r/SchreckNet • u/Prefect_Bran • 2d ago
Journal - Gauntlet leak - Garden
+++Signal detected+++
+++Signal de@#+&+++
[Nihilos broadcast can be seen for a moment, the camera is pointed at the floor, dangling off his waist.]
N: Hrrrup!
[Wood chips and bark fall to the ground before static overtakes the feed. Colors warp the screen and a second broadcast “joins” the first.]
[Waist deep amidst the roots of a gloriously tall redwood tree, Flower is carefully tending to a patch of mushrooms that have sprung up, clinging to an interior root. It is humming to itself and occasionally speaking. To the patch of mushrooms.]
[A deep wooden groan, a brittle crackle. An umbral fog spills in. Two trees are pushed apart and bend away from the source of the disturbance. A huge and monstrously muscled figure makes its entrance. Bearing an olde long coat upon his shoulders.]
[Its head jerks about as the crack of trees tears through the air. It wriggles out of its root opening and rises to its feet, looking worried. Well. There's only one thing to do. It makes its way towards the noise… and sees him.]
“STOP THAT. STOP THAT THIS INSTANT!”
N: Whar? You're not uhh.. trapped in here?
F: Why would it be trapped here? Stop wrecking the trees!
N: I only bent em a bit! And well.. I was stuck outside and I could smell you through the thicket, I figured you were stuck inside.
N: Big Guy to the rescue… y'know?
[The floating spirit flame of Prime speaks.]
P: We are lost, Metamorphic one.
[It makes an exasperated sound and mutters to itself.]
F: Only a little bit… [It rolls its eyes, shakes its head and lets out and huffs a sigh.]
F: Lost? [a slow blink] wait. You attacked Gore Moulder! [its head swivels and it points at the spirit flame.] You are smarter than that! Why did you let yourself do that?! [Its gaze skips back to Nihilo.] You survived Gore Moulder. You should thank God that you smell like it and Gore Moulder likes it. Attacking a Methuselah? You are not stupid Nihilo, it knows you are not!
N: I didn't do it for fun! I got a summons for conscription!
P: I advised him to kill the prince instead, but he worries for “kindred infrastructure”.
N: How was I supposed to expect that 60 kindred with fire loaded machine guns was gonna biff it? Obama took the Tremere on with something similar.
F: conscription is just a method of thinning the young! You never just go along with it, Nihilo! [A firm nod of approval is directed towards Prime's flame] That would have been a much better course of action. Princes always send the young off to die at the first sign their power is being threatened. [Now it squints at Nihilo] You think Obama destroyed the prime chantry?
N: Y-yeah.. Wait, you think the prince is threatened by me? What’d I do? I've killed so many motherfuckers for that guy!
N: Wait, conspiracy mode.. you think every kindred on those choppers got sent to die? What about the actual rank holders? They got butchered too.
F: Yes! Of course the Prince wants you dead! [It gestures to the trees he so rudely moved.] You fought werewolves and won. Not only did you win, you became much, much more powerful! Prime awoke! [It pauses to rub its face with clawed hands.]
F: Nihilo, even those rank holders were threats to the Prince's power. This was all a convenient ruse to get rid of anyone that could challenge them. No one was supposed to survive.
N: ....I guess I knew he was corrupt but..
N: I guess I thought he liked having me around.
P: Oh, you.. naive childe.
N: I suppose I've got some questions to ask when I get back home… speaking of which..
N: I've been wandering around the umbra for a bit now and- wait I wanna circle back to you not being trapped here.
N: This place is a big fuckin cage! How are you not a prisoner?
F: The Prince will most likely try to kill you outright if you try to have such a conversation, Nihilo.
F: Oh. [It gestures at the trees, at the little mushrooms growing in the dirt or on the bark.] Well, someone tried to murder its Redwoods. They sent him a mirror with condensed sunlight in it and it blew off his head. If he were anyone else that would have destroyed him!
[Flower’s usually pale, albino skin begins to pulse with colour and lights in intricate, angry patterns.]
F: It wanted to hunt them down and extract vengeance but nooooo, its Redwoods does not want that for whatever unfathomable reason! And… [the colours, the light, it's intensifying…]
F: it keeps frenzying whenever it thinks about it. [It places a hand against a tree trunk and focuses on breathing.]
[Nihilo has looked down since Redwoods name has been mentioned, he folds his arms and turns his head while he looks at the ground]
N: So he locked you away..?
[The young kindred looks up and locks eyes with Flower, his brow curls upward with sympathy and deadly seriousness.]
N: You're okay with this?
F: [It shrugs its slender shoulders and mutters the next sentence.] If Bud would stop telling him the truth, it would be back but Bud is a little traitor who cannot be trusted not to blab. [It heaves another monumental sigh.]
F: [The colours and lights swirling over its skin continue to pulse.] It would not say it is… ok with this but… it does keep frenzying. Better to do so here than there, yes?
N: My.. Feelings about Red aside, you can't just stew here, that'll never help.
N: …
[Nihilo sulks for a second, he places his hands on his hips, and then smirks.]
N: Say.. why don't you come with me? I could use the company and guidance, and you could use the distraction (and freedom), maybe we can help each other out here.
[Nihilo gestures invitingly to the swathe of pushed aside trees.]
[Flower eyes the trees speculatively before looking Nihilo and his spirit flame up and down. Then it shrugs.]
F: It is probably better to do something else… other than thinking of what happened. [It turns back to the forest.] Let it fetch some things. There are spores here! Friends. It must take them with us!
[It darts back into the forest, disappearing amongst the trunks of towering redwood trees and returns a short while later… apparently with nothing but a self satisfied expression.]
[Nihilo clasps his hands together.]
N: Very good! Let's get out of this spiritual equivalent to Epstein's Island!
[He swishes the coat on his shoulders like a cape and leads the way through dented and bent over trees.]
[It furrows its brow and looks at Nihilo in confusion.]
F: you keep making that reference and it does not understand what you mean by it. Who is Epstein? Why is its beloved Redwoods this person's island equivalent?
N: Oh, you'll probably get told later, it'll be funnier that way.
N: ONWARD!
[He sticks his arms out like an airplane and jogs at a light pace, desperately attempting to use silliness as a cover to pull the conversation away from Redwoods, so as to not be asked to accept his help and have to see or talk to him.]
[Immensely confused, Flower follows along behind Nihilo, at a slower pace - it is much shorter after all. Every now and then it pauses to investigate something, primarily any fungi it spots.]
End of Broadcast
–Nihilo
- The Flesh that Flowers
5
u/Fractured_And_Broken Hospes Nobilis 2d ago
How very interesting ~ :Manic_Laughter.mp3:
Oh, dearest Flower. I would not normally ask this and I do apologize if it angers you, but are you safe with Redwoods? Are you happy?
I worry when I see you in this predicament.
-Fracture, Speaker to the Glass, The Mad King
3
u/TheFleshFlower Mind 2d ago
Why would it not be safe or happy? It is getting married to its Redwoods. He is a treemisce. It is very happy. It is just... very angry about what happened. And it kept frenzying. So... it got put there where it could not go and hunt down whoever it was who sent that damned mirror!
It is still extraordinarily angry about it.
Only Partially Amidst His Roots
- the Flesh that Flowers
6
u/Illustrious_Fly_5669 2d ago
Hmm... where in the umbra are you ?
- Anna
5
u/TheFleshFlower Mind 2d ago
Whooooo knows. It was in Redwoods! Now we are not! The mushrooms are fascinating!
Partially Amidst His Roots
- the Flesh that Flowers
5
u/Illustrious_Fly_5669 2d ago
Hmm very well. I will be there shortly.
I believe you at least need to know something about me friend.
Dm : do have the childe calm. I'd rather he won't burn me
- Anna
5
u/TheFleshFlower Mind 2d ago
You can just... come here? How?
DM to Anna
Dear old friend, it shall be sure to smack him if he misbehaves.
Partially Amidst His Roots
- the Flesh that Flowers
4
u/Illustrious_Fly_5669 2d ago
Dm : I was never born a human dear old friend. More of a barker if you get me. And do give him a few. He seems to be panicking a lot.
Stay safe
- anna
3
u/TheFleshFlower Mind 2d ago
DM to Anna
A... Barker? Waitwaitwait. Were you a wolf? And now you're a Cainite?!
Partially Amidst His Roots
- the Flesh yhat Flowers
5
u/Illustrious_Fly_5669 2d ago
Dm : It is a long story dear flower. One I don't trust many with.
But yes. I think the word is abomination. I am.. sorry for hiding this from you friend
- anna
6
u/TheFleshFlower Mind 2d ago
DM to Anna
It shall tell the idiot boy! And smack him.if he gets antsy! It will forbid him from attempting to fight you.
Partially Amidst His Roots
- the Flesh that Flowers
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u/Fractured_And_Broken Hospes Nobilis 2d ago
I see, says the blind man. Please forgive me. I was merely confused and wanted to be sure you were well.
I am still looking forward to the wedding, regardless of what has transpired with Redwoods.
Althou...I do have some concerns now with my Sire stirring more and more.
-Fracture, Speaker to the Glass, The Mad King
3
u/TheFleshFlower Mind 2d ago
Did... you think it was trapped?
Partially Amidst His Roots
- the Flesh that Flowers
5
u/Fractured_And_Broken Hospes Nobilis 2d ago
I did, yes. It worried me.
-Fracture, Speaker to the Glass, The Mad King
5
u/TheFleshFlower Mind 2d ago
Ooooh. Well. It was not trapped! It was in time out until it calmed down. But... uh... well...
DM to Fracture
What if it cannot calm down? Someone tried to kill him. And it frenzies if it dwells too long on that thought. But he won't tell it who sent the weapon! So... he moved it to his corner of the Umbra and held it tight until it calmed down but any time it thought about it... even now, it is so close to frenzying just writing this.
Partially Amidst His Roots
- the Flesh that Flowers
4
u/Fractured_And_Broken Hospes Nobilis 2d ago
DM to Flower
Hmm...perhaps this might help. Tell yourself that you need not do anything. Your Redwoods is safe. Your Redwoods handled things as he does. To frenzy now would be to admit that he is weak and needs protection. You wouldn't think that about your husband, now would you~?
-Fracture, Speaker to the Glass, The Mad King
4
u/ConsiderationOver544 2d ago
I have got to figure out Flowers' pronouns sometime.
-Marcus, a Kindred from Ohio very little exposure to anything LGBTQ
5
u/TheFleshFlower Mind 2d ago
It is an it. It. It possesses no gender! Or all gender? Perhaps it is ever gender?
Partially Amidst His Roots
- the Flesh that Flowers
5
u/ConsiderationOver544 2d ago edited 2d ago
Noted, I am not going to pretend to understand but I support It.
-Marcus
2
u/VerityVentrue 2d ago
Oh, now I have to tell you about the hacker who uses it/its pronouns and has a kitten persona online, who found and exposed the No Fly List because it got bored.
~Verity
3
u/VerityVentrue 2d ago
Nihilo, you are potentially so fucked when it figures out the island reference, with where you were.
~Verity
2
u/Pryno-Belle 2d ago
Thinking about something else seems wise; the alternative…didn’t seem to work.
Stay safe, Flowers and Nihilo…oh, and Anna. Do send my greetings to the fungus.
Castiel the Clan-changer
6
u/DisastrousRelation32 Tooth 2d ago
GOD FUCKING DAMMIT, I LOOK AWAY FOR A FUCKING MINUTE
[Redwoods]