Scene #4369: Monuments

Owner	Pose
Mortimer Balman	Several months of work had gone into Mort's last project- taking huge chunks of rubble and debris from his homeworld's long abandoned cities, and- with the aid of Equestrian artisans- steadily carving and shaping them into a series of fairly large, heavy, and considerably /durable/ monuments. Only two were ready so far. The first one was being brought to Mortimer's continent of origin, the vast and unforgiving desert lands of Grouda. It looked like some sort of Ekans-morph, wearing an odd uniform with some passing similarity to what Karian might known as the Vostroyans, carrying two large eggs- one in each arm- with a small human girl hanging from his neck. He was running away, being chased by amorphous creatures that had no definitive shape, all of them grasping out for him. With the aid of Karian and his Wolf lads, Mortimer had been working on placing it a mile and a half or so from the shore of the northern ocean, which blew winds that were almost disturbingly cold for how hot the deserts were. And while the Wolves were moving the heavy piece of ceramcrete and durasteel, Mort was busy heating himself up to significant degrees to melt a small pot full of raw gold ore, so that he could fill the letters carved into a basalt plaque at the bottom with the stuff, making them more visible to the naked eye.
Karian Icefang	Karian was a bit overwhelmed by the heat of Grouda. Ygdril was darting around to all the wolves with refreshments strapped to his back. Despite their planet being volcanic in the summer, none expected it to be this hot. "I think anyone would be proud of such a monument. I know I would." He says, watching mort melt down the gold. In a strange sense, it reminded him of the cauldrons from his time as a non-wolf, and how his clan would gather around to tell stories as their stew or soup cooked. Though as his wolf ran by, he filled a mug with ale and drank deeply, only to still require the classic canine panting to cool himself, something all space wolves did, it seemed.
Mortimer Balman	Mort looked up from the pot for a moment, still concentrating his heat into it. "It's nowhere near as grand as the original.. But that one was made of mere stone, an' eroded away a few millennia afore yer Imperium was created. This stuff.. Should last a great deal longer, I hope." He took a rod and dipped it into the gold, now boiling hot and running like water, and began carefully tracing the gold through the engravings. "The boy should be remembered, though.. He died not only a hero of the Ternese Soviet Federation, but of the Groudan Republic, too. ...Really brought our nations together, his sacrifice, an' that of his regiment too. It's a pity some sign of their gravesite is long too, as well.."
Karian Icefang	Karian nods. "Aye." He says somberly. He understood well how that kind of sacrifice could unite people, even though he imagined many wished he came home. "I do wish one thing....you had better warned me about how damned hot it was here. If it weren't for my augmentations, I'd likely have passed out from heat exhaustion hours ago." he says in mock anger. He doesn't move to pucn mort's shoulder like he would have, as he didn't want molten gold going all over the place.
Mortimer Balman	Mort shrugs, and continues putting gold into the crevices. The molten gold does not cool as quickly as it otherwise might, necessitating Mort to use other tools to scrape and scoop up the gold that spills or slips out, even as it rolls to fill its new resting place. "Sorry old boy, the northern and southern edges of Grouda always endure the worst heats of the summer months. But this is where the 8063rd Regiment of the Night Army died for all but one single young soldier... ...It's only proper that their memorial be so close to their final resting place." He paused for a moment, flexing his hands and slowly generating wisps of frost with the power of his mind, so that the Wolves could cool off. Ygdril especially, poor old boy.
Karian Icefang	The pants of the space wolves recede a bit, and Ygdril looks over with a sign of thanks. The mighty wolf takes a seat, trying to find some relative shade. "I just groomed him too. He's starting to shed his winter coat." Karian mused softly. He takes a moment to think back on everything mort had told him, and it brought a smile to his face. "Perhaps in time imperial schools will tell the stories of your heroes. Already some of them are being told in the Fang. Especially if they involve heroic stands, and seemingly impossible odds. They still talk of when we survived that bombardment with XCOM." He says, a small laugh exiting. "Oh...how is Falstaff? Is he still amongst the land of the living or has he taken his final sleep?"
Mortimer Balman	Once the final letters have had their gold filling, Mort puts down the remainder of the gold- clearly uncaring about the remainder. Gold was worthless to his people, only useful for electronics and its refusal to rust when utilized in some forms of construction- much like this one. He would stop to run a frost-coated hand over the Blackmane's back, adding another layer to help cool him a bit more. Not too much though, shock would be a bad thing. "Heh.. Really? That's.. Kind of nice, really." A small smile came over his face. "They deserve to be remembered, for the things they did.. Pity I cannot remember everything." A pause to laugh, "Aye, helpin' them XCOM folks was a good time. I do hope they're gettin' on well without our aid as of late." He'd pull a beer from Ygdril's pack, and start sipping at it. "Falstaff? He's still clinging to life like a tick, stubborn old bastard. But.. ...It's only a matter of time, now. His body's startin' to fail. The vets said that even with some kind of life extension treatments, he'd only gain another year at most, and the kind he'd need would be expensive even on the blank cheques the Astartes are given."
Karian Icefang	5tKarian frowns softly. "I can't imagine Ulbrecht is taking it well. It's difficult to lose a member of your pack, no matter to circumstances." He says. Ygdril shakes himself a bit as he feels the chill, but doesn't move to oppose the help. "When did you learn to do that? Are we going to have to start calling you 'frost wyrm' soon?" He jokes?
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer shook his head. "No.. Ulbrecht is not taking it well, nor will he when the time finally comes, I fear. Most of Falstaff's waking moments these days are teaching him what little he is capable of doing, or spent enjoying the affections of the ponyfolk. They are all very kind to him... Which is good. After all the Hell he's been put through, living his last few years out in comfort and happiness is the least he deserves. Maybe he'll even stay /in/ the village to die." A brief look at Karian with a quirked brow, then at his hands. "Within every Pokemon, within every Pokemorph.. Man, woman, or otherwise.. Young or old, there is a.. Hidden power. Something that we are /born/ with the capacity to do, but such things are buried deep in our psyches. Few people manifest the same talent, when they manifest it at all. And nobody ever knows until it happens. I developed Ice-type powers, Cryokinesis, while I was undergoing tutelage by Master Mifune during my Boot Camp days."
Karian Icefang	"Sounds like our Rune Priests. They exibit the traits, such as a preclevity to visions or the like. In fact, one of our newest recruits, Kjar, has just begung the tests." Karian says, though he does wind up giving Ygdril an affectionate pat. "Ulbrecht...I can tell you from experience after Falstaff passes, he will be quite depressed. He'll howl forlornly at the moon, hoping to hear his friend respond. This'll carry on for a few weeks, but he'll grow from it. I imagine I'll be the same when it's Ygdril's time. I've seen him start to slow down, not that he'd let you see it for long."
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer nods. "Aye, I've seen. Psyker traits, in you Imperium-type humans. A bit diff'rent fer us Poqmorians though.. It's not always a psychic ability. Sometimes the trait is /magical/, or /physical/. Some people even develop /Ghost-type/ abilities, which is almost unheard of unless one is a practitioner of darker magics. My father was one of those, come to think of it- the Corps immediately reassigned him to become a Warlock after he discovered his hidden power." Pause, loooonnnng beer sip. Half the bottle gone in one go. "I expected as much. An' yeah.. If he could, Falstaff wouldn't let you see it either. But he's lived far longer than most of his kind would or do, so he hasn't the luxury of hiding it. Rare that an Absol lives past hundred ten, much less.. Gods, he must be damn near hundred thirty by now?"
Karian Icefang	"Even older then me. He really is stubborn." Karian says with a laugh. He drains out the rest of his beer, then pulls out another. "Course...A wolf lord like myself has the right to replace my fallen companion but...It would be hard to replace Ygdril. Honestly, I dread the thought. He's one of the most loyal and fiercest wolves I've seen. I wonder if I should make a monument for him." He says. At this, ygdril huffs and lays down, seemingly falling asleep despite the heat. "I've also given thought to trying to tame a fenrisian bear to take his place...monsterous things but notoriously....thick in the brain."
Mortimer Balman	Mort pulls out his pipe and lights it up with a finger, having a few puffs. "If you wanna, y'can use some of the old cities' volcrete t'make one. Stuff lasts fer fuckin' ages. Which.. Well, why they used it t'begin with, really." He'd go back to ruffling Ygdril's fur and looking up at the statue. Occasionally holding a thumb up at it, then measuring it against the backdrop of the ocean. "Let's see.. Ought t'last fer a damned good long while. Global warmin' shouldn't be a concern- sans manmade stuff of course- fer at least another half a million years, if'n I remember my geological timestables rightly."
Karian Icefang	Karian nods softly. "I may do that." He says softly. Ygdril leans into the ruffling, despite being asleep. He falls silent a moment, thinking. "Switchbait mentioned that there were a few types of pokemon that he imagined would fit in. I've done some research, and it appears that the one called Beartic may fit. Have you heard or known any?
Mortimer Balman	Mort's ears flick a little at the mention of such things. "You, trainin' a Pokemon? The Imperium would throw a shit-fit, unless they decided t'wholesale approve 'mon an' 'morphs. Which, admittedly, would be bloody hilarious." He'd shake a finger while saying that, looking very serious for a brief moment, then laughing. "Beartic.. Mmmn... Aye, not a bad choice. Fits the frozen nature of Fenris quite well. We'd have to go out to.. Kyogura, most likely, just before the summer months end. They'll be a hard find though, unless you want to import some boats fer us to sail on- we'd hafta be goin' 'crosst the great ice floes of the Moguileng, they tend to prefer such frozen wastelands."
Karian Icefang	"I imagine it would be a 'trial' run." Karian says with a sly smile. He enjoyed annoying the inquisition, it appeared. As for boats, the wolf lord nodded. "I can have some dragon boats brought over, so we can set sail as soon as they arrive." He says, thinking on how they already fit in. "What are their abilities? I'm guessing they use alot of ice, and if they are bear-like, are capable physical fighters.....hrm...a wolf training a bear." He says, allowing a laugh.
Mortimer Balman	A nod of affirmation. "Yea, they rely heavily upon significant brute muscle to hunt an' defend themselves. But they can breathe freezing ice just as I can breathe flames- common tactic is fer them to create a layer of ice over their fangs an' claws, make them more jagged, makes their victims /bleed/ more. They can be learn some very nasty techniques, like conjuring up snow storms an' freezing winds, the most powerful ones have been known to flat out create /blizzards/ from naught but will an' magic."
Karian Icefang	That bit caused Karian's eyebrow to raise up in interest. "Oh really? Now you've made me even more interested in gaining one. Do they have any rituals or the like?" He asks, trying to gather as much info as he could.
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer thought about it, reaching into one his pockets to pull out a beaten and battered old Pokedex. "Rituals? Not really.. They're mostly solitary creatures- their First Stage form, the Cubchoo, tends to be far more social, especially with fellow Cubchoo- but once they evolve into Beartics, they become much more isolationist with their lives, unless outside forces have instilled more social habits in them from an early age. Their magic can be pretty dangerous, 'specially if yer fool enough to fight them /under/ the water."
Karian Icefang	Karian nods again. "I see. They sound perfect for a warrior like myself." He says. Another beer falls to him, and he claims a third. "Though I imagine their parents aren't likely to let their child go with a stranger without proving themselves."
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer wiggles a hand a bit in a sort of 'ehh' motion. "It depends. Remember that not all Pokemon evolve, many never meet that pressure required fer growin' into their next stage. Some flat out suppress it, like Reder. Cubchoo tend to operate in small groups fer survival once they're old enough to survive without a parent, but should not be underestimated. They can throw magical ice at yah too, which might be worse if they do so in a group."
Karian Icefang	"Understandable." Karian says, taking a swig. Still, his eye blazes with determination. "I may not be the most conventional of trainers, but I think a beartic would be happy to gain the glory I offer." He says. Of course, he was speculating and imagining. "Are there any regulations I need to be aware of involving your world and pokemon?"
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer laughed hard at the last question. "Regulations? Rules?? All that's left of civilization here are scattered tribes of fuckin' /savages/. No League here anymore, nor anythin' else. I'll mail you a pamphlet with information you'd want about what the hell this kinda thing entails though."
Karian Icefang	Karian laughs at that and nods. "Fair enough. Next time, I'll bring the boats and we can take the voyage. For now, I think I should get Ygdril out of the sun before he roasts."
Mortimer Balman	Mort nods. "Right, I'll call our ride t'come get us offa this rock.." And then the scene ended.