• Mature • [Job Thread] The Biting Cold

[Varthakh]

63rd Zi'da 716

With a heavy grunt, Fridgar continued his trudge through the blizzard. Despite gripping his coat tight and holding it to his freezing skin, he still couldn't help but feel the biting cold of the howling winds. He growled, the tips of his toes like blocks of ice in the freezing dampness that had seeped into his boots. He kept his eyes forward, maintaining his view of the tracks ahead of him. He raised a hand as to block off the vicious winds briefly and try and get a grasp of his surroundings, seeing a potential landmark for the journey back, he took a mental note - a boulder that had been wrapped in the roots of an up-rooted tree.

He continued to press onward, by the immortals this guy was tough. If he'd been so quick to venture into the woods outside of Andaris with nothing but a coat during a snow storm, he was either mental or durable as hell. The same couldn't be said for Fridgar - he had no intention of staying in his Lothar form for long. His frozen fingers drifted to his necklace, brushing over his grizzly bear totem briefly and forcing a sadistic grin from the corners of his mouth, he continued to press into the white landscapes outside of Andaris's walls.

The frozen wind not only mercilessly bit at his skin, but threatened to also tear up his lungs with each inhale. It felt as though the wind was full of thousands of tiny icy crystals, all razor sharp and dead set on drawing Lothar blood. he kept his focus forward, away from the pain and discomfort that wracked his body, another 50 GN was waiting for him at the end of this - he just had to keep pushing. And with plenty of grunts, he did just that.

His target was a 'John Walker', a human male. Age 36 and well built, he had a scar along the side of his face from the corner of his eye to his jaw, supposedly done in a knife fight. His client, Yoav Thompson, had hired him to Kill John for sleeping with his wife, the poor bastard couldn't muster the guts to do it himself. Not that Fridgar minded, it was more nel for him at the end of the trial.

Eager to taste blood, he picked up the pace - building into a slow jog while following the intents in the snow. He'd been following this man since he left the front gates and walked into the woods, he was certain these were his tracks. He pushed forward even further, his breathing picked up as he strained his stiffening limbs through the jog, only managing to catch more of those ice crystals in his lung flesh. He grunted through the pain, pushing past the point that his mind had given up and let his adrenaline rule his actions, a primal look forming in his eye. He finally caught up to a silhouette in the blanket of snow and called out "Hey! Are you Walker?" but his voice was thin in the whistling winds.

He pushed forward some more, closing in on the silhouette and repeated "Mister Walker?" The man turned around, a bewildered look in his eye. "Are you following me? How do you know my name?" he asked, innocence in his tone. Fridgar merely grinned, baring his fangs "Yoav sent me." he held back a chuckle as Johns face shifted expression from confusion to fear.

[Varthakh]

"Y-Yoav? What are you doing?" he pleaded, taking a step back. With an evil grin, Fridgar stepped forward, matching the man's distance. "What, you thought he was just gonna forgive your little roll around in the hay with Emily?" He asked in a mocking tone, John's expression shifted more - comprehending that this wasn't some sick joke. "What? Yeah, I know about that, takes some balls to sleep with your best friend's wife, dude. Fair play." He nodded with narrowed eyes and bitterness in his tone. His sarcasm very clear, he shook his head, looking to the floor briefly. "I'm going to kill you, John Walker." he returned his gaze to the man's widening eyes as his jaw quaked, apparently struggling.

"No.. Please! Stay back!" He cried out but didn't move, much to fridgar's surprise. Without another word he made his advance, walking toward him slowly. "P-please! Spare me!" he called out once more without budging. Once he'd closed the gap, Fridgar brandished his claws before swinging a right hook for his head - John ducked, dodging the blow then striking Fridgar's jaw with a powerful uppercut, 'Shit.' was all that his mind spoke. The blow sent him stumbling backward then falling to the floor, straight on his ass. He rubbed the underside of his jaw painfully, looking up to see the sole of a boot on a collision course with his face. The blow connected, knocking Fridgar into the snow suddenly with a now bloodied nose.

"You can't be serious, you actually fell for that whole scared act?" Mocked john, Fridgar looked up through the haze and blur to see his grin, standing over him with pride. 'Bastard'. "Didn't Yoav tell you? I used to kick his ass all the time in the ring!" John explained, realisation flashing in Fridgar's eyes - he was a boxer. He shrugged while lying in the snow "I guess pride just comes before a fall." he spoke, sitting up a little only to be punched face first into the ground. "You're funny, dude. Seriously. That's not going to save you though - nobody threatens John Walker and lives, so guess what?" He asked, malice in his tone before mimicking the one Fridgar had used prior and speaking "I'm going to kill you, Lothar prick." He stomped into Fridgar's back with his heel, forcing a grunt from the downed Lotharro.

As pleasant as it was to let this dude monologue about how bad-ass he was, Fridgar had a job to do. He quickened his ether as he had for Rey'na once before, the process came a lot easier this time, before pressing into the snow with his open palms either side of him and lifting off the ground with all of his strength. Managing to push against john's weight and all. "What the fuck?" John asked, surprised by the Lothar's immense strength. With intent, Fridgar gripped his totem, roaring with agony as he immediately began growing, flesh bubbling beneath his clothes as they tear at his added mass. "W-what t-the..?" he spoke with a shaky voice, stepping off of the growing man and re-assuming his fighting stance.

He looked to the man for a tril while standing on all fours through the gap between his arm and leg as his face elongated, distorting unnaturally. His fear was worth the pain. His boots split open as claws formed, his shirt and coat stretched and ripped down the middle along his back and arms, his trousers went with the rest - all his clothing destroyed with one move, oh well. He'd buy more with his pay. All except his necklace, which slid on its knot appropriately as he changed from form to form. With a final, primal roar - his transformation was complete, now covered in fur and a bit bigger than he had been previously, turned to face the man on all fours and stood up on his hind legs, rising to about ten feet tall while his insides shifted appropriately and other detail settled from his previous form. He looked down at John with a devilish grin before roaring a truly grizzly roar.

[Varthakh]

John fell to the floor with the roar, shaking with pure terror. "Oh g-god...! Please!! No!!" His cries fell on deaf ears, Fridgar slumped to all fours once more, prowling toward the fallen human with a vicious snarl. As hoped, John turned, got up and started running, moving away from the shreds of Fridgar's clothing. He watched him run for a little bit, almost vanishing into the thick white snow before breaking into a sprint and rushing the human down. Despite being massive, heavy and covered with fur - the grizzly bear was pretty fast, for short distances. He closed the gap with ease, tackling straight into the man from behind and knocking him from his feet and to the frozen floor.

John cried out pitifully as his body collided with the cold ground. He tried pushing himself from the floor before having his legs swiped out from under him by a giant bear claw, only falling back to the snow. He turned onto his back, scrambling for his belt and drew a knife about the size of one of his claws. With little effort or enthusiasm, he batted it away and cut up John's hand in the process. John wrapped his body around the wound in pain before dipping it in the snow. Meanwhile, Fridgar crawled over him, matching the position of his head with the humans and breathing a heavy grunt of hot white air onto the back of his head. John turned around slowly, coming face to face with the enormous beast that loomed above, tears streaming down his cheeks as he finally grasped that this was his end.

As sad as it was, Fridgar recognised the man's sorrow. He too had come toe to toe with death when facing Warren, the only difference being that Fridgar survived, while John did not. With hesitation, he bit into Johns throat, holding for a second, waiting for one last scream. The man only breathed silence for the last few trils of his life, then gurgling as Fridgar tore the flesh from the bone, pressing a paw against him for leverage. The man's chest gave way to Fridgar's enormous mass, emitting a satisfying crunch followed by the squelch of his lungs and heart. Fridgar looked into the man's eyes as the life faded from them, pitilessly. John was a prick, he'd slept with his best friend's wife. He had no sympathy for the wicked, ironically.

The body eventually twitched with the last of the brains signals, to be fair to the human, he'd lived for a good few bits after death. Was it sheer will? or had the cold slowed the oxygen starvation to his brain? Whatever the case, he still had a job to do. He had to make the scene look like a wild animal attack, which was easier done than said. Dropping the chunk of dripping flesh from his mouth, he went to work mauling the corpse, spilling his guts and breaking bones. Then spread them about the place, making the centre of the 'animal attack' the messiest. By the time he was finished, the man's skin had turned blue with the cold and the snow had drank his blood. With a grunt, he checked his neck for his totems, once satisfied he turned tail and headed back home, leaving bloodies prints in the snow behind him.

Asking Rey to pop down to the store and pick him up some new clothes was gonna be a pain, he'd probably have to go wolf mode to sway her decision, especially because of the blizzard, but he'd give her the money regardless. It would be a few trials before anyone found the body, his tracks would be long gone by then, lost in the fresh snow. And even if someone does manage to track him, it was just an animal attack, right?

OOC Note

Removed

• Jute Coat
• Cotton Shirt
• Jute Pants
• Cotton Undergarments
• Leather Boots (ankle)

from item list.

Deducted 54gn 7sn 2cn from ledger for

• Chiffon Undergarments (men) (2sn x 2.8 = 5sn 6cn)
• Leather boots (8sn x 5 = 4gn)
• Leather Trousers (5gn x 5 = 25gn)
• Leather Jacket (3gn x 5 = 15gn)
• Wool Tunic (8sn x 2.2 = 1gn 7sn 6cn)
• Cotton Jerkin (15sn x 1.2 = 1gn 8sn)
• Wool pants (3gn x 2.2 = 6gn 6sn)

[Avrae Kyric]

A Review by Summer Rain

Name: Fridgar

Knowledge:
Becoming: Clothes and Confines Are Affected By a New Form
Becoming: Smoother With Practice
Endurance: Against the Heat and the Cold
Endurance: Just Keep Pushing Through the Pain
Intimidation: Being Bigger Helps
Intimidation: Mentioning a Person's Enemy
Psychology: Hesitation When Choosing to End a Life
Psychology: Not Much Difference Between Living and Dying
Running: Building Up with a Jog
Running: Charging Forward
Strength: Bracing Against the Ground

Loot: -54gn 7sn 2cn for the new clothes, which you have already deducted from your ledger. Remember to list the new clothes in your inventory and get rid of the old.
+50 GN for the contract
Total: -4 GN 7sn 2cn (or, if it's easier since you've already deducted the costs, just add the +50)
Injuries:
Bruised Jaw - Got punched with a powerful uppercut - one trial to heal
Bloodied Nose - Foot to the Face - two trials to heal
Bruised Cheek - Punched face first into the ground - one trial to heal
Bruise on Back - Stomped on - one trial to heal

Fame:
+2 for Completion of a Contract
Total: +2 Fame
Devotion: N/A

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 0/5 (Solo)
Structure: 5/5
Magic: These points MAY be used for Arcana.

Comment: Hello Fridgar! Another amazing thread, I really enjoyed this one. Poor Fridgar got a little beat up, but it's all minor stuff. I found no issues with this thread at all, and it was very enjoyable to read. Seeing him use Becoming to assassinate people is certainly unique. I'm looking forward to seeing more! Also, thank you for doing the math on the new clothes, makes things so much easier.