[Naava]

Just as Naava's attack landed a flurry of motion snapped the clip holding her COM to he belt. The device fell to the ground and the light from the screen died. "I hope it's not broken..." Naava thought in a fleeting moment before she found herself pulling away in order to dodge the fists of the monkey she'd just injured.

The sun was low in the sky by now, so as Naava pulled off to the side she started to pull shadows toward her weapon bearing hands. As Euphenia entered the fray and shrieked, all Naava saw was the bullet of water heading straight towards her. Like a flash the murky blobs of shadow that were now already eerily clinging to her fists launched forward. Naava took a defensive position and her shadows followed suit, forming a large curved wall that forcefully diverted Phen's water torpedo into a nearby Chiolen.

At this point Naava had her hands far too full to even recognixze anything else that was happening in the grassy area. Suddenly the skotadi realized that the monkey she'd attacked was grabbing at her body. The beast tugged at Naava's feathers, yanking a few out in the process and causing her a great amount of pain. “You little!” Naava yelled out, as the monkey's open wound flung blood about. The warrior immediately twisted her wall of shadows into a club and drove it down behind her back to smack the beast before it could reach her head.

The winged monkey shrieked as it was struck and fell to the ground. “What under Hel is going on?!” she yelled. tightening her fists around her weapons.

Piper's Boutique + Jessica Alba

((OOC: I GMed your monkey a lot, Joy, so feel free to PM for an edit))

[Aiden]

When fighting against something bigger than you, all you can do is focus on it, which is why Aiden failed to notice the water show that came along with Euphenia and the abominable distortion that was Nicolay. With his teeth biting at feathers caked with blood, Aiden tried to cling onto the monkey’s wings as it shook him off. He fell onto the ground, rolled, and chased the monkey up ‘til it scrambled up a chiolen tree.

The cat stopped at the foot of the tree and hissed as the monkey progressed upwards. Oh, he could follow, but he doubted he’d win a fight up there. Aiden circled the tree with caution as the branches swayed under the weight of the monkey. Then something rustled and a pile of snow fell on top of him. He meowed in surprise and tried to shake the snow off his fur. Blinking the snow away from his eyes, he was caught off guard as the monkey chattered and threw something at his face.

He tried to duck, but it hit him square on the cheekbone. Yowling, Aiden leapt away from the offending object and cursed in cat-speech at the horrid monkey. It merely shrieked back with impudence. Hissing, the cat was about to eye the glittery thing on the ground when he heard another shriek from behind. He turned just in time to see the anyeli knock a monkey to the ground. But the source of the screech had come from yet another monkey that was grabbing onto a second anyeli. Where were they coming from!?

Then he saw Nicolay, and his eyes widened as he recognized what seemed to be a difficult morph sequence. Assuming that the monkey-in-the-tree would leave him alone for now, Aiden ran toward the other shifter. He reverted painlessly into human form, but the same might not be said about Nicolay. “Hang on there,” he murmured and reached out for Nicolay’s shoulders, “don’t fight it or you’ll change slower...”

Piper || kjherstin || dafont

[Nicolay]

If Nicolay had at least had an inkling of awareness of what was happening around him, he would have flailed and wailed at Aiden because he probably looked embarrassing right now. His eyes had grown in size to some degree but he kept them shut tight if it would ease the pain. The distance between his nose and his lips had also expanded and as he hissed, he revealed the dull sharpness of teeth -- much like regular stalactites enough to spark a passing wonder how their number would have fitted in his otherwise human mouth.

Aiden's touch was a surprise but it was nothing he accepted with good will. He...half-shrieked, half-wheezed when he shrugged it away but the movement had only distracted himself from the shrinking sensation in his stomach and...and it was a strange feeling altogether. It felt like his body was just waiting for that opportunity to slip away from Nicolay's consciousness so it could continue to tighten and distort. With what little oxygen his shrinking lungs could afford, he let out finally a human yell (one that might have blended nicely with the Quadrangle's panic in its last seconds), announcing his discomfort and his five-fingered left paw -- paw? -- slipped under him and he fell to his right side, letting out a monkey's shriek.

“I...I can't--” he tried to speak in his native language but could not even so much as form a thought as sharp-nailed-long-fingers reached out and sought blindly for that human hand that had reached him. The last time he was undergoing this...incredible pain, someone was there to comfort him and the pain disappeared slowly. Where was that comfort when he needed it? Cat eyes opened to look for it.

His shoes and socks had come loose after his legs successfully disappeared into his pants as they shortened in their lengths. His top was also left deflated on the chilling grass and could not cover the excess of his torso as it stretched for two more inches. Patches of skin hair were also making themselves recognized and the skin of his shoulder blades itched -- his position and movements favoring it. To say that Nicolay looked terrible was an understatement. He was...he was almost indescribable. He was smaller and taller all at the same time and all along, he worried that he wouldn't be able to run away with his pants on.

[Official NPC]

Startled by Nic's shriek, all the monkeys stopped what they were doing to shriek back and watch the Therian's transformation. Unnerved by it, one by one they mimicked the monkey in the tree and started throwing golden poop. Two small bits were tossed at Naava, two more chunks at Aiden and Euphenia, and yet another rolled toward poor Nicolay.

[Euphenia]

At the sight of Naava deflecting Phen's elemental attack, Worry hopped astride a pony named Anger, and the two galloped deep into the recesses of Euphenia's heart. "Naava, please trust me!" the nyad shouted before she Called still more of her element to her aid.

Emotions can be a very powerful thing, but mix them into the stew called battle, and often one finds it difficult to get the taste out of their mouth.

Phen's shield flowed away from her, poured into the nyad's effort to send out multiple streams in five different directions. Like the legs of a spider, they arched and appeared to "feel" along the ground with their narrower end. What Phen had sent them to catch became evident when one came near one of the spirit monkeys. The water twitched like an aggressive serpent, then attempted to wrap itself around the winged simian, though not before the monkey lobbed something that glinted a metallic dark yellow.

Having already dedicated the water of her shield to maintaining her elemental "search and restrain", Phen was pelted by the golden clods that were tossed her way. The second did little more than graze a rumpled pant leg, mostly because the intial impact of the first hitting her in the belly had elicited a squeaked, "Ow!" and a hop backward.

"What are they all looking at?" Phen wondered as she reasserted absolute control over the water she'd Called. She dared a peek, and the nyad's jaw dropped open. She didn't recognize Nicolay, not when he was half shifted like that, but she'd known enough therians in her lifetime to realize what was going on.

Suddenly, the spirit monkeys didn't seem all that significant anymore.

"Naava, that man needs our help," she decided, "The monkeys aren't always this wild. Well, not after being sprayed down a few times. Anyway, that's not important!"

Phen cautiously began to approach the pair of therians, drawing all that she'd Called back to her to start reforming her shield. "Sir," she asked Aiden as she edged nearer, "How can we help?"

Piper's Boutique # Raine # Celestial Star # DaFont # Angel

[Aiden]

Taking in the sight of lopsided-lengthy-limbs and unusually-sharp-teeth in a still-mostly-human face, it almost hurt to watch Nicolay change. Whatever the shifter was trying to change into, he was taking a helluva time doing it, and struggling all the way. But that was normal for young therians. So Aiden really didn't take offense when Nicolay shrugged away from his reach. He did wince when Nicolay let loose a painful scream though.

The other therian fell sideways and reached out to Aiden. He couldn't understand the gibberish, but hand language was universal. Reaching out, Aiden cupped those long fingers with between both of his hands and gently set them below Nic's shoulder level. “Hey there,” he tried to smile encouragingly “You're doing great. But don't try to move against what your body is trying to do...”

Something small suddenly flew through the air and thunked against Aiden's back. Flinching, Aiden dropped Nicolay's wrist and whipped around to see if the monkeys were back. But they weren't, and they were just jumping around at a distance. Perhaps they were scared of the sight of this Therian, and just as well. Nicolay looked like the creature from nightmares.

Then an anyeli approached Aiden, and she had a shield of water at her side. Vaguely he wondered how that would be possible when she was clearly anyeli, but considering the present situation, he pushed that question aside. He nodded at the woman in acknowledgement and sent a worried expression toward Nicolay. “Unfortunately, shifting is a solo thing, otherwise I'd help him more.” His mind struggled to remember how he got through his first days of shifting. It was all a blur. “All we can do is stay here for him.”

It helped to see what you're changing into. That's why shifters traditionally stalked and observed their forms for days before attempting to change into it. Maybe this guy couldn't remember what his form looked like. Well it had long limbs, a snout, sharp teeth...that could still be anything, and especially when the man was still mostly humanoid. “Since he can't speak for himself, can you guess what he's changing into? It helps to know.” Aiden asked conversationally as he tilted his vision toward the water-anyeli.

Aiden didn't worry too much about Nicolay. He'd never heard of somebody dying during a Change...only black-outs. Actually, it would be luckier if the Nicolay just fainted. If that happened, Nic's body would cancel the change, and Nic wouldn't remember the pain when he woke up as human again.

Piper || kjherstin || dafont

[Nicolay]

If only Aiden knew how much Nicolay wanted for that to happen. Faint, black-out...and never wake up, anymore. Or wake up in his bedroom and it didn't even matter what bedroom anymore! That over-sized closet or his one with a full bed back home, it didn't matter. He just wanted everything to be over -- over, done with, finished, gone, over.

His eyes misted as he whimpered and winced, a thin string of his tear streaming down the sides of his eyes as he clutched his long-fingered right hand by his furry paw and forced it into his stomach as he curled tightly into himself, desperately replacing that lost touch the stranger had offered to him and taken away just the same. Nicolay tried to remember whatever it was the man said -- it could be helpful! -- but his mind was elsewhere. It was filled with shadows and screams, this god-forbidden wrench around his stomach, his disappearing space, the internal suffocation, the funny feeling on his shoulders, his arms...everywhere! He was dizzy, he wanted to vomit but there was nothing to let out. His mind's eyes were losing track of the scenes -- the scenes of his own memory and the recent events...

People were talking. He wondered where they were coming from. Nicolay's golden eyes flew open when a hymn's voice dripped into his paper-thin consciousness and he sought around him -- a striking contrast from his muddled mind. There was...white and moving bodies in the background. A glint of gold was also at the corner of his eyes, those goddamned chattering and shrieking was still about and on top of it all, his legs (Oh my God, my legs!) had been reduced to sore, frozen stumps and his insides were filled with burning acid gurgling up to his throat. He hissed as he glared at the wall of translucent blue before him and that was when it all finally made sense...after a millennia or so.

Phenny?

“Hgh...” the ashen Nicolay tried to shape the name except his upper gum simply would not work and for some odd reason, he seemed to have lost sensation or possession of his lower lip. He looked drowsily at the vague figure beyond the sphere of water. That voice was Phenny's -- pretty sure she was that little winged lady in that ginormous aquarium, too.

Doesn't Kiel know where she is? What a boyfriend!

O-kay, I'm really going nowhere now... some part of his unconscious mind said to him and a lopsided, broken smile ghosted over his face as he realized this (Finally...fina...). His eyelids drooped heavier and finally hid his yellowed eyes.

On the pale grass of the Quadrangle, Nicolay looked like a frail, misshapen boy, consumed by some ill-gotten disease but for once in what seemed to be like ages, the disgusting figure of a raging macabre vision rested peacefully and contentedly on the cold patch of land.

Nicolay Armitage has technically left the thread.

[Official NPC]

When the fighting died down as most eyes turned to Nicolay, the monkeys also calmed down bit by bit, and one by one slowly approached their respective stalkees. Once Nic passed out, however, the monkeys lost interest in the deformed Therian's abortive transformation, and set about making their presence known again.

One grabbed hold of Naava's leg, wrapping both arms and legs and tail around her calf and flapping its wings madly. It wouldn't deliberately hurt her, not now, not unless she tried to pry the wretched thing off or smack it around.

Another, leery of its Nymph's water shield, lobbed a small lump of golden poop at her instead.

After a brief tussle with another monkey that came too close, Aiden's launched itself into the air to hover by the Therian's head, waving its arms madly.

Nic's, bouncing away from Aiden's, made a "chimp chimp" noise as it slowly came to settle in front of the Therian, poking and patting his face gently, but insistently, with a dirty hand. Its wings were spread as if to shade the unconscious Therian's face, but mostly it was warning the others away from its master.

[Naava]

No one answered Naava's cry. In fact the only communication really directed towards her was a rebuke from Phen about Naava not trusting her. “You almost drowned me!” Naava blurted out inadvertently, though thankfully quiet enough that no one should have been able to hear it. “Go fly in a waterfall,” Naava muttered the age-old Anyeli curse in the Anyeli language, once again low enough that, seeing how far away everyone else in the quadrangle was, hopefully no one was able to hear it.

Suddenly two slumps of metal slammed into Naava's back with a good deal of force. “What was that?!” Naava yelled, her voice a roar of pain and aggravation. She swiftly turned around and spotted the monkey she'd knocked off of her wings just moments ago scurrying away in an awkward mix of hops, jumps, and glides and headed towards the two men across the way. It was briefly distracted by the monkey that was quickly darting towards Naava, though after a quick tussle the pair went on their separate ways.

Naava sprinted the gap between her and the group in a few moments, but as she slowed down she was met by the feeling of gritty fut and grubby paws clinging to her thankfully covered leg. She was taken by surprise by the sudden grabbing so much so that she forgot about the mangle mess of a body that everyone was crowding around. “What are these things?” Naava asked, now wishing she'd not allowed her shadows to disperse so quickly. A quick bit of manipulation allowed her to bring down a strip of shadows across her demon-spirit-monkey's eyes, blinding it for the most part as she spoke.

Piper's Boutique + Jessica Alba

[Euphenia]

"Unfortunately, shifting is a solo thing, otherwise I'd help him more. All we can do is stay here for him."

Phen wasn't sure of what answer she'd been hoping for, but that wasn't it. Frowning ever so slightly, she came as close as she dared to the writhing body beside Aiden. Then she knelt in a single motion as fluid as the liquid hovering around her. "Music comforts me. Music and prayer. Might it do the same for him?" she asked, aching to comfort the man. He seemed to be in such agony!

"Since he can't speak for himself, can you guess what he's changing into? It helps to know."

"It's hard to say," Phen offered helpfully, then stared at Nicolay for a moment. Despite her many encounters with all sorts of animals, Nicolay was shifting too often and too little for her to pin down even the family of animal he was struggling to master. "It isn't a bird, there's too much fur. Maybe a feanaro? No, the colors are all wrong ..."

The nyad tried looking a bit closer, as puzzled by the mystery as she was concerned for its originator, then froze when she caught Nicolay looking at her. Perhaps the expression on the half bestial face was born of desperation and panic, but Phen could not shake the feeling that she knew him. Immediately, the nyad applied more of her will to Shape her dome of water so that it no longer barricaded Phen off from either therian. Nicolay tried to speak, and the nyad leaned forward as he did. "Yes?"

"Oh no!" He'd passed out! Phen darted forward, her twilight eyes wide and her hands seeking confirmation that the wretch before her had in fact only lost consciousness, but she jerked back when Nicolay's spirit monkey suddenly appeared. Swallowing an instinctive "Get away from him!", Phen scooted an inch or so closer to Aiden and kept a close watch on the winged animal as it patted at Nicolay's cheek.

Something ricocheted off of her shield, but not so cleanly as to not bump Phen's left bicep in the process. She jerked her head in the direction she believed the missile had came from, and there was one of the monkeys. That one might have been a bit cleaner than the others, but such could have been due to an accidental dip in a random fountain or something. Sure, it looked familiar, but didn't they all? After the past hour, Phen could almost have believed that the dripping monkey she'd left locked in her guest bedroom's closet had found some way to not only escape, but to replicate itself into all those crowding the quadrangle. It was a scary thought, so she didn't dwell on it. "I don't think it will hurt him," Phen speculated out loud, mostly for Aiden's benefit. The man seemed the type that would pry the monkey hovering over Nicolay away by force if it threatened to harm the other therian. She couldn't blame him, since she'd do exactly the same. "It almost looks like its trying to protect him."

"What are these things?"

"I'm not sure, other than some sort of winged monkey," Phen answered Naava truthfully, "I found one in my kitchen this morning, tearing into an apple. It was filthy, the monkey not the apple, so once I secured Sanna I gave it a shower. Sort of. I was still trying to get it clean when I answered your call, Naava."

There really wasn't a need for Phen to add that she'd nicknamed the monkey "Dante" the very moment that her nose had been slugged by its scent. Though it had indeed been dirty, slimy, and all kinds of unpleasant, the strongest of its odors was sulfuric, just like the Dante she used to know. The name stuck, and she'd been calling it that the entire time she'd tried to cajole the shrieking thing into staying still for its spray down with little success. "Are you alright?" Phen asked, glancing down to where Naava's monkey was hugging the warrior's leg, "Could these be a challenge for us, from Xanth? I haven't seen anything quite like them before, and She was upset about Her quadrangle being so abused ..."

Piper's Boutique # Raine # Celestial Star # DaFont # Angel

[Aiden]

Taking no notice of Euphenia's frown, Aiden remained in a crouch as he placed his hands onto the ground. “If you're a singer, then go for it. I think it would make him feel better. Although...” His eyebrows furrowed as he watched the other therian's eyes go out of focus. The other therian slumped, and Aiden quickly reached out to catch the fallen being. As he lowered the half-human to the floor, two masses of fur darted over, and before Aiden could stop it, one of them patted Nicolay.

“Hey!” Concerned, Aiden reached out to bat the monkey away, but held back when the nymph convinced him otherwise. With doubt, he stood and watched the two monkeys with suspicion, ready to kick them away if the monkeys showed the slightest bad intentions toward the sleeping figure. But the crouching monkey stayed peaceful, and as Aiden looked under its wings, he noticed that the other therian was slowly regaining humanity.

“So you've decided to take care of one?” He asked the water-anyeli with clear surprise. “But who knows where it's been...and why would Xanth send them as a challenge?” He rarely visited the quadrangle and was hardly a devout worshipper, so he could never presume to guess. However, judging from the way she spoke about Xanth, the anyeli probably had some insight.

One of the monkeys had been flapping around Aiden incessantly, and he looked at it with narrowed eyes. It landed on the floor to examine something peeking out of the ground, and perhaps to irritate Aiden further, it sat on his boot. Grimacing, he pulled his foot away and crossed his arms. Bad monkey.

By now, the unconscious therian had regained his limbs, and the features of his face became softer and lighter. “Other than unconsciousness, he seems to be okay. I'll take him to the Guard once he finishes the shift. Thanks for helping us, by the way.” With a polite smile, he tilted his head toward the two ladies. Had it not been for those two, there might have been more injured people and more chaos in the square.

Piper || kjherstin || dafont