Sutoratosu

Hugh Hugh said nothing as it all turned to even further shit as the cunt with red hair began to rail on the boy who'd been about to pay for him. He'd have at least tried to do something, had the damn situation not already been so stacked against him, and regardless what the gang leader thought, he was damn smart enough to know that anything he might've done would've led to a far worse outcome than how Jason handled it. 12 year old versus someone who could easily be considered an adult in a fist fight, yes, that would go well... just like it had back then. He began retreating from the whole mess as tempers still flared and the one he'd stopped from paying seemed to have had enough of their shit himself. There was nothing he could do here, the psychotic bitch with the jigglypuff had already crushed him like the maniac she was, and if he stayed, he'd simply be wasting the opportunity they'd all gone out of their way to provide him, and getting in their damn way. Once again, he'd been made useless, had to have someone else risk their necks to save him. But that feeling of insignificance was of far lesser concern than the injuries his partner had sustained. He'd already wasted enough time, and so he turned, and escaped while he could, silently stalking back towards the gate where Bianca was. All he did as he passed her was pause and glance, wondering just out of morbid curiosity given the actions of the Juniper's older trainers just when, if ever, the chaperon herself would've intended to step in during that mess, how far it would've had to go before she actually moved from that place if the older lot hadn't showed up. But he quelled that curiosity and returned his eyes to the stone walk without a word way, continuing towards the nearest Center. Muttering under his breath all the while, eyes burning their pure crimson as he recalled just how savagely and unrestrained the blonde girl fought, like she and her ungodly little ball of pink terror were intent on tearing out both their throats. And in that same instance, so too flashed the faces of those two thugs from what seemed to be so long ago. "This won't happen again. I won't let it..."

Aurora paused beyond the gates, as the other lot began the advance on the wave of creatures. She glared at the shaded forms with familiar exasperation as each and every one of their presences entered her mind and she knew, within that instant, that each and every one of the skittering little fucks shared the same type of basic issue towards the edibility as the behemoths earlier. But they were even worse, most of them had no true flesh to begin with... as if they were composed of pure shadow. And lo and behold, one of the slimmer, quicker ones bearing a toned physique and trailing tails off his head- thinking it was clever by sneaking up on her -leapt down with claws outstretched, aiming for her neck... only for its on head to be snatched up in a Chitin clad fist fast as lightning and smashed right into the ground as a small crater formed before the snarling. Just as she thought. These things did not even leave bodies when they died, unlike the larger ones. Simply burst back into shades and vanished. And more of them had taken note of her, those who'd managed to get around or survive the forward advance slowly closing the distance. But they began to retreat the instant several of them burst into light and flames, a radiant burst of starlight blooming with quick succession from her palm. Well, the smaller runts at least. All the more mature ones did was charge faster onto their death, as with one sweeping swipe a lance of the same burning radiance formed in her hand, cleaving them all in twain where they stood before being fading away. Her eyes burned into those who yet remained. Quickly, it seemed like they were reconsidering their choice of ganging the outlier, fleeing from her as she charged with spydric speed, a mere blur of black that occasionally lashed out to impale and cleave away at the shade with her legs, chasing the poor fools until finally... there came one who would not flee before her. A robust, bipedal sphere of a demon, seeming to stand defensively like a wall as the smaller lot scurried under it's stout legs. It's existence was cut just as short, as he summoned the radiant lance and with a single deft spin leading into a violent thrust, impaled the beast with every ounce of force her charging form could muster. And she didn't stop the frenzy, tearing through more, and more, and more of them, roaring in her fury at their inedible states as one by one, more and more of the shades fell to her skirmishing light, their attempts to escape her wrath as vain as trying to flee a bolt from the blue...

Cadence said nothing, as the exchange continued. The man's kindness truly was a boon, even if she'd been right and all that time had indeed swept them far from where they needed to be. There was one thing that bothered her however... perhaps it was his tone, perhaps it was the sagely demeanor with which he regarded them, one way or another though, he ultimately reminisced her far too much of him. Even though she knew it could not be- that whatever she'd seen not long ago in the Shaded Realm was indeed the truth of the matter and that was truly where he had to be now -still she found herself unable to keep her eyes off him as he proffered valuable information to them, sitting one of the couches within the Cabin. Again they whispered within her mind, this time confirming what she already knew full well; he could not be him, from what they felt from him, this man was likely not even a mage at all, and his presence was far too weak compared to every time their true master had proclaimed his orders... "I know it can't be him, you wandroughts..." She muttered beneath her breath, just barely loud enough for those closest to overhear, "but still...he reminds me so much of him..."

Thousands of paths. Countless more possible outcomes. Most of them with the child dead. Just as he had some many times before, the flame again caught a glimpse of that which was to come, in that one, single instant in which the woman in armor turned the spear away from him and towards the ward. It was not the construct itself that he feared, no... he knew that was merely a distraction, an attempt to upset their balance. No, whatever the real threat would be, it would only come after. And regardless of whether or not the girl understood at long last what he'd been trying to beat her over the head with all this time, he would take no chances. She still came first. And as the woman evaded his next blow, moving closer to the source of his very being, already the Wolf expelled his current form, releasing his hold on the physical world as he once more returned to the girl's heart, the crimson light pulsating once more in her chest... just as the spear came for her. But Braith did nothing to stop it. He already knew it would never be what slew her. What he was more concerned with was wave of pure hellfire he sensed even now. The wave that struck even one as brazen as the girl with tremors as it passed over everything. The wave that, despite her panic, he told her fret not, that he'd break no promise because he'd make one he could not keep in the first place. And to the waves of hell, she fell. But just as he'd promised her, she doth rose again, the flames that had once dominated the world around her and provided so much bolstering strength to let the wolf roam free gone now, but the hund himself ever vigilant, watching, waiting, seeking for the Shatterpoint, the moment that would make or break both his and the girl's survival, eyes hidden from sight as the menace approached, braith sensing the child tremble, but letting her show none of it. And there, he finally saw it, as he again looked within himself, within pure flame... and with thunderous volume, with fluency so feriously swift as his window of opportunity to alter path began closing ever faster...he did proclaim, the shepherding flame using the girl's voice, as if one, single determined sound, her sound laced with his raw drive to defend the only one who truly mattered. "Inveniam viam aut faciam!!" The girl's body finally lifted it's head, and with it revealed the inhuman blackness of it's sclera, pure crimson blazing bright against a void of utter black. The girl had no power here, in this moment, only him, and the being in gold. She held not the knowledge needed to make it out of the encounter alive, but he did, and by the gods themselves, he would quite literally survive for both of them if necessary. A cloak of solid flame shrouded her form within the same instant as the fearsome invocation escaping her lips, as the kick that otherwise would've proved fatal made landfall and using every ounce of influence he had over that body commanded "You will roll with the punches" and like a puppet, so did the nerves and muscles respond, letting the raw force carry the girl away from the golden being and the cloak of flames even propelling her further to increase the distance between them... Brath wasted no time, with both their lives in his metaphysical hands. As he took note of a twinkling of light shining from the distance, for once, he felt thankful for the cheeky little fucker the girl had nearly murdered just the day before, and quick as a scurrying church mouse, stood Rame's body up and charged it for what was left of the nearest treeline, if the smoking ruins of what had once perhaps resembled trees could even be called that. He cared nothing for the protest of the tendons in the legs as he overclocked the muscles, chanted a few more chants just to reinforce them with the vigor of flame as he ran, he knew full well a lost cause when he saw it. They'd done their part, tried what they could. He would risk nothing more here than he already had with that gambit. And so he, in the body of her, Ran, a blur of speed as he tried his absolute damndest to get her out of the situation while he could... Eyes still burning with that otherworldly, contrasting black against a scarlet glow.

Rame "Black smoke, white smoke, gray smoke... it's all making sense now." "You're fucking kidding me, right!?" "Well, to be fair, It's not like this was what those things immediately made me assume..." The two stood watching as the world went to hell all around them... well, rather, the one, given the other had no body of his own. The air, choked with toxic ash and smoke as it was, was nothing on her lungs, eyes cutting right through the dense fog of death like twin rubies shinning under the cloak of night. Every fiber of her being screamed to turn tail and escape while she still could, and she'd been damn well in the process of that... before the actual battle began. The water Coreator, she felt no obligation towards... the falcon on the other hand... and then... oh yes, and then, there were idiotic little twats like the meek girl; she'd either A: Lost her fucking mind, B: was despite all rame had witnessed earlier, truly even more stupid than anyone in the camp to think it was a good idea to approach what was clearly an extreme threat, or C: all of the above. In that moment however, the answer didn't truly matter to Rame. One way or another, that fool had been one of only two people who's presences she could actually tolerate here, and damn it if she was going to be cut short yet again "Oh no that is just riiiiich..." The flame immediately rebuked in her mind, already turning her back around to keep running for the burning tree line "You think I'll let you jeopardize our survival? Who cares who you can and can't stand here, they're all going to be FUCKING DEAD SOON, GI-... eh?!" The child's willpower stood like an iron wall before the chained aspect of the beast, his sway having no power over her legs anymore. The memories of their faces flashed before her mind in a mere instant, Brandt's snarling green eyes and wolfish fury standing behind waves upon waves of iron sand and the stupid grin on Ingram's face as those worthless shits had their noses shattered like twigs and tossed into the snow to leave a trail of crimson as the got their sorry asses back up and fled. It was all she needed to take back control and turn back on her heels. "We don't burn those who don't deserve it-" "Don't even start that, incase you haven't noticed, I'm not active right now, that flaming bitch over yonder is!" "She and that lug are the only bearable ones we've found in this place! Are you telling me everything you said earlier was bullshit? What's even the point then, why bother discerning between deserving and undeserving if we let the ones we give a pass to just die regardless? What point is there in family or friends if you abandon each other the first chance you get!? Remember that you're the one who wants to see things burn! I'm just fucking tired of having nowhere to belong... It's always been that way, Braith... we're only in this together because both goals are mutually beneficial to the other! That's what you told me back then, that's what you always promised, you lying sack of shit!" "...So... it hasn't all been pointless, all the shit over all these years. You learned more than just what was on the surface... got the point thanks to those two... I was starting to lose hope with all the lingering hostility. But Good. Goooood...heheheheh...your brothers are even better than I give them credit for. But I'm still not letting you do this-" "Stop being such a cunt about it!" "I'm not lettin you do it alone, ya little fool! You think after what happened last time, you're anywhere near ready to take on a damn dragon? Ha!.... oh, that's a good one. But no. If you say the timid girl doesn't deserve it, and you truly are convinced of that judgement that no fires- whether or own or those of our foeman -should end her sorry life... then I guess we oughta do something to stop that, now shouldn't we? You have the flute still, don't you?" "I don't..." she patted heself down, feeling the instrument nowhere on her person any longer... "damn thing probably fell somewhere... but look just what the hell are you planning to do-" "If you lack the flute, then sing the song I taught you, oh so long ago... you know the one I speak of... and Don't stop, regardless what happens. I'll do the rest." Was he being infuriatingly vexing? Yes, yes he was. Had he ever led her astray though, even now when she most thought he had?.... to be honest... no. Without questioning it much further, the girl prepared herself, lungs filling with the toxic air with as little toll as if it were the cleanest breeze.... And like clockwork, she felt it as she began. a single sclera bleeding blacker than ink as he set his foothold, the presence of every last ember, every last flame and furious conflagration of heat and light blooming all around them blinking into her mind like the countless pinpoints along the expanse of the night's sky. And so too as she felt them, so too did she feel their power beginning to draw inward towards her, as if attracted by some invisible force. Braith merely laughed, as the vision of the dragon woman still fighting the demigods flashed in her mind. And she understood. Though the fires were of the dragon's making, she seemed to bother exerting no control over them right now save for those immediately useful to her in battle. These... were no better than wild flames. Flames lacking purpose, a hand to guide them. A hand that Braith gladly provided as in one fell swoop, he reached out, further than Rame ever could've, ever would've without killing herself from the strain, and like that, drew in their vibrant force, one by one, taking no more than enough to make each flicker and wane briefly, but collectively still far more than enough to sustain his true self. With all that he had conquered across the field bolstering the child's meager supply, the wolf wasted no time. Before her, the transmutation circle began to expand, fiery runes and lines of pure scarlet etching their way across the earth as she continued to sing, just as he had ordered. The Requiem of their first meeting...where it all began.... The song of the Great Wolf's Pact....the shepherding fire, Braith: The screeches of the damned filled the air, the runic construct ever more complete as the first part of the hymn progressed, until at long last, there emerged the beast's massive maw from the circle, gnashing flames of solidified flame rolled so many times in upon itself that it had gained mass and force, shaking the very earth around Rame herself as he pulled the rest of his chosen form free; a savage lupine figure, easily the size of small war elephant of the days of old as with one savage roar that tore the air with the crackling hiss of fire incarnate itself, he charged towards the ensuing duel, leaving not but ruined and scorched earth in his wake, every step of his gait kicking up ever more ground, the rainfall seeming to have real effect on him as the girl kept up her end of the agreement. Water was the fear of lesser fire. So too were powerful gusts, and sand, for so long as the girl lived and gave him the power of her song, he'd burn wherever she damn well needed him to, regardless of the conditions. She was literally... all he ever needed. The beast's original course was the girl gawking at the flame like an idiot, planning to split himself off into two and let one carry the little lackwit away while the other opened a window of opportunity for the demigods to strike. The swordsman pulling her back complicated things, true, but never so much as to even make the Hund pause, as he shifted his charge right for the golden armored being, sensing her power like the presence of a thousand suns. He knew already, there was likely little he could truly do to her, and she to him... but the two others would doubtless appreciate any chance at distracting her there was, and even besides, what mattered now was keeping her attention on all three of them and off those fleeing. The little twat who'd been gawking like a lobotomy patient included. He opened his massive jaws, propelling himself forward with all several thousand pounds of that condensed form of flames into a lounging pounce, every fang lining his mouth like a long sword as he doth proclaimed in the old tongue, louder than a drop of resounding thunder, shock and awe "INTERLOPER!"

Hugh... Hugh stayed silent for the most part as brendan tried to lead him away, following the older boys lead with a thankful nod. He was the only one close enough to hear the snarling under his breath as the older group began to pursue them however, but up until the point where the red headed young man demanded they each fork over something, he'd hadn't broken away from the aspiring Ruin Maniac. He stopped in his tracks, breaking free of Brendan as he whirled on his toes and recalled the water type he held into his capsule. "...put your money away." The boy ordered Mio while he marched past him, speaking aloud for the first time in this whole mess, glaring at the pack of human vultures "They have a point. I fought her, I lost...now I owe something" With that said, he reached into his right sleeve, pulling back the hem of his glove and retrieving a several sizable bills of currency, unrolling and counting them in rapid succession before holding the bundle out to the red haired thug, eyes an unreadable facade of crimson as he tried not to focus on the blonde haired psycho behind the older trainer. "but I pay my own debts, and I'm not about to just stand here and watch you extort them. 1000P$, that's far more than fair for this, probably a better amount than you would've gotten out of stealing their pocket change anyway. Take it."

"I knew it. I... knew it. These three might just be the quickest to arrive, but they won't be the last... by the goddess, I want nothing more than to strangle that hot headed merchant right now..." Move to F16, Heal Ecquis

“Does anyone happen to know how long we might’ve been out?” Cadence turned around at the question, listening on as the commander commented on the position of the sun and the nomad of how wherever they were, it couldn't have been long if the horse survived. Hell, how long was a good question, one that, for the most part, none of them had any real way of knowing, from what she could see. It could've been a few hours, a full day, even a few days.... goddess knew which. Receiving concise, timely answers from the goddess though tended to be a far harder feat than getting one from the spirits though... at least for her. "you lot wouldn't happen to have kept track of that, would you?" She asked them in her mind. It took them a few moments, as she heard the hurried whispers of their ethereal voices fading in and out like the embers of a flame, here and yet oddly not here at the same time as they chattered back and forth. Finally though, they returned their attention to her, seemingly ready with their final estimate on the matter... Cadence almost felt her jaw drop when the figure at last popped into her mind. "T-three days..." she answered. "Three....whole days, according to the Anima. We've either been asleep on this damn beach or adrift from on the waves that entire while, and it's definitely a miracle if most of that time was spent on the latter..."

"Yeah, that sounds fun and all" Cadence called in response to the priestess as she finally neared the group, the trail of her steps showing just how far down the shore she'd washed up, coat and rapier still hand. Those closest to her likely could've seen the tell-tale redness of her eyes, along with the strange black book she carried beneath her other arm. Interestingly enough though, without the heavy garb slung over her shoulder hiding most of the gracious, goddess-given endowment of her figure now, it was plain beyond the utter shadow of a doubt that she was most definitely female. "but I think you're forgetting about how we're supposed to be looking into things over on Kabumu. Not really much time to be enjoying ourselves... goddess knows how far off course we went and how much time we've already lost thanks to the storm. Better to try and find help and a way back off this place as soon as we can. Well... assuming we actually ended up somewhere with anyone to help us, that is."

"NO, WAIT!" She awakened with the words screaming from her throat, still frantically trying to break free of the spirits hold until she realized... this was not cobbled stone beneath her... twas sand. And this moisture on her face... it wasn't merely the air. She touched a single hand to her eyes as she pushed herself up to sit. She took stock of the surrounding shoreline, finding her coat strewn a few feet away...and the book mere inches from where she sat. And she knew what had happened... what it had all really been... "It...no... it couldn't have been, that was... it was real, I know it... he..." The spirits were again whispering to her as she tried to process the experience. She took a shaky breath, though the centering had a far lesser effect than it had in battle, given the sights of the other realm. But from what they told her... it had been real. In it's own bizarre, twisted way, the other realm had been as much apart of reality as the barren sand she'd woken up on and the shapes of her allies, far in the distance. It seemed most of them had survived the calamity as well... she stood, shaking, and wiped her face as best she could. "I know it was him...why? Why did he do it, why'd he tell you to drag me away?" The spirits gave no response. "ANSWER ME!" again, nothing. All she could even feel from them was the slightest trace of regret over the whole encounter. "....rrrrrrrrrr....fine, stay silent, wandroughts. One way or another, I'm going to find a way back to that place...whatever the hell it even was." She collected the- surprisingly dry given it's time at sea -brigandine-laden coat and slung it over her shoulder, bending down to collect the old codex... and there she saw it. The damn rapier, sticking out of the sand as if someone had sheathed it there with every ounce of furious force they could muster. She sighed as she straightened with the book in tow, shaking her head. It was too obvious that these lot had a massive hand in saving her- waking up without her coat on, her meager belongings and her weapon still intact and gathered together despite every bit of logic dictating they be lost at sea, especially the damn iron rapier- peice of shit should've sunk right into the depths, yet here it was... but they could've been a little less cheeky about it. "Look... I don't like this damn thing either ok, but.... don't just go shoving it into the ground like that, you wandroughts. It's the only damn thing I've got, the last thing I need is for you lot to ruin it doing this type of stuff..." Again, they said nothing in response. But she knew they were laughing. She took the rapier out of the dry sand, sighing in relief that their little statement hadn't worn it out even further than the pirates' bodies had.

"Heheh, so this is what the spirits can really do eh? Hm.... maybe I should try calling them more often. Even if it does feel terrible afterwards..."

^Pretty much this. the flaw "Trial of the Successor" forbids her being affected by any buffing or healing actions from allies. as for the deaf thing, no, but even if she were, Arachni like natural spiders can sense vibration... and their vibrosense is far greater than a mundane arachnid, so even if she were deaf, she'd still be able to "feel" the sound... and it would probably still drive her crazy, if it weren't for her flaw blocking it altogether.

Nah, on closer examination, since the broadcast thing grants an immunity to being muted/deafened, it counts as a buff.... ergo, she's not even affected by it. At all. As in she hears nothing. but no seriously, can we like... maybe get to wrapping all this stuff up, It'd be nice to actually progress and complete the damn prologue sometime relatively soon

"Yeah... if I don't kill myself from the damn strain before we finish, that is..." she mumbled as her body once more tried, and largely failed, to adjust to what had over the course of the fight become a seemingly endless cycle of her wounds being agitated, reopened, and then closed right back again. She was thankful for the help of the spirits, she was, but.... it didn't generally feel too great having her muscles torn, ribs cracked and gashes opened and undone over and over again. More like a form of torture really, even moreso than the sight she got from looking over at the pirate's captain, as he brought out his secondary weapon. Yup, the bastard made her sick to be honest. He was, without a doubt, completely fine with how this turned out, just look at that ugly smirk. Most commanders felt guilt at losing men unnecessarily, or at the very least some type of shame or personal slight to themselves for lost honor and reputation. Captain boi just sat over there smug as an idiot. "Look...Can we just wipe that ugly grin off his mug? I think I'm gonna get seasick if I have to stare at the mess this idiot has caused much longer. If he actually had some damn sense, he would've taken the rest of his men and walked away long before it came to this..." With that said, she herself pressed on further across the deck.... if only these barrels were pillars though. One of the only actually useful things fencing had taught her, and she couldn't even use it here. Move to Q28

“Here, you don’t seem very well. Probably won’t help you much, but you're sweating quite a bit. You could use something to help clean it up. And whatever you did… Don’t do it again. We don’t need a second person going down.” "..." she looked at the proffered cloth for a moment, still visibly shaking beneath the coat, before finally she relented. With an unsteady hand she took the thing and tried to dab away the chilling persperation, letting out a small chuckle despite the gross amount of discomfort still wracking her injured form. "I...guess you have... a point." "Perhaps It wasn't.... the best of ideas.... for me to have dabbled in things I obviously didn't understand the full extent of...." she handed the cloak back, nodding in appreciation. Her legs still refused to respond. "Heh...my father always made it seem so simple....calling the spirits to his aid with nothing but raw willpower. Maybe.... instead of... standing there in awe as a little girl... I should've bothered to ask him more.... about it. But it was the only way I could think of.... to stop you bleeding out before the medicine could work. A fair enough....trade off in the end. I've gone this whole fight wounded and battered, this.... this is nothing... really..." It was a bold faced lie, and she fucking knew it- if it wasn't for the fact that her lungs kept insistently grasping for sweet air, she would've been sure she was on death's door. How the hell sages managed to do this and keep standing, let alone press forward alot of the time like it was nothing, was beyond her... years of practice and training, probably. Practice and training she'd been denied even the most basic forms of her whole life... damn fencing regiment. before the conversation could continue much further though, there came the dancer from earlier. It was most definitely a welcome change as the reinvigorating aura washed over her. Her legs finally responding again, managed to stand, using the rapier as a anchor as she turned to the dancer and the boy. "...thanks, I.... needed that. Badly. But.... there's no time to lose. Only a few of them left, might as well finish what they started." with an unsteady step forward, and the next few after growing steadily stronger, she headed off the planks and onto the enemy vessel, pausing for just a moment or two as she inspected the ruined body of the archer. So... this was darkness. the real thing, actually put to use and not just some hingepoint in an old book or lecture... "Enjoy your stay in hell, you salty bastard..." and with that, she continued on. Move to N26

“I don't know how you did it, but thank you so much.” Karik gave a smile to the girl, trying not to fall over from his weak self. "Don't...mention...it..." she managed to answer the boy with, gritting her teeth on every syllable. Just moments later, the dark mage came by and finished the archer, and the priestess to see to the boy's injuries better than she herself could. She stayed sitting where she was all the while, not even trying to stand. So... was this their toll? Father had always told her that the words contained within tomes were not enough to prime the spirits, that they needed something else with it. Something to power them, give them the energy to effect the material world. The very reason why Tomes wore out over time just like blades and lances and other such inferior weapons- they held both the instructions and the power within their pages to let the spirits manifest. And every time they did, a bit more of that energy faded away. It made her wonder though... what if someone told the spirits to do something... without a book, as she just had? She was, regrettably, no mage, but she'd still done something noteworthy when she saved the boy just now. What happened when they had instructions- a clear task and target -but no tome to power them, as she'd seen the man demonstrate numerous times? Where did they draw it from, if they chose to listen and actually do it, as they had with him, and her? What about those times where they healed her of their own accord, could they have...even then? Even as she sat there, winded, in a cold sweat with chills, feeling herself tremble beneath the weighty burden of the coat though, the answer came clear to her. Indeed, If there was no tome... they'd simply take what they needed from the caller. It had to be it. An equally interesting, and dangerous thought. She'd done something relatively minor, compared to slinging full fledged thunder or sparking a conflagration, turn the wind into a blade... and even with as small a feat as make a barrier to stop his bleeding, this toll was worse than anything she'd felt during the fight. What would she have had to sacrifice for a greater showing? How much worse off would she be? "Perhaps... this is why... he always saved it for tight spots and emergencies, in hindsight...Goddess, I can hardly move...he... always made it seem so easy..." "This type of thing... it's what... allies are supposed...to do for each other... unlike these pirates... They just, let each other bite it. didn't even try to save their friends, if thats what any of them were. But... Those two, they're right, you know..." she said simply, after the other two had both come and gone. There wasn't much else she could do but chide him about the incident anyway, in her miserable state. "It was a lucky shot on him, bastard just barely got me too just before he did you... but still, try and be... a bit more careful. Don't underestimate a man who's on his last legs. That's when most will fight the hardest...that's when they have the most to lose."

"A lucky shot, you brigading bastard..." she spat at the cur after the bolt struck home. Yup, there went her shoulder... but that didn't stop her from pressing forward. Not in the least bit, only strengthened her resolve, as she reached up and not so much as wincing, pulled the projectile out, shaft and all before tossing it to the deck. She clutched a single blood soaked hand to the wound, and like clockwork, the spirits responded, knitting broken flesh and muscle back together as best they could. It was settle, Archer boy was going down too, right with his captain. That is, until the boy and the rogue type from earlier rushed forward before she could skewer his sorry ass. Figures... what, were they going to just beat him into submission like the others- The sound of steel and wood thunking deep into flesh, the fading whistle high velocity flight, a boy's cry in pain... "Let this be a lesson to all traitors. You only leave when you're dead. Hope you don't make the same mistake in your next life," "Shit!" "Karik!" The thought of running the man through, end him rightly right then and there, crossed her mind many times, in the mere second or two it took her to close the distance. But no... no, making sure he didn't bleed out from the wound was far more important. Like grandfather always said, better to prioritize saving lives first over taking them, if one were able. "Hang on! I-" "I-I...." She paused with the Vulnerary in hand, eyes fixing on the extent of the injury. It... it was a miracle he hadn't been killed on impact, really. She felt her hands begin to shake ever so slightly, as the image of the ruined body flashed in her mind, that woman standing over him like a demon... nothing she could do to stop any of it. She probably would've lost herself in the vision... had it not been for the resounding whispers breaking through it, invisible force steadying her hands for her. The spirits had once again returned to her side. She felt the resolve steadily return as the memory faded further from the background... A deep breath, in and out, mind focusing, heart growing still. The same centering technique her father had taught her so long ago. She braced her hand at the base of the shaft, clenching the vulnerary vial in her teeth as she gripped the shaft. Already she was asking the spirits for even more aid, there would blood soon. Alot of it, too much. The less he lost, the better off he'd be. "It's not your time. Not on this ship. Not these wandroughts. And not to an Arrow." Steady as stone, not a plead, not a bargain, just a statement of absolute fact with the conviction to match. With no further preamble, she moved. The arrow came loose slow at first, then all at once in single powerful pull, hand moving over the spout of blood as nearly instantly, the spirits too leapt into action, the tide beneath her fingers stemming like a dammed river as a hot, off white glow burned on Karik's chest. It was nowhere near enough to save him alone, but it kept him from going south as she reached up, and with one deft motion, unstoppered the medicine with her mouth and took her hand away as she poured, letting it seep directly into the wound. Normally drinking it would be preferable, true, but... there was no time for such nonsense as trying to make sure it actually got down without him choking. Near instantly, the boy would've felt a stinging like the worst burn he'd ever gotten, but even as it hurt like hell, his wound began to stitch itself back together. The white glow faded of the spirit's aid faded as she restoppered the vial... "Karik. Karik, can you hear me?" again, steady as stone...calm as the winter sky. hike up those panties like a big girl and ADMINISTER A LIFE-SAVING VULNERARY ON KARIK

Aurora Finding them was easy, with so many different scents to follow all leading to the same place. Silken knapsack and all her stolen goods inside it on her back, she crept out of the shade and towards the front entrance of the house. All fleshbags inside it seemed- well... no, that wasn't entirely true. There was the tall metal person, and then the... strange fleshie who was not actually fleshie and smelled far too familiar for some reason, like one of those odd little blobs she'd found in the dark place with all the water long ago, before the girl and squid had finally said they were all ready to leave that place. Yes, the little ones who she'd have to compete with for who nabbed the rats first and got to eat... though most of the time, she ended winning quite handedly through basic trickery; spin a web where she knew they'd pass through, and the little fools would waste all their time trying to eat their way through it instead of simply going another route and continuing to hunt. Turned out that whatever the blobs were, they hadn't been very bright. Regardless though, aside from those two, it was fleshies galore. And much to her dismay, neither the space serpent who let her talk without feeling like she was slowly killing herself, or the White One was anywhere to be seen. Which meant she was stuck waiting among all these.... potential pieces of meat. The odd words of the White One echoed through her addled mind even now: She grumbled at the thought, before remembering the ever so slight weight on her back. Well, she did manage to nab all these goods... perhaps it wouldn't be so bad a wait afterall. Without a sound, literally undetectable in her sheer silence, she crept passed the entrance and into the confined space... finding a dark corner to call her own not too long after, watching them all with those glinting beads of silver.

*slowly pulling an arrow out of her shoulder...* "Well, at least it's better than last time. Could be a decent start, I suppose..."

Tick Tock The shop owner watched the clock Tick Tock He turned back to the bloody chopping block. ----------------------- Aurora made certain to stay further hidden this time, as the unmistakable scent of meat hit her, drew her in like a moth to a flame. There it was, just across the way, a butcher. The blood on his smock and cleaver in his hand was all she needed to be sure. But it seemed that while chopped and prepared flesh was the man's specialty, he sold a myriad of other edibles too; bread, wine, jerky, cheese, luxuries like chocolate too... interesting. The one's back home, at least the ones she'd observed before raiding the place when they were asleep that next night, had never thought to expand beyond their primary good. The sign outside the place was faded, but it seemed to be close enough to Common for her to make out "Jason's Butcher & Deli". Jason sounded like a name fitting of a fleshbag, Butcher indeed confirmed her suspicions, but she didn't know what the hell a 'Deli' could be. But that wasn't important. The food lining his shelves was. But she wasn't going to risk repeating the incident with the fire rod girl. She unveiled her wrists from the sleeves of her robes, aiming one of the spinnerets just ever so carefully, focusing on the target. One strand flying out unseen, one tug, one decorative vase falling off the shelf over the shopkeep's head. The man cursed loudly enough for Aurora to hear him from the shadows, clutching at the newly bleeding gash in his head left by the shattered ceramic, fallen to the floor from the sheer surprise of impact. The spider cackled at her success as he picked himself up and stumbled through the door behind the counter, his own blood beginning to mingle on his smock with that of slabs he'd been slicing. She didn't move a muscle till she was sure he'd be in for a while, and finally made her strike, firing even more strings into the shop, reeling in several articles of food; Jerky, bread, cheese. She had to leave the steaks and other choice cuts though, there was no real way she could get past their case without entering the shop and potentially causing him to investigate despite his injury. Plus she could sense even from her the aura of cold radiating off whatever machinery he used to preserve them so perfectly. The whole heist took less than a full minute, with her reflexes and speed with her silk. By the end she'd nabbed a good 3 or 4 loaves of various types of breads, a goodly amount of the sealed bags containing the homemade jerky and enough wedges of the dairy stuff last for all 4 loaves of the bread. By the time the man reemerged from the back several minutes later, a bandage on his head and an ice pack too, Aurora had already woven a thick silken sack and shoved the pilfered materials inside, before dashing off through the shadows and away from the scene. It was time to find the strangers, she was getting bored exploring this drab place. Meanwhile, all the man could do was look around, not really sure why something felt off... till he saw the misssing places on the shelves. He knew immediately he had been had. But... by who? Heartless cared nothing about food, it had to have been a human. But who? Who could've been so silent and swift? Who among their community was secretly such a... smooth criminal? ((Inventory: 4 Loaves added 13 Jerky Packs added 8 Cheese Wedges added Key Item: Silken Knapsack acquired))

Aurora Left the her own devices as the strangers scattered, the spider had taken to scoping out her new surroundings. It was a rather easy prospect, sticking the shade and silently eyeing the fleshbags who ran the stands and buildings filled with a myriad of things, most of them she'd never seen before; odd trinkets and alien materials, strange glowing stones and vials filled with liquids of an uncertain nature. None of it kept her attention all that well though. Not like any of it was edible, and trying to take one of the fleshies from the stores was probably more trouble than it was worth in the end. Like with the strangers, there were too many. Unlike the strangers though, the one with the odd blade she'd seen before was proof enough that this place probably wasn't full of absolutely oblivious morons. They'd be far more likely to notice a scream or brief struggle in the split-second frame of time between Aurora pouncing and her actually silencing the target, compared to the deaf mutts who'd not heard a single thing right over their heads earlier. She'd already had one of them notice her when she got too close to an open window while peering in, the girl had been taking inventory when she stopped for a break and practically pissed herself at the sight. She probably hadn't given it much thought when she chucked the nearest object as hard as she could, didn't matter how valuable it was, she just wanted the damn thing to leave, whatever the hell it was, heartless or no. Aurora found it funny even, as she simply moved out of the painfully predictable paths of the objects. All her screaming and hysterics, it felt... familiar. So wonderfully familiar... but before she'd had much time to relish in it or wonder why it felt so right, the girl had started reaching for a rod of some sort, and instead of throwing it she pointed it right at her as the air heated up. Embers were always a bad sign, and that's when instinct took over. Aurora had made herself scarce before the single bolt of flames ever made it out of the open window frame and off into the drab sky beyond. But not before nabbing one of the many things the girl had flung... a little green vial, glowing. It smelled sweet almost, really the only reason she picked it up. Perhaps it's taste matched the smell... but there was no way she was going to stop right then and there to find out; the fleshy might've tried something stupid in all her fear, taken that rod and come outside to make sure she was gone. And there were very few things worth braving the wrath of hot fire. She kept further from the windows after that, made sure to not leave the cover of the shade if at all possible. Because, if even more of them had the power to command fire, or worse yet the cold, then it was indeed as she had thought: these fleshies were far more trouble to pursue than they were worth. [inventory: Potion Added]

Rei stayed silent for a moment, as she watched the things draw even closer. She'd honest been beginning to think the same thing herself, at this point. She'd been worried enough about where the situation might head when there was just one of em. But there was no way she'd risk letting three get close enough to do anything, which... something in her gut told her they probably would if given the chance. Even if they did feel like a far more neglible concern compared to the living ink behind them. "yeah... guess it comes down to this then. Get ready..." as soon as those very words left her mouth, her eyes shined with silver radiance as the aura of cold lept off her body and surged right for the three figures just down the way, cloaking the path in frost and stealing the very color and life out of the air as it closed the distance...

Sansa and the Fire Rat A fiery sigil made a single overhead loop and pass right above them as soon as the girl finished her question, a very familiar, very blunt voice of a certain peregrine shouting out "I meant the damn grass type, ya dunce! Arceus and the creation trio, do ya not even see the poor unconscious lass that's right in front of ya?" and with that said, the fiery courier was gone for good, truly soaring off into the heavens now. Arthur The ghost type flailed about miserably as the water struck his face, tumbling to the ground before finally managing "Hey, HEY! What's wrong with you!?" finally being released from the pressure of the stream, he probs himself up on a single stubby elbow, glaring at the turtle. "Did you just spit at me? Gah, you water types and your disrespect...though... kek..." the fiend stuck his tongue out in a breif little chuckled as he sprung up from the ground, quite the juxtaposition from his poor state earlier "not like I can say much in that department. What was that you said about the clu-ooooh.... right. Sully. No good fighting type, always ruining my schemes...that glass could've ended my afterlife, ya know?" Sephtis Sephtis made his way through the diminishing crowd and into the ground floor of the pillar. The entryway was little more than a massive, circular space befitting the shape of the ancient tower, with various halls and corridors splitting off of the main chamber. One of which contained a staircase that was easily in view, but no sooner had his sight caught it did sephtis also notice the trio of Bisharps standing, or rather... sitting guard on the landing. None of them had the sapphire blue armor of the officer he'd met though, nor his tattered coat of command. Nevertheless, something was odd about them. Despite the unassuming, unbefitting posture as they each sat on a single step, their eyes burned with unnaturally crimson light, alert as savagely trained hunds and tracking the ghost type from the very moment he'd entered the space. The air was so charged with their tension it practically felt like he was swimming in electricity. These... were anything but normal soldiers. Infact, none of them wore any indication of the enclave's army either. Tres "YOU CAN NOT DISTRACT THE HARBINGER OF OBLIVION, MORTAL." the scattered shots which tres fired were seized in their trajectory and instantly crystallized before dissolving into nothing, much like Trish's lightning earlier, though, if the duck looked closely he would've noticed that while the lions share of the attack had been negated, those bursts furthest from the shard had left deep indents in the aging facade. It certainly wasn't the type of total destruction he needed, but... there were cracks forming. Could it be that however the shard defended itself so completely, it only worked when he was target with ill intent? or perhaps the demon wasn't as strong as his boasting and reanimating and corrupting those rats took more power than he let on... Trish meanwhile, did her best to hold off five larger, meaner, and literally nastier enemies at once, the iron flash of her tail and peeling retort of her thunder lighting up the small space with brilliant radiance. She fought well, far too well for a mere treasure hunter or opportunist, but that didn't stop the sheer determination and hatred of her foes. Every now and again, a shadow managed to score a glancing hit on her, shadowed claws doing enough damage to actually bypass the defensive field of Azoth that normally surrounded all mons and even draw blood... but it wasn't like in the old days, where such a thing only happened if a battle was taken past the point of no return... no, these rats seemed to be able to disregard her life field entirely. "Hurry...the fuck... up..." she managed, the exertion obvious in her breath as she wiped crimson from her eyes. "they're...gonna kill me at... this rate... and then you'll be screwed too-" as if to confirm the state, one of them slammed their tale into her ribs, making her grit her teeth and shout a few choice words as she put every ounce of her will into staying put. If these bastards managed to toss her aside, she knew full well how quickly this whole encounter would end. "I'm gettin'...a bit dizzy..." another came for her, claws of pure shade at the ready to end her life. But almost as if acting on instinct, her fur bristles and a bolt of pure gold, shining greater than anything described in all the combined entries on nuclear weapons Tres had ever read, slices right through the abomination enough force that nothing remains but ashes. Strange, crimson static blossomed around Trish immediately after, but despite the grimace of exquisite pain, she doesn't drop her stance. The four surviving rats are taken aback by the display of power, opening just the window she needs to press forward, tail again glowing silver as she charges. But Tres can see it plain in her eyes that she's running on fumes. "Hurry...you dunce..." Genis Much to the boy's surprise, it's actually nowhere as hot or fiery inside the cave as he'd been fearing. Oh but there was fire, that much, there was no mistaken. Hell fire, in fact, the stuff was captured into miniature lanterns lining the mouth of the dragon's stone head, obviously the source of it's ominous glow. If Genis looked closely as he passed though... he would've noticed that they were just Will-o-Wisps. It felt warm in here, as he descended, almost inviting, even to an ice type like himself. The tailow disappeared around a winding bend in the natural corridor, and the moment Genis rounded himself he was inside an impressive chamber of scarlet stone, lit up by many similar lanterns to the ones he'd seen. A few other passageways branched off, each seeming to lead to a smaller chamber, but those were not what caught the wolverine's eyes. No, for in the very back of the space there was a raised platform of jutting stone, and atop it... sat the strangest mon he'd ever laid his childish eyes upon. A geezer, by the look of him. Pale, rose pink eyes that shined like polished rubies under the lantern light and gold brows to match with a mop of white fur framing his face. But his face was nothing compared to the rest of him. The elder looked, quite frankly, like an altaria and lapras had fallen hard for each other and produced the oddest love child the world had ever seen. Green scales like emeralds, long serpentine neck, feathery front fins and tail. And he. Was. Massive. Easily tenfold Genis's size, and that of the taillow cleaning her feathers before him. Infact, as the boy stood there, she turned to him, raising yet another wing in greeting. It didn't seem to matter to her that they'd literally been together the whole time and it wasn't necessary to do it again. "Oh, there ya are, man, you move slow... I thought weaviles were deadly, fast hunters, even as babies. Guess you guys are overhyped, huh?" with that subtle jab to pierce (though whether the girl actually meant it to come off so brutally peircing or not, is anyone's guess) his heart out of the way, she turns back to the massive being before her "anyways, Muyra, this is who I was telling you about. Boss told me to bring him here to meet the others!" "Hmmmm.... I see..." his voice was slow yet smoother than the freshest cut ice. He stared at Genis with those flashing, crimson eyes, his presence oddly inviting s he beckoned forward. Truly, whatever the hell he was, the sneasel had never seen another member of his line before "come, youngling, don't be afraid... what if your name?"

aight, so I'ma be real frank https://discord.gg/qJXWj4N this exists now. if you don't know what discord is, it's a real time chat service that's leagues superior to showdown and much better than skype can ever hope to be under MS's rule. I expect all of you to eventually make an account and get on here if you don't already have one, because guess what? The era of Showdown based back channels is dead here, and it's never coming back. But don't worry, discord is actually free... which is very surprising given how high quality it is.