[video]

[marmoron]

[The image on the feed is shaky and improperly focused at first on the ground.]

I need help. Medical and otherwise.

[Keith’s voice is terse, strained. The camera moves fo focus on an injured Steak. His coat has been tattered to shreds by their attackers, blood pouring from his ever exposed abdomen, puncture wounds bitten into his sides. Though he’s currently breathing, applying pressure to one of the wounds in his side, he’s several shades paler than he’d like to be and his horns — and this is the most offensive part of all — have been slightly chipped at the tips.]

We were attacked by some weird tentacled creatures -- didn’t look like anything I’ve seen around this planet before. They were… [A beat, a sharp breath as he tries to gather his thoughts.] Sneaking around the temples. Working together. Intelligent. Didn’t want to be seen.

Someone else was there, too. He disappeared, looked like he was in bad shape. Anyone know where he is?

[The camera moves away from Steak, now focusing on Keith who has a fairly deep, bloody gash across his face.]

Are these things the Null? Or .. does anyone know what these creatures are? Seemed like they might’ve been using the stampede as cover to do some recon. Might’ve been able to mess with some emotions, hard to say.

[Steak clears his throat, straightening up as he does so. Most importantly:]

Their attacks are powerful, despite their size. [They’re certainly not as large as some of the Fallen Angels he’s come across at home] No one should fight them alone. [Or, perhaps, at all.]

Comments

video

[evocation]

I can maybe stop the bleeding, but someone else will have to do the legit healing. What did the other guy look like? And did the things you ran into look like robots or animals?

video;

[marmoron]

Anything would help.

[There's another deep breath out. He's stressed, still clearly running on adrenaline and trying not to breathe too hard. Might have a case of broke rib going on.]

Other guy was average height. Brown hair, green eyes? There are lot guys that look like that that can teleport? They looked like animals. Weird tentacled animals.

[evocation]

Wait, he teleported? How bad did he look?

voice

[64th]

How big are they? How many were there?

voice

[marmoron]

Don't know how many there are in total. We saw four.

[And you can just hear in his voice that four was already far too fucking many in his opinion.]

There were probably more of them sneaking around.

[And woop, I'll get back to you on the size of these things when mod input has arrived!]

[64th]

Hmm. [ doesn't sounds great. ] Do you think think they can open doors?

video

[theladyofhighever]

[the video opens on a deadly serious looking sixteen year old girl]

I know some field medicine and I can fight. Where are you both right now?

[marmoron]

South side of the lake. Near the normal looking houses.

[Best way he can think to describe it.]

Where are you?

[Cuz able to fight or no, the city's not exactly the safest place to navigate at the moment]

video

[toiletseat_girl]

[oh shit. ohhhhhhh, shit. well, here goes nothing?]

I know healing magic and ordinary medicine to. And there's no need to worry about me getting hurt 'cause I'm already dead.

And who was the someone else? What did he look like?

video;

[marmoron]

[Keith's looking serious right up until that "cause I'm already dead" part.]

...That doesn't mean you should be risking your life unnecessarily?

[The logic there is perplexing and also deeply besides the point.]

I don't know who it was. One of his friends could tell you.

[That's not intended to be a brush off, but really... talking kinda hurts and one of the dude's friends has indicated they recognized the description, so.]

audio

[fogsong]

[ It fucking figures. ]

Where'd you see them, which temple? Were they trying to get in? [ She understands there's some dire injuries here but information, given that Hope is gone, is the most important thing to get from them should they succumb. ] What kind of attacks did they employ and did they seem susceptible to anything?

[ She knows this may come off as callous but she's not trying to be. ]

audio

[marmoron]

[It doesn't offend him in the slightest. What does concern him is that apparently nobody seems to be able to tell him what the fuck they just fought. He thought for sure it'd be the Null, but...

But give him a moment. Broken rib and all, making breathing annoying and sharp.]

Hope's. Like I said... looked like they were sneaking around, trying to do recon. They had armored shells to protect 'em from most damage. Used their tentacles and beaks when they needed to attack. They're a lot faster than they look.

[There's a long pause as he catches his breath again.]

We could've probably taken 'em on if they didn't come as a team.

[voice]

[hot_mes]

Where are you? I'm a doctor. I can do more than field medicine and I can be there instantly.

[not to brag but he sure can teleport anywhere]

voice;

[marmoron]

[Lessons he's learning about Hadriel: every other person can freaking teleport. Incredible.]

South side of the lake. By the housing that doesn't look weird.

[A beat.]

Bunch of others might be coming. That gonna get in your way?

[coyoteking]

Alright, but did you see where they went? And what's "otherwise"?

[Yes hello he is very helpful.]

[marmoron]

No. We were lucky to get out of there alive as it was.

[And he realizes that would have been vital information; but... not at the expense of their lives. Nonetheless, he's grimacing]

The otherwise is asking whether or not anyone here knows what's going on.

video; later on

[hardwearing]

[ This reply comes quite some time later, after Wash has been made aware of the post and the state of the people in it by Kyna... he's trying not to feel too much about Harlan when there's nothing to be done about it, but he still is and it shows in the lines of his face. Thing is, there's something else that may be able to be done. So he has a question. ]

Can either of you draw? Or would you be able to describe the tentacled creatures to an artist?

video;

[battlebound]

( Steak's no artist, but they weren't... too complicated. It's hardly like trying to draw Tsuchigumo and all their arms. So, after a few moments, he presents... something. )

Will that do?

video

[completelycrazy]

Tentacle creatures? You want to elaborate on that? What do you mean they can mess with emotions?

[Hey hello it's Newt with a thousand questions for the bestiary...]

video

[battlebound]

Monsters with shells and armour, as well as tentacles. They've a beaked mouth.

( That is mostly what he was concentrating on, since it was busy biting pieces out of his side. )

( OOC: I think Keith's player is still waiting to hear back about the emotion stuff but we haven't forgotten! I just... don't have an answer RN. )

video

[marmoron]

[He's pondering this for a moment before he answers.]

It's hard to explain. While fighting I could feel flickers of...emotions that weren't mine. Was hard to concentrate on it since I was a little preoccupied. [Nice understatement there.]

Never had that happen before.

[audio]

[synthedick]

[There's some scratching in the audio as it cuts in, the sound of pen darting on paper as Nick writes down notes on these things. Tentacled, intelligent, horse-sized. Great. What's one more problem to deal with?]

They're not the Null if they're not mechanical, but I'll get some of the Guard to sweep near the temples, see what they can find.

[audio]

[battlebound]

Are there other places of interest in the city?

( He can get back out there as soon as he's been healed, given some places to investigate. )

[video]

[sciencelizard]

Were they-- w-were they mechanical, in any way? With a light?

[She's already got a notepad out and a pencil she's fumbling with on her side of the camera, looking fearfully between Keith and Steak.]

The uh, some of the Null did have tentacles-- they can change their shape in any way they want, but there's a couple things all Null had if we're trying to determine if it was them or someone else we're, uhm, d-dealing with.

[video]

[battlebound]

( All things considered, Steak's only reaction to seeing Alphys appear on the screen is a brief, silent blink, as though trying to remove the last traces of sleep from his eyes. )

...They had armour. ( He frowns, recalling the details of their appearance and wishing he could fold his arms while communicating like this. ) I saw no wires during our fight.

( Steak would consider that pretty good evidence that they aren't mechanical, but decades of investigative caution and all the new things this city has thrown his way tempers his response somewhat. )