lucetilogs | TERRACE Draft

[28th – Day 2]

[Vastra is one of the first to spring out of bed and rush outside at the first sounds of fighting. No one stood on two sides and agreed to start a battle at a certain time anymore, not if one side wanted to win. She had almost expected it to start in the middle of the night--there was less visibility and the chance of catching their side off-guard. But Vastra is ready. As ready as she imagines she'll ever be.]

[She throws herself into the fight, any fight she comes across, with stunning endurance. Anyone who has seen her around town in her bustle gowns with hats and veils and groceries is seeing a different woman now. She is vicious against the cultists, using a combination of her swords and the paralytic toxin in her tongue to take down the unfortunate ones who cross her path. She'll stop to help anyone she can though, especially any of her previous acquaintances. She isn't entirely single-minded in her killing spree, though her attitude is rather grim. If she absolutely needs rest, she'll climb a tree.]

[In her fight through TERRACE, Vastra makes it to T2... and immediately has to turn around and go the other way. Too cold for a lizard woman from the dawn of time. As she retreats out of the blizzard, her fight becomes that much harder due to cold limbs and she struggles to dispatch the cultists coming at her one after the other.]

[29th – Day 3]

[On the third day, Vastra is starting to show some fatigue. She's expending more energy than she has in a while over a long period of time. She's climbing trees to rest more often, until she realizes with some unsettling finality that she's going to have to restore her energy by eating. And there are, of course, plenty of opportunities to eat...]

[She climbs down from her tree and ventures into T5, away from where she feels most of the draftees are fighting due to the thunderstorms. This isn't something she wants anyone to watch.]

[Vastra drags the body of the most recent unfortunate cultist over the ground and behind a few trees. After confirming he is in fact dead and sniffing the body cautiously, Vastra checks one more time for observers and then crouches over the body to begin eating.]

[31st – Day 5]

[Disturbed by the mob mentality that seems to have gripped certain draftees, Vastra makes herself very scarce and begins following the Shift Hunters to their targets. She's familiar with the Shifters now, and has realized that they have little to no effect on her own abilities, making her a perfect candidate to assist hunting them down.]

[1st – Day 6]

[Droids. Vastra's specialty is taking down metal men, really. Continuing her diet of fallen cultists has improved her endurance, and she decides that while she is familiar with technology and could assist in reactivating the barriers, her expertise in dispatching robots is best used in the central areas of the battle. If the defenses are to be reinstated, Vastra reasons, each arm of the assault has to be equally strong. To encourage panic and confusion amongst the other side.]

((OOC: Feel free to drop in on her, assume she's been fighting nearby/with you, whatever~))

[Natasha grows a little worried when some of the worst of the action clears out where they'd been fighting and she notices Vastra is gone. They'd been fighting together off and on since the day before, occasionally finding each other in the midst of the fighting since both of them seemed most often drawn to where the attacks were at their heaviest.

Now there are bodies strewn everywhere and the fighting has paused for the moment, an uneasy stalemate with the Cultists retreating back into the next sector. Had Vastra followed them?

She pauses for a drink, wiping the dirt and sweat and grim from her face as she waits, but there's no sign of the other woman, so she starts out, cautious in case another attack comes quicker than she anticipates.

She scales the wall as she enters the next sector, moving carefully because she's seen how dangerous this section can be. There are bodies scattered here - some have been slain. Some, she suspects, have fallen from the built-in protections this sector seems to possess. She searches as she goes, eyes scanning for any sign of her missing friend.]

[Vastra's focus is more or less entirely on eating as quickly as possible to avoid leaving herself open to attack. But it's been so long since she's had a meal like this, part of her does shut down and narrows her focus to the food and keeping the food for herself.]

[It's only until Natasha is a few feet away that Vastra finally hears someone coming. She starts and turns around, causing very audible rustling as she stands up. There's no time to hide it though. The blood on her front she could easily explain away, but her hands and mouth... that's something else entirely.]

[Natasha hears the rustle before she sees her and she freezes, expecting an enemy, her dagger light in her grip and ready to fly. But it's not a Cultist at all. For a moment, all she can see is the blood and she hops down from the wall in urgent concern.]

Vastra! Are you...?

[She realizes her mistake as she gets closer, although she looks more surprised now than worried as her pace slows, then stops, curiosity flitting across her gaze as it flicks to the body behind the woman, then back to Vastra.]

[Vastra is silent and immobile as she watches Natasha put the pieces together. She isn't ashamed or embarrassed, she's just quiet and guarded.]

...I would assure you that this isn't what it looks like, however I know you are smarter than to simply accept that.

[It is, in fact, exactly what it looks like. Vastra calmly and very deliberately pulls a handkerchief out of her belt and wipes her mouth and hands. Well, cat's out of the bag now.]

[Surprisingly, Natasha’s lips twitch into a faint smirk at that and she lifts one shoulder in a shrug, politely glancing away while Vastra cleans herself up.]

Well, at least these ridiculous bastards are useful for something today other than getting in my way.

[It’s a little disconcerting, she can be honest, but its not as if Vastra’s exactly human and she hadn’t tried to eat her. Although she’s relieved that none of her teammates that had witnessed Vaskoth were with her, considering the whole… eating thing.]

[Vastra leaves that alone while she turns away and cleans herself up as best she can with her handkerchief and some water. Then she rolls the body over to hide most of her progress. Usually at the end of one of her meals, there was absolutely nothing left--but that wasn't necessary right now.]

I realize this is an extremely taboo subject for humans, Natasha. And I saw no reason to tell you given my diet while in town is very restricted. [Meaning: no humans. She turns back around, more or less cleaned up.]

...I have told you that I am from the year 1888, however this is not entirely true. I was born and lived during prehistoric times, before the mass extinction. At that time--well. You can no doubt imagine what my diet was like. I was not having tea and scones for breakfast.

[Natasha leans against the trunk of one of the trees, her gaze keeping watch just in case some Cultists thought now was a good time to be suicidal again. Still, Vastra's information draws her gaze and she considers her thoughtfully a moment.]

You don't need to explain. I'll not hold your diet against you. At least, not unless you start deciding I look tasty one day. Then we might have to have Words.

[The mention of prehistoric times has her looking intrigued however.] Are you immortal? Or is there some sort of time travel involved? [That was a big jump of time, from her origins to the Victorian era.]

My wife might have words with me first. [She gives Natasha a wry, teasing smile and steps closer.] I have no doubt you are aware there are people in this world, Natasha, who do not use the gift of life as well as they should. And thus someone takes it from them before they take that gift from too many others. [Vastra lifts her shoulders uneasily and resettles them.] From my point of view, what happens to their body afterwards is of no consequence to them or anyone else.

[The next question is much easier, thankfully.] No, I am not--though my kind lives approximately five or six times as long as the average human. A sort of time travel, in my case, is involved.

Before the rise of humankind, my people's scientists predicted a catastrophic world event that would wipe out most life on the face of the Earth. Some of us took them at their word and fled--away in spaceships, or in my case underground into hibernation with my sisters. I slept there for thousands of years... until construction began on the London Underground.

[Vastra pulls her gaze away from Natasha. This is clearly hard for her to revisit, and from her expression she is reliving it in great and painful detail.] I was awoken by tunnel diggers, killing my sisters in their sleep. I did the only thing I thought was right. I avenged the deaths of my sisters, and lived off the diggers.

As she should. [It's said with the same hint of teasing and when Vastra takes a step closer, Natasha remains where she is, still calm and relaxed. She can tell the other woman is uncomfortable at being caught in this and she gives her a faint, crooked smile.] Oh, I'm all too well aware, yes. You haven't alarmed me, Vastra. I can't say other people I know would be entirely comfortable with it, but I've seen... Well. Let's just say that I've seen what humanity is capable of doing to themselves, with far less reasoning. Dead is dead.

[Vastra's explanation is fascinating and Natasha listens intently, piecing it together, picking up on subtle things that the other woman didn't include but that were implied there all the same.]

You were the only one to wake up?

And that is precisely why I have kept it to myself. I know certain people would be revolted, concerned that I might eat their children if I was hungry enough. [Vastra fixes Natasha with a very concerned, very vulnerable look.] If you would keep this to yourself, I would be very grateful to you.

[Her eyes drift shut, as though replaying the entire scene in her mind to check the facts, and she nods.] I was the only one. They were all killed before I could save them.

That does not justify what I did, though. [Vastra opens her eyes again and looks intensely at Natasha, as though trying to impress upon her how she's changed.] Anyone would fight to protect themselves, however feeding off of the diggers who hadn't done anything to me was inexcusable. I was shown that before I could do too much damage.

[Natasha gives her a crooked smile.] Don't worry. I'm not in the habit of sharing secrets.

[She's not sure why Vastra's explaining that. If someone had come in and destroyed that many of her people, Natasha's not sure she wouldn't have wiped them all out as well. But she figures its better to keep that comment to herself. She's well aware she doesn't think and react like most people.]

It would have been a harsh way to wake up, though. I'm sorry.

[Once you had been straightened out by the Doctor, anything would seem a dangerous pitfall or severe shortcoming. Vastra would always feel justified in defending herself and her city and Jenny, but would never forget those she killed who were innocent. Simply because she was angry. Because she could.]

[She shakes her head slightly.] It was many years ago, though sometimes it does not feel that way. But it is nothing to be sorry over. It was simply an unfortunate way to begin a new life.

Days 2-3 & 5-6

Day Three

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Day 2

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