13859/Mis-undead-standing

Mis-undead-standing
Date of Scene:	17 January 2023
Location:	Infested Mansion near New York City
Synopsis:	Demona tries to fight vampires with zombie plants. Ember shows up and DECIMATES them. Then they talk.
Cast of Characters:	Susan Sullivan, Embershroud

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Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Having had ripped itself out of the ground and shambled awkwardly on roots never designed to be legs, the tree-sized tree wraps its smaller branches around each other until the whole big branch looked like a drill or something. Thrusting it forward like a punch, the spear smashed through the barred glass of the old, run-down mansion. Once inside, the branch unfurled, spreading out and swiping blindly around at those inside.
    Some ways away, rake in one hand, Susan was using a jar of sugar-free maple syrup--basically defiled tree sap--to make an arcane circle around a hastily constructed construction of twigs and loose leaves. Flipping the syrup closed, Susan hooks it onto a finger of her rake-wielding hand. She traces symbols into the air with her free hand, focusing on the task at hand. There's sounds of fighting inside as she pushes her will into the creature.
    The pile of plant cast-offs organized itself as intended. Rising up, it stood on sort-of legs, holding out sort-of wings. It had a sort-of head and a dull, brown, dead-leaf-covered, bird-like body. It rose up and flapped its wings. It flew just like a chicken. Still, with a rake-assist, it was sent flying up to the second-story window of the building. The bird-like construction balled up just in time to smash through. There were more sounds of panic from inside.
    Susan chuckles maybe a little more wickedly than she intends.

Embershroud has posed:
    Embershroud comes in unexpectedly, plummeting from the sky. She lands with a solid thud, impacting the ground in the classic superhero landing. Clearly, she'd been practicing. Looking up, it's Susan that her blazing red eyes alight upon, and the dark figure rises to her feet. A gloved hand lifts, pointing two fingers towards Susan. "You," she declares, in a gravelly alto, "You are the one I have heard rumors of, dabbling in raising the dead." She starts to close on the other woman, and as she does, both of her fists become engulfed in flame. "I've come to put an end to your maleficence."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan raises an eyebrow, incredulously. "Already?" she asks. It was like someone finding out about Doctor Strange when he was just starting to use spells. Susan didn't think she had the right person. Still, she had a lot going on, right now. "Can it wait?" came the voice through the black, skull-themed gas mask. It was louder and not muffled, the sound going through a cosplay speaker. More superheroes probably needed one of those, starting out. "I'm kinda in the middle of something."
    Demona notices the tree has completely stopped moving without further instruction. Reaching her hand out, she spreads her fingers and starts turning her hand back and forth like she's trying to turn a doorknob. Sounds of thrashing branches and renewed panic leak from inside.

Embershroud has posed:
    Embershroud, of course, only knew what she overheard, and there's a pause at the response she gets. She seems... startled, like she didn't expect that reaction at all. "Uh... yeah?" The flames go out on her hands, and her brow furrows a little as she observes the... trees... assaulting the mansion. Not exactly what she expected. Embershroud's posture changes then, going from prepared for a fight to something more relaxed, with a hand on her hip and the other coming up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "This isn't how this is supposed to go," she says, "You're supposed to be like..." She gestures vaguely. "'No, you'll never stop me,' or something, and then..." She's new at this too, it would seem. There's more cries of panic from inside the building, and it draws Embershroud's attention. "...What are you even doing?" she asks, appearing now even more perplexed at the situation.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "I'd rather you not try to stop me, if that helps," Demona offers. "Vampires in there. Either that or ghouls or something. Too smart to be zombies, not enough body heat to be alive. I'm too squishy to take down a nest this size."
    She does her best one-handed bird flapping its wings impersonation. "Bird-shapes really aren't working," she says. She hesitates. "I think they smashed that one. Well, back to the drawing board."
    Taking up rake and syrup, she starts doing yard work again to gather up more detritus to work with. "So, ARE you going to try to stop me? I mean, I'm not using the holy items, but I feel like that's, you know, fair game against a fire zombie."

Embershroud has posed:
    Embershroud looks between Demona and the mansion she's assaulting for a few moments, trying to make sense of the situation. "So you're... attacking the vampires... or ghouls?" Her hand lifts again, this time to drum fingers against her jawline. "This is... not what I expected to find here." It seems Embershroud has made up her mind, though, as she pushes off the ground and floats her way up into the already broken window. From inside, there's more panicked sounds, crashing, shouting, and the occasional FWOOSH of flame, along with the bright orange color that lights up the windows. Within minutes, a thick black smoke is pouring out of the windows, and further down the other end of the mansion, a window bursts outwards amid a surge of flame. It's accompanied by Embershroud, who hits the ground with another heavy thud. The sounds of crackling flames, and the continued smoke, suggest that it won't be long before the entire building goes up in a blaze.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona's undead tree pulls its limbs from the building, ends of broken branches still glowing or on fire. "You big dummy," she says almost lovingly. "Put your hand into the snow." She demonstrates herself. The big, perambulatory tree just stands there. "Okay, right, no hands. Put that branch into the snow." It complies and there's snapping of brittle, dead, half-burned branches. The necromancer rolls her eyes. "Fine," she says. "Good boy."
    Demona turns to Ember and narrows her gaze. She looks over the other woman, drinking in her style and her figure. She finally says, "So, are we about to fight? I'd rather not fight, but it'd be nice to know what's happening for once."

Embershroud has posed:
    Embershroud straightens up again, turning for a moment to look up at the building as it continues to catch fire. She seems to be in no hurry to put a stop to it, letting the flames take. A portion of the roof collapses inward slightly. It seems she did some structural damage while she was in there.
    Ember turns her attention back to Demona, and she pushes off the ground again to float across the yard to wear the other woman stands. Setting back down onto her feet, she folds her arms across her chest. "I think that depends on your answer to my next question. Why are you taking out vampires and ghouls? Shouldn't you be like... working with them, instead?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona considers the answer carefully, since the implication is that it's very, very important, and the woman in front of her is very obviously dead. She doesn't smell that bad, though, at least through a gas mask. "I'm confused," she finally admits as the tree begins lumbering slowly across the snow-covered field toward her. "I can't tell whether you're mad at me for hurting the undead or want to help me destroy the undead." She looks at the sticky, syrup circle that birthed an undead plant bird thing, then back at Ember. "Willing to bet money you see what I've been up to," she confesses. Dropping the syrup bottle to one side and letting the rake fall, she stands with her arms spread. "You'll have to kill me to get me to stop the hunt." She's resigned. This woman seems to be the exact, perfect counter to her minions, despite the snow.

Embershroud has posed:
    Perhaps the most surprising thing about her is that Embershroud doesn't smell bad at all. At least, not in the ways a corpse typically smells bad. There's a scent of lavender and citrus about her, along with the occasional waft of singed wood. As if to answer Demona's unasked question, the burning building beside them collapses a little further, and there's a cry from within that ends swiftly, but Embershroud barely flinches at it. "The undead are an abomination," she replies matter-of-factly. A bold statement for her to make, as the living dead herself. Her attention shifts to the big lumbering tree, and her brow furrows slightly. Finally she makes the connection fully. "...Trees? You're fighting vampires with trees?" There's a pause, and Embershroud's expression becomes thoughtful. "That... kind of makes sense, actually."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona's hands fall to her sides. "I'm trying," she says. "What are you?" she asks. "I'm carrying enough holy silver to make a room full of vampires take note." She pulls a hip flask from an internal breast pocket and undoes it. She splashes it at the undead, fully realizing she might be signing her own death warrant, even if all she's doing is throwing a few drops of water on a fire. The holy water is lukewarm from Susan's body heat.

Embershroud has posed:
    The water sizzles when it hits Embershroud, visibly bubbling as it runs in rivulets over her skin and armor, but all it seems to be doing is evaporating. She looks down at it and furrows her brow a little, then back to Demona. "That is a good question, and if I ever truly find the answer I will let you know. I go by the name Embershroud," she says, "And I am both... dead and alive. Somehow. As far as I can tell, I am not a vampire... and I am not a ghoul. Or a zombie. I'm... something else." There's another pause, and Ember gestures to Demona. "And what about you? Are you some kind of Van Helsing or something?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona puts the flask away. "I mean..." She hesitates. She looks back the way she'd come. Ember would have seen the scifi-esque, six-wheeled, full-van-sized crawler while she was overhead. Demona rubs the back of her neck while she considers it. "I guess I hadn't thought of myself that way," she says. She looks back at Ember. "I'm a reformed undead. I used to look--well, not like you, but definitely the part. Kinda want to wipe the plague of their kind off the face of the planet, if I'm honest. Maybe I'll be able to sleep at night when they're gone."

Embershroud has posed:
    Embershroud had noticed it, of course, but she didn't have much use for vehicles herself. What Demona says, though - reformed undead - catches Embershroud's attention. "...What do you mean, reformed? You mean, there's a way back from this? That I could... undo the things that have been done to me?" Suddenly, Embershroud is there in front of her, hands on Demona's shoulders, face to face with her. Surprisingly perhaps, her touch is only warm, and not sizzling hot like the holy water might have suggested. "Tell me how. Please."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona observed the reaction to the holy water with scientific curiosity, and as a scientist, she has already formed a few models in her mind about this other woman. Her eyes go wide as Ember approaches. She expects burns on her arms, but they don't come. Even through winter clothes, she would have felt something if she was going to burn.
    "I don't know if it would work for you," Demona says. "For me, it was divine intervention." She hooks a finger under a chain around her neck and pulls it from inside her clothes. It's got a crucifix, three crosses, a Jesus fish, another small vial of water about the size of her little finger, and some chinese coins on a bit of copper wire that look like they could be easily pulled loose. "See?" she says, not really worried, but definitely in a state where she was pretty powerless against what was in front of her.

Embershroud has posed:
    Perhaps fortunately for Demona, Embershroud doesn't seem inclined to obliterate her in the moment. There's a defeated sigh and a slump of shoulders as Embershroud learns that Demona's fate was changed through divine intervention, and she shakes her head. "I doubt I'm going to get the attention of any deities," she says, straightening up again. Her hands fall away from Demona's shoulders, and Ember takes a step back. It's worth noting that, standing in the snow, it's slowly melting around the woman as she radiates enough heat to ward off the winter immediately around her. It's likely fortunate, or she'd be a lot colder in the outfit she's wearing.
    "Maybe someday I will, but I suspect it's something I'm going to have to earn, if I'm to get it at all. From what I've heard about gods, they don't just go around granting wishes like genies." There's a moment, though, where Ember seems to be studying the items strung around Demona's neck, as if making a mental note of what's there. "In the meantime... You and I seem to be on the same mission. Well, similar missions, at least. Perhaps... we can help one another."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona puts out a gloved hand onto Embershroud's shoulder, this time. "Hey," she says, as calmly as she can. Time for her to be at her MOST Disney Princess. "Don't lose hope. We're on the same side, and I have done a lot of studying of both magic in general and the undead--mostly to fight them, but I do know where to look." She lets go of Ember's shoulder and offers the hand for shaking. "I'm Demona. Like the Disney character, not...you know, a force of evil. It made more sense when I was Jiangshi," she concludes with a shrug.

Embershroud has posed:
    Embershroud looks at the hand on her shoulder, then back to Demona. "Embershroud," she replies, "But you can call me Ember." She reaches out to take the hand, her grasp firm but careful. She is pretty strong and she's not looking to hurt Demona on accident. She is very warm to the touch, even through the winter clothes. After a moment, Ember asks, "...What's a Jiangshi?" For a zombie, Embershroud doesn't really know a whole lot about them.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Susan smiles under the mask. "It's wonderful to meet you," she says. "You're prettier than I was, let me tell you. So," she says, clapping her hands together before rubbing them. "Let me tell you all about Jiangshi and vampires." And so began the exposition as the camera rises past the undead tree and the burning mansion to focus on the New York City skyline.