[Dr. Dandy]

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[attr="class","lyr1"]Life and death?

[attr="class","lyr2"]A tragedy

[attr="class","lyr3"]?

[attr="class","lyr4"]I have a front seat

[attr="class","lyr5"]&

[attr="class","lyr6"]I'll watch

[attr="class","lyr2"]it all!

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king

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The soft crunch of leaves went out from the underfoot and into the silent canopy of the wilderness. A figure dressed sharply — distinctly unbefitting the environment, considerably so — walked about the forest; the luscious green, with the midday sun refracting through the leaves above, fell upon the man's visage. His yellow skin, made like that of candy, became an illuminated lime, and his clothing, too, reflected the influence of the greater wilds. A small journal was held in the leather of his left hand, with his right tracing a pencil across a once blank sheet — the page, originally a subtle tinge of yellow, too was an afflicted green.

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The doctor — unlicensed, beyond claiming the title baselessly — strode through the undergrowth, mapping his path along the page. It wasn't unknown territory, sure, but to one such as himself? It was vital to detail places where society wouldn't know where to look; places from which the modern world faded away and the only thing left was the wilderness that preceded them all. Though, one still dressed as he would never be truly removed from that culture.

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Regardless of his place in the defined world, he took to the wild in search of its purpose for him — or, rather, that would be the sole reason if he was any lesser. Though justified in practicality, its true purpose was the simple delight it brought upon the wanderer's senses. Out here, the connection to the hive dimmed; though he was it, and it was he, the input of their individual minds overlapping in a sticky-sweet cacophony grew to be its own form of exhaustion. Here, where that tie stood by a thread away from severance, there was peace.

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And, later, peace for the hive once the string thickened again.

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But then came a new sound. Or, rather, a sound just away from the cliffside of known, as though it dangled from its height towards the black abyss below; not yet in the realm of fear, but soon to find it. Something guttural in enunciation but subtly underplayed amidst the crunch of brittle materials.

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A natural curiosity arose in the man as he took to find the source, the bark of fallen trees and branches creaking beneath his leather soles. Upon which, after emerging from the growth, he came upon a stream. His end, though perhaps clear at another time before, found itself poisoned by a flow of scarlet, blanketing the river bed from sight. The doctor's eyes trailed along its path, following it upstream towards where the sound once came and, now, there lie the one responsible.

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A creature of towering stature — one that made even the doctor seem no more an ant to an elephant — ripped into an animal, with blood from its carcass dripping into the river. There lay ahead of the doctor such a being, one truly unthinkable from where he stood; surely, it wasn't natural to the region. No, even if it were, they most certainly didn't come about naturally! — or, he thought, not without the presence of a mutation.

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As he stood along the riverbank, so too hanging along the brink of the known and the unknown, a stone from beneath his foot shifted beneath his weight. Though he caught himself away from the fall, certainly the sound of his once footing made itself known, plunging into the sanguine depths with a splash — and a newly found tension.

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[attr="class","boxo-notes"]Tension! Curiosity! The Best Combination!

KAY

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[king]

The crushing nature of his body against that of the forest was definitely something that called attention to him. From prey to predator they always seemed to foolishly treat him as though he was just another human. Not quite wild, not quite tame. But a foolhardy mistake to either. Thinking that they could stand against him off of their instincts alone.

It had taken them to a river, one of his favorite places to lounge and further still one to hunt. He was very partial to some of the river fish that came along; but that meal was saved for a different time. He felt the bucking of the bear against him as he pulled away from it. Growling low as it kicked at his chest.

It was a mess in comparison to him and had fought him every step of the way. Biting onto one portion of it’s body he’d pull back, relishing in the roar of pain that came from it. Maybe another minute… or two? Two. He’d find that it stopped moving. Kind of hard to move when you were missing so much of yourself.

It’d take some time to make this meal into anything useful he felt; they were always so chewy. Gamey? Gamey he thought was the word. He’d place one of his forelegs onto it and pull back, a sickening crunch as he succeeded in furthering his meal.

It wasn’t the adjustment of footing that had caught his attention so much as the stone splashing in the water. He froze mid pull, his eyes and ears searching. Straining… And when it arrived at the conclusion that he wasn’t alone his head slowly came about to face where the stone had fallen.

His head followed up a little bit and… The slow blinking that followed instead of coming with that obvious hostility he had with some. Blatant curiosity played across his features and he’d push the result of his hunt down against the water. His eyes found… something incredibly curious. Clearly a mutant type quirker. Much like himself. But… he reeked of the city and must have come from downwind. Either by mistake or design. The former meaning it wasn’t looking for him and the latter giving him an ample amount of respect.

But the stone? Was that cast by hand? The stature of the being gave him the thought that it must have fallen. The large brow furrowed and he’d swallow forcefully; the bear could wait. His body posture screamed that he was defensive, ready to coil and strike if need be. Taking a single step forward, that familiar rumble through the area that the doctor would have heard before.

Wordlessly, he’d approach. Slow ponderous steps; a layer of cruel intelligence in those large green and dull eyes. There was a low growl, a curious headtilt and slowly he’d hoist himself up a bit. If they didn’t scramble away the doctor would find themselves face to face with the beast that was just tearing into a bear. The low rumbling question, a single word that was so heavily laced with curiosity that it was unmistakable. But how did something like him… talk?

”...Lost?”

[Dr. Dandy]

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[attr="class","skep-holder"]

[attr="class","skep-tiny"]

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[attr="class","lyr1"]Life and death?

[attr="class","lyr2"]A tragedy

[attr="class","lyr3"]?

[attr="class","lyr4"]I have a front seat

[attr="class","lyr5"]&

[attr="class","lyr6"]I'll watch

[attr="class","lyr2"]it all!

[attr="class","skep-tag"]

[attr="class","skep-tago"]

king

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[attr="class","ray-img"]

Most beings — with any amount of self-preservation, at the very least — would most certainly turn tail and flee from such a truly foreboding image, especially one painted in bones and blood. Layered with the dread of each methodical step's weight across the riverbank, with a faint rumble beneath each movement, the answer should have been obvious.

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Assuming, of course, one was not as intrigued as the doctor. No, even beyond the faint string that held him even whilst in the presence of those who could rip him in two, there remained that spark of curiosity — a thirst for discovery.

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As the beast approached — hm, no, such terminology felt inaccurate. A beast might be capable of such a studied approach, especially given the unpredictable calamities seeded within a superpowered world, but as the man looked into the being's gaze, he could not escape the layer of intellect shown behind those eyes. They studied him, watching for his response, yet made no inherent gesture of hostility even as it encroached. If anything, they moved with a defensive air above themselves, demonstrating an awareness that went beyond just instinct — it demonstrated deliberate apprehension.

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Now, left no more than a foot away from the being, the same rumbling echoed out; this time, however, it was accompanied by all the confirmation the doctor needed. This was no mere beast; there was savvy behind their monstrous form, for it spoke to him a question.

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A moment of silence passed from the leviathan's rumbling, one deafeningly so, before the air of disbelief was dispelled; the doctor, looking now properly into its gaze, scratched the back of his head. "No more than any adventurer is lost, I suppose?" Quite frankly, he wasn't quite sure if he could consider himself "lost," as it were. He'd come into this forest intentionally, with even a path from whence he came marked — by the definition of unknowing his literal place, no. But with regard to his chance meeting? Yes, he most certainly had been caught entirely unaware.

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"Wait, please excuse me." He'd lift a hand, placing his finger against the bottom of his own mouth. "You're a human, yes? A mutant, in particular?"

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[attr="class","boxo-notes"]Hold the phone, you speak!

KAY

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[king]

The lack of self preservation wasn’t lost on King, there was a strangeness to the being in front of him that made it so that he wasn’t feeling like he should attack them. That it was… unwise somehow? It’d bring trouble. Maybe in a different venue than others. His teeth clacked somewhat when he adjusted and the slight ends of them stuck out from his lips when he fully closed them. The lack of fear especially from after a successful hunt was something he wasn’t used to either; many prey things would run away.

With his head so close to this strange individual he had to wonder a multitude of things; what they were doing here, why they were in his territory, why they looked… so out of place? You’d think someone meaning to be in the forest would be dressed for it. The silence that came after his question was to be expected; but the eloquence that the strange man spoke with caught King somewhat off guard. Slow blinking and a decidedly neutral response followed suit.

His answer wasn’t so much confusing as long to him, a simple no would suffice at the very least but… Adventurer. Was definitely not a term he heard very frequently if not ever; he had to actually pause and think about it. Finding words that linked up with it was hard in the scrambled mess that was his instinct fueled brain. Eventually it clicked and there was a slow, stiff nod. If he wasn’t lost and was merely poking around King could live with that. He didn’t get the idea that he was here to infringe on his territory if being an adventurer meant to explore.

Pulling back a bit so to set his weight back in the riverbed, his ear flicked and and his green eyes adjusted to stare at the man as he called for his attention. Was he human? A mutant? King looked to where his hunt had ended for the night and let out a low rumbling answer.

”Barely. You?”

He didn’t consider himself human, not anymore. That right had been struck from him, he was more akin to a wild animal even if his genetic make up was that of a human. A heavily mutated human to the point of where he was practically a beast. Something clicked in his head and he’d lowly rumble.

”Monster. Is. Better. Than. Human.”