BZPRPG: Kumu Islets

IC:I sprung lithely from my perch, snatching a wooden bar midway down, to join 'Dorable and his date on the ground. "So..." I pondered absently, pacing closer to the chick, my eyes consistently hovering anywhere below her eye level. "What's your size- Er, name, darlin'?" I gave Dor an obviously roguish wink and grin. I had to give him credit - this chick had it. "And why have you two settled for an alley? I mean, someplace small and private that encourages physical proximity... It's totally illogical for two people like you!"

IC: Dorian (Xa-Koro)"Her name's Jin. She's new to the team; try not to break her."As someone who had watched Grokk do his thing time and time again, I watched a lot less warily as he gave Jin his little physical examination, and I sighed lazily as I poked my head out of the alley and observed the flash mob slowly growing. It occurred to me that the rest of the team might be in there, but still. Might as well let Grokk get it all out now.-Teezy

IC (Jin)I had immediately slipped a knife off my belt at the sound of the booming voice, ready to throw, but Dorian beat me. Pulling out a gun, he fired off a quick shot, which looked like it missed the mystery man's head by a millimetre. The man flipped up onto a ledge, his silhouette showing the typical spines and shape of a Skakdi. Dorian lowered his gun at this, but I did bother to ask why; I merely tightened my grip on the hilt of my knife, aiming for the Skakdi's heart..."Ey!" The Skakdi exclaimed. "Whodaya think you're shooting at, Dor-Dor? I thought we were friends. I guess I'll have to remove my BFF ring now."Beside me, Dorian smiled, and holstered his gun. "Aw, shucks, Grokk. You didn't already remove it and pawn it for beer money? I'm flattered."Hold on, these two knew each other?For some reason, every time it looked like things were about to get interesting, the conflict bottomed out. First with that "secret admirer" of Dorian's, and now with this Skakdi. What did it take for a girl to get some action around here?Regardless, I slipped the knife back to my belt, and smiled coyly at Dorian's silent introduction. The Skakdi approached, and looked me up... then down."What's your size- Er, name, darlin'?" The Skakdi winked obviously at Dorian. "And why have you two settled for an alley? I mean, someplace small and private that encourages physical proximity... It's totally illogical for two people like you!"Whoever this Grokk was, his eyes wandered a little much for my taste. And he needed a taste of his own medicine."The name's Jin." I smiled seductively, then reached out with my right hand and gently pulled up on Grokk's chin, forcing him to look at my face."And my eyes are up here, honey."At the last word, I activated the small electrical emitter on my palm, sending a mild jolt of electricity into the Skakdi's skull. Mild, of course, being my take on it. Grokk would probably find it less mild, and more painful, though I took care not to knock him out or anything. He was Dorian's friend, after all; he had to be somewhat useful.

IC: Dorian (Alley, Xa-Koro)Hooooooooly--Don't get me wrong. I liked Grokk. I really, really did. He was crude, but he was funny with his crudeness; he could make you laugh even at times you really didn't want to, or normally wouldn't have. He was a good womanizer and a better criminal - depending on who you asked - and we had apparently crossed the threshold of "Okay, Dor/Grokk, we have stuff in common, so I guess we won't have to duke it out and eventually empty our respective projectile weapons into each other's chests and skulls" to "friends" at some point since Bad Company had formed. That said, watching Jin empty all that voltage into the base of my Skakdi partner's skull was...ridiculously, stupidly HOT.My face remained stoic, and I didn't make any sort of expression as I watched the display, but when Jin finally released and looked to me, my flirty blue eyes met her determined little green ones and an unbidden, quiet laughter seemed to pass between them. The alley's shadows seemed to disperse as the three of us stood there - shame that the same thing couldn't be said for the stink - and it seemed that the corridor had realized that nothing it could throw at us would be quite as terrible as what we could throw at it."Jin, same goes for you. Try not to break him."-Teezy

IC: Don't think I didn't see the ensuing eye-licking those two were doing; they couldn't have been more obvious about it if they tried. Best of all to know was that they'd been mutually ignited courtesy of my pain. What can I say, I make a stellar wingman."Freakin' sadists," I grumbled as I rubbed my still-aching jaw. Those electric devices were something new. Part of me wanted to start rattling off all the electricity puns I could muster; the smarter part of me said to hold off. I obviously ignored the smarter part. Below is a lot of creativity by the seat of my nonexistent pants:"Well, Jin, sweetheart, you may be shocked to hear that I find you as... electrifying... as ever. I mean, look at you; really, somebody zap me, I must be dreaming - no, please, not literally. Swear to karz, if you come near me with those lightning-palm things again, I will bolt my fist into 'Dorable's face, and hey, let's be honest, you and I both know you won't be as charged by him if his striking mug doesn't have a nose. I have lightning-quick reflexes, so don't try to be funny, yahemi? Let's keep to more current problems, here."Let it be known to all creatures henceforth that this Skakdi is excellent with puns on the fly.

IC: Dorian (Alleyway, Xa-Koro)"Wow, Grokkie, those puns were almost as terrible as your attitude towards women."-Teezy

IC:"Wow, Dorian, that comeback was almost as terrible as your taste in coats."

IC: Dorian (Alleyway, Xa-Koro)"Someday, Grokk, if you pray real hard and eat all your vegetables, you might actually get the physique to fit into one of these coats. Maybe then you'd have some real sex appeal, instead of just getting all your girlfriends hammered before taking them out on dates."-Teezy

IC (Jin)These two didn't look like they were going to stop any time soon; I figured I might as well jump in.I tentatively raised my hand. "Says the guy who took me to Xa-Koro after buying me bourbon."

IC: Dorian (Alleyway, Xa-Koro)"Says the girl who was going to Xa-Koro anyway. You walked up to me and said, specifically, 'I'll have what he's having.'"-Teezy

IC:"Practice what you preach, bro," I agreed with Jin. "At least I don't try to hide who I am under a prissy peacoat. The fact you think those rags you drape on yourself increase your appeal almost makes me feel sorry for you."

IC (Jin)"You looked like you knew your liquor- and I can see why, having to spend all your time with this guy." I rolled one shoulder in Grokk's direction. "I'd be slamming it back too, if I had to do this twenty-four seven."

IC: Dorian (Alleyway, Xa-Koro)"And the fact that you, bro, don't hide yourself is because your ego is so incredibly massive that it actually sucks in anything humble about anyone around you. Want proof? You walked into a casino we are preparing to rob and asked for waitresses that were, and I quote, "nine or above." Normal people - with normal senses of entitlement - don't do that."-Teezy

IC:"Do I look like I care?" (Guess what, readers: I didn't.)

IC: Dorian (Alleyway, Xa-Koro)"No, you don't, and that is why you are going to die before your time, get buried in a swamp, and worms will raise little tiny worm villages inside your empty little head while I go on living forever and being me."-Teezy

IC (Jin)I looked at Grokk incredulously. Big word. Means I half didn't believe what Dorian just said. This Skakdi was definitely one of a kind.Meanwhile, I laughed. "Neither of you are going to live forever, not with big mouths like these."

IC:"We-ell," I chuckled, totally ignoring Jin as I continued to pursue Dor-dor. "That sure escalated quickly. Do you actually care about your coats so much? I mean, I knew you were vain, but getting to comments about decomposition when I make an honest remark about your fashion choice... yeesh, that's a little extreme, even for me. Have some taste, especially in front of the ladies. Taste? Oh, that's right, you don't have any; Just look at the coat... what's it even made of, anyway? Whatever it was, you spent too much dough on it."Seriously, one day you should take a walk outside your self-satisfied little head, then come back and look at yourself in a mirror. You'll see just how ridiculous you look. You're a little peacock. I think we need to have an intervention."

IC: Dorian (Alleyway, Xa-Koro)GLOVES OFF."Speaking of little peacocks, how did that cocktail waitress react when she found out that you were just a sad, sad, lonely little boy locked inside a Skakdi's armor? Tell me, Grokk, what do you see when you look in a mirror? Do all those cuts and scrapes make you feel tough? Do they help you forget that, when it all comes down to it, you're just a glorified pickpocket with a habit of using misogyny as a pickup line with no real talent?""To be honest, all I see when I look at you is a third-rate walking jokebook, and the saddest part is that you're nothing but your own punchline."-Teezy

IC (Jin)I leaned against the wall of the alley, watching the Skakdi and the Toa spit barbs at each other. Take two big egos and two big mouths, and suddenly a gal could be here all day just watching two men engage in some semi-witty repartee. Dorian in particular seemed peeved at Grokk's comments, while the Skakdi seemed to think nothing of his friend's (?) jabs.I yawned, and studied my claws. This wasn't really a fight anyone was going to win, and no loser equals not much fun. I've never been a big believer in "everybody's a winner," and somehow I doubted that either man was going to admit defeat.

IC:"Ooh, cliched insults hurt me so badly," I said in perfectly mocking despair, throwing my hands up in the air. "'I'm nothing but my own punchline!' Boo hoo, how did you know that would cut right down into my core? Great Spirit, I'm so incurably insecure!" I immediately picked up my normal tone again. "I don't have to feel like I'm tough; that kind of thing doesn't concern gen-yoo-ine tough guys like me. I mean, really, what have you done? I've got a whole resume, you can ask my secretary for it. But you... as far as I've seen, you just walk around with angst, thinking about your own coattails blowing in the wind as your absurdly tight pants restrict your child-rearing abilities."By the way, you mentioned a sad lonely little boy. Since I know no sad little boys, I can only assume that you're projecting your own interior traumas onto me. That's just basic psychology." I stroked my chin analytically. "Then again, knowing you had a disturbed childhood actually explains a lot... After all, I can't see any rational reason for you wearing those effeminate scarves of yours... so they're probably made out of your old blankies, or something. Called it, didn't I?"

IC (Echelon)"A fortress was not what I was anticipating," Echelon replied. "My intention was to establish a safehouse of sorts in the Koro itself, but it seems Ronkshou has suggested building a stronghold outside the village walls, on the islets."

IC: Dorian (Alleyway, Xa-Koro)"The fact that you don't know what I've done means I've obviously done a better job at doing it than you," I replied patiently, as though explaining to Grokk that his puppy had gone to a butterfly farm upstate. "I'm an assassin, Grokkie. It's not my job to get attention for what I do, and the last time I checked, gen-yoo-ine tough guys didn't get ridiculous, mucus-colored tattoos on their faces so that any law enforcement agent could pick them out of a lineup. Honestly, who did you have to sleep with to get on this team in the first place? You can't have made it on your intelligence. Or your stealth."-Teezy

IC:"Your mom."

IC: Dorian (Alleyway, Xa-Koro)"I didn't know you had a thing for corpses. Explains a lot, though. Like why you don't know how to treat a living girl like anything better than a piece of gum stuck to your foot."-Teezy

IC:"Now, that's an accusation that's just not based in reality," I responded. "Watch."I dramatically cleared my throat, turned to Jin, and looked her earnestly in the eye. "Ahem. Jin. You are a beautiful person, with a beautiful face and a beautiful heart. I fully respect your body and all of your rights..." I maintained eye contact with her for another two seconds before I entirely broke down, laughing my socks off. I couldn't take it, it was too ridiculous. Honestly, me, being polite to a woman? That was just too far-fetched. I addressed Dorian again. "Okay, fine, you may have a point there, Dor-dor. But it isn't as if you treat 'em any better."

IC: Dorian (Alleyway, Xa-Koro)"Okay, if you're talking about Nikarra, then I have a Get Outta Jail Free card, because she was absolutely obsessed. And on that note, I think she tailed me here..."Out of impulse, I turned away from Grokk momentarily and drew my gun, in case the Toa of Lightning was watching from the rooftops, ready to make a move. Note to self: I hate every other Mark Bearer except for me."Anywho, where were we? Oh, yeah, you're a misogynist pig and I can't wait for the day that I can invert your rear and use you as a dishwasher in my new beach house."-Teezy

IC (Jin)I laughed once, abruptly. "Right. And this beautiful person also has two beautiful hands that are simply aching to get a feel for your handsome throat. Now, are we done here, or should we push this woman and see how long she's willing to put up with your macho bravado before she snaps?"Pulling one of my fans out of my sleeve, I opened it and began lazily fanning myself. "The only thing worse than a sexist Skakdi with an ego the size of the island... is an ugly, sexist Skakdi with an ego the size of the island." I snapped the fan shut with a click. "You're three out of four right now, Grokk, and not exactly the prettiest bula in the bunch as it is, so I'd suggest shutting those pearly whites before I shut 'em for you, and shut 'em hard."Now, let's get going," I said, turning to Dorian. "Or did you bring me here just to admire this lovely alley?"

IC: NikarraNikarra ducked back out of sight as Dorian pulled out his gun, seeing as she had in fact tailed him and was actually watching (and listening) from the rooftops. That other guy, Grokk, he had been with Dorian when she had broken down in the casino. She felt anger rising inside of her at hearing Dorian's 'get-out-of-jail-free card' excuse. Son of a...IC: XerovI take one of the knives, for the sake of simplicity, and then I take a look at one of the more unusual weapons. I'll have a chance to properly examine it later, where I'm less likely to injure someone if something goes wrong.OOC: The 'exotic weapon' is a pistol like the one now used by Dorian.

OOC: I wasn't aware that pistols existed here... but I guess they do.IC: Ahkmou/Kufa considered the suggestion. "Within the village - that could work, though it's riskier. But maybe I just have trust issue with those who can talk" said Kufa, "I suggest finding an abandoned hut somewhere."Kufa looked to his crewmen near the back of the throng, "Find us an empty hut within the village!"Three hooded Matoran turned and made their way into the ruins.OOC: feel free to help them search. Posting from my phone so excuse formatting and such.

IC: Mimira - Kumu Islets -Several brakas monkeys began to fall from the tree, most of them ran away as soon as they hit the ground, but two or three of them stayed and looked at Mimira and Lasinia angrily, hollering loudly. One picked up a coconut that had fallen from the ground and chucked it at Lasinia.

IC-Marfoir:Trailing Dorian through his scope, he watched as the Toa of Iron and the Vortixx he was with ducked down an alley-one of many, in Xa-Koro, and they were always popping up new ones. No matter, though-Marfoir had been here long enough to learn enough about Xa-Koro's layout that he could quickly move to where he could more closely watch Dorian.Moving quickly, he popped into a new little sniper's nest, watching the end of some of the discussion between the Vortixx, Grokk, and Dorian. As well, something in the corner of his scope. Looking up, quickly, he noticed a new Toa duck out of sight...or rather, Dorian's sight. Marfoir breathed slowly, confident in his position within the shadows, and still waiting for the moment that somebody decided to do something stupid. He hadn't seen a battle in a while, so he was getting somewhat bored.

IC: DakanDakan arrived in the Islets. Zharuk hadn't given him any instruction other than "to start up the old business" and then to meet him in Ko. He had only a vague idea what he meant, but he was confident in it. He walked down the streets of Xa-KoroOOC: GHOSTHANDS!!! POST ALREADY!

IC: LasiniaLasinia caught the coconut and put it in her pack. "Okay, let's grab one!"

IC Yasurek- top of building:Yasurek watched Dorian slip away with his vortixx companion. It seemed there wasn't going to be a fight happening, at least between him and the crew, so Yasurek decided it was time to see what was going on. Slipping over the side of the roof he was on, he grabbed hold of handholds in the side of the wall, controlling his fall to keep at a manageable speed. He was soon on the ground and made his way quickly over to Gunner and Lohkar, catching the tail end of Gunner's comment."I have to say I agree with Gunner on whatever point he's making Captain Lohkar Sir," he said to the pair as he walked up. "If a plan of yours has any similarity to the one that lead to us all almost falling into a lake of lava, I'm rather afraid to take part in it."OOC: So, 500 posts for me. Yay.

IC: Mimira - Kumu Islets -Mimira was already chasing a Brakas around the tree as Lasinia spoke. The Brakas monkey was managing to escape Mimira, but she was very persistent and stayed right behind the monkey. Eventually one of them would tire out. Hopefully Lasinia could grab the monkey while he was occupied at escaping Mimira.

IC: LasiniaLasinia, with lightning speed, excusing the pun, grabbed onto the one running away from Mimi, holding it by its arm. "Tada!"

IC: Mimira - Kumu Islets -"You did it!" Mimira exclaimed with much enthusiasm. She ran up to Lasinia, panting quite a bit from chasing the monkey for so long and hard. The Brakas monkey was tired too, but it still had a bit of fight left in it, squirming around in Lasinia's grasp wildly. "Don't let him get away!" Mimira said somewhat desperately, not wanting to have to chase the monkey again.

IC: LasiniaLasinia pulled the monkey into a hug, preventing it from escaping. "We're naming it Raknar!"

IC: Mimira - Kumu Islets -Mimira giggled. "Yay! Raknar the brakas monkey!" Mimira began to walk back toward the ship. "Let's go bring Raknar to his new home!" Raknar had tired himself out and stopped squirming in Lasinia's crazy vice grip.

IC: Lasinia"Okay," she said cheerfully. "Let's go!"With that, she followed.