middaeg | . summer's play

They're mostly mindless beasts - you will, on occasion, find one that has its health to it. [Might as well get into it. She's fine with explaining, as well, considering they are going to be dealing with the creatures.] The infected can infect you, but those that don't are clever and dangerous in their own right for avoiding the infection. Trust nothing, not even the plants.

[She keeps bonsais of the vaguely mind-altering roses that came from around Dorchacht, after all.]

[Not even the plants.

Dimitri redirects his step a little closer to the path, rather than leaving space between himself and the woman. Instead, he falls a bit behind her, but farther from the edges of tree branches and wild underbrush that grows thicker the farther they lead.]

So there are... those who are not infected but call this wild their home? [People - monsters or witches - who have not been infected but still manage to thrive in this environment.

Everything he was told in the city proper suggested otherwise, but he doesn't begrudge the oversight.

It's a lot of information to deliver.]

Yes. Mostly, they are wild beasts. But there are... other things. [She thinks about the Monsters that had been stalking them through the Wildes outside of Aefenglom. She didn't think too many civilized individuals would live outside the walls, but... life finds its own way.

Or, perhaps, they were looking for something else. She doesn't know.] We saw some Monsters, as well, just recently. We did not speak to them, and I do not blame them for not approaching, but they did not appear to be infected. That does not mean they are, too, not dangerous. They've had to grow in such adversity, after all.

[The adaptations one makes to survive grow wilder, more jagged and hideous, with the world around them. In a place like this, both feared itself and the home of nightmares, must have produced some terrible creatures.

He doesn't shudder to think of them.

But he doubts they'd want his pity, either.

He's let the conversation pause for too long.] I see.

I pray our paths don't come to oppose, then.

Though, we'd likely have a great deal to learn from them, don't you think?

Likely, but they seem a reclusive sort. [She leads them as she walks, talking, yes, but still quite wary of the area around them.] It would probably be some task to get them to trust us, and share their ways, their history, and their struggles.

[And Maria is not exactly a bastion of empathy in this world, or any other. Sure, she tried to work with her patients, but... it ended up being for naught.]

[Dimitri has no negative impression of this woman - she's focused on the mission, mindful of her surroundings, and knowledgeable of her domain.

He's already come to trust her to some extent.

Maybe others among them would be more willing emissaries, but he thinks she'd be a fine choice.

It'd be rude to voice as much, however. Too brazen.] Someday, perhaps...

[He grows quiet then, scanning either side of the narrowing path around them. It seems to flicker... darker, somehow. A strange scent drifts nearer, and they seem to be walking towards it.

A tree ahead of them fades, disappearing into the black wilderness.]

Is this cause for concern?

[Some day, Maria hopes that she can go one day in the Wildes without running into some kind of life-or-death situation. Today is apparently not that day; and she was simply looking forward to just walking along this path with only the sounds of their footsteps to accompany.

And yet... the shadows move in unnatural ways for shadows, especially for what should be a tree. Her mind runs through a myriad of thoughts as to what, exactly, that could be. She's reaching for her sword before she even gives a verbal answer - which she figures is clue enough.] Yes. The most dangerous creatures rarely venture too close to the cities, but that does not mean this will not be a threat.

[She keeps the Rakuyo together for the moment, and instead opts to grab for the pistol at her other hip. Either she can get the first blow in with it, or scare whatever that is off.]

Move out a little to flank. It wouldn't do for us both to be caught in a charge.

[On the contrary, Dimitri had come fully expecting a fight. He's heard much of the dangers that lurk in the wildes, but has yet to see one with his own eyes. To fight one seems only inevitable, and he's steeled himself to take in as much of the experience as possible.

When the woman draws her weapon, he does the same. One spear left on his back, and another held at his side.

With a nod he does as bidden, heavily armored boots crunching the greenery that lines the path as he steps off of it. There's a small sapling between him and the trajectory of whatever is in front of them, so he steps on that too - snapping the thin trunk audibly.

The noise echoes as if they're standing in a small room, rather than the expansive wild. In response, a low growl unlike anything he's ever heard before emanates from the space before them.

Another tree fades into shadow, and then another, and along with it the skyline-

Then a pair of glowing eyes pierce the veil of darkness, faintly framed by wide hairy shoulders supported by wide claws in the dirt.

It charges, as Maria anticipated.]

[Maria just wishes for a peaceful world. This one is definitely not it, despite what the people in the city like to bury their heads in the sand and pretend. It's not as bad as her world, but things like this definitely mean it's not without its dangers.

At least the aggression of the creatures is entirely predictable. It lowers into a charge, and Maria leans vaguely to the side away from Dimitri. As the creature seems like it's going to crash down on her, her form just suddenly vanishes in a brief flash of magic, and reappears a good twenty feet to the side, well clear of the path of the beast, which stumbles a little as it suddenly isn't sure where its target went, or what happened.

Maria slashes her blade through the air, and it flares with fire, wooshing through the air, then left to crackle and pop with the heat. After all, Maria is a Witch, and she's gotten pretty used to fighting with her Witch abilities, over the ones she had at home.

The young man has lances, though whatever strength he has as a Monster is probably not fully bestowed upon him. So... Maria will be the bait, she supposes, and raises her Evelyn toward the creature, cracking out a shot to let it know where she is. It turns with a roaring howl, and digs its claws in for another charge, shifting directions with a terrifying ease for something so large.] Harry it from behind. I'll keep its attention.

[Besides, Maria refuses to let the Monsters 'tank' for her as it is, even if that seems to be the way most of the Wilders fight. She can handle herself just fine, thanks.

The creature gets closer, and Maria slashes through the air - far short of the thing, but the sudden trail of fire that extends feet past her blade cuts right through it, searing skin and burning fur alike, and it howls in pain, trying to trap her, elusive as ever, beneath its claws.]

[Dimitri is not under the illusion that he is the more competent here. An experienced fighter - he could learn so much from her - but now is not the time to revel in a display of prowess. He watches her closely as she moves, though he too loses track of her when she vanishes.

The crack of a gunshot draws his attention along with the beast's, but he cannot see her through its hulking form.

A body that only seems to grow larger as its shadow extends far over Dimitri with the ignition of fiery blades. Tentatively, Dimitri steps aside, taking care to remain in the creature's shadow and thus, he hopes, a blind spot.

When it charges again, he follows, wordlessly following instructions.

It's body is fur and thick skin over muscle, and Dimitri nearly loses his grip on his spear the first time he burrows it in. The beast's body contracts, but the flare from its front keeps the terror's attention.

With a foot planted on its haunch, Dimitri rips his spear from the monster. Impossibly black blood coats the blade and runs down its leg. He lunges again, this time aiming to slide his weapon between tendon and bone on the creature's foot.

If he could disable its charges, it will be far easier to deal with-

The flesh is easier to pierce where there is less muscle, and his blows puncture again and again until the beast lets out a ground-shaking cry. Then it turns, swiping at Dimitri with a trunk-like arm.

He dodges, but only barely, knee skidding on the ground.]

[It seems things are going well for them. Even if he isn't necessarily someone she's fought beside before, a lot of the beats are similar to what she is familiar with, fighting alongside Kaede or some of her other Monster acquaintances.

It helps lend confidence to how this fight is going to go, even if it's dangerous, even if either of them could potentially perish against this one foe in just a moment. Of course, Dimitri seems to land the kind of deep, crippling blow that grabs attention right back off of Maria, and it turns on the new recruit. That's not good - even if he's an accomplished fighter back at home, there are still changes which happen in this place, and he may not be able to rely on things he used to.

That the creature shifts suddenly sends Maria into a side-jaunt to avoid being hit by any flinging parts as it turns, and then she lines up with its back-flank. It's not the side Dimitri hit, but she can see the creature now favoring that leg, so maybe it's time for her to work a little of her own Witch's magic and sword prowess against it. The flaming swords come down in a harsh slash, this time, the sharp edge finds purchase against flesh, and cuts deep, the flames flaring on either side - cauterizing the blood vessels, but searing flesh and igniting fur alike, and just making the agony worse. Bad burns on top of a deep gash should take care of mobility in its other leg, and the creature thrashes and bellows. That leaves the forepaws, which are still capable of bringing a terrifying, deadly amount of force to bear, but at least its mobility is down, as is its concentration.

Maria keeps to the rear this time, a common hunting tactic with Beasts, forcing it to try to turn to follow her, even as she angles to get to the blood on the other hind leg.

Because Maria is also one of those morally questionable Witches that likes to use blood to bolster her spells.]

[Crouched with one knee in the dirt, spear shoved into the ground to keep him upright when he dodged, Dimitri watches the black blood caking his spear as it spreads. The edges of the sinuous mess seem to cut into the blade itself. He shakes it off, careful to avoid any splatter, and charges forward once more.

He'd faced monsters in his world, but those were fights that left him covered in torn flesh and blood.

Rampant Cwyld is a greater threat than any beast.

Dimitri can smell flesh burning, the crackling of fire and fur speckling his vision with bright flares quickly retaken by shadow. Fire is an effective means of cauterizing wounds - of minimizing the danger.

He watches for just a moment longer, the details of her motions obscured in shadow - all he can make out is the woman rushing for the bloodied leg, and he doesn't have time to wonder why.

With its legs crippled, the monster lashes out with both arms, swinging the trunk-sized limbs wildly. Tearing trees from their roots, forcing Dimitri to the ground once again, and then slamming into the forest floor hard enough to leave tremors in its wake.

He'd rolled aside just in time - left close enough to slide his spear through the beast's forearm pinning it down. The thing thrashes, but Dimitri holds his ground - braced to take a blow from the other arm should Maria not act in time.]

[They're doing well, but not well enough. In a flash, one of the beast's arms is pinned to the ground by a lance - with its legs out of commission and that one arm down, all it has left is its considerable bulk, and the one forepaw to bring to bear against the two combatants. Except Dimitri is locked where he is, and Maria is behind the creature.

She has only a split second to decide what she's doing with this, and she does something she wasn't expecting out of herself. She elects to abandon her plan to try to use the Cwyld and blood leaking out of the creature to burn it from the inside out. At least from the leg.

Instead, she teleport-leaps up onto its back, and shoves both swords as deeply as she can into the creature's shoulder. Whatever wind-up it was getting ready for is cut short as the range of motion of the arm is suddenly cut off, and most of the power leeches out with the severing of muscles. Its arm flops down with less than half the power it was going to bring to bear before, and slowly, easy enough to get out of the way of.

But Maria doesn't cauterize this wound. In fact, she wrenches on her swords as they're buried into the creature, and watches as the oily black substance, mixed with blood, flows from the wound.

The creature shakes itself, tossing its body from side to side, and Maria holds on only for long enough for it to slow down before she leaps back off of it.

Her blades are coated in the blood-oil now, and it splashes up nearly to her gloves, but her hunter's attire is made to resist blood, and it's done a great job keeping the Cwyld out, as well.

The flames along the blade flicker, and then suddenly the whole area lights up like someone turned on the sun - right in the middle of them. The fire's no longer orange-yellow, now it flickers blue-white and intense, like phosphorous flash powder, hissing loudly in the area.

And she charges back forward, just as the creature tries to backhand her with the arm she'd just crippled. She doesn't catch it as cleanly as she wanted to, but now the fire seems to be hot enough to melt and cook flesh, not just cauterize wounds. Now, suddenly, she can burn this thing to death in moments.

Definitely a Witch who uses blood.]

[Pinned in place, Dimitri can't see Maria, and tracking her motions through sound is too difficult. The monster's breathing, heavy and labored, and the distinctive cracking of his spear's haft overwhelm everything else.

Until it rears back with a terrible cry, he's completely lost track of her. The monster braces itself with the arm he's pinning, and in doing so almost frees itself. Dimitri plants his heel near his spear and leverages his weight. It wouldn't have been enough to keep the monster still, but soon the creature surges forward again, twisting Dimitri's spear further into it.

He stays anchored until fire surges from the monster's core - impossibly hot and bright. Dimitri scrambles away, abandoning his weapon and his footwork. Knees skidding in the dirt, he travels a several feet on all fours before his back hits a tree.

Whether the flames are an attack from the monster or the powerful witch he's aiding, they're terrifying. Wide eyes watch the pyre, and when it fades, he can't see anything. There's simply the scent of burnt flesh, too overwhelming to be a human's-

So they've killed it. He stands, legs shaking until he takes his first step back towards the corpse.] That... was amazing. [Warning would have been nice, but Dimitri isn't one to chastise his companions.

Especially one so clearly capable as Maria.]

[The beast hits the ground, still smoking, and Maria wrenches her swords free. Let's see, her companion should be...

Ah, at least the blonde hair sticks out amongst the dark, earthy tones of the rest of the forest. He's shaken, alive, and seemingly uninjured. That's good. She pulls back until she's clear from the little infected blood that is leaking from the creature, and looks herself over. She's been splashed by the blood, but it's also entirely on her clothes. She holds her hands and arms out, looking them over, and then...

... Fire sparks along the hands, and the handles of her swords. It burns a low, blueish flame that sputters and flares in just about every color of the rainbow as it crawls up her forearms. Once it's all done, the oily black blood is little more than soot that Maria brushes off before approaching Dimitri. Now she won't infect him.

And yes, if you're a fire witch, it helps to fireproof your clothes.

She barely hears his assessment over the hissing of the fire, but raises an eyebrow as he speaks.]

Did it hit you anywhere? Anything that may become infected?

[Small fires dancing in the dark illuminate Maria as she approaches - Dimitri soon realizes the flickers are coursing over her clothing, and for a moment he's alarmed. His voice starts, sputtering, but he cuts himself off-

Of course, a fire witch could control the largest of pyres and the most elegant of flames.

He sets his lips tight, and looks himself over. There's some blood splatter on one of his arm guards - which he removes quickly to let drop in the dirt. One leg feels a bit odd, and he tilts it from one side to the other - the metal had likely gotten too hot and burnt into him a bit.

No reason to complain.] I'm alright, thank you.

[It might be a good idea to fireproof your clothes when working WITH a fire witch, too.] Should we continue, or cut the round short? [He asks, and glances over his shoulder into the darkness of the forest-

For everything that's scared of fire, there's something attracted to it.]

I don't think we should push it too hard for today.

[If he had been here longer, if he was more comfortable with his changes, or further along with them, Maria might consider going more. But this should be enough for now. He knows what Shades are, and how dangerous they can be. He's worked in the Wildes, and seen its dangers. Now, he also knows how Maria fights, and how to work with her, and she with him, at least a little. He can clearly handle himself, he just needs more experience, but there's no point in overworking either of them.]

I'm going to finish burning the body to nothing but ash, so no hungry creature ends up eating infected meat or spilling infected marrow. Help me clear an area so we don't start a forest fire, and then we'll head back toward town.

[Dimitri nods, keeping his pang of disappointment to himself. The fight had been exhilarating, and his injuries are minor. He understands Maria's wish to retreat well enough - he's lost armor and more beasts could gather and quickly overwhelm them.

His blood is simply still running hot.

But he drops his spear, endless black seeping into its metal rendering it useless.

Clearing the area is as simple as kicking away brush and tossing a few tree branches felled in the skirmish carefully into the woods. Some of their bark already bears marks of the infection.

After establishing a barrier or nothing but trodden ground around the beast, Dimitri steps back.] Ready. [Not that she needs a signal from him to raise her flames.]

[It does help, though, to know that he is prepared for her to unleash this hell. Or, what it is, really. She finds where some of the blood - infected, and glowing softly as the deeper, arterial substance is exsanguinated from the wounds.

That'll be her starting point. She needs fire hot enough to at least char the bones to mostly useless ash, and that takes some effort. Her Bond being so far away is a bit more difficult, but she closes her eyes...

And then the fire starts, like someone threw a match on gasoline, with some of the trailed blood leaking further from the beast. It flares blue, then orange, then yellow-white, before it rages suddenly over the corpse. The smell of cooking meat and burning fur yields to just a general burning smell as the black figure at the center of the blazing conflagration slowly starts to diminish more and more, flames carrying a cloud of ash away.

Maria doesn't say anything, merely watches the creature burn. There's no rush of exhilaration from watching a Beast cleansed, as other hunters sometimes feel. Her Blood infusion is gone anyway, and the emptiness of its wake is felt, but... not missed. She can't miss it. Or she'll fall into that addiction again.

When it's done, there's a couple bare little, heavily charred chunks of bones - a femur, or hip, other thicker bones, among a thick pile of ash. Maria seems satisfied.] Let us go, then.

[Dimitri's nostrils flare when fire once again courses over the beast's body - all he recognizes is blood and burning, though there's something about it that renders the scent definitively inhuman.

It makes his stomach twist all the same, a terrible mixture of hunger and disgust.

The feeling fades quickly as Dimitri watches the flames in all of their brilliant colors dancing over the monster's corpse. It's entrancing, and he only realizes its over when he feels his chest throbbing with heat.

Pupils blown in the face of resurging darkness, Dimitri turns to Maria with a nod. He can hardly make out her features, but there's no need. He's acutely aware of the smell of flame and ash - he'll never lose track of her again.] Yes.

I'm coming.

. summer's play

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itp me making up a monster

That's usually how we do it, haha

perfect!

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lady maria so cool (╯✧ ∇ ✧)╯

Hahahaha

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//end??