Katiana Graves
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 109
Appearance: When you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest. Similarly, if you wanted to hide Katiana, you would put her in a crowd of humans. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin features, and an unremarkable height may not set her apart, but the way she manipulates her expressions and gallivants around certainly do. Those who know her are familiar with a particularly mischievous left-sided smirk, above which forms a dimple. Those who have yet to meet her will immediately know her for the way she bounces from one place to the next, holding her skirts in her hands.
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Equipment: A recurve bow made of elm, a small wood-cutting ax, and a skinning knife complete Katiana's non-exhaustive equipment. Being an adventurer who often loses herself in the wilderness, she also favors flint and tinder, rope, medicines, a waterskin, sewing supplies, and food rations.
____________________________________________________
Skills and Abilities: Though not particularly concerned in the art of warfare, Katiana has been a hunter for as long as she could hold a bow, and over the years, she became proficient with it. One could assume that if she needed to point her arrow at a charging warrior rather than a boar, she would have the same chances of hitting it. Years of adventuring have also taught her skills in survival.
Though she has no skills in magic, nothing is stopping her from learning. Katiana's family has a history of mages, though none have been particularly gifted.
Registered: Mar 17, 2021 16:34:46 GMT -5
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Post by Katiana Graves on Jul 10, 2021 20:46:50 GMT -5
Without taking her eyes off the twisting flock, Katiana pulled her bow from her pack and began to string it. "Well, obviously, we have to see what it is. Can you imagine being an adventurer and not going towards the adventure? Perhaps we'll see something we can report. Perhaps we'll learn something!"
Turning around to find Cuate, the hunter grinned. "That would be rather helpful. Let us go, then!"
It took five minutes of hiking through the underbrush to get close enough. Cuate would find a shallow den created from the pulling roots of a fallen tree, which upheaved the dirt and shelled out just enough cover for a sleeping animal or a dying one. Therein laid a massive animal, taller than Katiana and Coatl laying down. It was covered in bristly, jet black fur and seemed batlike at first glance with its taloned back legs and fleshy wings extending into pointy claws. Setting it apart was the scales covering its arms and its tail, which ended in a boney, splintered barb. Its upper jaw was lined with a beak, while the lower jaw had predator's teeth jutting out from it. The birds above occasionally swooped down and pecked a piece of the beast before flapping away. It wasn't in good shape, its ribcage all but devoid of skin and muscle, revealing bone. Blood pooled beneath it, but it still had a little life in it... enough to swipe at the bastards eating it alive!
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Coatl of the Imilla
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 143
Appearance: Skin just a skosh darker than an old clay pot. The shade of his hat occludes black, sun-beaten eyes, wavy, matted hair, and just enough beard to protect his chin. His hands are coarse and leathery, with wiry tendons. His height isn't quite imposing, it's but enough to lend credence to a purposeful stride and posture.
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Equipment: An old duster, scarf, and cotton shirt and slacks. A thin brigandine with copper plates and a military-grade pitchfork.
A single candle, a reagent of now forbidden degrees of power.
-------
Skills and Abilities: On his home turf, Coatl could manifest formidable elemental magic. Here the magic is suppressed down to more subtle manipulations. However, the spirit of Cuaté, the "Witch", is still with him.
Coatl is, at his core, a simple farmhand. His experience working on ranches and plantations has earned him a strong physique and a way with animals. When he was a teenager, he also spent some time as a city guard and militiaman, giving him basic competence with a variety of weapons.
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Biography: The Imilla Clan were migrant farmers and laborers, selling themselves to wealthier kingdoms. They were a people bound by working shanties, and stories of an Eden from whence their ancestors came. As a youth, Coatl felt they were naive. They possessed the most basic of martial skills and required the aid of capricious spirits with weak magic to protect them.
His suspicions were half true, for when they encountered a malevolent kingdom, they were very nearly enslaved. However, his parent's commitment to peace earned him, and him in particular, the loyalty of an ancestral spirit that was far more dependable.
Using the power of this spirit, Coatl and a few other "chosen ones" helped bring prosperity and safety to their clan, ensuring that no one else would try to enslave them. The golden years of their people came to an abrupt end, however, when the flood waters came...
Registered: Mar 20, 2021 23:42:08 GMT -5
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Post by Coatl of the Imilla on Jul 11, 2021 14:45:21 GMT -5
While Katiana and Coatl hid in the underbrush, Cuate observed the doomed creature being picked apart. It hovered in the air, (presumably) invisible to the vulture-like birds pecking at it.
It was a nasty, cruel sight, which Cuate conveyed telepathically to both Coatl and Katiana.
Coatl narrowed its eyes up at the vultures. "They must not be pushovers if they're pecking at the thing while it's still alive. I almost wish we could get close enough to put it out of its misery."
Back home I'd probably be strong enough to save it. Here, I dunno. Not likely.
"Vultures gotta eat, too, you know?"
Coatl turned to Katiana. "I don't know how you feel about a bat monster we never met, but I hate to see that thing suffering like that. If we could find a good angle a little closer, Cuate and I could improve the accuracy and piercing power of your arrow with wind magic, so that you can snipe it at the base of its skull. Let it rest in peace without the vultures giving up their lunch."
As a bonus, we can collect its fur. Not like it's gonna be using it anymore anyways.
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Katiana Graves
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 109
Appearance: When you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest. Similarly, if you wanted to hide Katiana, you would put her in a crowd of humans. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin features, and an unremarkable height may not set her apart, but the way she manipulates her expressions and gallivants around certainly do. Those who know her are familiar with a particularly mischievous left-sided smirk, above which forms a dimple. Those who have yet to meet her will immediately know her for the way she bounces from one place to the next, holding her skirts in her hands.
____________________________________________________
Equipment: A recurve bow made of elm, a small wood-cutting ax, and a skinning knife complete Katiana's non-exhaustive equipment. Being an adventurer who often loses herself in the wilderness, she also favors flint and tinder, rope, medicines, a waterskin, sewing supplies, and food rations.
____________________________________________________
Skills and Abilities: Though not particularly concerned in the art of warfare, Katiana has been a hunter for as long as she could hold a bow, and over the years, she became proficient with it. One could assume that if she needed to point her arrow at a charging warrior rather than a boar, she would have the same chances of hitting it. Years of adventuring have also taught her skills in survival.
Though she has no skills in magic, nothing is stopping her from learning. Katiana's family has a history of mages, though none have been particularly gifted.
Registered: Mar 17, 2021 16:34:46 GMT -5
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Post by Katiana Graves on Jul 13, 2021 15:10:11 GMT -5
"I've seen those before. They'll attack you if you go too close to their nests, so I can't imaging how fierce they are if you go near a meal. Especially in such numbers!" Still, she had only gone up against them all on her lonesome in the past. Perhaps it would be different now, with Coatl and Cuate here.
Katiana smirked. "I'm a pretty good shot. I'd say that'll work out perfectly," she said, nocking an arrow already. "Sad, though; it really is a beautiful creature. I'd of hated to go against it in these woods, however, so we should count ourselves lucky."
Slowly, carefully, Katiana made her way up a short tree, trying to get a good angle on the beast. She went as far down a branch as she dared, sticking out a leg for balance. She wobbled a bit, caught herself, then pulled the string.
"Ready!"
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Coatl of the Imilla
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 143
Appearance: Skin just a skosh darker than an old clay pot. The shade of his hat occludes black, sun-beaten eyes, wavy, matted hair, and just enough beard to protect his chin. His hands are coarse and leathery, with wiry tendons. His height isn't quite imposing, it's but enough to lend credence to a purposeful stride and posture.
-------
Equipment: An old duster, scarf, and cotton shirt and slacks. A thin brigandine with copper plates and a military-grade pitchfork.
A single candle, a reagent of now forbidden degrees of power.
-------
Skills and Abilities: On his home turf, Coatl could manifest formidable elemental magic. Here the magic is suppressed down to more subtle manipulations. However, the spirit of Cuaté, the "Witch", is still with him.
Coatl is, at his core, a simple farmhand. His experience working on ranches and plantations has earned him a strong physique and a way with animals. When he was a teenager, he also spent some time as a city guard and militiaman, giving him basic competence with a variety of weapons.
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Biography: The Imilla Clan were migrant farmers and laborers, selling themselves to wealthier kingdoms. They were a people bound by working shanties, and stories of an Eden from whence their ancestors came. As a youth, Coatl felt they were naive. They possessed the most basic of martial skills and required the aid of capricious spirits with weak magic to protect them.
His suspicions were half true, for when they encountered a malevolent kingdom, they were very nearly enslaved. However, his parent's commitment to peace earned him, and him in particular, the loyalty of an ancestral spirit that was far more dependable.
Using the power of this spirit, Coatl and a few other "chosen ones" helped bring prosperity and safety to their clan, ensuring that no one else would try to enslave them. The golden years of their people came to an abrupt end, however, when the flood waters came...
Registered: Mar 20, 2021 23:42:08 GMT -5
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Post by Coatl of the Imilla on Jul 13, 2021 21:04:10 GMT -5
It was subtle. It had to be, since the infernal mists wouldn't allow Cuate's power to fully manifest. There was a slight change in the air pressure ahead of the bow handle. The knuckles of Katiana's bow hand would feel the unnatural pull as a still emptiness. The wind ahead of them abated. Her knuckles would feel warm too, which everything else seemed to get colder.
Do it.
As long as her aim was already reasonable, the arrow would sail towards its target a significant percentage faster. The arrow would wobble less and there would be almost drag. It was as if she had suddenly gained 10 years of archery experience, and the weather was perfect.
*FWIP!*
Assuming there was nothing strange about the creature's physiology, it wouldn't even feel any pain as its brain stem was severed by an arrowhead.
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Katiana Graves
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 109
Appearance: When you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest. Similarly, if you wanted to hide Katiana, you would put her in a crowd of humans. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin features, and an unremarkable height may not set her apart, but the way she manipulates her expressions and gallivants around certainly do. Those who know her are familiar with a particularly mischievous left-sided smirk, above which forms a dimple. Those who have yet to meet her will immediately know her for the way she bounces from one place to the next, holding her skirts in her hands.
____________________________________________________
Equipment: A recurve bow made of elm, a small wood-cutting ax, and a skinning knife complete Katiana's non-exhaustive equipment. Being an adventurer who often loses herself in the wilderness, she also favors flint and tinder, rope, medicines, a waterskin, sewing supplies, and food rations.
____________________________________________________
Skills and Abilities: Though not particularly concerned in the art of warfare, Katiana has been a hunter for as long as she could hold a bow, and over the years, she became proficient with it. One could assume that if she needed to point her arrow at a charging warrior rather than a boar, she would have the same chances of hitting it. Years of adventuring have also taught her skills in survival.
Though she has no skills in magic, nothing is stopping her from learning. Katiana's family has a history of mages, though none have been particularly gifted.
Registered: Mar 17, 2021 16:34:46 GMT -5
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Post by Katiana Graves on Jul 14, 2021 20:10:32 GMT -5
With a wail, the creature's head hit the ground. Katiana's chest heaved with a breath, the hairs on her arms raised from the adrenaline running through her veins. She wasn't sure it had ever happened to her before! The whole ordeal with having magic cast upon her was thrilling.
"Does it always feel like that?" she whispered to Coatl and Cuate, placing a hand on her heart. It was beating like a war drum. "Or is that just me being excited?"
Before they could answer, a cry akin to the beast's, albeit higher and frailer, reached their ears. From beneath the wing of the monstrous carcass...
Was a pup.
Katiana's breath hitched in her throat. She turned to her partner.
"Coatl! It's a babe!"
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Coatl of the Imilla
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 143
Appearance: Skin just a skosh darker than an old clay pot. The shade of his hat occludes black, sun-beaten eyes, wavy, matted hair, and just enough beard to protect his chin. His hands are coarse and leathery, with wiry tendons. His height isn't quite imposing, it's but enough to lend credence to a purposeful stride and posture.
-------
Equipment: An old duster, scarf, and cotton shirt and slacks. A thin brigandine with copper plates and a military-grade pitchfork.
A single candle, a reagent of now forbidden degrees of power.
-------
Skills and Abilities: On his home turf, Coatl could manifest formidable elemental magic. Here the magic is suppressed down to more subtle manipulations. However, the spirit of Cuaté, the "Witch", is still with him.
Coatl is, at his core, a simple farmhand. His experience working on ranches and plantations has earned him a strong physique and a way with animals. When he was a teenager, he also spent some time as a city guard and militiaman, giving him basic competence with a variety of weapons.
-------
Biography: The Imilla Clan were migrant farmers and laborers, selling themselves to wealthier kingdoms. They were a people bound by working shanties, and stories of an Eden from whence their ancestors came. As a youth, Coatl felt they were naive. They possessed the most basic of martial skills and required the aid of capricious spirits with weak magic to protect them.
His suspicions were half true, for when they encountered a malevolent kingdom, they were very nearly enslaved. However, his parent's commitment to peace earned him, and him in particular, the loyalty of an ancestral spirit that was far more dependable.
Using the power of this spirit, Coatl and a few other "chosen ones" helped bring prosperity and safety to their clan, ensuring that no one else would try to enslave them. The golden years of their people came to an abrupt end, however, when the flood waters came...
Registered: Mar 20, 2021 23:42:08 GMT -5
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Post by Coatl of the Imilla on Jul 15, 2021 0:22:07 GMT -5
Coatl blinked so hard it his hair made a noise.
"You're joking."
Cuate's invisible spirit darted forward to get a better look. And there, indeed, was a pup.
Huh, how did I miss that?
"Oh what in carnation..." He hissed to himself.
There was a long pause as both Coatl and Cuate struggled to think. Did they want to try to save it? Could they save it? And what possible strategies could they come up with and enact in such a short amount of time?
"Fire."
Fire.
Coatl shook his head. Frankly he was ashamed of himself, putting their lives in danger over a predator's cub. But damned if he couldn't help himself when it came to youngin's... except that one weird kid that the snake woman had on her, but that was a rare exception to the rule. Besides, Katiana seemed to enjoy reckless heroics.
"Once again, I'm gonna need to ask your permission. We think can save the kid. But it's risky and, once again, we're gonna need your help."
I can use my power to set fire to the fur. It'll damage it sure, and make it less valuable, but I think I can keep it under control. The smoke and heat should scare off the vultures, at least for a few seconds.
"Which might be just enough time for one of us to run in there and grab the kid. Now I'm more than happy to-"
Katiana should do it.
"Cuate." He snarled.
She's smaller and lighter on her feet. And in a direct fight, you and I can protect her.
"Yes but you see Katiana has this thing called a bow and arrow. And if I do get caught, I'm sure I can sustain a few more bites than she can, and you can still help her cover me."
But if you get hurt I might lose focus on the fire and it might go out of control. See, I have this thing called a host and I'm rather attached to him.
Coatl tisk'd. "Katiana, you make the call. We don't even need to rescue the poor thing." Though it was pretty obvious by his tone he did wanna rescue it.
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Katiana Graves
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 109
Appearance: When you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest. Similarly, if you wanted to hide Katiana, you would put her in a crowd of humans. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin features, and an unremarkable height may not set her apart, but the way she manipulates her expressions and gallivants around certainly do. Those who know her are familiar with a particularly mischievous left-sided smirk, above which forms a dimple. Those who have yet to meet her will immediately know her for the way she bounces from one place to the next, holding her skirts in her hands.
____________________________________________________
Equipment: A recurve bow made of elm, a small wood-cutting ax, and a skinning knife complete Katiana's non-exhaustive equipment. Being an adventurer who often loses herself in the wilderness, she also favors flint and tinder, rope, medicines, a waterskin, sewing supplies, and food rations.
____________________________________________________
Skills and Abilities: Though not particularly concerned in the art of warfare, Katiana has been a hunter for as long as she could hold a bow, and over the years, she became proficient with it. One could assume that if she needed to point her arrow at a charging warrior rather than a boar, she would have the same chances of hitting it. Years of adventuring have also taught her skills in survival.
Though she has no skills in magic, nothing is stopping her from learning. Katiana's family has a history of mages, though none have been particularly gifted.
Registered: Mar 17, 2021 16:34:46 GMT -5
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Post by Katiana Graves on Jul 23, 2021 22:53:55 GMT -5
Katiana's smirk said it all:
You never even needed to ask.
"We don't even have enough time to sit still and cure the skin, so burning it will do just fine," she pointed out, keeping her arrows pointed at the screaming birds above, now descending on the corpse and the wailing pup. The hunter pursed her lips in thought. An argument happened between him and Cuate about who to go.
"Ears," rasped the archer, flicking something golden from her pocket toward Coatl.
One side had Naoki's face, cat ears taking up a good bit of the picture. The other side had the sun with a little motif: the same symbol as Port Argentium's flag.
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Coatl of the Imilla
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 143
Appearance: Skin just a skosh darker than an old clay pot. The shade of his hat occludes black, sun-beaten eyes, wavy, matted hair, and just enough beard to protect his chin. His hands are coarse and leathery, with wiry tendons. His height isn't quite imposing, it's but enough to lend credence to a purposeful stride and posture.
-------
Equipment: An old duster, scarf, and cotton shirt and slacks. A thin brigandine with copper plates and a military-grade pitchfork.
A single candle, a reagent of now forbidden degrees of power.
-------
Skills and Abilities: On his home turf, Coatl could manifest formidable elemental magic. Here the magic is suppressed down to more subtle manipulations. However, the spirit of Cuaté, the "Witch", is still with him.
Coatl is, at his core, a simple farmhand. His experience working on ranches and plantations has earned him a strong physique and a way with animals. When he was a teenager, he also spent some time as a city guard and militiaman, giving him basic competence with a variety of weapons.
-------
Biography: The Imilla Clan were migrant farmers and laborers, selling themselves to wealthier kingdoms. They were a people bound by working shanties, and stories of an Eden from whence their ancestors came. As a youth, Coatl felt they were naive. They possessed the most basic of martial skills and required the aid of capricious spirits with weak magic to protect them.
His suspicions were half true, for when they encountered a malevolent kingdom, they were very nearly enslaved. However, his parent's commitment to peace earned him, and him in particular, the loyalty of an ancestral spirit that was far more dependable.
Using the power of this spirit, Coatl and a few other "chosen ones" helped bring prosperity and safety to their clan, ensuring that no one else would try to enslave them. The golden years of their people came to an abrupt end, however, when the flood waters came...
Registered: Mar 20, 2021 23:42:08 GMT -5
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Post by Coatl of the Imilla on Jul 25, 2021 0:11:31 GMT -5
Coatl grabs the coin out of the air and flips it. He grabs it again and slams it down onto his fist. His expression turns grim and he looks up at Katiana.
Yep, those are definitely ears.
"Alright then. Cuate will go start the fire, and then she'll return me and lend me her strength so I can cover you. We'll-"
Coatl sniffs the air.
"You started the fire already, didn't you?"
She was never going to say no.
An acrid smell would fill their nostrils, and glowing red embers would begin spreading from an epicenter on the deceased creature's body. Suddenly, flames would erupt. And then the smoke would start to fill the air.
You know the fact that we are saving the pup's life by setting its mother on fire is kind of twisted.
"Desperate times."
Coatl stood up and held his pitchfork in both hands in a thrusting stance. Cuate's sprite blinked into the visible spectrum and then entered into Coatl's body. His eyes flashed red, and the temperature around him started to rise quickly. The prongs of his fork turned maroon, then scarlet, then a bright orange. Any vultures that made contact with it would surely live to regret it.
"I'd tell you not to do anything stupid but that ship's already at port on the other side of the ocean so..."
Did you just-
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Katiana Graves
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 109
Appearance: When you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest. Similarly, if you wanted to hide Katiana, you would put her in a crowd of humans. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin features, and an unremarkable height may not set her apart, but the way she manipulates her expressions and gallivants around certainly do. Those who know her are familiar with a particularly mischievous left-sided smirk, above which forms a dimple. Those who have yet to meet her will immediately know her for the way she bounces from one place to the next, holding her skirts in her hands.
____________________________________________________
Equipment: A recurve bow made of elm, a small wood-cutting ax, and a skinning knife complete Katiana's non-exhaustive equipment. Being an adventurer who often loses herself in the wilderness, she also favors flint and tinder, rope, medicines, a waterskin, sewing supplies, and food rations.
____________________________________________________
Skills and Abilities: Though not particularly concerned in the art of warfare, Katiana has been a hunter for as long as she could hold a bow, and over the years, she became proficient with it. One could assume that if she needed to point her arrow at a charging warrior rather than a boar, she would have the same chances of hitting it. Years of adventuring have also taught her skills in survival.
Though she has no skills in magic, nothing is stopping her from learning. Katiana's family has a history of mages, though none have been particularly gifted.
Registered: Mar 17, 2021 16:34:46 GMT -5
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Post by Katiana Graves on Jul 26, 2021 16:23:31 GMT -5
Katiana couldn't have said it any better. No sooner had the smell of the burning body filled their noses was the huntress leaping from the tree and into the fray. When she landed, there was a snort, and it wasn't obvious whether or not that was from hitting the ground or from Coatl's joke.
Sprinting into the midst of the birds, Katiana pulled three arrows from her quiver, as she so often did. She carried them between her fingers and fired them in quick succession, one at a time. It was always clear she had an incredible amount of experience with a bow. Spend fifteen years with an instrument, and eventually, you learn its quirks and secrets.
One, two, three draconic vultures fell to the ground in their confusion with the smoke and the flame. Katiana didn't have to aim, as there were so many of them that she would hit something regardless of where she fired. Thinking that something else had come along to steal their prey, a few of the birds peeled off from the angry flock and began to swoop towards Katiana and the Cuate-possessed Coatl. The huntress stayed close to the ground, trying to avoid the furiously feathery flock as she made her way to the babe. She cantered on her hands and knees, coming up to the corpse's armpit.
The cub hissed at her, frightened and overwhelmed from all the goings-on, and Katiana could not blame it. A dead mother, the flames, the birds, and perhaps the worst thing was her and Coatl with all their pointy weapons. It tried to back up further inside the shade of its mother's corpse, but Katiana had enough experience wrangling barn cats to know how this was going to go. Throwing caution to the side, she plunged herself into the fiery cadaver and grabbed the cub by its stuff. It cried and squirmed something awful, delivering a good amount of sharp cuts to her arms and neck, but she could hardly feel it now. She was busy coughing and backing away from the fire, using one hand to push her up while she tried to find Coatl.
"I have it!"
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Coatl of the Imilla
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 143
Appearance: Skin just a skosh darker than an old clay pot. The shade of his hat occludes black, sun-beaten eyes, wavy, matted hair, and just enough beard to protect his chin. His hands are coarse and leathery, with wiry tendons. His height isn't quite imposing, it's but enough to lend credence to a purposeful stride and posture.
-------
Equipment: An old duster, scarf, and cotton shirt and slacks. A thin brigandine with copper plates and a military-grade pitchfork.
A single candle, a reagent of now forbidden degrees of power.
-------
Skills and Abilities: On his home turf, Coatl could manifest formidable elemental magic. Here the magic is suppressed down to more subtle manipulations. However, the spirit of Cuaté, the "Witch", is still with him.
Coatl is, at his core, a simple farmhand. His experience working on ranches and plantations has earned him a strong physique and a way with animals. When he was a teenager, he also spent some time as a city guard and militiaman, giving him basic competence with a variety of weapons.
-------
Biography: The Imilla Clan were migrant farmers and laborers, selling themselves to wealthier kingdoms. They were a people bound by working shanties, and stories of an Eden from whence their ancestors came. As a youth, Coatl felt they were naive. They possessed the most basic of martial skills and required the aid of capricious spirits with weak magic to protect them.
His suspicions were half true, for when they encountered a malevolent kingdom, they were very nearly enslaved. However, his parent's commitment to peace earned him, and him in particular, the loyalty of an ancestral spirit that was far more dependable.
Using the power of this spirit, Coatl and a few other "chosen ones" helped bring prosperity and safety to their clan, ensuring that no one else would try to enslave them. The golden years of their people came to an abrupt end, however, when the flood waters came...
Registered: Mar 20, 2021 23:42:08 GMT -5
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Post by Coatl of the Imilla on Jul 27, 2021 21:55:19 GMT -5
Did you remember to tell her our plan was supposed to involve her being stealthy?
Coatl watched Katiana take out three vultures in rapid succession with her bow.
Coatl sighed with exasperation. "I'm bad at this."
As soon as one of the vultures approached, Coatl lightly tapped it with the metal prongs of his pitchfork.
The air exploded.
Before the vulture even hit the ground, Coatl lunged forward and slammed the side of the prongs into another vulture. A sky blue flash and the second vulture skidded along the ground until it hit a tree. Coatl ran past both twitching, smoking bodies and targeted a third, this time violently stabbing it and thrusting it into the ground. The bird flailed and screeched as its feathers sizzled.
With each attack, Cuate's infused lightning diminished. But a long pointy stick was still a long pointy stick. Coatl's decades-tested ranch hands were more than capable of imparting good old fashioned physical violence with a farm tool. And the hay bales back home were much heavier than angry feather bags. Coatl released the battered bird and proceeded to swing and spin forward. Periodic clunks of metal on beak let him know when his strikes were meaningful. When one of the birds got too close, he unflinchingly grasped its neck and ran it into a tree trunk. With the inertia of his charge he slammed his knee into its rib cage. This of course left him vulnerable to flanking attacks. But then the the pitchfork began to glow again...
Coatl and Cuate would have gone through about eight or nine draconic vultures by the time Katiana made it back.
"Alright, no more showing off. Put out the fire and let's get out of here."
Cuate's spirit left Coatl and flew through the hoard, not even bothering to hide itself. As it passed over the dead mother's body, the flames would seem to fizzle out as if they had run out of fuel.
"Run!" Coatl patted Katiana's shoulder, signalling her to go ahead of him. He'd be right behind her, spear still in hand in case one of the vultures couldn't take a hint.
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Katiana Graves
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 109
Appearance: When you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest. Similarly, if you wanted to hide Katiana, you would put her in a crowd of humans. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin features, and an unremarkable height may not set her apart, but the way she manipulates her expressions and gallivants around certainly do. Those who know her are familiar with a particularly mischievous left-sided smirk, above which forms a dimple. Those who have yet to meet her will immediately know her for the way she bounces from one place to the next, holding her skirts in her hands.
____________________________________________________
Equipment: A recurve bow made of elm, a small wood-cutting ax, and a skinning knife complete Katiana's non-exhaustive equipment. Being an adventurer who often loses herself in the wilderness, she also favors flint and tinder, rope, medicines, a waterskin, sewing supplies, and food rations.
____________________________________________________
Skills and Abilities: Though not particularly concerned in the art of warfare, Katiana has been a hunter for as long as she could hold a bow, and over the years, she became proficient with it. One could assume that if she needed to point her arrow at a charging warrior rather than a boar, she would have the same chances of hitting it. Years of adventuring have also taught her skills in survival.
Though she has no skills in magic, nothing is stopping her from learning. Katiana's family has a history of mages, though none have been particularly gifted.
Registered: Mar 17, 2021 16:34:46 GMT -5
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Post by Katiana Graves on Aug 3, 2021 14:44:24 GMT -5
Briefly, Katiana found herself entranced by Coatl and Cuate's dramatic show of brilliant, explosive magic. Even while the creature squirmed and scratched at her arms and neck, at the moment, she could hardly feel it. It wasn't until Coatl yelled at her to run did she snap out of it, letting her legs take her far from the burning corpse, far from the hungry buzzards, into an immediate future that was more uncertain than it had been just minutes before.
A few buzzards followed, caught up in their frenzy, but they soon realized that they were missing out on an important meal and flew back, casting hardly a glance back at the troop.
Once the forest was quiet again, Katiana plopped her backside on a rock and placed the creature down to get a breather. The little monster scratched at the air and chirped wildly. Its big eyes looked around for a place to hide.
"Your turn to carry the baby," laughed the hunter, wiping at the blood from a thousand shallow cuts the creature had given her.
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Coatl of the Imilla
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 143
Appearance: Skin just a skosh darker than an old clay pot. The shade of his hat occludes black, sun-beaten eyes, wavy, matted hair, and just enough beard to protect his chin. His hands are coarse and leathery, with wiry tendons. His height isn't quite imposing, it's but enough to lend credence to a purposeful stride and posture.
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Equipment: An old duster, scarf, and cotton shirt and slacks. A thin brigandine with copper plates and a military-grade pitchfork.
A single candle, a reagent of now forbidden degrees of power.
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Skills and Abilities: On his home turf, Coatl could manifest formidable elemental magic. Here the magic is suppressed down to more subtle manipulations. However, the spirit of Cuaté, the "Witch", is still with him.
Coatl is, at his core, a simple farmhand. His experience working on ranches and plantations has earned him a strong physique and a way with animals. When he was a teenager, he also spent some time as a city guard and militiaman, giving him basic competence with a variety of weapons.
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Biography: The Imilla Clan were migrant farmers and laborers, selling themselves to wealthier kingdoms. They were a people bound by working shanties, and stories of an Eden from whence their ancestors came. As a youth, Coatl felt they were naive. They possessed the most basic of martial skills and required the aid of capricious spirits with weak magic to protect them.
His suspicions were half true, for when they encountered a malevolent kingdom, they were very nearly enslaved. However, his parent's commitment to peace earned him, and him in particular, the loyalty of an ancestral spirit that was far more dependable.
Using the power of this spirit, Coatl and a few other "chosen ones" helped bring prosperity and safety to their clan, ensuring that no one else would try to enslave them. The golden years of their people came to an abrupt end, however, when the flood waters came...
Registered: Mar 20, 2021 23:42:08 GMT -5
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Post by Coatl of the Imilla on Aug 5, 2021 1:09:54 GMT -5
Coatl's brisk pace cut to a trot as they approached the rock. He turned his head and gave one last nasty glare back towards the buzzards. They wouldn't pursue if they knew what was good for them.
He was actually caught off-guard by Katiana's sudden direction. He dropped his pitchfork and quickly grabbed the creature by the scruff of the neck. Then he sat down on the rock and awkwardly tried to get it comfortable on his lap while still keeping it restrained.
"I just sorta now realized saving it was the easy part." He let the creature bite at his coat with a raised eyebrow, only wincing slightly as he felt its teeth apply sharp pressure through the coat to his skin. His strategy was apparently to establish some sort of stoic dominance.
The results were dubious. The pup wasn't running away as much, but instead was attacking his sleeve like its life depended on it (which from its perspective was probably true). He turned to Katiana. "I'm a lot better with baby cows, I promise."
He's not lying.
Cuate's spirit zipped around the pair before pausing by Katiana's side. She seemed to be concerned by her injuries. I'd help patch those up but... I need to rest first. Not as young as I used to be I guess...
With the mist suppressing their powers, it'd be a while before she and Coatl pulled off anything that flashy again.
"There are some bandages and ointment in my pack. I meant to tell yah to try to be stealthy when you ran for it. You probably could have taken my coat too." He turned to look at her arm, eyes somewhat remorseful. "Least you had the sense to steal my hat." He smirked sorrowfully, comedically ignoring the babe that was trying to murder his coat sleeve. "Really should have been me who ran for it. You're one hell of a shot, though."
In fact, Katiana was the best damn archer he'd ever seen.
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Katiana Graves
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 109
Appearance: When you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest. Similarly, if you wanted to hide Katiana, you would put her in a crowd of humans. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin features, and an unremarkable height may not set her apart, but the way she manipulates her expressions and gallivants around certainly do. Those who know her are familiar with a particularly mischievous left-sided smirk, above which forms a dimple. Those who have yet to meet her will immediately know her for the way she bounces from one place to the next, holding her skirts in her hands.
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Equipment: A recurve bow made of elm, a small wood-cutting ax, and a skinning knife complete Katiana's non-exhaustive equipment. Being an adventurer who often loses herself in the wilderness, she also favors flint and tinder, rope, medicines, a waterskin, sewing supplies, and food rations.
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Skills and Abilities: Though not particularly concerned in the art of warfare, Katiana has been a hunter for as long as she could hold a bow, and over the years, she became proficient with it. One could assume that if she needed to point her arrow at a charging warrior rather than a boar, she would have the same chances of hitting it. Years of adventuring have also taught her skills in survival.
Though she has no skills in magic, nothing is stopping her from learning. Katiana's family has a history of mages, though none have been particularly gifted.
Registered: Mar 17, 2021 16:34:46 GMT -5
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Post by Katiana Graves on Aug 6, 2021 20:48:06 GMT -5
Katiana took a cloth from her pack and pressed it against her arms. The woman hissed. They were similar to cat scratches and hurt just as much.
"I do not jest when I say this creature certainly isn't a common dog." The huntress rolled her eyes. "I don't know what to do next, but the scratches aren't so bad. No need to use the energy for this." And with that, she smiled at Cuate. "You're lovely. And what happened out there? Certainly a step ahead of my good shooting. Both of you. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before! Magic, sure, but parlor tricks in comparison!"
Pausing, Katiana mused on the compliment and grinned. "But yes, I am quite proficient, aren't I?"
Turning her attention from idle chatter, the huntress got on her knees to be level with the critter on Coatl's lap. Unamused at its aggression, she blew a loose bang out of her face. "It wasn't the birds who hurt. We should name it- at least, what it is. It's a bit like a bat and a cat, isn't it? I don't think batcat quite hits the mark."
With a sigh, Katiana tipped the hat off of her head and placed it firmly on Coatl's. "We couldn't have known, aye? No need to dwell on it. I might have you carry the thing wherever we decide to leave it... if we do. Leave it somewhere. Gods, what are we going to do?"
After quite a bit of struggling, the creature's ferocity died down and it decided to leave its tantrum to a wiggle.
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Coatl of the Imilla
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 143
Appearance: Skin just a skosh darker than an old clay pot. The shade of his hat occludes black, sun-beaten eyes, wavy, matted hair, and just enough beard to protect his chin. His hands are coarse and leathery, with wiry tendons. His height isn't quite imposing, it's but enough to lend credence to a purposeful stride and posture.
-------
Equipment: An old duster, scarf, and cotton shirt and slacks. A thin brigandine with copper plates and a military-grade pitchfork.
A single candle, a reagent of now forbidden degrees of power.
-------
Skills and Abilities: On his home turf, Coatl could manifest formidable elemental magic. Here the magic is suppressed down to more subtle manipulations. However, the spirit of Cuaté, the "Witch", is still with him.
Coatl is, at his core, a simple farmhand. His experience working on ranches and plantations has earned him a strong physique and a way with animals. When he was a teenager, he also spent some time as a city guard and militiaman, giving him basic competence with a variety of weapons.
-------
Biography: The Imilla Clan were migrant farmers and laborers, selling themselves to wealthier kingdoms. They were a people bound by working shanties, and stories of an Eden from whence their ancestors came. As a youth, Coatl felt they were naive. They possessed the most basic of martial skills and required the aid of capricious spirits with weak magic to protect them.
His suspicions were half true, for when they encountered a malevolent kingdom, they were very nearly enslaved. However, his parent's commitment to peace earned him, and him in particular, the loyalty of an ancestral spirit that was far more dependable.
Using the power of this spirit, Coatl and a few other "chosen ones" helped bring prosperity and safety to their clan, ensuring that no one else would try to enslave them. The golden years of their people came to an abrupt end, however, when the flood waters came...
Registered: Mar 20, 2021 23:42:08 GMT -5
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Post by Coatl of the Imilla on Aug 9, 2021 2:52:19 GMT -5
Cabbat. Carrot. Cabbage. Baggage. Oh, no, that's mean. Cable. Able. Babble. Bah-cable.
Cuate went on like this for a while.
Coatl winced sympathetically as Katiana treated her scratches.
He reached into his pack with one hand, carefully holding the wriggler with the other hand while he retrieved a pinch of some of the pemmican he brought. He prayed that at the very least the pup could digest solid food. Milk was going to be especially hard to come by on their travels. "Well, we can continue our little expedition and bring him along. We'll probably need to do some hunting to make sure there's enough food for all three of us. It's possible we find more of his kind out there, though who knows if they'll even accept him. We can also hang on to him the entire duration of our adventure. Or we can cut our adventure short and take him back to our village straight away. In any case, If we can raise him, a flying cat monster might make a useful ally."
Coatl liked to think of himself as a patient man who weighed each decision carefully.
"As for what happened out there, well, that was just a farm tool with a little extra insurance. It pays to know how to use magic efficiently, especially when there ain't much of it left in the world. Technically a bow and arrow is a better force multiplier."
With that, he winked. And it was a real wink too. Not like that weird half-hearted wink that creeped out Roxanne. His growing admiration for Katiana was clear as day.
The fact that she returned his hat didn't hurt either.
The pup trepidatiously sniffed the bit of dried meat. But then he quickly engulfed it.
Aww, Cabot likes it.
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Katiana Graves
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 109
Appearance: When you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest. Similarly, if you wanted to hide Katiana, you would put her in a crowd of humans. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin features, and an unremarkable height may not set her apart, but the way she manipulates her expressions and gallivants around certainly do. Those who know her are familiar with a particularly mischievous left-sided smirk, above which forms a dimple. Those who have yet to meet her will immediately know her for the way she bounces from one place to the next, holding her skirts in her hands.
____________________________________________________
Equipment: A recurve bow made of elm, a small wood-cutting ax, and a skinning knife complete Katiana's non-exhaustive equipment. Being an adventurer who often loses herself in the wilderness, she also favors flint and tinder, rope, medicines, a waterskin, sewing supplies, and food rations.
____________________________________________________
Skills and Abilities: Though not particularly concerned in the art of warfare, Katiana has been a hunter for as long as she could hold a bow, and over the years, she became proficient with it. One could assume that if she needed to point her arrow at a charging warrior rather than a boar, she would have the same chances of hitting it. Years of adventuring have also taught her skills in survival.
Though she has no skills in magic, nothing is stopping her from learning. Katiana's family has a history of mages, though none have been particularly gifted.
Registered: Mar 17, 2021 16:34:46 GMT -5
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Post by Katiana Graves on Aug 9, 2021 23:34:02 GMT -5
When Coatl winked, Katiana placed her cheek in her hand and leaned her elbow on her knee, looking up at him for a long moment. At the end of it, she smiled and hummed a little laugh.
Getting up, she gave the little creature a poke in the head as it ate, too distracted to swipe at her again. "Cabot! Not a bad name, but that one is personal, isn't it?" She eyed Cuate as if to chide her. "Are we really planning to keep a creature that's going to get as large as a bear? Do you have a hidden ability to speak to animals I should know about? Because I don't see this ending well, otherwise..."
Unlike them, Katiana was just human. She could only face things in her own, very human way. Here she was, already scratched up because of a juvenile. The hunter could remember the claws on the adult beast... they could have rent her in two if it so wished.
"Still, I couldn't leave a babe in the forest all by itself. Not one this frightening. I doubt we'll find another one of its own in this woods when it took me this long to see one at all. I think we should keep going on the chance that we do see another, but-" She looked at little Cabot grumpily. "Well, you're holding him!"
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