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Skaia

Dragon Sign [IC/PG-16/Not Accepting]

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With Q&A hour having ended, Luca presented one final offering to the so-called Exalted. Lodging for the night! That was the biggest relief Abby had felt since showing up here. Having to sleep out in the wild on top of everything else that had happened today would be incredibly shitty, and so she was grateful to not have to do that.

"I wish I could stay longer but I have chief things to do, especially with those stupid lousy no good Drenger attacking us. But I can't wait to learn more all about you guys!" The girl looked ready to leave, before looking to the east horizon and suddenly remembering something adding on, "oh and be careful when it rains!"

Well, I should be fine for that, at least.

The place was indeed rather small. Too small for this group on its own, evidenced by Luca additionally offering up a second vacant house for the group's needs. Even so, there was no way everyone was getting their own room. While Sabrina was content to explore the area - a prospect Abby considered herself, if only for a moment - Marshall was focused on a more important matter. Where everyone was going to be sleeping tonight.

“...Now, as for the exact nature of how we should do so, we have more than a few options. This primarily is determinate based on the comfort and preferences of those around us, and so, were we to choose a systematic way of determining things, I may suggest either placing us in one of the two houses based on age-groups, as some of the younger members of our group may be uncomfortable with so many adults around, or, by gender-presentation, as that seems to be a tried and true system in many parts of our old world… “

And putting quite a bit of thought into it, at that! Abby had just assumed boys in one house, girls in the other, but now that Marshall was talking about the subject, it occurred to her that perhaps not everyone thought the same. Splitting by gender did provide a fairly even split though; unless someone was waiting for a big coming out moment, it seemed that there were three guys and four girls in this group of seven. And so...

"If we're doing it systemically, splitting between the boys and girls seems smartest, doesn't it? Three guys, four girls, if I'm counting right. It also saves us having to figure out age groups and all. Personally I'm fine with whatever we end up doing, but I'm not sharing a room with any of the men. No offense, guys of the gang."

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"What's a currency?" The chieftain questioned, looking towards Rumian as if to look for the answer.  They didn't seem to know either.  "I don't know what you mean by all that stuff, but I can tell you all about the food! We've got stuff like bread, and maize and millets and gazelles - oh there was this one time an elephant came too close to the town so we had to get rid of it. It was really tasty too, but I don't think we have any. Sometimes we also get berries when we go hunting and supply collecting."

Maybe trade was the only means of getting what you wanted around here.  It must've been an easier and simpler way to do things here.  He could get behind that!  No having to worry about being broke for now!

"If you want some food we'll be happy to get some for you." 

At the mention of food, his stomach growled.  He hadn't eaten since halfway through the baseball game!  And that was just popcorn from the stand.  He drooled at the thought of what a world like this had to offer in terms of food quality!

"Yeah! I don't know how it works where you're from, but here whenever you finish a task for the day you get your food provided to you. And you guys are the Exalted, which means you're job is to be heroes, and you've already done heroing today!"

"I'll take whatever meat y'all can throw at me!"  He said with a hearty smile, not noticing he already had a stream of drool starting to drip down the corner of his mouth.  Then the topic of the Accursed was brought up again...the threat that they, the exalted, were supposed to put a stop to.  A mission given to them by a Goddess no less.  It seemed pretty simple...the Accursed cursed the land.  If they beat them to a pulp, the world would probably get uncursed!  Simple as pie.  His stomach gurgled once more at the thought of a fruity pie.  

"Now that you're all done with questions, I can go show you guys around! Well, at least where you'll be sleeping."  

The thought never even crossed his mind about where they were going to say!  His curiosity peaked as they made their way to the lodgings.  It was a house, not dissimilar from the one they had just departed from, with all the dressings one would expect of something described as "cushy" or "cozy"!  Drake was ecstatic!  He had yet to own his first place, so one being given to him for free was a pretty sick perk of being 'Exalted'.  Luca pointed out that there was another house they could use directly beside this one, with the same interior scheme.  Must've been a bargain sale for Exalted only.  Slay 6 Drenger, get 2 houses free!  What a steal!    

"You've all done a lot of heroing for today so feel free to rest up! Oh, but I know you have important Exalted things to do too. So you can start doing those things too!  I wish I could stay longer but I have chief things to do, especially with those stupid lousy no good Drenger attacking us.  But I can't wait to learn more all about you guys!" However, before the girl could leave, she made one final, and ominous word of advice.  "Oh and be careful when it rains!" 

"Noted."  Drake heeded the warning with a nod of his head.  "It was an honor meeting you too Luca.  Hope we can talk more later."  What a strange thing to worry about though...wasn't the Goddess a water deity of some sort...or was rain separated from the oceans?  His thoughts were clouded when Marshall brought up the topic of living arrangements in their new homes.  Abby brought up the most sensible idea of splitting it up by boys and girls.  "Buzzkill!"  Drake said with a laugh.  "Just yanking your chain of course.  I don't think that's a bad idea.  Hell I can even sleep outside if things get too cramped on your side, boys."  He began to walk outside, pointing his nose to the sky.  "I bet this place has a hell of a view at night.  Can't miss out on that opportunity, right?"  

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"right well, I should also mention something else. Beryn, the Accursed, where he's located. Which is, well, here. Legends state that he resides in the throne room of the old castle ruins. Fitting, I suppose. though, uh, it would probably still be best to go to Storm and Ocean's shrine first. I can't say what lies there but Beryn was known to be quite powerful himself, so, well every little bit helps."

They had the heading they needed. They'd venture to the Storm and Ocean's shrine to see if something could be brought forth to them about their entrance into Aerstroff. But at the same time, Gene was wondering how things would end up in the long run. It sounded like a good time for him, all things considered, with him being in a world of fantasy...to live out his dreams that he used to have in the world prior. On the other hand...like many of his favorite characters in his shows, stories and games...they had a heavy burden of protecting this land...to save it from what these "Accursed" had wrought in this world.

Needless to say, Gene had to be careful in living his fantasies in this world...otherwise he'd be a terrible hero.

“...Now, as for the exact nature of how we should do so, we have more than a few options. This primarily is determinate based on the comfort and preferences of those around us, and so, were we to choose a systematic way of determining things, I may suggest either placing us in one of the two houses based on age-groups, as some of the younger members of our group may be uncomfortable with so many adults around, or, by gender-presentation, as that seems to be a tried and true system in many parts of our old world… “
"If we're doing it systemically, splitting between the boys and girls seems smartest, doesn't it? Three guys, four girls, if I'm counting right. It also saves us having to figure out age groups and all. Personally I'm fine with whatever we end up doing, but I'm not sharing a room with any of the men. No offense, guys of the gang."
"Buzzkill! Just yanking your chain of course. I don't think that's a bad idea. Hell I can even sleep outside if things get too cramped on your side, boys."

Gene rubbed his chin a bit, before shrugging. "Honestly, splitting up between the two does sound good...plus it keeps us out of trouble in the long run." he laughed nervously. Why did he say it like that? ...stupid...could've said ANYTHING else but that...jeez...

Though he did have to ask something else. "B-By the way..." he quickly changed subjects. "Is there any place we can get a bit better clothes? M-Maybe something that befits Aerstroff's culture in general and maybe helps us get more in-tune with our surroundings?"

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The first one to come to mind was the easiest to decide. "That doctor has Asclepius written all over him. He really only seems to care about the science-y junk. Wonder if he even realizes what an amazing thing this is." She furrowed her brow a bit as she thought on it more. "Hm, does that mean he actually cares about people and doesn't remember? Nah, that's taking it too literally he's probably just a weirdo."

"Angry girl gets Ash no doubt. I don't think she's not been angry this entire time. She's not much of an Archer though, more like Berserker." She shuddered. "I don't wanna think about what she'd be like if she was a Berserker's Master."

Actually wouldn't it be better if there was someone who could keep her calm? But, no, that's not what this is for. She decided to do this to better organize her thoughts on all these strangers she had suddenly met.

"The big guy...he's kinda spooky. He's all smiles but he's so big and...there's something kinda scary about how cheerful he is during all this. I guess that would mean Spartacus would fit." Though was it the older Spartacus or the one with better writing that came later? She really hoped it would be the latter she wasn't sure she could deal with the former for long. "Guess this is one I hope I'm wrong on, imagine that guy snapping..." Sabrina shook her head and made herself move on to get the idea out of her head.

So she thought about Marshall next. Though that one took a turn really quickly as well. "They do seem kinda nice and...put together. But there's some weird crazy vibes there too." Especially after glimpsing them in that fight. That was....intense. At first Sabrina couldn't figure out where to place them given the opposing traits, but then a name came to mind. "Yup, that might be a Jekyll situation." Sabrina sighed and rolled over to her side. Why were they all going this direction? Maybe she couldn't see them as not having a crazy side to them. What about her then?

Rolling onto her back again she stared up at the sky a bit. Instead of answering that question she moved onto the next. The guy who had tried to talk to her a few times, the one that liked anime. Unfortunately she had already known who would be best fit and it was certainly not a flattering one. "Gilles....yeah, he's...a bit creepy..." She felt bad thinking it but it was true. She couldn't help but feel a bit weirded out by the man. "At least he'd probably be the Saber version, that's something, right?"

Sabrina closed her eyes. Why were they all for the most part negative? She didn't like thinking that way about other people but...how could she not?

Sitting up Sabrina frowned as she realized she almost forgot about the last of their number. "Oh, right, the short girl. Um...what was she like again?" She tried but she couldn't really get a solid idea of how the girl acted. She didn't really say much, though she did give off a bit of a blunt vibe. "Short...blunt...Anderson?" It felt a bit off but she wasn't sure what the girl was actually like. "She's at least cuter than Anderson...Nemo, maybe?" She supposed she'd have to find out later.

Which, she realized, she couldn't very well learn how accurate these were like this. Yet, even as she thought this, she couldn't get to her feet. It was one thing being around them when they were thrust into strange situations like before but to actively go to them...She wasn't sure she was ready yet.

She blushed. Especially with her less than complimentary ideas of them in her mind.

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Once the group had figured out what to do with their sleeping arrangements and familiarized themselves with the surrounding area more the sky had darkened, indicating in some way that it was night time. The group would experience several things over the course of the night. Firstly, the sky darkened as if to indicate that the sun had gone down, yet it blackened even further not shortly after. First it was only droplets that fell, steadily building up to becoming full fledged rain as the thunder grew in both intensity and frequency. The reasoning for Luca's warning about the rain had become all too evident, as lightning could be seen arcing across the cloud and striking down outside of the town, steadily moving closer as if on some kind of warpath. While the houses they were in seemed like they would offer little protection, as the storm came over top the village lightning was instead guided towards the spires, striking the structures over and over again. Despite the continual barrage of lightning they received, the spires had stood tall against the storm, seeming to harmlessly disperse any and all lightning that hit it.

Secondarily, though Drake had wished to get food it would occur to everyone that they hadn't actually been hungry. They had still been able to eat just fine - both in terms of taste and the general satisfaction that came from enjoying a meal - yet there was never any hunger nor feeling of being full. And finally, while the day had come to its conclusion, the group of Exalted would learn that they were still not tired. If they so desired, they could fall asleep with the ambience of the storm overhead. But if they decided that they didn't want to sleep, then so too could they stay up through the night to see the storm to its conclusion. And when morning came, they would all notice that the village was no worse for the wear and the sky retained its omnipresent overcast. 

 


 

With the gang doing whatever they wished to with their morning, they had decided for one reason or another it was time to get moving on to explore the first location of interest. The Shrine of Ocean and Storm. Before leaving Rumian gave the group a map so as to help them navigate and informed them that there was a road that they could follow, but to watch out for Drengr and other wildlife, one of which he gave specific warning about. "Be very cautious of the Lupardis. They are perhaps the most dangerous beast that you will find out there, as they have the closest connection to Storm. They're most defined by their extremely long necks, and if you get within ones do your best to get out of them as they are incredibly aggressive." 

With that the group was off on their way. The land stretching across the dirt road - now closer to mud then it was dirt as a result of last night's storm - was stretched up and over several hills. During the walk they would also find parts of the ground that were charred, in addition to the corpses of some unlucky Drengr that had been caught in the storm as well. Though the corpses, or what was left of them, were now engaged with several beasts that looked to be what appeared to be hyenas, though far bulkier then any Lion King watcher would assume a real hyena to look like, happily eating away at their corpses. They seemed to not mind the Exalted, so long as they didn't get particularly close to them.

 Though many animals were very familiar to them that they saw, such as Gazelles, bulls, and the lions hunting them, they were all significantly larger and bulkier then in the real world. Most of them were far enough away from the path so as to not cause an issue in the first leg of the journey and just add to the scenery. Curiously, though, no matter where they looked they could neither see nor hear anything in the way of bird life. To add to the scenery as well, they could see North East up on the path they were walking up ahead one of the same spires that were erected in the town. Meanwhile to the direct north they would see the horizon completely cut off into a wall of gray, not too dissimilar to that of the clouds up above. But for now, their path was unbarred and though their was thunder as always, there seemed to be nothing threatening about the weather. 

Edited by Skaia

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Sabrina slept. Or she tried to. Instead what she really did was lay in her bed, or rather the bed that she was currently using, and listen to the sounds of the storm. Apparently those weird things were protecting the place from the lightning strikes which was a much more boring answer than she had figured.

...Unless it was powering a secret high tech facility under...but no this was a different genre that couldn't the the case. Which was fine, honestly, she liked fantasy more overall. It still was a mystery that was more fun as a mystery though.

It was strange. She had many times not been able to sleep, she might even have had more sleepless nights than restful ones, but this time she didn't feel bothered by it. She hadn't felt very hungry, either, now that she thought about it. Were they some kind of spirit now? Was that it?

Whatever the case she had the urge most of the night to go up to the roof to watch the storm. But that would mean walking awkwardly past the other girls. If it wasn't just her then they too might be awake right now. And she didn't really want to tell them she's feeling anxious and would prefer waiting for morning on the roof instead of in a bed.

She was a weirdo, yeah, but she could at least try and show the fun weird instead of just the weird weird.

In any case morning eventually came and with it came the time to set off. She ate breakfast, slowly, as she wondered if she really should be eating this food. If she really didn't need it, as it felt, then shouldn't she let the villagers have it? But, it felt comforting to be eating anyway.

---

Their first steps of adventure proved...messy. She a few times got a bit stuck in the mud as she walked, having to brush it off, "Aha, it seems even the ground itself conspires against the chosen heroes!" she'd say while trying to hide the blush in one of the multiple times she almost fell over because of it.

There was an awkwardness in their journey. They didn't really...know each other still. And just silently walking wouldn't change that. Yet she was never the type, despite her enthusiasm in general, to strike up a real conversation. But she felt she had to say something otherwise the awkwardness would totally crush her.

She debated talking about what she had thought on the night before. The Servant thing. But picturing their reactions gave her pause. Instead she blurted out an almost more embarrassing thing. "So, uh, have any of you played...er....Pokemon?" She asked. She felt even more awkward as she remembered she was asking this of a group of adults.

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As night fell upon the land, something else began to fall as well. Rain. When Luca had warned the group to be careful when it rained, Abby had imagined she meant some sort of "wrath of God" type flood where it rained with such ferocity that even just standing on the ground meant getting swept away. And while she did get the "wrath of God" part right, it came in a different flavor from what she had anticipated. Lightning strikes of such intensity that it seemed going outside would be begging to get zapped. She was no doctor - though she'd been working on that before promptly getting sent to an entirely different world - but she had the feeling that testing her newfound durability against bolts of lightning wasn't wise. So instead, she simply watched the spectacle unfolding outside. She couldn't sleep, after all, so it seemed best to at least do something besides stare at the ceiling. Or rather, she could sleep, if she wanted, but with no feeling of being tired, there wasn't much of a reason to, was there?

Plus, staying up gave her precious time to think more about the situation she'd wound up in. Her conclusions were threefold.

  1. That battle with the drengr had confirmed this wasn't a dream; one of them clawed her side in the action, which would have woken her up if it was.
  2. Nobody knew of any way to get back to her own world. She was stuck here, apparently destined to save the realm or whatever, and so,
  3. It would be a complete waste of time and mental energy to panic or try to force her way home. For now, the best course of action was to focus on the here and now, as she was often one to do anyway.

After a night of rain, however, the sun was likely rising behind the gloomy overcast of the region. The rain had certainly stopped, at least. Breakfast was had, and although she didn't feel the need to eat, food was one luxury Abby was not about to pass on just because it was no longer a necessity. The muddy state of the roads was inconvenient, but Abby definitely gave at least one smug look to her fellow Exalted upon realizing she was the only one whose footwear was literally designed for this kind of thing. And, being the best suited for the new conditions, Abby naturally found herself ahead of the group, but only a little bit. Then a rather innocent question came out of the Sabrina kid's mouth.

"So, uh, have any of you played...er....Pokemon?"

"Ooh, I did, back in elementary school," Abby smiled, turning around and trying her best to manage walking backwards on the mud roads ahead. "I don't remember much since this was back in like, first or second grade, but a bunch of other kids were talking about it and I wanted in, so I got the game and picked that little chicken pokemon at the start." With a defeated sigh, Abby concluded her story with a harrowing, desolate truth. "Everyone else picked that blue thing though, with the... whiskers? Or something?"

Sabrina looked over at Abby, looking down at the considerable height difference, as she tried to do the math in her head. "U-um, Torchic? When....was this again?"

"Torchic, right! This was back in like, two-thousand and... three? Yeah."

"Ah, yeah I, uh....didn't play that gen until the remake..." she hesitated then "AndIchoseTreeckosorry"

Abby raised an eyebrow at the mention of a remake, stopping in her backwards stride as she did. "...remake?"

"Oh, yeah! It was in uhhhh....Gen 6!"

"Gen 6... Gen 6..." The gears in Abby's head turned. She remembered hearing someone talk about gens before, back then. But she couldn't remember what number her first game had been assigned. "So, uh, which one was I playing? I don't actually know."

"3!" Sabrina said. "They're actually coming out with...9...soon. Oh, I guess...not gonna play that one huh."

"9!?" Abby could feel the passage of time strike her all at once. That the game she played as a child was only the one-third point of the franchise's lifespan... "That's... a lot. Wow, I feel really out of the loop." She got the feeling that she was about to trip if she kept up this backwards walk thing, so Abby elected to turn back around. "Sorry to hear you're missing out on the hot new game. Instead it's just you, me, the rest of the crew, and this road. How you holding up back there?"

"A-ah! This is nothing to a hero like me, no need to fret I am, uh, a-okay!"

Sabrina wouldn't be able to see it from behind Abby, but a wicked smile formed on the shorter girl's face. "Great! Glad to hear it. Come on up to the front with me then, it's getting a bit lonely up here."

Sabrina glanced at the others before awkwardly quickening her pace to catch up to her.

Oh wow, she didn't trip like I thought she would.

"Welcome to the front of the pack! Glad to have you up front with me." Glancing behind her, Abby raised her initial question again. "How about the rest of you? Holding up alright back there?"

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The Night Prior

This world was everything he could ask for...a true escape from the drudgery that he lived back home...and yet...why couldn't he sleep? He was tired enough for sure, fighting strange creatures that wish you harm and to kill you on sight would expend a lot of energy to the point where slumber would come. But for Gene, he laid in this bed, staring at the roof over his head. The sounds of the others sleeping and sounds of the evening filled his ears...

Why couldn't he sleep?

A sigh escaped his lips as he turned to his side, shifting positions. Could it be his own worries about the fact that he was...by all accounts...dead? That this next life was one away from his mother, the only one in his life that ever gave a damn about him? He attempted to close his eyes, only to have them shoot back open when he saw what was waiting at that moment: the soulless visage of that mugger...the knife dripping with blood...his blood. A shiver ran up and down his spine at reliving that moment again, his fists clenching at it. Was this the real reason he couldn't sleep? The fact he was still haunted by that image and experience...? Gene let out another silent sigh before shuffling himself out of the bed and just stood outside the door to the building. The night's crisp air hopefully would help him...it used to back home...


Present Moment

"Be very cautious of the Lupardis. They are perhaps the most dangerous beast that you will find out there, as they have the closest connection to Storm. They're most defined by their extremely long necks, and if you get within ones do your best to get out of them as they are incredibly aggressive."

Gene listened intently to the information presented to them, though he stifled out a controlled yawn and made sure he hid it from the others. He didn't need to show them that he was still exhausted...not like they'd probably notice him immediately anyway.

But nevertheless, they were off to the Storm and Ocean's Shrine. Hopefully that would provide answers to what this world was really about, or maybe give them some more hints and direction. It worked in his stories, games and shows he watched...so if it worked in that, why wouldn't it work here? Conclusion: it had to! Not the best argument for it entirely, but it was the only one that Gene could come up with in his head at the time.

The view, however, was amazing! The landscapes, the creatures...Gene was just enraptured by it all, though if only the awkwardness in the air that draped over them like a heavy blanket wasn't around them. It was to be expected though. No one knew one another, not even sure how they'd mesh well with one another. They were just sort of...thrust into this situation like last minute. In any case, Gene wanted to bring up a conversation topic, but nothing immediately came up. Luckily, the one heroic member of the party took that thought and immediately ran with it.

"So, uh, have any of you played...er....Pokémon?"

Sabrina did happen to bring up an interesting topic and it already seemed like Abby was joining in with it. He figured, maybe he could say something about it? Considering he was behind them, just a bit, Gene finally sighed and hoped he didn't screw this up.

"How about the rest of you? Holding up alright back there?"

"Um...doing alright...though I remember why I wasn't in track and field..." Gene chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "A-Also...I...I heard the conversation you both were having...wait no...that sounded a bit weird..." He paused, trying to figure out how to word it properly. "...uh...I...play Pokémon actually...started with FireRed and...been playing since." Even that sounded awkward to him.

...why is it so hard to make friends?! Gene groaned in his mind. "...a-anyway...uh...n-nevermind..." Feeling defeated, Gene just avoided eye contact and went silent again.

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And so in the end, the exacts of their division into their homes was as simple as could be. That was, at least, something that Marshall could appreciate. Of course, during the actual deliberation there were a few choice comments that she could have done without; those that would have earned the speaker a scowl, but she had managed to keep that part of herself under control. After all, everyone was bound to be nervous. Bound to be capable of saying the stupidest things imaginable, as their brains worked to give them anything at all to cling onto.

So it was, that now that they traveled together, she made sure not to keep any of those thoughts within her mind; at least, not actively. She had had the entirety of the night to dwell on them as well as the other events of the day, after all. That was the strangest thing, she decided, about this place as they walked in mostly silence. She hadn't slept at all in the prior night, something that would have left her practically dead on her feet previously, and yet now... Here she was, navigating muddy pathways as if she had slept a full seven and a half hours. She was fully rested, despite her mind her mind having simply been racing from thought to thought the entire night; analyzing and overanalyzing the events of the day.

Perhaps then, that's why when they had set out in the morning to explore the shrine, she had been fully ready to do so before anyone had broached the subject. She hadn’t required any breakfast, she hadn't required time to wake up, instead she had simply... waited for the others to be ready; waited for them to leave. And when they did, she did. In truth, though, as the silence continued, she wasn’t completely sure if she had even said anything to any of them. Her mind was sharp, awake, and yet somehow there was still a lapse in her own thought process… Likely though, she imagined, that was due to the fact that following them around and simply taking note of anything important had become almost routine in this short period of time. Much like one doesn’t remember the commute to work without being nearly - or actually - killed, she hadn’t remembered this morning, after getting up and waiting for the others.

…Which, she supposed as she walked, brought her to the now. The first words she had even registered in the present, were as Sabrina seemed to try and punch up the conversation; stating something about how the ‘ground conspired against them’, whilst pointing out the mud. “...Indeed. Watch your step and be on the lookout for threats; I believe it will be more difficult to react with efficient, quick movements in this sort of terrain, Marshall murmured, allowing her voice to trail off a bit as she realized it was, in all honesty, likely too early to remind everyone that they were in constant threat.

Instead, she simply took to listening to the others as they began to speak over… Pokémon. Though it was only for the briefest of moments, a smile flashed across Marshall’s face, and her eyes would have lit up at the question. It was quickly cut down as she brought a hand up to lower the brim of her cap, but she still had that smile for half a second longer than one might have expected. “...Mhm,” was her only initial reply on that matter, as she took to listening to the others, nodding her head as she listened to… Abby, she believed it was, and Gene, as they recounted their experience with the series.

“I appear to be holding up fine,” Marshall replied to Abby as she kept towards the middle of their pack, raising the brim of her hat. “Though I have to admit some trepidation over the thunder overheard, after what I heard most of the night. I can only hope that we don’t get stormed out of our morning errand here,” she raised a hand, glancing towards the sky with the almost ironic levity of her statement; though, given her tone and expression, it… Almost appeared a sincere concern.

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As the group continued to talk about their various childhood experiences with popular Japanese games, they would find that they were soon approaching the spire. The large structure itself was atop a hill and so they were able to see even further ahead. Which was to say, more of the same in terms of grass and hills. However, now from this vantage point they could see what appeared to be a stone structure not too far away from where they were. It seemed to be a small stone door and wall built into a, not particularly tall, hill. The road seemed to stop directly in front of it as well. Beyond that the group would start to be able to see on the horizon was the sea. Though, it wasn't particularly impressive, being a dull gray and blue to match the sky, at least from what they could see from as far away as they stood. 

Though they could now see their end goal, a little distant though it was, there seemed to be something in their path. Namely what appeared to be an enormous bear with gray fur and silver stripes running through its fur, fighting off what appeared to be a group of seven or so Drengr trying to kill it. As one of them approached it, the bear simply roared, which caused visible distortion in the air and seemed to knock back one of them. The others seemed to approach with trepidation, but the bear seemed to be a stranger to mercy as it then flung itself towards the Drengr.

Though the path was blocked, and currently there was some form of scuffle going on, the group would be able to walk around if they so desired, though going off the path would also be likely to put them in the company of more wild animals, as they had seen before. 

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Before them stood the tower...their goal. Gene was a bit happy to see it along with the backdrop of the dull blue and gray sea's horizon, matching the sky overhead. To him, he wished it was a bit more livelier in color, but who was he to complain about a new world's scenery? Nevertheless, he wanted nothing more than to rush forward towards this tower...perhaps they could get some more answers on this 'Exalted' business and how they could really help this new world.

That is...if there wasn't the two spots he was noticing.

The first, was a small stone door and wall built into a hill. Ruminating on this sight for a moment or two, he came to one conclusion. ...gotta be a Hobbit or something of that nature. he thought, squinting his eyes at the door and hill. I've read and watched enough stuff to know that's gotta be what's in there...THAT...or maybe one of those old mentor-type figures that ends up helping heroes on their journey... On one hand, meeting someone akin to a Hobbit would've been amazing, but on the other, a mentor-type figure could be just what they needed.

Aside from this, there was the much more obvious issue...an enormous bear fighting off seven or more Drengr...and obviously seeming to win, least from what he was witnessing. ...big bear...avoid that, no brainer there. he nodded, before glancing at the others in his little party.

"Sooooo...I take it we avoid the bear?" Gene asked, motioning to go around the little scuffle. "We could let the bear take care of the Drengr for us, in a sense...maybe see what's up with the hill-hut...maybe see if we can get us a mentor to help out..." He started to go quiet at that last part, before clearing his throat and refocusing himself. "A-Anyway...what do you guys think? It's obvious the bear's got this, right?"

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Sabrina was feeling the awkwardness of her age once more. She should have known that the response to her question would be either silence or something like 'I played when I was a kid' but she had asked it anyway.

She didn't know what Abby had wanted from her but she did feel like somehow she had disappointed the tiny woman. She couldn't quite think of something to say to her when the other to respond to her question, the weird guy of course, spoke.

The way he said it worried her. He seemed to be uncomfortable talking about playing Pokemon. Was it because he was an adult and he thought it was childish? Or did he have some strange reason that he liked the games that made talking about them weird? Either way she found herself stepping closer to Abby and farther from him as if instinctively.

"I...I see!" Sabrina replied. "Well..."

She was thankful for Marshall's interjection, even if it wasn't to do with Pokemon, as she didn't know what she was supposed to say to the man. “Though I have to admit some trepidation over the thunder overheard, after what I heard most of the night. I can only hope that we don’t get stormed out of our morning errand here,”

"Ah, no reason to fear! Heroes don't get brought down by something like the weather! I'm sure this is just another trial that we are to overcome on this adventure and, ah-!"

She had forgot to pay attention to her footing and, as her foot sunk in a bit deeper than expected, she began to flail her arms awkwardly to keep herself standing. "Ah, hahaha...." she laughed awkwardly.

"Sooooo...I take it we avoid the bear?"

Sabrina looked around and was almost relieved to realize there was something much more important to focus on than her little mishap. Though the moment passed as she realized the danger of what she was seeing.

"The bear is in trouble!" Sabrina said. "Those are the things that attacked the village aren't they? As heroes we can't just stand by, it is our duty to stop their foul plots whenever we come across them! After all if uh, the good guys do nothing the bad guys win, right?" She sorta remembered a quote like that. Was it from some actor or something? Either way she had already decided what to do.

They were a fair distance away still but she called out "Stop, villains!" as she used her magic to fling herself forward. As she approached her scythe appeared in her hands. Two of the creatures were looking her way, having noticed her shout and reacted, but the one she was heading for seemed to be too surprised to resist as she swung her weapon around and sliced across its furry chest. "You, uh, will not harm this, er, innocent...creature?" Now that she was closer she really could appreciate how huge the bear was. She gave it a shaky smile, and hoped that it was more into eating honey than people.

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As Sabrina had gotten the first blood against the Drengr and could see that the bear up close now, she would notice that it was already injured. Though it seemed large and muscular, and thus the wounds it had accrued thus far hadn't been too serious, it did seem like it was having trouble dealing with the seven Drengr. Though, some of the Drengr that were still facing the bear were already wounded, with all of them armed they seemed to still pose a definite threat to the creature. Notably, now that she was closer she could see that there was no clear leader of the pack, all of them seeming to be equally sized and equally involved in the fight.

In spite of this they were still very on edge as the bear roared yet again, itself seeming wary and more wild at the presence of yet another living creature with a weapon near it, and charged at one of them. The silver stripes on the bear's body began to glow and a dull hum would be able to be heard as it charged forward, thrusting its claw rather than swiping it at one of the nearby Drengr. The others had jumped back away from it, clearly afraid of being run over by the massive creature, with the unlucky one that was targeted being pierced by the claws. The body of the Drengr, now impaled, began to vibrate violently. The bear tossed it to the ground, the previously impaled Drengr clearly now dead, and seemed to triumphant for a moment only for the other to charge it and strike at it with their various weapons. 

The one that Sabrina had attacked was not one of the ones already injured, but he certainly was now. A giant gash now on its chest, dropping its spear the creature snarled but backed away from the attack. However the one next to him, now shouting to at both Sabrina and the other Drengr, seemed far more ready to attack the girl. Though it didn't seem to be speaking a coherent language, she could definitely tell it was swearing at both her and them and was very unhappy. The Drengr, wielding a handaxe, rushed towards the girl and went to swing its axe at her shoulder. 

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Just up the path lay the team's destination, a stone door built into a hill! But in the group's path, an obstacle had shown itself. A significant one, at that. Seven of those Drengr. Fighting what appeared to be quite a large, silver-furred bear. Now, Abby was no hunter, but she knew well enough to know that bears were to be given a respectable berth at best, because simply put, evolution had played favorites when creating bears. They were huge, strong, tough, and were great at both running you down and climbing up trees. And they could swim. Because why not?

"Sooooo...I take it we avoid the bear?"

Just two days prior, the mere sight of such a creature would have prompted Abby to suggest the same thing. But circumstances were quite different now. If a handful of chosen heroes, equipped with magic and weapons alike, couldn't handle a mere bear, this world was probably doomed. Plus, if the way the Drengr had been talked about back in town was any indicator, if they killed the bear, they'd probably turn their eyes on the Exalted next anyway. So the best course of action would probably be to--

"Stop, villains! You, uh, will not harm this, er, innocent...creature?"

Would be to do that, yes.

Abby wasted as little time as her short legs would allow, getting into the action as best she could, hammer forming in her hand. Rather than getting straight into smashing more heads, however, Abby lifted her runed hand, pointing it at the bear. She wasn't sure what she was doing or how; same as how she'd never wielded a warhammer before, it was just kind of there in her mind, by what felt like instinct. Which was why she knew that she could fire a small bit of magic from her hand, into the bear's wounds, to help close them up.

"Don't eat us after this and we'll call it even, 'kay?"

Edited by yui

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"The bear is in trouble!"

Oh no...

"Stop, villains! You, uh, will not harm this, er, innocent...creature?"

Gene let out an audible sigh, seeing Sabrina rushing headlong into the fray of battle to protect the bear. And after her, Abby followed suit, to which he was just slowly lowering his head even more. This wasn't how he figured this was going to go...especially since that was probably the natural order of things with animals. Then again, these Drengr weren't really something he would've considered as 'animals', but it was too late now...two out of the group were already rushing to save this bear.

And to him...he was looking like a pretty big idiot at not only just killing the previous conversation like he did but also just ignoring the bear like he did. That wasn't something he would've done in his dreams. He was a warrior, a hero to all...so why couldn't he just translate that to here and now? It honestly seemed harder and harder to do...but THIS was his life now, not whatever life he had prior.

...alright then...embrace the you from your dreams...that's who you need to be now... he exhaled slowly, before making a quickened rush towards the other two, bear and the Drengr. Within his hand, the faint glow appeared again. "Release!!" he shouted, as the sword once again materialized in his grasp. Gene's quickened pace got him to where the other two were, seeing the one Drengr rushing towards Sabrina with the handaxe.

Gene bit his tongue for a moment, trying to figure a general plan out. Right now, he had Abby healing the bear, but at the same time was a sitting duck there, while Sabrina had a Drengr barrelling towards her, weapon in hand. He had not a lot of options to go with...but he knew something he could do. I have to be quick about it...block one, then strike and immediately defend the other... he exhaled slowly, shifting the sword from his one hand to the other, activating his Runes again. The rune covered his hand like before and before the Drengr that Sabrina was dealing with, a wall of water emerged, hopefully halting it's attack. "Alright, here's hoping I'm just in time...!" Gene muttered, immediately getting behind the Drengr and proceeded to slash at the back of the creature's legs...it worked before, he hoped it would work again.

"And now..." he muttered, having the wall of water dissipate and he immediately lifted his hand towards where the bear and Abby was, now having it form around them. "...t-there...do what you can to help it out. That wall should protect you for now..." Gene gave a weak smile, huffing a bit, turning his attention towards Sabrina. "This one should be off balance now..."

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Something about the Saber man leaping to her rescue felt uncomfortable to the young girl but more than that she felt a brief flicker in the adrenaline that had caused her to leap into the fray.

At least the bear didn't seem to want to eat them yet which was always a plus. She was wondering if perhaps she shouldn't have been so quick to act but forced herself to shake off the doubt. She was a chosen hero! Since she was a hero then that meant her actions were those of a hero too.

Now this hero had two of these creatures coming for her. One was swinging its axe and the other, that she wounded before, charged at her. It lowered its head and Sabrina took note of the antlers atop it, which seemed rather...stabby.

In a panic she did the first thing that came to mind. Which was to spin. Her hope was that she could cut across both of them at once but reality was often disappointing.

She wasn't quite strong enough and her full arc swing ended short. Her scythe cut into the middle of the monster with an axe and she felt a yanking on her arms as the swing stuck right there.

A moment later she felt the sharp antlers dig into her abdomen. Something that surely would have mortally wounded someone not blessed by whatever magic they were blessed by, if that's what it was, but still hurt quite a lot.

She gasped out and released her grip on the scythe, which vanished as she did, to grab onto the antlers and try and pull them off and away from herself. Thankfully they didn't seem to have much balance and she was not only able to pull them away but also to make it fall to the ground.

Sabrina looked at the fallen creature for a moment and hesitated. Instead of finishing it off she turned back towards the one still standing. She reached back and her scythe appeared again and she swung it in a downward arc towards the beast-man's head. Despite it being her intention she was caught off guard as the tip stabs into the creature's head and slayed the beast. It fell down, sliding off the end of the scythe, and Sabrina watched it fall without fully registering that she had brought it down so suddenly.

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To be honest, the sight of another creature fighting the Drengr was everything but a surprise as they reached the hill. The Drengr were obviously terrifying creatures, but also hugely territorial; it was only nature that some would have to face them in this world. Marshall brought a hand up to the top of her cap, adding to the visor’s length as she… Well, used her gloved hand as a visor, hoping to survey the state of the battle. All in all, things weren’t looking great for the creature, a bear (not unlike the villagers in temperament or sentience it seemed, so far at least). Much like the others in her group, there was a hint of apprehension in her heart as she let her hand fall to her side, and as much as it felt wrong…

Well, Sabrina had said it better than Marshall ever could have as she rush off, and declared the Drengr villains. As hokey and childish a declaration as it was, it was nonetheless true... What was also true, was that it threw away any strategic advantage they had gained by not being obviously there. It was a strange situation, all around. So, as her allies sprinted off to rashly join the fight, Marshall took a stranger course of action still, and simply… Took a deep breath, and began to slowly approach the fight, waiting a few moments after the others before beginning her approach. 

The approach was deliberate, doing her best to keep a steady distance, she tried to keep herself parallel to her allies most of all. Wait for a mistake. The thought echoed in her mind, hand tightening into a fist as she did her best not to alert them to her presence… At least, not yet. --And find an opening. She scanned the Drengr as the battle grew into chaos, watching their formation in particular, as that was likely to break before any one single creature did. She was correct, too, as the moment one of them began to slink off to the side, its eyes locked on Gene, she was finally capable of making her own move. Slowly, and steadily, she walked perpendicular to the creature, gauging its distance as it approached the swordsman…

Until it was about halfway between Gene, and the rest of its pack. Mud gave way beneath her boot soles as she broke out into a full sprint, left hand steadily pressed against the brim of her cap as the loose ground threatened her every step-- But she kept moving. Wordlessly, she held her right arm out as the beginnings of a handle began to make itself known, as she herself reached the halfway point, she looked back up as the glow beneath her glove shone through, instinct taking over as she thrust the jousting-lance forwards mid-run, speed only increasing with the gesture as her hand tightened around the weapon’s hilt, until she came to a sudden, heavy stop; lance piercing into the blindsided Drengr, taking it completely by surprise as she locked her legs in place, and prepared to stand her guard. “Apologies for the interruption to your scheduled route, but I’m afraid a diversion has been scheduled!” she announced, staring the beast down.

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Abby was no mage and the form of healing was in its most simple form. As a result, only a small wound seemed to close on the bear's flank and it was impossible to tell at the moment if it had actually known that it was healed at all. It certainly seemed to be far more focused on the Drengr in front of it, their number seeming to dwindle as it continued to fight them. One of the three that was still engaged with it moved forward and stabbed the shoulder of the creature with its spear, though the bear seemed to press on despite the injury moving towards the stabber and driving the spear deeper into its shoulder as a result. This was hardly a victory for the Drengr, however, as it soon found part of its neck and shoulder in the bear's mouth, the jaws clamping down on it before whipping it to the side and tossing the now corpse away. The two left engaged with it didn't really think they had much of a chance but things were too far gone that their fight or flight instincts had picked the former, causing them to go into a frenzy and madly rush the bear, injuring the beast more and starting to show that the creature was nearing a critical amount of wounds. 

As a result of all of this there was no one to help the other set of Drengr with the Exalted. One of them had been killed and the other on the ground, bleeding out and struggling to get back up. And the one that had split off from Gene, thinking him an easier mark then the bear, had found himself impaled. The Drengr dropped its weapon from the sheer shock of Marshal's attack impaling its side, and seemed to take a moment to process what was going on before finally looking to the person who stabbed him and start swinging its claws wildly at them. 

Edited by Skaia

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Marshall's sudden appearance shocked the girl out of her stupor. Right, they...they were still in a fight!

Looking around told her that they actually seemed to be winning the fight. There were only a few left and two were wounded. But the bear, despite fighting on fiercely, was looking more and more injured as it went on.

The smart thing to do would be avoid that battle. Both the sides of it were wild and ferocious and looked like they were driven to a frenzy. She should just finish off the ones right there and hope for the best. That would be the smart choice.

However Sabrina was not smart.

Sabrina released a gust of wind and launched herself forward. Putting her weapon up she struck one of the Drengr with the haft and tackled them to the ground. Now atop the beast-man Sabrina realized she had no idea what to do next. "Um. Stop...villain?" She said, repeating her words from before in a much less certain tone.

The creature responded by going to swipe at her with its claws. With a start she attempted to position her weapon to block the swipe with the haft. She managed to lock the creature's claws down, not without suffering some scratches on her hands which caused her to move them further apart to avoid more injury, and shoved the weapon down to pin the creature in place.

Maybe she should have just tried to finish it off instead of tackling it but now that she was in it Sabrina wasn't entirely sure how to break out of this stalemate. So she did the only thing she could think to do and just kept pushing. While struggling she spoke up, sounding more confident than she felt, "surrender foul beast...lest I am forced to...use my full power on you!"

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As Abby tried her best to heal the bear, a few facts became readily apparent. Healing a singular cut like she'd gotten yesterday was very different from trying to restore a very wounded bear back to health, big animals were harder to heal than people, and with the rather rudimentary healing abilities she had combined with the other two pieces of information, it overall felt like she was wasting her time with this.

Oh well, I tried.

If she was going to heal this majestic creature back to peak condition, it would have to be after dealing with the drengr. Fortunately, that was something Abby already had some small amount of experience in, not that that sounded like something to be proud of. THe others were already doing a fine job keeping most of the enemies occupied, but Abby's eye caught one straggler that was still unaccounted for. Not on her watch. Giving the bear a pat on the closest non-wounded bit of bear she could find, Abby said "I'll come back to you in just a moment."

Stepping out from the "cover" of the bear's general existence, Abby swung her hammer behind her back, then, putting the whole of her body into it, threw the hammer at the remaining drengr. With her spellcasting hand, meanwhile, Abby called forth an otherwise-harmless blast of wind from behind her, accelerating the hammer's pace toward its target. The drengr, for its part, was fully occupied with the bear, and so failed to notice the shiny magical weapon hurtling toward it. The impact was significant, breaking the drengr's arm, and if Abby had to guess, some ribs as well. However, so eager was Abby to deal with the drengr, she hadn't considered her proximity to the bear.

The injured, thrashing bear.

The bear, not knowing or simply not caring about the fact that Abby had tried to heal its wounds, and/or of the general concept of gratitude, and certainly not in a state to distinguish friend from foe, had been doing as injured bears are wont to do, and was thrashing about to try and clear up anything that would try to harm it. And Abby, unfortunately, was in swinging range of its big bear arms, catching a clawed slap near the shoulder that knocked her off her feet and threw her to the ground.

With the drengr down an arm and Abby herself also injured, the bear was probably the best off out of all three parties. That was why she was fully confident in her decision to back off for a moment, putting that healing spell to use on her fancy new bear slashes while she let the bear and drengr settle their differences for a bit.

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The bear, as Abby had thought, was in fact not paying much mind to who it was attacking so much as it recognized there were people around it and they were likely some kind of threat to it. Thankfully for Abby she had been knocked away out of the bear's direct line of aggression and instead there was a nice helpless Drengr right at its feet. The Drengr could barely register what had happened to it; a small girl with a hammer coming out of nowhere and having broken several of its bones was certainly not something that happened every - or any - day. As such, it was attempting to get its bearings when suddenly it had gotten them in a much more literal sense, a giant bear's claws smashing into its chest and killing it. Triumphant, it turned around to the only "standing" Drengr that was left. 

Being impaled by Marshall's lance was certainly an unpleasant experience. As such, the Drengr that matched this situtation was certainly having an unpleasant time. It attempted to take out its frustrations out about this on the impaler, moving to claw the woman. But in order to do so it needed to get closer and the bear was more than happy to help with this. With the streaks across its body glowing yet again, it let out a roar towards the Drengr still impaled and as the sonic wave hit against it, the Drengr was pushed forward through the lance. Marshall as well was hit by the sound wave and felt a surprising amount of force behind just a roar, being pushed back and taken to the ground as well. 

The bear seemed to be exhausted now, its adrenaline starting to no longer keep its stamina sustained now that the original threat was killed. Similarly it had no idea what to make of these new, much less hairy, people but it certainly didn't seem to regard them as friendly. In spite of its heavy breathing and bleeding body, it looked wildly and aggressively between all the Exalted, waiting for them to do...anything really, it was unclear. 

The last Drengr, who the bear probably took for dead or just didn't care about at this point, underneath Sabrina had continued to struggle against her. Yet, seeing everyone else in its small pack dead and having a complete loss of control in its movements due to being restrained by the girl, had made it reconsider its actions. So much so that it went from looking frenzied to panicking, the Fight instinct clearly turning to Flight. Of course, it was still restrained so it couldn't run. 

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Sabrina struggled against the thrashing Drengr. In the back of her mind she thought about how strange it was she was able to keep the muscular animal-person pinned down so easily. Had she had her regular strength something like this surely would be impossible for her.

As she thought about it she noticed something change. The creature seemed to be less trying to attack and more trying to escape. "Villain, uh, cease! If you promise to leave this life of evil I will let you free!" Despite saying this she wasn't so sure she'd be able to just finish the creature off even if it didn't agree, assuming it even understood her, to her terms. Especially not when it was clearly just trying to run away out of fear.

The Drengr’s expression turned to do one of bewilderment at the girls words but seemingly understood the intention behind them, making noises that Sabrina could tell meant it agreed.

Sabrina's eye lit up as she realized that it had worked! Was this truly her destined power activating? Converting a vicious creature away from a life of crime with just a single word? So lost in thought was she that she almost forgot to release her hold on the Drengr. But then she got to her feet to let the creature run off.

The Drengr, now freed, scrambled to its legs and sprinted away.

"Never forget the day you were defeated and spared by Dracona, the supreme hero!" Sabrina said. Then, she turned towards the bear, "Uh, are you okay...mister bear?" she asked hesitantly.

It snarled at her, though while it seemed on edge it didn't look as hostile as before.

"I don't suppose...you understand what I'm saying, do you?" she asked. A thought came to mind and she dismissed her weapon and put her hands up, then gave the bear an awkward, shaky, smile.

The bear's expression changed from on-edge to more curious at the girl now.

Sabrina was shocked by this change, and wondered if perhaps it was actually possible to in some way converse with this bear. After all would a bear that could understand human speech be really that farfetched compared to one with supersonic roaring action?

"Still not sure you get what I'm saying but..." she slowly moved one hand to point towards the bear's wounds, "Do you want some help with those?"

It turns itself a little, as if trying to hide the wound she's pointing at as pointless as it may be, seemingly reluctant to accept help but not outright denying it.

Sabrina almost smiled. The bear was actually...pretty cute, wasn't it? "Even the mightiest warriors need to be patched up you know!" She gestured for Abby to come closer. "This is Abby, you don't have to worry about her, she's very small you see. But she can make the hurt go away if you let her!"

She looked over at Abby with a look that said "you can make the hurt go away if it lets you right?".

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"Never forget the day you were defeated and spared by Dracona, the supreme hero!"

That seemed...odd that Sabrina would just let the Drengr go like that, but at the same time, he figured...they'd go an warn their kind. Which would be either good or bad. Nevertheless, the fight was won, the bear saved. Gene moved to sit down, still trying to catch his breath, his weapon vanishing from his hand and the water wall he originally had put up to protect Abby and the bear lowered and just splashed on the ground, though it seemed it really didn't do much for them in the long run.

"W-Well...bear has been saved...good work..." he huffed, apparently still not used to sprinting that fast. He may be a "hero" now in a new world, but somethings just weren't clicking right away for him. Him suddenly excelling in extracurricular activities such as that, definitely not.

Now Sabrina was trying to negotiate with the bear, but it seemed like it was going no where. Unfortunately, animal handling wasn't his strong suit either...so he wasn't really pining to help with that...especially with a bear that could easily rip them apart. Regardless, he did feel like asking something towards Sabrina. "O-Out of curiosity, why did you let that one go?" he finally had his breath caught up. "You realize, they'll warn their kind right? We could end up being in serious trouble if anything happens..." Gene paused, immediately waving his hands in front of him. "N-N-Not that I'm saying you or the others can't handle it...n-n-not saying that at all...j-just more like...um...i-it's a bold move, y-yeah that's it."

God, you need to learn to shut up, Eric... he sighed.

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The remaining Drengr were being cleared out quite nicely. As she'd expected, the bear made short work of finishing off the one that she'd thrown her hammer at. Sabrina - for whom Dracona was also an acceptable name, apparently - had very nearly killed the one she'd been combating, but chose to let it go at the last second. Abby for one approved of the decision. After Sabrina/Dracona had apparently parleyed with the bear, and received a nod from Abby confirming that she could indeed make the hurt go away if it let her, Gene had voiced his own opinion on the Drengr-sparing.

"O-Out of curiosity, why did you let that one go? You realize, they'll warn their kind right? We could end up being in serious trouble if anything happens... N-N-Not that I'm saying you or the others can't handle it...n-n-not saying that at all...j-just more like...um...i-it's a bold move, y-yeah that's it."

"I think it's a good thing," Abby offered as a response. "Real heroic-like. Plus, just because we have magical powers and all doesn't mean we're allowed to become a bunch of sociopaths with no regard for life. Case in point." Getting back up to her feet, Abby brought her hand up to rub some of the sting out of the spot where her arm had been sliced. She could already feel her clothes regenerating. If only the textiles of her own world could be so convenient! It would save a lot of unfortunate cases of having to throw out a shirt you really liked but was old and full of holes. It would also save a lot of... other situations. The poorly-timed end of one ill-fated skirt she particularly liked from middle school came to mind.

"This might take a bit, but I'm not gonna hurt you," Abby said, pointing her magic hand at the bear again. "Just relax and think about... whatever it is bears like? Fishing or something?"

Although the bear had initially taken a cautious step back at first - not that Abby blamed it or anything - the bear didn't put up much resistance once the actual healing part started. "This is pretty awesome, right?" she smiled, looking back at the rest of the team. "Bears are great. Not that I've ever seen one up close like this before."

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To say the battle was over much quicker than Marshall had expected would be true, though it was by no real actions of her own. True, she had held one of them at bay, but that was more a simple logical issue than anything else. A Drengr wanted desperately only to reach her; so the simplest thing to do would be to hold it in place, to keep it impaled and losing blood, to hold it steady, as the others held up to their own deeds and their own actions. In truth, then, she had held to her own goal swimmingly; even if it was nowhere near as quick a death as she had hoped to provide, given her track-record.

The only really surprising aspect then, was how quickly the Bear was capable of re-evening the tides against the Drengr; even at the cost of her own foothold. The roar was just as loud as she imagined a bears might be, but the actual shockwave was something else. It had taken everything she had to hold onto the lance as she braced herself, feet sliding in the mud as the Drengr was pushed ever farther on her lance, wound widening with each inch it slid down. Her eyes narrowed on its movements, carefully calculating them as they began to slow, as its chest caved further and further, until it went limp; as did she, in a way, as the shockwave finally sent her hurdling backwards.

She supposed then, that it was all the more surprising to her that, as she regained her bearings after the fall, she finally processed everything the others had been saying. Or, more primarily, that she processed what the young girl-- Sabrina had done. Her gut instinct was annoyance, though her face remained impassive as ever as she let her lance fully fade, as she let go of it. It would be unwieldy to hold a weapon as she got to her feet, after all, and by her account, the fleeing Drengr was the only Drengr remaining. 

Finally stumbling to her feet, she glanced around the party and took stock of them. While they likely could have chased after the fleeing beast - at least, she suspected that she, Gene, and Sabrina could have - she chose not to, as she crossed her arms. “...While I will voice that I’m unsure if that was the smartest course of action, considering how hungrily the Drengr attacked the village just a day ago,” Marshall would voice her concerns, flicking grime off her left hand before raising it to tighten her cap’s position on her head. “..I will also concede, that we have more important matters to attend to; and it would be prudent if we remained on schedule. Ergo, we cannot go chasing down every rat that escapes onto the subway tracks,” she’d murmur, tucking an arm behind herself as she turned to regard the bear.

“Given my friend’s statements, I can assume you do not understand my ministrations, nor would you understand any of the other languages I have been instructed in greeting people in,” Marshall kept her tone level, neither loud nor quiet, even if she couldn’t bring herself to truly regard the bear with any sort of real emotion. “Still, I will give you my thanks for your aid in subduing those who would assault Subway Personnel,” she gave a polite bow, something she hoped the bear would understand, before rising up again. “Now, if you’ll excuse me--” she cleared her throat, turning away from the others, and stepping away. Tightening her grip on the brim of her hat, she did her best to survey the rest of the area-- Including keeping an eye on the fleeing Drengr as long as she could, of course, as she regarded the rest of their surroundings.

Someone needed to keep watch, after all.

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