RWBYFanon v5

RPG World of Remnant => Everywhere Else => Topic started by: ReaperJoe on June 22, 2018, 12:14:40 AM

Title: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: ReaperJoe on June 22, 2018, 12:14:40 AM

City of Atlas

2 Weeks Before Vytal Festival

The bullhead has just landed, and students are starting to wander off into the city, looking to explore the sights and sounds of the upcoming festival.  Above, the Amity Colosseum hovers in the air, dominating the sky.  Around it are several Atlas military warships acting as security. The weather's relatively nice, comparable to a breezy fall day in Vale.  The sun's out, with only a few clouds dotting the sky.  Students of all the academies are milling about, and there's an interesting contrast between the lax dress of the Shade students and the military style unit worn by those of Atlas Academy.

As Smokey stepped out of the bullhead, the familiar chill greeted him, causing him to shrink down into his coat slightly. It's not really that cold, but he had gotten use to Vale's warmer temperatures and needed a bit of time to re-acclimate himself. 

Has it really been that long? Smokey thought to himself as he meandered.  He's only been at Beacon for a short time, and didn't he think he'd be back in Atlas so soon, but apparently Fate had other plans.  He looked over the Atlas students, and let his mind wander what it would be like if he had stayed here, instead. 

...Nah, that would've been a terrible idea.  With their strict discipline, rules, and dress code, Smokey would have been chewed out and expelled within the week, especially since he'd have come here with a well-established reputation.  Speaking of which....

As Smokey mindlessly wondered towards his destination, he spotted a familiar face: an old bully, apparently taking well to life as an Atlas student.  He was showing off to a group of  girls, Haven students if he went by the uniform, doing various heroic poses and blabbering on about some trumped-up story or whatever.  It really didn't matter what he was doing, if he saw Smokey it'd be bad news.  Knowing this, Smokey quickly changed directions and started heading--

"Well, whaddya know!  Speak of the devil and he shall appear!" 

...dammit.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: mylies43 on June 22, 2018, 01:11:31 AM

Serin thought that he left Atlas behind and wouldn't have to come back till the end of the year at the earliest, so imagine his surprise when the Vytal Festival location was announced! He initially wasn't very interested in going since the risk in running into his parents were fairly decent, much more if he competes in the tournament which they would no doubt watch. But the rest of BSSM seemed so excited he just couldn't turn them down and instead decided to go along with it planning to deal with the consequences later. His fear of running into his family was what made him so hesitant to exit the bullhead when it first landing, opting instead to just stick his head out the door and scan the environment for any familiar military officials. While he didn't say anything about coming(implying almost the opposite on his sparatic phone calls home) he was sure that if they wanted to it would be trivial to get a copy of the passengers on the flights.

After deciding that the coast was clear for the time being he finally walked out of the bullhead and into the chilled Atlassian air, enjoying a light breeze as it ran across his body reminding him of what he left behind. After yet another moment of not paying attention, he finally noticed that Smokey had rather rapidly gotten off the ship leaving Serin behind.

 'Maybe he has someone meeting him here and is excited? He is from here so...' Serins inner monologue reasoned.

 It didn't take too long for Serin to find him as he was being approached by someone who Serin assumed was an acquaintance of his judging by how Smokey was greeted.'Weird Smokey didn't approach him but then again, not the most talkative person'

"Hey Smokey that's where ya went off to! Whos this?" He said gesturing over to the other man, "An old acquaintance of yours?"

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: L-Money on June 22, 2018, 01:51:58 AM

Billy was excited to be traveling. It was just a bit awkward being a Vaccuo girl in Atlas after all the bad blood between the Atlassian corporations and the Vaccuo workers. Not to mention the whole Faunus thing. But she thought about her two teammates she had come to like. She hoped they were the majority and not the exceptions. She decided to stick as close to the Atlassian's as possible during her trip in case something happened. She also had no idea how to get around the place. She considered taking off her signature hat to blend into the Atlassian scene more, but after seeing the other Shade students walking around in their dress she decided against it.

As she made her way out of the bullhead a little behind everyone, she found that the weather was deceptively cold for how nice it looked from outside. She dug through one of the bags that she had to carry. Billy grabbed one of Serin's jackets that he offered her but she swore that she would never use. She put it on along with a surprisingly long scarf.

When she finally made it to Smokey and Serin, she stayed quiet. She didn't like the look of the third guy. He had an air of Atlassian superiority that she despised. So she puffed out her chest and gave him the evil eye, daring him to say something about her or her team.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: DEXES on June 22, 2018, 09:59:38 AM

There was already an amazing view over the City of Atlas through the window of the Bullhead, but when it landed and the first students left the airship it felt completely different again. Atlas, the technological, scientific, and probably military-leading kingdom, having a large army of mostly androids and a large air fleet. As someone who grew up without any technology, the sight of the many high-end security measures was a bit overwhelming.

As Mikado got out of the Bullhead, he was greeted by the cool breeze with which he had to live for the next few weeks.

He was right behind Billy as he get off the ship and made his way to the rest of the team, and another, unknown person. An old Buddy maybe? No, it didn't really look like Smokey would be happy to be in that position. Only one thing to do in this situation, wait and see what happens.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: ReaperJoe on June 22, 2018, 12:13:58 PM

"Sorry, think you've got the wrong guy," Smokey lied, not even turning around to face the "stranger" and continuing to walk forward  Seriously, he hadn't even taken 30 steps before he got accosted.  Maybe coming back was a mistake...

A hand clasped Smokey's shoulder before he could get too far away.  "Aw, come on, don't be like that Mt. Shortstack!  You don't recognize your old pal, Verde?" said the newcomer, his voice tinged with arrogance and a hint of mockery.  Verde was fairly tall, at least six feet, with green hair styled into a pompadour that added another 4 inches.  He was pretty muscular, too. If he wasn't wearing an Atlas uniform, it would have been easy to mistake him for a body builder. 

Smokey's hand imperceptibly twitched toward his revolver at the sound of his old nickname.  He really wanted to smack this guy in the face, but something told Smokey that's exactly what Verde wanted.  Meanwhile, Verde looked back and finally noticed the rest of Team BSSM, and a strange look of thought crossed his face, like a baboon's when its trying to take care of some nasty business.  But it soon was repainted with that damnably arrogant smile.

"Whoa, now, don't tell me a flunky like you's trying to get into the Vytal Festival?  Don't make me laugh!" he said, laughing.  "Let me guess, you got carried through qualifications by your team.  They at least passed the height requirement for ya, that's for sure!"  Behind him, a couple of giggles emanated from the girls he was entertaining earlier.

As his eyes scanned BSSM, he quickly stopped on Billy, and with the most lecherous-looking smirk to grace the gorilla's face, Verde sauntered right up to her.  "Hey there, you look a little cold.  Maybe you should ditch the midget over there and come let a real man warm you up," he said, raising his arm and flexing it.

Smokey looked towards Serin with a look that was clearly asking "Can I shoot him?"

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: mylies43 on June 22, 2018, 02:40:41 PM

It was now obvious even to Serin that this other person was not friendly toward Smokey and was in fact a ass of great proportion. The realization of this sent him reeling a little bit and it took until the end of the bullies vocal barrage for him to come back to reality and try to find a way to deal with the situation. Smokey was also now on the verge of murdering this man which would not end well for any of them, much less Serin would doubted he would be allowed to return to Beacon if he messed up this badly.

Serin began his course of action by giving Smokey a look that tried to convey that violence was not the wisest course before placing his left hand on the bullies should and turning him to face Serin,
he had a big speech planned that he was going to give the bully but being face to face with him made all the mentally rehearsed lines fly away forcing a much more scatterbrain response to leave his lips.

"......Stop being a dick...you..dick." Serin slowly said while giving the green hair guy a cold look straight into his eyes. He was also regretting each and every word that came out of his mouth, it got the intent across correctly but it was really not going to make Serin or the team look good.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: L-Money on June 22, 2018, 06:19:54 PM

Oh, Billy was ready for this guy coming over to her and she was giving him the iciest of glares.
"Hey there, you look a little cold.  Maybe you should ditch the midget over there and come let a real man warm you up," he said, raising his arm and flexing it.
Right as she was about to open her mouth, Serin tried to step in.
"......Stop being a dick...you..dick."
There was a pause in the conversation to, well, to put it lightly, digest the phrasing of that sentence. Billy made a split second decision to save Serin and save face for the team. She reached over with a flirtatious smile and pulled him close to her by the collar and whispered in his ear.
"Listen here, you grimm licker. This conversation here is going to get heated alright. Why would I, a faunas from Vacuo even dream of going with a puffed shirt, big nostriled, not even nose, nostrils, uneven faced, bodybuilding hack, like yourself that uses greed dye in his hair to distract from the fact that you have no personality?"
She pushed him away from her smile now a look of disgust.
"Think about that if, you're able too. And stay away from my friends."

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: DEXES on June 23, 2018, 01:40:44 AM

Oh, so he was this kind of a person. Mikado was sure that if Serin wouldn't allow Smokey to kill him, he would most certainly do it. But it shouldn't come that far.

There it was. The moment where Mikado once again wondered how hell Serin became the leader of the team. The facepalm threatening to gain more and more acceptance was fortunately prevented by Billy's intervening. She pulled the Verde guy closer to her and whispered something in his ear, which he couldn't hear from where he stood, but judging by Billy's expression, she made  clear ship.

As much as Mikado wanted to knock the guy over with his staff, he decided to go with the wiser way and leaned towards Serin and Smokey "Let's go, this guy makes me want to punch myself"

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: ReaperJoe on June 23, 2018, 04:56:29 PM

Verde barely turned around when Serin grabbed his shoulder, not even stopping his incessant flexing.  And after receiving the verbal beat down of the century from Serin ("Smooth," a barely audible sound escaped Smokey's lips.), Verde did nothing but chuckle. 

"What's the matter, you want a piece of this, too?  Can't say I blame ya, I have that effect on people," he said, not even remotely bothered by Serin's interference.  It wasn't until Billy started whispering in his ear that his expression slowly changed from an arrogant smirk to slight confusion, then outright anger as he was released from Billy's grip, mouthing something and touching his nose in the process.  But then Verde looked back at Smokey, and that arrogant smirk was quickly back on his face.

"Oh, I get it.  I never knew you were into furries, Shorty. Hey, I ain't judgin'.  Everyone has their ways of getting off, you just need a good bitch," he said, licking his lips, "literally, I mean."

He turned his attention to Mikado, who had up until now avoided any of Verde's verbal molestation, and said, "And you, tall, dark, and edgelord, what's your deal, huh?  You his other fix?"

If anyone watched carefully, they'd see that after every comment Verde made, no matter who it was directed at, he glanced over at Smokey, trying to watch his reaction.  It was as if he was waiting for something, like he knew something was going to happen.

Smokey, to his credit, hadn't done anything yet other than watch, but his nerves were definitely starting to fray.  He didn't want to give Verde the satisfaction of a reaction, but if the jerk continued to harass his team, Smokey was almost definitely gonna smack him one.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: mylies43 on June 23, 2018, 05:33:48 PM

Serin had reached his limit with this guy causing him to reach a mental cross road. While he could try the path of diplomacy which was the preferred option in most states of mind this assholes words towards his teams mates and friends had Serin seeing red. He hated this, he wanted to just reach out and punch him and end it already but he did not want to cause a scene right now, in the middle of these people and much more than that he didn't want to be caught by the few security guards roaming the area. That said it seemed the crowd had already begun feeling out the atmosphere and were all slightly backed away or looking on intently while trying not to make it too obvious that they were drinking in the drama that was unfolding right before them.

When the bully had reached the end of yet another vocal barrage Serin had already made up his mind, or rather by the end his anger and frustration had boiled over to the point where the choice was made for him. Taking a deep breath Serin now took a second to plan out an escape route and once satisfied with a path he quietly tried to convince himself once more not to carry this out.

"This isn't going to end well......but screw it" Serin muttered before simultaneously increasing his hold on the bully as tightly as he could and sucker punching him in the gut with his prosthetic. Once the fist had fully completed its arch he shoved him back and began booking it out of the landing area as quickly as he could shout to the rest of the team,

"LETS GO DONT GET CAUGHT"

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: L-Money on June 23, 2018, 11:33:39 PM

Billy's face of disgust had turned into a self-satisfied smirk when Verde touched his nose. But that only lasted until he opened his mouth again. Oh, when he opened his mouth again Billy became so angry she wanted to use the hammer side of her weapon to knock him out since he wasn't worth a bullet. She looked at Serin to ask him if she could hit him now, but he was already there with a sucker punch to the gut. Billy was in shock for about half a second, until Serin told them not to get caught. She nodded to him, then spat on Verde real quick before she ran as fast as she could after Serin, dodging people and jumping over luggage carts.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: DEXES on June 24, 2018, 01:50:45 AM

Once Verde opened his mouth again, any hope that this would be over easily and without further problems vanished. Who does he think he is? That guy, that ... bastard, would cry out for his mother with his trail between his legs as soons as real danger accrues. He wouldn't lie if he said that now everyone of team BSSM wanted to blow that guy up. This theory was then, only a few seconds later, proved by a well-aimed puch Serin's side in Verde's guts. When Serin called out to them, ordering them not to get caught, he ran after his team with a barely visible smirk.
"Hey, Serin!" he called forward to the leader "Nice one."

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: ReaperJoe on June 25, 2018, 12:13:40 AM

Smokey's going to kill Verde.  He was going to blast him so hard, it'll make whatever happened to the moon look like a kid's fireworks party.  That bastard is going to-- wait, what is Serin doing? 

Smokey went slack-jawed for a moment as Serin sucker punched the jack-ass in his gut, sending Verde crumpled to the ground.  Apparently, all those muscles didn't amount to much, as he lay on his side gasping for air.  He had aura, Smokey could attest to that himself, so he should  have been fine.  Maybe he's just a big baby, after all?

Smokey openly laughed as Team BSSM tore after Serin in their truly heroic hit and run.  It wasn't a mocking laugh made to pour salt in the wounds of the asshole lying in the road, though.  It was a laugh of vindication, as if some long-term suffering had finally been brought to justice.

As they finally reached a safe spot away from the incident, Smokey approached Serin, still laughing.  "Hey, thanks.  That asshole had that coming to him for a long time.  Surprised Atlas hadn't beaten it out of him already," he said.  But slowly, his laugh died down, his face took on a more somber tone, and he awkwardly scratched the back of his head as he tried to find the words he was looking for.

"Also...sorry.  If you guys weren't with me, he would've left you alone.  He was being an asshole to the lot of you, but he was targeting me," he said, not really looking anyone in the eyes.  There was a beat of silence, before his eyes turned back up, "Listen, I'll explain exactly what happened later, but for right now, you guys should go setup your stuff without me.  Verde's not the only asshole that wants to pick beef with me, and if I'm with you guys they'll probably target you, too.  I'll catch up with you later, and don't worry, I can handle myself." Smokey punches his fist into his hand as he finishes, as if to demonstrate his strength, then heads off in a different direction.  There's clearly something off about him right now, but it also seems that he wants to be alone right now.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: mylies43 on June 25, 2018, 11:03:55 PM

'Holy shit that was the dumbest thing I've done in a while'[/color] Serin thought as he stopped running feeling relatively safe in an alleyway a short distance away from the location of the incident. He didn't want to but that man just wouldn't shut up and while Serin can be patient he still human. He couldn't stop looking over his shoulder and worrying about the repercussions that could follow if someone manages to ID his team , much less him, 'Im so dead if this gets to mom or dad...[/color] The feeling would likely linger for at least the rest of the day if not longer but as he saw Smokey laughing and the rest of the team's thankfulness towards the act he decided that while it was reckless and stupid, it was at least partially  worth it to maintain the dignity of the team.

As Smokey walked off Serin wanted to go with him but it was obvious even to him that he wanted to left alone. He stood there conflicted for a moment whether he should respect his privacy or if he should follow him and drag along the rest of BSSM to make sure that he didn't do anything rash. After Smokey turned the first corner and was safely out of ear shot he announced to the rest of the team.

"Well, I guess that we, or rather at least me since I can't force you to do anything, are gonna follow Smokey and make sure he doesn't get into any more...trouble." He said before walking in the direction Smokey disappeared down.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: L-Money on June 26, 2018, 03:09:32 PM

"Well seeing as they are the only two who are basically our guides around the city, I'm going with Serin." Billy told to Mikado.

She took off her hat and held it in her hands as she followed Serin down the alleyway. She also wrapped the scarf once more around her face to cover her mouth to make herself look even more sneaky. She didn't know why she was going all in on the stealth, other than it was fun.

Once she caught up to Serin she asked, "What's the plan boss?"

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: DEXES on June 27, 2018, 07:49:40 AM

Mikado watched Billy rushed after Serin.
The idea of exploring the city himself was very close to what he had in mind and he would have liked to opt for it, but as fate would have it, he decided to follow his teammates. Billy was right, they were the only two who knew their way around, and following them would be better than accidentally run into the Verde guy again. With his decision made clear, he caught up to his teammates.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: ReaperJoe on July 02, 2018, 12:23:51 AM

(OOC: sorry for taking so long guys, got caught up with things IRL.  In other news, gonna be hitting the fast-forward button a bit to get to the good stuff)

Smokey wandered through the streets of Atlas for quite some time.  Fortunately, no Verde-esque characters made a move to bother him like before.  Although, part of that may be because Smokey does his best to blend in to large crowds.  Because of his size, it's pretty easy for him to be missed in a crowd of people, but the rest of Team BSSM could probably pick him out by looking for the gun still strapped to his waist if they knew to look for it. 

Smokey keeps to large crowds on the sides of the streets, passing by several vendors that are advertising sales to take advantage of the Vytal Festival crowd.  There's a bar advertising Festival-themed cocktails, clothing stores selling commemorative t-shirts, and even a fake mustache store selling wares for only a lien in celebration of the festival.  But Smokey doesn't stop at any of these places.

No, he just relentlessly walks ahead until he gets to a public transit station, where he buys a ticket and gets on a small bullhead.  An electronic sign on the side of the Bullhead reads "Mantle."

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: mylies43 on July 02, 2018, 08:22:19 PM

At times it was difficult to track Smokey through the crowds that the festival tended to bring, but luckily he had an identifying feature in the form of his massive gun that he carried with him everywhere he went. Serin kept about 30 feet or so behind Smokey in an effort not to been seen and it seemed that even if he and the rest of BSSM were right behind Smokey he would not have noticed, that man was a mission. One that apparently leads to Mantle?

Now Serin was intrigued, where could he be going in Mantle? Quietly speaking to Mikado and Billy Serin said, "Looks like we're leaving Atlas already, anyone knows whats in Mantle that would lead him there?"

Once his ticket was purchased Serin walked onto the bullhead as stealthily as he could trying to find his target once more.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: L-Money on July 02, 2018, 10:53:26 PM

Billy did her best casual/stealthy/tailing someone walk. She held her hat behind her to hid her tail. With her height, it was surprisingly hard to keep a good line of sight on Smokey. She thought it would be the opposite. But she stopped looking for the usual Atlas styles that were everywhere and found the oversize gun.

When they made it to the station, Billy was surprised by him going to Mantle. She did think of him as an Atlas boy all this time. Then she remembered something about the first day they met.

"He did say something about being from a working family? And I heard Mantle used to be the mining area of Atlas." Billy hypothesized, "But that's all I got." She added with a shrug.

She used her souvenir money to buy the ticket, then hopped on the bullhead before remembering she's trying to be stealthy.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: DEXES on July 06, 2018, 01:48:16 AM

Smokey disappeared, and soon reappeared in the big crowds. It would have been nearly impossible to keep track on him here, had it not been for his oversized weapon. The path took them to a public transit station with some small bullheads lined up next to each other, ready to head out to different destinations.

"If he has family there, it only makes sense for him to visit them." He said after Billy made her hypothesis.

He followed his teammates to the ticket vending machine and then into the bullhead

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: ReaperJoe on July 06, 2018, 02:01:43 AM

As the team boards the bullhead, they'll quickly spot Smokey already in a seat, staring listlessly out the window.  He seems pretty oblivious to his surroundings, so it would probably be quite easy for Serin, Mikado, and Billy to sneak on past him, if they wished.  It doesn't look like it's a crowded trip, so there are plenty of seats to choose from.  That being said, this bullhead is kind of dinky: there are stains in the chairs, some spots on the floor are sticky, and it's probably best not to see if there's anything under the seat.  In all honesty, the nicest, or at least the cleanest, seat is right next to Smokey, himself. 

Decisions, decisions...

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: mylies43 on July 06, 2018, 02:18:10 PM

Entering the fairly dinky bullhead, it really wasn't the same quality that Serin was used to traveling in but it was a fairly cheap ticket so it was to be expected. Scanning the bullhead for a seat revealed that every seat mind one was....less than savory....and the one remaining seat of decent quality was right next to Smokey himself so for Serin it was a massive no go. Instead, he choose to go and sit down several rows behind his prey, making sure to put his jacket down on the seat first.He sat there somewhat disgusted as he await for the ship to take off and go to their destination.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: L-Money on July 08, 2018, 07:24:13 PM

Billy didn't mind the conditions of the bullhead. It felt like a colder version of home. Confident that she is disguised well enough with the scarf wrapped around her face, she waltzed in and took a seat next to Serin. This was a mistake. She reached around and pulled at the spring sticking into her back then took the seat across the row form him. This one wasn't as uncomfortable, just sticky.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: DEXES on July 09, 2018, 02:00:43 AM

Apparently hygiene was a foreign word here.
Disgusted by the condition the Bullhead was in, Mikado took a seat two rows behind Serin and did the same thing by first throwing his jacket over his seat before sitting down on it.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: ReaperJoe on July 21, 2018, 12:20:44 AM

As the team settles in for the ride, there's an static-filled announcement over the bullhead's intercom:  "ATTENTION: NOW LEAVING FOR *MANTLE*."  Not even a second later, the bullhead engines come to life, although it sounds more like they're dying.  There's an audible sputter that reverberates throughout the cabin as the bullhead starts to climb an altitude.  Smokey seems relatively unperturbed, but there are a few foreigners on board that seem to be wondering if this will be their last flight.

The flight itself, thankfully, is successful and relatively smooth, if you didn't mind a few vibrations from turbulence.  It was only a short ride, about 30 minutes, before the intercom comes on again:  "ATTENTION:  NOW ARRIVING IN *MANTLE*."  A short few seconds later, the rickety bullhead comes to rest with a very jarring *thud* that shakes more than a few passengers, and the engines slowly die down.  The door opens, and Smokey quickly gets up and heads out, saying a brief "thank you" to the pilot before exiting. 

However, Smokey stops a little ways away after exiting, turning around and tapping his foot in annoyance instead.  When his teammates inevitably come out of the bullhead, they'll be greeted by, "Ya know, you guys aren't nearly as subtle as you think you are."

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: mylies43 on November 06, 2018, 12:09:37 AM

The flight to mantle was fairly uneventful with Serin staring out the windows at the clouds zooming by, it wasn't often he got to fly and he tried to enjoy every minute of it on the rare occasion. Of course, the turbulence made him think he was going to die via bullhead collapse so he held tightly onto the seat arms during the quick lived mild shakes, convinced that him and his grip alone was keeping the ship from disintegrating. But by the time they landed he was somewhat saddened that his trip through the clouds had ended, but the promising of finding out more about Smokey’s secret destination allowed him to power through his feelings of disappointment.
Slowly walking out the door(after thanking the driver he’s not impolite after all) Serin scanned the surrounding area for traces of Smokey only to find him tapping his foot against the ground in annoyance. The source of this tick was obvious to anyone paying attention as it was also where the stare ended, Serin and the rest of BSSM. The stare was definitely caught by Serin who noticing he had been caught red handed he reacted by blushing and averting his gaze while walking down the stairs towards his run away team mater

”We’ll I guess stealth’s never really been our thing but it was a fun experiment.” Serin sheepishly said while rubbing his hand against the back of his neck.

”In all fairness you did just shorta ditch us and I mean in all fairness you might have been embarrassed by the situation earlier but you’re not really the type th-“ He cut himself short realizing he was launching into a rambling mess,”…Moral of the story is of course we are going to follow you, we are your team after all and we gotta stick together.” He emphasized the point by swinging his arm with a thumbs up.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: L-Money on November 06, 2018, 12:38:22 AM

During the ride there, Billy looked out the window at the half reflection of herself merging with the reflection of the tundra. She pretended that the cold was hot, and the snow was sand as the flight roughly made its way to Mantel. She didn't know much about Mantel just it used to be 'the old Atlas'. Something to do with mines? She felt like she needed a refresher course on it.

When they landed and she nodded to the driver, she was surprised to find Smokey... hadn't fallen for it.

"It's the tail, isn't it?" she asked before following it up with, "Urban stealth just isn't our thing. What are you even doin here?"

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: DEXES on November 06, 2018, 08:55:33 AM

Mikado spent the flight time on his scroll. Although looking out of the window had been a good way to pass some time, the passing clouds and the underlying landscape quickly became boring, so he turned towards his alternative. Sudoku. He had always liked the logical puzzle game and with his focus on it, time passed much faster.

After the bullhead arrived at his destination he gave the driver a neutral nod and followed behind the rest of the team, heading straight for Smokey.

He... hadn't really had a reason to follow him. Now that he thought about it, he would have rather stayed in Atlas and explored the city for himself but was it too late for that now. He stopped beside Billy, arms crossed, not saying anything.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: ReaperJoe on November 06, 2018, 11:07:10 PM

”Nah, no one sat next to me.  I can’t believe you all sat in those gunky chairs!  You know those stains don’t come out, right? Smokey said, explaining what tipped him off.  He saw the same scene the rest of his team did, and he knew there weren’t any other good seats.  While he wasn’t going to complain about the extra leg room, the fact the other good seat next to him was unoccupied piqued his curiosity.

As Serin gives his “explanation” for following him, Smokey just responds with a side-eye and says, ”What part of ‘I’ll catch up later’ did you—ah, forget it. You’re here now, I guess.”  He pauses for a minute to think about what to do next.  To be honest, he wanted to come here alone for a reason, but that doesn’t seem to be possible anymore.  There are only a few shuttles to Atlas from Mantle, especially with the current festivities.  Judging from the look of the pilot, it seems he’s done for the day.   Most likely, the group won’t be returning to Atlas until the morning at the earliest.

With a sigh, Smokey accepts his fate.  ”Welp, since you’re here, I guess you’re already accomplices.  Follow me, we got a delivery to make,” he says, hoping to get a rise out of his straight-laced “Fearless Leader” as he turns around and begins making his way through the streets.

The city of Mantle has clearly seen better days.  It’s still within the kingdom of Atlas, and as such there are still quite a few technological marvels, not to mention the continued presence of the military (albeit somewhat less compared to Atlas proper).  The signs of decay, though, are obvious: there’s graffiti on the walls of alleys and bricks missing from the sides of buildings.  The people here don’t look nearly as lively as they did in Atlas, though, to be fair, the festival is in the capitol.  Still, the citizens of Mantle seem to just want to go about their day, and the city itself just seems…quiet.

Smokey’s route through the city does little to alleviate the eerie silence, as he guides the group through side alleys and backroads, almost never taking main thoroughfares.  Anyone familiar with the city, or even a decently strong sense of direction, would realize BSSM is walking almost fifty percent more than they need to.  Yet, Smokey doesn’t seem lost.  In fact, he doesn’t even hesitate to make complicated twists and turns through the streets, almost like he’s on auto pilot. 

He may even be on auto pilot, as he doesn’t really talk as he meanders about, only really responding when talked to directly.  It’s probably a good thing the walk doesn’t last long.  It’s only ten minutes (although it could have easily been five) before Smokey’s intended destination comes into view.  Well, the most likely destination, in any case.

In the distance, a sign can be made out that reads ”Emberstone Firearms” in big, bold, white letters, with a slogan written underneath, ”The Most Bang For Your Buck!”.  Next to the wordage, a set of neon lights depict a meteor hurtling across the building.  It’s easily the most prominent sight for miles.  However, a keen eye might notice one more thing on the sign:  a snowflake is located on the bottom right.  It’s not big enough to be intrusive, but it is large enough to be recognizable.  ”A Schnee Dust Company Affiliate” is written underneath.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: mylies43 on November 07, 2018, 01:31:47 AM

”Wait hold up what do you mean accomplices. Are you sneaking off to-“ Serin quickly looked around for guards before lowering his voice to continue the thought, ”-delivering dr..” But by now Smokey had already began walking away on his mysterious and potentially illegal delivery. It was at this point Serin as a the leader of team BSSM felt obligated to go along and maybe convince the purchasers out of this illegal act, or have Smokey turn over a new leaf to a new crime free life. Either way he really had to go to prevent whatever disaster of illegality was sure to happen.

As he followed his team member through the grungy streets of Mantle Serin looked around at the decay and graffiti spread around the city with a small amount of disgust and worry that the city may collapse at any moment. He was much more used to the cleanliness of main land Atlas and more recently the relatively clean and well maintained Beacons school ground that he had been calling home. The allies that they were going thourgh seemingly random did not help with the grand tour and the only logical reason that Serin could come up with why they were taking this path was to avoid the guards that he would catch glimpses of. Nothing good would come of stating so he did not say anything vocally, but his expressions as well as body language as he scanned the area would be a dead giveaway to anyone paying attention.

After what seemed like years of walking through the allies seemingly avoiding guards they reached a building labelled with Smokey’s last name, a truly stunning turn of events that filled in the final pieces of what the strange delivery was that he had been worrying about. As the pieces of the puzzles melded into one Serin turned towards Smokey.

”You should have said something! I didn’t know your family ran a business, much less a weapons shop! That’s so cool!” He enthusiastically announced before walking through the front door of the business to examine the insides forgetting all the worries that seconds ago had filled his mind.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: L-Money on November 09, 2018, 01:57:09 AM

The route they were taking was certainly the ‘scenic’ route. It reminded Billy of Southern Vacuo where she had been staying. The graffitti, the missing bricks, the um… not so savory/lively people. Yup reminded her too much of Southern Vacuo actually. The only difference was that the few hunters that patrolled the streets were replaced by twice as many military on the main streets. Though they both looked just as enthusiastic to be there.

Billy’s mind started to wonder to home. What was her mom doing? Where had her dad run off too? Would they think of finding her in Atlas? The last one brought a little smile to her face. She loved breaking their ‘rules’. .

“So, is it just like you remembered it?” She asked Smokey, half reminiscing about her own home.

She almost ran into Serin when they finally go to their destination. She looked into the storefront to try to see if anyone was inside.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: DEXES on November 11, 2018, 06:09:53 AM

'Emberstone Firearms, huh?'

Mikado couldn't remember Smokey ever mentioned it to him that his family owned a business. Especially one that works with the SDC.

Silently he looked at the building. It was definitely in a better shape than most of the other building they had passed. Alone The advertising sign looked as if it was planned for a livelier city.
Hard to believe that this was once the capital of the kingdom. So gray and monotonous, even though he had to admit that the silence was quite pleasant. Since the arrival in Beacon and especially now with the festival going on, he didn't get enough of it after all.

He continued to study the building. Smokey wanted to visit his family, okay, understandable, but that didn't explain why he couldn't just tell them. What a waste of time following him here... He will never get those hours back. Well, now that he was already here, he could at least also take a look. There wasn't anything better to do anyway...

He followed Serin at a distance through the front entrance into the building.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: ReaperJoe on November 12, 2018, 05:46:55 PM

Smokey stops when he reaches the front of the gun shop, staring up at the sign as his mind takes a small stroll through nostalgia lane.  The building hadn’t changed since he’d been gone, and Mikado was right; it was a much better sight than most of the surrounding buildings.  There was no graffiti, the structure seemed sound, and generally just seemed brighter than the rest of mantle (although the neon sign probably helps there). 

He was interrupted from his thoughts by Serin, who immediately afterward made his way to the shop’s door, followed by Billy, with Mikado bringing up the rear a few paces back.  Unfortunately for his team, there was another reason he hadn’t barged right into the store. 

Now, gun stores tend to have tighter security than most shops simply due to the nature of the product.  It’s one thing to shoplift a CD from a local vendor, it’s another to shoplift a weapon.  For that reason, the windows and door are barred in order to keep people from breaking in.  But that’s not all.  While bars might normally be enough for a standard weapon shop, this particular store is an SDC affiliate.  Naturally, security is a bit more severe.  If the members of BSSM listened closely, they’d be able to pick out an ambient hum around the building.  Sure enough, there’s a sign in one of the windows—not front-and-center, mind you, but in one of them—that reads “Danger, Doors and Windows are Electrified!  Do Not Touch!”. 

Now, obviously, a shop normally doesn’t bar the customers from entering when they’re open.  A shop is also normally not closed in the middle of the day.  It’d be reasonable to assume that the sign was meant to deter would-be thieves from attempting to break in during closing hours.  In fact, that’s exactly what the sign was meant to do.  Unfortunately, this particular shop has rather strange business protocols.

So, as BSSM attempt to barge their way into Emberstone Firearms, Smokey reaches out a hand to stop them, but it’s a bit too late.  The moment Serin walks up the front step and touches the door, an electric current courses through him, shocking him.  It’s not enough to seriously hurt him—or anyone for that matter, it’s a rather weak shock—but it does cause him to stumble backwards into Billy right behind him and cause them both to fall onto the concrete sidewalk, facing up towards Mikado.

A beat later, the sound of intercom static penetrates the silence of the city as an agitated voice shouts, ”WE’RE CLOSED!”  Sure enough, there is a “Closed” sign hanging up on the inside of the door, although the wording has faded significantly, almost as if the sign had never been turned around.

Smokey, for his part, simply looks down at his fallen teammates and shakes his head before moving up to the intercom and pressing the button.  ”Hey, Dad,” is all he says before releasing the “speak” button.

From inside the shop, the team would almost immediately hear a mixture of sounds, a combination of *clangs* from metal being shifted around to the *thumps* of footsteps hurriedly rushing to the door.  A few seconds later, the ambient hum disappears and the door swings open with a man standing in the entrance.

”Smokey?” the man asks in a soft voice, a far cry from the angry one heard from the intercom.  The man looks weathered, somewhere in early- to mid-sixties, but lively.  He’s balding, and he has a bit of a hunch which causes his black work apron to dangle a bit from his knees.  He’s a little bit shorter than Smokey, although that might be because of the hunch, but his rolled up shirt sleeves show that he’s just as muscular, if not necessarily as “brawny”, as his son. 

Taking a moment to let his eyes adjust to the light, or perhaps to make sure he isn’t hallucinating, the man, presumably Mr. Emberstone, takes a step out of the store to greet his son, but then stops when he sees three strangers, two of which were lying on the ground.  ”The hell you doin' down there?” he asks innocently.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: mylies43 on November 13, 2018, 03:14:40 AM

As Serins hand touched the door and attempted to push it open he was surprised to find that instead of the door opening like they normally do this one instead decided to painfully shock him, the surprise/force of the unexpected attack sending him flailing backwards into Billy tripping them both into the ground. After touching down and almost as if there was a pressure plate rigged for this event to happen a voice berating Serin shouted out from the speakers around the door causing the team leader to turn beet red in embarrassment.

”Sorry Billy I didn’t mean, or I rather didn’t know that, uh” The unexpected turn of events were causing him to stumble over his apology to Billy, Afterall getting yelled at was one of the worst possible things that could happen to Serin. In his panic Serin sat on the ground reactional less as his apology died in his mouth while Smokey spoke through the microphone causing a man who judging by Smokey’s interaction with him could be safely assumed to be his dad.

 ”The hell you down there?” , the question jumped started Serins brain finally allowing him to realize that he should probably get up off the ground instead of lounging about in such a careless manner. Now scrambling to get up he tried to use his right arm(the one that received the shock) but found that the current had weakened it as it buckled under him, forcing Serin to awkwardly switch over to his left arm to stand up. Once he was finally standing Serin turned his still red face to face Smokey’s Dad while standing up straight with his arms behind his back in a standard military pose. ”I am Serin Falkwreath sir! Leader of team Blossom which includes Smokey who we followed here sir!” He exclaimed, after all when in doubt reverting back to his old military school ways wasn’t a bad choice right?

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: L-Money on November 14, 2018, 01:57:42 AM

As she took the second step up the stoop, the thought did cross her mind that it was weird that Smokey didn’t lead the way inside, but she did come to expect Serin to jump to the lead to do things. Now wasn’t an exception for Serin so she just followed along. She was curious to see inside the shop anyways. But just as suddenly the thought crossed her mind, Serin was shocked and jolted back into her, sending them down a  short trip down the stairs on to Billy’s back. It took a bit of aura to keep from pulling something out of place, but that’s something Billy was used to by now with training. What she wasn’t used to was the sudden shock of cold that was on the cement that was seeping through her jacket and the fur of her tail. It didn’t help that Serin wasn’t getting off of her and was stammering.

“Serin- just- off! Cold!” Billy stammered out as she struggled to get out from under him. As Serin jumped up to address Mr.Smokey’s Dad, she pushed herself up and found that she fell on cracked ice and some freezing water underneath had gotten on her.

“Hi, yeah, I’m Billy. Part of Team Blossom. Can we all come inside?” she asked slightly annoyed, in her southern Vacuo accent.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: DEXES on November 14, 2018, 12:40:47 PM

And once again it had been worthwhile to walk with a distance to others. Mikado was still far enough away to avoid the domino effect that sprang from Serin to Billy and watched in silence as the two fell to the ground.
Without reaching out a hand or helping them to get up in another way, let alone asking if they were okay, he stood still in his place, his focus still on the gun shop and the newly-added voice of the apparent owner...

...Which also apparently is Smokey's father. What a surprise that Smokey knows, or is related to, the owner of a gun shop whose surname is written on a sign above the entrance. Big surprise.

When the man finally came out of the weapon shop and into view one could already see the first similarities between him and Smokey. Well, at least the size was accurate.

Silently, Mikado watched Serin's and Billy's more or less conventional introductions, tending more to less with Serin. He almost slapped himself in an act of disbelief, probably executing one of the most annoyed face-palms in history, but he left it at a less telling eye roll. He, however, didn't even introduce himself to the man, he wasn't asked about it after all. Though, he had the feeling that his silence will not last much longer. There are most likely going to be questions, at the latest, when Smokey's father spots the small aura creature on his head.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: ReaperJoe on November 21, 2018, 04:15:48 PM

The old man in the doorway stares a little slack-jawed at the sight before him.  Between Serin’s military-style introduction, Billy’s casual and blunt attitude, and whatever the hell is on Mikado’s head, Mr. Emberstone can only turn to Smokey and ask, ”Smokey, who the hell are these tall people?”

Smokey, in turn, looks towards his teammates and briefly considers disowning them and saying he’s never seen them before in his life.  But, considering they’d have no where to go otherwise, that’d be kind of mean.  Instead, Smokey just pinches his brow and says, ”They’re my team.  I told ya’ about them over the CCT a few months back, remember?”

The man strokes his chin while Smokey speaks, searching his memory before a dawn of realization hits him.  ”Oh yeah, you did say somethin’ about that. So if you’re Serin and Billy, that must make you Mikado,” he says, pointing to each as he mentions their respective name.  ”Well, don’t just stand out here in the cold, come on in!  Come on in!” he says, gesturing for them to come inside the store.

Once inside, BSSM would be greeted by a well-lit room with walls covered in various firearms and ammunition types.  On the far end, there are several tubes of Dust, along with graduated cannisters to measure and dispense it.  Notably, there are a few melee weapons about, but they seem to be marketed as features of the weapon, rather than a primary draw.  Most of them seem to be fairly generic as well:  there are swords, spears, even a couple axes and hammers, but nothing particularly creative.

The guns however, come in all shapes and sizes.  There’s the standard fare of hand-held pistols, shotguns, and assault and sniper rifles, but there are also wrist-mounted SMGs, pistol boots, and even a bizarre, spherical shotgun that seems to operate on the same principle of old-school Gatling guns!  And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, but, unfortunately, all of the pieces on display seem to be only for display.  If the sign under each item didn’t give it away, then the wires stringing them to the wall and keeping them in place would. 

The front counter, on the other hand, was clearly not set for display.  The countertop was covered in various pieces and tools, all of which were laid out in no apparent organized fashion.  It seems the group had interrupted Mr. Emberstone in the middle of working on something.

”Ah, lemme grab all this and take it—“ the man said as he hurriedly tried to pick up all the miscellaneous pieces, but Smokey placed a hand on his arm, momentarily stopping the haphazard gathering.

”Let me handle that” Smokey offered, beginning to take some of the tools out of his father’s hands.

”No, no, I got it,” Mr. Emberstone replied, trying to keep hold of everything.

”Dad, just let me—“

”It’s nothing!”

”You’re gonna fall.”

”I’ll be fine!  You don’t even know where it—"

”Dad,” Smokey said, finally wresting all of the objects from his father’s hands and picking up the remaining pieces still on the countertop, ”I got it.  Storage 1-A, right?”  Smokey begins to make his way to a door marked “Employees Only”, his arms filled to the brim with parts and tools, all of which are stacked so high he can barely see over the top of it.  All of the weight looks pretty heavy, and it’s only thanks to Smokey’s brute strength that he manages to walk to the back without any major effort.

Smokey’s dad, on the other hand, has a bit of a frown on his face, but simply says, ”Bah!  Alright, fine!  You’re gonna have to put some of it 2-D, though.  1-A’s been housin’ a bunch of custom parts, so you’re probably gonna have to do a bit of reorganizin’”  Smokey simply acknowledges his father with a grunt and disappears behind the door.  BSSM can hear the sound of boots stepping down stairs for a bit before the door completely closes behind him. 

”Ah, what can ya do, eh?” Mr. Emberstone turns back towards the other three with a bit of a goofy-looking smile, now that his counter is clear.  ”Boy’s always been like that, won’t ever give an inch.  Anyways, name’s Lucas Emberstone, owner and proprietor of Emberstone Firearms!  What can I do ya for?”     

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: mylies43 on November 26, 2018, 12:32:15 AM

Serin followed in behind Smokey and Mr.Emberstone in a more relaxed manner as the situation normalized. He was somewhat flattered that Smokey had mentioned his and the rest of the team to his father and even more so that he remembered their name. What a interesting stalking event this had turned into.

Walking into the store itself Serin noted the seeming disorganization of the place, tools and parts being seemingly randomly scattered about with no rhyme or reason as to why they are where they are really triggered Serins sense of order. But the guns that were placed around the room were all amazing and stole the show for the time being giving the young Atlassian a star strucked look on his face. He wanted to touch and examine everything in the room but his strict upbringing along with the obviousness that he shouldn’t touch them kept his arms firmly behind his back, instead he merely allowed his eyes to grope everything that was on display. He barely even noticed when Smokey went to the back room with the comically large pile of parts stacked in his arms in a strangely out of character action.

Serins eyes slowly came back to focus on Mr.Emberstone as he began to answer, ”Yeah he’s a stubborn one, practically a immovable object! “  His face opened up to reveal a giant grin at what he considered a S tier joke. ”We actually just followed Smokey when he wondered off in Atlas and now we are here it was really quite a adventure if I do say so. He’s quite the lone ranger type for the most part, so he’s got in common with Mikado here.”  He said while pointing at Mikado with his thumb. ”You’ve got a real impressive selection of weapons here, you make them all yourself?” He asked.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: L-Money on November 26, 2018, 09:52:09 PM

Billy followed behind and cautiously held the door open for Mikado trying not to touch the metal parts of the door. She tried not to act too grumpy, but she was. She was cold and was starting to hate it. Once inside the significantly warmer room, she looked around as she wrung her hands. Her eyes were drawn to a lever action rifle with so many dust compatibilities that it blew her mind! She stood and stared, slack jawed, long enough to be left behind by the group for a few moments. She was brought out of her trance when she heard arguing coming from the counter. She decided to rejoin the team there. She thought about bringing the sweet lever action with her to the front, but after seeing the security in the front, she decided not to risk it.

She rejoined the team as Smokey went into the backroom and then Mr. Emberstone introduced himself.

”Nice to meet you Mr. Emberstone.” Billy said tipping her hat to him. ”Did you do the dust compatibilities in that sniper rifle near the front there, too?” she asked excitedly.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: DEXES on December 09, 2018, 05:19:51 AM

Mikado nodded silently as Mr. Emberstone said his name. So Smokey had told him about everyone. Good, that saved him from doing so. He followed behind the others into the building, nodding barely noticeable at Billy as she held the door open for him.

The interior decor surprised him relatively little, but he couldn't help but chuckle. He knew that Smokey had a preference for firearms and this room was filled with all kinds of guns. But he couldn't really return the enthusiasm that Serin and Billy had for the collection of weapons. Although Pock also had a built-in shotgun, this wasn't the main function of the weapon, and only served to build and maintain a distance between him and the opponent. His gaze shifted to the smaller assortment of melee weapons. They didn't interest him too much either, but it was better than the argument behind him. After Smokey had disappeared, Mikado leaned against the wall behind him and watched the conversation of the others from there.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: ReaperJoe on December 15, 2018, 03:57:36 PM

”Amazing how that works, innit?” Lucas chuckles in response to Serin’s joke.  He thought it was funny at least.  He listens to Serin explain how the team found its way to his doorstep, and his face contorts in mock shock.  ”What?  He didn’t invite you over himself?!  Why, that’s almost enough to make me think he’s embarrassed of me!” he says with obviously fake over-dramatization, before his expression returns to that goofy smile.  ”’Preciate you lookin’ out for him, though.  I know he’s smart enough to take care of himself, but trouble always seems to find him whether he wants it or not,” he says.

When the conversation topic turns towards the guns, Mr. Emberstone’s face lights up with pride.  ”Of course!  Everything in here was designed and manufactured by yours truly!  Why, I’d wager you won’t find a better gunsmith in all of Atlas!” hey says with the bravado of any self-respecting merchant.  When Billy points out the sniper rifle, a twinkle appears in the smith’s eyes and he responds, ”Ah, you’ve got a good eye, there, young lady!  That’s a relatively new one!” 

He walks over to the gun and undoes the wiring holding the display piece in place and brings it back behind the counter.  ”Lever-action rifle, 3-15X40 scope, and capable of mixing and matching pretty much any kind of dust to make any combination bullet you can think of!” he starts his pitch, showing off the features as he describes them.  ”But that’s not all, check this out!” he continues as he points the rifle up towards the far wall and flicks a switch.  A razor-sharp bayonet swings out from the side, carrying enough speed that there is an audible whistle as the air is sliced through.  ”It comes with a bayonet attachment, in case something gets too close for your liking, or if you just feel like getting up close and personal,” Lucas continues with a wide grin, ”but that’s not all, this baby’s got a few more tricks up her sleeve.”  Lucas presses another button, and the rifle extends out, rapidly shifting into a proper spear, with a reach of about eight or so feet.  Mr. Emberstone winks, ”She can fire while like this too, so if you wanted a proper combo…”

The weapon shifts back into rifle form, and Lucas makes like he’s going to shoot with it.  ”First, say something’s chargin’ at you.  Take a shot with some lightning dust, make it think a little bit,” he pretends to fire a round, ”Then, get the bayonet out and stick it real good,” the bayonet flies out once more, and Mr. Emberstone makes a stabbing motion, ”Then, when you got a good stick in it, press this here button while switching to kinetic dust rounds, like so,” the rifle extends again, this time accompanied by the spinning dust wheel, signifying a shift in effect.  Mr. Emberstone makes another firing motion, and then says ”And that should be enough to get any nasty beasty off of ya’, and you can switch back to just plain old shooting, if it suits ya, or you can continue the charge with your newly found reach.  A pretty effective combo, wouldn’t you say?” he says, his face practically beaming with pride.

”Anyways, I’ve got why you’re here in Mantle, he changes subjects, ”But why are you all in Atlas?  Shouldn’t you four be in Beacon still?  There ain’t no breaks for a while, right?”  He appears genuinely confused.  Could it be he doesn’t realize what’s happening in a couple of weeks?

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: mylies43 on December 17, 2018, 12:18:57 AM

‘Mr.Emberstone is a lot more talkative then Smokey, wonder how that happened.’ Serin pondered while watching the gun demonstration, he glanced at this own weapon/arm suddenly wishing for an upgrade to his own arm blade. ” That’s amazing! It’s no wonder Smokey has such a amazing weapon as that with you as his father.” He said while star struck at the rifles abilities.

Snapping back to a more composed form Serin answered Mr.Emberstones question,  ”Under normal circumstances yes, the next break is not for a couple more months. But right now we’re in Atlas for the Vytal Festival! Atlas Academy was selected to host this year so we had to fly over to get the tour and learn the area. Didn’t Smokey tell you about it?” Even if Smokey didn’t say anything it was odd that he didn’t know about it at all, perhaps he got too caught up in his own work to realize what day it was.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: L-Money on December 19, 2018, 04:34:00 PM

Mr.Emberstone had Billy’s eyes sparkling at the words “lever-action” and drooling at the demonstration of the weapons functions. All this talk of guns had her almost hopping up and down in place with excitement.

“I have a lever-action too!”  She spat out almost as soon as he was done with his demonstration. She un-slung her weapon from her back and laid it on the counter.

“Good ol’ Longarm here has ice and fire dust functions, along with the ability to turn into a hammer. She boasted. I made her myself… mostly… Well I made the hammer modifications myself. I don’t know how to do the dust modifications.”  She told him.

Apart from the hammer modifications, the rifle looked like a hand me down from about a decade ago that seemed a little worse for wear. Not that it was rusted or anything, that the dust firing mechanisms weren’t up to date with new safety standards. But the proud look on Billy’s face made it known that she had no idea about the dust safety standards.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: DEXES on December 27, 2018, 11:59:22 AM

Still leaning against the wall behind him, Mikado watched the team's interaction with Smokey's father. He seemed to know his stuff, too bad that neither the firearms or even the small number of melee weapons interested him enough to start a reasonably decent conversation. Not that he was eager to talk to anyone, but there was not really a lot of stuff he could do in a stranger's house. Or is all this just a pretext he plays himself to socialize- No, it hasn't come that far yet.

Miko decided to use the time he had, more or less, for himself to- Oh fuck.
Only now he noticed that something was wrong. Something was missing. Mikado looked around, searching for the missing dragon. He hated when that happens. It's not often that Kiro walks off on his own, actually, it only happens when the aura creature, which is really nothing more than an empty shell without its own free will, has too much accumulated dust energy left over and has to get rid of it somehow. Even if it is just by walking around independently. The dragon would otherwise never act without his owner telling him to, but when did he last consume energy that he had to get rid of it now? The only place where that could happen was... In the bullhead from Vale to Atlas. Mikado remembered Kiro sitting in his bag for most of the flight, together with a few dust crystals he had packed.

No words could describe how stupid Mikado felt noticing it only now. At least the crystal's elemental energy won't cause a problem. Kiro won't use it in this way without a command, that much was certain. The only question was where he was walking around right now.

Mikado now began to take a look at the displayed weapons, his interest still not on the weapons themselves, but it looked like it from afar.

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: ReaperJoe on January 02, 2019, 10:28:44 PM

”You better believe it, boy!” Lucas respond to Serin’s comment with a proud grin.  It’s clear Mr. Emberstone has no intention of modesty.  When Billy shows off her gun, a sparkle of interest appears in his eye, and he asks, ”Mind if I take a look?”

As he picks up Longarm, his eyes immediately scan every inch of the weapon with the trained eye of an expert smith.  To be perfectly blunt, in Lucas’s humble opinion, Longarm is serviceable, but was made amateurly.  In fact, it almost looks like the only maintenance it ever received was simply to keep it serviceable.  Now, that in and of itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it’s actually a testament of skill that it’s managed to function for this long without a proper repair session.

Lucas’s brow furrows as he examines the rifle more thoroughly, looking through the action, the moving parts, the dust—ah, there it is.  Inside the action where dust feeds into the ammunition, there’s a hairline crack barely visible to the naked eye.  If that had been left unattended to for much longer, Billy probably would have had a nasty backfire on her hands.

The gunsmith’s eyes narrow as he thinks for a bit.  Realistically speaking, it’s not something that can be fixed, the part’s going to need to be replaced.  Fortunately, that’s a fairly straightforward process, thanks to the wonders of replaceable parts and mass industry.  Even with the vast array of personalized weaponry, some things still come standard.  The problem is Lucas can’t be the one to do it.  It’s unfortunate, but—wait, what did he say about the Vytal Festival?

”The Vytal Festival’s here?!" the store owner half-shouted in shocked surprise.  He…he really didn’t know.  But now that Serin mentioned it, Lucas did recall Smokey saying something about wanting to compete…

Title: Re: Embers of the Hearth. [CLOSED] [BSSM Thread]
Post by: mylies43 on January 12, 2019, 06:12:39 PM

Serin was intrigued that the old man seemed to such an opposite from Smokey as he was much nicer and open to talking unlike the closed off team member of BSSM. Maybe they just haven’t found a topic for Smokey to open up about yet? On that note Serin looked around for the other reserved member of the team finding him eyeing up the displays in the front of the store with a intensity that he rarely saw on his fellow members face.  ”Looks like even Mikado is interested in the weapons” Serin chuckled  before turning back to the main conversation at hand.

”Well it’s not here per say, but in Atlas which is just a short ride from here. You must be really wrapped up in your work to not notice it.” Serin commented with some slight confusion coming across his face, he had always been aware of when the festival was at hand regardless of location and could not understand how someone would be unaware of its time and location. Much less when he had a son competing in it.