[Sniff's busy drilling and stabbing so Nie is veryclose to literally falling off? Like he's sliding off of this dog and toward the ground and if he doesn't get upright he'll definitely hit the dirt. The man with the axe is trying for another swing though, this time slashing at Nie's front while Sniff tries to gouge him with his snout. Did I change it from Huaisang to Nie because it's easier? Yes.
Demon approaches the battle line, tail whipping and knocking soldiers aside as he barks and a gust of wind blows. The rockets from button-shark flare and spin, aiming straight toward the center of the action. The wind from Demon sways them so they aren't aimed quite at Nie and Anya, but they're still moving pretty damn fast.
This close, Toi's jacket will finally unlock and unzip revealing a handful of ninja stars that will continually dispense that he can use to aim at long distances. Jin Ling's jacket will also dispense...bombs. Why. Why this. Careful though, they're hot! He will burn his hands when he throws them, so maybe he won't use them at all.
The soldier in the air has called for backup as the pegasus whinnies and kicks. The sword pierces Anya and though she's shooting, the horse is flying and dodging most of the bullets from leaving fatal marks. Yodel barks again, the ground shaking and trembling but with one last bullet Anya hits her target.
But as the soldier falls, he drives the sword further into the girl and drags her down with him straight to the ground.]
[thank you sniff... he takes a moment to steady himself, watching that axe as he clings to this good dog. THAT EFFORT DOES GET HIM SLASHED THO BC TEEJ CAN READ, and he yelps as he tries to stay upright and axe man presumably draws his weapon back to swing again.
and now that huaisang can move, he goes along with what the scissors seem to want; the strength boost is the only reason he can think about splitting them at all, honestly, but while he has it? he's going to make use of it. assuming the blades do split, he'll use one to block and the other to dart in for a stab on axe man, hoping he's too distracted by sniff to do much blocking himself.
as we've established, though, anya is behind him so he doesn't see this stabbing happen... he's focused on axe man for now, trying to dispatch him so he can regain his bearings before he gets attacked again.]
[she falls, and thinks that the impact should hurt more than it does.
but the shock overrides that as she feels the sword drive into her chest, and drags into her. she falls with the soldier, and wonders whose blood this is that's on her, and on her hands, and on her clothes. immediately her free hand tries to reach out for yodel, for some sense of balance, but she can't quite get it. she looks for another gun, in case someone is coming to hurt nie or yodel or sniff, because she's still thinking about others.
she has to get up, and she tells herself that, trying to will her limbs past the pain - she pushes herself off the ground only a few inches before she falls again
why is her strength leaving her arms?
why is she coughing out more dark red, staining the ground?
why is it all getting darker and distant and harder to hear?]
[ nie huaisang can't see her fall from his position, but toi can.
how close are they? but with new weapons in hand, toi is just going to grab some of the stars to throw. he's aiming for the axe man, or anyone else who might be close to them. ]
Shit shit shit--
[ they need to reach her and give her medical attention. none of them are doctors. shit. ]
[Oh NO. Jin Ling's face drops, and he almost drops the poor baby shark, too.] Fuck! Anya! [Angrily, he fires off a rocket at the pegasus-riding bastard, and then he shoves himself right off Demon's side. He's clutching the shark to his chest, though, to keep the mouth shut, and he hits the ground in an unsteady, triple roll. He probably twists his ankle, but that's fine.
When he pops back up, he has one arm clutched around the shark and the other pulling bombs out, sizzling skin be damned, to throw at every enemy he runs by for Huaisang and Anya. He talks a lot of shit, but he's actually pretty good at fighting unfortunately!]
[The axe cuts and Nie bleeds, but it's not enough to completely take him down. He's able to move and he can split apart the scissors, feeling something like a shift of energy splitting between him. It's fast, a pump of adrenaline as he absorbs the shock of the block and stabs the axe wield, weapon dropping heavily to the ground as he's skewered on the scissor blade.
The swarm of enemies is closing in, especially as they've gravitated toward the center of the field. Luckily for now they have a moment to regroup. Yodel barks toward the enemies, causing them to lose their footing and stay back as Sniff swipes with his nose to ward off anyone come from the opposite direction.
The stars Toi throws manage to land in the necks and in the eyes of oncoming soldiers, fending them off from approaching quite so fast. Good thing Jin Ling doesn't drop the baby shark and that rocket bursts, sending rider and horse flying to the ground as he's trampled by Yodel. As he hits the ground he might slip in some blood but it's fine, probably. Toi and Demon ride up to the scene as Jin Ling runs. His fingers begin to burn and bubble from the heat, small waves of fire flaring up in front of their enemies to stall them a little longer.
It's enough. Their efforts buy them just enough time to gather together, though there isn't much time as the fight continues around them.]
[ when toi reaches them, he slides off of demon to get the medicine thrust at him. he grabs it, and goes to open the jar and. i have no idea what kind of medicine this is.
but whatever it is, toi just drops to his knees and tries to give it to anya. ]
[it's a goopy sort of medicine!! the kind that you sort of need to smear. but she hears her name, she thinks - but not from a voice she's used to hearing it from.
there's the feeling of something against her skin, but... there is no effect. the salve does nothing against a gaping wound, already too gone to help. it makes her blink blearily as she distantly understands that they're trying to save her, trying to help her, and she manages only a whisper even as her hand reaches out, palm up as always:]
.............. ok... ay.... 'm...
[she's okay. she's okay, she's okay, she wants to be okay. she doesn't want to say goodbye yet, she doesn't want to go. she doesn't want to be away from the people that she wants to be next to.
but she's only getting colder, and weaker, and it's getting hard to see. they need to leave her behind to focus, because this is a war. she'll try to stay awake, even though it's hard, but they can't keep paying attention to her or else it'll be worse of them.]
... not yet....... До.... свидания.....
[did you know that it takes thirty seconds to bleed out from a stab to the heart, once the weapon's been removed? the sword lies bloodied next to her, dislodged from the fall.
and did you know that to say goodbye in Russian is made of two words - 'until' and 'meeting'
until we meet again.
distantly, it occurs to her that this cold feeling that wraps around her, far worse than any snow or ice, is one that she doesn't know well, but she recognizes now. she's scared. she doesn't make it. her hand goes limp.
[He chunks as many bombs as he needs to get to and skid down to Anya. The shark gets zipped for now and dropped in favor of trying to get Anya face-up and supported.]
No! No! Anya!
[Everything on his front is bloody including his arms and hands, but he grabs Anya's face anyway by the chin to try to--what? Force her to look at them?] Bring the damn medicine!! [He wonders if his throat has ever felt this raw when screaming.
It's one thing to have no parents because you were too small to even realize they were gone. It's another thing to watch someone kind die in front of you.]
Don't close your eyes! We're here! We have medicine! You'll be-- ...
[A deep-rooted coldness settles--he can't tell, in his stomach, in his bones, in his heart. He snatches his hand away from her face like he's been scalded, but not by the bombs. And he just stares.]
[She's gone. Just like that, another light lost to the bloodshed of war. The mysteries of this house continue to unwind and hold tight to its guests...
...and a wyvern swoops down, its wings unfurling just enough to claw both Toi and Jin Ling and leave behind some bloody gashes as its talons scoop up the young girl and begin to fly off. It soars through the air over the battle, heading straight to the castle.
...they'll have to fight their way through to rescue the princess.]
Wait, shouldn't it have worked? Anya-- miss Anya!!
[he half expects her to correct him again, but despite the medicine... no, nothing, and his grip tightens on the handles of those scissor blades. even with four of them here, even with these weapons, it's still like this? sure, everyone who came out of rooms last week seemed in poor shape, but...
she still doesn't look like she's breathing, and nie huaisang exhales a slow breath, stepping back. the other two could probably use a moment, he thinks. she really, really didn't deserve something like this, and it's no consolation that she at least died in a fight and not as prey to some monster.
except nobody gets a moment after all, because suddenly, a fucking wyvern! huaisang shouts and ducks as it swoops overhead, then starts flying off with anya in its grasp.]
Why would it...?! We can't- we really can't just leave her there, can we...
[god. he's looking across this battlefield so uncertainly, but who knows what happens if you leave bodies in rooms when they're like this, what if it just smells like death forever, also literally everyone else will kill them if they don't go get her.]
[ it really doesn't take him too long to realize that the medicine isn't working. except it has to work, because then she'll die. and when her hand drops, and she's no longer breathing, it still doesn't take long for it to click and for toi to know that they were too late. if they even had time to help her at all.
it happened again. it keeps happening. there's really no such thing as a real connection, is there? nothing stays.
but then her body is grabbed and flown away, and toi at least scrambles to his feet and runs after it for a few feet, stopping once he sees how far it's going. ]
Come on. We need to get her back-- get the dogs.
[ where are they? hopefully they're still close by. he picks the shark up, mostly running on autopilot. ]
[Hot, stinging eyes is as far as he gets before the wyvern swoops in to bowl them out of the way. He can't believe he gets startled, and then he can't believe a pair of claws is just snatching Anya away. He gives a strangled, angry scream, trying to ignore the burn across his shoulder and back.
In this moment, he almost looks like his uncle.
When he goes to stand, he grabs the sword lying nearby and--just bolts.] Demon, come! [He continues to run as hard as he can until hopefully the dog catches up, and, if so, he'll reach up to get a fistful of fur to try to toss himself up enough to get on.
There is no other choice. He would never take any other choice.]
[Demon follows, immediately smoking again as he runs after Jin Ling and allows the boy to jump on. He's bowling over soldiers as he runs, but many more attack from the ground and the sky. Metal swipes through the air, arrows fly, and he's likely to get slashed and bruised as they race to the castle.
The wyvern is in sight leading the way. Sniff immediately follows and likewise soldiers attack from all sides. Nie has armor for the back and enchanted ropes for the front, but he'll have to slash and fight one-handed as they ride or he, too, will get slashed, shot at and bruised.
Yodel howls and there's a distant howl back as the dog grabs Toi by the collar and throws him aboard with the shark. Its mouth is zipped and it can't help now while it's in that state, but Yodel races after the other two dogs. Toi's most likely to get shot at with bullets if he's not careful.
All three find that the path the wyvern is taking is long and far. They have weapons and clothes to protect them, but only if they're smart enough to use them. Otherwise, the fight will continue as waves of soldiers from the ground and the sky attempt to stop them. Brightly-colored knights from the King's kingdom appear the further they go, fighting off the enemy and trying to clear a path. The journey isn't easy though, and there's a good chance they won't get out of this clean. An arrow to the eye. A bullet to the leg. A dagger to the back. Sometimes these things happen if one isn't careful.]
[well, first of all huaisang uses his clothes ropes to snag the jar toi abandoned, they're not done with that yet if there's still anything in it!
he's not an experienced fighter at all, so he's absolutely taking hits along the way, an arrow stuck in one leg that he doesn't dare let go of the dog or his weapon to try to pull out, and a couple of new slashes across one arm he tried to block with.
here are two questions, though. if he touches the necklace that seemed to react earlier, does it do anything or can he get a sense for what it might do?
the second question is how effective of a stupid move is it to just. combine the enchanted ropes and the scissor blade to basically extend its reach. nie huaisang will absolutely try to grab the handle of one blade with them and use the ropes to kind of whip it across multiple soldiers and then yank it back. don't @ him.]
[ toi uses the weapons he has; he throws the shuriken at enemies, and other times he'll use the staff, but it's difficult to use it all while also holding onto the shark, so he definitely gets hit. he eventually just shoves the shark into his shirt to keep it from falling off yodel.
he gets shot in the shoulder, and again on his thigh. and, because i have never had an eye injury before and finally see my goddamn chance, he gets hit with a blade at his left eye.
but he's still running on adrenaline, and there really isn't time to focus on the pain or the blood or anything other than the fact that they need to get anya back. it's the absolute least thing they can do for her after they let her die. ]
[The sword isn't Suihua, and he thinks if it was, he'd be able to do a lot more than he could have since only his father's sword would have had the strength do it right. He uses it bitterly and angrily to cut down everything in his way that Demon doesn't crush beneath them.
And he makes it through most of it by sheer will with simple cuts and bruises except for right near the end when he gets not one, but two arrows completely through the left shoulder. The bolts are too thick for him to snap, so he doesn't bother trying, letting the arm hang limp. They'll have to find a way to cut them later, if there's even a later;
he can't believe how easy it is to die when there's no spiritual energy to feed your body back together.]</small.
[The necklace, Nie will realize, can split into a bolas-type weapon, two heavier ends that swing and can smash into enemies before boomeranging back to him. It's an effective way to knock people out of the way. The scissors tied with cloth method, however, seems to do the opposite effect! While it can slice at other soldiers and clear a path, he will quickly feel himself draining of energy, heart rate slowing...
The three of them run with their dogs and fight through the worst part of the crowd, the wyvern screeching above them as it leads them out of the valley and up, up, up to a forest of bright autumn colors. Reds, oranges, and yellows flash before their eyes as the wyvern zips between the trees, leaving them to get smacked at by branches.
Their best bet is to get the wyvern to land, but Anya's body is in clear sight. The creature soars and they'll find themselves drawn away from a majority of the battle and toward an open forest grove.]
[haha wow okay he tries that and then just kind of has a minor panic attack on this fucking dog, this is probably where he takes at least one of those slashes because he's just- trying to breathe. what the fuck! what the fuck. he hates these scissors. he's not sure if it's the method or just the distance, so he's going to keep them close as he gathers himself and slashes at a soldier who got too close. he takes a moment to check that his nose isn't bleeding, after.
the bola necklace though, he'll absolutely use; he throws it, then uses the time until it returns to slash with the blade, then repeats.
and when they get in clear sight of the wyvern, his hair now full of twigs and leaves from the branches, nie huaisang tries throwing it up at the creature to try to help bring the damn thing down.]
[ honestly if it wasn't for the fact the thing had anya then toi would have rocketed this bitch via shark
but as it stands, it does have her, so he will grab another shuriken..... and then shake his head, instead reaching into his pocket to pull out a gun. he'll aim-- and admittedly his aim is definitely not the best right now, considering he just lost an eye-- but he'll try his best to hit it. ]
[Well, all he has are bombs!! They hurt his already blistered hands, but whatever! It’s a suffering of pain that makes him realize he’s alive.
So he tries to balance on Demon while chunking a few at the wyverns with his good arm. It probably won’t be enough, and the dogs will have to dodge the spray of dirt and rock.]
Shoot it down!
[Whether gun hits or not, he barrels ahead with Demon toward the grove.]
[As they enter the grove, the war fades behind them and a curtain of vines close to trap them inside the ring of trees. The enemies behind them seem to disappear and the wyvern shrieks again. The bola wraps around its ankles, right above where its claws grip Anya's lifeless body and Toi's bullet clips its wing. Jin Ling's bombs temporarily blind the creature and a fiery wave finally sends it crashing to the ground.
The dogs come to a halt, growling at first as the smoke around them begins to clear. The growling becomes a confused sort of whimper, tails tentatively wagging as the vision before them becomes clearer.
Bleeding from the arm, covered in small burns and yet gracefully holding herself is a young woman, bound at her feet. Anya's body lays before her, and she looks down at her for a moment before she looks at the three boys. The dogs continue to whine, though this time in recognition.
Though the queen doesn't speak, she waves a hand to free herself from her binds before crouching down to Anya. An ancient, unidentifiable language is spoken as she brushes a hand over Anya's head. A passing ritual of some kind.
She faces them once more, speaking in the same tongue and though they won't understand her, she'll be able to make charades work as she points to a stump and to a tree. Inside the stump there's a small ornate box, and the tree reveals itself to be hollow.]
To return... [She speaks. She nods toward the box.] Thank you.
[You have served the queen and though you have lost one of your own, you have been rewarded...
Anya looks almost peaceful now, still battle-worn and broken, but her face looks less pained. This may not remain the case when she leaves but the thought counts.
Whenever they leave the room, everything will be depowered. The shark, the dogs, they will return to the status of stuffed animals. The clothing will be depowered and the weapons will disappear except for their sewing tools which remain normal household items.
And whenever they look in the box, they'll instinctually know what the following items are for:
There's a blacklight, sized and shaped to look like a dagger.
There's a small child-size bow with one arrow which may be used to enchant one target and influence them with any sort of thought.
A blue ring that will grow ice cold should the wearer be in the vicinity of someone who tells them a lie.
A small round shield, impenetrable from all attacks but still sized to really only cover a small distance.
In addition at the bottom of the box, they'll find what appears to be a well-worn photograph. The photo is a little blurry and off-center, but as they look they'll see that at the bottom of the frame there are three little sets of animal ears. Pink kitten ears, purple bunny ears, and orange fox ears. Behind them, a pair of legs extend up to the waist, the photo cutting off right at the edges of what appears to be a white coat. The room is unfamiliar to the group, but perhaps they should hold onto this for now.
The outside world awaits you. But take your time.]
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Demon approaches the battle line, tail whipping and knocking soldiers aside as he barks and a gust of wind blows. The rockets from button-shark flare and spin, aiming straight toward the center of the action. The wind from Demon sways them so they aren't aimed quite at Nie and Anya, but they're still moving pretty damn fast.
This close, Toi's jacket will finally unlock and unzip revealing a handful of ninja stars that will continually dispense that he can use to aim at long distances. Jin Ling's jacket will also dispense...bombs. Why. Why this. Careful though, they're hot! He will burn his hands when he throws them, so maybe he won't use them at all.
The soldier in the air has called for backup as the pegasus whinnies and kicks. The sword pierces Anya and though she's shooting, the horse is flying and dodging most of the bullets from leaving fatal marks. Yodel barks again, the ground shaking and trembling but with one last bullet Anya hits her target.
But as the soldier falls, he drives the sword further into the girl and drags her down with him straight to the ground.]
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and now that huaisang can move, he goes along with what the scissors seem to want; the strength boost is the only reason he can think about splitting them at all, honestly, but while he has it? he's going to make use of it. assuming the blades do split, he'll use one to block and the other to dart in for a stab on axe man, hoping he's too distracted by sniff to do much blocking himself.
as we've established, though, anya is behind him so he doesn't see this stabbing happen... he's focused on axe man for now, trying to dispatch him so he can regain his bearings before he gets attacked again.]
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but the shock overrides that as she feels the sword drive into her chest, and drags into her. she falls with the soldier, and wonders whose blood this is that's on her, and on her hands, and on her clothes. immediately her free hand tries to reach out for yodel, for some sense of balance, but she can't quite get it. she looks for another gun, in case someone is coming to hurt nie or yodel or sniff, because she's still thinking about others.
she has to get up, and she tells herself that, trying to will her limbs past the pain - she pushes herself off the ground only a few inches before she falls again
why is her strength leaving her arms?
why is she coughing out more dark red, staining the ground?
why is it all getting darker and distant and harder to hear?]
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how close are they? but with new weapons in hand, toi is just going to grab some of the stars to throw. he's aiming for the axe man, or anyone else who might be close to them. ]
Shit shit shit--
[ they need to reach her and give her medical attention. none of them are doctors. shit. ]
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Sect Leader Nie, turn--!
[Oh NO. Jin Ling's face drops, and he almost drops the poor baby shark, too.] Fuck! Anya! [Angrily, he fires off a rocket at the pegasus-riding bastard, and then he shoves himself right off Demon's side. He's clutching the shark to his chest, though, to keep the mouth shut, and he hits the ground in an unsteady, triple roll. He probably twists his ankle, but that's fine.
When he pops back up, he has one arm clutched around the shark and the other pulling bombs out, sizzling skin be damned, to throw at every enemy he runs by for Huaisang and Anya. He talks a lot of shit, but he's actually pretty good at fighting unfortunately!]
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The swarm of enemies is closing in, especially as they've gravitated toward the center of the field. Luckily for now they have a moment to regroup. Yodel barks toward the enemies, causing them to lose their footing and stay back as Sniff swipes with his nose to ward off anyone come from the opposite direction.
The stars Toi throws manage to land in the necks and in the eyes of oncoming soldiers, fending them off from approaching quite so fast. Good thing Jin Ling doesn't drop the baby shark and that rocket bursts, sending rider and horse flying to the ground as he's trampled by Yodel. As he hits the ground he might slip in some blood but it's fine, probably. Toi and Demon ride up to the scene as Jin Ling runs. His fingers begin to burn and bubble from the heat, small waves of fire flaring up in front of their enemies to stall them a little longer.
It's enough. Their efforts buy them just enough time to gather together, though there isn't much time as the fight continues around them.]
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oh, that's bad. that looks extremely bad, and she doesn't have that jar on her anymore.
he doesn't want to risk being unable to get back on the dog, considering he got fucking slashed, but since toi's hands aren't full like jin ling's--]
Here-! She said this was medicine!
[and once he's gotten toi's attention he'll pass that jar over to him, tossing it carefully if he needs to.]
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but whatever it is, toi just drops to his knees and tries to give it to anya. ]
Hey! Anya!
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there's the feeling of something against her skin, but... there is no effect. the salve does nothing against a gaping wound, already too gone to help. it makes her blink blearily as she distantly understands that they're trying to save her, trying to help her, and she manages only a whisper even as her hand reaches out, palm up as always:]
.............. ok... ay.... 'm...
[she's okay. she's okay, she's okay, she wants to be okay. she doesn't want to say goodbye yet, she doesn't want to go. she doesn't want to be away from the people that she wants to be next to.
but she's only getting colder, and weaker, and it's getting hard to see. they need to leave her behind to focus, because this is a war. she'll try to stay awake, even though it's hard, but they can't keep paying attention to her or else it'll be worse of them.]
... not yet....... До.... свидания.....
[did you know that it takes thirty seconds to bleed out from a stab to the heart, once the weapon's been removed? the sword lies bloodied next to her, dislodged from the fall.
and did you know that to say goodbye in Russian is made of two words - 'until' and 'meeting'
until we meet again.
distantly, it occurs to her that this cold feeling that wraps around her, far worse than any snow or ice, is one that she doesn't know well, but she recognizes now. she's scared. she doesn't make it. her hand goes limp.
Anastasia is dead.]
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No! No! Anya!
[Everything on his front is bloody including his arms and hands, but he grabs Anya's face anyway by the chin to try to--what? Force her to look at them?] Bring the damn medicine!! [He wonders if his throat has ever felt this raw when screaming.
It's one thing to have no parents because you were too small to even realize they were gone. It's another thing to watch someone kind die in front of you.]
Don't close your eyes! We're here! We have medicine! You'll be-- ...
[A deep-rooted coldness settles--he can't tell, in his stomach, in his bones, in his heart. He snatches his hand away from her face like he's been scalded, but not by the bombs. And he just stares.]
She...
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...and a wyvern swoops down, its wings unfurling just enough to claw both Toi and Jin Ling and leave behind some bloody gashes as its talons scoop up the young girl and begin to fly off. It soars through the air over the battle, heading straight to the castle.
...they'll have to fight their way through to rescue the princess.]
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[he half expects her to correct him again, but despite the medicine... no, nothing, and his grip tightens on the handles of those scissor blades. even with four of them here, even with these weapons, it's still like this? sure, everyone who came out of rooms last week seemed in poor shape, but...
she still doesn't look like she's breathing, and nie huaisang exhales a slow breath, stepping back. the other two could probably use a moment, he thinks. she really, really didn't deserve something like this, and it's no consolation that she at least died in a fight and not as prey to some monster.
except nobody gets a moment after all, because suddenly, a fucking wyvern! huaisang shouts and ducks as it swoops overhead, then starts flying off with anya in its grasp.]
Why would it...?! We can't- we really can't just leave her there, can we...
[god. he's looking across this battlefield so uncertainly, but who knows what happens if you leave bodies in rooms when they're like this, what if it just smells like death forever, also literally everyone else will kill them if they don't go get her.]
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it happened again. it keeps happening. there's really no such thing as a real connection, is there? nothing stays.
but then her body is grabbed and flown away, and toi at least scrambles to his feet and runs after it for a few feet, stopping once he sees how far it's going. ]
Come on. We need to get her back-- get the dogs.
[ where are they? hopefully they're still close by. he picks the shark up, mostly running on autopilot. ]
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In this moment, he almost looks like his uncle.
When he goes to stand, he grabs the sword lying nearby and--just bolts.] Demon, come! [He continues to run as hard as he can until hopefully the dog catches up, and, if so, he'll reach up to get a fistful of fur to try to toss himself up enough to get on.
There is no other choice. He would never take any other choice.]
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The wyvern is in sight leading the way. Sniff immediately follows and likewise soldiers attack from all sides. Nie has armor for the back and enchanted ropes for the front, but he'll have to slash and fight one-handed as they ride or he, too, will get slashed, shot at and bruised.
Yodel howls and there's a distant howl back as the dog grabs Toi by the collar and throws him aboard with the shark. Its mouth is zipped and it can't help now while it's in that state, but Yodel races after the other two dogs. Toi's most likely to get shot at with bullets if he's not careful.
All three find that the path the wyvern is taking is long and far. They have weapons and clothes to protect them, but only if they're smart enough to use them. Otherwise, the fight will continue as waves of soldiers from the ground and the sky attempt to stop them. Brightly-colored knights from the King's kingdom appear the further they go, fighting off the enemy and trying to clear a path. The journey isn't easy though, and there's a good chance they won't get out of this clean. An arrow to the eye. A bullet to the leg. A dagger to the back. Sometimes these things happen if one isn't careful.]
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he's not an experienced fighter at all, so he's absolutely taking hits along the way, an arrow stuck in one leg that he doesn't dare let go of the dog or his weapon to try to pull out, and a couple of new slashes across one arm he tried to block with.
here are two questions, though. if he touches the necklace that seemed to react earlier, does it do anything or can he get a sense for what it might do?
the second question is how effective of a stupid move is it to just. combine the enchanted ropes and the scissor blade to basically extend its reach. nie huaisang will absolutely try to grab the handle of one blade with them and use the ropes to kind of whip it across multiple soldiers and then yank it back. don't @ him.]
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he gets shot in the shoulder, and again on his thigh. and, because i have never had an eye injury before and finally see my goddamn chance, he gets hit with a blade at his left eye.
but he's still running on adrenaline, and there really isn't time to focus on the pain or the blood or anything other than the fact that they need to get anya back. it's the absolute least thing they can do for her after they let her die. ]
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And he makes it through most of it by sheer will with simple cuts and bruises except for right near the end when he gets not one, but two arrows completely through the left shoulder. The bolts are too thick for him to snap, so he doesn't bother trying, letting the arm hang limp. They'll have to find a way to cut them later, if there's even a later;
he can't believe how easy it is to die when there's no spiritual energy to feed your body back together.]</small.
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The three of them run with their dogs and fight through the worst part of the crowd, the wyvern screeching above them as it leads them out of the valley and up, up, up to a forest of bright autumn colors. Reds, oranges, and yellows flash before their eyes as the wyvern zips between the trees, leaving them to get smacked at by branches.
Their best bet is to get the wyvern to land, but Anya's body is in clear sight. The creature soars and they'll find themselves drawn away from a majority of the battle and toward an open forest grove.]
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the bola necklace though, he'll absolutely use; he throws it, then uses the time until it returns to slash with the blade, then repeats.
and when they get in clear sight of the wyvern, his hair now full of twigs and leaves from the branches, nie huaisang tries throwing it up at the creature to try to help bring the damn thing down.]
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but as it stands, it does have her, so he will grab another shuriken..... and then shake his head, instead reaching into his pocket to pull out a gun. he'll aim-- and admittedly his aim is definitely not the best right now, considering he just lost an eye-- but he'll try his best to hit it. ]
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So he tries to balance on Demon while chunking a few at the wyverns with his good arm. It probably won’t be enough, and the dogs will have to dodge the spray of dirt and rock.]
Shoot it down!
[Whether gun hits or not, he barrels ahead with Demon toward the grove.]
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The dogs come to a halt, growling at first as the smoke around them begins to clear. The growling becomes a confused sort of whimper, tails tentatively wagging as the vision before them becomes clearer.
Bleeding from the arm, covered in small burns and yet gracefully holding herself is a young woman, bound at her feet. Anya's body lays before her, and she looks down at her for a moment before she looks at the three boys. The dogs continue to whine, though this time in recognition.
Though the queen doesn't speak, she waves a hand to free herself from her binds before crouching down to Anya. An ancient, unidentifiable language is spoken as she brushes a hand over Anya's head. A passing ritual of some kind.
She faces them once more, speaking in the same tongue and though they won't understand her, she'll be able to make charades work as she points to a stump and to a tree. Inside the stump there's a small ornate box, and the tree reveals itself to be hollow.]
To return... [She speaks. She nods toward the box.] Thank you.
[You have served the queen and though you have lost one of your own, you have been rewarded...
Anya looks almost peaceful now, still battle-worn and broken, but her face looks less pained. This may not remain the case when she leaves but the thought counts.
Whenever they leave the room, everything will be depowered. The shark, the dogs, they will return to the status of stuffed animals. The clothing will be depowered and the weapons will disappear except for their sewing tools which remain normal household items.
And whenever they look in the box, they'll instinctually know what the following items are for:
There's a blacklight, sized and shaped to look like a dagger.
There's a small child-size bow with one arrow which may be used to enchant one target and influence them with any sort of thought.
A blue ring that will grow ice cold should the wearer be in the vicinity of someone who tells them a lie.
A small round shield, impenetrable from all attacks but still sized to really only cover a small distance.
In addition at the bottom of the box, they'll find what appears to be a well-worn photograph. The photo is a little blurry and off-center, but as they look they'll see that at the bottom of the frame there are three little sets of animal ears. Pink kitten ears, purple bunny ears, and orange fox ears. Behind them, a pair of legs extend up to the waist, the photo cutting off right at the edges of what appears to be a white coat. The room is unfamiliar to the group, but perhaps they should hold onto this for now.
The outside world awaits you. But take your time.]