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Post by Wildsky on May 3, 2013 23:44:31 GMT -6
Skyler took a breath and cautiously looked through the equipment. He knew that he was mostly going to be fighting against sharp weapons, but plate mail was too heavy for him. Chain mail and scale mail could work, but for now, he picked up leather armor.
He picked up two sizes, unsure of which would fit him better. He didn't have any undergarments for the leather armor -- nothing thick like wool which would help stop blows -- so he simply took off his shirt and slipped on the tough leather. It was rough, but acceptable. The shoulder-pads felt the most awkward, but he felt comfortable enough to stretch it out a bit.
Taking off his awkward jeans, leaving the simple pants* on, he put on the cloth leggings. Over that went a skirt-like armor piece that protected his thighs somewhat. His shoes slipped off easily and on went the leg pieces and, finally, the boots. Amazingly, despite his complete failure at knowing how weapons worked, he seemed to know how armor worked rather well.
He put on bracers, but didn't use gauntlets -- he wanted freedom for his hands. He glanced back at Regina, a strong sense of control sinking in. He sheathed his short sword, attaching it to the side of his armor, and attached the stiletto to the belt, strapping it in. It was a classic, unoriginal place to put his side-arm, but it would be effective and safe.
"Ready, ma'am. Where to?" his voice was strong -- no longer that weak, simple voice of the lost boy before. Adrenaline and noradrenaline began to pump through his system, signalling his flight-or-fight response. And he wanted to lean on the latter side.
'Don't get bloodthirsty, Sky,' Gordiana warned.
'Bloodthirsty? No. Anxious, anticipated, and excited? Yes. I don't revel in killing, Gordiana -- I revel in success. If success requires killing, then so be it. They are fae, creatures of vile intent. If it's me or them, then I'll go with me.'
Gordiana smiled internally -- that was why she respected Skyler. His ability to say what she believed in.
((*trousers = US pants, pants = US underwear))
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Post by { o p a l } on May 4, 2013 16:32:13 GMT -6
As Skyler chose his armor, Regina turned and began speaking into her intercom. "Exact location of incursion? Over."
"Level B-3, northeastern quadrant, over."
"Will be dealing with presently, over."
"Is he almost done, Kalyani? I'm getting bored."
The ocelot cracked open an eyelid. "A bit longer, Regina."
The Chief sighed impatiently. "How much longer?"
"Look. Unless you want me to go list off what parts of his body are currently naked, which I don't exactly want to look at, you're just gonna have to wait."
She growled and stuck one of her swords into its scabbard. "I'll be waiting over in the northeastern section of the level below this. The fae are trying to break in there." Without waiting for a response, Regina strode up to a crate and went through security precautions to open it.
However, instead of revealing more equipment, a pole appeared to descend to the next level. "Kalyani will be staying here and will guide you to my location when you're ready."
With that, she grabbed a hold of it, propped her foot against the bottom, and slid down.
With a small thump, she landed on the next floor. With a thrust of her magic, she short-circuited the lights- it would be better if the fae had no clue she was coming besides the small amount of illumination from the next floor up. Quietly, she slid her other sword from its sheath, keeping them at the ready as she approached, her mind feeling for the presence of the fairies.
Sure enough, in the northeaster corner, she could see a throbbing purple light indicative of the fae trying to break through her wards. The room was an octagon, originally meant to serve as a storehouse, but had been converted into a training area. Half-mangled dummies leered at her from the shadows like zombies, and old crates of arms and armor crowded the walls like creeping ivy.
"Having fun down there?"
"I am. Send the recruit down when he's ready. I'll be watching from the shadows." Even though her patron was Tempest, Regina was still well-acquainted with the darkness. Slipping into a corner, she receded into its obscured recesses.
Kalyani stood and dropped to the floor in a smooth, liquid motion. "If you're done, we'll be going. It's right down that pole. You'll know the incursion when you see them. I believe the tally is anywhere from two to four brownies."
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Post by Wildsky on May 4, 2013 17:35:26 GMT -6
Skyler nodded and gripped the pole. Adrenaline and noradrenaline were pumping through his body, his muscles tingling with the added oxygen. He forgot about caution and slide down the pole. To avoid being seen, he cautiously walked away from the ray of light coming for the above room.
Gordiana pounced down and crouched into a slightly defensive position. He could see the fae trying to break through the defensive wards that were placed, and he could see the arcing lights of magic coursing through the room as the brownies were desperately trying to break free. And they were successful, to a certain extent. He could see the ward physically getting weaker and weaker as they bashed against it, their magic causing strains on the structure.
He unsheathed his shortsword quietly and a shiver ran down his spine. The purple light arced across the room, and it was only a few more seconds until they broke through entirely. He starting holding his breath, unintentionally, trying to not be seen.
It was almost as if he could hear the small screams already. It was so close. It was causing him to nearly jump in anticipation. But he waited, cautiously.
Screams.
A final wave of purple light before the ward was entirely destroyed, and the brownies, all three of them, came through. They weren't... normal. One of them was a child, no more than ten in age, a young girl. Another was a vicious coyote, small but powerful. And the last was seemingly less harmless, but obviously still strong, deadly, and harder to catch: a raccoon scampering around the room.
They had no idea that Regina and Skyler were in there, it seemed, as they walked around, cautiously, their eyes adjusting to the dark. Skyler was slightly trained in his owned magic, Gordiana taught him the very basics, but he wasn't really too sure of anything. Never the less, he concentrated on the Spirit Realm, his zodiac being Flora. He conjured up the slightest bit of Earth magic in his hand, and kept it there easily. It was hard work, especially for him, but it would be more effective than trying to swing a sword stupidly -- at least, to open with.
However, what he didn't plan for was the repercussions of his magic: a brownie, the coyote, looked in his direction and snarled, smelling the magic almost. He didn't dare even breathe, but the coyote walked closer and closer to him, its eyes adjusting faster and faster. And eventually, it snarled at him, leaping forward.
Skyler reacted quickly, he flung his hand forward, the Earth magic impacting on the coyote's shoulder and him scrambling backward. The coyote was hurt, more so than he imagined, but it got up easily and lunged forward again.
((Stopping here, since I dunno what Regina would do now that they've been spotted. ^^;))
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Post by { o p a l } on May 4, 2013 22:44:59 GMT -6
Kalyani padded up to the edge of the hole descending downwards, peering in curiously. She settled into a crouched position, watching for an opportunity.
The fae broke out of their prison, though they were still (unbeknownst to them) bound to that particular floor. However, they'd be taken care of soon enough, Regina would see to that if necessary.
Skyler approached with caution, trying to take advantage of his sneak attack. The ocelot hissed as he summoned magic- fae, especially those in an animal form with a strong nose, could smell magic.
The coyote lunged at him, only to be repulsed by a well-done blast of earth magic.
The two other brownies soon spotted Skyler. The "girl," trying to play on human emotions, began to whimper and shake, pretending to be afraid. Perhaps it could fool him into believing it to truly be a human child.
The fae had learned that humans did not like to kill children, they viewed their younglings as innocent and precious. This was most decidedly due to their necessity to reproduce and continue their race.
However, it could also be exploited to convince some humans that they were, in fact, not fae but truly children, and spread doubt in the minds of others.
The raccoon began to dart away, but Kalyani wasn't having any of it. Feline instincts kicking in, she leaped, and fourteen kilos of spitting, hissing ocelot slammed claws-first into the hapless fey.
They rolled on the ground, the brownie shrieking and Kalyani raking with all claws. Finally, the raccoon managed to break her grasp, and she leaped off, circling it with fangs bared.
"You're enjoying yourself, I see. Tell me if the situation looks dire enough for me to step in."
"I'm doing fine, thank you. Things seem to be going most smoothly."
"I'll just continue watching the recruit, then."
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Post by Wildsky on May 10, 2013 18:10:00 GMT -6
((Eurgh, give me a second to get re-situated with what's going on.))
---
Skyler swallowed and glanced around, wielding his weapon very defensively. He glanced over to the young girl, and the words of Regina rang in his head. No matter what they become, they are your enemy. He was distracted by a moment of indecision that the coyote got up and posed to lunge at him.
Gordiana snarled and leaped at the coyote, breaking the lapse in concentration. He took a breath and looked back at the girl. He gripped his sword and stepped forward, the girl trembled in sight of him.
Don't, half of his mind said. Just a girl.
But a fae! She'll kill me!
Instead, you kill her?!
He clenched his free hand and closed his eyes for a moment -- a moment too long. When he opened his eyes, the child was in mid-air, knife in hand. He could only try to dodge the attack, which he did somewhat successfully. The blade grazed his legs, but simply caught the boot and was deflected off.
He took his sword and swung it around to hit the child, but she was quick, agile. She rolled out of it and got into a slightly defensive position, where she could leap forward to strike. Skyler got his blade into a defensive position, waiting for the brownie to attack. But all she wanted was a distraction.
As he slowly opened his senses, he could hear Gordiana and the coyote fighting. He fought the urge to run off and help her, but it was pointless. He grit his teeth and gripped his blade, but it was pointless. The distraction was already in place. It just needed a catalyst.
A whimper, from Gordiana -- he could tell. Skyler whipped his head around, but he realized his mistake too late, even if just the moment after he began. He brought his sword to his chest, angled slightly.
The brownie leaped onto his abdomen, the blade grazing his skin, and it tried to leap off just as quick, but Skyler did the one thing he could -- use magic. Opening a link as quick as he could -- though it took his entire mind -- he placed his hand on the demon-child and sent a shock, as much as he could manage with his link, through his hand into the brownie.
He threw it off his body -- whether it was killed, unconscious, or merely stunned, he didn't care. He turned around to see the coyote, and Gordiana was winning -- she was much better at fighting than he.
He didn't dare use his magic again -- his head was already spinning and he had a headache, but he did stand off to the side, waiting for the coyote to be distracted. When the time was right, he swung his blade at the coyote. He did go for the neck or head -- simply the abdomen. It struck the hip of the coyote, and it dug deep -- enough that the brownie was momentarily distracted, looking back to see his attacker.
Gordiana struck at the exposed neck, which distracted the coyote further. Sky took the chance and struck again, this time with slightly more accuracy than before. It hit the spine and caused the coyote to spasm. It left a gash, slightly smaller than the one of the hip (which was now bleeding profusely), but still deep, nevertheless.
It fell down, seemingly instantly paralyzed.† It whimper and howled, but Skyler didn't care -- the demon-child had warped his emotions at this point. He took his blade and thrust it into the rib cage, collapsing the right lung and puncturing the left. As he wasn't heartless (he didn't want the creature to suffer, simply be disabled), he took his blade and swung it down onto the coyote's neck, slicing through it (though he noticed some resistance with the bone). The cut wasn't entirely clean, as he could see some tissue still connecting the two, but the spinal cord and vertebrae were cut, so it was effectively decapitated.
He was breathing heavily, and partially in shock. Gordiana wasn't too badly injured, but a few cuts and grazes here and there. Skyler had the cut from the demon-child, but not much else besides that (perhaps bruising). He let go of the sword, assuming that Regina had taken care of the other brownie and took a breath, closing his eyes.
"You all right, Sky?" Gordiana asked, using verbal communication as both their minds were still racing.
"Fine..." he said, though it came out as a breath. "Just... Tired." Tired would work. For now, in front of Regina, it would work. "Tired."
---
((† - Kiz helped me with figuring some of this stuff out. Thank her!))
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Post by { o p a l } on May 10, 2013 18:44:08 GMT -6
Regina watched the fight impassively, as if she were entirely unimpressed by the bloodshed going on in front of her. And, for the main part, she was: she'd seen fights a lot higher-stakes and intense than this. But her appearances were also deceiving. Her eyes followed the dance of blades with expert ease, finding form issues, tactics issues, and good moves.
The brownie underneath Kalyani began to transform into a much more powerful form, but she wasn't about to have any of it. Allowing herself to be kicked off, she landed behind it, suddenly no longer the spitting ball of feline but the silence itself. The fae, thinking it had won itself a moment of respite, began to shift forms into a coyote, but as it attempted to recover its breath, the ocelot struck again.
The few moments that the brownie had spent recovering had allowed Kalyani to position herself atop a crate, and now she leaped down onto it with a type of pinpoint precision only gained through practice. Her jaws clamped down on the fae's spinal cord, giving her a firm hold in its scruff atop its back. Breathless from her impact, it writhed beneath her.
Claws raked along its backside, leaving deep gashes in her prey's back. Kalyani unlatched herself for a moment and then struck lower, hitting the coyote's artery with her fangs. It let out an unearthly shriek, then began to curl up into a ball.
The ocelot let go, turning to watch the fight beside her.
As Skyler managed to stun the other brownie, Regina slipped from her hiding place, one sword drawn. The "child" struggled to her feet, but the Chief was already ahead of her, a foot slamming into the side of the fae's face, knocking it over. Stunned twice now, it lay hacking on the ground.
Recovering from her roundhouse kick, Regina strode over and placed her boot on top of the fae's neck. It hacked, blood gurgling up into its throat.
"Skyler." The Chief looked down at the ten year old beneath her boot with nothing but hatred in her eyes. "Pick up your blade. You have one more kill to make."
Kalyani strode over to stand beside her human, her fangs and fur still bloody from her fight. "You are a member of the Silence. You must learn the true nature of things, no matter their apparent identities."
Regina looked at him with eyes as cold as the steel of her blade. "I am not asking you to kill a child in cold blood. I am commanding you to unravel the illusions of a fae."
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Post by Wildsky on May 11, 2013 15:28:53 GMT -6
Skyler took a breath, his mind blank. Too much was going on to form a coherent thought. "The brownie... She isn't a child. She's an illusion." He took his sword and walked over to the brownie. Gordiana walked over as well, watching intently.
He was afraid, scared, and indecisive, but he wasn't listening to his brain right now. He was given an order, and so he had to follow it. He took his sword and raised it, aiming to do the same that he did before. This time with more precision, however.
He took a breath and kept his eyes on the child's neck. After a mere moment, he took the sword down, the blade of it sharply cutting through the flesh and muscle. It went all the way through -- a clean cut. He watched as the brownie shriveled up into this horrible looking creature -- a head too large and a body too small.
The creature was... horrible. The child was gone. This was all the was left. "Is this the brownie?" he asked Regina, keeping his eyes on the decapitated head. "Is this its true form?"
He didn't want it to be true. But at the same time, he did. He couldn't live with killing a child in cold blood, but could he live with knowing that these things existed? Was this his life now? His life now and forever? Would he die to this creature? This abomination?
So many questions ran through his head. He wanted a break, to sit down, have a nice cup of tea. He wanted to go back to his home with his mother and father. But his home wasn't home anymore. No, it was gone. He would be a stranger to his mother and father. He would be a different man in the same body.
"This is my home now, isn't it? The Silence. This is my family. My life." He spoke not to Regina, but to himself. He simply was confirming what his mind thought.
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Post by { o p a l } on May 12, 2013 17:31:39 GMT -6
Regina released the pressure of her foot as if she was about to step back, watching the fey's muscles closely. They tensed, barely visible.
Well, we can't have that.
Her foot lifted suddenly and slammed into the fey's stomach, sending air flying out from its lungs, incapacitating it further.
"Watch the soul of your enemy escape from its eyes," she whispered, her eyes hard yet far away. She stared down at the brownie, watching its eyes easily, even though its gaze was turned towards its killer. "Know the consequences for your action, and know why it was necessary."
As the creature shriveled, its stare blank and glassy with the sheen of death, Skyler spoke again. "Is this the brownie? Is this its true form?"
Regina glanced at him. He looked shaken, tired, and hollow. A shell of a man.
A darkness flashed through her eyes, and for a moment her lips formed into a smirk.
Skyler was a shell, changed by his experience here. Kalyani confirmed her guess with a look at Gordiana. This was sadly necessary- all members needed to see the horror of the fae. They became shells, and she poured in new purpose, new training, new ferocity.
They became the silent steel of Britain, and of the world.
"This is the true form of the brownie." The Chief scoffed. Such a puny, foolish name. She nodded once in confirmation. Reaching down, she grabbed the decapitated head by its straggly hair.
Holding the disgusting visage at the end of her arm, she turned it to face Skyler. "Know the face of your enemy. Understand now why we are fighting them. Understand now why we are silent."
She cast away the head without a second thought. "You have completed your mission. You are free to return to Stonehenge, and will be contacted when your assistance is required again."
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Post by Wildsky on May 19, 2013 12:57:50 GMT -6
Skyler watched the fey for a moment longer, but eventually sheathed the sword. He walked into the room where they were contained, before they had broken into the room where Regina and he fought them. He didn't know what to expect, but it was nothing, in reality. Nothing was disrupted, nothing was dead.
But there was something off. The remnants of the runic barrier were left in the air, and he could feel the shattered magic. It coursed through his veins, the cool poison that lay in his heart to be spread through his body. His hand curled up into a fist and he clenched his jaw. They were a horror. They were the creatures who deserved to die.
He reached out, his bare hand steady, but he could tell the small vibrations of something changing, something bad happening in the world. He didn't know what, he just knew that there was something. And he knew that he had to prepare.
He turned to Regina and said, “I want to be assigned a trainer. I'm useless physically – magically, I have talent, but physically, I barely know how to hold a sword. And with a life like this, I need to know how to live.”
'You're a different man, Skyler... But are you really? Or is this simply the person you were, with the guise of illusion ripped from your eyes?'
'It doesn't matter if I'm the same or a different person altogether. All that matters is this is who I am now.
Gordiana made a small telepathic noise and faded away to the Spirit Zodiac to heal. She was far from mad, but she needed time to think herself. She was so steady, but she had to secure her own mind at times as well.
Life... Is this life? The life I'll live? Will I never go to a party with my friends, get drunk and have a test tomorrow? Will I never live in a flat, going to university, get a job, get married? Will I never live in a house, go to work from nine to five? And yet... Why does none of this bother me? Why can I so easily live this life, where death is a moment away? Why?
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