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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 10, 2024 0:59:31 GMT -5
Rena frowns a little, carefully tucking her clutch away into a stone chest hidden under floor before replacing the false flooring. with the little ones safe for the moment, unless something happens to her and the fledgling, she opens up a little book on space magic. this Blink spell seems particularly useful...especially once she masters it. she'll be able to get past people quick as Blinking, and once she's got a little more Stealth training under her belt, that'll be very useful for her...in the meantime, however, she just needs to have the spell down in a workable manner, and that means reading the theory. again. 's not too different from Summon Possession, with the main distinction being the mass limit and the fact that she's stepping through a not-quite-rip in space rather than reaching through one.
It'd been a few months since she'd gone on that heist with Elvira, and she was getting anxious about her fledgling's safety. It was good that the elf was starting to feel more comfortable in her skin, but the heat drawn by that caper was nothing to sneeze at...and to make matters worse, there were rumors that the baron had caught wind of where the two of them had taken the stolen loot...
she shakes her head, breaking out of her anxious thoughts and refocusing on the book. just a matter of focusing on a point you can clearly see, then twisting just so with her magic...she looks up from the book, taking a steadying breath and focusing on a point ahead of her. just to the opposite wall of the hideout, definitely far enough that she'd notice...
...she focuses, channeling the frostbitten magic granted by her curse and slowly twisting it out of sync, purifying it of the elemental power before shaping it carefully, ever so carefully into the twisting knot of the Blink spell...and then she releases the magic, and there's a sudden moment of vertigo before she's there.
and then there's a knock on the door to the hideout, carrying the precise pattern agreed on by the crow and her not-quite adopted daughter.
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Post by Elvira, Wandering Cleric on Jan 10, 2024 3:51:41 GMT -5
Elvira waited outside after knocking, an overwhelming sense of giddiness filling her body. She checked around once more while waiting for the mother crow to open the door, making sure the coast was clear and nobody was spying. The moment the door opened, she wasted no time slipping in and closing it behind her. Once it clicked shut and had been locked down, she opens her arms for the avian and dons a wide smile, perhaps wider than Rena had seen before. She was all but jumping for joy as she spoke and wrapped her arms around her mother figure. "It happened, emmë! I asked her to be my partner, and she said yes! We stayed up and admired the stars while intertwined in each other's arms."
She made sure to tone herself down slightly, as she was worried about causing Rena any pain from the thought of Tolling Bell. In fact, she was worried that she had already done so with what little she had said about it, but she also knew that the crow desired to know her fledgeling's going-ons. She quickly straightened up and smiled wide. "By the stars, I'd missed you so. How have you been? How are the eggs?"
As she had asked the question, she looked around the room. Taking note of the lack of eggs on Rena's person, and being unable to see them in a safe place, she turned back to Rena with a confused and worried look. "Where's the ohtër,1 emmë? Is everything alright?"
1. "Eggs"
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 10, 2024 12:30:09 GMT -5
“The wee ones are fine, lor’tyrlr ‘no…safer than we are, actually,” she leads her fledgling over to the spot with the false flooring and pulls it up to reveal the stone chest, “...they’re in there, warming stone and all. The Baron’s caught wind of where we stashed the loot, and that’s far too close to the nest for my tastes…”
The crow trills softly, shaking her head to break herself out of the worry for a moment, “...but I’m glad to hear that you and Tatalia managed to get together. Stargazing and snuggling, hm? Sounds delightful…Bell always did his best snuggling by the fireplace…I can probably pick out the night we made the eggs, too...” she giggles softly, a light flush on her feathers before she shakes her head again and pulls her fledgling into a hug, beginning to vibrate a little, “oh, stars I’m so proud of you, lor’tyrlr ‘no1! I cannae wait to see the two of you together…last time was far too long ago, and all I had was suspicions!”
She smiles, reluctantly pulling away and moving to replace the false flooring over the stone chest holding her surviving clutch...when she stands back up, her eyes are flecked with white and her beak is grimly set, "...but that's enough for now, I think. We can celebrate properly when we know for sure the Baron's men are-" She's cut off by the door to the hideout being kicked in, soldiers beginning to flood into the chamber, shouting about 'arrest' and 'rogues' and 'surrendering'
The crow growls under her breath, cracking her neck and stepping forward as a bayonet falls into each hand, quickly becoming covered in sharpened ice, "...oh, ye break into me home on nothin' more'n suspicions an' expect me not t'put up a fight? stars tu're'tar'idru2..." And with that, the crow blinks to the door, kicking it shut in the face of another soldier even as she spins to slash her bayonets through the back of another's neck, dropping them instantly as she severs the spine.
1. little one 2. you're idiots
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Post by Elvira, Wandering Cleric on Jan 10, 2024 21:42:47 GMT -5
Elvira playfully gagged at the comment about "making eggs," her cheeks becoming flushed with a deep red hue. "Blegh! I did not need that image, emmë!1 Gross! I can't believe yo- Woah... I just felt Bell laughing. You've been working on making contact with him, haven't you? His aura is... It's getting considerably stronger!"
Before she could do any form of celebrating with her not-quite-adoptive mother, the door is smashed open with a forceful kick from one of the Baron's men. Elvira jumps back slightly, strategically placing her foot where the floor panel for the false floor was to ensure it was locked in place. She then dashes forward, charging up a spell and sliding to the right side to give space between her and Rena. Once in position, she stands and thrusts her hand downwards with a loud yell to unleash a hellish, black wave outwards in all directions. Those hit by the spell are set ablaze by a black fire and thrown backwards. Two men that were closer to her were killed instantly, while two more a touch further were only knocked back and set ablaze.
One of the men she did not hit with the spell charged forth and delivers a powerful shoulder into her chest, knocking her back into a wall. He then throws a rib-crushing knee into her chest, knocking the wind out of her. Fortunately, she was able to cast her darkened claws and swipe at his face, slashing at his eyes and pushing him away. Holding her chest, she moves to cover and grabs her bow. Her breath is slightly labored and pained now as she tries to refill her lungs against the pain of a cracked rib.
1. Mummy
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 10, 2024 22:05:01 GMT -5
Rena's eyes burn white, akin to old bones or fresh snow as she lets out a howl of primal rage, transforming in an instant of twisting flesh and shifting bones even as she blinks over to her fledgling’s side, abandoning her use of Bell’s blades for the time being even as she uses the Beast’s talons to rip open the belly of the man who’d dared to harm her child.
The Beast rounds on the rest of the group, jagged beak clacking in threat before she lunges for a soldier who strays a bit too close, jagged and broken talons tearing out his throat. The Beast leaves the poor soul to bleed to death, barreling down the larger group as they panic and scramble to get away, shouting about a monster, and how they need to get reinforcements…
The Beast doesn't let them get that far, vanishing from sight only to reappear between them and the door, a rumbling growl resonating from deep in her chest as those burning white eyes stare at them like a wolf stares at sheep.
The soldiers skid to a stop, visibly panicking as they struggle to formulate a plan...and then one of them gets the bright idea to go for the fledgling...
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Post by Elvira, Wandering Cleric on Jan 10, 2024 23:58:26 GMT -5
A burning light filled the elf's right hand as she gritted her teeth. With a growl, she wound her arm out to the side and threw it as hard as she could, using the momentum to spin and nock and arrow. The bolt of light grew in size, charging through the air with a crackling sound. Though it didn't reach the maximum size, it struck the soldier who had decided to charge at her squarely in the chest, burning a hole through his armor and knocking him to the floor. Elvira aimed at one of the others while moving closer, placing her foot on the freshly downed soldier's head and leaning into him.
The soldiers backed away from the Beast and spread out, not in any strategical fashion but more likely that of a total breakdown in communication and lack of any planning. In truth, one would not have guessed this could have been a possibility and therefore would not have planned for such an outcome, but they were in danger nonetheless.
One of the soldiers backed up in the direction of the clutch of eggs, causing Elvira to keep a close eye on him while aiming at the nearest soldier to Rena's Beast form. The moment he stepped on it, he seemed to hesitate as if he noticed the inconsistency in the flooring. Without a word, nor a chance given, Elvira turned and fired an arrow cleanly through his throat.
"What shall we do with the traitors of the people?" Elvira asked coldly.
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 11, 2024 0:24:30 GMT -5
The Beast tilts her head, letting out a low, rasping trill as it considers, then speaks in a voice of grinding bone and crackling frost, "...l̸̜͂e̵͇͐t̴͓͊ ̸̲͐t̵̡̀h̸̲̏e̸̜͑i̸͙͝r̷̥͑ ̴̼̑b̷̮͠ȍ̵̭n̵͓̓ẽ̶̟s̸̘͝ ̴̮̒f̸̟̒e̷̜͝ĕ̸̗d̷̗̄ ̵͍̕ṭ̸̃ẖ̸́e̸̊͜ ̵͍̀s̸̩̅t̴̫̔o̸̯͂n̵̡̈́e̶̕͜s̴̨͝,̶̭̓ ̶͓̉t̸͉͋h̵̖͆a̴͕͋t̷́͜ ̴̹̊t̸͔͝h̷͙͋e̷̻̐i̸̠͛r̵͙̍ ̵̘͛f̴͚̀l̸̗̃ḛ̸͠s̴̞̿h̷̦͝ ̴͍͒m̶̻̿i̵̭͒g̸͉͊h̸̙͆t̴͈̓ ̴̟̔b̵͇̊ê̷̼ ̸͙̈́o̵̥̐f̴͍̈́ ̶̙́ư̴̹s̶̼̊e̵̯̋ ̸͚̾î̷͖ṇ̶̔ ̶̲̿g̷̟̊r̸͈̔o̶̲̔w̶̨̌ḯ̸̡n̵̰̄g̴̙͆ ̵̱̏t̵͓̔ĥ̴̫è̶̝ ̵̹̎p̴̛̻e̷̱͠o̸͆͜p̷͓͐l̷̦͐e̵̞͗'̴̦̐s̴͖͝ ̸̼̀f̶̭̊o̴͙͌ö̸͙́d̷̯̀...1" and without another word, the Beast lunges, jagged talons tearing out two more throats in one swift motion.
The remaining soldiers retreat from the Beast, letting out choked sobs and whimpered, nearly incomprehensible pleas for mercy.
The Beast tilts her head, letting out a low, chuffing laugh. These people, who would threaten her family, who had harmed her family had the gall to beg mercy? No. There is no mercy for those who would harm her family, her clan. Nothing beyond a quick death. These people will die, their bones will feed the stones, and their master will receive no word save that of his minion's failure.
The Beast seems almost to smile grimly, the expression strange on her jagged beak as she advances on the surviving soldiers...the surviving raiders. This would not be the first time she's dealt with raiders, nor would it be the last...
1. ...let their bones feed the stones, that their flesh might be of use in growing the people's food...
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Post by Elvira, Wandering Cleric on Jan 11, 2024 0:52:18 GMT -5
As The Beast lunged for the remaining raiders, Elvira lowered the bow, took her foot off of the soldier she had pinned, and moved to the false flooring, now covered by the body of the singular soldier who had unfortunately stumbled upon it as his last moment. She almost felt bad, hearing the horrifying sounds of the other soldier's last moments being spent in pure fear. Alas, they had chosen their path and will now face the consequences of it. Using her foot, she rolled the body out of the way, letting out a pained yelp with her hand shooting up to her chest as she is reminded of her fractured rib.
Just as she is about to lift the panel up, she sees that the soldier she had pinned was now moving, crawling away to the door. She sits with her legs crossed and watches as he uses the door frame to stand before turning to her. As he sees that he is being watched, he gasps and stares at the scene behind the cleric with horror. Elvira motions to the door and simply states, "You have approximately six seconds, use them wisely." As the man runs, she whispers to herself and nocks an arrow. Aiming it just under the doorframe, she takes a deep breath and painfully draws the arrow back. "...enquë."
She fires the arrow, watching it sail out the door and far off towards the running man, who is now a mere movement on the horizon. Without waiting to see if her arrow struck true, she casually moves to her knees and groans in pain as she pulls the panel from the floor. With a soft whimper, she pulls the chest open and checks to make sure the eggs hadn't been disturbed in the commotion. Despite the blood which had seeped through the flooring, the eggs had been wholly untouched. She gently clutches the eggs looks up to Rena's Beast Form, who was still ripping and tearing the soldiers to their doom (heh), and raises a concern. "Should we move once you've satiated The Beast? I'm sure they'll send reinforcements after about an hour of no contact from their forward units."
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 11, 2024 12:34:42 GMT -5
The Beast pauses in her ravening, those burning eyes suddenly flecked with silver as her head tilts for a moment…then she nods, standing and stretching before abruptly shrinking down with a barrage of cracks and pops, finally resuming her normal, much preferred form. Rena sighs, shuddering and shaking herself before Blinking over to her fledgling’s side, “...yeah, we should get going…but what about you, lor’tyrlr’no? You took a pretty nasty hit there, you need any healing or anything?”
Even as she speaks she’s carefully checking both fledgling and clutch over, silver eyes full of concern as the four-foot crow woman moves to support her much taller adoptive daughter, trilling softly and idly summoning her husband’s bayonets to her hand so she can clean and sheathe them, “...let’s collapse the main entrance. The loot’s all either further back or given away already, and there’re other entrances…’n then we get you to a healer, lor’tyrlr’no, and then we head over to the little den I’ve been building. I think this’ll be the first time you’ve seen it, actually…should be fun!” and she gently guides her fledgling out of the concealed warehouse, flicking a switch on the way out to collapse the first ten or so feet from the entrance with a Red Rogues supplied spell.
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Post by Elvira, Wandering Cleric on Jan 11, 2024 22:04:43 GMT -5
Elvira took a deep, pained breath and sat down. When Rena blinked over to her, she gave a pained smile in an attempt to let her know that everything was alright. In truth, the pain was immense. It likely showed on her face, judging by the crow's reaction. "I-I think I'm okay, emmë. What's a few cracked ribs in the grand scheme of things, eh? What matters is the eggs are safe, right?" With a laugh, quickly interrupted by the painful reminder that her ribs were fractured, she shakes her head. "Stars above, it's never a dull day when Mother Crow is around. I sure hope I don't grow to be as much of a troublemaker as you, yára wilin!"1
As she stands up and leans against the crow, using the bow to help, she smiles softly. She walks with Rena, breathing gingerly the entire time so as not to worsen the pain from the injury. "I'm glad you have found a den you deem worthy of the hatchlings. Stars, I cannot wait to seen them." Looking up to the sky, she speaks under her breath. "I wonder what nossënya2 would think, seeing me now."
1. "Old bird," yára is used sarcastically in this sentence, since the connotation is "ancient, being from an older time" 2. "My family"
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 11, 2024 23:11:44 GMT -5
Rena smiles softly, "...I'm sure they'd be proud to see the woman you're becoming, lor'tyrlr'no..." happily supporting her fledgling as the two of them walk, the shorter woman humming a gentle tune as she leads them through the woods. It’s not much of a walk, honestly. Only about fifteen minutes of navigating treacherous forest terrain, and they reach a clearing, cresting the top of a small hill…the clearing is very noticeably empty of anything resembling a house.
The crow lets out a gentle trill, leading her adopted daughter down and around one side of the hill, tailfeathers flicking in a manner akin to a dog wagging their tail in joy. As they walk around the edge of the hill, Elvira can see…a porch set a little into the side of the hill. Round little wooden door with a semicircle window inset into the top half, a rocking chair to one side of the porch, a few planters with various herbs beginning to grow…
"perhaps it's more of a burrow than anything," Rena muses as she leads Elvira to the door, humming softly and summoning a key to her spare hand so she can unlock the door to let them in.
The place is...cozy is definitely the right word. there's not many rooms yet, and the flooring installation is still in progress, but it's just cozy. there's even a small hammock a few feet from the fireplace, perfectly sized for small hatchlings to nap in a pile.
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