Realistic or Modern An old favor... [For Out of Words]

[Allion]

Lucy raised an eye from her book for a moment, drifting it over towards the human upon hearing his questions. "Ah, roight. Keep forgettin' that ya weren't informed o' any of dis." She tells him, heaving up the vodka bottle and taking a healthy swig of it. "Talkin' 'bout Grand Voice Locket. She be the reason why we're here right now instead of the previous settlement."

"Fukkin' cu*t" Shuck growls out from his puzzle book, barely looking up.

"Damn roight she is. She was the previous leader of Kivouach. The uh, only leader actually. Ain't no one ever had the power or smarts ta go against 'er, givin' 'er full rule for a couple billion years, till we were forced ta come here ta this dirt ball o' a world." She lets out a low sigh, closing her poetry book and sitting up on the mantelpiece. "Honestly, Ludwig should be da one ta tell ya all this but I'll do the lanky fucker a favor. Da reason why we're 'ere is cause Kivouach got facked up! We... We lost a lot of us because of that."

"More than you could possibly count. Lovers and friends. I even miss ma enemies too." Shuck says, letting out a deep sigh. Lucy gives a small nod to him, the usually devious feline now taking on a more somber tone instead.

"When what was left of our race fled 'ere, Locket n' Ludwig didn't exactly see eye to eye on how to establish ourselves. Locket wanted ta make this place like how Kivouach was, but Ludwig disagreed. He said this was a new place, so a new way of livin' needed ta come with it. Personally, I wouldn't mind havin' this place be like Kivouach was, but me n' Ludwig have been friends fer a real long time. I trust 'im a hellova lot more than Locket." She states out, her clawed legs swinging themselves back and forth through the air. "Anyways, since a lot of Kivouachians believed Ludwig as well, Locket's court got split! Half o' it stayed with her stupid fukkin' cult and da other half joined Ludwig's government."

"Basically, we're in more of a civil war than anythin' else. Locket managed ta track us down to our previous settlement and laid waste to it. She's labeled anyone siding with Ludwig against her as traitors and are to be executed." Shuck says, also closing his book and placing it down. Even Hyzenlay had closed her book and was sitting up, attentively listening to the Kivouachian history. "Locket and her court are fiercely intelligent and as brutal as they come. The most traps'll do is waste our time with settin' them up. Da best plan we got is literally ta sit and wait until Ludwig finishes his research. From there, well... We'll see what happens from there."

Lucy crosses her arms in front of her chest and leans back against the fireplace. "Eh... More or less. Personally, I hate just sittin' around like this but thats cause I usually get bored. Oi, and if any o' this stuff be confusing to ya, feel free ta ask. You bein' in da dark ain't gonna help us if somethin' happens."

 

[Out Of Words]

Jacob frowned, letting fingers lock together as both hands rested under his chin. It didn't sound like they believed they could do anything proactive against her. But maybe it would be a topic better suited for Ludwig. A lot of what they said, the words they used, all went over his head, but he did his best to follow along. He likely could have asked questions, but wasn't sure he'd understand any better.

"Not everyone is invulnerable. Everything has weaknesses, right?" Jacob was pretty sure that was the case, but then again, he had been pretty sure Pops' stories were just stories. And look at what came from that belief. "What is Ludwig researching, anyway?" Maybe he should try to catch Ludwig when he was done in the study for the day. Maybe he'd take Ludwig a plate of some of the frosted sugar cookies when he did so.

You know, just in case the being wasn't keen on a conversation after being holed up in a study all day.

 

[Allion]

Lucy looked to Shuck, and then to Hyzenlay in regards to that question, before turning back to Jacob. "Sorry, love. Can't tell ya that one. We only just met ya n' Ludwig'll give me an ear full if too many find out." She tells him, hopping off the mantelpiece. She places her book on the table before taking another good swig from her bottle. "If it makes ya feel better, we know Locket ain't invincible. She actually got facked up roight and good comin' 'ere. Problem tho is that she is one hard bitch ta kill."

Shuck nods his head in agreement before suddenly blinking, his nose tilting upwards and sniffing the air. "Oi, Lucy. You smell that?" he asks her, stepping off of the couch and moving towards the front door.

"Da fack you on about?" The feline asks, raising an eye curiously. A moment later she also sniffs the air, her senses picking up something invisible to Jacob. Hyzenlay was also looking equally confused as she tilts her head to the side questionably. "Hang on... I'm pickin' up somethin' too... That smells an awful lot like..."

"The Madness Frontier. We got a problem!" Shuck yells before scrambling to the study door, knocking against it several times. Ludwig would answer shortly, the tall humanoid looking rather annoyed at being interrupted.

"What is it? I asked for no disturbances." Ludwig spoke out grimly, hints of anger already pooling in his voice. Lucy came scrapping around the corner a moment later, her nose sniffing the air still.

"We got somethin' headin' towards us. Smells like the Madness Frontier!" She yells, her hands flexing as her claws get deployed, each one being well over four to five inches long.

"What?! Impossible. Barely anyone knows of this location. There is no way someone from Lockets court could have found us, not this soon." He growls out, the quills along his neck vibrating with aggression.

"We ain't sayin' its from Lockets Court, but it certainly smells like it ain't one of us. It's closin' fast too." Shuck informs, the bone growths along his back seeming to flex and grow even larger. Ludwig lets out a heated breath before turning towards Jacob.

"Simian, come. You are part of this settlement as much as we are. You will help us defend it." The tall figures commands, fully stepping out from the door way of the study.

 

[Out Of Words]

Jacob's concern only grew when the proverbial shit started to hit the fan. He held back while they alerted Ludwig, well, until he was called to come help defend it. Made sense, it was his hole after all. Only, fighting really wasn't in his jack of all trades. Didn't mean he wouldn't try. Life wasn't worth living, if one didn't defend the things they cared about. And he cared deeply about his Pops, and everything his Pops cared about.

Jacob did have pretty good aim with things, it was part of his magicians act. Only thing, he sure as hell hoped Pops' shotgun from the study was actually functional. He headed there with a purpose and removed the gun. It took a bit of searching to find some ammo, but there was only enough for a few shots. Hopefully, it would do. And hopefully, his aim with a shotgun would be on par with his dagger throwing skills.

Oooooh daggers. He made a quick trip to his room and the box under the bed. His old trusty daggers were pulled out and tucked into his waistband. When he did his balloon tricks, where he threw a dagger to pop the balloon spinning on the wheel of 'death', he didn't do the fake daggers a lot of magicians used. He used real daggers, because Jacob had always wanted to learn how to throw daggers. And so he learned, he didn't ever use a person for that trick anyway.

Once he was by Ludwig's side again, Jacob loaded the shotgun and clicked it shut. Not going to lie, there was always something about the sound of a shotgun being locked and loaded he found appealing. He looked to the side, checking on the others, before glancing at Ludwig. "Okay soo uh.. what's going on?"

 

[Allion]

As Jacob returned from getting prepared, Lucy and Shuck were already outside, the two of them bracing themselves for what is to come. Hyzenlay had quickly hid herself away as she was not meant for combat. Ludwig beckons for Jacob to come as well and all four of them stand before the house.

Each one prepared themselves for the possible encounter. Lucy grew out her claws, her small body rippling with hidden muscles beneath her fur, her eyes narrowing with focus though she still sported that large toothy grin, as though excited about the whole situation. Shuck followed, his body changing and shifting as the bone growths along his back and his horns began to grow around him, giving him a sort of spiky bone armor, as well as some wicked weapons to gore someone with. Ludwig merely took up a stance, his body sideways as he extended one hand forwards elegantly, waiting for their foes to show themselves.

"Stand ready Simian. That gun will have a hard time killing one of us, but can still certainly slow us down. Position?" Ludwig asked, lacking the sense of smell Shuck and Lucy had.

"1200 feet. Closing in..." The satanic looking hound answered.

"1100 feet. Dares two o' em too..." Lucy then said as they began to make call outs one after another.

"1000. One smells strange..."

"900. Definitely don't smell like Lockets group..."

"800. The other... Familiar. They certainly aren't trying to hide themselves."

They went quite after that, but still called out distances, their senses picking up the general location of the two entities. At 200 feet, the sound of rapid stomping could be heard as well as that of a panicked yelling voice that was steadily getting louder and louder. The sound of snapping branches was loud and rapid as well and soon those stomps could be heard hurling through the woods.

Something white and massive comes billowing through the trees, its body covered in thick fur as it comes knocking a few of the trees over that are in the way of its stampede.

"I s-saiiiid slooow down!" A deep male voice yells out in a panic. There appeared to be something blue riding on the back of the beast. Upon seeing the group prepared for combat, he suddenly yanks back on the creatures neck, making it rear back on its legs before losing it balance. The two creatures crash into the ground, kicking up a large plume of dust.

The group hold themselves back for a moment, their eyes focusing on that dust cloud and seeing just who these intruders just might be. As the dust settles, the first of the creatures is revealed. It is massive, larger than even Ludwig with a body over 10 ft in length. It has an bipedal dragon-like form and an extremely long, muscular neck. It's soft, coarse fur is completely white and... surprisingly fluffy. It has two long ears with scraggly white tufts at the ends that seem to fray and curl upwards towards its sides. It has a dragon-like snout with small black spines curling towards its lips making it appear as if its mouth was stitched shut. The creature has a mound of dark brown spikes on the top of its forehead, jutting out over its eyebrows and face. Behind these clumps of spines are two humongous dark brown antlers that make up nearly a quarter of the thing's height. The right is much bigger than the left. It has a long wiry and unkempt black mane starting from the top of its head and going as far down to where its tails begin. As it sits up from its fall, the creature reveals a pair of milky white eyes, possibly meaning the monster is blind.

Spoiler: Creature

Its arms are covered in bloody bandages and large creature seems to be heavily confused, unable to grasp where it is right now. No doubt due to its sightlessness. The three within the ground just stare at this creature, each one with their mouth's agape in shock, even Ludwig. The tall individual quickly jerks Jacob's gun out of the way, preventing him from getting a clear shot.

"S-Someone please tell me I'm fukkin seein' things..." Lucy stumbles out, the little kitty not too use to being so shocked.

"Is that... W-who I think it is?!" Shuck questions, looking between his two stunned allies for an answer.

"I don't believe it... Voice Of War, Winifred!" Ludwig exclaims, pure surprise and disbelief across his face.

"Alroight good, so I'm not seein' things... Dat IS Winifred. But what the flying fuck happened to 'er!?" Lucy yells out, looking upon the massive beast.

"H-Her mane... Its pure black. That ain't right! Back on Kivouach it was gold! And the fack happened to her eyes?!" It was weird seeing Shuck this spooked. It was weird seeing ANY of them this spooked. The more they yelled, the more alarmed Winifred seemed to become, the beast letting out stressed hissing noises before suddenly letting out a billowing cry, her voice boomingly loud as she drags her own claws along her arms, gouging them into her flesh as she tares apart the bandages. The other creature now recovers from his little daze, this one looking like, well... and actual dragon! Wyvern, to be more specific. His body is covered in blue scales, occasionally made white or dark blue. He has several pairs of jutting horns on his head, the front pair noticeably lined with three pairs of icy blue eyes on each horn. He has two enormously long wings that usually stay folded as he walks around, each having their respective amounts of tiny hooks on the edges of its membranes. He has two large strong thighs decorated with thick scales that help him to walk and balance his weight. He is around 5 feet in height, when hunched over.

Spoiler: Fleischer

When Winifred beings her screaming, the wyvern creature immediately runs over to her front, ignoring any injuries he might have sustained. Her gently grabs her hands, easing her to stop wounding herself. "Winifred! Its alright, its alright! Calm down now, you're okay..." He says to her in a very concerned voice. He had a strangely smooth and deep voice, almost sounding like a proper English accent. Slowly, Winifred's wailing cries ease up, and she stops her clawing of her own arms, albeit now with bloody claws.

"Nope, nope, I'm goin' nuts again. Pleeeeaase don't tell me I'm lookin' at dat fukkin outlaw roight now..." Lucy grumbles, immediately taking on a more aggressive tone.

"This night is just full of surprises. Fleischer, of all the wastes of flesh that could have survived Kivouach's destruction..." Ludwig growled out, eyes narrowing at the blue dragon.


The blue creature slowly turned, all of his eyes going wide upon seeing who was before him. "Ah... Ah w-well thats just fucking great. V-Voice of Court Lucy Lacemaker AND Grand Voice Ludwig... Like my night couldn't get any worse! Plus a... human? And... Oh, hey Shuck." He said, greeting Shuck rather casually.

"Sup Fleischer, been a while." Shuck replies, also in a casual tone.

Ludwig removes his hand from Jacob's gun and points as the wyvern. "The moment he moves out of the way of Winifred feel free to open fire."

 

[Out Of Words]

Jacob was running pretty much on auto pilot, relying upon Ludwig to give him directions. Luckily, he hadn't fired yet, when the man bade him to lower the muzzle. Inwardly, he was screaming at the latest arrivals to his already in progress nightmare. On the outside, he was paler, maybe sweating a little bit, and maybe, just maybe, the gun shook in his grip. Just a little. When Ludwig's hand moved off the shotgun, it remained pointed at the ground. See, he had been handling things pretty damn well up to this point. He had been able to hold fast to the notion that he was just losing his mind, he had whatever Pops had. And he was running with that notion. Made things easier to take without freaking out.

But.. a dragon?

Even that was a little much for this particular human. His mouth as open as his eyes were wide, Jacob just continued to stare, chest rising with shallow breaths. All the sounds around faded to a blur of noise. Sights at the edges of his periphery rippled, his vision filled with small spots as he began to inadvertently hyperventilate. There was a soft thud, the sound of the shotgun hitting the ground and thankfully, not accidentally discharging. Followed by a much louder thud, as Jacob crumpled right after the gun slipped from his fingers. Eyes rolled back in his head, knees buckled, he just fell like a sack of rocks.

Funny, it took a dragon to, hopefully temporarily, break this mortal's mind.

 

[Allion]

There was... A bit of commotion as Jacob passed out from the strain and the shock. In the clinging edges of his consciousness, he could barely see Ludwig looking down at him, as displeased look on his face. There's distant muffled speaking, yelling going on, followed by Lucy's face being the last thing he sees. "Don't worry, I think he just fainted." she calls out, her voice muffled and distant. Darkness consumes his mind thereafter as his vision fully fades to black.

When he awakens, he finds himself back inside the house and staring up at the milky eyes of a great white beast. It was the creature he saw in the forest, the one the others referred to as Winifred. She was hovering right over him, allowing him to see the blackened fur around her empty eyes and the several black spines that curled around her lips, making it look like her mouth was sewn shut. She blinks a few times, realizing that Jacob had awakened and slowly back away, her large heavy body stomping through the house as she flops herself down in front of the glass doors that lead outside.
A wet cooling rag had been placed on his head, helping to relax his body and Hyzenlay soon scurried her way over to him, seeing that Jacob was awake now.

"H-Hey! You're... alright. You gave us a bit of a scare." She tells him, standing on an armrest. Jacob had been brought inside and placed on one of the couches to rest.

"Speak fer yerself! I knew he was fine. Simians ain't that weak." Lucy calls out from atop the headrest of another couch. She clung to a bottle of gin in one hand and had her head propped up on the other.

"Still passed out at the sight of Fleischer and Winifred though. He must be more of a pussy than we thought." Shuck laughs out, sitting over at the small coffee table. Two bottles of weaker alcohol sat beside him, one of which he was currently drinking from.

"Oh come on guys, it would be a shock for any simian to see Winifred and I come storming out of the woods like that." A fourth voice adds in. Over in the kitchen was that blue dragon-like being from the woods. He was currently positioned in front of the stove keeping a pan steady with one clawed hand that was at the bend in his wing and using a spatula with the other.

"Shut da fack up, outlaw. When's dat food gonna be ready? I'm starvin'!" Lucy yells at him aggressively, taking another heavy swig from her bottle.

"Well maybe if you didn't go through alcohol like water you wouldn't be so starved..." The wyvern mumbles out beneath his breath.

"Da fack you just say?!" The feline lashes out, baring her teeth at the creature.

"Nothing, nothing... The food will be ready in a moment."