+- Omni Archive (https://omni.zulenka.com)
+-- Forum: The Omniverse (https://omni.zulenka.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=4)
+--- Forum: The Ashen Steppes (https://omni.zulenka.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=20)
+--- Thread: Storm the Castle (/showthread.php?tid=7005)
Pages:
1
2
Storm the Castle - Ebonywood Hellscythe - 11-16-2017
Quote:If you're from Ashen DD you can drop in whenever, if you want - even you Kuzuru. Anyone else, just shoot me (or whoever) a heads up before jumping in. Eb didn't really get to interact with the blades much, so Clappy and Miranda, if you're game to meet up IC, shoot me a PM or something. As a side not, me and Summer are thinking of doing "The Ashen Walk", so we might jump to a new thread after a few rounds. Dunno if Morene is coming with if we do go, but she's welcome to.
Orange-red sunlight glared through the crack in the curtains, lapping at the peak of the tower. Much of the land below was left in shadow by the craggy rocks, illuminated by streams of lava, yet still left shady by the thick layers of ash. Dust was scattered through the air of the room, guiding the rays down towards the head of the bed.
Prior, the room had remained stagnant, from dusk till dawn. Faint breaths from Summer caused his chest to rise and fall as he slept, and a certain black haired mage had fallen forwards from her chair, head and hands pressed against his ribs. She snored gently, subconsciously nuzzling her face deeper with every small shiver.
As they'd slept, the faint glow dark purple rippled from the wounds on Ebony's chest as the Omnilium sewed them shut, eventually stopping not long before the sunrise. Summer's injuries stitched themselves up more naturally, although one hand still remained as a stump. There had been few noises throughout the castle, and they'd both slept well despite their respective positions.
Yet, now, with the sun's distorted rays focused towards Summer's face, it was only a matter of time before the light poked through his eyelids. First, it was a sniff - his nose scrunched, mouth still agape. Then his eyelashes fluttered, blinking the dust away. A few seconds later, his head jerked up causing his chest to rise slightly. Ebony's head was brought up with it and, if not for her grip, would have been pushed off. She mumbled, fists reactively clenching tighter onto his shirt and keeping herself steady as he fell back once again.
He shuffled slightly, experimentally trying to wake the mage, but all attempts yielded nought beside more weak groans and protests.
"Enjoying your nap?" Raising an eyebrow, he spoke. It wasn't loud, but over the comparative silence, it seemed otherwise.
Reaching out with his good hand, he ruffled her hair. Unlike usual, there was so little consistency that the action actually added more order to the style.
She mumbled, turning to face the oppressor while pressing her ear downwards.
Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
The steady beating of his heart filled her eardrums. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes, blinking rapidly. "Huuuh..."
Her view was still blocked by her splayed arms, but she felt his hand continuing to move, steadily playing with her hair.
She reached up, grabbing his wrist quizzically and moving his arm away. Slowly, she pushed herself upright, still gripping his arm and not really comprehending the situation. Ebony was not a morning person, but neither was she a night owl.
"W-w-whaa..." Her voice trailed off; her eyes finally met Summer's. Subconsciously, her other hand played with his fingers, linking hers through the gaps between them. Given that it was two hands against one, he made no physical effort to reclaim it.
Swiftly, her neck jerked down, flicking her hair in front of her face and hiding the growing tinge of red. "Y-you looked hurt. I w-wanted to check that you were okay." And because she found his silly hair and stupid face amusing, but that was beside the point.
Summer sat up, and she pulled the stolen arm closer. "It takes a lot more than that to kill me! But... thanks for your concern."
"Y-you're my f-friend. It's what friends do!" Shaking hair to the side of her face, Ebony looked up, a faint blush visible on her pale cheeks. She looked bare without her cloak; and to some, the plain black top might have looked more like pyjamas than proper clothing.
"Right... friends." He muttered, experimentally clenching his hand. Smooth fingers gripped back, while others drifted around his wrist. "Can I have that back please, I've only got one." He raised his stump for emphasis, forcing a smile.
"O-oh. S-sorry. I didn't m-mean to-" Despite the stuttering, Ebony made no attempt to release the limb, being more focused on trying to apologise.
"Nevermind." He pointed the stump towards Ebony's head, but it fell short by a small distance. Yet, almost instantly, a new hand grew out of the damaged arm, landing right on top of her head.
"H-how?"
Summer didn't try to answer, instead offering the biggest, smuggest, grin Ebony had ever seen.
Suddenly, out from nowhere, one of the pillows found itself covering the man's smile. "I was w-worried about you." Sticking out her lower lip, Ebony pouted.
He pulled the pillow off, dropping it to the side of the bed, only to find it instantly replaced with another. He laughed, plying that one off as well, but it was shortly substituted for two more. "...where are you finding all of these?"
Ebony tugged his arm, dragging him out of the pile while he shifted his legs off the bed. Summer rose to his feet, awkwardly shuffling between the two. "I'm g-glad you're okay though," she mumbled, hugging his arm to pull herself upright.
"I'm happy you're okay too."
She yawned, releasing him and walking independently towards the door, magic already starting to open it. She'd already started to work on her hair telekinetically as well, smoothing out the knots and letting it curl down her back.
"I was thinking about getting you- about meeting Omni. We could check the library, there might be some information there." Ebony wasn't the best at playing this game yet, but she thought that comment came from Sonny. After pondering that for a moment, she perked up.
"Really? Where is it?"
"I dunno. This place can't be that big, we'll find it eventually."
"L-let's get started then!" Her voice jumped, cracking with excitement. Although the cold rocky flooring of the hallway quickly evoked a chill in her feet - the thin fabric of her socks did little to buffer it. She shuddered, hopping back, landing on the tips of her toes, and falling into Summer; he caught her effortlessly. "It's c-cold." Summer was cold as well, but not like the ground. The hallway might as well have been made of ice.
He chuckled. "Go get your clothes, kiddo. Then we'll be off to the library."
"I'm not a kid. I'm-"
"Almost nineteen. I know. How close are you, anyway? Not that it really matters much here."
Ebony paused. Back home, they'd always considered her birthday to be just after midnight, and it was dawn here, but more than six hours had definitely passed. Maybe one and a bit days. "T-ten days. What about you?"
"Iunno."
Ebony spun around, placing both palms on his chest. "How could you not know! You get presents and eat cake!"
"I guess I never really bothered with it, so I kinda forgot."
"Oh." She was about to open her mouth to reply further when an idea came to mind. Gradually, the corners of her mouth perked up - she hid the expression behind her hair.
"So... are we going to go now?" Summer idly prodded, trying to guide Ebony out of the door.
"But it's c-cold." She made a display of mock shivering. "C-c-carry me." The room was enclosed and had a wooden floor, so it was relatively warm. The hallway, however, had a stone floor and was left open to breezes. The ground of the Steppes might have been hot, but that heat didn't travel to the higher levels of the castle, especially at night.
"I... sure." The storm incarnate shook his head before presenting his back, miffed. "Hop on."
Tentatively, Ebony climbed up onto his cool back - yet a few moments after he walked into the hall, it's temperature dropped drastically. She shuddered, trying to move away and touch him as little as she could while still avoiding the floor, but with his arms holding her legs she made. "T-t-t-t... T-that's m-mean."
Luckily, Summer's body shortly returned to normal - well, normal for him. Carefully, he let Ebony down in her room, choosing to wait outside. He wasn't left alone for long - after a short collection of jangling sounds, clicking, and a quiet thump, she emerged, donned in her full attire. The grime from before was gone, yet some tears remained.
"Well then, let's get a move on. I trust I won't have to carry you again?"
Ebony glared, lower lip sticking out slightly. With barely any thought, she wrapped her magic around Summer, picked him up, and dragged him along beside her as he idly floated in the air.
RE: Storm the Castle - Summer - 11-22-2017
The stale, ashen air of the castle blew gently over Summer’s smiling face, in something reminiscent of an idle bike ride. If said bike ride involved a strange, ethereal force enveloping your body and dragging you inexorably onwards, down a dreary hallway. Moving fast enough to get a nice breeze going, but not fast enough to start breaking a sweat. Not that he would be, in this case. The invisible hand had that covered for him. He was content enough to laze about, tipped on his side like he was laying on a couch, head propped up on his right hand, and just enjoy the ride his companion was kind enough to provide.
“You uh...” his own voice spoke for him, barely a whisper but still plenty audible in the empty corridor, even over the single, echoing set of footsteps. “You just gonna put up with this?”
“Shh...” Summer lifted a finger to his lips. “Look at her, being so assertive. It’s adorable~” He half-sang, dropping the whisper and making sure Ebony heard it. Almost immediately, the young mage’s pace picked up, going from ‘storming forward’ to ‘nearly jogging,’ and dragging the spirit along with.
“I-I’m not adorable...” she protested, right hand lifting up and pulling her hood further forward, hiding her face. “I’m awesome!”
“You can be both!” The storm spirit grinned, relishing in her embarrassment. “I mean, just look at me. Cute and cool.”
A series of strange, spluttering giggles sprang forth from the magician; small, choking laughter as she tried to call bullshit on his nonsense.
“What? You don’t believe me?” Summer conjured up the most pseudo-offended tone he could muster.
“No!” she exclaimed, snickering. “Y-you’re not cute at all!”
“Well!” he huffed indignantly. “That’s just because you haven’t seen my ultimate form!”
“Ultimate form?” the sorcerer asked incredulously, turning her head to face him as she continued down the hallway. “Let me see!”
“Alas!” He flipped over in the air, tucking his hands behind his head and crossing his legs as he pretended to lie on his back. “My body’s not stable enough for it. If I tried to change myself I’d dissolve into mist. Poof. Gone with the wind.”
“I-I don’t believe that for a m-moment!” she stuttered and turned right back to looking down the hall.
“I’ll prove it to you eventually!” Rather than a response, the spirit’s exclamation was met only by his ride suddenly becoming bumpier. The invisible hand jostled him around for a few moments, ruffling up his clothes and hair.
“A-anyway... I’m not cute...” Ebony mumbled after a moment.
“Alright.” All of the energy and over-the-top zeal fell out of Summer’s voice, and smile dropped away. “You’re cool.”
Silence fell over the two, punctuated only by the mage’s hurried steps and the occasional weird kappa thing wandering by. The storm spirit’s face fell in a small frown. It was true, his body as it was right now was quite unstable. He’d commented on it mentally to himself a few times, but he never stopped to think why that was. Back in his world, the only times his body became unstable tended to be when he started using the magic making up his body to power his spells. Once he destabilized it like that, it allowed him to keep going, and keep fighting, but it also made him vulnerable. Wounds that he could normally shrug off would unravel his body. But it could be fixed by a little bit of rest.
He’d gotten plenty of rest here, so why wasn’t he stable yet? What had changed since his arrival in the Omniverse? What about this world prevented his body from naturally stabilizing?
Summer paused, and began to delve into his memories. What were the differences between his world and this world?
Weather and climate?
He was the spirit of the weather, born through man’s fear that a storm could ruin their village or a drought could jeopardize their harvest. Thus, he had an inherent connect to all that, a connection that had gone wonky upon his arrival. After all, this world didn’t have true weather systems, only a mockery that felt right if you didn’t look too closely.
What about my strength?
His strength and power had been weakened a lot as well, which was probably the case for most Primes. So many of the tools he’d built up over the years had been stripped from him. He didn’t remember much of his early years, so perhaps stability was something he came up with rather than something that naturally occurred.
Or perhaps....
The split. ‘Two’ minds had been unceremoniously shoved into this one body, whereas in his world they’d existed in two separate bodies. It had already caused a whole lot of bullfuckery before, what was one more thing to add to the pile? Perhaps the split was trying to push their minds apart even further, and that was destabilizing his form.
A low hum escaped the storm spirit. These were all things worth looking into. Though later, when he had the time. He could probably set aside a few hours tonight, when everyone was asleep. If any of the kappa got too uppity about him perusing the library late at night he’d just...
A finger squished against his cheek, breaking him out of his trance.
“Yes?” He rolled back over, his eyes meeting with Ebony’s. She probably hadn't jumped straight to poking him out of thought. If he had to hazard a guess, she'd probably called his name a few times and he'd been too focused to hear it.
“U-um. W-we’re here.” The young mage stuttered.
“Huh?” He was slowly pulled back into reality, noting the lack of sunlight and the stale, soot-filled air. His eyes fell upon the several rows of bookshelves, none taller than a person. It was more like a highschool library than anything, he thought. But then again, he shouldn’t really have expected more from a kappa civilization in the middle of a fiery wasteland. “Well, would you look at that.”
RE: Storm the Castle - Morene Fellon - 11-25-2017
Despite the dreadful heat of the castle walls, Morene was surprised by how homely the place was for a woman of her size. It was impressive considering the room was meant for tiny turtle people, and that showed, as proven by Morene's discomfort with the bed that was five sizes too small for her.
The knightly huntress had wanted to rest, seeing as she had already taken off her power armor, but Morene figured she didn't need the rest anyways with all of her augmentations now visible on her half-bare body. Getting up from laying down, Morene did not hesitate to leave the room, just as Ebony and Summer presumably have.
The woman already knew that the two of them ran off somewhere, so she figured now would be the best time to do the same thing; first thing on Morene's mental checklist being getting cleaned. Certainly, the woman's skin that was full of visible plugs and doll-like slits didn't permeate much sweat at all, but the woman still felt grimey from fighting creatures of the night near active volcanoes. After all, she needed to be somewhat presentable of she wanted to meet the king. Bowser, his name was? Forsooth, Morene affirmed, knowing she had heard Koopalings in the midst of battle cry his name.
Now roaming the hallways, Morene began to search for the garrison's bath-house by locating its cistern nearby first and foremost. In the meantime, as the few kappa creatures walked past in a bit of awe, she noted it was rather quiet for a garrison of this scale. The huntress figured it wasn't the best idea to deploy so many of the garrison's troopers only to leave so few to defend, but at that point Morene realized Bowser himself probably could have defended the walls from a seige. All of it gave Morene more reason to tidy herself up in his presence.
Meanwhile, as Morene walked herself down a sudden spiralling staircase, she eventually found a... rather tiny variant of a bath-house in which its door had to be crouched under to enter. The woman had to wonder if even the Koopas themselves could crawl into such tiny spaces.
Still, it was kept clean, and nobody was there but her, which was relieving based upon the hugely awkward scene that would have played out if somebody was there, Koopa or not.
Looking over, Morene glanced upon a large, faded mirror set on the hot stone walls, and stopped in slight shock. Squinting, she sighed as one of her theories as to why her back stung a few hours beforehand turned out to be true; a strange, black brand sprawled itself beneath the woman's neck. It was sleek in design, yet disgusting at the same time. The way it melded into her thick skin didn't look much appealing at all. It was worrying at first, but eventually she chuckled at the thought of Ebony probably finding it cool. Morene thought of showing the child the marking later, however unprofessional that may have been.
Groaning, Morene looked down to the steaming water below her feet, annoyed at the implications that tattoo spawned from black magicks had. No doubt it would lead to this Nebula creature talking as if it "owned" her or something of the sort upon them meeting in combat, and the thought itself was a comical one she'd sure to get some sort of amusement out of, but...
That wouldn't stop her from relaxing now. Slowly, the huntress dipped herself into the water.
____
It didn't take long for Morene to dress herself back up again.
Of course, by "dressing up," she meant slapping on her metal-alloy plate armor to impress a king. This definitely wasn't the first time she's done this; perhaps it was natural she wasn't at all worried about her relations with this kingdom in particular. After all, she and her comrades did randomly participate in defending the garrison from a siege.
Sighing, Morene then realized upon leaving her room that she had no idea where this Bowser individual might have been at the moment. Either way, she wasted no time instead moving upwards the garrison stairways instead of down them.
As she looked, once more the occassional Koopaling walked past, this time struggling to get past the tight corridors in which Morene took up most of the space. It was almost cute to her how tiny these soldiers were, yet impressively formiddible on the front lines.
Typically, the closer Morene got to the top, the more Koopas were stationed rather than moving. It was obvious enough that they were defendibg either the position of Wendy, or her father.
Approaching the doors to enter the roof, it became clear to Morene that the sudden presence of armor and polearms among the kappas meant that king Bowser was close.
As expected, the woman was stopped by spearheads looming close to her face in a sudden motion. The speed in which they stopped her was impressive enough, but she wasn't here looking for a fight. Raising her arms in defense, Morene spoke.
"I am here to discuss relations with king Bowser."
One of the Koopas nodded, but they kept their spears trained on the woman instead, having to point a large degree upwards to aim at her neck just in case. Rolling her eyes, Morene understood why this was necessary. Slowly, they backed into the door behind them, opening it with an ear-scratching creak. The huntress took no time at all to continue walking, being very careful not to make any sudden movements. As it turns out, she was right; the giant turtle of a man was indeed looming over the ruins of the previous battle he had commanded.
Morene didn't get a good look at him until just now, but he was significantly larger than the rest of his soldiers, strangely so. Not to mention the threatening spikes surrounding almost every portion of his shell. The woman couldn't help but smile at how he had to pull that look off in order to look intimidating, but... That's not why she was here.
"Your highness?"
RE: Storm the Castle - Ebonywood Hellscythe - 12-03-2017
There weren't many books in the library - it seemed meagre compared to the selection from the castle back home. But, this was the most books she'd seen since she ran away. Heck, she'd barely seen a handful of books between then and now. Ebony's mind span, swimming through the wondrous collection of possibilities. There were so many cool things that could be uncovered by opening the right tome, surely. The Steppes was a land of fire and ash, for there not to be at least something like that would be an insult to the place. She stiffened, holding Summer steady by her side. They had a task. And she needed to do her part to have any chance of getting home. Cool and interesting knowledge could come later.
For a moment, she considered releasing Summer from her magic before smirking. He hadn't asked her to let go, so she wouldn't. She grinned in a mixture of determination and amusement. She and Summer had fought hordes of darklings, this was nothing. For the first time since coming to the Omniverse, her quest to return home felt tangible, rather than a vague hope. Somewhere among the books was the key to her quest. She felt it, a strong feeling stirred in her heart, and despite having found it, she knew it had to be there.
Her eyes scanned over the signs, examining the layout. History. Magic. Military. And a smaller section that looked to contain detailed maps. She figured, if anything, her objective lied along those three bookshelves. It seemed unlikely that they would be any information in the mathematics, science, art, music, food, or fictional areas. Although, there were gaps in the rows, many of the books lied slanted to the side. That combined with the thick layer of dust suggested little focus had gone into maintaining it. The prospect of books being misplaced wasn't lost on her, but there was nothing she could do about it.
Jerkily, she moved Summer until his upper torso was level with the top two history shelves. Ebony crouched down, looking at those at the bottom. "Let's start with this one."
"On it boss," Summer saluted, looking down at her.
It didn't take long for them to build up a routine of sorts. Summer and Ebony would each take a book, skim through it, and ultimately find nothing useful. Summer tended to read faster, or simply get bored quicker, and toss his book to the side, which Ebony would catch with her magic and move onto a growing pile. Ebony would do the same with her own, once she was done with it - but with plenty of books left she had yet to lose hope. Every so often, one of them would find a book that looked like it might be promising, and Ebony set it off to the side for later.
Monotonous. Dull. Efficiency.
She hummed lightly, moving her body to the tune to lighten the mood as they shifted to the next bookcase. Military, with some maps mixed in. It sounded happy, and also a bit random, like something made up on the spot. Perhaps more like a sailor song, than something Summer might have expected from her. Nonetheless, he joined in. Consciously or otherwise, he eventually picked up the pattern of notes and subtly added his own deeper twist. Without thinking about it, Ebony put more effort into her own voice, almost singing words with a faint mumble - but too focused on the books to realise.
...until she failed to notice one Summer dropped, and it hit her square on the head.
She yelped, dropping him accidentally due to the momentary lapse of concentration. He stumbled for a moment, but given he was already in a standing position, and less than a metre off the ground, he was able to recover.
"S-sorry. I should have been paying attention."
Quote:Short-ish. Was sitting on it for a while and didn't really know what to write next. Figured I'd post it now since I'm on 300rp and you've been waiting on me fore a while. Sorry about that Summer.
RE: Storm the Castle - Morene Fellon - 12-15-2017
The gates, almost twenty feet tall, made the almost typical creaking sound that was loud that anybody nearby would feel it in their chest. Still, Morene stood stationary, waiting for the koopalings threatening her with spearpoints for their cue to move a muscle. Quickly, a nod followed from the both of them in unison.
These soldiers seemed to really not trust the woman, despite her efforts in saving the area from dark energy zombies. Either way, Morene walked forward, and King Koopa immediately raised his voice.
"Lower your weapons, you jumpy dolts, she is of no harm."
The order issued by the kappas' higher-up went into effect almost instantaneously. As grateful as Morene should have been, she couldn't help but hold back a chortle at the benevolent king's vocabulary. Dolts? She rolled her eyes in a typical 'oh, you!' sitcom-friendly fashion, trying her hardest to remain serious. She figured at this point that perhaps getting on this man's good side wasn't going to be too difficult. Still, he was of royal heritage, and Morene waited for his eventual follow-up. Bowser spoke once more, making sure he let his presence be known.
"Liberator, explain yourself; I've got a bad headache, like just about everybody who had to deal with that situation."
Bowser's head lowered, and Morene continued to walk forward. A gutsy maneuver, but at this point, neither of them felt as if they needed to be too careful here.
"My name," the huntress responded, "is Morene Fellon of Creedmoor. I know I come in on a very intense time for you and your kingdom, but I simply wish to... perhaps get to know the man indirectly responsible for keeping me and my allies alive."
Morene nodded, continuing with slight hesitation, "A few questions as well, if you don't mind?"
Bowser snorted, smoke coming from his protruding snout.
"Oh, no, you all saved me from at least five more migraines, so you don't owe me much. Even those... darned twerps from... What, the Blades or whatever?" Under her helmet, Morene couldn't help but smile at how not-at-all menacing this kappa was, despite his rather mountainous size.
He kept going, unaware that Morene was standing almost right behind him.
"Eugh, ask away. I've got nothing much better to do until my scouts come back anyways."
"Very well," Morene clasped her armored hands together, making the Koopa jump in surprise, "might you have any information as to why the Liberators not currently residing in your daughter's garrison attacked you?"
"Jeez, take off your helmet bud, this isn't THAT serious..."
Clicking a button beneath her gorget, the woman's helmet folded itself snugly at the back of the bun in her hair. Wide-eyed, Bowser seemed... intrigued. A girl was talking to him the whole time? Not even Rosalina was that... wide. Shaking his head, Bowser attempted to respond accordingly.
"Er... No, we don't have much of anything. Unless you plan on knockin' 'em down a size or two, I don't feel as if they're much of a threat anyways," Bowser sighed, looking over with full confidence that statement was a true one.
The huntress was almost disappointed at the answer, but she didn't expect much else in all honesty. After all, who would follow the intentions of some random mischievous demon-boy with almost no discipline?
...Well, Morene mentally corrected herself, Kuzuru was a power-hungry Prime who didn't care for the lives of his very own teammates, so perhaps her and Bowser were a bit too quick to jump to that conclusion. Either way, now wasn't the time to worry about that. She paused, only to come up with another short question to ask the king.
"In that case, I'll lighten the mood, perhaps? Where do you get the time to build these structures? They're quite pretty."
Bowser's rather large eyebrows perked up at the question. The innocence of it was... strange, needless to say. It's almost like she wasn't here to discuss professional matters with the man. If asked, Morene more than likely would have shamelessly responded with a definite 'of course.' Besides, Morene herself needed something wholesome to contrast with the terribly and literally heated chaos of the Ashen Steppes.
"Uh..." Bowser looked away, almost flattered. Making a rather awkward expression, Morene didn't even let the kappa try to answer that.
"Hah, you don't need to answer that, 'twas a bit strange of me! I honestly don't have much else to ask you at the moment."
"...Eh," the Koopa replied, "I think I just... enjoy how orderly big ol' castles are, ignoring the whole feel-like-a-king aspect of it. Which is most DEFINITELY why, don't mistake yourself."
Morene let out a bit of a chuckle.
"Surely," the huntress held her chin, "it's a bit difficult getting around some of these garrisons while some of your soldiers are so short-statured, no?"
Surprisingly enough, king Bowser himself responded with a hearty laugh of his own, however short lived.
"Tell me about it; it probably wasn't a good idea to give my children responsibility making an entire defense fortress, but I gotta spoil 'em every once in a while."
As Morene expected, looking onto the king, the smile that was just on his face quickly faded as he looked onto the rubble before him.
A short moment of silence followed. Looking back, the guards previously pointing pikes at her stood still at the gates, almost like marble statues. It reminded Morene very quickly that she was somewhere safe for once. Standing at the edge of the garrison's porch, Bowser himself stayed quiet, letting out a short sigh. It didn't take long for the armored woman beside him to take a seat, however horribly dangerous it was to sit down at the edge of the roof of a structure about four-hundred feet in the air. Not as if the huntress cared; she was sure both her and the kappa could have survived falls much greater than that.
For a short moment in time, Morene felt good. Even if she was nowhere near home, she had somewhere to stay for a while. There was something reassuring that, yes, despite there being a literal benevolent turtle-king next to her, he still seemed to enjoy the smaller things in life.
"Hm," Morene perked up, "I need to go check on Ebony and Summer soon enough. Do you mind if I take my leave, your highness?"
"Go ahead, but, do me a favor? Just call me king Bowser. All that other stuff is a bit... much, yeah."
Giggling a bit more, Morene nodded her head, slowly raising herself upright and taking her leave.
As she continued to walk off, saying farewell to the king before her, Morene looked down at her wrist as she took note of the Liberator aid still beeping gently on her wrist, reminding her once more that this job she committed herself to was far from over.
RE: Storm the Castle - Summer - 12-18-2017
Useless...
The back and front covers of the book fell together once again as Summer quickly finished skimming through it. That one had been a list of recipes, ingredients, measurements, etc. Just a plain old cookbook, nothing vital to their search. He hummed unconsciously, making a small little tune to match Ebony’s as he shelved the book. His fingers danced over the cover and pressed down on the edge of the adjacent book, and with a swift, practiced motion, he slid it free. Dust flew as he pried the book open and began to thumb through the pages. His greenish-grey eyes flicked over the words, taking in as much information as they could as quickly as they could. He caught references to legends, gods, myths, and all manners of things pertaining to them as he skimmed through. Folklore, if his quick glimpse was to be trusted. Specific to the Steppes, possibly? Or perhaps the Omniverse as a whole. Either way, it could prove useful.
Slamming the covers closed again, the spirit spoke a canned response to let Ebony know he was done with one, and tossed it haphazardly towards her. What a nice little system they had. Skim over everything, weed out the irrelevant, and set aside the supposedly relevant first. Skim, judge, toss. Ebony would throw hers directly onto the pile, and Summer would toss his to her first. Of course, all good things come to an end.
A half-startled half-hurt yelp escaped the young mage, and her telekinetic grip on the monster faltered. The invisible hand suddenly opened up and Summer found himself plummeting back to the ground. His boots thudded loudly against the stone flooring, the shock from his short but unexpected fall rattling through his legs. A momentary, stinging soreness coursed through his muscles with it, but that pain quickly faded away. The storm spirit swiftly straightened back up, recovering from his surprise fall in an instant, and turned to face the girl, a perplexed and mildly concerned look on his face.
"S-sorry...” Ebony mumbled before he managed to meet her gaze, rubbing a spot on the top of her head. “I should have been paying attention.”
“Are...” The spirit’s unease fell away immediately, replaced by a cheeky smile. “Are you okay?” He asked, mostly because it would have been rude not to. Joviality, and a bit of a giggle, hid behind his pseudo-worried question.
“I-I’m fine...” she stuttered, face turning a light shade of red as his quiet laugh became apparent.
“Well that’s good!” Any and all pretense of concern was instantly thrust aside and his voice was peppy as ever. He half-skipped forward, towards the book pile on the other side of the timid magician. Just as he stepped past her, his right hand jumped up, cooled by his wintry powers. He playfully ruffled her hair beneath her hood, his light touch chilled whatever bruise she may have had. With his subtle concern shown, he dropped his hand back to his side, and stopped in front of the pile they’d gathered. “I think we’ve got enough to work with for now,” he said as he turned back towards her, smiling like nothing was out of the ordinary. “Even though it may not seem like a lot, it’ll still take a while to get through. What do you think?”
RE: Storm the Castle - Ebonywood Hellscythe - 12-31-2017
"Sure," she nodded, splitting the pile of books in half with her magic so each of them had their own stack. The top of hers was about the general geography of the area - hopefully, containing some useful maps. Pulling a pair of chairs towards them with her magic, she guided Summer into one and sat down on the other. Stretching, she kicked her legs out, tapping her heels on the floor as she lazily held the book in front of her face with a basic spell. The pages turned automatically once she was done, although she mostly skimmed, slowly making her way through the book.
Nothing.
There were occasional vague references to Omni, and a general claim that there was some gate, but nothing more. It was vague and cryptic, like the flavour text one might find on a fictional map rather than something actually informative. It didn't even say where the gate was, or what it looked like. Just that to get there they'd have to 'venture deep into the caves and brave what lurked below'. Which caves? Given that there were hundreds, if not thousands, of caves in the Steppes, it would be impossible to locate the right one. Ebony grunted, leaning on Summer's shoulder and rotating the book in the air, examining some text under her scrutinising gaze. She huffed, placing it by her side.
Then instantly jolted, sitting up straight just when Summer had shifted to accommodate her. Hurridly, she yanked a book out from the middle of Summer's pile, remembering something in her light bulb moment. She flipped through it quickly, eventually landing on a page detailing 'The Gorons'. If what this said was correct, they'd been travelling around the Ashen Steppes for a while. So...
"Hey, Summer?" Ebony looked to the side, glancing towards him only to see him already studying her, apparently noticing her shift in behaviour. She blushed from the proximity between their locking eyes and scooted away slightly in her chair.
"Yes?" He kept his head calm and steady, suppressing his amusement to listen to what she had to say.
"I was thinking. If even the map books don't say where it is, outside of it being somewhere underground, it might be better to just ask someone - like this guy." She spun the book around, holding up a sketch of a stubby bearded dwarf-like creature. He had very big and strong arms, and short - yet muscley - legs. His fists were almost as large as his face. "The book says these people have been travelling the area for a while - so they'll definitely know where to look."
She beamed up at Summer, expecting praise. But before he could deliver any, she continued. "That also brings up another point. If someone did know about the gate thing, then information like that would spread around quickly - unless they went through and managed to get home, so didn't come back, I guess." She paused. "Or if they were really reclusive and didn't tell anyone - like the Gorons. I mean, if someone was going to go to the trouble to write a book about it, they'd probably tell people as well. So if there's any accessible information, these guys probably have it."
Summer blinked, thinking. It was a good lead - or at least, their best one yet. He was a tad tentative to cast away the books they'd found just to run off on a merry adventure, no matter how sound her logic was - but at least one half of him did want to stretch his legs. "That's pretty smart. You know where to find them?"
"I think I know how to find them," Ebony grinned. "Here," she gestured to some lines of text detailing the rough areas they Gorons tended to pass. While it was mostly random, and they always lived on the move as a travelling tribe, they could probably narrow them down in a day or so if they got lucky. At least, it would probably take about a day with Morene's motorbike. Ebony wasn't sure about walking speed. She'd struggle to walk more than five to ten miles without tiring - living on a boat for years tended to have the effect.
"Alright." Summer idly turned the page of his book, despite not looking at it. "I guess we've got our plan of action. I'm just going to finish reading this first, if that's okay?"
Ebony glanced at his book of mythological creatures and nodded, humming her agreement. While he flipped through the pages, she slotted the rest of the books back on the shelves. It was a quick job, and afterwards, she found her eyes drawn to a black tome with a picture of a white skull on the cover. Instinctively, she opened it up to a random page in the middle and blew off a thin sheen of dust, rubbing her hand over the old pages. She had just enough time to acknowledge some magical looking runes on the cover before the book shook itself out of her hands.
It landed on the hard wooden floor with a disproportionately loud slam, splintering the wood and causing Ebony to yelp in surprise. A bony hand reached out, grabbing her ankle and painfully digging its fingers into her boot. A scream - sadly not a bone-shattering one - cut out of her lips reverberated down skeleton's lone limb. Falling backwards, Ebony flailed, pulling herself away, but also helping the skeleton surge to the surface, a bony blade held in its other hand.
CRACK.
Summer's fist was planted firmly in the centre of its face, sparks of lightning shattering its skull into dust before it had a chance to use its weapon. It recoiled, but didn't seem to care, apparently able to see without its head - but then again, it never had any eyes in the first place.
It ignored Ebony, lunging at Summer, only for him to dodge to the side, shaking his wrist. "Get behind me," he commanded Ebony, leaving no room for negotiation.
She didn't move - not in the direction he wanted. Kicking out with her legs, she slid across the floor until her back pressed against the wall. Two more skeletons had climbed out of the book while the first distracted her friend. They both began walking towards her mechanically. Deal with the weaker targets first - then swarm the stronger ones. They possessed the decision making, or some guidance, to make that call.
CRACK.
Summer punched his skeleton in the chest, crumpling its ribcage like paper mache. Yet when he moved to pull his arm out, he found it stuck, lodged between two twisted ribs on the other side. Grunting, he pulled out his whip with his other hand and used it to pull one of the two hunting Ebony towards him. The flexible hide curled around the skeleton's spine, and when Summer jerked hard it caused the skeleton to fly backwards and crash to the ground, falling apart into a pile of bones afterwards once it was relieved of its spinal cord. Before he could make another move, his closer opponent he'd left neglected retaliated with a sloppy swing of its sword, digging it into his shoulder. Summer hissed and used the knowledge from his most recent attack to guide his next movements. Swinging his trapped arm to the side, pivoting about the trapped wrist, he swept his elbow against the spine. Shortly after, that skeleton joined the last casualty as a bone pile. In his brief respite, he held a palm to his wound, stopping the bleeding.
Meanwhile, Ebony muttered to herself, hastily between short and rushed breaths. In near perfect timing, her scythe manifested in her palms, firey purple sparks racing along its length as skeletal claws clashed against it. Her arms were weak and untensed. In only a matter of seconds, her unarmed opponent was almost on top of her. Its knee slammed into her shin, and bony jaws snapped in front of her face. Fueled by fear, her magicks swarmed around her body, engulphing her in flames. By the time they faded, she was left frozen in shock, curled up in a smouldering crater with her scythe and a pile of ash.
Yet, the skeletons didn't wait. Four more had risen in the time it had taken them to slay the last three, and the two bone piles near Summer seemed to be shaking ever so slightly - as if slowly rebuilding themselves piece by piece.
RE: Storm the Castle - Summer - 01-05-2018
Skeletons...
By the gods, he hated skeletons. Undead, mostly consumed corpses, fueled by magic, and nigh unkillable to top it all off. Little could truly stop them; given time, they would rebuild themselves. A sharp breath escaped out through his nose, and his eyes quickly darted around the library. It was all stone, and there was little ventilation, save for a few windows. His power was useless here. The fallen, terrified figure of Ebony flashed through his periphery, pressed against a wall, soot and the ashen remains of one skeletal warrior surrounding her. His eyes flicked back over to the next four fleshless demons that had stumbled out of the book, with more undoubtedly on the way. He didn’t have much time to clean all this up.
Here, in this stony prison, there were no storms to call upon, no wind he could summon up to topple them. The only tools he had were his own two hands, and the limited spells he could generate by himself. Those were his only weapons against a growing horde immortal, nigh unstoppable warriors. A wicked grin crossed his face, and the air around him stirred vaguely to life. He quickly set up a regeneration spell, something that would heal the wounds as they came and let him attack with every ounce of power and fury in his body.
Summer surged forward, falling upon the first of four skeletons, one that had been focused on Ebony, its back turned to him. Bones clattered as the animate dead slammed against the ground, driven into the stone by the storm spirit. The harsh impact rattled his body; bare bones were not a soft thing to land on, but the moment they appeared, all the little bruises created by that fall vanished, healed away by his spell. He swiftly pushed up to his knees and, looming over the fallen undead, he raised his right fist up. With a single, powerful strike, his fist crashed down, annihilating the spine. The bones in his hand splintered and cracked, and shards of spine cut at his skin, but all was healed up in an instant.
As the beast scrabbled helplessly beneath him, his unscathed fist closed around its sternum, and his other hand grabbed hold of its neck. More bone shattered as he tore its rib cage through its spine, and hurled its severed upper half to the other side of the library. The storm spirit sprang to his feet again, just in time to catch glimpse of another shambling undead fling itself towards him. It’s skeletal fingers swiped at him, tearing a bloody gorge through his face, which healed right back up in an instant. Summer took full advantage of its gaffe, left hand grabbing its neck and right grabbing its swinging arm. One hand effortlessly ripped the arm clean off, and the other crushed the spine with little strain.
The skeleton fell still, and Summer sprang right into action, towards the next in line. He only had half the healing potential he started with, but that didn’t matter, there were only two.... His eyes flicked over to the book.
Correction. Five left. In the time it’d taken him to kill those two, three more had descended onto the material plane. He sighed heavily. Honestly, it shouldn’t have taken him that long to kill two skeletons, but if they were popping up faster than he could dispose of them....
“Sonny...” he muttered.
“I’m on it~” his other half sang. Misty light poured out of their shared body, quickly coalescing and forming the sun spirit’s body. A smug smile adorned Sonny’s face, even as one of the newly-formed skeleton’s swords descended upon his unguarded shoulder. The steel simply bounced off his being, leaving him unharmed. “Just give me a few minutes and all this will be contained.”
“We don’t have a few minutes...” Summer growled, storming forward and tearing the next undead asunder.
“We always have a few minutes when I’m here,” Sonny stated, the air stirring around him as he began to weave a neutralizing spell.
“We have a few minutes he says as we’ve got eighty fucking skeletons knocking on our door!” He mocked at first, then yelled gesturing to the horde of undead that had grown by three more since Sonny had appeared. Two of which wailed on the sun spirit, an act which he didn’t seem to notice.
“So?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow at his other half.
“So?” Summer reiterated, his voice as scathing as he could make it. “I’ve gotta kill all of these motherfuckers before they fuck up literally everything.”
“Yeah...” Sonny mumbled. “That sounds like a personal problem. Good luck!” he cheered, closing his eyes as he continued to weave his magic.
You fuckin....” Summer muttered half a threat to himself as he turned away from his other half.
“S-Summer?” Ebony’s hesitant voice called out. At this point, she was obviously too terrified to fight back. The young mage was slowly being hauled out of the library, hoisted above the shoulders of three skeletons, a fourth trailing along behind them, pointing its scimitar towards anything that moved. Fortunately, all the weird little kappa things scurried out of the way soon as a blade turned towards them, so there were no unnecessary casualties.
Summer huffed, electrical power welling up inside of him. He trailed behind, eying up the group. He should have been able to hit at least two of the undead beasts if his calculations were correct. Two of the ones carrying Eb lined up as they traipsed down the hallway. If he was lucky or timed his strike right, he could get a third too. That third being the one that wandered too and fro, threatening anything that even dared to look at the formation funny. Thankfully, his lightning was immediate and devastating.
The storm spirit clenched his fist, holding on to the charge, watching, waiting. That last damnable undead wandered behind the group, towards a kappa pressed terrified against one of the walls, and he grinned. His right hand shot up.
KRA-KOW
A bolt of radiant electricity sparked down the corridor, piercing through three bodies. A tremendous, echoing explosion shook the very foundation of the castle, and a brilliant flash enveloped everything in sight. Devastating, burning pain consumed Summer’s arm, overpowering his healing spell and leaving it numb. The deafened, blinded spirit surged forward nonetheless, confident in his ability to run straight in spite of his disability. His senses quickly cleared up, and he quickly found himself just about atop the last standing skeleton, the rest having been blasted to kingdom come. Miscellaneous bones and bone dust were now strewn about the empty corridor, though rattling faintly, as though the three annihilated undead were still trying to put themselves back together.
Once more, lighting welled up in the spirit’s right arm as he thundered down the hall. The last skeleton rattled as it tried to maintain a hold on the terrified form of Ebony, barely able to hold her up. It took one, tottering step away as it tried to flee from the storming spirit.
CRACK
A brilliant flash and bang, weaker than the last flooded the corridor. Summer’s fist shot forward in an underhand punch, slamming against the skeleton’s spine. Lightning coursed through his already-burnt arm, scorching it further, and his hand shattered beneath the blow. His foe’s torso disintegrated beneath the strike, not only its spine, but its hips and a part of its ribs disappearing in one tremendous blow. In an instant, the monster’s vision had clear up again, just in time to marvel as his boney enemy ragdolled away, both halves flying in vaguely different directions. He leaped forward one last step, cupping his arms below the now-falling Ebony.
“So...” he said as he caught her, smiling. He stumbled forward a few more steps, right arm throbbing with immense pain. He swiftly regained his footing and straightened up. Though his arm still screamed against him holding her, he didn’t show it on his face. “Looks like they had a bone to pick with you.”
“Umeehhhh...” The young mage stammered something that sounded like a cross between to filler words, her face turning bright red. "Y-yeah?"
“Wanna help me finish them off?”
RE: Storm the Castle - Morene Fellon - 01-11-2018
It didn't take Morene very long at all to identify that the loud magical noises coming from one of the garrison's rooms were definitely the doing of Ebony and Summer. Upon opening the door to what seemed to be a library however, the woman was ever so slightly astounded by the sight of the two youngins locked in combat against what seemed to be living skeletal systems of human bodies.
A hum escaped the woman's lips as the doors to the library creaked open, masked by the rattling of bones and glistening of arcane powers.
They have those here too? Morene piqued. The huntress expected such creatures to emerge in some form or fashion considering the striking similarities between this realm and her homeland, but the woman certainly didn't expect Ebony to get herself in trouble with actual forces of the undead. Finished taking in the scenery within that mere second of thought, Morene boosted herself forward, feeling the heat of the fuel in her thrusters burst into a rocketing blue flame.
Quite suddenly, as Morene instinctively felt the need to pull from her Omnilium supply her massive poleaxe, the knightly woman made the rational decision to wield a weapon she hasn't held ever since she was thrown into these treacherous lands; her greatsword.
The heft of the power-fielded blade was a familiar feeling to the huntress, and for good reason. Her own physical strength, enhanced by her mechanical armor, made grasping at the sword's blade extremely easy to accomplish. Landing on the floor beneath her after boosting herself forwards, Morene took the weak of the blade controlled now more easily by her left hand, watched as a skeletal warrior clumsily approached her, and swiftly hooked whatever neck it had left, twisting the scrawny beast onto the ground.
All that could be heard after that was the shattering of the skeleton's head, the pommel of Morene's sword slammed straight through what would be the undead's nose.
"You two..." she cooed, looking at the other Liberators with expressions of slight surprise on each of their faces. "Did I not warn you both about getting into trouble?"
Wrenching the blade out of the monster's fully exposed skull, Morene looked up with a sigh, expecting to begin swinging at maybe a few more of the skeletal soldiers.
"I-I'm sorry!" Ebony shouted in response, attempting to hide her shame after the huntress expressed her slight agitation. Following this of course, Morene realized after looking up, that there were about...
Ten...Twenty...No, thirty perhaps... The woman counted in her head, mumbling the words as she did so. It took only a fraction of a second for her to realize how utterly awful these odds were. She shook her head in response to the conclusion, wincing intensely.
Breathing in, she scanned the literal blob of dirty white and rotten yellow bones approaching her and her allies. Already, she saw Summer taking the bulk of the attacks, which Morene did not like especially. Strangely enough, Ebony wasn't harmed in any way, and no weapons of any sort were currently being swung at her. Morene concluded it would be best to help Summer avoid possible death, so she did so swiftly. Launching herself forwards, Morene landed once more behind a group of skeles not even bothering to form a line.
A slight knot tied in the woman's stomach as she saw how practically disconnected the undead seemed with her presence. It was not anxiety or nervousness, no... Morene knew exactly what the feeling was as she guarded her right pauldron with her hefty power-sword.
She was eager.
Stepping to the side, Morene launched a wide sweeping attack, barely feeling any resistance as the creatures of bone and ash slammed against each other one by one. Three of the poor, lost souls collided with the ground, various assortments of their torso shattering as they collided with the floor. She had to admit, as much as she tried to avoid it, beating up so many brainless monsters had a satisfying kick to it with her sword in hand.
Noticing the remaining five or six undead warriors wailing on Summer too far away for any notable melee offense, Morene did what any reasonable woman of her stature would have done at that very moment in time.
Flipping her sword around, the woman grasped at the sword's blade once more, both of her gauntleted hands wrapped firmly around the steel encased in a raw power-field, feeling no pain and enduring no injury. At once, the knightly huntress used the thrusters planted firmly on the backside of her Cerantium alloy cuirass to rocket herself forwards a mere short burst. With the momentum gained, Morene slammed one of her steel boots onto the floor, striding forwards in a full-sprint. The mere three steps it took for Morene to reach the skeletal warriors was a blur to almost anybody watching.
Looking up, all Summer could see as he continued to channel his spell was the sight of his comrade smashing her pauldrons against his assailants, the force alone pressuring him to step back ever so slightly.
"Took you long enough--" the storm mage began, but only for a short moment.
"I don't want to hear it, my child!" Morene almost happily interjected, only to follow it up with a disturbingly low voice only masked further by her helmet's audio distortion, "I am a very busy woman."
Standing herself straight, Morene flourished her sword now acting as an improvised club, watching as two skeletons that somehow survived that intense shoulder bashing shakily stood themselves back up, along with another few creatures approaching from any one of her sides that she looked.
From a distance, Ebony was... ever so slightly confused at the way her borderline maternal figure held her greatsword. Of course, the scythe-wielding girl jumped at the sudden noise of what sounded like glass and stone breaking thereafter, watching as shattered bits of bone flew upon colliding with the quillions of her swinging generator-blade. She had to admit, something about how primitive it seemed was ever so slightly cool. The action served to break the small hooded girl from her inevitable reality of being skele-'napped, even for a short moment.
To Morene, the logic behind her attacks were easy enough to understand. It was rather difficult to slice into bone, even with the assistance of a magnetic field of energy vibrating the steel of the blade at hyper-frequencies, but it was far easier to smash into it. Again, the feeling of ease it took to swing at the undead's faces, or lack thereof, was rewarding on it's own.
As the woman continued to swing, impressively using her footwork to dwindle the skeletal forces in front of her, the lady of steel eventually became overwhelmed at her flanks. Those slight feelings of satisfaction stopped very abruptly as she felt a sharp pain inject itself at her armpits. A small groan of pain followed, and Morene couldn't help but feel a slight bit of shame for not watching those tiny gaps between her alloy-plate armor with how many overhead swings she was delivering onto her foes.
In a faint display of anger, Morene twisted herself around, tanking through the violent reaction of her nervous system, reeling her giant power-field gauntlet on her left hand backwards. Almost instantly appeared a blinding flash of blue energy that a nearby Summer would quickly recover from seeing, only to find the skull of the skeleton that had shanked her with it's sharp claws completely obliterated. The knight-errant seemed to enunciate her intentions clearly afterwards.
"PERISH!"
RE: Storm the Castle - Ebonywood Hellscythe - 01-20-2018
Quote:Starts just after Summer's last post.
Ebony had nodded affirmatively to Summer's question after finding herself in his arms, not trusting herself to speak through her confusion. His grip had lessened, gently lowering her to her feet where she stood, aided by the scythe she resummoned after. With shaky legs, she followed behind him as Summer took on the brunt of the attacks, slowly inching a bit closer to try and aid him against the countless mob. There was no way she could number them all quickly enough - a soldier or anyone with practice could probably give a quick estimate, but all Ebony knew was that there were a lot more skeletons than she or Summer could handle.
She swung her scythe aimlessly towards nearest skeleton she could reach, smashing its ribs off with the staff and continuing the sweeping motion into another, taking out both of their spines. Spells were too slow; for something weaker like this, it was much simpler to flail her scythe with unnatural strength. And, it (hopefully) meant that she could react quick enough to help Summer.
The skeletons came in waves. Just as they'd managed to thin out one, another reinforced, pushing them back. They didn't trickle in one at a time, so their proficient use of their increased numbers only made things harder.
Curiously, just like before, the skeletons never seemed to be focused on hurting her. Some reached out and tried to grab her, but Summer always managed to tear them apart if she didn't first. Thus, she was much more focused on trying the help her friend. Swords swung towards him, and there was little she could do to block them. Compared to his offensive progress, she was a liability. But, so far, he'd managed to avoid or retaliate. There were a lot of skeletons overwhelming them both, enough for them to get in each other's way. Yet, their army was still building and building and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
Another wave was forming, ready to fill the gaps being made. After a moment considering if there was anything she could do to slow its approach, besides trying to run through the skeletal ranks, Ebony channelled her magic into her scythe and began pulling it back like a baseball bat. Icy frost covered the silver metal of the blade, and she felt the chill spread to herself. It was almost calming - like Summer. "C-cover me for a second." She was trying something new here. She wasn't as familiar with ice and wordless casting, but it had felt more natural to use her scythe as a spell focus.
"On it," Summer grunted. Protecting her wasn't hard. The skeletons weren't trying to hurt her, to not much changed, although he did shift in front of her a bit more, blocking the path of the staggering group of bones. Fists crashed and lashed out, knocking many to the ground, only for some to pry themselves up. With a strong punch, Summer shunted one back into two others, temporarily clearing the area in front of Ebony so he could fend for himself. Luckily, that gave her just the room she needed to execute her spell - if a rough wave of mana could even be called that.
Without missing the moment, Ebony swung her scythe, the blade trailing behind the staff and leaving a frigid trail of frozen moisture in the air. Before her swing even completed, a brilliant white-blue light shone, rippling through the ground between the skeletons like an arctic tidal wave. The next group of skeletons had formed, with many in reserve behind them, and had just begun to start moving to close the gaps when the frost crescent hit their feet. A large rift of ice sprung out from the floor, solid and stalwart, uncaring about the mass of bones wailing into it. Some skeletons tried to stab their blades into it, or swing, but the ice was far too solid and strong, simply resulting in small chips off the top of the curved wall, or weapons finding themselves stuck. The others began the slow treck around, obstructed by both the wall and their brethren.
But, crucially, it disconnected the few skeletons in front of Summer and Ebony from their allies. "Good job, Eb." Ebony could only smile at the praise, temporarily too out of breath to offer a reply.
Adrenaline rushed through the storm mage, after felling so many it wasn't hard for him to dispatch them quickly and close the gap Ebony made. Yet, as fast as he smashed, there always seemed to be more, as if they were coming out faster and faster.
"Hurry up Sonny," Summer grunted, before receiving a similar reply as before.
With a wall and bookcases causing the gap on the left of the ice wall to be narrower, Summer headed to the right, faced with a densely packed crowd all trying to push through at the same time. The first that came at him was without a sword, having left it wedged inside the ice. Skillfully, he dodged the skeleton's bony claw, snapped off its arm, spun it around, and used its flailing torso like a shield after smashing his elbow into its head, knocking it clean off.
Skeletal arms flung themselves over the ice, trying to claw their way over the top. They succeeded, partially, and the ice began to crack over the sheer force of so many bodies pushing against it. However, the moment they pulled their way over the top, they fell forward down the sharp decline, crashing straight into the ground whereby they soon found the butt of Ebony's scythe shattering their spines.
A disembodied hand grabbed Summer's leg, but he quickly shook it off, only for another to take its place. Lifting his foot, he stomped down, crushing it.
"Look out!"
Ebony's voice cut through the air, and for a fleeting moment after, everything seemed to be silent.
Crack.
The ice shattered, cracking into smaller chunks before getting stomped on by the freed skeletal mob, disintegrating into a frosty mess under the stampede. Summer responded quickly, pushing his 'shield' into the mob as many fell forward on top of each other and swiftly joining the fray - but that wasn't the main issue. That hadn't been what Ebony was warning about.
Behind them both, many of the previously broken skeletons had reformed - at least those without a shattered spine. Some were missing arms, legs, heads or ribs, but all of them were closing in, this time ignoring Ebony completely as they moved to surround Summer - apparently deciding that whatever they wanted with her would be easier without her friend around.
Using her magic, she tried to shove some away, making them ragdoll and clearing a slight path to try and pull back. Even Summer couldn't fight those behind him at the same time as the ones in front. She partially succeeded, before perking up at a familiar sound.
Morene's boosters.
Ebony almost let out a sigh of relief. Morene would know what to do, and Sonny's plan still hadn't come to fruition yet. The armoured woman had arrived just in time to move through the provisional exit Ebony had made, eliminating the need for it with her sword.
Stammering an apology for the mess she'd accidentally created, she hid deeper under her cloak, as if that would protect her from the skeletons better. She tried to keep helping, swinging her scythe and damaging any that came near to her, but as the fight progressed they all started to give her a wider and wider circle of space to herself. She heard Summer and Morene speak to each other, but she was too focused on trying to avoid the skeletons to listen - not trusting the distance they gave her one bit.
The battle continued, neither Summer nor Morene were able to reach the book through the horde, let alone get to it. Ebony tried as well, at first attempting to lift it with her magic, but her mana simply washed over it without picking it up. Using the space the skeletons gave her, she tried to simply force her way through, swinging her scythe wildly and hoping they mob would part for her. They didn't and instead sensed an opportunity to try and abduct her again, five of them waiting until she was close, then all lashing out at once.
Ebony retreated, only just escaping from their grabby hands as the bones pawed at the air, wrists twisting and turning in unnatural ways. She'd yelped in surprise, before being unable to hear her own voice over what sounded like the shattering of glass - except it was bone, with Morene being the one to smash it. Morene's attacks confused her. She was sure that wasn't how you were supposed to use a sword, but it seemed to be working so she didn't comment.
Trying to contribute again, she kept an eye out for Summer and Morene's flanks, shoving skeletons away one by one with her magic. Another always took its place, but it still brought them something important. Time.
And, in that moment when Ebony was halfway through another push, breaths laboured and shallow, that a bright white light emanated from Sonny, arcing through the air towards the book.
Whatever he did, it worked, locking down the magicks flowing through the old tome. No more skeletons climbed out, leaving a finite number on the battlefield. This, they could deal with.
Or would be able to if everything didn't flip right upsidedown in that moment.
Seeming to sense that their time was limited, the skeletons acted increasingly frantically. With no reason to protect the book, they all turned on the offensive, throwing themselves at Summer and Morene whilst simultaneously cutting them both off from Ebony. It was mindless, with no sense of self-preservation. A pure distraction as the douses of skeletons flung themselves at the duo.
Ebony was left unprepared, having grown accustomed to being left alone, she hadn't been expecting bony fingers to grab one of her arms from behind. Due to the force of the pull, and her not being braced, her scythe fell from her fingertips. Before it even hit the floor, more hands clasped around the same arm, with some grabbing her other. She hadn't even noticed when they'd managed to get so many behind her, having been so focused on trying to help her friends.
She thrashed, and the heard the crack of an arm or two breaking, but there were too many. With four - one per limb - she might have been able to escape. But with multiple ones grabbing each of her arms, and then more clawing at her kicking legs, she didn't have a chance.
"Summer, Morene, h-help!" Calling out over the clunking of bones, she screamed and flailed, making a surprising amount of noise with her emptying lungs before it cut out, leaving her gasping vainly. The bones were hard and rough, so while her boots protected her lower legs from them, her wrists hurt. The first time was gentler, and confusing enough for her not to even considering struggling until it was too late. Here, they were harshly dragging and forcibly tearing her away from her friends. She didn't know what they wanted but had heard plenty of rumours about necromantic rituals.
Not receiving an immediate reply she could hear, she found herself being pulled further and further away, similar to the first time but with a larger portion of the army carrying or guarding her. Two led the way, and the rest either carried her at shoulder height or protecting the mob's flank, ready to fight Summer and Morene if they escaped their current battle.
Breathe.
That was the usual advice, and she tried to, she'd been trying to the whole fight but each one caught in her throat. Faint wisps of purple flame flickered about her body, but besides that her magic was unresponsive. Small specs of bone turned to black upon contact with her fire, but the skeletons held true. Her mana refused to muster at her commands. It was there, she could feel it bubbling under her skin. But ever since she'd torn off the suppressing choker, it'd been much more unfocused than usual.
Gritting her teeth, she tried to cast a normal spell, hoping to have it explode in her fingertips. Her magic wouldn't hurt her. But, the moment she started chanting she received a painful elbow to the gut, causing her to cough, splutter, and lose concentration entirely. Whatever their plan was, they'd apparently lost interest in trying to do so without hurting her - although if she wasn't so distracted by the pain, she'd have noticed one skeleton shove her aggressor.
She grimaced, unable to say anything and trying her best to take in steady breaths. Lightheaded and panicking, she attempted again to direct the swirling mana towards something. Chanting was her usual method, but that wasn't viable. Other times, she'd used her scythe as a focus. And the remainder usually happened accidentally and she didn't know why or how. Unless it was immediately life-threatening (or seemed like it), her magic rarely lashed out like that. Apparently being carried towards what she thought was her doom didn't count for that.
If she wasn't so scared, she'd almost be frustrated at it. But the flood of thoughts and fears and feelings of despair flowing through her mind saw to that. She just wanted to go home. Why did this have to be so hard?
Faintly, her pointless struggling lessened, and the beginnings of a few tears began to trickle from her eyes before the dam broke completely. Small salty droplets left trails down her face, like little snails, as she sobbed under her breath. Whimpering, she scrunched her eyelids shut, the clunking footsteps harassing her ears.
Too long. That was the duration of her 'transportation', although it was most likely just minutes. The skeletons may have loosened their grips in that time - she'd stopped struggling - but that didn't make it more tolerable or abate her fears. Almost paralysed inside her own body. Had they let go, she wouldn't have been able to run.
Being surprisingly gentle, the skeletons lowered her to the ground, leaving her in a sitting position on the cold, hard, ground. She opened her eyes, hearing a faint commotion in the distance and not recognising her surroundings. She assumed she was still in the castle, but this looked to be one of the deeper, lower levels if the lack of windows was any indication.
Shattered bones littered the corners of the room, and charred skeletons littered the edges. The light was dim, with only a few candles illuminating the room, but she could make out the stairs, a large oak wood table, some chairs, and what looked like parchment poking over the edge of the table. Shadows lurked and shifted around the room, forming all sorts of strange shapes as the faint flickering light shone through the gaps in the skeletons.
Had Ebony tried to stand up, she would have felt a bony hand press down on each of her shoulders. But she didn't, and instead sat there in the middle of the skeletal cult, rubbing her eyes and trying not to cry.
"W-w-why me?"
She managed to force out a couple of words, voice quiet and shaky. She didn't get any words in response, only the chattering of cracked, decaying teeth. The black book was forced into her hands shortly after, already open to the page with the skeletons. She tried to let go, instinctively wanting to toss it away, but her own mana refused. The moment her hand let go, fiery strands of dark purple connected her to the book, pulling it back into her palms and glueing it there. It felt hot, but not painfully so.
The disturbance outside got louder, and some skeletons rushed to join or investigate, all while the patterns in the book began to glow. Dark purple overrode the dim candles, radiating light throughout the room from a large and ornate hexagram spread over two pages. It got brighter and brighter until it hurt to look at, but she couldn't tear her eyes away. Both of them locked to the image, shifting from her natural green to red.
Small rumbles spread through the floor, some coming from up the stairs and others from beneath the ground, and a similar dark purple hexagram appeared on the floor, with Ebony sitting in the middle of it. As with its counterpart in the book, it shone too, seemingly applying the colour filter to the room.
Pages of the book began to turn, and more skeletons frantically threw themselves in the way of the staircase. Ebony didn't notice, and each turning page seemed to leave a wisp of shadow behind. Piece by piece, bone by bone, it formed quickly before her eyes, connected to the hard leathery back of the book. It turned, flexing and curling into a fist, then opened again with the palm facing Ebony.
It sized her up like a snake, rippling back and forth, grabbing at the air between them.
Lunging, the shadow plunged straight into her heart.
She screamed.
Quote:I did a post, guys. Are you proud of me? (PM me or whatever of the deets. I'd assume Summer+Sonny/Morene will burst in right where my post ended.)
RE: Storm the Castle - Summer - 01-24-2018
Ebony’s cry for help pierced through the library, over the clattering of bones and the shrieking of the undead. Summer’s heart nearly stopped, and time seemed to slow to a crawl. Skeletons surged around him and Morene in seemingly slow motion, clawing at them, doing everything in their power to hold them back. And just beyond them, barely visible through the cracks in their ribs, he could see the young mage, thrashing and screaming, trying desperately to escape their bony grasp.
In an instant, and absolute, cold fury enveloped the spirit of storms. A raging roar slipped from his lips, and he stormed forward. Only for all too many sets of bony digits to grab onto him. Their skeletal physique was no match for his overwhelming strength, but nevertheless it bought them the time they so desperately needed. Summer grabbed at everything within his grasp, crushing bone and tearing them limb from limb in a brutal display of power and rage. Their barren claws scratched and slashed at him, carving shallow grooves into his flesh, tearing apart his clothing. And neither side relented.
He didn’t get more than a meter away. Morene stuck close behind him, bashing more than her fair share of skulls as well, but even with both of them combined, they weren’t able to catch up to Eb. She was swiftly carted away by a massive horde of skeletons, and there was nothing either of them could do about it.
Fuck That.
Summer was filled with a furious determination. He was not going to let Ebony die on his watch. Even if he had to expend all his mana. Even if he had to tear apart his body for power. Even if he had to strike until his fists fell off. He was not going to let her die.
Electrical adrenaline coursed through the storm spirit’s veins. Bony claws carved at his exposed skin, tearing shallow scores through him, misty blood welling up in his wounds. But he did not let any of them distract him.
KRA-KOW
In an instant his hand shot up, and brilliant, blinding pain seared its way through his arm. His flesh bubbled and boiled, and a massive swath of skeletons simply blew to pieces. Tingling numbness surged through his limb, his ears rang, and white filled his vision, but even in spite of all that, he didn’t falter. More current, more electricity, before his senses had even recovered. His foes continued to claw at him, threatening to tear him apart, rip him so open that he would have no choice but to fall over and die. But he did not falter.
KRA-KOW
Another huge furrow carved through the horde of undead. Lightning scars burned into his right arm, his skin turning a deep, burned red color. Tremendous agony coursed through the spirit’s body, and a sticky wetness began to trickle from his nearly-deaf ears. He simply gritted his teeth, overcome with a pure, desperate focus. He could already feel it, the taxation on his body. His chest heaved with deep breaths, his entire being ached with the strain of his spells. But he was relentless.
KRA-KOW
Another ten seconds, another path of absolute devastation. All feeling disappeared from Summer’s right arm as the lightning rendered it black and lifeless. It hung down uselessly at his side. Both he and Morene continued to press on through the rapidly thinning horde, but not fast enough. Though the spirit of lightning took them out by the tens, as soon as his vision cleared he could see that the horde had already hauled the young girl out of sight.
A curtain of red fell over Summer’s vision, his chest heaving with heavy, tired breaths. Deep crimson coated his face and his clothing. His own blood. Deep, stinging wounds were scoured through every part of his body. Somehow he was still fighting, but still it wasn’t enough. He needed even more power. More devastation. And he knew just the thing.
The chill of winter stirred within the spirit’s body, frigid magics whirling to life. The temperature plummeted, frost and condensation starting to form on his skin. All the blood that coated him froze. A ruinous frost was coming, a sudden snowsquall. In the last moment before the storm hit, the spirit remembered his ally. Morene. Ebony would never forgive him if he did something to her.
“Sorry!” The monster’s voice was gruff, angry, as he leapt on her. The soldier let loose a startled shout that went unheard, her skeleton smashing spree halted in its tracks. But only for a moment.
Wintry winds blasted out from Summer, flowing around Morene thanks to their proximity. The temperature absolutely plummeted, a thin layer of frost managing to form on every single surface despite the usual scorching heat of the Steppes. Creaking and groaning filled the air as the skeletons’ bones fell prey to the rapidly-falling temperature. And suddenly every single undead in the room shattered.
The winter spirit’s grip loosened, and he slid right off of Morene, hitting the ground unsteadily. He swayed in the chilled winter breeze, his legs threatening to give out beneath him. But without even attempting to keep himself upright, he charged forward, down the hallway that the skeletons had carried Ebony down. Every fiber of his body screamed in exhaustion, but such a trivial thing wouldn’t deter him.
He shoved past any straggling skeletons in his way, their numbers too small to stop him. Too much time had been wasted already, he couldn’t waste even a moment. As he bodychecked his way down the hall, their numbers grow larger, denser, all converging around a staircase he hadn’t seen on his initial walk down this hall and to the library. They had something nefarious planned. Something positively necromantic, if the spooky basement dwelling was anything to go by.
Electrical current surged through his one functioning arm as he thundered down the hallway, Morene close behind.
CRACK
His fist surged forward, slamming into the first skeleton. It absolutely blasted to pieces, his fist shattering beneath the impact, electric lightning burning new scars into his arm. His ears were ringing at this point, and ‘permanent’ white spots dotted his vision. Pure agony seeped through his very being, but he readied up another one.
CRACK
Another skeleton disintegrated beneath his fist, beneath his rage. Every single bone in his left hand was crushed to dust. Blood seeped out, through the splintered wounds dotting his fist. He was on the verge of blacking out from the sheer torment coursing through him right down to his bones. It was only his fury that was keeping him going at this point. Beside him, his soldier companion continued to cleave her way through the horde with her poleaxe, just as determined as he was....
CRACK
His fist disappeared in a spray of gore as another foe disappeared. For the first time in a long while, Summer screamed in agony, his seething shout echoing through the very foundation of the castle. Blackness ate away at the corners of his vision, he chest heaved with every breath he took. Every single square inch of his body cried out in pain, threatening to consume him and leave him lifeless on the ground. But he wouldn’t submit to it.
The spirit clenched his teeth, fighting back the encroaching unconsciousness through the sheer force of his rage. He was so close. Just a few more and he could save her. Lightning built up within his body. The last hurrah to blast apart everything in his path. The still scrabbled at him, clawing and biting, tearing him asunder bit by bit, but like hell he was letting them have the last laugh.
And then he heard Ebony scream.
His blood ran cold, and before he even knew what he was doing, he found himself pushing forward, slamming every undead warrior out of the way and shoulder-checking the door right off its hinges. The wood fell away in a moment, the electricity in his body rose to the surface. He had a split-second to analyze the situation. Ebony on the floor with a bolt of energy from a book piercing her chest.
KRA-KOW
A brilliant bolt of electricity flashed out, slamming into the tome, and instantly Summer’s senses were torn asunder. His eardrums burst, his eyes seared, all from his strike. But though he couldn’t see it, he strike had interrupted their ritual. Whatever they had in mind for Ebony had been cut short. He stormed forward blindly, hoping for the best, and fell upon the girl. His only good arm wrapped around her, and her hugged her close to him, tears welling up in his eyes, his blood soaking into her clothes. Every single one of his wounds screamed as he did so, but he didn’t let up. Even though he really should have. All that pain, agony, and exhaustion finally came to a head as he felt her breathe, and cry, safely in his arm.
Thank the gods.
His adrenaline trickled away as relief flooded through his body. He had been successful. He made it to her in time. She was alive, she was breathing, and she was good enough to cry. His body was wracked by a single sob before the blackness he had been so ardently fighting consumed his vision, and he passed out hugging her.
RE: Storm the Castle - Morene Fellon - 01-30-2018
Finally, Morene Fellon found herself standing with no hostiles in sight, whether it be skeletal warriors or stray lightning bolts. At least, whatever she could see, considering the woman was still in the dead center of a dark, damp basement of a barely tactically advantageous garrison with an obvious low amount of staff. All that was visible in her cone of vision now was Ebony Hellscythe and Summer lying terribly uncomfortably on the floor, the boy clutching onto Ebony's exhausted body.
Wasting no time at all, the huntress jogged over to the two young warriors, picking them up and slinging them over her back as slowly as she could without compromising the intensity of her focus. That focus was soon directed to Morene's sense of hearing; the woman turned so stiff in motion that she could have been mistaken for an android scanning it's surroundings. Mentally, this was true; there wasn't a better indicator of demonic presence than sound.
If you are fortunate enough to hear said sounds, anyways. After a minute of waiting, Morene gently walked over to the stairs of the basement in which she followed Summer, taking careful steps in order to prevent tripping over some broken bones, or just a dimly lit set of stairs. Still, it didn't take long for the woman to see light coming from the hole where a basement door used to be, eventually walking herself straight into the library that was not in any better condition. The back of the library was still dark and empty, but looking forward, Summer's spells seemed to have had quite the collateral damage. Finding now to be a good time to assess the situation, Morene placed the two Primes down from her shoulders and onto the slightly less cold and uncomfortable floor she stood.
Looking over the two children resting in exhaustion, Morene Fellon took a knee before them, taking a few more deep breaths and calming her lungs to a state of relaxation. Pressing the button upon her gorget to collapse her helmet at her back, the huntress wiped a noticeable amount of sweat from her brow, taking in the scene around her. Or, whatever was left of said scene anyways.
Taking a passing glance across the library the three Liberators had just ruined, Morene winced at the thought of any Koopa, let alone King Bowser himself, knowing what had happened the past five minutes or so. The woman had guessed all of the soldiers were out clearing off the remaining Darklings, or this library truly accomplished it's place of silence through superior soundproofing. Either way, the knight-errant gulped at the thought of any and all relations with Bowser being destroyed, so her next course of action would obviously be to leave.
Quickly. Not looking back. Of course, also denying anything to do with the entire room and the shelves upon shelves of books being absolutely charred, shattered or burned to a crisp.
A moment of silence. Morene shook her head, realizing the safety of the now barely moving Primes before her were much more important than whatever she was thinking of a mere moment ago.
Still, she thought, her mind in a buzz, who in their right mind would place a summoning tome in a garrison's library?! As Morene leaned over to carry her two allies to safety as she did beforehand, the woman's eyes widened realizing the book before noted was... gone. Completely gone, on what she suspected to be Summer's behalf, thankfully. As much as the woman wanted to complain about the placement of the book, or on the other hand be grateful that Summer himself was here to assist in completely disintegrating it, the knight-errant realized she had much more important things to deal with at the moment. Slowly looking over at the door she crashed open previously, one problem was that it seemed to be frozen shut.
Quickly and quietly stepping over ashen bones and burning chips of wood, the huntress made her way to the doors, spending no time at all taking her poleaxe from her pool of Omnilium. Gripping it with furious intent, Morene flipped the polearm over to it's hammerhead side, smashing into the ice that sealed the gates shut.
A violent BANG was heard from all around the room, Morene herself making sure to check and see if it had woken any of the two Primes up. Upon realizing it didn't, she continued to bash against the door, the creaking of snapping ice signaling to the woman that her mindless destruction of even more property was working out for her.
Ice falling upon her large pauldrons, Morene took that as a visual cue to finally kick the door, grab her allies, and run back to her temporary room until things settled down. At that point, perhaps then she could manage a silent leave without getting pinned for destroying an entire library belonging to what seemed to be a professional military.
So she followed through with the plan, except upon kicking said doors, the huntress' eyes went wide in slight embarrassment as one of the hinges broke straight off, shattering like glass upon hitting the floor. Worse yet, the echo it made when the noise finally made it into the hallways of the undermost part of the garrison was painfully noticeable by anybody with a decent set of ears. Clenching her teeth, the power armored woman turned around very carefully.
...Forsooth, she thought, storming over to gently pick up both Summer and Ebony; time to make my leave...
Once more, the extra weight added on from both of the children were next to nothing for the woman, making it easy for her to tiptoe her way out in her comically large armor, awkwardly glancing over every corner on the way back to make sure absolutely nobody would ask what had happened just then. Surprisingly enough, there wasn't anybody to oppose that plan, intentional or not. Seems that library was in fact made of sterner stuff. Was, that is, before it was turned into a literal of absolute gigantic proportions.
Taking care to balance each of the Primes within her arms, Morene swiftly remembered the way back to her room, the corridors getting smaller and smaller the more she walked forward into the fortification's interior. Eventually, Morene found herself finally in her dimly lit place of staying.
All that followed thereafter was a sigh and a realization that there was still no rest for her.
A quick yelp.
Morene jolted in her chair. It took her a moment to remember that indeed, she was sitting in a chair. Her pupils adjusted to the darkness around her, the faint candlelight on the arrowslit of the wall beside them assisting in such. The huntress' mind was at slight ease realizing the yelp from a second ago belonged to the voice of Ebony Hellscythe.
"Wh-...wh-..." the scythe user whined in confusion, tears already welling up in her eyes as she rubbed them, either out of stress or tiredness. The huntress previously sound asleep outstretched her hand, resting it on the girl's shoulder. The woman could feel the girl jump at her sudden touch, only to loosen up slightly realizing who exactly was there.
Quickly, silence fell among the two. Morene opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped almost immediately by Ebony's eyes widening in shock.
"Where's... he? S-Summer--" the girl attempted to mutter out, taking quick and panicked glances around the room as she looked for him, almost as if she had lost her wallet. Again, she jumped in surprise to look behind her, feeling the pressure of another body on top of what she was sitting on; a bed. More importantly to her, a bed she was currently sharing with the boy that had a hand in saving her life. If those monsters even were going for her life, that is...
Shaking her head in more intense confusion, Ebony cupped her mouth with both of her hands, looking onto her friend's body with still very visible wounds, even masked by the darkness of the room they were currently recovering in. Their caretaker sighed again.
"Sorry," Morene groaned, "there was only a single bed."
"N-no!" Ebony cried, almost pouncing on Morene's Cerantium alloy cuirass to grab at her already undivided attention, continuing with haste, "is h-he hurt?!" The woman answered honestly, holding the girl in place in an attempt to calm her down.
"Verily, but he'll live."
The magical girl groaned in pained frustration, looking down at Summer's heavily injured skin and shakily getting off the bed he was resting on. Slowly, Ebony lowered herself to the floor, wanting to sob again after feeling a weird sensation in her chest. She wanted to go home so badly, and none of this was helping. Still, Morene couldn't bear to hear the child cry again.
Feeling the touch of the huntresses cold gauntlets under her armpits, Ebony was slowly pulled up; her rather short body soon rising above the floor slightly. As Morene picked Ebony upright, the woman placed the girl onto her largely armored lap, which was... rather discomforting at first, but after the initial surprise, calmed the teenager down.
Somewhat, anyways.
RE: Storm the Castle - Ebonywood Hellscythe - 02-01-2018
Sparing a short glance at Summer, Ebony reached out her arms and wrapped them around Morene as tightly as she could. The tips of her fingers clasped at the air before barely reaching each other around the large armour. Kinks in the metal dug into her skin, leaving little dents, but she didn't care. Pins and needles were a problem for her future self. Right now, she just wanted a hug. Her body was as cold as bones, lacking its usual unnatural heat, devoid of all energy. "I want to go home." She pressed her ear against Morene, leaning into her shoulder. A frigid gauntlet wrapped around her, comforting her somewhat as her eyes drifted over the storm spirit's sleeping form.
Tears dripped down her face, pooling up around her eyes before trailing down, like small gushes of rain. A faint pitter-patter echoed as some droplets bounced off Morene's armour. Ebony only hugged tighter, shivering from a mix of the cold and her sobbing. Before her metal-clad friend could offer any verbal comfort, she continued, blurting out words and slurring them together through her stutters. "It's not f-fair. And it's a-all m-my fault he's hurt. W-why?" She stretched her neck, forcing her chin up onto Morene's spaulder and pushing the side of her head against the woman's. With a slight grunt, Ebony continued, determined to get it all out. "Why? Why? Why are you helping me?" A weak hand patted down against the metal on Morene's back, rebounding off. "F-first you. T-then Summer and Sonny. And then y-ouuu. And now he's hurt again and it's all my fau-ult."
"I can't even open a stupid book one of my friends getting hurt. It's - it's - it's not fair." She slumped, chin sliding off and her arms retreating from the hug. Bunching herself up, she curled up on Morene's lap, pulling her legs in and pressing her knees against her chest while leaning on the women. "I'm selfish," she mumbled, before picking up her voice. "B-b-because even t-though you all get hurt - I want you to staaa-ay. I d-don't want to l-lose my only f-friends. B-but I don't want you to leave meee... P-please stay, Morene. I'm sorry. It'll happen again because I'm so... stupid. And weak. And h-helpless. Y-you might get hurt again and there's n-nothing I can do about it." Ebony latched onto Morene's arm. "But." She bit her lip for a moment, grabbing her cloak and using it to wipe the tears from her eyes before staring straight up at Morene - her vibrant green locking with the older woman's blue. "I-I'm not letting you go," she asserted. "You're - you're all I have. You and Summer and Sonny."
Silence. Only small sniffles travelled throughout the room as Ebony tried to suppress her tears. She jumped, almost yelping as Morene began to rub her back with her free arm - it was a rough motion, not made any better by the gauntlet, but it was the thought that matter. The gesture itself. "You can release me now, child."
Ebony's eyes widened a little as if having expected Morene to be disgusted or force herself away. She was a leech. She didn't deserve friends - but she still wanted them, selfishly. For herself. "Y-you won't go?"
"I wouldn't dream of it," the knight smiled serenely, eyes showing her sincerity. Gently, she wiggled her trapped arm free from the magic, engulfing the cloaked girl with both arms. Ebony fidgeted a little bit, trying to get comfortable, but failing. She raised her hood with her magic and used her cloak as a provisional cushion from the harsh armour. Her arms and legs ached from the tight hug before.
"P-promise?" her voice was a whisper, tentative. Yet, strangely, it sounded like that of a child asking for extra cake, despite the quiet tone. Like she thought she was trying to get more than she deserved.
"Promise." Plain, simple, truthful.
Snuggling close from inside her little den, her face still poked out the top. "Thank you." She hummed faintly, still shifting occasionally. A moment later, she froze still, as if realising something. "I-I'm not a child! I'm an adult. I told you. I'm almost nineteen." She puffed out her cheeks, cloaked head resting under Morene's chin.
"Of course you are. My mistake," the knight hushed, speaking in her natural motherly tone. Ebony felt a bit like she was being teased, but couldn't spot any audio cues. She let it go, nestling in Morene's hug, thinking. Knowing her friend would be there for her had made her feel better, but guilt still ate up inside her. This was all her fault. Not Summer's. Not Sonny's. Not Morene's. She gritted her teeth a little bit, trying to work up the determination to prevent it from happening again. The next time she saw a skeleton, or monster, she was going to smash it. Her friends were not getting hurt again. Never again. That, she was... uncertain on.
She didn't mean to let the skeletons hit Summer or grab her - but they had. Why did it matter what she thought? She was just going to fail again. All she could do now was make sure her friend was okay. But she couldn't heal him. She didn't know how.
Through her small peak-hole, her eyes were trained on Summer, waiting for her friend to awake. He was still breathing - she could see his chest rise and fall - but long harsh scars ran up his arms. Or what remained of them. She couldn't see the stump from the way he was facing, but she could tell one hand was missing. She knew little of the Omniverse, but their injuries were supposed to heal, right?
...but what if it didn't? What if Summer's arms were crippled forever? Every passing second that he rested was a second for worries to build. "H-he'll wake up soon, right?" He only fixed his hand when he was awake before, and Ebony had heard stories of people who took great injuries and simply never woke up, sleeping themselves to death. If he died, she didn't know what she'd do.
Yet, as if luck was finally on her side, a long, dull, painful groan erupted from the man's lips, echoing throughout the room. He looked like he was about to try to move, or sit up, but a grunt followed instead. With his back facing towards Ebony, she couldn't see his face, but she guessed he looked like he was in pain.
Clumsily, Ebony pried herself out of Morene's grip, trying to stand up between the chair and the bed. She shivered as the cool air hit her, holding one hand to her chest while Morene gripped her other arm, keeping her steady. Still wobbling, she climbed onto the bed. "S-Summer?" she spoke tentatively, hoping he didn't hate her after what had happened. But, she had something else to say first. "Thank you - for saving me."
Her voice was initially only met with a groan. Ripples ran through the spirit's body in the following moments, glowing very faintly. His arms weren't faring much better, but on the surface, most of his wounds had healed. Shakily, kneeling on the bed behind him, Ebony touched his shoulder. Her fingers recoiled. It was cold, like stone. Like he usually was.
He still hadn't replied. Was he ignoring her? Was he angry? Was he still in too much pain?
Ebony glanced back at the motherly figure, silently asking for advice.
"Perhaps, my dear, we should allow him-" Morene cut off, Summer speaking over her with a croaky voice.
"You're... welcome." He shuddered, seeming to relax a little bit. "Anytime."
Snapping her head back towards him fast enough to make her neck hurt, Ebony crouched down, crawling on the bed next to him. "I'm s-sor-"
"I don't want to hear it, Eb," he forced his rough voice over hers, speaking bluntly.
Ebony flinched. Recoiling. So he was mad at her. Her lips quivered and she sat down, pulling her cloak tightly around herself while almost falling back off the bed. In the background, Morene remained poised, ready to catch the young mage, should she fall - yet watched silently, like a big, hulking, shadow.
"That wasn't your fault," he continued, speaking evenly yet his tone was still a little bit strained. "It was the skeletons, not you. You couldn't have known. The blame lies with me for letting it get that far."
"T-that's not true!" she asserted back, shuffling forward again and speaking to his back. "If I was s-stronger. Or n-not useless. Or... or..." She fell to the side, landing behind Summer and wrapping both of her arms around his chest, hugging him gently from behind. Burying her face into his back, she sniffled, talking quickly so he didn't try to take the guilt away from her. "Or not s-such a fake." Her heart felt like it was burning. As if someone had ripped it out of her chest and dropped it in a vat of acid. "I'm... I'm... I'm not cool," she whispered directly into his ear. "C-cool people don't let their friends get hurt - like you."
"Ebony." Summer took a deep breath, painfully shifting a little bit in her grip. "You're the coolest person I know. You're strong. You're smart. You're funny. You're friendly, nice, and kind. Your magic is amazing, and you own the coolest cloak I've ever seen. But, most importantly, you're you, and you're my friend. Nothing can ever change that - Ebonywood Hellscythe." She couldn't see it, but he smiled.
"B-but-"
"No buts. You are cool. And," Summer yawned, "that is not up for debate."
A pause followed. A long, dull, pause. Everyone was being so nice. Why? She didn't understand it. Summer's comments made her heart feel fuzzy and warm; the few escaping tears swiftly dried as a familiar heat filled her shivering body. "Okay..." she accepted verbally, rubbing her face into his back. "What about Sonny? W-what does he think?"
"That came from the both of us." One of his arms pressed itself against hers, holding her into the hug. "But... he did suggest something to make you even cooler..." Summer's voice lingered, as if he was a little bit opposed to the idea. Reluctance. But he spoke it anyway, knowing it was something that had to be done.
"What? W-what... was it?" she muttered, voice muffled by his back and her cloak. Slowly but surely, the air began to warm. She shuddered a little bit, feeling a phantom pain in her chest. There wasn't a wound that she could feel. No blood. So she ignored it, listening intently to what Summer, or Sonny, had to say. She owed it to them.
"Training. Every morning, or evening, we're going to practice. Next time, you'll be strong enough to beat all the skeletons all by yourself - with magic, your scythe, or both." Summer groaned a moment later. "...but, right now, I need to rest."
"O-oh... Okay..." Ebony paused, thinking for a moment. "But I'm staying with you." Blushing, she squeezed a little bit, then shuffled trying to rest her head on the pillow. "What if you wake up and need help?" she asserted.
"I..." Summer took a short breath, starting off sharp before evening off. "O-okay. If you insist," he said, speaking tensely yet stuttering at the start. Still notably in pain.
Stretching her jaw, Ebony sighed, kicking out her legs and snuggling closer. She hummed a little bit while using her magic to take off her belts and boots, making herself more comfortable. An invisible warm bubble of heat surrounded the two, mostly a product of Ebony, but partially from Summer being a warmer than usual. Engulfed by heat, her eyes drifted shut, hugging Summer as if he'd disappear at any moment.
RE: Storm the Castle - Summer - 02-05-2018
This was it.
This was the end for the spirit, he could feel it. His heart hammered in his chest, every muscle and bone in his body aching, right down to what felt like his very being. He gritted his teeth, mud and stone biting into his knees, his torn pants providing no protection from the rocky soil, and the cold rain pelted against him, chilling him down to his very core. Desperately, he tried to lift up his arms. He could still fight, he still had his magic, even if he had to tear apart his very being, he would not die here.
His body refused to move. He could fight through the pain easily. All those deep gashes all across his body, scored so deep into some places that you could see his bone, they were all nothing to him. But in spite of that, his black-charred arms refused to move. He willed himself to rise to his feet, but his broken legs would not move. It took all his strength just to turn his head up, his neck creaking treacherously, something in there displaced, and look his opponent in the eye. He squinted into the storm, the pounding rain stinging his wounds, washing all the blood and mist away as it seeped from his body.
Pure blackness enveloped her face, as though it were concealed by a living shadow beneath her cloak. Not just that, her whole form just seemed... uncertain. Other than the dark cloak she wrapped herself, he just couldn’t grasp her form. He tried to force his mouth open, to speak, to give one last rebellious hurrah. But he just couldn’t. The black-hooded figure lifted her arm up towards him, and suddenly he felt his body being crushed, and his spirit pulled apart. His entire body screamed in agony, consumed by a hellish heat, and blackness consumed his vision.
But he didn’t black out. The storm spirit’s wounds still stung, his chest still ached as some pressure of some sort crushed him, making it difficult to breathe, but not killing him. No longer could he feel the chill of the rain, nor the agony as his very being was rent apart. He slowly cracked his eyes open, revealing not the torrential storm he had just been in, but rather warm beams of light streaming in through the ‘window,’ their rays caught in the dusty air of the Steppes. Rather than kneeling, he was laying, a blanket haphazardly thrown over his body. And instead of freezing in the chilled rain, he found himself pleasantly warm, like a summer’s day. Other than the sensation of his body being crushed, he quite enjoyed this wake-up. He slowly blinked away the sleepiness, his vision focusing until...
Breath tickled his face just as Ebony’s face came into focus, inches from his, her eyes closed, her visage relaxed. Her deceptively strong arms were wrapped tightly around him, pressing him into her warm body. His wounds vaguely ached, though it was much better than last night. Still, he instinctively wriggled, trying to get into a more comfortable position. The young mage’s death-grip grew even tighter as she felt his resistance, and a sleepy, contented sigh escaped her.
“Er... Ebony?” He asked quietly, trying to wake her up before she crushed him anymore. Another quiet hum rose up from her, but she stirred faintly. “Ebony~” he sang lightly, and she stirred again, snuggling into him, her face rubbing against his for a brief moment, and a weak blush rose to his face. Her eyes fluttered open, blinking away her sleep, and those deep green eyes met his, staring deeply for a few seconds as she slowly got her bearings.
A surprised blush crossed the young mage’s face as several realizations struck her at once. Her grip on him loosened, but she didn’t let go, and she drew back just a bit, bed bouncing as she scooted away, but not too far away, as though she were scared of losing him. Summer grinned brightly at that adorable display, a hint of mischief in his eyes.
“Mornin’ sunshine~” he greeted her quietly and cheerfully, his voice still low since Ebony was so close. His body still ached all over, and her hug wasn’t helping matters, but hell if he was gonna show that on his face. This was the best wake-up he’d received in a long while. Or perhaps ever.
“M-Morning....” She nervously mumbled back, her face slowly growing redder by the minute, the heat of her body intensifying in her embarrassment.
“Feeling better today?”
“M-much better. Th-thank you...” Ebony shifted awkwardly as she thanked him, averting her eyes for a moment, settling them further down his face as she tried to avoid eye-contact. Suddenly those eyes widened, and she shifted back to stare at him. “I-I should be a-asking you that!” She had probably been tipped off by the still-throbbing cuts crisscrossing his face. They’d scarred over by now, and soon they’d be completely healed, but man they still hurt like the dickens.
“Sore, but that’s to be expected.” The storm spirit answered vaguely. “Haven’t been in a fight like that in a long while.”
And he was hoping he wouldn’t have to again in a long while. He never enjoyed fighting to the brink like that. He had burned himself up until he couldn’t even move, until he had no choice but pass out. Again. How long had it been since he’d done it last? Years? Decades? Centuries? When was the last time he remembered doing it?
The image of a black-cloaked figure flashed through his mind.
Right. Her.
The smile fell away from his face. Memories he’d rather not remember, a nightmare he’d rather not have to suffer through. The last foe to best him in a one-on-one, the very same that had rent his soul in twain....
Ebony’s sudden jostling jolted him out of his stupor, her arms unwrapping from him as she pulled away, her welcome warmth disappearing. She propped herself up with her hands, looming above the spirit, obvious concern adorning her face as she stared down at him.
“Are you really feeling better?” The young mage all but demanded, an assertive tone he hadn’t yet heard from her entering her voice.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Summer asked right back, his smile returning as he slowly sat back up, holding down his grimace as his gut throbbed. “Compared to the dragon, that was nothing!” Endless denial as always with him. He conveniently ignored the fact that it was his other half taking that beating, not him.
And the fact that he pushed himself too far, exhausting absolute everything at his disposal, foolishly trying to sacrifice even his body, not caring about how much damage he took so long as he could push forward.
He ignored the obvious tells all over his body; the numerous scratches and scars that not even the liberation inflicted upon him, the electrical burns running jagged lines through his body, the stump of a left hand, and the blackened and useless right arm.
And most of all, he ignored the fact that’d he’d do it again without a second thought. No matter how much he told himself he didn’t want to do that again. No matter how close to death he came, no matter how many looks of despair and tears Ebony gave him, he’d do it again, and again, and again. After all, it always turned out alright in the end, didn’t it? Sure, he may have been split into two halves, torn out of his old life after death, and hurting just a bit, he was still here. Alive and kicking. There was nothing to worry about.
“Come on, let's go wake up Morene and get breakfast!” He cheerfully tried to change the subject, sweeping his blanket off of him with his still-mobile stump. As much as he’d love to spontaneously regrow it again just to ruffle her hair, tell her it would be alright, he was still exhausted. He’d just pushed himself to the absolute brink, he wouldn’t have the energy for a fair bit. That was fine, though. All he needed was a nice meal and about 2 hours. Then they’d be able to spar to their hearts’ content. He’d barely managed to kick his feet off the bed, ready to stand up on shaky legs, when a firm hand seized his collar from behind.
“I-If it’s not so bad, th-then regrow your hand a-and...” Though shaky, Eb’s voice was still unyielding. “P-Pat my head like last time....”
Summer paused, his moment of hesitation telling the young mage all she needed to know.
“S-See?” She stuttered. He could feel the bed beneath him shift as she moved closer to him, her grip on his shirt easing up. “I-It’s worse than the dragon.” Her tone was subdued, defeat seeping through every word. “A-At least l-last time you could re-regrow it...” A soft, warm body pressed into his back, slender arms wrapping around him again. Summer heaved a deep sigh, fighting through the piercing pain in his lungs.
“It’ll be fine...” The storm spirit tried to reassure her, but his voice didn’t sound nearly as peppy as last time. “I just need a meal to get my energy back. Then I’ll be able to heal this all up in no time.”
Ebony simply hugged him tighter, still just as worried as before, and Summer didn’t know how to respond. There was nothing he could think to say to ease her tension, and he dared not pull away from her embrace, either. All he could do was let her have her moment, and feel the heat slowly enveloping him as she refused to let go. He didn’t know how long they simply sat there for, saying nothing, the castle quiet save for the sounds of their breathing. Finally, he stirred somewhat, wriggling just a bit in her grip.
“... Let’s go get something to eat.” There was no more cheery facade hidden in the storm spirit’s voice. The young mage remained quiet for another few seconds, as if debating whether she dared to let go of him and risk everything suddenly becoming worse, as it had constantly been doing in her eyes. Eventually, she shifted, her grip loosening up until he was able to gently extricate himself, ready to rise to his unsteady feet. But once again, before he could, a strong hand caught him by the collar.
“Actually, no!” Ebony’s voice was filled in an unexpected resolve, and she pulled him right back onto the bed with strength unbefitting of her small frame. She absolutely manhandled the storm spirit, who was too weak to fight back against her sudden assault as she forced him to lay back down, head plopping right back onto his pillow. The young mage’s deep green eyes stared down, meeting his own as she straddled him, holding him to the bed. A self-assured, if slightly arrogant smile adorned her face, an expression he didn’t expect to see her wear.
“You are going to stay right here and rest.” She ordered, smiling with a newfound confidence. Summer felt his heart skip a beat, a small blush creeping over his cheeks. “And I am going to bring you breakfast. Got it?”
The stunned spirit blinked a few times in absolute surprise, staring up at her awestruck, before finally getting his bearings back. “G-Got it....” He mumbled quietly, an answer that Ebony seemed satisfied with. Smiling, the young mage lifted off of him and hopped off the bed, before merrily going off to fetch some food. Summer simply watched as she left, having no idea how to react to any of that....
RE: Storm the Castle - Ebonywood Hellscythe - 02-10-2018
The door creaked shut behind Ebony, closing with a click. She'd quickly hopped into her boots, closing the straps with magic, but her gloves and belts were left behind. Shrugging her cloak around her body, and straightening her hood, she headed towards the centre of the castle. She didn't know where she could get food, but the only other directions led to other rooms or dead ends. So, with a yawn, she pushed onwards, making her way to a large staircase. Besides a Koopa guard or two, the area was mostly empty of life - she guessed the castle didn't get many visitors, but they were nice enough to point her in the right direction when she asked.
Clunk. Tap. Scrape.
Dull black boots patted down on the dusty stone floor close to the wall. A carpet covered the centre, but the odd inhabitant patrolled through there - Ebony didn't want to get in anyone's way. Chest aching like a month old wound, she held one hand to her gut while the fingers trailed along thin cracks in the wall. Her nails dug in as she walked, chipping off small bits of keratin. They needed a to be cut anyway, so she could tidy them up later. It was just a distraction. As much as she tried to think about the food she was going to bring Summer, no thoughts came. No ideas of cereal, or toast and jam, or eggs and bacon and sausages. Just a calm, blank, empty head.
Tappity tappity tap went her fingers along the wall, small sandy clumps of stone crumbled, coating her fingertips in a light dust. She curled her wrist running the back of her hand, and then her palms over the grainy stone - not enough to graze her skin, but enough to feel the friction. When Summer was in front of her, it was easy to forget what happened despite his obvious wounds. He always seemed so happy, every word raising her spirits. Perhaps on a normal day, she'd be happy to do something like this - playing doctor and making him food if he ever got ill. But not when she still felt so responsible for his wounds. Ebony wasn't actively dwelling on it, he'd told her not to, but it still tugged on the back of her mind sapping the spring from her step.
It didn't take long to reach the kitchen. The storage room looked more homely than the halls, but perhaps that was her preference for closed places rather than expansive halls. Wooden cabinets lined the walls, each with different labels. Two off-duty Koopas milled about in the room, but neither got in her way. In the background, she vaguely noticed them talking in their silly-sounding dialect but didn't listen in. Without even thinking, she scavenged for supplies, forcing herself to smile a little bit. She'd never made a proper cooked breakfast before, and hadn't had one in years, this should be something fun - and she did a good job convincing herself of that fact. Wrapping her magic around the items she wanted, barely a moment passed before some eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, and slices of bread were floating in the air, all held by her magic. She rounded a corner and looked into a colder chamber, it was mostly filled with meat. Shivering, she snagged some sausages and bacon as quickly as she could, levitating these as well.
That looked like everything, at least from how she remembered it. The real question was how to cook it. Could she use her magic for it? There were stoves and pots and pans in the adjacent room, with a Koopa cook cleaning some of the surfaces - Ebony ignored them and they ignored her. A glass pane exposed the dark night air of the Steppes, distant trails of lava running through the ashen rock like veins.
She shook her hands, muttering a few words. Water coated over them washing off any remaining grime before evaporating into a misty puff of warm air. From her amateurish chef knowledge, she knew it was best to have everything finish cooking at the same time. So she had to start with what would take the longest. Guessing completely, she looted a baking tray and put the sausages on it, shoving it into an oven. With a click of her fingers and a faint whisper, the coals were ablaze. Continuing to peek back inside every few minutes, poking them with her magic, she set about trying to put everything else together.
Two broken eggs and a few burnt slices of toast later, Ebony was back in the hallway, grinning faintly. To the Koopa's likely annoyance, she did a poor job of cleaning up after herself, more focused on rushing the food to Summer/Sonny before it got cold. She held two trays in her magic. On each sat a plain white china plate, cutlery, a glass filled with orange juice, and Ebony's attempt at making breakfast. Everything was there, and nothing on the plates was over or undercooked, but the presentation left something to be desired.
The burning in her chest was like any normal pain - when focused on doing something, it seemed to fade away. Thus, she skipped, hopped and jumped but to Summer's room; the flat soles of her boots barely touched the ground. As careless as she looked, both trays were carefully carried in her mana, moving much more smoothly than she was.
When she finally made it to her destination, she almost crashed into the door out of eagerness to eat with her friend. Her hood had long since fallen down as the air rushed past her head. "Summer, I've made breakfast!" she chipped, pushing the door open remotely only to come face to face with Morene.
Blushing, Ebony took a step back and to the side, gently sitting down on the edge of Summer's bed and facing the knight. "I... uuh... brought you food?"
Somewhat reluctantly, she levitated the meal she'd made for herself over to Morene, not wanting to woman to know she'd forgotten about her. Ebony's smile briefly flickered to a frown before she perked up again, looking at Summer. "I already ate," she lied, moving a little closer and magically helping him sit up with the aid of multiple pillows. "T-this is for you." She shook her arms, patting down her clothes and folding her cloak around herself, awkwardly shuffling from side to side.
A moment later, her eyes widened. He was missing one hand, and she wasn't even sure he could move the other arm. Face heating up a little more visibly, she scooted over and moved next to him on the bed. Without pausing, she clasped the silvery cutlery in her hands and cut off a piece of a sausage. Giggling, she raised it up to his mouth. "Open wide," she beamed.
Before Summer could make a comment at Ebony practically forcing the food upon him, Morene spoke up. "Ah, it's good you've returned. We have much to talk about."
Quote:I'd guess Morene was off talking to people (i.e. Bowser/Wendy/someone important) about what happened before Eb left. Then got back while she was cooking.
RE: Storm the Castle - Morene Fellon - 02-17-2018
...
"Yes, suffice it to say, the basement of the library is decimated, your majesty, and I'd be obliged to clean up the mess if you so desire--"
"Agh," the Koopa soon interrupted, sitting himself down upon a simple wooden chair, the creaking of the splintering material echoing through what seemed to be a mess hall. Morene stood in front of him, gulping as the spiked kappa placed a hand upon his face in what looked to be annoyance and disappointment, that much was easy to see.
"No," he continued, "I'll have my men clean up the mess. I'm also going to have to take back what I said about you all preventing me from getting a headache; can feel a mean bug in my head over you twerps! Ugh..." Bowser groaned again, a moment of silence ensuing as Morene stood in place. "And hey, what did I say about calling me that? I'm telling you, it's weird."
The huntress nodded. She could admit, addressing a giant turtle man in such a manner was a bit... strange, even if it made her feel proper, fancy if you will. Besides, that was technically an order, and Morene dreaded the thought of how it looked to get on the man's bad side by disobeying one, as painful or... strangely humiliating the punishment may be.
"Truly?" Morene requested, her eyebrow raising itself for emphasis still. "Nothing for us?"
Sighing, Bowser almost knew that was coming as he leaned back in his seat, the wooden furniture almost breaking beneath his massive weight. "Well..." The king seemed lost in thought for a moment, possibly going over something important, if Morene had to guess. "I suppose this isn't your faults, but I'd still like... some reason as to why a gosh darn... Necronomicon was in my daughter's garrison!"
Again, Morene was pleasantly surprised. No tedious tasks, no long side-quests to fulfill and finally, no need for anybody to begin scolding a middle aged woman for some otherworldly issues that would have inconvenienced anybody that had been in the woman's massive Cerantium sabatons as she was used to. Still, the response felt... off, considering the type of man Bowser is, at least from first impressions, which is all Morene had to go off of at the moment. Rather, second impressions, which weren't much better.
"I thank you then, Bowser sir, for my brother and sister in arms need much rest. One of them had their arm off in the midst of battle, and the other one might have been cursed in some way, so I am again grateful for your kindness and your men's work ethic."
"They don't have a work ethic, I force it from them, but anyways! I'll have something for you all to do... sometime; I can't think right now honestly," the kappa seemed to doze off, his migraine seeming to worsen as the seconds pass by, which is not something Morene wanted to bother with at the moment over the pure awkwardness of the situation that might transpire afterwards. Suddenly however, his eyes widened.
"Cursed?!" Bowser demanded, making Morene step back a bit. The tone in his voice wasn't hostile, simply shocked, and she couldn't blame the man.
"Forsooth," Morene replied quickly, "tends to happen when reading such tomes and worse yet, warding the forces of the undead directly after."
"Get going then! I can't imagine what gotten into Wendy's head putting such a thing in there, or which ever absolute dunce did! Baah!" The towering kappa ranted briefly, to which Morene nodded and bowed, which was a strange sight considering the bulk of the woman's armor and how hard she tried to make herself seem small in that moment. Bowser didn't care to notice, getting up from the chair he was in and immediately waltzing towards wherever Wendy was at the moment, and...
"W-was he mad?" Ebony piped up, still listening to Morene's story that transpired a mere five minutes ago. The poor girl seemed worried, and Morene hated to see it, even if it was simply slight anxiety getting to her.
"No, not at us at least," the knight-errant of Creedmoor replied, holding a hand to her power-armored chest and a smile on her face as she continued, "which is good for us, for now at least."
"Really, eh?" Summer groaned, trying to force a smile at the realization that neither of them needed to be kicked out of the fortification for manners they shouldn't have gotten in trouble for; thankfully enough, that thought was true to life just this once. Summer himself shook his head at the notion; "it's always the little things in life."
"...That was awfully cheesy!~" The man's other side, Sonny, chimed in, making Summer, or rather himself, audibly groan as they switched mental places suddenly. The groan turned into that of a pained grunt, and Ebony immediately went over to him in a bit of fear, placing the tray of burnt and objectively badly made breakfast on the side of his bed, where it hopefully wouldn't fall.
"Uhm, uhm..." Ebony panicked, however attempting to hide it with all of her willpower. Not really, but anybody could tell she was struggling to think properly as she shook her hands over the tray, looking at any one of the food items that might have satisfied his need for energy. A relieved exhale escaped the storm spirit's lips as she went over to the sausage she had cooked. Too much so, but at least in that case, it was supposed to look a bit smoked.
Shakily, Ebony kept handfeeding the man, which is something that distracted Morene enough from her mental conversation she was having with herself in regards to the Primes' relations with the Koopa Kingdom. This was an honestly adorable sight to the woman, and she'd be hard pressed to find somebody who didn't agree.
"Oho, dear..." Morene shook her head, holding back the temptation to embrace the two of them in their arms, for they seemed to be taking care of each other just fine. It was nice, and it gave the knightly huntress a reasonable feeling of safety, despite all that had happened recently with the three of them in general. Looking down at the still glowing Liberator Aid on her wrist, the woman had known to cherish it for now.
Still, Morene exhaled unbeknownst to either of the two children in front of her out of concern. The woman winced at the direct implication she had made to Bowser only moments ago that indeed, Ebony was somehow cursed by the book in some way. Despite the seeming lack of physical wounds, Morene could tell something was wrong with Ebony. Rather, wrong in Ebony; something disconcernable from a parasite that hopefully would not grow later on.
Now was not the time, however. For now, she mused, my duty is to keep a watchful eye. So she did, letting herself lean to the side within her seat in comfort as the scythe-wielding mage's face lit up upon realizing Summer was halfway done with his plate! Of course, she didn't see the obvious pained tears at the corner of his bruised eyes as the barely adult girl threw even more charcoaled breakfast items down his rather unfortunate gullet.
'Tis cute.
RE: Storm the Castle - Summer - 02-19-2018
Delicious~
Ebony’s ‘home’cooked meal might not have been objectively good. Everything was a bit charred around the edges, and though the insides may not have been either over or undercooked, the entire meal still felt a bit... dry. Fortunately, there was the orange juice to wash it down. But still, just the fact that the young mage had been so eager to cook for him easily made up for the perfectly par taste of it. And though he had been a bit hesitant to be fed at first, he did have to admit he was kind of enjoying it, no matter how... strange it felt. That fact was apparent through the light blush burning on his cheeks throughout the meal.
“Thanks for the meal, Ebony~,” Summer said with a content sigh once he’d downed the last of the meal his friend fed him. He smiled brightly at her, a grin that anyone would easily be able to tell was absolutely genuine. Fabric ruffled as he shuffled a bit in his seat, pushing just slightly closer to the young mage as he said it.
“Y-You’re welcome...” Ebony stuttered cutely, accepting his thanks with a shy voice. She blushed obviously, averting her eyes in her embarrassment and also fidgeting in her spot, leaning just slightly closer to the storm spirit. Already, Summer could feel the life and energy flooding back into him. But only half of it was from the meal. The other was from how damn cute Ebony was. Life was good~
Fortunately, that energy was also enough that he’d easily be able to heal the two biggest wounds he still had; the burned stump of his left hand, and his immobile and lightning-scorched right arm. Everything else, the blurring of his vision, the faint ringing in his ears and the muffled noises, along with all the scars dotting him could wait. All he needed right now was his arms. He began to concentrate, the air stirring as he began to draw life from it....
“U-Um...” The young mage’s soft voice broke his focus almost before it even began. “Are you going to be able to....” She turned back up to him, her deep green eyes looking between his face and his ruined arms. He had told her that all he needed was a meal in him and he’d be able to fix it right up. The spirit smiled gently, quickly finishing off the spell that had been interrupted. Still staring into Ebony’s eyes, he lifted up his left arm, still missing its hand. Unconsciously, the young mage leaned forward, slightly tilting her head down, an instinctive reaction in the face of what she thought was going to be him patting her head.
Mist burst forth as his hand exploded back into existence and landed atop her head, ruffling her soft, ebony hair. Just as suddenly, mist sloughed off his other arm, the burns dissolving into weather and the nerve endings swiftly repairing themselves. In an instant, he wrapped that hand around the girl’s small waist. A quiet, too cute “eep” sound escaped her as he pulled her close to him, hugging her tight. With his left hand, he held her head to his chest, and buried his face in her messy hair.
“Sorry for worrying you...” The spirit mumbled into her hair, holding her as close as he could. He could already feel her body quickly heating up, and though he couldn’t see it beyond the veil of black hair, he figured that she was probably blushing. He knew he was. He couldn’t stop the rosy tint slowly rising into his cheeks, no matter how level he kept his breathing.
“N-No, I sh-should be the one apologizing...” Ebony’s voice was just as muffled as his own, her warm breath brushing against his chest as she spoke. Small arms wrapped around him as well, the young mage returning his hug. “I-If I h-ha-”
“None of that.” Summer cut her off with a stern word, rubbing his right hand comfortingly over her back. He didn’t offer anything more than that, he just wanted to make it abundantly clear that she didn’t need to apologize. They’d covered that already.
“O-Okay....” She seemed to deflate in his grip for a moment, but still she held onto him, even hugging him a bit tighter than before.
“Good.” He said, falling silent for a few seconds, never letting his grip loosen. There was still one thing he wanted to do before he let go of her. He slowly braced himself, before burying himself into her hair just a bit more and planting a quick kiss on the top of her head. Blushing, Summer relaxed his grip on Ebony, allowing her to regretfully pull back and sit back upright in her seat.
“It looks like the king of the castle doesn’t have any work for us, then.” Summer tried his best to avoid meeting the young mage’s gaze after that, deliberately turning to Morene and changing the subject. Though he tried his best not to see how she reacted to that, he could feel the bed shift as she fidgeted. “I take it we’ll have time for some training, then? Unless you’ve got something planned.”
“Nothing.” Morene answered him with a level voice from her spot off to the side. The soldier had made herself debatably comfortable in a chair pushed up next to the wall, just sort of watching over the two like a silent protector. She shifted slightly in her seat, before continuing. “I can not speak for later, but we do have time now, if that it what you wish.”
“Perfect, thanks.” Summer said with a smile, bowing lightly at Morene.
“Certainly.” She returned the gesture, vaguely.
“My turn then~” Without wasting a second, Sonny butted in, singing in Summer’s voice. A short sigh escaped the storm spirit, but that was the deal. Sonny was better at fighting and had the resilience his other half didn’t, he was more suited to being an instructor than Summer was. He concentrated, unravelling his body into a cloud of mist while his other half build his in its place.
---
“Ah~ Feels good to be out~” It only took a few seconds for the switch to happen, leaving the sun spirit sitting in his place, looking just as beat up as his other half did. A smile as bright as a summer’s day adorned Sonny’s face, and he quickly set to work stretching his back and arms out. It didn’t actually do all that much for him, since it wasn’t like he was a body trapped in a cramped space until it was his time to come out, but still, it felt nice. It was freeing in a mental sort of sense, made him feel like he was out and about rather than a nebulous consciousness floating somewhere in the back of his other half’s mind.
“First things first...” He began, turning back to Ebony, returning the gaze that his other half had averted. The young mage stared awkwardly back at him, hugging her cloak around her a bit, blushing slightly. Suddenly the smile fell away from his face, replaced by a much more serious look. “That book. When the energy hit you, did it leave a mark where it hit?” Seeing his serious face and hearing his question, Ebony broke out of her slight daze.
“Oh, u-um... N-No...” She mumbled and shifted awkwardly in her seat, obviously lying. If he were to hazard a guess, Sonny would assume she hadn’t bothered checking.
“Really?” The sun spirit’s tone betrayed his suspicion. He leaned in closer, staring seriously at her.
“I-I haven’t checked....” She finally admitted. Sonny’s suspicion had been correct. “B-But I’m fine! Really!” Though she claimed that, he could still see her grimace in pain, as though she realized an ache existed again.
“Ebony,” the sun spirit’s voice was dire. He pulled himself closer to the edge of the bed, dangling his feet over it like his friend did, sitting close enough to almost press against her side. “You didn’t like it when Summer said it, we don’t like it when you say that. Friends help friends, but we can’t help you if we don’t know what’s going on.” Ebony averted her gaze, suddenly finding the floor incredibly interesting. “By the way,” Sonny’s voice suddenly fell to a whisper, and he leaned closer to the mage. “If Summer pulls that again, you have my full permission to slap him. Or anything you wanna do to punish him, really~”
“Will do~” Suddenly his friend’s mood brightened, and she giggled just a bit, straightening back up a bit in her seat. After a second of amusement, her face fell again, and she returned to the matter at hand. “U-Um... Th-There’s an ache in my chest. Like, around here...” She drew a circle in the air over her heart. Sonny’s eyes fell for a moment, before jumping back up to meet her own.
“Does it hurt more in any place than anywhere else?” He enquired.
“A-About...” She rubbed a spot on her lower ribs, left side, just below her breast.
“I see....” The sun spirit trailed off, falling into thought for a moment. “This might be a bit intrusive, but could you lift your shirt and show me where it hurts the most?”
“N-No!” Ebony stammered almost immediately, face turning a vibrant red. She scooted back from him just a bit. Then, putting her hood up and hiding behind it, added. “Y-You might see m-my b-ch-chest...”
“Ebony, I am completely serious right now.” Sonny’s voice was perfectly level, his face completely stoic. “If it makes you uncomfortable, you can simply check in a mirror, or have Morene take a look. I just need to know if there’s a mark and what it looks like, okay?”
Silence fell over the room for a few seconds, broken only by the occasional sliding of fabric as Ebony fidgeted on the bed, or the small clinks of metal as Morene did the same. The spirit cast a quick glance her way. She seemed like she was looking to speak up, but didn’t yet, waiting for the young mage’s decision. After a while, she pulled herself completely onto the bed, turning her body to face Sonny, kneeling.
“N-No, i-it’s f-f-fine....” Though she said she was okay with this, her tone and cherry-red cheeks said otherwise. Nervously, her hands reached down to the hem of her black shirt, before pulling it up, revealing a soft, almost porcelain-white stomach. She stopped just before she’d have pulled it up over her breasts, showing only the very bottom curve of them. Ebony made a point of looking anywhere but towards Sonny, her face completely red by this point. With the heat radiating off her, the spirit was worried for a moment that she’d set the bed on fire.
Of course, he looked only with a doctor’s eye. He spotted it immediately, a black, splotchy dot lining up about with the bottom of her heart, right under her left breast. It wasn’t an evil marking or anything; there was no symmetry or noticeable pattern to it. Rather, it seemed more like a patch of frostbitten skin with small, tendril-like veins reaching off of it for no more than a centimeter or two. No doubt that was where the energy bolt had hit. He eyed it closely, consulting all of his senses to know what was going on.
As a magical being, he could read magical signatures to a degree. That was definitely magic in nature. He couldn’t tell what kind specifically, he’d need to set up some tests and spells for that later. But unless she’d had that mark before, and he really doubted she did, then it definitely was from the book. After a moment of gathering everything he could from just staring at it, he simply reached out with his hand, extending his pointer finger, and brushing against it. Ebony immediately squeaked as she felt his finger brush against her, and she wrenched her shirt back down, knocking Sonny’s hand back as she did.
“Wh-wh-what was that for!” Her voice was loud, but shy and stuttery, and she crossed her arms protectively over the mark, pouting at him with a bright red face.
“Seeing what it felt like.” The spirit answered simply. “I need to know everything I can.” Unfortunately, it hadn’t actually felt like anything. He’d expected it to be rough, or burnt, or maybe even frostbitten, if the appearance had been anything to go by. But no, it just felt like an ordinary patch of skin. He’d have to set up some observational spells later, provided Ebony would allow such a thing, that was....
The young mage’s pout simply deepened, as though she didn’t fully accept his answer. “Sorry about that, kiddo.” Sonny said, lifting one hand up to ruffle her hair beneath her hood. “Shoulda warned you first.”
“A-Apology accepted,” his black-clad friend said, a little bit of grumpiness still in her voice, and a bit of a pout still on her face.
“Aaaanyway....” The sun spirit drawled, slowly rising up to his feet, his legs still a bit shaky, but he didn’t show it. That was probably a side-effect of being bedridden all day. “Why don’t we go do that training I promised?” He turned and offered his hand to Ebony, who accepted it, and he helped her rise to her feet. Honestly, it was probably the best thing they could do in that moment. They had to start sometime, and Sonny needed time and effort to set up the spells that would allow him to take a look at whatever curse was afflicting Ebony. Training for now, and later he could actually sit down and set up what he needed.
RE: Storm the Castle - Ebonywood Hellscythe - 02-23-2018
Strangely, Ebony didn't feel hungry, even after starving herself for at least a day, even after cooking food, even after feeding it to Summer and watching him eat it. She just felt a dull ache inside, sitting at the bottom of her heart. It was scary. She was afraid, even if Sonny couldn't tell through her sincere smile. There was nothing she could do about it, and getting worked up about it would only bring her grief.
But, she could stop it happening again. So, with that in mind, she took Sonny's hand and followed him through the castle halls. She kept hold of it when he moved to let go, boldly squeezing his warm skin and not letting go - as if his hand would disappear the moment she released it from her grasp.
"Where are we going?" she tilted her head quizzically, doing a little skip to move ahead of Sonny.
"A practice room, for sparring - I think I saw one by the barracks earlier." His voice was just as warm as he felt.
Ebony nodded, she'd practised fighting with wooden swords before, back on the ship. But she sensed there would be something different happening here. Maybe he could help her with her magic. It had been years since she'd had a tutor, and even longer since she'd had one she liked. She missed the guy with the silly moustache, but he disappeared shortly after she first managed to harness her magic. A shame. It was ironic, really. She had run away from the best place in the kingdom for learning magic because they were trying to force her to learn how to fight, yet here she was, many years later, about to willingly be taught combat skills by someone else.
She bit her lip, hoping she didn't accidentally hurt her friend. But, she trusted Sonny enough to assume he knew what he was doing.
Having explored the castle herself a little bit, she knew roughly where he was referring to. She nodded, humming contently. "Let's go."
Vigour renewed, she used the distraction to push away her anxiety and pain, effectively dragging Sonny to their destination. Her hood fell back as she sped onwards, but she made no effort to fix it, enjoying the feeling of letting her hair flow freely in the cool air.
Quote:Short post. Will post again later.
RE: Storm the Castle - Ebonywood Hellscythe - 02-26-2018
Ebony pushed open the double wooden doors with her magic, still clinging to Sonny's hand as she skipped into one of the training halls. Both practice and deadly weapons were plastered over the stone walls. The metal components reflected the eerie lamp and candlelight, creating faint beams in the ashen-saturated air. With a subtle wave of her hand, the dusty air parted for Ebony, a phantom gust of wind blowing the particles to the edges of the room and leaving a clean wake behind the duo.
The duelling area itself consisted of a raised platform - like a stage - coming up a bit higher than her waist. It was about ten metres wide and circular with no boundaries around the edge. They'd passed a few Koopa guards on the way, some of them chatting idly, others at their posts, but all of them parted for Sonny and Ebony. Faintly, if she was paying attention, she might have heard some of them whisper about her. Rumours and stipulation about what happened in the library. Some good: they'd fought off the evil skeletons. Some bad: they were the cause of it all. None of it had registered to her ears, and she'd simply smiled, but Sonny notably frowned slightly. He made an effort to cover it up with a genuine grin whenever Ebony glanced back at him, her warm expression transferring to him.
Deep down, Ebony could feel her mana bubbling, frothing and clashing against the imposing energies. It was active enough without her suppressing choker, but the growing dark energies only made it worse. Little flickers and specs of heat flowed through her blood, warming her fingertips. Gradually building. She hadn't noticed at first - only feeling a dull ache - but once the pain had begun to fade with the sharp stabs becoming a thing of the past, it was evident to her that the restrained power was building and building, yet never quite within her reach. Uncooperative, just as always.
Giggling a little bit, she let go of Sonny, awkwardly trying to climb over the ledge. Her belts jangled like little bells, and her boots kicked and scrambled against the wood with repetitive thumps. During the first attempt, she fell back down, landing firmly on her two feet after barely making an inch of progress. For the second, she started on the tips of her toes, hoisting her waist over the edge and then flailing a little. Eventually, she managed to get a knee up and roll over onto the wooden platform.
Sonny, having walked around to use the steps, was already there to meet her, looking down at her with an outstretched hand and an expression of amusement. One eyebrow raised and the corner of his smile curled upwards sharply.
Ebony blushed faintly but took his hand nonetheless, flushing more once she noticed the stairs she'd missed. She awkwardly clung to him for a little longer than necessary, sapping up his warmth like a cat by the fire on a cold winter's day. Letting go and stumbling back a moment later, she meshed her fingers together, suddenly finding that counting the exact number of nails on the wooden floor was a good use of her time.
"... Right." Sonny clapped his hands. A very faint rosy red bloomed on his cheeks, fading as he pulled out his whip. "We need to work on your skill with your scythe - you can't rely on brute strength alone."
"O-okay!" Ebony stuttered, jerking her back to stand up straight and make sure Sonny knew she was still paying attention - as interesting as the floor was, she didn't want to be rude. Especially when he was going out of his way to help her. "B-but... what if I hurt you?"
Just as he was about to answer, she paused, focusing for a moment and muttering a signature incantation under her breath. Her vibrant green eyes were engulfed with a faint glow, quickly shifting to a deep blood-red. "Forces of the darkness, hear my plea. Grant me a weapon, fight side by side with me."
She reached out her arms, twirling a translucent purple beam of light as her scythe slowly materialised in her hands. Purple flames splurged and dispersed from the tips, coalescing into a curved silver blade similarly - yet considerably faster - to how an icicle might form from dripping water. Clasping the warm ebony staff close to her chest, she closed her eyes, willing some of her magic through the conductive circuits of the weapon. Her scythe was bound to her - as unreliable as her magic often was, her ebonywood hellscythe never failed her. The silver crescent blade flickered, metal flaking off with wisps of purple fire leaving only a deep violet shadow.
"I think this should work," she commented, voice raised to a slightly higher pitch than usual, yet calm with a distinct pride behind it - as if trying to entice praise from her friend. Tentatively, she waved her hand through the holographic shadowy blade, feeling nothing but a faint fuzz. She beamed, waving her hand with more energy. She pulled away, harmless purple flames fizzling over fingerless gloves for a few seconds.
"Nice job, Eb." Sonny took a small step forward, reaching out and ruffling her silky hair. Ebony shifted onto the tips of her toes, pushing her head into his palm until the moment he moved it away, where she made a point of pouting and smoothing it out.
While she fiddled and fidgetted, still holding her scythe with her other hand, Sonny experimentally brushed his hand over the shadow. He grunted very faintly but managed to recover and turn it into a hum, like one a scientist might make when examining a new substance in a test tube. A dull burning sensation enveloped his fingers, lingering afterwards. It didn't feel as painful as an actual cut, but his hand felt a little sluggish, like it was wounded but without the pain. He didn't show it on his face though - Ebony's new blade didn't seem to actually be harmful.
Swirling his whip in his good hand, Sonny took a few steps back, then opened his arms leaving his chest unprotected. "Come at me," he smirked.
Ebony took a step back herself, standing in a 'battle stance'. Her scythe was clasped with both hands, wound up like an oversized baseball bat. She twisted her foot, letting her cape flourish dramatically while using he magic to accentuate its movements - keeping her hood back. She bent her legs, winding up a little more and preparing to kick off the floor for a slight boost in speed - already forgetting his comment about brute force. Dark purple flames rushed over her skin briefly before fading away, casting a wave of heat over the room before it dispelled. No longer worried about hurting him, knowing Sonny could take the blunt force of the staff, she didn't hold back.
Sonny merely held still, patiently waiting and cocking his head, preferring to teach her by example. If Ebony was paying attention, she'd notice the faint light glow forming around him, a dense shield of air compact enough to completely deflect attacks heading too far off course.
Muscles tensing at the last moment, Ebony pounced, running and jumping forward with somewhat impressive speed for someone of her build. Footwork untrained, she skidded to a stop, spinning with all her might while her boots slid over the rough wood. Her scythe was held out far, its maximum length used for the attack with all of the force in the swing residing at the tip. The blade trailed behind. Flames raced after it, arcing and curling in the air before dripping down to the ground like glowing specs of rain. Ebony had to lean back a bit to counter the weight behind her spinning scythe - balanced precariously on her heels.
Perhaps, had Sonny merely been a pillar of stone, he may have smashed, shattering into hundreds of pieces or simply cracking into two. But, rocks didn't move, dodge, or block - but Sonny did. While Ebony began her swing, instead of moving out the way or trying to block like she expected, he simply stepped forwards, letting her arms weakly crash into his raised guard. Momentum halted, she wobbled, no longer able to use the centripetal force to keep herself standing.
With a clatter, the smooth ebony slipped out of her fingers, her arms flailing to try and help her stay steady. Her heels slipped out from under her nonetheless, and she experienced the brief moment of panic akin to leaning back too far on a chair, only for Sonny's arm to wrap around her back, catching her and bringing her close. She scrunched her arms in, instinctively huddling into his chest. He squeezed her shoulder before steadying her to her feet.
"What did I say about not relying on brute strength?" He tilted his head, not outwardly amused.
"T-to not to," she squeaked, skin heating up a little bit from the proximity. She drooped a little bit, disappointed in herself - she'd just wanted to show him how cool she was. "B-but if I don't hit hard, how will I smash a skeleton or beat something really strong? T-that's how I beat the darklings."
Sonny reached out, gently rubbing her shoulder and subtly turning her to face him. "I said not to rely on it - not that you can't be strong. You have to aim and refine your strength: control it, don't let it control you. You fell over because your swing was the only thing stopping you from doing so, and your attack was consequently too forceful that you had to lean back. If you'd attacked while standing still - maybe moving forward to support it - you wouldn't have had that problem. Your concentration should be on your target, you shouldn't be putting all your focus towards the attack itself."
Eyes wide and attentive, having shifted back to green the moment she dropped her scythe, Ebony tried to take in as much information as she could. Next time. Next time would be the one. She nodded affirmatively, and Sonny disengaged, moving a few steps back once again. "I-I'll try."
Clumsily, she picked up her scythe, fumbling with the long weapon - it was almost as tall as her, only a couple of inches smaller. Stepping back herself, she experimentally spun the long staff in her hands, letting the faux-blade cut harmless through the wooden floor, leaving thick lines of purple flames in the areas it touched for a second or so.
Crack.
A whip snapped back inches in front of her nose. She yelped in shock, protectively raising her weapon to cover her face.
"You won't have the luxury of time in a real fight," Sonny spoke. "Most opponents won't wait for you to make the first move."
"B-but I wasn't ready yet..." she mumbled. As much as she wanted to show Sonny that she was learning from his teachings, she didn't want to make a fool of herself again.
"Exactly." A moment later he grumbled something under his break, inaudible to Ebony. "I'm sorry for being harsh, Eb," he sighed. "But it's better to learn this now than in a real fight."
"N-n-n-no." She shook her head rapidly. "I understand." This was something she had to do. If she didn't improve now, then when would she? It was almost certain they'd have to fight monsters on their way to Omni. Idly, she wondered if there was a better way somewhere else in the Omniverse, through a different gate at the Nexus... But she didn't want to go back there. It scared her. The dull dead white was almost painful to look at - much worse than the lava at the Steppes and the toxic, acidic air. She was used to it by now, and her body naturally protected her from it well enough.
"Alright." Sonny shook out his whip, then coiled it up in his hand. "Let's try this again. Be careful this time." He turned up the palm of his free hand, beckoning her and restoring his defensive magic.
It took Ebony a couple more seconds to steel her nerves, but she nodded, humming gently and making it obvious she ready. Somewhat strategically, she tried to avoid tensing her muscles, remaining relaxed in her standing post, not making it quite obvious when she was going to make her move. She took a deep breath, looking like she was computing complicated algebra in her head. Finally, after a few more seconds, she stepped forward.
Unlike last time, she didn't break into a run or move particularly fast. Perhaps in her cautiousness, however, she was actually a little bit too slow. With a simple step back, the ethereal blade missed Sonny by an inch. Undeterred, she brought the scythe back around, this time thrusting during her swing - but not quite hard enough to subtract from her stability.
Crack.
His whip lashed out, wrapping around the staff and pulling it to the side. Enough that the blade almost nicked his body, deflected by the high air pressure surrounding his skin.
Ebony yanked, pulling her weapon free and resisting the urge to charge or be more forceful. She kept her eyes on him with the intention of manoeuvring her scythe towards him each time. It wasn't skilful by any means - and self-respecting swordsman would have parried and closed the distance within seconds of her first attack, easily delivering their final strike.
Thus, any observer wouldn't have found it surprising that, while she was trying to make subtler movements, Sonny stepped inwards with ease, raising an arm to block her staff once he got closer. As much as she'd tried to aim or concentrate on him, her attacks never seemed to hit - he wasn't even dodging that fast. His whip snapped again, hitting the ground. Ebony didn't yelp this time and instead simply reached out with her magic, instinctively shunting him back. Quick. Forceful. And unexpected. All while winding up another swing of her scythe.
With great satisfaction, the shadow sliced over Sonny's chest, leaving a lingering burning wound signifying her minor victory. She smiled faintly while he stumbled, proud of the attack and hoping she'd impressed him.
RE: Storm the Castle - Summer - 03-03-2018
An exhaustion, warm and ethereal, passed through Sonny’s chest as the immaterial blade tore through him. His chest heaved, a harsh gasp forced out through his throat as though the scythe had ripped the breath right out of him, along with the little energy he still had. His body trembled, he wanted nothing more than to lay down and sleep, but he held resolute. Sucking in a deep breath, he regained his composure before he ended up worrying Ebony. If he was being totally honest with himself, he wasn’t ready for this training, but he needed to go through with it anyway, for his student’s sake.
“Nice hit,” the sun spirit praised her cheerfully, voice shaking almost imperceptibly, his demeanor dripping with his usual calmness.
“T-Thanks!” The young mage stuttered lightly, beaming at him with a bright, confident smile, a hint of a rosy blush on her cheeks as she puffed out her chest, clearly elated that she just did something cool.
“... But...” he continued, slowly, his calming gaze settled squarely on his black-clad protege. That one word shattered her confidence, and suddenly she seemed to shrink in on herself a bit, smile falling away and her visage returning to neutral. “This is weapon’s training, not magic training.”
“B-But...” Ebony stammered, wide-eyed, clutching her scythe to her chest. “B-But in a real battle, I won’t just be relying on my scythe, r-right? S-So shouldn’t this be fine?”
“You don’t know that,” Sonny said, his voice authoritative, but still somehow reassuring. He took a step closer to her, coiling his whip back up, tucking it under his bad arm. “What if you end up facing someone who could nullify your magic? Or someone it just doesn’t work on? If you rely on it too much, what will you do when you can’t use it anymore?”
“S-Sorry...” The young mage muttered, averting her gaze from his, her tone that of a chastised child.
“No, there’s no need to be sorry,” the sun spirit’s boots clicked lightly on the wooden flooring as he slowly closed the distance. “It may not have been what we’re supposed to be doing in this session...” He stopped not inches from her, hand lightly touching her chin, and gently turning her head up to look him in the eyes. “... But it was still a good move.” At those words, her scolded frown vanished, an obvious tint spreading through her cheeks. Her deep green eyes flicked away from his gaze, looking off to the side as if there was something particularly interesting in that direction. “Now... how about another round? You’re getting there, I can tell.”
“S-Sure!” Her voice was peppy once again, though she still refused to look the sun spirit in the eyes.
“Good!” His hand slipped off of her chin as he took a few paces back, returning to his spot. With a swift motion of his left hand, he snapped his whip out, letting the plaited leather fall limply to the ground. He smiled at Ebony, and she smiled right back, clearly bracing herself and getting ready for her attack. Well, she wouldn’t always have the luxury of choosing when a fight began....
Sonny suddenly started marching forward in his usual leisurely pace, closing the distance quickly in spite of how slowly he moved. Though he wasn’t the fastest person the young mage would ever face, it still caught her off guard. Ebony stumbled back a step, swinging her scythe down and holding it defensively in front of her, tip pointed at the sun spirit. Obviously, a ‘haha you can’t touch me I have a five-foot pole’ type gesture, though with much less laughing given how timid the mage was.
That would have worked. Had the weapon been a spear or pike, not a scythe, had this not been someone as clumsy as Eb, and had it been anyone but Sonny. The tired spirit, as it turned out, had several options at his disposal. Simply step to the side and let his High Pressure System do all the heavy lifting, grab hold the weapon and pull himself closer (with how he hid his strength, he had no chance of wrenching it free from her grasp), or simply snap out his whip right now and wrap it around her throat.
In the end, he decided to simply slip within range. He continued to storm forward unheeded, his dispersive aura forcing the scythe’s tip to slide away from him. Panicking, the girl took a frantic step backward, turning the weapon over in her hands and raising the weapon high above her head in one hell of a telegraphed swing. The leather whip snapped forward, wrapping around her wrist and preventing her from retreating further. Desperately, his opponent swung her weapon anyway, only succeeding in bouncing the shaft of the scythe off his arm, bruising him a bit. For a quick moment, Sonny wished he’d met her sooner, and turned her off the notion of such an impractical weapon.... But alas, he had to teach her, and by the gods, he was going to.
“Gotcha.” The sun spirit’s voice was calm and menacing as he planted a hand on her shoulder, preventing further escape. She couldn’t back up without throwing herself off the arena now. Ebony’s deep green eyes flicked around, desperately searching for something, anything, that she could do. But with the warm spirit so close, she found nothing. Her shoulders fell slack, her scythe dropping down to her side.
“This isn’t something I expect you to be able to pick up right away...” Sonny began, still standing so close to her. “But you cannot panic in battle. You’re a lot faster than me, you should have been able to run there, retreat to the side and regroup. Instead, you froze up, and even someone as slow as me can close the distance like that.”
“S-s-sorry....” Ebony squeaked, almost seeming to shrink in on herself.
“No.” The spirit spoke firmly, trying to look her in the eye, though she kept averting her gaze. “Do not be sorry. This is what training is for. Don’t be sorry for your flaws. Right now, you’re trying to fix them, and that’s what matters. Got it?”
“G-g-got it...”
“Alright!” Sonny exclaimed cheerfully, getting into another battle-ready stance. “Now come at me again....”
---
The sun set surprisingly quickly over the Ashen Steppes. Thanks to his natural attunement to the weather, Sonny could instinctively tell that it wasn’t the result of a shorter day-night cycle or anything of the like. The sun above the horizon was still bearing down upon the ashen clouds, warming them. It was simply the fact that said thick cloud of ash always blotting out the sun. Such a thing didn’t do any favors towards keeping the verse lit up. As soon as that brilliant ball of plasma in the sky even thought about dipping below the horizon, the sky already began to darken dramatically, and there wasn’t much anyone could do about it. Sure, the surface was kept marginally lit by the various volcanic eruptions on the horizon, and the glowing flows of lava that occasionally bubbled above the crust, but the lack of sun and moon didn’t really help matters at all.
“I think now’s a good time to call it quits,” Sonny said, chest heaving with deep breaths. He placed his hands on his hips, throwing his head back to look at the ashen sky above them. He sucked in one deep breath after another, his own natural, dispersive aura driving away the ash and soot. No matter where he was, he always breathed clean air.
“O-Okay!” Ebony answered back, her own voice as tired and breathy as his was. Her tone had gotten more... confident through their training, as Sonny had instructed her on what she was doing right and what she could fix. At the beginning, she hadn’t been doing much but flailing, throwing wild blow after blow that the sun spirit easily avoided. But though it had been only their first session, the young scythe-wielder was already showing signs of improvement. Nearer the end, she’d started landing a few solid hits on him. There was still a lot for her to learn though, things that couldn’t be beaten into her head on one day, but rather over the course of weeks, every day until she could handle herself.
“Good work.” With a snap, Sonny curled his whip back up, tucking it way into his coat pocket again.
“Th-thanks,” belts jangled and boots clicked as Ebony cheerfully stepped over to the spirit, twirling her scythe around cooly and vanishing it into thin air. “Did you have anything else in mind today, or...?” She stopped close to his side, leaning over just a bit and looking up at him with bright eyes.
“Oh I don’t know about you...” Sonny began with a sigh, lifting his still-burned hand up to ruffle the young mage’s soft, black hair. It had healed over the hours they’d trained, all his nerve-endings had fixed themselves, but much of the surface damage was still present. All said, that was the last remaining wound on his body. “But these old bones need rest...” he joked. The healing and all of Ebony’s scythe hits had taken their toll on him. He really needed to sleep.
“You’re not that old!” His black-clad protege laughed, surprisingly energetic even after such a long work-out. Sonny simply chuckled and ruffled her hair just a bit more, before dropping his hand down to his side.
“Well, how about we get something to eat,” he changed the topic, removing his hand from her head and stretching his back out. “Maybe see if we can find a bath in here, then head to sleep and do it all again tomorrow. Sound like a plan?”
“Y-Yeah. Sounds good,” Ebony answered cheerfully, voice suddenly becoming just vaguely quieter. The sun spirit grinned a toothy grin, and turned to make his way off the stage, but not before the young mage grabbed onto his hand.
Adorable....
---
Sonny plopped himself back down on his borrowed bed, mattress sighing as his weight compressed it. Though he’d just gotten out of the castle’s bath (a tub that you needed to bring your own water to and heat manually, of course), other than the comfy white robe he now found himself wearing, there weren’t really any other tell-tale signs he’d just gotten out of it. Thanks to his own, natural dispersive magics and his unusually high body temperature, all the water that had been soaking his hair and his body had already been either shunted or evaporated off. But even so, the bath had already worked its wonders on him. He felt so clean.
Leaning against his hands propped against the bed behind him, the sun spirit looked up towards the ceiling, heaving a deep sigh. Gods, the Omniverse was one hell of a hectic place if he didn’t have time for that luxury nearly as much as he would have liked. He could have counted the number of baths and showers he’d taken since arriving in this universe on one... finger. Disgusting. Sure, he may have spent more than half his time here embroiled in one pointless conflict after another, unable to do so much as rest between them, but still....
Well, it was what it was. The blonde flopped backward, spreading his arms out across the bed, the mattress causing him to bounce a bit. Ah... He was completely and utterly drained. There was nothing he’d like more than to roll over, pull the blanket over him, and pass out. But his deep green-grey eyes stayed wide open, carefully studying every rough imperfection in the dusty brickwork above him, his mind still wound up in thoughts and deliberations. He already knew this day wasn’t over, not for him, at least. He still had to set up those observational spells, see what exactly it was that ailed Ebony.
Sonny hummed in an annoyed tone, slowly working up the willpower to pry himself free from the bed. With a deep grunt and an aching sigh, he sat up once again, before immediately studying the wall across from him with tired eyes, the very same way he’d just been gazing at the ceiling. It was going to be a rough night. “Okay....” He mumbled to the empty room, desperately trying to spurn himself to action. The mattress strained as he pushed himself to his feet, his body suddenly feeling heavy. “This has to be done, no slacking....”
---
Some indeterminate amount of time later, a creak resounded through the otherwise silent room, the wooden door swinging open just enough for a head to poke through, black hair still damp from the bath. “Sonny?” The soft voice of Ebony called out, timid green eyes and a cute face peering past the door and into the room. Glowing, arcane words lined the walls. Words that had no doubt been written by magic, not through any natural writing implement.
“Yes?” The sun spirit’s tired voice called back. The blonde man was seated on his bed, staring almost blankly at the wall. His work wasn’t done just yet, but the words weren’t coming to him easily. He really needed to rest....
“U-Um...” Slowly, she made her way inside, still dressed in her usual attire. “C-Could y-you um...” The young mage fidgeted nervously as she shuffled into the room, blushing and averting her eyes. “B-Brush my h-h-hair?”
“Sure.” Sonny said without really thinking, turning towards the welcome distraction from this mess of spells and arcane words. Any excuse to not deal with this.
“I-It’s just that I don’t have a mirror a-and that makes it hard to get it to look right and...” Ebony let loose an embarrassed avalanche of words, her voice forceful enough to almost echo through the room before she caught herself. “... A-and d-d-did you s-say ‘sure?’”
“Of course.” Though the spirit spoke cheerfully, his voice notably lacked enthusiasm. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to; he was perfectly ambivalent about the whole situation. It was just that, of course, he was Tired. With a capital T. The scythe-wielder blushed brightly, shuffling in just a bit faster as she did, spurned on by the spirit’s words.
Unfamiliar feelings bit into Sonny’s heart, a little green haze floating over his vision. His chest emptied, becoming naught but a profound hollowness, and the very blood pumping through his veins felt... warm, suddenly. He shouldn’t have said that. But why? The sun spirit blinked rapidly, scarcely noticing the bouncing of the mattress as the light mage plopped herself down right beside him. Was this...
Envy? Why was he feeling it towards himself? Why did he suddenly want to tell himself to step off? How was he feeling this simmering anger and jealousy towards himself? Could one even be envious towards themselves? He could feel it, in the walls, the arcane, pulsing words scribbled along every wall telling him exactly what he needed to know. Even though they were incomplete, they still could at least pass on some of the info.
Emotional, Magical, and Physical state, the three most important things he could look at in a person. There were a few more minor spells that were tripping him up, but he had the basics down at least. With all three involved, he could at least get a general idea of what was going down inside a person, and right now all of the glowing words on the wall were telling him something about what was going on in his body. His sleep-deprived mind went into overdrive.
“S-Sonny?”
The sun spirit didn’t hear Ebony’s words, zoning out entirely as he tried to make heads or tails of the pure, unadulterated magical information being poured right into his mind. Envy, plain and simple, was suddenly surging through him. Spawned from the furthest reaches of his mind, where his consciousness couldn’t touch. The spells told him of a magical barrier there, something separating his mind from something else, though they could still read either side of it. Just not through it. The Split. The very thing that had plagued him all these years. Despite never being able to so much as touch it before, now he could witness it in its full glory. And revel in one of its failings.
“Sonny~!”
Somehow, it was letting emotions through. Perhaps only strong ones, since he’d never felt all of Summer’s littler emotions before. Maybe that had been the uncharacteristic rage he’d felt twice before? Either way, there was a method to bypass the split. Emotions. Emotional Magic. Volatile, something he really didn’t want to fuck with but had to anyway, by the looks of it.
But how?
“Sonny!”
The sun spirit suddenly heaved himself off the bed, falling to a crouch, finger outstretched. Emotional Magic required Telepathy, the most dangerous form of magic. He’d never dared touch it before; one fuck-up would render someone immobile and unconscious for the rest of their natural life, and given how long he lived.... His hand moved with a speed unexpected for someone as slow and deliberate as him. Glowing, arcane words were etched into the very stone just in front of him, every observation he could muster in his sleep-deprived state. Everything, right down to the smallest surge of emotion he could feel or observe through his spells.
He witnessed, but did not interfere, as his other half, no doubt envious over Sonny being the one propositioned to, began to weave together a spell to separate the two, if only for a moment. The same thing they’d done previously, materializing outside their shared body. The sun spirit merely observed and scribbled, paying no heed as Summer materialized and helped Ebony brush her hair, he had more important things to deal with. Notably, even in separate bodies, he still read their mind as one single entity, just with a magical barrier carving it in twain. Two bodies, one mind, the two could never truly be apart. Absolutely intrigued, the sun spirit wrote until he passed out, something that didn't take more than a few minutes given his fervor....