light. His aura is in full force, radiating awe and foreboding, that would make any lesser target feel like they were the one facing judgement. Unfortunately, a Wyld Fae is a bit above the reach to have a significant effect. He's not a full angel anymore than he is a full fae. It must seem weird to her, though, to feel both of these things in one person.

Still, the light's message is very clear, like a threatened prey showing its barbs. Stay back! Be afraid! As the light flares, Sans moves himself quickly backwards and out of reach. He casts a look to Yuya, on the ground, with couple of his eyes.

But he doesn't know what else to do.

"I mean..." Amethyst sits back on her tail, propping herself up like a kangaroo. "He probably didn't earn it if we weren't being attacked by the Wyld Hunt, like if we were still just chilling then no way, but we could probably use some of his conflagwhatever right about now. Like, worst case scenario he just leaves, but he'd still have to take care of a bunch of these guys on the way out, right?"

Ah, he'd recognized that beautiful body anywhere. Like usual, he'll approach her with an even pace, his guard up to those around him. His stride is determined as he's been looking for her and now that he's found her, he's not inclined to just walk away.

"My Lady, there you are," he'll greet her. "It's good to see you aren't far..."

She looks at Tyki desperately, with urgency in her eyes. She whines, tossing aside the body of the hunter she just eliminated.

"I can't kill these things fast enough - Tyki, I can't stop them!" she says, sounding panicked.

Okay, that's an instant red flag in his book. Regardless, he takes a step forward. He's never seen her desperate, not enough to act panicked. Even if she was nice, she always held her head up high enough to reign in the air that she was still a fae.

"Neither can I," he responds, closing the distance between them, "It's why we should retreat before it gets too late."

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Page 10 of 33

⇨ WYLD HUNT

Tyki Mikk | HEDGE FORT + OUT AND ABOUT | OTA

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ready two bite it

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Closed to Egg-Bearers

Re: Closed to Egg-Bearers

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