Megathread - Harbard and the Bloody Dusk

Evening relaxation was the mere desire a man's body ached for. Was that so much to ask, because this was ridiculous! Panic rushed through the streets, NPCs screaming, dogs barking, and Alonso's ears dropped with his eyes narrowed. "I knew I should've logged out and done something productive. Like working out and getting a few personal views," the cat man said. He was irritated, surprised, and curious at how all of these people managed to swerve around his mass and avoid direct contact. Pointless information in the end. There was an actual crisis, and he just stood there as though it did not affect him.

Technically the events of this world did not matter to him in real life, but having a conscience was a thing.

In the distance, and to the man's dismay, was the wretched spider bitch wreaking havoc in the forest. Alonso was not able to make out the exact details from where he stood. However, the important thing was getting over there and involving himself in the fight. World chat was going haywire with messages for back up and reinforcements. The Felis rotated his body, crouched over as he began to make a mad dash towards the boss, "If anything at least these players know how to form a group promptly when an emergency happens." Despite his size, Alonso did have some grace of a cat, hopping between the normal folks and catching the sounds of crying and sheer grief.

His head shifted to see a young girl bawling her eyes out, parents nor guardians around. The man shook his head, continuing his path until he discovered his body stopping. No, there was no time, and he began his trek once more. Alonso turned around, making his way back to the girl, and still changed his mind towards his original goal. And again. Once more should do it. The huge cat man sighed as he faced his original destination, eyes rolling and giving into his paternal instincts. Yes, the spider freak was causing mayhem, but there was a little girl in actual conflict right now.

Alonso positioned himself in front of the girl, squatting to meet her at eye level, "All right sweety, don't cry now, what's wrong? Did you get hurt anywhere?" His eyes gave the young one a quick once over, finding no obvious injuries. That was good at least. "Come on now, tell me. We can't stay here that long," the Felis said, reaching out to remove the little girl's hands from her eyes. Thumbs the size of her eyes swept across the girl's cheeks, Alonso's veteran skills coming into full effect.

"Mom-Mommy and Daddy got losteeed," the young girl cried, her pitch increasing and the bawling starting up again.

The man jumped an inch, sticking his pinky into an ear as though cleaning it out. He forgot just how loud children could be. Living through the pain was a priority however. Reaching his arms underneath the child's armpits, he lifted her up and began placing the kid on his shoulders, "Ooof, okay okay, don't cry. We're gonna go find your Ma and Dad, all right? Just look up there for me and point 'em out if we see them, that sound easy?" Alonso shifted his head, revealing a soft smile which garnered a sniffle from the girl. He stood up to his full height, making sure his grip remained firm on the kid's legs, all on top of his wincing from the hair pulling up top.

Alonso let the girl adjust herself. His mass was not the easiest to ride shoulders on. The big man looked at the direction he came from, knowing full well heading further towards the spider lady would cause the child to shriek in terror even more than she already was. Right, back into town. He began a light jog, testing the waters to make sure the kid was able to hold on, observing the surrounding buildings. Some people were in cover already, and others were panicking trying to gather their belongings and families. Another sigh escaped the Felis's lips, thoughts churning in the simplest way he can, "Oh boy what a day..."

 

Finding the little tyke's parents was taking much longer than anticipated. His eyes had caught the numerous flashes of light from spells, including the one shot off by some mages in Harbard. That, and the wench of arachnids was having fits of pain and rage. Good. Meant the rest of the players were doing their job and taking her down as best as they could. At this point either the Felis would get there just in time to see the beast fall, kill everyone left, or be there for nothing more than a few seconds.

He reached the point where the townsfolk had converged, panic still on the rise yet calmed to a manageable level. By now the little girl was in Alonso's arms, just moments away from falling asleep. "Okay, okay, don't shut your eyes now, I need you to help me out here," the man said. Granted, he had to admit she was a real fighter for keeping up this long to help out with finding her parents. This was the moment of truth. Part of him had the strange feeling that the fight was going both good and horribly wrong all at the same time.

"Yawwn.. I sees Mommy and Daaaddy," the child said, sleep hovering even deeper into her eyes. On the plus side she pointed the duo out to Alonso.

The man could not help but let out a soft chuckle, "Thank you, sweety. I think you can take a long nap for a while. You earned it." He missed this feeling. It still hurt this child was not his kid, otherwise the large cat man would have doted on her some more. A sigh escaped his lips as he pushed his way through the crowd. Alonso reached the child's parents and held the girl out, "From what she told me you're her mother and father, yes? If it weren't for the panic I would have gotten her to you sooner. Don't worry, she's just sleeping now."

Upon the two worried adults retrieving their child, Alonso took an immediate turn and dashed off towards the actual war with the arachnid towering in the distance. He had no time to thank yous.