Bal stands renewed from his throne and flexes a stretch. He walks
down the steps as the court kneels in terror in his passing praying for
no admonishment.
Old gods turned to stonish depictions what they once were, thinking that's all they are, will bent and become minions.
A
wave of his hand opens the doors as he smiles, the guards hide their
startle as he walks through, quickly kneeling. All around him and
across the castle towers, the nightmares prepare for war, more builders
reinforcing, arms being armed.
Nightmarish soldiers fan out into
the woods, set now universally to become things all children fear
instead of focusing on one. Bullies fade to teachers to doctors, a
dentist spins his tool, changing as if each leap through the woods were
part of that transition.
Bal looks over it all from the high
mountain entrance edge as they file into the paths left by the walkers,
the construction sounds dying down behind him in completion.
He takes a deep breath watching down ... a laugh. "Yes ... "
The
opening as though it were his show, his rise from his wounds,
nightmares bounding through the woods. Cybal and the Cartographer shown
heroically navigating the volcanic dangers, to the castles reinforced
armaments, more avalanches threatening its release from the mountain.
All regularly paced by the leaping nightmares on trail.
____________
The Maid flutters down with a large platter in their path, possibly by the power of her active skirt and frills.
Maid - "I ... have ... foodstuffs !" Sees Adam, "Oh my God it's you. Um." Curtsies, "Hi ... "
~ Elsewhere the chef's eyes go wide, "Oh my. Lifts a platter lid and throws in another cake.
The maid's platter lid jumps with more food.
Maid - "My god this is so heavy." Uses a hand to play faint on her forehead.
The three look at Adam with arms crossing in line.
Adam - Smiles at them, turns to the maid. "Here. Let me get that for you." Picks it up with a finger and smiles again at the three with a bow.
Maid - "Oh. Really I just " Falls over.
LOOKS OF DOOM ... they turn away.
Mike - Among the rest peering scared over the edge of a wall, "Yep."
Gabby - "Exactly like that."
Ari - "Mm-hm."
Sam - "Wait. Are all of our parents divorced ?"
They look at each other.
____________
Cybal - Walks out from the castle joining Bal, looking over with him. "I don't know that they'll disturb your conquest at all my lord. They appear ... to wisely flee you."
Bal - Watching a trail of mares down a Xenofix path left behind. "Do you know why they are here, Cybal ?"
All regularly paced by the leaping nightmares on trail.
____________
The Maid flutters down with a large platter in their path, possibly by the power of her active skirt and frills.
Maid - "I ... have ... foodstuffs !" Sees Adam, "Oh my God it's you. Um." Curtsies, "Hi ... "
~ Elsewhere the chef's eyes go wide, "Oh my. Lifts a platter lid and throws in another cake.
The maid's platter lid jumps with more food.
Maid - "My god this is so heavy." Uses a hand to play faint on her forehead.
The three look at Adam with arms crossing in line.
Adam - Smiles at them, turns to the maid. "Here. Let me get that for you." Picks it up with a finger and smiles again at the three with a bow.
Maid - "Oh. Really I just " Falls over.
LOOKS OF DOOM ... they turn away.
Mike - Among the rest peering scared over the edge of a wall, "Yep."
Gabby - "Exactly like that."
Ari - "Mm-hm."
Sam - "Wait. Are all of our parents divorced ?"
They look at each other.
____________
Cybal - Walks out from the castle joining Bal, looking over with him. "I don't know that they'll disturb your conquest at all my lord. They appear ... to wisely flee you."
Bal - Watching a trail of mares down a Xenofix path left behind. "Do you know why they are here, Cybal ?"
...
Cybal - "We ... have no ... "
Bal - "I know." A stare and a nod to the woods as he wants them, then he looks at her. "I know." Looking into her ... he turns back to the castle doors with a kneel of the giant guards.
Cybal - Stares after he's gone, "Alabast." Falls backward off the platform, caught beneath by the horse in flight. It circles beneath and parts as a layer of cliff face avalanches nearby, the groaning of steel.
________
A flock of nightmares bounds the path behind them leading fast to, on bounds high to strike from above as a dentist with his tools, while the rest leap into attack.
Maid - Turns fast, "I ... knew it ! I never get hungry after eating too much except on Halloween." Grabs the platter from Adam, "Gimme that." Points it toward the charge and pulls the lid.
Cybal - "We ... have no ... "
Bal - "I know." A stare and a nod to the woods as he wants them, then he looks at her. "I know." Looking into her ... he turns back to the castle doors with a kneel of the giant guards.
Cybal - Stares after he's gone, "Alabast." Falls backward off the platform, caught beneath by the horse in flight. It circles beneath and parts as a layer of cliff face avalanches nearby, the groaning of steel.
________
A flock of nightmares bounds the path behind them leading fast to, on bounds high to strike from above as a dentist with his tools, while the rest leap into attack.
Maid - Turns fast, "I ... knew it ! I never get hungry after eating too much except on Halloween." Grabs the platter from Adam, "Gimme that." Points it toward the charge and pulls the lid.
Chef - Cannoning from the platter with butcher knives in hand, the rest of the blades on his belt rising with electricity, "You ... Were Not INVITED !!!"
Dissipates the first and cuts though two more into a spin, turning to them as they reform (you have to remove more than half their mass faster than they can reform it like slow smoke).
The rest circle round.
Lilith and Naamah stare at Eve ... they push her forward.
Eve - "Oh my god."
Dissipates the first and cuts though two more into a spin, turning to them as they reform (you have to remove more than half their mass faster than they can reform it like slow smoke).
The rest circle round.
Lilith and Naamah stare at Eve ... they push her forward.
Eve - "Oh my god."
Draws
her bow and shoots, they do the same, the Xenofix closes up with the
children in their seats. The Maid raises the platter lid, the (con)
descending nightmare crashes into it.
Maid - "Eat cake." Shoves cake in its dentist face and catches it under the lid. Stands a sec bopping until smoke seeps under and a popcorn sound. "Hehe." Removes the lid and eats popcorn.
Maid - "Eat cake." Shoves cake in its dentist face and catches it under the lid. Stands a sec bopping until smoke seeps under and a popcorn sound. "Hehe." Removes the lid and eats popcorn.
The chef twirls his blades grinning, then goes to attack against the line of them distracted by new arrows. Eve slings them a bit lazily while Lilith and Naamah work their way directly to, going to sword and finishing that row with the chef in their confusion.
Adam leaps high and lands on the less touched wall and turns shield to blade as the nightmares circle them in team, now shifting between things warriors fear.
Battles unknown, histories untold but the effects can be seen on them by the insult in their eyes at regrouping.
The Xenofix opens fire, working one side of their surrounding circle, the rest adapt and try to back them into the fire.
While in another part of the woods, the prior seen Xenofix with the balloons tied to fights nightmares alongside a girl's manga team, another with soldiers and another still for children who watch movies they're too young for nearby.
Where nightmare fights nightmare.
While Bal watches from the castle's landing in that sphere of light in his hand with some frustration. He turns view to Cybal, redirecting their numbers as needed from above.
He
closes his fist and raises it to the sky as lightning strikes. It
connects down his arm and reflects back upward, as he tears a dragon
from the sky to the landing.
It rears high and spreads it wings with a roar as though for the first time. Settles and looks at Bal, head lowering to face directly, smoke from the mouth become steam.
Bal - "Your name is ... Calypso."
It nods hard and snorts in agreement.
____
It roars from the precipice as he rides.
____________
The last nightmare shrinks back in the form of a teacher hiding behind a stack of homework (top says F) as the rest loom over ~
Educational Nightmare - "Do ... your homework ?"
All - "NO !" Everything opens up.
It rears high and spreads it wings with a roar as though for the first time. Settles and looks at Bal, head lowering to face directly, smoke from the mouth become steam.
Bal - "Your name is ... Calypso."
It nods hard and snorts in agreement.
____
It roars from the precipice as he rides.
____________
The last nightmare shrinks back in the form of a teacher hiding behind a stack of homework (top says F) as the rest loom over ~
Educational Nightmare - "Do ... your homework ?"
All - "NO !" Everything opens up.