Rescue From the Swamp Gatoress Part Three - RPLOG
Participants
Date
11/9/2016
Log
A hot, harsh, reptilian smell was riding the wind. From the look in Galve's eye, the bunny herm could smell it too. Acetyl realized his teeth were bared unconsciously, and his hooked claws were flexing from their sheaths. Having hunted by the river many a time, and spent his share of time in the sewers as well, the Storm Dragon recognized the trace of a feral Male Gator. Automatically, survival knowledge and defensive instincts kicked in, and he turned from the kemo agent, snuffing deeply at the air for more information. He wished he had that detection nanomagic, but he'd have to rely on his senses. Fortunately, as a Storm Dragon, his senses of smell and hearing were better than a 'pure' human's would have been, but he still felt tense and very aware of being out of his element while his enemy was on home ground.
Well... kind of. Gator mutants were not normally found in this swamp. It was a place of crystalline birds and hungry lamias, among odder things. But not gators. Probably, it had once been an avian or a lamia, or one of the other usual natives of the region. But the gatoress had infected it, changed it to be like herself. That was what ferals did, after all. They...
And then he spotted it. Acetyl froze, every muscle locked, ready for instant action but unsure of what action to take yet. He couldn't see the whole gator. It was just a single slitted, dull golden eye. Peering at them from the vegetation. Holding still as death itself. Instinctively, Acetyl could tell it had been setting up an ambush, preparing to either leap out at Acetyl and Galve as they walked past its hiding place, or else creep up on them as they hesitated. As he became aware of the proximity of danger, Acetyl's fur-like strands began to puff out, revealing the surfaces of the scales from which the long 'hairs' sprouted. Sparks and small bolts of electricity began to crackle through the Storm Dragon's charged coat as his Electric Aura activated. Acetyl's nanites recognized Galve as nonthreatening, so he was not shocked, but it was clear that touching the storm dragon right now would be a bad idea. That weirder, darker aura around 'Cet also grew in intensity, possibly unsettling Galve with its strong feelings of unnaturalness - the distinctive presence of things not merely not of this world, but that which should not be, period. "There's the bastard," he rumbled under his breath, growling the words more than speaking them, making them harder to understand, but still comprehensible for Galve, being one who was used to hearing mutants speak. "If we get too far apart he'll try to snatch one of us. Act strong," Acetyl added. He spoke without looking at Galve, all attention fixed on that glaring, watchful eye.
Acetyl began to move again, deliberately looking away from the spot as if he had seen nothing, knowing the Male Gator was probably not fooled in the slightest. But the act was part of the game. He had to feign ignorance to see how the Gator would react... and in turn, the Gator would make a choice, to see how he, Acetyl, would react. He'd just have to do his best to think ahead of the Gator. Normally, he'd have no hesitation about his ability to do so... but he didn't have only his own ass on the line here. He had to include Galve in his calculus, and that was an unfamiliar element. Plus, he hadn't brought Iatro, and now he was realizing what a mistake that was. The little golem had proven its worth time and again and was more than capable of taking care of itself. Its senses, and combat abilities, would have been very helpful just then. But he hadn't wanted to involve Iatro in this, any more than he'd wanted to involve any of the other agents with whom he was friendly. This was his mistake, his mess to clean up. Still, he couldn't help missing Iatro, wishing the medical nanite golem was present.
As if aware of being stalked but unaware of the precise location of the Gator, Acetyl began to move again, angling them through the foliage so as not to present too tempting a target without being too obvious in his avoidance of the gator. His ears flexed back, listening for the telltale sounds of pursuit... not that there was any chance the gator would NOT pursue. Rather, 'Cet wanted to track its movements by sound as a way of trying to predict its next move. His gut felt like a knot of copulating earthworms.
As the storm dragon bristled with his agressive auras, Galve braved the auras to put himself closer to his rescuer. Still limping, he contiued to lean heavily on his stave. "J-just lead the way, I'll... be right beside you." Galve muttered in an attempt at bravery.
