Ain't Cutting no Ice [Gin/Alain/Mami/Jack Mitchell]

[Lubbock]

These little men that just tromped into their cave... were they Dwarves? Lubbock quickly but clumsily pulled himself off the ground and readied his still sleepy legs. Did they really have to wake them up? And to add more confusion; where was Alain? He was supposed to be keeping guard right? When Mami turned to him and told him that when he was around, she was on her toes, he amazingly didn't go red. Instead, he replied.

"I would ask why that is, but I don't think it's the right time for questions," he told her with a grin. Thankfully it was Mami who began to speak to the small, stocky beings.

"Leave it to her, huh?" Syura said inside his head, "You're getting smarter and smarter every day," Lubbock was on the verge of blowing a fuse at the guy. Seriously, why did it have to be him who went insane?! Bringing his attention back to the situation, he noticed Alain sweeping into the cave, his red cloak billowing as he entered. Ah, thank goodness, he thought. Without warning, the little blond girl - Lubbock still wasn't even sure how old she was - began forming a kind of makeshift restaurant for the little men. This girl has no limits, does she? he wondered, grinning at his companion's capabilities.

Now that there was a crackling fire inside, Lubbock could understand Mami would be getting hot in that coat. She quickly strolled up to the green-haired boy and passed the green coat - nicely folded, something Lubbock never did - into his hands. She quietly went off after the two exchanged nods, and Lubbock placed the coat against the now basically thawed wall. The clothes he was in - a white shirt with a red collar, jeans and a pair of brown shoes - didn't really seem right for the occasion. I wonder if I can change my clothes using Omnillium, without going stark naked? he wondered. He didn't want to risk it though, so instead he went over to Gin and crouched down, whispering in his ear.

"I'm gonna check a little further into the cave, okay? Make sure the party doesn't get crazy without me," he told him with a little wink before strolling off towards his excuse to change.

-----

DURING THE BATTLE

Esdeath stood at the top of the mountains, watching the mortal combat down below unfold. The Trolls versus the Dwarves - interesting in the General's eyes. Nothing like a little bloodshed to liven up her frozen day. There were blunt weapons crushing bones and skulls, blades tearing through flesh and arrows and bolts piercing muscles and limbs. The blue-haired woman refrained from going down there and joining in the fun - it would be unfair on the group of Troll troops she had commandeered.

However, when a giant shadow flew over the mountaintop and down towards the battle, Esdeath couldn't help but smirk at the fact that the enticing battle was about to be rudely interrupted by the fire-breathing creature. Even so, she stayed upon her icy perch, extending out a pole of ice upon which she sat, directly above the fight. She saw the blasts of flame being emitted from the beast's mouth, scorching Dwarf and Troll alike. The smell of burnt flesh could be smelled from all the way up where Esdeath was, the heavy smoke drifting upwards.

It seemed the Dwarves were fleeing - they could barely see in the blizzard, making it hard to tell who was friend and who was foe. Esdeath watched their tiny legs carry them through the thick snow. I guess that's my cue, she told herself, and proceeded to leap off of her pole of ice, diving down towards the battle between the Trolls and the dragon. Four hundred feet, three hundred feet, two hundred feet... she could clearly feel the distance she was falling, her slim body piercing the air. One hundred feet, fifty feet... she formed a giant horn of ice in the air and stood upon it, gliding with it towards the ground. The giant horn pierced the ground between the fighters before shattering at Esdeath's command. She looked the dragon in the eyes, and fire began to boil within its throat.

"Cute," she said, before forming five icicles in a circle in front of her. The beast released, and the hot flames burst out at the General. However, all she did was grin as she sent the icicles at the ball of flame at a rapid rate, refreshing each icicle after its use. The flame was pushed back into the beast's mouth, and smoke burst out of its mouth, the dragon's eyes closing and passing out from backfire. Esdeath turned around to her troops, "We could use this one. Take it away," she commanded, the inhuman creatures doing her bidding.

I wonder... How much damage could this do to Dwarveholm? she wondered sadistically.