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Amelia raised her sword, scowling darkly. She glanced briefly back at Leon; it was difficult to see him in such darkness, but the clopping of Anri's hooves was leading away from the castle. Things were definitely looking bad. But I can't give up. I can't give up.

She tightened her grip and glared at Drake, shifting her stance. "Yeah, I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you," she muttered. Her eyes blazed as she took a step forward. "But it'll be a cold day in hell when I let you enter that castle without a goddamn fight!" Another step, and then she was abruptly running, blade flashing in the lamp light before swinging at his chest, adrenaline offering her a burst of speed.

It was getting about time to get this situation under wraps. The blue cat was still stalking along, secure in his belief of being able to overtake his opponent, and Drake had gotten nearer the castle doors. The red-armored General had not ceased to fight back, however. Tenacious. We'll have to deal with that.

And I have just the method to do that.

Murphy leaped up, threw one last dagger from out of the same sleeve. Only one dagger left. The leap took Murphy back and onto the edge of a fountain in the courtyard. The water had continued to catch the light throughout the battle, and now Murphy's dark form seemed silhouetted against the water. That dark form then leaped up and perched neatly at the top of the fountain, away from the water spray, and high above Sunil.

The final dagger flew into the air, catching the light with one bright spark. As if on cue, an entire squad of darkly-clothed figures descended upon the courtyard, daggers drawn. Murphy stayed at the vantage point offered by the top of the fountain, observing the area below.

"Do not interfere with Drake unless his situation appears compromised," Murphy ordered quietly. "Secure the perimeter."

As if made of darkness, the members of the Shadow Guild vanished from sight, reappearing to swipe at Sunil's face, his back. They stationed along the walls, keeping an eye on the commotion outside as well as within. One lone member followed Leon, intent on making sure he didn't come back.

[[of course, whether or not he DOES come back is up to Sue. ;3]]

The giant had fallen, and sadly so had Kiote really. Grave didn't bother to worry about the others as he made his way back to his wounded friend who was now supporting himself with his sword as he lowered to the ground. He was being careful about moving his left arm, but Grave didn't think it was broken, at least not the arm. It was a miracle it wasn't, but a fact none the less. Grave shifted back into his humanoid form before kneeling down next to Kiote silently. "You can't stay here, at least not laying down." Grave said bluntly, getting a grunt in response from Kiote who forced himself back to his feet. "I'll live. We need to get to the gate, now." Grave nodded grimly in response before turning to face the gate. From the sounds of things, the gate wouldn't last long, but... they needed to help as best they could. "Can you move your left arm."

Grave's question was met with a nod, but a painful one. Kiote had indeed moved his left arm, but had almost cried out in pain at the movement. Well at least he could move it, that was all that mattered at the moment. Grave shifted back into a wolf before glancing back at Kiote who nodded for him to go. Grave nodded before moving ahead of Kiote, always looking back to make sure Kiote was fine. He could at least be protective of his friends. As things stood though, they were headed for the gate.

He thought he'd heard a voice, but Aeolus honestly didn't give it much more thought than that. He was too busy trying to figure out how to help. Perhaps he could pick a tome off of some body. It was a grim thought, but it was war, was it not? Aeolus ducked through the chaos, searching for some way he could lend Learania assistance, and the further he strayed from the healing house, the more he realized that danger was just a foot away. It made his stomach flutter and his heart fidget, and for a moment, he balked. Perhaps he should go back and find a way to help from there...

"You're a bit too hasty in returning to the battlefield, aren't you, sir?"

Jolted out of his reverie, Aeolus turned his head. A fair woman with a head of fine golden hair and a pair of resolute eyes stood by him, and he realized that he had stopped somewhere along the walkway. He glanced around, and then let his focus flit to her, intrigued by what she had to say.

"You can at least let a gifted one like me help! I can use light magic! Why charge off alone when you can have such great backup?"

Light magic? he thought with a perk. Maybe he was used to servants of the light carrying a different demeanor and a different appearance, but Aeolus was pleasantly surprised by it. He'd always wondered about the composition of light magic in relationship to anima or elder magic...

"Come on! Wherever we go, we'll go together."

"Oh! Yes, ma'am!" said Aeolus, beaming. A friend! He didn't even know her name, but she was a friend. His decision was looking better and better already. He smiled at her and nodded, and then he turned back around with the wind edge in hand, but he had to pause. A healer and a servant of the light never meant invincibility. He knew. Listening to the cries of men and women, steel clashing and spells and arrows flying, the sky rent by the roars of wyverns, he was unnerved. But now that someone was willing to go with him, he couldn't back out.

...The knight! he quickly reminded himself. He darted off to where he had seen that noble knight last, glancing left and right in search for him. His ears picked out the sound of hooves and he turned in that direction, and lo and behold, there he was! But Aeolus saw that he came without his poleaxe and his arms limp, and Aeolus's eyes went big. "Sir! he called out to Leon, unaware of the shadow that crept at his back. He ran toward the knight, hefting the wind edge. "Are you all right?"

Tch, things weren't looking good for the kitty.

The b*****d with the big sword was getting close to the castle doors. If it weren't for this damn assassin around to stop him, Sunil would have already darted towards Drake to help Amelia.

And what was this Beorc up to, jumping onto the fountain? There was a brief glint of light as another dagger was thrown, and the cat heard the rustles of cloth all around him. So the other assassins were going to act now, huh?

This was not the place for the Laguz to fall. There was still too much to be done, too many jobs left unfinished, and he hated being indebted to others. If he had to die, it would only be after all was taken care of. Sunil planned to live for a hundred plus years, and this was not anywhere near the hundred.

As several of the assassins suddenly surrounded him, he leapt forward, ramming his body into the one aimed for his face. Getting hit by a fully grown cat Laguz would not do good for a Beorc's body, even if he was protected with all that stinky metal. He pressed his paw on the tackled assassin's chest and struck his face quickly, claws extended.

After the hit, he jumped off the downed assassin, making sure to put as much weight on the paw that was on his chest before moving. He could feel his back stinging a bit. There were two shallow cuts, which hopefully shouldn't impede his movements too much.

Well, unless those sharp pointy objects those cloaked Beorcs used were poisoned.

Amelia couldn't help but give a nasty grin to Drake as she gave her first mighty swing. If he wasn't such a douchebag, and he wasn't trying to overtake their entire city, then maybe she wouldn't mind fighting him more often. Sparring matches, of course. It was undeniable that he had skill to back up that raw power.

The General kept her breathing under control as she fought, gripping her Steel Sword in both hands now. Drake's weapon was considerably heavier and more durable than her own, and Amelia was beginning to worry that the sword would break. Even as the fight continued to drag and she sidestepped, parried, dodged, and struck back, she couldn't help but be amazed. Neither one of them had suffered a serious injury. It couldn't be directly attributed to her armor, either, as she had still gotten hurt before while encased in such steel.

Amelia flicked her blond hair off of her face with a quick jerk of her chin and watched Drake warily, chest heaving just slightly under the broad curve of her breastplate. She could hear people rushing all over around the courtyard, but there was no way to spare a glance to see who it was; she would be struck down in an instant.

"What do you expect to do with this city? With these people? You can't believe you'll be able to take over all of Eyris like this," she managed, and though breathless, the words came out with no hesitation. "You will fall, whether by my hand or another's." Amelia shifted her stance and adjusted her grip on her sword. The steel flashed in the light of the lanterns, and even as her constitution was visibly beginning to wane in the face of such a long, strenuous battle, her eyes burned with a fighting spirit that couldn't be denied. If Drake expected to get Amelia to stand down, he would have to incapacitate her one way or another.

The first assassin found himself knocked backwards by the surprisingly heavy laguz. Before he could strike back, the claws descended upon his face; he kept from screaming, but the blood that sprayed up answered for him, and the man stumbled away, cheeks and nose bleeding profusely. Whether or not he must keep fighting, another could take his place. In his condition, he would only weigh down the others.

A second man literally leaped onto Sunil's back as he moved, taking his dagger and slashing it liberally across his side. The others stayed at the ready, one aiming a throwing dagger for Sunil's blood-splattered muzzle. The two strikes hadn't come from poisoned daggers, but there was no telling when he might be damaged by steel touched by death, and the two strikes had been expertly aimed to crack and open further, causing more pain, with Sunil's vigorous movements.

As Victoria's actions lead Leon's arms to be restored to their previous condition, the light seemed to bring more than just health. Suddenly cloaked figures surrounded them, dressed in hues of dark blue and purple to blend in with the darkness. Murphy stood atop the wall before them, silhouetted for a brief instant against the light of a torch.

"I'll have to ask you," Murphy said, voice carrying the same quiet strength as it had before, "to not interrupt fights that don't concern you." And then suddenly Murphy was gone, the faint corona of light around a small, lean figure giving way to a simple red glow.

As if there had never been anyone there to begin with.