Cecil was right, staying around would draw all kinds of attention to them, attention they didn't want or need. They couldn't afford to be stuck here a day or two while the guards tried to sort everything out, hopefully their new friend could work things out in their favor then. Finding a healer was the foremost item on their list and once everyone was patched up, Saints willing, they could leave without any problems. They couldn't go just yet though... Weren't they missing someone? Speaking of healers why wasn't Zander with them? Or Geoffrey? Ethan knew he hadn't seen them among the bodies and yet they weren't outside either, so where had they gone? Maybe the constant fighting they were going through was too much for them, if that was the case he couldn't blame them. This was supposed to be a peaceful, solitary trek to find lost loved ones and all of this fighting, there was no reason for any of it. If they wanted to go their separate ways then that was perfectly fine.

"R-Right, a healer. We need to find a healer..." Ethan agreed with a nod, still numb as he blankly turned his head towards Wyth. The moorcat was injured too and one leg nearly hobbled, could he be asked to walk? Unfortunately Wyth was much too large for any of them to comfortably carry with the exception of Cecil and he had Amuné now, the poor animal would have to walk.

"Look for Nan, she's an old herbalist in town, works wonders for guards back on patrols. Let her know I sent you, she'll see you right as rain. Her shop is back by the markets, little thatch building just off the central road, can't miss it."

Right, Nan the herbalist, they'd find her. They sure were spending an awful lot of time getting patched up as of late weren't they? Smiling ruefully Ethan took a quick look at the group to gauge how well everyone could move, turning back to thank the guard and blinking at the absence of one. The single man who had been left was gone too, hadn't they just been there a second ago? Where did they go so quickly? Whatever, they had to get moving before anything else happened, they needed medical attention. "Nymira, are you okay to walk? I can help you if you need it."

"Please, I was knocked around, not crippled. I'll be fine Ethan," the Dimuran answered as she placed a hand at the cut on her head, "Just... Take it a bit slowly, will you? For Wyth's sake." Things spun still and her head throbbed painfully but Nymira wouldn't say as much, she didn't want to tie them up any longer than need be. Even if she had to hobble alongside Wyth she'd walk under her own power, both pride and urgency dictated she did so. Waiting for Ethan to lead on she kept in stride beside Cecil instead, keeping her eyes on Wyth to be sure he didn't fall behind either. "You both did great today, I truly mean that," Nymira spoke, offering the smallest of smiles to the moorcat and Machina, "Perhaps I was wrong in doubting you, it seems you're perfectly capable of handling yourselves and protecting others. I'd almost say I'm proud to be able to fight alongside you." Maybe it was the blow to the head but she felt rather sentimental right now. Or perhaps all of the fighting and more recently the slavery was reminiscent of events back home, who knew. Was she getting homesick? She hadn't the time for that, there were still cities to visit and alliances to be forged.

The crowds had thinned somewhat since their frenzied search had began and thankfully Nan's shop wasn't terribly difficult to find as a result. The guard had been right in saying it was a small building, compared to those made of stone and brick at its side it seemed terribly out of place. The inside of the shop was no different, before even passing through the door one could smell several different herbs and various remedies inside, permeating through the thin walls and soaking the adjacent road in an odd mix of odors. Poor Wyth's head was probably spinning from the assault on his nose. Nan herself was every bit what one might expect from a small town herbalist: an older woman using a cane to help herself walk, her wrinkled face lit with worry as soon as their ragtag group walked in. Calling for her assistant, a younger man whose hair fell to the middle of his back, the two of them frantically went about seeing to the injured.

Wyth was seen to first, his wounds were all either superficial or easily mended, nothing a cleansing wash and some bandages and gel couldn't soothe. He would have to tread lightly for a while and avoid running but his wounds would heal within a few days, assuming the medicine took. Asta's wounds required particular attention and for that the assistant took her aside to work on her, making sure every injury great and small was cleaned and covered, in some regards leaving her looking almost mummified. How convenient it had been having Zander around, their wounds which would have taken moments to heal now may require a full week even with the aid of the potions and salves. Nymira's injuries were not terrible save for the gash on her head, giving Nan cause for concern she may have suffered a concussion. True or not the Dimuran was adamant about not remaining in Warren for another day, citing having to meet family as a reason to leave to which the old woman had to finally relent. Some herbs to help soothe nausea then was supplied and extra cloth for gauze, should any wounds reopen. Casual as ever with her funds Nymira had perhaps overpaid on the purchases, if Nan's near-faint was any indication, though Nymira had given her extra not only for the aid but to buy her silence, even if it wasn't said outright. Assuming the guard from earlier held up his word no one would know where they went, which was good considering any intrusions from the guard would delay them.

Cleaned and bandaged now the group could retrieve their cart and be on the way. Back down to only four in the group, five counting Wyth, they didn't need nearly as much as they had on them. Nymira voted they leave some behind and Ethan argued they keep it, better to be safe than sorry. At worst they could hand some off to another traveler on their journeys if their cargo proved too much, and eventually the vote to keep the supplies won out. Horses were drawn up with Ethan taking Jorvind and Amuné in his lap. Nymira, Cecil and Wyth would ride along in the other, the latter two in a smaller cart purchased from the stables. In their current state, bandaged and exhausted, it would appear they had just come from a war, and in some ways it wasn't wholly off. If fortune favored them they wouldn't have to do anything quite so dangerous in their next stop, though given their recent track record no one would be surprised to run into trouble.

Ethan didn't know what to think anymore about his journey. He'd been elated at first to find company, first in Amuné and then Cecil, and finally Nymira as well. How long had it been since they'd met? A week? Maybe two? Not that long and yet so much had happened, a good deal of which he would just as soon forget. In trying to avoid harming others men had been killed, in trying to keep out of the spotlight they had somehow drawn the ire of Church members, and in wanting to make the trip alone he now had companions. Not that he could complain, those who were still with him were considered as close as could be by now, he supposed fighting did that to you. There was a certain bittersweet knowledge however knowing while they traveled together their paths would diverge eventually, each had their own course to take and they couldn't remain together forever. Ethan prayed to whatever Saints might listen that their journeys would end well, that each of them would get whatever it was they were seeking. After all they'd endured and what was to come it only seemed fitting, suffer a little to be rewarded in the end. Maybe it was naivete or optimism, or simply being a plain fool, but Ethan liked to think things would still work out for them. "Just a little bit longer, Cedric. Hold on..."

Nymira couldn't believe how poorly her journey was going so far. She'd managed to secure the loyalty of a single town in her weeks of travel, a town so pitifully small that its population barely equaled half of her clan. A fine relationship to have if you had many allies but a poor one when it was all you could count on. How long would she have to travel until she found something worthwhile? East Orosi had ended in a slaughter, Warren had been promising until events took a turn for the worse, prompting them to leave. If her clan was to thrive and her people find reason to follow her lead she had to prove capable, she had to prove both her and her father's ideals were not simply empty dreams, but a reality obtainable through hard work. She refused to relent even if she'd had no success yet, sooner or later something would come through. It had to, she was one of Ralthor's chosen, blessed with his gift of magic and heiress to the Rumia clan. She refused to let those go to waste, she had to make something of her journey and return with good news, anything less was simply unacceptable.

Hopefully they could get done with what they needed to do and get going as soon as possible. When they had come to this place he didn’t want it to have to end like this, even if the men were terrible and had to be stopped. He didn’t understand who those people were that they took, but it was strange they did and probably good that they helped them; however, they were now completely set back and who knew if those men that were after him would find him here. He was pretty vulnerable to capture himself when they knew what he looked like and even managed to find him in the most strangest of places. He still didn’t know how they found him on that ship or why he was so drawn to that piece of Machina tech, nobody was giving him the time to ask about it either because of what happened. Everybody else seemed to matter more it seemed, but he didn’t think he could feel sour over that fact when he was still just a Machina and didn’t exactly have a lot going on in his life compared to theirs. Everybody around him had lived long lives compared to him, his didn’t particularly mean as much when more Machina could be made.

Right now though it was probably best getting them all fixed up too, seeing as how they weren’t particularly looking all that grand. He didn’t really know how people got their health up to speed again, he had to find someone to fix and get all repaired, but they had to find some other method and it seemed to take a long time and be rather complicated. He was lucky to get out of there with very minor damage, just a little scratch which was hardly anything to be worried about. It was damage that he could repair himself, it wasn’t as if he was incapable of functioning with it. Ethan barely seemed to be functioning and Amuné just wouldn’t let go, adding on extra weight and energy usage that he didn’t really want right now. With Nymira looking pretty alright and not having many problems he felt the group were ready to go again, at least to whatever this ‘herbalist’ person was.

Pushing at Amuné to get her off he back away quickly after, wanting for her to go to Ethan or to somebody who wouldn't possibly act out. He didn’t know why she had been doing that, it just seemed strange to him and probably not something she should be doing when he was solid and probably not comfortable to hold on to. Looking down at himself briefly he didn’t realise he was being spoken to as he patted himself down, looking up at her curiously at first before looking to Wyth. “Oh uhh, I didn’t do much. I just opened a cage”, he spoke, giving his chest a quick rub, “I guess I stepped on a guy’s leg too. Ethan didn’t want anybody to die, so I tried not to…”

He was just embarrassing himself further with this and probably should move on, his reaction to immediately move away from Nymira and just wanted to get a move on. He was certain he would be taking too much credit if he accepted any glory for what happened in there, he did very little while everybody else fought with their existence on the line. It would be wrong to take credit for something like that. Once the crowd decided to disappear for the most part it was about time to go, they really needed to see whoever this herbalist was. Maybe they were somebody who could help with injuries to organic beings, but he wouldn’t know until he got there. He would feel way too embarrassed to ask, especially when there was strangers about. Once they were inside where this person was staying he still couldn’t understand what a herbalist was, there was just a lot of plants and parts of plants for some reason. Maybe he would be best waiting near the door and away from everything, just in case he broke something or was asked something particularly embarrassing by these strangers.

While not particularly fussed over the wait he had to do for them to finally leave again. He was fine being back in the cart where he would be safe from other people who might suspect something about him and to be back on the road again. While he didn’t get much out of the town he was fine moving on without anything, just the usual problems on his mind that had been building up since he got here. He didn’t know if he was comfortable being with them still, knowing he was capable of causing great harm and destruction to their kind. The main problem was they wouldn’t let him leave to be by himself either, they would just want him back for whatever reason that was lost to him. He was a mystery and a danger at the same time and that couldn’t had been a good combination to have around. Maybe once he got to the city he would find where he truly belonged, not where he had escaped from. It would be awful to have to go back there and probably be taken apart by those people. Maybe eventually the others would go elsewhere and not want to take him along, that would solve their problem of having a dangerous Machina around. Maybe he was going to be able to find out why he had been made in the city, he had been told that’s where Machina were mostly when he asked what the city was. He felt he knew where to go even after being given that little bit of information so it must’ve been true. Maybe he would find other Machina like him and not what the others would consider disposable. Everybody seemed okay with destroying Machina, but they never really asked him how he felt about it. He felt a little hopeful that he would find answers to his various questions and problems, but he didn’t know how long it would take for him to get there. His purpose was out there somewhere, he just had to find it without getting dismantled in the process.

The taste of copper in Asta's mouth was strong as they left the slavers' warehouse. Her blade was now sheathed upon her back as they made their way to the herbalist, chit-chatting and focusing on recovery. The Ydran didn't talk very much to the others, she was focused on keeping her shoulder steady, her abdomen had stopped bleeding - the injury there had been more superficial than anything, thankfully, but the swelling of her jaw and shoulder injury were rather bothersome. The group was directed to Nan's, an old shop run by a knowledgeable and talented healer. Myria seemed to be doing better, but they still wrapped her ankle and made note of her bruised side. Asta, on the other hand, received a shoulder wrapping on her left side and a cold pack - some kind of strange packet that was able to retain a cool temperature for long periods of time. The Ydran cared not how it worked, but it soothed her jaw and that's what mattered. Any who saw her bare arm would notice the cobra fox tattoo, but it was soon covered again.

The time to separate was coming quickly, but Asta was quickly realizing the upsides to tagging along with this group - this could be her chance to step out from under her previous line of employment. She wished that she had seen it sooner - the evil this job could bring, but instead she was focused on living a life of her own. Asta's desire to escape the arena lead her down a darker path, one where her opponents were entirely unaware that they were even at battle in the first place.

While at the herbalist, Asta found a moment to speak with Ethan about staying with them - she was looking to move on from this place and find something new so they agreed to allow her along. It didn't seem like Nymira was particularly in favour of the choice, but there was little she could do about it. Asta took her place inside the cart, Myria dutifully taking a place beside her. She looked at the boy from before, the one who had come crashing through the roof so loudly. He was a strange one, but who was she to judge? Her gaze moved to the horse pulling the cart to see Nymira, still recovering from her injuries. The small girl looked a little bit out of place on such a large beast, and hardly at home. Perhaps she wasn't much of an equestrian, though why she would decide to try leading or riding atop the horse was beyond the Ydran's perception.

She leaned back, rotating her good shoulder, "So... where are we off to next..?" She asked aloud, still not entirely clued into the plan or mission she was suddenly on board to help with.

"To a more friendly city, Ralthor willing," Nymira muttered in reply, scowling as her horse whinnied and smacked her in the face with its hair, "And somewhere we don't need these damned things... It's making my entire body ache, riding on this animal." It was better than walking she supposed given the sorry shape of her leg, but it sure would be nice to be able to ride in the cart instead. Complaining wasn't going to make the pain go away and would only serve to give the horse more reason to make the ride unpleasant for her. Sighing under her breath the Dimuran gingerly nursed at her aching head, wondering how far from Warren they should travel before stopping for the night. After a strenuous day like today they all needed some rest, goodness knows tomorrow had plenty more in store for them.

"Also... I don't remember when this became a matter of "we", or when you joined our group. Though I suppose beggars can't pick... Is that how that saying goes?" Stupid colloquialisms, she'd gotten confused so many times speaking to residents of nearby towns, unable to follow what they were saying. Another reason to keep other people around, they could translate whatever backwater slang those she spoke with used. The inner cities would no doubt be even worse as they were a melting pot of peoples, if her information was anything to go by. All kinds of dialects, races, lifestyles, so much coming together in one place that it nearly made her head spin just thinking about it. Or perhaps that was the near-concussion she'd suffered.

Perhaps it was the events of the day weighing on his mind, or perhaps it was his naivete that everything would work out fine beginning to fade. Whatever the case Ethan was finding it increasingly difficult to remain optimistic about Cedric's safety and his own ability to find the man. He couldn't think of a reason for the Church to kill his mentor and yet he couldn't think of a reason for them to keep him alive either. Cedric was old, well past his prime even though he was a powerful Magi, so they couldn't use him for anything really. Heart sinking at that thought Ethan felt a small tug on his arm and glanced down, meeting the gaze of a worn down Amuné. Then there were her parents to find as well, something else that was weighing heavily on his mind. They had found those Ydrans earlier and gotten them free but who was to say her parents weren't in a similar situation? Maybe they had already been sold off, which would mean finding them would be even harder.

Giving up on her parents now wasn't going to help them though, nor was giving up on Cedric. Even if they were past the point of being helped they still had to keep going; never knowing what happened was infinitely worse than any alternative, even the negatives. At least they could have closure if worst came to worst. Putting on a smile for Amuné he hugged the young girl to his chest, resting his chin on the top of her head and closing his eyes. "Things were rough for a bit, but they're going to work out for us. We just have to keep moving," he whispered, looking down at her. It was as much reassurance for her as it was himself, he desperately needed to hear those words right now.

---

Sleeping out in the open was rough that night. It cooled down considerably making aches and pains that much worse. Even with a fire going there was a chill in the air and it kept Ethan up most of the night. His nerves hadn't helped him any either as flashes of what went on in that building yesterday kept racing through his mind, his stomach turning each time a bloodied face crept into his mind. They didn't need to kill those men, most of them had no clue how to fight and could just have easily been locked away to keep other safe. Instead they'd been essentially slaughtered by a group of far better fighters than them. Maybe they had deserved it for capturing and imprisoning those Ydrans, for hurting Amuné. Maybe they had saved them all from a horrible fate by doing that, but did that mean it was necessary still? Even with no blood on his own hands there was an insurmountable level of guilt over what had happened, like he should have tried harder to prevent it. For the umpteenth time in just half a day Ethan rubbed his hands over and over against his pants as though trying to wipe something off of them, as if he could just wipe away the guilt that plagued him. By the time the sun had finally risen into the sky he'd only barely slept, the sound of birds singing grating on his ears.

Nymira had little issue sleeping herself, the cold was hardly an issue when your body was naturally warmer than others. That said the heat did little to prevent the stiffness that set in from sleep or the aching of her head as she stirred from her sleep, taking extra time to rise to her feet that morning. A restful sleep perhaps not but she counted herself fortunate she'd been able to go to sleep at all given how others had fared yesterday. Any day your enemy lay beaten and you lived on was a fine day indeed. Rubbing at her arms to wipe away grass she went to the cart to fetch some of their food reserves, handing them out before reigniting their campfire for others' warmth. No one knew where they were going now since Geoffrey's departure meant loss of a guide, their only idea was to continue heading east. East was where the cities were and where eventually the capital itself sat, though no one thought they would travel that far. With virtually no support from foreign leaders yet Nymira loathed to think she'd make it through her journey without so much as a single ally but it was becoming increasingly likely that would happen. Next stop she would make it a point to visit their leader and negotiate some kind of deal. Anything, she couldn't return home empty handed, she refused to.

It couldn't have been later than 9 in the morning when they were back on the road again. Until they reached the sanctuary that was another town resting for too long was dangerous given their penchant for being attacked. Ethan still struggled to understand why they seemed to be so unfortunate, why at every turn they ran into some form of trouble, be it bandits, beasts or other Magi. It seemed like no matter where they went the Saints had some kind of obstacle in their path and each encounter proved to be as harrowing if not more so than the last. All of this over trying to save Cedric? For Amuné to perhaps see her parents again? Cecil had to know where he'd come from and Nymira needed to help her clan, they all had reasons for traveling, even Asta. But was any of that really enough to warrant what they had been through? It was like they had a target painted on their backs for some reason.

High above their heads the sun hung over them and bore down, warming the area and erasing the morning's chills. Blue skies and warm weather, a perfect day for travel. Yet an almost paranoid Nymira couldn't relax despite the wonderful conditions, her eyes constantly shifting back and forth between the sides of the road as they went. Though she knew soldiers could experience stress after a battle she'd never done so herself and doubted she'd been so badly shaken; the slavers were a pitiful lot save for their leader and even he was felled, so why should she be rattled? Even trying to reason with herself the Dimuran was unable to shake the feeling of impending doom, as though just around every bend in the road might lead to another battle. Time passed and they continued on without issue yet the sensation of an enemy nearby never left her, as though someone was right with them the entire time, biding their time to strike. It had to just be residual tension from yesterday, the wound to her head was making her worry unnecessarily. With no cause to speak out she kept silent on her concerns and continued along, remaining alert to the threat that wasn't there.

Cecil wanted to just get to the next place at this point to see if it was where he was supposed to go, or rather where he felt was the right place to go. Even though he knew he needed to find his way to the city, he didn’t know what a city looked like or what he was supposed to do at the city, only that he had to go to a place of such a name and would probably know what it looked like. He was told the city was where he would find all the answers he needed and he believed that more than he believed in his eyes. If the city was where the Machina were accepted and often manufactured then there would be something for him, he could possibly get some faults fixed and a purpose finally. The others didn’t have that problem, they had lived long lives compared to him and probably had it all figured out along with their goals, but since he was manufactured he needed to have a purpose given to him rather than something he could choose. Even if he did have a free will of sorts he had zero experience with their world and had no way to choose what he wanted out of life.

Generally, once they had finally made their way through the day and the day slowly faded away it was time to stop for a while for the others to ‘recharge’ in a way. The most he could do was sit around and wait for them all to get up in a number of hours, or he could shut himself down and be left completely vulnerable and not entirely well off in the head. Shutting down generally meant in his existence he would just kind of blink and be in a completely different moment in time. It wasn’t something a conscious machine like him should experience, but it did help save power and meant he could still continue functioning without needing to refresh his battery. He didn’t know the limits of his current battery, it felt like a part of him had been replaced and he now didn’t know what he was supposed to do with it. He could probably compare it to if he lost his arm and had it replaced with his leg.

Cecil had other concerns that wasn’t his battery, at least for now. Since their guides had ran off after all the hassle they went through to getting them they were now with someone else he was unfamiliar with and someone else who didn’t know that he was actually artificial. He didn’t know what to make of this new lady, whether she was a good person and would understand him if he did show he was not made of flesh. If she ended up being somebody who also hated Machina for whatever reason then she could probably easily destroy him and disappear before the others could catch her. He felt at risk around new people, a risk that the others probably never had to experience for themselves. Their existence was secured, there were others like them out there in the world but he had yet to meet another Machina who could express like he could.

Maybe once he made it to the city his insecurities would be gone and he would find other Machina who were as expressive as he was, at least so he could tell the others that he wasn’t the only one and for them to not feel like they had come across something unusual on their travels. It was somewhat exciting to know he could find other Machina, but if there was no other like him then it was also going to be downright devastating for him and would have him questioning everything about himself and whether he should technically exist at all. It was a pretty terrible feeling, knowing there was a possibility that he would be the only one and that his purpose had been to remain at the factory he was made at. He didn’t want to go back there, even as the others insisted he should. If he had fought hard enough to not recall how he managed to escape then there must’ve been a reason for it.

Maybe he shouldn’t be thinking about such complicated questions and whether he had any place to ask them, especially when it was time for everyone to settle down. He didn’t particularly want to be near anyone right now, but Amuné seemed insistent on settling down with him even though he could never truly settle. He just wanted to be left alone, she would be better off resting with someone who wouldn’t act out randomly and someone who wasn’t simply metal coated in nano-technologically enhanced fibre. Looking to her as he sat at the camp he could only stare at Amuné as she asked the question, looking as if he had just been asked to perform some act. “I-I don’t understand why…but I guess so…” Maybe he was just too cowardly to say no for fear that he might be rejected the next day, he knew people could get angry at just about anything that didn’t go their way. Staring into the fire as she lay down beside him he frowned when he noticed Wyth, moving slightly in response he looked down at his gauntlet as Amuné took hold of it. Not understanding the gesture he looked back to the fire, feeling a little confused at her last words as everyone was settling down.

----

The night was pretty nice looking for all the hours he spent sitting underneath the stars, his question still standing as to what they were exactly and why they lit up the sky when there was no weather. It was typically nice when there was none, he didn’t have to worry about hiding from the rain or trying to prevent his joints from stiffening up. While generally the nights were quiet and he often had to sit in silence as he listened to the weather and the world shifting, he was a little put off by Ethan constantly shifting around for some reason. He didn’t understand why he was and not doing what the others did, but then again he didn’t really know what they did either and just kind of accepted that they were ‘powered down’ themselves. Ethan’s constant moving around had him distracted and wanting to say something about it, but he would probably end up waking the others. It felt a lot longer than usual, that night, but with the sun soon rising again he knew he didn’t have to wait long before the others got off the ground.

Once everybody was starting to get up Cecil was quick to get to his feet. Feeling unsettled and wanting to get going. He didn’t like the thought of waiting around while some fire burned away in the middle of their group, it seemed dangerous and something that could signal to others their location. Everybody else was confident enough to lay around this thing, but Cecil was a little more cautious than that. There had been something annoying him throughout the night since a few hours after sundown, something that was telling him it was probably dangerous to have a fire telling everything and everyone where you were. There was a lot of people after them, having a signal like that would mean they would be easily found; however, since they all got up and it was now day time there was little to worry about when it came to being caught out and the others not being easy to ambush.

Maybe he was just overly paranoid. There wasn’t much different about being out and away from people than there was being surrounded by them in that town back there. He was pretty confident he could keep away bad news anyway, he was supposed to be built for fighting after all; however, with Ethan being all angry at him for doing so he didn’t know if he was still allowed to or not. Ethan would probably get mad at him again and try to toss him out of the group, it’s not like he knew whether Ethan could and might react like that or not at all. Friendship was still new to him so he didn’t know how fragile it could be and whether a mistake could end it just as easily as it started.

He had to stop thinking about all the bad stuff that could possibly happen when it hadn’t happened yet or showed signs that it even would happen. He was just so ‘young’, he hadn’t had any of the experiences they had and still didn’t know how the world functioned. Maybe everything was going to be okay and he won’t have to worry about Ethan being wrong about their friendship. He did truly believe he was worth nothing for a short time, but Ethan telling him he had a place with them made him feel slightly better.

Getting back on the road once everything seemed fine for everyone else just meant sitting around in the cart again minding his own business until they made it to where ever Nymira said they were going. He didn’t really know if he was supposed to do anything once they got there, everywhere they went so far he’s had something he had to do but if things went normally then he would just be standing or waiting around for Nymira to do whatever she wanted to do. He didn’t even know what Ethan was doing in the places they were going other than accompanying Nymira only sometimes. He didn’t understand Amuné’s goal, the words she used were foreign to him, and when it came to Asta he didn’t even know who she was other than hearing her name. He wondered if he even had a place with them, whether Ethan was just keeping him around because he had picked him up earlier and didn’t want to let him go. He had a lot he still didn’t understand, but he hoped he would be able to find something for himself that didn’t end with him being taken apart by those men in suits that were after him.

Staring down for a while as they travelled had him thinking a lot about these things instead of enjoying the environment. He usually enjoyed having a look around but these thoughts continued to linger and made things just a little bit harder to get a hold of. He wanted to try and understand the world but he wasn’t taking his time having a look around and actually taking everything in. People were certainly confusing, but the environment was so straight forward and pretty lovely to look at. Even if he couldn’t feel the same as the others could like temperature, the wind and the rough movements of the road, he could still enjoy travelling and looking and hearing everything around him. He should be enjoying this time being out travelling, but something was lingering and making him feel anxious and worried.

There was something definitely bothering him on an almost paranoid level, like he should be looking out for something. He didn’t know how to describe it even to himself but it was some sort of feeling that there was trouble around and that he was supposed to be making sure it never happened. He had that feeling before, but he didn’t know if it was just his head playing with him or if he had something on a technological scale that was trying to tell him something. A few times he went to speak up but nothing came out of his mouth, there was a few times he wanted to jump out of the cart too and go where the problem was coming from. He shouldn’t do such things when he wasn’t even sure what he was feeling right now, it would be silly if he jumped out and there was nothing.

Maybe there was something, though. He had rarely been wrong before and not much had changed for him to be doubting something he was feeling. Looking up quickly he glanced to the others, trying to see if they were noticing something as well. There had to be something if there was this feeling like an alert was being played in his head. Opening his mouth to speak he looked around instead, holding onto the edge of the cart before feeling the sudden urge to jump, which he did. He didn’t know what he was doing but he was out of the cart and now in the air, throwing his fist out in the direction they just came from before there was a sudden explosion of green rotten energy and electricity combining. Well he wasn’t wrong about there being something wrong, but now he was falling to the ground after blocking some sort of fast magic missile using his own energy.

Nymira had never been paranoid before through all of her encounters, she'd only had one rough night's rest and it had come after her first kill. So why was she so on edge now? Her fight with the slavers had proven tricky but it hadn't been the worst thing ever, she wasn't bothered by any of what she'd done or seen. Yet the hairs on the back of her neck stood on edge and every time she casually glanced to the side of the road nothing popped out at her, flat lands to one side and sparse vegetation to the other. No one was lying in wait, nothing was poised to strike, they were alone out here on their travels. So why was she so uneasy? It had to just be fatigue, she'd slept poorly and their meal hadn't exactly been large, perhaps after some more travel they could rest a bit, replenish their stocks and try and pick themselves up. Tightening her grip on the reins of the horse her face darkened as she stared down at the ground, unsure if she was more annoyed that she felt so uptight or that she was trying to lie to herself over it.

The sensations were not unfounded as it happened and the first attack came utterly without warning. Nymira was unsure how Cecil had managed to react as quickly as he had or how someone had gotten so close without detection, but there they were. The horses whinnied in protest as she and Ethan fought to keep them from bolting and Nymira had barely climbed down when another bolt of magic was shot at them. Retaliating to the next attack with a blast of flame she the foul liquid into a noxious mist that stung her nose when it reached her. The smell of rotting corpses, a smell she was perfectly familiar with, but where in the world had it come from? Burying her nose in the crook of her arm she scanned the area until she spotted him, a familiar Varuna stood some several meters away. Him, she knew they should have tried to kill him when they had a chance. It seemed like that Muran had failed in doing so, how bothersome. Now here they were without any haven in sight, injured and tired from the previous day's events facing off against a powerful Magi. Perhaps their lone saving grace was the lack of a large body of water, though the Varuna clearly didn't need any to be effective.

"Cecil! Hang on!" Ethan, with Amuné on his arm, brought the Ydran girl behind the cart and smiled reassuringly, gesturing for her to remain where she was. "Just stay safe, we've got this." Vaulting over lead he hurried over to the Machina's side and was relieved to see he wasn't seriously injured, helping Cecil back to his feet. Flames roared a ways off as Nymira faced off against the Varuna on her own, the sound of liquid turning to steam roaring across the otherwise silent land. "I guess it was too much to ask for a peaceful trip..." Ethan chuckled weakly, hurrying over to join Nymira in her fight. They were going straight into magic dueling weren't they? If that was the case then he was almost useless, good for a few small bursts before he was spent. Nymira could keep up enough but even she would probably falter against this man. Why was he so persistent in attacking them?

"Sssooo annoying... Prey that will not jussst die..." the Varuna sneered as he raised his staff overhead, the gem in the forward end glowing a dark green color. Waving the wand across four orbs shot out from it and burrowed into the ground before splitting the earth, creating four slime creatures from the ground, each seemingly constructed with no rhyme or reason or form. "No more meddling Remusss.... You children will die today!" He would not fail again, he could not fail again. Hissing as he gestured forward with the staff all four slimes began to move towards the group, leaving a trail behind them that burned the soil beneath them and rotted away anything it touched. Just like the creatures before, something that should not exist.

Touch them and you would burn, Nymira knew as much from their last encounter. Her daggers would be all but useless and without Geoffrey and his bow their only option was magic. Relying on that so heavily in their state was an awful choice but their only one here unless they wanted to risk being tainted. Stepping away from the horses to pull the fighting away from them she found the first slime and extended a hand outward, fire sparking to life in her palm before swirling and shooting forth, a vortex reaching it within seconds and engulfing the creature in its entirety. Once the feed of magic stopped the flames continued to burn, nearly the entirety of the slime alight and yet still moving towards her. Gritting her teeth Nymira swung a hand out and unleased another quick burst of flame, concentrating it and increasing the temperature, a blue flame escaping her hand this time. This flame immediately caused the creature to crackle like an egg upon a frying pan, globs of its flesh falling off and burning away in the process. High heat then, much more costly but it was effective.

With no weapon in hand Ethan had no option except to use magic. Not that he'd probably want to use a sword anyways, not considering how everything around those things was dying. Unlike Nymira who had plenty of experience he could only muster up a burst of air, nothing that was going to probably kill these creatures. Throwing a quick gust at a pair of them he managed to divert their attention from the horses, backing off hastily as they came after him. There had to be some way he could hurt them with his magic, but what in the heck could he do? Looking around for anything of use he spotted a discarded log along the roadside, smiling as an idea occurred to him then. Standing on the far side of it he gave it a push with his foot, finding it to be loose enough to move. Carefully positioning himself then Ethan took a step back before putting out a fair bit of his energy in a large gust, concentrating it on the underside of the log and kicking it into the air. It splintered and fell apart but large pieces still managed to strike a slime and cut away large pieces as a result, bits falling to the ground and ceasing movement. There was little room for celebration however as it hadn't killed the creature, and with three left and the Varuna as well they'd be hard pressed to end this quickly. The Magi wasn't content to sit back idly this time either as Ethan quickly found, ducking and scrambling away as two blasts of its foul magic narrowly missed him.

Suspicions were confirmed by how the Varuna approached this fight, and it gave Nymira an idea. They cast spells from afar and used these abominations to get close, always making sure it was nowhere near them in battle. If she was correct then the Varuna was vulnerable if you could get near enough, which meant somehow avoiding the slimes and closing the distance between them. Pulling her daggers from their sheaths she circled around the burning slime and began a run headlong at the Magi, well aware of one of the slimes quickly changing course and coming after her. Undeterred she lowered herself to the ground enough to avoid a blast thrown at her, cursing when two more slimes were hastily conjured up between her and the Varuna. He had to be protecting himself, there was no question about it. Still she kept running right up until she reached the new beasts, a smile creeping to her lips as her hands lit with flame and it moved down to the blades of her daggers, a trail of fire forming behind her. Kicking off with her back foot Nymira jumped up and over the slimes, spinning her body as she did so and causing the daggers to spit out flames. As soon as they hit the slimes the fire turned blue and their flesh began to burn away within seconds, effectively killing them off. Almost within striking distance now she threw one dagger at the Varuna and just barely missed, buring it in a stump behind him. Using the chance she got within striking distance and tried to swing at him only to be suddenly pushed back by an invisible force, rolling across the ground awkwardly and aggravating her wounds again.

Hissing in delight the Varuna watched as Nymira was thrown aside, sneering at her failed attempt. "Folissssssh girl, did you really think that would work?" At its feet nearly a dozen black tendrils appeared, creating an effective shield around the Magi, prepared to block any and all attacks thrown at it. Save for her dagger, whose heat was intense enough to pass through its defenses. Not that he expected the girl to know that, and so long as that went without knowing its defense was impenetrable. Laughing it raised its staff and fired off three quick blasts at the Dimuran, each one missing but managing to drive her further away. "Sssssubmit and die! DIE! DIE! DIE!"

Asta sucked her cheek and shrugged, "It turned into 'we' when I got here... I could be wrong but... isn't that how pronouns work?" She asked a bit sarcastically, "And you're close enough on the phrasing - I get what you're trying to say. Don't worry, I'm not here to set you back," She explained, absently petting Myria.

The group prepared for a rest as night fell over them and Asta was thankful for the upcoming rest. They'd been awfully quiet for most of the ride and the wooden cart was hardly comfortable. Honestly, if she had the energy, she would have spent the time walking over riding. However, her recovery made walking a serious problem. Hell, if anything happened before her arm healed, she'd be stuck with only one-handed maneuvers with her blade. She helped set up camp as best she could, arranging some kindling in the midst of their small campsite. Myria ran out into the woods to find more sticks and brambles which could be set aside to better fuel it later. After a bit of time and a little help, she finally started the fire.

Asta chose a spot just a little bit set apart from the others, but still under the heat of the campfire. She rested against a tree and Myria did not hesitate to climb onto her lap and stretch out, almost covering Asta's entire body. The Ydra stroked her fur as the pair gradually fell asleep. The next morning was better than the previous day, though the woman could more clearly feel the aches of her bones and muscles as a result of their battle. She rubbed the back of her neck sorely before finally waking up her cobra fox and climbing onto her feet. It wasn't long before the whole crew was loaded back up and on the move, but even then Cecil seemed weary, like he had something on his mind. Asta thought to ask, but then decided it certainly wasn't her place - she'd only seen this boy fall from a roof and hadn't had a single conversation with him. It might only make his situation worse.

However, she realized that she had been wrong when he dove from the cart and delivered a blow to protect all of them. It wasn't long before Asta and Myria followed Ethan and Nymira from the cart and her eyes fell on a Varuna. She pulled her bow from its sheath on her back and moved after Ethan, only to be absolutely amazed as the Dimuran girl released a vortex of flame from her hand. She took a step back and looked around, "You're... you're magi?" She asked in shock, looking over to Ethan. "Do you have any idea what kind of danger that brings?"

The woman scowled, she'd been hiding her own magic since the Church began seeking her kind out - using it only as a subtle ploy to walk away from people she didn't want to associate with or leave an impression on. But here was this Dimuran girl just... blasting her way through an enemy. Was Amune one of them? What about Cecil or Ethan? It was then that Nymira was confronted with a disgusting creature made of slime. It seemed to disintegrate and burn anything it touched. Was it acidic or temperature? She wondered before shaking her head. For now, she was at a loss that such an aggressively strong magic user was part of this band... even if she was royalty. The blaze, even as it reached unbearable temperatures, seemed to do little to deter the oncoming monsters and Asta noticed that nobody else had much ability to help either.

She stepped forward and drove her falcata into the dirt, reaching over to grab a few pins from their holding location on her belt. "Keep it up, Nymira!" She shouted as the girl dodged through the slimes before throwing her pins out, each finding a place near the slimes. With a flourish of her hand, Asta let out a slow breath and from the ground began to rise three separate clouds of velvety purple and black smoke. However, the smoke did not rise into the sky, it began to wrap around itself and take form as three low growls filled the air and from the summoning points rose a trio of vazra. Each of them were about the size of a wolf and they seemed to leak shadow as the smoke dissipated and left only the summoned creatures standing in its wake. They all snapped their teeth at the slimes, including the one that had attempted to follow Nymira, threateningly before pouncing on them viciously.

"Ethan, help Nymira, I'll handle these three as best I can, but I can only hold onto three - five is harder to control," She told him, her hand remaining outstretched as she focused on maintaining her summons. "Find some way to handle the other two." She tensed her jaw, furrowing her brow in concentration as she focused her magic into the beasts. They were certainly smaller than the slimes, but slightly smarter, so they could hold their own. Thankfully, the Varuna didn't try to summon anything too heavy, as he had to maintain them and use his own magic to fight off the rest of the group.

((IGNORE THE DERP))

Cecil didn’t know where he was for just a moment, everything had crashed for him and he was just lying on the ground for a brief moment before coming back online, his eyes looking to Ethan as he helped him back up. He didn’t really know what got over him, he just had to block the shot and managed to do so even if it ended with him on the ground and briefly malfunctioning. Looking to Ethan he frowned and turned towards the noise that was occurring now, all of it coming from that strange creature that attacked them before. Looking down at himself for a moment, his eyes wandering to Ethan who was quick to leave his side. This was not looking like it was going to be as simple as last time, but maybe with numbers on their side they might be able to dispatch this guy quickly before more trouble showed up.

Looking to the cart momentarily he rushed after the others himself, not knowing really what he was supposed to do when all his attacks were generally deadly. Ethan was probably still mad at him for what he did before, but if they didn’t get rid of this guy they would just meet him again. He was an evil thing, surely Ethan would be alright with him going all out this time. There was some of those creatures again, Ethan already managing to take one out and Nymira going in with her fire. He was surprised that she was able to handle using her fire so often, managing to make short work of the beasts before moving in after the enemy. He didn’t know what she was doing at all, she was just running at him as if she couldn’t see what was around him. Was she unable to see the magic surrounding him? It was the same magic that he saw coming straight for the cart too, unless they weren’t able to see it.

This was certainly getting complicated and he still didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He was supposed to be able to fight but he was too afraid of disappointing others. Looking to Asta quickly he noticed her going in to support Ethan, so maybe he should try and be Nymira’s support. That was a good idea, it would give him a purpose and be able to protect someone instead of becoming a weapon. Running for her as their enemy became more aggressive he moved to get in front of her as she backed off, watching as the attacks came flying as he raised his fists. He was going to be able to combat this thing if he was able to withstand the attack before, he would just need to use his body as a shield. “Are you alright? I-I’m sorry for being slow, I had to reboot my systems…” If he helped Nymira maybe he could get into her good books a little more other than being seen as a useful force. Charging up his electricity he quickly ran forward, ready to beat away attacks like he had done before. Raising his gauntlet an electrified chain shot out of his palm before he quickly swung his chain down again, trying to shatter the Varuna’s defences so that they might be able to force this guy to back off.

No, they did not have any idea of what trouble being a Magi could bring. Though in light of recent events they were beginning to get a fairly good idea. This couldn't be a regular occurrence for those who traveled and certainly trouble looked to follow them wherever they went. Ethan would have asked Asta to elaborate had they the time for discussion right now. This was bad, without a weapon and running on little reserves of energy as he was there wasn't much in the way of combat that could be offered on his part. Wind magic, his simple wind magic, was probably going to do nothing against opponents like these. And with no sword at his hip he had nothing to attack these creatures with aside from his ineffective spells. They had to try something though, clearly this Varuna was out to get them and if they hesitated and didn't protect themselves it was going to end very poorly.

"R-Right, I'm on it! Be safe!" Nymira was the best suited for this battle by the looks of it though Asta's magic might help turn the tables; the hounds from earlier were summoned to the battlefield and Ethan nearly doubled back to fend them off. Seeing their gazes transfixed on the Varuna however he took some solace in knowing they wouldn't be fighting a two-front struggle, reaching Nymira and Cecil instead. By now the Dimuran was gathering herself up from being swat aside and Cecil, with his gauntlets crackling audibly, rushed down their enemy. So long as Cecil could get close enough he could drive back the Varuna, they had to cover him so he could get to that point. Nymira already took it upon herself to help as she launched two fireballs at a slime and near immolated the beast, chunks of noxious liquid dripping from its body. Burning it was out of the question but with luck he could at least deter one of the creatures. Using his own magic to create a powerful gust Ethan hit the next closest slime to Cecil, uprooting it briefly and causing it to tumble aside haplessly in the wind, coming to a stop almost 2 meters from where it had begun. "Go Cecil!"

So the children weren't completely hopeless then! Fine, it made their demise all the sweeter to watch them struggle. Though its minions were being felled by the one with fire the Varuna cackled in delight as it watched the fitful battle, knowing full well it could outlast even her. "Sssssubmit! Ssssubmit and ssssurrender, I sssshall kill you sssswiftly!" it shouted, a row of discolored teeth holding a malicious grin. Oh, one of them was trying to reach him again? Eying Cecil with a perverse delight the Magi swung his staff and one of the tendrils surrounding its body swung out, trying to swat away Cecil's attack like a fly. When the mitt struck the tendril however it promptly stopped and spasmed before falling apart, the liquid unable to maintain its form under the electrical current. What kind of trickery did that boy use to disable its magic like that? No matter, it had other means of protecting itself.

The cane glowed green again as the Varuna slowly swung it side to side, four green orbs seeping into the ground at its feet. A chorus of shrill howls came out, muffled from the dirt as viscous limbs struck up from beneath, pulling to the surface liquid-beings like the ones at the river. Humanoid and bound to skeletal remains they clawed their way up, their black voids of eyes promptly turning on Cecil. "Kill! Tear him limb from limb! Die die die!" the Varuna shouted as it stomped excitably, its cane shaking in anticipation, "Our lord demands you die! Sssssstop resisting and die already!"

No one knew what Cecil's magic was or how he was able to counter the Varuna but Nymira understood how important that was for them. If Cecil could get close enough then even the defense which had kept her at bay would fall, and with that down so too would the enemy. Now that Cecil was close enough to strike however matters were complicated further as the Varuna brought even more creatures in for them to battle, the shambling corpses of the fallen acting as his tools yet again. How infuriating and utterly disrespectful to use remains in such a way, the intensity of the Dimuran's gaze upon their foe outmatched only by the intensity of her flames. Already she was breathing hard and she knew she was nearing her limits, the white hot and blue flames proving to be far too costly to use as freely as one might hope. But they had a means to put down the Varuna now and they couldn't let up. Gathering flame in the palm of her hand she compressed it into a smaller ball, throwing it at one of the new creatures. Closing her fists she then opened it and unleashed the magic she'd tossed, the flame exploding and promptly swallowing one of the creatures. Twisted howls of pain signaled the beast's demise as the liquid shell it had was melted away within seconds, the skeleton beneath proving to fair no better.

How delightful. The princess was formidable to be sure but she had her limits, limits which were very quickly becoming apparent. Even from here the Varuna could see the toll her spells were taking, the Dimuran's breathing was ragged and her posture slouching. For all of her might it was all going to amount to nothing, she'd die having fought her hardest and it would make no difference in the end!

"Yes, fight! Fight! Like your flames you shall be snuffed out!" The others were hapless in their fighting, the boy with the white hair could do nothing to stop him and the Ydran, for all her summons, paled in comparison to his prowess. He would not fail again, they were on the brink of defeat and he could not wait to witness their downfall. The utter anguish on their faces as they were overrun, their cries of pain, how wonderful!

You know nothing, snake. I've plenty of fight left in me. Were these words not a complete lie Nymira would have shot back with them, her fighting spirit holding up far better than her body was. The flames were effective, yes, but to create fire so hot and to do so as frequently as she was proved to be incredibly taxing. As she melted away yet another slime she felt her legs threaten give out beneath her, her eyes barely able to stay open. Two more slimes, three more, was there no end to his witchcraft?

"I will not die here... I have a duty to uphold," Nymira hissed through clenched teeth, taking aim at one of the slimes. Her arm was heavy like lead and threatned to fall, only by holding it up with her other hand was she able to maintain her aim. Gathering what magic she could muster she formed a pellet of white flame in her palm and unleashed it, reducing the slimes before her into nothingness. And much like her targets her reserves of energy were now gone as well, a sigh escaping the Dimuran's lips as she fell to her knees. She'd had it, her magic was utterly dry and she felt like she'd pass out any second. And yet more slimes still came, even as the Varuna fended off Asta's attacks and Ethan tried to divert them, still more were summoned.

There had to be something he could do! Think, think, think! He had no flames like Nymira possessed and no summons like Asta, his wind magic couldn't do much against these creatures with their liquid flesh. Even using projecticles only served to injure them, actually killing one of the beasts was out of the question for him. Ethan's mind raced as he saw Nymira fall to her knees and he raced to her side to aid her, for what little good it might do. With more slimes coming he diverted his path and instead put himself in their path, amassing enough magic to cast a small gale at the slimes. Aside from uprooting a few and knocking them away it did little good, and casting such a spell left his lungs aching and limbs heavy as he tried to think of some way out of the mess.

Cecil was able to fight with all he could and yet he was still having to hold himself back, he couldn’t let what happened before happen again. He was struggling to find a way around it that didn’t involve him going off the wire and upsetting his friend. Nymira was starting to struggle, that was the only thing. He couldn’t let her suffer at the hands of this creep and his nasty slimed beings, he was the only one who was able to combat these things without getting hurt in turn. Just what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t do anything other than try his best to destroy what he could and hopefully encourage this being to leave; however, even as he continued to destroy them, the being wouldn’t leave. It only encouraged their behaviour to further his victory, he was going to win sooner or later as he showed no signs of tiring.

It just wasn’t fair. Everybody was suffering because he couldn’t move his machine behind and beat this thing to a pulp. It would help everyone, surely it was alright considering that. He was in such conflict that he didn’t even know anymore. He just had to try and figure out whether he was going to be able to keep it together long enough. If he failed then he was going to lose his friends and that would be awful. He would be on his own again and that would carry with him until his battery ran flat somewhere off in the future. Struggling to find even ground with his desires and what he had to do he growled in frustration as he pounded his gauntlets together, electrifying them before immediately leaping out of his own danger zone, smashing into several with an electrical explosion before swinging his gauntlets into more. There was just explosions of gunk going on as his attacks tore through the creatures, his electrical surge continuing as he simply rampaged through the horde.

"See?! Useless! Useless! Ssssssuccumb to the void, die!" How amusing, they were doing nothing but harm themselves in trying to fight him. His summons were doing all the work and already the Dimuran was out of the battle, the Muran boy quickly following suit. All that remained was the strange boy with his meddlesome gauntlets, not to mention that strange magic of his. What was it? The crackling it made almost suggested fire but its color was unusual, it was no flame he had ever seen. No matter, he and the Ydran woman were the only two left and they too would fold before long.

Cecil and Asta were doing all they could to keep the Varuna's monsters at bay but would it be enough? Sooner or later Asta too would tire and it would leave only Cecil to fight, and putting it all on his shoulders wasn't fair. Nor could they let it get to that point, no way could Cecil protect all of them, fight back and somehow let them escape. If they wanted to get out of here they had to try and flee and do it now, which meant somehow getting rid of the Varuna. While he couldn't kill it Ethan had an idea, one that'd cost the last bits of his magic but just might work.

Near enough to the cart and with Cecil temporarily distracting the Varuna he rushed to the vehicle, digging through its contents to find something, anything of use. The only thing inside he might be able to use was one of the spikes for the tent. He wouldn't aim to kill, just to injure, enough so they had time to slip away with some luck. Grasping the spike he turned and created a small vortex in his palm, spinning the piece of metal at high speeds before throwing his arm forward and the spike with it. Easily moving the speed of an arrow it looked to be on target, racing straight for the Varuna's thigh. It had nearly struck him too until one of the tendrils materialized at its feet and blocked the spike, flicking it away like nothing after taking the hit.

"You try and you fail! Pathetic, lie down and die!" the Varuna cackled, turning his attention back to where Ethan and Nymira were. "The girl diessss first, watch as she turns into dust!" Waving his cane about green energy began to gather at the tip of the weapon, massing together into a bubbling, noxious collection of magic and waste. It would melt flesh off the bone and melt the bone itself and, if she somehow survived, the disease within would kill her quickly enough. Sneering viciously the Varuna waved his staff once more before launching the attack at Nymira, cackling as it raced towards her. "Ssssssufer! Die!"

Cecil attacks were always hitting, even when the creatures tried to deal damage to him they simply couldn’t. He was on top of it everything, all except for the Varuna. While he had been tackling the slime problem Ethan was trying to disable him, but nothing was hitting the target. Trying to do his best he gasped when there was the sudden threat of Nymira becoming a victim to the being’s attack. He couldn’t kill the Varuna, he couldn’t let them kill Nymira either. He understood that death was permanent deactivation and to have that happen to Nymira would be a disaster. Panicking, he dashed with electric power trailing his steps, his feet sliding to an immediate halt as he threw his hands up in front of him. With crackling energy he turned himself into a shield as he gave himself very little option having already calculated the fact that if he grabbed Nymira her legs would surely get caught.

The energy was prevented from touching Nymira completely as it smashed into Cecil’s shield, his friend saved from a terrible fate; however, with the depletion of his energy and his inability to fight the Varuna to the death he had instead caused his own suffering under the strength of the attack. Electricity buzzed bright as the attack and his body collided, his shell unable to withstand it as his joints shook. Part of his outer skin melted away and his shell beneath partially corroded, his joints letting out sudden sparks before they slowly fell from their placings and his knees buckled before fully collapsing. His body fell from his knees as his legs fell the opposite way, the wiring barely holding on by its chains. While his gauntlets suffered the least damage they tried to force his body back up, but as he tried his shoulders shifted and his arms disconnected, leaving his body in a screwed heap.

"Cecil?!" When... Why had he done that? The idiot was going to get himself killed? Seeing the Machina literally crumble before them Nymira's eyes widened in shock, struggling to move enough to reach him. She was not going to allow another retainer to die protecting her, not so long as she drew breath. Reaching a hand out for him she recoiled when the Varuna blasted another spell at her, narrowly avoiding losing her arm as the ground before her rotted away.

"Yessss, that's the look I want! Despair! Grief! Anguisssssssh!" the Varuna screamed, rubbing his hands together with a twisted smile, "Know pain and join your friend in the afterlife. Vanisssssh into the dirt, like the worms you are!" Amassing another spell to launch its face lit up with excitement, eyes shining as the noxious magic grew larger and larger, large enough that it was nearly the size of the caster itself. This would be more than sufficient to kill them all, it would leave no traces behind of them. With almost a squeal of delight it threw its spell forward, the ground beneath it being torn and melted away as it soared towards the cart.

And promptly struck a large stone wall. Seemingly out of nowhere a slab of stone had jut from the earth and blocked the attack, melting partially but holding as the spell dissipated around it. For a moment the Varuna simply didn't act, its twisted grin still on its face though his eyes wide with confusion, not quite comprehending what had just happened. Lowering his staff and looking around it gasped when the earth at its feet began to shake, jumping back just in time to avoid a spire of jagged rocks that nearly impaled him, severing two of the tentacles it used in defense in the process.

"Who issss there?! Sssssshow yourself!" the Varuna hissed, looking about frantically for some sign of an enemy, anything.

"Well, if you insisit!" The voice came from below and the Varuna was unable to react in time as a figure burst out from the ground, a fist soaring up and slamming into the underside of its jaw. The force of the blow knocked it well off of its feet and sent it flying, the tentacles racing to catch the Magi and narrowly keeping him from tumbling down an embankment.

Lifting its head the Varuna snarled furiously, purple blood trickling out of his mouth as he struggled to his feet. "Who daressss interrupt?! Who-" That woman. He knew that woman. But why was she here? How had she gotten here? If she was going to fight then this changed everything, suddenly the odds were not so favorable for him. With a hiss the Varuna sent out five slimes after the woman, watching awestruck as each was promptly skewered by jagged rocks, their bodies being torn to shreds and killing them instantly.

"Would ya look at this, a fish is out of the water! Poor little fella, you must be so confused," the woman teased, grinning as she began advancing on the Varuna. Again he tried to cast a rot spell and she easily deflected it, another pillar of stone rising up and intercepting the attack. "I'm not sure what smells worse, you or your foul magic. You're making me sick and you're making a mess of this road, how's about you quit shitting all over the place, huh?"

"You... YOU... HOW DARE YOU!" How dare she insult his magic, how DARE she treat him like he was nothing but a pest. He was a member of the Church, he was chosen to hunt down those who refuted His will. He was not going to be stopped, not even by this woman. "Burn! Burn in hell you wretch! I will melt your flesssssh from your bonessss!" Magic began to surge about the Varuna and became visible, like a wild wind it raced around him and began to spread out. From the ground behind it a large beast began to rise out of the dirt, seemingly a collection of different creatures and beings all mashed together, skeletons connected with no rhyme or reason and multiple limbs hanging off of its body. It would summon a greater beast and kill them all!

There would be no chance for the beast to take full form, however. As it formed down came a torrent of wind, building at an almost gradual pace before it suddenly became engulfed in fire, encasing the beast. There wasn’t only one attacker but another, a red blur swooping out of the sky who appeared to throw some explosives which very promptly made the fire torrent worse. Once the blur came to a halt in the air it turned out to be a Dimuran male with a set of slender wings keeping him in the air. The fire torrent soon dissipated in a swirl of smoke, the Dimuran paying no attention to it from beyond his goggles. “Do you value your life or would you rather be the one to explode?” he spoke in a smooth low tone, his expression impossible to tell with most of his face obscured by his clothing.

Wrong, wrong wrong wrong! This was all wrong! This woman was not supposed to be here, and now to make matters worse another Dimuran had arrived too! The children were as good as dead but it couldn't fight these two, not now, not so far from water. Hissing furiously the Varuna summoned a handful more slims and sent them after the woman, inhaling as it did so before unleashing a cloud of poisonous gas. Letting the cloud engulf him he used it as cover and ran towards the embankment, disappearing into the brush at the bottom. Blast... He had to regroup and try again, he'd wait until the children were relaxed and then he'd strike again. They had to die, they had to be killed, for if he wasn't successful he'd be the one on the cutting block.

The child bit her knuckles to keep from whimpering in fear. Everyone was struggling, and the slimes just kept coming. Nymira accounted for herself well, but the princess was tiring -- she managed a last fireball, and then she fell to her knees, too tired to fight any further. A choked sob escaped Amuné as Ethan went to cover the downed Dimuran. With him going into the thick of things, the girl fell back to the shelter the cart provided, slight though it was. Ethan sent a gale at the noxious creatures, and Cecil kept smashing through them but there were always more. An awful feeling settled in her stomach, but Amuné refused to believe they were doomed. Someone would think of something. Wouldn't they? She was too frightened to formulate a proper prayer, and the one she sent up to the Saints now was a wordless plea.

She watched Ethan grab a spike from the cart and fling it at the awful Varuna, but the waving vines batted it away, and now Ethan was out of the fight too. Their attacker summoned something new, a ball of toxic green, and Amuné knew to touch that would mean death. "Cecil!" she screamed, "do something! Don't let him use that!" But it was too late to stop it, and all the Machina could do was intercept the attack to protect Nymira.

The child watched in horror as her brave friend fell to pieces, and she felt her knees hit the ground hard as shock stole her feet from under her. A keening sound filled her ears, shrill and piercing. It took her a moment to realize she was the source, when she ran out of breath and it stopped in a strangled sob. She wanted to go to Cecil, to try to help him, but she couldn't move, and though she didn't want to believe it, Amuné knew it was too late. No one could survive that blast. He'd fallen apart, he had to be--

She was shaking, too shocked even to cry. No, no, this was just a bad dream, none of it was real. The Varuna was attacking again, going after Nymira, and Amuné wished she could fight. In that moment she would have destroyed the awful man without a second thought. Why? Why wouldn't he leave them alone? Why did he want them dead? Why was he such a bad person?

Staring blankly at the fight, it took several moments for the child to realize what she was seeing. By then the new woman was calling insults at the Varuna as she countered every one of his attacks. A second newcomer shot down from the sky with a wave of fire. Amuné didn't understand, was he flying? How? Where had they come from? And why hadn't they come in time to save Cecil?

The girl struggled to her feet, once the fighting was over. She'd used very little magic, and yet she felt heavy and sluggish, having to drag herself through thick mud. Her chest felt hollow, and it hurt. Now the tears came, as she made her way over to where her friend lay. "C-Cecil?" she whispered, the name barely audible. "Cecil, please...don't...." She couldn't finish the thought, and her fingers shook as she tried to gently straighten him out, as she'd seen her mommy do when someone died.

Asta steeled herself as she felt her muscles and joints tire. Her mind was focused one on thing - holding dominion over her summons. However, power quickly waned when those creatures lived off of your own bodily energy and you were pushing them as best you could. Whenever one would tear through a slime, another would replace it and as Asta's power drained from her body, her summons grew weak and she had to bring new ones out. Deep shades of violet emanated from the beasts, and from her, to show their connection and that they were inter-planar. Unfortunately, she was far from a master and fending off these grotesque monsters was all she could muster up. She only kept one eye on the Varuna in order to ensure he wasn't directing any further power to her.

The woman pushed one of her feet into the dirt behind her, attempting to keep her footing as she felt her knees begin to buckle. Fight it... She chided herself. It was times like this she wished she'd been able to practice her magic more, but the Church was being relentless in its hunt and she didn't want to be found or become so powerful that she was a significant target. Now it seemed that it didn't matter - she was at their mercy.

The Magi before their group hissed his insults and fury as he continued to tire them out. He was toying with them! If only the coward would drop his cowardly magic and fight them with a blade, he would be singing a different tune. Asta gritted her teeth - these Vazra weren't doing the trick - the slimes were bigger than them... But she'd never tried summoning something bigger, and if she did, she'd only be able to pull up one of them at most. They could break free from her grasp or the slimes could overpower it with sheer numbers... But the Vazra were weak and they were mostly stalling the monsters, if not defeating them only one at a time. On the other hand, Vazra were easily conjured, dismissed, and controlled. They were plentiful on the other side, but Asta knew of only a couple other creatures, many only from stories and far too fearsome to be brought to this plane and controlled by even the strongest of Void Magi.

A flash of green light caused Asta to lose focus as she glanced over and saw the boy from before get blasted with some kind of acidic spell of ruin. The Ydra snarled in anger - not noticing at first what kind of damage and really been done to Cecil apart from him falling to the ground. They were all going to die if something wasn't done, and with a wave of her hand, the Vazra she had summoned dissipated with the wind, returning to their realm. The slimes turned their attention to her, but Asta wasted no time as she scowled and raised her hands, finding a new summon for herself. This would be no Vazra. Vazra hunted very small game and, more often, scavenged for food. Asta was bringing forth a predator.

From the ground, a figure began to emerge, crawling to its feet as if crossing planes through a hole. Its low growl shook Asta's bones even as the tails on his shoulders whipped about hungrily. A six-legged creature akin to a dire wolf or small bear, but more slender and covered in patches of scales appeared before all of the fighters on the road. Its eyes glowed with white-hot intensity as Asta readied herself for the battle of wills she was about to have to fight. Myria hid behind her mistress as the creature surveyed the scene it was pulled into, growling at Asta angrily. It wanted badly to steal energy from the world, but as their eyes met, it realized hers would be sufficient, if only for now. It was clear that as soon as she was spent, it would move on to a new power source unless dismissed properly and in time. Now, for the threat.

The slimes recognized their new threat and began to converge, but the Thistrun leapt for one, clawing at it, clearly more formidable than the Vazra as it tore into the nearest one. When a second grew closer, it was easily able to fight it with the toothed tails at its shoulders, switching targets as soon as it dispatched the first... Of course, they were still just as easily resummoned, but the Thistrun was better at handling them and it was still only one summon. Asta's power waned, however, and quickly at that. Maybe if she had more practice with this kind of monster, it would be easier, but it was the first she'd ever seen a real one in person, let alone conjured it on her own.

Meanwhile, the Varuna continued his magical onslaught on her friends, adding one more of his slimes to the front against the Thistrun - Asta knew that he was just exhausting her before truly trying to defeat her. She fell to a knee, her breathing laboured as she stared at her summon... There was no chance she could keep this up. The signs were all there - the grass around the Thistrun began to die as it began to test new power sources. The air hung heavier and Asta blinked, her vision going blurry.

"No... No..." She muttered, steadying herself with a hand on the floor. It was growing defiant even as it fought for her, taking more power than she had meant to give. The power output of the beast only grew as it drained her... It was smarter than she thought; her hand tightened into a fist before her and she took a deep breath. If she was going to die, she couldn't let one of these things stay alive. She threw her hand through the air, but there was resistance as she moved to banish the Void creature. It could feel her pushing it back and didn't want to go. She began to climb to her feet, pushing harder against it. Back, back, you have to go... She silently urged.

It wasn't going to go without a fight as it turned and began to move in on her, jaws snapping as it moved to pounce. Before it even reached the air, she finally managed to thrust it back to its own realm in a bittersweet moment of victory. The Ydra fell back down to see the slimes moving against her again and this time she couldn't summon anything smaller to fight nor draw her blade. Her vision faded in and out for a moment before the slimes were absolutely slaughtered by some magical power - rocks had seemingly come from the ground to obliterate them. As she propped herself up on an elbow, she noticed a Magi and a Dimuran converging on the Varuna. Reinforcements? New enemies even more powerful than the last..?

Of this she wasn't sure, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to fight them off if they were here to claim a prize for themselves. At this point, she couldn't even get to her feet on her own. If that was her fate, then so be it.

They... They were saved? But how? Who were these people? They had been overwhelmed by the Varuna and his magic in every way imaginable, utterly outclassed and without a hope of survival. What were the chances then that they might be saved? Awash in a sea of both humiliation and relief Nymira collapsed forward and caught herself on her hands, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to calm her breathing. They should be dead, that man could easily have killed her and the others yet here they were, alive and well. At least, most of them were. Hearing the cries of Amuné she lifted her head and watched as the girl tried to piece together Cecil. The idiot, sacrificing himself like that. Seeing the girl trembling and her hands shaking as she worked on the Machina was a little too much for the exhausted Dimuran and she had to look away, closing her eyes and shaking her head. She should have been strong enough to protect them, it was now a second time her ineptitude had seemingly cost the life of her retainers. No, she'd cost the life of one of her friends this time. Inexcusable, what kind of leader allowed those under them to die so meaninglessly?

"Cecil...? Hey... Cecil..." Ethan muttered, crawling over to where Amuné worked to try and piece together their friend. No, no, no no no... There was no way he could be... He couldn't have... Kneeling at Amuné's side he looked over Cecil and let out a choked sob, unsure of whether or not he was even with them or not. As a Machina he couldn't really die could he? Yet if anyone saw the state Cecil was in right now it was hard to imagine him being alive, or as alive as a machine could be. Reaching down he grabbed his friend's legs and tried to put them back in place, blinking back tears as they refused to set back in the sockets. Was he actually gone? Cecil had shut down before, having run out of power, but this felt different. Looking to Amuné he reached out and gently grabbed her hands to stop her, shaking his head and looking back at their fallen friend. "He... He's..." Ethan began, clearing his throat and forcing a smile, "He just... Sh-shut down, like before. We'll get someone to f-fix him again, he'll be o-okay, he'll be... He will..."

"That stinky bastard ran away! The fuck's wrong with him, stinking up our roads and then scooting off like that!" The nerve of those damned Church dogs, they left ruin wherever they left and blame it on someone else. Scumbags, the whole lot of them. "Kensen! Make sure none of those slimes are left, give the area a once over and make sure there's nothing else around!" the woman shouted up, frowning as she walked over to the embankment and looked down it. Coward, running away like that. Spitting on the ground she turned and moved towards the cart, arching an eyebrow seeing a boy and girl huddled over one of their friends. Machina, judging by the wires and metal parts strewn about. What was anyone so bent out of shape over a broken machine for? Moving closer she paused when she sound of metal sliding against leather grabbed her attention, turning her head and smiling in amusement at the Dimuran girl struggling to her feet.

"Stay back, you will not touch them," Nymira growled, staggering as she rose to her feet, holding her dagger in both hands as she tried to keep the woman at bay. She didn't seem phased in the least by her threat, and when she took another step forward Nymira tried to lash out, her arm easily being caught long before she could ever strike. Staring up at the woman fiercely she wanted so desperately to fight back, but even keeping on her feet right now was a battle in of itself. Her arm was released and she yanked it back, barely holding onto her weapon as she tried to remain upright. "I don't know who you are, or why you're here, but if you lay a hand on them I swear-"

"Well no shit you don't know who I am, I haven't introduced myself. Though I'd be flattered if you did know me," the woman interrupted with a grin, "And relax, I ain't your enemy. If I was here to kill you then you'd be dead already, I wouldn't waste time flapping my gums like that stupid guppy that ran off. So put down your damn knife and relax, you look like you're about to collapse." Waiting for Nymira to relent she rolled her eyes and moved on to the next group, to where the children were sat and huddled around their friend. Definitely not the healthiest looking Machina she'd ever seen though perhaps the strangest looking one; so lifelike that if it wasn't for the wires she might swear the boy was a living being.

Who was this woman? And why was she helping them? None of this made any sense, not why they were being hunted or why they had been helped, nothing made sense right now. If she had come to their aid though and driven off the Varuna then she was an ally right? Maybe... Maybe she could help? "P-Please... Do something, save him..." Ethan pleaded, looking at the woman before back at Cecil again, "He's... He's not dead right? He's just... He shut down, he... Ran out of power or something, right? Tell us he's just shut down."

"What, you want me to lie to you, tell you everything's probably all hunky dory? The truth is I have no idea what the fuck is wrong with him kiddo, I'm no machinist, no clue how to work on one of those things," the woman answered, watching as Ethan's face crumpled and he began trying to gather up the broken Machina. Sighing to herself she placed a hand on her hip and glanced down the road in the direction of the town, tapping her foot and biting her lip on thought. "Look..." she began again, looking back at the children at her feet, "We'll get him to town, there's people there who work on Machina. It's going to cost you but they can probably fix it, if you really want it fixed. Could just get a new one."

"Cecil is not an it, he's out friend," Ethan muttered, finally managing to gather Cecil up enough to lift the fallen boy into his arms. His entire body cried out as he struggled to his feet, sluggish from his expending of magic and aching with the smallest movements. Trying to then carry the Machina to the cart he nearly fell over, gasping as the woman caught him, and Cecil, taking the broken boy from him. "Please... Help him. We don't care what it costs, just save him, please. I'm begging you."

"Fine, fine, quit asking me, you're giving me a fricken headache. I already said there's people who can fix it," the woman said as she began moving to the cart. What a mess, a broken Machina, a bunch of kids in shock and some nasty Varuna running around. Why was the Church after them? Other than the obvious fact they were Magi she couldn't imagine they had done anything to earn themselves their ire or attention. Seemed like overkill too to send someone after inexperienced Magi like them, even one or two decent Magi would probably be more than they could handle.

Should they be trusting this woman? She had just saved them but they had no idea who she was, why she had come or even from where they had come. And what was with her outfit? It looked almost like a bandit's clothing with how it was all thrown together, scraps and pieces of other outfits seemingly mashed into one. What's more Ethan had noticed the marking on her chestplate, a strange hand print that probably meant something to those familiar with it, though to him it was just a random mark. Looking down at Amuné, a sad smile on his face, he pulled her close in a hug and ran his hand over her hair in a comforting gesture. "Cecil's going to be okay, we'll get him help. He's tough, you know that, it'll take a lot more than this to beat him."

"Cecil's strong, we just have to get him repaired and he'll be alright, don't worry child," Nymira added, smiling through her fatigue as she carried herself along. They had to trust this woman for now, she was clearly more powerful than they were and they were in no state to fight, they had no other choice. She'd be wary of them for a while yet but until given a reason otherwise they were tentative allies. The woman and that other Dimuran, a man who she considered even more concerning than the woman herself. Did she know him, or his clan? Given the Rumia clan's long reach it was likely, and it was just as likely he was not a fan of hers. Perhaps it would be best to keep her heritage a secret for the time being, until they secured Cecil the help he needed.

"Asta, how are you faring?" Nymira called over, looking to the Ydran woman as she made her way across. None of them had sustained any serious injuries during that entire exchange, the worst being some scrapes and bruises that would heal in a few days. Other than the overwhelming sense of fatigue, both mental and physical, they had gotten off miraculously unharmed. "A Thistrun? I see you're a summoner then..." she spoke with a frown, sinking down into the grass besides Asta, "Dangerous magic you're playing with, you'd not be terribly loved in my clan. But... I suppose you did help us with it, so I shall overlook it this once. Impressive, being able to summon a Thistrun. Though it seems like your control of it was... Wanting." Not that she meant to be critical of an ally but there was a point that needed to be made with this: the use of Void beasts in combat was never a good idea. Even seasoned summoners could lose control if their focus waned and would be turned on in an instant. Or, worse still, their allies might be slain by the very beast summoned to protect them. Asta needed to understand her magic was not to be used lightly, not if it put them at risk.

These kids sure did get into a whole heap of trouble before they arrived and just in the nick of time too, it seemed, as they would’ve been overwhelmed by this big thing if they couldn’t use magic. It looked like they had a combat Machina but that was all but destroyed by the nasty magic this Varuna had, so that was unfortunate. Dealing with the nasty creepers this Varuna was having fun spawning it seemed it had managed to slip away as everyone was distracted which was pretty unfortunate. They should’ve just went straight ahead and killed that thing, all of them were the same so it wasn’t as if they would get new information from him even if they did capture him. Oh well, tearing apart the big creep was the best thing that could’ve been done just now so now it was time to see what else there was that hadn’t been destroyed. Glancing down briefly at the mention of his name he nodded before flying around the battlefield.

There was a lack of creatures by the looks of it, just nasty blobs that were still trying to move and form. Huffing, he swooped down and swung his finger at them, a spark of flame burning them up and causing them to pop. This was fairly routine stuff, plus it meant he didn’t have to deal with the others just now too. What a disgusting mess. Just as well that they were out right now but they still didn’t get the Varuna. If only there was other gunky monsters to clean up, he could avoid going to that group. He had seen the Dimuran woman down there and things would probably get pretty awkward if he made eye contact with her; good thing he was wearing goggles, then. He could keep his eyes off her for now and pretend she wasn’t a Dimuran if she pretended he wasn’t one too.

Flying down to the group he landed with a gentle breeze, looking to the kids who were all but distraught over their Machina. That was a shame, probably cost them a bunch of money too. It was strange seeing how broken up they were over their Machina, they had even given it a name. Sighing lightly he looked over it, glancing over at his partner before he sighed. They might as well just buy a new one and sell the parts, they were pretty good looking parts for a Machina. With a glance to his partner before back to the Machina he let out a sigh, adjusting his goggles. “It’s head is intact apart from some melting so it should still be functional if you get it repaired…” he spoke calmly, pulling at his scarf momentarily before looking away, “The battery has probably just been severed and needs a new connection. You’ll have your Machina up and running in no time with a few repairs…”

This was all just a big disaster. Nothing much had been achieved except saving a few civilians who were capable of using magic too, not that it mattered much to him. There was a lot of Magi out there who practiced magic in the middle of nowhere, but he was interested in the fact that the Varuna was attacking them. Maybe there had been an encounter before with him and he was getting payback, but it seemed like an awfully long way to go to get payback considering how far they were out of their territory. Making a side glance to Nymira he cleared his throat as he looked away, moving closer to his partner as she assisted the kids with their Machina. “No trace of the Varuna in sight. I guess the Machina is all those kid’s lost…although it doesn’t seem to be completely broken, I suppose…”