Zompania Draft - Draftees and Reinforcements, mid-day 4-early 7

[lucetimods]

Who: Draftees and Volunteers
What: The draftees and the reinforcements must hold against the Third Party army until rescue arrives
When: From May 23 through the wee hours of May 26 (days 4-7)
Where: Zompania
Summary: Draftee information and Volunteer information
Rating: Varies on thread, please mark explicit material.

This post is for the rest of the draft, beginning when the volunteer reinforcements arrive. Look up in the sky--your friends are parajumping in! Be sure to use the above info post for any plotting needs you might have. Enjoy!

Be sure to tag this post appropriately: [canon] character name

Comments

Day 6, early

[pendantry]

[At first, she thinks he's afraid to touch her despite her telling him it was fine. Then he misses a few times, swatting the air, looking uncertain. She met someone else with this problem once; automatically, she assumes this man died just as that one had.

Sighing, Raven looks around again to be sure they aren't in attack range, then lowers her head to meet his hand.]

Day 6, early

[ledbythewind]

[He starts for a moment out of instinct when he feels that contact against his hand-- it's soft, far softer than he'd expected, although to be honest he hadn't been entirely sure what he was expecting. Once he is sure that she's all right with it, he gives a few slow, gentle strokes over the feathers, just feeling out the shape of her head beneath his hand.

So she's a bird. The name 'Raven' makes that much more sense to him now, and for a brief moment he finds himself wondering if she really is a giant raven.]

I apologize; I should have told you that I can't see.

Day 6, early

[pendantry]

It's fine. [A little awkward to have someone petting her, but she has more important things on her mind.] They're too close to get away, we'll have to fight some of them.

Day 6, early

[ledbythewind]

I can use my magic against them if you tell me where to aim my spells. We won't even need to get within attacking distance of them if we fight them that way.

[Sorry Raven, touch is one of the senses Richard is forced to rely on for the time being. At least his petting is gentle and hesitant and he's not stroking her feathers the wrong way.]

Day 6, early

[pendantry]

Their beasts may not fall to magic.

[What Raven wants and needs now is maneuverability on the ground. She ducks gently out of the space beneath Richard's hand, so she can transform without startling him too much.

Expecting the worst anyway, Raven draws her sword.]

They're right in front of you. Two soldiers, two...dogs.

Day 6, early

[ledbythewind]

The beasts will need to be decapitated.

[It's brutal and awful and he hates having to do it even if they ARE monsters, but he also knows from experience that it's necessary in order to kill them permanently.]

It's the only way to keep them from reviving. I can stun them so that you can cut off their heads, but I'm afraid I won't be able to handle that part myself. Can you do it?

Day 6, early

[pendantry]

Not two at once. [Not four at once, either, there are Cultists with spears at the heels of their vicious pets. Armor-wearing pets, at that; Raven looks at her sword and hopes it is as sturdy as it has ever been.]

I'll do it. [He can't see her, he won't know she's limping and favoring one side.]

Day 6, early

[ledbythewind]

Be ready to strike when I give the word. It won't take me long to cast.

[Already the beginnings of a glyph are flickering blue beneath his feet as he prepares to cast Vengeant Fangs on the creatures. It will be a matter of seconds once he begins casting in earnest; he just wants to be sure that he's aiming it at the right place first.]

How far in front of us are they?

Day 6, early

[pendantry]

[First priority is getting far enough away from him that none of her is touching that glyph. She doesn't know how it works.]

They're running in too fast. [Right in time with the spike of urgency in her voice.] Twenty yards?

Day 6, early

[ledbythewind]

[That's enough of a ballpark estimate for Richard-- no sooner does she finish her sentence than the glyph glows brighter, and a second after that a wave of green light will strike the Shift Hunters with enough force to knock them off their feet, just as he'd promised.

This is Raven's best chance to take them out before they regain their bearings.]

Day 6, early

[pendantry]

[She gets to one pretty fast, despite her physical setbacks; it takes more than one strike to get past its armor and sever its head. Raven swallows several times, turning to the other only to find it getting to its feet.]

I only got one! [Richard ought to know. As Raven is the closer enemy, the Shift Hunter turns for her first. She raises her sword, and teeth and armor clash with it, almost ringing.]

Day 6, early

[ledbythewind]

Watch out!

[That's all the warning he can really give before he casts another spell targeted at the same location as before. With no visual ability to tell whether or not she's in the line of fire, he's reduced to hoping that verbal warning will be enough to allow her to dodge or duck the spell.

If not, well...]

[pendantry]

[She manages, barely, to shake the Shift Hunter and stumble backward, away from the spell. Landing hard on her backside on the ground, breathing hard through clenched teeth for a moment, she sees the creature stunned again and knows she has to get back up. She's prey, now; so is he, especially if she goes down first.

So Raven drags herself to her feet and shouts once as she rushes the Shift Hunter to cut off its head, too.]

[ledbythewind]

[That shout is somewhat concerning to Richard, unable to see what caused it. He stands where he is, poised to cast another spell should it be necessary, but only she will be able to determine whether it is or not.

This is more helpless than he likes feeling, and it galls him.]

Did it hit?

[pendantry]

Yes, it's gone.

[The weight of the moment is staggering until Raven realizes she is staggering, back in Richard's direction. They have to leave.]

We should go now.

[ledbythewind]

You aren't injured, are you?

[Not that he could tell even if she were; asking is the only thing he can do. Asking and hoping that she'll actually be honest with him.

Which is debatable given that she doesn't really know him, and he's aware of this.]

[pendantry]

[Yes, yes she is. She's collected injuries for days, never sticking around healers long enough to get them dealt with properly. There's too much going on.]

I'll be fine.

[Which everybody knows is a 'yes' and Raven doesn't care.]

[ledbythewind]

[Richard knows quite well that's a 'yes.' He also knows that this is neither the time nor place to push the issue, not until they get somewhere safer and out of combat.]

Let's find someplace out of the way to rest and regroup.

[At this point, it's a command rather than a suggestion.]

[pendantry]

[Raven nods, transforming again quietly into her bird form.]

I can carry you more easily this way. Stand still.

[She'll have to pick him up with her talons despite the leg injury. There isn't space or wind to get enough lift for him to ride.]

[ledbythewind]

[That particular comment leaves him wondering just what he should be expecting to happen now. Although he's a little uncertain about the whole thing, being blind makes it difficult for him to object to anything that can help get him to a safe place.

He's completely reliant on her, much as he feels guilty about it. But he will stand still, just as she orders.]

[pendantry]

[With one big downbeat of her wings, Raven takes off, unable to grimace about the maneuvers she has to make in their small area to get enough speed. A few turns later she's in a dive, skimming just at the end of it to snatch Richard's arms near his shoulders, and working hard to get into the air again. Straight-up monstrous birds do this thing all the time to hunt; Raven has never practiced it for expertise, and Richard is heavier than Leon.

But his feet will leave the ground and, from above, he will hear a sharp voice.] Don't struggle or I'll drop you.

[She won't want to, but her injured leg won't hold on if he gets wiggly.]

[ledbythewind]

[His first reaction is, naturally, to start and struggle for a few seconds before he realizes what's going on. Once he hears her words and realizes that she's holding onto him, he's quick to go still and just make himself as limp as possible, figuring that a dead weight will be easier for her to carry than something that is moving around.

At least he isn't all that heavy as far as humans go. He's actually on the light side for a man.]

I'm sorry about that.

[pendantry]

It's fine.

[Contrary to expectations, she did not almost drop him while he wiggled. It takes her some time to get high enough to clear the buildings; once she does, catching a lucky waste of breeze, she rises a bit and then heads into a dive, aiming for a known secure area.

Enjoy your short flight, Richard.]

[ledbythewind]

[It's probably a very, very good thing that Richard can't see just how high they are or else there might be a lot more wiggling on his end. Instead, he just continues to hold still and quietly wonder just where they're going... but Raven seems to know where she's headed, so he won't question it.

Not a good idea to potentially anger the giant bird who is currently carrying you through the sky.]

[pendantry]

[It is a short flight indeed. Raven sets him down gently, without a verbal warning, then fly-hops a short distance away to land and just sink to the ground for a minute. She's very tired all at once, and though she knows she must wait quietly for it to go away, and that they're in a protected area, it's still bothersome.]

We're here.