2014-05-30 - Arrival Of The Doom Tree
| Title: Arrival Of The Doom Tree | |
|---|---|
| Summary: A strange meteor streaks through the night, coming to rest in Tokyo. Within, the seeds of disaster find a place to bloom, and the children of the Doom Tree begin to make their plans. | |
| Who: GM: Mai Tokiha | |
| Where: Shimatachi Low City | |
| OOC - IC Date: ??? - 5/30/2014 | |
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
A peaceful night has settled over the Shimatachi region of Tokyo. The dead of night sees little to no traffic, all but the most extreme of businesses having long since shuttered its doors. The skies are clear of clouds, and stars twinkle in the night sky. The lights of Tokyo may wash out all but the brightest, but those few are known to all amateur astronomers.
Save for one. A new star shines in the sky, travelling from who knows where, who knows how far, growing brighter by the moment. Not a star, perhaps - but a meteor, streaking through the night.
Blazing through the air.
Burning into the ground.
A resounding boom echoes through the streets, the buildings, the city itself. A great crater marks the point of impact, in the heart of a crossroads - mercifully, no travelers were nearby to feel the heat or force of the crash. Within lies a strange thing - not a meteor, so much as a great green seed, large as a bedroom. A mysterious thing to find, for whatever people of the area come to investigate.
Or it would be, were it not to rise into the air, shimmering with some strange light. None unconnected with the mystical world may note its passage - and those so connected may be otherwise occupied this night. Into the air it soars once more, seeking a refuge.
A largely abandoned apartment building may serve - devoid of tenants, for whatever legal reasons. The penthouse left unfinished by absence of budget - but magic may provide such furnishings. The seed glows, and the apartment follows suit...
---
A commotion in the streets of Shimatachi - great craters do not appear every day! But the two figures sitting on the railing of the penthouse apartment, far from that crater, seem unconcerned. There is no mystery for them to learn, for they know the truth of matters. Alone, and undisturbed, and strangely green of skin.
The shorter of the two, a woman with hair of pink, leans into her companion. "Ail. This planet is wonderful, is it not? So full of life energy..."
<Pose Tracker> Ail [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Ail looks out over the city, a little taller and with long blue hair of his own, smiling. "I hope we've finally found our home, An... I can feel the energy of the planet, like a heart pulsing, like that thing we've been searching for so far is right here. Like this could truly be our paradise." he adds, his eyes still roaming over the landscape of Tokyo.
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
The female figure, An, rests her head on Ail's shoulder. Her eyes flit in Ail's direction, and her next comment is a little more guarded, questioning, almost suspicious. "A paradise...and what do you think is the most wonderful thing here?" She's not looking into the city - her full attention is on her companion.
<Pose Tracker> Ail [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Ail smiles and leans in. "Are you jealous of the planet itself now, An?" he asks, a fair bit of mirth in his voice as she leans in on him. "I wouldn't think you need to be told that you're the most wonderful thing in all the galaxies to me..." he adds, looking down at her. "But a paradise would mean that we could spend less time fighting to survive and more time together, of course..." he goes on, trying to shift the subject somewhat away from his partner's rampant and easily roused jealousy.
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Those words bring a smile to An's face, and she outright clings to Ail in glee. "Oh, Ail. Truly, you are the only one for me, in all the galaxies of the universe..." Her jealousy appeased, she's free to look out upon the city herself. A hundred, a thousand, a million lights spread out throughout Tokyo, and her eyes reflect them all. She's like a cat, almost, looking out for her prey.
"This paradise, then. Ours, with all the life energy of this planet to support us. And then the two of us, together-!" Her enthusiasm building with each moment, thoughts of what might be possible now having her ready to pounce. To leap out into the world with Ail, and simply take that paradise for the two of them.
But then...she pales. Wavers, uncertain, nearly falls from the balcony railing, saved only by her own clinginess and her grasp on Ail's shirt. She gasps, weakened. "I....need energy..."
And she begins to go limp, that grip weakening.
<Pose Tracker> Ail [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Ail nods a bit, pulling her into his arms and carrying her through the immaculately furnished apartment, into the bedroom which contains its own pocket dimension. "An, you have to be more careful!" he says, though his chiding is obviously more born out of a concern for her rather than anger. "You can't go getting all excited like that when you're weak - we don't have a big enough stockpile." he adds, placing her gently on one of the Makaiju's thick roots, underneath one of the tendrils which dispenses the purified energy like a dewdrop. "It may be a paradise, but right now, we're still fighting, An."
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
The Makaiju. The Doom Tree. A strange organism, closely resembling the trees of Earth but indescribably alien all the same, standing without ground in a spacelike void. The thick root moves beneath An, bringing her into an appropriate position, and the rest of the tree responds. One tendril, vine-like with a strange bulb at the end, writhes and grows unnaturally until the bulb is high above An, tip pointed directly down. A single droplet of some strange liquid gathers at that tip, shimmering with an unworldly light - and then, it falls to splash against An.
The light within the droplet suffuses itself through An's entire body as she lays utterly still, warm and nurturing as much as it is cold and unfeeling. Pure energy, pure life, infused into the elf-like being. Slowly, her eyes open once more.
Filled with energy once more, An vanishes from sight, only to reappear by Ail's side. She leans into him, happiness plain on her face. "Ah~ I feel much better, Ail. That was just what I needed. You really are the only one..."
An trails off as the Doom Tree's limbs shudder. The countless leaves shudder, wither, dry up - whatever force that sustains the tree is clearly weakening.
<Pose Tracker> Ail [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Ail points up at the tree. "That's why we have to be careful, An..." he says, the weight of it all heavy on his voice. "I don't want to lose you, and if I lose the Makaiju, I'm going to lose both of us." he continues, sighing, looking up at the dried leaves on the tree. "We have to figure out what we're going to do to keep it fed and full of energy. I don't think it can keep doing this."
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
An's attention is split - one part to the tree, two to her companion. "Well, Ail, that's simple enough." She waves one hand, and images appear before them - fields of flowers, flourishing jungles, herds of animals in the savannah, oceans teeming with life, and cities full of people. "This world has so much life energy, after all. We could simply take some for ourselves..."
<Pose Tracker> Ail [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Ail leans in. "Well of course, that's how we've survived for so long." he adds with a smile. "We have to remember that the people of this planet are still our enemies, they're still going to try to fight us like all the others." he says as his features darken. "But I think this planet might finally have enough energy to sustain us forever." he adds, pointing out the images, and fixating on the humans. "Look at how much energy this species has."
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
An laughs. "They simply don't know their place yet. I agree." She waves one hand dismissively, the other hand occupied with holding on to Ail. By her command, one image after another fades into mist, replaced with more glimpses of humanity. "There's no need to waste time on any of the other species - go straight to taking energy from humans."
Behind the two, one of the tree's roots shifts slightly, groaning almost as if in response to this statement - but neither of the tree's guardians pay this any heed. Sometimes, the roots move.
Image after image of humanity, doing all the bizarre things that humans do. One image flits past, dismissed almost as soon as it appears - one of a sunny, sandy beach with people garbed in swimsuits. An frowns, and looks to Ail. Was he looking at it? Was he looking at them? "Ail. You should go claim some energy from the humans. I think human females would be the best target."
<Pose Tracker> Ail [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Ail looks sideways at An. Mostly. Naturally, he -was- looking at them. "Why do we have to go after human females? I'm sure the males have just as much energy; or we could just go for whatever is convenient..." he says, looking down into An's eyes - but occasionally it's obvious he's fighting the urge to look, maybe at that image of the girls at the beach? That was so -like- Ail...
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
An's eyes are flat-out glaring at Ail at that suggestion. "Ail." She gestures sharply, and all the images dissipate. No distractions.
<Pose Tracker> Ail [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Ail sighs. Loudly. "Fine, An, we'll do it your way. I never could say no to you." he adds, pulling her closer.
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
And just as quickly, An's ire is appeased. "Of course not, my dear Ail." Her eyes, cat-like, shine at the affectionate embrace. One hand traces circles on his chest. "Shall we begin immediately?"
Behind them, again, the tree's roots groan - but neither of them are listening.
