Silent Fractures

Heart looks around wildly, looking for whatever it was that was there. Meanwhile, her horn begins to glow as she backpedals into the nearest bush.

---

Perception: 14+3= 17
Stealth: Nat1+6=7-20= -13
Prepping Forcefield, 1 min.

72's words -especially his muttered comment- made sense. Getting injured here would be a...sub-optimal way to begin things. Besides, the Reini was a scientist, not a Soldier like the changeling; combat was what he was bred for. She was meant for thinking.

She thought that it would be best to follow the advice and rushed to cover.

Spoiler:

With everyone hidden successfully, 72 focuses on the bush in front of him. A pained moaning can be heard. A pony sticks it's head out of the bush and shuffles forward. 72 stands his ground as more of the pony becomes visible. Slowly shuffling on three legs, the fourth a shriveled stump, the pony tried to lung at 72, mouth wide and moaning painfully. 72 flicks out his right wing, catching the pony in the neck. As the severed head roles to the side, the body falls to the ground. The pony then begins to char and smolder like a single piece of parchment that's not quite on fire. This continues across it's whole body, even the head until it's completely gone.
72 shakes his head, "gone, like it was never there at all." He looks toward the four hiding in the bushes, "it's ok to come out now."

"Fascinating!"

The Reini leaped back out of hiding, suddenly seeming to zone out the rest of the group. She approached the ground the creature had died at; no corpse -a shame; that meant no autopsy- and only the harest traces of remains. She pawed at the dirt, gathering a small pile and dumping it into her pocket for later examination.

She glanced at the flat ground the pony had hobbled across, and frowned. There was nothing, no trace of subject zero's presence. The Reini frowned.
"Strange," she murmured, looking at 72. " Hmm... how often have these creatures been appearing?"

"You call that fascin- okay, maybe it is a little fascinating." Wormwood had more useful things to ask, directed at the Changeling. "So... what was that? And can we expect more like it?" He tried to remember if the "briefing" had mentioned anything like this...

"To be honest, I have no idea what that was. But they have been increasing in number for the last few days. We had better move on though, don't want to run into any more." 72 began walking "Come one we're almost there."

Heart watched the shambling thing come out of the bush. She watched it lunge. She watched the Changeling decapitate it. And she watched it burn into nothing. And then she stood in horror, turned, ducked behind a tree, and vomited. Luckily, she had just used the bathroom, so that's all she did, that and tremble. Shakily, she crawls out of the brush and joins the others, staring open mouthed at the place it had been, as the others investigate. She tries to speak twice, but doesn't manage anything.

Wormwood's ears rotated at the sound of retching, and he glanced over at Bleeding Heart, before remembering her words from earlier and turning back to face 72, not wanting to seem as though he was stalking her. He spent most of the time in which she caught up with the group wondering whether she'd appreciate him asking if she was okay. It was probably the first time she'd seen anything die. As for Wormwood, he'd seen animals die, but not like this... he was a little shaken, but it'd all happened too quickly for him to be too terrified.

Still... he couldn't shake the image of that pony-like thing...

Cold Iron just keeps quiet and keeps a moving.

"How frequent have they been appearing," the Reini asked, trotting after 72.

"Has their presence been increasing at a steady rate, or is it exponential? Over how large an area have the appearances been spread? Do they materialise all at once, or stagger through the woods one at a time? Do you have patrols condoning the area, or is there a chance they have escaped into the greater Equestrian area? Data, data, data," she added in insistent murmur. "I need more information."

"Well they started appearing yesterday and have gotten more aggressive since this morning. Other than that I don't really know any more." Finally breaking through the foliage, 72 announces, "ok we're here."
They had arrived at the camp on the edge of Galloping Gorge. Two tents were in the process of being set up. One was obviously for the Princesses and the other had red and white stripes, resembling a circus tent.
"Now, if you'll excuse me I need to make a report to my Queen. I assume the princesses will summon you when they are ready. Please wait here." 72 made his way over to the striped tent and disappeared inside.

"...I don't-" Heart finally manages, just before the Changeling leaves. "Oh... uh, so," she clears her throat, and attempts to recompose her cool demeanor. "So what, did they bring us here to fight those things? Because I left my Baseball Bat at home." She takes a seat to hide the fact that her legs are still quivering.

The Reini didn't seem to be paying attention, sitting and writing equations in the dirt with her right hoof. When Heart speaks, however, she stops, glancing at the pony cooly.

"Because two children and a scientist make such effective warriors? The cow I could understand-" she admitted, nodding towards Cold Iron, "but if anyone expects the rest of us to fight,mInsuspect we'd be better quitting now."

She gave an indignant sniff; despite her lacklustre combat abilities, she clearly regarded fighting as something beneath her. She turned her attention back to the formula growing on the dirt.

"I should hope not... I'm not much of a fighter..." Wormwood mentally steeled himself, bracing for the possibility of future encounters with those... things... "If I remember correctly, we're just here to explore."

"Do not worry... You have at least one combat specialist to fight for you. And I assume our mission will not be pure combat or else it would've been advertised as such." Cold Iron said, still emotionless and robotic while that Neutral Expression Mask was on his face. "This would not be the first task I've been given where I've had to protect three non-combat allies..." Then the Masked Ninja turned to The Reini. "And please DO NOT call me a Cow, I am a Bull. My gender is male... At least biologically male at this point of time."

(OOC: Out of character we all know that when combat happen EVERYONE will be joining combat. But In Character we don't know that... And can assume that only one of us need to really "fight" flavor wise you know?)

"Oh, right I forgot," Heart shoots back. "We're not warriors, we're all experienced experts and scientists with a wide field of knowledge regarding these things, and that's how we're supposed to help, right? I mean, that's why you already know so much about them, huh? Must just be lifetime experience from being such an old hag."

---

Ninja'd. Directed at Reini.

Xel Unknown wrote:"Do not worry... You have at least one combat specialist to fight for you. And I assume our mission will not be pure combat or else it would've been advertised as such." Cold Iron said, still emotionless and robotic while that Neutral Expression Mask was on his face. "This would not be the first task I've been given where I've had to protect three non-combat allies..." Then the Masked Ninja turned to The Reini. "And please DO NOT call me a Cow, I am a Bull. My gender is male... At least biologically male at this point of time."

(OOC: Out of character we all know that when combat happen EVERYONE will be joining combat. But In Character we don't know that... And can assume that only one of us need to really "fight" flavor wise you know?)

(OOC: Quoteposting because of worries of not being noticed cause of the last post of the other page)

The Reini sighed, planting one hoof into her face, the other wiping the dirt writing away. She exhaled, as if in frustration, before looking at Bleeding Heart.

"Three lifetimes so far," she replied cooly, " and if you are really going to ignore it on that basis then you are even more of an entitled brat than I originally thought. In fact... what are you doing here?"

She stood, taking a step towards the younger pony. "Dealing with unknown specimens, in an unknown realm makes it obvious as to why we are here. Green mane said he was an explorer, the -bull, is muscle. Obviously I am here because new species need to be catalogued... so what use are you, really?"

As the four of them sat chatting shouting could be herd coming from the striped tent.
"Sounds like the changelings are having some trouble." A snide voice said from behind the group.

Who is it?:

"Or you're the foolish child that gets to learn a lesson by the end of our little growing horror story..." Cold Iron comments just before Luna's words were herd by the group, next the minotaur turned around and gave a short bow.

The Reini opened her mouth, probably to throw an insult back at Heart, when Luna spoke. The orange(ish) pony looked at the princess of the night, with an expression that seemed far less reverent than it should have.

"As above, so below," she said. "At least both teams of this expedition are in similar states of mind. We're all arguing."

Heart jumped again at the surprise, still on edge from before. She turned and saw Princess Luna, and immediately froze. On the one hoof, she was a filly who had been raised on stories of Nightmare Moon, and part of that fear stuck with her. On the other, consciously she greatly admired and at times idolized such a dark and tragic character, and she was now meeting that idol. She began to bow- but seeing only the cursory courtesy given by the minotaur, and none from the other mare, she faltered, halting with her head down in a sort of half crouch. Embarassed, excited and afraid, she just sits down again, looking straight at the ground.

Wormwood turns at the voice, jumps at the sight of Luna, and shifts into a low bow, not rising for a long time.

Before Luna could respond to The Reini's comment, there was a flash and a pop. Discord and Celestia appeared. "Oh good, they're all here." Discord clapped his hands. "I was hoping to be here first but someone was taking to long at the cupcake stand." Celestia's face turned a slight pink, "I was merely checking to see which flavors were the most satisfying." Luna stifled a laugh. "Luna, are the tents ready?"
"Yes, they just finished. Should we take these four and begin the brefing?" Celestia nodded, "and Diacord, would you please go and tell the queen we are ready." He bowed a bit over dramatically, "of course your hinyness." Celestia looked at the four between her and Luna "If you will please follow me, we shall begin the briefing for this mission." She turned and began walking toward the fancy looking tent.


(You follow her, Luna will follow you)