you're in the jungle, baby / you gonna die

[lucetimods]

Who: All draftees
What: Fighting the Third Party... and perhaps the wildlife.
When: June 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th. (Characters will be pulled out at 11:59 of the 6th.)
Where: An as-yet unmapped by the Malnosso tropical rainforest.
Summary: Here are your details. Try to stay alive, won't you?
Rating: Anywhere from PG to R

Comments

day three, late afternoon - POISON SO CHOSEN

[imatreenow]

[A lull in the battle; no enemy soldiers have appeared in a while. It makes him a little tense - fighting is better than waiting - but some downtime is probably good. Especially for his non-Seraph companion. He keeps his senses finely focused, listening for any approaching Third Parties (or other Luceti residents - they're as good as enemies to him).

Speaking of enemies... It doesn't take long to notice a nearby presence of mana that is becoming increasingly (and vexingly) familiar. Lead by a potent mixture of distrust and curiosity, he decides to scope it out. She's close enough that he can easily rush back to their temporary rest site should anything happen there...]

OF COURSE

[wise_maiden]

[Mithos may be having downtime, but the same can't quite be said for Raine at the moment. She had been succeeding well enough at staying out of the line of immediate battle... save for a few instances. She got cut off from the others when two of the third party soldiers advanced on her position, and now there isn't much space between her and them. No time for the scrolls--she's resorting to light magic and even some basic elemental spells which Mithos might recognize, though aiding in their effectiveness by the boost adding the filial magic gives her.

Not that it's something she wants to do in this position, but the weapon she has on hand is her staff, using it to block and helping her cast as necessary. Good thing she thought to ask for that mystic symbol... even so, she can't keep this up forever.]

:D~

[imatreenow]

[Many of the others on this battlefield, upon sighting a fellow Luceti resident taking on third party soldiers alone, might leap in for assistance.

Mithos is not one of them. Instead, he hangs back and watches impartially. Either side can win, either can lose - it hardly matters. He'll finish off what's left in the end. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as the saying goes, but for him everyone is an enemy.]

[wise_maiden]

[As Mithos watches, one of the soldiers suddenly crumples after not being able to withstand the last blast of light magic, made brighter in an attempt to at least temporarily blind the remaining soldier. Instead, the other uses it as an opportunity to launch forward in a physical attack with his spear that Raine is unable to dodge in time, pinning her to the tree and causing her to drop her staff. She tries using earth magic to bring up a barrier, but she knows it won't hold for long--the solders are just as capable as using the magic, and likely would try to strike again just as quickly. She'd have to get creative--somehow.

But that wound...]

[imatreenow]

[He suddenly realizes how much tension he's carrying as he watches the battle unfold. Why...? He's merely an observer; he isn't invested in the outcome. He unclenches his fist, which he doesn't recall clenching in the first place.

It must be because he's still tuned in to his surroundings, preparing for battle any moment, listening for anything that could be happening over where Kaori is... ]

[wise_maiden]

[The earthen barrier wall crumbles-- his magic against hers--, as he pulls the weapon back in preparation for a last strike. Damn. The filial magic might bring back the shift hunters.

Not that there's any time to worry about that. She tries to move out of the way, casting another spell at him. Fire ball. Not distracting enough.]

[imatreenow]

[In that moment, his senses pinpoint on only what's happening in front of him, drawing away from anything else that may be occurring in the surrounding area. If this keeps up...

Were this not passing through his mind in the span of about a second, he might stop to wonder why he cares. But there's nothing left to protect her, and with that weapon speeding toward her and his mind in a rush... Don't!

With all that he can muster, he flies forward to place himself between the third party soldier and her. Sword out, ready to intercept the attack. Don't hurt her! The clang of weapon striking weapon resounds.]

[wise_maiden]

[Raine was tiring from all of that magic being cast so much in a short period of time, and her injury was starting to wear on her, that initial surge of adrenaline waning. Not just from this battle, but from before, all throughout this day. Even with an equipped exsphere, there was only so much a body could handle.

And then --

There was the unmistakable sound of a weapon on weapon clash, and even more overwhelmingly, a sudden, familiar presence, and bright colored wings directly in front of her.

But there was no time to process any of this. The soldier seemed poised to react quickly enough, renewing his attack on the new intruder, despite showing signs of wear himself. Prepared to strike again.]

[imatreenow]

[He'll swiftly block the second attempt, returning the sword to its sheath in the same motion - it's more of a defensive item when he's as powerful as he is now. Magic is what accounts for the main wealth of his strength. In the next instant he'll demonstrate this by fireing bursts of mana from his palm. That should be enough to knock the soldier back a reasonable distance.]

Stay away from her!

[His body is running almost purely on a concentrated desire to protect. All his mind processes is the feeling of battle, the goal of keeping her safe, the dread of seeing her hurt irreparably...]

[wise_maiden]

[Well. Now isn't the time to stare in surprise. Raine is still bleeding, after all, and with Mithos' distraction it gives her an opportunity to try and at least stop that with her healing magic--sinking down against the tree and grabbing her fallen staff. That soldier isn't going to stay knocked back for too long. No sense of self-preservation among some of them. Perhaps because it had stopped mattering. There's scarcely moments to breathe, to think, when he comes rushing back into their direction.

Not something for her to think about. What she had to concern herself was her wound, and the fact that even after a first aid, the bleeding hadn't entirely stopped. It would need more concentration of it, or a different sort of healing magic...]

[imatreenow]

[Mithos had begun casting as soon as the soldier had been pushed back. So as it advances, it will be halted in its tracks by a Prism Sword spell descending upon it and quickly crumples to the ground.

He isn't going to waste time waiting to see if the solider will climb back up. Another powerful burst of mana, aimed for the chest, and it shouldn't be possible for it to get up again. Because he promised...!]

[wise_maiden]

[The soldier had struggled to rise again, but with that final burst of mana, falls back against the ground, striking his head on a rock. Dark eyes stare out at him, the arm twitching to make a final attempt at pitching the weapon, before the movement stops completely.

Raine unsteadily gets back to her feet, holding onto her staff. Her wound is sealed as best as it can be under the circumstances, and she's breathing heavily. Perhaps now there would be a chance to return to the others--

-- when suddenly, a pair of monstrous looking beasts appear, sniffing and closing in on the area.]

[imatreenow]

[No time to glance in her direction and appraise her status. For a small sliver of a moment, he half realizes what it is that he's doing. Promised to protect... But it doesn't match up-- Then the moment is gone and there is only the sharp air of battle.

He quickly prepares himself as the beasts amble out of the dense underbrush closer to him. Two of them...stun one to focus on the other. He'll do just that, sending one hurtling back in much the same fashion as he had done with the soldier before it. Begin casting as the other continues to advance.]

[wise_maiden]

[Unlike the soldier, however, the beast seems to have a quicker recovery time, barely even seeming stunned as it returns it's advance-- but it's not headed for Mithos.

Raine will try to slow it down instead--using the same ground based magic technique from before. Since they were already there. It certainly had far more potency here than in the barrier--but the question was if it would hold for long. Hopefully enough to impede its advance as she looks for possible escape routes.

... maybe she can get up that tree.]

[imatreenow]

[A round of Judgment should help out. He calls out the spell's name and its signature beams of light come crashing down sporadically on the area, striking each of the beasts a few times.

Repositioning himself a few steps back, he'll set to work on another spell. Unrelenting; it's the only option.]

[wise_maiden]

[Judgement rains down upon them, but even that doesn't seem to deter their approach. Stumble from the impact certainly, as the ground shakes and is dented, and Raine nearly loses her hold on the tree she's trying to climb-- and yet they're back up again, teeth bared approaching, leaping--

Again, the earth magic. Trying to lower the ground, then raise rocks again in front of them, trying to halt their progress.]