Miharu & Yuuya's Great Escape!

Miharu looked at the entrance of the temple spitefully, a pair of massive engraved stone doors, swearing in dragon tongue. Creating the link between her and her only friend in this hell hole of a Nation-State, Kal'Morah, or otherwise known by the other states as the home of the Star Breathers. "Yuuya, the doors are closed what do you want to do? There's no chance in hell we can make it by flying. I know for a fact Garthaos would capture us again, and I reckon we have maybe a couple more minutes before he and the others find out we escape" She turned her head looking at the dragon behind her, watching for guards coming this way.

Yuuya swung his long tail thoughtfully upon given the question, his long lithe body tensing, causing the pale scales to flicker black momentarily. Normally, he would be more composed when dealing with tricky situations, but this was probably their last chance of ever escaping this prison.

"I suppose even your thick skull can't break through these doors." the large red eyes glanced across the cold room, "And the powerful magic seals placed around the area are inhibiting my ability to 'Flicker', otherwise I'd easily get on the other side..."

He turned to her with a solemn gaze, "I'm not sure if there is an easy way out of here without the need of bloodshed. They really have us locked in here tightly..."

"It was my thick skull that got you out of your cell..." she swung her head back towards the doors and thought for a moment. She looked at the huge corridor that fit the elders and looked for more hallways to venture, "The elders are currently holding another council meeting. Once Garthaos sounds the alarm, they'll have no choice but to come this way and open the doors to help evacuate the temple... the problem is Garthaos will know that we'll be relying on that."

"That's what I was thinking... At that point, we'll have no chance. He'll have gathered a small army and will be waiting for us."

Turning she looked at Yuuya, "Are you willing to fight your way out, or chance waiting for the doors? The elders, if they see us, will slaughter us. If we go back we'll have to face Garthaos and the rest of the Guardians, which...I have faith we can beat, since we still have the element of surprise." she looked between both ways and then looked at Yuuya "Your choice, either way I'm with you knuckle head." she joked, trying to ease the dire situation that she was secretly freaking out about.

His eyes looked back with a stern gaze, "If bloodshed is the sole option, I'd much rather do combat with the one that we have a grudge with than needlessly involving anyone else... even they were the ones that judged us to death, they were merely following Garthaos's orders fearing for their very own lives." his teeth showed in a snarling grin, "Besides, I'd very much like to take that snobby 'General' and his group of fanatics down to size."

She made a laughing noise in her throat and nudged Yuuya with her snout "That's the Yuuya I know, I mean honestly how strong could Garthaos be if he considered us a threat?" she joked "Of course rightfully so, so he isn't stupid...i guess" she looked back at the door one more time, before starting towards the hall way that lead to the guards headquaters. Picking up speed she used the link in their mind again "We need to attack the guard center before they sound the alarm. If they sound the alarm, the elders will know whats going on and thats what we dont want to happen, sound like a plan?" she didn't look back but assumed Yuuya either had used his flicker to get ahead or was running behind her.

Following Miharu back into the winding fortress, he could feel his control over magic slowly returning as they left the presence of the Council doors. It wasn't at full strength, but it would allow him enough ability to do combat with any of the Guardians.

Hearing the plan, he didn't find any problem with it.
Instead, he had already thought of a way he could turn their sneak attack into an even further advantage.

The pale scales all across the white dragon turned dark as he charge forward at a blinding speed, the long form shimmering as he suddenly darted up towards a corridor placed up in the ceiling.

"Go on ahead towards the barracks, I'll go for the ones keeping watch over the Warning Signal."

"Dont die on me! You can die when I say you can die!" she shouted outloud at this point at him and turned her head, the spikes on her back making the send a electric generator makes when being turned on. Her pupils turned red and she beared her teeth, a red glow coming form her mouth. Coming to the door of the barracks, the two guarding dragons hardly understood what was coming at them, until she opened her mouth and lightning cracked through the air.

Striking the two and piercing their body into the door. Cracking the seal on the door, she charged forward as the thunder sounded through the temple, breaking through the magic seal and through the door. The dragon ahead of her, was distracted from the breaking of the door. Charging the lightning again, she clamped her teeth on the dragon's neck and shot lightning through her neck, towards the other dragons now getting ready to act at the new threat.

Hearing the sounds of rumbling thunder below him, Yuuya knew that they had crossed beyond simply being criminals sentenced to death. They would be branded as clear traitors now, and there would be no place for them among their kin. From this point on, even if they were to escape, they would be hunted ruthlessly.

He snarled at the thought of being banished, but more so at the thought of Mihara being placed in this dangerous situation. Their time in the First Edolas War was short, but even in their comparably short experience, they've been able to witness the mindless slaughter of countless thousands that befell the battles between the races.

"You better not be doing anything too reckless... we've been through too much to end up dead here of all placed."
His body moved like a shadow through the temple, slipping through the darkness as he came to the massive bell that lay hoisted between a large platform. The long seal that stretched across the round metal form was to amplify the sound so that the entire temple would hear its call.

Seeing that the group of Guardians were still idly standing there, he knew they weren't aware of the situation just yet.

When one of them suddenly released a gurgling noise, they turned, only to be gripped in shock at what they discovered. A large gaping hole was dug through the center of their fallen comrade, a dark stream of blood dripping down the stone tiles.

Yuuya opened his mouth and letting forth a grisly roar as he swooped down, his glimmering pale body trailing with a black smoke as he revealed himself. The group of Guardians had conjured their glimmering magical weapons to fight him, but it was too late. They all fell over lifelessly in the split second he was seen.

As the last dragon fell into charred scales, skin and bones, she looked around the room at the number of guards dead "I guess this is it, those two were an accident, but this wasn't an accident. We could very well cause a civil war by our actions of killing this many dragons..." She thought back to the first Civil war, on the battle field where she met Yuuya.

Though her thoughts were quickly interrupted "Damn, you really done it now Miharu, to think you were on the level of Garthaos and then you go a killed commanding officer dragons and now this. Digging deeper and deeper aren't you?" A guardian entered through the hole in the wall, followed by twelve others. Miharu's body was wrapped around by lightning and her dragon body quickly poofed into smoke and Miharu appeared in her human form, her dark black red coat over her body and covering her down to ankles. Her different colored eyes glowed in the dim lighting of the huge room

"No Garthaos? I'm insulted" the guardians stirred a bit but the man leading them shrugged

"He figured that your friend was more of a threat, besides you aren't worth his ti-" she appeared behind him suddenly rising from his shadow.

"I'd watch your words Uondor, you have no idea what I am..." her hand was covered in lightning suddenly and she punched through his chest, grabbing his soul stone and pulling it out. He fell to the ground as she crushed it in her hand. There was silence as she let the shattered remains of Uondon's soul fall to the ground and she stepped on them, putting her hands in her pocket "Next?" she smiled and her right eye glowed it's red and gold color.

Meanwhile, Yuuya had turned to his 'lesser' form, the young male utilizing his smaller hands to draw a delicate circle of magic upon the massive bell. It was necessary for performing such a precise spell, but he was scowling as he worked, the deep red eyes gleaming with annoyance.

Ugh. I feel so congested in this body...

Finishing the last markings on the symbol, he pressed both his hands upon it and muttered a brief word.

"Silence."

The gray metal gleamed as the magic wrapped all around it was quickly unravelled by the counter-spell.

The young man was about to move back down to where Miharu was, his body forming a pale smoke as he was about to revert back to his true form, but a heavy feeling suddenly filling the air stopped him.

Yuuya turned at the familiar presence with a light sneer, the pale energy flashing eager as he looked up at the large metal form standing on a raised platform protruding from an opening across the room.



"Ah, there you are, General. I figured it was about time you stepped down and faced us instead of hiding behind that army of yours."

"Do you recognize what you have done you dumb boy? The damage you caused to your own kin?" Garthaos floated into the air on a rock cut out of the ground below as dragons filled the room from the opening, but not to fight Yuuya, to spectate.

"Does the council deem Yuuya and Miharu guilty under violation of the Treaty of Kin?" Yuuya would feel the very air get thin as the presence of one elder dragon was felt among everyone. A hoarse deep voice filled the air, a commanding voice, a voice of an alpha

"Yuuya...is guilty...Miharu...is guilty" the Elder tapped the floor and suddenly Miharu and the guardians were also in the middle of the giant room with Yuuya.

Miharu sighed "Looks like the whole not getting the attention of the elders thing didn't work out." she looked around the room at all of the people that she use to know that looked up to her. Then she turned to the Garthaos and the guardians "Hey pops can I ask you a question before this starts? Was it worth losing your daughter?" she looked at the armored general, but he stood silent. Raising his hand, he waved it at her and a stone spear zoomed towards her.

Yuuya scowled at this, flicking his wrist and causing the spear to crumble into countless pieces of finely ground sand.

"What kind of parent are you!?" the young male stepped up towards the metal figure, his sharp teeth fully exposed and snarling, "Don't you know how much she's sacrificed trying to earn your respect!?"

The air tore apart as he surged forward, leaving behind a trace of white smoke as his body suddenly vanished into thin air. At the same instant, he emerged from a similar hazy mass above the general.

His entire left arm was layered in a swirling black energy, the shadowy talons aimed at the man standing below him. This was an ability he was saving for a particularly rainy day, but considering that he wouldn't have an opportunity to strike at the revered Garthaos like this again, there was no way he was going to let it pass.

The gleaming red eyes flared as though on fire as Yuuya looked upon his target, "If you won't ackowledge her willingly, I'll force you down to your knees!"

The metal form didn't even bother to reply as he opened both his arms, rapidly rising the rocks around him and forming a thick covering. The stony dome that now completely shielded the man was the General's infamous 'Impenetrable Defense' that inummerable adversaries have tried and failed to overcome.

However, Yuuya's attack was made knowing that his opponent would use such a move against him.

As the claw touched the stone, a low whirring sound filling the air as it was crushed beneath the twisting darkess.

The surging black form quickly pierced the earthen dome and Yuuya landed upon where his target stood, the ground shattered like glass beneath him as he continued to barrel downwards into the stone.

The gruff-faced male beathed evenly as he pulled the black hand from the rubble, standing several dozen meters into the ground in the wide crater.

"I guess you weren't really worth all of that praise after all..." he muttered.

But his eyes grew wide when he discovered the absence of a body when the smoke cleared away moments later.

How was he able to get away...?

Hearing a faint rumbling coming from below him, he looked up to see that the General was now standing on a floating platform above.

He immedaitely vanished in a pale stream as the stone encircling him caved in.

"You do better to watch your damn tongue boy..." he raised his hand and smashed the ball of rock into the ground, though he knew he wasn't in there, what he did in turn was make more rock. Using both hands, he raised them above his head and suddenly created platforms of all levels raising all of them into the air "You are not my daughter, you are a disgrace to dragon kind, you are a failure Miharu, you are my biggest failure" he stood above them all at the highest platform above all of them.

Miharu laughed "Good to know pops, good to fucking know..." she jumped up onto the platform and faced the guardians "Hey Yuuya, he's all yours, he's not worth my time, and remember to not act on emotion next time" she teased him then faced the 12 guardians. Putting her hands into her pockets, she looked at the armored men and women. They started towards her, one of them suddenly teleporting in front of her, she caught him by the face. Her hand suddenly engulfed in lightning and slammed the guardian into the pillar, making it collapse. Jumping onto falling debris, a Guardian cut through rock in front of her, barreling through the air towards her.

Miharu grabbed a piece of rock next to her throwing it at her. As the girl sliced the rock in half with her fire weapon, she continued on her way, but realized Miharu had disappeared. She failed to realize Miharu above her, who axe kicked her, her foot engulfed in lightning. The girl was sent into the landed debris and smashed into the floor, causing a crater. She landed on a pillar and thunder roared through the air. The ten remaining guards landed back on pillars in front of her, quickly readying into positions to face the monster.

Appearing at the other end of the floating arena in familiar fashion, Yuuya's deep red eyes stared at the figure with a cold fury, his blackened left arm swirling in unison to his rising anger.

As soon as he appeared, a barrage of sharp stones darted down at his position from the sky, covering him in shadows like a rain of arrows.

Remaining still, a quick sweep of his hand burnt the projectiles into crisps in a flaming arc of black energy.

"Enough of this senseless conflict." he muttered, peering down below at his completely surrounded companion. Yuuya dearly wished to have the man atone for the disrespect delivered to his only friend, but he knew that they would surely fall if they continued to fight against these higher powers.

"With our matched strength, we could continue this battle for entire days without either showing any signs of tire... but you will not fight me fairly. I sense you have the entire legion of Guardians moving within these walls."

His eyes narrowed as he gazed upon the metal figure solemnly, "I want to know. Was all that happened part of your plan? Is that why those guards watching over our cells were so careless too allow us a chance to escape? Was it so that you can have a reason to personally execute us like this?"

"If it had been my choice to make, my plan to form and carry through, you would have been executed when you killed my commanders. But no, this was not my plan, this was the elders choice." he pointed to the massive elder dragon watching from above the arena, as was hundreds of other dragons.

Yuuya was shocked, his gaze switching up at the huge entity resting high up in the sky overhead.

"Why...?" he muttered, suddenly bubbling with rage as he glanced down at his twisted black limb.

"Have we not fought tooth and nail for you!?" the young male shouted in vehemence, his whole body beginning to tremble as he surged in fiery outrage.

"Have we not shed the blood of thousands in your name!? And for what? For you to turn a blind eye upon us when we did what we thought was best for our kind!?" he spat in a bitter tone, "Those group of corrupt commanders were dabbling in forbidden arts and sacrificing nests of hatchlings! Even if their purposes had been in the better course of our conflict, their methods were indignantly so! You will punish us for ridding our kind of this filth?"

A booming voice once again spoke "We, the council have been watching you two...When you spoke to the Arcane God...he did something to you that he did not mean to...he gave you the power to think creatively...the power to think freely...to speak to an elder as you just did...The dragons in this room...even the general would not dare speak to me such as you have...In truth it is not...your fault youngling...but you must be punished...had it not been now...it would have been later" the Elder gazed down on him "for you have broken the treaty of kin...and removed the Seal of Saindéte on the bell...You and this other youngling are much too strong...much too dangerous to exist within our system..."

Miharu jumped next to Yuuya and grabbed his shoulder "It has been decided by the Council that we have become threat to their very system, he will not budge on this." she patted his shoulder "Point of not return..." she looked down on the Guardians and then to her dad.

The Elder waved his hand "Carry on General...we do not stop until these two...die..." the General nodded and looked at the two. Miharu looked back at Yuuya "I have an idea, but it's going to take a second, once I do it, I wont be able to fight anymore. Just protect me, got it?" she didn't take his answer, she simply sat on the platform cross legged and began to roll up her sleeves. She revealed long red dragon tattoos swirling around her arm. Holding her palms up to the sky she closed her eyes and began reciting a spell. The tattoos began to glow and her multi-colored hair began to glow in different colors. Slowly she opened her eyes, then all at once she looked into the sky and her eyes glowed blue, red and gold.

"STOP HER! SHE'S GOING TO TRY AND KILL EVERYONE IN THE ROOM!" Garthaos raised his hand and started to try and make the platform collapse, but Miharu's Magnis lifted her and Yuuya into the air, encasing them into a lightning dome.

From below them, a massive horde of armored figures began to swiftly swarm up the floating platforms. The Guardians shot off bolts of magic while the general melted the earth around him into large balls of manga and started to fire away at the dome, each hit causing pain to Miharu.

Seeing the pained expression she bore and the overwhelming odds, Yuuya showed no hesitation of releasing his remaining powers.

He knew the risks of allowing the 'secret' dwelling deep within his body to roam freely, but there was absolutely no other way he would be able to stand before all of them without the aid of it.

Taking a knife from his pocket, he pressed the tip down onto his black arm and began caring an intricate marking across his skin.

"Release." he muttered, pressing his fingers and empowering the blood seal.

His blackened arm began to flow violently, the darkness rapidly reaching across his skin like a swarm of black widows that engulfed his body. He let out an agonized scream as the swirling mass of darkness warped him into a creature that resembled more a Demon than Dragon. A pair of twisting horns burst out from the sides of his skull, the bones within his body cracking as his figure swelled and elongated.

With the transformation coming to its final stages, the dark creature floating there behind Mihara now, looked at all those beyond the ball of electricity with a pair of large pale red eyes resting within the grim visage.

Raising both clawed hands, an unnatural shadow was then cast out from the silent dark figure, reaching out and enveloping the entire room. It was like the day had abruptly turned to night, the sun shackled by the darkness and sunken into the horizon. Time seemed to freeze in this created plane, the only thing that was safe from this magic were those sitting within the sparking sphere of energy.

I can only hold them off for a short while... I hope this enough...

As he transferred these thoughts, Yuuya soon slumped over, the twisted form releasing trails of smoke as he returned to his draconic body. Black blood covered the white scales, the lithe form laying limp within the large orb.

The elder quickly raised a claw and suddenly warped them out of the temple into the sky outside of the building. However he didn't account for how big the blast radius would be. Miharu quickly stood as her body started glowing everywhere and she raised her hands. She slowly pointed her hands outwards to her side, forming a T. The dome quickly made a charging sound and she formed fist in her hand.

"TAKE COVER!" Garthaos voice echoed through the temple. He raised both his hands and slowly began forming a dome around the temple, but Miharu's lightning had begun it's onslaught. Hundreds of bolts left the orb around them, flying into the sky and striking the temple and the partially made rock barrier. On contact it struck through the rock and struck inside, hitting groups of dragon's and obliterating them.

The Elders appeared above the temple, facing the small orb in front of them. Together they opened their jaws and their indiviual powers seemed to collide into one single beam, before striking the orb. Miharu moved her hands from her side, to in front of her, focusing the lightning into a concentrated arcs, her lightning collided with the Elder's and they were engulfed in light.
However the elders kept their attack going, putting more and more power into it. Miharu fell to one knee, her right eye slowly going back to normal "Fuck...Yuuya!...Yuuya!" she tried to wake him up in order to allow him to be ready to be thrown by the elders attack. Her right arm slowly drained back to it's normal skin tone. Leaving her other arm up, she reached for white dragon's enormus paw. "This is...going to hurt..." she let go of her attack and grabbed hold of Yuuya's neck as the elders attack pierced the lightning orb that encased them. As it stuck the orb, Miharu spit up blood, but held the spell up.

The elders collective attack hit the orb and sent them rocketing across the sky, appearing as a shooting star to all of Edolas. Then it disappeared, leaving the entire sky thundering, shaking houses, castles. It shook the entire world for one minute before the night sky was silent and all was quiet in the Edolas unaware of what event had just taken place.

...

Yuuya felt a sharp pain coursing through his body, his eyes blinking lightly as he slowly opened them up. The night sky and all of the countless glittering dots that filled the black expanse up above him.

Stars...? I'm down on Edolas... does that mean...?

He gasped at the mentioned fact, a concerned looked crossing over his face. His long neck arced as he turned to peer about, seeing nothing but faint figures in the shadowed surrounding.
He was laying at the center of a massive crater, one that was undoubtedly a result of terribly destructive magic.

Miharu...! Where is she...?

He made a frantic expression and his arms bent back as he was about to get up and continue the search, but upon feeling a warmness on his stomach, looked down to see that the sensation was not solely caused by her, but also by the blood trickling down her curled up body.

It was a grim sight, her arm was bent and surely broken and wooden splinters stuck out from all across her skin. Watching as she gave only sparse breaths, he knew that there wasn't much time left.

I have to find help...!

He gently held the girl in his claws, Yuuya's head pointing up as his body moved to fly upwards, but stopped upon realizing the situation they were now in.

They were being hunted.

He had no idea if the other Dragons already where they had landed, but he couldn't chance it just on the off case they didn't. The dragon hissed in frustration at having to resort to such a pitiful method, but quickly transformed into his lesser form. At least in it, he could hide his identity. For a time, at least.

Now that he was smaller, the damage he had suffered was now made clear as he struggled to pick Miharu up in his arms. His entire body felt like it would pop, the sinking pressure from the drain of Magnis in his system making it so he was barely even able to stand straight. If it wasn't for his draconic lineage, there was no possibility he could even survive through all of this.

Grinding his teeth, he started up the jagged slopes of the crater, taking great care to ensure the person in his arms wouldn't be harmed. But with each step upwards, he could feel his legs quickly faltering.
He cursed silently after glancing down and seeing Mihara's bloodied face. Yuuya loathed feeling so helpless at being unable to help his only friend in the entire world, his deep red eyes sparking in anger.

Still, he kept pushing on and on in his stagnant stride higher. He didn't know how far he could make it, but he didn't care.

He'd rather die than simply giving up.

She's granted me this freedom, I must now give her something in return...!

...

Meryl gazed at the dazzling night sky above him, lying down snugly on the cloth mat that he used as a mobile bed. The weather was perfect, with a cool breeze tempering a lightly humid and warm day. The tapestry of lights above Meryl was an astoundingly wonderful sight, a canvas of brilliance that Meryle didn't quite pay attention to. He was not one given to the arts or for visceral rumination, and he thought the romantic was inane. But perhaps that was mere denial, as Meryl was reminiscing his past. When he first met the man who would utterly transform his life, Meryl was unconvinced. He was still an impoverished boy with nothing to claim his own, passing himself around for easy jobs to earn pittances to sustain himself. To Meryl, the man before him was the paragon of inaction. Meryl had been conditioned to utilize a hundred and ten percent of his wits all his life to make the bare minimum accomplishment of proudly holding onto life, and seeing such a vagrant and lackadaisical man irked him. The man before him was Meryl's antithesis in life ethics. At first, Meryl had agreed to work with the man due to the respectable pay. The details of the job were explained in vague terms, and Meryl did not pry as his experience understood that when men did not desire to be straightforward, they had good reason. Of course, the man that Meryl now worked under did not reveal the details of the job with clarity not because of some shady connection or identity, but because of a forgetfulness and lack of effort.

The man that stood at a towering 210 centimeters and weighing a solid 90 kilograms was anything but the image of a talented magnis user. He was clad in cheap and practical clothes tattered and worn by the elements and overuse. His heavyset square face cultivated a wild and untamed beard that made him appear to be a savage, while his small and squinting black eyes accentuated an aura of stupidity. His tone was rough and simple, hewn from his early life as a trapper and hunter. As a human, he was also regarded with a slight mistrust and suspicion. Everything about him repulsed Meryl. This was the very image of man that Meryl sought not to be. Meryl at that time dreamed of becoming a renowned and respected member of light elf society, perhaps a palace mage or some wealthy beneficiary. He was enamored with the formality of upper class existence and strove towards it.

Everything was all so distant, but so clear in Meryl's mind. It felt like it was only yesterday when the man had placed his hand on Meryl's back to assess his capacity for magnis and uttered a choice expletive to mark his wonder at Meryl's talent, an event that had given Meryl his main hope for his future. All those countless hours spent in untamed forests around a fading campfire learning about the history of the Arcana and the ways to perform the spells hidden within its millennium of existence. The dozens of times the man saved Meryl's life due to some foolishness that Meryl had dared. The day when Meryl buried the man in an unmarked grave in an unknown wilderness and took up the Arcana to continue its legacy.

A life of twists and turns yes, but one that Meryl thoroughly enjoyed. What was life without enjoying it? It was so long ago that Meryl sought to become nobility, something greater than his fellow peoples. Yet now he knew from that man who had imparted the greatest lessons of life to Meryl that there was no pride in being above one's fellow kind. True pride can only be accomplished by surpassing one's past self. When one can confidently declare that he has improved for the better, that is when one is worthy of sincere adulation. Everything was all to ironic now that Meryl ruminated over his past. He had dreamed of grandeur, but now he was simply content to be a wandering vagrant just as that man had been. It was still a life of difficulties no doubt, one that fully required Meryl's superb talent for trickery and deceit, but still one that heralded personal satisfaction. It seemed as if nothing would break the smooth flow of Meryl's life now, his path of wandering and learning the tricks of the Arcana. He would experience and understand, imbibe and absorb knowledge, age and innovation, and pass down his legacy as so many before him had done. Something about that did sting Meryl. That he was to live out an existence so unknown and so unseen naturally swayed Meryl, but he understood that unless the stars themselves fell, he would remain best content in his current path.

And a star did fall. Meryl observed in wonder as the glimmer of light in the night sky grew in size, and then the thought hit him. That this was not a star. That this was a rapidly approaching object of significant size that would likely cause massive damage. Merly hummed calmly, as if contemplating a philosophically profound issue,
"Hmmm.... well shit."
He immediately stood up, grasped the Arcana, and hastily rolled up his mat and shoved it in his satchel which he slung over his shoulder before sprinting away from the approaching flare of radiance. He kept running without exhausting himself at surprising speeds, the result of having to adapt to being on the retreating side of fights due to not having anything to fight with for the most part. After twenty seconds or so, Meryl heard the resounding crash of impact and tremors pulsed through the earth, forcing Meryl to halt to keep his balance. Convinced that he was now safe, Meryl gazed back to where he previously had been and saw a profuse amount of smoke emanating from a deep and raw crater. Thankfully, Meryl had not been asleep.

He was curious though, and he began to saunter towards the crater with swift and silent steps. Once he was in within thirty meters of the crater, he pointed the Arcana down at the grassy ground and chanted,
"View"
The arcana projected a holographic view of what was around the crater area, and Meryl at first believed he was hallucinating. One male figure surrounded by charred earth with a heavily injured female figure. After rubbing his eyes a few times, Meryl ascertained that indeed this ridiculous spectacle was real and began to plan his next movements. He had absolutely no clue as to how one could fall from the sky, which removed many conduits by which he could guess the nature of these people. The only real motivator that influneced Meryl was the woman's heavily damaged condition, which obviously required medical attention. But then what could Meryl do? He had zero knowledge of real healing spells, even though the Arcana probably held the most powerful ones in its stores of knowledge. He was tempted to simply keep stalking this interesting duo, and then appearing in later while putting up a clueless front so as to not appear that he did not lift a finger to help, but a moral compunction eventually won out against rational and cold action.

Shrugging his shoulders and sighing in cynical annoyance, Meryl strode towards the two figures. When he was direct sight of them, Meryl waved his right hand while pointing the Arcana downwards harmlessly with his left, not that the Arcana could really do any harm, but that was not knowledge these two needed to know.
"Hello there, wonderful evening no? Ah, sorry about that. My sardonic side must have bled through. Do you need any help?"

Meryl did not actively seek to help, and merely posed the question. If they were hostile and not quite intellectually acute, they would reject the offer or simply ignore it and follow up with hostile action, whereupon Meryl would perform his most accomplished skill of tactical retreat. Or rather, what he called tactical retreat that would be viewed as running away. Of course, if the man accepted the offer Meryl would come to his aid with his guard up, meaning that he would be ready to flee at moments notice. He did think about what to do when he got there to help, as he had no healing spells. All he had was medical knowledge he had gathered from living in harsh conditions and travelling, but perhaps that would be enough.

While Yuuya carried forth the unrelenting, though truly hopeless task, he felt his mind slowly wavering each time he forcibly climbed the rocky steps out of the crater. His feet felt wet and slippery, he knew they were bleeding. If it weren't for how he dug them into the ground, he would've surely fell already. He heaved intensely, but his lungs couldn't carry enough air to sustain his body's workings. He didn't pay much attention to it before, but it was a dull pain all around, and he knew that the internal injuries would soon claim him as well if he didn't manage out of this situation.

His thoughts had been springing back and forth from concrete reality and the lulling of creeping death, and when he heard it, for a moment he questioned the nature of the voice that spoke to him. To him, it sounded like a fleeting whisper, the signs that the fated 'Reaper' come to claim their souls.

He snarled for a moment, about to lash out at the legendary being, but stopped when the words finally sunk into his ravaged mind.

A living person...?

He then felt a presence of magic, though as he drew closer, it was actually more split into two separate forms, one organic and one more of a container of sorts. This created an imbalance of sensations in the air, being that one was obviously much larger but very repressed, like a giant pool compressed tightly into a smaller form, while the more organic being was almost nonexistent in comparison but was felt the most by the freely flowing magnis flowing from it.

Neither of them felt familiar. He wasn't sure whether it was a good sign, or not.

Glancing up, his once deep red tone in his eyes now fading away to a pale blue underneath the moonlight. What he saw was an aloof-looking light elf standing against a lush backdrop of a shadowy forest somewhat being illuminated by the starry black sky. It was a rarity to see one out alone considering their reputation of being rather reserved and he wasn't able to get a good view of the being because of his dulling vision, but whatever reason the person was out this night, he did not care.

This was the only option he was left with.

"There isn't much time to explain the situation... I sense you are a user of magic, by chance... are you a healer?" he muttered weakly, stepping up to the man and showing the wounded Mihara in his arm.

"She... needs help."

The search had largely been unfruitful. He had already performed for many clubs in Edolas but absolutely none expressed an inch of interest in the Lot Order. But this did not faze him. He knew only the luckiest would achieve his objective in mere weeks. He sighed though, his job was going to take a long time. A sense of homesickness temporarily surged through his emotions.

That won't do though. He was a knight of the unyielding Lot Order. So to fight off these feelings of doubt and uncertainty, Sings did what he did best.

"This, love, has, taken its toll on me
She said, goodbye, too many times before

And her, heart, is, breaking in front of me
And I had, no choice
'Cause I won't say goodbye anymore

Oh, Oh, Oh
Whoa, oh, oh
Whoa, oh, oh?"

The earth suddenly shook. The first thought was of an earthquake but Sings insincts told him to duck when a large ball of flame flew over him though at a safe height from the knight. Sings watched as the object from the sky made its impact upon the earth, its crash resonating through the ground and shaking it. The knight had not seen such a thing in his life and to investigate it, while may be dangerous, was a duty of a Lot knight. There could be someone that needed help. Or perhaps a threat that needs to be stopped or at least made known.

The Lot knight, in his armor covered by a traveler's robes, made his way to where he believed the crash site. Soon he reached a quite large crater, no doubt created by the flaming ball from the sky. Present in the area were three figures, one of which Sings identified as a Light Elf. The other two, however, looked in very grave condition. They appear to be talking to each other and Sings wondered if one of them was the culprit of this little incident.

The best way to find out was to ask and so, Sir Sings-A-Lot approached the trio. "Hail. I happened a flaming ball from the sky on the way to the next town and came here to investigate." The knight greeted. He could only hope his sheathed sword and the halberd on his back meant little to the people.

Gazing at the injured ones, Sings immediately brought up his backpack. "I've medical supplies here that can help." But then he turned to the Light Elf. "Unless you have this under control, Sir Elf."

The sea welcomed her as she slipped underneath the surface, muscled legs morphing together to be covered by a canvas of grey placoid scales. ‘Shifting’ was like second-nature to her. She only needed to whisper a ‘hello’ to the waters and it would wrap comforting arms around her, encouraging her to stay where she belonged.

“But this is no longer my home,” she thought to herself. “Why?” The sea did not answer her question. Her fists tightened, accentuating her arm muscles as well as the jet-black blades that protruded from the side of her fore-arms. In her heart, she already knew the answer.

As the figure ventured deeper, the silence that greeted her was almost suffocating. However, she knew they were there watching her every move. She turned her head slightly to her left, milky midnight eyes staring into the darkness. Bubbles frantically formed around the general area, signaling that the figure hidden there had fled. Suddenly, a deep voice called out for her. “jǫru-fægir.”

“faðir,” she whispered back. She stilled, her hands unconsciously running through her coal-black hair. She would have to braid it again once she was back on land – maybe she would buy one of those floral hair ties that were for sale in a little town down south. They were pretty and affordable. Maybe she'd buy a couple and give them away to some of the little girls that ran arou -

“Sylvia, answer my question,” the voice interrupted, irritation laced in the deep resounding voice.

“I - “ Sylvia jolted out of her thoughts, lowering her gaze as embarrassment washed over her. “What did you say?”

“What do you want?”

She frowned, twirling a strand of her hair. There were many things she wanted. So many things she wanted to achieve but she just couldn't. But it would be nice if she could... “Leave. I want to leave,” she rasped out.

“…You what?”

“Yes, that’s what I want. I want to travel somewhere, anywhere...”

---------

Her skin burned. Sylvia's trembling fingers reached over to her face, ghosting over a deep three-claw scar that ran over her right cheek as she continued to walk towards the Annos Dorei region. It was a place that was supposedly diverse and abundant with adventures. A perfect place for Sylvia to explore before leaving for the next region. Plus, Annos Dorei was located near an ocean. It had been weeks since Sylvia last stepped into the sea as she still felt uncomfortable coming across one of her kind.

Sylvia took measures to hide her identity. She wore a well-worn brown cloak over her clothes that effectively covered her distinct features. She carried only a simple rucksack that only held essentials and nothing else. Besides, she didn't particularly enjoy lugging around a huge bag or handling one of those strange land creatures used for transportation.

The night breeze was pleasant and she could almost smell the familiar salty scent the winds brought. Sylvia looked up at the star-covered skies briefly, enjoying the view before catching sight of a shooting star. A faint smile spread on her face as she remembered what a child had told her a while ago. "Sylvie, you always have to wish upon a shooting star. It'll come true!"

She was about to close her eyes and make a wish before she realized that this shooting star was not what it seemed to be. It was clearly heading towards land. A few seconds passed and the ground suddenly trembled and moaned underneath her feet, causing Sylvia to lose her balance. "I wonder what that was," she mused as she regained her footing before continuing on her journey. "It was probably nothing."

-----

In a few short hours, Sylvia entered the rather quiet town. The only signs of activity were in the blacksmiths and the bars, so she headed towards the latter. Once she stepped into the tavern, Sylvia was in awe. It was loud and crowded, filled with jolly people of all kinds. "Interesting." She took a seat in the corner, her knee-caps cracking as she sat down. A breath of relief escaped her lips when she stretched out her long legs, fatigue catching up to her.

A few long minutes passed and no one seemed to notice her so Sylvia took off the hood of her cloak. That was alright with her - she would start making friends tomorrow. The candle-light showed off her gray-blue skin and the black lines on her neck, including her facial scar that was now throbbing with dull pain. To keep her mind occupied, Sylvia loosened her braid, an old floral hair tie clutched in her right hand as her fingers nimbly weaved her hair together.

Eri Ogako

She waited in the shadows, listening to the fighting meters from her. A Halfing of some sort was fighting many others and was fighting frantically, then it turned and ran when it killed it's pursuers. Eri followed, jumping from tree branch to tree branch as the Halfing was running in the forest tripping over itself. It knew that Eri was stocking it and the fear it felt was in the air, but it only fueled Eri more. It fell once again, but this time got it's foot stuck under the root. Eri took the chance and jumped down, making the Ursa Halfing frantically claw roots "Eri, wait, please dont do this, you know just as well as I do that you want out...Please please lets just run away together?" silence filled the air as Eri moved across the ground towards him straight faced "Er-" she unsheathed one of her Katana's and quickly went towards it's neck.

Suddenly Eri woke up, her heart racing and she looked around desperately. She began slowing her breathing and put her hands through her hair, her fox ears going down. She looked at the window of the inn and she stood, her long shirt covering her body and going past her knees waving as her tail started wagging from side to side, going to the bathroom in the room. She filled the altar looking sink and splashed water in her face, getting her mind off the dream "It's just a job...it's just a job..." she spoke flat toned to herself. But suddenly she felt the building shaking below her, turning she quickly walked out the bathroom and to the window, leaning out as an object began roaring over head. Her eyes widened as she saw what was inside the flaming ball and she quickly shut the window and started taking her sleeping shirt off. Putting on her armor, she tried to stay calm "White scales...white scales...there's no way..." her body shook in anticipation. Grabbing her two Katana's she put them in the X holder in the middle of her back and then walked out, her tail moving quickly.

Walking down the stairs, she walked towards the desk and payed for a couple more days "Something come up?" the Inn Master looked at her with a raised eye brow.

"Yeah but...I'm not sure so I gotta stay a while longer, is this fine with you?" the Inn master shrugged and went to grab Eri's bag.

From the back room the women spoke "Not really, you pay well, as you always have, so it's fine with me. Just as I always say, dont bring trouble here, got that?" she walked out and put the bag on the counter.

Eri nodded and took the bag, pulling out a pouch and paying the Inn Master, she walked out into the street and thought about what to do. It could have been her imagination, but if it hadn't, that thing would have landed by now. Which would cause people to be brought to it's attention, meaning that what was inside would be brought or come here on it's own accord. She looked at the bar "Dont jump the gun, let it come to you if it's really them...Dad will contact you if it's really that..." she thought to herself as she was brought back out of her thought process by the yelling of a man behind her.

"Hey, fox-child move out the damn way! People are trying to walk here!" She moved backwards as the angry human walked past her carrying a wood contraption of some sort with help. She turned on her heels "It's decided just wait it out" she started off towards bar...until she felt something being thrown towards her. Turning, she caught an arrow inches from her knee, dropping it and looking at the man in front of her "You are Eri, The Star Breathers Bounty Hunter?" His bow was drawn and aimed at Eri as he said.

"And if it is?" her monotone voice and straight face made the man shudder slightly.

"You killed my family a little whiles back, so I'm going to have a bit of closure by killing yo-" She disappeared suddenly and reappeared behind him, sheathing her blade and the man instantly fell to the ground, bleeding profusely. A soldier of the town quickly pointed his sword at Eri. She simply pulled off her bag and grabbed a flier for the mans death, turning on her heels, she started back towards the bar. The soldier looked at her, before going to the man and starting to collect the body "guess that answered his question..." the soldier said jokingly. Eri entered the bar and quickly got cold looks from half in the room. She walked towards the bar and took a seat next to a oddly colored girl, but she seemed like alright company, the kind that didn't want to talk. Putting her katana's up against the bar top, she took a seat and the bartender slid a cup at her "Same thing as always?" the man looked at her and she nodded.

He filled her drink as her hands slowly stopped shaking, she hated her job with a passion. Her fox ears lowered as she leaned against the bar and looked over at the girl "Are you new around here? Dont see to many of you guys around" Eri took a swig of the yellow looking liquid and looked back at the girl "You dont have to answer just wondering" she was typically cold towards others, but she was trying to get her mind off the man.

With a wide smile, Iouril joined in the raucous laughter of the men near him in the tavern. Scarfing down a meal while engaging in their revelry, the dark elf was caught in a rare display of comradery. He had just returned from a trip with a group of mercenaries that had hired him, and they had invited him to join in a meal at one of their favorite taverns near the city wall after learning he had no place to stay in the city. He had gotten his room and board at a discount thanks to them, and was thoroughly enjoying the way his night had turned out. It was a much needed reprieve from his travels at the moment.

For the last few moons, Iouril had been on the move. He ran into some trouble with some ragtag clan south of Annos Dorei, from whom he stole back an heirloom of a man who hired him to that purpose. He made a decent amount of coin, but he was fleeing the clan for quite some time. He managed to escape into this city with some secrecy and hadn’t had trouble since he started to lay low. He got some simple work from this mercenary group, going out to the coast to protect some caravan, and was basically just trying to make sure his stay would be as simple as possible. He had no destination in mind, though he was giving thought to become the mage of one of the merchant ships. He was curious about life at sea.

Sitting at a table surrounded by a few different characters, Iouril gripped a hold of the counter when the world began to shake. It only lasted a few moments, but he had to save his bowl and glass from falling over. It ended almost as soon as it begun, and it left the dark elf and his companions looking at each other in confusion – until one of them muttered, “It mus've been yer old lady falling out of bed, Wesson!” To which the group laughed heartily. Out of the corner of his eye, Iouril watched a vibrant woman rush out of the door.

---

A little bit later, after Iouril had slurped down the rest of his stew and stuffed his crusty bread in his mouth, he was left to his own devices. A few harsh hands patted him on the back as his newest acquaintances all stood and filed out, their voices calling back exuberant farewells and promises to meet again. As they left, he took his table and motioned for the serving girl. His gaze lingered on the door as a female figured entered in and sat relatively close to his booth on the wall, near the back corner of the inn. He noticed a more familiar figure reentering the bar as he recited his request for a refill to the server. It was a Xanara who he had seen around, but didn't necessarily know. Before the waitress left, he asked if she knew the fox, but only got a vigorous head-shake as an answer. As she whisked away, the dark elf leaned back and tapped a finger on his chin.

He stood after a moment, straightening his vest, and strode easily to the Xanara who sat herself at the bar. He cleared his throat gently to get her attention, as to make his presence known. "Excuse me, miss. Do you know what that earthquake was? I watched you leave after it..."

Sylvia glanced at the feline Xanara who took a seat near her, striking up a conversation before quickly adding that Sylvia didn't need to reply. She smiled at the girl, white pointy teeth flashing as she finished her braid. "Yeah, I just arrived," Sylvia answered, observing the other as her hands neatly folded on her lap. She felt as though the other Xanara was like her, a person who frequently fought and killed. She blinked a few times, before dazing out, the girl in front of her blurring.

A few more lively roars bounced around the room, startling Sylvia into reality. "Ah, my name is Sylvia," she stammered, politely extended her right hand for a shake. A long time ago, Sylvia had made an awful mistake of greeting others with a nip and a rub to the face, her body automatically going through her kind's old traditions. She felt pleasantly proud of herself; she was adjusting fairly well. Before the other girl could answer, another curious creature approached, directing his questions towards the feline Xanara. Sylvia hastily withdrew her hand, her attention caught by the newcomer.

"Ah, the earthquake? I saw something falling out of the sky before it happened but I'm not sure what it was," she murmured.

Eri Ogako

She looked at Sylvia, making a half attempted smile "Nice to make your acquaintance, I'm Eri" she attempted to go for her hand before a dark elf came by and Sylvia moved her hand back, making Eri sit there awkwardly. The girl mentioned seeing something falling out of the sky and Eri silently thought for a moment "It was most likely one of the aftermaths from a guild battle, around here that's pretty common, Annos Dorei is typically in the middle of it as well. Bounty hunters make a killing around this part during the Guild Season" she slid a coin across the counter and the Bartender he filled her drink up. She asked for two more of her companions and he slid their drinks towards them "Best to sit back and wait for the fun to come to town, nice to meet you?" she motioned toward the dark elf waiting for a name of sorts to come up.

Across the way a gang of men started to enter the bar again, causing a bit of a ruckus but for the most part left the three alone. Though it seemed they were ordering a number of drinks that would be ample amounts of trouble with a gang like this, maybe the fun would be coming earlier then she thought.

"I am Iouril. I apologize for interrupting," he said, a bit hastily. He took a seat at the bar next to the other young woman, whose race the dark elf could not discern, and the Xanara explained her theory behind the earthquake. He knew warfare between guilds. He was more than familiar with the concept, but he hadn't heard of any particularly powerful guild in the area, although he had not been here long. "You think a guild from around here can muster that kind of power? I am not very familiar with the area." he questioned honestly. He took his drink after giving the bartender a nods of thanks.

His attention was caught by the bubbling conflict at the far side of the bar. "This kinda thing happen often around here?" He asked with a light hearted chuckle in reference to both topics, taking a sip from his drink. He took an innocent look at the two. The other woman was covered in a brown cloak; she must have been a traveler herself. The Xanara was armed, although not particularly armored, and he wondered if she was a member of a local guild. He nervously fingered the filigree of one of his daggers at the thought of and incoming fight; he hoped, even if it devolved to such, that it would be contained to that group.

Eri and Iouril. Sylvia repeated the two names a few times in her head before paying attention to what Eri and Iouril were discussing. Guild battles and bounty hunters? She had heard of such events before but she rarely came across them during her travels. Annos Dorei wasn't as peaceful as she had originally thought. She reached for the for her drink, nodding her thanks as she pulled it closer, waiting for Eri to answer Iouril's question.

However, the atmosphere in the bar underwent a nasty change. On the other side of the bar, a group of rowdy men started disturbing the other customers. Sylvia suppressed the urge to slap herself as she observed them. However, her body coiled, prepared to strike if by chance the men started to advance on her or her new-found friends.

Eri Ogako

Eri shrugged and pulled up her bag resting it on the counter. She pulled out a huge number of bounties and put them on the table "These are all from surrounding guilds, It's really hard for a guild to be started in Annos Dorei for this reason alone...I'm here to make sure that these guys dont get to strong, but guilds around here have been recruiting a lot of guys" one of her fox ears went down almost like she was point at them. She put the papers back in her bag and set it on the floor, then took a look at the Bartender who was eyeing the group behind them.

"If they start trouble, wi-"

"I'll pay for the damage..." the bartender nodded and sighed.

"At this point I might start paying you for keeping the tavern from trouble" Eri laughed slightly before her face went back to it's flat emotion again.

A man stumbled next to Them all and slammed his cup on the counter. Eri looked at her new friends and mouthed "Get Ready" before she turned her attention to the already drunken man.

"WO THA HEL IZ TRUBLE YU GIT" he went to throw his drink over the bartender.

Eri caught his wrist and squeezed breaking it "Closing time dontcha think Iori?" the Bartender nodded and quickly flipped a switch that turned off the outside lights of the Tavern. The man screamed in pain which caught the attention of the twenty or so other men. Eri stepped onto the bar counter top, still holding on to the scream man."ALRIGHT! Now that I have your attention, would you please leave the Tavern, it is closing time!" her small flat toned voice carried over the Tavern as they all looked at her.

"FUK THAT! LET GO YOU CU-!" she kicked the back of the mans head and his face smashed into the counter top. Falling to the ground she let go him and she jumped down.

"Anyone else?" a mug was thrown towards Sylvia, to which Eri caught "Dont kill them, just hurt them." A men started towards Eri, aiming to tackle her. Eri threw the cup at the mans forehead with enough force to make him fall to the ground and start bleeding. At this point the whole group of men stood up and started towards not only her but Sylvia and Louril.

The dark elf's eyes widened at the number of contracts the woman pulled from her bag. He hadn't realized the extend of the conflict in the area, and he made a note to himself to keep aware for those with... nefarious purposes in his dealings. The Xanara's words intrigued him; just who was she to watch over these guilds? And who would want to curtail the guilds'chaotic behavior. It seemed there was much more intrigue in the area than Iouril had though at first glance. He was glad that he had not encountered much trouble in the area, though his dealings in the south most likely reflected the Annos Dorei's rising tensions, if her words were to be believed.

He sat back in his chair, swirling his wine and watching the interaction between the bartender and Eri. It seemed he was right in assuming she was a local. His eyes swiveled to the corner of the room, where a man had come to accost his new associates. He watched the encounter coldly, not surprised at how fast it escalated. He was no stranger to brawls. He leaned back, impressed with the Xanara's immediate response. The dark elf groaned lowly as she baited them on; such a display could've scared the louts away had they no backbone, though pride insured they respond to her taunts.

The group approached, and the elf slowly drew a dagger from his belt, holding it in a reverse grip against his wrist. His companions were just as much of targets as he, but, in the moment, he wasn't concerned; this Eri obviously knew how to handle herself, and between the two of them (and that was with the assumption that, the other girl, Sylvia, did nothing; and over that Iouril had no knowledge). He stood easily from his stool, his piercing crimson eyes narrowing at the two men who singled him out. Before they got too close, he pressed upon his dark skin with his knife, easily slicing a thick laceration on the outer side of his forearm. As the viscous fluid started to run down his wrist and to his clutched hand, it gathered on his fingers. A sneer formed on his lips and his brow furrowed as he winced through the slight but familiar pain that came from the drawing of his blood. After a moment, he flicked his hand at the closer of his adversaries; from his fingers came darts of blood, and they splattered across the man's chest. A startled cry left his lips, which turned to more panicked fumbling as his shirt began to smolder as the hex burned him. As his friend was distracted, the elf quickly spun his stool around and kicked it toward them, catching them off guard and making them stumble and fall into each other. The dark elf flipped his knife around, and carved a matching cut on his other arm, awaiting their refocused approach.

Eri pulled out a well-sized stack of bounties on the counter, explaining what she did as a living. Sylvia almost sighed - maybe she should have done a bit more research on Annois Dorei before blindly entering a hot zone of criminal activity. The fox Xanara raised her voice, her words no doubt aggravating the rowdy men who came in a few minutes before. Eri definitely had some guts.

A fight broke out. A mug was thrown at Sylvia but was quickly caught by her new-found friend. [i]"Don't kill them, just hurt them."[/s] Sylvia paused. Well, this should be some good exercise for her. Out of the corner of her eye, she watch Iouril cut himself, his blood splashing and then burning on the men. She had heard of such fighting techniques before and with Iouril's red eyes and tattoos, it was almost definite that he was a Dark Elf.

Three men started approaching her, all furious and ready to harm. Sylvia turned her attention to them, a huge smile breaking out, showing off a row of glistening white sharp teeth. However, none of them faltered at her display of dominance. Sylvia almost slapped herself again - cultural differences were killing her. Sighing, she dodged the first punch and let the second one hit her side. The man who punched her quickly withdrew his scratched fist, his jaw clenching in pain.

Without missing a beat, Sylvia knocked the third man down by kicking out his legs before swiftly turning around to slam her palm up the other man's chin. Both of them went down and the last standing man made an unfortunate grab towards the tall Xanara. He reached over her forearms and instinctively, Sylvia jerked her arms, the blades cutting through her cloak before leaving two long gashes on both of the man's hands and arms. Blood squirted out from his wounds and he too went down, writhing on the floor as he feebly attempted to stop the bleeding.

Sylvia exhaled, snapping out of the mode before taking decisive action. She wasn't supposed to kill. She removed her cloak, revealing more of her blue-gray scaley skin, her battle scars and the blades that ran along her forearms that were now tinted with crimson. She tore the cloak into two pieces, tightly wrapping the man's wounds. Sylvia hadn't cut too deeply but it was best if the man received stitches after his fellow friends admitted defeat.

Eri Ogako

Eri watched as the other two handled themselves and she smirked a bit "So they are what I thought they were, quite the interesting turn ou-" a pounding sound filled the air, making them all stop. A Panda Xanara who was still seated stood up, towering over everyone. Eri's ears perked up and her tail wagged a little bit "And who might you be?" she walked up to the 7 foot panda and looked up.

He looked down on her with piercing eyes "Are you Eri Ogako? The Star Breather guild's Bounty Hunter?" His voice deep and scratchy. He had scars all over his body and he gave off an angry vibe.

"And who would be asking?" she felt the panda shift and she got ready.

"Tetsuya Kyuuji of the North, let me ask you something, did you kill a Panda Xanara by the name of Jix Xing?" he moved a step forward.

"Well Kyuuji it seems you found the right person, now before we start this, you are aware you have a bounty on you right?" she cracked her knuckles as he seem to puff up in a rage.

"I'm going to kill you"

"Wouldn't be the first per-" the panda sent a kick into her chest, making her slam against the bar counter. As she bounced off from the force of the kick, he caught her by the neck and threw her through the wall of the tavern into the road outside. Eri landed sliding on all fours "damn..." she spit out blood and stood up, cracking her back "Hey Syliva, Louril finish the rest of the those guys and then pull out the Bounty for this guy for me? I think he's near the bottom, 400,000 or something close to that" she redirected herself to the now charging Panda man who was on all fours. Eri let him get within range, then jumped up swiftly until he was under her and she sent her feet down on his back, making him hit the ground. She stood on top of him, taking his head, she slammed his face into the ground. Sliding off his back, she kicked him in the side, making him roll several times.

He pushed himself up, turning his head to her "Guess you really are her...good, then this'll be more fun" he stood up and got into a fighting pose. Eri mocked it and smirked. He charged first, throwing a slash with his claws, she side stepped and sent a punch into his side. He took the hit and backhanded her, sending her into the concrete wall of a house. She slide across the dirt road and shook her hands "That all you got fatso?" the Panda glared at her. His hands suddenly caught fire and his right eye began to flame as well. He flung his hand and a wave of fire flew towards Eri, she went wide eyed and kicked jumped onto the house as fire washed up on it like a wave of water. She got on all fours and her face had a serious tone on it suddenly. She jumped into the air and the Xanara quickly performed a set of moves, throwing more fire at her in waves and streams. Her hands glowed red, and she punched the air, causing wind to hit the flames back. THe Xanara opened his palm and absorbed the fire, but Eri closed in behind the fire. Combined with magic, Eri's punch seemed to fire off at mach speed, striking the Panda in the face. He flew 10 meters and slid on his behind, making a skid marking in the dirt and he sat there moaning.

Eri stood bent over a little, breathing hard "Damn I guess I haven't used magic in a while..." she walked towards the seemingly unconscious Xanara and went to grab his arm. He opened his eyes and then grabbed her arm, pulling forward, his other fist ignited and he punched her in the stomach, flames going through her body and out the other side. He smiled as she looked down, her hair going over her face and she looked down. "So much...for the...Star Breather...Bounty Hunter" he went to move his hand from her stomach, but she grabbed his big fist. She squeezed and broke his wrist, making him scream in pain. He went to squeeze her arm that was in his paw, but she punched him in the face with enormous strength. Letting go, he slid on his side, trying to get up. She appeared in front of him with astonishing speed, kicking him in the chest and sending him back to the ground. She jumped on top of him, punching him in the face over and over. Her pupils slitted and she bared her teeth with every punch. Over a good ten punches she stood up and her breathing was labored. She looked at her balled fist and then to the bloody broken face of the Panda and she snapped out of it. She stepped back and helped him out of the ground, putting him up against he wall and she stood over him, shaking a bit.

---

Meryl & Miharu

Meryl looked at the armor suited man and nodded "I think i might possibly could try...but it will take a moment, here" he moved the staff and Miharu was lifted into the air. He looked at Yuuya "I've never tried this...so...just be ready to catch her if it fails..." Meryl waved his staff quickly and it began to surge green orbs into the air, flowing towards Miharu's body. On contact the orbs suddenly turned red and shot outwards, hitting tree's as well as Meryl, knocking him out and making him fly towards Sir-Sings-Alot.

The staff's spell was broken and Miharu landed her eyes gone feral. Landing on her feet she instantly fell on all fours and charged Yuuya, tackling him to the ground and her fist forming lightning, she went to punch him but stopped herself inches form her face. Falling over top him, her bleeding started to worsen from the sudden burst of movements she had.

The Elf lifted the the female into the air and tried to flow some green orbs into her. However, the orbs suddenly turned red and shot outwards, hitting trees and the Elf which flung him into Sir Sings-A-Lot. "Oof!" The knight grunted as he caught the Elf but the impact knocking him into the ground. "Well then. Let us try the old-fashioned way." The knight remarked before getting the Elf off of him and getting up to the injured figures who were somehow on top of each other.

Sings brought about his bag as he approached the injured and immediately took out what medical supplies he had. Bandages, disinfectants, tapes and tools and cotton. "My first aid will not be enough. We must take these two to a proper hospital." The knight said, not caring if anyone was listening as he patched up the duo's nastier wounds and taking out any large splinters before applying a small does of disinfectant and some medical tape.

Their broken bones were out of his league though. "Sir Elf, can you lift these two to the nearest... town?" As the knight looked at the Elf, the latter was actually unconscious and unable to help. Sings sighed. "Where are my comrades when I need them?" He muttered.

Sings thought about carrying but despite his strength as a Lot knight, it was impossible to carry three people at once. The only thing he could try right now was either try to wake the Elf or shelter the injured duo until they wake up. That sounded like good sequence of plans so to the unconscious Elf he went. "Sir Elf. Sir Elf. We must take these two to a village. Wake up." Sings tried to shake the Elf awake.

If the Elf does not awaken, Sings would try to drag the duo towards the trees and under its canopies.

In the small moment Iouril had, he glanced over to his companions. Sylvia was holding her own against three assailants; he wondered if he should step in, but the wind was knocked out of him in his hesitation. The stool that was once in his favor had crashed into him, punching into the bar. He gripped the counter and didn’t fall, but his knife dropped from his bloodied hands. He kicked the chair away from him and back toward the men, who easily tossed it aside. He grabbed another from his thigh, but the uninjured man came upon him, swinging a heavy handed punch. The dark elf threw himself to the side, but the hand clipped him on the shoulder.

Grunting, the elf staggered away from the bar, slashing behind him with the knife he had drawn. He felt it snag on the man’s exposed side. Reeling and raising his crimson fists, he faced the unnamed attacker with a wide stance. Ducking back from a punch, the elf jutted to the side and followed with a short jab to the man's torso; his knife sunk just an inch below the surface, but with the force of the blow carried Iouril's own tainted blood to roiling forth in a wave, overcoming his hand and overflowing to the foreigner's skin. It burned the man's skin like acid. With a howl, he fell back, clutching the hemorrhaging wound.

The dark elf retreated and looked back to his other foe, but he was leaning on a nearby table clutching his chest, distracting by what was happening on the other side of the room. He looked, and watched with wide red eyes the conflict Eri had gotten into. He had turned in time to watch her get thrown through the wall of the tavern. Hesitating, he looked at the men who had confronted him, but they made no move in his direction. He heard Eri's muffled yelling from outside, and jogged to the hole where the charging Xanara had disappeared. He watched the conflict for a moment, really only catching Eri get impaled by flames, until he heard someone calling from inside the bar.

"Oy! Elf! Come back here..." The first man he had injured was coming toward him, his friend now kneeling near the bar still clutching the small festering wound on his abdomen. His shirt was burned open with singe-edged hokes, faint stains of blood speckled on the exposed skin. Iouril sneered and twisting his wrist to draw more blood from the lateral wound on his wrist; it cascaded down to the knife he was holding. The man heaved a pitcher from the bar, tossing it at the elf. He dodged to the side and back for the lout had come in right behind it, and lashed out at his turned back. Again, the knife only went in a few inches, but it was coated in the elf's corrupted blood. The man fell forward, heaving, and the elf steps back. Both men now eyed him with caution. He turned back to the hole in the wall and went for it.

He went outside and saw Eri had pinned the other Xanara. He stayed near the rubble, keeping an eye on both the inside and outside of the tavern. The men he had fought were retreating to the unharmed front door, where many of the other patrons had fled in the moments before. He looked for Sylvia, who had before been starting to bandage one of the men she had wounded. Although burned and hurt, what Iouril had done would have little effect on the men if treated within a reasonable amount of time. He hadn't noticed how she had done it, but it must have been a bad wound if she had turned to helping him so quickly.

Yuuya breathed very weakly, his body completely numbed and unable to move.

He had been taken by surprise, never before imagining a situation where he would have been turned against by his own companion. With the wounds in his body re-opened from the rough tackle, each breath he took drained his energy much more than before. He could feel the darkness quickly swallow up his mind, a burning pain surging through his chest as he struggled to breathe, a few of his ribs likely finally snapped from the string of abusive events.

Out of all his pain, his muddied eyes only looked down at the young woman slumped over him in bewilderment and concern. The wounds she suffered only grew worse, her blood now covering his body.

He didn't know what exactly happened, but she was definitely not herself when she attacked him.

What kind of magic was that...?

He grit his teeth as a beat of pain surged, blood dripping down the corner of his lips.

Dammit... I knew I shouldn't have trusted that elf's untested spell... I must've let my desperation get the better of me...

...

His eyes had closed only for what felt like a short moment, but when he opened them again, he was propped up against a rough surface next to Mihara, who appeared to have her wounds wrapped up and the bleeding somewhat stopped. It was a bit of a surprise to see a more conventional method of dealing with injuries, but judging by the make-shift quality and the sight of the open night sky and the trees surrounding them, they have yet moved to the safety of town.

It was a good attempt to stabilize her condition, but seeing how pale she had gotten, he knew time was well running short.

Hearing a sudden noise, his head turned quickly.
His hands already forming rigid claws with his elongated nails, ready to latch onto any threat that came into view, the narrowed eyes eased upon seeing the armored knight from earlier.

He was dragging over the unconscious elf, muttering something under his breath.

He must be the one to have done this...

Yuuya spoke out, a barely audible mutter, "Go to town, hurry... Carry her with you... just... Leave me here with the elf."

Even though his tone didn't sound convincing, his eyes carried a deadly serious gaze.

Two down and only the unconscious Elf left. While he was happy to help, Sir Sings could not help but be overwhelmed at the amount of work and responsibility the fates decided to give him. Now he knew what Fights was getting at when Thinks proposed that the knights split up individually to search for recruits. Though he was also kind of at fault himself since the knights were completely free to form small parties of at least two to do the mission. Sings now regretted he turned down Dances' invitation to his troupe with Plays and Talks.

"Go to town, hurry... Carry her with you... just... Leave me here with the elf."

Sings heard a barely audible mutter. The knight turned to its owner and found the injured male. "But... you..." Sings protested but met the male's eyes which carried a serious gaze that does not have the time to argue. "...Very well." The knight went over to the female and scooped her up. She was pale and seems to be needing more aid than her male companion.

"I shall return. In the event that you are able to properly move, there is a town north of here where I shall go. It is the nearest town." Sir Sings told the male before heading out, hoping his feet shall not fail him with the burden of an extra body.