It was the odor of acrid smoke that had drawn Sailor Bacchus through his nausea and into a decrepit alley. Flickers of ancient bonfires raised the bile in his throat as he followed the smell across fractured asphalt to a small, smoldering pile of…something. Garbage maybe? Whatever it was, he couldn’t recommend the smell and stomped out the embers with an irritable ferocity.
Of course nothing in this city was simple and easy to resolve, as proven by the haze that drifted lazily from some point up ahead.
GastlyTaipan
Fire Belly Newts (15) : Pranks are common this time of year, and what’s funnier than a little arson? A lot of things, actually, but for some reason there are frequent reports of small fires being set and abandoned all throughout the city. Most of the time, these fires burn out before causing much damage, but things are escalating and it’s only a matter of time before things start getting dangerous–especially with how dry it’s been, and all these dead, fallen leaves. But, it’s worse than just flammable debris. Sometimes, there are small patches of boiled pavement. Melted metal–guardrails, lamps, fire hydrants. Destruction is rampant, and no one knows why. But you do. You saw one of them. A foot long, black newt, with a bright-red belly that glowed brightly when it spat up real, liquid flame right in front of you. Lava pooled from its round little belly, ignited like a match to oil. It darts through alleys and storm drains, too fast to catch. At least you tried.
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 8:43 pm
A startled yelp sounded from around a corner of the alley, a figure bounding into the alley and patting at their jeans knees where fresh singe marks now adorned. A shock of golden hair shone in some light from around the corner, the flickering indicative of dancing flames.
Frantic hazel eyes peered over, catching sight of the senshi and the grim line of a frown pressing their lips into a slim cut across their face. "Don't come over here. It's dangerous." Cam's voice cracked on dangerous. He started towards the light source, pausing just before turning the corner and looking at Bacchus once more.
"I'd suggest calling for help. These fires are getting out of hand. If you see a large lizard, don't touch it. They've been starting the fires." Then he disappeared around the corner. He'd only been in a hoodie and jeans. That wasn't going to be enough to protect him from the flames.
The revelation that there was some kind of lizard starting the fires knocked aside the slightly disappointing fact that this human didn’t seem at all fazed by his appearance. Maybe another deep space senshi had ruined the surprise for this kid. Ah well. Can’t win them all. But he could probably beat a lizard so he’d count that as a win.
“You alright?” The fact that the young man had been on fire probably warranted some concern. He managed to suppress a gag as he spoke. “I’d better…take care of this I guess.” As for the danger? He’d almost certainly seen worst. Arsonist lizards might even be a fun change of pace. They’d definitely piss him off less than some idiot human running around setting fires.
“Wait. s**t, where are you going?”
There was nothing to do but follow the stranger, as far as Bacchus was concerned. Wouldn’t be great to have this guy get toasted over an open fire.
GastlyTaipan
Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2025 8:15 pm
Down the alley corridor Cam had run down there were several small fires that had been started. The human man was hard at work trying to stomp out the ones he could as quickly as possible. There were many spots that already looked charred but were no longer spreading the flames.
Something red and orange skittered out from beneath a dumpster, stopping a few feet away from Bacchus. It looked to be reptilian, but not quite identifiable as any one type of lizard. It blinked at odds its bright yellow eyes before a skin-like hood popped up around its head. The frills began to glow like fire, but before it could do anything, Cam ran at the creature to scare it off. The reptilian was chased off, hiding under another dumpster.
Cam's eyes met Bacchus' again and he wiped at sweat on his brow. "Did you get help? He was breathless and his cheeks were bright red from exertions. "We need the fire department. Or maybe animal control."
Bacchus grumbled softly as he rounded the corner in pursuit of the human. He couldn’t sense anything particularly Chaos-y around, but the fact that he’d never heard of any fire breathing animals on Earth didn’t mean that there weren’t any. Still, even if it was just some random p***k setting fires he would rather be there if this kid ran into them.
“Fire department?”
A human term, no doubt. Maybe their phrase for fire brigade, though as far as he was concerned it sounded more like it would describe people who started fires. But under the circumstances that seemed unlikely. Animal control sounded pretty straightforward, and the fact that he wanted to call them definitely seemed to increase the odds of there being fire-breathing wildlife on this planet.
“No, let’s just find- wait what were you chasing?”
A tendril smoke rising from under one of those big metal garbage boxes caught the deep space senshi’s eye.
“Is it under there?”
Hurrying over, he crouched down as far as he could, squinting into the space beneath where the trash lived.
“Gah!”
A scaly little animal scurried out and despite his efforts, it eluded his grasp. Which was probably for the best considering how many fires it was setting along its way.
GastlyTaipan
Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2025 5:31 pm
"Careful! I'm not sure how they do it, but you'll catch fire if they spit on you." Cam moved closer, offering a hand to help Bacchus to his feet. In the slight panic, he hadn't had much time to truly analyze the Senshi. He was... shockingly pretty. Skin that seemed like perfect porcelain, hair a stark contrasting black like the depths of space. But what drew him in most were the eyes. Sparkling sugilite set in obsidian.
Cam found himself momentarily stunned by the being before him. His throat suddenly dry, Cam swallowed the lump. "Are you okay?" His voice was softer now, making it sound just a little gruffer. Cam heard more skittering and tore his gaze from Bacchus just in time to see one of the incendiary iguanas charging towards them. Before he could think about it, Cam's body was between Bacchus and the creature. He was holding his arms out to try and make himself appear bigger and hopefully dissuade the reptile from attacking. This did not seem to work, however, as the lizard continued rampaging towards the pair.
“How in the ********? That’s bloody weird.” Disinclined as Bacchus was to let something set him on fire, the novelty of an animal that breathed flames outweighed his concern. Even if he strongly suspected that Rowan wouldn’t be thrilled if he brought something that melted pavement into the apartment.
He accepted the hand, hauling himself to his feet and rolling his shoulders. “Huh? Me? I wasn’t on fire. Are you alright?”
As the newt charged toward the pair he slid around the civilian “I can’t control this the way I used to so we’re going to get a bit…funny. For a bit. But so will the lizard and hopefully I can kick it or something. Gleeful Bacchanal!”
Sailor Scout Attack: Gleeful Bacchanal Sailor Bacchus throws his arms out in a welcoming gesture, and a shining mist spreads forth from between his arms as up-tempo music begins to play. Enemies engulfed in the mist finds themselves compelled to join in the revelry, overwhelmed with a sense of powerful, disorienting giddiness that pushes aside other thoughts and makes it very difficult to engage in combat. Through force of will, they may be able to shake the feeling and resume combat. Range -- A circle, 10 feet in diameter centered on Sailor Bacchus Duration -- 25 seconds Uses Per Battle -- 3
GastlyTaipan
As written his ability only affects enemies but because his magic is wonky it hits allies too
Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2025 7:46 pm
Cam was a little flattered that someone would be concerned with his well-being. He was fine, if not a bit warm. He was going to say so until Bacchus stepped around him and spread his arms. Cam had only just barely heard the warning before a strange sensation seemed to ripple throughout his body. A strange mist emitted from Bacchus, showering the lizard and Cam as music seemed to play out of thin air. Cam felt the sudden and strong urge to dance. With Bacchus.
This was something that caught Cam by complete surprise and brought color to his cheeks as he thought about how it would feel for Bacchus' hands to be on his waist or shoulders. He tried to shake the thought from his head. The lizard seemed effected as well, bobbing its head and thumping its tail against the ground. Both Cam and the lizard appeared to be enthralled by Bacchus' alluring tunes.
The weird little creature’s dance wasn’t something Bacchus had been expecting and through the swirling haze in his mind he heard his own graceless laughter as he whirled about to his own tune, weaving around his new companion with more agility than someone might expect for his less than lucid state. Far easier to lose himself here than to force himself back to the cracked reality outside of his own jovial magic.
That lizard. Right, the little p***k sending smoke into the worst parts of his memory. That bit was less fun and certainly less funny than its little dance number. With a dance-like kick, he attempted to launch the thing into a nearby storm drain. Can’t set water on fire, right?
GastlyTaipan
I am SO sorry for the delay, I've got major brain fog lately and I missed the notification. Feel free to poke me about it if I take too long because odds are I missed something.
Reply
