WELCOME TO RAYVEN'S REIGN.

[♔ Ketic]

If you'd like to join this thread, read the below paragraph.

Outbreaks began fast and spread even faster. The globe was blanketed in sickness within a few mere months. A couple hundred thousand people were immune, all who weren't got sick. Airborne disease is a bitch. Zombies are vicious and cunning and over time have learned to work as a group. Two years have passed since the outbreaks began and both zombie and human population numbers have dwindled greatly. Ammo is scarce, as are friends. Supplies are all but gone and animals are not a viable food source as most are infected as well. Surviving will be rough.

Character used: Ella


It was midmorning, the smell of fresh budding plants and wet grass drifted happily on the breeze. The countryside in Washington was nice but quite cold in the winter. Now that winter was clearly coming to an end, Ella was in a chipper mood. Well as chipper as one could be when surrounded only by death and decay.

She felt kind of detached. After living three hundred years prior to this outbreak of sickness Ella had lived quite a bit. It was an unfair thing, that she got to live while children under the age of ten died then came back as monsters. Ella didn't really care though. It is what it is and caring won't change a thing.

Ella had lead muderous cults, conned millionares, and done her share of hard work. These past two years had been a different game entirely. At first there had been lots of people who were immune. Unfortunately being immune to disease doesn't boost your IQ. After a lot of stupid mistakes from all around Ella ended up alone. She'd been that way for about nine months now and was not complaining.

The deserted country road was long and it stretched as far as Ella could see. It turned and twisted and eventually crested a hill. Some trees and flanked the road but this place was no forest. Normally one would hear birds singing and maybe observe a bit of wild rodents but not now. Ella had been tromping along for about two hours and expected to continue walking until the end of the day.

At first she had been keen to find a shelter to hold up in and wait out the outbreaks. It worked for a while until food became scarce and her group was forced to go scavenging. Now scavenging was all one could do. Perhaps there were secret stores of food someplace underground but Ella hadn't found any. Most places had already been raided for supplies by now. Hunting was a very good way to find food but bagging infected game was always a risk.

Breathing a sigh, Ella watched as her breath puffed out and floated off into the brisk air. Her attire was simple and effective, a parka, jeans with warmers underneath, and boots. She had a stained(guess what color) backpack but it was pretty much void of anything except a water bottle, a couple of candy bars, and an extra empty magazine. The handgun in the holster on her thigh was light and empty as well. Ella wasn't sure why she still kept it in the holster there. Before the outbreak she'd thought it looked kind of sexy but now it just reminded Ella of her depressing lack of ammunition.

As Ella walked she allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts. She hadn't seen many infected lately. Most were probably shot or laying dormant for the winter until food wandered near. Ella had heard lots of stories about zombies but all she had observed was basic flesh eaters. Being an intelligent girl, she knew never to rule out anything even the absurd. Being aware was important but Ella didn't much care at the moment. She was tired, hungry, and walking on.

[♖ Alathorn]

Character use: Lida Chrinsta

Lida looked around her, her daggers at her sides ready to be thrown at any moment. She kept her eyes on each of the bodies she passed, almost as if daring one to get up. She could smell the stench of death in the air around her. She kept her focus up though.

Finally, she reached the edge of town. Not a single body had stirred and she was thankful for that. The zombies seemed to still be dormant in the area or just plain dead. She kept her guard up as she walked along the road. Then she noticed a figure walking toward along the road as well. She pulled out her daggers and got into a defensive stance ready to strike or run. Her cat ears and tail were showing in full force as she looked at the figure approaching.

Unlike many normal humans, she had been infected but had ended up being able to combat it to an extent. Hence the ears and tail. Her body hadn't been perfectly immune but it ended up fighting off the virus. The problem with this was that her body had reacted in such a way that her ears and become like a cat's and a tail had grown out from her tailbone. She also had retractable claws, just like any cat.

She figured by the way the person was walking that it was a survivor but she'd been known to be attacked by them because they thought she was still infected and mindless like the rest of the zombies due to her transformation. A few of them finally realized that she wasn't like the rest. In fact, the only human flesh she really ate was the flesh from a freshly killed zombie. Most of the time, though, she didn't eat at all.

At the moment she waited watching the figure for a reaction. She had some ammo but no gun to use it in. She was curious to see if the figure approaching her did or not.

[♘ FierceOcelot]

Ireth's sword, only for this thread:



***
Transitions were always hard...over the centuries she'd had to adapt time and again. Almost every time, the elf had ended up running into a wall, and at each point it seemed like she wouldn't be able to bounce back. Yet she did, somehow. Just barely. Almost always walking out of the mess with a few scars, a new painful memory, experience. But this time, would she be able to bounce back? It seemed like the end of the world, and nearly all of humanity had fallen...there was no other option but to either survive or join them. Everyday it seemed like that time would come closer...

The shashka at her hip, the small backpack on her back, the 10 millimeter Bren Ten pistol secured in a holster, and a wealthy supply of knowledge about magic, she was rather well armed. But even then, she still felt insecure in this area, a thin cluster of woods on the edge of the town. It was silent, unnerving. Years ago she would have enjoyed the quiet, but now...all it did was take her calm state away, remind her of death and the constant struggle that played out every day.

When the infection had begun, she had actually considered conjuring a strong "second world" spell; let the world pass by and run its course for the next few decades. But she thought about it; what if the world she came back to was unlike anything she could imagine? What if it changed, too much for her to handle? In the end she came to this conclusion: it would be better to only use the spell to recuperate. She needed to stay connected to the planet; better to die for real than live in a fake world.

Are you sure about that, Ireth? Her mind questioned her actions...she couldn't truly answer...

Something in the distance caught her attention: a person! Human...she ducked into the foliage of a nearby bush and observed, not sure if this was an infected group's trap... she spotted another figure in the distance approaching. The two were destined to clash at some point. Ireth chose to stay in her vantage point, glancing down at her tattoos in some half-assed effort to raise her self-confidence.

[♔ Ketic]

Ella let out a tired puff and stopped walking. Her warm breath floated into the air and then faded quickly, disappearing into nothing. From behind green eyes she glanced around and then abruptly darted off the road. Ella had spotted a figure further down the paved way and immediately dove for cover. It didn't matter if it was a zombie or not. Survivors were even more dangerous than the infected. Zombies didn't work with ulterior motives.

There was about fifteen meters of knee-length grass between the road and the treeline. Ella sprinted for the forest's edge and ducked around a tree, slamming her back into it and trying not to breathe too heavily. Suddenly the completely still air seemed full of suspense. Ella's heart beat against her ribcage and her eyes darted around the woods ahead of her. If it was indeed an infected, the damn thing would definitely feel her blood pumping. Ella wasn't sure how the zombies always knew where you were... but they did. She couldn't hear any sounds of approach yet though.

Shit. After being on her own for so long Ella had thought she'd grown used to the constant feeling of being hunted or watched, but this tension and fear she felt now was nearly palpable. Her hands were shaking violently so she pressed them to her stomach and tried not to make any noise. It had been a bit chilly before but now Ella was sweating beneath her clothing. I can't wait here and do nothing.

For a long time Ella had entertained a small hope in the back of her mind that she would find other survivors who hadn't gone insane from all the death and destruction. If they weren't murdering scheming fools they were interested in 're-populating'. Ella couldn't decide which she disliked more. Probably both. Feeling a bit more in control of herself, she decided to risk a peek around the tree. Just as Ella was leaning around the round trunk she heard something stir in the woods. She visibly jumped, and then she was sprinting through the grass again, heading deeper into the woods.

[♖ Alathorn]

Lida watched the approaching figure stop then dart off into the woods edge. She blinked and shook her head. That must have been a survivor. Then, her ears picked up more movement and then the first figure daring off deeper into the woods. It was at that moment that she realized that there was something worse where the figure had disappeared.

"Oh shit," she cursed quietly before putting her daggers away and using her cat-like reflexes to charge toward the figure that had disappeared into the woods. She came up to her quickly then grabbed her, covering her mouth to prevent her from screaming. When she spoke, her voice came out in a hissed whisper."Stay quiet and listen for a moment!" In the distance further along there was the sound of some large creature walking. Each step sent a resonating boom in the area around them.

"Do you hear that? That's the sound of an infected that could crush anything. If you want to live we have to get the hell out of here! Now move!" She hissed before pushing the girl forward so that she stumbled slightly then she pushed her again this time making her run.

[Barley]

Lyle Aitken

Grimy sneakers flattened the chilled grass beneath them. The sneakers did not belong to Lyle they belonged to some carcass of a man 500 miles from Lyle's present location. He wouldn't say he stole them, he won them fair and square in a duel to the death of course, and Lyle's shoes happened to be in a crappy condition back then. But that doesn't matter now. All that mattered was, adapt.

Lyle clutched his favorite zombie killing weapon, a wooden bat, some bits of dried blood stuck to it. He wore a light jacket over a black t-shirt and khaki pants covered his legs. On his head he wore a shemagh covering his face and head. He had found the shemagh on a dead soldier a while back, he though it looked cool so he wore it, it also kept him cool in the heat and warm in the cold. Stuffed inside his pants was his favorite Colt M1911A1, which he had no ammo for he just kept it so he could fake someone out if he had too.

Thirst settled in quickly and Lyle had no water to drink. It also didn't help that he had been walking for miles. He didn't actually have to walk much, but he liked keeping fit. The cold didn't bother Lyle that much but just enough for him to seek some more warmth. He continued to trek through the woods.

Lyle looked up toward the sky past the towering trees of the woods. With each passing minute dehydration inched closer and more quickly. He longed for human interaction not just bashing someones head in because they tried to stab you while you were pretending to sleep, no. He wanted some one to get his back, so he wouldn't have to, some friends would be nice. He chuckled to himself, that was crazy. Lyle was better off alone, a nice cigarette wouldn't be so bad either.

Then, there was a rumbling, then a deep boom then a rumble. The hell? He glanced around quickly seeing nothing but trees, no wait. Between the trees not far off from where he was an infected, wait, two infected. They didn't seem to move like infected though, much too intelligently, an was that... a tail? Time for a closer look.

Lyle disappeared from his location and reappeared behind a tree nearer to the supposed infected, still not close enough. Again he teleported from behind one tree to the next till he could see them clearly. They were both female by the looks of it and one did have a tail and non-human ears, that was urging the other female forward. The fuck? Was Lyle's first reaction.

This post has been edited by Barley on May 25 2012, 02:43 AM

[♘ FierceOcelot]

Ireth looked up from her tattoos and felt the rumbling rush through the ground...not only did she hear it, she saw it in the trees. Leaves flew free and fell everywhere, almost enough to shroud her sight. Ordinarily she would have looked at it as something beautiful...but with the thought of what would come soon after, the scene had a different meaning. Like the silence that she used to cherish...the open fields she used to play in. Each and every one of them now meant something different...something sinister, that could and would easily lead to death.

The rumbling grew in strength and sound. The leaves stopped falling; all that could be shaken free, were. The elf knew she had to do something very soon, either flee, hide, or get ready to fight. The infected she had come across were smart, but manageable. This...this was something else. No zombie she had ever seen could do this.

And she saw it a moment later. It cleared nine feet in height, muscles bulging, veins pulsing; the skin looked dark red, clotted with blood in several places. The man, before he turned, must have been huge.

Her eyes drifted down and she swallowed, hard. In place of a right arm, she saw something else...a wide, scythe-like blade, nearly as long as the creature was tall. It was dragging the arm behind as it took every step, making a rumbling thud each time.

Ireth stared at the thing, stunned, until it raised its head slightly and began to sniff the air. Time to get out of here...the infected had an uncanny ability to sense uninfected somehow... She slipped out of sight, hiding behind the tree as she slowly withdrew. All she had to do was stay out of sight, get downwind of this thing, and put some more distance between them, and she wouldn't have a prob--

The thudding sped up abruptly and the branches nearby trembled. Ireth felt the vibrations through her feet getting stronger--

Oh, no...no, no... She knew what was coming and ducked--

The tree in front of her cracked and split at the trunk, the monster's scythe slashed through it and sent shards of wood flying. The blade whistled over the elf's head and she rolled to the right, quickly stepping out of the blade's range, the Bren Ten out and leveled.

The monster stared at her with pitch-black eyes, grinning, revealing teeth stained red and covered with flecks of flesh from its last meal.

Ireth's eyes were wide.

"Oh, shit..."

This post has been edited by FierceOcelot on May 30 2012, 12:47 PM

[♔ Ketic]

Suddenly arms were around Ella and there was a hissing in her ear. She immediately went attack mode, but the grip around her was pretty strong. Ella elbowed backwards but was shoved forwards before she could connect with whoever was behind her. The person was speaking but Ella didn't hear words. All she could hear was the pounding of her heart. All she could feel was the shaking of the ground beneath her as she was shoved again causing her to stumble forward.

Fucking, Ella's angry and terrified thoughts were cut off when something slammed into a tree a little ways away. The orange haired girl didn't look back at who had pushed her. She didn't care. Whoever wanted to restrain her when a huge mutant was nearby did not seem like a friend in Ella's book. Pumping her legs against the ground, Ella tried to put some distance between her and whatever was causing such a stir in the woods behind her.

The running girl came to a hill but she didn't slow down. Ella half slid half ran down the grassy incline but lost her balance at the bottom, rolling and tumbling. Her thigh holster pinched Ella's leg hard and she groaned. After a couple seconds she came to a bumpy halt at the bottom of the hill. There was a bush nearby. She quickly manuevered herself under the foliage and watched through the leaves near the top of the hill. The infected would definitely be able to smell her but Ella was hoping it was pre-occupied with whoever had grabbed her. Oh man. Don't find me.. don't find me.

[♖ Alathorn]

When Lida heared the tree slashed through she wheeled around to see what the beast was attacking. When she spotted the elf she groaned in exasperation and ran at the beast that was chasing her and jumped up onto the infected's back, easily climbing up it to it's neck. After she was secured on the beasts shoulders she pulled her claws free from where they rested and quickly stabbed into the beasts throat several times before slashing the beasts neck, effectively severing it's jugular.

She knew the beast would not be killed by that but she hoped it would be dazed enough to at least let her down to it's legs. When she was finally down at the beasts legs she stabbed the claws of both her hands into it's calves and slashed backward then used it's legs to jump up and do the same with it's thighs, trying to disable the infected rather than kill it.

Once the beast was down on the ground she pulled out the long katana on her back and, with quick slash, severed the head from the infected body. Then she looked up at the elf, blood dripping from her sword and her claws.

"What the hell is wrong with people these days," she said. "You need to pay more attention to what is going on around you! If you feel something huge walking through an area you run! Now let's all get the hell out of here before more infected come!"

She sighed, sheathing her katana and her claws before running after the girl she'd done before. When she found her she stopped. "Hey," she called down. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to frighten you back there... I-... I know this isn't exactly comforting coming from... Well from someone like me but please... Understand where I'm coming from... I've had experience with other infected and I know, from personal experience, what this disease can do to you... Even though it's changed me I still am a survivor... I protect those that haven't been infected..."

She looked away, tears coming to her eyes. "I was an infected, I won't lie, but you have to believe me," she said. "I didn't mean to scare you... I was trying to save you... If you don't trust me I understand... I guess it's better for me to be alone anyway..." She then slowly started to walk off, traveling the road she'd been traveling before she'd spotted others.

[Barley]

What the hell is happening? If you asked, Lyle could not possibly explain the events happening around him. First, some cat thing looks to be leading her captive forward. Now some big ugly infected comes stumbling around. Was that another girl? She was looking out from behind the tree Lyle sat atop at the big and nasty infected. That infected though, was especially nasty, it had a scythe arm for god's sake. In the back of Lyle's mind though, it was kinda cool, like a video game.The big, nasty infected glanced around and sniffed. It must have smelled him, or the girl, or seen him because it looked directly at him with black marbles for eyes.

Holy Hell! Was the first thought that ran through Lyle's head. He had looked away for a second and the big, nasty infected had destroyed his tree. The tree collapsed sideways and Lyle teleported to a different tree. Then something weird happened. The cat, human thing came running back like lightning, Jesus! The scene infront of Lyle was something out of a video game or a TV show. The cat, human chick climbed onto the big, nasty infected's back and, were those claws? She proceeded to stab the shit out of big, nasty infected's extremely muscular, body builder neck. How her claws were long enough to cut its jugular was beyond Lyle but she did it.

That didn't bring down big, nasty infected though. So she cut it up some more, she seemed to beat around the bush though. Man, what Lyle would do for some popcorn right now. Big, nasty finally went down and cat chick did some final move looking thing before speaking some words to the one chick then dashing off with incredible speed. Shit... I want her on my team.

Lyle teleported down to the battle ground and stood on top of dead big, nasty infected, facing the gril who hid behind the tree. He leaned on his bat. "One hell of a fight, eh?"

[♘ FierceOcelot]

Ireth started to shift the aim of the Bren Ten toward the monster's head, maybe she could get off a quick shot to at least stun the thing. 10-millimeter rounds had plenty of stopping power and maybe she could get lucky and blow off the fucking thing's head. If not...she'd have to resort to her spells...

But then, as was becoming more and common, something happened. Something that, later on, the elf would never be able to describe fully or comprehend. But anyway, it happened. Another creature, small, human/cat-like, leaped on the monster's back, and it immediately reacted, trying to swerve and throw the thing off, but failing horribly. The smaller being tore at it with claws sprouting from the fingers and ripped into the throat, hitting a vital area there. If this thing were human, it would be dead at this point, but being what it was, the infected was merely pissed off.

The monster staggered and roared, branches shook in the vicinity from the thudding of footsteps, Ireth stared wide-eyed and took steps backward...what the fuck was this? Someone fighting infected like some clash between monsters, titans... The girl dropped down and took swings at the monster's legs, stabbing the calves, reaching up and tearing the thighs... she was aiming for tendons, Ireth realized.

The giant monster fell with a loud crash, the scythe not being able to help it out at all...the girl pulled a katana, and in one fluid swipe, the infected's head was left rolling along the ground. Then the girl turned and spoke to her. The elf said and did nothing, just stared dumbly at the stranger as if she'd asked Ireth if she had a teddy bear. Then the girl sped away, impossibly fast as if this was a job not yet completed.

Ireth holstered her pistol, then flinched and nearly pulled it again when she saw a man suddenly appear in front of her, standing on the infected's corpse. She was out of energy for surprises...too many for one day, one week, one lifetime, it felt like. What was it the man said? One hell of a fight?

"...Yeah...a description like that doesn't do it enough justice..."

[♔ Ketic]

(I am going to assume that some of the large infected's blood found its way onto Lida's clothing. After all she was cutting the shit out of it. If I'm mistaken I can always edit this post later.)

Breathe in, breathe out. Don't move. Shit ahh my leg itches. Don't move, don't move.. breathe. Ella lay silently among the tangled branches beneath the bush. Her green eyes were fixed unmoving on the crest of the hill above her. If any zombie were to show its ugly face she would need to be ready for fight or flight. However it was not a zombie that made Ella's breath catch in her throat.

The woman from before, the one who had grabbed her, was suddenly standing atop the hill. Blood spots dotted her clothing and the air around her was tense, as if she had just been in a fight. It only took a couple of seconds for this stranger to spot Ella beneath the bush. Even though it was clear she'd been found the Rippler didn't move a muscle. The girl spoke now, asking Ella if she was alright. Who would be alright during the apocalypse? Generally speaking she was indeed unharmed though. No words called to answer the figure atop the hill. Suddenly the girl seemed sad, confessing to Ella that she was infected. How is that possible? The virus mutated her rather than killing her..? Ella still said nothing.

Eventually the strange girl turned and walked away into the woods. Ella felt she should follow but fear kept her still. After another cfouple minutes of silence the Rippler girl finally crawled from beneath the bush and stood up, glancing around. There didn't seem to be any apparent sources of danger so Ella felt safe to evaluate her current situation. Getting lost in the woods would be a big no-no. She didn't want to head back towards where all that sound had been coming from, so the only logical thing to do would be to backtrack through the woods but make a u shape and avoid the way she had come while still ending up at the road. Nodding to herself, Ella began to walk.

The forest was quiet. Ella wasn't sure if she liked noise or quiet better. At least noise was generally honest and not deceptive. The smell of blood was pungent the closer Ella got to the road but she pushed forward regardless. Soon enough she emerged from the treeline, the road sitting meters away from her just as it had been before. Sighing in relief Ella trudged over to it. The feel of the blacktop beneath her was somehow comforting. It made the Rippler feel as though she had a purpose. For a couple of moments she walked on in silence. Then, Ella spotted a figure up the road. It was the same girl from before.

She briefly glanced around as if another road might pop up for her to follow where she could avoid contact with this person, but of course no road did. "Hey!" Ella called up the road. She didn't speed up, but walked towards the girl, waving once.

[♖ Alathorn]

Lida ignored the blood on her as she followed the road away from the wreck she'd made before. She didn't know what to do. In her heart, she felt jaded but she didn't know why. She kept herself calm, for the most part, but she could feel tears coming to her eyes. Why?! Why can't I just make friends?! Why must I always mess something up?! Why-

Her thoughts were interrupted by someone calling out behind her. She turned around and looked at the woman she had been trying to protect earlier and blinked. She stopped, waiting for the woman to catch up. "Hey," she replied, when the woman got closer. "Did you need something?" She watched her carefully, wondering if the woman was trying to trick her or something.

[Barley]

That girl was like some kind of super hero, she even had a tail and ears. Lyle stared at the huge infected for a second. Then proceeded to bash its chest with his bat. He hopped off its dead body and looked at the girl he had spoken to. "So, uh, you're probably gonna try and kill me now, I dont blame you seeing as how the world is now, we did just see some epic shit go down, anyways the names Lyle."He scratched his cheek. "Uh, I'm just gonna head toward the road and be on my way." Lyle slowly turns toward in the direction of the road and shuffles away. Glancing behind his back every few steps.

Lyle stepped onto the asphalt and glanced up and down the road. Not much, except for two people down the road. Lyle had a hunch it was those two girls he saw before. His curiosity got the better of him, he proceeded down the road toward them.

[♘ FierceOcelot]

The other....girl...had left, and Ireth remained where she was for a long moment, not sure what to do now. The logical, strategic part of her mind, the part she was so accustomed t using in the midst of this horror of a world, had taken quite a hit, and now it was a matter of when the system would come back online. Now what? There were things, not quite people and yet not quite infected, that were able to make mincemeat of creatures like the fallen one in front of her. In a one-on-one with the scythe monster, Ireth knew she'd be royally fucked if she didn't use spells; but then another thing comes along to kill the first. What chance did the elf really have here?

A soft thudding brought her back to awareness and she looked; the man, the one that could teleport, was giving the redead infected a beating with his bat. Not really a need for it, seeing as the creature was no longer moving, but Ireth was not one to judge. People that generally looked dead, often times weren't. Even if their head was gone in some cases.

The man spoke to Ireth and she eyed him, thoughtfully. No, she wasn't even close to feeling like picking fights. The odds were not in her favor, as recent events had shown. When he began to walk away, the elf blinked and moved to follow at a reluctant pace, her voice trying to reach him, trying to be quiet so as not to attract more monsters, but loud enough for him to hear. They were odd parameters to follow...

"Hey...hey, wait!" Fuck distrust, she'd rather get shot in the back than cleaved to pieces and/or eaten alive. She saw two figures ahead of the man--Lyle, he'd said. Lyle. "Lyle, wait..."