orphanedshadow

[orphanedshadow]

Another growl made its way from the basement, this time from Kara instead of her pup. Signalling that she couldn't speak was difficult without revealing herself, and people never seemed willing to leave once they saw her. Besides, she would have to lower her bow if she wanted to sign….not that humans seemed to understand it.

Still, taking a deep breath, and gesturing to Maskim to be silent, she put down her bow, picking up the empty gun with her other hand. Stepping in front of the light once more, making sure the shadow included the weapon, she gestured to her own throat before giving a thumbs-down, hoping it would signal that she couldn't speak… something that she was sure would make all diplomacy nigh on useless.

After another moment of thought she also put the gun on the table, letting the shadow show that she'd put it down, hoping that much was understood. She had no plans of shooting either, though if pressed then she would have no problem with loosing an arrow, or throwing a knife. In fact, she could just put out the torch and be at an advantage, something she was not about to let the stranger know.

Just in case the other decided to try something, Kara decided to go and grab an arm, one taken from one of the infected. It had been a large specimen, and although mostly mummified, it was slightly pliable, as well as stiff enough to keep some shape. With a gardening glove over the hand and a long sleeve, it was vaguely convincing, so she bent the fingers to show only one, then stuck it through the doorway, as if asking how many people, and stating that she was alone.

Hopefully it would be convincing enough for the young-sounding girl to think that there was someone physically imposing, with a big scary dog, and stay away.It was best to be menacing, show strength, as if she didn’t just have a tiny dog, ancient weaponry, and magics she wasn’t entirely able to control. She would be okay if the other was actually alone, but if there was the possibility of a larger group, or if people would come looking for them…then things would probably get bad quickly.

It required focus, to hear the sounds and shifts in the space around her over the agitated, out of rhythm skittering of her own heartbeat pounding in her head. She was used to adrenaline, she was used to surges of fear and anger interrupting her train of thought -- hell, she'd have been dead a few thousand times over if she didn't know how to adjust to the fucked up things adrenaline and emotions did to reactions and senses. This felt different, somehow.

As weird and unusual as her life was, there were norms. There were patterns. Sequences. And whatever this was? Didn't fit into any of the 'norm'. Her heart jerked, leaping up into her throat for a second at the shadowed image of a gun -- and again, at the low, agitated growl. She didn't exactly have the best history with dogs, mostly because most of the ones she'd encountered had been trying to eat her face. And she rather liked that attached.

She should've taken the loss, accepted the warning and that she was probably on the losing end of whatever power struggle this was, but she wasn't about to let this particular mystery go unsolved. Okay, maybe she should leave. Go get Joel. Come back. Let him figure it out. But then there'd be the yelling and the chastising and the arguing. No. It was better if she figured it out first. And then, if she had answers, it'd be better. Right?

"Okay, real cute," she groused, at the bird flipped her way -- like she wouldn't do exactly the same thing. "And I get it, fine, you -- you have your space, and your .. weapons, and your space, and your... dog." What did she have? A gun. And a guaranteed line of sight way to get herself shot if she tried to go down. "So let's ... discuss." Because talking was such her strong suit. "I ... am not here to shoot you. And I'd rather not get shot. So maybe, we start with ... not doing that, okay? I... uh, would ... like to ask some questions, maybe. Maybe you need something, and ... we could trade, right?"

[orphanedshadow]

FOLK HORROR sentence and action prompts.

( Send a dialogue tag and/or a # for reverse aka for receiver perform a chosen action on sender. )

Sentence Prompts.

“I cannot be judged by you!”

“I have done nothing but preach.”

“Confess to me.”

"You are not worthy."

“You cannot disobey the shepherd.”

“Show me the light.”

"The devil carved you from his flesh."

"It's not too late to turn to God."

"My soles are burnt from the fire."

“You have sinned and now you must be punished.”

“You are an apostate of hell.”

“When have you strayed from the path?”

“You are no longer worthy of salvation.”

"The sinnermen sent you!"

“Were you born a sinner?”

"You have the devil's eyes."

"No one shall tempt me into darkness."

“Evil has corrupted your thoughts.”

“What wickedness have you done?”

“He won’t hear your prayers!”

“The devil has taken refuge in you.”

“Let me in.”

"You're the devil."

“Salvation is not possible.”

“I am the chosen one.”

“Satan shines his light in the darkest, deepest parts of your mind.”

“She is an innocent child.”

“You will find yourself wandering in the dark.”

“Satan uses sin to reach you.”

“You don’t have to hide from him anymore.”

“The devil knows what you did.”

“We must sacrifice the weak.”

“That is, if they survive the baptism.”

“Fear not, death is not the end, it’s the beginning.”

“Instead, they sent you.”

“Fire will absolve you from your sins.”

“You are an apostle of Satan.”

“He has risen from the sea of flames.”

“I am the one you should worship.”

“They are going to cleanse you.”

“Do you know what worship feels like?”

“You will learn and when you do you won’t turn back.”

“I want you to worship me.”

“I was sent to guide you.”

“Do you see it? The darkness in me?”

Action Prompts.

Send [exorcise] for your muse to try to exorcise mine.

Send [chain] for your muse to chain my muse down a cross.

Send [field] for your muse to chase mine through a field.

Send [pitchfork] for your muse to stab mine with a pitchfork.

Send [kneel] for your muse to force mine to pray.

Send [cross] for your muse to strike my muse down with a cross.

Send [rosary] for your muse to wrap a rosary around my muses’ throat tenderly.

Send [rosary spike] for your muse to threaten to stab mine with their rosary.

Send [drag] for your muse to drag my muse into church.

Send [pray] for your muse to pray with my muse.

[orphanedshadow]

@factiousfcrged asked: so… we're just not going to address that?

Red dripped down the child's arms as she stepped from the shadows, the darkness around her feet seeming to swallow the blood, leaving empty patches in the crimson staining the floor. It had only taken a second for her to switch from being terrified to being terrifying, fingernails becoming claws that sank deep into the throats of men more than twice her height.

And yet her only response to the question was a little head-shake, eyes fixated on the floor in front of her. Kara would rather not answer, she didn't want things to change from how they had been before.

[orphanedshadow]

@pactfcrged asked: Send me an ☠ for my muse’s reaction to yours poisoning them - but it’s BG3 Andy & she’s made a special poison soup delicacy for creature.

Kara could smell it, the toxic plants all mixed together and cooked to what she would call perfection. A perfect brew, where a single drop would kill a lesser mortal.

The little druid practically vibrated as it was ladled up, likely sinking into the wood of her bowl and making every subsequent meal lethal. Sharp teeth flashed in a vaguely sinister smile before the bowl was tipped into her mouth, a little bit spilling on her front, and the rest staining her mouth a blue that was almost black, the kind of colour that usually foreshadowed death.

Instead she just hummed happily to show her thanks, steam exiting her mouth as she exhaled, bowl already held out for another heaping serving of deadly mushrooms.

[orphanedshadow]

@demcnsinmymind asked: ❛  a pretty face doesn’t guarantee a pretty heart.  ❜

"I fail to see how that would be relevant. I have neither one of those."

[orphanedshadow]

@bitchheroine asked: "it's never over, but you survived."

The shadows swirled around her as Kara's vessel turned stiffly, eyes black and the darkness spreading through the veins of her face. The voice that came from her mouth was not her own, but that of something far more ancient. "THE HOST WILL ALWAYS SURVIVE. WE WILL NOT ALLOW IT TO BE TAKEN FROM US."

[orphanedshadow]

@orderfcrged asked: ❝ sheep will always need a shepherd. ❞

It had been so long since she had heard someone's voice, and even longer since that voice had belonged to someone other than her Grandmother. So Kara clung to Rio's every word like it was gospel, letting it shape her reality. Of course there was much she didn't know, having missed the last few thousand years of human history. But she did know sheep, and unlike everything else sheep made sense.

"WE WILL HELP. WILL FIND SHEEP. OR GOATS. MASKIM HELP TOO."

[orphanedshadow]

@pactfcrged asked: Send a character name and my muse will tell them how they feel about that person - they cannot lie. But for BG3 Andy specifically.

"We like Andy. She is Grandmother's favourite warlock, and keeps us safe when we are exploring Faerun. No matter what, we are going to keep her, and anyone who wants to take her from us is going to die."

[orphanedshadow]

@decreedfate asked: What's the matter, you look pale?" (Taila for Kara!)

"That is likely the blood-loss. It is to be expected."

[orphanedshadow]

@nightdaughtcr asked: "hey, look at me. i don't care. are you okay?"

Blood dripped from her hands, fingernails now more claws than anything else. Those claws had just torn open someone's belly without hesitation, ending one of countless enemies, for reasons that Kara could barely remember.

What she could remember was a fury that burned like hellfire having washed over her, the heat having been channelled into unblinking violence. Blood still stained her lips from having ripped into someone's throat, and the euphoria brought by its taste fought with what could only be described as shame. Not only had she lost control, but someone had seen, a friend… and even those soft words were met with hesitation.

Yet she still looked up, eyes black, and veins filled with darkness. Kara knew she looked the part of monster, and she could only hope that her friend wasn't lying.

"You?" The word was hard to force out, but it had to be asked. Her own health didn't matter, she had survived, but Kara worried their friendship had not.

[orphanedshadow]

@nightdaughtcr asked: "It must be said. These truths, no matter how harsh, must be said."

"The nature of the universe is not harsh, it is simply… without care. Even if this entire world were to turn to ashes, it would not change the energies that exist outside it, not in any meaningful way."

[orphanedshadow]

@magicallwomen asked: "You're meant to be soaked in blood." from Rose the Hat

Little hands dipped into the pool of blood, shadows drinking it in like her skin was dying of thirst. It was invigorating, and the girl couldn't help but smile as she raised her hands once more, gesturing towards someone who was busy trying to escape.

"Theirs?" Kara signed, as if asking permission. After all, it was rude to kill someone else's prey.

[orphanedshadow]

@decreedfate asked: "Come on, let's just try it, what's the worst that could happen? The oujia board is just a tool, after all." (Elliot for Kara!)

A heavy sigh made it from the hunter’s lips as she looked over the board, remembering all too many times that people had ended up opening some kind of rift and allowing something in. Something that had been a pain to deal with.

“Would you prefer your list in terms of physical, or metaphysical torment?” A slightly clawed fingertip poked at the board as she slipped the moulded plastic planchet to goodbye. “It is the sort of tool that must be crafted properly, and made of appropriate materials. This is neither of those things."

[orphanedshadow]

The kickback was a lot more powerful than Kara had expected, and it had taken every bit of focus for her to not fall off. The noise was also way more than she had liked, and had it not been for the strap holding it to her body she would definitely have dropped it. But her aim had been true, it almost always was, and the impact had practically vaporized its target. Although it had probably also alerted everyone to their presence, but they were likely a little ways out, and that was a problem for later. It took a second for the ringing in her ears to subside enough for her to realize she was being spoken to, but the little girl quickly gave a shaky thumbs-up. Apart from the lingering ringing in her ears, which would surely fade, everything else was fine.

"Okay, that was --" It had taken more effort than expected to keep her own speeder upright against the sharp pull of force from the rocket launcher firing, and it wasn't until a glance behind her showed the pirate's speeder scattering into a few thousand pieces of shrapnel that she let herself ease up on the speed, spinning the bike to face the direction of the explosion and to see if that had, actually, taken care of the last of their pursuers. "Really loud," Kay finally finished, one hand still on the handlebars of the idling speeder, the other reaching up to rub a knuckle against her ear briefly. "You good, kid?"

[orphanedshadow]

@graunblida asked: "Embrace what you are."

Learning to accept her differences was not easy, Kara's father having impressed into her the importance of not letting anyone see her bleed. But here things were different, she was no longer alone, and had met someone with blood just as dark as hers.

"Am not a traitor. Had no one to betray." She had been alone, not bound by the rules of the clans, or of any people. But that didn't make her a traitor, no matter what other people may say. "Am just Kara."

[orphanedshadow]

@valuvaris asked: ❝Please don’t eat me.❞ -

"What is it about me that makes people assume I want to eat them? Or that I would not at least kill them first."

[orphanedshadow]

Of course the other girl was going to be stubborn about it, people never listened, especially when Kara signed. It didn't make sense to her, why hunters didn't use it… but at least this one was smart enough to reply in kind. So many creatures had pinpoint hearing, it was always better to keep silent.

"If you attempt to haunt me, you will regret it." There was a jar back home, with the soul of the last hunter that got themselves killed trying to keep up with her, and she would not hesitate to give this girl the exact same treatment.

Taking off her bow, Kara set about the task of restringing it, poison-tipped arrows the best chance of slowing the man down before things got too difficult… and of binding him in one form. That would be a better choice than magic, now that there was someone else watching.

@orphanedshadow sent a meme.

I hunt alone. I suggest you leave before you discover why.

While it was certainly not unusual for her to run into others pursuing the same prey as her, there were enough things about this particular competition that had made her pause. Young. Female. Alone. -- at least as far as Wynter could determine. All of which were things that were generally considered detractors for those in this particular line of work. Things that often led to a sometimes quick and always bloody end. If they were lucky, it was to the monsters, and not the hunters.

But this one? She was silent, and slippery, and if it hadn't been for almost sheer accident of attempting to choose the same perch to watch and observe, she might not have even known the other hunter was present. Head tilts, at the emphatic gestures cast her way, in such a way that left little need for understanding the signs to get the gist. "I haven't followed him this long, to walk away now," she signed back, gaze narrowing fractionally as she shrugged her pack off her shoulder, sliding it down to rest against her leg, though still making no move to go for whatever weaponry she had hidden on her person.