ALL NOVEL 48 - Cantata
–View List: Offense, Defense, Restorative–
“Oh, right." David mumbled as he blinked owlishly at the notification, “I forgot about that. I wondered why it never let me pick one, I guess that makes sense."
He glanced at Claire, who was still asleep and finally beginning to look restful before returning his attention to the readout. David had largely forgotten about the few lines of text that proclaimed being in a Pack gave a free ability, but he was very pleased with the opportunity now. His eyes locked onto a single option, and the longer he thought about how useful it would have been to have an ability from that category the more he wanted one. With a mental nudge, he expanded it and began to browse the options with a rising sense of satisfaction, eyes darting about with rising interest.
Restorative Abilities
Lick Wounds: Retreat from combat to lick your wounds, restoring 30% of total health over 15 seconds. Any direct damage suffered will interrupt the effect. Moderate Stam consumption.
Moonsong: A soothing melody that adds a greatly increased Regeneration rate to yourself and your allies for a short time. Moderate Stam consumption.
Transfer: Gift a portion of your vitality to the target via physical contact, restoring a percentage of their health. Moderate Health consumption.
Focused Mending: Increases your Regeneration rate by a moderate amount for an extended period. Mild Stam consumption.
Hmm, that first one seems like it would be best for people with a large amount of Health, rather than people with a Stam focused Evolution like I do. Percentage-based healing seems like something you could rotate in and out of a fight by using, pretty decent option unless you have low Stamina and Regeneration. The second one is definitely for long fights or just supporting the Pack in general. I’m not sure I have the right build for Transfer – Maybe someone like Betty would be able to use that, she said she’s got a stupid amount of Regen and Health, then again I can drain Health, maybe I could use that to refill mine after using it? The last one is the same as the first but probably restores more over a longer period…
David sighed and wished there was some sort of nifty little video he could watch to explain the best possible combinations of builds or abilities. His ears began to cramp up from how long he’d folded them back by this point, and he tucked his head forward to rub them against the inside of his wings before giving his head a little shake and stretching mightily. He yawned, stretched again, and began to pace in a rough circle while he thought about it and weighed his options for the second time in a day. David wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting when he opened the Restorative tab, but some part of him had vaguely hoped for something like ‘instantly kills all enemies and makes your friends invincible’. He snorted at the errant thought and paused, blinking a bit as he snapped back to reality and his eyes refocused, the glowing blue screen winking back into existence the moment he willed it back.
Alright, I don’t need Lick Wounds…or Focused Mending. I can do those myself while still fighting, and if I manage to debilitate something with Gloom I don’t need the extra time to heal because I can just kill them to get my health back. So those two are out, besides, I need something to help Claire or other people. Transfer seems super risky for me with how low my health is, what if it gives them a percentage of their health back, and they have way more than me? 10% of Claire’s health is probably a lot more than 10% of my health for example, that could bite me right in the ass if I’m already a bit low, I can only really take one good hit with how fragile my wings are. The Area Boss proved that. Guess that just leaves one…Well, guess I shouldn’t whine too much since I can swap it out in three days anyway if I remember right.
I want the Moonsong ability.
–Confirm Pack Ability Selection: Moonsong–
Yep.
David sat on his haunches grumpily and braced himself, all too aware of what was probably about to happen, and within seconds he was vindicated in his beliefs. A warm sensation began deep within his chest and slowly spread up his throat, rapidly increasing in intensity until it began to burn, and he coughed violently for several seconds. The burning rapidly escalated into a prickling sensation that focused on the center of his throat, and David’s coughing grew hoarse and strained for a few repetitions before it slowly began to fade. He rolled his freakishly long tongue around his fangs as an unpleasant metallic aftertaste filled his mouth that lingered hideously, and David found himself wondering if taking a quick lick of his mane would get the taste out of his mouth. He flapped his wings in irritation, causing a miniature tornado of dust and debris to kick up from the weathered cement floor and lightly dust Claire while she slept before he stopped guiltily.
“Blech! Oh my god, that’s horrible! It’s like…if they made mints that tasted like pennies.” David continued to roll his tongue around in disgust, “I might have to go get some water…or eat some grass or something. Why won't this go away?”
An amused voice spoke up from behind him, “You okay honey?”
David jumped, wings making a hollow thump as he spun in place and his heart rate skyrocketed, completely having forgotten that other people were present since he’d begun the Fusion process and inadvertently scared everyone away. He forced his shaggy mane to lay flat and cranked his ears back up over the top of his head when he saw that Betty had wandered into the warehouse and seemed to be eyeballing Claire with a bit of concern. He gave her a sheepish smile and folded in his wings with an apologetic shrug, clearing his throat while she approached before he spoke.
“Yeah, sorry Betty. You spooked me for a second there.” David chittered politely, “Just got a new Ability, and it was about as unpleasant as it usually is. Horrible bad taste in my mouth that just won't go away, it’s like the inside of a gym locker farted on a pile of pennies. Was just about to go get some water from the river and, like, eat a pile of dirt to get it to go away or something.”
Betty’s eyestalks bobbed up and down happily, “Hah! Did you get a bite attack or something? You should have seen Thomas when he got Cripple, those giant teeth of his grew in on fast-forward and he was talking like the sloth from that one kids movie for like two days complaining he could taste them the entire time.”
Cripple?! Cat was holding out on me during that spar, it’s probably a good thing I never let him get a hold of me. Why does everything have to be so murdery these days? Mother Nature was already stone-cold before the System, I feel like she’s just power gaming now.
“No, it’s a healing ability, sort of. Bumps up your Regeneration by ‘a great amount’ apparently…I’m never going to watch something like what happened to Dallas happen ever again and not be able to do something about it.” David clicked his teeth together in an unconscious mimicry of what Claire did to end her sentences with conviction.
Betty raised one eye but lowered the other, giving her a bemused look as she replied, “A healing ability? Those exist? How’s it even work?”
“Uh…I dunno, let's find out.” David chattered thoughtfully as he made himself comfortable and activated the ability with a mental nudge.
Nothing happened.
He frowned, lips wrinkling up slightly in confusion as his ears drifted out sideways and Betty snickered at the look of him. David frowned a little harder, growing embarrassed at the false start before stopping to think about it for a second or two, realizing that much like Screech it probably required him to actively make a noise for it to work. He took a deep breath, and slowly let it out while attempting to activate the ability again. This time he felt a wave of tiredness creep over him and glanced at his readout to see what the cost of the ability was as it began to work, and was pleasantly surprised to see the effect listed below his resources.
–Health: 165/165–
–Stamina: 340/390–
–Moonlit Regeneration–
A high, wispy note emerged from his throat, rising and falling without any words and filling the hall with a truly strange melody that made David’s eyes widen in shock as he almost fumbled the ability. Betty took an entire step back in surprise, the colors surging on the anemone glued to her back before they became muted as a wave of relaxing energy grew to fill the air with the tune. David had never been much of a singer before this very moment, but he sang like he’d been doing it his entire life, the melody gentle with just a touch of mystery that hinted at twinkling stars and the eye of a benevolent moon looking down onto a serenely darkened world. The longer he sang, the more his Stamina dropped but he didn’t even care, enchanted by the music as it began to echo off the rafters and walls to harmonize with itself while everyone still indoors ground to a standstill, eyes open wide in wonder.
“David?” Claire rumbled sleepily behind him, “You never told me you could sing. That’s very pretty.”
He cut the Ability off with a gasp, his Stamina having been drained by more than half as he snapped out of his trance and swung his head around to look at her.
“Oh, I totally can’t. It’s a new ability. You have a good nap?”