Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

self harm

gore

death

child death

(if you consider chrysalizing horribly dying)

Howlite was dizzy, barely standing. She hadn't even managed to shake the fuzz out of her head before there was a sharp crack and something struck through her back. The kitten wailed in pain and, on instinct, crumpled to the ground and covered her head with her forepaws, trying to minimize the damage. Lightning didn't care much for that, though.

Another forked claw of lightning shot into her pelt. Another. Another. Tears pricked at Howlite's eyes, claws digging into her own gums and skin-- because even a little bit of immediate pain dulled the burning and the throbbing and the pulsing of the burns raking across her pelt.

Would she be missed? Or would Tectus just be disappointed?

Her body was shaking uncontrollably, her vision fading in and out-- blackness, then whiteness, then blackness, repeating all over again. Between the tufts of burnt fur was bleeding, blistered skin, and beneath her body was a pool of blackened, steaming pus.

Would anyone care?

A wretched little sob escaped her throat before marbled howlite blossomed across her broken body, protecting her from the remaining thunderstrikes in a thick, white shell.

ROUND 3/3

49%

ATTEMPT: none
DEFENSE: chrysalis time
INJURIES: sore face, burned A Lot

exit via chrysalis
@Bedlam

Upon emerging from her chrysalis, Howlite-T-One will have the following consequence:

Fissure (Minor): A part of her right wing has collapsed into a geode-like formation of howlite. It is in a spot that should not hinder its movement very much, if at all.

(As this fight did not hit 5 rounds, it will not be judged as a proper battle)

@Howlite-T-One

As the last thundercrack of the storm faded away, Bedlam blinked away the spots in its eyes and looked back at where Howlite was. Or, where Howlite had been. There was now nothing but a streaked chrysalis in her place.

"Oh..." it sighed, poking at the rock. Had one of the bolts knocked her back in by accident? That was a shame. It had not heard her screams over the echo of thunder ringing in its ears, and could hardly hear anything even now. It hadn't really meant to hit her that many times, but it supposed that it had, which... rather proved her point about its nastiness.

"Sorry," it mumbled belatedly, and waddled away, not wanting to look at the consequences of its actions anymore.

exit

A few hours after the 'fatal' incident, a Crew of Shapers (this was the formal name for such a group) strolled through. Some were on all fours, sniffing and talking quietly. Another trio were upright, with toolbelts; the one at the lead had a faded orange hard plastic construction cap on, with a bright light at the front and no discernable power source. They and one other had on faded reflective orange vests, and they carried a clipboard, too.

It was quite by chance they passed close enough to spot Brother. It wasn't clear how the spinosaur had discovered the chrysalis, or how long it had even been in the cave; its hatchling size and darker coloration almost lost it against the rock. Thankfully, he WAS alive, and some movement or other must have drawn the attention of the Shapers.

The solid black, almost shadowy fox-creatures paused, almost as one, glowing purple eyes swivelling to peer at the scene as their conversation died down. After a moment, the leader stepped forward.

"Oi! You can't be in here. It's turnover time, don't you know that!?" The leader had a thick urban accent, for whatever reason.

"Err, I think that's just a kid, Malis."

A pause, a squint. "Fuck, really? It's huge! -Well, kid, you can't be in here. Cave's turning over," they said, and tapped a pencil on the clipboard as if for proof. "You stay in here, you might get crushed when the rock shifts, end up in your chrysalis, and spend the next five hundred years waking up smooshed under five hundred tons 'o rock until you die for real."

A couple of the Shapers muttered, and the crew head hesitated. "Err--you old enough to understand what I'm sayin'-? I mean, I think you'll love what comes next, by the looks o' you, but you should go. ...Ahh, shit," they went on, eyes finally finding the Howlite against the rock. "Someone died here?!"

A smaller shaper stepped over to peer at it. The Shapers all studied it, seeming to do some mental calculations. "Lucky you were here, then. What do you think, Sass, can we work around it? Maybe... We were gonna do that divot, right? We can put that here, leave the space clear-?"

A squint, then, as Malis looked back to Brother. "Hey, kid, any idea if whatever's in that gemstone can swim?"

@Brother (I have been informed on Discord that Brother is likely with the chrysalis!)

████████ ███████ ███████ [Version 07.0.26200.8655]
████████ ███████ Inc. All rights reserved.


WELCOME, [UNIDENTIFIED USER] !
> load file:THREADNAME.txt
Accessing document . . .

Brother rose as it caught sight of the Shapers, not that he knew what they were, but in Lacerta few creatures were kind.

Then, they were talking? He was going to be crushed; he turned his eyes upward as if expecting the rocks to materialise that very second. No rocks.

His face wrinkled as they kept talking, and then blinked owlishly as he was asked a question. Could Howlite-thing swim? He turned to the chrysalis as if it would provide him with the answers.

"Cat." He grunted, with the cadence of a caveman, as he gestured to the chrysalis with a claw.

Save file ? ( Y / N )

For a moment, the Shapers imitated road construction crews the universe over.

They stood around, hands on hips or scratching ass or head, squinting at the complication that had suddenly arisen in their job.

"Cat. Right. -Cats can swim?"

"Nah, not really. I mean maybe but they sure as fuck don't like it-"

"Yo, watch your mouth. That's a kid. I think."

"Right, right. Okay, what if we cut that bit away, carry it back? It ain't that big, right?"

"You fuckin' kiddin' me? We-"

"LANGUAGE!"

"Right, whatever, we can't carry that thing! That's huge."

"Right, so go get the hand truck-"

"Nowhere near the right size..."

...Eventually, someone clocked Brother's remaining presence. The Shapers peered at him. "Oh, kid, you should go. Shoo. Back to Hydra, all right? Come back in a day or two, when everything's more... wet. We'll make sure your friend or whatever's safe."

Brother is being warned to leave Centaurus. Failure to do so should be GM-tagged and may come with consequences including physical harm or deformation.

Howlite-T-One will awaken from her chrysalis in the Shaper's Barracks, tucked into one corner with, for some reason, a blanket tossed over the entire chrysalis. This blanket is warm, worn but clean, and the Shapers will request it back after she reemerges. The chrysalis itself will still be atop a huge, hewn-free chunk of rock to which it fused, which will be on top of a half-crushed wooden pallet. The Shapers will be playing cards and offer to deal her in. They may also serve as surrogate parent figures if she remains for any length of time, offering food, alcohol, tobacco products, fatherly advice and questionable advice in approximately equal amounts.

@Howlite-T-One @Brother

████████ ███████ ███████ [Version 07.0.26200.8655]
████████ ███████ Inc. All rights reserved.


WELCOME, [UNIDENTIFIED USER] !
> load file:THREADNAME.txt
Accessing document . . .

Brother watches the ongoing chatter back and forth, by the looks of its vacant eyes, it doesn't understand a word of what is going on. It did vaguely understand that they would look after its friend, and that they were shooing him away.

So without ceremony, he turned and left the way he came. He would see his friend later.

Save file ? ( Y / N )

;;exit, leaving centaurus