WEEK 5: CYOA

[probe]

flashes the lights off and on

Comments

[gamerbrain]

The skittery monster...

[ she is in the back so she is subject to everyone else's stopping or moving. she would like to just bravely keep going though! ]

[fisherwoman]

[Pausing as well! And turning to hold a finger to her mouth as she looks directly at Aoi.

Is it possible to tell what direction that noise is coming from? And if so, are there any branching vent paths that move away from the direction of the noise, or is it completely straight?]

[fergalicious]

[ Oh, Medb hates this. She tenses as she stops behind Endorsi, looking straight ahead, too. She holds tightly onto the skull, just in case she needs to make bad life decisions and throw it. ]

[probe]

[it is much more similar to the camera shutter sound, but not quite that. just close.

it seems to come from in front of them first, and then off to the right. it's a heavy thudding noise, like something big banging around in the walls. there's a path - it goes straight, mostly, but they can probably see a path off to the right a few feet ahead of them.

also all of you roll a d20 for me, real quick.]

[shiftingwinds]

[cries in our terrible dice rolls

why is the direction of the noise changing. how can it be going from in front of them to off to the right? maybe if they're very still and quiet whatever it is won't notice them??]

[gamerbrain]

[ aoi stays still and quiet! ]

[fisherwoman]

[endorsi is hoping for the same thing as sqx, so she stays as still as she can - but she’s listening carefully, tense and ready to move at any second if she has to.]

[fergalicious]

[ Yeah, Medb hopes the thudding noise gets farther away instead of closer. She also stays still and silent but is ready to take off any moment.

laughs in terrible dice rolls ]

[probe]

[for those playing along at home, none of these losers got above a ten.

there's another thud. endorsi's light goes out. silence, for a long, long moment, and then the dinky little flashlight on endorsi's phone comes back on - and there's a monster, curled right in front of her. a monster with, uh. a fun and inviting face. the beak opens, and it shrieks, warbling and awful, and all four girls feel an intense pain in their ears as the noise rattles around in the vents. their hearing is now damaged.

the monster snaps forward and tries to take a bite out of endorsi, claws out and raking at her. the rest of the girls are right behind endorsi so it's likely they're not safe for long.]

[shiftingwinds]

[wow i wish i could be surprised that you gave us a furby monster


anyway, sqx puts her hands over her ears at first - ouch! - and then backs up rapidly, trying to block aoi in case the monster gets closer and bringing one of her hands down to tug medb back. hopefully medb will grab endorsi??]

[gamerbrain]

[ WHY IS IT A FURBY

anyway there is not much aoi can do from back here. i assume the vents are not big enough for her to push her way past anyone, so she's just - wincing and holding her head. ]

[fisherwoman]

[she’s been tensed, ready to move, and as soon as she sees the creature, she starts to move back - but there isn’t much room to maneuver with everyone else right there, and the horrible noise stops her before she can move more than an inch, anyways. she’s thrown off enough by the sudden pain in her ears that she doesn’t dodge as effectively as she wants to - the bite sinks into her shoulder and the claws sink into her side, but she’s immediately trying to shove it off, aiming to dig out one of its eyes with her hand.

more than anything, she’s trying to make sure it doesn’t move past her, but the intense pain in her shoulder means she can’t hold it back as effectively as she’d like (because i, eli, support equal opportunity maiming for everyone). as this happens, though, to the others:]

Go back into the room! At least we’ll have more room to fight it there if it follows!

[can they even hear her clearly anymore? a mystery.]

[fergalicious]

[ unfortunately, the sharp pain and damaged hearing only serves to anger medb, and while she appreciates sqx's gesture, she shakes it off and motions for her to keep moving back.

With her ears ringing and the limited mobility from being in a vent, she can't do this with as much force as she wants, but she lifts the skull she took and tries to smash it against the furby's head over endorsi's shoulder - the opposite side that endorsi is trying to damage. ]

How dare you, you fursuit freakshow!

[probe]

[why wouldn't it be a furby is the question

with a successful bite and claw, the monster tries its luck with taking a bite out of medb too! a second furby beak shoots out of the main one, aliens style, and tries to rip a piece off her. ear? a chunk of her shoulder? ara gets to decide.

however, endorsi fights back - she claws at the eye, and it's very much a real eye, actually? it feels that way, it's not hard plastic. between that and medb smacking the skull against the monster's face, it's finding that what it thought was its dinner is not going to be as easy to get at. it makes a sound like... well, like batteries in a furby toy dying, actually, and then skitters backwards and away. the vents rattle as it escapes further into the dark, leaving the four girls with bleeding ears and flickering light.]

[shiftingwinds]

[well



that's unpleasant.

shi qingxuan grits her teeth, torn between trying to keep herself between aoi and the monster and wanting to yeet in there to help. endorsi and medb get it to back off, though, and as it skitters away, she slowly brings her hands back up to her ears.

blood. disgusting.]

Are you two okay...? Is it gone?

[gamerbrain]

[ aoi is just looking up ahead to see how the others are faring.

the last instructions she (thinks she?) heard were to back up, but she doesn't want to - especially now that the monster has been fought off. for now. ]

[fisherwoman]

[She can vaguely hear what SQX says, but it's too muffled to really make out. The bite isn't great, but the jacket did stop it from being even worse - and similarly, the long scratches in her abdomen look Nasty, but not life threatening. As the creature skitters away again:]

I just got this dress...

[Being without her normal level of strength in this specific situation is actually fucking with her, so she has to focus on something that doesn't matter at all (Endorsi please). At least nobody can hear her awful priorities! But after that moment passes, she's immediately turning to medb to assess her damage, concerned.]

We should keep going, but... Are you alright?

[fergalicious]

[ it takes a piece of her ear because it’s time to ruin her beauty. ☆

alien style, though. hate that. she lets out a small scream when that happens, jolting back. sorry again, sqx! she’s livid for two seconds after the pain flares and throbs and she holds a hand up to her super extra bleeding ear. ]

It’s gone. [ she thinks that’s what was asked. ] I’m pissed more than anything. [ she’s doing her best to ignore most of the pain. ] I’ll be fine once we all get out of here.

[ she brushes her unbloodied fingers against endorsi’s cheek in appreciation for her concern. ]

We can keep going.

[probe]

[the vents are quiet! there's some cute lebiab action? hooray. where we going, friends, there's forward, or forward and to the right.

you can also go backwards if you want? i guess.]

[shiftingwinds]

[sqx only caught, like, part of that, thanks to their damaged hearing


but she can see well enough to keep moving so if someone in front decides which way they're going she'll follow]

[gamerbrain]

[ aoi wants to go right, but also doesn't want to speak to any of you people so she will also just take up the rear whichever way people decide.

sorry. for her. ]

[fisherwoman]

[she heard most of that, probably, and she smiles at the contact. after a moment, she’s tearing some fabric off the new dress (the part that isn’t bloodied already) and hand it to medb.]

To stop the bleeding.

[she turns back, deliberating, before she starts down the path that veers right (unless anyone objects).]

[fergalicious]

Thanks.

[ she takes the fabric and tries to staunch what bleeding she can.

forward right sounds (haha) good! pretty sure that’s where the furby came from but why would medb remember that? ]

[probe]

[off they go to the right! this - seems to be the right direction, because there's light coming from the end of the vent. they keep going, until they find themselves in a vent facing a conference room.

there's a long table, with several chairs on either side, as well as a TV screen on the far wall. there are also several cups along the table, filled with things like scissors and pencils and pens. on the floor is a big rug with a zig-ziggy design on it. oh, and probably most importantly, there are eight people in the chairs, slumped over the table.]

[shiftingwinds]

[well. okay.

first things first, once they see those slumped-over people, sqx is heading right on over to take a closer look at them. what do they look like? do they seem injured? if she listens, does it sound like they're breathing? if not - do they have a pulse? she'll grab the wrist of one of them and check for a pulse if she can't hear any breathing.]