04-19-2016, 04:28 PM
As Jade floated gently through the snowfall and across the ice-covered, glaciated landscape, Tartaros couldn’t help but look ahead and smile to himself in a mixture of curiosity and anticipation. It had been far too long since he’d last been on a calmer, more peaceful sort of adventure like this, raging blizzards and oxymorons notwithstanding.
Mere moments after the pale-skinned behemoth of a man that is Solomon Grundy had tossed her into the air, the child was already back on the ground, squeeing excitedly about some location in the distant horizon or another to the others. Just as the group was about to set off again, they were stopped by the sound of an curious, high voice.
“Uh, hey. I’m Rock. You guys following the weird ghost letters too?”
The marine turned his head, and found a confused-looking blue-armoured child waving back at him. Smiling and waving back, Jade replied. “Yeah! Yeah we are!”
“Sweet.”, the boy began to smile as he spoke, “My name’s Rock. Yours?”
“Jade. Jade Harley.”
Rock began to look around. There sure was a crowd here. “Huh… Okay. Mind if I join you and your group?”
“Ah hell. What’s one more?”, Tartaros though the himself.
“Sure!”, Jade said, in as bubbly a tone as ever.
Rock nodded in affirmation, before shuffling towards the rest of the group. He really wasn’t used to crowds like this. Groups with colossal undead and giant armoured fellows weren’t really his preferred company, after all.
Then with that, the group set off to the north. Greetings were passed around as they trekked across the unmapped, glacial wastelands of the Frozen Fields, with the exception of an uncharacteristically silent, brooding Karkat. Though eventually, the noise and conversation died down, and fell into little else but silent thought and movement. All that was left was the cries and howls of the winter winds and the cracking of ice and snow underfoot. The march through the wastes continued for another few hours in near-silence, until the blazing sun set underneath the mountain-dotted horizon and darkness began to cover the land, as the group began to settle for the night by a small, dead tree nestled upon an icy mountain ledge of a small mountain range.
Tartaros looked up towards the skies, squinting behind his visor. It would be nightfall soon, and they were still in the open. Never a good sign.
“Hold on.”, the Luna Wolf raised his hand. “Night’s approaching soon. We need a camp, else we freeze out here.”, he turned to the rest of the group, “Anyone have any ide-”
“GRUNDY MAKE CAMP.”, Grundy yelled, before thrusting his rotted fist deep into the side of the cliff with a thud, sending fragments of rock flying into everyone’s faces.
“What the FUCK?!”, Karkat screamed in surprise.
“SHUSH KITKAT.”, Grundy grunted as he continued to tear into the rock, “GRUNDY BUSY.”
Tartaros smiled in amusement as the hulk began to smash his way through the ice-covered mountainside with ease. “That settles it then.”, he chuckled to himself, “Good work Grundy.”
Releasing one of his axes from the mag-lock on his hip, the armoured marauder turned his attention towards the nearby treetrunk. “I’ll get the kindling. Try not to get yourselves killed while I’m busy, alright?”
Careful to aim for the dry bark for use as tinder and branches for kindling, he set about collecting with a few short, sharp chops, the thud of iron cutting into wood in rhythm with Grundy’s smashing. Usable kindling was rare around places like these, and proper firewood was even rarer, so he had to take care.
Picking up the shavings, bark and chunks of wood he collected, Tartaros made his way back towards the group. Grundy was busy tossing chunks of rubble and ice out of the makeshift camp, as the rest of the group wandered around, either helping Grundy in carving out the camp, or going about their own business. First thing was first, however.
Tartaros set up a small fire pit, using a somewhat excessive amount of spare promethium, kindling, some other miscellaneous flammables and the liberal use of a hand flamer, and the rest of the encampment was set up soon after. A warm, dim light shone through the cave, though it was but a single ember in the endless, blizzard-wracked frozen expanse. The group sat around the fire, a small pot filled with hastily summoned ingredients boiling over it.
The Luna Wolf turned to the troll sitting by his side. He was quiet. Far quieter than usual, anyway. The fact he managed to go a whole hour without insulting someone was proof enough of that. But still, he couldn’t help feeling something was off.
“Hey.”, Tartaros said as he turned towards the young slate-skinned troll, whose shirt was still singed from an unfortunate incident involving the campfire earlier in the day.
“Go away.”, Karkat snarled, his crabbiness far more subdued than usual.
“Insults and sulking won’t help you, kid. Just fuckin’ spit it out.”
“I said fuck off. I’m not in the mood for dealing with you, that stupid batshit clown asshole, or the rest of the troll-monkey moron troupe. And I certainly don’t need any help from some batshit crazy drone-looking fuck.”
“Pah. Suit yourself then.”
The marauder sighed as he leaned against the cave’s wall. That bloody troll kid was impossible to work with. Now, there was little else to do but wait around and watch the skies. What was out there, really? Biting cold, torrents of snow and sleet pouring down just outside the camp, all manners of beasts prowling the mountaintops, debatable odds of survival and only some vague promise of an adventure at the end of it all… All in all, sounded like a good time to him.
“S’gonna be a long night…”
Mere moments after the pale-skinned behemoth of a man that is Solomon Grundy had tossed her into the air, the child was already back on the ground, squeeing excitedly about some location in the distant horizon or another to the others. Just as the group was about to set off again, they were stopped by the sound of an curious, high voice.
“Uh, hey. I’m Rock. You guys following the weird ghost letters too?”
The marine turned his head, and found a confused-looking blue-armoured child waving back at him. Smiling and waving back, Jade replied. “Yeah! Yeah we are!”
“Sweet.”, the boy began to smile as he spoke, “My name’s Rock. Yours?”
“Jade. Jade Harley.”
Rock began to look around. There sure was a crowd here. “Huh… Okay. Mind if I join you and your group?”
“Ah hell. What’s one more?”, Tartaros though the himself.
“Sure!”, Jade said, in as bubbly a tone as ever.
Rock nodded in affirmation, before shuffling towards the rest of the group. He really wasn’t used to crowds like this. Groups with colossal undead and giant armoured fellows weren’t really his preferred company, after all.
Then with that, the group set off to the north. Greetings were passed around as they trekked across the unmapped, glacial wastelands of the Frozen Fields, with the exception of an uncharacteristically silent, brooding Karkat. Though eventually, the noise and conversation died down, and fell into little else but silent thought and movement. All that was left was the cries and howls of the winter winds and the cracking of ice and snow underfoot. The march through the wastes continued for another few hours in near-silence, until the blazing sun set underneath the mountain-dotted horizon and darkness began to cover the land, as the group began to settle for the night by a small, dead tree nestled upon an icy mountain ledge of a small mountain range.
Tartaros looked up towards the skies, squinting behind his visor. It would be nightfall soon, and they were still in the open. Never a good sign.
“Hold on.”, the Luna Wolf raised his hand. “Night’s approaching soon. We need a camp, else we freeze out here.”, he turned to the rest of the group, “Anyone have any ide-”
“GRUNDY MAKE CAMP.”, Grundy yelled, before thrusting his rotted fist deep into the side of the cliff with a thud, sending fragments of rock flying into everyone’s faces.
“What the FUCK?!”, Karkat screamed in surprise.
“SHUSH KITKAT.”, Grundy grunted as he continued to tear into the rock, “GRUNDY BUSY.”
Tartaros smiled in amusement as the hulk began to smash his way through the ice-covered mountainside with ease. “That settles it then.”, he chuckled to himself, “Good work Grundy.”
Releasing one of his axes from the mag-lock on his hip, the armoured marauder turned his attention towards the nearby treetrunk. “I’ll get the kindling. Try not to get yourselves killed while I’m busy, alright?”
Careful to aim for the dry bark for use as tinder and branches for kindling, he set about collecting with a few short, sharp chops, the thud of iron cutting into wood in rhythm with Grundy’s smashing. Usable kindling was rare around places like these, and proper firewood was even rarer, so he had to take care.
Picking up the shavings, bark and chunks of wood he collected, Tartaros made his way back towards the group. Grundy was busy tossing chunks of rubble and ice out of the makeshift camp, as the rest of the group wandered around, either helping Grundy in carving out the camp, or going about their own business. First thing was first, however.
Tartaros set up a small fire pit, using a somewhat excessive amount of spare promethium, kindling, some other miscellaneous flammables and the liberal use of a hand flamer, and the rest of the encampment was set up soon after. A warm, dim light shone through the cave, though it was but a single ember in the endless, blizzard-wracked frozen expanse. The group sat around the fire, a small pot filled with hastily summoned ingredients boiling over it.
The Luna Wolf turned to the troll sitting by his side. He was quiet. Far quieter than usual, anyway. The fact he managed to go a whole hour without insulting someone was proof enough of that. But still, he couldn’t help feeling something was off.
“Hey.”, Tartaros said as he turned towards the young slate-skinned troll, whose shirt was still singed from an unfortunate incident involving the campfire earlier in the day.
“Go away.”, Karkat snarled, his crabbiness far more subdued than usual.
“Insults and sulking won’t help you, kid. Just fuckin’ spit it out.”
“I said fuck off. I’m not in the mood for dealing with you, that stupid batshit clown asshole, or the rest of the troll-monkey moron troupe. And I certainly don’t need any help from some batshit crazy drone-looking fuck.”
“Pah. Suit yourself then.”
The marauder sighed as he leaned against the cave’s wall. That bloody troll kid was impossible to work with. Now, there was little else to do but wait around and watch the skies. What was out there, really? Biting cold, torrents of snow and sleet pouring down just outside the camp, all manners of beasts prowling the mountaintops, debatable odds of survival and only some vague promise of an adventure at the end of it all… All in all, sounded like a good time to him.
“S’gonna be a long night…”