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Post by Kara on Dec 21, 2022 18:07:08 GMT -5
"Ghosts? In the marsh flats??" Kara gasped dramatically, one hand held up to her forehead as if she were about to faint. She had seen this done in a play recently, and quite liked how it looked. It spoke volumes. It said: Look at me, I'm a frail delicate rosebud, and this is so shocking that my only recourse is to lose consciousness due to the extreme distress it's causing to my sensitive lady heart.
Kara dropped the pose and looked at the confused man who only moments before had been retelling his tale of horror. "So you saw some spirits, shake it off, you dribbling excuse for a warrior!" She snapped. The man blinked in confusion a few times, then stuttered out: "I... I'm a farmer."
"What?"
"I'm a farmer, not a w-warrior."
Kara stared at the poor man for a moment, then shook her head and walked off. Ghosts? Sounds like a job for.. for... holy shit that's a big woman. Kara pulled up short, and stared in wonder at the muscle-bound half-orc woman who had been listening to the farmer's tale. Is that a damn tree on her back?? What in the actual Light?
Kara sidled up, real casual like, and coughed subtly into her fist. Well, as subtly as someone sidling up and coughing meaningfully can be.
"Hey, girlfriend." She started. She had heard someone call their friend that. It too spoke volumes. It said: Hey, friend that is a girl. Kara wanted to start this conversation off with everyone involved already thinking of themselves as friends. Kara almost chuckled; This psychology business was easy.
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Post by Ak'ka the Bonegrinder on Dec 21, 2022 19:38:51 GMT -5
Ak’ka hated the Marshflats already. The swamps smelled like shit and there was no action to be found anywhere.
At least there wasn’t until she overheard some business about ghosts in the woods.
She was mindin’ her own business when she overheard some farmer talking with a fine looking lady about some haunting he’d been a victim of… to be honest, she wasn’t really paying much attention, because the minute that Ak’ka heard about ghosts terrorizin’ folk in the area, she started to think about what it would be like to punch something that didn’t have a physical body. And then from there she got to wondering how that lady got her traps to pop like that… it took a lot of dedication to get such toned muscles. Ak’ka was beefy, but in the kind of way that you got bulk from punching the living daylights out of things until you were strong.
And then…
Oh, hell, that lady was coming over here.
Ak’ka raised a brow as the shorter woman, who probably would’a been tall if she’d been standing next to anyone else, slid up to her and coughed in her hand like she was being real slick.
“I ain’t your girlfriend.” Ak’ka grunted, more like she was just speaking a matter of fact than being rude. “Do I know you?” She’d probably remember if she’d ever met such a fine lady. Despite her muscle, her face looked like royalty, and despite once being a clan leader herself, Ak’ka didn’t do too well with these fancy types. It always felt like they were lookin’ down on her.
But the lady didn’t seem too keen on budging an inch, so Ak’ka sighed and strapped herself in for whatever the lady wanted. “… Somethin’ I can help you with, Goldilocks?”
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Post by Kara on Dec 24, 2022 20:53:48 GMT -5
"Help me with? Pfttt, no. Of course not. I don't need help. Ha, what a thought! Truly, you are quite the jokester, you..." She is definitely not a jokester. Kara's smiled faltered in the face of that undeniable truth, and she considered course-correcting. Instead she doubled down. Her smile popped back up, bright and beautiful. "Truly, the epitome of humor in this drab, dark world. Why, if it weren't for you, I imagine this world would be too unbearable to... uh... bear." Too far, Kara babe. Crippity crap.
Kara took a breath. Then she smiled, a more genuine one this time, and held out her hand. "Let's start over, girlfr- uh, friend. Kara." There was a pause. "Me. Me Kara." Woooow. "I'm Kara." She quickly corrected. Damn it, what was it about this tall, dark woman made of muscles that sent Kara's brain into a spiral? She had never felt this way before. She felt as if she couldn't think straight. Maybe I'm sick?
Kara quickly looked away, towards the trees. Ghosts. She took a deep breath. "Wanna go ghost hunting with me?" She blurted. She yanked out Light Piercer and thrust it at the woman. "I can fight! I'm uh, really good with this spear..." Why am I so desperate to impress her?
Because look at her, that's why. Look at her arms, the muscles bulging. Look at her shoulders, broad and strong. Look at her expression: The look of a warrior.
Kara had made her own physical body for one reason: War. It made sense that another perfect specimen of combat would excite her. Entice her to want to see it in action. Like a wine connoisseur eager to taste the finest wine, Kara wanted nothing more than to see this warrior fight, see her tear apart limbs and end lives. Kara was eager to drink in that sight.
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Post by Ak'ka the Bonegrinder on Dec 31, 2022 23:15:37 GMT -5
… Was this chick serious?
Ak’ka wasn’t really sure what to make of her stammering, but Ak’ka didn’t remember telling any joke, much less one that was funny enough to earn that kinda reaction. But the pretty lady apparently had some jokes herself. Ak’ka snorted at her lame attempts at wordplay. Heh. Too unbearable to bear.
“You sure you ain’t the comedian, Goldilocks?” Despite the fact that she’d just introduced herself as Kara, it seemed like the nickname was around to stay. Ak’ka looked down at the hand Kara offered, unsure what she was supposed to do for a minute. Was Kara looking for a high-five or something? Oh, yeah, handshakes were a thing. Ak’ka grabbed Kara’s hand with a firm, calloused palm, shaking her arm up and down from the force of her grip.
“Name’s Ak’ka. They call me the Bonegrinder.”
She couldn’t help but grin in pride, showing off a bit with her title. That was one she’d earned after enough people started screaming it in horror at her, but this Kara lady was obviously a fighter. Maybe Ak’ka wanted to show off a bit. It didn’t occur to her that most people would find a name like that horrifying and not badass.
“Hunt ghosts?” Ak’ka repeated. “You mean like what that guy was talkin’ about? Are they actually real?” Ak’ka’d heard stories, most folks had, of spirits with unfinished business that were so angry they refused to leave this plane to finish the shit they started. Sometimes Ak’ka wondered if she would leave a ghost behind if she died. Still, a ghost sounded like it would put up a hell of a fight, and Ak’ka couldn’t help but shiver in anticipation at the thought of killing something that had already died once before.
And with a pretty warrior lady who was apparently really good with a spear, to boot. Was there any better way to spend her evening?
“Hell yeah, I do.” Ak’ka didn’t need to ask any more questions. “I’m in.”
She turned on her heel and began bounding away, already excited at the prospect of bathing in battle and blood and gore once again. Ak’ka got maybe ten feet away before she realized she had forgotten one crucial detail. Slowing to a halt, she turned around to Kara with a sheepish look on her face.
“So. Uh. Where exactly are these ghosts?"
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Post by Kara on Jan 2, 2023 20:28:47 GMT -5
The Bonegrinder… Cooool. Kara grinned in appreciation of the name. Then Ak’ka was agreeing to hunt ghosts with her and suddenly bounding off. Oh, good. She clearly already knows the way. Kara took off after her eagerly, only to slide to a sudden halt when Ak’ka turned around.
“Oh! Uh… Apparently they’ve been appearing all over the Marsh Flats.” Kara crossed her arms for a moment, tapping her foot and thinking. “Our best bet is probably to camp out in the woods, wait for something to happen. We can camp close to where that farmer saw the ghosts.”
Kara took a breath, calming her thoughts. Now that the initial thrill of meeting Ak’ka was wearing off, she could feel her senses returning to her. Let’s try not to embarrass ourselves again, hmm Kara?
…Shut up, me.
Kara smiled at Ak’ka. “I’m ready if you are.”
They traveled in relative silence as they made their way first to the edge of the Hauntwood, then deeper in, eyes ever alert for any ghostly activity. The sky was just starting to darken when Kara pulled out Light Piercer.
“There!” She yelled, and settled into a fighting stance. In front of her, glowing lights began appearing, flitting among the trees. The small golden lights lasted for a moment, only to fade away and reappear a few feet away from where they were. “There must be… dozens of them.” Kara said. One flew closer to her, and she tilted her head slightly as she examined it. “Wait… is this… an insect?”
Another creature that had in it light? Some sort of… Angelic bug? But no, Kara couldn’t sense any celestial power from this creature. Slowly, Kara’s tense combat stance disappeared. “What… what are they?” They were… beautiful.
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Post by Ak'ka the Bonegrinder on Jan 5, 2023 16:32:07 GMT -5
“Oh. They got a haunting problem, huh? That sucks.” Sure made things a hell of a lot easier for Ak’ka and Kara if they were just all over the place like pests, though. Ak’ka wasn’t worth shit when it came to tracking- her method of searching for shit to punch usually just involved holding her fist out and hoping something worth striking came into distance. Camping sounded pretty cool, too. She liked inns and all, and they usually had good drinks, but the stares she usually got from folks were annoying as all hell. “Sure. Why the hell not? Hope you’re ready to kick ass and take names, Goldilocks.”
The sky grew darker as they walked through the Hauntwoods- or in Ak’ka’s case, stomped. No sign of ghosts, which made Ak’ka wonder if she was walking loud enough to scare them off. Were ghosts skittish? She had already painted a picture of ‘em in her mind like cats, little skittish animals that you had to approach all calm and silent like if you wanted to get their attention. Which was kind of… cute if you thought about it.
She shoved that thought away. Ak’ka definitely didn’t have a weakness for tiny little animals, not at all. The little doormouse that currently slept on her shoulder was no one’s damn business, that was for sure.
The sky was really dark by the time Kara pulled out her spear. Ak’ka wondered if she’d seen one of those ghosts, muscles coiled in anticipation of a good fight, when Kara pointed to a swarm of glowing bugs, charging in with the battle cry of a woman who was intent on ripping that swarm to shreds if she had to.
Ak’ka’s first thought was that Kara was really her kind of gal.
Her second thought was spent wondering what the fuck kind of vendetta Kara had against lightning bugs to charge at them with so much hate. Jeez, you’d think they’d murdered her entire family.
Ak’ka jogged behind her, catching up just as Kara stopped to stare at the creatures in wonder.
“Uh, yeah, they’re an insect.” Ak’ka shoved her hands in her pockets, adrenaline from the anticipation of battle fading. “What else would they be?” She musta really been some sheltered rich girl if she didn’t even know what insects were. These kinds weren’t as common up north in the mountains, but every once in a while, when Ak’ka’s old man would take her down to the nearest village, she’d get to go out and try to catch them in the evening. ‘Course, with her big-ass hands, she’d just end up squishing them all. Maybe that was why Ak’ka kept ‘em tucked away while Kara marveled at the little bugs like they were Solaria’s gift to earth or something. She didn’t wanna crush the little guys.
“They’re called lightning bugs.” Ak’ka said. “They like to come out at night. Rumor says they’re like Solaria’s gift to the night or somethin’ real poetic like that. Have you really never seen one before?”
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Post by Kara on Jan 8, 2023 22:00:43 GMT -5
“... No.” Kara said softly. “I’ve never seen them.” She continued to watch the lightning bugs for a few moments, mesmerized by their glow. This world continued to surprise her. When she had first arrived, banished here, she had assumed that the Charon she had defended eons ago was much the same as it was now, yet she was continually proven wrong. Apparently she had missed a lot the first time around.
She finally pulled her eyes away and smiled at Ak’ka. “Well, the more you learn, eh, Bonegrinder?” She hooked her spear back in its place across her back. “Let’s continue. Staring at pretty things won’t catch any ghosts.” She said the words gently though; the lightning bugs had been a pleasant diversion.
As true darkness cloaked the woods in a blanket of shadows, Kara and Ak’ka set up a simple campsite, and Kara pulled a fallen log close to the fire. She sat there, warming her hands and looking pensively into the flames. She finally spoke up. “Ever fought a ghost, Bonegrinder?” She herself had never fought a spirit, but she figured it shouldn’t be too difficult. Spirits were just disembodied souls, after all, and if there was one thing Kara knew, it was souls.
She looked up, examining the other woman in the firelight. The mass of shadowed muscle on the other side of the flickering flames was as impressive as it was in broad daylight. Its very existence was a promise of violence. Kara sucked in a breath and quickly looked away, her hands tightening into fists. Ignore it, Kara.
… Freaking ignore it.
“So!” She exclaimed suddenly, eager to distract herself. “What’s your story? Were you… I don’t know, carved from a mountain by a god?” I mean, she has to be some god’s champion, right? “Or… wait.” She said, suddenly suspicious. “You’re not a vessel, are you? No… no, I would sense that.” She sighed, and looked away again.
There were times when she felt very lonely on Charon. Times when she missed Auriel, missed her own kind. Missed her children.
She glanced back at Ak’ka and waited for a reply.
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Post by Ak'ka the Bonegrinder on Jan 16, 2023 22:16:05 GMT -5
“Huh. Where are ya from that y’all don’t have lightning bugs?” They even had them up in the harsh winters of her homeland, rare as they were. The bugs were such resilient little things that she figured everywhere had them. But whatever palace the warrior princess had come from apparently didn’t have them. It was kinda nice, though, watching childlike wonder dance across her face with the slow, gentle rhythms of the lightning bugs.
It almost reminded her of the stars for a minute.
She waited until Kara’d had her fill of looking at the little bugs, and they moved on ‘till neither of them could make anything out in front of them in the dark. Normally Ak’ka didn’t give a damn about how dangerous travel was at night, and she would’a been fine to keep going, but Kara stopped them and suggested it would be better for them to stop for the night and get some food in their bellies and some sleep so they’d be in fighting form tomorrow. Ak’ka couldn’t argue with that logic, so the two set up something of a makeshift camp.
It wasn’t much- Ak’ka didn’t normally have much on her ‘sides her own two fists, her flask, and her tree, but they made themselves comfortable on a couple of logs while some a fire blazed between them. A few more lightning bugs danced around them, sparse, but still weaving light in the sky. She watched them lazily, with her hands clasped behind her head, perfectly relaxed. Occasionally, she looked over at Goldilocks, curious about her new battle companion.
Apparently, Goldilocks was just as curious as her.
Ak’ka stretched languidly as she considered her answer. Old, faded scars along her torso pulled with the movement, a reminder of all the battles she’d faced in the past. “Not ghosts.” She admitted honestly. “But plenty of other stuff. Orc armies, the abominable snowman, once. Powerful wizards.” That last one brought a grimace to her face. She heard the embers of revenge burned hot, but Ak’ka figured whoever said that was full of shit. Revenge was ice-cold, a chill that lingered in your veins and made you numb to anything else.
But that was neither here nor there.
There were no wizards in these woods, and the woman in front of her was not the man who’d ruined her life and destroyed her tribe. The day she finally came face to face with him, she’d be ready to face him with nothing but her fists and sheer willpower. Until then, she’d enjoy beating the everloving hell out of some ghosts as practice.
“What about you, Goldilocks?”
And then Kara was askin’ about her, which Ak’ka wasn’t really expecting. She huffed out a laugh at the question. “Wasn’t carved out of a mountain by a god. Just my old man.” She didn’t know much about her ma, just that her dad had disappeared for a couple months at one point before bringing her back to the tribe, no explanation as to where she’d come from. It was obvious Ak’ka was half human, and that made her the ridicule of her clan, for a bit. At least until she got big enough to shut them up by force. “Did some stuff. Became a leader of my clan. I’m not anymore, but I was. And it was damn glorious.”
Another frown, before her face twisted in confusion.
“The fuck’s a vessel?” Kara did sure talk weird, but she was good company. Ak’ka couldn’t wait to see that in battle. Every fighter had a song, a warrior’s hymn that thrummed in their veins. Ak’ka’s own was as discordant and erratic as the beat of pounding drums. She wanted to hear Kara’s.
“Bet you got a story of your own. What about you, you carved from a mountain by a god?” She laughed at her own joke. “With that physique I’d be surprised if you weren’t.”
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Post by Kara on Jan 19, 2023 23:00:38 GMT -5
Kara blinked at Ak’ka. “Not by a god, no. And not from a mountain, but I did create this body specifically for war, so the concept isn’t too far off actually.” She looked down at her arm and idly flexed, watching the muscles bulge for a moment. Yeah, I did a pretty good job with this one.
She looked back up at the Half-Orc. “So, a clan leader, huh? I’m not surprised. You probably beat down any challenge to the position.”
She paused then, letting silence take over the camp for a moment, then glanced around, eyes finally settling on a lightning bug. “And… Uh, no, never fought a ghost.” Only the forces of Darkness, and most of them had been very physical. And very large.
Kara ran a hand over her jaw, feeling the friction of skin on skin, felt the wood of the log beneath her, felt the humidity in the air… All senses she had not felt since eons past.
“Do you ever miss it? Being clan leader? Being with your clan? Instead of out here? Alone?”
Kara surprised herself with these questions. Yet, something about the darkness made her suddenly feel a need to connect to another. If Ak’ka would have answered, she did not get the chance, as a light flickered in the woods, distant, and both women swung there gazes towards it.
A low moaning came rolling through the air, reaching them and bouncing back and forth among the trees, creating a haunting echo. As the sound died away, for just a moment there was the sound of a child crying.
Kara looked at Ak’ka with wide eyes. “That was no freaking lightning bug.”
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Post by Ak'ka the Bonegrinder on Jan 20, 2023 9:15:51 GMT -5
“You created yourself… for war?” Could someone make their own body? Ak’ka figured that Kara meant in the metaphorical sense or something equally as smart, but what did she know? She’d met dragons in tiny human bodies before, stranger things had happened. She nodded in appreciation as Kara flexed her arm. Well, if she made herself, she’d done a damn good job with it, Ak’ka figured.
“Yeah. A clan leader.” Ak’ka repeated, voice barely a grunt. Her voice wasn’t guarded- she didn’t really care whether Kara knew about it or not. Kara was a strange lady, but she was honest, and cut from the same cloth as Ak’ka. Ak’ka wasn’t exactly the secretive type either. But remembering those days… it burned, like the sting of staying out in the cold for far too long.
“And you could say that.” Ak’ka shrugged. There hadn’t exactly been challenge in her clan, but her path to taking up the gap her old man had been left behind hadn’t been without its fair share of blood. She’d learned how to fight for her survival that day, that much was certain. The difference between the weak and the strong- the weak were the ones that did not get up at the end of the day, and the strong were the ones who managed to shoulder every scar and injury they bore.
It was a necessary lesson she’d needed to learn at twelve.
She brightened up again when Kara mentioned that she’d never fought a ghost before, either. “Then I guess it’ll be a first for both of us.” She laughed. “You use that fancy Lance of yours, and I’ll use my fists.” She raised her scarred fists with a grin. “And if that doesn’t work, then we just keep on hittin’ until they cower in fear.”
Yeah, that seemed like a good enough strategy to her.
The conversation lapsed into silence a minute later as both women turned to watch the smoke from the crackling fire. That was when Kara asked about whether Ak’ka missed the clan or not, and Ak’ka’s relaxed mood immediately fizzled away like the embers of the campfire.
Did she miss her clan? Yeah, of course she did. Clan Mortak was not just a stronghold- it was people, and they were hers to take care of. She’d failed them. All because some damn coward had buried her under a mountain of snow, trapped her in a prison while he destroyed her people. Leaving hadn’t been her choice, and god, the absence of her old family ached like a hole in her heart, one she’d decided to fill with hatred instead, the desire to ground the man that had taken everything from her to a pulp.
And yet, no one had ever asked her if she missed being with her people. Asked her about her clan.
She opened her mouth to give Kara an honest answer. She wasn’t even sure why herself- but Kara had been the one to ask, and Ak’ka figured she deserved an answer. More than anything, she had the feeling Kara would understand that ache. But before she could, a haunting wail broke through the silence of the Haunt, stopping her before she could.
Ak’ka turned to Kara.
“Sure as hell ain’t like any lightning bug I’ve ever heard.”
She stood, cracking her knuckles in anticipation. The origin of the sound was difficult to pinpoint- it was everywhere and nowhere at once, and she couldn’t see any spirits anywhere.
“So, you’re gonna play it safe, then, huh?” Ak’ka called into the trees, a challenge in her voice. She received no response but the rustling of leaves in the cold wind.
Fine. If they were gonna play it that way, then Ak’ka would just have to sniff them out. “You’re up now, Squeak.” She told the mouse hidden in the fur of her cloak, reaching up to lift the little guy off her shoulder and set him on the ground, where he took off into the marsh. The mouse would help them cover more ground, but if there was a ghost here, then Ak’ka wasn’t gonna let him go so easily.
She turned to Kara and offered her hand to help the woman up. “You wanna go check it out, Goldilocks?”
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Post by Kara on Jan 31, 2023 13:51:09 GMT -5
Kara accepted Ak’ka’s hand and let herself be pulled to her feet. “You know I do.” She said, a slight smile on her lips. Let’s go frick up some ghosts, you and me, Bonegrinder. She pulled out Light Piercer and gave it a little twirl around her arm. Then she glanced at Ak’ka. “Was that… a mouse?”
A light flickered in the distance once again. Kara glanced towards it, eyes narrowing. Strange. I thought I would’ve sensed… Something. Anything. “Let’s go, Bonegrinder.”
Kara took off in the direction of the light, but before she got too close, the low moaning floated across the air again, and the light flickered, this time off to their right. Kara pulled up short. “Nothing.” She muttered. I don’t feel anything. “Ak’ka.” She said, suddenly more somber than she had sounded in the entire time since she had met the other woman. “You go that way. I’ll check out the original point of light.”
Splitting off from Ak’ka, Kara continued forward. The moaning sound continued, and Kara felt a sudden discomforting feeling. Something wasn’t right here. And the thing that wasn’t right… was that nothing felt wrong. Kara couldn’t feel the presence of anything here. No souls, Celestials or fiends of any sort.
Kara’s foot hit something. She looked down, and raised an eyebrow. She crouched down, planting her spear in the ground and reaching into the dirt with her free hand. Now what is this? She lifted up a small piece of tin. It was shaped almost like a cap. Kara ran her finger over the surface of it, and her finger came away covered in… Soot?
What in the Light is going on here?
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