ToT--Silver Snow at the Meerkat Colony

[Zazu]

This RP took forever to actually get done, due to scheduling problems. In the first part, which is not in my possession, Talmaleki and Ulomide visit Min'Men and demand that Yaro, the leader, exile one of his subjects as an experiment. He refuses, naturally. We had to stop at that point, but we assumed that the ghosts simply left to discuss the situation.

Then, the next night, the following occurred:

[Zazu]

Min'Men Meerkat Colony
Flat, dusty, and dry, the apparent landform is that of the beginnings of desert-like living. The sun bares down on the unattractive and colorless land here in the day, leaving for colder nights than in most other places, with the exception of the large, flat stones in the ground that maintain their heat throughout most of the evening. Scattered across the dusty landscape, however, a number of holes make for entrance to the underground. The Meerkat Colony. Some at the sides of the large rocks, others just by small, scraggly bushes, and one or two in plain sight of any would-be predators. There's a single lone tree, small, with very high branches jutting up between a pair of large rocks for the sun, somehow managing to withstand the heat of the dry days without withering."

Exits:
nder the [T]ree
[South] to the Desert's Edge

Present:
[DND] Lindani
[ZZZ] Masiri
[ZZZ] Olumide
[ZZZ] Zagaa
[AFK] Yaro
[ZZZ] Caelestis
[ZZZ] Penha
[AFK] Mridhia
[ZZZ] Siri
[ZZZ] Rahima
[ZZZ] Hawara
[ZZZ] Majununi
[ZZZ] Edwin
[ZZZ] Vinnie
[ZZZ] Kibi
[ZZZ] Ponda
[ZZZ] Kato

Kato comes back out of the tunnels, looking a little haggard. He hasn't got much sleep recently, but he's too stuck to his duties to go back down and ignore his shift. So here he is, clambering up to his sentry post and rubbing his eyes free of that fuzz that comes of fatigue. Time to go to work... hopefully nothing weird would happen again. HE wonders idly if Yaro has an explanation for the strange visions surrounding the colony just a couple days ago... but that sort of thing is probably on a need to know basis.

Yaro walks out of the tunnels with a business-like gait. He got some good sleep over the night, catching up on lost sleep. But he needs to report to the sentries some new special orders. "Sentries! Come to me, I need to review your instructions!" he calls out.

The juvenile meerkat known as Max is idling to the side, shooting glances to and frow as he sits, quietly for once, simply watching the action.

Kato looks back just as soon as he's turned his gaze out to the wastes beyond. More orders... perfect. With a collective sigh, the sentries hop off of their vantage points and close in on the Alpha. "Sir?" one of them says as they all gather around.

Yaro folds his arm. "Last night, as you all know, there was a disturbance. Kato can explain what the disturbance was, however, I need to make an addendum to your instructions until this strange weather passes. Any apparitions or even stranger happenings, sound the alarm immediately. One of you is to remain topside to keep an eye on what is going on, so you can inform the colony when it's safe. Understood?" he says.

o. O (What on earth is going on? ) Little Max jumps to his feet and creeps closer in order to evesdrop on the situation.

It seems to be getting a little bit #too# dark, too quickly. It lends the head meerkat's words more weight...even while undermining him.

The sentries look about at each other, a little confused, but compliant. They all nod assent to their leader's orders. One of them looks about, noticing the gathering dark. "Umm... what exactly would constitute strange happenings, sir?" he asks, sounding a tiny bit nervous.

Yaro looks up. "This right here!" he says, then chirrups loudly himself and points to Kato to stay up here with him. "Get *everyone* into the colony *now!*" he adds to the chirrup.

But there's no rift in the sky this time. Nothing visible, anyhow. All that emerges from the night sky is a little twinkle of silver-grey...like a tiny rainstorm falling over some distant foreign land. The material comes from an indeterminable distance upward--high enough to blot out stars, but low enough that the material settles on the ground only a couple of yards from the colony's front entrance. A growing pile of silver snow...that looks at once compelling and dangerous.

Max freezes exactly where he is , staring up at the sky in a mix of horror and fascination. what on _earth_? He doesn't here Yaro's order to get everyone into the colony, merely staring in some sort of morbid fascination.

The sentries don't seem too intent on sticking around for this. They quickly assemble everyone and head downstairs. Kato makes sure they're all safe below, missing Max in the quick tumult before returning to Yaro's side. Having been toughened from his past experience, he only stands by dutifully, putting his arms behind his back and watching the apparition, blinking slowly.

Yaro is filled with hatred for this event. He has not readily forgotten what had happened *last* time. He bares his teeth and growls. If this stupid ghost asks him to exile a subordinate again, he'll have to figure something out. He refuses to comply with that request.

Max continues to crouch low near one of the small piles of dirt left by one of the tunnels. The juvenile doesn't seem scared, merely fascinated by what is unfolding before his eyes.'

The pile keeps accumulating, and the rain doubles in thickness, sparkling like little flakes of tinsel onto the tranquil pile. The quarter moon shines on it for a fleeting instant, and then the shine is gone. What sound was present at the colony is fading...into silence.

Yaro blinks. What just happened? How strange. He looks around for any ghosts, and doesn't seem to see anything. "Kato. Stay sharp. This is where it gets worse." he says, and keeps scanning the horizon. "You're a sentry. The best one I have, do you see anything?" he asks.

Kato looks up to the sky, finding the silence at once comforting and terrifying. He flicks an ear and waits, refusing to be intimidated by... whatever this is. Still, his breathing quickens and his muscles tighten. He's faced down snakes and servals, and even once helped fight off a wild dog... but this...! It's just something he has no idea how to deal with. He looks to Yaro for guidance, trying to mimic his mannerisms. At Yaro's command he stares out to the horizon, seeing a faint glint of something... and then it's gone. "There," he says, pointing in the direction of the flash of light. "A bit of a reflection, like moonlight. For a moment." He says this in the native language of the meerkats, as if there were any spies to keep the message from...

At last the rain of falling flakes comes to an end, and the stars are restored to the way they always have been. The last few flakes settle onto the pile, now a meter wide and nearly as deep. It continues to sparkle oddly in the silence.

Max continues to crouch in his position, his stormy grey eyes staring out at the horizon.
Yaro falls back to Suricati like Kato did. "Moonlight. See anything else? Apparitions of dead lions, for instance?" he says. He likes Suricati for its design to simplify communication to direct points. Its a very direct language, unlike Savannic or even Leonine. Meerkats have things to say, dammit, and often in little time. "Keep searching." he says.

Kato continues to scan quietly. "No," he replies. "Nothing. I don't hear anything, either. It's strange. Though strange seems to be becoming the norm... wait." He sees the sparkling 'snow.' "That pile, there. The one shining in the moonlight." Seems whatever it is has a flair for the dramatic.

Max continues to gaze curiously at the shining light. The silence appears to be almost deafening, and Little Max appears remarkably to close. Hmmm. Interesting
Yaro starts to walk toward the indicated pile. He feels almost hypnotized by the image. He's never seen anything like snow before, and is mesmerized by this object. He's walking slowly toward the pile.

Kato watches Yaro begin to approach. Well, the thing was very pretty, but besides that it looks dangerous! He does a double take and steps forward, putting a paw on Yaro's shoulder. "Sir!" he whispers harshly. "I wouldn't go near if I were you. How do we know this isn't a repeat of what happened last time?"

"What have you got to report?" pounds a voice suddenly. It's not a full tone, just a suggestion of words, but loud and clear enough that everyone can hear it. The voice may be coming from far behind the meerkat colony, or from where the rain came...or perhaps, from under the ground. But it is unmistakably Talmaleki's.

Yaro stops and gasps. It's almost heart-stopping, the fear of this thing. HE narrows his eyes and clenches his fists. "You... You called yourself Talmaleki? What do you want with me?" he snarls. "Still expecting me to exhile one of my meerkats?"

"I never expected it. I simply requested it," says the voice. Now a sheen of green and yellow lines rolls like a uniform wave over the beige ground. A few sparks trickle off and land onto the land over the tunnels, lingering before winking out like firework schrapnel. The rest coalesce swiftly into a mound of shimmering light some distance away...
Kato drops down to a fighting position, eyes wide as the bodiless voice suddenly booms through the area. Now *that* was unexpected! The meerkat is breathing hard and quick, starting to feel a sense of creeping dread come upon him. He gulps loudly, watching the light begin to form into something else. He's terrified, but too much to actually do anything besides watch... call it a morbid curiosity, if you will.

Yaro glowers angrily. Yes, the light show is beautiful, but this male has his priorities in order. "Well, you can forget it. I'm not doing it. You'll not find amusement with me or my colony?" he says angrily.

The light show take shape. Strands of it stretch out, until they are little more than outlines. And within a minute of this orderly, otherworldly scramble, the form of the great Lion King is standing. His face is calm, even a trifle benevolent. He steps forward with regal bearing and looks down politely to the eye level of the meerkats. "I am past amusement," he says. "But I am not past education. There is always time...to learn. Take solace in that, if you will." He starts to walk around the three scared creatures, keeping a fair distance from them all.

Kato watches the king approach with fear and suspicion. This was the ghost? He stands up, shaking a bit as he remains by Yaro's side, eyes wide, following the circular movement of the ancient, foreboding king. He waits for Yaro to try and give a clue as what to do.

Yaro looks over at Kato. He's not sure what to do except learn more of what this ghost will do. "Education?" he asks. "What kind of education? I know all I need to lead my colony."


And then we had to stop. Once again, we'll assume Talmaleki simply left after not getting the results he was hoping for. And then, last night, we had this...

[Zazu]

Min'Men Meerkat Colony
Flat, dusty, and dry, the apparent landform is that of the beginnings of desert-like living. The sun bares down on the unattractive and colorless land here in the day, leaving for colder nights than in most other places, with the exception of the large, flat stones in the ground that maintain their heat throughout most of the evening. Scattered across the dusty landscape, however, a number of holes make for entrance to the underground. The Meerkat Colony. Some at the sides of the large rocks, others just by small, scraggly bushes, and one or two in plain sight of any would-be predators. There's a single lone tree, small, with very high branches jutting up between a pair of large rocks for the sun, somehow managing to withstand the heat of the dry days without withering."

Exits:
nder the [T]ree
[South] to the Desert's Edge

Present:
[ZZZ] Lethan
[DND] Mavidi
[ZZZ] Masanii
[ZZZ] Rahima
[ZZZ] Penha
[ZZZ] Siri
[ZZZ] Hawara
[ZZZ] Majununi
[ZZZ] Edwin
[ZZZ] Vinnie
[ZZZ] Kibi
[ZZZ] Ponda
[ZZZ]

Yaro is out of the colony. His mood is in a very low state. This murderer is on the lose, with two deaths, including one kit. Such a death is abhorrent in Min'men society, and Yaro is working his hardest to find the murderer. At the same time there's been the theft of a powerful abortive herb from Majununi's healing collection.

Kato is on late night sentry duty, the perimeter closed in frightfully tonight to make sure nobody got in or out of the colony. The night is silent, like it always is on this end of the savannah, and Kato is watchful as ever. There was a murderer on the loose, so he had to watch his front *and* back, a heavy task for a lone meerkat, which was why things were so shut in and the guard doubled. It was not a night for slacking.

Masanii has connected.
[OOC] Masanii waves!
[OOC] Kato says, "You're just in time. For DOOM."
[OOC] Masanii loves DOOM!

And the pile of mysterious silver material still lingers, untouched, unmolested, and unscattered by the nighttime winds. To this site Talmaleki returns, invisible to the world, and inaudible, for now, to all but his cohort, Mwiba. "I was here with Olumide three days ago," he reveals from their position just behind the sky. "He had some interesting thoughts about these beings...but I would like your opinion before we proceed."

The lanky king peers down from his position next to Talmaleki, his narrow eyes keenly observant. The meerkats. Tasty creatures. He loved to torture them when he was alive. This is no exception. A grin peels back his lips. "Interessssting," he hisses softly.

Yaro sees Kato and heads his way. "Report, please, Kato." he says. He regards the sentry closely. "Has there been any signs of trouble out there?" he asks, and also turns to look to the horizon. He's got a full plate with the murderer.

Talmaleki's eyes are here now. Round, with lens-shaped pupils, gray as a foggy morning. They slant toward Mwiba, and the voice begins to permeate the world of the living, like a distant waterfall's roar. "Interesting how? Do you know anything about these suricates? Are they indeed worth our time?"

Kato shakes his head, most of the sentries a little distracted by the strange, silvery... *stuff* on the ground. "There's nothing sir, nothing. No movement ever since we got put on high alert. Don't worry, sir. If he tries to get out or in again, he won't get by us without our knowing. The Alpha sentries are making personal rounds every few minutes."

"They taste good," Mwiba interjects, his teeth becoming visible to those on the mortal plane. "I think they would prove interesting as test subjects. Their loyalty to each other is quite strong."

Yaro sighs. "I wonder if the murderer is on emergency alert too. He saw an increase in sentry activity and is laying low. If he's inside, however, we have to act quickly to quell him, because if he is in here, we'd have trapped the snake in the proverbial mousehole." he says, then he gets an odd feeling. "You ever get the feeling you're being watched, Kato?"

Talmaleki laughs. The sound of this lion's amusement is a spooky thing indeed, distorted as his voice becomes on its way into the realm of the living. "I never knew them in life, Mwiba. So they taste good. A pity my buds of taste are all rotted and gone, then! Well, what do we have open but to exploit them in the next best way?" He appears in the air as an outline of rushing green and blue, and the stars continue to wink behind him--perhaps all the brighter. He is now visible to all. "I have already asked their leader to exile one of his people, and he has refused. I expect he has not changed his mind...#have# you, Yaro!?" Boom--the voice pounds through the night, defying anyone not to take note and quiver.

Kato shrugs lightly. "A snake is one, while we are many. That's where our strength always came from, or so the nursery told us." He shakes his head at Yaro's next question. "No, sir. Why do you a-AAAGGGHH!" He jumps up high and tumbles off his perch, falling heavily on his rump as the booming voice of Talmaleki makes almost everyone lose their balance more out of shock than actual reverberations.

The booming voice woke Masanii. His hands frantically search for his stick, and upon finding it, he brings it close to his body. Things were definitely odd here. Loud voices when no one was there. No war. And this 'kat that liked to touch him, what's his name? Let..or something. All weird. His eyes scan the horizon before turning back to the opening to the colony. He sighs, wondering where the commander, this Yar..e? Yara? Whoever was. He didn't want to spend any more time on this accursed rock.

Yaro is knocked off of his footpaws by the sheer volume of the noise and lands near Kato. "It's *you!*" he says with a degree of anger. "Haven't I already told you I won't play your games, Talmaleki?" he scolds.

[OOC] Talmaleki returns with chicken soup.
[OOC] Masiri ooos and pours pepper in it.
[OOC] Masanii wants to steal some chicken soup, but knows better than to piss off a really dead guy.
[OOC] Kato says, "So there's actually varying degrees of dead?"
[OOC] Masanii says, "Kinda dead. Dead. Really dead."
[OOC] Masanii says, "In that order."

"Games?" a falsetto giggles. "Who says you get to choose whether or not you play, rodent?" Mwiba makes himself known, but only as a voice and the faintest hint of a floating set of very angular, sharp teeth.
Guest> Chiwa has connected.

Talmaleki's body wavers and is limnally colored with subdued hues of green, yellow and brown. He floats to earth, appearing to approach from a dimension that can't be identified with any real directions, but once he arrives, he's there--no question. He's a little distance from the rock where Masanii is camped out, and a short distance from the mysterious heap. "I have never played games," he cautions. "All my life, I was accused of playing games. With people, and their emotions. I was shocked to hear it, when my sister warned me how I was seen. Why would anyone play games with such valuable things as people? I ask you! Is life not serious enough to warrant a serious approach? Little creatures, I am glad you are not game-players. I would respect you less. I only wish to learn about you." His wildly colored head bows in a gesture of submission.

[OOC] Yaro feeds Mwiba Kato.
[OOC] Mwiba claps his paws joyfully.
[OOC] Kato reaches out from the grave and curses Yaro with Poke-speak so he can only say his name.
[OOC] Yaro says, "Yaro! Yaro! Yarrroooooo!"
[OOC] Kato says, "That could be an interesting curse... we'd be all Lassie on him. "What's that Yaro?! Kato's trapped in the Graveyard?!""
[OOC] Masiri laughs!
[OOC] Mwiba XDD
[OOC] Yaro pokes Kato.

Kato rubs his head as he gets up, waving his paws at the other sentries. "Inside!" He yells in Suricati. The others, already terrified by the apparition, had only their duty and loyalty seperating them from total flight... which they take advantage of now once they're ordered to flee. Kato looks back at the ghastly lions with a scowl. "For being obsessed with gravitas, you sure have a flair for the dramatic!" he snaps, speaking out of turn in his adolescent anger. He glances at Yaro and clams up quickly, taking up a posture of attention next to his leader.

Masanii looks at the colony opening, then back to the boy who denied him entrance only the day previous. Then to the apparition. Being the 'war hero' that he is, and knowing he can't run into the colony screaming, however much he wants to, he resigns himself to not moving, sitting on the rock and staring at the ghost. Maybe they won't see him. At least his mouth isn't open.

Yaro growls. He's not pleased to see this apparition, and he stands his ground. "I'm not going to aquiesce to any of your stupid requests, Talmaleki! I know better than to trust creatures like you." he says.

[OOC] Masiri says, "That's basically what Chioh said. See what happened to him?!"
[OOC] Mwiba XD
[OOC] Masanii says, "XD"

The set of terrifying jaws turn towards Masanii, giving him a chilling grin. However, Mwiba's attention once again returns to Kato and Yaro, and he lets out a chuckle. The wind hisses through the grasses--icy, not at all usual for this region--and on it is carried the faintest scent of death. "Such /insolent/ creatures," the lanky one comments, his eyes flitting in and out of view.

The great lion lifts his head. On his face is a countenance of understanding--none of the anger, the grandeur, the conceit that has visited it in the past. "I understand, Yaro," he says. "I have no more requests to make of you. I only want to talk. I have asked Mwiba what meerkats are for...and he has informed me..." He turns up the corner of his mouth to the other ghost. "...that you are quite tasty, and loyal, and insolent, to boot. But I am not satisfied with this answer. What...what do meerkats #do#? Help me to understand."

Kato blinks at Talmaleki's strange question, looking back at Yaro as if asking permission to speak and put this weird entity in its place. Was this thing for real? He had always expected ghosts to be a little, well... creepy. Right now he was carrying on peaceful conversation and really not being any more threatening than the usual types they got around here. And Kato was well used to dealing with those.

Masanii sees the spectral grin, and a shiver runs up his spine, much like it did on his first drop, looking over the wing of the eagle and seeing the ground. He wanted to get out. He wanted to run. Like NOW. But his feet wouldn't move and neither would his head. So he sat there, his face frozen into an expression of light surprise. These 'kats are crazy.

Yaro points at Talmaleki. "Our purpose is to keep you away from our colony. We have kits to protect! More important things to do than to waster my time talking to the likes of you!" he says angrily, then he nods to Kato, indicating that he may add on what he wishes.

Talmaleki frowns. "You disappoint me. I really did wish I could get some answers." A spiral of smoke suddenly and unexpectedly rises out of the lion's head, focused around his ears. It makes very little sound, and vanishes into the black air. He turns his attention to Kato. "Can you do better? What do meerkats do? What do #you# do?"

Mwiba begins to pace, his thin eyes now fully visible over his bared fangs. He's impatient. All this talk makes him antsy. Who /cares/ what meerkats do? They're there for amusement, as far as he's concerned, and they're really not amusing him right now. He wants to change that.

Kato blinks in surprise when the great spirit turns his gaze on him. Now that it comes to it, he does feel a little creeped out, with those sightless eyes boring into him like that. "M... me?" he asks in a squeak. "Well... meerkats... do... um." He clears his throat and tries to gather his courage. "A meerkat protects what isn't his and loves for two," he replies snappishly, remembering the mantras from kithood. "We defend our colony. We keep each other alive and happy. We're family. Family is supposed to do that..." he trails off, with a bit of an unspoken 'right?' added onto the end. "As for... me... I'm... I'm a sentry. I keep watch for danger and call out when it comes. Like now." You'll notice it was *his* orders that got everyone down and safe, thank you very much.

Masanii finally regains control of his head, which he turns quickly, looking for anyone, anything that could get him to safety. Nothing, though he still has his stick, which he doubted would do much to a ghost. He tries to move his legs, but they remain frozen in fear. So Masanii continues to watch, what else could he do?

Yaro recites the First Meerkat Law. "A meerkat acts first always in love of his colony!" he says sharply at Talmaleki. "You're no part of our colony, and as you are unwanted, I suggest you leave!"

Talmaleki is getting a little bit worried, himself. He listens patiently, he colors fading gradually toward gray, but he does not fail to notice that his cohort is thirsting for action. Still, he must contiue to gather information until the right moment comes. "Patience, Mwiba. How many years have you lain in the nickel under the earth, content to dream of stars? Patience." He examines Kato carefully, and glances at the colony itself. "So you are a look-out," he surmises. "You must be keen of eye and mind to hold a post such as that. Especially to win the trust of your leader as you clearly have." And now, quite without warning, Talmaleki turns to Masanii, on the nearby rock. There is no indication that he didn't know the other adult was there the whole time. "And you. What do you say? What are you meerkats all #about#?"

[OOC] Masanii is a bad one to ask. XD

The wind picks up even more: a harsh gust of cold air that could topple a young meerkat if it was caught off-guard. The stench increases. Mwiba apparently doesn't /want/ to be patient, but just as quickly as the gale rises, it passes. The disembodied facial features begin to circle Masanii, demanding a quick response.

[OOC] Yaro starts jumping. "Meerkats are about kizzling your nizzle, fizzle!" >
[OOC] Mwiba eats Yaro's tongue!
[OOC] Gwandoya says, "That's two in one night! You're on a diet, Mwiba!"
[OOC] Talmaleki laughs.

Kato watches as Talmaleki pointedly ignores Yaro's commands, beginning to feel a little uncomfortable as the ghost doesn't seem intent on leaving... but his behavior was terribly odd, fading in and out like that.

Masanii knows what he is all #about#. Using his stories to get free food, free room, and free women. As for meerkats as a whole? "Well, Mr. Eyes, personolly, I om in the business of wandering, if thot interests you at oll. And in my trovels, I hove come to this conclusion: 'kats look out for one onother. Os for you lions, I don't know. The ones bock home fought with eoch other constontly, a thing you will never find 'kats doing." He wasn't sure if that answered the question, but he was glad he kept his voice so even.

Yaro looks at this new meerkat. Who in the hell is this? He's never seen this meerkat before! "Talmaleki. Leave, now!" he says sharply.

[OOC] Mridhia looks at Mwiba, "Mmmmm..."
[OOC] Masanii stole my trademark emphatic pound-signs!
[OOC] Masanii is a teif.
[OOC] Talmaleki pound you.
[OOC] Masanii can't spell, either.
[OOC] Masanii theif*
[OOC] Masanii thief**
[OOC] Mwiba says, "Tief!"
[OOC] Masanii, the greatest tief ever!
[OOC] Yaro lost his tief.
[OOC] Masiri is a speedster.
[OOC] Mridhia ...
[OOC] Mwiba is tiefed off!
[OOC] Mridhia teifed Mwaiba.
[OOC] Mridhia XD
[OOC] Mridhia says, "Mwiba*"

Talmaleki isn't going to leave, but he isn't angry, either. In fact, he appears to be quite pleased. "That is exactly what I hoped to hear," he says. "And you--a stranger! An outsider...wanderer..." He can't hold it in--he rears his head back and laughs. Oh, how he laughs! It rattles the very air. "Look at this, Mwiba! You were right! These suricates are apparently most notable for their loyalty. They don't fight! They don't scheme! All they do is--" But then, silence. Doubt washes over the lion king. He leaps back to Yaro, facing his down from inches away. "Weren't you talking about something when I got here?" he prods. "Something about...a #murderer#?!"

[OOC] Masanii trademarks the word 'tief' no one can use it now. >.> <.<
[OOC] You say, "That's fine, as long as I have #these#."
[OOC] Mwiba pirates it!
[OOC] Mridhia uses the word TEIF then.
[OOC] Masanii SUES MRI!!!!! $1000000000!
[OOC] Yaro whips out dirty meerkat magazines.
[OOC] Mridhia slaps Masa, "Tief... Teif... There's a difference dude. Pay me now!"
[OOC] Masanii steals Yaro's mags, cause he's a tief.
[OOC] Yaro says, "Check out page 11. "

Kato jumps back when Yaro is approached suddenly, but his face remains mostly expressionless. He waits for Yaro to answer the lion ghost.

Mwiba continues to circle Masanii, until Talmaleki speaks to him. The lanky one's form flashes into existence for one second, and then fades into the mere outline of a leonine skeleton with two silvery eyes. He /told/ Talmaleki they were just loyal little putzes. Maybe that's what made them so fun to play with. That and their small size. Mwiba looks to Masanii, pondering doing /just/ that.

Yaro takes a step back, a bit scared by sudden movements of the massive lionghost. "Yes, a murderer. A rogue no doubt, not to be trusted." he says, then regards, Masanii. Could he be the one who murdered that sentry and that kit? "He's killed two meerkats, including a kit. What of it?" he says.

Masanii was glad that the one ghost left him alone, but this new one . ..Mas didn't like the look in his eyes. He tries his legs again. Nope, still no movement.

Talmaleki doesn't give Yaro an inch. He leans forward again, now almost entirely gray. "So there #is# a stripe of malice in your kind," he concludes. "You're not #entirely# what your sentry here and the fellow on the rock claim that you are."

Oh ho ho! Mwiba's skull seems to grin even more, if it were possible. That's right, Talmaleki. They're all monsters that need to be punished. Let's /play/! He shoots a glare at Masanii again. Little meerkat gonna make a tasty treat, yes.

Talmaleki gets a naughty smile, pushes against thin air with his forelegs, and turns his neck a great distance to whisper into Mwiba's ear.

Kato narrows his eyes at Talmaleki, backing away himself. "Isn't it a little much to ask us to be perfect?" he mutters, but doubtless the lion can hear him. "He's a lawbreaker, so we're going to make sure justice comes to him. We aren't going to let ourselves suffer more for his own wrongdoing. He hurt the colony and we have to protect ourselves."

Talmaleki whispers, "Take the sentry. I don't care how you do it, but do it, and drop him in...the pile. " to Mwiba.

Yaro glares. "I never said there wasn't!" he snarls. "But don't presume to think that my kind are worse than *you.*" he says, backing *you* with acid mixed with hatred mixed with malice, as if Talmaleki is the worst thing to happen to the entire *world* and it was his duty to reproach the damned ghost. "I will not warn you again, leave!"

Masanii's mind frantically tried to remember what he had told Let. I thad worked for the 'kat, it might work here. But it was such gibberish. "A 'kat who hurts a 'kat is no longer a 'kat," he says. It still sounds stupid to him, but it worked once, so maybe...

Muscles appear on Mwiba's skeleton, and the corners of the muzzle upturn in a vicious grin. He nods slowly at Talmaleki's words just as the rest of his ethereal flesh appears. Now he looks like an actual lion, and not some walking anatomy project. He then turns and eyes Kato. He giggles.

[OOC] Yaro says, "Like a school girl?"
[OOC] Mwiba says, "Something in that direction."
[OOC] Masiri imagines Mwiba giggling like a school girl. o.o *bursts out laughing*
[OOC] Mwiba is very creepy.

Kato sees Mwiba staring at him in a very leering, unsettling fashion. He glares back and returns to watching his leader, waiting for orders.

Talmaleki listens politely to Masanii like an adult at a children's poetry recital. "That may be in your minds, but not according to the great scheme. Yaro! I do not claim that your kind are worse than my own or any other. I do not ask you to be perfect. I ask for nothing from you but understanding." He tenses and whips about, gritting his teeth. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND." And then, he sits back and the anger is gone. "I am not passing judgment. Not tonight. There is no moon tonight."

Yaro says, "What does the moon have anything to do with it?" he snarls."

Masanii thought he knew what was going on. Besides the existence of ghosts and all that unexplainable supernatural stuff, but the moon thing through his off. Well, the attention was not on him and he liked it, a first.

[OOC] Mwiba says, "Ack, I can't. My cat just came in and he's covered in car oil. Gotta bathe him. Might be back in a few."
Mwiba has disconnected.

[Zazu]

[Mwiba did not return (poor cat!), so I spoofed him for the rest of the RP.]

[ Talmaleki ] (Mwiba enjoys staring down the brave little meerkat, always a crazed smile on his features. He waits for Kato to look for orders and to look back again, and then, like a fishmonger cradling the catch of the day, he sets one paw behind Kato and one in front, and attempts to scoop him right up. A thin giggle escapes his lips.)

Talmaleki is sitting down now, his tail swishing through the ground, his rear end settled into hard ground like a cushion. He stares up at the sky and begins to hum. A line of trumpet and piano tinkles in the heavenly heights, accompanying him.

[OOC] Masiri sings, "Everyone look left. Everyone look right. Everywhere you look, I'm standing spotlight!"

Yaro is not about to let one of his subordinates be swooped up by any ghosts. He whips out a paw to grab onto Kato's to pull him away from Mwiba and snarls.

Masanii wants to help Yaro, but then again he also wants to run, so it's best that his legs still don't move.

Kato acks as Yaro yanks him out of the grasp of the ghost, but his tail brushes through the frozen paw of the ghost, and a chill dashes up his spine as he flumps over onto his tail, staring wide eyed at the giant beasts before him. He knew that they couldn't do much to stop them if they wished to do harm to them both... but at least the rest of the colony may be spared.

Talmaleki lifts his head to the dark sky, flicks his ears in time to the trumpet, and croons: "Neeeew Moooooon! You saw me prowling aloooooone! Without a dream in my heeeeaaarrt. Without a star of my oowwwwwwn."
[OOC] Yaro swoons.

But Mwiba isn't fooling around. He cackles quietly at the damage he's done to Kato. The little one can't flee forever--he'll follow him down into the colony if need-be! And with each swing, the sentry will only get weaker. He backs up, bucks forward, and tries again. Scoooop!

Yaro gasps, and doesn't manage to get kato away this time. He does, however, dive in front of him trying to stop the ghost from taking Kato.

Talmaleki sings: "Neeeew Mooooooon! You knew just what I was there for! You heard my claws on the bare floor...out hunting somebody raaaaare!"

Kato isn't really worrying about what Talmaleki was doing, trying to teach them this weeks top hits or whatever, since he's more concerned with batting away at Mwiba's paws and struggling to keep moving, stumbling backwards awkwardly as the cold threatens to seize up his limbs, gasping for breath as he falls on his side. "What are you, some kind of psycho?!" he gasps out angrily. "Get away from me! Yaro!"

But Mwiba's claws know what they're doing. They pass straight through Yaro, although not without causing his guts such turmoil, and latch onto Kato. The younger 'kat is hoisted into the air, as Mwiba rises, and swings his leg to and fro while Kato dangles. "I was a psycho in my time," he rants, delighted. "I've had plenty of practice!" And he starts floating over toward the menacing pile of silver substance.

... "And then....there suddenly appeared before me...the only one I've ever desired. I heard somebody whisper, 'Please adore me'...and when I looked to the moon it turned to fire!!"

Yaro gasps and feels a little lightheaded as the paw passes through him straight to Kato. He falls back. If he felt cold before, he never felt it until that happened. He's a little disoriented, but quickly recovers and shakes himself off and stands. He turns to face where Kato's being dangled and starts jumping up and down trying to reach Kato's paws.

Masanii finally sprung into action. He may have never done a drop with the airborne corps, but his body was still trained for it. He grasped his walking stick, cocked his arm, and threw, aiming for Mwiba's face. His mind tried to stop its body long after the makeshift spear was released. Oh no. just when the attention of the ghost things was off of him..

[OOC] Masiri says, "Wow...Masanii has spunk."

Kato struggles, fighting against the sluggishness and biting pain the terrifying cold is putting his small frame through. "You're a little rusty if you think this scares me!!!" he sscreams, hurling his anger and shame at being so totally helpless against the monster back in the direction of Mwiba's voice. But truthfully, he's on the verge of freaking out here! "If you don't put me down, I'll...!!!" Of course he can't finish the threat... what could he expect to do to something that could torment him so effortlessly?

Ouch! Mwiba is teasing Yaro, no doubt about it, and doing a good job of keeping him just out of range, when the stick strikes him in the eye. "OOooOOOBbr%br%brw%wwAAARrr!" His face contorts and he zips reflexively into the air, well out of range, while Kato writhes. The stick is wedged in his eye, and causing pain. "All right, already!!" he roars, and hurls Kato...through the air...through the cold winds...straight into the pile of silver flakes. And the meerkat sinks into the midst of the pile and disappears. "Mind you don't get any of those in your precious eyes!!" he shouts, giggling despite the pain. "That stuff is liable to sting!"

[OOC] Masiri says, "Eww...Kato landed in Ghost Dandruff"
[OOC] Yaro eews.

Yaro runs over the the pile and screeches to a halt just moments from falling in himself. What in the world *is* this crap? why did he throw Kato in it? "Kato?" he says, he's trying to find him in the pile but is having some difficulty.

[OOC] Masiri says, "And Yaro runs into the Ghost Dandruff...where's the Head and Shoulders..."

Masanii stood up, though not by his own design, his legs simply stood up themselves, and his body followed. Ok then.. "My wolking stick, if you pleose, Mr. Ghost." Why did he just say that? He regretted it the moment it came out. Stupid big mouth.

"New Mooooooon! Now I'm no longer alooooone! I'll tear a meerkat apaaaaaart...and make a friend from his booooones!"

[OOC] Masiri says, "That's slightly creepy"
[OOC] Yaro says, "I didn't run *in* to the pile, I ran *to* the pile!"
[OOC] Masiri says, "You still are heading towards it."
[OOC] Yaro says, "I stopped."
[OOC] Masanii says, "Scared? XD"
[OOC] Kato says, "Come on in Yaro, the ghost dander is fine!"
[OOC] Masiri says, "It's ghost Dandruff. Of course it's scary!"

Uh-oh! Mwiba whirls about to stare at the smug old bastard who threw the stick at him. "Excuuuuse me?" he says, his voice piercing through the cold, his eyes burning yellow and red. "What did you just say?"

Kato's paw suddenly bursts from within the pile, but only his paw. It struggles about, grasping for some kind of purchase, but it's rather weak. Kato's obviously either in pain or in danger of suffocation... he's reminded of the sandstorm he was caught in not three days ago and starts panicking, but the density of the stuff holds him fast until some sort of assistance can reach him.

Talmaleki takes a break from his singing while the bridge plays melodiously in the heavens. Ah, the choral bells! Ah, the viola! "What do you say, Yaro? You do know he'll die in there if you don't help him. I suggest you close your eyes, though...that's silver ore from my underground home! It's been tainted with the sour hopes of we, the Starseekers!" And he brings his paw proudly to his chest.

Yaro reaches for the paw and takes it and starts to pull.

Masanii winced inwardly. Well, when the dance starts, you got to finish, and by the Spirit, he had an audience, so might as well start dancing. He stood as tall as he could and repeated, "I'd like my stick back, thanks. It's lucky."

[OOC] Masiri says, "You mean it's your dandruff from now showering for hundred of years!"
[OOC] Kato says, "I doubt you're just gonna *pull* him from it..."
[OOC] Talmaleki lols, Masiri!
[OOC] Masiri bows.

But it won't give any ground. The flakes are just too thick. Yaro will have to dig through them in order to save Kato!

Kato's paw grasps Yaro's weakly, the grip tight with panic. His breath had already been stolen from him when he had nearly been frozen to death in mid-air and now slammed heavily into an already thick and heavy object... the stuff that's clogging him up now can't be doing well for any part of him, much less his eyes. He won't last more than a minute. It's almost encased back around him when he plowed through it... digging like only a meerkat can seems to be the only way to get him out now.

When the rogue meerkat stands and asks for his stick back again, Mwiba sneers and stares at him. In a sudden motion, he soars over toward Masanii like a spook on a cable, in a graceful arc. "Just what is lucky about it!?" the lion ghost rants in an unearthly croaking voice.

[OOC] Kato says, "How exactly *did* it pierce his eye?"
[OOC] Kato says, "Cause it really is lucky?"
[OOC] Masanii doesn't care. It worked.

Yaro ehhs as he sees his attempt to pull Kato out get squashed by a few OOC comments and starts to pull at the bizzare flakes, digging as fast as he can toward Kato. "Hang on, Kato. Dig dig dig."

[OOC] Yaro says, "Note: That 4th-wall breaking wasn't an official part of that pose."
[OOC] Talmaleki grins.
[OOC] Masiri says, "That's a really bad case of Dandruff. XD"

The flakes fall away easily, for each of them is individually light. But they are terrible things to catch under the claws, or even just to brush against one's skin. To dig through them causes pain to shoot through Yaro's arms, and makes his fingers feel raw and weak, even though there is no outward effect. Kato's arm starts to be uncovered...

Masanii says, "Well, I'd soy it was lucky that I hit your eye on such a quick throw. Ond it has got me here, so I guess that's lucky. Ond I've kinda grown ottached to it." Masanii holds out his hands, signaling 'stick please'."

At this, Mwiba gasps, grins wildly, and soars sixty feet into the air. "Lucky, is it?! LUCKY!!? Well, we'll see about that. If it's so lucky, I should be able to drop the thing, and skewer you through with it, head to tail! What do you think about that, little meerkat!?"

Fortunately for Kato, the average meerkat can dig its own body weight in about twelve seconds. But Yaro has never dealt with this stuff before, and neither has Kato. His whole arm is covered in long, red scratches lined with irritated welts. His arm, feeling open air, thrashes about, but beneath it, he's starting to fade. He can't push off of anything, can't pull himself anywhere... his lungs are burning... his eyes... his eyes are /melting!/ Yaro best hurry if he's to save his A-list sentry.

"And now...there suddenly appears before you...the last one your arms will ever hold. I heard somebody whisper, 'Please save me'...and when I looked the moon had turned to gold!!"

Yaro feels the increasing amounts of pain resulting from the sharp flakes, but he knows there's more at stake than the usability of his paws, he's almost got Kato uncovered, then he can worry about the damage these flakes are causing. Unfortunately, even the pain from the flakes is getting to be too much for him. Yaro can dig for Kato, or dive in and push his best sentry out and try to get himself positioned so he can still breath. His arms are raw from all the digging, Yaro is bleeding from the paws. "Kato!" he says, and thrusts himself bodily into the pile, feeling excruciating pain from it, and he starts to push off more of the flakes, focusing on the head first so Kato won't die.

"Well, then I would hove to soy it is lucky. If you could do thot." Masanii wasn't too worried about it, though. He was trained as a drop'kat. He could easily dodge a falling object, it was part of the job description.

The flakes fall and sparkle and fly at the efforts of the meerkats, more beautiful even than snow. Kato's head is exposed...and bit by bit, his body is revealed. Even though nothing has really changed aside from the welts, he seems naked and vulnerable now. The air is cold. Somehow, Yaro is untouched by the welts that cover Kato...but his fingers feel like hell.

A laugh echoes from above. "It certainly would be! We'll seeeee!" taunts Mwiba. And with that, he holds the stick straight, steadies it, and drops it. Down it speeds!
[ Talmaleki ] (Mwiba rolls 2d20 and gets 7 and 3, for a result of 10!)

"New mooooon! Now we're no longer alone! We share a dream in our heeeeaaaarts...I'll harmonize while you groooooan."

Yaro looks at Kato. Is he breathing? "Kato! Kato! Say something! Don't you die on me, that's an order!" he says, and successfully pulls Kato out of the pile. He looks at his paws and sighs, they've been brutalized by the flakes and are bleeding a considerable amount. He shivers at the drop in temperature. "Gods, what is this stuff?" he says as he climbs out of the pile.

Masanii watched the stick fall. His mind flashed back to Tati. To the training camps for the airborne corps. He watched the spear fall and judged it. Then he simply took five steps to the left and watched Yaro, the spear stick gone from his worries. Even accounting for wind it should miss him. Should.

[OOC] Masiri says, "It's ice temperature Ghost king dandruff. The Artic Flavor."

Kato coughs, spitting out a mouthfull of the vile flakes, rasping for breath. He felt torn up on the inside and outside... the stuff had really done a number on him. And then he finally takes a full breath as he struggles to free himself, yanking both his arms out... which fly to cover his eyes as he releases that first sweet breath in a pitiful scream. "AGGGGHHHHNNN!!! My *eyes*! MY EYES!" he shouts despairingly, grabbing at his eyelids and flailing about in the midst of his rescue, bleeding from several cuts and ignoring everything except the fact that HELP HIS EYES WERE FALLING FROM HIS HEAD!

[OOC] Masiri oooo... *eats popcorn* This is getting good.
[OOC] Yaro says, "Is that how Kato gets blinded?"
[OOC] Kato says, "Nah, he's screaming because it actually feels really good."

The stick...

.........falls...

...............over this way...

.........................it seems to be way off target...

.............OMG it's COMING BACK!!

[OOC] Masanii XXDD

.......LOOK OUT BELOW!!!

[OOC] Masiri laughs!
[OOC] Kato says, "Heat seeking stick?"
[OOC] Masiri says, "It's the latest style."

................................................................No what am i talking about, I rolled a 10. It lands way over here.

[OOC] Kato says, "Well that was a rip-off."
[OOC] Masiri is still laughing.
[OOC] Masanii says, "All that build up for that? ...."

Talmaleki is beginning to vanish from sight, as the music grows softer and swings back and forth with few notes, like a lullaby.

Yaro kneels over by Kato. "Don't move, let me see your eyes, Kato!" he says, and carefully works his paws up to his eyelids and manually opens them. He takes a close look.

"New moooooooooon! The faintest spectral light liiiiiingers!"

[OOC] Masiri thinks Kato is great at rping pain.

"Don't go misplacing those fiiiiingers...you may be needing them soooooon..."

"During the waxing half mooooooon..."

"And here's the end of my tuuuuuuuuune." And there he goes! Talmaleki has disappeared!

[OOC] Kato says, "Shazam!"
[OOC] Mridhia applauds.
[OOC] Mridhia hugs Kato.
[OOC] Yaro hasn't been cursed yet and is confused. He huggles his poor Kato.

As Yaro carefully places a finger on Kato's eyelid to open it...to his dismay and shock...he feels, or perhaps hears, a tiny crick...

And the last joint of his finger falls right off, landing on the ground. There is no pain.

[OOC] Yaro says, "< My finger!"
[OOC] Masiri wonders what Kato's curse is! AND oh god! Did Yaro's finger fall off?!

Well, the 'kat got out, whether or not he was ok .. well, that was the question, wasn't it? Masanii takes the five steps back to where his stick has fallen, still quivering as it stood straight up. Masanii picked it out and held it again. Lucky.

[OOC] Kato goes to get some ice.
[OOC] Yaro says, "Kato's blind and is going to start hallucinating and stuff, and eventually be driven to manic paranoia."
[OOC] Yaro says, "And...I'm losing my fingers, apparently."
[OOC] Masiri thinks you should lose your middle finger last!

And Mwiba, seeing the chaos below, cackles in a high-pitched voice that makes the stars seem to streak in the sky. His tail waves frantically, and it grows and grows until it's seventy feet long, drawing corkscrews in the air.

[OOC] Yaro says, "Does that hurt?"
[OOC] You say, "There is no pain involved, just a horrifying -CRICK-!"
[OOC] Masiri imagines yaro flailing fingerless hands around, trying to order people to do this. LOL
[OOC] Kato says, "Hey... Yaro can be my eyes... and I can be his fingers!...Although I don't know if I want Kato to put his fingers in all the places Yaro would."
[OOC] Yaro cackles.
[OOC] Masiri snerks and laughs more.
[OOC] Kato says, "Zuri? There's been a few changes for tonight's relaxation plans..."
[OOC] Talmaleki lol!
[OOC] Mridhia dies!!!
[OOC] Masiri laughs!
[OOC] You say, "You're goig to have to learn to give foot-to-foot massages."
[OOC] Yaro says, "Zuri, I'm afraid I can no longer lead in dances."
[OOC] Kato says, "We dance?"
[OOC] Masiri says, "You can still lead...just not that well."
[OOC] Yaro pokes Kato.

"AHHHH! AGGGGGH!" Kato rolls away from Yaro's grasp, still having his paws over his eyes as he seems to be trying to squash them into the back of his head to try and shove the pain back to more manageable levels, and failing miserably. He rocks miserably back and forth, sobbing as he all but bangs his head against the ground. The pain was horrific, as if the silver was actually chewing and gnawing at his eyes from the inside out. It's going to be a long while before he actually settles down and stops waking the dead with his pathetic shrieking... or bothering them in their sleep, or wherever those ghosts were headed.

[OOC] Mridhia imagines all simple things... Tie your shoes, drive a car, TYPE! Without fingers...
[OOC] Masanii says, "Will Yaro lose toes, too? Cuz then he wouldn't walk very well."
[OOC] Mridhia XD
[OOC] Kato says, "He didn't use his toes to dig. Unless he's a weirdo."
[OOC] Mridhia thinks it would be amazing!!!
[OOC] Yaro when I can't program, that's when I'll worry.
[OOC] Yaro says, "How frequently should I lose a joint of a finger?"
[OOC] Mridhia says, "Sir, where do you want me to put these rocks." "There." "Where?" "THERE!" "Can't you just point a finger!?" "*sobs*""
[OOC] You say, "It's your choice, Yaro!"
[OOC] Kato says, "Do what Mri said and lose everything but the middle ones."
[OOC] Mridhia says, "Make them go off in special times."
[OOC] You say, "Whenever it would be poignant or scary or frustrating, I guess!"
[OOC] Yaro says, "This'll be fun. >"
[OOC] Kato says, "When you're trying to clean yourself after going to the bathroom..."
[OOC] Masiri says, "Spending time with Zuri."
[OOC] Mridhia says, "Oh Zuri, I love you... Kiss me." "OMFG! Did your finger fall just now?" "Don't look at it!!!""
[OOC] Talmaleki grins. "My work here is done."

Masanii looks back up at the ghost. Maybe he /was/ the hero that he made himself out to be in his stories. He just fought a freakin /ghost/! He was a hero! He was so into this colony. Free food, free home, and best of all, the women!

[OOC] Kato says, "Of which we have about... three."
[OOC] Masanii leaves. Off to find women! A noble quest befitting of a ghost fighting hero!
[OOC] Talmaleki listens to a MIDI of Blue Moon.
[OOC] Mridhia hugs Yaro, "Come on, show me two thumbs up." XD

Yaro blinks once, twice, three times and looks down at the top portion of one of his fingers. Well, that can't be a good thing. Hetakes a look at his paws and sure enough, one of his fingers was shorter than the others. "Oh gods!" he says.

[OOC] Yaro says, "Oh, and of those three women, I think only one is available."
Lindani has arrived.
[OOC] Masanii says, "Just cuz they're not avalible doesn't mean they're dead. XD Just means they're harder to catch. XXDD"
[OOC] Lindani says, "Min'Men needs more women!"
Lindani has left.
[OOC] Masiri says, "Lindani has spoken"

"Valley of the Great Kings, losers!!" shrieks the ascending ghost. "You haven't got a lot of time...the half moon's in one week's time, it's a long way off, and your legs aren't too long! Get a MOOoOOoOVE ON!!!" And with that, Mwiba disappears into the stratosphere...and the music ends, leaving only the sounds of a cold, cold night.

[OOC] Mridhia ties a branch to Yaro's palm in the place where his finger should be, "There, you can point now."
[OOC] Masanii ROTFL!
[OOC] Yaro's branch falls off.

Kato of course has very little left do at this point except fruitlessly bang his head against the ground, grasping at his eyes and screaming breathlessly. Even crying hurt... surely things couldn't get worse than this.