Solo Artificial Terror

[Anthere]

23rd Of Winter 515 AV

This was not good. In fact, this was quite the opposite. This was very, very bad.

Sure, illusions weren’t actually real, but that didn’t make them any less terrifying. Or dangerous, especially in this case. If she still had functional organs, Anthere's pulse would be racing, her breathing labored and her lungs would be screaming from the strain. Despite these things not occurring, the Nuit still felt the physical toil of fleeing burdening her. Her muscles were in pain, and she knew her body needed a break.

With her weakened, slightly more sluggish body, the girl was surprised she hadn't been caught. She refused to look back, for fear of seeing that-- thing catching up to her. She pressed on, delaying her fate as long as she could. She knew it would catch her soon, and Anthere needed a break. She continued to run, the lack of typical signs of wear and exhaustion still a bit strange for the Nuit.

She rushed on, hearing the creature behind her coming closer. At this point, she was glad that the illusion didn't really run, but rather just lumbered, nearly as sluggish as she was. Of course, this conjuration of the city was far larger than she was, and fear rushed through her mind.

Turning a corner, Anthere thought she could try to lose it. It didn't seem very bright, rather being quite brutish. If she couldn't outrun it, she had to outsmart it. As she turned the corner, Anthere looked ahead to see the street ended abruptly at a dead end. Unfortunately for her, this would mean she'd have to either face the illusion, or hide. With only a few seconds to spare before the beast entered the alley, and with the Nuit's judgment clouded by the confusion, she chose the latter. "Shyke!" she swore under her breath, the exclamation no louder than a whisper.

She turned a full circle, trying to find a worthy hiding place. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a door, surprised she hadn't seen it before. The Nuit hurriedly rushed toward it, wrenching on the doorknob in an attempt to shove it open. But it refused to budge. Another kick had no effect, other than a twinge of pain in her foot.

The Nuit panicked, rushing to the dead end, not realizing she'd be cornered, being that she wasn't exactly thinking straight. But as she turned around to face the mouth of the alley, the creature was just turning the corner. The sight was something she wished she didn't have to see.

[Anthere]

It was a gruesome thing. It wasn't human, but not exactly animal either. Really, the only way to describe it was "monster." Its limbs and various protrusions seemed unproportionate, and Anthere wasn't even sure where the head was. The illusions vaguely seemed as if someone had begun to sculpt something out of grey clay, and stopped before they got to most of the details. It had two extensions that vaguely resembled arms, but one had three slender fingers, while the other was a crude claw, resembling that of a crab. The eye was a thin slit near the center of the torso, although slightly placed towards the right. Various protrusions resembling spikes reached out at odd angles, and seemed quite sharp. One foot, if you could call it that, vaguely resembled a hoof, except, just like the rest of the form, it was quite... lumpy. The other leg didn't even have a foot, but rather was just a large, rounded stub. It was shorter than the other leg, causing the thing to have a lopsided stance, resulting in the clumsy lumbering. It was a large monster, the deformed black shape nearly filling up the entire mouth of the alleyway as it lumbered towards the Nuit.

She only had a few seconds to take this sight in, before she had to act. Panic rose up in her, crippling her for a moment, until its shadow was cast over the girl. At this moment, she jumped into action, recalling that she had a dagger in her possession. Pulling it out, she realized it would be pretty hard to use, being that she didn't have much experience in combat or self-defense. Either way, Anthere couldn't just cower in fear and let fate take its course, especially considering all that she'd done to avoid the end of her life. She didn't expect to defeat the animal, just fend it off until she could find a way to escape.

Dagger in hand, the Nuit rushed toward the creature, aiming the small weapon so as to slice through its leg-- the one with the hoof. She did this as she ran past, emanating a howl from it and a satisfying gash. Although the result of this gash resulted in a cringe from Anthere. That's disgusting, came a revolted thought, and she could only watch in horror. The wound bubbled, a revolting grey liquid slowly seeping out in a revolting manner. She stood there in shock for a moment, disgusted, before the creature gave off a loud roar. This snapped her out of it, and she had enough time to jump out of the way of the next clumsy swing, just in time. Another roar, and Anthere was holding up the dagger in a desperate plea to defend herself against the swing of one of the strange spikes. But as it rammed against the metal, there was a large clang, and her hand bounced back from the collision. The spikes were harder than metal... good to know. Anthere was glad the creature missed, but this was going to be harder than she thought.

[Anthere]

Anthere looked up at it in a sort of awe. It was massive, loud, and terrifying. The monster lifted the non-injured foot, bringing it back. The Nuit scrambled back, dagger in hand, bracing herself for the kick. She held her dagger up, Preparing to slice into the leg as it went to hit her. But for a moment, luck sided with Anthere. The injured leg wasn't capable of holding up the entire mass on its own, and the illusion began to fall, catching itself on the wall of the alley. A low growl emanated from it, a twisted exclamation of pain.

Realizing it was vulnerable, Anthere took the opportunity, acting upon reflex and instinct. She took the dagger and drove it into the other leg, narrowly avoiding being impaled by one of the spikes. Another terrifying bellow from the thing, and it fell onto it's knees. The Nuit stood before it, enjoying a moment of victory. This moment, however, was quite short-lived. The monster caught her off-guard, swiping it's three-fingered palm at her. She made an effort to duck, but was too slow. It caught her right arm, the one the dagger was in.

The claw scraped across her bicep, leaving a slit in her cloak and a narrow but semi-deep cut, roughly two inches in length, running diagonally. She cried out in pain, unintentionally letting go of the dagger. It dropped to the ground and slid out of her reach. "Fuck!" she screamed in frustration.

Defending herself was going to be a bit harder now. At least the monster wouldn't do as good a job of chasing after her, being more wounded than she was. Anthere scrambled to her feet, using her uninjured arm to push her to a standing position. She would have to run away, as she couldn't easily get to her dagger without facing the monster.

[Anthere]

The monster was injured. Despite the small size of her dagger, the scratches she'd left were enough to hinder it's ability and movement, not that it was exactly agile in the first place. As the monster tried to step forward, it put all of its massive, bulky weight on it's damaged leg, from which liquid was still oozing. Being that the creature was barely able to hold itself up with one fully-functioning leg, it crumpled, and the Nuit found an opportunity to dart towards it and grab her dagger without fear of being attacked.

But she was being far too cocky, and her arm accidentally brushed against one of the black spikes protruding from its leg. She screamed in pain as it sliced through her left bicep, leaving a gash about a quarter inch deep. "Agh!" she cried out, surprised by the attack. She'd gotten too cocky fighting this thing, too confident that she could get away. That's gonna leave a mark, she thought, driving the dagger into its leg again. She needed to get away, the Nuit realized. before an even worse realization struck her. It won't heal.

Up until then, she'd lied to herself, as if she'd be the same way for eternity. But her body wasn't any good. It was a husk of what it once was, weak. But she still had time. And she'd make the best she could of this body, for however long she could.

[Madeira Dusk]

Grades Awarded!

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Anthere Terthas

Skills

• Endurance: 1xp
• Running: 1xp
• Observation: 2xp
• Weapon, dagger: 1xp

Lores

• Nuit: signs of physical exhaustion
• Combat: acting on opportunity
• Nuit dont heal!

Awards & Retribution
Anthere will have two lacerations across her arm. These wounds can be sewn shut, but they will not heal and will increase the rate of decomposition.

Notes
Thanks, now I have the reading equivalent of blue balls. That was a great little snippet of a thread. As a side note, here is a list of Mizahar-appropriate swears for all your profane needs.