Outside: Grass touch place

[quillpleasant]

For Whom the Bell Gnolls

Octavia gives an encouraging thumbs up as her lookalike prepares to follow her lead. She has faith that he'll be able to figure it out! And not fling her at the gnolls this time.

And as Blanktavia will know, the body he's currently copying has two distinct parts to it- the metal shell, and the light halo housed within it. It's this latter part that reacts to the invocations, and as he speaks the words (correctly this time) his halo immediately transforms into the same cannon as Octavia's.

Notably, since it's made of solid light, it's weightless, and extremely easy to maneuver despite its bulk. An initial shell fires into the sky, and more will come with just a thought. The projectiles themselves are generated by light and holy energy, so it won't deplete his body or brain matter. That'd be a little gross.

-yes! way to go buddy!- cries Octavia happily, -see, the only thing holding you back is your self doubt. now let's scorch some earth!- And with that she resumes her own shelling, the bombs of holy light arcing through the sky and descending on the rousing nest.

It's not a constant stream- they'll need to wait a few seconds between shots- but it's steady and powerful, and with two of them it should result in quite a lot of destruction.

[Wolfbane]

Destroyed Wizard's Tower Basement

It might be nice to have a name, but it's not truly necessary. I am a living suit of armor, an extension of my wearer - an extension of you. It seems somewhat confused by the idea of needing a name, the soft feminine voice echoing in Onisa's head with clarity, Refer to me as you will. From now on, I am here to support you.

Destroyed Wizard's Tower Basement

Onisa takes a few moments to consider it, picking up the literal bits and pieces of her ex-party members to place it in a salvaged bag to carry away. "Did you know, in most ancient archaeological sites, the one thing to survive thousands of years is pottery? Baked and fired clay that becomes so hard that it can withstand the literal weight of eons of erosion, soil, and the remains of burned out empires sitting on top of it. To the extent that entire civilizations and periods of time are named after pottery found in locations." She says, tying the bag and looking to heard towards the exit. "You're the color of some called Terra-Cotta, so why not go with Terra for a name? As for why I need a name for you, it will make it easier to talk to you from my perspective. And who knows, maybe you'll like to have one sometime."

[Meowmai]

[For Whom the Bell Gnolls]

Ginger pauses, considering Khannie's words, before nodding. "Fair point. Good distinction to have." Her shoulders do seem to relax slighly at that.

Of course, one can only get so relaxed marching into the base of operations of who-knows-how-many hungry gnolls. It does at least also help to see and hear their backup bombardment. She could only assume this means Octavia had succeeded in showing Blank how to use her abilities.

Looking at the options before her, it doesn't take Ginger long to decide. The front gate was stupid and dangerous, and while that had never stopped her it didn't seem like the best idea. The side gate seemed better, but even with Khannie's illusions Ginger didn't trust her own sneaking- and ambushing the guard could make a bit too much noise. Which left one more option- although that depended on how freely Khannie can take human form. She can't imagine rock faces and hooves go together all that well. "How do you feel about climbing, Miss Khannie?" She asks, nodding towards the outcrop.

[General Shrimp]

Overly Adventurous

Kestrel stumbles forwards under Atreyu's hearty pat, feeling just a little breath leave her body. She does her best to recover and act like nothing happened. She's unsure where her old friend was heading, but follows without comment nonetheless. "All of those are nice, though!" The birdgirl nods cheerily. "I guess, like, while I haven't done a lot, quite a bit has happened on my end. I adopted a wolf cub for one! Thought about naming him after you, but went with calling him Silver." She flashes him a cheeky grin. "But mhm, you're right. Got some ruins to explore, looking for some amulet or other." She hadn't been paying the most attention as to why. It had seemed to be about some inscription translation or something, which was well beyond her. "No time limit though! So I'm in no rush. Was enjoying the scenery, but then, y'know."

[Ruins]

"Believe it or not, I'm here on an archeological expedition." Thariza's tone is half-joking. She is here to research, but she wouldn't call it an expedition. "I'm studying the culture that built this place."

Overly Adventurous

"Got yerself a wolf cub, huh? Ain't sure how I'd feel about it if ya had named him after me. Be a bit weird fer a pet to have my name. I'm usually the one doin' the petting." He chuckles, reaching over to ruffle Kestrel's hair to demonstrate. "Well, if yer goin' to explore some ruins, I guess I'm tagging along. Somebody's gotta keep an eye on ya, eh?" He grins a wolfish grin, slowing his stride to let Kestrel to start leading the way.


Ruins

"Huh. Well ain't that a thing? I'm just here fer the plants. If'n y'don't mind keepin' yer axe to yerself, I suppose I can get the plants ta part ways fer ya." The vines writhe and part ways, revealing a path leading into the ruins, and an open area just beyond with a couple of rather unusual looking bushes and shrubs and a strangely twisted tree, and a big ol' silver-furred werewolf watching the entryway with his arms folded, who raises his eyebrows slightly at the sight of Thariza. "Huh. Yer a tall one, Missy."

[Shadowcaller]

Fox Hunt - Remixed

Obriana's instructions to May was clear.
Appropriate clothing, the usual hunting gear but no weapons besides a survival knife and a camping axe.
Since she was not here to hunt, she was here to observe. Hunting was something that would come later.

They would bike to the spot as it wasn't far from Riverside.
Just off the side of a bike path a little bit away from wildside. Since hunting in a fey forest was not something Obriane wanted to engage in and she strongly suspected May felt the same way.

"So here we are. Today we're to hike some distance through these woods and you're going to tell me what you see, okay?" This was what could be called Obriane's comfort zone and one might be able to tell that just in the way she talks.

[Arkhosia]

► SHOW SPOILER

Fox Hunt - Remixed

Obriana's instructions to May was clear.
Appropriate clothing, the usual hunting gear but no weapons besides a survival knife and a camping axe.
Since she was not here to hunt, she was here to observe. Hunting was something that would come later.

They would bike to the spot as it wasn't far from Riverside.
Just off the side of a bike path a little bit away from wildside. Since hunting in a fey forest was not something Obriane wanted to engage in and she strongly suspected May felt the same way.

"So here we are. Today we're to hike some distance through these woods and you're going to tell me what you see, okay?" This was what could be called Obriane's comfort zone and one might be able to tell that just in the way she talks.

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

"Okay." May dismounts from her bike and nods, turning towards the evergreens and trying to avoid the strange trepidation this gave her. It's been a long time since she's been out in the woods - or at least, it feels like it, especially after everything that's happened in these past few months. And she'd never been much of a nature girl either, which felt weird to admit considering what she was.

Not that she'd have felt any more confident if she was. They weren't here to do a nice hike down a trail; they were here to hunt. The very thought of that word is enough to send a shiver down her spine.

"I... I think I'm ready." It's a lie, but May doesn't want to admit it. She squeezes one of the straps of her backpack and looks back towards Obriane.

[Shadowcaller]

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

Fey belonging to nature is nothing but a harmful stereotype, May.
Embrace modernity!
"Ready?" Obriane asks with a smile. "It's not a test or even something difficult. We're just going to walk around for a while. It's the most natural thing in the world, you know? Just letting your legs do all the talking."

She gestures at her head and then at the landscape before them. "To me it's trying to shift the focus from going inside your head to what's going on outside of it which I think is probably healthy for you right now. So rather than feeling stressed about meeting some sort of expectations, just be. I mean, you're probably not going to notice anything especially noteworthy the first time anyway. It's usually the second or third time you start to putting things together. All you need to do this time is to walk with me and see where your gaze is drawn, okay?"

[Arkhosia]

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

"Yeah - yeah, I know, it's just... hard to forget why we're out here." Or ignore the quiet gnawing hunger starting to resurface in her stomach. It's not bad yet, not as bad as it got those years before. But it's quicker, and worse if not tended to. Quietly, May steps closer to Obriane and does something a little unfamiliar - she reaches for her arm to cling to.

[Shadowcaller]

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

"Then tell me, why are we out here?" Obriane asks as she slightly misunderstands May's intentions by taking her hand when she reaches out for her arm. But depending on how May reacts, she will let her just take her arm. "Since my dad also took me out on walks like this. Plenty of times. It was the best thing really."

[Arkhosia]

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

"it's... cuz I need to learn to hunt now, right?" May observes, opting to just take Obriane's arm as they start their walk. The air is pretty crisp, and she's glad she brought a nice jacket and bought cozy hiking boots.

[Shadowcaller]

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

"Do you want to learn how to hunt? Since there's plenty of ways depending on how you feel about it. Since actual hunting is so much more than just chasing down the prey. It's all about maintaining a balance to ensure that you always have access for prey to hunt and that's a whole science in itself." She let's out a short laugh.

"But that's the difference between a hunter and a predator. Since one just follow their natural instinct while the other thinks ahead." Obriane taps the side of her head. "Of course, being a predator is a lot easier. A lot more straight forward."

She stops walking for a moment and looks over to May. "So, uh, back to my first question, what do you want to learn?"

[Arkhosia]

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

"I... I do." The way she says it is complex, giving voice to a burden she has resolved to shoulder. "I mean, like, it's irresponsible of me if I don't, right?" She shrugs. "I dunno what my options are. I'd say trapping or something, but like - they said I had to make the kill, so... I dunno, maybe I have to learn to hunt fully."

[Shadowcaller]

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

Obriane's face seems to lit up as May declares that she wants to learn how to hunt fully. "Well, hunting is actually a great deal of fun since as much about taking care of animals as it is hunting them." She puts her arm around May's shoulder and starts walking again.

"So if we go back to what I first said, why don't you start looking around and tell me what you see? Since the first step of hunting is not just to understand the prey but the environment it lives in."

[Morty]

[Ruins]

Well, well. Who's this? Thariza has never seen a werewolf before. She's heard of Norn wearing the shape of the wolf but she hasn't seen it for herself.

"And you're one of the few people I've met who aren't smaller than I am," she replies as she puts her hatchet in a holster. "And I'm certainly not going to complain about not having to cut through these plants."

[Rebonack]

[For Whom the Bell Gnolls]

Destruction rains down from on high atop the fort and soon it reacts like a kicked ant-hill. The front gates open up and no fewer than three dozen gnolls come pouring out. It isn't the most daunting brand of raiders ever seen. Chances are most of them are off raiding the surrounding villages. These are just the ones that stayed home or have recently clawed their way out of the pit at the bottom of the mine. It'll take some time for them to reach the pair of angels doing the shelling but they are DEFINITELY heading straight for them.

Thankfully it doesn't look like any of the super gnolls are about.

That's probably for the best.

The main upside here is that this leaves the fort itself relatively unguarded.

"I think I can do a goat impression," Khannie says as she eyes craggy stones that separate the adventurers from the meandering path that leads deeper into the gaping maw of the pit. With careful poise, she begins placing one hoof in front of the other and climbing the near vertical rock face with relatively little difficulty.

See.

It turns out that equestrian unicorns lived in mountains where they could be closer to the stars. Their hooves are rather well adjusted for navigating improbably inclined surfaces.

Once our heroes have passed the steep cliff face they'll have a pretty easy descent down the trail that leads to the bottom of the mine. From here they'll be able to make our a sickly purple glow that leaves the onlooker feeling vaguely violated just gazing upon it. No doubt that's the rift that's causing all the trouble.

[General Shrimp]

Ruins

Atreyu eyes Thariza somewhat cautiously, raising his head and sniffing the air. "Hrmm. Y'ain't got the scent of werefolk about ya. Means yer somethin' else, somethin' I don't recognise." His expression softens as Thariza puts the hatchet away, relaxing slightly and leaning against the ruin wall behind him. "Lotta folks I don't recognise round these parts though. Name's Atreyu. Always a pleasure ta meet someone new."

[Arkhosia]

► SHOW SPOILER

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

Obriane's face seems to lit up as May declares that she wants to learn how to hunt fully. "Well, hunting is actually a great deal of fun since as much about taking care of animals as it is hunting them." She puts her arm around May's shoulder and starts walking again.

"So if we go back to what I first said, why don't you start looking around and tell me what you see? Since the first step of hunting is not just to understand the prey but the environment it lives in."

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

Taking care of animals? The thought is a little strange, but she supposes she can see the angle in terms of keeping balance somehow.

”Uhm,” May looks around. ”There’s a lot of evergreens, I guess. And all these like, bushes and stuff?" She tries to think - then blinks, as if briefly distracted.
Try listening for a while.
What? you're - leave me alone!
No, I mean - listen. Hear what's going on around you, dumbass.
Reluctantly, May does just that. She closes her eyes, tries to find a sense of focus, and listens.
"...a lot of birds, I guess?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

Obriane nods. “That’s a good start. So what kind of birds do you hear?” It’s a bit of a trick question.

[Ironsmith]

[For Whom The Bell Gnolls]

Yes! It's working! They're drawing the gnolls toward their position.

...Oh.

Shit.

They're drawing the gnolls toward their position.

Now, Octavia gave him an invocation to use if the gnolls got too close. He remembers that part. He does not, however, remember what that invocation is, and this doesn't seem like the sort of circumstances where he can calmly search his memory for it.

No, he's going to have to work with what he has now.

Blank turns and fires the next barrage at a much lower, steeper arc, hoping to catch at least one of the gnolls before they get into minimum safe range. He's probably cutting it close as it is.

[Arkhosia]

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

"Um-" May stares briefly like a deer in the headlights. Growing up in a city did not prepare her for this one. "I dunno. Songbirds, I guess?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

Obriane nods. "Good guess, and you would be right. I don't know what these birds are called either." The changling let's out a small chuckle.
"However, you're a smart gal, May. Think about it for a second, what does birdsong mean to a hunter?" She raises a finger. "And what would the absence of it mean?"

[Arkhosia]

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

"...Oh! They'd like, probably disappear if there were predators around, right?" May looks to Obriane for signs of approval on this conjecture. It sounded like something she might've heard once, at least.

[Shadowcaller]

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

Obriane nods again with approval. "It's not foolproof but it's usually a good way to tell. But at the same time it tells you that they don't see us as predators when they sing. Birds that live further away from any settlements might feel differently about us though."

She looks over to one of the nearby birds. "But, uh, that's what I mean by really trying to perceive your surroundings. Since if you just focus and think about it you can figure out a lot about them. Since it doesn't just apply to bird song, any animal that decide to makes its presence obvious usually feels pretty safe."

[Arkhosia]

► SHOW SPOILER

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

Obriane nods again with approval. "It's not foolproof but it's usually a good way to tell. But at the same time it tells you that they don't see us as predators when they sing. Birds that live further away from any settlements might feel differently about us though."

She looks over to one of the nearby birds. "But, uh, that's what I mean by really trying to perceive your surroundings. Since if you just focus and think about it you can figure out a lot about them. Since it doesn't just apply to bird song, any animal that decide to makes its presence obvious usually feels pretty safe."

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

"Huh. Yeah, that makes sense." A pause. "D'you think that'll be true with, like, the rest of the animals in the area? Or would it just be the birds, since they're more likely to visit the city?" As the thought occurs, May gives her surroundings another look, trying to tell if she can spot any small animals like squirrels or other such creatures that don't seem to be shying away from them.

[Shadowcaller]

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

"This area that's right next to a biking lane?" Obriane smiles ruefully. "Well, aside from that part areas around settlement or even just proper roads like these are tamed wilderness." Aside from wildside perhaps.
"True forest wilderness don't have any paths at all since the underbrush tends to be a lot heavier. You don't tend to see that in areas like this where people move around a lot. So I would say that all the animals that live around here are pretty used to people moving about. Not as much as the birds perhaps but they feel pretty safe up in the trees as most predators around here are landbound."

She looks up to the sky.

"But speaking of birds, can you see that?" She gestures at a small dot up there in the sky. An eagle?

[quillpleasant]

For Whom the Bell Gnolls

Octavia is quite pleased with the result of their artillery. For all their ferocity, these beasts can't compete with the power of technology!

And heavy explosives. Those are pretty effective too.

But now to deal with the approaching gnolls. The angel isn't worried- as long as there's no gnoll variants, she feels quite able to take on even dozens of the beasts. Perhaps it's overconfidence, but she is a teen, after all. And she has Blank to help, who seems to be increasing in confidence. That close range shot was nice!

Still, that doesn't mean it'll be easy. Firing off a last shell towards the nest, Octavia leans forward, shouldering her cannon. -follow my lead!- she says to Blank cheerfully, -Daybreak Spear Sanctifies The Monstrous!-

Octavia's cannon transforms, becoming a long golden spear with a spiky cross guard just under the blade- perfect for dealing with charging enemies. As she swings it through the air it leaves a trail of burning energy behind it, a substance that will stick to and burn creatures of evil intent.

It's a fairly easy weapon to use, and the range makes melee a little safer, so she's hoping it'll be good for Blank. Who doesn't love a good spear after all?

[Morty]

[Ruins]

"My name's Thariza and I'm a Charr. The only one around, as far as I can tell." Her tail swishes behind her. She really wouldn't mind meeting another Charr one of these days. "Don't know what werefolk are but I'm pretty sure we're not them."

[Thursday Violist]

[Riftline] (Or another place)

Well there he just misses the knowledge. Thought he does know there are 9 tailed foxes, but those are a Myth and if he's not mistaken they lure men away and drain there lifeforce. Maybe thats just how it is in his homeworld.

He is a bit confused to see the grandparents so at ease. Assuming Violeta told them his name he assumed at last one or two questions about himself.having been in AMEN didn't seem to have any bad reputation. Or he was so bad at beeing bad none took him for seriouse. Kinda disapointing.

Back to the topic at hand, he goes to the child and starts grabbing into the air around it. His face seriouse as he mumbels. "As I thought. Hitting it would mean hitting her." He's obviously not acounting the others around who micght think it's strange that he planned to hit a child, but they just don't know that a Genie made him able to break spells with his bare hand, by hitting it. Very combat efficient, but not here.

He then goes and takes a bloodsample of the kid with the assistance of the henchman. He sure is skilled, not a doctor, but he had to use first aid on himself more then once. They even got a microscope at hand Thought Zefir has informed the henchman befor he called them to gather it. If there is nothing to strange in the blood he will start to prepare the blood transfusion, meaning they will likly take some of her blood and then replace it with Zefir's. I'm not that deep into the materia, So I just go for the Bottle needs to be emptied so you can put something else in. He sure knows about the kids state so they will likly process slowly to prevent the kid from getting more sick.

[Riftline] (Or rather, Caldas Da Rainha)

9-tailed foxes luring men away to drain their lifeforce does sound very plausible.
Luckily, Violeta has fewer tails than nine, so she's safe to be around.

To be honest, AMEN wasn't really active this far out, in this town. And, besides, their daughter trusts him, which says a lot to them. Although the grandfather does recognize AMEN from the news, he just assumes Zefir must be a common name and that Zefir might get annoyed if someone points out that he has the same name as someone so infamous like a leader od AMEN.

Violeta continues holding her daughter's hand and looks up at Zefir as he grabs the air. She starts to wonder what, exactly, he means by 'hitting it' but doesn't want to interrupt him with a question.

The only notable weird thing about the blood is the magic in it (fun fact! The blood is magical enough that if he keeps some he could probably sell it for quite a bit of money. Or it could be used as a reagent for magic. Or, it could very easily be altered into an explosive potion or something ltije that).

Violeta does her best to keep her child calm and still,
and
after the procedure is finished, the child's fever has conpletely vanished! And the child has fallen asleep, too.

Seeing that her daughter is safe -at least for the next 2-3 years, which gives her more time to find a real cure- Violeta visibly relaxes and cries from happiness. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, you're a -"
She cuts herself off (she was about to say "you're a godsend") when she remembers Zefir's opinion on gods.
She instead says, "You're amazing. I owe you so much." Through her tears, she manages to say, "I'll do anything for you if it's something I can do."

[General Shrimp]

Ruins

"Well it's a pleasure ta make yer acquaintance Miss Thariza, I'm sure." Atreyu turns and reaches for his pack, incidentally swishing his own rather big fluffy tail as he pulls out a pouch of powder and starts rolling a cigarette. "Since I appear to be takin' a break. Hope ya don't mind? Uh, anyway, werefolk is the, ah, common term I use fer a whole buncha folk. Technically cursed. Sorta. Werewolves, weretigers, werebears, wererats, the lists goes on. Reckon ya mighta heard tales of people transformin' by the light of the full moon?"

[Arkhosia]

► SHOW SPOILER

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

"This area that's right next to a biking lane?" Obriane smiles ruefully. "Well, aside from that part areas around settlement or even just proper roads like these are tamed wilderness." Aside from wildside perhaps.
"True forest wilderness don't have any paths at all since the underbrush tends to be a lot heavier. You don't tend to see that in areas like this where people move around a lot. So I would say that all the animals that live around here are pretty used to people moving about. Not as much as the birds perhaps but they feel pretty safe up in the trees as most predators around here are landbound."

She looks up to the sky.

"But speaking of birds, can you see that?" She gestures at a small dot up there in the sky. An eagle?

[Fox Hunt - Remixed]

"...huh, yeah." May squints, following Obriane's guidance - and notices a growing silence to the woods around them with it. "I guess we're not the only hunter out here, huh?"