05 February 2013
I accidentally a whole podcast
Once again, the lovely ladies of Girls Gone WoW have generously invited me to share their airwaves! If you like listening to podcasts, I invite you to check out the episode "Girls Gone Cooking" here. GGW is one of my favorite podcasts based on attitude alone, so I highly recommend you follow them!
01 February 2013
The Sha Manifests
Previously: The Crash
Weipon helped Akabeko to her feet, and they jogged to where they could hear ground troops assembling, directed by General Nazgrim's incessant shouting.
"Take them out!" he roared after a trio of grunts, watching them hustle up the stairs to the Alliance base. "Leave none alive!" Nazgrim noticed Akabeko's approach and summoned her with a quick flick of his wrist. She and Weipon hurried to his side. "The Alliance captain has barricaded himself in on the top floor of this stronghold. I've got troops clearing the path, so you get in there and get yourself to that captain. I'm taking a small team up the walls for a surprise attack from the rear." He nodded matter-of-factly, waited for Akabeko's salute, followed by Weipon's belated one, then turned away to another group of soldiers.
Still slightly disoriented, Akabeko followed the stream of Horde soldiers fighting their way into the heart of the Alliance base, Weipon dutifully tagging along behind. At their heels ran Fu, snapping at any ankles that came to close to his master. Their path was briefly blocked by a crowd of humans backing a wide-shouldered tauren down the stairs. Weipon moved to assist, but Akabeko stopped her. In the next moment, the tauren stomped ferociously, stunning the humans and using the brief respite to dispatch them one at a time. Akabeko led Weipon around the growing pile of dead, tossing a heal to the tauren as they passed.
They passed unharried all the way to the central structure of the base. Around them, Horde soldiers were dutifully slaughtering Alliance and burning or salvaging their supplies. Weipon gaped openly at the gore, but Akabeko tugged her along, trying to avoid the more grisly details.
Inside the temple-like structure, they ducked around the last remaining skirmishes and chased down two humans attempting to flee up the stairs. Without a thought, Akabeko flowed into her lion form and pounced, taking most of one human's face off with a swipe of her paw and finishing the second with her jaws around an unprotected neck. She shifted back, stepped delicately around the bloody mess, and continued up the stairs. Weipon stumbled after her, eyes haunted.
The top of the building had a covered pavilion surrounded by open platforms. They could clearly see the human captain across from them, although he appeared to be looking out into the forest. The unpleasant sounds of steel clashing and soldiers dying drifted up from below.
"Stay behind me," Akabeko cautioned Weipon, worried about the expression on the pandaren's face. "I'll take care of him." Without waiting for a response, she shifted and charged, claws out and fangs bared for slaughter.
The human nimbly jumped onto the wall surrounding the platform, turned, and smirked at the druid as her pounce landed short. Then, calmly, he stepped backwards off the ledge. An arrow whistled by Akabeko's cheek, and she whirled to see Nazgrim and his soldiers arriving on the platform as well.
"Damn him! Did he just--!" Nazgrim bellowed, swinging his fists in fury as he ran to peer over the ledge.
A gyrocopter rose up over the wall, and the Alliance captain saluted them sarcastically. "You and your filthy Horde will not destroy this land as you destroyed Kalimdor," he said solemnly.
Nazgrim's team were already firing arrows at the gyrocopter as it turned away. The air was suddenly filled with a loud drone as more gyrocopters took to the sky.
"Impossible!" Nazgrim cried, watching the thickening trails of smoke as the gyrocopters converged around Hellscream's Fist, undermanned and defenseless in the treetops. "They had an airbase, a hidden airbase," he gasped. The small team atop what remained of the Alliance base watched as the remaining Alliance airfleet opened fire on the Horde vessel. After a very long, loud moment, the airship caught fire and slipped out of the trees, weeping burning timbers and smoldering chunks as it crashed to the forest floor.
The Alliance copters pulled away, leaving behind silence.
"My ship..." Nazgrim gripped the edge of the wall, eyes unfocused. "Hellscream will have my head." He tucked his chin down low, shoulders trembling visibly with rage. Then he let out a sigh, a tiny hiss similar to air escaping slowly from a tire. His chin rose and fists relaxed, and when he turned to face his soldiers they could see that his face had taken on an ashen hue. "They all must die," General Nazgrim said calmly.
Wisely, Weipon began to back up, plucking at Akabeko's sleeve as she slowly edged away from the orc.
General Nazgrim rolled his head slowly, cracking his neck audibly. His eyes flashed, irises covered by an unsettling silvery sheen. He took several great, wheezing breaths, noisy in the stunned silence. One of his soldiers reached out to him, perhaps to take him by the elbow. Nazgrim caught the approaching wrist calmly, squeezing until the soldier cried out in fear.
An unfamiliar voice shouted, stopping the escalating scene. A thick figure, moving too fast to discern any features, landed on the platform and made short work of General Nazgrim. A flick of a staff released the captive soldier, then sent Nazgrim to his knees. The figure laid a great hand on Nazgrim's forehead and began to chant. Now, the assembled group could see that it was a pandaren, but clearly not one of those that had come over with either Horde or Alliance assault forces.
His chant finished, the pandaren stepped away just as a crackling black shadow erupted from General Nazgrim's mouth. The pandaren shouted something, then attacked with his staff. Too late, the other soldiers moved to help, but the creature was already writhing, screeching in its death throes.
General Nazgrim clambered unsteadily to his feet, looking much more like his old self. He frowned at the pandaren suspiciously. "Who are you?" he challenged.
The pandaren responded, unintelligible to the Horde members but evidently angry. Only Weipon reacted.
Nazgrim pointed at her. "You there, pandaren. Make yourself useful and translate for us."
The pandaren followed the General's gaze, looking with obvious curiosity at Weipon. Then, he began to speak again, gesturing urgently at her.
"He--he says that the creature was your own doubt, made corporeal. He says that this place is different from where you come from. He says that you must be careful with what energy you bring."
Nazgrim sniffed indignantly. "We bring only our honor and the desire to crush our enemies. Has he been aiding the Alliance?"
The pandaren looked askance at Nazgrim's aggressive posture as Weipon relayed the message. He responded shortly, then took a running leap over the wall. Nazgrim rushed to the edge, shouting obscenities as they watched the pandaren disappear into the forest. He rounded on Weipon, looking murderous.
"He doesn't understand what you mean by Alliance," Weipon gasped, backing away. "He said he wants no part in our battles!"
Akabeko stepped forward, subtly blocking Nazgrim from getting any closer to her friend. "It seems we have met our first local, General," she said in what she hoped was a nonthreatening tone. "He may want no part in our battles now, but we may be able to convince him to join us." She held up a hand to placate him. "It does no good to hurt the messenger. We need a translator."
His rage left him as suddenly as it had come. "You're right," he allowed, sighing in annoyance. "Very well." He waved his team to him to dispense orders. "We will find the nearest pandaren settlements and bring them into the Horde. From there, we will be able to expand our foothold in this continent and commandeer supplies." He pointed at Weipon again, making her jump. "You will assign the pandaren troops as is necessary to act as translators in the war effort."
"Yes, yes sir," she stammered faintly.
Rolling his eyes, Nazgrim jerked his thumb at Akabeko. "Go with her and oversee the groups," he ordered.
Akabeko saluted promptly before dragging Weipon away, eager to escape from the general's bad mood.
Next: The Ambassador to Honeydew
Weipon helped Akabeko to her feet, and they jogged to where they could hear ground troops assembling, directed by General Nazgrim's incessant shouting.
"Take them out!" he roared after a trio of grunts, watching them hustle up the stairs to the Alliance base. "Leave none alive!" Nazgrim noticed Akabeko's approach and summoned her with a quick flick of his wrist. She and Weipon hurried to his side. "The Alliance captain has barricaded himself in on the top floor of this stronghold. I've got troops clearing the path, so you get in there and get yourself to that captain. I'm taking a small team up the walls for a surprise attack from the rear." He nodded matter-of-factly, waited for Akabeko's salute, followed by Weipon's belated one, then turned away to another group of soldiers.
Still slightly disoriented, Akabeko followed the stream of Horde soldiers fighting their way into the heart of the Alliance base, Weipon dutifully tagging along behind. At their heels ran Fu, snapping at any ankles that came to close to his master. Their path was briefly blocked by a crowd of humans backing a wide-shouldered tauren down the stairs. Weipon moved to assist, but Akabeko stopped her. In the next moment, the tauren stomped ferociously, stunning the humans and using the brief respite to dispatch them one at a time. Akabeko led Weipon around the growing pile of dead, tossing a heal to the tauren as they passed.
They passed unharried all the way to the central structure of the base. Around them, Horde soldiers were dutifully slaughtering Alliance and burning or salvaging their supplies. Weipon gaped openly at the gore, but Akabeko tugged her along, trying to avoid the more grisly details.
Inside the temple-like structure, they ducked around the last remaining skirmishes and chased down two humans attempting to flee up the stairs. Without a thought, Akabeko flowed into her lion form and pounced, taking most of one human's face off with a swipe of her paw and finishing the second with her jaws around an unprotected neck. She shifted back, stepped delicately around the bloody mess, and continued up the stairs. Weipon stumbled after her, eyes haunted.
The top of the building had a covered pavilion surrounded by open platforms. They could clearly see the human captain across from them, although he appeared to be looking out into the forest. The unpleasant sounds of steel clashing and soldiers dying drifted up from below.
"Stay behind me," Akabeko cautioned Weipon, worried about the expression on the pandaren's face. "I'll take care of him." Without waiting for a response, she shifted and charged, claws out and fangs bared for slaughter.
The human nimbly jumped onto the wall surrounding the platform, turned, and smirked at the druid as her pounce landed short. Then, calmly, he stepped backwards off the ledge. An arrow whistled by Akabeko's cheek, and she whirled to see Nazgrim and his soldiers arriving on the platform as well.
"Damn him! Did he just--!" Nazgrim bellowed, swinging his fists in fury as he ran to peer over the ledge.
A gyrocopter rose up over the wall, and the Alliance captain saluted them sarcastically. "You and your filthy Horde will not destroy this land as you destroyed Kalimdor," he said solemnly.
Nazgrim's team were already firing arrows at the gyrocopter as it turned away. The air was suddenly filled with a loud drone as more gyrocopters took to the sky.
"Impossible!" Nazgrim cried, watching the thickening trails of smoke as the gyrocopters converged around Hellscream's Fist, undermanned and defenseless in the treetops. "They had an airbase, a hidden airbase," he gasped. The small team atop what remained of the Alliance base watched as the remaining Alliance airfleet opened fire on the Horde vessel. After a very long, loud moment, the airship caught fire and slipped out of the trees, weeping burning timbers and smoldering chunks as it crashed to the forest floor.
The Alliance copters pulled away, leaving behind silence.
"My ship..." Nazgrim gripped the edge of the wall, eyes unfocused. "Hellscream will have my head." He tucked his chin down low, shoulders trembling visibly with rage. Then he let out a sigh, a tiny hiss similar to air escaping slowly from a tire. His chin rose and fists relaxed, and when he turned to face his soldiers they could see that his face had taken on an ashen hue. "They all must die," General Nazgrim said calmly.
Wisely, Weipon began to back up, plucking at Akabeko's sleeve as she slowly edged away from the orc.
General Nazgrim rolled his head slowly, cracking his neck audibly. His eyes flashed, irises covered by an unsettling silvery sheen. He took several great, wheezing breaths, noisy in the stunned silence. One of his soldiers reached out to him, perhaps to take him by the elbow. Nazgrim caught the approaching wrist calmly, squeezing until the soldier cried out in fear.
An unfamiliar voice shouted, stopping the escalating scene. A thick figure, moving too fast to discern any features, landed on the platform and made short work of General Nazgrim. A flick of a staff released the captive soldier, then sent Nazgrim to his knees. The figure laid a great hand on Nazgrim's forehead and began to chant. Now, the assembled group could see that it was a pandaren, but clearly not one of those that had come over with either Horde or Alliance assault forces.
His chant finished, the pandaren stepped away just as a crackling black shadow erupted from General Nazgrim's mouth. The pandaren shouted something, then attacked with his staff. Too late, the other soldiers moved to help, but the creature was already writhing, screeching in its death throes.
General Nazgrim clambered unsteadily to his feet, looking much more like his old self. He frowned at the pandaren suspiciously. "Who are you?" he challenged.
The pandaren responded, unintelligible to the Horde members but evidently angry. Only Weipon reacted.
Nazgrim pointed at her. "You there, pandaren. Make yourself useful and translate for us."
The pandaren followed the General's gaze, looking with obvious curiosity at Weipon. Then, he began to speak again, gesturing urgently at her.
"He--he says that the creature was your own doubt, made corporeal. He says that this place is different from where you come from. He says that you must be careful with what energy you bring."
Nazgrim sniffed indignantly. "We bring only our honor and the desire to crush our enemies. Has he been aiding the Alliance?"
The pandaren looked askance at Nazgrim's aggressive posture as Weipon relayed the message. He responded shortly, then took a running leap over the wall. Nazgrim rushed to the edge, shouting obscenities as they watched the pandaren disappear into the forest. He rounded on Weipon, looking murderous.
"He doesn't understand what you mean by Alliance," Weipon gasped, backing away. "He said he wants no part in our battles!"
Akabeko stepped forward, subtly blocking Nazgrim from getting any closer to her friend. "It seems we have met our first local, General," she said in what she hoped was a nonthreatening tone. "He may want no part in our battles now, but we may be able to convince him to join us." She held up a hand to placate him. "It does no good to hurt the messenger. We need a translator."
His rage left him as suddenly as it had come. "You're right," he allowed, sighing in annoyance. "Very well." He waved his team to him to dispense orders. "We will find the nearest pandaren settlements and bring them into the Horde. From there, we will be able to expand our foothold in this continent and commandeer supplies." He pointed at Weipon again, making her jump. "You will assign the pandaren troops as is necessary to act as translators in the war effort."
"Yes, yes sir," she stammered faintly.
Rolling his eyes, Nazgrim jerked his thumb at Akabeko. "Go with her and oversee the groups," he ordered.
Akabeko saluted promptly before dragging Weipon away, eager to escape from the general's bad mood.
Next: The Ambassador to Honeydew
29 January 2013
what...where am i?
Hi. I'm Akabeko McCluretotem. You might remember me from such blogs as "red cow rise."
I won't apologize for my impromptu break, partially because people hate that and partially because I won't apologize for doing what I like with my interbutt space.
The short version is that school kicked my ass, which aggravated my horrible tendency to withdraw and avoid everything, and despite this blog being high on my "do not neglect" list, it isn't quite up there with things like "tuna sandwich" and "sleep."
The long version is that not only am I extremely lazy, but when I am procrastinating on something necessary, I will punish myself by not allowing myself to enjoy any other activities. The frustrating problem is that this doesn't usually encourage me to actually confront whatever project it is that I'm avoiding. So over winter break I got a touch of the sads heavily influenced by work stress and exam preparation, went into Fun Stuff hibernation, and then went back to school and was promptly destroyed by said exams. After a short breather, it was time to get into finals prep. In my last week of school, I had 10 tests in 13 class periods. To add insult to injury, one teacher gave us as take home test, which is really just a giant "fuck you" to my inability to work effectively at home. Don't you realize I can get on tumblr at home?
So the awkward truth is that I haven't logged into WoW in several weeks, and the withdrawal is making me feel weird about doing so. I mean, I'm on vacation now, so there's no danger of me logging in and neglecting to do something necessary. And having something to get focused on will help, because otherwise my natural inclination is to graze, and food is expensive. What's going on? I don't know! What am I so worried about??? Suck it up, Aka, you have fanfic to write!
That will have to wait for tomorrow because believe it or not I am keeping a bedtime and actually waking up before noon. In the meantime, enjoy this video that I took weeks ago and finally got around to dealing with. PROCRASTINATION HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
ETA: oh my WORD the still image before hitting play is HILARIOUS what is even happening there?!
I won't apologize for my impromptu break, partially because people hate that and partially because I won't apologize for doing what I like with my interbutt space.
The short version is that school kicked my ass, which aggravated my horrible tendency to withdraw and avoid everything, and despite this blog being high on my "do not neglect" list, it isn't quite up there with things like "tuna sandwich" and "sleep."
The long version is that not only am I extremely lazy, but when I am procrastinating on something necessary, I will punish myself by not allowing myself to enjoy any other activities. The frustrating problem is that this doesn't usually encourage me to actually confront whatever project it is that I'm avoiding. So over winter break I got a touch of the sads heavily influenced by work stress and exam preparation, went into Fun Stuff hibernation, and then went back to school and was promptly destroyed by said exams. After a short breather, it was time to get into finals prep. In my last week of school, I had 10 tests in 13 class periods. To add insult to injury, one teacher gave us as take home test, which is really just a giant "fuck you" to my inability to work effectively at home. Don't you realize I can get on tumblr at home?
So the awkward truth is that I haven't logged into WoW in several weeks, and the withdrawal is making me feel weird about doing so. I mean, I'm on vacation now, so there's no danger of me logging in and neglecting to do something necessary. And having something to get focused on will help, because otherwise my natural inclination is to graze, and food is expensive. What's going on? I don't know! What am I so worried about??? Suck it up, Aka, you have fanfic to write!
That will have to wait for tomorrow because believe it or not I am keeping a bedtime and actually waking up before noon. In the meantime, enjoy this video that I took weeks ago and finally got around to dealing with. PROCRASTINATION HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
ETA: oh my WORD the still image before hitting play is HILARIOUS what is even happening there?!
18 January 2013
but still more search terms
Hey does anyone out there wanna write a really persuasive 200 character statement about why I deserve to have my second semester completely paid for by the school? Nobody? Oh well, let's do search terms and gifs instead.
redcowrise.blogspot.com
 |
| whoever is searching for this blog because they know the exact url is making me THE HAPPIEST PIZZA |
beko gw
 |
| I have no idea what this means but I'm assuming someone wants to know what I, Beko, am doing for Golden Week. The answer is: same as I do every vacation - eat myself into a stupor |
colorful fairy tale land
fairy tale place pics
 |
| I assume this is because of the 15 Screenshots series made by Saz, in which one of the prompts was "a fairy tale image" |
fight me irl
 |
| BRING IT |
cool goblin with dark sunglasses
 |
| Are you perhaps referring to Sprinkie Sparklefizz, former Trade Prince-elect?? |
community troy thumbs up gifs
 |
| I LOVE THIS SHOW |
laid back in the purple grass
 |
| I have no idea |
kirin mythology
You should just google it, really. But also check out these great piiiiics!!
best transmog for scarab lord
 |
| Haha, haha. I'm so sorry google thought this would be a good resource for you. Good luck 8D |
11 January 2013
The Crash
Previously: The Art of War
They had been traveling through a thick, cool mist for several hours, although Akabeko had been hiding belowdecks to avoid the odd tingling sensation of it swimming around her face. Plus, it made her mane dewy. The journey had been uneventful, and she had spent most of it doing chores or chatting with Weipon as they toured the airship. Of her guildmates, Katza was also among the crew, but seeing as Akabeko was still in hot water with the forsaken, she had wisely avoided her. Hadakha had sadly been placed on another of the initial assault ships.
The mystery of Weipon's barking backpack had been solved, in the form of a strange little dog the pandaren called Fu. She had also played her string instrument, the hard-to-pronounce sanxian, and told Akabeko about her many compositions. All the songs were in pandaren, but Akabeko could appreciate the instrument's twang and Weipon's husky alto.
Suddenly, she heard shouts from above, a current of sound that raced through the corridors to alert those aboard. The distant sound of cannon fire was immediately followed by a cry outside her door.
"Alliance ship sighted! Begin aerial assault!"
Akabeko stumbled from her bunk into the hallway, leaving the book she had been reading forgotten on the floor. Others were emerging from their rooms, and together the group rushed to defend the ship. General Nazgrim's voice carried down to them from the main deck, shouting orders that were relayed by ship officers. Akabeko strode to one of the cannons along the weapon deck and began to load ammo for the troll who was firing the gun.
"I'm so glad I found you! What's going on?" Weipon appeared beside her, looking around in anxious confusion.
Akabeko hefted another cannonball and answered without turning, "An alliance ship was spotted. We're trying to kill them before they kill us." This was punctuated by a spectacular crash further down the ship, causing the deck to shiver.
Without being directed, Weipon grabbed a cannonball and loaded it into the cannon. "Well, let's definitely make sure it's not us!"
Another impact rocked the airship, but this was followed by a massive explosion and panicked shouts. The ship spun sickeningly to the side, sending Akabeko into Weipon into the wall. Akabeko's stomach flipped uncomfortably as the ship began to descend rapidly. "Oohh, this is just fantastic," Akabeko said, gritting her teeth as the ship shuddered and scudded through the air towards a likely unforgiving landing.
Weipon looked sharply at her. "Aka, how can you say that at a time like this? There's nothing fantastic about crashing!" She clambered to her feet, standing unsteadily on the rocking floor.
"Okay, consider that your first lesson in sarcasm. You won't like Orcish if you don't understand the sarcasm. When I said it was fantastic, my tone of voice indicated that I meant the opposite of fantastic."
Weipon's following question was interrupted by shouts of "Land, ho!" from above. This was followed by General Nazgrim bellowing for the engineers to coast them into something soft, and for soldiers to prepare for a crash landing.
Akabeko motioned for Weipon to follow her and headed for their bunks. "In the event of a crash landing, we may want parachutes. And supplies."
They separated to quickly grab their gear. Weipon had donned her armor, leather like Akabeko's, but of a shape and design so unusual that the tauren couldn't help but stare.
"Do you not like my helm?" the pandaren asked, noticing her scrutiny.
"No, it's just...unusual. I like the horns, though. Nice touch."
Weipon wrinkled her nose. "That's not sarcasm, is it?"
This elicited a laugh. "No, I meant that. That was my sincere voice." Akabeko led the way back to the gun deck, weaving through the thickening crowd as soldiers returned for their belongings. "Also, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, it's possible that your dog and your sanxian will not survive the crash. Some of the soldiers may not even make it."
Standing on the gun deck, Weipon looked out into the rapidly approaching treetops. "That's war," she said somberly.
At the last moment, Akabeko realized that had not been sarcasm and refrained from complimenting her new friend on such deadpan delivery.
Over the ship's crackling intercom, an engineer announced, "Prepare for impact! Reaching tree line in 3...2..."
The rasping sound of hundreds of branches catching and scraping along the sides of the ship was deafening. Soldiers clustered around the edge of the deck, anxiously awaiting a safe moment to jump free. Then, the ship suddenly and unexpectedly stopped moving. There was an awkward silence while the crew waited for something terrible to happen. General Nazgrim's barking laughter cut through the moment, and then there were loud calls for rope, and soldiers began to rappel into the forest.
"Well, that's a relief!" Weipon exclaimed, sharing a pleased look with Akabeko.
A nearby tattoo of gunfire sent the soldiers into panic anew. "Give them cover!" General Nazgrim roared.
Akabeko jumped on a nearby turret gun, peered into the sight, and opened fire. "Of course they would have gyrocopters," she grumbled. "Wei, could you cover ammo for me?" She looked away from the sight in order to point at where a stack of magazines waited beside the gun. Across the deck, something exploded, and then Weipon was gone, knocked screaming from the deck.
Oddly calm, Akabeko ran to where Weipon had been thrown from the ship and jumped after her without hesitation, transforming into a stormcrow and diving after the falling pandaren. The combination of danger-fueled adrenaline and the joy of her many forms was exhilarating, and she felt her heart swell. She screeched in sheer pleasure as she finally reached her friend, reaching out to grasp her in an enormous talon... Wait, what? Weipon fit comfortably in the crook of one golden talon. Akabeko must have been larger than a wyvern, even the ones in the wild! She squawked in confusion, flapped haphazardly, then regained her coordination and coasted to the ground. She gently released the stunned Weipon to the grassy forest floor, then glided to a perch nearby to further assess herself.
Stormcrow was a form that Akabeko had mastered late in her training, but she knew it as intimately as she knew her other forms. All of them were her own body, and she could not recall a time when her stormcrow body was as big as a horse. Tentatively, she spread her wings, watching in fascination as the tips extended several meters away from her. Her talons absently kneaded the branch where she was perched, accidentally snapping the bark and sending Akabeko plummeting to the ground. She expected to coast gracefully to Weipon, but her wings were gripped with intense, shooting pain from shoulder to tip, and she instinctively curled them back against herself. Now, not only was she falling, but she could also feel herself shrinking, and that wasn't right, because all of her bodies were one body, and being one was the same as being another, and she wasn't supposed to feel her body change... She smashed into the dirt beside Weipon.
She woke to Weipon gently shaking one shoulder and something nuzzling the other. "That had better be Fu," she croaked without opening her eyes. That earned an energetic bark in response. "How long was I out?"
"Only a few moments," Weipon said, helping the tauren sit up. "My druid history is a little rusty, but I don't think I've ever heard of a stormcrow as big as the one I just saw. Although it was incredible how you changed back!"
Akabeko looked at her wing - no, her hand, it was definitely a hand now, and tried to transform back into a stormcrow. Nothing happened. (Not again.) She looked at Weipon, the picture of serenity. "No, stormcrows are not supposed to be that big. That was definitely not normal."
"That crash landing went pretty well," Weipon said, grinning. She waited, watching her friend's face, then frowned. "Aka, that was supposed to be sarcasm."
Next: The Sha Manifests
They had been traveling through a thick, cool mist for several hours, although Akabeko had been hiding belowdecks to avoid the odd tingling sensation of it swimming around her face. Plus, it made her mane dewy. The journey had been uneventful, and she had spent most of it doing chores or chatting with Weipon as they toured the airship. Of her guildmates, Katza was also among the crew, but seeing as Akabeko was still in hot water with the forsaken, she had wisely avoided her. Hadakha had sadly been placed on another of the initial assault ships.
The mystery of Weipon's barking backpack had been solved, in the form of a strange little dog the pandaren called Fu. She had also played her string instrument, the hard-to-pronounce sanxian, and told Akabeko about her many compositions. All the songs were in pandaren, but Akabeko could appreciate the instrument's twang and Weipon's husky alto.
Suddenly, she heard shouts from above, a current of sound that raced through the corridors to alert those aboard. The distant sound of cannon fire was immediately followed by a cry outside her door.
"Alliance ship sighted! Begin aerial assault!"
Akabeko stumbled from her bunk into the hallway, leaving the book she had been reading forgotten on the floor. Others were emerging from their rooms, and together the group rushed to defend the ship. General Nazgrim's voice carried down to them from the main deck, shouting orders that were relayed by ship officers. Akabeko strode to one of the cannons along the weapon deck and began to load ammo for the troll who was firing the gun.
"I'm so glad I found you! What's going on?" Weipon appeared beside her, looking around in anxious confusion.
Akabeko hefted another cannonball and answered without turning, "An alliance ship was spotted. We're trying to kill them before they kill us." This was punctuated by a spectacular crash further down the ship, causing the deck to shiver.
Without being directed, Weipon grabbed a cannonball and loaded it into the cannon. "Well, let's definitely make sure it's not us!"
Another impact rocked the airship, but this was followed by a massive explosion and panicked shouts. The ship spun sickeningly to the side, sending Akabeko into Weipon into the wall. Akabeko's stomach flipped uncomfortably as the ship began to descend rapidly. "Oohh, this is just fantastic," Akabeko said, gritting her teeth as the ship shuddered and scudded through the air towards a likely unforgiving landing.
Weipon looked sharply at her. "Aka, how can you say that at a time like this? There's nothing fantastic about crashing!" She clambered to her feet, standing unsteadily on the rocking floor.
"Okay, consider that your first lesson in sarcasm. You won't like Orcish if you don't understand the sarcasm. When I said it was fantastic, my tone of voice indicated that I meant the opposite of fantastic."
Weipon's following question was interrupted by shouts of "Land, ho!" from above. This was followed by General Nazgrim bellowing for the engineers to coast them into something soft, and for soldiers to prepare for a crash landing.
Akabeko motioned for Weipon to follow her and headed for their bunks. "In the event of a crash landing, we may want parachutes. And supplies."
They separated to quickly grab their gear. Weipon had donned her armor, leather like Akabeko's, but of a shape and design so unusual that the tauren couldn't help but stare.
"Do you not like my helm?" the pandaren asked, noticing her scrutiny.
"No, it's just...unusual. I like the horns, though. Nice touch."
Weipon wrinkled her nose. "That's not sarcasm, is it?"
This elicited a laugh. "No, I meant that. That was my sincere voice." Akabeko led the way back to the gun deck, weaving through the thickening crowd as soldiers returned for their belongings. "Also, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, it's possible that your dog and your sanxian will not survive the crash. Some of the soldiers may not even make it."
Standing on the gun deck, Weipon looked out into the rapidly approaching treetops. "That's war," she said somberly.
At the last moment, Akabeko realized that had not been sarcasm and refrained from complimenting her new friend on such deadpan delivery.
Over the ship's crackling intercom, an engineer announced, "Prepare for impact! Reaching tree line in 3...2..."
The rasping sound of hundreds of branches catching and scraping along the sides of the ship was deafening. Soldiers clustered around the edge of the deck, anxiously awaiting a safe moment to jump free. Then, the ship suddenly and unexpectedly stopped moving. There was an awkward silence while the crew waited for something terrible to happen. General Nazgrim's barking laughter cut through the moment, and then there were loud calls for rope, and soldiers began to rappel into the forest.
"Well, that's a relief!" Weipon exclaimed, sharing a pleased look with Akabeko.
A nearby tattoo of gunfire sent the soldiers into panic anew. "Give them cover!" General Nazgrim roared.
Akabeko jumped on a nearby turret gun, peered into the sight, and opened fire. "Of course they would have gyrocopters," she grumbled. "Wei, could you cover ammo for me?" She looked away from the sight in order to point at where a stack of magazines waited beside the gun. Across the deck, something exploded, and then Weipon was gone, knocked screaming from the deck.
Oddly calm, Akabeko ran to where Weipon had been thrown from the ship and jumped after her without hesitation, transforming into a stormcrow and diving after the falling pandaren. The combination of danger-fueled adrenaline and the joy of her many forms was exhilarating, and she felt her heart swell. She screeched in sheer pleasure as she finally reached her friend, reaching out to grasp her in an enormous talon... Wait, what? Weipon fit comfortably in the crook of one golden talon. Akabeko must have been larger than a wyvern, even the ones in the wild! She squawked in confusion, flapped haphazardly, then regained her coordination and coasted to the ground. She gently released the stunned Weipon to the grassy forest floor, then glided to a perch nearby to further assess herself.
Stormcrow was a form that Akabeko had mastered late in her training, but she knew it as intimately as she knew her other forms. All of them were her own body, and she could not recall a time when her stormcrow body was as big as a horse. Tentatively, she spread her wings, watching in fascination as the tips extended several meters away from her. Her talons absently kneaded the branch where she was perched, accidentally snapping the bark and sending Akabeko plummeting to the ground. She expected to coast gracefully to Weipon, but her wings were gripped with intense, shooting pain from shoulder to tip, and she instinctively curled them back against herself. Now, not only was she falling, but she could also feel herself shrinking, and that wasn't right, because all of her bodies were one body, and being one was the same as being another, and she wasn't supposed to feel her body change... She smashed into the dirt beside Weipon.
She woke to Weipon gently shaking one shoulder and something nuzzling the other. "That had better be Fu," she croaked without opening her eyes. That earned an energetic bark in response. "How long was I out?"
"Only a few moments," Weipon said, helping the tauren sit up. "My druid history is a little rusty, but I don't think I've ever heard of a stormcrow as big as the one I just saw. Although it was incredible how you changed back!"
Akabeko looked at her wing - no, her hand, it was definitely a hand now, and tried to transform back into a stormcrow. Nothing happened. (Not again.) She looked at Weipon, the picture of serenity. "No, stormcrows are not supposed to be that big. That was definitely not normal."
"That crash landing went pretty well," Weipon said, grinning. She waited, watching her friend's face, then frowned. "Aka, that was supposed to be sarcasm."
Next: The Sha Manifests
07 January 2013
#ffw can I call you back??
I would love to repost my earlier Furtive Father Winter post with all the delightful links and be done with content for the day but ALAS! due to various unforeseen delays and one guy straight up disappearing off the face of the internet, not all the posts are ready!
I regret not being able to send more reminder emails over the holiday, but there were extenuating circumstances (my friend got the chicken pox what the actual hell) and frankly you guys didn't need to be reading politely insistent emails from me on Boxing Day.
Anyway, the deadline has come and gone and not all the posts are in but since it is currently FINALS TIME for me I don't have time to constantly check email anyway! For the one person who disappeared a plan is being put into effect, but for those of you who have yet to send your gifts but have emailed me about it, I am begging you to do that by the end of the week. Obviously I can't come to your house and make your brain think of great stuff (as evidenced by the fact that I've been trying to write an ostensibly easy 2 page paper for FOUR HOURS) but somehow, some way, please get it done! Your partner is waiting patiently for your post! Don't disappoint them or they might post crying gifs and I'll have to add them all to my inventory and then where will we be??
For those of you waiting, if you don't get something in your inbox by the end of the week, please email me to let me know and I'll give you an email address to check for in your spam folder and email your FFW.
Basically, I am humbly asking for a lot more communication in the form of email, twitter, blog comments, etc because I have even less time to scour your blogs for updates and links and the like! The outcome of my exams will directly affect my ability to get a scholarship, which in turn will determine whether or not I have to leave school earlier than anticipated. I'm sorry to be pathetic but please make this easy for me because I'm so busy I'm losing my miiiiiiind.......!!!
I regret not being able to send more reminder emails over the holiday, but there were extenuating circumstances (my friend got the chicken pox what the actual hell) and frankly you guys didn't need to be reading politely insistent emails from me on Boxing Day.
Anyway, the deadline has come and gone and not all the posts are in but since it is currently FINALS TIME for me I don't have time to constantly check email anyway! For the one person who disappeared a plan is being put into effect, but for those of you who have yet to send your gifts but have emailed me about it, I am begging you to do that by the end of the week. Obviously I can't come to your house and make your brain think of great stuff (as evidenced by the fact that I've been trying to write an ostensibly easy 2 page paper for FOUR HOURS) but somehow, some way, please get it done! Your partner is waiting patiently for your post! Don't disappoint them or they might post crying gifs and I'll have to add them all to my inventory and then where will we be??
For those of you waiting, if you don't get something in your inbox by the end of the week, please email me to let me know and I'll give you an email address to check for in your spam folder and email your FFW.
Basically, I am humbly asking for a lot more communication in the form of email, twitter, blog comments, etc because I have even less time to scour your blogs for updates and links and the like! The outcome of my exams will directly affect my ability to get a scholarship, which in turn will determine whether or not I have to leave school earlier than anticipated. I'm sorry to be pathetic but please make this easy for me because I'm so busy I'm losing my miiiiiiind.......!!!
01 January 2013
Happy New Year!
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| 昨年は色々お世話になりました 本年もよろしくお願いします |
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