Fire Emblem: Crestfallen | IC

[Jessica]

Lapis Zuval
Mentions: Theodoric, Laila
Interacting: None

The runner that Laila had called about had been taken down by Lapis's next wind attack after a moment's hesitation. She let out a shaky breath, slapping herself once. 'Snap out of it.' She demanded herself. The battle wasn't over. Only when the air had calmed could she grieve the lives she fell. Her comrades needed her, and if one of them were to die because of her incompetence, their blood would stain her further. They needed her to focus... Focus.

Lapis shook her head, keeping her eyes on the present battle and an eye on Orianna to ensure further protection. Thankfully, none of the poachers were heading in their direction. Quite the opposite. They were retreating, and Juno commanded that they keep going to push them further back. What had her curious were the mysterious figures that intruded the battle... In all her years of research, she'd never seen anything like it... Had the circumstances been different, she'd have wanted to ask Juno questions regarding them afterwards. She would have felt that lively little excitement within her to get more information about whoever these individuals were...

But if the circumstances had been different, the atmosphere would have been the opposite it was now, with the fields clean of blood...

They were enemies with experience in battle by the looks of them. They could not assume nor underestimate. They had to be careful.

She obeyed Theodoric's command and moved forward, watching for the opportunity to cast her magic. Lapis needed to be careful about potential friendly fire, and so had to wait. If she didn't, the clutter could end up making her do more harm than good.

Watch for an opening... Don't be careless.


​

 

[Nim]

Laila Bellwood
Date: 14th of Amber Moon
Mentions: People and Battle​

Watching Lapis take down the runner, Laila felt some relief. If any runners were allowed to escape, it could easily mean reinforcements or an ambush later on. So with the runner down, she initially kept her eyes peeled, also looking over both Lapis and Orianna, in case any poachers decided to try and come around after all. She didn't expect any kind of fair play from the kind of people who were willing to steal from others in order to survive.

As the new orders came, Laila turned to look at the direction Theodoric told them all to march in and started heading in it alongside Lapis and Orianna. Spotting the new enemies with the weird red cloaks only made her more determined to stick by Lapis and Orianna. They didn't seem like the other poachers, and if they showed up out of nowhere, then it could mean others would be coming. But at the same time, she had the orders from Theodoric. She decided that she'll walk alongside Lapis and Orianna as much as she could, until the two stopped. At that point, she figured she'd have no choice but to push forward.

 

[Astoria]

Parthenia Harland Ciran
Mentions: mhm ​

Why? It remained the perennial question. Parthenia asked it to herself again, after running through a slightly older poacher, wielding a polearm himself. To Parthenia though, the question was not why they were forced to kill these poor children, but why her class had been tasked to complete such a grueling task.

She parried a swordsman this time; he a simply short sword, and was having a difficult time closing the distance against her lance. Her enemy decided to compensate with a mad charge, which ended when he literally ran into her lance. She grimaced as a spatter of blood ruined her clothes.

If there was one thing, these poachers were dreadfully incompetent, and her classmates so far actually displayed a shred of ability. At the very least, she didn't see any uniformed bodies facedown in the dirt.

If the monastery thought it was a good idea for the students' experience to send them against the rabble, it seemed to work. At the same time, it seemed to be terribly scarring for her peers, even if she herself didn't feel anything in the moment.

Parthenia continued to feel confused.

It only clicked for her when the three masked individuals showed up. She realized that it was hardly a coincidence that a band of poachers had ended up here. The garb and manner of appearance of the newcomers were clearly not poachers, and in fact gave the aura of something else entirely… Well, the skull getup didn't help much at all, but they really looked like assassins. By chance, the entirety of the continent's future rulers was assembled in a single small class… and they had just been trotted out into a field in a pitched battle.

Wasn't this looking a bit too carefully planned?

This archbishop was taking things too far…

The tide of the battle hadn't changed yet, but with the appearance of the skulls, Parthenia had a feeling they would be in trouble soon. It seemed Dory had similarly recognized the danger, and she didn't hesitate to comply with his order. Closing in with Theodoric, she decided to voice her concerns with him.

"Hey, Dory, don't you think this is a bit too convenient? Poachers, a pitched battle, the monastery trots us nobles out, and then these assassin-like fellows show up? I don't know what you think, but this looks like an attempt on our lives to me."

 

[Marlowe]

MENTIONS: @Psyker Landshark [Doric], @Astoria [Parthenia]​

Sherry knew that Doric was already prepared to deliver the command. His plan was simple enough-- rush the poachers, mind the strange, masked men. Alexander and Leon were responsible for supporting the professor. Parthenia's response almost distracted her from the plan. No way... there was no way that this was an attempt on their lives. Why would Juno-- or anyone else at the monastery, for that manner-- want them dead? The Archbishop certainly wouldn't allow this, as would the church, right?​

​

She shook her head. Ugh, too much thinking, not enough doing. Sherry growled, shoving towards the poachers who were on the defensive. The tip of her lance collided with one of the poachers' swords. She was met with more force behind the poacher's defensive stance, finding herself shoved back roughly. Her opponent stared at her with steely gray eyes. She pulled away from the poacher as she ducked under the vicious swing of his sword. Now was when she had to fight harder than before, at least, to regain any favor she'd lost in Juno's eyes. ​

​

"Let's go!" Juno called towards Alexander, charging ahead as well. ​

 

[Nim]

Laila Bellwood
Mentions: People and Battle​

As Laila kept advancing with the rest, she heard what Parthenia decided to call out to Theodoric. It made absolutely no sense to her. Was her classmate starting to become paranoid? She hastened her step, getting into earshot of Parthenia "Maybe stop being so paranoid about things and put your focus on the enemies that stand in front of you." She whispered towards her housemate, before starting to rush forward.

Raising her axe, Laila kept it at shoulder height until she reached one of the people in red armor. She heard Theodoric's call before about not going against them without backup, but she wasn't trying to take him down right off the bat. Swinging her axe at him, she watched as her axe clashed with the guy's sword. The person appeared to put up a fight without as much issue as the average poachers, and begin pushing her back. Changing her stance slightly, Laila made further attempt to keep this opponent in place. She could still feel herself be slowly pushed back, but this was all as intended in her eyes.

As long as she had their weapon locked with her axe, then they were open for attacks from any of the others. Now she hoped someone else would actually notice, before her strength fails her.

 

[Psyker Landshark]

Theodoric Branden Marlon
Mentions: YEP
​

Theodoric grunted in exertion as the blood of yet another slain poacher dripped off his sword, a now-headless corpse dropping to the ground before him. Frankly, this was the point where he strongly disagreed with the archbishop's mandate. Moving forward and pushing the offensive only forced the poachers to stand their ground, risking life and limb on their part when a surrender could have been accepted or an open escape route could have incentivized the outlaws to flee, leaving their backs vulnerable in their disorganized retreat.

Parthenia suddenly piping up with a damned conspiracy theory didn't help matters, much less morale, if Sherry's face was any indication. The battlefield wasn't the place to consider if this was some absurd setup, despite the idea being ridiculous in the first place. Their fathers had taken part in battles such as these in their youths, as had their fathers before them. The presence of red-garbed assassins wasn't any sort of plot against the cadets themselves, but simple bad luck.

"We'll discuss this after the battle, Parthenia." Doric hissed back at her, keeping an eye over the battlefield. Damn it all. Laila had gone ahead and engaged with one of the men in red, forcing him into a clash. A terrible risk, given the apparent disparity in skill between them. And that left a gap in the line open, considering Laila had been guarding their magic casters. Still, at least it meant there was only one other man in red loose on the battlefield, hopefully making it easier for the Professor to mop him up and move on to support the rest of the class.

Thinking quickly, Doric settled on his change in tactics. "Mael, Sherry, help Laila! Parth, with me! Let Lapis move up to bombard the ones at furthest range, and keep her defended!"

 

[Jessica]

Lapis Zuval
Mentions: Theodoric, Parthenia
Interacting: None

Another corpse, this time missing his head with its blood, thankfully, masking what Lapis could go her entire life without seeing. The thick scent of death was making her stomach churn; something she desperately tried to ignore given the current situation.

'Do not breathe from the mouth. Allow your nose to adjust to these odors...' Lapis instructed herself, breathing deeply from her nose to try and alleviate the nauseous curl. She was fine, she knew she was; she was just having a different reaction to a corpse, or in this case, many, than others.

The most she'd seen prior had been the head of the wolf their teacher had brought in, but that was different. It was an animal she hadn't seen prior to this event. These were human beings...


Parthenia's theory snapped her out of her thoughts, which was immediately met with scolding or dismissal. Lapis, however, kept this in mind. An attempt on their lives? She assumed Parthenia's "their lives" was in regards to the lives of the nobles. It was impossible to narrow down who in particular would want to end the lives of so many nobles. Each one must have had their own rivals and enemies; too many for Lapis to take into consideration...

Just who were those people?


Theodoric gave a change in tactics, and Lapis was quick get moving and adapt. Her hand glowed green as she readied her magic, took aim at the furthest targets Theodoric mentioned, and shot a blade of wind in the enemy's direction. She could feel the effects of overusage slowly crawling into her hand and fingers. Though she would try to push herself past her limit, they wouldn't be able to rely on her spells for much longer if this continued.



​

 

[Solace]

Mentions: back from the gulag
​

Despite the unexpected appearance of hostile elements that seemed to be assisting their enemy, the sortie was looking to crawl into the graces of the Red Chimeras as the poachers' defensive formation around the last wagon was one of desperation. The new arrivals were identically decorated all in things that were only distantly familiar to Juno, but she couldn't quite piece them together at the moment; what mattered now was the last offensive, and those two anomalies spelled trouble for her students. They had both split up, and the professor could only hope that they could hold off the other until she dealt with her own. Closing the distance between the second skull and herself, greater energy swelled in her palm as the symbol of her Crest stretched in front of Juno, finally swinging her arm into the air towards them.

From all around the battlefield, vicious winds began to swirl and center on the mysterious individual, encasing them within a large tornado. Her powerful magic would deal a mighty blow to her opponent, and she would finish them off right there – at least, that's what Juno had hoped. Instead, after her Excalibur spell faded, the menacing skull rose into its patient stance from being slightly hunched, without so much a single tear on its robe. Her expression tightened with perplexity as she lunged within striking distance, finding her blade easily maneuvered and parried. The enemy was deceptively quick, only offering a moment's notice before it slashed at her neck. She managed to react in time for her pauldron to intercept the attack, though its blade was sharp enough to carve an inch into her upper arm.

Juno aptly responded with a horizontal slash to where its throat would have been, and while her attack connected directly, there was no trace of blood on her weapon. Its only reaction was a slight flinch before its cold fist struck her face center, causing the professor to falter backwards. Fresh crimson discharged from her nose when she turned to see its open gauntlet attempting to smother her face, finding it a very peculiar decision while she was momentarily staggered. The professor seized the opportunity to step forward, feeling the tips of its fingers on her skin as she plunged her rapier through its torso; it felt like she had stabbed through a block of ice. This time, an low yet otherworldly sound came from the other side of the skull, one that she could only describe as a cacophony of dying gasps from a collective of others.

As its figure grew limp, the sound of shattering glass followed in its collapse, though its robes and mask simply crumpled to the ground, with no signs of its body or structure. Even its weapon had disappeared. "What in the world?" Juno stared down at the pile of what remained, wiping the blood trickling from her nose and seeing cracks begin to form on its mask. Knowing that this abnormality warranted a later investigation, she cast it off to the back of her mind for the time being, noting that only two poachers including their leader and the last masked individual remained. 'They must've dealt with them,' the professor saw four of the defenders sprawled to the ground, setting her eyes for their leader and breaking off towards the leading wagon. Something had managed to cut part of its tarp along the side, but all she could see within that small gap and the darkness of the cage was a large, glowing blue eye.

---

While Professor Juno had been making strides on the other side of their formation, the students had been rallying behind Theodoric for the final offensive. Maelys ignored the blood that gushed from his upper chest, wearing a stoic expression as he gazed over the last ranks of the poachers. Outside of their leader, only five more remained at the flank of the two skull masks, seeing that they were quite unnerved and distraught about the losing battle. He began to advance after the other Red Chimeras, watching a number of green flashes swirl over his shoulder. While it did not manage to connect with the five poachers on the front line, he noticed that their leader had been the recipient of those magical attacks, seeing them clutch at the bloody stump of where their right hand used to be.

Maelys approached and prepared himself for another direct confrontation, though his face twisted with confusion when three of the poachers suddenly collapsed to the ground at the same time, refraining from any sort of movement as if they died on the spot. His brow raised, looking between Lapis and the bodies. "I guess... they did get hit?" the noble mumbled to himself while the force of Juno's magic left the atmosphere. He broke off into a dash to assist Sherry with her own opponent until they also fell dead; that was when he saw that none of the four bodies had sustained any sort of injury that could possibly lead to their deaths. "B-b-b-boss!" the final poacher cried out, dropping their weapons and turning to flee from the situation.

 

[Marlowe]

MENTIONS: N/A
​

This was it. The battle was finally ending. They had their quarry backed into a corner, and there was nothing much they could do. The fear in the poachers' gazes was prominent as they encroached, drawing nearer and nearer. Her head lurched around to glance at Theodoric. Help out Laila? She turned to look at the girl. She was busy with one of the strange individuals in red armor, quite obviously needing help from one of her allies. Without thinking, she streaked towards the red-clad individual, her lance held at her side as she powered through with whatever remained of her energy. "Get away from her!" she howled with both frustration and rage, twirling her lance as she attempted to pierce the individual's red hide. Like before, he was too quick; he ripped himself away from Laila's lock with a violent lurch of his body and whirled around to face Sherry.

The sight of his face, despite it being cloaked with the skull-shaped mask, chilled her to the bone. Perhaps it was because she was so close to him, now. Maybe she was just tired. She wondered if anyone else felt as tired as she did; tired of death, tired of blood, tired of seeing bodies drop to the floor without an ounce of spirit left in them. As she thought that, she heard several heavy thuds, and she looked behind her to see that several other of the poachers had dropped dead. Though she hadn't heard the piercing of armor or any attacks that--

Pain stuck her gut as she felt the tip of the red-clad enemy's sword dig into her stomach. Yelling out in fear and pain, she leapt away within an instant. If she remained still for just a moment longer, she would have been run through. Grunting, she clenched her spear even harder this time. "Damn you!" she snarled, gritting her teeth. Then, just like that, the pain started to ebb away.

"I've got you, Sherry!" Orianna's voice sounded behind her, though she didn't dare to turn to face her.

It was the first time she had been healed with magic, Sherry remembered. Her pain ebbed away as she steeled herself against her foe, who slowly approached her again. A slight amount of fear struck her as she maintained her gaze on them, and she steadied herself.

 

[Nim]

Laila Bellwood
Mentions: Sherry and Orianna ( @Luminosity ), Lapis ( @Jessica2477 ), Leon ( @Rouge Rogue )​

Hearing some shouts from behind her, Laila kept her eyes locked on the figure in front of her and his sword. While she kept him in a lock for a moment, she felt like something was off about it. Soon enough, she heard Sherry's voice, and the man broke out of the lock with force, causing Laila to stumble backwards and drop to the ground. She certainly didn't expect that sort of movement from him.
Looking up, she saw Sherry face the red hooded person. It initially looked like Sherry had her eyes on him, but clearly that wasn't the case, as he managed to move towards her quickly and stab her right in the gut. Quickly standing up, Laila watched Sherry free herself from his sword and then a glow appeared around her as Orianna cast her healing spell. Laila was that much more grateful now that Orianna was around.

Focusing her eyes on the hooded person, Laila charged towards him, axe raised once more. As she approached, she could see the figure turning towards her. Another clash with him would likely lead to the same result as before. And now she know he had enough strength to break free. Still proceeding, her axe clashed with his sword, only for him to make a swift movement that pushed her axe to the side, before feeling a stab in her left shoulder. Seeing the sword cutting into her shoulder, she left go of her axe and instead grabbed the figure's arm with both hands, clearly bent on locking it into its place.

"Lapis! Sherry! Leon!" She called out to the three, knowing Sherry was closest, and hoping Lapis and Leon both would both be ready to try and hit him in a moment's notice.

 

[Psyker Landshark]

Theodoric Branden Marlon
Mentions: how have most of you not posted before I did
​

They were winning. This was almost over. Almost. Theodoric attempted to soothe his worries with that as the last of the poachers started to retreat. A moment's deliberation had him deciding not to give the order to pursue. There were barely any left to make a noticeable difference, even if their mandate was to kill or capture them all. No, the remaining masked men came first, considering Maelys and Sherry were already injured.

Fortunately, the Professor had already eliminated one. That just left a single assassin remaining.

"Let the poachers flee! Focus on the masked man!" Doric bellowed as he turned to where Laila was locking the red man down, judging the distance in his head. No, he wouldn't make it in time to strike with his sword. Instead, he dashed to the side, moving to an open flank as he thrust his free hand out, beginning to channel a Fire spell. He thrust his palm forward, hurling the fireball at the man's exposed side and hoping that the others around him had the sense to not attack from a flank where he was casting spells.

 

[Astoria]

Parthenia Harland Ciran
Mentions: oopsie ​

Apparently, Parthenia's paranoid offerings were not well received. Had she been over worried? As she advanced with Theodoric and the rest of them, despite the appearance of the masked assassins, the general resistance among the poachers continued to crumble. With careful positioning, they could pop up this entire fight without a single casualty on their side—basically a miracle.

That was, until Laila charged in suicidally to meet one of the masked men that it appeared their professor was otherwise doing an amazing task of dispatching. The sudden development meant that she and the rest of them had to charge in rather clumsily to come to her aid.

Was this the second time in a row that the girl had caused problems in the middle of a fight?

Parthenia clicked her teeth, moving to surround the last tangible threat, but doing just that. Any further action would mean that she would get into a close-quarters melee with all of her classmates against one, which was not effective at all. So she stood back, lance at the ready for any sudden developments.

 

[Demon Shinobi]

Alexander Zephaniah Ravaleth
Currently Location: Amissa Woodlands
Interactions: Professor Juno (@Solace / @Luminosity )
Mentions: Theodoric and general happenings​

Dispatching one final poacher before he could run too far, Alex's head turned quickly with the arrival of new enemies. "Well, they certainly aren't the average poachers," if they were poachers at all that is. He huffed, shaking his head as Doric called out to him.

Alex had managed well enough to handle the flank as ordered. Now for the next duty granted to him. Back up the professor. Exhaling softly, Alex nodded.

"Right."

He moved into position behind Juno, eyeing the enemy as he did, eyes continually scanning for potential ambush or otherwise unsavory activity. He would never have called this battle too easy, but it certainly was going smoother than he'd expected. Luckily, he didn't seem to have to worry himself too much over the particulars. Just follow the professor.

Then, a call to action from the lady herself. Alex couldn't help a small grin spreading across his lips. "Yes ma'am," he said as he charged after her.

What came next, was certainly unexpected. Laila had broken formation, forcing Theodoric to rethink his strategy. No changed in Alex's orders. Of course, following the professor meant there was little point in his presence. "Holy shit..." Though he'd aimed to back her up, she handled the first of the skull-masked figured on her own. His eyes widened though as the man... thing? seemed to crumble before them. "What the hell was that, professor?" he asked, blinking a few times as he continued to follow her. He had his orders after all. Besides, joining the others in facing the final red-clad figure wouldn't do much more would it?

The other poachers had begun to fall. One seemed to be escaping, though Doric ordered them to avoid pursuing. Alex was more focused on the sight before him. A large, glowing blue eye, shrouded within the darkness of a cage before him and Professor Juno. "Well... That's not scary at all," he commented before glancing at the seasoned warrior. "What do we do now?" he asked, sword held at the ready, just in case.

 

[Marlowe]

MENTIONS:​

Sherry was surprised to see that Laila had rushed forward to break formation. The sight of the slight rebellion made her wince; she knew that the air was thick with tension, but this was an actual fight and not a practice tourney. They couldn't risk anyone suddenly breaking away from the others, especially when it was against orders... even though she was less than happy to have Doric in charge. Luckily for them, the girl was able to get the last assassin under control. And, before they could even want to harm Laila, a searing bolt of fire flew past them and crashed into the strange individual's figure. There was no scream, no utterance of pain, nothing. Instead, the burning clothes sunk into itself and fell to the ground in a seared pile. Sherry blinked down at the pile, and nudged it with her boot. It didn't move, but even looking at it sent something through her veins, as if she had seen a ghost.

Hesitant, she lowered her lance and glanced at the rest of them. Everyone seemed alright. There weren't any wounds that gaped on her classmates' forms. Maybe a few flesh wounds here and there, but nothing absolutely serious and in need of healing with magic. "What do you suppose that was about?" she asked everyone in the vicinity. Honestly, she had no idea that they were going to run into the crimson-cloaked assassins, and their professor didn't look like she expected to, either. It definitely wasn't a part of their mission...

"I-I don't know," Orianna whimpered as she hovered close to Doric. Her small body quivered. "But that was terrifying, wasn't it? Maybe Professor Juno knows something about those weird people."

Her gaze flickered to their professor in question. Alex was next to her, and the both of them were focused on something in the cage. The bars rattled and another deep, penetrating growl rung forth from the shadowy depths of the enclosure.

"Stand back," Juno muttered to Alex. Sherry didn't want to admit it, but she sounded almost gallant, as if she was a knight in shining armor that had arrived to save them all. She watched as Juno walked up to the cage and peeled back the tarp.

Sherry's mouth opened with shock at the sight of the beast. A large, gray-furred wolf snarled at them from inside of the cage, its massive blue gaze sweeping across them with ferocity. Saliva dribbled from its maw as its teeth glinted in the half light. It wasn't happy to be captive, that was certain. Even though the beast's fur bristled with fury, she could see some cuts and scratches that marred its body, most likely from mishandling by the poachers. The cage was also far too small for its size.

"Poor thing," she murmured more to herself than to anyone else around her. "No beast deserves to be chained up like that..."

Their professor got to work on undoing the lock to the cage, and Sherry was about to turn back to the rest of the class when she heard a vicious roar. Sherry turned back to see that the wolf had burst from the cage itself and was now in the wide open. Frost crunched under its massive paws as it circled the small space between the cage and edge of the clearing. Its head was lowered, almost as if it was sniffing the ground. Sherry found herself tensing up. Maybe they should just leave it be. The wolf didn't seem extremely hostile, but it wasn't running off, either. Just as she was about to say something, the wolf's head shot upwards and its body twisted in its path, roaring with fury as it leapt towards Juno.

Sherry shot forward without thinking. "Professor!"

The professor was more prepared than she was. She leaped back with a fluid movement, and her rapier raked against the wolf's muzzle in a silver flash. An unholy howl erupted from the beast's maw before it turned tail and tore into the trees. Its howls rippled across the forest even as it fled.

"In Yhirel's name, you could have been maimed-- or worse!" Sherry gasped as she slowed to a halt in front of the professor. "You're lucky that you didn't get--"

Her words caught in her throat when she saw Juno clamp her hand over her forearm. Red welled between her fingers. Sherry's worry turned into dread.

Juno let out a strained chuckle. "Its fang caught on my arm. Don't worry, it's only a flesh wound."

"B-but..."

"I'll be fine." Juno told her, perking up at the approach of another. Orianna had come up to them, her healing palms already at the ready.

Sherry frowned and pulled away. She didn't know why, but she felt like she had been useless that fight. Doric had done wonderfully, along with Laila, as much as she was hesitant to admit. She wasn't even able to protect her professor! What kind of house leader was she? She was sure that Doric would have done something before her.

 

[Nim]

Laila Bellwood
Mentions: End of Battle​

Without turning her attention away from the red cloaked assassin, Laila hoped someone would do something. She really wasn't sure how longer she could hold him open for attacks like this. Soon enough, however, a fire bolt came and struck the hooded figure, causing them to crumble down into ashes right in front of her eyes. The sword that Laila held onto was released, and dropped into the ground as well. She felt bits of pain from her wound, but for the moment it seemed to be okay. At least, the rush of adrenaline was preventing her from noticing if there was any serious pain.

As the others continued to speak, Laila picked up her axe and turned to look at them. She didn't have the slightest clue as to where or why those strange red cloaks have come from, and she wasn't overly eager to find out. However, she noticed the attention of the professor turned elsewhere, to a cage next her and Alex. Watching in silence, Laila's eyes widened upon seeing the wolf that appeared out of the cage. The poachers were trying to move a wild wolf? Were they crazy?
A moment later, the wolf tried moving on Juno, making Laila want to move and help the professor, only for it to be over as quickly as it begin, and the wolf quickly vanished to the woods. Hearing Sherry begin to talk to Juno the way she did, Laila turned to look at the rest of her classmates.

Feeling that the shoulder where she was stabbed slowly becoming wet, Laila looked at it again and saw some blood had started to stain the shirt. And since she saw Orianna went to take care of Juno, she elected to remain silent and took out the vulnerary they were given before. Taking a healthy sip from it, she felt the tingling of the pain around her shoulder fade away. There wasn't much she could do about the stain, but she figured at least this way the others wouldn't need to be concerned about her.

 

[Psyker Landshark]

Theodoric Branden Marlon
Mentions: try Gamer Supps today with code CHUNGASS
​

Theodoric sighed in relief as his Fire spell struck true, reducing the would-be assassin to ashes in moments. With that, it seemed the battle was over. For the moment, at least. He didn't know how the knights' side of the conflict was going. Though considering the difference between the bandits and even barely-trained cadets, he doubted that they would pose much of a threat to seasoned veterans with proper arms and armor.

Doric frowned as he considered Laila for a moment, wondering if it was his place to say anything. She had broken rank without orders, certainly. But her intervention had been crucial in locking down the last man in red, ensuring that he didn't have the opportunity to injure or even kill any of the rest of his house members. Chide her for acting out of turn, or praise her for quick thinking and initiative? A interesting conundrum, to say the least. The professor would have a more certain answer, to be sure, but it would be lazy of him to not even consider the dilemma and leave it solely to her judgement. Truth be told, he was leaning towards praise, as the action had produced appreciable results. But was encouraging breaking ranks at will really the right call to make? How would it affect the judgement of the others?

His musings turned to concern as he saw Professor Juno approach a caged wolf. Doric stiffened in alarm and his sword was already raised as the beast injured her, but he relaxed again as it ran off and Orianna began to heal her. Glancing around, Theodoric took a moment to look over each of the Red Chimeras. Thankfully, none seemed to be severely injured, with flesh wounds and minor scrapes at best.

"Keep your weapons ready. We don't know if the outside battle has ended yet." He said before glancing to Juno. "Are we to fall back now, Professor? Our standing orders have been carried out."

 

[Jessica]

Lapis Zuval
Mentions:
Interacting: Laila

What had she been thinking? What had she been thinking?

What in the world was she thinking?!

Why did her spellhand stutter during the time Laila needed someone to help her?

Why did Laila do what she did?! She could have been hurt, or worse!

Why couldn't Lapis perform when she needed to?!

Then there were the problems with the wolves... Thankfully, that problem was taken care of, but... Was it over? Was the bloodshed done? She, as well as the rest of the Chimeras, had seen enough blood for the day...

Her chest felt tight with emotions, a realization dawning on her that, while she'd already been aware of, the weight of it truly hit her in this moment. She was the worst in the class, no doubt about it. While being knowledgeable and good with magic had its benefits, it would not do her well if she couldn't defend herself better or act when she needed to. On top of that, magic would not shield her from a swift blade.

Laila could have been killed today because of Lapis's stutter in battle, and if that something like that happened again, her friend may not have come out so lucky.

She needed to train more, and train harder. Today's performance was nothing short of embarrassing and disappointing, on her part. Perhaps when they returned to the monastery, she could begin by working towards mastering her swordsmanship. By herself or with guidance, it didn't matter so long as she received practice.

Though, as Theodoric began talking to their professor, Lapis moved closer to Laila. Then, the blue haired girl caught the other in a hug, her hands clenching the fabric of the blonde's shirt. Though words were not said, the actions spoke loud and clear.

'You could have been killed!' alongside 'I'm sorry.'



​

 

[Astoria]

Parthenia Harland Ciran
Mentions: this post sponsored by raid shadow legends ​

Although she never found an opening for her to properly intervene, the last combat in the battle didn't end in disaster, despite Laila's best attempts at getting herself killed. With the last masked man dead at Doric's hand, the fight, at least for the students, was over.

It was as good as a time to scold Laila again, as ever. Parthenia cut right through Doric's hesitation on whether or not to praise or admonish her, and began to excoriate the shorter girl. "What in Yhirel's name were your bloody thinking? This is the second time you've done this—and now in an actual battle! You could have easily gotten yourself killed, let alone the rest of us!"

She continued yelling at Laila for a time –both out of concern and great annoyance—but stopped when she caught Professor Juno's interaction with the wild wolf in the corner of her eye. Raising an eyebrow at the small wound that she received, her attention was sufficiently taken away to leave Laila alone. Walking up to the cage, she nodded at Juno, before kneeling down and frowning at the crude construction.

"It's strange that they specifically went after a wolf. Why capture it alive? There's not much value in doing so." Standing back up, she glanced at Doric, and then the rest of her peers, before standing back at ready. "Right then. I still think all this—" she gestured around them, "—remains rather strange, at best. It'll be a given that the knights will be investigating afterwards, yes?"

 

[Solace]

Mentions: hello darkness my old friend
​

The sounds of their encounter remained fresh in Maelys' ears, ringing loudly over the eerie quietness that swept their empty battlefield. Even as the last man fell to return to the earth, his heart raced on, the pulsing adrenaline slowly coming to a halt; the boy was returning to himself. The pain from his earlier injury had come to a head as it compelled his body to stagger, spilling blood from his mouth. A great portion of his uniform had become stained with fresh crimson, both foreign and his own. There was so much that was welling up in his chest all at once that he couldn't find the words or actions to convey such emotions; his eyes flickered with disgust over what they-- no, he had done. He was sick to his stomach, trying to find justice in his actions. 'They wouldn't have hesitated,' he tried to tell himself. 'They would've done the same to me.'

Yet, despite knowing that to be the truth, the boy couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. No amount of childhood grooming could have prepared him for taking another person's life. Beyond the bodies of the dead, Maelys' eyes flickered as he recoiled upon discovering the gore that was encrusted to the edges of his gauntlets, prompting him to toss them far away with a scream. His hand came up to cover the open wound along his chest from the throwing knife, not even feeling sure as to where he was anymore as he slowly drifted among the deceased; it was all that he could see. He was terrified to look at their faces, but what if one of his friends had fallen?

His expression was full of distress when he realized that one of the fallen poachers was still alive, discovering their mangled body a few feet away from the center of the clearing. The girl had been trying to crawl away, but turned onto her back after seemingly finding that the effort was fruitless. By that time, he hadn't even realized that he already drew the sword from his hip, holding the end of the weapon over her chest. She began to spew blights and curses upon his livelihood until her voice gave out, sputtering her final breath as his blade sank into the earth below her body.

Maelys turned away from the scene, starting towards the Red Chimeras and returning the now-stained weapon to its sheath. Halfway, he finally broke under the strain from the ordeals of the day, stopping in place and clenching his fist around the wound on his chest. Tears welled in his eyes as the boy's head hung down to his elbow, sobbing quietly. Not even the darkness of his mind could bring solace; he just wanted to go home.

 

[Marlowe]

MENTIONS:​

The next days were a nightmare.

Sherry couldn't find a way to forget the blood that she shed on that day in the frosty forest, or the sound of the poachers' cries when her class ended their lives. She found it difficult to sleep, that was, if she actually slept at all. Her nightmares were frequent, her guilt was heavy, and her concern for her classmates even moreso. She hadn't ever seen any of them bleed, especially Laila and Maelys, who were practically on the frontlines of the battle. And when that wolf had pounced towards Juno and almost ripped off her arm... well, it was certainly a shock. Not even the presence of the Yhirel knights in the forest calmed her down enough, even when they told the Red Chimeras not to worry too much and that they had done a good job.

A good job. Had they really done a good job? Had she done a good job?

"Hey kid, you alright?"

Sherry was torn out of her thoughts. She was back at the monastery, surrounded by warm colors and the bustle of people. The skies were clear and the weather was warm, despite being late in the Amber Moon. She stood in front of a stall lined with candied apples, even though she had no recollection of even having decided to stand there in the first place. A woman stared at her from the other side of the table, her head tipped to the side as her long, blonde locks swayed in the autumn breeze.

"Do you want a candied apple or not?"

"Ermmm..."

"Of course you do. It ain't the Harvest Festival without a candied apple! Here, this one's on the house, sugar plum." the woman handed her a big, fat, green apple on a stick. Caramel dribbled down its sides. Sherry was surprised to see how heavy it was. "How old are you, anyways?"

"I'm seventeen..."

"Oh dear. Well, give me a holler when you're a bit older, dear," the woman purred with a wink and a smirk. "Enjoy your candied apple! Yhirel knows it's just as sweet as you!"

Sherry blinked in a mixture of shock and embarrassment, her mouth opening to spout something at the strange blonde lady. But the candied apple seller had already turned to attend someone else, and she was left with her words in her mouth. The caramel dribbled further down the side of the apple, a very slow, slow advance like the inching of a caterpillar. She sniffed and took a bite out of the apple, feeling its stickiness flood her lips as she moved towards the entrance to the monastery.