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7 mos ago
Current Back on my "pining for fictional women" shtick!
7 likes
8 yrs ago
If I owe you a post, it's coming! Been a very busy week but finally settling down!
8 yrs ago
The adult in me says sleep, the kid in me wants to play NieR. The kid's winning D:
3 likes
8 yrs ago
youtube.com/watch?v=7RzA_Oom.. All of my yes. Love this theme <3
1 like
8 yrs ago
If you've not had a chance to watch "Your Name" yet, highly recommend!

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This is a bio, it has bio-like things.

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There was too much going on right now and none of it was how Ethan envisioned it. He imagined their triumph over the bandits, securing the ship and managing to bring these men in for some proper punishment. What they got instead was a hollow victory, a handful of the enemy dead, others broken and Amuné and Cecil both having a nervous breakdown. He himself was flustered as well, not knowing whether he should continue on about how wrong things were or whether he should leave it and they move on. Looking between those in the group Ethan let out a silent sigh, running a hand through his hair and closing his eyes. They were done with this either way, now they could return to the mayor, give Lazlo his shipments back and get whatever information Nymira needed. Then they could leave Orosi and hopefully all of these memories behind them.

Looking to Cecil as he mumbled to himself Ethan's brow knitted together in concern, not realizing just how bad his friend was. Did his confrontation really upset him that much? Yes it was wrong what the Machina did yet it wasn't as if he was being condemned to death for it, he'd just gotten a talking to. Between Amuné's crying and Cecil's panicked mumbling and movements it was fairly evident they weren't going anywhere any time soon, not until everyone had a chance to calm down. Feeling rather guilty over bringing on this attack the Muran approached Cecil, and just as he reached out to his friend the Machina stumbled back, holding his head before crouching down. "Cecil... I... You're not a bad person, you aren't," Ethan began, not entirely sure why his friend was even having an episode, "You made a mistake, everyone does. We know for next time and so it won't happen next time, right? Please, don't beat yourself up over it, we'll move on from this."

While Ethan played the part of consoling Cecil, Nymira tried to give some attention to Amuné. Empathy was not her strong suit though and most instances if a child cried, at least a Dimuran child, they were made to "toughen up" and find some outlet for their anguish. Somehow though she had a feeling telling the Ydran girl to do such a thing wouldn't go over well. Putting on an awkward smile she slowly approached as not to alert Wyth, taking a knee at Amuné's side and placing a hand on her back. "There there little one, it's all over. Everyone is safe and we are victorious, there's nothing to worry about," Nymira said gently, moving closer and placing her arm around the child. Aside from this she wasn't sure what more could be done, she was hardly the best with words either. Hearing someone's voice calling out to them she tensed up, reaching back reflexively for her dagger and finding it absent. "Another bandit...? Damn it all..." she growled, keeping Amuné to her chest as she stood up and glanced over the side of the boat. Not bandits, but guards? From Orosi judging by their outfits, but why were guards here?

"Good, now all of you get off that ship! One at a time, down the gangplank!" the guard continued, gesturing to the long board with his sword, "Every one of you come down with your hands up, and be quick about it!"

Why were they being ordered about by the guard? They hadn't done anything wrong, they'd secured the ship as asked and were now about to leave, what was the problem here? Whatever it was it was apparent the guards were serious, as a quick glance showed each and every one of them was armed. Not just armed but wielding too, something that struck Ethan as highly unusual. Guards should never brandish their weapons against civilians, unless their lives were thought to be in danger. So then... Were these men afraid of them? Glancing between everyone again he slowly rose back to his feet and placed a hand on his sword, wondering just how serious the men were. Maybe they were just being careful, after all they had come out here without really any official word and were the only ones standing in a mess of bodies. Biting his lip in hesitation Ethan went ahead and took the lead, holding his hands up by his head as he slowly descended the gangplank. As soon as he reached the bottom a guard approached and grabbed his arm, wrenching it behind his back and pushing him along. Another took his sword away as well, examining it curiously in its retracted form before tucking it away in the band of his belt.

There wasn't any avoiding the guards then, and trying to do so was only going to cause problems. Following after Ethan, Nymira made her way down with Amuné tucked at her side securely, glaring up at a guard that approached them and moved to restrain her. "I am the crowned princess of the Rumia clan, you will not lay a hand on me," she asserted firmly, clutching the Ydran child to herself securely, "And I am holding this child, I will not allow any of you to lay a hand on her. I am unarmed, that's all you have to worry about." Standing as she was she waited until the man finally backed down, though she was ushered over to join Ethan by other men. As everyone descended the gangplank a handful of guards went onto the ship itself to inspect the damages, collect their weapons at Nymira's behest and check the bodies. What insolence, corralling them like this after all they had done. She'd have to remember to lay into the mayor when they returned for this poor treatment, it was inexcusable.

Moments later the remaining guards joined the group on the shoreline, notably lacking a certain Naga captive among their rank. Surprisingly both Lazlo and Bernadette were in attendance as well, the former seeming excited to have his wares and the latter thoroughly apologetic. As it happened the guard had caught wind of their business and intended to intervene, but had some trouble finding the ship itself. Bernadette had argued for the children's case and yet it was overridden, perhaps something to do with knocking out their mayor. The fact that somehow word of their being Magi had gotten to become knowledge as well missed her completely, even she hadn't been aware until the news was given. Seeing them now though, disheveled, distraught and worn down she couldn't see them as anything except children, that hardly deserved punishment.

"Oh my beauties, this is fantastic! I'm so relieved they are untouched!" Lazlo declared with glee as he approached some crates. Ignoring the bandit's corpse being dragged away he dusted some charred wooden chips from the first, cracking it open and beaming at his unharmed product. A small part of him suspected the children might run off with his goods if given the chance, so finding them still here and undisturbed was indeed a thrill. "Oh yes, you lovelies have done quite well! I'd reward you but I imagine the mayor has something in mind already, so I shall simply give my thanks!" he sang, spinning on his heel and facing the group. Finally realizing how distraught both Amuné and Cecil looked, not to mention the latter's notable head wound, Lazlo clasped his hands together and gave each a smile. "Don't look so glum, you've done well! Those crumpled faces are simply abhorrent, do try to smile! You've done a great thing today!"
I'll be posting later on today, we won't be doing a collab post after all ^^"
There was a lot going on right now yet Yumi felt she was making the right decision. It was clear to anyone involved that most of the people they were fighting were your standard fare of soldiers, essentially just thrown at whoever to try and wear them down. If they wanted to find this facility, or even get some directions for that matter then they had to question the Elite. Grabbing hold of Viral again she made haste in taking off after the man, hoping the boys caught on and hurried after them. "I'm looking for answers, not revenge Viral! He'll lead us to the facility!" she answered back confidently, trying to speed up some to get closer. "And what, how will you join us if he flies away? If we all took off you'd be stranded, unless you want to swim. We broke most of the cannons, we should be fine." Now wasn't the time to question it anyways as they were speeding away and doubling back now would ruin everything. Regardless of where this man was heading he had to know where the place was, there could only be a handful of places on this world they could hide. One way or another he had their answers and Yumi was determined as anything to get them.

"Just cuz I wanna win doesn't mean I will, you know? You could just as easily win too," Takeshi continued, rolling his eyes as a soldier barked at them for ignoring the fight. "You can jump up high, just jump up and kick them, isn't too hard now is it? Here, I'll show you..." Or he would have until he noticed Yumi and Viral leaving them behind for some reason. When he figured out they were chasing someone he figured they ought to join as well, grabbing hold of his brother and taking off. "We're after some guy I think, looks like they found someone who knows something." Or someone really pissed off Yumi and now they were looking for blood, which was completely possible given how she could be. "Eh? Oh that stuff, yeah hang on." Stopping in mid-air Takeshi turned himself and Shu around, smirking as he began gathering Ki up in his hand. Two cannons left? They could easily level those. "I got the cannon on the left, you get the one on the right, ok? Fire on three. One... Two... Three!" Both he and his brother let loose large blasts towards the remaining fixtures, causing the soldiers down below to scramble for cover. As the cannons were erupting and falling to pieces Takeshi turned and hurried after their friends, not wanting to get too far behind.
"Right in the face! He never saw it coming!" Takeshi laughed as he reveled in Shu's enthusiasm, finding enjoyment in it as much as his own. He didn't know why the little guy all of a sudden enjoyed fighting but he wasn't going to knock it. After swatting the flies that were the soldiers in the air they could move to the ground where more troops were mobilizing, trying to reach Yumi and Viral. Opting to cut them off instead the brothers landed before them and cut off access, unnerving the lowly soldiers with just their presence. At least Takeshi thought it as much, and he couldn't help but feel smug for it. Trying to, as usual, make it a competition with Shu he sighed when his brother questioned it, turning to him and pointing at the soldiers. "I'm just trying to make this a game buddy, you know? See who can beat up more bad guys, that's all!" Takeshi argued, "And being tall has nothing to do with it. Little guys like you can beat anyone if you try, it's not about size. You're probably stronger than each of them put together!" That incited a few shouts of dissidence and some angry glares but he ignored them, they weren't important right now. "Come on, let's make a game of it, whadda ya say?"

Just plowing through a bunch of fodder would be too easy, of course there was an Elite present. Just her luck too that she ran into him, but she wouldn't back down from it. Yumi had been playing the support role for much too longer and she wanted to be on the front lines again, and what better way than to fight an Elite? That was the idea anyways, she was finding doing so was more difficult than she'd imagined. After failing to hit him a few times she watched as a Ki blast was batted away like nothing, frowning and charging back in to keep fighting. Ducking beneath a swinging arm she spun on a heel and kicked the man in the back, making him stumble but hardly knocking him over. Jumping up she delivered another kick but instead found her leg grabbed and her body yanked hard, being thrown away and rolling a few times before catching herself, her hand digging into the ground to stop her momentum. He was just too solid for her to strike down, at least how she was going about it. Maybe a different technique? Figuring she'd try more pressure point oriented attacks she got to her feet and prepared to assault the man again... Instead watching as seemingly out of nowhere Viral came charging in, his foot colliding hard with the man's head, knocking him clean off his feet and several meters away before hitting the ground.

"Agh!" One second he'd been facing off against the small woman and the next he was face down in the dirt, head throbbing and having absolutely no idea how or why he was in such a state. Growling in frustration the Elite pushed himself to his knees, giving his head a shake before rising to his feet. "Who's the pipsqueak that hit me...? I'll crush you!" he shouted as he turned to face Yumi, stopping short when his eyes settled on Viral. Him? Here? But why?! He was supposed to be long gone, this didn't make sense. Come to think of it there were two powers nearby too, powers that seemed fairly strong in their own rights as well. Casting his gaze away briefly the Elite's eyes widened spotting the crowned Princes as well, realizing the gravity of the situation now. Not only was a former Commander here but so were the King's own sons, he couldn't beat all three of them. He had to get back to the facility and raise the alarm, prepare for an attack. "Men, hold them off! Your sacrifices will be remembered!" he shouted as he rose into the air, looking somewhat panicked before turning and trying to fly off.

"Hey, get back here! Don't run away from us!" Yumi hollered after him, almost taking off right after him before remembering herself. Instead of darting into the air immediately she rushed over to Viral, placing her hands once more on his sides before promptly shooting off and giving chase to the Elite. Hopefully Shu and Takeshi realized what was going on, she hadn't the time to yell to them lest they lose this man. "Where does he think he's going? We'll find him no matter what!" If he wasn't staying there then there was no way that... The facility! That had to be where the man was heading, he would never have left if their target was back there. But then he had to know they were following him too right, so why was he doing that? What was waiting for them there?

Aw jeez, Takeshi had just been getting cozy with the idea of him and Shu competing for most butts kicked when Yumi and Viral flew off. It took a second for him to realize why that was, and when he noticed another power running away he figured they were chasing someone. Not wanting to be left behind and get totally lost he rolled his eyes, grabbing Shu by the hand and slowly rising up into the air. "You guys uh... Sit tight, we'll be back to kick your butts later!" he declared with a laugh, waving slightly before hurrying after their friends, adjusting Shu so one arm was wrapped around his sides. No one chased them, big surprise, they seemed to lose their fighting spirit pretty quick after their boss left. They could just barely see Yumi and Viral up ahead once they were going, and whoever they were chasing was still a ways off, but this had to lead them somewhere, right?
They knocked out two cannons so far, three if you counted the one Takeshi just put a blast down the barrel of. Only two left to go and their biggest weapons would be out of commission for good. While the brothers worked on those in the air she and Viral could focus on the ground with ease which was proving to be extremely helpful; numbers wise they were grossly outnumbered, but it was fairly obvious these soldiers were either green or too intimidated to really fight, it wasn't much of a battle. Leaving the destroyed cannon behind Yumi jumped off of the platform and raced to the nearest cannon still in operation, using a little Ki to jump all the way up to where it was. Almost as soon as she reached the top was she knocked onto her back by a large alien, rolling to her side to avoid being stepped on by him. Throwing a Ki blast up to try and make him back off she gritted her teeth when he simply blocked it with his arm, again trying to crush her like a bug beneath his massive foot. So much for all of the soldiers being easy to deal with.

Throwing herself back Yumi rolled on her shoulders and then over onto her knees, jumping up to avoid a low kick from the massive man. Taking a kick at his chest she frowned when he stumbled back but didn't move otherwise, surprised how sturdy he was all things considered. An Elite? She thought only Saiyans could be Elites but perhaps she was wrong. "Tch... Alright, just you and me then," she mumbled, rolling one shoulder before dashing in and throwing a hard jab at his chest... And watching as he didn't even budge. Eyes widening in surprise she gasped as two large hands grabbed her sides and lifted her up overhead, throwing her then down off the platform towards the ground. Catching herself in mid-air she looked up and saw the man jumping down at her, darting away with Ki to avoid his landing on her. Charging up two attacks she fired each off at him only to watch as they were deflected away carelessly into other troops, wondering how she was supposed to fight him.

"Hah, these guys don't stand a chance! We're wiping the floor with 'em!" Takeshi laughed, feeling awfully proud after blowing apart a cannon like that. If this was all they had for defenses then this place was going down in no time! Shu seemed to be doing pretty well and having fun with it rather than shrinking away from the fighting as he did so that was good too. As the third cannon was knocked out of commission he flew them closer to the island now, trying to block off a group of soldiers rushing to stop their friends. Throwing a single Ki blast at the ground before them he managed to block their path, landing on the other side of the crater and smirking as they seemed to be uneasy about fighting him and Shu. "Hey buddy, we're going to wrestle with these guys now okay? Means you gotta get off my back," Takeshi explained, releasing his grip on Shu and getting him down on his own feet, "Tell you what, you knock out more than me and I'll take you to more games when we're done, okay? Show me what you can do!"
What Shu was doing might not be the most effective, but if the little guy wasn't going to run out of energy it wasn't all bad. Somehow too with all the erratic firing he was managing to actually hit the enemy and knock a good few many out of the air; Shu's attacks were hardly concentrated enough to kill anyone, but they were good enough to stun people and put them out of commission for a bit. With more enemies converging on them Takeshi freed one arm and began taking aim himself, firing at anyone who got too close to them, which wasn't a lot. Shu's rapid firing was managing to hold the enemy at bay even as they tried circling around, and the two began moving forward to get closer to the island. "You're doing awesome buddy, keep it up and we'll win in no time!" the older boy laughed, loving how enthusiastic his sibling was being. Glancing down at the island he saw one of the cannons being trained on them, focusing his Ki into his palm and firing off a blast, catching its attack at the barrel and causing an explosion that ripped open the very tip of the weapon. "Fire that now jerks!"

It was somewhat worrisome how the others were faring yet Yumi didn't have the luxury of time to check on them. Shu and Takeshi would be fine, she told herself repeatedly, and she knew Viral could fight and handle himself. They would have to because she was neck deep in soldiers herself at this point. Running for the cannon she was met with another small group of soldiers, keeping her momentum up as she slid away beneath them and sprung up, driving the operator of the cannon off his seat with a shoulder charge. Turning then she kicked at the barrel of the cannon and managed to bend it in a 90 degree angle, ruining the weapon entirely. With the soldiers coming at her still she ducked beneath the barrel to avoid a blast, using it then to vault herself over and kick the same man in the face. Being grabbed from behind by one of the soldiers she saw another coming after her, stomping on her captor's foot and ducking as the two soldiers hit one another, kicking the latter in the back and knocking them both off the platform. The final soldier present she handled with a quick series of punches, throwing him into the cannon itself to knock him out for good measure. She had one down, and a quick look showed Viral destroyed one as well. They were getting there, just three more to go!
If the whole object of this fight was to just put on a show then Shu was doing a fantastic job so far. What he was struggling with just slightly was actually bringing down any of the enemies. For as intimidating as it may be having him shoot off erratically it didn't do much good against so many soldiers, with Takeshi having to even kick one back to keep him at bay. "Yeah, well, if you run out of energy and we don't beat any of them what happens next, hm?" he asked, giving his brother a scrutinizing look before glancing back up. The soldiers weren't wasting any time with their little chat and were coming right back in for it, in a group of five this time. Rolling his eyes exasperatedly Takeshi moved back and let Shu do his thing of firing off everywhere, which with how close the enemy was this time around he was actually hitting them. Heck, the little guy was pelting the enemy with shots now, and while hardly the most impressive of blasts he was knocking them out of the air all the same. Laughing at how absurd it was, Shu fending off hordes of bad guys, Takeshi raised an arm himself and began firing off occasional blasts as well, the two of them acting like a bug zapper to a swarm of flies.

As soon as she released Viral on the ground Yumi rushed for the furthest cannon, opting to work her way back and throw off the soldiers stationed there. It was easy enough reaching the platform, and by using bursts of Ki she could even keep the enemy at bay as she hurried over. Landing on the platform where the cannon was positioned she was greeted by no less than five soldiers, blasters primed and aimed right at her. Not wasting a single second she ran in to do her part, dodging and swiping at blasts that came her way. Reaching out for the first soldier she pulled him closer and jumped up, seeming to use his body as a springboard as she kicked off his back and propelled herself at the second, tackling him to the ground and smashing his weapon. Rolling away to avoid another blast she then sprung up off the ground and kicked the weapon up in the air, spinning her body and kicking again, catching a soldier square in the chest and knocking him back into the cannon itself with a resounding thud. More soldiers began to come up onto the platform now which she tried to answer by firing off Ki blasts of her own, catching a handful of them in the chest and sending them back down in smoldering heaps.
Funny thing to be cautious about seeing as Viral had said he'd swim if need be. Yumi kept that comment to herself though knowing it was only going to agitate her friend. For the most part she'd just pay attention on flying and keep an eye out for the facility, hoping it was going to pop up soon. Something did after a moment albeit it wasn't what she was expecting; narrowly dodging a concentrated energy blast Yumi looked ahead to see another coming their way, dodging that as well. From way up ahead she could see soldiers rising to meet them, and large artillery on the island shooting at them. If this wasn't the right direction then those were extremely out of place. Making a decision as to who handled what Yumi took off towards the island, leaving the brothers behind to handle the soldiers. Shouldn't be too hard for the two of them, they had dealt with much more imposing enemies before right?

Takeshi saw the beams coming yet still had to really try and dodge them, using his Ki to dart about. "Now is really not the time buddy!" the older boy shouted, dashing back up to avoid a low firing beam. Sounded like Yumi wanted them to handle all the soldiers coming their way, and while an easy enough job he'd much rather hit the island. Watching as the others darted ahead he sighed and relayed the order to Shu again, prompting the little guy to begin firing off shots like no tomorrow. For every one shot that actually hit something about five completely whiffed, with a few landing in water and even one or two colliding with one another. "H-Hey buddy? Uh, you're doing great and all," Takeshi began, pausing as a soldier came charging at them with an energy blade. Springing up with his Ki he kicked the man's arm below himself before hitting him square in the jaw, sending him careening down into the water below. "But you should try aiming! You'll hit more stuff, you know!"

Picking up speed on their approach Yumi had to make it a point to avoid soldiers coming up to meet them, her priority being the massive cannons on the ground. If they didn't get rid of those there was a serious risk of their shuttle being shot down, never mind what it might do if someone was hit with it. "When we get there I'm dropping you off, then I'm going for the far cannon. You might hit the ground running so be ready." Once they finished with those, which there only looked to be 5 cannons in all, they could really focus on getting the soldiers beaten. With the ground quickly closing in on them Yumi lowered them further and decelerated just enough to not turn Viral into a pancake on impact, counting down from three before releasing her grip and letting him go. As soon as she was relieved of him she raced across the ground, pushing harder with her Ki and knocking soldiers around her off their feet as she went for the farthest installment.
Fighting Ethan? She tried to kill him :P

But there we go, that's the whole boat business taken care of anyways, now to resolve it and start the next chapter :P
Everything was just wrong. People were dead, and not by the bandits hand but by their hand. They had never set out to take lives only to secure the ship, and they could have done so with everyone being able to walk away from this. So why then were there dead men all over the place? Some killed by the men in suits, others by members of their own party, Ethan couldn't understand it. What reason was there to take a life? If you beat someone enough they wouldn't fight, murder didn't need to be a part of that. Seeing the chaos that had unfolded up on the deck coupled with Cecil killing a man himself was just too much for the Muran to take, something inside of him snapped and he had to try and put an end to it.

By this time Ethan was utterly exhausted, expending too much magic and barely able to keep himself standing much less fighting. Regardless he struggled to his feet and approached Cecil, grabbing the Machina by the shirt and lifting him up slightly off his feet, demanding to know why he'd done what he had. Around him he could hear Nymira calling him off and Amuné pleading for him to let Cecil go, yet he felt he had to have his answers He needed to know why despite repeatedly saying not to take a life the Machina had taken not one, but two and perhaps even more, he hadn't checked yet. All Ethan knew so far was what little he had witnessed coming up from below deck and that in of itself was enough for him.

"Why did you do it Cecil? Why did you kill them?!" Ethan repeated, tears welling up as he tried to get an answer out of his friend. Seeing the pained and frightened look on Cecil's face didn't make it any easier to question him, making the Muran just feel awful for even doing this. When an apology was stammered out he couldn't bear to do it any longer, releasing his grip and letting out a silent, choked sob before running a hand through his hair. Men killed, and for what? Silks? Rum? Things that meant nothing and men had died for it, what a waste of life that was. If those men had been spared maybe they would have been better for it, now they never had a chance to try and make amends. Whatever families they might have, friends, dreams and hopes... Gone.

With everything as grim as it was to Ethan right now he was baffled to hear someone's laughter breaking the uneasy silence. Looking over his shoulder he blinked back tears seeing Zander rising to his feet, apparently finding something funny in this situation. Worse still was the fact that a healer of all people was arguing about the ethics of killing someone while bringing up a question almost impossible to answer. "I... No... Killing someone doesn't avenge a murder, and it doesn't make things right," Ethan replied weakly, casting his eyes downward as he spoke. The guards always preached the importance of justice over vengeance, over letting your rage or heartache concerning loss drive your actions. It was important for men in that line of work to be able to keep their heads clear enough, otherwise they'd be racing off constantly to fight bandits or monsters. So then why was he having so much trouble with it?

"Do not lecture me, Zander... As if you know what you're talking about," Ethan replied bitterly, raising a hand to wipe at his red eyes before turning to face the healer, "Just because something is easier doesn't mean you should do it. Cheating is easy, lying is easy, stealing is easy, but would you do all of that, just because its simpler?" No, you'd take the moral high ground, try to be the good person and do the right thing. Yes fighting an opponent intent on killing you was difficult even if you were willing to strike them down, and having a more reserved, almost pacifist approach made it even more difficult. Yet that shouldn't be the reason for not trying, just because it was hard. Plenty of things in life were difficult, you couldn't avoid hardship.

Clearly there was a clash of ideals taking place here. For Nymira she found no fault in what had been done, death was a part of the battlefield and a fact of life. That being said she didn't see the point in useless deaths, nor did she have any taste for executions, such as what the men in suits had done. A defeated enemy should have to live with their shame and doubt, they deserved the right as a warrior to try and regain that pride, be it in victory or in death. Slaying men as those in the suits had done, there was no honor in that, no chance to fight back. As Zander pointed out it was not unlike slaying beasts which they lived off of, done purely out of desire or a simple want to kill. Both men were in the right to a degree, and she wasn't going to take sides despite where her loyalties might lie. The fight was done, what was done was done, now they simply had to recoup and leave this ship to claim their reward.

"It's all below deck, I'm certain. You'll remain where you are," Nymira told Zander firmly, approaching as she clenched one of her hands into a fist. "If you so much as move I'll be certain to put you out as well, and this patient of yours can wait longer. I will not stand by idly as someone laughs in the face of a warrior's death as you did, it's disgraceful." Bandits, soldiers, guards, regardless of their reason for fighting they all fought and died for something, that should be honored, even if their reasons were impure. To die for a cause was how their sort lived and diminishing that was utterly repulsive, something which Ralthor would strike down were it to happen on his soil. Rubbing at her sore throat the Dimuran woman glanced about at the bodies strewn across the deck, some breathing and others motionless in a pool of their own blood. Just as these men fought and died for their causes so too had they, and there should be no regrets over what had happened.

A ways from the chaos of the Aube Doré a small contingent of guards was fast approaching. Accompanied by the secretary of the mayor, as the man was currently indisposed, and Lazlo they made a fast path to the site of the battle following the eccentric merchant's directions. The sound of metal boots clattering against the stone-ridden roads, branches snapping beneath their feet and chain armor shifting with every moment caused a song of steel in the otherwise silent forest, signaling the approach to anyone nearby. After a good few moments of travel the ship itself finally came into view, and to anyone present they could promptly see that the situation had escalated badly. A handful of bodies lay at the landing, and doubtless a few more were on the deck. Figures could be seen standing aboard the ship itself, though from this distance it was difficult to ascertain who it might be.

"Men, fan out and form a perimeter, no one gets in and out of this area," the lead guard called, fanning out to his right with his sword, "I don't care if its one of those children or one of the bandits, everyone is to be brought to me for questioning." They had to be certain who they were dealing with here, knowing now that Magi had been employed. Personally he had no ill will towards the sort but he knew what they were capable of, and the risk that they faced potentially fighting one. Even children were dangerous if their abilities were not kept in check and they could easily lose a battle should that come to pass. Watching as his men fanned out, the guard frowned as his eyes drifted once more towards the Aube Doré, trying to figure out just what had happened there. Clearly the battle was over and the ship still in one piece, but who was victorious?

A pair of two guards, a Muran and a Ydran, cut their way through the brush as they approached the shoreline. Someone might try to make a retreat either down here out of view or through the water, all avenues of escape had to be considered here. With a sword in each of their hands they moved as swiftly as they could while trying to remain undetected, not wanting to alert anyone preemptively and cause a skirmish. As they raced through the trees the sound of a limb breaking prompted each to stop, their heads on a swivel as their eyes scanned for anyone, or anything in the immediate vicinity. It didn't take long to spot a woman racing away from the scene of the battle, a pack on her back and curiously unharmed despite the chaos that apparently had taken place. Wordlessly the two guards both made a move to cut her path off, weapons brandished as they stood in her way. "Halt! You are to go no further, stay where you are and surrender yourself to the guard!"

Approaching the ship were now three guards, doing so quite slowly and with weapons drawn. Before they even reached the landing one could smell the blood in the air as a cool breeze carried it forth, though their seasoned senses did not waver at the smell. At about 20 meters out one of the men drew his bow and took aim, his arrow pointed at a young looking boy preemptively, not knowing who they might be. When his comrade signaled for him to lower his weapon however he did so, albeit the narrow remained notched as they slowly moved forward. "You there! Lower your weapons and identify yourself!" the forefront guard shouted, furrowing his brow as he realized there were others on board as well. They were all young, were these the children that the mayor had sent? Had they done all this? Terrifying lot, these Magi.
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