estoria | [CLOSED] The two tales and the mom

Entry tags:

[CLOSED] The two tales and the mom

Who:

discard
When: IC 6/15
Where: The darker parts of the city explored by 96% of the colony
What: Otome's heard the stories, now she wants to investigate herself. Accompanying her are two dorks. Shenanigans ensue.
Rating/Warning: None so far!

[ She thinks, maybe, she ought to have told them, after Stahn had also insisted on not letting her go alone. But honestly, it's sort of amusing. Otome had been almost certain that Leon wouldn't have mentioned it again after his initial protests about her interest in that unexplored (to her) area, but with him suddenly claiming he would go-- well.

She hadn't been planning on going alone, anyway, but the both of them volunteering independently saved her the trouble of asking around (Alcor had seemed more than troubled by the place, Hiro had other things to focus on and Steven had already died down there-- he definitely wasn't an option).

So here's the good doctor now, waiting around for the two of them to show up.

Hopefully they catch on before they show up together. ]

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Oh, that's right! Chaltier is the Swordian of Earth-- that's a very impressive skill to have! [ One day, she really just wants to talk to him and Dymlos properly... if only. Speaking Swordian had never been a skill of hers, unfortunately. ]

Well then, I'll be more than happy to follow your lead. [ She would have done so anyway, though. But with Stahn's enthusiastic backing and her own belief in Leon and his best sword friend, it's not hard to follow along willingly. ]

[He just makes an acknowledging noise at that--yes, of course it's impressive, he and Chaltier are very impressive!!!

Unfortunately, he's not going to get to show off said impressiveness. As soon as they step towards that other building, there's a sudden rumble from the complete opposite direction as the first monster, and then the building they were headed towards crumbles as the second monster walks right through it like it's nothing, and towards them.

Uh.

Oops.

God dammit.]

Get back!

Crap.

[stahn sputters out almost immediately, jumping back a step. unlike the last time, he doesn't leap to leon's aid—he actually turns his back to leon, facing the other way to see where the other monster is.]

...We're about to be surrounded. This is bad!

[he looks to otome for a moment—they're all going to have to decide what to do. fighting them seems like a death sentence, but they may not be able to outrun two monsters, either.]

Hold on. [ Otome says it softly, but tersely, even as she backs up as the monster turns towards them. One hand slips into her pocket, to pull out her cellphone-- and as she flips it open and flings out her free hand, a wall of wind slams into the monster, drawing stray bits of debris with it, and surging into a more cyclonic shape. ]

If nothing else, that should slow it down!

[ One of them, anyway. ]

[This is a good start, at least. It's actually a terrible start but Stahn isn't trying to lunge to Leon's rescue like he's some frilly, fragile princess, so to Leon, it's a good start.

Otome slows down one of the creatures and Leon focuses on the other, lifting Chaltier quickly to summon a pillar of rock to try to knock the creature off balance. They can't take on two of them at once, Leon's sure of this--so if they can knock them away and buy themselves enough time to retreat, that'll have to be good enough.

The monster's off balance, but not knocked down, so Leon's immediately calling out--]

Now, Stahn!

Got it!

[it's easy for stahn to follow the plan of attack this way; he's much more prepared than he was before, and they need to get out of this quickly. stahn's gotten a lot quicker on his feet than he once was, so after shooting off a pretty (well, obviously weak comparitively) demon fang...

he begins the incantation and motions for a much, much more powerful attack. it's one he only recently learned—a blast caliber even stronger than the one he'd used when crossed swords with leon so long ago.]

O scorching blade of deepest scarlet... show us your true shape, and burn my enemies to their very souls! Demon Embers Karmic Blade! [okay, so its a mouthful and definitely a fiery sight.

but it'll get the job done, right?]

[ Stahn... what was that very JRPG-like chant that just flew out of your mouth? She's actually now very grateful that using her own spells didn't require... words. And she can only imagine how annoyed Fumi would have been if she'd had to give the more powerful spells a trigger like that.

But it does seem to do the job, so she's not really going to comment on it.

Just back up a little. ]

[He's... never actually seen that blast caliber before, and it gets Leon to pause to look--before he shakes his head firmly, focusing on the fight. That knocks the one off balance well enough, and Otome's winds slowed the second, which means--]

Quickly, now! This way!

[Now is when they need to retreat.

Like.

ASAP.]

[t's definitely a mouthful, but there are very few artes that require incantations for the swordian masters—mostly just the blast calibers, and it comes with the benefit of being obscenely powerful and JRPG-like. that's fine.

stahn's more than aware that he's got no time to try and catch his breath, so retreating is definitely the best option.]

Right... that won't hold them off for long. Let's go! [even though he'd like to at least stun the other one so both their pursuers get slowed down, there's no time. it's more important to him that leon and otome get somewhere safe, so he's ready to take off in the direction leon leads the two of them.]

Got it!

[ Yeah, seeing them up close, she has no real desire to pick a fight with two at the same time-- or even one, actually, so there's no protesting on her end either and she'll take off after Leon. ]

[It really won't hold them off for long, especially the one that Stahn didn't knock down. They get a few paces away before the ground starts to shake under them as it stomps after them in pursuit--that, combined with the way that the ground is covered in pieces of scrap metal and litter, makes their footing very unreliable.

Damn.

Leon glances over his shoulder to look at it.]

Tch--

[And then--]

If we can lead it away from the other a little further--

[Then they can maybe take on this one by itself, and be okay.

But taking on two at once would be suicide.]

We should be able to take it down.

[stahn can finish that thought, because he knows exactly what leon is getting at here. this is what they wanted to avoid, no doubt. but...]

There's no other choice, we have to keep fighting. [sorry, otome. stahn really doesn't want this either, especially when he still needs time to work up his stamina if he wanted to pull off another blast caliber of that strength. he's going to have to rely a little heavier on them both for a few minutes while they try to get their footing in a situation like this.

this is bad. they may be able to take out one monster, but if the second starts getting two close, they're going to be in bigger trouble for sure.]

[ She's not going to let that happen. It'll mean fighting one of them completely on her own, but she also has Stahn and Leon nearby. Focusing all of their firepower on one, only to get waylaid by the other if it catches up? That's not an option she wants to actually unfold, so with a few quick buttons pressed as she runs--

Kazfiel isn't the only one appearing, this time. The angel is being joined by a floating hooded woman, seated rather easily in the air as she clutches a bundle to her chest. ]

Kazfiel, Hariti-- [ Otome glances over her shoulder, expression terse but voice level. Or as level as it can be while she's running, at least. ] We'll be fine here, but there's another creature further back. Can you hold it back for as long as you can?

[ Kazfiel murmurs an affirmative, one hand over his chest, and Hariti chuckles softly.

Of course. We are sworn to protect children, are we not? I'll play with this abomination for a while. ]

Thank you. Please return if it becomes in any way overwhelming.

[ And off the two demons go, easily darting past the first monster. Otome puffs out a little breath, turning her gaze ahead once more. ]

If we have to keep fighting, then we will. Between the three of us, I'm sure we can take it down.

[That works. It works because Leon knows they're all on the same page. They do have to fight, but Leon's looking for a better place to do so, a place where things will be relatively clear, and they won't be in danger of breaking ankles over debris as they're focused on fighting. Hence why he suddenly veers sharply right, before slowing to a stop.

Fine, then.

They'll make their stand here--he draws his dagger to fill his other hand, even if a dagger's not going to do a lot to this thing.]

... Here, then. We will take it to pieces here.

We'll do it. And we won't lose.

[stahn's definitely a lot more serious once they've resolved themselves to this fight. it's not fear, it's fierce determination.

he's putting his faith in kazfiel and hariti to stave off the other monster while they do what they can against their current opponent. stahn is at the ready, though not yet back at full strength to fire off another blast caliber, he's not going to just wait around, either.

stahn's habit of leading the party in wake of leon's absence—and perhaps as the master of dymlos—seems to take hold now that they're facing off in battle. dymlos begins to hum a suggestion, but it's one that stahn utters before he can even finish. they're well in tune with one another, and after looking to both leon and otome for a brief moment, he fixes his gaze on the enemy.]

We should go for the legs first, before it has time to move again. [he's definitely a far cry for the usual bumbling sunshine when it really matters.]

[ In contrast, Otome does better as support. As a doctor, and even facing against the different factions of her friends, she still preferred to stay near the back and keep her allies alive. Which isn't to say she can't attack-- she and Fumi were the most powerful casters, after all. But she'll remind herself to keep some of her energy in store, because healing is her strongest suit.

All the same, she has her cellphone at the ready. ]

My spells hit a fairly large area, but I'll try to aim lower.

[ It's about to get windy again. ]

[For Leon's part, he'll be acting as the one between the both of them, it would seem--between Stahn's forward charge and Otome's back support, there's a space that needs filling, and Leon supposes it may as well be him. He's flexible enough for that, and he won't hesitate, lifting Chaltier to begin casting an arte.

He can provide some cover for Stahn before joining him in the fray then, and then they'll both be trusting in Otome to cover them and look out for their injuries.

It's the best battle formation they can manage at short notice like this, and it will have to do, because then the monster's upon them, and slow as it is, it's clear that if it connects, it'll be doing some serious damage.]

[this works fine for him; leon's always been good at taking whatever position he's needed for anyway because he's versatile, and he's used to looking out for the supports in the party. so for stahn, this is the most ideal way to go into a fight.]

Okay... let's do this then. Be careful, both of you! [he has to say it, even though he's sure they will be—but with that, stahn has to press forward. his attacks aren't very good at range for the most part, so he aims for one of the legs, flipping from an omega tempest directly into a dragon swarm. no fire attacks just yet, but he's giving it all he's got right from the start.]

And the same to you!

[ She's keeping an incredibly close eye on the way the monster moves, and as one arm tries to swipe for Stahn, she aims for the arm instead with another Mazandyne. It delays the attack, forcing the creature to reel back, just a bit-- and more importantly, that arm doesn't reach him. ]

Enough chatter.

[But that's just said in a mutter, even as he casts his arte--the Grave arte he'll aim at the other arm, trying to keep it staggered and off balance as Stahn throws himself into the fray like he's oh-so-good at doing.

At least Otome's spells are pretty potent; it's almost like having Philia at their back again, which is immensely comforting.]

[this method seems to work well enough for stahn; it does have a familiar feel to it akin to the way they used to fight. otome's skills are definitely not the same, but in both her range and the element used, it too reminds stahn a bit of philia.

which is fine, because between that and the familiarity of leon's earth artes, he knows how to maneuver well enough. so stahn just keeps with his relentless method of attack. a few sword slashes, demon fang, hell pyre, and then gearing up into a flare tornado—he's not going to stop as long as he has the stamina to do so.]

[ Well, if she had to choose an element, she does better with Wind-- or Force, really. Using it against petrified enemies worked the best, but since there's not much of a chance of that happening with this current monster, she'll use what she has at her disposal.

As the monster struggles to hit Stahn, and another spell thwarts its arm, she calls out to Stahn: ]

Let me know if you start getting tired!

[ She can probably tell, just by watching, but in the off-chance that she's distracted, the sooner she's alerted to such a thing, the faster she can remedy it. She can let the boys focus on the offense, if need be. ]

[And focus on offense they can do. It's something they're very familiar with, and fighting with Stahn is almost like second nature to Leon by now. He's not sure when he ended up so comfortable fighting at another person's side, but... he is.

And fighting alongside Otome is simple--she makes it easy--and so Leon can focus on firing off one more arte (ground dasher) before he steps forward to join Stahn on the front lines instead.

The monster doesn't seem even the remotest bit tired, but...it does seem like they're able to knock pieces from it and reduce its mass and size, so Leon's not going to hesitate to fling himself forward to attempt to slice more pieces off of it. If this is the fastest way to at least try to kill it, then... they can try this.]

[offense is what stahn does best—he and dymlos both are not equipped for a lot of defensive measures, so really... that's all he can do to combat this situation.

it helps having leon on the front lines with him, since they can do a lot of damage much more quickly. as leon knocks pieces from the monster, stahn launches upwards to use a severing wind in order to push back the metal scraps from hitting them while also trying to damage the creature.

this can only work for so long though, and the monster has its sights set on stahn—seeing as he's the one who has been consistently and relentlessly attacking since they began.]

[ She's doing her best, really, but she's worried about how long they'll be able to keep this up. She's been told they assemble, and it doesn't tire like humans do, so if this becomes a matter of seeing who lasts the longest... the monster's got the clear advantage and it's gunning for Stahn.

All the same, if the boys find themselves slowing or unable to avoid an injury, she'll keep up healing, casting it over both of them at once. It's going to start draining her, though, and-- ]

Kazfiel?!

[ That's when one demon comes rocketing in to slam against the side of the monster's head, joining the fray. At Otome's startled exclamation, though--

Worry not, my lady. Hariti claims she is more than enough to fend off this one's companion, so I have come to lend my aid. ]

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