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For what it's worth, my schedule's gonna be really busy until either Thursday night or Friday morning. So I'll be a bit later, myself! Try to get a post up, and if you can't, next round'll be on Friday morning at the latest, or Thursday night for a point slightly before that.
@Sifr@Estylwen@Psyker Landshark

CAMPUS GROUNDS, FOREST


Both attacks would strike true against the wolf, whose body crumpled into a crater in the ground. A gurgle of bile and blood cocktail fled its open maw as its body convulsed in the dirt, dull wispy eyes darting back and forth between Iraleth, Ciara and Hildegunde. In the places upon which it was struck, the veil of shadows was cut apart, revealing grey fur underneath with a fresh coat of crimson. "Mmmm... not enough to overcome a pure numbers advantage. Not like this, at least. The bloodlust was a critical flaw as well," the raspy voice would continue to echo out from the wolf.

All at once, the shadow veil coating the beast would warp and converge upon its back where Ciara had struck, revealing the full form of the wounded grey wolf that bore no recognition in its eyes. The shadows on its back rose and formed into the shape of a small impish creature made of pure, featureless darkness, its lower half seemingly rooted in place to the torso of the lifeless beast. A second later, a mouth of gleaming white teeth upon its otherwise silhouetted face became its sole defining feature, curved downwards in a scowl.

"It truly is a shame to be assaulted by a fellow sufferer," it would look towards Ciara. "And for that sufferer to unite with the worshiper of a false deity," it would then regard Iraleth with a wave of its hand.

"And another who saw, yet I have no chance of survival were I to continue to fight... hrmmm," it would finally turn towards Hildegunde, finger to chin in thought, muttering to itself in an unknowable language.

After arriving at an epiphany, it raised its tiny arms in the air with a smile on its face.

"I have been vanquished, great heroes! You may now proceed to take me to your leader, or whatever else your protocol is around here. I invoke my prisoner rights and safeties!"




@ERode

WORLD BETWEEN DOORS


Chloe's eyes fluttered open as she registered Otis' voice. She made no efforts to move as she simply stared into whatever 'up' was in the current moment, entranced by the space she found herself in. Blood still leaked from her wounds, trailing out of her slowly, though she wasn't as bothered by it as she was previously. "Hildegunde and I... were attacked by some monstrosity in the woods, as you saw."

Turning over to face towards Otis, slowly, she continued.

"I was taking a brisk walk before the ceremony, and she took it upon herself to follow me... for whatever reason. Then we were both attacked."

Despite floating through the air and not having a concrete grasp on a solid up or down, Chloe's hands fell to her hips in annoyance, glare sharpening towards Otis. A small spiral of scarlet trailed around her as she floated through the World Between Doors, but the pain she was in could only be matched by the sheer insult of accusations.

"Neither she nor I are in the center of anything, you understand. We were attacked by some accursed being, by a bad roll of the dice. Wrong place, wrong time. And now a threat to school safety prowls the forest attacking students, which is a far more pressing matter, you must agree."




@AThousandCurses

CAMPUS GROUNDS, LEYLINE ATTUNEMENT ZONE


"Ah?! Alright, just uh, go off then," Emelie exclaimed in surprise at Chunji's sudden sprint. She hobbled towards the front by Raja, going her separate way for now.

When Chunji had caught up to Rio, the boy was far removed from the attunement zone, walking towards the front of the school. He half-turned on his heel towards his classmate when the distance was closed, facing Chunji with a look that immediately betrayed that something was smoldering beneath the surface. "What's so important about it? Attuning to all the school's leylines, so we can be big 'n strong like the greats? Borrowing Big Daddy Union's grand earthen powers? Pffft."

He turned away and spat, then stared back at his classmate. Removing one of his hands from his pockets, he pointed at Chunji while still half-turned towards him. "And you, all the while. The same blank, uncaring expression, yesterday and today. Teacher's pet, tryin' to make sure everyone stays in line. Rules to the letter, and not a step above or below."

His outstretched hand balled into a fist which fell to his side, turning to fully face towards Chunji now, maintaining a distance of two paces away.

"I was gonna go take care of somethin', but you piss me off, you know that? Seeing you prancing around with that same condescending look, it all just reminds me of how we never got to finish our fight the first time. Maybe if we had, you would've been taught a valuable life lesson."
Sorry, today ended up being more busy than usual. Post tomorrow.
Next round tomorrow morning!
@Sifr What's your status looking like? Think a post today's likely?
@Sifr@ERode@Estylwen@Psyker Landshark

CAMPUS GROUNDS, FOREST


Thwack.

The sound of impact against flesh rang out as Hildegunde's bullet pierced through the shadowy chest of the beast. It didn't seem to react to this, and its exterior showed no signs of damage - or so it appeared, at least, until blood trickled through the hazy coating of the wolf. Its grey orbs studied this for a moment, bearing its fangs as it acknowledged the liquid life exiting its torso, before turning its attention upward towards Otis. Dashing to the side closer to Hildegunde to avoid the Strigidae's bullet, it stopped in its tracks to look away when the flash of light struck, growling. Reacting with split second timing, it burst into pursuit the moment the flash had faded enough to give way to vision once more, galloping towards Hildegunde to swing its blade at her while once more firing black arrows from its torso towards Otis that seemed partially coated in blood from its wound.

"Surrender? Escape? Hah! The fleeting reverie of youth is surely the sweetest salvation. Green gills breed ills."

Were Otis to defend against the arrows, he would find them breaking apart against his barrier with some kind of dark liquid beginning to burn at his barrier like some kind of acid. If he dodged, he would find this same process occur to the first thing that the arrows would hit instead, coating parts of the surrounding area in a dark acidic substance.

The beast would continue to hungrily pursue Hildegunde with slashes of its blade and swipes of its claws as its blood leaked onto the soil. It hadn't seemed to register its own impending danger should others acknowledge the beacon, entirely focused on its prey as it pursued the hunter and shot at the owl.




@AThousandCurses

CAMPUS GROUNDS, LEYLINE ATTUNEMENT ZONE


"My thoughts on 'em? Well, er..."

Emelie turned to observe the duo's standoff against the Leuvalt heir, trying and failing to conceal and remove a look of pity and concern for Chunji in the process from his story. She gazed at each of them for a moment, furrowing her brow, before returning her attention towards Chunji. The pitiable look was still there, but she cocked a half-smile to further hide it, since it appeared her fellow occultist had no intention of acknowledging it for the traumatic experience it was. Indeed, a diversion of the topic proved the best course of action, most likely. She wasn't a therapist.

"We've been acquainted, if ye could call it tha'. A minor kerfuffle here or there, but nothin' to where I can say anythin' special, o' course. Lotsa special folk here, can't remember every gosh dang one, y'know? But..."

Trailing off, one hand gripping her cane tighter, she looked off towards the situation between them once more.

"Wish I could be more like 'em, I think. Walkin' up to the big weight-thrower himself and pokin' noses. It'd be nice to have the courage to poke noses."

After another moment, it all happened so fast that it nearly made Emelie's head spin. The activation of an ethos and the duo taking flight caused shrieks and screams to appear from nearby students in the clusters gathered, including a few of Valen's own semi-circle, observing them shoot into the distance to another part of campus further north. Some whispered about disrespectful delinquents skipping the ceremony, while others gazed on in concern as if wondering if an emergency came up. For Emelie's part, she hyperventilated for a moment on uneasy legs before returning to regular breath, a hand on her chest as if to steady her very heart. She'd turn to Chunji, pale as a sheet.

"Speakin' of, what was tha' all about?! Your friends got summin' goin' on that requires that blitzin' speed? I near took a tumble!"

She leaned on her cane and sighed, concern once more taking over her features. Nearby, another student among a group could be seen taking to the skies, albeit with a much softer exit to avoid startling others around him, and began flying in the direction that Iraleth and Ciara had hurtled towards. He was much slower, however. If Chunji had spared a gaze, Rio could also be seen nearby walking away from the ceremony grounds, though not in the same direction as the airborne students.
Man, it hasn't even felt that long since it started. That's crazy.
@Sifr@ERode

CAMPUS GROUNDS, FOREST


Obsidian death met sturdy rock an instant before impact with its original target, leaving Chloe kneeling with her eyes nearly bulging out of her sockets and with breathing soon to become closer to hyperventilation. The moment death was avoided, Hildegunde in front of her, Chloe's arms fell to her sides, the swirling wall of wind dissipating immediately as her eyes began to fall shut. It was in the next moment that Otis arrived, and as she was shoved inside the doorway, her last utterance before disappearing to the other side was a meek, "My apologies..."

A snarl emerged from the bushes across from the owl and hunter, as the sound of metal scraping and dragging across dirt and twigs echoed out from inside the bushes where it hid. "I suppose there isn't much else for it, then," the being muttered, its uneven rasp contemplative. "Too much noise now, to where children drop from the sky. Annoying!"

Bursting out of the bushes was a shadowy canine with what appeared to be a longsword attached to its tail - or perhaps it simply was its tail. It was featureless, cloaked in shadowy mist in the shape of a wolf, apart from the grey wisps that functioned as eyes. It leapt over the earthen barrier and descended quickly towards Hildegunde, its blade-tail aiming to cleave into her with downward force. At the same time as its direct attack towards the hunter, more of those dark arrows would loose themselves from the creature's stomach, firing off towards Otis.




@AThousandCurses@Estylwen@Psyker Landshark

CAMPUS GROUNDS, LEYLINE ATTUNEMENT ZONE


"Oho?"

That was the only sound that escaped Valen's mouth as events transpired, his steely ember glare continuing to focus towards Ciara. Ozhiah, off to the side, had reached into his left pants' pocket in a blink as the girl raised her sword, but stopped upon seeing that things had not progressed further. He grit his teeth as if he were personally insulted by the threat, though said nothing and soon stood at ease. The Leuvalt heir, for his part, scoffed with a soft exhale through his nose as Ciara finished. "For one of your ilk, I would advise a search for inner peace. With the turmoil that plagues you, plain as day, your blade would not manage to strike true towards those that serve me, much less myself. Your sword is a construct of plastic, when held with hesitancy. You stand as a slave to emotion."

The scarlet noble would use one hand to run through his hair, and the other to raise towards Ozhiah and others that grouped around him, and in doing so, quell the building frustration upon their faces upon Ciara's actions and Iraleth's comments. Then, his burning irises set upon the paladin. "When the time comes when you are deemed worthy, I will allow any number of my inferiors to face my power simultaneously, such that their combined efforts produce the miracle of equality. Thankfully, you will all have an agonizingly long time to strategize and ponder on such things. Perhaps, even, post-graduation - well into our professional years."

This statement would result in some chuckles from those around him, and a small clap and chortle from Ozhiah, mouthing the word 'splendid' a few paces behind Valen. The Leuvalt would not seem to take any kind of satisfaction in this, ignoring their existences and merely waiting for them to be silent before waving his hand outwardly in dismissal towards Ciara and Iraleth. "Now, I trust that concludes our business at this ceremony. You must understand that I value the final moments of preparation more than anything else. I bestow upon you both my blessing to take leave."

Close by, Emelie's eyes narrowed in concern as Chunji spoke of recent events. She didn't comment on much of it apart from nervous chuckles, perhaps not even expecting the boy to elaborate in any real capacity in the first place. This troubled look faded, however, when the topic took a hard turn towards the leylines running through Wingram. "Mmmmm..." Finger to chin as she stared at the ground, then at the sky, then at Chunji, taking many beats to figure out what to say. As she leaned on her cane, her eyes drifted once more towards the ground near the pillar.

"Sour. The whole dang thing comes off as sour. An' I don't mean the good kind that's all gummy 'n gooey like those weird little alchemical candies in the capital. Sour like... expired milk or maggoty cheese. Somethin' about it just comes off as weird, y'know? I know Strigari Academy's got a similar kinda leyline convergence set up like this, buuuut... I dunno, I ain't quite able ta explain it."

A shrug and a shudder betray some level of discomfort, her body turning away from the pillar. Eager to change the subject, she immediately latched onto Chunji's other question.

"Yeah, an' the primal leyline just wasn't callin' for me either, truth be told. I guess it just ain't for us, huh? Couple o' occultists, us! Hehe."

The pale girl turned to fully face Chunji, her expression brightening. She pointed her cane at Chunji's feet and looked at him curiously, tension from the prior topic removed. "And if that's what the two o' us are, I s'pose an exchange of superstitions is in order, just for fun. In your life, from what you recall, have you ever accidentally worn your socks inside out?"

If he would respond, she would continue, explaining, "In the village I grew up in, they always said that everybody is born on the right path for themselves. But the moment they wear their socks inside out, they'll inevitably take a wrong turn on their fated path, 'n stray towards a worse life. An' the more they wore their socks wrong, the worse their future would get, an' the farther from the best version o' themselves they'd become."

She'd giggle and shrug, exclaiming, "And as a result, so many people that I knew growin' up would just stick to sandals or go barefoot! Buncha weirdos, I swear. Love 'em, though. How 'bout you?"
Next round in the morning!
@Sifr What's your status lookin' like at the moment?
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