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Sept 25, 2013 21:58:55 GMT -5
Post by Omnomivore on Sept 25, 2013 21:58:55 GMT -5
Kazia jumped from where she was sitting, staff in one hand. With her free hand, she stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled. Ear-splittingly loud. "Up, up! We've got one nasty shadow!" She dropped into a defensive position, watching the beasts warily.
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Sept 25, 2013 22:08:23 GMT -5
Post by NightWing on Sept 25, 2013 22:08:23 GMT -5
Burakki jumped back up at the sound, drawing his sword and reassessing the level of charge he'd established thus far. He continued to push more energy into the air as he stood in a defensive stance, blade drawn and looking directly at the large shadow.
"You've got that right...." He muttered, "Glad I hadn't fallen asleep yet."
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Sept 25, 2013 22:13:32 GMT -5
Post by Wolfy on Sept 25, 2013 22:13:32 GMT -5
Joshua scrambled to his feet, grabbing his own staff as he shook the cobwebs from his mind.
"The fire's not going to stop that one for long," he stated uneasily. "I guess we know what made the creature so unhappy."
---
The nameless one twitched his ears back at the humans, but didn't move from his spot. This was the trouble he had sensed, and while the humans could probably handle it while they were alert... Keeping humans safe from these things was his purpose. The shadow hissed, and he could almost hear words in the sound. With a snarl, he pounced, mane and eyes flaring brighter. He made contact with the shadow, claws and teeth fastening in on the thing's body. It howled, body dissolving away from the area of contact, before it swatted at the nameless one.
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Sept 25, 2013 22:32:52 GMT -5
Post by NightWing on Sept 25, 2013 22:32:52 GMT -5
Burakki quickly shifted and ignited a series of charges in an electrical "shield" where the nameless one would be hit, pushing more energy into the air as he did so and watching attentively for the reactions.
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Sept 25, 2013 22:39:40 GMT -5
Post by Wolfy on Sept 25, 2013 22:39:40 GMT -5
The shadow beast recoiled at the shield, its form sizzling away slightly from where the magic had touched it. As the nameless one continued to claw and bite at its form, causing more of it to dissolve away, the shadow beast screeched in fury, calling the smaller shadows to swarm in, covering it and the nameless one as the blue maned creature yelped in pain.
---
Joshua watched tensely. He wanted to help, but he didn't have the range. And outside the fire, those shadows could rip them to pieces in those numbers.
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Sept 26, 2013 18:24:46 GMT -5
Post by Omnomivore on Sept 26, 2013 18:24:46 GMT -5
Kazia swore in her clan's tongue - most of the nomads had formed their own private dialects - and yanked a strange, short torch from her bag. The damn things were expensive, but she couldn't stand by when someone - or something - was being hurt. "Don't look at the flare!" She thrust it into the flame closest to the shadow beast, grimacing as it burst into a bright, hissing, white light. She waved the magnesium torch at the beasts, hoping to at least scare the little guys off.
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Sept 26, 2013 20:26:34 GMT -5
Post by NightWing on Sept 26, 2013 20:26:34 GMT -5
Burakki squinted in response to her shout and tried to make sense of what was going on looking in the area around the flare, wise enough to know after the initial spark what it was. He continued to charge the air, wanting to be able to do as much as possible when he could once again clearly tell what was happening.
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Sept 26, 2013 20:35:39 GMT -5
Post by Wolfy on Sept 26, 2013 20:35:39 GMT -5
The smaller shadows squealed in pain, fleeing from the bright light. Even the lead beast recoiled from it with a hiss, its form still sizzling away from the wounds that had been inflicted. The smaller shadows had managed to get the nameless one to the ground, and now he staggered back up to his feet, panting. He was bleeding - if you could call it that - from multiple small bites, the liquid that welled up from the wounds a dark blue.
Joshua shielded his eyes from the light as he kept an eye on the other parts of the fire circle. It wouldn't do, once they were rid of this one, for them to be surrounded by more when they were recovering from this fight.
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Sept 26, 2013 20:43:30 GMT -5
Post by Omnomivore on Sept 26, 2013 20:43:30 GMT -5
"We're going to need some firepower! Tell me you've got something, mage..." Kazia kept waving the flare, though she couldn't move beyond the fire barrier. it'd been a long time since she'd seen one so big out here in the wilderness. Where had it come from?
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Sept 26, 2013 20:51:04 GMT -5
Post by NightWing on Sept 26, 2013 20:51:04 GMT -5
"I'll see how much damage I can do, here." Burakki replied, taking aim at the lead beast and unleashing the vast majority of his energy reserves in a concentrated burst all around the creature, expending as much power as he dared to still be able to defend himself later.
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Sept 26, 2013 20:55:55 GMT -5
Post by Wolfy on Sept 26, 2013 20:55:55 GMT -5
The shadow beast shrieked in pain, dropping to the ground as the rest of its form slowly sizzled away. The smaller shadows, having already been injured and seeing the largest of them fall, fled. The night slowly regained its calm, the only sound left being the crackle of flames and the faint whines from the nameless one as he sat.
"... Thank you, Burakki," Joshua said after a moment.
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Sept 27, 2013 18:04:56 GMT -5
Post by Omnomivore on Sept 27, 2013 18:04:56 GMT -5
Kazia wasn't done yet. She drove the flare into the ground so it was standing upright - the downside to the things was that there wasn't anything she could do to put it out before it'd burned out - and grabbed her bag. "Can you get back over here? If not, I'm coming to you." It was the first time she'd really addressed the creature directly.
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Sept 27, 2013 18:54:46 GMT -5
Post by NightWing on Sept 27, 2013 18:54:46 GMT -5
Burakki exhaled a sigh of relief and sat down, breathing heavily at the exertion.
"That's why I'm here, isn't it?" He asked with a slight smile before looking over at the creature, hoping that it would be alright and wondering what Kazia had planned.
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Sept 27, 2013 23:23:41 GMT -5
Post by Wolfy on Sept 27, 2013 23:23:41 GMT -5
The nameless one stared back at Kazia uncertainly, hesitating a moment before standing and leaping over the fire circle, landing a bit clumsily. He watched the humans warily, the glow from his mane and eyes dimmer than they had been before the fight. He hadn't been this close to them yet, and wasn't certain they were not going to try and hurt him. However, even injured and tired as he was, he was sure that he was faster than them. If they did try to hurt him, he could run before they inflicted more than surface wounds.
----
"What are you going to do?" Joshua asked Kazia as he watched the creature, frowning slightly at the bites.
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Sept 27, 2013 23:29:04 GMT -5
Post by Omnomivore on Sept 27, 2013 23:29:04 GMT -5
"My job. I only moonlight as a guide, if you couldn't tell from my sparkling, outgoing personality." Kazia pulled her med kit from the bag, opening it carefully before she started examining the creature. "This will hurt a bit. I need to disinfect and flush the wounds, and some of the slashes need stitches. Bite me and I'll bite back." As she spoke, she pulled out her canteen, a couple bottles from the kit, and a sterile cloth.
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Sept 28, 2013 1:45:18 GMT -5
Post by NightWing on Sept 28, 2013 1:45:18 GMT -5
Burakki watched, shaking his head slightly.
"We really lucked out running into you then, didn't we?" He asked rhetorically, speaking quietly through respect for the situation and his fatigue.
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Sept 28, 2013 1:58:08 GMT -5
Post by Wolfy on Sept 28, 2013 1:58:08 GMT -5
(I forgot to ask a question D= Thiiiiis part of the post is under the assumption she touched him to examine him)
The nameless one's skin wasn't covered in fur, and was far hotter than one would expect. This close, one could barely see old scars crisscrossing his skin, souvenirs of past fights with shadows. It was not the first time he'd been hurt, but it was the first time he'd fought so many at once.
(And now for the rest)
His ears pulled back at the word 'hurt', and he bristled, backing away until he was almost into the fire. The nameless one, while he had picked up quite a bit of what humans mean, had never been close enough to healers to understand what Kazia was talking about.
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"Indeed," Joshua agreed, before looking at the creature with surprise. "Hey, calm down... She's trying to help," he said, keeping his voice calm so as not to spook him further.
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Sept 28, 2013 13:24:25 GMT -5
Post by Omnomivore on Sept 28, 2013 13:24:25 GMT -5
Kazia placed her hands on him with surprising gentleness, letting her power sink into him to search for deeper wounds. Her fingers itched to heal everything, but she wasn't comfortable being so... obvious, with Joshua right there. And the punctures needed flushing badly. Healing a wound over dirt and contamination was just asking for an abscess.
"I'm not going to injure you. I'm a healer. I need to clean and dress the wounds. It'll sting, but they'll head faster for it." She unstopped her canteen and poured the water carefully over the worst of the wounds as she spoke, stroking his side like she would a skittish dog or horse.
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Sept 28, 2013 13:28:04 GMT -5
Post by NightWing on Sept 28, 2013 13:28:04 GMT -5
"Can I help at all?" Burakki asked quietly, surprised at how drastically her manner changed in treating the creature.
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Sept 28, 2013 13:34:53 GMT -5
Post by Wolfy on Sept 28, 2013 13:34:53 GMT -5
The nameless one flinched when she touched him, expecting the worst. When she didn't hurt him, he slowly calmed down, though he still trembled slightly. He'd never been touched with gentleness, that he could remember. Ignoring the water, he leaned against her hand with a soft sigh.
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Joshua watched for a moment longer, than nodded slightly, seeing Kazia had it handled. He stood, keeping watch on the surrounding area.
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Sept 28, 2013 13:45:55 GMT -5
Post by Omnomivore on Sept 28, 2013 13:45:55 GMT -5
"Just keep your eyes peeled. We don't need to be jumped while I'm working." The flare was finally sputtering down, too, which meant that their brightest light would be gone, soon.
She followed the water with a trickle of a mild disinfectant. They were deep enough that she couldn't risk damaging the healthy tissue with something stronger. There was a little jolt of heat that ran around the wounds, burning out the start of any infection. The disinfectant stung a little, but her power was only mildly uncomfortable. And, most importantly, there was no outward sign that she was working magic.
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Sept 28, 2013 13:49:31 GMT -5
Post by NightWing on Sept 28, 2013 13:49:31 GMT -5
Burakki nodded slightly and tended to the fire, making sure it would stay strong before resuming his lookout, intending to remain vigilant until all was settled and he could go to sleep.
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Sept 28, 2013 23:32:16 GMT -5
Post by Wolfy on Sept 28, 2013 23:32:16 GMT -5
The nameless one snorted a bit, shaking briefly as if trying to fling the liquid off of him, but he didn't snap at Kazia for causing the sting. For now, he would trust that they meant him no harm, and that this would help. He did think the humans were being overly cautious now. With the large one gone, the little shadows wouldn't dare attack again tonight. He was certain of that, having having hunted them for so long.
----
Joshua glanced over at Burakki.
"You should go ahead and get some rest," he told the mage.
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Sept 28, 2013 23:46:33 GMT -5
Post by Omnomivore on Sept 28, 2013 23:46:33 GMT -5
Kazia gave him a disapproving look for shaking, but didn't comment. At least none of the wounds needed stitches. She closed a couple of the slashes with tight bandages, and left the punctures open to the air. "Watch these. Keep them clean. If you get something in them, come straight to me - they have to heal from the inside out, or they can turn nasty, so I'll be checking them regularly." Her magic sank into the worst of them, starting the healing at the deepest point. Not enough to show from the outside.
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Sept 29, 2013 0:00:30 GMT -5
Post by NightWing on Sept 29, 2013 0:00:30 GMT -5
Burakki nodded slightly.
"Thank you, both of you." He said, laying down, "Wake me if I'm needed."
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Sept 29, 2013 0:03:50 GMT -5
Post by Wolfy on Sept 29, 2013 0:03:50 GMT -5
The nameless one nodded, then yawned as he curled up on the ground.
"We will," Joshua assured Burakki, before turning to Kazia. "Do you want to continue your shift, or go ahead and get some more rest?" he asked. "I'm awake enough now to take over."
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Sept 29, 2013 0:07:36 GMT -5
Post by Omnomivore on Sept 29, 2013 0:07:36 GMT -5
"I'd better rest..." Kazia rubbed her eyes. If she needed to do any major healing, she could use all the help she could get. "Just shout if you need me." She packed up her kit and headed back over to the bedroll.
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Sept 29, 2013 0:16:10 GMT -5
Post by Wolfy on Sept 29, 2013 0:16:10 GMT -5
Joshua nodded, keeping watch as the others slept, thinking back to the fight. He was convinced the creature was a protector, even if it didn't know it itself. Against those numbers of shadow beasts, he should have been injured far more than he actually was - as if he was better protected against them than most things. This would make sense if he was a guardian, seeing as defeating those creatures were what they were for. Of course, this raised the question of why it seemed so confused by his question. And why it was in a cave instead of searching for it's bonded person. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Maybe the castle would have answers the monarchs didn't.
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The nameless one awoke as the sun rose, stretching before shaking himself vigorously. The wounds left open had scabbed over during the night, and the glow from his mane and eyes were back to their original brightness. He felt better for having rested, and less distrusting of these humans. He sat back and watched as Joshua woke the others, waiting for them to start moving again.
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Sept 29, 2013 0:19:40 GMT -5
Post by NightWing on Sept 29, 2013 0:19:40 GMT -5
Burakki sat up and stretched, closing his eyes and checking his energy reserves mentally. He wasn't at full strength yet, but he had enough to defend them if he needed to from anything less threatening than the beast from last night.
"Morning." He said
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Sept 29, 2013 13:00:16 GMT -5
Post by Omnomivore on Sept 29, 2013 13:00:16 GMT -5
Kazia got up without complaint when Joshua roused her, moving over to check on the creature It was healing up well. Maybe even faster than she'd anticipated. She softened and flushed the scabs over the worst punctures, but other than that, they seemed to be doing quite nicely. "Let's get as far as possible today."
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