awashlogs | Will They Save The Day? Neigh!

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Will They Save The Day? Neigh!

Who: Maribelle + You! Mingle log!
What: As the wolves descend upon the town, Maribelle decides she's not letting them lay a finger - er, fang? - on the horses. Come help defend them, attack them, or find them!
Where: Stable of Flavo / Around Town
When: Throughout the event!
Warnings: Blood/etc possibility? Werewolves, after all.

Calm Before the Storm

Maybe you heard it via word of mouth, or perhaps you're wandering the streets and just spot a bunch of people in front of the stable. Either way, Maribelle is there, and soon is joined by Tonbikiri and others. Now that they have some idea what's going on, Maribelle had a fair guess that these beasts would be after fresh, defenseless meat. So she's set up a make-shift bed (blanket on the grass, really) , gathered her tomes and staff, and now sits in front of it, making small-talk to anyone around her.

"Naturally, we'll take shifts to get a proper night's sleep... though knowing my dear horse may be in danger will honestly prevent me from getting any sleep."

Attack At The Stable

They're here! Wolves of both regular and were variety! Maribelle is on her feet in seconds, hoping her Fire tome will be enough to scare them off. Are you here to help defend the horses? Or did you get bitten, and now desire the tasty flesh both in and outside of the stables? Either way, bring it on!

"You will not take another step closer!"

Where Is My War Horse?

Unfortunately, a lot can happen in the heat of battle - like one of the doors flying open. Some of the horses have galloped away in fear, and Maribelle is trying to find them before someone else - something else - does. She has a tome under one arm, staff in the other, running around as fast as her feet can take her.

"They can't have gotten far... Please, oh, I'll never forgive myself if something happens to them...!"

((OOC: feel free to reply to mari and/or make your own top-level for everyone to hit!))

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Honestly, it's just Maribelle that's unpredictable. It's part of her... charm?

But he is giving her something else to think about besides wolves eating horses, which she is grateful for. She also crosses her arms, eyes rolling up as she tries to think. "Hm... whatever we do, we should do it for all of them. We need to keep them all in top-shape, while staying within the perimeters of the town."

She then glances at him, curious. "... What if you and I dueled one another?"

"Duel? You?" His surprise quickly turns into an apologetic smile. "I am sorry. I thought that you were a healer, though. You can fight from horseback?"

"With my magic, yes." Maribelle holds up one of her tomes - Fire, to be specific. "I have three different spells I can use to attack my enemies from a distance... so your challenge would be to see if you can strike me up close without being hurt."

His eyebrows raise in appriciation and he smiles broadly. "I see! What an interesting challenge!" He then raises a hand to his chin thoughtfully. He has seen magic at work before, and it strikes him as very difficult to defend against. But on the other hand, evading it may be possible, in which case it becomes no different than an arrow or bullet. Either way, he will have to observe Maribelle's offensive techniques closely.

"Very well, I accept." He holds out a gauntleted hand for a handshake. "Once this emergency is over, let us have a good bout!"

Maribelle takes the hand and gives it a firm shake. "If I found out you held back against me, even for a moment, you will regret it." But she says it affably enough - he is old fashioned here and there, so sometimes he can't help it. But she is a seasoned warrior, and doesn't want anyone thinking that just because she has good manners and gorgeous hair that she can be taken down easily.

"Because I won't be going easy on you."

Her confidence seems properly grounded, and her handshake firm. Pleased with both those things, he answers, "I will give you my honest best, and a fair fight."

With that, he gets to his feet. "For now though, I should let you return to resting. Even if you cannot sleep, you should rest before tonight. I shall be counting on you."

Maribelle frowned, hating to be told to rest, but knowing she needed to anyway. She smoothed down her clothes, looking away. "... And I will be counting on you as well. You'd be loathe to disappoint me." Which was her round-a-bout way of saying she would do her best for him.

The only trouble with that declaration is that he's sometimes not sure what will disappoint her...
But it still goes without saying that he will do his best!

---

Tonbokiri sets himself up by the one narrow door that he's left unbarred, keeping a sharp lookout. As the night wears on he can start to pick up distant sounds of battle. He knows that there are many people defending the town from the human-like wolves, but still, eventually, he can see shapes creeping closer in the unusually bright moonlight.

He calls out in a low voice, "Maribelle-dono. They have arrived to the north-west."

She said her specialty is long-range magic, so he shall let her take the lead.

Part of Maribelle had been hoping that she had worried for nothing, and the wolves wouldn't come... but that was unrealistic. As soon as she heard Tonbokiri's voice, she was on her feet, clutching one of her tomes - Fire. Wind would do little go here, Thunder was a maybe, but all beasts feared Fire.

"Stay out of my range." She warns him as she opens the book. "I can only fire in a straight line... but I want you to be careful."

"Understood." No matter which of her three spells she uses, he does not wish to be in its way.

Knowing that her magic only goes in a straight line is essential knowledge, although he hasn't seen the length of her range yet. He stands several paces to her left so that she can clearly see him, and so that he can watch for any creatures circling around to attack separate from the main group bearing down on them.

If they are wild like wolves and clever like humans, he must not underestimate them. His spear is held at the ready.

Maribelle waits - her magic has limited use, so she can't afford to miss. Not until she sees them leaves the shadows, sees the glint in their eyes... NOW!

"Fire!" She calls out, and the book takes on a light glow - before a line of fresh fire spews from the book itself, aiming right for the wolves.

Although well-trained to not let anything distract him in battle, even he gives a start at Maribelle's magic. He'd not expected the fire to come from her book! It seems that the wolves were not expecting it either, as it shoots right into their midst.

But as if the fire were a signal, other shadows begin to move. A group of five make a line for Tonbokiri- three wolves and two human-like wolves. Their countanance is certainly creepy, but he has seen more foul.

"You'll not touch me." No matter how fierce they are, they will not be able to close in on him bare-handed like that. He moves forward to meet them, but not so far that he can't rush back to Maribelle's side should she be in danger.

What in the world were these things? Maribelle supposed she shouldn't be entirely surprised, given that this was already a strange realm, but still... She wipes sweat from her brow - using magic took energy, like swinging a sword. She backs up, trying to find the right way to use the next blast... the human-like wolves were probably smarter and not as easy to scare. But wolves were wild animals - spook them enough and they'd get the hint. She could only hope so.

"Fire!" She called again, as part of the spell, sending out another hot stream - this time it touched some of the gray grass, lighting it up to burn the feet of the wolves.

Unknown to them both, the wolves were less wild than they could wish. But fortunately, animal instinct against fire was still strong.

As the fire didn't fade out quickly this time, the group approaching Tonbokiri seemed slightly more wary. Pressing the initiative, Tonbokiri thrust his spear at the closest, following through in a flow of thrusts and parries. Knowing that a bite, perhaps even a scratch, could infect him to be a human-like wolf as well, he paid particular attention to not letting any of them get close. With, and as, a spear, it was what he was meant for.

It took mere moments to fell the group that came at him, but in those moments anything could happen, so he tried to keep his partner in view every moment he could.

Likewise, Maribelle made sure Tonbokiri stayed in the corner of her eye - if he was injured, she had seconds to grab her staff and try to heal him. She couldn't cast an attack spell and a healing one at the same time - so every second was valuable.

Another step back - Maribelle waits until he finishes his thrusts to "fire" again, keeping her exhaustion in check. "They're starting to get spooked, this just might work!"

However, judging from the upset neighs within the stable, they weren't the only ones.

He is relieved to see her still unharmed, although looking considerably more tired. Magic took 'energy' too, didn't it. Ah-! And he'd not even considered asking if the energy needed for her magic was difficult to replace or not.
Hopefully she is not exceeding her limits on this.

His eyebrows raise at the noise from the stable, but he does not turn. Asano-dono is there, and he trusts him to take care of it.

Perhaps, right now, the best defence is a good offence. Backing up so that he's closer to her, he speaks quickly in a low voice.

"I will draw them all towards me. When it seems like a good moment, I'll back away and you can hit the group of them with your fire. A blow that strong against the group will hopefully drive them away."

And with all of that for a plan, he charges out towards the shadows lurking on the fringes of firelight. The natural aggression of the wolves, even the human-like ones, would not let them back down from his full-on challenge. It takes only a handful of seconds to draw a large group on him. They are ruthless, but so is he, in his own way.

He cannot know if he's drawn all of the enemies towards him, but this will have to be enough. Hoping that Maribelle-dono would be ready despite his sudden and simple plan, he lunges backwards out of the group.

Hang on, Maribelle didn't agree to the plan - ! Oh, men, why are they always like this?! She's reminded of Vaike, and misses him terribly. But there's no time to get lost in memories, the present needs her, not the past. If he's going to ride everything on one moment, she needs to prepare.

She clenches her fist, trying to muster up all the strength in her body. If she could unleash one large blast - it might knock her out, but maybe it would be worth it. She waits until he makes the exact jump -

"FIRE!" It's almost a scream, and the pages run wildly as she lets out the biggest, hottest stream of fire she can, her legs giving out within seconds of letting it loose.

The fact that her voice is so different from the previous times she called out her spell gives him a start, but Tonbokiri does not take his eyes from the wolves.

Between the fire, a large number of their fellows already having been killed or wounded, and Tonbokiri still standing there proudly with steel in hand, the foes decide to take the reasonable course and back away in reluctant, growling retreat.

As the wolves back away, Tonbokiri dare not break his gaze away from them, even though he is worried for Maribelle. Hold on to your proud strength just a bit longer, he thinks towards her. Even now they could seize upon any weakness...

Once all the shadows seem to be gone, he finally looks over at her.

"Maribelle-dono! That was most impressive, but are you all right? Forgive me for not considering the energy you would have to use..."

Maribelle has fallen to her knees, sweat dripping down her face. The tome lays open on the ground, a few pages cracked or ripped. She doesn't answer him right away, need to catch her breath. She almost looks like she ran a marathon, and in terms of magic, she just did.

She lifts her head, and sighs in relief to see the shadows breaking away. "Yes, well... if you want my forgiveness, keep your eyes on them, not me." As always, her pride, and some of her own stubbornness, comes up first. "I'll be all right, I've gone through worse battles than this... If anything, we should save our concern for my tome. Another hard blast like that too soon, and it'll be gone for good."

Ah- well, he should have expected her ire to be turned on him for seeing her in a weak moment.
But more than that, he is worried for her condition!

"Understood. I shall be more cautious of asking so much of your magic in the future. I am very glad that you will be all right. But for now, can you stand? I can help you get back inside." He must offer, even if it goes against her pride a little.

"I'm sure I can handle simple walking..." Maribelle says without exactly being sure of it herself. She pushes her hands on the ground, wobbles, straightens herself up, wobbles, stands on her legs, wobbles...

... Then falls right down again.

Please ignore her bright red cheeks or she might just kill you.

"... Um. On second thought, perhaps... some assistance would be necessary."

He will not say a word of it.

“If it is necessary, then, please allow me.” Giving her a polite bow, he then bends down to gently scoop her up off the ground, one arm supporting her legs and the other at her back.

Redder, redder, redder still...

"... And we shall speak a word of this to no one, of course."

Truth be told, he's somewhat relieved for this gesture to have not been violently rejected.

"Of course. Not a breath."

...Hopefully Asano-dono is involved with the horses and won't notice when they enter in.

With a final careful look around and a slight shift so that he can carry his spear as well, he hurries back towards the stable.

He quietly enters, looking first for Asano. Fortunately, the boy seems to be fully involved with telling one of the horses at the far end of the stable a tragic-sounding story, so they can enter without being noticed. He gently sets Maribelle against a wall, and brings over the blanket she'd been using before.

In a hushed voice he says, "I shall keep guard until sunrise. Have you need of anything else for now?"

Edited (Seeing as I could, updated with them succeeding the stealth check. (Or Asano failing a noticing-this check. Whichever.)) 2018-07-07 06:01 (UTC)

Maribelle rolls her eyes at Asano's weirdness - don't you dare tell her horse anything strange! - but otherwise ignores it as she settles down. A hint of a smile comes to her face as she's laid down, and she smooths the blanket down over her legs.

"Only to know that you, Asano, and our horses will be safe." Prideful as she is, she does care about them all, in her own way. "If anyone gets injured, come get me. I have enough energy left to use my healing staff."

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youwillbeunequaled - 2018-07-08 08:12 (UTC) - Expand

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