Haha. About that, Striker didn't exactly know every angle her main employ, Fukushu, struck from. For all she knew, the weird teal man just wanted Dharatan to like him and maybe become acting envoy, if possible. It also wasn't a detail she'd be open about if she knew he might be evil and want bad things for konats. When that time came, she'd turn coat against the judgment of her business. She wouldn't show any signs of being thrown by the offhand remark, just carrying that sharp-toothed smirk about her as they went on.
"I do have a few policies I make known, one which includes possible harm to Lux and Konats as a whole being a no go. Petty crimelords are one thing, but these new powers that put even me to shame with their destruction? I try not to work with them. And if it comes to it? The contract gets burnt. Home does come first." She admits she doesn't have the best judge of character about her, but she also doesn't make herself contractually bound to a bad deal if some bad guy wants to pull a fast one on her. This half-answered the majin's more pressing question about her employment. She raises two hands to rest against the back of her head as she relaxes. In spite of the monsters around them.
"Team? No. I keep the band and this sort of work separate. I go solo for the most part. Why... is this heading somewhere?"
"You live here?" Jinx sounded surprised, as she ought to be. "That's cool! Is your species native? I'm curious because most people said only the pointy eared ones lived here naturally. Well, there's animals of course, but I mean walking talking smart folk like you." Striker was an interesting enigma. Jinx had seen animal like sentient creatures before, but this one seemed different. More cartoonishly proportioned and lively compared to the humanoids with animal heads she saw on Earth. Did Earth even still have 'zoanthropes'? Last time she saw them they were engaged in a ear against the furless humans for supremacy.
"That's a good policy. If I find a home I like I'd protect it too. Good homes are hard to come by!" Jinx hadn't found one in... A long time. Long enough that memories of her previous one were foggy. "Yeah it's going somewhere," Jinx admitted freely, tugging at her cape. "I was starting up a group of my own with a couple friends and I'd like to find more friends to join! We just met, I know, but you seem cool and your policies are fair. If we work together well, maybe you'd consider joining up with us?"
"Not a bit native! As far as I am aware, from my years of being kind of a star in Lux, I am the only one of my kind to exist on Konats. Lived here for a good several years now, ever since I wanted to forge my own path. We're called 'Fauxbian' by most folk, but back on the homeworld we just called each other brothers and sisters to the mother planet. I get... 'creature' and 'animal' a lot, and having lived here and visited Earth recently can't say I don't see it. I'd fit into one of those shows they have. It gets embarrassing sometimes when I see the kids looking." She'd half admitted, a sort of reddening falling on her face as she struggled to articulate her feelings to a stranger without coming across as meager. Striker herself was such a fascinating creature that most would probably try taking her for research if she weren't so strong. As far as getting a gang together to form a sort of mercenary group? The fauxbian perked back up and craned her head to the side as she stared up to Jinx.
"Ehh, really? I don't know, I'm so used to not having to take cuts and just doing things on my own. I've never really had... 'friends' or peers of any sort on my level for 'jobs'. Sounds like I'd be responsible for things. Maybe just let me... think on it?" This was going to be a long walk, she felt.
"Woah..." Stars formed in the Majin's eyes as Striker spoke, imagination running wild as she imagined a planet full of Strikers going about their day. "That's so cool! Except for the name-calling part, uncool. People say mean things about me all the time when I haven't ever done anything to them, and it's really confusing. Surely they can wait until I commit a crime or something before being rude." Jinx nodded twice. "The way I see it there's a lot of cool Aliens out there in the galaxy! A weirdly high amount are different colored humanoids with subtle differences like ear shape or corn preference... But that besides the point!"
Jinx cast her arms wide, hopping over a particularly high pile of rubble and sending some stray blasts at a pair of bold Chelicerates. "Yeah no sweat! It's a big ask. It's more of a club of friends first and a business second anyway. Solo stuff is still fine, we'd only get together and share if it was stuff that required our awesome power combined!" It wasn't a NO, which was good. Jinx could see this girl being the perfect Nova Green! If she wanted to be Nova Green, that is. Plenty of other colors to pick from.
"Hey, I think we're getting pretty close now. See anything suspicious or should we get even closer to the giant wellspring of evil void soup?"
"Yeah, well, lots of people are just mean. I learned that one a while back, too. Sometimes you just got to be mean back, and they don't bother you much after that. Threatening them sometimes works, other times you actually have to beat them up, but that usually takes more than hurt feelings on my end. I can tell when people want a fight though. I like a good fight. Be it cool alien or one of the many konatsian-looking lamers with nothing else going for them. I didn't even know what a human was until this year, and they almost look the same! Crazy stuff." As they got closer and the Majin cleared the way forwards, eventually jumping a pile of rubble, Striker instead decided to crouch lower. From the majin's point of view, it sorta looked like she was kneeling down in a fetal position. That was until her body turned into a sudden balled blur of green as she spun on point. Revving up her metaphorical engines before launching her ball form way above the mark using a small ramped object next to the pile. She'd unfurl and land right next to Jinx in a casual three-point landing, picking herself up and looking around all the same as Jinx asked. Like that was also normal.
"Hmmm..." She wasn't one to really know what she was looking for here, and the drone seemed to zip around in its own search separately. She shrugs and looks back up at the rip in the sky.
"Not really sure, is there something I should look for other than obvious other rip point or more of those weird creatures?"
"I'm not that good at being mean... At least I think I'm not? It's confusing because lie to say they're nice but am I lying or not lying, because I find it hard to be mean for real? Ugh." Jinx hadn't an insulting bone in her body - though that may be because she didn't have a single bone in her body to begin with. "I just try to ignore it when I can. I've been around way too long to let some silly idiots rile me up with weird words. As if I hadn't been called a dumb break a billion times before."
Jinx clapped politely at Striker's acrobatic motion. "That's neat! Super spinny ball power." But more importantly, their search. "Uh, well... The rift is the main source of all the bad juju. If we can't go after the rift we need to look for anything that's anchoring or feeding the rift. Even with perpetual magic a void tear that size can't sustain itself at such a powerful level without outside help. That means the spawns are probably getting energy somehow? If I had to guess they're feeding off the corpses of the city's former citizens to keep things running smoothly. When that runs out they... Might go hunting across Konats for more fuel."
"Thanks!" Well, some people aren't made to ignore others. Striker lived for attention, and so bad attention almost naturally got under her skin. it was just always easier to notice the bad attention behind the mountains of good she usually got. Regardless, she seemed to like the way she got around, and for it, Jinx would get a more honest smile without the dangerously sharp teeth. Continuing on from there their search for the source. And if what she said was true then maybe the best course of action would be to toss the corpses out?
"Hmmm... So the creatures not only spawn from the rift but help sustain it through the energy people give off, even in death? Is that what you're saying? In that case, are we looking for a pile of corpses they may have accumulated? Maybe when there aren't a pair of fine ladies messing with their juju they are busy excavating the ruins for them?" A little grotesque, but it was definitely on the right track if Jinx was to be believed. And, for once, Striker genuinely thought someone was perhaps too genuine to lie about a detail like this.
"Luckily I don't think I saw any obvious trails of them carrying things around thus far to miss it. If that's what they were doing anyways. But if we look under some of the caved-in buildings I'm sure we can find some stash. Animals like hiding their foraged goods in natural burrows like dirt mounds and trees to hide them, so why not?" Question was... Which and where? They'd have to comb a pretty good area, even just those directly underneath the rift. Unless Jinx had an idea?
"Energy in this case being... Calories. The void and the creatures are, unlike me, LITERALLY eating calorie packed stuff as a substitute. I'm sure if someone dropped a nuclear reactor in here randomly they'd feed off that instead - or maybe the uranium and thorium since that stuff technically hasillions of calories per gram if I remember correctly. Anyway! Point is they have to be feeding on something to keep the rift that large. These monsters are too tough to be spawning from a naturally weakened rift." Jinx didn't know if it was better or worse that the corpses of Konatsians were being PHYSICALLY defiled in a bloody banquet.
"Yeah we would've noticed the blood trails and any, uh, stuff that fell out. It's possible some of the spawn are eating and gorging ahead of time and then coming back to sacrifice themselves instead? Stockpiling your fuel source in one neat location ahead of time seems smarter though. We just need to find out where it's all at!" Easier said than done. "The closer to directly underneath the rift the better. Conveniently, that happens to be the city center." Most of the buildings had been smashed to bits in the battle between Kamae and Erebos, but that left more pockets for spawn to hide stuff in.
"Well... Unless you have a better idea, we should get to digging. It shouldn't take too long to notice a smell! Most of the decay bacteria are probably warded off by the void corruption so expect them to look mostly fresh."
When running specifics like that through Striker, she could only blink and nod a bit. Smirking like a little idiot as she kinda got it. She didn't know radioactive material technically had calories in it, but also nothing normal tried eating it so there's that. When options came forth among everything the two shared, a stockpile did seem to remain one of the likely options. Closer to the center of the rift, the better. Which happened to be nearby, covered in destruction and creatures of the void. Striker tapped her chin again and looked over the massive pocket of waste. Propping a foot on a sizeable piece of rubble for support.
"Mmm... We could dig..." If she knew anything about Konatsian cities, though, at least the technological types she was raised in, there were bound to be sewer systems. it was the last secure thing not turned to rubble below the ground, and still accessible from outside the center area. The small alien leans over to clasp the majin's cloak to stop her from wandering off so suddenly, just in case.
"Wait!- I probably don't need to ask this but, you know what a sewer is, yeah? They are tunnels that run under large cities to funnel waste out from buildings and other public places. Much of the above-ground infrastructure around the center here is gone, yeah, but I bet my left shoe that tunnel's intact and where they go to transport bodies. If they transport bodies. We'd be relying more on sight since the smell would cancel out any rotting corpses just about, but I bet we'd find something." Those eyes start to immediately look around for any grates that could lead into the underbelly. She was glad at this point she was being paid well for all this trouble...
"So I'll start over here! You can-" Jinx paused, realizing she was walking in place as Striker nabbed her by the cape. The Majin tugged it free, rubbing her arm sheepishly. "Sorry! Looks like you DO have an idea!" Better than aimlessly sifting through rock and rebar, with any lucky. Jinx may be a tireless magic being but she also got bored. Excavation was a job for underpaid machine manning mortals, not her! "Yeah I know what they are..." Her non-existent nose wrinkled as Jinx made a face. She had made the mistake of smelling one once. It had taught her to have smell on 'low' when visiting new places.
"Oh! That makes sense. They could also make use of any remaining waste to extract leftover energy too. Most bodies aren't very adept at extracting max gains from food they eat." Eating corpses and shit, literally. "To the sewer it is!" Jinx knelt against the ground, gloves hand pressed against the dilapidated street in deep focus. About twenty paces away from her part of the ground morphed from stone to a manhole cover, complete with a large pile of rocks popping into existence right beside it. "Whew! Alrighty, found a tunnel and made us a neat entrance so nothing collapses on our way down. Who's going in first!?"
Jinx was perhaps as impatient or even more so than the small green rodent. She laughs a little and also offers to loosen her grip as Jinx struggles to free her cape. Standing up from the rock proper and watching her for a moment with a similarly disgusted face. yah, she also didn't like it. No one really liked it, but it was a part of modern architecture. Striker could feel herself almost upchuck a bit of leftover food herself when Jinx decided to go into even more detail about literal poop eaters the monsters could be. Only saved by a quick hand and strong reflex.
"Please..." She'd soon get her disgust taken away by watching literal magic though. Rather than look for a manhole with her, Jinx had other options. Like... Literally, make a manhole for them. Did it even go to the right place? Was it temporal? Apparently, it was alright by her standards, so Striker would take point and look down it a moment with a displeased grimace on her face.
"You can do that? What? I'll ask later... And since you went through all that trouble... Yip!" She'd give a short hop into the sewer entrance, ignoring any ladder made and going straight for the solid ground they'd surely put it against. Only maniacs wouldn't do that. And once she was down there, THAT'S when she got free reign to complain.
"Good! So good! What a good day!" The drone would fly in soon after, but it seemed to want to wait for Jinx first. Making sure nothing jumped overhead it.
"Sorry!" Most people didn't have the stomach to handle gross topics. Jinx didn't know why evolution thought that was a good idea - upchucking energy when just thinking about gross stuff seemed like a silly design flaw. "I know that look! I located the tunnel by removing pieces of rock in a straight line until I hit a dip, then places the entryway above that. I can assure you on my skills it is entirely legitimate!" Better than wandering around to look for one in a destroyed city. Jinx DID forget the ladder rungs but Striker dove right in, with her drone returning from wherever it had been to join them.
Luckily for Striker service walkways hoisted above the sewage were normal parts of sewers, meaning she had plenty of room to flit about without getting dirty. Jinx slid down the ladder after her newfound companion, frowning at their surroundings. "Yuck. Here." With a pulse of magic the immediate remaining sewage morphed into a pink watery stream of faintly sweet smelling liquid. "I turned it into perfume!" Hopefully that'd be better than having the risk of falling into the poop water if they got attacked. "But no bodies... Let's keep looking."
One moment, she's got a face full of stink, and the next, Jinx hops on down and snaps the problem away. Striker had gotten to pinching her nose by the time she suddenly magicked the sewage away. A few more blinks at the abundant use of magic in her face. For a moment her common sense told her it was a trick of the eye, but the moment some of that sweet smell overthrew the putrid, she relaxed and looked even more confused.
"Buh... What? And you can just do that too?" But honestly, she isn't complaining so much. Not only was the pleasant pink stream better to look at and smelled like a good bubble bath but it almost helped lighten up the darker tunnel system that the sickening waste color would have helped hide. She just shakes her head and takes point on downstream towards where she remembers the city center is.
"I could get use to that. I don't think I've met someone so proficient in just making things happen. Magic happen, more precisely. Don't think I have an ounce of that in me right now. My mother planet might gift some of us with it, but I don't think one of them was me. All I know is speed, and right now I probably don't need that." Another unforeseen downside of working together is she can't really utilize her full potential if she wanted most people to keep up with her. She instead kept it to pace with Jinx and had her eyes peeled for any signs of corpses or movement of bodies.
"It's not gonna last forever. Transmuting THAT much stuff, even if relatively inert and non-magic, takes a lot of juice to do permanently. Figured I'd just make it temporarily more bearable for you!" Not that Jinx liked sewage, but she had the option of turning off her smell and didn't literally GAG like Striker would. "Even some seasoned magic users would struggle to keep peace with how casual I can be about it sometimes," Jinx assured the Fauxbian, not wanting to make her feel inferior in some way. "That's what happens when you're basically a walking pile of magic given form. It comes naturally!"
Though speed was a different matter. "I can go pretty fast if pushed, but it seems like that's YOUR area of expertise. Not your fault that we happened to get in a situation where it isn't expressly super useful. Then again, none of the spawn followed us down and I don't see any trailing us. Maybe you could jolt ahead like a scout! If you see a cluster or find the bodies come back, and I'll come with." Jinx's boot stepped in something unpleasantly soft, a soft squelch emanating from it as she looked down. "Oh."
A stray piece of bloodied meat, shaken or torn loose from whatever poor Konatsian's corpse had been taken down here. "And there's..." The blood stains. Inconsistently spaced, some on the floor, patches on the walls. "Huh. They're like cells in a body but ALSO animalistic. It'd be fascinating if it wasn't for the rampant murder and stuff."
With some words of encouragement, Striker was just about ready to go forth. Hoping her lack of magic as much as Jinx put it plainly would be overcome by her usefulness to quickly run ahead and do things. Rather than get a mile down the tunnel and get lost though, a nice squelching sound is heard underfoot. Striker's first reaction is to raise some fists defensively, but seeing as nothing had really tailed them down the sewers and Jinx stopped, the green fuzzball had only one clue as to what happened. She looked down too.
"Ew." Was all that needed to be said when she saw the meat, turning away from it to get it out of view and instead look at the walls and surrounding fixtures in the sewers. Jinx continued to make the observation that they seemed to act as one, like a big city-wide organism. Something Striker herself made a possible thought on when talking about the cycle of rift -> monster -> energy -> rift. Striker took lead and started finding more of an explicit trail turning the corner into an offshoot tunnel. She'd point it out with a thumb and turn back to Jinx.
"Yeah, that's weird. But it'd make too much sense with how coordinated they were trying to hunt me around the city and how we think they're working off the calories of the dead out here. It's like the void creatures themselves are part of just one other conglomerate somewhere else that spilled into here through that rift. It's animal nature could be normal where it came from."
Apr 6, 2024 1:21:15 GMT -5
Lottus: Friendly reminder for new folks to check the rules regarding art claims - AI Art is not accepted on Sparking for character sheets.
Apr 17, 2024 14:43:28 GMT -5
Lottus: Hey folks, got a new phone, but verification is preventing me from downloading Discord for now
Apr 17, 2024 14:43:57 GMT -5
Lottus: I won't be available until I get home from work!
Apr 17, 2024 14:44:58 GMT -5
Lottus: Feel free to dm me if needed!
Apr 17, 2024 21:13:47 GMT -5
Dingo: I'll post what you've said here up in the discord so it doesn't get missed!
Apr 18, 2024 19:19:20 GMT -5
Yakito: I am the #1 Tenrec hater (Striker will be struck)