Onward: Orange

[voidtreckermods]

On the second night those still on the train may be woken by rough seas, the train lurching and rolling in the waves.

If they manage to sleep through the choppy waters they might instead be woken by the voice over the ICPs. "Orange team to doors. Orange team to doors."

Those that head the instruction and exit out of the luggage carriage or dressing room doors will be met with a strange sight.

The sea is glowing. Or at least part of the sea. Underneath them, from where Bui lies there is a light that shines upwards through the dark water, rippling over the water, breaking into specks of light in the waves.

It seems it is time for another investigation.

Night Dive

The water is even colder at night, the water eerie as they make the dive down to the city. The whole city is lit up, light reflecting off shells and coral.

The light seems to be coming from the far palace. Outside the palace there is a sigil, in the shape of a shell, glowing brightly. It had not been there before, nothing to suggest there had been anything special about that patch of ground. Yet it glows now.

Crabs

The city of Bui, until now, has been peaceful, eerily empty even. But as they investigate they will find a different problem. Some of the giant crabs have found their way to the city. Not overwhelming numbers, but enough to be a problem, especially as their aim seems to be attacking the sleeping citizens.

On the Train

For those who remain on the train dawn brings it's own problems. Dawn breaks into darkness, the sun barely penetrating. Shadows are deep and the temperature cooler. It is not too dark to see, more like an endless twilight.

The seas remain rough and choppy, like a storm is brewing.

Comments

[unfavorableinstigation]

/Thanks!/ Nita replies, with some enthusiasm, but she shakes that off in favor of inquisitiveness.

/Or maybe something in this city's protecting them? ... Or whoever's picking off islanders already got what they needed from Bui?/ she adds, more darkly.

That anger, however, she can vent upon these crabs.

[so_dark_a_road]

He smiles through his helmet shield.

"Good for us and for the mer-people if the city people have the ability to create some sort of protection against monsters. Maybe the crabs are just too small to have been considered a threat, so they're not screened out by whatever protects the city? Just a guess. Or as you say, the threatening agent has already been down here and believes it's taken care of islanders by putting them all to sleep. So, now it's up there on the island dealing with the islanders."

Dark possibility.

"Oh, look, there's another crab! Let's get it!" He swims to it and distracts it in the same clowning manner as he used before. "Run, run, fast as you can! But you can't catch me, I'm the Orange Elvish man!" He dances in front of it waving his hands and then turns and swims. The crab pursues.

[unfavorableinstigation]

No matter what was going on, it could always be darker; Nita knows this well.

And whale, for that matter.

/We'll have to ask when we regroup, if they had to deal with these crabs in particular or just other monsters./

The distraction - in the form of another crab - is welcome, and Nita gives a strangled chuckle at Curufin's rhyme.

The chase does not get to last long for this crab, either.

/I think this is why whales stick to fish, for the most part,/ Nita quips, shaking her head. /Fish don't have pincers!/

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin's well versed in dark situations, and he would agree with Nita. It could always be darker.

"Yes, we'll have to ask. Are the crabs confining themselves to nibbling on the Bui people, or are they up there on the island hoping to scavenge what's left after the bigger monsters have taken the initiative?"

He smiles when whale-Nita chuckles. He does like it when his friends are entertained by his antics.

The crab suffers the same fate as the others, whale-slammed to the sand.

"Why, did you get pinched by that one?" he asks.

[unfavorableinstigation]

/No, but they're not all that edible!/ Nita complains.

/I know the shells are supposed to contain keratin, so it's like eating hair!/

The banter helps to distract her - probably both of them, really - as she goes finning around for another target.

/You think we could scare them all into one place? Just herd them out of the city?/

It'd save them a lot of bruising, anyway.

[so_dark_a_road]

"Oh well, we don't have to eat the shells, just the crab meat. Or were you commenting on the edibility of the islanders, from the crab's point of view?" he laughs.

Yay for distraction! Humor always works.

"That's a thought. Instead of bashing them one by one, we might drive them all out of the city at the same time? How would you suggest we scare them?"

[unfavorableinstigation]

/The first one./

She'd side-eye Curufin, really, but they have a plan to hash out, now!

/I was thinking more of temporary blockades... Often the only thing that'll scare a predator is an even BIGGER predator./

[so_dark_a_road]

He wouldn't mind being side-eyed. He knows his humor is questionable at times. How about ALL of the time?

And as for the plan to hash out:

"Are you volunteering to be the bigger predator? These crabs obviously fear and respect you, Nita!"

[unfavorableinstigation]

/Be kind of nice to be a crab legend, I suppose,/ Nita replies modestly.

/Let's get to it, then!/

Wanna wrap this one?

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin laughs. "Nita, Scourge of Crabs, Terror of the Crab Kingdom! They'll be telling their little crabbie kids scary bedtime stories about you, forever."

And he starts looking around to see what the best strategy would be, if they divide up the herding and chasing tasks.

Sure!

[unfavorableinstigation]

((Thank you for the thread. ;) ))