Starting New ((RP Story))

[Lupis]

The familiar hills of Westfall glimmered gold in the evening sun. Staring out his bedroom window, he could see Gambit chasing a coyote away, his bright red fur alight. Two shapes suddenly darted by the fluffy wolf, one blue and the other white. Soon he could hear them enter the house, laughing and yipping.

“Hey dad! Check out the hare Lilac caught!”

He left the room and descended the stairs, nodding gratefully and smiling at the girl. She was panting lightly, brown hair falling randomly around her face and dust covering her from head to toe.

“Thank you Daphne, well done.”

“Don’t thank me,” she said, grinning slyly. “Lilac caught it, so you need to thank her.” He sighed, looking towards the blue fox. It dropped the dead hare on the ground and stared at him, reading him. He really didn’t like that fox. It was good that Daphne had found a pet that she bonded with, but did it have to be that fox? At least Gambit didn’t look like he could stare into your heart.

“Well?” demanded Daphne stubbornly. He sighed again at the determination in her eyes.

“Thank you, Lilac.” The fox wagged her tail and panted happily, but her electric blue eyes stayed trained on him, unblinking. The girl beamed at him.

“You’re welcome dad!” She leaned down to pick up the hare, handling it without a trace of disgust or distaste as she put it down on the table by the fireplace. She wasn’t exactly feminine, though she clearly had the grace of a hunter. Turning, she hugged him tightly. “How’re you?” she asked, her young age clearly showing in her voice. He smiled at her, ruffling her hair.

“Well enough. Did you hear anything while hunting?” She looked up and caught the look in his eyes, nodding.

“A bit. Nothing about the Syndicate, but the gnolls have been active. They’re really organized. People think they have a new leader.”

“Of course. As if the Syndicate wasn’t enough of a burden.” He glanced out the nearest window. Gambit was still chasing anything that moved, keeping himself amused. The fox, alternately, just stared at him. Daphne released him from the hug, then spun to Lilac. “What’s wrong?” she asked earnestly, falling to her knees before the fox. He didn’t question her seemingly random concern; as a hunter, she had a strong bond to her pet. She’d be able to sense emotions that didn’t show.

She turned back to him, looking ever so slightly nervous. Her typically happy, carefree smile was replaced with a frown.

“Lilac thinks she smelled gnoll around the house. Did Gambit find anything?”

He had to admit that the worg hadn’t. Despite being more tolerable to be around than the fox, Lilac had a significantly superior sense of smell. It bordered on unreal. That was why he was so suddenly nervous when he heard that news.

“How recent?” he asked, keeping his voice calm for Daphne’s sake. She looked back at the fox.

“Fairly. She thinks it came last night while Gambit and her were teamed up on that rabid coyote.” 

Then sun was already sinking, which worried him even more. It would be night before they knew it. Gnolls weren’t intelligent in any way shape or form, but they had instincts enough to know that darkness was better for attacks. Hopefully the gnoll that had come by was just wandering and had no ill intent, but with creatures as savage as gnolls you couldn’t be too sure.

“Stay inside for now then, Daphne. Send Lilac out with Gambit to keep watch and keep the door open so they can get inside if they see something.” 

“Awwww...” the girl protested glumly, then pointed at the door, eyes on the fox. “Come on Lil, go see ‘Bit. Watch out for gnolls.” The fox nodded and trotted out, yipping. He smiled apologetically at his daughter.

“Sorry, but I don’t want you outside when it’s getting dark. Come. You can help me cook.” 



Darkness fell around the house. Daphne was sitting by the fire, fletching an arrow and flicking the shreds of wood into the flames. He sat nearby, leaning against the wall and fletching his own arrow. This one was carved with small images, wolves and foxes with long fur that swept up and down the shaft of the arrow. It was frail because of this and could never be used as a real weapon, but he liked it nonetheless. In addition, the fox in the carving didn’t have disturbing eyes.

“Let me see,” Daphne said, moving to sit by him. He handed the half-carved arrow to her and she admired it, looking thoughtful.

“It doesn’t look like Gambit and Lilac, though. ‘Bit is a puffball, but this wolf is slim. Looks kind of like you would, if you were a wolf,” she observed.  

“That was the intention,” he responded. She handed it back, looking at her own arrow. Suddenly fully focused, she began carving a pattern of her own into it. He continued his own work.

Two howls cut the silence. They both looked sharply towards the door, staying perfectly still for a moment before getting hastily to their feet. His mind was ringing with the distress signals coming from Gambit. More howls and barks filled the air, along with a drawn out cackling cry. Several more cackles and shrieks followed it. Gnolls had come.  

“Lilac!” cried Daphne, looking fearfully out into the dark. After a few chilling seconds the fox appeared, darting inside and standing at the door. She turned towards the darkness outside, snarling and yipping. Howls of rage came closer and Gambit joined her.  

He swallowed his fear and turned to Daphne. “Go upstairs Daphne, I’ll keep them away.” The girl shook her head stubbornly, clinging to his arm. “Now,” he demanded harshly. She gave him a pathetic look, then darted up the stairs. He glanced outside, relaying information from Gambit. There had been a pack of four Gnolls, but they had killed one already and chased another away. He was sure the two could take care of the third, and the fourth wouldn’t be hard to kill alone. He let out a pent up breath; one gnoll he could easily deal with. 

The two beasts darted out the door and snarls met his ears, along with the pained yelps of a gnoll. Another of the hyena-like creatures appeared in the doorway, but he was ready. A knife imbedded itself in its shoulder and he saw Lilac leap at it from behind, dragging the shrieking creature away. 

“Dad! Five more coming!” 

That was Lilac’s senses announced by Daphne, he knew. Cursing, he took a few steps back and took his unstrung bow off of the table, stringing it quickly with a familiar hand. He was going to need it now. The fox gave a warning howl, which was drowned out by the laughing roars of the incoming gnolls. It was strange that they were so organized, attacking in packs, but perhaps they had gotten a new leader as people seemed to suspect. They were capable of incredible destruction if properly led.  

Time seemed to speed up as a gnoll’s ugly muzzle appeared in the doorway. It was followed by three more, the fifth under attack from Gambit and Lilac. He cursed again, unsure now of how he was supposed to deal with them all. He didn’t have time to think anyway, as they advanced on him. Gambit’s alarms went off in his mind and he could hear the hound approaching. There was also an odd, half-growling whimper. He wasn’t sure where the sound had come from, but it wasn’t pleasant. 

The only weapon at hand was a simple fletching knife and a few arrows, but he had no room to shoot. He took the knife in hand, lashing out at the gnolls as they cackled and clawed at him. The angry whimper remained. One of the four gnolls was pulled away by a furious red wolf and blue fox.

He found himself backed into a corner and hissed under his breath as claws landed on his side. The hounds were having trouble with their gnoll, yelping as it clawed franticly at their snouts and legs. Previous fighting had the beasts tired and slow. The angry whimper had gone. 

One of the gnolls shrieked and fell, an arrow protruding from its back. Daphne gave him a frantic look, taking her own fletching knife out of a pocket as one of the remaining two gnolls attacking him turned to her. Instantly he forgot about the creature attacking him. The advancing gnoll swiped at her, yowling as its paw was cut, and instantly swiped again with its other claw. It fell into a fervor, lashing madly. Daphne squeaked, and he could clearly see blood on the beast’s claws. Enraged, he lashed out with his own weapon, landing the blade deep in the beast’s back. It turned to him and he took his closest remaining weapon, the decorative arrow. It had a sharp enough tip to do damage. It dug into the beast’s throat before snapping in his hand, the fox carving split in two.  

The forgotten gnoll had taken his chance to move. It clawed at his spine, then struck the back of his head with a fist. He heard lightning crackling outside as he fell into darkness. 

((Too long.. Continued in next post!))

[Lupis]

The air smelled like ozone and burnt flesh. He hadn’t gotten to the point where he could open his eyes again yet, or even recall exactly what had happened. Something  was prodding at his arm, whimpering. Footsteps approached and a hand touched his back, causing his body to remember that it was in pain.

“Wake up, friend,” murmured a feminine voice. He could instantly tell that it wasn’t Daphne, but at least it wasn’t a gnoll, either. He let himself be pulled up to a sitting position, opening his eyes at last. At first sight offered only confusion, disorientation causing him to blink and shake his head. Slowly the random jumble of images pulled together. The dead gnolls had been pulled out of the home, blood and black soot streaking the ground. Gambit barked at him, whining. Lilac was nowhere to be seen, as was Daphne. The only other human in the room was a robed woman, probably in her late fifties. She held herself with confidence and power.

“Daphne,” he said suddenly. He stood, looking towards Gambit. The wolf’s mental connection was full of regret and sympathy. The woman was silent, then ascended the stairs. He followed, dread eating at his stomach. She had to be okay. He refused to imagine it any other way.

But life wasn’t limited to his imagination.

He fell to his knees before the body, to shocked to think of somehow reacting. His mind instantly rebelled, refusing reality. He knew it wasn’t some sort of trick but he had to believe it could be. Staring blankly forward, he was completely still.

“We can help you rebuild,” the woman’s voice said. He didn’t react. “We’re working for a higher cause. We want to reshape this world... So these tragedies are never forced to happen.” She paused, respecting the trauma of the moment. “I’ve seen this happen increasingly often now. Evil and corruption runs amok in this world, without regulation or retaliation. We’ll change that.”

Finally he spoke, his voice completely without emotion. “Who is ‘we’?”

“The Cult of the Twilight Hammer.”

For the first time he realized that Lilac was by Daphne’s side, staring at him. For some reason that he couldn’t decipher, the stare seemed to bore into him more than ever before. The fox was watching his every move, every thought. Judging him.

“Join us,” the woman insisted. “Please. For your sake and ours.”

He was silent, wondering if he had any choice. What else could he do? He had nothing to live for now. He could try to resist it all he wanted, but she was dead. Still shock kept emotion at bay, though he couldn’t imagine it would last long. The fox’s stare drilled into his skull. She knew what he had decided already. Her ice blue stare turned hard, daring him to speak. Bowing down to that sort of nameless authority, he simply nodded slightly. Yes. He would join. He had nothing left to lose.

“I will wait outside and give you time to mourn. You will not regret joining us.” With that the woman left. Lilac’s eyes flashed, and without making a sound, the fox stood. Its stare lingered on him, then it padded out of the room with a mark of finality.

Gambit’s mental link echoed with betrayal and bitter regret. He tried to call out to it, but to his further shock the link began to deteriorate. Shreds of emotion tarried momentarily, a howl of mental pain echoing both in reality and in his mind. Then the bond was gone.




He woke with a start, scowling and rubbing his temples. He hadn’t had that particular dream in months. It never changed, though he had grown immune to it. Quite a few of the cultists around him had similar stories to share, and probably half or more of his fellow Elemental Lords. He had long since locked those memories away, only to escape in dreams. What use was reliving the past? He was working for a higher purpose now. Every now and then he instinctively reached for the bond to Gambit, but that was only out of habit. Time changed, and he changed with it. Even thinking of the sniveling hunter he had once been disgusted him. Now not even a swarm of the most ravenous Silithid could touch him, which he knew from experience. Starved swarms were common in Silithus.

He had to admit that the stare of the wolf was putting him on edge, though. It held the same nameless authority that the fox had wielded so skillfully. It stared at him, unblinking, trying to read his thoughts. He glared at it, knowing that its abominable mind would be under his control soon enough.

“My lord?”

He turned to the voice, eyes flashing electric blue. The lower-ranking cultist shrank back slightly, speaking in a subdued voice. “They’re ready for the experiment.”

[Lupis]

*Pants*
Alright! This is a VERY sloppy, half-arsed overview of my TotH character's past. Stereotypical beginning, I know.
Writing wise it's a pile of moose droppings, but at least it's there.
The second part is shorter, don't worry. >.> I'm also not done writing that part.

[Azunara]

*counts on her fingers.* You, Tyger, Sat...

Damn. Just me then. I'm the only one who hasn't written anything for my characters. *sighs.* Alright, alright. Soon.

That said, eeee! More please! I love it! Noaw! And Gambit...Aww...I liked him...

[rubybeam]

I did say I would go join the new WoW rp so ummm..where do I sign up? and any tips on WoW roleplays

[Azunara]

Uhm. Derailing Lupis' thread as little as possible...

Ruby. Go to the Tales of the Hunt Sign-In thread. Read all of it. Post your character profile. Read the last...20 pages or so of Tales of the Hunt so you have some idea of what's going on. And that should bring you to speed.

[TygerDarkstorm]

It's fabulous and I demand you finish the second part NAO!

[Lupis]

I dunno when we're starting the new idea... When we decide that, we'll start a sign up. xD
But for TotH, yeah, what Azu said.

As for WoW role plays, just... stick to the lore, and... um, from there it's really a lot like Pokemon role plays.
Sticking to your character's limits is helpful though. For instance, this character spent a lot of time in Silithus and other mostly abandoned places, so he doesn't know too much about what has been going on with the Lich King and those sorts of things. He knows vaguely what happened through rumors, but that's all.

Okay, okay! Two demands to finish the second part. xD
I had it all written at one point, then my computer deleted it. Sigh...

[TygerDarkstorm]

This is why I hand write and then type it up. =P

[Lupis]

Typically I do that. That's what I did this time. I wrote about the actual experiment months ago, and that one was computer only.. So my computer ate it.

[TygerDarkstorm]

Ouch. That sucks.

[Saturo]

That was awesome! Still, it needed more death knights. ^^

[TygerDarkstorm]

Saturo's solution to combat/life/whatever: Throw death knights at it.

[Saturo]

Well, they DO happen to be one of my favorite classes, and my main RP char is a dead elf, so... :P

[TygerDarkstorm]

They are a really fun class to play. ^_^
Just went 2h Frost for PvP on Indi...so much fun. XD

[Saturo]

Yuck, 2H frost. DW frost ftw! Unholy is kinda' fun too.

[TygerDarkstorm]

2H frost is reportedly better for PvP at the moment. And I'm not going to argue with 30k Oblit crits. XD
I've always done UH, decided to try frost for something different.

[Azunara]

*blinks.*

*slooowly edges away before she's killed.* I never liked my DK. Got him to 66 or so before I said, "I just can't do this anymore."