2017-10-17: Armatization
- Log: 2017-10-17: Armatization
- Cast: Seraph Lailah, Alisha Diphda, Rose, Seraph Edna
- Where: Kislev-Aveh Front
- Date: 2017-10-17
- Summary: To face a dangerous Hellion, Lailah must get Rose and Alisha to Armatize. Can they do it?
=============================<* Kislev-Aveh Front *>============================== The frontlines of the Kislev-Aveh War have shifted many times in the last few hundred years, but they have left their scars on the land. One can, of course, find fighting between their infantry and Gears here. Such places are dangerous, and most Drifters know to steer away from them. However, sometimes there is no choice; even the rail lines thought to be away from the front can get caught unawares by a patrol, and skirmishes have resulted in delays and death for those trying to get to the Badlands. The areas not currently being fought in are also dangerous. Deserters and monsters alike can wander them, and the dry, dusty land leaves little succor for those in need. To make matters worse, abandoned fortifications and trenches make an excellent hiding place for the bandits seeking to profit here. Drifters are sometimes drawn here, though, to either fight for one side or to excavate abandoned ARMs and Gears left behind in a battle. This sort of salvage work is risky, but the rewards can be great. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxynM-xwLUs
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
The area of the war was perhaps not Lailah's most favorite place to visit. It wasn't just because of the conflict here that pushed everyone west but also because of the overwhelming sense of evil and malevolence that she felt from it. Even though they are fairly far from the battlefront itself, the fire seraph can feel it emanating from the area.
The group she had gathered today though was here for a specific purpose and that was to search for any possible hellions. Although Rose and Alisha may not realize it, Lailah felt the best way to practice armatization would be to actually fight something and she was aware of a number of hellions being spotted in this area.
As they work their way through the desert, the winds have begun to kick up the dust around them. The visibility has lowered and so progress forward is slowing down. "Let's keep going guys! Stay on alert. I am not sure how strong the hellions here are but if there are any leftover, we need to take care of them!"
As Lailah leads them on, the feeling of malevolence grows and she looks back at them. "Can you guys feel it?" Although, it doesn't seem to affect her quite as much, Rosa and Alisha may find it uncomfortable. "It's close..." The winds continue to spin the dirt around them.
Without much warning, there is a loud, feral growl and what looks like a black wolf with red eyes leaps towards them with teeth bared, landing just in front of Lailah and she jumps back slightly.
"Be careful! It's a strong one!" The fire seraph waves her hand around and a circle of fire forms in front of her. The flames and embers glowing red hot as she aims it at the hellion. "Let's fight it back!"
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha hates the war front. This area reminds her too much of Hyland and Rolance, and of the worst of her homeland. It reminds her of what she left behind -- of what may well be occurring, despite her best efforts to stop it. She cannot make any of those efforts on Filgaia. That has her feeling quiet, as she moves. The princess is tense. Focused.
Trying, desperately, to distract herself.
"The Malevolence... it has spread, hasn't it? It happens, now, sometimes--and without the Trial Knight or someone else causing it, always." Or is this, too, part of the Trial Knight's doing? Or is this a seed planted by someone else?
Her lips tense -- and then she whirls, when she hears the growl. Her hand reaches over her shoulder. Her spear comes down, thrust out towards the wolf -- pointed towards it, and she nods fiercely. "We'll have to hold our own...!"
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"Are you sure we should be out here without Sorey?" Rose has asked, perhaps numerous times by now, as she trudged through the sand of the desert that acts as border between Kislev and Aveh. Her eyes occasionally wander to the still smoking wreckages, to the Gear parts littered about that are undoubtedly worth their weight in gella, to the abandoned equipment that bears the insignas of the militaries. Oh if only she could have brought her friends along to loot this place.
But Lailah had said it would be dangerous, and dangerous in a way neither the Sparrowfeathers nor the Scattered Bones would be equipped to deal with for the time being.
And walking after Rose is Dezel, the black-clothed Seraph keeping his arms crossed, his hat casting a comfortable shade over his face, and his mouth in that near permanent frown. "I'd be surprised if anything survived the alarmingly frequent carpet bombing around here. Scorched earth's one way to keep the Hellions at bay." Not a desirable one, but certainly one.
Then there's Malevolence. Rose glances about, nodding. "Yeah. I think I feel it. It's not as strong as it was at the farm but it's there. Not sure how to describe--" It? That's probably the end of that sentence. Instead there's a large worlf and a yelp as Rose dives back.
"I get the feeling WE'RE being hunted right now!" she can't help but note, with how that Hellion seemed to know exactly when to appear to ambush them. A throwing knife, for now. Rose doesn't dive into melee, leaving that to Alisha, opting to send a thin and sharp blade for one of the wolf's rear legs instead.
Dezel just holds his hat because that Hellion kicked the wind up.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
"It's fine Rose." Lailah smiles at her. "I know he would have wanted to be here but we can handle it." She nods. "I believe in you guys and with us backing you up, it won't be an issue." Lailah can appreciate the concern about being out here alone but at the same time she trusts that things will be okay.
Lailah's eye lower at Alisha's remark. "It has. I don't know what's causing it." There is a deep sigh. Notably, she doesn't say anything about the trial knight or having run into him. This doesn't seem to be like the best time for that.
Even as they stumble on the wolf Lailah is not too concerned. The wolf snarls at them, it's quite large and intimidating. Her fire singes the hellions fur leaving a mark. It's enough that, despite the wolf's size and strength, it is distracted and Alisha's blade easily makes contact causing the horrible beast to let out a loud, ear-splitting howl in response.
As Roses blade is thrown, the wolf manages to dodge it and it seems angrier, if that was possible. "Watch out!" The wolf leaps in the air, seemingly focus directly on Rose. "Stay focused Rose!" Lailah calls out while a wall of fire forms. She doesn't aim it for the beast yet but it's ready if the merchant needs backup.
"Alisha, help Rose out, we just have to weaken it to be able to purify it!" Lailah keeps her distance for the moment and quickly surveys the surrounding area, hoping that this one didn't have friends anywhere.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"I'm not worried we can't handle some angry wolf!" Rose clarifies for Alisha, as she is suddenly BESET BY A WOLF who makes fit to leap up and onto her, causing her to crash into the sand on her back. Her blades have come out, one planting itself between the teeth of the beast as the assassin struggles to overpower it and keep it from reaching her with its mouth.
"I'm worried we have no idea how to purify and he'll get mad if we kill it!" she explains, between grunts, although mad isn't really the right word for Sorey. "Well more like extremely disappointed!"
She glares back towards Dezel. "WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP?"
"Tch."
While Rose remains pinned, Dezel shoots a hand forward, from which that pointed, golden pendulum on a string launches out, trying to smash the wolf right on the side of the head, aiming for the temples. HE has no qualms about killing the Hellion, especially when it's sitting on his vessel.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"I do not know that we have much choice!" Alisha cries out to Rose. She swings her spear back, the bladed edge cutting through flesh but not managing to do enough to stop it. She nods, sharply, and then draws out a gasp. The titanic wolf lunges right for Rose, and that sends a spike of panic and terror through her. She has grown close to Rose in the last few months -- and even before then, she would never have wanted to see her hurt.
"Rose!"
She runs. The princess bolts across the dry, dusty ground. Sand kicks up after her feet, in small puffs, before she takes a flying leap through the air. "I shall!" she answers Lailah, as she jumps up over the wolf. She comes crashing down for its back -- and then stabs down, spear slashing for its flank. "Get away from her!"
Her voice is tight and tense, when she cries out.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
"Have faith in yourself Rose." Lailah says, trying to be encouraging. "Sorey wouldn't be disappointed. This is why I wouldn't want you guys to come alone. I am here to help when you need it!" Lailah can feel their determination and it makes her think of Sorey and how quickly he took to things even when there is still so much unknown, especially since being here on Filgaia.
The wolf pins Rose and Dezel helps with knocking it off Rose just as Alisha lands on it's back. The beast turns it's gaze towards Alisha. Even with the blade slicing through it's flesh again, with teeth bared, it tries to sink it's teeth into her arm. It's strong and Alisha would easily be able to feel the muscular and solid form of the hellion.
Lailah is starting to get a little worried about the strength of the wolf and maneuvers the fire wall so it hits the wolf. She is careful to make sure she doesn't hit Alisha in the process and the wolf rears up on it's hind legs, dropping it's passenger to the ground.
"Alisha! Are you okay?" Lailah runs over to her. "It doesn't seem like our attacks are weakening it at all." The beast continues to snarl and it rears up for another swipe at Rose and Dezel, it's massive claws aiming for both seraph and merchant.
Lailah glances back as she feels more malevolence nearby and she quickly looks towards the Princess. "Alisha, this beast is too strong! Call my name! We need to get it weakened quickly." Lailah's tone is suddenly serious. "You know what it is already. It's the same name Sorey spoke for me. Armatizing may be the only way."
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"I have complete faith in my ability to stab a Hellion in the head!" Rose insists, despite her failure to manage that much so far. The merchant darts back onto her feet the moment she can, what with the others getting the beast off her. Sadly it's short-lived. It redoubles its attacks, fiercer than before.
A green shield of wind bars the way, at least for a moment. Dezel stands in front of Role, maintaining the barrier - the though the dark green hue lightens and lightens with each swipe into it, weakening more quickly than the Hellion is getting exhausted.
"Wait, hold on! We've never TRIED, is that really safe?"
"Would you rather this thing maul you?"
"I'm not worried about ME," Rose begins arguing with Dezel.
"So it's fine if I drop the shield?"
"I don't NEED you, creepy stalker!"
"And it's fine if the princess dies too?"
There's pause, finally. Rose glares at the Seraph. "You did not just play that card." to which Dezel grins wide, sharp teeth showing. The merchant quakes as the inevitable keeps drawing closer.
"Well? Call it out. It's Lukeim Yurlin."
"Luhym... Lurci... YurlwOW!" Is Rose stalling? Buying time?
"What are you doing."
"Ah hit mah tongg."
"You do realize what a show of trust it is when a Seraph gives you their True Name, don't you? So stop wasting time because you're afraid already!"
"GET AN EASIER TO PRONOUNCE NAME!!"
Apparently it's going GREAT over there.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Edna has posed.
Despite all the -real- trouble happening here, a voice cuts in casually.
"Wow. These are our saviors. Our hopes and dreams for the future." Beat. "Maybe we should off ourselves and get it over with, huh?"
Yep. There's Edna. Seated on a raised rock platform, umbrella opened and rested against a shoulder, watching this all play out with a faint smirk of amusement on her face. "Try not to die, you two. It'd be a bother to clean up your corpses if you screw up."
Yes, that's the reason why they shouldn't die. Yep. It all checks out.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"I am fine!" Alisha says, though it comes out direly strained. She pulls her arm back, but the teeth still find purchase. Blood runs down her upper arm and stains the crystal-steel gauntlets there. She gasps, sharply, and watches as the Hellion bolts away from her -- and straight back to Rose and Dezel. Her eyes widen. She looks sideways at Lailah. Her eyes widen.
She thinks, for a moment, that she must have misheard her. "Lailah...?"
Perhaps, then, Lailah will think the same. Alisha's head snaps back to the wolf -- and awareness sets in. Her and Rose spoke of this; of the fact that they could, potentially, Armatize. (Rose pointed out downsides.) The princess nods, then, and holds a hand up. "Rose," she says. "Dezel. Hold on." Her fingers splayed out, light begins to swirl at her feet.
"FETHMUS MIOMA!"
Red light surges up around Alisha. It forms a shockwave that rolls out, blowing directly towards the wolf -- and breaks upon it. A blast of wind and sand roars out, before flame rolls out... and then fades into nothing, and a quite untransformed princess sinks to her knees. In the last few months, she has come far. She has grown stronger. She has learned a lot.
But she has further to go, stronger to grow, and more to learn, it seems.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
Lailah shakes her head at Rose and Dezel, admonishing them much like a parent would. "You guys should really focus on what's happening here." As if they could forget that there is a hellion that is just waiting to make their day worse. "Rose... it will be fine." Well, she hopes anyway.
And then sudden Edna. "Edna, have some faith." She offers a smile to her fellow seraph. "You could help too." As Lailah says this, the beast continues trying to break through Dezel's barrier, pawing and biting at it. It's easy from Rose's position to see the sharpness of it's teeth.
"Come on Alisha, I know you can do this!" She moves closer to the princess and waits and as her name is called and she feels herself being drawn in. The fire surrounds Alisha but quickly Lailah knows it's not strong enough. The bond is too weak and quickly she is thrown out and backwards as Alisha collapses.
"Alisha!" Lailah moves to the girl, "Are you okay? I'm sorry..." Her eyes sparkle a little as she reaches to help Alisha up. She really thought she could handle it. "That wasn't bad for your first time."
There is a glance back towards Rose and Dezel, "Come on, please try you guys!" In the meantime, Lailah conjures up a large firenado, aiming it for the wolf in order to distract it. Giving Rose and Dezel a chance to at least try and armatize.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Bicker bicker bicket. It's actually stopped being coherent already. The Seraph and the merchant at each other's throats, not quite literally, but they're certainly butting heads literally, nose against nose and all.
That is, until Alisha tries and collapses.
"Alisha!" Rose calls out, before glaring towards Lailah, towards Edna, then back towards Dezel, with plenty of spite, and motivation, in her eyes.
"Fine! Come on then, IDIOT!" "Who's the idiot?!" "YOU are, IDIOT!" "IDIOT!" Like children bickering.
Maybe that's what it takes though. They're on the same wavelength, and that matters. Even if it's an awful one. Rose calls out: "LUKEIM YURLIN!"
A flash of white, gold and green light.
A pair of long blades, green and gold, launch from the bright display towards the wolf, flying through the air quickly, ensuring to keep the Hellion entirely focused on this new target by attacking and provoking it. And there's Rose when the light clears - lond pale blonde hair, wings made of four blades each, that regal white and gold outfit with glowing green accessories that couldn't be mistaken for anything else.
A blast of wind, intense, follows after the two blades she launched, and Rose tries to fly to Alisha's side in the chaos, evidently concerned for her. "Alisha! Hey, are you alright? C'mon, we got a beastie to put in its place!" It'll take her a moment to register what happened. Those reactions were more instinct than control. Dezel's, mostly.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Edna has posed.
Edna yawns.
"I could help..."
A light shrug of the shoulder as she settles back down and observes. "But given that Rose and the princess both have a dance partner, I'm fine observing." Her little smirk continues. "Plus, I'd rather not risk going kaput because I tried to Armatize with some greenhorn."
Harsh. But true.
And then Alisha does it. She calls Lailah's true name and... and... Oh. The blonde blinks slowly, a slight tilt of the head following. "...Well, rejoice, Princess. That could have killed you. But instead, it just lasted all of a second or two and left you drained." Lightly, she offers a weak, almost noiseless applause. "Congrats on not dying." Really, she means it.
Really.
But now for the bumbling duo over there...
"Oh. They did it." Edna murmurs, blue eyes widening just a tad. "Well, color me shocked." Her expression hasn't changed much at all. "...Doesn't seem like she's really aware of it yet though." Her smirk returns.
"Let's see how this plays out."
She's still not actually helping. Nice.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha doesn't even stay on her knees. She collapses forward, onto all fours, hands against the ground. She breathes hard, sweat soaking her skin and her hair hanging damp against her head. It is a fight to stay awake, as her mind and body reel from the failed merger. She can barely pay attention to the battle -- it feels like she might crumple over, save for the fact she drives all of her attention to that. If she falls unconscious, she might be dead.
The worry, the concern, the drive to do better can come later.
She looks up slowly, and peers at Rose. She watches, her eyes widening, as she hears the voices that combine as one -- and she draws in a soft gasp as she sees Rose. "Lailah," she manages, a little weakly. "Rose--Dezel?" Is he in there, too. "You--you did very well--"
She nods, then looks up. She grabs her spear, and tries to stand. She has to lean on it. "Ah--I think... that... took a lot out of me..."
A glance in Edna's direction. It isn't playing out very well, Alisha thinks.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
Through the fire and smoke, Lailah's focus stays on the hellion. She manages to keep it away from Alisha and herself. The power it emits is something she hasn't felt for awhile and then there is a sudden flash of green and gold. Lailah's eye widen and she is grinning when things settle. "Rose! How do you feel? You guys can do this!"
The hellion is solely focused back onto Rose and Dezel as the blades whip through the air and slice through hellion flesh easily. It snarls but begins to back off. The wounds before were nothing compared to the new power it found itself up against. "Keep at it! It's working!"
Lailah looks at Alisha, "Don't give up Alisha!" She grins at her, offering more encouragement than Edna is at the moment. "Come on, we can still help them!" The fire seraph gathers orbs of fire which spin toward the ground beneath the wolf, lighting up the ground with an intense red flame that appears to move, almost like lava but contained in only a small circle. This action opens up a chance for Alisha to move in.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"We did what?"
Rose, finally, inspects herself.
"Whoa, spiffy! Wait, is that my..." She reaches for her very long hair, grabbing it as if she'd never seen hair before. "I could strangle someone with this!" ... well, it's still Rose, after all.
"HOLD ON, HANG ON, DOES THAT MEAN--"
"I'm inside you, not ON you. It'd be more accurate to say we're one, really. My movements, my skills, my reflexes, they're yours. Vice versa too."
"So let's less wearing and more..."
"A fusion of wills. And powers."
Dezel did enjoy that prospect very much. Rose cared less for it and more for the ability to help Alisha up and not let Lailah down.
"Right, well... let's go! We'll cut it off and stop it from running, you three have to finish it off!" Rose could fly now; she felt fast. Very fast. She could keep that Hellion from running, unlike the one at the farm.
"Razor Vortex!" she calls out, Dezel's voice echoing with hers, as she zips past the Hellion and sandwiches it between herself and the other three. The winds pick up, and a whirlwind of blades rises up from the ground, green streaks cutting like a twister of swords.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Edna has posed.
Edna meets Alisha's gaze and sighs faintly. "Yeah. The Princess is still a while away from keeping any sort of Armatized form for more than a second." That said, she finally shuffles off of her seat, the stone sinking back into the ground as she lands onto the ground. "But the fact that you're still alive means you have the potential." My, that's almost glowing praise coming from Edna.
And now he takes a casual stroll to join the others, her umbrella still open and against a shoulder. Nope, she's still not going to close it. "I guess I've seen everything there is to see here. Time to clean up." And with that said, she slows herself to a stop next to Lailah. A glance aside is spared, then she looks back on ahead and raises a foot.
Stomp!
The ground rumbles, before several stone spikes burst upwards from under the Hellion, curiously avoiding Rose, and Alisha if she moves in, all while aiming to do terrible things to the creature, should it be struck. But it gives Rose plenty opening to land her own attacks, should it be caught up in avoiding the ground attempting to skewer it.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
There is nothing but encouragement for Alisha, which -- in the moment -- helps. She doesn't have time to be frightened at how her legs are weak, how her arms are so sluggish. She doesn't have time to reflect on the fact that it feels like she is burning up with fever. She rushes, then -- bolting forward, despite the sheer fatigue. She can only nod, weakly, at what Edna says.
She lunges in, between the speaks that shoot up and the whirlwind of blades. Alisha doesn't have it in her to jump. She goes for the Hellion's flank, spear swinging back. A line of light, from her chi, dances up the length of the blade.
"Skewering..." Her voice sounds raspy. "...Spear!"
She thrusts, trying to bury it into the beast's side -- then yank it free.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
The hellion wolf is clearly outmatched here as Rose and Dezel's blades spin and slice against it mercilessly. The howls that come from the animal are unlike anything they had likely heard before. The sounds are blood-curdling but don't last long when Edna's stone attack pierces the beast from the ground, impaling it and leaving a perfect chance for Alisha's blade to further pierce and maim the creature.
Seeing that they are nearing the end, Lailah steps forward. The beast barely moves. It's form is broken and she kneels down, closes her eyes. "Be at peace." With a flash of red the beast illuminates and within a few moments the flame turns blue and the wolf disappears leaving nothing but flame-scarred and broken ground in it's wake.
Lailah stands up, dusting herself off, surveying her team. "Is everyone okay?" Her eyes stop on Alisha with concern as the battle seemed to be harder on her after the failed armatization.
Glancing back where the hellion used to be and then at Rose she adds, "I know you guys can purify but I think we will save that for another time huh? So how do you feel Rose?" There is a little concern in her voice, remembering Sorey's first successful armatization. "You guys should probably rest for awhile." The statement is directed at Rose and Alisha.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
There's that familiar blue fire. Rose lets out a sigh of relief as the Hellion combusts, and finally, the Malevolence is gone. She hovers - doesn't walk, doesn't run, but hovers - back towards Alisha, looking concerned.
"Alisha, I think we've earned ice cream time!"
Oh, Lailah is asking questions.
"I feel... I feel like I could take on the entire world! It's so hard to describe, every muscle is so much more responsive, I can moves in ways I've never moved like it's second nature!"
"That's because it is. To me."
"And I can fly!"
Rose looks down. She wiggles her feet, still off the ground.
"... how do I get back down?"
WIGGLE WIGGLE WIGGLE.
"LAILAH HELP I CAN'T STOP HOVERING!"
"OI, DON'T FLAIL, YOU'RE GOING TO--"
Too late. A flash of light, white and green, and Rose and Dezel violently separate, the two landing five feet apart in opposite directions, Rose face first into the sand, Dezel managing to recover, roll and end up on one knee.
"I guess I couldn't expect more for a first try," he laments.
"Everything hurts and I don't think I can get back up," she laments.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Edna has posed.
Edna facepalms.
"Our hopes and dreams."
It's gonna be a long road.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
The flames of purification -- weaker, perhaps, than the one wielded by the Shepherd -- was through the wolf, and leave the scarred ground in its wake. Alisha stares at it, her breathing harder... and shorter. Her eyes squeeze shut, as she listens. "I'm..."
She doesn't finish. She lets Rose talk -- and she smiles at what she says. "Ice cream? That sounds nice." But, some of it sinks in. She didn't manage to Armatize -- and Edna's praise may be true, but her assessment is too. She wasn't able to do what Rose did. She did not have resonance born of a Seraph living in her for years. She wobbles, then, and blinks when they separate. Her eyes open, slowly.
"...I--I think I... need to lay..."
Then, she topples over. She is out like a light.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lailah has posed.
Before Lailah can tell Rose to calm down, they separate and land hard. "Rose, you know it makes it worse when you panic like that." Lailah laughs, in spite of Rose's predicament and then she tilts her head a little and sighs. "Are you really unable to get up?"
And then she watches as Alisha goes down too and Lailah catches her just in time. She looks at Dezel and Edna. "Well...so who gets to carry whom?" She was starting to think that coming all the way out here wasn't the best idea after all.
"We better get moving though. It's getting late and..." Her thoughts trail off as she looks back towards the battlefield. "Nevermind. Let's just get back to the hotel."