Hazmats vs Shepherds

[youhearthebells]

Who: Hazmat crew, Shepherds of racing justice, and the Red Eyes (NPC crew)
Where: at sea, and then on Safario Island
When: 7/6 through 7/31 ALL MONTH, ALL RACE
What: the entirety of the racing shenanigans for these two crews plus their NPC foes. First sailing to Safario, then to Ebony & Ivory, and then a final climactic showdown on Dnalsi.
Warnings: let me know if any besides shounen violence
Style: anything you want
Status: closed to members of Hazmat and Shepherd crews

Considering that the Friend Ship set out safely and securely after the race's start, the U.S.S. Booyakasha II had a bit of a head start at first, but between Scurvey Dog's delightful gift of chickens and the ensuing vegetable rain, they slowed down after the first day. Will it be for long, considering they have an Avatar on board? Let's find out!

The first token is located on Safario, in the East, a place of bizarre animals and sandy beaches and not a hell of a lot else. Who will have to fight who in order to safely land their ships and find the jerk with the token clue? Can they brave the Red Eyes with their poisoned sabers as well as vicious winged bears? The Shepherds take it, but can they keep it?

From there it's on to the strange island of Ebony & Ivory, where the island itself may not look dangerous but the culture has surprises in store for them. There's a week of strange rainbows and anglerfish to battle on the way to it.

The final stop is the cloud island Dnalsi, where everything is upside down and the laws of physics don't apply. What kind of place is this for a final battle, and who's going to end up with all the tokens? What if it's the Red Eye crew?


[ooc: information on our adversaries and route is here. Make your own starter threads for any time/location during the entirety of the race: Safario, E&I, Dnalsi, or any of the strange phenomenon and sailing times in between.]

Comments

[youhearthebells]

[for all his bull-headed dumbassery, Gan Ning is battle-hardened enough to catch the little things. Of course, he's more concerned about snakes than the rival crew, but the noise makes him pull up short and open his eyes. Whoa. For a moment he wobbles, hit by the vertigo all over again, before he can adjust and keep his eyes on the ground instead of the sky - which is the ocean. Ugh.

His eyes hunt across the ground, thinking of serpents.]

Where are you, ya little bastard. I ain't gettin' bit today or any day...

[jadethenecromancer]

[Oh good, he's still occupied. Jade watches him from behind the tree for a moment. The man looks like a fighter... which means there is no need to feel bad about going all out. Might as well try out his newest arte and find out whether it's an overkill or not.

A glyph appears on the ground around Jade's feet as he gathers fonons, eyes trained on his target.]

"O flames of hell, cremate mine enemies in a cage of fire! Infernal Prison!"

[The ground under the man's feet glows for a brief moment before large jets of fire blare up all around him. Let's hope he has good reflexes, because otherwise this is going to hurt a lot.]

[youhearthebells]

[Glowing ground is never a good sign. Gan Ning hops back, his mind instantly recalling the sorcery of Orochi's people and knowing he wants no part of it. The fire is a lot bigger than he was expecting, though, forcing him to dash and then roll to get away from it - though, the bottom of his ragged silk sash gets a bit singed at the edges. Too close.]

What the hell?! Who's out there? Is that one'a you Shepherds?

[he immediately goes into fight mode, drawing River Master and brandishing it. He has nothing that can compete with sorcery, only a speed musou, but he's all guts and hard muscle, so he's gonna fight anyway!]

[jadethenecromancer]

[Ah, a quick one. Good to know. Jade strolls out of the shadow the tree, hands casually in pockets. Considering there aren't a lot of hiding places around, the man would likely have realized where he is anyway.]

Hello there. I thought you'd appreciate a bit of warming up, what with this cool weather and all.

[The smile on his face is perfectly friendly, as though he didn't just try to burn anyone alive.]

[youhearthebells]

[Ning's eyes narrow. He hasn't met this guy, but he's pretty sure he knows enough about their crews to know who he is.]

You're the captain of that sorry bunch, aren'tcha? Well, well! Captain to captain. Sounds like a good fight to me.

[jadethenecromancer]

The pleasure is all mine, I assure you. It's been a while since I've had any decent entertainment.

[He gives a benign shrug.]

Now, shall we play?

[youhearthebells]

Bring it on.

[no hesitation here, as he gives a little hop and then rushes in, the sword before him. He's fast, but doesn't have much besides that sword going for him.]

[jadethenecromancer]

[Jade is back to casting immediately. He needs to act quickly to get an arte out before his opponent closes the distance between them.]

"O maddening gale of the spirits of the earth... Stalagmite!"

[Jagged rocks burst through the ground -- right where the man should be about to step, unless Jade completely misjudged his speed.]

[youhearthebells]

[Gan Ning is nearly skewered, but dodges to the side just in time as rocks burst up beneath his foot. He staggers sideways but manages to not completely trip and faceplant. It costs him a precious few seconds, righting himself and regaining his footing so he can skid around and come in from another angle. He's close enough to start swinging the broad-bladed scimitar with wide, sweeping movements, though it'll take another step or two to get inside his opponent's guard.]