Scene #4036: Mission: Crystal Flora Madness

Owner	Pose
Reize Seatlan	The Crystaline Jungle is a typically a plant-enriched environment that have become crystal themselves, born through feeding from the crystals that stretch out from the Crystal Valley. Those power creatures tend to give feral life to the flora that dwell here. The dominating force of nature is typically eminating with raw power that stretches through the foilage and multitude of trees that stand in sight. However, recent incident has brought forth a shroud of darkness as a single, terrible plant has made its presence known. The looming presence lurks a hideous creautre, formerly a small plant. The creature lumbers through the jungle, tearing down anything in its path. ROOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!!! Further ahead within the jungle is a boy with a long yellow scarf. He is holding onto a map, likely upside down. He is not too aware of the creature quite yet in his travel. "Toph and Finna mentioned about a Warp Gate that was supposed to lead me to the nearest town." He scratches his head, "I never found...." And then the roar, "....Whoa."
Finna	Rumors of strange, ferocious creatures terrify mortals. For Finna, they're sources of excitement! and possibly... new forms, new ways to test her skills and hone her hunting. So the Sacred Hunt has been declared. She will find this creature and devour its heart's blood! .... Maybe. Hopefully. The fox that nimbly vaults from branch to crystal branch, covering vast distances with uncannily lengthy leaps. Like some kind of fantastic barbarian ninja! Her progress comes to a screeching halt when a SCENT hits her nose. Her nostrils flare, drawing in the wafting fragrance... Smells like... smells like... soggy adventure. Sniff sniff. The fox sneezes in the trees, then detours. Leap leap whoosh, crossing distance upwinds. If Reize looks up he might see the creature in low-hanging branches, peering at him. But perhaps he will not. Though she's not especially attempting to camouflage herself, white fur shines brightly against the crystal and can kinda blend in...
Ms. Fortune	Nadia didn't usually take jobs like this. Protecting the ecosystem? That wasn't really her style, although she might get accused of being a race traitor if she ever admited it. Still, a place called the 'Crystaline Jungle' couldn't help but spark some interest in the feline. Weren't crystals often valuable? And, heck, even if they weren't, they were pretty... For once, her decision to join the Syndicate Network seemed to be paying off. The cat burglar dashes through the trees, leaping from branch to branch, expertly bouncing off of invisible platforms, swinging from vines... really, she's built for this sort of action. The roar is unmistakable, her ears swiveling to pinpoint it's origin - thattaway!
Reize Seatlan	The looming presence of that large, crystalline covered beast trudges through the jungle. Its limbs are nothing more than multitude of thick vines. All along the 'head' of the flower are those massive crystalized petals. At the center of it is a large, looming eye that slowly drifts over to the side. As the creature turns over towards the southward path, it senses life. ...That do not belong. The creature continues to trudge straight ahead, shuffling over the other plants and now seeking to follow the scent of what is considered 'fresh meat'. It's hunger is far from sated. Meanwhile.... That 'soggy adventurer' had been traveling for days, muttering under his breath about 'warp gate my foot'. There is a great deal of frustration. He had been wandering around what feels like days, hunting creatures here and there. Unfortunately, the Crystal Valley did not provide much 'food' considering they were ... hard to eat. Sigh. Despite the boy's naivity, exploring the woods is his specialty. He is still a hunter. That is why he cannot help but feel like that he's being watched. "... Buh?" In addition to the earlier roar, the feeling of being watch does not provide much comfort. He already draws both crystal boomerangs in hand. "Tsch..." He looks towards the left, then towards the right. ???? ... And of course, straight ahead is where the gargantuan mono-eyed creature trudges closer in vicinity of the boy. One outcome comes out of this. "... Crap."
Finna	Sniff sniff! Also smells like cat out there. Cat and something else... but Finna's not had much experience with Miss Bits and Pieces over there! So she just blinks... then geks down at Reize just as the strange, HUGE creature comes barging into view. Finna drops from the trees, lands near the boy.... but when she lands, its human legs that touch the ground. Her body brims with power, silvery light emanating softly from her skin and a multitude of tribal tattoos glowing into view, tales wrought in twirls of whirling Moonsilver ink. "Don't just stand there gaping! Run into the trees for cover!"
Ms. Fortune	Nadia Fortune's nose isn't as good as her ears, so alas she can't counter-note that it smells like fox out here! The felinoid Feral bounces off a tree to alter her direction, and bounds across a couple of invisible platforms on all fours before leaping into the air again. She finds herself sailing right towards a crystaline plant monster - closer than she thought it was! - but that suits her just fine. "Hey, chlorophyll-for-brains!" she shouts at it, trying to get its attention.
Reize Seatlan	The primary focus of the creature was on that hapless boy that was unfortunate enough to enter its line of sight. Of course, with one eye, that line of sight is quite limited. Due to that, it becomes fixated on the boy, the tendrils slowly creeping out his way. Within Reize's peripheral vision is a figure that drops down nearby. Once her body shapeshift into the human-like form, her skin is covered with a light as those tattoos glow. The boy is briefly able to awe until she shouts for him to find tree for cover. "Ack! Right!" Despite the Lunar making her power known, it is still fixated on the less powerful prey. The tendrils are off towards Reize, though it stops midcourse upon hearing something. That loud voice carries over enough to where its attention shifts towards the direction of the felinoid. The cycloptic eye narrows at the sight of the humanoid leaping right its way. Those tendrils now shift from Reize and straight towards Ms. Fortune with a roar behind it.
Finna	"Errgh..." The creature she's beholding is one unlike most she's seen. It's a giant... cyclopic... PLANT thing?! "Not the nicest plant ever... can't eat this thing's shape..." Its WAY too weird. She's not sure if it's a plant or an animal. Becoming a PLANT is..... much tougher. Her attempts last time at that did not go very well. She's not willing to spend another day covered in leaves anytime soon. Her attention sways Nadia's way and.. "Ooooh. Like her style! Nice outfit, very eye-catching!" She's TAKING NOTES. Uh-oh. "If I know anything about giant monsters from Multiverse... it's they often have a silly weak point. Like this thing here? One Eye just screams, 'ARROW ME HERE.' Reize feeling brave or shall I show off?" She's PRETTY sure Nadia will be fine. Anyone crazy enough to LEAP at this thing is either really competent, or stupid enough to deserve what comes next.
Ms. Fortune	"Yeah! Keep your eye on the kitty!" She grabs herself by the hair and RIPS OFF HER OWN HEAD WHAT THE HELL. "SPIKE!" she shouts out, tossing her head upwards before slapping herself in the back of the head - sending her head spinning and careening towards the plant monster. The felinoid human - humanoid feline? - adjusts herself in mid-air by releasing a few perfectly-timed jets of blood from her legs and arms (ew), then pulls off her tail and spirals down towards the creature's eye. Hopefully timing it just right so her head slams into the thing just as she cries out. "Let's cut you down to size! FERAL EDGE!" Her tail is, apparently, also a sword. Slice!
Reize Seatlan	The cycloptic flower is now focused on Nadia. Eyes narrow at the target, it trudges towards the path of the kitty that is its very focus. It sees her move, it becomes fixated on her. When the feline sends her head spinning towards the path of the challenger. This is no longer a prey, per se, but it does challenge its right to claim the prey. That is why the CryonoBud focuses over towards Ms. Fortune's head as it sails its direction. The tendrils shoot out towards the head. Of course, the way that her head was thrown, Nadia smacks it against the eye, causing the creature to howl in pain. To further complicate its desire, her tail manages to hack out towards one of the tendrils. That alone causes the creature to howl louder in agony. After managing to reach for some sort of cover, Reize looks over the tendrils as he is no longer the center of focus. It looks like someone else had taken the brunt of the focus. This allows him the moment to recollect himself. By that time, Reize looks over at Finna as she questions him about 'feeling brave?'. The young adventurer can feel a bit of a knife twist at his pride. His eyes narrow with annoyance towards Finna, brustled up. "I'm ready, thank you!" The sight of Nadia removing her own head earns a gawk. Seeing the jets of blood shoot from the arms and legs earn quite a stare, slowly looking a bit ill. His antenna hair flops down, bearing the same expression of the boy. "...I don't know what to say." However, Reize reaches into his pouch to procure something from the bag while running over to the side of the creature. He finds a bag of pepper, quickly chucking it out towards the monster. "Have at this, ugly!"
Finna	fairly sure that Reize will do something from her provocations - either run or fight - Finna turns her attention to the monster just in time to see... To see.... Bleeeeech. Few things can weird out the Lunar Exalted. They wear the shapes of beasts, shuck off the trappings of civilization as they wish, casually breed things that should not be and challenge every tradition or rule that exists in some way for the sake of it. And yet... Seeing someone casually LAUNCH THEIR HEAD AND BLOOD as an attack, when it's clearly some kind of HUMANISH person doing it? She openly balks, gapes, eyes open wiiiiiiiiiiiiide. "How.... WHY." And shoulders sag. Very quickly she shakes her head though. With a few flicks of her tail and some rustlings of Essence she draws forth her bow and quiver from Elsewhere, slinging the latter around her waist and drawing four arrows. She speedily just starts launching arrows for the thing's one lone eye, easily getting off all four in the same two seconds!
Ms. Fortune	Ms. Fortune strikes a pose as she lands atop one of the beast's petals. She scoops up her head, and places it back on her neck - BACKWARDS - before reattaching her tail. She then leaps off the plant-monster and to the floor, her head spinning one hundred and eighty degrees so it's pointing the right way. She manages to time it so she weaves between Finna's arrows. So cool.
Reize Seatlan	The Beast lumbers. The Beast hungers. The Beast grrs. Growling and snarling, the CryonoBud is caught by the pepper. The scent of the pepper flares along its nostrils, immobilizing it as it starts sneezing. One of its main senses is now disabled, leaving it open for additional attacks. In particular, the Lunar has the chance of firing out the four arrows. Each of those arrows manage to hit the eye at once. The weakness is struck. In response, the thick vines spread everywhere, swinging wildly in attempts to smack everything in its path. It is flailing wildly, smacking against the multitude of trees around, even tumbling many of them over that happen to be unfortunate to be in its raging path. Reize is one of those recipients to be caught up in the path of one of those trees coming down, "...Whoa!" But, quick on its feet, Reize immediately runs over towards the falling tree, springing out towards one of the branches, and he swings himself out to leverage himself off of the ground. "Have either of you encountered anything like this?!"
Finna	"CLEEEEEEEVER!" The Lunar remarks, impressed by Reize's ingenuity. The moment she realized it was PEPPER being flung around she grinned a shark's grin, far too many razor sharp teeth on display... or is that just a trick of the light? Yeah, probably a trick of the light. At second glance, there's nothing odd about those teeth.... Vines start swooshing about every which way, but the good thing here is that Finna's FAST. It is, if anything, her primary trait, where she excels. The young woman gathers strength in her legs and kicks off this way and that, ducking and weaving and skidding around most of them until she ends up taking a blow to the arm that's heavy enough to send her flying backwards! Yeah, knocked right off her feet. But rather like a cat she spins about in the air inexplicably and lands on all fours, bleeding off excess momentum in a skid manuever and wincing from the pain in her right arm. With a growl she tosses the bow and quiver back into Elsewhere before answering Reize. "Yes. ALL the time. NEAR the Wyld! Or in Galianda! Plant-predator's nasty..." Moonlight and shadow pulses from her skin, burning as a glittering crescent moon sigil upon her forehead. Her skin warps and bulges, expanding and engulfing her clothes. Savage vulpine features emerge to overtake her own, yet her humanoid female morphology remains. Now, on all fours, a TERRIBLE BEAST skitters forth, a white-haired monster of savage teeth and claws wreathed in divine moonlight. With a snarl that throbs DEEPLY in the heartstrings of all living things, the Deadly Beastwoman strikes. Claws and fangs aglow like the Silver Moon, she barrels in at terrific speeds and aims to just SLASH with superpredatory fury into the thing's plant-hide and beyond!
Ms. Fortune	Nadia spies the vine just before it hits her. "...Ho-oly shit!" SLAM. Right in the torso! Her body is blown backwards, carried along by the vine's follow-through... but her arms, legs and head stay exactly where they are, like some sort of cartoon character. Eww, are those her muscle fibers being stretched like that? Nasty. She then comes back together with a loud, elastic 'TWANG!' and goes flying into and through a tree. Wood splinters everywhere! "...I'm okay!" comes her muffled voice from under what used to be a tree.
Reize Seatlan	Reize has pride as a hunter. One of the things that is required to deal with a predator is take out its senses. In this case, pepper will cloud those senses, especially if they are enhanced. Grinning at Finna, the boy extends a hand with a thumbs up, "Thanks!" Though, Reize cannot help but feel ill-eased by the glint of light from her mouth. Reize is trying to recall the last time he has seen a creature like this. While he recalls the various plant creatures from one of his voyages. Unfortunately, nothing like this. A crystal-based monster? As if seeing Ms. Fortune was not enough, seeing Finna manifest into a large, terrible beast before him, the youth canot help but to freeze up. "...Wh---..." So many strange people. Though, Reize can recall a fellow crew member. Meanwhile, the CryonoBud finally closes its lid, curling itself into a ball. The hardened crystal that adorns its body glimmers, forming into what would be similar to a shield around it as it now seeks to shield itself from the blows. However, the shield does expose one thing that the from Finna manages to strike. .... The core that manages to pop into view. As the fury-filled claws slash and hack at the creature's corrupted core, it finally shatters. Uncurling from its ball, the plant gives out a resounding howl as the thick, crystalline shell shatters and breaks from tis body. The plant itself soon dries up, withering into a small flower that slowly tears away.
Finna	Finna is an opportunist, and rips clean into the core with all the fury she can muster! But once it's cleaved through and shatters... she answers her instincts and SPRINGS away, skids backwards, and SNARLS while the thing withers. She's not stupid enough to assume it's dead until it's been motionless for a good twenty seconds and beyond any believable recovery. Sometimes these things, well, curl up into chrysali and transform into hellwasps or whatever when you're not looking. The Wyld is a TERRIBLE place to visit. Eventually though, the beast she's become tromps over to the corpse, makes some huffy noises at it... then rises to standing osition once more. It's probably a good thing she's covered in thick white fur, because there's no sign of any clothes in that form. In the very next moment the beast LUNGES across the distance between her and Reize, that toothy maw right up in his face and slitted eyes staring into his. Fierce, wild, and predatory, the stare would shake the hearts of most men into quivering jelly. And yet... The very next instant... SLUUUUURP! She simply licks him from jaw to nose in the blink of an eye and leaps backwards!
Ms. Fortune	Nadia Fortune manages to dig her way free just in time to see the plant-crystal-monster wither up and die. She pouts a bit. "Aw man. Kill stealer!" she shouts in Finna's direction.
Reize Seatlan	Reize cannot help but be impressed by Finna. At the same time, the boy cannot help but be frightened by her. After all, she just turned into a horrifying beast. Like most wild creatures, Reize is uncertain if she has control of herself. Or if she will act on her nature. That is why the hunter still has his boomerangs drawn, even in wake of the plant creature's death. Upon Finna's sudden lunge, Reize's eyes widen on how fast she showed up. His jaw parts open, gaping out towards the massive creature as the distance is so close, he can see that predatory gaze. The fierce, wild gaze sends shivers down the boy's spine. ...Definitely not good. ...SLURRRP "Arggh, seriously?!" Reize flails, peeling away just as Finna leaps back. Puffing his cheeks, the antenna hair flops to the side. His attention drifts back to Nadia, who is pouting. "... Well, at least we all did it!" He gives a bright, cheery grin. His attention is now focused on the jungle in general. "The surroundings are amazing! I only seen the caverns with crystals, but not an entire jungle!"
Finna	"Early bird gets the worm!" Is Finna's retort, full of laguhs and good cheer despite the viciousness of what just occured. Her beastly form starts melting away... she even loses a whole two feet of stature in the return to human form, clothes sprouting through fur just in time to protect modesty that she probably cares little about. "Not sure that was TEAMWORK, but was great skill on display. You, though... RIPPING YOUR HEAD OFF?! WHAT?" Reize meanwhile, gets treated to a devilish, mischevious grin from the playful huntress. "Great to see lands like this OUTSIDE the Wyld. Very pretty!"
Ms. Fortune	Nadia walks over to the withered-up plant-crystal... and with a flash of her own wicked-looking claws, she cuts a chunk out of it! "My employer'll wanna see this, I guess," she offers by way of explanation. She then grins at Finna. "What? Never seen a dullakitty before? I don't like to pussyfoot around my talents when there's lives on the line~"
Reize Seatlan	"Huh?" Reize looks confused between the two, "Kill stealer?" He looks back over to Finna once more as she starts to transform back to her more human form. Slowly, Reize relaxes, bringing both hands down to clip the boomerangs back onto their holster on the explorer's belt. He look back at Finna, "...Well---" Oh right, the ripping the head part. "... About that, yeah." He then looks rather perplexed at the stranger, "Dullakitty? Never heard of that." Though, he cannot help but become curious about their kill. While Nadia takes up one of the crystals, Reize is actually eyeing something along the lines of that dark-aura that radiates from the fragment. Kneeling down, the young traveler picks the shard with a dark glow behind it. His eyes furrow at Finna's mischevious grin, but he brushes it off with a cheerful smile. "The Wyld?" He decides to learn about the rest later, "Anyway, the directions that you and Toph gave did not lead me to the warp gate! I've been wandering around for days." ...Wait, wandering off from an island?
Finna	"...." Finna gives NAdia a heck of a fierce peeeeeeeeeeeer from where he stands, head tilted ever so quizzically. Nadia might get the feeling she's being stared right through! If in a slightly childish way. "NO. ... neat trick, but yuck." She also peers at the crystals now that they're on better display... noticeably wincing. "Bad omen, dark power drifting from something. Twisted sorceries?" Though Reize's explanation then gets her blinking and distracted. "... Wandering... from ISLAND... without warp gate. You SWAM here?!" No just... no. What? Chances are, she's going to be literally tailing him for days now if he answers no...
Ms. Fortune	Ms. Fortune gives a flourishing bow. "Nadia Fortune, notorious thief, at your service. My friends call me Nadia. The press calls me Ms. Fortune~" She then straightens up, streeetching. "Mmmh... well, it was fun, but I needs ta get paid, boy. And girl." She raises one hand. "Miao~" And off she saunters, humming idly to herself. She knows the way back!
Reize Seatlan	The talk about the 'trick' does leave a bad taste in Reize's mouth. That was rather horrifying. Nevertheless, the fragment that he has is pocketed in his inventory. He'll have someone examine it carefully a little more. The color on Reize's face undergoes a shade of darkness as horror completely overtakes his previously cheerful demeanor. Him?! Swim?! "N-no! I don't swim! I can't even swim!" He furrows his eyebrows, then he looks over at the sky for a moment while a finger rests underneath his chin. "... I wonder if I made a wrong turn." Once Ms Fortune introduces himself, the young traveler offers the woman a wave, "Byyyye!" He gives a thoughtful look, "Oh! I'm Reize, an explorer! If you know of any good rumors, let me know!" He gives a cheerful smile. He widely waves his hand from side to side, "Byyyee Ms. Fortune!"
Finna	"Nine blessings!" Finna calls back. That may be some kind of greeting or farewell. Probably. Or she's ripping off something she heard someone else say because she thinks its vaguely appropriate. Either way... reize's answer gets her swiveling around to PEEEER at him. She leeeeeans in, hands on her hips... and just bores a gaze into his face. A gaze of pure bewildered disbelief. "... strangest way to catch a girl's eye I've seen, but you have mine. Gonna have to drag you to the nearest warp gate and show now!"
Reize Seatlan	Now it looks like Reize has Finna's undivided attention. Though, he is not sure if that is a good idea or not. Given the fact that she is now looming over towards him, peering at him, Reize looks rather nervous. He practically sweats when she leans very close to him. Gah! So close in his personal space! Though, the bewilderment is noted with a confused look, "Buh?" Then, he runs a hand over to the back of his head. The offer to lead him to a warp gate brings a smile to his face. He can actually get to a town and resupply! The youth cheerfully pipes up, "Well then, lead the way!"
Finna	WHHOOOPF! Out goes Finna's hand to yank gently on Reize's scarf. Tug tug! "Come on then!" She releases it immediately, turning about after giving him a LOOK out the corner of her eyes! "Also get you RADIO, then can speak with people!" Oh yes, she saw how he reacted to personal pushings. It's giving her ideas. Watch out.