Warpland Fantasy

[jondude]

Nova listened to Vale and Scarlet as they explained their overly sexy attires. She nods and can sympathize to Vale's circumstances especially, and while they certainly were not the same she can definitely connect with being forced to play dress up if not the situation that landed her in that scenario. "Yeah I fairly frequently had conditions on clothing on what I could I wear during my matches depending on what the... theme was let's say. Sometimes it was bikini's, sometimes I could have limited armor. Sometimes if they were putting me against a big beastie of some sort or another I even got to use power armor... other times they would just throw a bunch of us into an oiled up arena naked and have us fist fight. It was... all over the place. But the perks for being good at it where damn good... I miss my hot tub.", Nova casually says, one of her hands idly playing with the fine sand at the edge of the pool.

When Vale promises to do her best though Nova gives her a small smile. "I'm sure you have skills to spare if that is what you did as a job. I've heard there is all sorts of lost ruins and tribes outside the city walls. Maybe if we're lucky all the exiles over the years have made their own settlement or city state where minor warp taint isn't a big deal.", Nova says, but then adds, "Yeah it's a weird contradiction all right. Not sure why they'd go through the effort, but some cover is better then no cover."

When Kayin tentatively asks for some rations though Nova is briefly skeptical she'll get any, but given that they had given them water canteens maybe they were contractually obligated to keep them alive or something until they got to the Hinterland Woods. Mitch might act like a dickhead, but he seemed oddly professional for all his gruffness. He gives a brief explanation of the situation and that he thinks staying put till dusk to stay out of the heat before moving is a preferred option, and Nova would have to agree. Honestly she was surprised she got into contact with the rest of the convoy at all given how far away they must be at this rate. Clearly he had better radios then she thought! Maybe the woods was safer and once they had caught up Mitch and maybe Crake would join up back with their mates before leaving them all to their exile fates in the woods.

In the meantime though, a bite to eat certainly seemed like a good idea! Nova sighs loudly and thumps onto her back in the sand, before rolling onto her side and facing Mitch and Crake, propping her head on her one of her hands as her other traced her side gently, her chains gently clinking. "A little bit of food would be nice...", she says in a lower slightly husky tone, intentionally breathing a little deeper to make her chest pop more, her exposed tit jumping a little with each slightly exaggerated breath. (Bid: 1 Social)

[Taria]

Nova

Diff 3, you rolled: 3


Crake seems preoccupied with ogling Nova’s tits as she makes her display, while Mitch just grunts a bit as he sets down his pack and pulls out a can and small cooking kit, including a miniature burner. “Yeah I reckon I can make us something while we wait. Don’t got anything fancy though so either take it or leave it. Also only got two bowls so either ya’ll with have to share or use palm leaves or somethin” Crake catches himself staying and clears his throat and scoots away, close over to Nova as he lets Mitch cook up a can of beans with a side of hard tack.


Crake sidles up near Nova as he mentions, “Man that sand shark beast or whatever was something else huh? I can’t believe you manage to haul it up like that.”


Everyone is able to rest and restore their dice

[Kuragari]

Hearing that Vale was a spy surprised Kayin, given at the moment she looked more like a stripper. Then her attention was taken by Nova talking about her being some sort of... by the sounds of it a sexy Gladiator? She was soon staring at both of them with at least some amount of awe... though as Nova propped herself up and sought to use her charms on the guards, Kayin blushed a fair bit more and shivered. The idea that had popped into her of trying to be more... flirty or seductive popped into her head. She wasn't sure how good she would be at that though. And well, the objective of food was handled it seemed.

"I don't mind sharing." She said as she hurried over to her impromptu shelter. "I've got something like a plate here could use too if folks don't mind it." She returned with a big leaf that at least felt sturdy enough.

[jondude]

Nova can't help but smirk an ever so tiny bit as she seems to enrapture Crake, at least for a little bit. Even the standoffish Mitch though seems to look for a few seconds before grunting and relenting, agreeing to make some food. "Wonderful! Anything is better then nothing. Thank you boys~", Nova says with a slightly flirtatious tone, fluttering her eyes quickly and resisting the urge to giggle as Crake scoots over toward her and Mitch starts making food. It probably wouldn't be the best tasting food ever, but it would be something and beggars could not be choosers. Besides she was still getting served it rather then making it herself. She couldn't complain about that! A extra bowl or two would've been nice though, but oh well.

She continues to lay in the sand as Crake and Mitch do their thing, providing the visual snack for them well they go about making the real snacks. Still they both seem to move closer to her, and thus the rest of the group in general before Crake plops down next to her and makes conversation with her. "Yeah that was definitely a first for me. It's was definitely motivating though when the alternative was getting either pulled out of the moving jeep or into it's mouth. I may have stopped most of it's teeth with that chain but they were still plenty sharp without the spinning.", Nova replies. "I've fought all sorts of weird creatures in Thunder City, though none of them were warp tainted... or so I was told anyway. I've definitely never seen anything living have circular rows of teeth that spin though. That was like a garbage disposal from hell."

[Soru]

"I doubt the people that got rid of me even cared I was warp tainted; was just easier for them to get rid of me if I was. Mostly they were either angry or jealous of me. Honestly a lot of people didn't really care much if you were warp tainted if you ever saw the underground of where I'm from. But in the light of day it's a good excuse to kick out someone you don't like without proof." Scarlet comments after Vale finished. "I think my outfit was supposed to be extra salt in the wound, not just the tail but because this was common in a lot of places in my former home I can't go back to."

As it seems like food might be ready soon Scarlet wonders if she should take out the key now. She goes up to Vale and leans in. "Hey, I got the key... think now might be a good idea for me to 'remember' that I picked it up? I don't plan on picking any fights but I don't want them to think we're threats if we're uncuffed." She whispers to her. "But most likely they'll be fine with us... at this point, there's strength in numbers. Our survival goes up with the more we have."

[Lazy Kitsune]

It seems Nova knows how to be persuasive just as much as she knows how to fight. Which makes some sort of sense, Vale supposed, if she had to play to a crowd often. She had used similar tactics herself in the past to get many men, and some women, do lower their guard around her or do as she wanted. In her honest assessment, Nova would have made for a good operative. She might even have had a chance of 'persuading' Vale herself from time to time if her current demonstration was a good example of what she could normally do. As a bonus, she seems to have gotten Mitch to start preparing some food, and furthered shown how much we might be able to sway Crake to be more sympathetic to our needs.

It seems like Vale has something in common with Scarlet as she shares more of her story. Vale herself wasn't even tainted when exiled, it was just something easy enough for her captor to fake and would get her thrown out without much in the way of an investigation. Perhaps he also enjoyed the dramatic irony of exiling Vale through a similar means she may have exiled others in the past, albeit less directly. Although Vale never reported anyone under false pretences... and even then it was probably best not to discuss something like that around other exiles. Painting herself as the enemy was not a smart move.

Scarlet had more to share than just similar circumstances, however. Vale smirked slightly as she hears what she has to say after leaning in.

"Aren't you the talented, little thing. Very clever." Vale whispers back. "Yeah, they seem an awful lot more concerned for our safety than I would have expected. It's worth a shot. Or if you want you could pass it to me and I'll tell them I found it down my suit. Seems they bought me being clumsy, clueless and frightened earlier and I was the last person they saw with the key. Up to you, either way I've got your back."

[Taria]

Mitch continues to quickly make his meager meal into the evening, keeping his nice bowl and utensils to himself, but at least sharing the good somewhat equally. He still mainly keeps to himself, not looking eager to initiate any conversations and periodically gazing up at the sky or over to the horizon.

Crake continues to make conversation with Nova as they share stories about the kinds of beasts they’ve seen and the fights they’ve been through. “Yeah it sounds like they found and grabbed animals that were just recently warped, or just exposed them to warp then released them to fight. In the more warped up places out here you can’t always know what to expect, those things may very well have been made from old world garbage disposals for all I know. Point is you want to steer clear of the really weird things unless you’re ready for anything. A good weapon helps of you’ve got to defend yourself, but running away is usually safer.”

It looks like dusk will be approaching soon as the sun dips down in the sky

[Kuragari]

Kayin thanks Mitch when he gives her a portion of the food, then settles down by Crake and Nova, listening with interest but not joining in the conversation. It was clear though that her own spirits were higher than before, given she found it hard not to have at least some sort of smile on her face. After a week with no one but the damned sand sharks out past the edge of the Oasis, she was just happy to have other people around. Still, she can't help but wonder how things would go once they set out, and what fate would come for her, heck for all of them, once they arrived at their destination.

She takes a bit of a nap, though she stirs and sits back up once she feels the air starting to cool. Standing and stretching, she hums a bit before saying, "Well, I'm as ready as I'm going to be. Hope none of those sand-sharks decide to cause us any trouble." Just from hearing the talk from Nova and Crake, and having seen them around the edge, she didn't want to get near one of those things.

[jondude]

"Wait... you're saying that you think those sharks might have started that somehow became mutant shark things? Not the other way around? Thats... concerning.", Nova replies to Crake. She had never considered that might be a possible thing. Granted she basically knew nothing about how the warp worked. All she had ever been taught was that warp taint was bad and those who had it were dangerous to those around them. It was a whole culture of fear in most City States by the sounds of it too, not just Thunder City. Of course she had heard rumors of powerful people doing their own research on such things... maybe that was where a lot of the stranger creatures she had fought had come from. Still that couldn't be exactly true could it? She had fought lots of them over the last 8 years or so, not always victoriously so. She had definitely gotten hurt by them once or twice and... mated a few times. Such was one of the big reason her circuit was popular after all. But there had never been any transfer of warp taint... not until now anyway. Besides her last mutant match was almost 2 months ago. It couldn't have been that! She was still convinced had to have been something her lesser rival Roxanna had done. She was sure of it!

Well in any case though, she was happy to share stories with Crake, even if he spaced out half the time looking at her exposed breast. She let him have his peeks though. The poor guy had a rugged handsomeness to him, but the disfigurement around his left eye probably didn't get him much luck with the ladies. That and, well... she had never really heard of people going in and out of Thunder City all that much unless they had special permissions. The city itself was mostly self sufficient baring some limited trade, but even most of that trading was handled by wealthy folks outside of the walls. By and large if you weren't from Thunder City, your chances of getting into it were pretty much zero. But maybe there where other cities a little more welcoming to external trade and... entrepreneurs like Crake, Mitch, and whatever company they worked for. Maybe there was a city state out there that made a lot of it's resources simply by doing work like this for the other cities?

Questions like this made Nova realize she had a lot to learn about the outside world.

She eats her share of the food, not thrilled with the flavor but happy to have something in her stomach. meanwhile she makes polite conversation with Crake and the other girls in while hanging out in the shade in the hours it takes to wait for dusk. As she gets up and makes ready to move though she figures there's no sense in not asking Crake about her earlier thoughts. "Hey Crake. Are you from one of the Cities? Just wondering how you got into... doing this kind of work I guess.", she asks. Otherwise she agrees with Kayin, and hopes there are no more sand sharks. Fighting one with no weapons was enough chancing fate she thinks.

[Soru]

"I think I should do it since you might get them a bit suspicious with you if you keep the act for too long." Scarlet tells Vale before walking away a bit. She sits down and sighs and makes herself look bored as she shifts and looks around while waiting for Mitch to make the food. Then she seems to have a look of realization as her hands feel around her outfit before she pulls out the key to their cuffs. "Oh... Right." She stands up and looks to the others. "So in the heat of... almost being eaten and having the jeep get destroyed I forgot I picked this up. My bad..." She laughs sheepishly and fake embarrassment. She uses the key to unlock her cuffs and does the same for any that were still on Vale or Nova. Then she approaches Mitch and holds the key to him. "Um... I guess you should hold on to it? I'm going not going to wear mine for now but will keep them with me; best thing to a weapon I got since they're metal." She said to him and waits to see if he takes the key or just lets her have it.

Time passes and soon the food was ready. While waiting Scarlet found a palm leaf and washed it in water so she can use it as a makeshift plate like Mitch suggested. She looks around as the other eat, Nova talking with Crake and the others by themselves. She decides to sit next to Mitch since it might be good to know what he might know. "So... I hear Crake sharing some stories. Got any you want to share?"

[Lazy Kitsune]

Vale left the key situation in Scarlet's hands and took the time to rest up on her own accord. It seemed like the others were splitting off to approach each of the guys, which might play in their favour. She didn't know how much might be gained from trying to win over Mitch, but Nova seemed to be making decent progress with Crake. At least getting him to lower his guard and open up more freely. Vale felt she could leave those matters to them so instead focused on getting her fill. The lack of proper utensils made it a little tricky to do so. The new girl seemed to have her own dried leaf that was working as a plate. Not something Vale would normally consider as resourceful, but much to her surprise it seemed to actually work. Maybe she should pick her brain sometime, learn what other tricks she's picked up while out here.

For now though, Vale's best option was to share a bowl. And, well, if Nova was interested in giving Crake a nice show while she built a bridge with him, then maybe she could help out with that too while she ate. She sauntered over to join the gladiator's side and reclined down beside her. "Hey." she said, letting her voice get a little breathy and sultry within Crake's earshot as she gestured towards Nova's bowl. "Mind if I shared your bowl? Seems better than eating it off of my hands."

She let her body stretch out on the ground, angled to show off her curves. Her tits dangled from within the flimsy confines of her top, a nipple poking out to match Nova's own level of similar exposure as she met the gladiator's eyes. If the men were becoming more pliable with a good show, then maybe another woman joining in on that show might help further. Even if the circumstances for it were somewhat on the more ludicrous side.

[Taria]

Crake listens to Nova's pondering as he shovels food into his mouth hungrily, he winces slightly as he shifts his body weight, reminding himself of the injuries along his back. Then he interjects, "Hey, you mind checking out my back and maybe pouring some water over it or something? I don't want it to get infected too badly." As he says this, Crake lifts the back of his shirt towards Nova to reveal three rough gouges of varying length going up towards his shoulders, looking pink and freshly wounded. However, instead of the normal scabbing process one might expect, upon closer inspection there appears to be skin-tone scales growing in from around the edges of the injury. While waiting on Nova's response Crake answers her question, “Yeah, I grew up in a place called Traver. Never felt like it was big enough for regular people to get by. I rather do more honest work out here, where the difference between people and monsters is more clear.”

Crake turns and takes the key as it’s offered to him by Scarlett and says, “Sweet, now I won’t need to get a new one.” He then keeps an eye on Vale as she comes over, guarding the gun strapped to his side. “Last time I gave you something, you tried to grab my gun. You know, in all my time running transport I can’t say anybody asked if the exiles actually made it there ok, I’m pretty sure we just get paid to make a problem disappear.” Despite his berating, Crake tosses his now empty bowl and spoon for Vale to use for her share, “The gun’s for shooting monsters, try not to be one of them.”


Mitch seems to be going through his supplies and taking inventory as Scarlett approaches him, meticulously counting things with his finger and finding just the right places for things. She asks him for some stories, and not even looking away from his task he says, “This ain’t the first time everyone’s up and disappeared on me. I used to live next to a giant. The Forest Deity, they called him. Creepy thing used to watch over the village and squash monsters and shit, and my people would give em offerins’s and the like. I didn’t like it, I lived out away on my own. One day while I was hunting, I came back to the village and everybody was just gone. No fight, no battle, just vanished. Never went back there again.”

After getting all of his things back together and looking up at the sky Mitch announces in a slightly louder voice, I reckon it’s time to move. Any y’all can stay here if you want, but I’m not sticking around where there’s no food.” Mitch waits briefly on the others to get their things together, his stance announcing his readiness to leave with or without them.

[jondude]

Nova finds herself in a... mild predicament when Crake shows her his back and the... well, the not quite right scabbing of his wound. It luckily looked shallow and wasn't bleeding by any means, and while she was hardly an expert in warp... anything it seemed quite likely to her that was a sign of warp taint. For a few moments she debates between telling him or keeping her mouth shut, unsure of what the consequence for him would be. He was outside a city after all, and maybe the company he worked for was a little more open to mild issues. They hadn't cared he was blind in one eye after all right? After a few moments though she decides Crake was more of the sort that would prefer to just be told how it was then for someone to blow smoke up his ass. "Um, yeah. Sure.", Nova answers at first simply, unscrewing her canteen and starting to pour some water onto his back, washing away whatever few particles of desert sand hand managed to make their way there during their walk since the jeep was wrecked.

Before she can say anything though Scarlet reveals she suddenly has the key to their chains and returns them to Crake, which was news to her and... luckily is a nonissue to him as he takes it back. He reacts quite defensively to Vale though, and perhaps understandably so. Nova admits she didn't really see what had triggered the whole altercation between them on the jeep since she had a little loopy after playing tug of war with a land shark. Given Vale's apparent background though maybe she was trying to take control of the situation for their advantage and it had unfortunately not worked out. It was hard to say, and it wasn't something they could really just talk about openly since they were kind of relying on Mitch and Crake for protection at the moment. The worse part about it though was that Vale was sort of the reason Crake got his perhaps warp tainted wound! That was awkward! ...sort of just like their brief conversation.

Well, in case, best to let the poor lad know what she was seeing as she continued to slowly pour water over his back. "It doesn't look to bad to me. It seems shallow and its not bleeding at all. The scabbing looks weird though. Kind of flaky.", Nova tells him, not outright saying warp taint since that was something she was not in anyway qualified to say. "I'm not much a medical expert though. I was more an injurer then an injuree at the arena. If we catch up with the rest of your company you'll definitely want another opinion.", Nova tells him. Crake hardly seemed a fool to her though, she was sure he could put two and two together.

Nearby meanwhile Mitch makes a call getting ready to leave after speaking with Scarlet. With not exactly much to gather it was easy for her to be ready, but Crake had a little more stuff and... well could be taking what he told her in various different ways. She'd try to be optimistic and helpful though, and if he had a towel or something she'd happily pat his back dry if he was okay with that. She didn't want to presume though, what with her own warp taint and all.

[Soru]

"Hold on, you're saying that everyone in that village just disappeared with no trace? Like they packed up and left or... just gone?" Scarlet had to ask after being told that Mitch's entire old village just disappeared. "What about that forest giant thing you mentioned? Was he still there or did he go missing too?" This was odd to her as she has never heard of something like that, at least not within her city while she rarely heard news outside of it.

Whether or not he answered her she gets ready to leave as it was dark now and Mitch was ready to head out. Deciding to get one last drink Scarlet heads to the water and gets down and leans her head in, getting a good drink of the water before they leave. She unintentionally sticks her plush and round rear up in the air, the tight bunny girl outfit doing nothing to hide the shape and curves of her ass as she drinks down her fill of water. Once done picks up the metal cuffs she was wearing with the chain still on them and slings them over her shoulder; they were the closest thing she had to a weapon and at the very least she can throw it into the mouth of one of those sand shark things if they encounter another one. "Ready to go unless anyone has something they want me to carry." She says to the others.

[Kuragari]

"A giant? Like, giant in the faerie tales?" Kayin asked in surprise as she glanced to Mitch in interest. Suddenly she found herself much more curious about the lands out here than she had been. It sounded so different to what she would have expected for the outside world beyond the safety of her home city's walls. When she glances back towards Crake as he asks for such help from Nova, she spots the state of his wound and winces at first then her eyes widen when she spots the strange scabbing.

"Can creatures tainted by warp taint transfer it easily?" She asked aloud. "Those kind of look like scales... though..." She tilts her head a moment and says, "I suppose it could just be very flakey scabs..."

Kayin get's up, sticking between Mitch and Crake as she nods. "Ready when you are. Lead the way, sir." She gives a little salute, figuring given how he's taking charge so readily and easily he's someone whose used to having authority. She blushes though as she glances towards the other girls, having snuck some glances at Nova's exposed breast a bit, and taken note of the way that Scarlet and Vale seemed to be acting around the two.

Should I try to act like that? She thought to herself with a frown before deciding to try and put a bit more bounce in her walk. It wasn't something she'd ever really done so she wasn't sure how good it'd look or if it'd be appealing... but maybe it could be excused for enthusiasm to get out of this particular place.

[Taria]

Heading out across the sands

Crake looks a little more glum about things as his injury is described to him and eventually tucks his face back into his gas mask as the group goes on the move. He lags back towards the rear, helping the others get across any obstacles in their path and periodically taking glances behind them as the ominous clicking noises can soon be heard once again echoing through the desert. He hangs close to Nova as well, making small talk about their path and how close they are to danger currently.

Mitch follows scarlet as she dips down to the waters edge before they leave to answer her, "Yeah, never saw that freaky thing again neither." He unslings a camel pack from one of his shoulders and hands it over towards Scarlet, "Here, you like the water so much you can carry this, should be good to keep a surplus of fresh water around if we're gonna be stuck out here a while, don't fuckin lose it." Then he gestures over toward Kayin, "New girl, if yer coming along come stick behind me." Mitch takes point as he leads the group towards the desired direction and (hopefully) towards better odds of survival. "I dunno what fairy tales they tellin you in you're fancy city or wherever you're from but it ain't all sunshine and rainbows. The warp is chaos, a little bit might give you some funky eyes or whatever, a lot of it will scramble you up until you don't know who or what you are anymore, assuming you can even still think. I don't like to take chances with that freaky shit, even if it looks nice, it can always lead to something worse. Maybe some big friendly giant is just keeping folks safe for cattle to eat later, or is slowly transforming them into his kin, or who the hell knows what."



The familiar calls of the sand sharks start to feel like they are closing in on your group as you continue trudging onward through the night. The lights of the stars illuminates your way as any other lighting is heavily discouraged by those wanting to stay hidden. You can start to make out fins breaching over the surface of the sands behind more and more as it seems the creatures are in whatever way catching on to your trail, however, there appears to be some strange structure in the distance. A building stands tall, alone among the desert emptiness and appears to be about two stories tall. It is made of hardened sandy-colored stone and remains mostly intact, with the telltale signs of ruin only becoming visible as your group gets closer, only a few structural pillars appearing to have fallen down. If you had to guess based on appearance it would seem this place was meant to look pretty at one point in time, a monument to whatever lost group decided to build it. Crake calls out the imminent approach of the sharks as you are almost upon the place, "Shit, they're coming. Run! Make it over to that building over there, whatever it is." Mitch seems to think similarly as he begins to sprint towards the more solid stone standing amongst the shifting sands, not even turning until his feet are firmly on the solid ground.

[Kuragari]

"Aye sir!" Kayin replies to Mitch as she moves to follow behind him. Some of her bouncing as she walks is soon not so much forced but rather natural. She's getting to leave that Oasis behind her, and after hearing about Mitch's own story, is trying to think of this exile in a different manner. Its an adventure! You'll get to see all kinds of things folks elsewhere don't get to! Sure she could never return to her home city but... Well, didn't mean she shouldn't seek to live a good or fun life out here in the warplands! "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to imply that. I was just talking about the really old stories, things like myth and folklore. To be honest... I actually don't know much about what its like out here, other than what everyone seems to know. That its dangerous and that warp is just about everywhere."

Soon however her bouncing ebbs a bit as she hears the clicking of the sand sharks, and she starts casting her eyes back behind them. She really wishes they'd left some sort of means of defense with her, even just a club or baton would have been nice. When they begin to spot the building, Kayin's eyes perk up in curiosity. The building takes a fair bit of her attention away from her surroundings as she finds herself trying to wrack her mind for any chance she might have heard or read about something similar to the structure. Eyes darting this way and that for any sign of something familiar that stood out to her. (Bid: 1 Mental)

Of course, then trouble arrives. Kayin lets out a frightened yelp before darting on off after Mitch, working to keep pace with him as best as she can!

[Soru]

It seems that Mitch probably blames the disappearance of the villagers on the giant from how he talked, probably thinks that all the warp taint stuff is nothing but bad news. However something that big should have left tracers... Scarlet's knowledge about warp tainted was that it made mainly physical changes, though she didn't realize how far it went till she saw that sand shark thing. But... could it do supernatural things as well? She takes the camel pack and slings it over her shoulder when Mitch handed it to her. "Sure, no problem. If you got one of the only actual weapons here then best you not have anything weighing you down." The thief said, trying to be logical here as she rather the guy that had the weapon be able to use it freely. "So I have to ask, can warp do more than just physical change? Like supernatural stuff? I've only ever seen physical mutations myself."

Soon they were walking, the stars out in the night and lighting their way a bit. As they walk though Scarlet can see the fins sticking out of the sand and following them from a distance. "Shit... they already have our trail... I don't suppose throwing something in another direction distracts them?" She asked the two guards, figuring they might know the answer to that. Though within their path seemed to be a ruins of sort, with hopefully a solid foundation. Then Crake tells them to run and Scarlet was quick to get to running. "W-Will we be safe on solid ground?" She yells out as they ran.

[jondude]

Nova doesn't hear much of the conversation between Mitch and Scarlet, but she caught snippets enough to gather that it seemed to lean into the more... unknown nature of the warp and how it tainted things. It wasn't always just physical mutations, but all manner of strange effects, not necessarily included to just living things themselves. Hell even Crake had insinuated as much after all, suggesting the sand sharks maybe started out as literal appliances and somehow the biological bits came after. In any case, Nova does her best to try and keep talking to Crake as they move out, trying to keep his mind off his back. That and she appreciates the conversation and him slowly opening up to her. Granted maybe a lot of his reason to stick around her came from her half exposed chest, but that was okay.

From then on they walk into the night, where hopefully they would come across the Hinterland woods before dawn. A few hours or so into it though the sudden strange clicking noise of the sand sharks are heard, quickly followed with ripples in the sand as fins broke the surface briefly. They seemed to circling, perhaps sizing them up. Hopefully they wouldn't get the chance to try however, as what appears to be some kind of sand stone building comes into view, it's silhouette easily visible in the clear moonlit night. It's odd for sure, perhaps suspiciously so, but any cover or area with a solid floor was better then nothing. If they were lucky maybe it was built on a shallow shelf of bedrock between sand dunes.

She starts to run as hard as she can along with the others, pumping her athletic legs used to running about all over during her matches, doing her best to adjust for the fact that her impressive tits were just bouncing about wildly rather then held down by anything substantive. She can manage though and make her stride work in such a way where she can control the way it bounces, if not the weight of it. Still though what mattered most here was speed since needed to get to that building, but she would also do her best to protect her comrades. She still had two sets of chain after all, and the metal was thick enough to jam up the sand sharks whirring teeth. If necessary she would use both sets of chain, but ideally she could use one set to stop teeth and maybe use the second set as rudimentary flail if one takes a chance at them(Bid: 3 Physical). It was hardly the best weapon, but with the manacles on each end it would be a decent blunt force weapon. Nova was sure one solid strike to the head with it would be enough to kill or severely injure a human, so hopefully it would also be enough to smack a sand shark off target.

[Lazy Kitsune]

Vale supposed it would have been too much to hope for these shark beasts to leave them unaccosted once they left the relative safety of the oasis. It didn't help that before the trek Mitch took a moment to remind us that we likely weren't even heading anywhere that would be safe for us, just potentially less immediately dangerous than where we were now. But now not only was there night time trek disturbed by the threat of being eaten by one of these beasts yet again, but multiple fins were breaking the surface of the sand. A pack of sand sharks, gaining on us fast while we were deep in the desert with no sign of these Hinterland woods we were supposed to be heading to.

But there was a structure. It might shelter us from the sand sharks. They might be able to get in without issue. There might be something even worse inside. But it was the only thing anyone could see that was potentially safety. So Vale didn't need to be told twice, or even once for that matter. She began sprinting as fast as she could. She wasn't as physically fit as a fighter like Nova, but her work required her to keep in shape so she hoped she could at least keep up with the others or, at the very least, not be the one in the back. She'd rather they all made it of course, but in the back of her mind she considered the chance that the sharks might slow down if they get any prey to feast upon. Though with the close up she got of their mouths not too long ago, she imagines any prey of theirs wouldn't take too long to consume.