05-14-2016, 06:11 AM
When she awoke, the heat had grown near overwhelming. The sun was directly overhead, the tree she was in providing plenty of shade, and so she removed her red overcoat and gloves and with trepidation dissolved them into omnilium with which to make some Interpol standard binoculars. She surveyed her surroundings.
In the distance, rusted steel caught her attention. The steel archway of portal encampment was directly behind her, and she could see what was probably the white adobe and tiled roofs of Carrefour off to her right. This conglomerate mass of rusted tanks and pipework looked like an oil refinery, and it seemed like it might have something useful. At the very worst, it would give her somewhere more secure than a tree to rest and prepare for her trek.
She set off, stalking lithely through the tall grass and squinting against the light. The ground was dry beneath her feet, but not cracked, and the long strands of green and brown were not difficult to part. A few animals, feral gazelle to her eyes, ran away as she passed them, scattering from her presence and scent.
She dropped herself down into a near-dry riverbed, the grass around her parting for a moment. There was barely a trickle of water, but it looked clean and unpolluted. Not one to pass up the opportunity, Carmelita bottled some and added a few drops of iodine mix from her pack to clean it as she continued on.
As she walked, Carmelita couldn’t help the slew of thoughts that kept crossing her mind. Some were memories, of good days and bad, others were questions on the how and why of her husband’s death. Being alone used to be a comfort to her, a solace from the crazy antics of her husband and his friends, but now it seemed almost suffocating. Was it her fault, somehow? Or was it simply that Sly had had a close brush with death one too many times? After the event, Bentley hadn’t been able to bring himself to terms with the event, insisting that this was another in a long line of tricks Sly had pulled to avoid trouble, but nothing Carmelita could think of would have troubled Sly. Murray, meanwhile, had been suffocating in his long weeping calls to anyone who had been even the slightest company of Sly’s, trying to stay positive and failing miserably. Carmelita had endured the long line of people who gave her commiserations at the empty coffin memorial service, but she had only really known most of them in passing and their words had seemed hollow and empty. Only the Guru, the wise old koala who spiritually connected himself to the Aborigine Dreamtime, had noticed her discomfort, and he had gifted her with the notice-me-not belt to help her avoid the unwanted attention. After that, she’d decided she’d try and keep her work going, but that had ended in… well, she was now walking through a savanna in a dimension of a whole other universe.
Her thoughts were interrupted as a big cat leapt from the undergrowth, making her backpedal frantically and unholster her Shock Pistol. Three quick shots landed between the lioness’s bright eyes, the cat giving a hiss at the sudden pain and shaking her head to clear her sight. Carmelita took the opportunity to break into a sprint, firing a point blank shot as she past its right flank to discourage the cat from continuing to chase her.
Despite being on the end of Carmelita’s attack, the cat simply yowled and came after her, stumbling slightly as one of its legs spasmed but not failing to keep up with her. She fired off a few shots, twisting her head to aim behind her, but her aim was slightly off and only one of the hit. A pinch of the fur on the cat’s paw smoked slightly, sparks of static visible for a moment before they grounded themselves.
The cat leapt at Carmelita, and she dived to one side, hissing as a claw scratched a line of pain through her yellow jacket and blue shirt from directly behind her. She twisted, charging a heavier duty shot. The cat’s movement was slower, more unsteady, and now she could dodge it back and forth for the few seconds she needed. A buzz from her Pistol let her know she was ready, and as the cat took a swipe she ducked beneath it and let fly with an electrical ball at near point blank range. With a crackle, the cat took a nosedive. It lay thrashing wildly in panic, its senses bllind to the world around it. Carmelita waited a few seconds, carefully staying out of reach of the sharp claws, before firing a small ball of electricity. She stood, calmly firing ball after ball, each shot weakening the lioness more. Ten seconds later, the cat’s eyes forced themselves open one last time, staring up at Carmelita before she gave it a vindictive smile. She fired one last shot. The lioness finally collapsed, spasms running along its body.
“Good night, puss. Next time don’t assume that just because I’ve got fluff I’m a toy to play with.”
Carmelita winced as the poor line came from her mouth. It wasn’t anywhere near the sort of banter she’d exchanged with Sly, and she seemed a little out of practice. She felt her back to find that the scratch was oozing blood, but in spite of that the little fight had been what she needed to snap her out of her mood. Fixing the jacket with omnilium and panting away the extra heat her vulpine body had accumulated, she headed on her way before the lioness woke up from her forcible nap.
In the distance, rusted steel caught her attention. The steel archway of portal encampment was directly behind her, and she could see what was probably the white adobe and tiled roofs of Carrefour off to her right. This conglomerate mass of rusted tanks and pipework looked like an oil refinery, and it seemed like it might have something useful. At the very worst, it would give her somewhere more secure than a tree to rest and prepare for her trek.
She set off, stalking lithely through the tall grass and squinting against the light. The ground was dry beneath her feet, but not cracked, and the long strands of green and brown were not difficult to part. A few animals, feral gazelle to her eyes, ran away as she passed them, scattering from her presence and scent.
She dropped herself down into a near-dry riverbed, the grass around her parting for a moment. There was barely a trickle of water, but it looked clean and unpolluted. Not one to pass up the opportunity, Carmelita bottled some and added a few drops of iodine mix from her pack to clean it as she continued on.
As she walked, Carmelita couldn’t help the slew of thoughts that kept crossing her mind. Some were memories, of good days and bad, others were questions on the how and why of her husband’s death. Being alone used to be a comfort to her, a solace from the crazy antics of her husband and his friends, but now it seemed almost suffocating. Was it her fault, somehow? Or was it simply that Sly had had a close brush with death one too many times? After the event, Bentley hadn’t been able to bring himself to terms with the event, insisting that this was another in a long line of tricks Sly had pulled to avoid trouble, but nothing Carmelita could think of would have troubled Sly. Murray, meanwhile, had been suffocating in his long weeping calls to anyone who had been even the slightest company of Sly’s, trying to stay positive and failing miserably. Carmelita had endured the long line of people who gave her commiserations at the empty coffin memorial service, but she had only really known most of them in passing and their words had seemed hollow and empty. Only the Guru, the wise old koala who spiritually connected himself to the Aborigine Dreamtime, had noticed her discomfort, and he had gifted her with the notice-me-not belt to help her avoid the unwanted attention. After that, she’d decided she’d try and keep her work going, but that had ended in… well, she was now walking through a savanna in a dimension of a whole other universe.
Her thoughts were interrupted as a big cat leapt from the undergrowth, making her backpedal frantically and unholster her Shock Pistol. Three quick shots landed between the lioness’s bright eyes, the cat giving a hiss at the sudden pain and shaking her head to clear her sight. Carmelita took the opportunity to break into a sprint, firing a point blank shot as she past its right flank to discourage the cat from continuing to chase her.
Despite being on the end of Carmelita’s attack, the cat simply yowled and came after her, stumbling slightly as one of its legs spasmed but not failing to keep up with her. She fired off a few shots, twisting her head to aim behind her, but her aim was slightly off and only one of the hit. A pinch of the fur on the cat’s paw smoked slightly, sparks of static visible for a moment before they grounded themselves.
The cat leapt at Carmelita, and she dived to one side, hissing as a claw scratched a line of pain through her yellow jacket and blue shirt from directly behind her. She twisted, charging a heavier duty shot. The cat’s movement was slower, more unsteady, and now she could dodge it back and forth for the few seconds she needed. A buzz from her Pistol let her know she was ready, and as the cat took a swipe she ducked beneath it and let fly with an electrical ball at near point blank range. With a crackle, the cat took a nosedive. It lay thrashing wildly in panic, its senses bllind to the world around it. Carmelita waited a few seconds, carefully staying out of reach of the sharp claws, before firing a small ball of electricity. She stood, calmly firing ball after ball, each shot weakening the lioness more. Ten seconds later, the cat’s eyes forced themselves open one last time, staring up at Carmelita before she gave it a vindictive smile. She fired one last shot. The lioness finally collapsed, spasms running along its body.
“Good night, puss. Next time don’t assume that just because I’ve got fluff I’m a toy to play with.”
Carmelita winced as the poor line came from her mouth. It wasn’t anywhere near the sort of banter she’d exchanged with Sly, and she seemed a little out of practice. She felt her back to find that the scratch was oozing blood, but in spite of that the little fight had been what she needed to snap her out of her mood. Fixing the jacket with omnilium and panting away the extra heat her vulpine body had accumulated, she headed on her way before the lioness woke up from her forcible nap.