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Life & Death - Part 1; FF for Manix
Topic Started: Mar 2 2014, 07:19 PM (91 Views)
Maverick
Member Avatar
"How many assholes we got on this ship anyhow?"
Word Count: 4,952
Synopsis: Apocryphus has his work cut out for him in Part 1 of Life and Death, as he delves deeper into Manixs problems. His unlikely student of dreams proves herself to be willful and stubborn, ignoring his own attempts to help her in favor of her own poorly hatched plans. Part 1 explores death, its meaning for the wayward alien, and seeks to explain how it impacts her pessimistic view of the world.
Seeking: 1 Jaw Fossil, Landmark credit for Rocky Ground 2, & Tar Pits 4.



Beneath the shivering limbs of late winters forest, an unlikely couple wandered. One was short, and draped his rotund, inhuman shape in a tattered woolen cloak. This one shuffled slowly, in no hurry to get where he was going. A twisted stick with a gnarled end, served as his walking staff. He carried himself with the air of superiority, and displayed an aloof indifference to the much taller, distinctly feminine form beside him. The female was also not human, and wouldnt have passed for one, even from a distance. Her orange scales glimmered in the sunlight, a dead giveaway if her horned, eyeless face of fangs wasnt. Her loping gait could not help but bound energetically ahead of her short legged companion. Impatiently, she waited for him, hopping from one bare foot to the other over the frost covered ground.

Ehpahk! Hurry up! I see a break in the trees ahead, she growled through chattering fangs.

The voice of an old man resonated in her skull, though the forest remained silent. I will be there in my own good time and not a moment sooner, the words replied noiselessly.

Ehpahk! the delicate carnivore whined. Youre slow. Let me carry you already! Im going to freeze to death before we get there.

Hardly, the slowly ambling figure retorted. Youre not even awake. Youre dreaming, remember?

The girl stopped, letting the squat little man catch up. In her arms, she hugged a furry, wingless moth. The tiny creature purred, but otherwise paid no attention to the bickering pair. This wasnt her dream. The moth was a figment of the dreamers imagination. The aliens features were blank, and slowly tugged into a smile.

The events of the past few days fell into place. Manix was on the planet Urt, and the castaway didnt know how or why. She had recently left the care of a rather strange, but kind giant called an Oomon. The stooped figure in front of her had come across her shortly after. He was something called a Dooauzee and he was teaching her how to speak the Oomon language. His name was Apocryphus, but her pronunciation was heavily garbled by her strange, throaty accent. The complicated name sound was abbreviated to Ehpahk.

Apocryphus could slip unnoticed into a sleepers dreams, observe, and manipulate them. What he was most known for though, was eating them. Dreams produced a unique type of chi on which his species thrived. The two had struck a deal. He could eat all the dreams he wanted, in exchange for teaching her how to survive on his world. The vagrant was pretty sure the drowzee-thing had the better end of the bargain.

Thats right! You said that a few minutes ago, she piped, her tail swishing with delight.

Lucid dreaming was a new and fascinating trick that the little man was trying to teach her. Apocryphus only liked to eat good dreams because of their pleasant taste, but the stranded foreigner seemed plagued with nightmares. His proposal was to teach her how to control her dreams by learning how to recognize when she was asleep. She had one small problem.

Why do I keep forgetting?

Youre slow, grumbled the voice with the faintest hint of sarcasm.

It wasnt that she was slow really; it was that she was stubborn. Manix was too long in the practice of not wanting to remember anything. Her life on her homeworld had not been pleasant. Many of her nightmares, and general psychological problems, stemmed from a humiliating and degrading life that she couldnt bear to be reminded of. The tortured soul wasnt able to forget her waking world, but she could block out the less tangible memories of the dream world.

The girls mouth of fangs dropped open, having just overheard the sarcastic quip. What? she hissed. The scales on her back prickled defensively.

The little man sighed, and shook his head. Youre new to this, thats all. Lucid dreaming is a difficult skill to master. At least youre not waking up now when youre reminded. Thatssome progress, he admitted.

During their first few attempts, the realization that she was actually dreaming had came as a mind-blowing shock. The sudden rush of adrenaline-laced excitement would wake her almost immediately.

If you say so, she replied sullenly, somewhat mollified. Why are we going back to that tar pit place? It was creepy. Her thoughts were incoherent, heavy, and she couldnt remember the horror she had experienced, only that there was something she didnt like.

Switching into teaching mode, the wizened old man patiently reiterated the same explanation he had already given twice over the past half hour. We are going back to find out why it bothered you, he explained. You ran away without bothering to explain it to me. When I caught up to you, you refused to speak. You forced me to resort to hypnosis again.

It doesnt bother me. Its just creepy. Manix hugged the little bug more tightly as she spoke, and the edges of the dream wavered. The sky darkened.

It did bother you, or you wouldnt be dreaming about it nowyoure losing focus again.

Sorry, she pouted, but it was too late. The sunny winter day was now clouded over, and the ripe scent of decaying carrion drifted through the wood.

If youre going to stop having bad dreams, you have to confront them. Face your fears! Find out what they mean, and get over it. Apocryphus pointed through the trees with his staff. Were here. Its just over that hill.

The orange scaled dreamer didnt move. She shuffled her feet and shook her head. I dont want to see that again. It was awful.

She didnt have a choice. Now that she was thinking about it, the landscape shifted around them, displacing them momentarily before revealing a black pool below. A wooly beast with long curving tusks thrashed and pawed at the edge of the pool, unable to climb out of it. A ledge above it, and trail of broken rubble explained how the heavy beast came to be in the pool.

Manix clapped a hand over her permanently bared teeth, cringed, and looked away. Fear sank its icy fangs into the pit of her stomach. She knew what came next. So did the psychic, but he continued to watch the scene play out, looking for details he had missed when the memory had actually been made.

Three shaggy gray dogs were circling the perimeter of the black pool, darting in and snapping at the panicking manoswine. The tar pit made them nervous, but the free meal begging to be taken was too good to pass up. The youngest dog took a chance, ran across the high ledge above the trapped beast, and bounded onto its back. His teeth sank into the wooly hide, and the mamoswine screamed. The huge brute tried to shake the unmerciful canine off, but powerful jaws were buried deep into its back.

This was the cue for the rest of the pack to attack. The remaining dogs bounded forward from the more direct route below. The first splashed into the black liquid, lunging and tearing at the trapped animals sides. He sank his fangs into the soft underbelly, tearing and spilling the bowels. The short nosed pachyderm screamed, and thrashed its massive skull from side to side. The heavy, curving tusks raked the rocky beach, catching the last dog in the side as it leapt for the jugular. With a yelp, the animal was sent hurtling through the air, a limp rag of hair that struck the ground, rolled once, and lay still.

The dog in the pool was whining piteously now, having finally realized its error. Already the tar was over the predators hindquarters, and the more it struggled, the deeper it sank. Trapped between the tar and the dangling viscera, the dog would share the mamoswines tortured end.

The first hunter, the youngest, still tore and clawed at the trapped animals back. He alone stood a chance of walking away from this disaster, but in his youthful exuberance, had failed to notice the hopeless plight of his pack. Apocryphus knew the dog would not realize it was stranded on the sinking island until it was too late to leap back to safety. The canine would pace and prance nervously until the black substance crept close enough to touch his nails. He would then make a mad leap for shore, and belly flop into the giant fly trap.

The ancient magician looked back at his extraterrestrial tag-a-long. Her face was still buried in one clawed hand. He had promised to be her teacher. This was part of his game. If he was going to access her more pleasant memories, and ultimately add to his collection of unique dreams, he somehow had to work past her problems by being her friend. The naive girl didnt have to know she was being played - at least not yet. All that mattered for the moment was that she was bothered by the scene below and he needed to know why.

Manix, I want you to look at that pool, and tell me what you see, he commanded.

Adamantly, she turned her back to him. No. I dont have to. I know whats there. Her tail lashed angrily and she tossed her horns back in defiance.

Then enlighten me? he prompted.

AGH! she roared in frustration, whirling around for just a moment. She stomped her foot at him. Will you lay off, Ehpahk? Those poor animals arent even dead yet. It could take hours or days before they die. Thats justhorrible and pointless. I dont want to watch it again, she spat, and then spun back around.

The psychic was close to deciding that the alien was simply too soft hearted to accept the facts of life. Manix, thats how nature works. In a few hours, something else will come along and try to eat these creatures, and will also get stuck. Its been happening for millennia. Really, youre a predator too, why cant you handle this?

I-I..ugh, she faltered, not knowing how to explain. Putting the problem to words made it seem silly and childish. I dont like seeing things die, I guess. She hung her head, sure the psychic would laugh at her. Ive lost family before, friends and pets too. I cant watch someone die, knowing Ill never see them again. It hurts too much. People keep leaving me and no one ever comes back. I just keep losing people. You and Nema, youre the first friends Ive made in a long time.

The drowzee could feel the devastation that had been wrought by uncontrollable circumstances. Most people picked themselves up and moved on. They put on a brave face, kept their problems to themselves and made new friends, found new reasons to be happy. Not Manix. She seemed unable to look ahead. He sighed. You dont know those animals, Manix. We were coming to this place to look for an easy meal. I know youve killed things to eat before too. Whats the difference?

The Scavian stood taller and defiantly snapped back, That was different. I was hungry and had no other choice. Those things didnt suffer needlessly. She didnt add that she still felt guilty about it. The psychic picked the thought from her mind as easily as if she had spoken it aloud.

Apocryphus studied her and the solution to his problem began to surface, You said the tar pit is pointless, he continued, picking up on what she had mentioned earlier. He was treated to a meek nod, But hunting for food isnt, he ventured, because the death had a purpose?

Yeah, I guess, she hesitated, not feeling like she had explained herself fully. Ehpahk. I dont understand why we exist, why we love, if we just have to lose the ones we love. She sighed and shook her head. The legends tell us we see them again in the Otherworld, but theres no proof that the Otherworld really exists. Whats the point? She stopped, started again, and then gave up. I dont like this dream. I want to wake up now.

Apocryphus knew what he had to do now, and ignored her question. What if it did have a point? What if all of this suffering had a purpose? What if they could be brought back to life?

This got the aliens attention. What do you mean?

Again he ignored her. Smiling mischievously, his short trunk-like nose twitched with conspiratorial glee. Manix, you can wake up now Oh! Dont forget to record your dream, he added a little too cheerfully.

Do I have to? I dont want to remember, she whined. It sucked.

Just do it. You need all the practice you can get, and you might retain some more English this time.

Sharing dreams had the beneficial side effect of breaking the language barrier. The aliens garbled tongue made perfect sense when the dream walker was deeply entwined in her subconscious. Likewise, when he superimposed his mind upon hers, she could also understand him. Words they had no way of translating in the waking world became transparent, and if she could train herself to remember her dreams upon waking, she would be able to add a few more words to her small vocabulary each session.

Manix didnt need to be told twice. Using a trigger that her strange little teacher had taught her during their first successful lesson, she gave her horned head a sharp shake, and startled herself awake.

The magician greeted her from his usual place. Sitting cross legged across from her, he waited for her to activate her computer, and in a mixture of her own language and the one she was learning, reiterated the dream. Only when she could remember no more did she finally sit up, stretch, and check on her sleepy moth. Nema purred and flailed her tiny legs, pawing her adopted mothers grinning face of teeth. The alien nuzzled her young charge, and then looked around.

The sun was high in the sky, and the scent of rotting flesh was still noticeable. Her frenzied flight back into the shaded wood had been short lived. The drowzee, though slow, knew how to make up for his lack of speed. A swiftly thrown wave of rippling energy had entangled the gangly legged Scavian, toppling her like a tree. Once down, it was easy to impress his will upon his stubborn student. His mind had overpowered and lulled her into a deep, sleep-like trance. It was not the first time he had besieged the aliens weaker intellect, and the realization of what had occurred irritated the girl.

Apochrypus was not about to give her time to think about the uninvited invasion. Come with me, Manix. The tar pits are not pointless. They preserve life. Let me show you. The magician held out a tiny hand and the groggy, unsure Scavian hesitated, and then unenthusiastically followed.

They stopped at the top of the hill, and looked down at the scene they had fled from only an hour ago. The tusked brute had finally expired, and only the curve of its back and the tips of its horns could be seen. The young mightyena was still thrashing, trying to free his self to no avail. He was tiring and wouldnt last much longer. Its elder barely held his muzzle above the black goo, and was gasping its last breath. Manix couldnt help the emotion that overwhelmed her. She turned away with a choked sob.

It had a purpose. Let me show you, Apocryphus insisted for a second time. He led the unhappy alien to the edge of the pool and started prodding the hard ground with his walking staff. Dirt and rock was upturned until he hit something more solid. Here. Look. The tar pit preserves life. Look and see, he implored, gesturing for her to inspect the rocks hed uncovered.

His apprentice hesitated, first looking over at the shaggy corpse on the beach. Several large black birds had moved in during their absence and were eagerly pecking and tearing at the soft places. The alien frowned, remembering why they had ventured into this awful place to begin with. Regardless of how the poor animal had died, it was a shame for it to go to waste. It was too late for that now though. The heat radiating off the black rock had already bloated the carcass. It was no longer fit to eat in her opinion.

Next she looked at the other two dogs. The older went under the muck and didnt resurface. He was gone, and her hearts ached to know she hadnt been able to stop it. The little one still fought though, and unlike the others, he was only a few teasing feet away from safety.

Ehpahk. Dog? she pointed to the pup that still lived.

The irritated psychic shook his head and pointed again at the ground. Let him die in peace, I have something important to show you! Manix made it difficult to play the part of a wise teacher when she constantly sought to undermine him.

His heartlessness struck a chord in the usually timid Scavian. It was as if he had not heard anything she had tried to tell him in the dream. Swiftly, she tucked her moth into the pack on her back, and then began looking around for something to help her. She settled on the walking stick in the old mans hand. With a vicious grin, she yanked it from the startled wizard and sprinted over to the pools edge.

Manix! What do you think youre doing? he called out, exasperated, although he knew exactly what she was up to. That dog is wild. Hell tear you apart if you free him from that mess. Let him be!

Already, the girl was kneeling on a dry part of the beach, reaching out as far as she could with the staff. The pup was exhausted, barely keeping his head above the goo. His large brown eyes turned to the stranger and spotted the offered stick. Desperately, he tried to tug a paw from the sticky muck. It was useless, and Manix was still too far away for him grab hold with his teeth.

Ch~! she swore and inched closer to the sticky goo.

The high pitched screech made the drowzee flinch and flatten his round ears against his skull. Nervously, he watched his charge put herself in danger. At the rate she was going, the tar pit would soon have another victim.

Manixdont. If youre going to do this, lets find a tree limb or something else that will reach him. That staff will never help.

No time! she barked back at him, and flailed closer to the pool.

One hand landed in the mass, though it was still on firm ground. In spite of the cold, the black goo was warm, having absorbed the suns heat. The stubborn alien strived to reach further out. This time the dogs foaming jaws graced the knobby end and slipped.

Apocryphus shook his head. Its no good. If he cant grab hold with his jaws, youll never stand a chance of pulling him out of there.

Manix sat back, yanked her hand back out of the muck. The black substance clung like glue, and stretched. It was thick, and tugged at her hand furiously before yielding with a snap. She stared at the oily asphalt coating her hand and then looked at the dog. She only needed to reach out another foot with the stick before the dog could grab it. A yelp of fright drew her back to the stranded animal. He was fast losing ground. If his head went under, it was all over.

Quickly, she shrugged off the pack that held her moth and handed it to the drowzee. Her coat came off next and was flung a few feet away. Taking a deep breath she placed one foot solidly into the death trap that had claimed countless lives. The warm, viscous mass crept around her ankle. Her toes met with a seemingly solid ground, but it was only a mixture of soil and the oily residue that had crept to the surface. The result was even more dangerous than the tar alone. It molded to her foot, locking her in place. Keeping her other foot firmly planted on the rocky shore, she knelt, one knee landing in the muck and sinking slightly. Now when she leaned out, the staff was within reach of the hapless pup. He made a grab, snagged it with his teeth and began to pull. She wasnt ready for him and was yanked forward. Her free hand flailed for balance and found only the thick goo below. She watched the black matter rush up to meet her.

Two hands grabbed the back of her shirt, narrowly preventing her from face planting in the pool. She gasped and looked back. Apocryphus was behind her, his face strained as he fought to keep her from falling forward.

The dog still held on, and her feet still had purchase. She started to back out, felt the deadly matter tug the other way, but continued to pull on the stick. Inch by inch the tar pit reluctantly gave up its victim. With the drowzees help, the alien was able to back out slowly and regain the beach. Together they continued to pull on the staff, having to stop several times to let the tiring animal get a better grip on his only lifeline. Finally, he was close enough that she could reach him, and plunged both hands into the pool, grabbed his forelimbs and yanked him to safety at last.

The three gasped for breath, on the rocky beach but only Manix was grinning. She lacked the words to express her victory.

Dont celebrate yet, breathed the old magician heavily. This stuff doesnt wash off easily. Water wont cut it, and hes covered. It will still kill him. Now it will just take longer for him to die.

Manix discovered the problem without fully understanding the psychics words. She scraped her hands on the rocks to rid herself of the black sticky coating, but the tacky substance would be impossible to clean out of the dogs fur. If it dried, it would be hard as stone like the rest of the rocky beach.

Ehpahk? She was looking between herself and the dog lying on his side on the beach. She didnt know how to help him now.

The drowzee shook his head. We need oil to get it out off. Ice might work for your clothes, but not his fur. We need oil. Lots of it.

Oheel? she quirked her head to the side. Ooer get oheel?

He sighed, The only place to get that much oil is from humans.

She looked back the way they had come. Beyond the forest they had passed through was an Oomon settlement. There was no question in her mind about what had to be done. She picked up the pack that her teacher had set down, stuffed her coat inside, and shouldered it. Nema squeaked unhelpfully from under the jacket, and wriggled to the top to see what was happening. Her mother was already scooping up the dog though, ignoring the additional mess she was coating herself with.

Will you just stop for a minute? the drowzee begged. If were going to tromp all the way back the way we came, you WILL look at what I was trying to show you. Set him down for five minutes, and come over here! Look at the ground and tell me that the tar does not preserve life!

She jumped back, the force of his words like thunder ringing in her skull. Manix dropped to the ground on her knees, and obediently set the whimpering puppy down. She stared blankly at the place he had been digging at earlier. The old man had unearthed some black rocks - shiny black rocks. She swept away some more dirt and realized they werent rock at all, but bone. Sitting up, she threw a baffled look at her mentor.

Not lyb. Deeze ded, Ehpahk. Eye not oonderrrstond, she insisted with a growing frown. Her pronunciation was still terrible, but her vocabulary was slowly growing, as was her impatience. She didnt save the dog just lose him now. They needed to find that village. Hurrr-eee! She glanced at the dog and the forest to emphasize her point.

Apocryphus was too frustrated to celebrate her small victory of a complete sentence. Of course theyre dead! Do you take me for an idiot, girl? he barked, and then scratched around in the dirt some more. Theyre more than dead; theyve been dead for thousands of years. Some of these bones come from animals that havent walked the Earth in millennia. These are fossils!

Phooseels? she parroted and quirked her head to the side.

Fossils, he confirmed and pointed to the dead mamoswine. The tar pits will turn their bones into fossils. Fossils can be brought back to life.

Manix only comprehended a few of his words. The context was completely lost. Phooseels arrr lyb?

Apocryphus sighed, No. But they will be. I want you to pick one out. Well take it with us, and I will show you a place that can bring them back to life.

Some of his meaning was getting through at last, and the befuddled girl sat up, mouth agape. Gib lyb to Phooseel? she gasped.

Yes! Give life to the fossil. Thats what were going to do. Now pick one out.

He was thrilled, she had finally gotten the gist of what he was saying. It was a welcome relief, but it was a short lived celebration. Manix did not dig for the bones as he had asked her to. She went to the recently dead mamoswine that had suffered so much in its final hours.

Gib lyb? she asked him.

He planted his face in his palm and shook his head. NO! Those are bones, these are fossils. Theyre not the same. He pointed to each as he said the words for them, before throwing up his hands in defeat.

Finally, she got back on the ground, and started to claw at the dirt. She unearthed several bones, and some strange shapes that looked like they belonged to sea creatures and plants. None of these seemed to interest her until she came across a shape in the earth that was about two inches in length, curved, and conical. It even had a slightly serrated edge to the inside of the curve. It was a very large intriguing fang. Unfortunately, it was rooted very deeply to the skull it was still attached to.

Turning her own fanged face at her teacher, she tried to look pathetic. Ehpahk? Elp me? a soft whine followed, her own way of asking for help. After all, if she was going to get her rescued pup to the Oomons they needed complete her teachers silly task quickly.

Oh! Fine then. You dig over there, Ill start over here. He didnt hold out any hope that she actually knew what was going on. The girl was an idiot. Her only interest was the asphalt soaked puppy that was as good as dead.

Using his ruined staff to scrape at the earth, he pried away rubble to find the perimeter of a heavy cranium with massive eye sockets. Manix used her sharp talons to scrape away layers of fine black soil, separating it from the fossilized bone. With the skull partially unearthed, they could see clearly it had belonged to a carnivore of massive proportions.

You couldnt pick out something smaller, could you? Apoc grumbled.

Her attention was back on the dog though, her whining added to its. Not need phooseel, Ehpahk. Need dog Lyb! Need Ooeel. Need Oomons. She got up, picked up the animal and started to walk away.

Fine! Ill do it myself, he snapped at her sharply.

She paused, looking over her shoulder. The squat figure was jabbing at the ground with his staff again, attempting to pry up the skull. It was her turn to sigh and shake her head. The alien didnt understand what was so important about the fossil. It was dead, not like the young animal in her arms. It was important to the strange little man though, and in a way he was her friend - her only friend, and he needed her help.

She went back, set the sticky dog down once more, and sank her claws into the edges they had unearthed. With him prying the rock loose and her yanking, the skull finally broke free from the hard ground. She frowned. Most of it had come away at least. The black fossil was ancient and brittle. Whatever it had been though, the creature had once been a predator to be feared.

Apocryphus wiped at his brow and gasped for breath. Its ok. That should be enough. Youll see what I mean soon enough. I think this will help you understand that just because you cant see something, doesnt mean its not there. Now lets get your dog to town.

The words were lost on the troubled Scavian, and she wasnt about to offer help carrying the grinning rock of teeth. The wizard wanted it, so he could carry it. Her concern was in her arms, and she took off at a jog through the woods, leaving the short legged drowzee far behind.
Posted Image
Floyd's Profile
Level: 75
Notes: Questing for Rayquaza
Affiliation: None

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Manix's Profile
Level: 32
Notes: Nothing yet!
Affiliation: None
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Angel
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I Am The Coolest Person And You Should All Know It
Creativity: 5
Believability: 5
Technical Prowess: 4

Word Count: 4952
Base Score: 143

Pros:

  • Apocryphus is an awesome Drowzee.
  • Manix's complex state of mind and how she deals with the poor Pokmons deaths.
  • Manix's motherly affection for her little bug.
  • No spelling mistakes save for a formal name or two that lacked a capital letter.


Cons:

  • A little slow.


Final Score: 70 :lp , +1 :jawfossil , and confirming landmark credit. +4 :lp for myself.
Edited by Angel, Mar 2 2014, 09:38 PM.
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Sprite by Kaiz
APL: 67.6
MPL: 50.0
Current Landmark: Radloff City
Current Destination: Wherever Raikou is
Current Quest: Raikou Hunting!
Party
Posted Image :ml :lvl 71 :hp 213 :happiness x3Posted Image :ml :lvl 69 :hp 138 :happiness x10Posted Image :ml :lvl 67 :hp 201 :happiness x3
Posted Image :ml :lvl 66 :hp 198 :happiness x5Posted Image :ml :lvl 65 :hp 195 :happiness x2Posted Image Egg :lvl ?? :hp ?? :happiness x??
LP
Feel free to pm me for a mod!
"Hey...opinions are like assholes, everyone has one, but you don't always have to show yours off."
~Mav
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