revivalproject | [OPEN] The Lore Of The Highlands

WHO: Reeve Tuesti, Open
WHERE: Temba
WHAT: Shadow Hauntings
WHEN: During The Storm
WARNINGS: CW: Big, predatory dog, eyes in the darkness

I. The Cat-sìth | Early Storm Days

There wasn't much to account for the first time let himself go outside into the fog. It was actually a strange thing for him, where he hadn't noticed it the first day at all. He'd been inside, and his unique forms of magic didn't really seem to linger in his mind or awareness except when he was actively using it to reach for and control Mini. Given he'd been so busy with working on getting logs into the storage room he'd taken for himself in the Ampitheater, he'd gotten tired and just settled into a cot by the door and slept. So passed the first day of the storm. And so it was that Reeve didn't end up finding out their problem until he walked outside on the second day.

Even then it had taken a moment for him to process. Fog wasn't, in and of itself, a problem after all. Weather could be like that. It wasn't until there was a strike of crimson lightning that Reeve realized something was wrong. Even then it was mostly because the flash of lightning cast a new shadow from Reeve's body, and it was behaving weirdly.

Mostly because it was behaving. The shadow swirled and swirled until brilliant crimson eyes were staring out at him from the fog. Cat eyes. Cat eyes at the level of a dog's head. The form stepped forward, hissing, bearing teeth that were as stunningly white as the spot on its chest.

"Cat-sìth," Reeve said in shock. How could he not understand what this was with a single sight? It was a story that had shaped him as a child, what had led him to making the original Cait Sith. A fairy-cat, one that stole the souls of the dead. Which, of course, meant Reeve should be safe, provided he didn't die.

That wasn't good though. Okay, how to deal with this... Reeve was frozen in place as he thought and the shadow continued to grow. To split. To spread. And soon Reeve was being surrounded by scores of felien eyes.

"A man goes out in heavy rain with nothing to protect him from it. His hair doesn’t get wet. How does he do that?" Reeve asks. The feline creatures pause in their advance on him, instead looking at each other.

They couldn't resist riddles after all. And, with them distracted, Reeve turned and fled. Maybe he wasn't dead, maybe no one was particularly weak to the soul stealing (he hoped), but Reeve rememebered what his power was. Inspire, after all, was a soul magic. He was perhaps at too great a risk.

II. The Cù-sìth | Late Storm Days

Fairy-Cats were hardly the most threatening of the fae that stories were told of when Reeve was a child. They were so easily held back, so easily driven aside with riddles and attention and even cold temperatures. So Reeve had come to be prepared for the cats, and was more willing to go into the thick fog. It's not easy, of course, but he has the maps memorized so with carefully counted paces, he can more easily find his way in the fog. Sure, it wasn't perfect, you couldn't walk in a straight line for any distance without points of reference, but he could try.

The flash of lightning wasn't enough to make him jump, he was used to the ghostly felines arriving. The growling made him stop though. Made him freeze and look back over his shoulder. What he found made his blood go cold.

A massive, shaggy creature like a dog, but the size of a small cow. Its coat was a dark shade of green, and its bared teeth yellow against the color. The creature's eyes were a bloody crimson and shining, and as it snarled those eyes were narrowed.

The terror was too much. This creature was one Reeve knew, and was as dangerous to the living as the cat-sìth were to souls. Reeve knew the stories said the creature had a bark that was low and menacing and carried impossible distances. One bark could reach miles, even over the waters of the sea. And to hear three of them would be to die from terror of the sound alone.

"Fuck," Reeve said, and he started running. Even though there was silence behind him, that didn't keep him from running. He was too terrified to stop. the hounds were said to be silent hunters, and all he could do was run. He needed shelter and to find a way to plug his ears, and he needed it now.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"That works for me. But are we close to the hangar?"

Radley looks around, trying to orient himself.

"I..."

Reeve has to close his eyes while he considers it.

"Not really, but we can do it if we pay attention."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Radley sighs. "I'm game for trying it. Let's go."

Reeve nods, keeping his eyes trained on where the Cu Sith had been.

"It's to the North-East. Which means I need to remember which direction we're facing."

Radley studies the sky, trying to sort out directions in his mind. It's harder with fog.

"I like to set up points to follow to get back to where I was. If I could find the string...."

But maybe he doesn't have any around here.

Edited 2022-11-12 03:13 (UTC)

"Sadly I'm deprived of string right now. And given I've also seen Cat-Sith around, that string might not stay in place long."

Tricky little things those were.

"Oh, so even if I put some here, it might be being played with by fairy kitty-cats?"

Radley sighs. "I guess there's no compasses?"

"Bingo," Reeve said with a sigh.

Compasses... Wait!

"I can improvise one if we can find a metal I can magnetize. And some water."

"Well, metal's all around. But is there water?"

Radley walks ahead a bit, still holding the rebar.

"I've never known the water to stop running during these messes. So perhaps we will find some?"

It's nice to have someone else lead. Reeve was never as confident with something for melee combat in his hands.

"So are we looking for a body of water or a building with running water?" Radley isn't sure which will be more likely to come up first. Blasted fog....

"Still," he says with a sigh. "Need it to make sure that the needle can float free."

Honestly, they'd probably have a better chance at just wandering upon the hangar.

Radley sighs too. "Let's keep looking then."

He was still seeking the hangar too.

Alright then. Reeve nods, and at last moves past Radley. TIme to set a direction.

"We'll head this way. Hopefully I recognize something again soon."

Radley hopes he will too. Are they heading for the hangar? Something else? He reaches to feel the buildings they're passing.

"I suppose we should probably put in signs," he says with a sigh. And that's the worst thing to ever have to think of too late.

"Signs would be a really good idea," Radley says. "Particularly if they can be seen in fog."

He finds a familiar building and breathes a sigh of relief. They're at the hangar. They'll be safe here. Hopefully.

[OPEN] The Lore Of The Highlands

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wrap this soon?

Sure.