It's a Loverly Spring, Charlie Brown! [Open]

[Sky Lily]

"...only way to reach you."

Oh, she could hear its voice, now! Or should she say 'she'? The voice of the candle-flame sounded rather feminine... Simi's brow furrowed with confusion. Perhaps she should ask for the fire's name...?

But it was beginning to speak again, so Simi held her questions for the time-being.

"If I try more often then the balance could be tipped in his favor. But if you can push the forest to back you up, show you have no ill intentions, and not harm or kill anything he may tempt you with, then....-"

"Wait," Simi said in a hushed volume. "His favor? Who's favor? W-we haven't harmed anything..." Now, what could this voice possibly mean? Everyone had been rather kindly to one another back in the.... real... world. Hadn't they all only been working together to find a solution for the tree? If anything, it was forest who had been causing trouble. The lava, the giant rocks--

...

Oh.

There were the ants, from before... and Naira's beheading... and... Norad.

Was... was that it? Had they frightened the tree with all that had happened? Had it just been... striking back?

Oh...

Oh, dear.

The flame then gave a sudden, violent flicker. The unicorn pulled her head back, at first afraid that she might have breathed on it too strongly, but then:

"...Wait, why are you both here?" the flame asked with alarm as it made yet another flicker. "Oh no, he tricked me! You have to get out, you have to get out right now! GET OUT!"

Perturbed, the Shifter flinched and lifted a fore-hoof as if recoiling. The flame had been so kind and welcoming before. What had happened? Why was it suddenly so scared? Who had tricked her?

If one thing was for sure... something was working against them.

But Simi had no idea who.

"I-I don't understand! Please--"

And then the ground dissipated from underneath her, sending Simi falling into nothingness.

"Noo!"

~~~

Simi hadn't even a moment to gasp before she was tossed back onto hard, cracked earth, though she certainly made sure to make said terrified gasp just as soon as she'd made it back. She could hear the thwump of Entropy beside her... and then another thwump... and another...

Wait...

Lifting her tangled forelegs away from her face, Simi could see that Entropy had indeed returned with her.

Along with several other very confused, very vicious-looking creatures.

Shrieking, the unicorn quickly scrambled to her feet as she took a place beside Entropy. She hadn't even time to contemplate the odd things their fire had said in the void, for beyond the mutants she could see that her companions from earlier were still here, fighting monsters of the same nature. All of them were outnumbered, and swiftly being taken hold of by these new and terrifying enemies.

"Naira! Isala!" Simi screamed as she made to gallop toward them, but stumbled backward with a whicker of dismay when a few of the recovered scaly creatures barred her way, lashing out at her with their claws. Simi at first reared onto her hind legs with a terrified bugle, lowering her horn as she prepared to lash back at any heavy paws that came her way, but then she remembered...

Th-the flame...

...show you have no ill intentions...

...not harm or kill anything he may tempt you with...

Could these be the temptations the fire had spoken of? These hideous, awful things? The thought was even more terrifying to Simi. What if they were just a test?

But then again, what if she was wrong, and they weren't?

Either way, someone was going to get hurt. One succubus and one unicorn against ten-- she'd counted-- yes, ten of these horrible things... what were they to do?!

"Entropy!" Simi cried out the girl's name as she backed away, flanking her back-to-back. "What if it's a trick?! What if they're testing us?!" Desperate to try anything against these heavy numbers, the unicorn lowered her head as if submissively, trying to take on the most complying pose she could...

"Please! I don't want to fight!"

However, her horn was still in just the right position to strike upward should she be wrong, and already she was gathering up what strength she had, willing to turn into her fire-wielding phoenix if she had to, no matter the pain that might follow from the warm spring air.

But if they didn't attack...

It was a risky idea; it might not even work with the ground so charred and burnt. But Simi had just the skill to try and win the forest's trust.

[Windra]

And here she thought they were just about through i=with thee ... weird monstrosities. Looks like it was only just beginning! No sooner had she dispatched the creepy crawlies lingering over Jahran's helpless self than more came tumbling through the portals. They were practically overflowing the battlefield by now. Everywhere you looked were jagged teeth and razor claws just waiting to sink into some supple flesh, eager to rip the nearest living thing to pieces. Naira was in the process of cleaving the last beast hurting Jahran in half ... when something large pounced onto her back. Surprised, the Reaver fell on her face and was quickly overcome by the horde. The piled on top of her, arms going to work. Each claw made its mark against skin and clothes. Every time they drew back to strike again, a fresh blood spatter would be flung into the air.

"Ah - ouch, asshole - FECKOFF!" came a shouting mingle of curses from underneath the rudimentary dogpile.

The Reaver tried to shove them away with the blunt end of her scimitar, ramming hard into the diaphragm on the one causing the most trouble in an effort to push them all back. But with each one setting upon a separate limb, they were so heavy altogether ... The reptilian thing (haha, Deep One!) Naira aimed to knock backwards flailed at the intricately designed sword she held in her possession. Such a sudden disruption broke the grip she held on the weapon and it went flying - striking rock with a loud clang! many feet away from where it was needed the most. Some use it was over there!

Each bite, each claw, each tear ... it must have angered the monsters when they saw every fresh wound heal within a matter of seconds. They would hiss and scream and lash at the same spot over and over again. One monster in particular attempted to flog at her face but was met with a mouth of razor sharp teeth. He reeled backwards screaming, holding his arm high in the air ... the arm that now lacked several fingers and a good portion of its hand. Naira spit the amputated digits in the face of the nearest monster, disgusted by the taste of bitter and possibly putrefied blood. But something else in the back of her head ... somebody else ... was cackling.

'Dis looks fun ... Can I come out? hissed a childish voice within the depths of her brain. Despite it's innocence, Naira knew Scarlet better. She could already feel her eyes burning while the V-ACT 32 tried to seize control of Naira's battered body. The edges of her limbs were going numb. Nerves threatened to deaden at any given second. And her body temperature was raising ... Naira could tell by this and the steam exploding from her mouth that the Juggernaut was very close to breaking free.

Which would, in the end, be an incredibly bad thing ... Scarlet was prone to attacking blindly, both because she couldn't see through hazed eyes and because the lust for battle often drowned out the realization of who was who. Cutting loose now would possibly end in the deaths of all her friends here in the Prison ... so Nemo pushed back the desire to rip and main and tear in an unbiased manner awoken by the taste of fresh blood. She pushed it back and felt seething pain lash out where feeling had been gone before. But this was a temporary fix ... and Naira knew it.

There was an opening left by the monster who'd lost his fingers. She seized it with a howl, thrusting her body upwards and then twisting hard to the right. Despite missing sinews of connective tissue, her left arm was still strong enough to lift itself up and push the beast clinging to its flesh aside. Clamped jaws were ripped away from the Reaver while the monster stared dumbly, its mouth filled with torn skin and veins, not really sure of what had just happened. It came as a surprise when Naira landed a punch directly between its eyes: somehow still powerful despite some loss of muscle control. Strong enough to bust its nose and fill its sight with blood. Sharp teeth gnashing, its yowl unyielding as it fell backwards.

Now the five had been reduced to three. Renewed by a terrifying sense of desperation, Naira kicked harshly outwards. Both beasts who'd been lurking there, chomping and grabbing (one getting awfully close to her tail), were forced backwards onto their rumps. They hissed and snarled and lunged while the last monster backed away in brief surprise. None of them were quick enough. Clawed fingers found the ancient obsidian blade tucked away at her ankle. Her grip curled about its handle, white knuckled, and she thrust forward into the first one - burying the knife all the way to its hilt within the depths of the lizard's chest ... angled just right to pierce its heart.

In that smallest second between lunge and attack, Naira glimpsed her own wrist and cursed under her breath. The skin was taking on a red hue ... and the claws were becoming thicker, slowly swallowing the fingers whole ... Quite suddenly the vision distorted. It got fuzzy, clouded ... and the Reaver knew well enough that a pale blue death glaze was beginning to conceal her colorful irises. Time was running out. If she didn't act soon enough, her haggard body was going to succumb to Scarlet's influence. She could already feel rough excitement nagging at the synapses in her brain - a desire to kill, strong and brutal.

"Damn it, damn it!" Naira growled, prying the obsidian dagger from its resting place (the victim crumpled to the ground holding its chest) to slash at the throat of the next. While the latest kill-in-progress was grabbing at its own throat in an effort to stem the blood loss, Naira grabbed it by the neck. She thrust it before her own body, sliding her arm up tight around the monster's to both keep it in place and hold it up when its legs began to weaken and could no longer support itself. Crimson flowed from its ruptured carotid arteries, spilling onto the sleeve of her jacket ... but Naira paid it no mind. It was serving its purpose as a meat shield when the third lizard-fish thing made to attack, realizing too little too late that it was inflicting damage to its already wounded comrade.

There was the faintest trace of woe etched upon te monster's face when it realized what it had done. Smallest grief gave it that momentary pause Naira desired. She loosened her grip on the meat shield and it fell unceremoniously into a heap on the ground, hastily bleeding out and left to die. Naira didn't bother to wait a breath before stumbling forward on thoroughly chewed legs, raising one and kicking hard into the standing and stunned monster's groin. It double over with a painful holler and Naira shoved hard against it, knocking it backwards into a pool of liquid acid where it writhed and fried.

Two more left out of the five that had attacked her. The one with the broken nose rushed in, angrily swiping at her face with horrid claws extending. Naira coupled he blow with one of her own, catching the jagged fingers with her open palm. They sliced into her - blood poured from every possible cut. The Reaver swallowed hard against the white hot agony, hastily bringing up the dagger and jamming it deep into the soft patch of the monster's chin. It drove deep, going far enough to pierce the base of the skull and therein the brain which awaited behind it ... When Naira withdrew, the beast crumbled. And this left but the one more ... the one with the mangled arm. He was of no use swinging with only one good upper limb and Naira dispatched him with ease.

When she stepped back she was breathing hard. Her clothes were sliced in different places, stained with her own blood and that of those who challenged her. Fresh wounds sealed with ease and speed, leaving nothing but crimson patches behind. Her own battle was briefly waged ... and already over ... But there were still those on Jahran, and those attacking the others. Nemo wasted no time in giving herself time to recover ... She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, hoping that when her eyelids popped open things would be clearer. This was not the case. Though the post-mortem glaze that settled over her vision was a thin veil at best, many images were muddled and blurred. She could definitely make out the shapes of the struggling equine and those of his foes, but hard features weren't as evident as she would have liked them to be. Naira could feel her body heating to abnormal temperatures. Anybody looking at her now would see the slightest taint of red upon her normally pale-tanned skin ... and patched of bleach blond etching themselves into the strands of her hair, blotting out the brown. Her teeth felt sharper, and each finger had been consumed by a thick, yellowish claw - all brutal-looking and roughly the circumference of a carrot.

Her breaths came slow ... then quick and ragged. There was no option but to help Jahran despite Scarlet's breakout. Naira was still predominately in control of her own mind. Rushing forward to take on the lizards clamping down around the black horse, she could only hope the V-ACT 32 would hold back for just a little longer ... !

[Luxon Cobrat]

"Cancel that..." Nei said, seeing the change in their attackers' movement and turning around to face all three of them as they moved for Isala.

As the creatures leapt for their target, Nei lunged forward to meet them. Swinging her energy blade out at one, the weapon tore through the creature's chest and sent its body flying several feet off to the side.

Isala, meanwhile, raised her sword up and held it firmly for a second monster to skewer itself on. She then released the blade, letting it and its victim fall to the ground, and deftly rolled aside to avoid the third enemy. While the monster was still recovering its balance, Isala came up from her roll onto one knee and thrust one hand towards it, brow furrowed in concentration. Before it could make another move, the blood vessels around the creature's heart froze solid and then broke. Its body quickly hit the ground alongside the others.


No sooner did Zom's first enemy fall than did six more come charging her way. The vampiress grit her teeth at that sight, as there was no way what was coming wasn't going to suck.

She wasted no time getting back on her feet, though, this time standing with her weight projected forward and one leg back to brace herself. The first two enemies both hit her like a sack of bricks, but with her full strength applied to resisting them, Zom managed to stay on her feet.

After the second creature had hit, Zom brought her leg forward and slammed her knee squarely into its face. Then, before gravity could pull it back down, she hoisted it up by the shoulders and hurled it at one of the other four creatures moving to encircle her, sending both to the ground in a tangled mess.

At the same time, she tried to stomp her foot down onto the head of the other creature that had tried to tackle her, but that creature acted quickly enough to grab her foot and shove back against it. Zom pushed back and would have overborne the monster, but it shifted its weight and let her foot go past, then climbed up her leg and sank its teeth into her thigh.

Zom sucked in a gasp through her teeth as the pain momentarily blinded her.

And in that moment, the other three creatures that were still on their feet rushed in and took her. Zom was swiftly borne back to the ground as tooth and claw ripped through her flesh. The other two, finally disentangling themselves, jumped in too, the injured one bringing its own personal vengeance into the mix.

Zom gasped again as her senses came back from the blur of pain they had become. She was already laying in such a large pool of her own blood that she would not have been long for the world if she were any living person. Both of her arms and both of her legs were in the grasp of the monsters, but they were more focused on eating her alive than actually restraining her. She should have been lost in the delirium of agony, after all, and too weak from blood loss on top of that to fight back. That was why, when she wrenched her right arm free from her first victim, it didn't even realize what was happening until it had already taken a punch across the face that fully removed its jaw and sent it flying away, followed by a second that sent its front teeth back up into its gums.

As the first creature slumped to the ground with a fatal concussion, most of the others in their frenzy didn't immediately register what had just happened. The one she had injured before - now sitting on her stomach and slashing furiously at her chest and neck - was the exception. It froze in momentary indecision as Zom dispatched the first, then lunged for her now free arm to restrain it again. The others quickly caught on and shifted to grip Zom's other limbs more firmly, then lifted and hauled her onto her front to reduce her potential leverage. Zom still started to push herself up against all of their combined strength, but then her arms were pulled back and held behind her by three of them at once while two held her legs together. Then the angry one sunk its teeth into the side of her neck, eliciting a scream that turned into a gurgle. Then Zom went limp.

The creatures relaxed their grip again and went back to feasting before Zom's flesh turned cold. And as soon as they did, she wrenched her arms free, grabbed the injured one in both hands, and smashed its head down into the ground just above her own, shattering the top of its skull and mixing it into the creature's brain.

Zom then pushed herself back up to her knees, though the creatures immediately grabbed her again, two on each arm. Even then, despite their efforts to the contrary, she forced her way back up to a standing position.

Then Simi and Entropy fell back out of the portal, along with more creatures.

Zom still had a dangerous look on her face, but held off on whatever she was about to do long enough to see what was happening with that. The monsters, for their part, still had her arms held, but seemed at least momentarily unsure of what to do with her.


Entropy found herself as confused as ever when the portal dumped her out again. Simi was still there, and now so were a bunch of creatures she had never seen before. With a quick glance around the grounds that had now become a battlefield, though, Entropy immediately guessed their intent, even if they hadn't revealed it themselves a moment later.

With the words she had heard in the other realm still echoing in her mind, Entropy warily and hesitantly took up a fighting stance. She was really more concerned with protecting Simi than herself, though, as she could have been airborne and out of reach in an instant. And then Simi spoke, voicing the same concern Entropy felt. The succubus nodded, but felt unsure of what to do if the creatures actually did attack. They certainly looked like trifling with them would be a dangerous idea.

Still, in the end, she decided to take the direction they had been given.

She rose into the air again to gain a visible position to everyone.

"Um... Guys?" she called out loudly enough for all present to hear. "A little purple fireball just told me we shouldn't kill these things... I think! So, like, I guess we probably shouldn't!"


And with that, Zom's threatening visage gave way to... chagrin.

"... Huh..." she grunted.

Half of her thought the succubus was just spouting more nonsense, and that she should just go ahead and finish killing these things. All that biting and slashing had hurt like hell. And on top of that, they'd ruined one of her favorite jackets. Leather. Real leather, black. They needed to die.

But on the other hand...

"Dammit," she finally hissed. When a little purple flame tells you to do something, you listen. "You guys... feel like bein' nice?"

The vampiress flashed a nervous smile for a moment, but then let out a sigh as she settled passively into the monsters' grasp.

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

Jahran had just managed to buck the remaining monster from his back, grateful for Naira's interference and most likely saving him from major damage to his wings, when he caught sight of four more charging him. Panting he looked around himself in a panic, hoping to see either a way out to flee, or have someone come to his aid. But Naira and Zom were dealing with even more of them all by themselves, and the other two women were busy defending themselves as well. A small pang of shame made the stallion whimper softly. He was easily the biggest of their little group, yet he was looking to them for help? That was all the thought he managed before they were upon him.

Quickly he reared up, thrashing his hooves threateningly, but it only slowed down one of them, and only long enough to change direction and slide under him instead. Alarmed Jahran lowered his neck for a better view of where he had gone off to, and nervously shifted to the side in an attempt to remove his exposed belly from the creature's reach. Instead two of them used this to jump onto his neck and latched on. Letting out a short shout he quickly moved his neck from side to side, only to feel a stabbing pain on a hind leg. He didn't need to look to know that the one beneath him somewhere had targeted his legs instead of his belly.

Bucking to keep his legs moving, and hopefully disengage one of the two on his neck, a stray thought commented that one monster was missing. He'd counted four, so where was the last one? Though unable to shake the first three, Jahran stopped moving for a moment to try and track the last one, silently hoping that maybe it had gone for one of the other...and instantly feeling shame for hoping for such an awful thing. The on his leg chomped down harder, definitely going through the skin now, and again Jahran let out a shout of pain. Quickly he kicked backwards, not even thinking about it, and was actually surprised when he dislodged the one chewing on his leg. And again made the mistake to stop moving, giving the ones on his neck the opportunity to get a better hold.

Gasping, Jahran could feel warm blood flowing down his neck. Followed by a weight landing right on top of his back. Well, that must be the missing fourth one! As the stallion threw himself down to roll over onto his back, he saw the monster he had managed to eject come running back, and Jahran realized he'd made another mistake just as the thing jumped onto him as he rolled over. Now he was down and the four of them were pulling on his body in an attempt to keep him down. Panting as his panic went up, he threw his weight into it, and to his relief managed to roll back into a position he could get back up on. At least his size, and weight, and definitely being a help right now.

Panting even harder now Jahran could feel his body heat rapidly building, and realized he had opportunity here. Snorting fire wasn't something he was very experienced at, but he knew he could do it. Already a thin tendril of smoke was coming out of his nostrils, now he just needed to get an opening to actually get a shot in. Twisting his head back, while simultaneously dancing to the side to keep himself moving and a slightly harder target, he could see one of the monsters was perched on his back, trying to dig in his claws into the stallions back while trying not to fall off. Good enough. Taking in a deep breath and flinging his wings out to either side out of harm's way, Jahran forced a burst of fire from his nostrils, covering half his back in flames, including the monster. His skin warmed up, but wasn't damaged by the fire. The monster on the other hand started to scream as he fell off Jahran's back, on fire.

Jahran saw him run off, but was then distracted by a pain on again his neck, and also the base of his right wing. Two of the monsters were clawing and biting, and he felt the weight of the third suddenly on his left wing. He tried to furiously move his wings up and down, but it was only enough to remove one, who only managed to grab on and jump onto his back. As Jahran turned his head again in an attempt to try his trick a second time, the monster quickly moved out of his view, and dug in his claws into his sides, eliciting yet another scream from Jahran.

This wasn't working. Another quick look around as he reared up once more, showed the others were also still very much occupied. He considered using his ability, though horrible he may be at it. But all it would do right now was make them feel weaker, or possibly sleepy. And only if he could manage to focus while still wildly moving about, and through the pain. Yeah right. He could barely pull it off on a plant, how was he supposed to have any effect on these things? Another stab of pain followed by the trickling of blood on his side stopped that train of thought. He needed to do something!

A moment's distraction allowed him to realize the red portal had gone white again, but only after spitting out a whole new bunch of creatures...! Jahran wanted to cry, he couldn't even get rid of these ones, and there were even more about to attack! He hadn't even noticed Simi and Entropy among the jumble. Concentrating as hard as he could, he focused on the monster on his neck, and closed his eyes -and again made the mistake of standing still- to leech the life energy from the creature's body. Jahran could feel it working, his pain was actually working to his advantage as in his desperation the stallion was sucking out more energy than he ever had before from one living being. Of course his usual targets were small flowers, so that didn't really mean much, for a moment, just a moment, he was amazed by the rush of power he felt. Then the two others clawed open another part of his skin and his focus was lost as he screamed once more.

Entropy's shout caught his attention, though he was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to make out the meaning of her words right away. Instead he focused again, and managed to rip out a good chunk of the creature's energy, enough to weaken it's grip on his neck. A toss of his head, and Jahran felt the satisfaction of seeing the thing fall off of him, right in front of his hooves. Just then as he reared up far enough to come down heavily on the thing's skull, Entropy's words clicked. Not...kill them? What? At the last possible moment Jahran shifted his legs enough to have his hooves come down on either side of the creature's head.

"What?" he asked out loud, clearly confused. Then screamed once more as one of the things on his back bit into his wing muscle.

[Sky Lily]

Simi had lowered her head before she could see Entropy's nod, but the unicorn could still hear the succubus when she made an announcement from the air.

"Um... Guys? A little purple fireball just told me we shouldn't kill these things... I think! So, like, I guess we probably shouldn't!"

So she was telling the others to try for peace, as well. This was either going to save them all or win everyone a swifter death, and Simi would never forgive herself if that ended up being the case, but what choice did they have? The monsters were out for blood already, and they only kept arriving in greater numbers.

And they weren't stopping.

They weren't stopping.

She could hear the throaty rattling of their breath. The slide of scales as they inched closer and closer. The guttural hisses they uttered as her scent filled their reptilian nostrils. Whether they were curious of her behavior or simply preparing to kill her as one pack was hopelessly unknown to her.

The stench of their breath made her want to gag. The shadows of their heavy claws stretching across the earth toward her own made her tremble. Strings of memories flashed through Simi's mind, all of them of fear. The fires, the massacre her people had endured had been frightening, yet it was only in this moment that Simi truly felt the presence of the very Shadow of Death.

And she was afraid. So, so very afraid.

A grimy claw pressed into her skin. She was just about ready to forget whatever plans she may have had and collapse from sheer fright, but when she heard Jahran's scream, the Shifter was snapped out of the hypnotic terror that had seized her body and soul. She couldn't wait. She had to do something now! Perhaps doing nothing wasn't enough. Perhaps what these horrible beasts were waiting for was the exact opposite of harm. All these thoughts came very quickly to the unicorn, and she hadn't much time to think on whether her ability to wake plant-life would even work on such damaged ground as this or if it would even affect the lizard-creatures' hostility, but she had to try anyway!

So Simi dug her horn into the charred soil and prayed for another day.

Please grow. Please grow. Oh please, something grow!

"Something, anything, p-please..."

OOC:

It will be left entirely up to Gaeva whether anything will grow at all and in what quantity.

[Windra]

Steamed and irritated, Naira was no good at holding back the rising frustration. Scarlet's violent urges were becoming a little too much. Seeing Jahran writhe in pain wasn't making matters any better. In fact, they spurred her legs into quick motion. Talons dug into hardened soil, pushing onward ... bolting forth! It took her no time at all to get to the young stallion's side, and even less to leap into the air, forelimbs outstretched. Thick claws bit deeply into the reptilian monster's shoulders. Naira was lead by momentum, grabbing the beast and taking it with her as she careened onto Jahran's other side. Both monster and monstress fell to the earth in a clattered heap, hitting stone hard. It briefly winded Naira and shocked the demon but neither were unresponsive for long.

A thick hand armed with wicked hooks clawed at the Reaver's face and she drew back, smelling blood, feeling pain, tasting ichor as it slipped between parted lips ... Part of her wanted to smile, laugh, relish in lunacy and delve into bloodlust. It took a great deal of restraint to bite it back as she pounced atop the struggling beast. Her legs intertwined with it's, firm palms keeping the flailing arms pinned to the dusty ground. In defiance it screamed at her. Naira uttered a deep, terrifying growl in return. Salivary glands went into overdrive. She was drooling, overwhelmed by a sudden urge to rip deeply into the thick tendons around the beast's neck with her canines, find the arteries, rip them out ...

Entropy's call snapped her back to reality. Naira's head turned and attention diverted. She did not loosen her grip on the monster but watched the succubus with wary eyes. Steam billowed through clenched her clenched jaw. The red stain of flushed skin threatened to crawl onto her face. For once, she was sharing Zom's chagrin ... and it showed.

"You're joking," she hissed, ire swelling to an immense size in her chest. The struggling body beneath her was making her irritation grow. "Please tell me you're joking." A strong odor of spilled iron lingered heavily in the air for each cut inflicted upon their bodies. Pain was still fresh. These things were trying to kill them. Why show mercy? Yet she kept the one in her grasp pinned, not daring to go in for the kill ...

Out of the corner of her eye, Simi plunging her horn into soil ...

[Voice of Deep Forest]

Growling deeply in the back of their throats, the creatures surrounding Simi and Entropy had quickly regained their bearings and positioned themselves to keep the two from running. Flying wasn't something the scaly things seemed to consider an option, though it was doubtful it would make much of a difference in the end. Flashing their claws and teeth they made their intentions clear as they slowly approached. Whether they understood, or even heard, Entropy's message to the others was unclear, as they did not react to her in any way. Simi's desperate move however was carefully observed by one, his three eyes locked on the unicorn's horn as she reached into the scorched earth. He did not halt his advance though.

Simi's gamble stirred up something beneath the surface. She touched the potential for a small weed, the kind that doesn't need much to prosper as long as it's given a chance, and a chance it was given. Quickly it curled itself upwards, towards the surface, where a small green tip popped up, quickly sprouting multiple tiny little leaves as it grew next to Simi's horn. Until it was squashed back into the earth by the scaly creature's foot, instantly killing it again. The creature did not pay it any attention and instead threw itself against the delicate unicorn, hissing loudly as he took advantage of her lowered head to keep her unstable, quickly followed by two of the other scaly things. Entropy wasn't ignored either, though was approached a little more carefully as she was seen a bigger threat, but with seven of them circling the succubus, it didn't take them long to switch to a full blown attack.

Zom's decision to stop resisting was eagerly accepted, and celebrated with both creatures chomping down on each of her arms, aiming for their detachment at the shoulders.

Naira's pinned victim didn't appreciate it's position underneath her, and wriggled around to show this displeasure by forcefully kicking up with its knees.

Jahran's legs were right next to the creature's head before him, and he was rewarded with a vicious bite on one of them for his hesitation.

[forgerofsouls]

Then suddenly, in the middle of the mayhem, a bright light started to glow. Two lights, about as bright as the sun each, suddenly appeared. Than they started to take shapes. One larger than the other, both humanoid in appearance. Then they materialized. And standing there was Klinge and Lyrial, back from where ever they where spirited to.

Looking around Klinge was able to quickly grasp the situation. There was trouble, in monster form. He quickly brought his sword to bear. "It looks like we made it in time for a party Lyrial." Klinge said as he half smiled at the monsters, showing no fear.

Lyrial was also quickly able to figure things out. Though her first reaction was a quick spell cast to get her into the air. "Oi, this is no party you know." She told him.

Of course another think that Klinge noted was that at least half of Lyrial's hair was white and not black like the top portion. Her hair had always been a solid color. It looked weird like that, and for some reason it worried him. But no time to think about that now as he started to figure out who to assist first.

Lyrial was quicker, having spied Simi in trouble, she wasted no time. The ancient words, sounding as if they were spoken in at least twenty different languages at the same time, gave power to her spell. Her hand traced out ancient runes in the air. Finally the magic circle that she always used formed into front of her, the inner most circle turning before stopping in the desired position. Suddenly many bolts of green light fired forth from the circle, striking the earth around Simi and the monsters attack her. The earth answered the call of the spell, and suddenly the earth itself sprang forth at the monsters in the form of tendrils, grasping and pulling at the monsters attacking Simi.

Klinge on the other hand had bolted towards the nearest group of monsters possible to engage them.

[Sky Lily]

OOC: Had started writing this before forger's post, but I fixed it to make it work!

BIC:

And then, something wonderful happened.

Something grew.

Simi made a small, relieved inhale when she felt the warmth of life responding to her touch. She could sense a tiny plant reaching out to her, then upward, before it sprouted from the soil and rose higher. It was even beginning to bloom. It was the gift she had been desperately hoping for.

... but just as quickly as it had been born, the frail weed's life was stolen away.

"N-no!" the unicorn cried when one of the monsters crushed her little blade beneath its foot. Cold dismay seized her as she realized she had just made a very, very big mistake.

Forgive me, everyone!

They swarmed in on her.

Simi screeched out in pain when thin razor teeth tore through her side. Instinct urged her to swing her horn upward in a desperate desire to live, and with a lucky aim she managed to slash through the beast's own shoulder. Hot liquid spilled from the yowling lizard-creature's wound and drizzled onto the unicorn's forehead.

But Simi had no time to revel in her retaliation as the monster slashed her neck in vengeance, and another knocked her hind leg out from under her. The third had made for her foreleg, which lifted just out of the reach of his snapping teeth. But not for long.

The first lizard-creature roared as he menaced again. Simi flinched backward just before he could grab her neck, but her mane got caught in those horrible jaws, and pain lined her spine as she had to tear away from her own cyan locks. She tripped over the monster who had been trying to capture her foreleg and tumbled down the swampy thing's back, her other side hitting the ground with an unpleasant thud. But there was no time to stay still. Somehow, she'd freed herself from that surrounding death-trap! The unicorn quickly struggled to her feet and away before faltering due to the limp in her hind hoof. The lizards were already readying to enfold her again. She shook like she never had before.

What had gone wrong?!

That little flame had told them what to do, and she had done it, but to no avail. H-had it been wrong? Or had they been wrong? Were these not the enemies that tiny voice had spoken of? Hopelessness weighed down on the shifter's racing heart as the monsters made for her again.

There was nothing she could do.

B-but she had to do something!

But what was she to do?

Simi had never been a fighter, that much she knew. She had always been that shy little foal that preferred to hide behind her mother's legs and play with butterflies while the other children sparred. She liked making things grow and healing the little scratches on foxes and chipmunks, racing with her sister, watching the sun fall asleep behind mountain-lines. The life of a fighter was one she never would have chosen, but fate seemed to have chosen this day to ridicule her for her pacifism and cowardice. The ants she'd faced with Attor came to mind; she had tried so hard to protect the dragon from their pinchers, but how 'brave' had she really been? Oh, she was so pathetic! In the end she'd only fought against one of them. The others she had held off with intimidation through her bird-screeches and the fire on her wings, which had been nothing but a harmless show--

...

Wait...

... Right!

Her fire!

She wasn't completely useless. Not yet.

As it was, everyone was in mortal peril. But she must fight back, if not for herself, then at least for her friends. May curses snag her hooves if she wasn't going to die at least trying to save them!

Maybe she wasn't one to harm other creatures.

But monsters didn't count.

Simi galloped off in an arc before circling back, bugling out her own challenge as she reared onto her hind legs, waving her horn violently in the air. Her bravado did not slow the monsters charging her again, but she was ready for it all the same. The one who's shoulder she'd torn was the first to approach her. Its three eyes glinted with hatred as it leaped for her. Simi swung her head again when it sailed over her, and she slashed rather unceremoniously through its throat just as it had begun to roar again. She stumbled backward before its choking body could crush her, though one of its flailing claws did manage to scratch her muzzle.

Another lunged at her shoulder from her blindspot, but the heavyness of its footsteps and the reeking breath that warmed her flank were dead give-aways for even the most novice battler. She was thinner and more lithe than these creatures, and Simi quickly spun around to stab her horn through the thing's wrist. It screeched with the pain before lunging again, opening its maw to grab her horn. The unicorn made a small shriek as she stumbled away from it just in time. She wasn't sure, but she wasn't about to find out if these beings were indeed strong enough to rip her horn right off of her. She wouldn't put it past them with this kind of terrifying strength.

Lightheaded sensations flashed through her body once, and Simi's eyes rolled upward as she noticed for the first time just how much blood coated her horn. Her kind wasn't tolerant of blood, and too much of it on the most precious part of their crown could actually make a unicorn dizzied and nauseous. She had known she wouldn't be able to rely on this attack for long, but she had been trying to hold off on her phoenix shape for as long as she could. For it was spring, no longer winter, and the shifting process was going to be painful.

Then again, it looked like she was out of options.

... and quite suddenly, she was out of luck, too.

"Gyaaaaaah!"

So locked she'd been on the monster snapping for her horn that she had completely forgotten its second remaining partner, whose presence she was only reminded of when its jaws clamped down on her long, thin neck. The unicorn screamed again in terror as the needle-teeth sank through her skin, getting closer and closer to the place where blood flowed. And she would have died in this moment, had it not been for an even more sudden flash of light. Well, two actually. One a bright gold, and the second a following spark of green that assaulted the area around her.

Tendrils of earth sprang forth from the ground, grasping one of the monsters and hurling it away from Simi before it could aid it's partner. For a fleeting moment the Shifter wondered if the forest had finally answered her plea, but when she glimpsed a young girl casting the spells, her joy was only stronger. It wasn't just Lyrial, but Klinge there, too. And the both of them were alright!

A powerful force must have squeezed her current captor in his abdomen, for he instantly released Simi's neck with a gasp of pain before it too was dragged behind her.

Before the limp unicorn could hit the earth, limbs twisted into new ones and there was a flash of light as a fiery phoenix suddenly appeared from where a unicorn would have fallen, swooping upward at the last minute. The screech that came from her beak was mingled with both anger and the pain of the transformation, but she was not about to lose her resolve. Not yet.

"Thank you," Simi managed to gasp out before she sped to Entropy's aid. Letting out another screech, she snagged onto one of the leaping creature's backs with her talons, digging them as far as she could into its hide as she attempted to burn it with everything she had.

How her wings throbbed.

[Windra]

Yeah. She didn't think so.

Those monsters didn't hesitate for even a second. They advanced with claws and teeth, eagerly biting into the flesh of those who held off on standby with no remorse, no second-thoughts ... Zom was latched onto. Simi was seized. Even Jahran fell vulnerable to the one he had mercy for nestled between his hooves. Alarm was raised and Naira briefly forgot about the beast she'd pinned to the ground. Not for long. It kneed her in the gut and was met with a boiling hatred that seized the last sane vestiges of Naira's fatigued mind.

"KILL THEM!" she roared, voice loud enough to carry over the battlefield through cries of pain and anguish. The loathing stare she gave the struggling monster was enough to make it cower and go limb within her grip, which tightened enough to draw blood. "GET RID OF THEM ALL!"

Irritation, vexation, horrifying bloodlust ... This was such a huge mess and it demanded to be rectified! Naira's maw parted, dripping teeth glaring in what little sun there was left behind oblong clouds of peculiar weather types. Her intent was clear. And the monster realized it. Shrill cries of horror bleated from its mouth, desperately trying to call kin to its aid. No such luck there. Naira dove downwards, teeth sinking into the soft flesh of its putrid neck, sliding past sternocleidomastoid muscles and tendon before discovering the hidden arteries and chomping down. She growled, deep in pitch and bestial, holding on tight despite the thrashing going on beneath her petite form. Violently she ripped away with a large chunk of meat clenched between pearly whites turned blood red. A dull whistle throbbed in her ears: she did not hear the yowls and whimpers of the mutilated monster, not that she cared. An overwhelming sensation of satisfaction like the quenching of one's thirst after wandering the desert for days upon days without water ... Crimson dribbled down her throat, awakening an ancient hunger. the Reaver swallowed without chewing, slimy meat slipping down her gullet with ease.

And the hunger still demanded more.

For each wound inflicted upon her undead body, Naira returned the favor until the beast lay still in a pool of its own blood. She was content to lap that up, too. The Reaver didn't mind. She didn't know, didn't care that this was so very wrong. Eyes of dual shades switched of a pallor blue. Her skin was red and flushed, hair bleached and blond ... Even the silvered hues of tail and talon took on a deep, foreboding crimson. Naira fell backwards to draw a sleeved arm across her blood-smeared mouth with a sense of accomplishment. Her stomach was full but still desired more unexplained violence. Not to feast, but to murder.

Nemo pitched forward suddenly on all fours and, with a howl like a madwoman's laughter, bounded away from Jahran who now seemed capable of handling his own. Zom was closer. So were er enemies. A leap! Claws raked through the air, ripping, slashing, impaling whatever foul beast came within reach of her ragged limbs. All pain was gone. Only ecstasy remained. It exploded gleefully in a voice that was too shrill and childish to be her own.

"C'mere!"

[The_Vizir]

"HOLD!"

The void sounded like a clarion horn, cutting through the raging battle around him. His appearance hadn't been noticed, lost in the ruckus, but he wasted no time announcing his arrival.

The Preacher strode forward, showing no sign of the weariness he felt from stepping through time and space to reach the battlefield. Indeed, the heaven-sent wanderer let his holy aura shine forth, shimmering with the illumination of the celestial realms.

He had watched the conflict unfold through the sight of his heaven-forged rifle, uncertain of the unfolding circumstances or what his moves should be. However, the ignored plea for peace roused the celestial agent. Let the prayer be answered, then.

Of course, it has been said that peace is an omelette, and to make an omelette, one had to break a few eggs.

One of the grey-scaled beasts made a swipe for the preacher. Narrowly twisting out of the way, the heavenly nomad grasped the beast's jaw, as his eyes blazed with golden light "I said HOLD!"

Golden light burst from the beast's three eye sockets and from its vicious jaw before it fell from the Preachers grasp into a crumpled heap, spirit wracked by holy magics.

Always more than one way to crack an egg.

Of course, assaulting one of their fellows just made the newcomer a more attractive target, and several of the beasts raced towards him.

"You know, I was hoping it wouldn't come to this..." the Preacher said, as twin revolvers appeared in his hands.

"I was hoping that we could just sit down-" CRACK! A shot to a kneecap sent one of the monsters tumbling.

"Take a breather-" CRACK! A shot burst through another's shoulder, sending it spinning to the earth.

"Maybe get a drink or two-" CRACK! CRACK! Two more shots, shattering the feet of an approaching monstrosity.

"Talk about your collective problems-" CRACK! One of the beasts leaping for the reborn phoenix suddenly had to contend with a shattered jaw.

"Draw up a draft of how we're going to resolve the issues-" CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! Three shots for the creatures feasting on the vampiress, sending them skidding across the earth.

"Maybe create a five-point plan or something-" CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! And each of those beasts was rewarded with a broken arm.

"You know, so that nobody more has to get-" CRACK! The Preacher knelt down to one knee and shot over his shoulder, sending the monster charging at him writhing to the ground in pain.

"Hurt." With a flick of his wrists, the empty cylinders of his six shots were ejected, falling to the ground with an empty clang as he spun his weapons around his wrists. New cylinders, these ones marked green, appeared in his hands, fully loaded, and as the revolvers came down, he inserted them. A satisfying click was heard, and the preacher tossed both guns in the air, rising to his heavily-booted feet and catching his gleaming weapons on their ways down.

"Now, are we all good?" The gunslinger asked hopefully, "Or do we need to continue to work through our anger here?"

[Luxon Cobrat]

As the creatures bit into her shoulders, Zom sucked in another hiss through her teeth. She didn't expect them to peacefully accept her surrender, but they just had to go beyond the pale and try to dismember her. They did get one of her arms off, but then a berserk Naira dove in and took one of the monsters down, and a newcomer to the party followed that up by unloading a hail of bullets that went through the arms of the other three.

"Hell..." Zom drawled as the monsters recoiled. "Try to do someone a favor."

With no more warning, she backfisted one with her remaining arm and kicked the two on the other side, knocking all three off their feet. Then she dove to retrieve her lost arm.

"To Hell with that," she growled, rising back up and holding the arm against her shoulder until the rent flesh knit itself back together.

The monsters started to struggle back to their feet too, but Zom punted one in the face and knocked it into the other two, piling them up again. A devious grin crept onto her face as she stalked towards that pile. One jumped up and lunged at her, but she snatched it by the throat with one hand and slammed her other fist square into its face hard enough to turn the front of its skull into a crater. After tossing that aside, she rushed in, grabbed a second one, and stuffed it into a headlock under one arm. Then she caught the last one under her other arm. With their remaining good arms, the creatures flailed at her, but she ignored the claws tearing through her flesh as she dragged them along... straight towards the nearest acid pit.

"Here's what you get," Zom declared in a grimly amused voice.

Then she shoved them both in at once. The vampiress spent a few seconds relishing the agonized shrieks of the monsters' slow deaths as she pulled off her ruined jacket and tossed it in with them. The black tank top she was left with was torn in places too, but it would manage. Her torn skin and exposed patches of muscle made her look more like a mangled zombie than a proper vampire at the moment, though the wounds were already starting to close themselves.

Satisfied, Zom turned and left the screaming creatures behind as she stalked off to find more enemies to kill.


The first thing Entropy learned after delivering the message of peace was that the reptillian creatures weren't interested. They may not have even understood the words, though Simi and Zom's attempts to make a showing of nonviolent intent didn't get reciprocated either. The hostiles were after blood.

The idea didn't last long among the "allies" either. It started to take hold, but when the enemies didn't back down, even Simi killed one.

Entropy herself was well aware that she had taken the strange voice's words on blind faith. For all she knew, it had just meant to cause the moment of hesitation the reptiles might have needed to win this fight. Doing nothing had failed to produce any results so far, why should this time be any different? And this time, screwing around had an added danger beyond simply wasting time.

As some of the creatures gathered to attack her, Entropy moved further into the air. They would have to leap fairly high to reach her. And as they started to do just that, she moved even further up, vertically, making their attacks much easier to dodge. Her wings didn't seem to play a terribly large role in her flight - she simply moved where she wanted to move, with blinding speed. However, she didn't fly too high for the creatures to reach mainly because the seven creatures trying to get to her were seven less for someone else to deal with.

She was still more worried about Simi than herself. She would have rushed to the unicorn's aid, but she was afraid to attack them with magic because she still wasn't sure if killing the creatures was the thing to do, and flying in close for a less lethal attack would have resulted in her own attackers following her over.

And then one of the creatures almost bit into Simi's neck.

Entropy cringed as she realized the full danger of her own hesitation, and in that moment resolved to act. Before she could act, though, one of the creatures happened to make another leap for her, and she had to take the time to dart out of its way. By the time her focus could briefly return to Simi, a bunch of earthen tendrils had erupted from the ground and come to the unicorn's rescue. Then the unicorn changed.

Simi was now a phoenix. While Entropy processed that information, the phoenix flew over and grabbed one of her attackers.

And then some bullets flew in and hit some more of the creatures. Entropy's first thought at that point was that Scarlet had just arrived. It was a hopeful thought, as she hadn't seen the crazy zombie for a long time. But she quickly saw that the person holding the gun was someone else.

On the other hand, she noticed that Naira suddenly looked a lot like the V-ACT in question...

But right, back to that matter of taking action. Four of Entropy's enemies had been hit by the bullets, and one had even lost a jaw. But, psychotically enough, they all still seemed to be rallying against her again, with the exception of one that went off after Klinge. With a sigh, Entropy decided there was only one choice. Dropping her height, the succubus flew along the ground for a little ways, leading the group to a safe distance away from Simi or anyone else. Then, changing direction on a dime, she flew a circle around the monsters as a barrier of intense flame sprang up from the ground beneath her, trapping them inside. That done, she flew up into the air again, a fiery glow gathering in one of her palms. Once she was further up than she had been before, she turned once more, her own body wreathing itself in flame, and blazed to the ground like a meteorite, straight for the center of the ring. And when she hit the ground, a fireball blasted out from the area with a thunderous crack, leaving nothing but dust and smoke in its wake. Moments later, Entropy alone walked out of the smoky plume.


No more monsters had come Nei and Isala's way. Before they could help anyone else, though, Entropy's call made them pause. But Entropy herself quickly changed her mind, so the two decided to resume their own efforts as well.

Out of everyone, Jahran appeared to be in the most dire need of help at this point. Since the two monsters were crawling all over him, shooting them off didn't seem like the best of plans, so the newman-crystallian and the snow queen both dashed in to attack at close range. Forming another ice sword as she went, Isala moved straight in and cut one monster across the back of the knees from behind, then flashed the blade up and jabbed it through both shoulders, leaving it unable to do anything but fall to the ground and bleed out. The other monster noticed this, but barely had time to turn as Nei came at it and brought her energy sword down on its head.

[Sky Lily]

The monster writhed and shrieked in agony from under Simi's flames, but by the time it collapsed in an attempt to roll over the phoenix, the damage was already done. Simi flew safely out of harm's way and watched the creature finally die with a pang of regret- fire was a horrible way to die...

Another leaped at her and the phoenix braced for another attack, but this one was seemingly struck by the thunder of a two legged newcomer. Not familiar with guns, Simi assumed that the preacher was a weather mage of sorts, but was still very grateful. She chirped out a shaken "th-thank you!" before flying out of harm's way.

Which was just as well, since Entropy immediately destroyed her remaining enemies with a very impressive explosion.

It looked as though the tides had turned, and rather quickly, too!

OOC- wrote all this painstakingly on my nexus, please forgive the low quality

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

Jahran was ready to accept their word and gratefully back out of this horrible battle, but the thought barely finished itself when he was hit by the pain of being bitten in his leg. So much for not reacting, that had been a bad idea, letting them loose was suicide! Desperately he reared up and flung the monster off of his leg, successfully dislodging it with one powerful flick of his leg. His surprise at his success was short lived however, as there was still another one, on his back, trying to destroy one of his wings! He carefully remained out of his reach, and whether on purpose or not, managed to keep himself close enough to Jahran's feathers to make the stallion hesitate to use fire. His skin might be fire resistant, but the feathers on his wings were not. And while they would grow back, he wasn't about to sacrifice his flight unless absolutely necessary.

Some loud bangs that he could not identify made him whip his had back. He saw a few new arrivals, and thought he could pin the mysterious bangs on of them, but could not investigate for much longer. The creature he had shaken off was heading back towards him, though now oddly limping. Jahran knew he hadn't injured it, did it have something to do with the bangs? Doing his best to fend the thing off while simultaneously trying to get rid of the one molesting his wing he was suddenly relieved of them both. Panting heavily with smoke coming from his nostril the black stallion found himself staring at Nei and Isala. They might as well have teleported themselves over, but he was grateful.

He gave them each a nod and panted a "Thank you,", which was completely drowned by the sound of loud thunder. Jahran jumped, startled, suddenly terrified something worse was about to come down upon them. His ears flicking down his eyes searched frantically, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it had been Entropy. No threat, just more help.

His heart still beating much too fast he looked around, at the ground. Everywhere was blood, bodies and just body parts strewn around. It looked like a massacre. Not all the blood came from the monsters either. He was suddenly reminded of the warm liquid coming from his own body and felt a shiver go over him. This nasty suspicion that it was going to hurt a lot any moment now came crashing down on him.

"Was that all of them?" he asked. Or tried to ask, instead only a whisper came out and he wasn't sure if anyone other than Isala and Nei had even heard him, but suddenly couldn't muster the strength to repeat the question. He wanted to see if everybody had made it, if anyone was hurt, or just be worried, but he suddenly felt too tired for that, and just left his head hang a little. One thing had become clear: unlike his father, and his sister, he was not a fighter. At all.

[forgerofsouls]

Klinge looked down at the creature he had split in half. It was not even that hard to kill. But what was it? Where did it come from? He had a feeling that the others in the area would know more than he did. As it was though when he looked up, it seemed all else was dead. "I think they are all dead." Klinge said out loud.

"Not quite." Spoke Lyrial. "I have two of them bond up on the ground over there." She pointed over in the direction of the two still alive.

"Should we kill those two also?" Klinge asked.

"I say not yet, they are of no danger to anyone anymore. Besides, I want to know what they are and where they came from."" Lyrial said to everyone in the area.

Meanwhile, hidden in a bush close to the edge of the crater, two pairs of eyes watched...

"I wanted to stay on the boat..."

"Forget the boat already! I wish I was fighting those things."

"But you would have been hurt or worse!"

"Would have hurt them more."

"But...but..."

"No buts!"

[Windra]

She couldn't hear anything but the blood rushing directly to her head. Ragged breathing shook her whole torso. Contorting a glance about, Naira found, much to her disappointment's, that there were no more of those monsters lurking about. Or were there? Scarlet's blood hunger and blurred vision was making anything and everything look delectable now. And those figures looming nearby ... they could be considered monsters in her mind ... Slipping onto all four limbs, the Reaver skurried forward. Claws struck ominously against the earth though she wished they were impaling the unprotected skin of those beings within her vicinity. Drool slipped from the corner of her twisted maw. Teeth gnashed. A desperate longing for violence ...

... restrained quite suddenly and with no explanation. Her body jerked backwards as though a leash had tightened around her neck, yanking tight. Claws scrambled towards her throat, fighting off that invisible hold even though there was nothing there, nothing grabbing ... save for the small oice int he back of her head that actually belonged to Naira.

Enough of that! Those are friends! Settle down! snapped the Reaver to a rebellious V-ACT 32.

"I don't wanna!" barked Scarlet's voice in retaliation. She threw herself forward, eager to make a death leap at the closest thing who happened to be Zom. It must have been comical when control of her legs was taken away and the misshapen Reaver took a faceplant instead of a prey.

You have my body for now, growled Naira, quite irritated. Her voice was a whisper in Scarlet's ear, but I have your nerves. I won't have you attacking anything else ... The way it trailed off piqued the V-ACT's interest. A glazed eye peered back, staring at blank space as if there was somebody there.

"Unless?" she hissed, waiting for the bone to be thrown.

Naira handed it hesitantly. We'll see what happens. Right now, you're an ace in the hole. Preserve what energy is left until you actually need it.

Reluctantly, Naira's body flopped uselessly on the ground. Not that she could have helped it. Limb control was temporarily revoked. She snorted in disdain while the mental Naira sat back and sighedin relief.

[Sky Lily]

A glance around the gruesome battlefield told Simi that they had indeed won this bloody battle, and without any fatal casualties, which was good. A shudder of pain rolled down the phoenix's spine and she fluttered to the ground, quickly shifting back into her unicorn body. She knelt down on her fore-knees, panting heavily.

"S-sorry, but... is it okay if I... don't do that again... for a while?" Her eyes trailed up with curiosity, though no fear, at the hooded thunder-stranger before she glanced around again.

"Does anyone... need healing?"

OOC- I'm going to be in D.C. until next Wednesday, and until then only have this nexus for roleplay posts. My replies, unfortunately, will remain pretty basic and lacking in detail for this time period. I'd spoken of this in a journal on my deviantart but it only now occurred to me that I hadn't made any announcement of it here, so I apologize for that.

[Luxon Cobrat]

Entropy quickly saw that the battle was over, but she didn't take any comfort. The flame might have been speaking truly. And if it was...

Looking at the earthy tendrils still holding three of the creatures immobile, Entropy realized that she could have done the same thing. She'd let herself get carried away, like most everyone else here.

But it was such a confusing situation, and too intense to think. And what about everyone else? Were they all supposed to pull their punches when these dangerous creatures were out for their blood? If Entropy had been by herself, she might have, but some of the others here were too vulnerable. Simi, Jahran, Isala... With any less luck, any of those three could have been among the dead right now. And the Forest expected them all to hold back? Well, screw the Forest, then!

Catching herself getting heated, Entropy let out a slow breath.


Seeing nothing left in need of killing, Zom shook her head in bemusement. The three prisoners were no more threat, she assumed, so there was no point in killing them. Not that she didn't feel like it.

Naira was acting strange, though. Wild rampage one moment, totally paralyzed the next. The vampiress decided to keep an eye on her.

Meanwhile, Simi made a general offer of healing to the group. As much as Zom looked like she needed it, she waved it off. Not all healing magic was holy, but she didn't care to take chances...


"Think we shouldn't have done that?" Nei asked Isala moments after their two victims had hit the ground.

"It is battle," Isala stated. "It is not a time for weakness."

Nei didn't disagree, but there was a coldness in Isala's voice as she said it that sent a chill running through the newman-crystallian. Shaking it off after a moment, though, she looked back to Jahran.

"So... need healing again?" she offered, holding her hand ready.

Simi had already offered, but Nei was closer.

[Sky Lily]

Most everyone either had turned down her offer or simply wasn't in need of it, so Simi decided to tend to herself in the meantime. Using her horn, she was able to heal most of the scratches and bites on her legs and lower half, but the wounds on her shoulder and neck would have to wait. Which was admittedly bad, since they were the deepest ones she had, and the most painful. She winced again, gritting her teeth. She was still breathing rather heavily and trembling too, not just from her pains but from the terrifying ordeal they had just endured. This was the first battle that she had taken part in, and the poor unicorn was going through a much smaller scale of post-traumatic stress. She just tried to reassure herself that killing was the right thing to do as horrible as it had been, thanked the Heavens above that everyone was alright, and those thoughts were enough to keep her tears to a minimal flow.

Once again the question rang in her mind, what WERE those things? And where did they come from? And who sent them here?

Her thoughts went back to the little flame in the darkness and she began to wonder if it was simply she who had misunderstood its words. It was the forest, after all, whose trust they needed to earn. And from the things those monsters had done, she was sure now that they were NOT of the forest.

Besides, she also remembered the flame's distress over being... tricked about something. Was it possible that it had been given the wrong information from another being, thus tricking everyone else in turn? It was a plausible suggestion, but Simi was too tired to discuss this in detail just yet.

Right now there was a more important thing to worry about, and that was the Tree...

Now was a good time to prove their good intentions, but hopefully she wouldn't be nearly killed this time around.

Gulp.

Simi cautiously approached the tree a few steps before lowering her horn into the earth once again, hoping to grow something as a way to prove to the tree her party's desire to help. She would wait patiently for something to bloom from the earth, and if something did, Simi would approach the tree further and repeat the process. If no life responded, she would sigh or pull her ears back in disappointment, but she would move forward to try and grow something else . It was a slow process, but Simi would continue to repeat these actions as she attempted to approach the tree.

If it pushed her back at any point in time, she would stop and sulk in her dashed hopes.

But if the tree did allow her to reach it at a close distance, Simi would gently rest her horn on the trunk to lend it some of her energy as an act of goodwill.

OOC- this was a killer to type on a tiny keyboard xD but I feel the extra effort was needed this time

[The_Vizir]

By the time the preacher had returned to his feet, the battle was over. The tagged and incapacitated monstrosities were dead... all the beasts were dead. There was peace... but it was not a true peace. It was the peace that came after one of the opposing sides was crushed, obliterated, destroyed... murdered.

The gunslinger's golden eyes narrowed.

"So..." his gritty voice rumbled as his eyes scanned over the fallen. "So this is the peace this world desires? Not a brokered compromise, but utter conquest? To grind your enemies beneath your heels?" The unknown wanderer stared each member of the surviving alliance in the eyes. "Is this what you desired? Death? Hatred? SLAUGHTER?"

The aura of flickering light pulsed brighter with each punctuation, and ephemeral wings shimmered behind the celestial. "YOU PRAY FOR PEACE, DEEP FOREST," his voice boomed, "BUT IT IS WAR THAT YOU HOLD DEAR IN YOUR HEARTS!"

The Preacher raised a single gloved fist into the the sky. KRAKOOM! A deafening explosion rocked the Deep Foresters as a burst of light formed right above the barrel of his gun, blinding those looking in the direction of the gunslinger.

And then he was gone, as if he was never there in the first place, a rustling of a jacket heard on the wind...

((as per OOC discussions, the Preacher has left the thread))