Annabeth Gulch

Annabeth didn't wait for anyone. She didn't try to lead Ssarak either, not that he needed her guidance. The hunt hunting grounds were close and with his ability to fly he would likely reach the fight before Annabeth did. Not to mention she took the forest path, and for a very specific reason. Soon she old see the glint of steel off the ground. Taking her sword out while it was still sheathed, Annabeth deftly scooped her spear from the ground and into her hand. While she was mostly going to rely on her arrows, she also wanted her spear to get every advantage she can get.

Putting both her sword and spear away Annabeth did a quick count of her arrows. In the chaos of everything happening she didn't know how many arrows she used, but she counted that she only had five left. She'll have to make each shot count. Annabeth was certain she didn't have the blood for any magic beyond telepathy, and even that might be limited. She wished she was stronger, but no sense in making complaints now. She'll just have to trust everyone's ability.

Annabeth arrived to the scene shortly after Ssarak did. She could see him fly low with his sword drawn. She didn't need to read his mind to know he went to help Meirin. Last that Annabeth remembered, she was fighting a knight. Surveying the scene Annabeth could see Keri fighting the cosh with some strangers. They were too far away for Annabeth to make out the details, but she saw some familiar faces with new ones. The fact they weren't fighting Keri told Annabeth they were allies, but then again it was hard to tell what was going in right now.

Looking around Annabeth also could see, albeit only faintly, Leith and Enasha fighting someone else. However they were too far for Annabeth to know anything else, and she didn't remember who Leith was fighting prior to leaving. Annabeth did not see Alaira anywhere. But perhaps that was for the best: Alaira is strong, and if she's alone she can unleash her full strength without harming allies. What Annabeth was worried most however, was Athalus. She didn't see him at all, nor of that assassin who was chasing her before.

Holding her bow in one hand and her reigns in another Annabeth had Samson run out. She needed a better idea of what was going on and how she could help. If that involved shooting a few arrows or just updating some one of what’s going on, so be it. The first people Annabeth went towards was Keri and the others, shouting out to them.

”Keri! Are you okay? Who are these people?”

Seeing that Keri was engaged in combat with some sort of wolf like creature, Annabeth notched an arrow and shot it, careful to aim it where if she missed, she would not hit anyone else.

Tyrael Marchosias

Tyrael walked with the golems in silence. Truth be told even flanked and surrounded like this, he could escape them without use of his magic. Maybe even overpower them if he can get to a narrow corridor. But that’s not what he wanted to do, and ultimately wouldn’t do anything. The demon in his head tried to convince him of fleeing, trying to make time to explain his case, but what was there to explain? Running only made him look guilty, and Tyrael was certain his judgement was already sealed. That being said, he didn’t know what his fate was going to be. Harming the students were obviously something the college looked poorly upon. While accidents were understandable, Satori was thoroughly punished for her stunt with her illusions, and Lucilia was still under investigation. Their status as teachers and their importance to the college was a not a factor. The college was admirable, if rather foolish, for that devotion to their students. Which was why Tyrael didn’t think he had much of a future left here.

It probably didn’t matter that Tyrael was the demonomancy master. Nor that Mar and her family still lived her. To be frank, Tyrael was certain she didn’t need him anymore. It was a strange feeling, but she was adapting. She was more open, even if she still lacks a solid social group. Lyn was developing fine, predictably maturing rapidly thanks to her naga blood. Athalus… Tyrael still didn’t like him. But there was no denying that he has remained dedicated to Mar despite Mar’s violence and Tyrael’s threats of violence. The college was a good community for her, especially since she had no home to go back to. And if these nagas were allowed to stay, then maybe they too could change for the better. So all that was left was Tyrael. At this point he didn’t know what he was doing with himself anymore. He had convinced himself that he must lead the demons in the Inferno as their Overlord in order to fight the threat against Kudd. But there was a question gnawing at the back of his mind. A selfish desire on a multiple level: Why does he fight and what does he gain from it?

At first he felt that it was his duty to amass his forces and oppose Kudd simply because he was one of the only teachers at the college who had the capacity to raise an army fast enough. While there were those like Lucilia, who already had an army of vampires and mercenaries, or Uicle whose magical capacity may allow him to amass and control a limitless amount of golems overnight, or even Khan who may be as strong, if not possibly stronger, than Tyrael as a demonomancer, it was the Fallen Orc himself who actually was fighting against Kudd and his forces right now. He had that power, and thus he made it his responsibility. And yet, he has no reason to. No one asked him, Tyrael hasn’t told, and aside from some incidents like the demon feast, only Tyrael has been feeling the effects of the war. Namely with his current mental state.

So Tyrael had waged war in the Inferno and it was eating at him, as many demonic things do. Yet it was his responsibility to do so, he figured, but in doing so he had largely forgotten other responsibilities. Arguably more important ones, such as spending time with his own family or being a professor at the college. He had been so locked into his role as the unforgiving Overlord of the Inferno that he’s forgotten his other titles and duties. Part of him wondered if it was for the best. There was no doubt that the war against Kudd is important. Tyrael can’t afford to be slothful in it. But his loyalties to the college were also important, if only to him, yet he was failing to uphold it. He was overburden and wondered if it would be best to just… Give it all up. Let someone else deal with it. Or at least drop one so he can focus on the others. But now he asked himself: What should he forget? To fight against Kudd? To be a professor of the college? The people he loves?

”Why give up anything?”

It was that voice in his head again. Tyrael’s old enemy. Vorinclex himself. He appeared to Tyrael as a ghostly image before his eyes. It was all in the demonomancer’s head, so no golems would notice him.

”Do not start with me, demon. I have tried to gain everything I wanted, and I failed to achieve anything for it.”

”Do you still doubt? That is why. Of course it will not be easy. But you will never get it if you give up.”

Tyrael waved his hand through the illusion of Vorinclex, causing his form to appear elsewhere out of Tyrael’s reach.
”I have no time for your proverbial encouragement, demon. You have seen me attempt to achieve all I wanted. And now I may lose one of the only things I value.”

”You fool… You have already lost much more. What do you truly have to lose?”

”Everything!” Tyrael shouted at the demon, lunging at him. He was restrained by the golems and failed to kill his demon. Getting out of the golem’s grips, Tyrael continued to walk, arguing with Vorinclex along the way. ”I may be nothing, demon, but I possess things I must protect. You would not understand it. You… You are just a manifestation of desires. Envy. You want things you do not have. You do not understand the things I have already.”

Vorinclex started walking ahead of Tyrael, facing him the entire time. ”What do you truly have to lose?” The repeated question got an irritated groan from Tyrael. He knew Vorinclex was going to be like this, and at this point Tyrael was in no mood to argue. He simply ignored Vorinclex while he tried to goad the demonomancer with his words.

”What do you truly have to lose, Karnage? You fight and hate, but you have no reason to. That is because you are hollow. Empty. Shallow. You have no character, much like a demon. You are driven by your base instincts and existence revolve around your manifestations. That is why you have done nothing to get what you want. You expect the opportunity to come to you, but that chance will never come.”

By this point Tyrael reached Uicle’s office and entered. He was alone, leaving the golems outside the room. He didn’t bother to take a seat since most would not fit him, and even if he found a stool he did not want to sit down anyways. Vorinclex continued to rant in his ear, barely getting a reaction from him.

”Are you still waiting for your call to adventure, a chance to show what you can do? This is not your story, Karnage. There is no one waiting to hear your tale. You have to take it, take it from others. Those people you say you ‘love’ can easily forget you. That child can grow up into a woman and will never remember your face. Marya has her own family now, and does not need your support. Even the college will be able to survive without your help. You are not wanted, Karnage, and that is why you have failed so much.”

Vorinclex got into Tyrael’s face and grew louder, yet he wasn’t shouting at him. It was more like he was making sure Tyrael listened to him.

”So you have to do more than wait, you piece of orc shit. You need to change and become something wanted. This person you are right now: Undesirable. That anger within you: Insufferable. This tragedy of yours: Pitiful. Your merits: Lacking. Change, Karnage, because if you do not, they will find someone better than you.”

Deven Zoria

It happened fast, as Deven closed in on the beast, it dropped low and lunged for him. He only had a few second to react, he did as much as he could to brace for the coming impact. As the beast collided with him he grunted and was forced to take a step back to cope, a moment later and the beast's paws warped around his legs and he was fighting to stay standing. If he hadn't braced he would have certainly been taken clean off his feet by the force of the impact, a thought he tried to keep out of his mind as he struggled to remain standing.

The muscles in his legs strained against the beast's effort, he could only keep up this resistance for so long, eventually the beast would be able to topple him if he didn't act. It's head was ducked into his side which protected it's vitals and kept only really it's muscular back as a target for his blows and given it's proximity he didn't have enough space for a full swing to do any real damage.

So instead he shifted his grip on his sword and angled the tip of the blade towards the beast's back and prepared to drive the blade down into it.

Jenna Fellrein

He arrow narrowly missed it's mark, skimming along the beast's back instead. As she grabbed another arrow she watched as the beast lunged toward Deven, thankfully he had braced for the attack and was able to remain standing. Now that the beast was grappling with Deven he was once more blocking her vision of it. She couldn't help but wonder if the beast was doing this on purpose, it couldn't be that smart could it?

Pushing the thought out of her head Jenna quickly shifted positions she needed to get a better angle on this thing. She quickly moved between the trees always keeping the fighting in the edge of her vision as she maneuvered. Eventual she settled into a new position next to a tree towards the rear of the beast, this put her in closer proximity to the girl they came to help. She couldn't help but notice something seemed odd about her, something about her complexion struck her as different, and wait did she just hiss? Jenna tried her best to ignore it, she had much more important things to focus on, there was the beast that was currently trying to kill everyone.

She nocked her new arrow and drew back, this time she aimed for the beast's thigh muscles, with the hope of inhibiting it's movements, if she could slow it then it would become much easier to land a finishing blow.

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak’s blow landed full-force against the knight’s shield. It protected his head and other vital areas from the impact, though the shield did not stop the force from throwing him back, or apparently, hurting his arm. The fight would not end immediately, as Ssarak had wanted, but it might at least go in their favor. Ssarak could see that the knight showed some signs of being weakened. The way he stood, the dents in his armor, it was all evidence that Meirin had been wearing him down, and now, he was outnumbered. Ssarak too was fatigued from the exertion of fighting the ridge hounds in the catacombs, but a mere glance at Meirin gave him all the motivation he needed to keep pressing on.

As the knight was standing to his feet, Ssarak landed a moderate distance away from him, placing the knight between himself and Meirin. With a few more mental commands, Ssarak’s blade continued shifting its form. The blade lost its edge entirely and was circularizing into the form of a shaft, while the hilt was growing to form the head of a mace.

Through the knight’s rant, Ssarak growled at him. These “foul creations of Aarem”, to Ssarak’s knowledge, could only reasonably refer to one thing: vampires. Unless he was terrible at identifying vampires, that did not explain why he was fighting Meirin, but it did at least explain his zeal. ”Vampires? You seek to slaughter the victims of Aarem? Whether righteous or misguided, your intent is of no matter. All I see of you is that you are attacking the innocent, and I will personally see that you receive justice for your crime. You hold no advantage over me, so leave now…” Ssarak began, drawing his shield from his back and pointing his now fully-formed mace at the knight. ”You shall not have another chance.”

While he was attempting to hold the knight’s attention, Ssarak was allowing Meirin to get into position. He was better equipped to fight the armored knight head-on, so when and if the fight resumed, he would charge straight in. Meirin, being much more agile than himself, would hopefully be able to capitalize on any opportunities he could create to either land the fatal blow herself, or disable the knight long enough to allow Ssarak to do the same. In either case, he and Meirin had trained together for fights such as these on many occasions, and now, they would have a chance to see if they could apply that training in a real fight.

Meirin Kurenai

Meirin was pleasantly surprised to see Ssarak here of all places. She had no idea why or how he's here, but seeing him filled her with courage. This was a disaster but with him here Meirin was certain they could scavenge what they can. For starters they needed to save the others and deal with their attackers. Ssarak managed to attack the knight first and knocked him into a tree so Meirin stopped, but was still floating in the middle of a wind wheel. As long as she maintained her stance she can stay in the wind wheel which she intended to make use of.

She was unimpressed at the knight's excuse either. "Forced you to attack weaklings? Obviously you lack the strength and conviction to face a true warrior and mage. If you fear us so much then flee now! Because I can promise you this: You will harm no one." Meirin already gave the knight to flee earlier however, so unlike Ssarak she didn't actually wait to hear the knight's rebuke. While Ssarak attempted to parley with the knight Meirin positioned herself so that if the knight continued to try to go after Leith and Enasha, he would have to get pass her. Not only that but while she stood in his path, she started another weaving spell, the same one that allowed her to control orbs of water. And without actually needing to keep her feet on the floor she was able to do the weaving faster and more easily. With her wind wheel active as well she could easily intercept the knight if he tried to dash past her even if it means stopping her weaving.

Summer groaned in pain as she finally woke up from being knocked out by the naga. She couldn't hear anything at first and she squinted her eyes shut as the light shined in her eyes making her head throb even more. She could feel her blood running to her head making it nearly impossible for her to comprehend her surrounding. She closed her eyes again her pale face contorted with pain. Summer attempted to move and rolled on her back to take the pressure off her churning stomach.

'Ugh...everything hurts' she thought. At first she couldn't remember how she was knocked out, but the more she was awake the more she remembered. She panicked internally wondering if that vampire girl was ok. Summer tried to take deep breaths to focus on something other than her pain, but it wasn't working. She opened her eyes and tried to get them to focus and got them to focus a little bit. She was still in the same spot from where she landed. It was a complete mess from what she could tell. Her hurting stomach tightened with worry and panic as she didn't see any of her team around.. She sat up and gagged a little as she felt bile rise up in her throat from her movement. She knew that she shouldn't be moving, but she needed to make sure her team was ok.

"I n need t to find them" she stuttered out as she stood on her shaky legs, the throbbing in her head a lot worse and the urge to vomit was a lot higher. She needed medical attention, but she didn't care. She needed to find her team and fast. Bent over slightly she began to walk in a random direction. She stopped when she heard what sounded like people nearby and she began to follow the sounds. With her blurry eyes she could see two figures ahead of her. The closer she got the clearer they became. She recognised one of them and weakly cried out.

"L-Leith!

Blood seeped from the wound created across the eye, blinding the Alpha Cosh and causing him to growl. The blade had sliced over the iris to the outer edge causing a small blind spot in his vision. A loud, glass crackling sound came from near his feet when the vampire stepped directly upon Helena’s glasses. It twisted under the weight and instantly busted into three to four pieces, the wire frame bent out of shape that it wouldn’t fit on her face easily. Ignoring the sound, the Cosh tried to move forward. However, the Knight’s legs resisted even when his hand like paws tried to grip and pull it from under the man. All the man’s legs did was briefly adjust into a stronger stance against the beast’s strength, delaying the maneuver.

Through the Cosh looked bigger, they were equals in the art of brute strength while they continued to grapple.

Determined not to let Deven have an easy shot, the animal moved to the right using his hind legs. His ears pinned back then butted at the man’s side to toss off his aim and delay the attack. The impact rattled against the steel causing the Cosh pin but also jerking the armor, jarring it just enough that any attack would’ve been off its mark. At least by an inch.

That’s when the vampire struck. She moved faster than the humans, her speed slightly predatory, when she lashed out her weapon then clipped the Cosh’s leg back. The sting was shallow but effective as the trail skimmed the outside of the leg and onto the side, painting it with a thin, red line across the stripped hide. Her teeth let out a hiss which seemed to signal additional attacked when she finally cleared past his range. Jenna’s arrow found its mark, the head penetrating through the back of the left thigh then stopping about halfway. The beast howled again causing his back to arch downward as his left paw released and slapped down on the ground, bracing himself from toppling to the side. At this point, yet another arrow which flew from Sinys’ bow, nailed the beast into the side. Through it didn’t hit any vital organs, it did make it very painful and drew another stressed snarl from the creature. His muscles twitched and flared from the multiple points of impact that he attempted to jerk away.

While Deven, should he allow the beast to get away, might be able to get a hit, the beast wasn’t down. His invisible started to ripple over his fur and in moments he would vanish from sight to attack whoever he could. He might be bleeding, it take some sharp eyes and hearing to continually keep track. Those who lacked such keen senses would’ve been in the greatest danger.

Khan had been debating, internally on how to inform Ssarak about the developments within Lyn’s hunt. That fact that was made more difficult due to Mar’s and Lyn’s direct involvement and how Tyrael would react, his situation dire as it was currently without the additional issues. He wa spared when suddenly Ssarak’s hand gripped his blade then shouted, ”What?”, outloud. The sound echoed through the corridor while another telepathic message entered Khan’s mind, establishing a fact he already knew and was about to address. ”Something has gone wrong on Lyn’s hunt. Lyn is safe, but everyone else is in danger. I will give you my full report when I am able, Khan, but I must help them now!”

Without giving Khan much chance to stop him or explain the situation, Ssarak took off down the hallway toward Annabeth who was mounting Samson in the distance. Worry etched into his mind over the fact the girl left Lyn along in his office, but at least Rathel was there. If anyone attempted to hurt the half Naga, Rathel would have no mercy. That was one aspect that both Uicle and the demon shared and had very little issues over it.

Unable to keep up, Khan continued to walk at his quickest pace. Each step, he brought his cane clipping along the way and cautiously kept an eye on Tyrael the farther they went into the college.

Worry edged into his mind when the demonomancer began to show clear signs of struggling with his inner demons, his voice started to argue and lounge at what appeared to be thin air. There was anger, resentment, and worse in Tyrael’s voices causing Khan’s scales to press against his muscles from the tension growing in his core. His figure paused to focus upon the fallen Orc in utter silence, unable to help him, while Orleah snickered in wicked glee. They both knew what was happening. Tyrael’s demons were trying to overwhelm and rip his control away, the scene making Khan wonder how long it had been going and if the master was about to lose it all. Realizing this, the headmaster felt the same sickness at seeing his brother’s mageblood whittle away. On the outside it looked like Tyrael was losing his mind and there was nothing that Khan could do, a risk every demonomancer faced if they weren’t careful to remain in control. At hearing Orleah’s chuckle, his eyes darted to the side and glared in warning. Quickly the demoness’ voice died down into nothing and her figure slowly faded from this plane, returning back to their small corner of the inferno.

When Tyrael’s voice died down, Khan began to relax. He watched the teacher taken to Uicle’s office words over the scene lost to him as he continued to question his judgement, wondering if perhaps Kudd hadn’t influenced it to some degree, then noted the Naga being marched to their quarters. The Golems, much like Tyrael’s own, immediately settled down in front to prevent anyone from entering or leaving. The college’s safety was the highest priority even if he didn’t liked how the teacher approached it. It would be there they would remain until Satori and Lucilia had time to hear then examine their stories, ensuring they were truthful. Then, and only then, would they be relocated to somewhere temporarily on the grounds until they determined what to do with them.

His arm reached out to a wind golem, the thing darting just within his reach while he spoke. ”I want you to contact Val and and tell her to select several near master student and experienced guards as quickly as she can. Bring the emergency supplies for medical care and then march out to where the students were staging a hunt for the half Naga. It seems there’s been an incident. In addition, have her best student design and start construction on several Nox Runes to seal the College grounds.”

Waving the Golem away, he started to head to his office where he opened the door to find Colette already waiting for him. His figure looked wore and tired through his muzzle creased into a smirk upon seeing her there.

Keri Wolf Lyn's Hunt

The red thin line started at the Cosh's back leg and ended at the side. It's blood caused the white stripes to turn pink in color and the smell of blood seep heavily in the air once more. Three arrows clung to the beast's flesh as if they were apart of it's skeleton. One had been placed in the creature's leg causing the already crimson ground underneath to show signs of pooling blood. Another had struck on the same side as the vampires clinging to about where his ribs were though it didn't seem to hit any organs. The last one was placed in the Alpha's other side as well as displaying the some effect as Annabeth's.

Keri noted this inside her mind adding that the savior was helping by keeping the Cosh at bay with their grappling match. Seeing this helped strike an idea just as one would do with a match. Granted the beast was being to turn invisible though the blood helped with tracking it. But in turn the event would most likely prove some risk to the humans, mostly from it's speed on all four limbs, and likely it wasn't done attempting to kill them just yet. The conclusion was drawn mainly from the evidence displayed so far making letting it go free an obvious danger to everyone around it.

" Don't let the Mongrel go just yet. It's beast that you keep it in your hold since it's invisible now. Since as for as I know I'm the only one to be able to see it coming." the vampire called towards Deven." Other then getting physically crushed by a Naga tail, a knight wanting to kill me just for being a vampire, trying to help Athalus with that wacko only to be thrown and clawed at by this thing I'm peachy." Keri told Annabeth in a rather sarcastic tone." Athalus is somewhere around here. Ninja bear and wacko of the century was with him. Find the bear you find them but be carful the guy is wearing armor." with that said the girl point her friend in the direction she last saw them.

The vampire went in for another attack slashing where she had last seen the Cosh's back in a diagonal motion then stepped back once more. If the guy heard Keri then the attack would have worked. If not then then the possible outcome would have proven to be catastrophic.

Deven Zoria

Just as Deven started to drive his blade down to skewer the beast he was hit hard enough in the side that he missed his mark and his blade instead grazed along the beast's side drawing blood before plunging into the ground below them. Deven couldn't help but curse at the beast, it was proving rather resilient and resourceful. He had to admit he had gone into this underestimating it's intelligence. As the beast howled in pain at the series of attacks from the others Deven took this chance to pull his blade back up out of the ground just in time to see the beast struggle to remain standing.

This lessened the force the beast was applying into knocking him over which gave him a chance to survey the situation. There was a new arrow piercing the beast's and another in its left thigh making it stuggle to remain standing. The one in it's side seems to have come from the elf, or at least Deven guessed it did, and the one in it's leg seemed to have come from Jenna. There was the other girl too, she seemed to have just finished landing another blow on the beast, lastly another figure seemed to have been approaching, he didn't the time to pay them much mind but he noticed a horse and what he thought was a bow.

That's when Deven noticed the beast beginning to pull back and there was an odd shimmer to it's fur. It only took him a second to realize what that could mean. It was trying to go invisible again, whether to run or attack he did not know but he was dead set on not letting this beast get away. Switching his blade to his left arm her dropped low to the ground keeping close to the beast. He moved to slip his right arm under the beast's head and around it's neck and move his left arm around the back of the beast's neck by it's shoulders. Then he rushed forward pushing all of his weight into the beast, pushing it back onto it's back left wounded leg with the intent of knocking it onto it's side. If he succeeded in pushing the beast onto it's side he would then roll over it onto the ground behind it keeping himself pressed to it's back and keeping it pinned with his weight.

Helena flushed at the elf’s words, looking at him in the face for only a few seconds before she looked down again. She hadn't noticed, he'd been fighting so well that she had just assumed. And he was an archer as well. He must have had some extraordinary senses otherwise to be able to ‘see’ like he did. She almost didn't believe him.

But she looked towards the fight anyways, squinting to see if she could catch a glint of her glasses amongst the feet of everyone over there. Knowing her luck though, he was right and they were about to be crushed. When he went, she looked after him like he'd gone crazy. There was no way she was charging in there when she couldn't see. She wasn't like him, she was more dependent on the lenses than she liked to admit. So no, she wasn't going in without a plan. She was almost blind, and hurt in her good arm. Foolhardy she might be, but she wasn't stupid.

So she moved a little slower, following after him while keeping an eye out for what she could see going on. Where there more people? There were. Thank the gods, because she wasn't for sure what use she'd be just now.

And even less of a use with her glasses broken.

The snap of the glass seemed to carry to her ears in some strange silence. Like the rest of everything else either wasn't going on, it wasn't as important. “No…” She whispered, the word coming out with a breath of air. She stopped moving in her disbelief. “Fuck, Fuck fuck. Fuckity fuck.”

The creatures howling kicked her body back into action. She shifted a few steps closer to the group, unthinking, as she felt the familiar tingle of fire at the tips of her fingers. Her emotions had always been hot, but now that sometimes came with real heat. The shock, the anger at the loss of her glasses, and the adrenaline of the fight was a lot of fuel to both preverbal and literally fire. She had to get things in check or it could be very dangerous to be around her. She hadn't noticed how close she had made it towards the others without tripping up herself, she felt like she was crackling, but she knew that was in her head. Glancing towards the much closer fight, she could see that things were going alright. Or at least not drastically bad. It was hard to identify when things were fuzzy colored shapes. One of the men seemed to have the last beast pinned down, and it had been bleeding before, the arrrow shaft likes shapes she could see had likely done it enough damage that they wouldn't need her help. Perhaps, and hopefully so, the fire that bubbled in her wasn't needed.

Sinys: Lyn's Hunt

Sinys shivered when he heard breaking glass, well there went that prospect. Then he felt an intense and obviously magical heat, from that he gathered two ideas. The first was practical, the second... Well the second was down right scary. Though why was it that Sinys could not feel the heat anylonger? Was her emotions a fuel to her strength? Did she doubt herself as well? She had too or losing her glasses would not be such a bother. He placed a hand on Helena's shoulder gently "Hone your anger, burn it coldly or it could get in your way. Embers are hotter and last longer than a flame." He said sensing her anger lightly, and was trying to think of something worth saying. He was honestly surprised that he picked up on it at all.

He hoped that his words were comforting her as much as he could "At least you have something left, don't belittle it or I'll be offended." He said not knowing how to convey himself properly. Most likely he seemed to be lying, he was most certainly blushing from embarrassment that he had dampened her spirits.

He decided to give her the ideas he managed to gather "First could you light an arrow for me?." He begged a favor holding the arrow up shallowly. He only waited for a short amount of time before nocking the bow and adjusting for angles again. He was going to fire either way "Now, see if you cannot touch the beast and release your frustration on it point blank. Maybe even use an arrow as a conduit?" He suggested hoping to rekindle her attitude. He released his arrow and started forward satisfied with his vitals recovery "When we get out of this alive, I'll show you how to fight blind." He said flatly, he was not entirely sure that they would come up victorious. However he wasn't going to give that impression at this point.

He reflected on whether or not his words would hold weight so he turned and made an awkward smile in stride "I do a good job hiding that I'm blind right?" He asked with the voice he reserved for his mother filled with warmth. He didn't like doing such, but he saw value in this one. It made his hands itch for a fight that would push himself further.

When his attempt to get away failed, the Cosh’s dread filled his instinct. His body shimmered then became invisible through it did him little since Deven didn’t allow him to retreat. Through it seemed like the knight was grappling thin air, the impression of something kicking and struggling against the armored man was very clear when the the grass was being torn up and dirt scattered. The cosh was bent on not going down easily as his paws raised to jerk his head free by pressing against Deven’s legs and waist, the creature snarling in frustration. It wasn’t working, the beast realized, when he was shifted to his side. The arrow stem snapped when it bent at the ground rising up while his leg crumbled, unable to take the pressure the knight’s rush forward had created.

Keri’s slash hit just when the beast’s side rolled into the ground, missing the back and scoring along the side. Another red line ran along the muscle causing the beast to jerk in reaction and lash out his paw at where Deven’s face was. With a long reach, through his eyes unable to see, his paw darted to the man’s neck and nearly clipped his face if he didn’t move it.

After the attack, the Cosh rolled over to his side. Blood stained the ground, leaving a smear thanks to the widened wound and serious damage. His invisibility had completely engulfed his body preventing the students from seeing the beast’s body curl then coil up his hind feet to attack Deven’s exposed side. Immediately the Cosh jerked out his hind legs to smack upon the man’s leg then cause it to crumble should it hit.

The look that she shot at Sinys could almost literally burn. Pity he couldn't see it. Did he really think that was the wisest course of action? Obviously he had figured out what he Mageblood type was, and yet, this was how he wanted to go. He must not fully understand the impact of his words. “Hone my anger?” She asked with a huffing laugh, her tone not actually amused though. “Because you think I've not tried that before? If I could control this easily, I honestly wouldn't be here.”

The girl looked at him incredulously when he asked if she could light his arrow on fire. Well, yes, she could do that. But right now she might just manage to light him on fire too along with all the arrows in his quiver. She probably wouldn't, but she didn't want to chance it either. “No,” she said, blowing air out of her nose so she didn't say anything too nasty. It wasn't his fault afterall. “Dunno if you've noticed, but we are surrounded by flammable things, and I'm too upset to have any kind of control. I will not light this place on fire.”

Helena looked around again now that she had moved to see if there were anyone else in need of help. The beast seemed well enough in hand and she thought she remembered seeing others nearby when she'd shown up. Now if only she could remember better so she could direct better without her glasses. “I can brawl well enough without them,” she said to his offer to teach her to fight blind. She didn't quite need all that much help in that area. But she could probably use some help in getting a better sense of the environment around her without. He was good with that, she had to admit.

“Is there...I mean, can you tell if there's anyone else around? I think I saw others nearby who could need your help.” Because she wavy certain that she'd be of much assistance just now to anyone.

Keri Wolf Lyn's Hunt

When the simmering stopped on the look of thin air laid where the creature stood. The man wouldn't let the beast go, making retreat seem impossible. Most likely the Cosh knew it was struck between a rock and a hard place. This caused the Alpha to tear and scatter both grass and dirt. Clearly the monster wasn't going down without a fight at least from the frustrated snarling and the deepening paw prints in the dirt. Deeper went the print on the left side forcing a snapping sound in Keri's ears during the guy's rush.

The vampire didn't exactly hit where she was aiming at. Thank the gods her aim had hit the invisible Cosh instead of the man. Flesh tearing and smell of blood said the girl had hit though it went more towards one side than the other. The Alpha seemed to have reappeared, though she couldn't truly confirm it, either way she smelled blood and could tell the attack must have left another thin red line on the side. Then a thump towards the ground.

Keri never truly stopped at least completely mainly because if she did there was a chance she would lose the blood trail. The princess was still in trouble yet he seemed farther than when the girl left him. The familiar scent was becoming faint which was rather concerning factor. The vampire cursed at herself before completely skidding to an almost violent stopped." Calm down. So far as we know the bear is with our damsel. It sounded as if the frame was damaged which seemed to force it to not be able to move very well. The masked man is also with them. Come on think." Keri thought to herself as while she looked around.

There was a near by tree which would help give her momentum and add speed. Also something to help spot the two allies and the freaky fast white masked person. Unless in theory jumping high enough for a better view. Maybe halfway up the tree which most likely prove difficult with the bruising. The vampire knew she had to at least try. The girl dashed halfway back then turned and dashed forward. The landing wasn't even close to the halfway mark but enough to see where bear's leg was none the less. She pushed her leg off the tree landing on the ground in a crouch. Keri took off towards the battleground, gripping the sword tightly and inhaling the scent of blood, while trying to think of how to get the guy's attention. Once there the girl sliced at enemy's leg with the sword once again, ducking into a roll afterwards.

Knight

"Yes, whore, forced! You refused to fight me, running away until you have someone more honorable to fight for you. You are a coward. A weak woman who can't stand up to her opponents, and hides behind real warriors. He," the knight pointed his shield at Ssarak, barely tracking Mei's movements with his eyes, "will fight me with honor. He will not run. He is not a coward who speaks like she has courage when all she has are words!" The knight ignored Ssarak's words. While honorable, the Esyire was clearly misguided and thought that the 'victims of Aarem' weren't savage beasts that needed to be exterminated. "Stay quiet and cower in your corner, coward. I have an actual opponent to fight."

He shifted his shield into a higher position, his wince of pain hidden behind his mask. "The Lord of Light guides my hand, and I will cleanse Aarem's filth from this world. Vampiric death by vampiric death, until my hands are stained bloody so bloody that they are darker than the night!" The knight threw his shield again, a whistling noise emanating from it as it tore through the air, soon followed by the knight himself. He was moving fast, too fast for a man in his armor. The blades of the shield were heading towards Ssarak's head. Whatever he did to stop it, it would be followed by a punch to the stomach from the knight himself.

Knight's brother

The man frowned. "What are you doing? Drying the earth while death approaches? Foolish." The trees were finally within range of the annoyances, and their branches swung down, intent upon beating his opponents to death. Limb beat by bloody limb beat.

Meirin Kurenai

"You are a sad, sad mad man." Meirin wasn’t certain if he was ignorant or just stupid. Either way it was pitiful; this man seemed like the type who’s never fought against an actual martial artist or mage. Assuming he wasn’t all bluster, which Meirin had to admit he probably wasn’t, the knight was still more familiar with other armored knights or perhaps savage feral vampires. Basically, the types that would engage the knight in “honorable” melee combat. But Meirin wasn’t about to let the knight’s insults get to her, even if she wanted to prove to him she could take him on hand-to-hand. She already had her spell ready and Ssarak could use the help.

Once more Meirin gain control of orbs of water. But this time instead of sending each orb out at the knight as multiple blades, she fused and stretched the water into a long, thread-like current. Practically invisible to the naked eye, but despite being as thin as string the water was moving at speeds greater than the blades before. Meirin was inspired to create this spell from an old proverb her masters told her: Even mountains whither to a storm. Mixing dirt and stones into the threads of water and making the liquid move at high speeds, Meirin created a razor wire to cut the knight with.

The knight moved fast for a man in armor, but he wasn’t nearly as fast as Meirin. Making the water blade into one large loop, she had the blades in the path of the knight as he charged towards Ssarak. She positioned one blade knee-high so that if he tried to slide underneath, it’d still cut him from the shoulders up. She also had another blade head-high, so if he tried to jump it’d cut off his knees. That’s assuming he could even see the thin blade anymore than he could see a clothesline. She couldn’t stop the shield, but Meirin knew that Ssarak could defend against it easily.

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak was already focusing intently on the Knight, so he was ready in an instant when he began to attack. His opponent threw at him what appeared to be his only good means of close quarters attack and defense, then rushed at him with only his fists. It was a questionable decision, in Ssarak’s mind, and one he intended to punish him for.

Since his shield was already at the ready, it took only a quick movement to bring up his own shield to protect his head. He held it forward and at an angle to deflect the incoming shield, and more importantly, the force it carried with it. Meanwhile, Ssarak also swung his mace low as hard as he could muster, directly towards the knight’s incoming fist. Ssarak intended to break his attacker’s hand, and if he missed, his mace would still continue on to strike the knight’s torso with frightening force. Ssarak was too focused on aiming his strike to pay close attention to what Meirin was doing, but he trusted in her abilities to help.

Colette closed the door behind her, not taking her eyes off her best friend as she found a seat nearby. "The mission just ended I think" she gave a light shudder at mentioning what just happened. She felt a little guilty for going against her own teacher, but she couldn't bring herself to regret her actions. She looked at Annabeth as she spoke again. Colette took noticed of the girl that was near Annabeth and didn't recognize her. She nodded.

"Um ok then" Colette said. She watched as Annabeth handed the girl off to a guy she didn't notice that was in the room and she felt a little guilty for not seeing him, she had a lot of things on her mind and all she could focus on was Annabeth the moment she walked into the office. She sat back trying to get comfortable, but she was finding it extremely hard to as her thoughts went back to the mission. She closed her eyes and tried to get her mind out of it, but this was something that she always suffered these thoughts if her other half, the ugly, darker part of her came out of her cage even a little bit, until she talked to someone to talk to. Months ago she probably would have believed she could trust no one, but she had Lucilia, Khan, and even Keri to talk to.

She looked towards the guy that was currently holding the girl, Lyn as Annabeth called her, and let her eyes wander his form. She didn't have a hint of disdain or mistrust in her eyes as she checked him over.

"So Rathel right?" Colette said shyly, not knowing how to start a conversation with someone she didn't know. She had to find time to work on her social skins. Perhaps if she saw Keri again or even Annabeth she could try. "So what type of demon are you, if you don;t mind me asking." She felt fur brush her leg and saw her newest demon, Atticus, had entered the office without her noticing and had laid down against her legs. On top of his back was Hyllos, who was still unconscious and much to Colette's relief didn't look too injured from the fighting.

She turned her head as she heard footsteps approaching the office and she turned her head slowly as the door opened.

E'nasha Williams Lyn's Hunt


Well, great. bugs and broken legs and- whatever this guy is doing now...? E'nasha watched as Leith started draining the grass around them of water, drying it out slowly. That's one way to kill a plant. She wasn't sure what she could do to help him, if anything, so she focused on the bug-man as he spoke. "Wait, so he can control plants and turn into bugs at will? Those bloods don't really occur in one person very much." She said to Leith as the trees began moving towards them.

She thought about trying to force the trees away or make them grow so fast that the other herbamancer lost control, but those plans probably wouldn't work. More than definitely he was a higher level than her with his magic, and had more practice than she did in fighting actual fights. She'd have to think of something else. Leith pointed out to the man that his brother was fighting a losing battle against two other college students, she didn't see what happened next though as her attention was taken by the girl she'd seen passed out earlier walking towards them.

The girl called to Leith in a shaky voice, and E'nasha went over to her to help support the girl as she stood. "Hey, take it easy. You were just out cold. I'm glad you're awake now but there's no need to push yourself." She said as she tried to move the girl away from the fight, or at least sit her down. "I'm E'nasha, by the way. Herbamancer, just like you right?" She let her gaze stray from the girl's face as the trees got close enough to start swinging at them.

"Great. Hold still a moment!" She said to Summer and Leith as she bent one of the not-currently-hostile trees over to create a sort of shield for the trio, bending another one over as well to create a small space where they were less likely to get crushed by flailing branches. "Hopefully this holds for a while."

E'nasha flinched as one hit sounded as if it would break the trees in two, starting to say her thoughts out loud to get her mind off it. "So, bugs. I don't know if he'll fall for it, but, if we can get him to transform into his little bug-swarm, I have seeds for a carnivorous plant that could eat some of the bugs. That should damage him a bit, right?" A half-baked crazy idea, but it was literally all that was popping into her head at the moment.

(Dang glitchy double posts)