Rabu eyes shut tightly and his hands were pressed firmly on his ears to drown out the storm of sound and colour that continued to assault his senses. The Tunawa was in the eye of this storm, with various colour full shapes spinning endlessly around him as he sat in silence. The floor beneath him was a gritty black stone that felt cold and wet to the touch. Golden tears welled up in his eyes and streamed down his face as he thought of everything that had just transpired. The nightmare king’s heart had been torn from his body and then everything went black. Rabu didn’t comprehend the gravity of the situation at the time but it’s weight lay heavy on him now. They had failed their mission, everything was gone.
Rabu stopped his crying and lifted his hands from his ears and looked intently at his palms. The colours, the fold of his bark he took them all in and he asked himself, was he dreaming? He was, he knew he was and if he was in a dream then there was still hope.
A book appeared in front of him, it was a simple brown book with a bit of wear and tear from age. Rabu lifted its dusty cover and from it burst a symphony of illuminating colours from its glittering pages. An overwhelming sense of happiness filled his sap filled core and he couldn’t help but don a smile from cheek to cheek. The hash intensity of the area no longer seemed to affect him and Rabu rose to his feet.
He looked within the storm that raged around him and noticed the colourful pieces it held inside. He bravely outstretched his hands into the chaos and it seemed to slow down as he did. He snatched a piece and pulled it out, holding it up to his eyes for closer examination. It was a colourful gem carved into the shape of a square with odd indents on the top and bottom. Rabu snatched another one, this time it was a rectangle with the same indents. The Tunawa soon realized that these gems could fit together like a puzzle.
Last edited by Rabu on Thu Aug 20, 2020 7:10 am, edited 2 times in total. word count: 375
One of Rabu's Mortal Born abilities involves emean creatures called Dooglewogs doing pranks and causing misfortune for the Rabu. I roll a dice every time Rabu uses his other powers and whatever it lands on will happen in the thread he's in. If a Grader or Mod wishes to add a misfortune as a reward that would be wonderful but please be sure that it's only temporary and isn't too disruptive or disturbing (I'm mostly going with light and silly) look on my character sheet for examples.
With a faint pop Tio suddenly winked into existence, floating above Rabu's head in a pose like he was lying sideways on a sofa. Even with his face concealed he had a sly vibe around him that made it obvious he was smirking behind it. He reached out to snatch another gem from the storm, a emerald zigzag, and twirled it around in his fingers as he examined it.
"So this is some sort of puzzle is it? Damn. This is normally the part where I introduce myself and blather on and on for a while about how great and powerful I am, and how I'm here to help you do your thing to fix emea, but puzzles..." He dropped the emerald piece into Rabu's hand. "Not my thing. Too boring. Unless it involves explosions or something I tend to give them a miss. I guess I'll just hang around and offer distracting commentary while you work or something." He flipped around so he was floating in a cross-legged sitting position and held out a hand, conjuring a cup of tea and a biscuit into it. "You want something to drink? Or... compost? Sunlight? Sorry I've not really met many Tunawa before, I have no idea what you guys eat. I'm not being offensive or anything by drinking tea leaves in front of you am I?"
word count: 237
Fast Facts
Noticeable quirks your character can see when threading with Tio.
Floats
Tio floats in the air, usually just a foot off the ground.
Explodeibur
Tio wears a scary looking gauntlet on his right hand that is clearly magical. It creates explosions.
Rabu's focus was broken by a sudden voice, he stoped and whirled his head around but frowned when he saw no one. He finally looked up to see a strange man floating casually above him. At first Rabu gasped at the man’s featureless face but it quickly became apparent that it was only a mask as were the accompanying horns from the forehead. While Rabu didn’t often notice others fashion,The shirt the mysterious man wore was just as painful to look at as the raging storm of light and colour swirling around them. With all this in mind, Rabu could only assume this man was just part of the dream. In fact, the tunawa was certain he had saw him in the waiting room of the dream that ended it all.
“Thank you regardless.” Rabu said as the emerald zigzag fell into his hand. “I would still very much like to know your name, Mine is Rabu, what might your’s be?” Rabu examined the emerald zigzag as he waited for a response. He noticed the matching indents and attached them to the others.
“No of course not.” Rabu giggled and shook his head at the man’s question about tea. “love to drink tea, it will really help me think this all through but I don’t mind if you drink around me. My kind don’t eat compost though, mostly just insects and other plants. My favourite snacks are spiders and Nightshade, they have a nice tang to them that’s very pleasant if you happen to be a Tunawa like me.”
Rabu went back to work pulling out another piece and connecting it where it felt natural, then grabbed another one.
“If you wish to help but don’t like puzzles maybe you could hand me a few pieces.”
Before Tio could answer, two odd looking creatures slithered out from the storm. They had bird heads with large globe like eyes, their bodies were that of fishes with skinny spider like arms that hung below their head.
“Wouldn’t explosions be more fun?” one of the creatures squawked at Tio.
“They would certainly make this more interesting, Wouldn’t you agree?” The other chimed in with a grin on his beak.
word count: 378
One of Rabu's Mortal Born abilities involves emean creatures called Dooglewogs doing pranks and causing misfortune for the Rabu. I roll a dice every time Rabu uses his other powers and whatever it lands on will happen in the thread he's in. If a Grader or Mod wishes to add a misfortune as a reward that would be wonderful but please be sure that it's only temporary and isn't too disruptive or disturbing (I'm mostly going with light and silly) look on my character sheet for examples.
Tio flipped around and landed feet-first on the ground as Rabu introduced himself and asked for his name. Even without eyes, the body language he presented made it clear he was observing Rabu with quite a bit of interest. He had only ever seen Tunawa in passing before; this was his first time speaking to one, and he was admittedly very curious about the little race who were apparently incompatible with magical sparks. What was it about their unique biology that made this so? A little part of him wanted to run some experiments on the wooden race, see if he could use them in alchemy somehow.
Hmm... Maybe later.
"Tio Silver, at your service." He bowed theatrically, flourishing his arm. "Patron of the arts and master of the mystic powers. Also somewhat mentally unstable, but that's neither here nor here."
He made to drink a sip of tea, only to pause to fight the urge to retch as Rabu mentioned eating spiders. Eww... Just eww... Who on earth would want to eat spiders? They must taste like-... Like-... Actually, maybe they weren't so bad after all? They could be like little meatballs. Maybe he should try one sometime after his gold eating curse was removed? "Spiders huh? I don't suppose you know any good recipes for them do you? Black widow-forest gateau?"
Tio nodded to agree to the idea of handing him the pieces, then looked to the cloud of colourful chaos right at the moment the two creatures emerged from it. At the mention of explosions his masked face lit up (somehow) like a christmas tree on fire.
"You have no idea how long I've waited for someone to whisper those words to me." He replied, feeling the corners of his eyes start to tickle at the urge to cry with happiness. "Ladies, or whatever you are, let's do this!"
word count: 319
Fast Facts
Noticeable quirks your character can see when threading with Tio.
Floats
Tio floats in the air, usually just a foot off the ground.
Explodeibur
Tio wears a scary looking gauntlet on his right hand that is clearly magical. It creates explosions.
“I’m pleased to have met you Tio Silver.” Rabu said with a nod of the head in the mans direction. “Now what of these mystical arts you speak of? could you mean alchemy or other forms of magic?” the tunawa’s gaze narrowed in interest at the subject of magic. His domain of Mystery was pulling the strings again and leading him to ask questions on subjects he probably shouldn’t know.
Rabu went back to assembling the sculpture of glassy bricks, sticking another zig zag to a more spherical brick and then adding them to a shape that resembled a pear. The little tunawa hadn’t the faintest idea what he was building but it all seemed correct some how, even if it looked like an awful mess.
“Recipes..I can’t say I know the word” Rabu took a moment to scratch his chin in thought before shrugging his shoulders and continuing. “I just gobble them up if they catch my fancy.” Rabu demonstrated his technique with an invisible spider and finished with a grin.
He looked back at Tio as he secured a glass rod into the top of the pear shape. “What type of spider is a..Black Widow forest Gateau? such a long name for such a tiny creature.”
“Pardon?” Rabu frowned in confusion before turning around and feeling the joy on Tio’s featureless face and spotting the dastardly source. How could the Dooglewogs have found there way in such a place.
“No no! You shouldn’t listen to them Tio they mean to trick you. They like causing trouble!” The tunawa’s large glassy eyes welled up with tears as he pleaded to his new friend.
“Tio…he just wants to ruin your fun. Everyone is always telling you to hold back but does any of them ever think about what you want.” The bird people grinned maliciously at Rabu as they seduced Tio to the dark side.
word count: 326
One of Rabu's Mortal Born abilities involves emean creatures called Dooglewogs doing pranks and causing misfortune for the Rabu. I roll a dice every time Rabu uses his other powers and whatever it lands on will happen in the thread he's in. If a Grader or Mod wishes to add a misfortune as a reward that would be wonderful but please be sure that it's only temporary and isn't too disruptive or disturbing (I'm mostly going with light and silly) look on my character sheet for examples.
A dark chuckle escaped the back of Tio's throat as Rabu asked what he meant by magic. "Aye, that's right: alchemy, elemental manipulation, mind reading, I can do all that stuff and more! Pretty cool right?" He spun around in the air as he said this, arms outstretched as if about to embrace someone. "Ah, to have reality twist and bend at your fingertips! What a feeling! It's so much much more satisfying than altering dreamscapes. What are the beliefs of magic among your people Rabu? Surely your people must have found some interesting uses for it?"
He looked on in confusion as Rabu, suddenly looking horrified by the presence of the bird-like creatures, warned him not to listen to them. Why? What was so untrustworthy about them? They were right after all, people rarely ever did consider his thoughts and feelings on matters. All he wanted was to enjoy life to the fullest, but wherever he went all people ever said were the same old lines; Tio don't do this, Tio stop stealing that, Tio you're not allowed to set people's houses on fire. It was about time he enjoyed himself again.
"You're absolutely right ladies: he is trying to ruin my fun. Well I'm not going to let him. Tell me how we get to the part where things start exploding!" He replied eagerly, rubbing his hands together as a mischievous grin grew across his face.
word count: 247
Fast Facts
Noticeable quirks your character can see when threading with Tio.
Floats
Tio floats in the air, usually just a foot off the ground.
Explodeibur
Tio wears a scary looking gauntlet on his right hand that is clearly magical. It creates explosions.
“Oh I can do Alchemy!” Rabu blurted out with excitement at their common interest. “It’s not common among my people but my mother taught me and my betrothed also knows the art.” The tunawa briefly recalled his time in Magani where intellectual pursuits were dismissed as sinful works of foreign tall folk. The other tunawa would rather live in the trees as squirrels do, then grow from the knowledge found in text.
“I know not of the other things you speak of.” Rabu pinched his brows and scratched his chin. “Are these the blessings of Immortals that give you such powers?” It was the only solution Rabu could think of, he had heard of magic but he assumed there was a logical explanation or they were simply powers from immortals he’d never heard of. Rabu really only knew of the immortals that governed the nature of the world but he heard whispers of others with strange powers that brought nightmares to those who witnessed them.
———-
“You’re a creative and powerful individual i’m sure you can think of all sorts of ways to bring excitement to this dreadfully dull dream.” The two Dooglewogs smiled their twisted grins as their puppet took the bait. “Start with destroying what Rabu is making and see what happens.”
“Please Tio! they want you to destroy my dream!” Rabu protested with sappy tears pouring out of his eyes. “If you do who knows what could happen to us, please there are other ways you can bring excitement to this dream..” Rabu looked around frantically for just about anything he could use.
“Do you like to dance?” Rabu began to awkwardly move his arms about and tap his foot to a non existent beat. “I have a flute I could try playing too…”
“How pathetic, don’t waste your time with this fool. Just destroy this place like we brought you here to do.” The Doogle Wogs eyes narrowed in spite and their tone became more forceful. The Dooglewogs were not a patient pair by any stretch of the imagination.
word count: 347
One of Rabu's Mortal Born abilities involves emean creatures called Dooglewogs doing pranks and causing misfortune for the Rabu. I roll a dice every time Rabu uses his other powers and whatever it lands on will happen in the thread he's in. If a Grader or Mod wishes to add a misfortune as a reward that would be wonderful but please be sure that it's only temporary and isn't too disruptive or disturbing (I'm mostly going with light and silly) look on my character sheet for examples.
The Immortals?" An undercurrent of bite worked its way into Tio's tone, giving his words a snappy edge. Even though his face was concealed, his body language suddenly became a lot more rigid. "A word of advice little tunawa: don't let yourself get fooled by the 'blessings' of the Immortals. Whatever powers they offer you have strings attached; there's nothing blessed about them." The blank face of his mask stared unblinkingly at Rabu, its expressionless features in stark contrast to his wrathful voice. "Power that isn't yours is no power at all. When you rely on the strength of others you become nothing but a servant, an extension of their greatness at the expense of your own. You become dependant on them for survival, and when they fall you'll fall down with them."
Tio watched Rabu's awkward dance in complete stillness, wondering in the back of his head what on Idalos the small tree-person was doing. Sure he liked to dance, but dancing could hardly compare to explosions now could it? No, the explosion train had left the station and there was no stopping it now. Clearly these Doogle Wogs were on the same wavelength as him on the matter, and made some snide commentary that Tio only half-heard.
"If it's explosions you want, there's only one way to go." He declared, hovering up into the air and extending his arms out like a saintly angel. The dreamscape twisted around him at his whim, conjuring a torrent of gunpowder that poured forth from his clothing like a black waterfall and filled the area around them; coating Rabu, the puzzle, and even the Doggle Wogs. It appeared that he was fully willing to blow the entire dreamscape to smithereens.
"T-minus 10, 9, 8..." He began to count slowly.
word count: 308
Fast Facts
Noticeable quirks your character can see when threading with Tio.
Floats
Tio floats in the air, usually just a foot off the ground.
Explodeibur
Tio wears a scary looking gauntlet on his right hand that is clearly magical. It creates explosions.
“Thats not true, I draw my strength from my friends all the time and it has served me well.” Rabu retorted with an empathic look. He could hear the hurt in the masked mans voice, and couldn’t help but feel his pain. “I’m sure you’ve been hurt in the past but that’s no reason to give up on the kindness of others.” The Tunawa gave Tio a faint smile that he hoped would encourage the man, maybe even warm his cold broken heart. No good deed goes unpunished however.
_________________________
“No please don’t…I beg of you” Rabu let out his final plea. Thick sappy tears continued to steak down his face as his mind pondered the hopelessness of the situation. He thought of all that he’d be missing, his parents, his friend and most of all his beloved Kisaik. The tears erupt out of him in steady steams as his crying grew into uncontrollable sobbing.
It was then that many giant disembodied eyes opened up their eyelids all around them and from them came heavy steams of water.The entire dreamscape was flooding fast and It wasn’t long before Rabu was swallowed up by the rising water levels. The Water mixed with the storm, creating a large whirlpool underneath them that pulled the two protesting Dooglewogs into its depths like a raging water tornado. The water levels grew and the strengh of the vortex grew with it until there was nothing that could dare escape it.
The water drained from the dreamscape as quickly as it came, flushing all the unwanted individuals from it, leaving only Rabu and a mountain of the colourful blocks in its wake. The tunawa looked around frantically for any sign of the masked man or the dooglewogs, when he was sure he was alone he sighed a deeply in relief as he went back to work with the bricks. Rabu worked tirelessly until he was able to make it, The most magnificent tree that anyone had ever seen.
word count: 340
One of Rabu's Mortal Born abilities involves emean creatures called Dooglewogs doing pranks and causing misfortune for the Rabu. I roll a dice every time Rabu uses his other powers and whatever it lands on will happen in the thread he's in. If a Grader or Mod wishes to add a misfortune as a reward that would be wonderful but please be sure that it's only temporary and isn't too disruptive or disturbing (I'm mostly going with light and silly) look on my character sheet for examples.
Comments: You forgot the date! Please state when the thread takes place!
Tio was entertaining, as always. He is quite considerate in this thread as well though by asking if he’s not being offensive by drinking tea leaves in front of Rabu.
The conversation between Tio and Rabu was quite enjoyable in my opinion. I found the fact that Rabu’s favourite snacks are spiders interesting. I’m really curious about Tunawa cuisine now.
When Tio asked him if he knew any good recipes for them, I was amused. That was such a Tio thing to ask!
The ending seemed a bit abrupt (were you finishing an abandoned thread?), but it worked.
