TENTACLE...ATTACK!

[npc_kun]

Characters: Bernard (NPC) and OPEN!
Date/Time: June 18th, afternoon
Location: The Wilderness - On the Ark
Rating: PG-13??
Summary: BERNARD HAS ARRIVED
Thread:

Oh this was perfect! It had been years and years since anything not fishy-like had ventured into her ocean. But this ark, she could tell was full of robust and youthful individuals. Perhaps

Comments

[child_proteus]

Finally, Throne thought to himself, when he finally managed to get himself on deck. It felt like he had been buried deep inside the ship for ages, which -- for all intents and purposes --- he had been. Walking across the deck now with big strides, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, he almost didn't notice the pink smudge on his peripheral vision.

He made a double-take. And then a triple.

Flopping about on the deck was something that appeared to be a creature made of strawberry Jello, only with tentacles and making what could only be described as a plaintive squishing noise.

"Oddly enough," Throne muttered to himself wryly, slowly setting his things down on the deck before moving to investigate, "I am not nearly as surprised as I think I should be."

[bearhearted]

Claw stepped out onto deck only a minute or so after Throne had emerged from the ship. Even though he already knew where the deck was, it still took him a long time to get anywhere--not only was he pretty bad with directions, but he was also a very 'my pace' kind of guy. His long ashen grey hair, a few locks randomly beaded with blue beads he'd found in the city, swayed in the salty breeze. It felt nice. He closed his right eye against the wind, his left eye safely tucked behind his eye patch.

But he hadn't come up to the deck to deliver food this time, nor to appreciate the breeze. He walked with purpose across the deck, stopping behind the other teenager, and staring at the squid. Tapping the other teen on the shoulder, Claw asked, "That squid. Think edible?"

[child_proteus]

Oh god, they're coming out of the woodwork now, Throne thought, turning now towards the source of the tap. He was surprised to find another teenage boy beside him, roughly his age, but slightly muscular and worn -- kind of an outdoorsy type. He started, giving the guy a narrow-eyed look; the eye patch and the beads make him seem like a hippie gone slightly awry. "Damn, you scared me," Throne said with a bit of a nervous laugh.

On the far side of the deck, the creature waddled and squelched and shook. In response, Throne took a step back, accidentally bumping into the boy.

"Ah, so it's a squid, huh?" He turned back towards the creature and squinted slightly, tilting his head as he studied. "Survey says that it's probably edible, but that means we're going to have catch it first. Catch it and then, well, kill it.."

Wait a minute, a small voice in his brain whined. What do you mean we?

[bearhearted]

Claw nodded firmly, an action he was prone to. "Squid that size, food many days. Maybe, no kill, just one arm. Fresh, still delicious. Maybe whole squid, can't finish, smell bad."

If he could make his arm into a claw again, it was possible that they could grab themselves an arm and make a run for it. But would the squid attack the ship then? As it was, the creature seemed... floppy and energetic, but not aggressive. If it were attacked, and then allowed to live, Claw wouldn't blame it if it decided to counterattack...

"Maybe get attack, others danger. That no good. Fishing better idea." He nodded again, more confirming his own idea than anything else.

[child_proteus]

Throne stared at his companion oddly, unsure if he was more perplexed by the way he spoke or what exactly he was saying. Listening to the boy, it was like watching a very strange disjointed thought unravel -- simplistic and childish, like a toy train made of our building blocks. Throne nodded, slowly, his eyes slightly wide, while inside he had only one thought: Oooookay.

"So, you want to, like borrow it's arm. For dinner. For the ship. Or what?" he screwed up his face now, looking back and forth between the boy and the Jello-like thing. "Something tells me that somebody is going to eventually piss that thing off. It's just a matter of time. Whether you try to borrow its arm or not." He shrugged, then thought of what he had done to the wooden pen below deck. There was strength, unmeasured and hidden, deep inside him. Perhaps it was time to see just how far that could get him. "Though, if arm-borrowing is what needs to be done. I think I can help you." A pause. "Emphasize think."

[bearhearted]

Claw had been nodding his agreement--yes, borrow arm; yes, dinner. It all made sense in his brain: take one arm, make enough food for the entire crew! ...if there was a crew. If not, then at least they'd have leftovers, possibly enough to last them for as long as this voyage decided to continue. Granted, the kitchen was fairly well stocked, but fresh squid? Fresh cephalopod? Fresh whatever it was?

But then the other boy said something he didn't quite understand. He had looked away from the other teenager, focused his eyes on the octopus, seemed almost intense for someone so calm and blank-expressioned... when all that was replaced with confusion.

Claw turned back to the other teenager, pouting slightly and brows furrowing. "What meaning 'piss'? And 'emphasize'? Sorry, Claw no good understanding."

[child_proteus]

Throne sighed, heavy, with a great puff of his cheeks. Sighed and blew the heavy bangs out of his eyes. Inwardly, he berated himself, saying that he should have known better. What with ninjas and people with tails and possible lords with a penchant for hypnotism, Throne was learning rather quickly that some of his parlance wasn't exactly universal. Turning to the guy beside him, he pressed his lips into a thin line, as he thought of the various was he could go about clarifying himself.

"Um. 'Piss' is like angry. Warg!" He made a stern face and glowered, brandishing his fist. "And, um 'emphasize'...oh crap...how do I put this?" He stopped and thought about it hard for a moment, his attention split between his companion and the squid-like creature moving in the near distance. "To make strong?" he ventured, raising an eyebrow. He stamped his foot and made his expression look hard. "I meant that, I think that I can help you snag one of it's arms. Though I don't know for certain, I think. Very hardHe looked at the boy

[npc_kun]

Bernard was blissfully unaware as the two plotted her demise. She was too busy trying to converse in her own squidy-way with some other people on the deck, but it seemed they would have nothing to do with her either. But it wasn't long before she honed in on her next targets. Without hesitation, Bernard began to slop and hop her way over to the pair, clicking and chirping in a friendly manner.

[bearhearted]

Claw had never been one for words or for literacy. In fact, he much preferred action over conversation and had very limited reading comprehension. But he understood 'Warg!' pretty well. Or at least, he thought he did. Either way, whether he really did understand or not, he nodded. 'To make strong,' though... that was a tough one. 'To make strong think'? What did that mean...?

Even though he wasn't quite comprehending the other teenager, he nodded again, his head slowly tilting to the side and betraying his attempt at faking understanding.

But then his attention was snagged away by the gigantic pink blob lumbering in their direction. All things considered, it looked much smaller at a distance. The singing, tentacle-slinging giant was quite disturbing up close, but it was definitely a--what was the word? Cepha... cepho

[child_proteus]

"Yes?" Throne said, nodding now slowly with the other guy as if in agreement. The teenager's head then lilted to one side, to which Throne stopped nodding and then said. "No." Under his breath he quietly added, "Should have known better."

Throne thought hard on how he could possibly correct himself, and as a result, was too distracted to see that the two of them had caught the creature's attention. It wasn't until the teenage boy beside him spoke, that Throne looked up with a small "oh".

The gross understatement of what his companion said was not lost to him, though he found it rather endearing. He gave the young man a nudge to his ribs with an elbow and laughed ironically. "Big is certainly one way to put it. Destroy-Tokyo-Godzilla-huge is another." He caught himself, now reconsidering. "You know, you probably have no idea what I just said, but don't sweat it." He paused again and frowned, his brain now catching up with his mouth. "In fact, I'm not quite sure what it means either

[npc_kun]

He waved, he waved!! Bernard began to wiggle her tentacles widely back. She did a little twirl on her blubbery 'feet', trying to show that all she wanted was to have fun. Maybe they could have a group hug??