Lost Knife Playground Options

[King Coin]

Trapped.

Cold.

ENRAGED.

Her vision blurred a second before snapping back in focus. She roared with fury as she squirmed, or tried to. Thick ice encased her body, but it was rapidly warming. A few minutes ticked by before she was able to squirm. Her vision flickered again. This enraged her more. Only blood would sustain the wolf now. With a final roar, she smashed the ice that encased her body and flew at the cage again.

Her strength intensified by desperation, she pulled the bars with all of her might, eliciting a groan from the metal bars.

Then suddenly her strength diminished. Her sense of smell became less acute. Her hearing, less sensitive, feeling almost deaf. She roared a last time, in defeat, and then in pain as her body began to change once again.

Everything shrank in size, and for a moment she felt like she was drowning. Breath became easier with time though.

Opening her eyes, she found herself naked, on her knees, her hands still clutching the iron bars of the cage.

She looked at her friends in the cage. I… I wanted to kill them. She spit blood out of her mouth. Not my blood.

She let go of the cage and fell on her side, and promptly vomited.

This post has been edited by King Coin: Jan 18 2014, 06:24 AM

[Elisabeth Hollow]

Kayla was overjoyed, the feeling spilling from her heart and overflowing into her face. After Aravi vomited, Kayla grabbed her arm through the cage and pulled her to safety. She was small enough to fit neatly between the bars with only a small amount of tugging.

"Come on, before Vera gets you!" Kayla pulled Aravi the rest of the way inside.

[King Coin]

Aravi was only vaguely aware of someone’s hands yanking her though the bars of the cage. Inside, she looked up to see Kayla’s face, smiling.

How could she smile after this? Terrified faces flashed in her memory, just before she tore them to pieces, and ate their hot flesh. Some of them were still alive yet...

They were scum she knew, but the knowledge did little to help when her claws and mouth was caked with their blood. She could still taste it. It was so good. Better than moon sugar.

Now it made her sick. She vomited several more times in rapid succession, until nothing would come up. A sickly red pool spread slowly from the center of the cage, thick with blood and torn chunks of meat.

This post has been edited by King Coin: Jan 19 2014, 04:42 AM

[Darkness Eternal]

Vera chased the remaining bandits into the tunnel. The chase was her life, and the animal within wanted no other than to engage in a hunt. They were already aware of her presence. There was no stalking here, no sneaking, no guile. Just the flight and the pursuing of the quarry.

The colossal roar brought the men to a momentary halt. Even though probably knew full well what had produced the roar, the blood-curdling sound was enough to daunt even the bravest spirit. Fear overtook them, and they froze in place as she galloped down the tunnel and behind them.

The rest . . . the rest was history.

After screams and cries and the gaudy show of blood, the werewolf feasted on the remains of her prey by digging her snout into their flesh. But as it did, the bloodlust began to subside. That insatiable hunger for flesh was diminished, and for the first time since the transformation, Vera felt her conscious mind take hold.

Decades of learning and adapting, coming to terms and embracing her gift, had yielded fantastic results. For not shunning the beast, for not caging it within, she was able to unleash it, feed it and sate its hunger until her mind was of her own. With the blood blessed by Hircine himself, and her purebred existence being that of wonder, Vera saw everything through the eyes of the wolf. That red mist, that crimson haze that devoured everything that she knew she was had dissipated. Now, she was herself again.

There was still that calling, to hunt down the rest of the survivors. But Vera knew better. And she was able to reverse the shift, and once more turn to her human form again. The temptation was there. But she didn't risk it.

That, right there, was a power she had honed throughout the years and she was glad she had it.

Black fur fell from her skin, nails and teeth receded, feral eyes glowed away into a honey-amber. The massive, lupine beast was no more and in its place was Vera Castius Desselius.

The vision before her was just the same. Blood. Everywhere. All over her skin, her hair, her nails, on the ground, in her mouth. She got use to it.

She felt strong, rejuvenated. The kill had strengthened her for another night, and the consumption of the hearts had only empowered her. It was such an amazing feeling that a satisfactory moan escaped her lips as she ran her fingers over her blood-slicked hair.

Not only that.

Her eye. Her eye was completely healed. She touched it and felt no scars. No pulping flesh or immense pain.

Perfect.

Naked, Vera trotted down the tunnels with her bare feet sliding against the cold cavern floor until she reached the end of the tunnel. Ahead she saw bodies everywhere. Littering the ground.

She wasn't cleaning that up. She could spirit away a few coins, maybe a dagger or two and a quiver of arrows. But the bodies now belonged to the maggots and the scavengers. The wolf already got what she needed from them.

She stepped over limbs, a halved body, a headless corpse and all the ghastly, macabre sights that surrounded her. It didn't unnerve her. She didn't know these people. As far as she was concerned, they probably were all wanted anyway.

Up ahead even further was Aravi, reverted to her true form, regurgitating in the cell that was appeared as if it sustained quite a hit. Kayla was standing over her as blood was like a geyser from her mouth.

She's not like me, Vera realized. She must of acquired the Beast Blood from another source . . . one that can be traced to a pact, perhaps.

Vera casually walked over to them and stopped midstride. Her ear picked up a heavy hearbeat that was like the drums of war. It didn't come from the cages. It came from nearby. Only a second later did she realized one was still alive.

"Hold nothing in," Vera explained to Aravi from afar. Her rough voice echoed and bounced off the cavern walls as she knelt down over a dead body and retrieved a bow from nerveless fingers. She pulled a single arrow from a dirt-coated quiver and continued her path toward that drumming. "Let it all out. You'll feel much better."

While it was true that a dog returns to its vomit, she couldn't say the same for the cat.

She approached the source of the drumming. That one individual with a beating heart that seemed to be closer at death's edge every passing minute. It seemed only fair to put him out of his obvious misery.

His wounds were long gashes that was over his face, armor and leggings. His face was one bloody mess and it was irreognizable. It was a surprise he was still breathing and even conscious. He lay there, chest heaving ever so slightly and falling just the same. His eyes stared up, the white of them occasionally showing within those sockets.

Vera aimed the bow, placed the arrow, and pulled back. She pointed the tip at his face, just at the forehead.

She loosed it.

The heartbeat was no more.

Vera turned to Kayla, without a smile, and said. "The only thing I want from Aravi is the other half of my payment."

She nodded at Aravi. "The only thing I can provide for you besides my services is my gratitude."

She looked at Darnand and Salyan, and loaded another bow into the arrow. "And I want your discretion, of course."

[Grits]

Darnand stared in shock as Aravi vomited up a spreading pool of red liquid and flesh. Blood caked her hair and fur. She lay shivering on the cage floor.

Darnand reached for his cloak to cover her, but he had left it outside the cave. Instead he wordlessly offered her his waterskin. Does she need healing? Gods, with all that blood how could we tell?

Vera strode back into the cavern looking stronger than ever. Both eyes gleamed golden and healthy. Darnand filed that information away in his mind as he unlocked their cage.

The stream flowed fast and strong through the fenced-in fighting pit. He guessed that Aravi and Vera would want to wash, and they might avoid a tedious trek back through the bodies if an exit lay beyond the pit.

Vera’s actions reminded him that he had responsibilities with the dead. He moved to the pit’s framed metal door, calling an Unlock spell to his mind. Then he remembered the key in his hand. I should conserve my magicka. Perhaps this key will fit.

“And I want your discretion, of course,” Vera said. She stood naked with a bow in hand, nocking an arrow.

Darnand turned and looked behind him to see what she was planning to shoot. “You have my discretion,” he told her. Abiene must know of Aravi’s condition. However this is a poor time to ask.

The pit’s gate swung open on well-oiled hinges. “I shall light a fire,” he said. Aravi looked in great distress, and he was ill-equipped to offer comfort. He hoped his actions might speak instead.

It took little time to smash up some chairs and get a fire blazing beside the stream. Rather than enjoy its warmth he turned away to the shredded bodies. “I shall examine the dead,” he said. “If there is enough left of anyone, I shall put them to rest.”

The invocations to Arkay rose to his lips without effort. He began to murmur as he walked toward the first pitiful pile of flesh.

[Elisabeth Hollow]

Kayla rubbed Aravi's back comfortingly, ignoring the grime on the Khajiit's fur.

"Shhhh. You're okay. You did great. Let it out. Let it all out." She didn't kneel, not wanting the crimson pool to soak into her armor.

"There's a hot spring nearby, you two. I'm sure you...smelled it? Can you smell that sort of thing? Anyways, it's about a half mile east. We can all scrub down there."

[King Coin]

The cool, damp air of the cave made her shiver. She laid on the floor of the iron cage in her own vomit, feeling as weak as a kitten. Her muscles ached, her head spun, her eyes closed tight against it all.

The world around her seemed far away for a moment. Her heart pounded in her ears as she took rapid shallow breaths.

She heard sounds of people around her. Vera’s voice… She spoke to her and the others. Aravi said nothing in response, though another dry heave put Vera’s words to action.

A hand on her back let her know someone, Kayla was still with her. She curled into a tight ball and shivered.

The smell of smoke roused her.

“Fire... Help me to the fire. I’m cold.”

Strong hands helped her up, and guided her to the fire. She felt too sick to care that she was completely naked.

After a few minutes at the fire she asked, “Where is the spring? And... Thank you.” She smiled at Kayla weakly, still feeling queasy.

[Elisabeth Hollow]

Kayla lifted her up at her request and brought her bear the fire. She then sat by Aravi, away from the vomit. "A half mile east. It shouldn't take us less than a half hour to reach it. Lie your head on my lap, if you want. Rest." She gave Aravi a sympathetic look. "And you're welcome. Anything for a friend."

[King Coin]

Aravi wanted nothing more than to sleep for hours, using Kayla as a pillow as offered. But…

“I shouldn’t. My stomach is still unsettled, I wouldn’t want to get that on you.”

She looked around at the others. Darnand was putting the dead to rest. Why did I do that? Why did I transform? Now they all know I’m a monster. Her nakedness was almost trivial in comparison. She couldn’t even bring herself to go over there and see what she had wrought. We could have ran, she told herself, though she knew that wasn’t truly an option.

Vera looked more powerful than ever. She seemed to thrive in the destruction of life. At another time, that would have horrified Aravi. Now, she was merely glad that the huntress was on her side. Who was she to judge the other woman? This also may explain why the woman is the way she is.

Salyan hadn’t said a thing. Aravi couldn’t read her. She felt the same as she felt about Darnand, though this wasn’t sure what would come of it. Darnand would keep her secret. Would Salyan?

Kayla she knew, would. The elf’s kindness meant a lot to her, especially now. She wanted to hug her, but she didn’t. She was a total mess after all.

“As soon as Darnand is done, we should find that spring. Umm… could you help me dress?” she asked Kayla embarrassedly. “My balance isn’t back yet.”

[Elisabeth Hollow]

Kayla nodded and helped Aravi up. She used her body to shield Aravi's from Darnand's eyes, though to the mage's credit, he did his duty as a priest without so much as a glance in Aravi's direction. Kayla picked up Aravi's armor and let the small Khajiit lean on her. They were nearer to the cage and further from the fire, away from earshot from anyone.

"I'm sure you've guessed it, but I'm in the Cult of Meridia." Kayla said. At Aravi's questioning look, she smiled.

"Super secret thing. Only a handful of members. We're down to about twenty in total now. Since I know a secret about you that could threaten your life, I thought it was only fair that you'd know one about me. I wouldn't tell your secret for anything in the world, but just in case you were afraid I would, now you have something over me." She finished helping Aravi dress.

"In case things aren't clear for you, I'm Meridia's sword hand. Hence Dawnbreaker. Not everyone likes daedra, so it's up to your to keep this hushed for me, alright?"

[King Coin]

Aravi mimed turning a key in front of her mouth, to show that Kayla’s secret was safe.

“Meridia… That’s why you’re a vampire hunter. She hates the undead. Why is there so few of you?”

She finished dressing with help, and felt a little better that she wasn’t naked anymore. At least I’ve stopped shivering.

“I’m going to have to wash this at the spring. I feel disgusting.”

The side of her face was caked with clotted blood and other fluids. This was interrupted on her neck and continued on her chest, stomach, and legs. Her fur was already sticking to the inside of her armor as the blood dried more. She was going to lose some hair when she took it off again.

[Elisabeth Hollow]

"Killed off. They send us after the most feral vampires. You want some ginger root for your stomach?" Kayla began rifling through her bag. "I have some in here somewhere..."

[King Coin]

Killed off? That was disheartening. "I'm sorry."

That also meant that she really couldn't quit either. If she gave up, there weren't many others.

To Kayla's offer she said, "I'll wait until we get to the spring." She held out her hands, showing the mass of red that encased them.

Aravi changed the subject, happy to have something to distract her from the slaughter.

"So that sword is Dawnbreaker? That is a mighty weapon. I have read of it, but I didn't think I'd get to see it."

[Elisabeth Hollow]

Kayla grinned. "Just wait til you see it make a vampire explode. It's great. Come sit by me near the fire. I think Darnand might be finished in a little bit."

[King Coin]

Aravi smiled weakly at that, and sat next to Kayla. "I would like to see that sometime. How did you come to wield such a weapon?"

She thought of her own blades. One steel with a fire enchantment, and the other silver. It was somewhat ironic that she carried a silver weapon, but it was useful against the undead as well as werewolves. Not as powerful as Dawnbreaker...

[Grits]

Darnand reached the end of the carnage and kept going. His cloak and pack lay outside the cave. It took less time than he expected to retrieve them.

Outside the cave’s entrance he washed his hands and face in the freezing pond. Then he stood for a long moment looking out toward the volcanic tundra. Kayla’s hot springs must lie in that direction. He let his breath out in a long sigh, then turned back to the filth and reek of the cave.

Back at the fire Aravi had gotten dressed. Darnand walked past at a polite distance so as not to interrupt the conversation. His earlier speculation had been correct. A metal grate and door sealed off the stream’s exit from the fighting pit. A broad path was visible beside it. The lock opened with the cage key.

Darnand walked back over to the fire still wearing his cloak and pack. Aravi looked stronger now. Kayla was by her side in the manner of a close friend. Still, what he had to say should wait for privacy. He kept the pack over his shoulder, indicating that he was ready to depart.

[Elisabeth Hollow]

"That's a long story. Un a nutshell, the former weilder had died, and she needed a champion. I passed the test, and she gave it yo me."

There was more than that. She remembered the short she had told Irvana, how they had given her to Meridia as a child. She shuddered.

[King Coin]

Aravi didn't press the other woman for details. She had other thoughts on her mind. Looking up, she saw Darnand was ready to go.

"We should go, I really want to bathe. Help me up?"

[Elisabeth Hollow]

Kayla smiled and helped Aravi up, letting the smaller woman lean on her for support when she needed it. One everyone had gathered their things and any extra septims the bandits might have had, she lead them due east to a small bubbling hot springs near a copse. The trees leaned towards the steaming water, giving the area a lazy, relaxed look. The sun was shaded from the faces of the adventurers.

"I think Aravi and Vera need a wash more than us, so unless we're all going to cast aside our inhibitions and get nude together, I'll start a fire for those of us who aren't bathing. I'm starving."

A quick check of her pack reminded her that she had no food that needed to be cooked, but the fire would be useful in drying out their clothes. She grabbed some dried meat and began chewing on it while she gathered wood.

[King Coin]

When they got to the springs, Kayla started gathering wood for a fire.

“I’ll begin, but it will take me a long time to get the blood out of my fur. Someone else can come in after I get under the water. I won’t peek.”

She would rather not share, but she also had to be conscious of their time. She didn't want to force everyone else to wait an hour while she scrubbed her fur.

Aravi wasted no time seating herself at the edge of the water, and carefully undressed herself. The dried blood stuck to the inside of her armor, stinging pain let her know where she lost bits of fur.

As soon as she was nude again, she eased herself into the waters. She gasped at the heat, it really was hot! Currents from the rising water made it difficult to see clearly, giving her some measure of privacy.

She began working through her fur with her claws, scrubbing and pulling filth from her body. Soap that she had gotten from her pack was then applied after the worst was gone to cleanse what was left.