forum Sliding into the roleplay forums

Started February 23, 2018 by @_sleeby_rat_

tune

Pluto squinted down at the fortress. "Okay, that's great. Because my wings aren't listening to me and I can't hide them."

Red's face ironically went slightly red in embarrassment "Ah… Yours are so soft… Sorry." She pulled her attention back to the 'camp' of sorts, which looked more like some sort of obstacle-course castle.

"Uh, yeah. They are kinda soft I guess." Pluto felt herself grow a little anxious as they got closer to the fortress. It wouldn't be the first time she had a bad reception for something like her wings, and she had started mentally preparing herself for a fight

Red noticed Pluto tense up in anticipation, so she tensed up too. She might need to protect the winged-human.

Mike waved at the watchmen, who waved back. "Don't worry. I'll try to explain to them that you're not a demon or a Hapbringer, but expect to be misidentified a bit at first. I apologize in advance."
The gate opened, and a cheerful-looking man in battered tactical gear stepped out. "Mike, you're back! Good to seeya, man! Who are your friends?"
"Red, Asura, and Pluto. Call a meeting, will ya? I've got some explaining to do."
Sure thing." The man nodded politely at them and trotted off, whistling.

Pluto folded her wings, trying to make them seem smaller. She put her hands in her pockets, thumbing the handle of a small knife in one of her pockets

They walked into the camp, heading for the largest building at the end. All around, men and women with a mixture of military and hand-made uniforms went about their business. Many called out greetings to Mike, who waved at them but didn't slow down.
On their left, a series of large pens and corrals came into view. Most of them were empty, but some contained strange creatures like you'd never seen before. Wolves with wings, lions with scales, people with fur or feathers covering their skin. A woman with the head of a leopard saw them and grinned, leaning against the reinforced fence casually.
"Somebody let me out," she yowled pitifully. "I'm booored."

Pluto glared at it. "God, that must be annoying."

Mike walked by without a glance. "Luckily they don't stay here long. Usually we relocate them or send them off to a buyer within the week." He reached the door of the large building and opened it. "Come on in, looks like they've got the fires going already."

Pluto walked through the doorway, accidentally knocking her wings against the top of the door. She let out a mumbled curse in Russian and followed Mike in

Red looked at Pluto, startled that she managed to yell in another language but still followed the group inside.

The room, which seemed to be a dining hall of sorts, was already crowded, and quickly being filled with more people. When they saw Mike, a great cheer went up from the crowd.
"What a relief," a huge blond man shouted happily from a spot near the door. "I was getting gray hairs from looking after this place. How's it going, boss?"
Mike led the others to the head of the table. "Don't relax yet, Raul, I'm only here for a day and then I'm off again. Where's Mariana?"
A man with a tattoo on his neck leaned over. "She's out collecting some goods from South Dakota, but she'll be back before long."
"All right, I guess I'll start without her," Mike said. He turned to Pluto and the others. "You three go ahead and sit down, I'll introduce you in a second."

Pluto shuffled to a chair, trying her best to not hit anyone with her wings

Mike waited for everyone to settle down somewhat, then stood up and raised a hand for silence. "Okay, first of all, these are my buddies from another dimension. Red the vampire, Asura the demon king, and Pluto the…fallen angel? Sorry, I'm not entirely sure. Treat 'em with respect, they're good people."
The hunters waved enthusiastically. "Hi!"

Pluto waved awkwardly from her seat

"Asura's the guy I'm working for right now," Mike continued. "The other two are tagging along for complicated reasons. I've been gone a while, so I came back to see how everyone's doing, but I'll be heading back out tomorrow morning, and I'm not sure when I'll return."
The hunters looked disappointed, but nodded.
Mike sat back down. "Now, how's things? Anything exciting happen while I was gone?"
"Nah," Raul said. "Caught that demoness that was bothering the folks in Camride, filled out the Datapool quota for the week, the usual. You?"
"More excitement than I care to talk about," Mike sighed. "We only managed to anger an entire dimension's worth of gods and such. And we ain't done yet."
Raul chuckled. "Sounds like fun." He glanced at Pluto. "Pluto, huh? Good to meet ya. Sorry about the noise, we're a rowdy bunch sometimes."

"No, it's fine. You're not nearly as loud as some of the people I have to deal with," Pluto chuckled

"Really? You must live at a zoo or someth–"
Just then the door swung open and a group of drenched hunters walked in, followed by a gust of icy rain. The tall woman in the lead pushed back her hood and shook out her short blonde hair, striding purposefully up to the table. "Mike, you're back." She had a strong Southern accent and a business-like tone. "I've got a message for you."
Mike looked up. "Mariana. What's the trouble?"
She shrugged off her coat and slung it over a chair nearby. "It's Clay, he's gone and let his pets loose again blames us, says our fences were faulty. He wants you to come and catch the demons personally, so he can yell at you."
Mike sighed, although it sounded more like a growl. "I didn't have time for this today….danged Landowners. Thanks, Mariana."
She nodded and left to get changed.
"Welp," Mike said darkly. "Perfect timing. Sorry, guys, Clay is a big sponsor and I can't just ignore him. I'll have to clean up this mess before we head back out."
(I can't stop typing someone send help XD)

(naw it's cool lol) "Well it'd probably go faster if you had help," Pluto suggested

"You sure? Clay's about as stuck-up, picky, and white-male-supremacist as it gets. I don't want him to disrespect you guys, but he doesn't take orders from me."

Pluto rolled her eyes. "If I survived WW2, I can survive some stuck up rich kid."

Mike smiled. "Then I'd be grateful for the help. We'll head out as soon as the rain stops. Jacob?"
An Asian-looking man further down the table cast a cursory glance out the window. "Should lighten up in fifteen to thirty minutes."
"Good. We'll take the helicopter, be ready by then." Turning back to the others, Mike added, "You have to promise to follow my orders when we get there, by the way. A full-grown, angry Earth demon is no joke, and they can easily kill you if you don't know how to handle them."

She gave him a look. "I ate one. Remember?"

He held up his hands. "Just checking. You won't be able to eat any of these guys, they're Clay's little status symbols and we can't put a scratch on 'em. Makes getting them under control a lot harder, but we've done it before. Ever used a tranquilizer gun?"

"Yes, I've used a tranquilizer gun before. If your world's demons are hated so much, why does this Clay guy like them so much?"

"Oh, he thinks they're disgusting animals. But he's got a real obsession with exotic creatures. We found a demon a while back with iridescent feathers, and he snapped it up in a heartbeat. He's got quite the menagerie these days–demons, Hapbringers, unicorns, mutants…." Mike shook his head. "At least he treats them fairly well, unlike some. This is only the second time we've had to help him out with an unlocked gate."

Pluto laughed. "Unicorns? The things with the rainbows and the sparkles and everything?"

"Yup. He's got at least one, a little filly. No idea where he found it, but I doubt it was cheap." He stood up. "I guess we should head to the warehouse to get some gear. Need anything before we go? Food, water?"

Pluto shook her head. "I'm good."