westfallcorndog | Left 4 Undead (for Adia and Caspar)

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Left 4 Undead (for Adia and Caspar)

All at once Adia's phone receives a rather hefty, suspiciously well-spelled message from Harrowheart's number.

Adia:
I hope this message finds you in fine health and good spirits. This is Tamminy Photovolt, not Harrowheart; I am merely borrowing his messaging device. I would like to propose a research venture to you and to your companion, Caspar. Would you be interested in collecting samples of microorganisms with fluorescent proteins? My assumptions about your world's level of technology lead me to conclude that you understand their uses, but if not we can discuss. More to the point, I intend to visit a part of my homeworld historically called the Eastweald for samples of a rare ore which I will need for a future project. I know that there are/were native populations of both bacteria and fungi which produce fluorescent proteins in this area and suspected you may be interested. Expect the local climate to be temperate, late winter, elevation slightly above sea level with an ocean current which generally prevents snow. Field time is expected to be between five hours and one day. If you would like to attend, please dress and pack accordingly. 
Yours,
Dr. Photovolt

A few seconds pass before another text follows.

And idk if Tams said this but bring Caspar to cause were killing zombies together its a guy thing. Meet at Naug's tower whenever your free.

And at the agreed-upon time it seems that quite a few people are milling about Naugus' tower. Harrowheart is sitting at one end of the U-shaped table in the yard, fully decked out in a deep blue suit of armor with bulky, spiked pauldrons and a red cape which collects on the ground near his feet. He's balancing the pommel of his runeblade in one open, floating palm and staring boredly into the distance while behind him Tamminy and Lawrence argue.

Tamminy is dressed for chilly weather and burdened by a backpack (made for a gnome's body, of course.) Lawrence doesn't seem to think this is enough and is insistent that she also take a single-barrel rifle designed for human arms. She can't seem to explain to him why this isn't going to work for her even as she demonstrates how poorly it fits her grip.

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Although his mask partially obscures it, the look Caspar gives Tamminy is one of quiet appreciation. Thank God someone else understands their unique situation on Atlantis. Even better that she's willing to explain why a visit to their island is out of the question, illusion or not.

"I'll make a video," Adia promises. "I sent Harrowheart some photos back when we were starting out. I'll take some more now that our settlement is mostly complete." That's about all the answer she'll give on the subject, as she's not as inclined to give a flat-out 'no', nor is she willing to turn around and meet the death knight's gaze. She can hear the minion behind her with its inhuman noises. No thanks.

The silence is nearly as intolerable. Adia has quickly grown used to the sounds of animals in the woods of Atlantis. Their absence here is palpable. "I was her only grandchild," she says quietly. "My dad was an only, too. She really looked forward to our visits." Her foot hands on a twig and snaps it -- the sound to her ears rings out like a gunshot and she fusses with the nozzle of her gas mask nervously. "Um... do we have much farther to go...?"

"Only child?" Harrowheart wonders aloud. "Must'a been pretty lonely." Adia might think differently, but a man with seven siblings can't imagine a world without any of them. What would it have been like, to grow up as an only child? To have his parents there and no one else, all day toiling on the farm with no one but his mother and father to connect with. Would he be closer with them? Would he know himself better? Would he be the same person at all?

"We're close," Tamminy answers Adia. She points into the distance, where through the thick mushroom stalks Caspar and Adia might see a boxy shape. It's got to be a building, but its full size is obscured by the forest and fog. "There's a farm just up ahead, and past that is the water around Stratholme. A ten minute walk, ma– Ah!"

She can't help but be startled when Harrowheart suddenly stops her with a hand on her head. He isn't moving, she isn't moving, and his minion stops dead with them. The white lights in his eyes flit from side to side, pausing as he listens. His nostrils twitch.

In the silence of the forest, something is moving. It's a tiny rustling at first, but it's enough to make Harrowheart unsheathe his runeblade. As the runes begin their dull glowing, so something else begins to glow in the forest. Little sets of lights, yellow and red, always in pairs... And just about eye's width apart. Silhouettes of bodies appear behind them, and even at a glance it's clear that some of them are not quite right. Arms are missing, heads loll limply, and from all around begins a wheezing, moaning. The sound of dozens of things just like Harrowheart's minion crying out in strangled discomfort.

Harrowheart's whispered advice is just a single word:
"Run."

He leaps forward, and his sudden movement spurs the chase. Reanimated corpses stumble quickly down the embankments and spring from behind thick-stalked mushrooms. One lands directly in front of Harrowheart who doesn't stop in his stride as he swings his length sword, cleaving rotting flesh in half. The body falls as separated legs and torso. The arms continue to reach for a victim, but Harrowheart doesn't stop to kill it. The others will have to run around it.

As more bodies rush toward them, howling and screaming, he looks over his shoulder to be sure that the others are coming. Tamminy is struggling behind the others – short legs don't make for a good escape – but she's coming. The barn isn't far ahead, but it's going to be a sprint. Caspar's aim is about to be put to the test.

She's not surprised that Harrowheart assumes it was lonely. Even her friends with one or two siblings said the same thing -- how quiet and empty her house must have felt with only herself and her parents. But that quiet was an oasis, an island of peace after navigating the social complexities of school. Her friends' homes, by contrast, seemed fraught with conflict. Fights between siblings, slamming doors, conversations like shouting -- how could they stand it, she often wondered?

Lost in her thoughts, she's likewise startled when Caspar tugs at her hand, holding her in place. Despite his opinion on the death knight's questionable judgement, he knows when to defer to an expert. Harrowheart senses trouble, so he, too, stands stock still, head cocked to the side slightly like a dog hearing an unfamiliar sound.

Harrowheart unsheathes his runeblade, Caspar flicks the safety off his rifle.

But when Harrowheart whispers to run, it is Adia who moves first.

The very visceral fear of the undead surrounding them propels her forward without hesitation; she's had to run for her life before, at least this time she has the advantage of being uninjured. When she notices that Tamminy is falling behind, she grabs onto her hand, determined not to lose the tiny scientist in the sprint to the barn.

Caspar, naturally, keeps up without effort. He lets go of Adia in favor of keeping both hands on the rifle, and he doesn't dare outpace her. The fallen zombie is easily avoided, but the ones behind them are rapidly approaching. Who knew that zombies ran so damn fast? Weren't they supposed to shamble? What kind of bullshit --

A twisted, emaciated arm scrabbles at his shoulder. Without thinking, he spins around and bashes the butt of the rifle into the corpse's face. There is a shattering of bone and teeth, its head bursting like an overripe melon, and the body falls to the ground, unmoving. Caspar stares down at it a moment without pride or remorse, only shock.

He just killed a zombie. A zombie. It's a paradigm shift that even a Cylon needs time to process.

Another zombie approaches and he lifts the rifle, aims, and fires a bullet between its glowing red eyes in one fluid motion.

Okay. Processing time over. He starts running again, catching up quickly, his rifle up and ready to pick off any other zombies that get too close to himself or the others.

Tamminy is completely winded in short order, even with Adia dragging her along (which she's silently, deeply grateful for.) Her backpack is too heavy, her mask too stifling, her legs still too short. She wants to scream as greedy hands try to grab her, but she hasn't got the breath for it. The group is making quick work of their sprint to the barn – the property is just to their side now. All they have to do is climb the embankment and cross the field to safety.

Harrowheart swings for corpses, slashing bodies with his sword and stomping heads and limbs under heavy plate sabatons. From the stump of a felled mushroom a corpse leaps down toward the group, but Harrowheart skewers it through the midsection with his sword before it has a chance at a violent feast. He throws the body to the ground and uses his runeblade for leverage to climb the hill on the side of the road. His minion scrambles up beside him and like her master uses her axe like a pick to climb the muddy wall.

Once he's at the top he turns to the others and reaches out a hand – not for anyone to grab, but for him to grab them. Unseen shadows pull at Adia's core, forcing her (and Tamminy, who holds onto Adia's hand tighter than is probably necessary) through the air and toward him. He catches Adia in his free arm and sets her on her feet, then kneels to offer a hand to Caspar.

With Harrowheart distracted the undead close in on the living women, but they aren't unprotected. The wight that Adia so detests stands with them, swaying as she waits for the feral corpses to come in range. One does, and immediately she bends backwards, raises her axe, and brings it down on the other zombie's head with one decisive chop. It spasms before it falls, and Wednesday jerkily withdraws her weapon from its skull.

When Caspar is up with the rest of them Harrowheart wastes no time running toward the barn. Fortunately most of the undead are behind them now, and a good sprint across the uneven field ground is all it takes to reach the building. It's aged, untended, and a massive mushroom has burst upwards through the roof, but it's enough to take shelter in. Thank the Light the door has been chained shut – it means there probably aren't any errant corpses on the prowl inside. Harrowheart slashes through the chains and ushers the women inside.

"Stay here," he warns, and that's all he says before he shuts them both in the darkness of the abandoned barn. He glances to Caspar, then into the distance where the remaining undead are cresting the embankment. He nods at Caspar. "Catch your breath," he advises. "Lotta work ahead of us."

Adia's stamina fares better than the petite scientist, but it's still a hard scramble to the embankment. There's a moment of accelerated fear as she wonders how she and Tamminy will make it up there in time, but Harrowheart's shadowy powers solve that problem easily enough. She lets out a gasp as she's lifted into the air, both of her hands holding onto Tamminy now. Her mask has shifted a little during the run, her goggles askew and hampering her vision, although considering what carnage she can witness, it's a blessing that she's not exposed to the full view.

Caspar, meanwhile, continues to shoot with the precision of a machine, but he's conservative with his aim, too, not wanting to waste ammunition. Zombies that get too close get the taste of a a rifle as a melee weapon instead. He reaches the wall right behind the two living women, shouldering his rifle and essentially bouldering his way up the wall, using the death knight's hand for that last scrabble to the top.

In that final push towards the barn, Caspar provides defense along with Wednesday, who he admits is serving a valid service for their party. Unfortunately, it means he doesn't get a chance to say anything before the two women are shoved into the barn. Not that he wouldn't have done the same thing, of course, but it feels wrong, a separation without a goodbye, without an 'I love you'.

He leans against the barn and sucks in lungfuls of filtered air. He may be a Cylon, but he still needs to breathe. "What the hell," he demands. "Why are they so goddamn fast?"

And, oh look, here they come now. He swears and reloads. "What's the plan?" he asks grimly.

~*~

The first thing Adia does is realign her goggles. The second thing she does is look around. Aside from the giant mushroom, it's like any other barn. There's a gated pen in the back for animals, and a loft above for extra hay. The wood is rotting in places, but the structure is sound. At least what she can see in the dim light that filters in from the hole in the roof.

The third thing she does is put her hands on Tamminy's shoulders and make sure that she's okay. "Is there any other way out of here?" Her voice is only shaking a little. She's scared, but not overwhelmed. Not yet. "Is there anything we can do to make us more safe?"

Tamminy presses her back up against a slightly crooked support beam and slides down to sit, panting. A barn is far from a sterile environment but she doesn't care, she has to pull that mask off. She buries her face in her hands and shakes her head as Adia asks those questions. How is she supposed to know the answer? She's having a breakdown and Adia wants to explore the barn?

Eventually her hands fall between her knees and she looks up at Adia with her reddened eyes. Hopefully that's from the tears and not the spores. She opens her mouth to speak, but what can she say? What does she know about staying safer?...

~*~

Harrowheart squints at the impending gang of undead. Still a few dozen of them. Things could get hairy for Caspar, and fast.

"You're pretty good with that gun," he says. "Shoot 'til they're halfway here or 'til you're out of bullets. I'll give us some cover while I got the chance."

Harrow takes a few strides away from the barn and to the side and raises his arm as high as it will go. A faint mist grows in his hand before he strikes downward in a rush, conjuring up a wall of icy spikes waist high and a few yards in length. A makeshift wall will provide them some safety, but how much time will it really buy them once Caspar is out of ammunition?

It's alarming when Tamminy pulls off her mask. Is that a good idea? The air inside the barn is free of that pernicious yellow fog, but she can see the yellow fuzz that clings to the underside of the mushroom. It's only a matter of time before it rains down again.

That look of despair on her friend's face answers her question. No, no way out except via portal again. A portal Harrowheart certainly can't create while fending off zombies.

"Tamminy." She kneels down so she isn't looming over the other woman. "We'll be okay. Harrowheart and Caspar will protect us. We just need to keep ourselves out of harm's way so we don't make their jobs harder." Her voice is steady, more reassuring than before. "Believe me. I once circled a black hole in deep space. This is nothing."

It's not nothing, but if she gives in to that feeling of being trapped, she'll be in a worse state than Tamminy. "I'm going to try something. Be right back." She rifles though her messenger bag and pulls out a sharpie. It's for writing on samples, but she's sure it can work on wood, too.

She walks up to the shut doors, and thinks about Caspar on the other side. Then, from memory, she draws a symbol upon it, about the size of a dinner plate. She concentrates upon it a moment, then shuts her eyes.

Elune, if you're listening, I could really use your help again...

~*~

"That's your plan?" Like he wasn't going to keeping shooting at the zombies in the first place. But he doesn't have to toss out any more sass, the first wave of zombies is rapidly approaching. He takes them out, one at a time, a head shot to each. One thing he'll say that's in their favor, they don't make it difficult to target, running in essentially a straight path instead of scattering whenever a shot rings out.

He gets ten down before his rifle clicks empty.

"Frak," he swears. He reloads with the old clip, eyeing the ice wall in front of him. Yeah, it'll buy them time, but what's the point if he doesn't have anything to shoot them with? "What now? I've got five bullets left."

A black hole? Tamminy blinks hard as she processes this. Adia wouldn't be lying to her, would she? Is that even possible? It's the perfect distraction for a mind that needs constant occupation. When Adia says she's going to try something Tamminy nods slowly, still a little dazed. Torn between her anxiety and her curiosity she can't help but give in and watch Adia drawing... A rune? She wasn't aware Adia knew any kind of magic...

To the naked eye there's nothing obviously magical about the rune Adia draws, but to one in tune with magic there is a subtle warmth, a sense of contentment, an aura of soul-cleansing, healing calm. It isn't the same natural, wild sensation the Scythe of Elune gave off, but it is nonetheless similarly benevolent and divine.

When nothing happens (to Tamminy's non-magical eyes) she begins to panic all over again. "Ooooh," she moans as if she were about to be ill. "You tried to summon the Light and the Light isn't here and that means there are too many zombies blocking the signal and that means we're going to DIE!" She scrapes her hands down her face and stares aghast at nothing. Adia! They're going to DIE! "You have to get away from the doors before they tear them down or reach in through the wood and ea-he-heat you."

~*~

Outside, faced with actual zombies, Harrowheart isn't afraid. Too stupid to concoct a good plan, maybe, but never afraid. Not of corpses, anyway.

"There's more to the plan!" Harrowheart shouts indignantly. "Now we melee 'em!"

Harrowheart takes his place behind the wall near Caspar. He holds onto the horns that make the guard of his sword and pulls, splitting his broadsword into two slimmer swords. His minion tries to buy them a few more seconds of preparation by staggering to the middle of the field and swinging her axe at any corpses that come within arm's reach. Harrowheart uses the time to affix his runeblades to his forearms with sturdy bracers of ice. Yes. Now he is ready for the stabbings.

And just in time, too! His intern can't hold the horde back on her own and soon is lost from sight in the crowd. The feral zombies race their way toward the two men, but they've got a much greater interest in the smell of a living man. Hope you're ready to ~~pistol~~ rifle whip some undead, Caspar!

The rune’s aura prickles the edges of her consciousness, lighting up all those neural networks expanded by her time in the Nightmare. The rune within her mind flares to life, a silent communion with the magic that flows in from the Light’s blessing.

She opens her eyes and —

Tamminy’s panic crashes into her, and for a moment she has to place both hands on the barn’s door to keep the room from spinning. Breathing deep, she remembers Viatorus’ words of advice on dealing with her newfound empath powers:

Identify your own emotions. Identify everyone else’s.

Don’t confuse the two.

The fear and panic behind her is like a blizzard, harsh and blinding. The rune in front of her is like a sheltered cave. She needs to bring her friend into that cave with her.

She can hear the fighting outside the barn’s walls, but it’s distant. There’s time yet.

Drawing that comforting warmth into herself, she returns to the scientist’s side, crouching down and placing a hand on her shoulder. She tries to pass that warmth to Tamminy, to protect her from the terror swirling around them both.

“Tamminy. It’ll be okay. They aren’t near us.” She pushes her mask back so that the other woman can see her calming look. “We’ve got a death knight and a Cylon fighting them off. Caspar’s no slouch — he can bench press me easily.” Don’t ask her how she knows this. Or, okay, go ahead and ask her if that’ll help. “And the Light is on our side. It always is.”

~*~

“Melee.” If he wasn’t lining up his rifle for one last kill shot, he’d be rolling his eyes. “Easy to say for the guy with swords strapped to his arms.”

He barely has time to pick off one more zombie before they overrun Wednesday and come barreling in his direction.

Frak. This is it.

Without missing a beat, he leaps into the fray, swinging his rifle like a bat. It connects with the head of a zombie, cracking it open and letting the contents spill out on the ground. A second swing takes out another zombie, and then he’s shifting his grip and twisting around to fend off another. These monsters are relentless, all gaping maws and scrabbling hands, but Caspar keeps his fear at bay, each motion efficient and full of explosive force. He can’t afford to be afraid, not now. If even one zombie gets past the two of them, it’ll be after Adia and Tamminy, and he can’t —

A zombie launches itself onto his back, digging its clawed hands into his sides, ripping through the fabric of his jacket and piercing the soft flesh beneath. He swears and jabs the rifle backwards, trying to pry the zombie loose, but it’s holding on tenaciously, shrieking with inhuman delight at its prize.

“Get off me!” Caspar shouts, because even in the grip of a demented, rotting corpse, he’s not going to explicitly cry out for help.

A bass reverberation precedes the ghoul's claws scraping Caspar's flesh as the writhing corpse is forcibly ripped from his back. It shrieks as its bones crunch, but then its cries turn garbled as something shakes it rapidly to and fro.

There looming over Caspar is some kind of bear-like beast – an oversized flaxen wolf with a zombie's middle between its massive jaws. The worgen's eyes glow brightly blue, its body is protected by a death knight's armor, and its forearms end with two halves of a runeblade.

Harrowheart twists his whole body as he tosses the shaken corpse across the wall of ice, where it collides with two others and falls in a heap on the field, broken by the violent treatment. Another zombie falls to its knees and scrabbles toward Caspar's legs and Harrowheart falls to all fours to stop it. His jaws catch the zombie's arms before they can tug at Caspar's suit, and with a bite he snaps the corpse's hands clean off.

While Harrowheart deals with that, Caspar is left with only a handful of undead reaching over the ice wall for him. Just a few more swings, Caspar! Just a few more bodies! Ignore your pain, kill the bastards, and save the girls!

~*~

Adia's presence at first startles Tamminy. She's looking to drag someone down into her worry with her, but Adia is not so easily swayed... And, strangely, she exudes some kind of rationality. A sense of calm. Just the act of watching her pull off her mask calms Tamminy somehow. And then the joke. A joke! At a time like this!

She can't help herself – she laughs. A quiet, guilty giggle.

"You're so brave, Adia," Tamminy croaks. "You came out of your war so much better than I did. And I wasn't even in Gnomeregan when it..."

What an unpleasant train of thought. Her lips twist up as she fights their wobbling. Just be brave like Adia. Be quiet. Be calm. Be calm. It's easy... Be calm...

And, somehow? She is.

Edited (pose) 2018-03-28 02:44 (UTC)

“I’ve had a lot of practice.” It’s another joke, a bit of survivor’s humor to share between the two of them. She gently squeezes Tamminy’s shoulder in understanding, quietly relieved to see the other woman in a calmer state. Tentatively, she extends her… sixth sense? Powers? She doesn’t have a name for it yet, but she tries all the same. But she can’t sense anything else. Is that because the fighting is too far away? Or is she not skilled enough?

She says a silent prayer anyway.

Elune, please keep Caspar safe.

Please keep us all safe.

~*~

It’s one thing to know that your girlfriend’s undead buddy also happens to be a werewolf.

It’s another thing to see it in person. For a moment, Caspar can only stare, wide-eyed, as Harrowheart’s beastly form shakes the zombie around like a dog with a chew toy. It keeps him from noticing the second zombie reaching for his jacket, but thankfully the death knight gives him a hand with that, too.

Or rather, takes a pair of hands away.

But there’s no more time to gawk, or even offer his gratitude. The remaining zombies are reaching for him, swaying and groaning like a pack of demented groupies. He takes a step back and readies his rifle, doing a quick headcount. Four zombies. Four bullets.

Perfect.

He takes out the first two without issue. The third jerks away at the last moment so the bullet only grazes him and he’s forced to use his last shot on it to stop its grotesque advance.

The fourth —

Wait, where’d the fourth one go?

“WAAUGH!” something screams in his ear, and then there’s a goddamn zombie on his back again!

This time he does get knocked over, and the two of them roll on the frost-cracked ground. The zombie is grabbing for the gun, using its last ounce of intelligence to disarm Caspar completely, and the Cylon swears as it pulls the rifle from his hands and tosses it to the side.

It drops its head back down for a succulent bite of living flesh —

And gets a taste of Caspar’s switchblade instead.

The Cylon pushes the blade into the zombie’s open mouth. He pays no mind to the jagged, rotting teeth that graze his fist as he twists and stabs upward.

“Muh,” the zombie says, unable to scream. Then it falls still, the light of its eyes blinking out of existence as its body collapses atop the Cylon.

With a swipe of his arm, Caspar pushes the motionless corpse off him, then sits up with obvious effort. His blazer and shirt are completely shredded in places, the material irrevocably stained with dirt and zombie refuse.

He puts a hand to his side and winces when it comes back bloody. “Shit. I really liked this suit.”

The blast of the rifle leaves Harrowheart pressing his sensitive ears back against his thick mane to block out the sound. Light, at least they're in open air and not indoors. He's too distracted as he tries to stop the disorienting ringing in his ears to hear Caspar fall, and by the time he turns around to aid him he sees the knife plunging into the corpse's upper palate.

When he rolls the body off of him Harrow peers over the ice wall. The field is once more dead silent. It would be peaceful if it weren't so eerie... Until Caspar swears and Harrow's ears twitch at the noise. He turns to his ~~friend~~ acquaintance and sits beside him like a dog would, then puts his forepaws on Caspar's shoulders and checks him for wounds. There's a lot of sniffing involved in this, especially around Caspar's hand.

"Hmmmm," he grumbles, and in a baritone voice says, "I didn't figure you'd have human blood." Sniff sniff. "Have you ever seen the movie Alien?"

See, Harrow? This is what Caspar means when he calls you a fucking idiot, man.

Still, he pats Caspar's shoulder and nods absently as he looks over the field again. The only one standing there is Wednesday, winner that she is. "You'll be fine," he says off-handedly. "And good work."

He swings his massive head and considers the barn door behind them. The girls are still trapped in there.

~*~

Adia, if Elune heard your prayers she's not making her divine intervention obvious! And now something is rattling at the barn door. Something outside wants in, girls. Adia, if this isn't Caspar and Harrowheart are you prepared to fight it? Better find a weapon fast, because the doors are opening up!...

It’s bad enough when it's the floating hands touching him, now it’s actual paws on his shoulders. “Oh my God, shut up,” he says tiredly, closing his eyes and submitting to the olfactory scan. The bloody wounds on his torso sting like crazy, but they're superficial. A few stitches and some antibiotics and he'll be fine.

And maybe a tetanus shot, too. Zombie claws are gross.

For a moment he thinks the death knight is complimenting his minion and not him. When he figures it out, he cracks open an eye and grins despite himself. “Thanks.” He grabs the discarded rifle, flicking the safety back on. "Let's get Adia and Tamminy so we can --"

Harrowheart is already opening the doors without any warning. “H-hey,” Caspar says, hissing reflexively as he staggers to his feet. At least warn them first, you idiot!

A mighty shove pops them open. Adia is standing in front of Tamminy, a human shield, a rusted pitchfork in her hands. (The pitchfork is missing half its tines, but hey! An attempt was made.)

The tool is dropped as soon as she recognizes the furry beast silhouetted by the gloom outside. “Harrowheart!” she exclaims in relief. Her mask is still pushed back from her face, her gaze searching immediately behind him. “Where’s Caspar? Is he —“

The Cylon steps into view. He says nothing, simply pulls the mask from his face, spores be damned, and crosses the distance between them to give her a long, soulful kiss.

“I’m here,” he whispers against her lips when they finally pull apart. “I’m right here.”

“I know.” Her small, tender smile disappears when she sees the state of his clothes, and the blood seeping through the ripped fabric. “You’re hurt. I need to —“ She turns for her messenger bag, then looks at Harrowheart again imploringly. “Do I have time to treat him now?”

Harrowheart's doggy lips peel back in a smile at the sound of his name. Adia and Tamminy are both safe, and look at that! Adia was ready to throw down with whatever came in! He's proud of her, really he is.

His ears perk up when he sees Caspar kissing Adia, then swivel backwards as he ducks his head and looks away. What's that sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach? He doesn't have long to contemplate it, as he finds he's staring down his snout at Tamminy. She looks... Defeated. Alone? Maybe that's it. Maybe they're feeling the same thing right now.

He leans down and scoops her up into his arms. At first she yelps in surprise, but then she quietly chuckles and shakes her head. "Thanks, Harrowheart," she whispers, and he nods, causing his thick mane fur to bounce.

Adia's voice catches his attention just as he's finishing putting Tamminy on his back so that she can straddle his neck and ride on his shoulders. His ears perk at the sound, then flatten with his thoughts, then perk right up again. "We have time," he says deeply. "Help him, and then we leave. We get our samples and we're back in the Nexus in an hour."

That ghost of an emotion -- a lonely longing -- is so familiar to Adia that at first she assumes it's her own. But for the very first time, something scary has happened and Caspar has been here for her, so she knows it can't be hers.

When Harrowheart says that she can heal Caspar now, she smiles at him gratefully. Tamminy riding on his shoulders is a sweet image; she's glad that they can be there for one another.

"I can wait," Caspar complains through another quiet hiss of pain, but Adia is already pulling her first aid kit out of her messenger bag, so he sighs and shrugs out of his jacket, and then unbuttons his shirt. They're ruined anyway, might as well toss 'em. He has to peel off the light fabric of the shirt as it's soaked through in places, and okay, that does hurt a bit more, but he tries not to flinch when Adia is facing him again, carefully examining his injuries.

There are claw marks all along his torso, several sluggishly bleeding. There's an old healed bullet wound on his left side, right above his hip, and a small purplish bruise on his collarbone, but Adia does not pay those latter two any mind. She frets a little over the largest tear, dabbing it with gauze to get a better look. "This one needs stitches, I don't have that in my kit. What are we going to tell people at the clinic?"

"I'll just tell them you got a little too frisky," Caspar says, smiling through the sting of the gauze. Adia rolls her eyes, but the joke soothes her worries. The affection he has for her rolls over her like a calm summer breeze, and even as she treats his injuries, she basks in the warmth.

Except... that warmth isn't just in her imagination. The Light has one last gift for its newest disciple. Adia's hand glows softly, pale and luminescent like moonlight, and when she pulls her hand away, the deep cuts on Caspar's torso have lessened dramatically in severity. No more need for stitches, no more bleeding.

Adia looks up at Caspar in bewilderment. Did that just happen? She puts her hand on him again, but nothing else happens. She tries a third and a fourth time, and finally Caspar says, "As much as I like you touching me, I think you should probably switch back to conventional medicine." Blushing, she grabs the topical antibiotic and does just that.

Edited 2018-04-05 14:39 (UTC)

It's a small spark of Light, but Harrowheart can feel it. A magic in total opposition to his own -- to his very existence. He can't (or won't?) stop the way his lip peels away from his teeth as a wary growl fills the space between them.

He sees then that Caspar's wounds have been healed by the magic, and he turns his head away with a snort. "Hurry up. Clean him, get dressed, and we go, or I go without you," he demands, eyes on the barn door.

Tamminy holds tightly to his mane, burying her hands in his dense fur to distract herself from her sudden anxiousness. She didn't sense or see the Light show, and as far as her nerves are concerned a suddenly-angry death knight isn't something to be calm about. It's not the endless hunger, is it? He just killed all of those zombies, that has to count for something. Right?...

She looks to Adia and Caspar with guilt and worry in her large eyes. She's sorry about this terrible behavior, really she is!

Well, that was rude. Caspar keeps a shrewd eye on Harrowheart while Adia tends to his injuries. Something about the magical healing must have gotten under his fur, but he knows better than to bring it up, not while the death knight is being all gruff and hackles.

Adia works quickly, as directed, affixing medical tape to Caspar's side to keep the bandages in place. The barn suddenly feels a lot colder, full of unpleasant emotions. Did she do something wrong? Tamminy's apologetic look seems to suggest not. Besides, how could healing someone be a poor choice? And though she can't read Harrowheart's mind, something about his attitude makes her think back to a conversation she had with Blaze ages ago. The Guardian had been displeased about Harrowheart creating an undead minion, but Adia had defended him, insisting that he was using his nature to help stop Khan.

Well, it's been months since Khan was stopped, and he had kept that minion around. He treated it like a piece of equipment, or a puppet, when there was no threat in sight.

Was that his nature, too?

"All done," she says softly, her gaze down.

"Thanks," Caspar murmurs into her ear before kissing her again, softly. He bends down, mindful of the bandages, and picks up his ruined shirt and jacket. The shirt is more bloody than the jacket, but it's covered with less zombie gore, so he puts it back on anyway, and then the jacket. He can burn them when he gets home. "I don't see a shower around here, so I'll skip the cleaning," he says to Harrowheart, his voice cool and even. "We're ready."

A curt nod is Harrowheart's only reply. He leaves the barn, taking Tamminy and his minion with him, and makes his way across the field to the road. His legs are relatively short for his body, and his strides aren't very long, so it shouldn't be an effort for Adia and Caspar to follow.

A quarter of an hour passes during which Harrowheart walks in silence through the foggy, dead fields and their towering mushrooms. Eventually, though, one ear swivels towards Adia and he asks, "Who taught you to cast the Light?"

Adia slips her mask back on before leaving the barn, Caspar following suit. It's as much to hide her mixed feelings as to protect her from the spores. There's embarrassment at the thought that she overstepped her bounds somehow. Was it wrong to pray to a goddess that wasn't hers? Or draw on a power she doesn't completely understand? Even so, she doesn't feel like she deserved such a harsh response.

Every time she looks over at Harrowheart, to gauge his current mood, she catches sight of the minion, and her stomach turns.

The silence drags on, Adia unwilling to break it. If not for her hand in Caspar's (his other holding the rifle like a bat), she'd be twisting at the strap of her messenger bag with both hands. When Harrowheart finally speaks, she glances up at him briefly before looking away once more.

"Nobody... I, um... I drew the moon rune on the barn door. And then I prayed to Elune. Viatorus has been teaching me some empathy magic, because, um... well, he thinks my brain is more receptive to learning magic now. After what happened in the Nightmare." She twists at the strap with her free hand and adds hurriedly, "I didn't expect to heal Caspar, too."

Edited (gonna put up a missing poster for all my missing words) 2018-04-05 20:54 (UTC)

He begins to interrupt, "The moon rune?" but Adia says the name of Elune and he stops immediately. His ears press flat and his eyebrows twist up with instantaneous guilt. He's disrespected Adia's gift – a gift given to her by his own goddess.

"I–I... I didn't..."

Suddenly he's cowed – beyond cowed, he's deeply ashamed and (though he wouldn't admit it aloud) fearful of what comes next. It's a little like breaking the rule of xenia, isn't it? Disrespecting a guest in his own home... Will he be smote for it? He dips his head and watches his paws with great concentration.

"I thought..." He grumbles as he searches for his words. "I thought it was something else. A kind of magic from a belief that wants things like me turned to ash. I didn't know it was a gift from Her."

He steals a fleeting glance at Adia, catches her eye through the goggles of the mask, and immediately looks away. "If she was testing me, I failed. I should have known to trust you no matter what I thought."

It doesn't take an empath to know that Harrowheart is deeply, truly ashamed of his behavior. His bowed head, his guilty doggie eyebrows... it melts away her unease like a cleansing Spring shower. "Oh my goodness... Harrowheart, I'd never want to hurt you, you know that." Her tone is mild, despite the rebuke. Mostly she's relieved that whatever issue he had with her was based on a misunderstanding. "I didn't know that about the Light... I'll be more careful when I'm using my powers around you, I promise."

Her heart lighter, she even braves stepping within range of Wednesday to give Harrowheart a reassuring pat on his furry shoulder. See? No harm, no foul. "You should tell me more about how magic works around here. All of this is very new to me."

Caspar doesn't say anything as he hangs back, his face expressionless behind his gas mask. He's not quite so moved by the death knight's sad dog routine, and he's curious to learn more about what set the big guy off in the first place.

At least Adia believes him. As if she wouldn't? She's infinitely caring, it seems, and just like Viatorus has a way of finding the best in people. Still, some guilt like heavy earrings lingers, weighing down his ears.

He rumbles uncertainly at Adia's request. "How magic works... That's a big question. There are so many different kinds in so many places. If I asked you how science works, where would you start?"

He shakes his mane, sending settled spores and hair into the air. Good thing everyone is wearing gas masks, especially Tamminy, who has to hold tightly when her ride starts jostling her.

Harrow explains, "They say everything has Light and Shadow in it. Those two kinds of magic are the foundations of the universe. Other kinds of magic came from those. Arcane magic and necromancy are closest to the Shadow. Nature and fel magics – that means demonic – are closest to the Light. When magics that are opposite each other come in contact, they destroy each other 'til one takes its place. Fel finds and corrupts the arcane, death magic takes over life magic when creatures die, Light cleanses Shadow, things like that. It ain't like magics are at war, exactly. They just... Don't always mix."

He looks to Adia and adds, "I gave some books about Azerothian magic to Viatorus. You might ask about 'em."

"Fair enough," Adia murmurs sheepishly, although give her enough time and she'd find a way to explain all of science to her furry friend. For now, she falls into a respectful silence, letting Harrowheart take the time he needs to formulate a response.

Admittedly, it's a little confusing at first. The concept of Light and Shadow are easy enough to understand, but how they manifest themselves in the different arenas of magic takes her a while to wrap her head around. Why would one form of magic be closer to the Light and not another? It reminds her a little of physics -- some forces naturally repel one another. She's careful not to take the analogy and further than that, however. This is something she clearly needs to learn more about.

"I'll be sure to ask him," she says in response to his suggestion. "I'll want to tell him about all of this." She hopes it doesn't stress Viatorus out. She hasn't exactly been sticking to the lesson plan of simply observing her emotions and not actively trying to use her powers...

"What about Elune?" Caspar pipes up. "Why is her Light magic different from the kind you don't trust? Wouldn't it hurt you just the same?"

Harrowheart turns to Caspar and raises his lip just enough that it gets snagged on one of his fangs and makes him look less than noble. "What's the difference between the sun and the moon, Caspar? The sun makes its own light, and the moon makes its own light, too. A different light. Nobody ever went out at midnight and got a moon burn, did they?"

His furry ear twitches. Maybe they have, actually, if Elune was the one sending moonbeams down on them. But he's not going to tell Caspar that!

He returns his attention to the road and shakes his head (and his shoulder scientist) lightly. "Elune is a goddess. The Light is just... Magic. There's a difference."

"The moon doesn't make it's own light," Caspar shoots back immediately. "It reflects the sun's light. That's why you don't get a moon burn." There's a dumbass tacked on silently at the end there, although Adia picks up on it, glancing at Caspar and giving him a not-so-subtle shake of her head. The Cylon sighs and flicks off a piece of filth from his torn suit. "It felt nice, whatever it was."

"She didn't talk to me this time," Adia says softly, her eyes now on Harrowheart. "But maybe she doesn't have to, now that I'm more receptive to magic."

"Reflects the SUN?" Harrowheart fuckin' LAUGHS, one big, loud bark that he has to support with his hands on his stomach. He leans in with a smugly amused grin, toothy as can be, and mockingly asks, "How could the moon reflect the sun if the moon comes out at night and there ain't any sun at night?" Caspar, you fucking dingus, think this shit through!

Tamminy hears that and starts making a... Noise. A grumble-squeak of restrained fury, of infinite power and anger held prisoner within the tiniest body. "Harrowheart," she tries, desperate not to sound too bothered as she forces her words through her teeth, "Sweetie, do you remember when we talked about object permanence?" Harrowheart grunts in the affirmative, and Tamminy forces a laugh. "We'll talk about the sun when we get home."

He rumbles, willing to accept that the woman who makes solar-powered devices knows something about the sun that Caspar doesn't. Obviously she just doesn't want to embarrass the guy in public. Instead he swings his attention to Adia, curious, and says, "She didn't? So how can you be sure it was hers and not just the Light?"

"Oh my God," Caspar begins, because he knew that Harrowheart was stupid, but this is beyond the pale. "How can you not --"

Wait, what's that sound. Oh, it's Tamminy. He had kinda forgotten that she was there. The look he gives her is one part gratitude, two parts commiseration. Finally, someone who understands what it's like to be surrounded by idiots. "Good luck," he tells her, settling back into his more typical watchfulness. The last thing he needs right now is to be sucked into trying to explain how the sun and moon work to fur-for-brains over here.

Adia remains patiently silent through this latest round of banter. She's used to Harrowheart's lack of education in some subjects. Many subjects. When he addresses her directly about her powers, she shrugs and replies, "Because I used the moon rune. If it wasn't her power, then... well, it probably wouldn't have felt so familiar to me."

The moon rune... Harrowheart has to think on this a moment, but suddenly it occurs to him that he knows which rune she means. "The moon rune from the little skeletons! The tiny people from the well in the dream – I saw them in the Nexus after that, and they drew the same rune for me. It looked like the cross of the Light, but they told me it was for the moon. They drew Elune for me. Well, they tried to."

He gets to nodding as he stews on this. Adia must be on to something here. Elune gifted her the light, even if it was the Light. Is the Light one of Elune's powers, then? It's something he'll have to look into. Until then, they've got a pond to get to and some ore samples to take.

The trip to the water is brief, and in less than half an hour they've arrived. The manmade lake surrounds an abandoned city of hewn stone that might once have been white but now is blackened by ash of a devastating fire that burned out long ago. This place has been abandoned by the living for a long, long while... But there's no assurance that the dead have left. Harrowheart tests the safety of the murky waters by plunging his sword into the edge and is surprised to find how deep it is. The ground drops off almost immediately, and at a worgen's arm's length out it's already hip deep. His sword half disappears into the water, but rather than stirring up latent corpses his movements cause a bioluminescent display to bloom to life. It seems the bacteria in the pond don't appreciate being shaken!

He pads backwards and watches as the glow quickly subsides, then looks to Adia curiously. Is that normal? Is that what they came for? Water that glows, that's what Tamminy said earlier, right? He wants to watch her take a sample, if this is the stuff.

Tamminy, a few yards away, wastes no time sifting through the mud with a prospector's pan. She expects she'll find at least trace amounts of ore in this body of water, and when she thinks she does she plucks them out with a pair of tweezers and seals them safely in a stoppered glass vial. She'll have to run some tests when they get home, she explains, but she thinks she's found at least a little.

"Yes, the little skeletons," she replies, smiling fondly. Despite their morbid appearance, she found the messengers kind and helpful -- the only helpful beings in that entire Nightmare, aside from Elune herself. "The moon rune is a symbol in the language of Great Ones... they're not gods, though, they're... something else."

It makes her wonder, too, how Elune heard her pleas when she was praying to Artemis. Does the rune give her access to some generic moon goddess helpline? "You'll have to show me their drawings sometime, I have one of theirs, too."

Adia is used to walking long distances without complaint, but it's a relief when the lake comes into view. This is what she came for -- not zombies, and especially not tense religious discussions. The bioluminescent sparkle that Harrowheart ignites with his sword is magnificent, and she watches it with an awed expression until it dissipates into blackness. "That's caused by a microorganism," she tells the curious death knight, reassuring him that it is completely normal. Maybe the only normal thing about this entire trip.

Retrieving what looks like a tackle box from her messenger bag, she carefully sets up by the lake's edge, collecting samples of water in specially marked vials. There is a detailed process to detecting and cataloguing the bioluminescence, but that can wait until she's back at the lab. She's always asking herself questions about what she'll find. Is this bioluminescence caused by Noctiluca scintillans, or is there another creature responsible? And what led to this particular bloom?

Caspar stands a pace or two behind her, keeping a watchful eye on the burned out town. Part of him is also curious about the bioluminescence, as well as whatever Tamminy's doing, but Adia's safety is a priority. He does offer her a hand when asked, but he never completely relaxes. "Who used to live there? Humans?"

Edited 2018-04-15 14:39 (UTC)

Harrowheart crouches near Adia and watches her work. What she's doing seems... Very mundane. So why is it interesting to him? Is it just because Adia is doing it, or is it because of the mystery behind it all?

Because Harrowheart is (not yet literally) snout deep in microorganisms with Adia, Tamminy decides to answer Caspar's question. Her hands are busy putting samples into containers and finding new room for them in her backpack, but her mind is clear and undistracted.

"Humans, yes," she says, nodding while she works. "That was a place called Stratholme, the largest city in the Eastweald and a hub for trade between the humans and the high elves in the north. The humans who lived there burned it down during the Third War as they fled – or failed to flee. You see, a plague came through the city. The Plague of Undeath. The Scourge – the mindless undead led by Arthas, the prince of this kingdom – plagued the people's grain. Some–"

Harrowheart's deep voice interrupts, "Arthas didn't plague Stratholme." He watches the two over his shoulder, one ear pointing towards them and the other swiveled to Adia. "Arthas was human then. He was a paladin. A Light-caster. The Scourge and the Cult of the Damned – their human necromancers, they plagued the grain. Arthas and the first paladin, Uther the Lightbringer, came to cleanse the city."

Tamminy's mouth opens slightly as she remembers the true story. "Oh... Oh, dear, you're right. It's one of the most important moments in human history. How could I forget?..."

Harrowheart returns to watching Adia's work as he continues the story. "Uther wanted to cure the people of their sickness using the Light. Arthas thought they were too far gone. He took his soldiers into the city and had them kill everyone they met. The undead and the living. He thought that if he destroyed the city he could stop the spread of the plague."

A rumble builds in his throat, a sound full of memories. "Not very many people made it out of Stratholme, and after that day Arthas was changed. I figure that's the day he started to become the Lich King. The King of the Scourge. Of undead like we saw earlier, and of death knights like me."

Tamminy pulls an uncomfortable face. Despite – or perhaps because of? – Harrowheart's nostalgic tone, the story discomforts her. "Well," she says, forcing a small laugh, "I've got my samples. Adia? Are you almost ready to get back to the Nexus?..."

Catching Harrowheart's interest out of the corner of her eyes, she wishes (not for the first time) that she had a powerful microscope with her, something that would let her show her friend exactly what she's looking for. "When I get these back to my lab," she explains to him, as she bottles up another sample, "I'm going to look at them with a special camera. And then I'll extract the chemical that made the water light up. I can use it for other experiments."

She falls silent again during Harrowheart's little history lesson. It's tragic and disappointing, as most stories of war are. What interests her the most is the role Arthas played in his own people's destruction. Is that how a presumably good person turns evil, with a decision that forever shifts their worldview? Or did this prince already have a darkness within him, one that shaped his path long before he killed his own people...?

Caspar's response is far less nuanced. "Kill 'em all and let the gods sort them out." He snorts. "Typical."

"I'm ready," Adia replies, putting away her samples and standing up in a quick efficiency. In other circumstances, she would have wanted to linger in this strange world a little while longer, but after being chased by zombies, she is eager to return to the Nexus.

Caspar snorts, and Harrowheart does too. That is typical, isn't it? At the very least he isn't offended by Caspar's blunt assessment, so there's that.

Harrow rises from his crouch and steps away from the party with an arm raised. His clawed hand grasps the air and begins to conjure magic, bolts of shadow like lightning that rush to his palm from the ground. The darkness intensifies until his hand is engulfed in it, and that's when he grasps the air and pulls downward. A kind of gateway, some sort of tear in reality into a world of darkness comes open as he pulls the shadows toward the ground. Out of it rolls a languid smoke, foggy and dark, and with it the rank odor of death and decay. There are sounds in that other, distant place. Sounds like gurgling stomachs, sounds like screaming, sounds like metal scraping stone.

Harrowheart takes Caspar by the hand and nods at Adia to encourage him to do the same. Tamminy takes the hint and grabs hold of Adia, and tightly. She's not going to be left behind in this place. But Light, why does that terrible minion have to take her by the shoulder? She hates this, she hates this, she hates everything about this!

When everyone is closely linked Harrowheart steps forward, but rather than walking directly into that other place he steps in sideways, slipping directly into the seam between the Plaguelands and that darker world.

Just a single step forward and the party is in the Nexus – at Naugus' tower, in fact. Time must have passed differently while they were gone, as the Nexus is darkened by night now. Lawrence is sitting in a chair nearby dead asleep under a heavy load of blankets. Tamminy smiles to see him, but she doesn't have it in her to wake him up.

"So," Harrowheart says as he looks between his friends. "Everyone came home in one piece. I'd call the mission a success. Adia, when you take pictures of your little pond creatures, I want to see them."

Tamminy whispers, "Thanks for coming, you two. It was good to have company. Especially yours, Adia. You..." She smiles slightly, though the tilt of her eyebrows betrays her embarrassment. "You were a big help."

Caspar looks about as thrilled as Tamminy -- bad enough that he has to hold Harrowheart's big, furry hand, but those sounds coming from the portal turn his stomach and make him regret the small meal he had earlier. Between the unexplainable magic and the smell of decay, his senses are thoroughly offended.

The middle link of the living chain bookended by the undead, Adia gives both Tamminy and Caspar a comforting hand squeeze. When they return to the Nexus, she lets out a soft sigh of relief. She catches sight of Lawrence, who must have fallen asleep waiting for them, and smiles as well. There's a good man there, or at least a man who cares about his secret(?) girlfriend very much.

She gives Harrowheart a warm, but tired smile. "Sure. I'll see you again soon." Hopefully with enough time for her to decide if she wants to lecture him about his minion or not. She loves him dearly, but she has to say something... later, though. She's far too drained to deal with it now.

When Tamminy whispers to her, she leans down enough so that she can give the smaller woman a hug -- if she wants one. "I'm glad I was there for you." She means it, too. How much worse would have it have been for her friend to be all alone?

Caspar watches over the two women with a thoughtful expression on his face, before looking over at Harrowheart. "I hope you're not expecting a hug, too," he says dryly. "You're lucky this suit is beyond saving, otherwise I'd send you a bill for the dry cleaning." And yet, somehow he doesn't sound all that annoyed. Not that he'd ever admit it, but part of him enjoyed the rush of splattering zombies and saving his girl.

He turns to leave, and Adia clears her throat. That's when he remembers the rifle slung over his shoulder. "Oh... here." He holds it out to the death knight, somewhat sheepishly. So much for a smooth exit.

Tamminy takes that hug gladly, and when they separate the smile on her face and warmth in her cheeks are impossible to miss. Adia, you're a good friend.

Harrowheart rumbles a laugh at Caspar's ~~bullshit~~ friendly banter. "Send me all the bills you want, Caspar, they ain't getting paid by a dead dog with no gold."

He takes up the shotgun that Adia hands him and looks it over before nodding at her. He wouldn't have minded if Caspar kept it, but he has the feeling Lawrence is going to want it for himself.

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Left 4 Undead (for Adia and Caspar)

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