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One moment Loki is trying to kill the snake-monster before it gets any closer to civilization, and then next -
She jabs at its face, but with momentum intended to meet resistance, and there is none. With momentum intended to compensate for a dodge on the part of the creature, but it surges forward. She's engulfed, and then there is no snake, and there is no ground, and she's falling.
She gasps. The air is clean; she doesn't need to heal poison out of herself with each breath. She sees - floating land, of sorts, there, some kind of oddly geology-themed ship maybe. She could, potentially, turn Lævateinn into something with enough surface area to steer herself onto it rather than fall farther and suffer worse from the fall, but she just recently perfected a new...
She's a bird, a swift, and she catches the wind, and her spear is a twig clutched in her feet, and she wings her way to the land.
Rockeye's first glowfic. Loki (a Bell) falls on Nick in Cloudbank.
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purposeful_glory
purposeful_glory
And before it has much time to react to the illusion being completely insubstantial, it gets a barbed spear to the eye.
(The gas is mildly poisonous. She clears it from her system with half a thought.)
(The gas is mildly poisonous. She clears it from her system with half a thought.)
cloudwanderer
The squid reacts quickly, suddenly flexing all its tentacles. The reaction force to this motion shoves its head a foot and a half away from where Loki expected it to be. The spear hits hard chitin with a loud CHUNK.
It's angry now. Loki doesn't need to worry about it running away.
It's angry now. Loki doesn't need to worry about it running away.
purposeful_glory
Good. That's easier, some ways.
She doesn't try to cut off any tentacles right away. The last one ran off when she did that.
This spear can be as long as she wants it to be. Spear in the eye, overshooting in case it flinches away again.
She doesn't try to cut off any tentacles right away. The last one ran off when she did that.
This spear can be as long as she wants it to be. Spear in the eye, overshooting in case it flinches away again.
cloudwanderer
The tentacles don't have any qualms about going after her, though. A few wrap around the ship. Most come at her from all sides.
The spear goes in the eye this time.
The spear goes in the eye this time.
purposeful_glory
She's armored up. She can heal whatever damage it does. That said, she turns invisible and dodges rather than be a still and obvious target.
She shortens the haft of her spear, drawing her and the squid closer together - it is light enough to float and she is not, so this draws it down rather than her up.
She twists.
She shortens the haft of her spear, drawing her and the squid closer together - it is light enough to float and she is not, so this draws it down rather than her up.
She twists.
cloudwanderer
A few of the tentacles' spikes graze her. One hits exposed skin. It turns out that, yes, they are poisoned. One tries to wrap around her leg, but can't quite manage to keep its hold when Loki dodges invisibly.
It's light enough to float and she's not, but it's also very big. Loki loses her footing is forced to grab one of the railings around the fighting platform, or go up. Given how the tentacles are arranged, though, closer to its mouth might actually the safest place to be.
The squid screams in pain when the spear twists, but it's not done fighting yet.
It's light enough to float and she's not, but it's also very big. Loki loses her footing is forced to grab one of the railings around the fighting platform, or go up. Given how the tentacles are arranged, though, closer to its mouth might actually the safest place to be.
The squid screams in pain when the spear twists, but it's not done fighting yet.
purposeful_glory
She has no reason not to heal herself today, so she does.
She shortens the spear further. She'll go up; she can pull tricks with leverage if it tries to drag her away from the ship.
If she can get close enough to cling to it and stab it between the chitin she'll take the shot.
She shortens the spear further. She'll go up; she can pull tricks with leverage if it tries to drag her away from the ship.
If she can get close enough to cling to it and stab it between the chitin she'll take the shot.
cloudwanderer
A tentacle finds the glass-walled control room, where Nick is. The ship jerks to the right sharply, then starts turning in a circle.
She gets close enough to cling to the base of one of the tentacles. It's slippery and squishy and slimy, but it's solid enough to hold onto.
When the squid tries to shake her off, a gap opens in the chitin.
She gets close enough to cling to the base of one of the tentacles. It's slippery and squishy and slimy, but it's solid enough to hold onto.
When the squid tries to shake her off, a gap opens in the chitin.
purposeful_glory
Lævateinn instantly smooths, shrinks into her hand, and goes long and sharp and barbed again between the plates.
cloudwanderer
The squid is really really upset by this. Thanks to how its body is fitted together, wedging the chitin open has made it pretty much immobile. A good half of those tentacles are still moving around angrily, though.
purposeful_glory
The weapon gets a little wider. It sprouts a few more barbs. Doesn't this thing have a brain?
purposeful_glory
Excellent.
Loki jumps off the squid to the ship, Lævateinn lengthening after to guide the drop and keep the squid under control.
"All done!"
Loki jumps off the squid to the ship, Lævateinn lengthening after to guide the drop and keep the squid under control.
"All done!"
cloudwanderer
There is not an immediate response. One of the tentacles went limp inside the ship's control room.
cloudwanderer
She will find him bleeding from the head and slumped against a wall. His sword is stabbed into the limp tentacle.
"I'm okay. Mostly." He tries to get up. He stops trying to get up. "Ow. It didn't poison me, just slammed me into the wall. Did y'kill it?"
"I'm okay. Mostly." He tries to get up. He stops trying to get up. "Ow. It didn't poison me, just slammed me into the wall. Did y'kill it?"
purposeful_glory
"It's dead and tied to a railing by its tentacle." She looks at him for a moment, then sighs and taps him on the head. Ker-heal.
cloudwanderer
"...Ow?" He stands up. "Wha- I feel better than I've felt all week. How many decades did that one take?"
"...Sarcasm aside, thank you."
"...Sarcasm aside, thank you."
cloudwanderer
"I can't even imagine. It took me fifteen months to build my ship."
Noticing where his sword is, "Oh, I did manage to hit it after all. Not that it did much good."
Noticing where his sword is, "Oh, I did manage to hit it after all. Not that it did much good."
purposeful_glory
"Well, it's very intellectually stimulating work but I go through a lot of paper. That was one of the more time-consuming spells. The other healing ones built on some of the same groundwork, they didn't take as long. My first was fifty years. Is this the only room it tentacled its way into?"
cloudwanderer
"I think so, yes. It's the only room with any glass left. But, hey, we have a squid! Let's go start cutting off tentacles and putting them in the ice room."
He extracts his sword. There's a tentacle here, might as well get to work! Remove the last foot of the thing first, carefully, poison glands and all. Then cut it into light-enough-to-lift segments and carry the whole pile into the ice-room.
After taking care of the tentacle, well, there's some four dozen more up top so he heads to the roof.
He extracts his sword. There's a tentacle here, might as well get to work! Remove the last foot of the thing first, carefully, poison glands and all. Then cut it into light-enough-to-lift segments and carry the whole pile into the ice-room.
After taking care of the tentacle, well, there's some four dozen more up top so he heads to the roof.
cloudwanderer
After a while, Nick says, "I'm going to start trying to backtrack. Do you mind letting me know when the other tentacles are done? I want to try to recover the central body. That chitin looks inches thick, a solid piece of bone that big will make some great tools."