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...]

[imatreenow]

[Prism Sword is the next spell launched, but its effect on the shift hunters seems far less potent than when used against the soldier. Something isn't right; their advance continues regardless of the powerful magic being thrown their way.

The sword comes out again and he flies toward the nearest one. Swiftly, he swings his blade down on its grotesque shoulder. Propelled by Mithos's angelic strength, it easily cleaves through the flesh and severs the foreleg. The beast topples forward. But as he prepares to attack again, he notices that the blood seems to be flowing back into its body...]

[wise_maiden]

[The magic has no effect, and the beast seemed to have regenerative powers. Fast ones at that. There had to be a way of killing them. She struggled to climb higher, as the other shift hunter backed up and lept over the earthen wall.]

It's the head! That might be --

[imatreenow]

[As the tendons begin to mend themselves, Mithos aims for the beast's neck. His blade slices through and the head crashes to the ground, followed in short by the rest of the now dead body.

Turning, he sees that the other one is quickly closing the distance between itself and Raine. No time to think - he speeds toward it in an instant, sword poised to swing down on the back of its neck.]

[wise_maiden]

[The beast leaps forward again just as the sword slices through, the jaw still snapping as it smacks into the base of the tree, the body standing uselessly a split moment later before following like the first.

A bloody mess.

Raine does her best to keep her hold on the tree, looking out to see if there are any others. Could that have been it? Then...]

[imatreenow]

[It's over...

As soon as his mind breathes that thought, the intense focus on battle dissipates to shed light elsewhere. He freezes. The incessant beat that had been pounding through him...protect her; I promised to protect her... The pieces don't fit. He never... That wasn't true.

He can't bring himself to turn and look in her direction. The person in that tree, whom he had saved...she's an enemy. So why...? He hadn't cared, but when he saw that she was fighting a losing battle, when he saw that she was in immediate danger... Panic, that's the only way to describe it. He had panicked. And...]

[wise_maiden]

[It's Mithos. She can't let down her guard now; she has to get back to the others. Who knew how many could be in danger without her being there.

And yet for the moment all they seem to be able to do is look at each other. She should be thanking him, but...]

[imatreenow]

[That hadn't been the Malnosso tampering; nothing had forced him into action. The only person responsible is himself. It doesn't make sense. Why had he panicked? Panicked at what? The thought of her getting hurt, of her crumpling to the ground painted in her own blood, just like M--?

He stops there, eyes widening in horror. Blasphemous...]

[wise_maiden]

[Raine gets back down from the tree once there don't seem to be any more approaching shift monsters. Though they're probably not the only thing out there. She finds that she's breathing heavier than she should; not good in this situation. She couldn't afford to be injured out here. Damn it.

That wince of pain is enough to momentarily take her attention off of Mithos.]

[imatreenow]

[He half reels back to reality when she touches down just feet away.

How to compensate for this... How to cover it up and pretend it never happened...? What can he say to erase it? She hasn't spoken yet either - what is she thinking? His grip tightens on his sword, its blade still wet with blood. But it remains lowered by his side.]

That wasn't--! [Wasn't what? He doesn't know.]

[wise_maiden]

[Raine looks toward the bodies all spread around them, the splashes of blood, and then toward the sound in the direction of where other fighting is still going on, before her eyes slowly return to his, still at attention.]

... I am grateful for your help, even if it may not have been what you intended.

[imatreenow]

Shut up!

[How can she be so calm when everything is messed up? He slams his blade back inside its sheath. She's an enemy. You don't protect enemies; you hurt them. So that's what he'll do. He holds his hand out before him and sends a blast of mana toward her, just like with the soldier, just like with the shift hunters. Because that's all she is to him...

But there isn't as much power behind it.]

[wise_maiden]

[His charge is sudden, but weak, and she has just enough agility left to dodge the blast, jumping away from the tree.

This time.]

You can still walk away.

[imatreestill]

[No he can't - he has to fix this first. He tries again, putting more force behind the attack this time.]

[wise_maiden]

[And dodging back again, this time utilizing forcefield to deflect some of the energy. No time for words then.]

[seiriald]

[It's at this time when Kaori finally manages to find her way back to Mithos, silently cursing herself for having allowed them to get separated. The smell of blood was still very fresh, she noticed, but there were only two people here as far as she could tell. One she recognized far more than the other, and that was the one that mattered.]

Mithos! [She appears close to Raine, eyes widening at the sheer amount of emotional turmoil surrounding her friend. What had just happened to him?]