Ernst had just gotten done with hiding the minks' bodies away. He didn't really know whether what he'd done was effective - but the thought of some bigger scavenger eating them, and then gaining the same mindless aggression...yeah. Ernst didn't want to think about that.
So he was going to keep hiding these damn bodies somewhere scavengers were less likely to find them. And then...maybe...find someone to talk to? That actually wasn't very productive - most of the Chosen were not at camp tonight. They'd probably all, wisely, gone out on capture missions, or to interrogate some of those kids themselves. The people who'd stayed behind were just people on guard duty - and none of them seemed to recognize the map piece he'd been given. So he shrugged and wandered off into the swamp. It was kind of stupid, yeah, with such a small piece of the map - but he wanted to kind of identify it. Had he seen any of these landmarks?
It wasn't long before a low bellow came through the trees somewhere. Ernst's head snapped up - there was a ******** elephant seal, kind of just sunning itself. In the swamp. Those things were definitely oceanic, right? Californian? It - it had to be a person. There was no way it was native. But Ernst had come out alone: there was no easy way to just, you know, capture it. There had been some rope, but it was a lot bigger, and a lot bulkier, than Ernst could handle on his own.
Maybe...maybe if he snuck up from behind? God - it'd probably be better to go get someone to help him. Yet Ernst didn't know how he could find other Chosen. Sure, earlier it might've been a simple thing to wander through following footprints, but at this point, footprints criss-crossed the swamp in every which direction.
Okay. He was going to pocket his map for now. And approach with - with his shield out. Yeah.
Fortunately, Ernst knew the moment he got too close. Unfortunately, that was because the seal opened its eyes and growled, which was a surprisingly threatening sound coming from something with such a weird, floppy nose. Ernst threw his shield in front of his face in an attempt to defend himself, thrusting it toward the seal. Apparently blind thrusting was not a very effective tower shield technique - it didn't even hit the seal, even though it was a huge target, although its tail managed to thwack Ernst's kneecap.
Hahahaha. Ernst needed to be way more prepared for this. Or, he needed reinforcements. "Help!" he called out in into the swamp, and the seal itself let out an answering bellow. Well, someone would hear that, he hoped.
Quote:
This opponent is difficult solo, and pairs are suggested!
You venture a bit out into the swamplands, following a strange sound in the distance -- and before you can get too far, you spot a very large-sized animal, floundering around a bit among the trees. As you approach, you notice something strange: some shredded fabric still clinging around one foot, or around its neck, like the remnants of some long-destroyed clothing.
At this point, it occurs to you that this might be a transformed human being. Maybe it's even one of you. And you must capture it.
Except it doesn't seem to want to be captured. Your approach spooks it, and it attacks you in blind fear.
Hit Points: 60 HP Damage: 5 HP each time you attack
If you bring this monster down to 5HP or below, it is injured and can be captured and brought back to the campsite for safe keeping until you can figure out what to do. However, if you drop it below 0HP, you kill it.
Either outcome, once finished with 500 words each party involved in the battle gets 15XP and rolls 1d100 to collect loot according to the following:
1-25: You gain nothing but the victory of having beaten this opponent. 26-95: Moly Flower: a small white flower with a dark root. You're not quite sure what it's for, but decide to keep it. 96-100: Fine Wine: Why would an animal have a bottle of wine? Considering all that's going on, we strongly suggest you don't drink. If you act rashly and do, though, please PM and be blue for consequences.
Mathilda had been sitting in the camp after having gotten back from wandering around the swamp, when she heard a yell. She had seen someone leave, but paid no mind to them as she entered and found the closest place to sit down. After finding the place comfortable enough, she pulled her dagger from her holster (she had started to carry it there instead of in her boot) and examined the blade, not for the first time. She hadn't had to use it so far in this excursion, but she was sure she would have to.
Resting back and flipping the blade in the air, she hummed to herself. It seemed kind of boring so far, maybe she should go looking for something to fight.
Minding her own business, a yell of 'Help!' startled her from her revere and she was up and moving before she could register what she had heard.
Moving quickly, body loose and blade ready, she ran through the swamp. She could hear the sounds of movement, and fighting and she followed those.
Sliding into the clearing, she launched her blade at the enemy - wait, was that an elephant seal?
She watched as her blade hit the seal - and she still was having issues registering it was a seal- before looking around her.
Turning around, she came face to face with a man.
"Oh, hello! Fancy seeing you here!" It was then that she registered that this was the man who yelled for help.
"Quite an enemy you found, mind if I help?" Moving out of the way from the charging seal, she removed the dagger from its body, before coming to rest next the man she had found.
Mathilda: 45 HP Fredrick the Bear: 58 Dagger: 4 (+1 to roll)
thyPOPE
Mika_Yumi
Glass Pomegranates
O.G. Trash
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Mika_Yumi rolled 1 6-sided dice:
5Total: 5 (1-6)
Mika_Yumi
Dapper Dabbler
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 12:59 am
Camp was quiet. Many were out trying to gather information or search for the runaway Chosen, or perhaps just trying to distract themselves and keep alert. Some were even sleeping. Sylvia, for all her efforts, was not of a mind for rest. She was still working to piece together what little information she had, though she hadn’t really discovered much in her own attempts. Her mind wasn’t slowing, though, and so she continued to consider all the possibilities as she peeled the bark away from a soft, fallen branch.
A far-off noise rolled over the camp, low and rumbling and somehow almost comforting for a moment. It didn’t register much with Sylvia, certainly not the way it should have, catalogued more as background noise – the low rumble of far-off thunder, the faraway call of a train… She pulled off another long strip of bark, working to make it curve over the edge and come back to the other side – when a call broke through her hazy concentration and made her rip the strip too quickly. It was a call for help, followed by a strange sort of bellow that she was sure came from the human caller’s opponent. She struggled for a mere moment to get herself off the ground and grab her shield before running off in the direction of the noises.
It took her a moment to get there, longer than the other shape she’d seen in the woods ahead, which she had hoped was another helper. As she finally broke out of the thicker trees, she was glad to see her hopes confirmed as Mathilda slid to the side and retrieved a dagger from the side of—was that an elephant seal? An elephant seal in Louisiana? She didn’t have time to contemplate the situation for long as it barreled beyond Mathilda and headed for the newly arrived enemy.
Sylvia lifted her shield and braced herself as she tried to move out of its direct path and prepare to ram into its side. Somehow, to her surprise and excitement, it seemed to work. She could feel she’d made a solid hit, and the beast roared as it stumbled to the side. Still, she wasn’t keen on giving it a great chance to swipe at her, and quickly ran towards the others nearby. “What the hell is an elephant seal doing out here?!” She asked the only question still on her mind as she reached them and finally looked up to see just who else was there, eyes landing on the tall, handsome, pink-haired man she’d met in the Alps. “Ernst!” She glanced back at the seal, “You’ve gotten yourself into quite a situation.” She turned and nodded at Mathilda, “Hello again.”
Character Name:Sylvia Owens Brief description of character: Sweet, optimistic, always trying to be helpful – even if it means bluntly telling you how stupid you’re being. Remains tentative about her new life as a Chosen, having never been a fighter…
Deity: Aphrodite Minicert: [none yet]
thyPOPE rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6Total: 6 (1-6)
Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:10 am
A built-looking white lady charged into view, tossing a dagger - or small knife or something - handily through the air to clunk into the seal's side.
Ernst let out a breath of air. Oh god - help. Even though it must suck to constantly have to retrieve her weapon. Two Chosen were always better than one, anyway. Did he recognize this woman? Briefly, he decided, but he hadn't learned her name: she'd been there when there'd been a giant group of chosen facing off against, well, a giant group of birds. There'd been too many faces back then to keep track of. "Please," he panted. "Please he - "
Someone else! A tower shield slammed into the seal and Ernst grinned to see Sylvia's familiar pastel hair. He hadn't seen her in a while, mostly because he'd been back in California himself. "Syyylvia," he sang, pushing his own tower shield forward and slamming it firmly against the elephant seal's side. He didn't want to hit anything important - but he also wanted to make sure it was...subdued? Yeah, at least less angry, so it could be wrangled back to camp. "I hope - I hope it's doing the same thing as a rhino is," he said, making a reference to the camp leaders. It had to be a human they were facing off against right now - right?
If it was a human, he kind of wondered what the guards back at camp would do to guard an elephant seal, of all things. Between this and the spider crab - and the moose he'd glimpsed earlier...hah. The group was gonna have its hands full, and they had Circe herself to think about, too. "By the way - I'm Ernst!" he called to Mathilda, retreating so that the seal's powerful hits wouldn't trip him over onto one of the women.
Blocking out the voices around her, Mathilda slapped her hand on the seals head and leaped over it, inserting the blade into the top junction of its left thigh, hoping to subdue rather than kill. It would be really cool to have an elephant seal back at camp. Feeling the dagger make contact, she grinned. 'Maybe we could name it Frederick the Bear. Ironic because elephant seals are like the bear of the ocean.' Laughing to herself, she grunted as the seal shook her off. Angling herself, she managed to not land too badly, but her hands were a bit scraped. LUckily, she had managed to grab her blade.
"Bad Seebär! Bad!"
When it seemed the seal was weakening she turned to face the newcomer she had heard come in.
"Ah, Guten Tag Sylvia! Fancy seeing you out here. Nice body clock by the way. Very impressive."
She turned to face the man known as Ernst, who was well dressed for such an occasion.
"Hallo! Mathilda Callahan, at your service. It seems the seal likes you! Oh, here her comes again!" She grinned like a child. Something about fighting the Seebär made her feel giddy. Almost like fighting a mafia boss.
Mathilda: 40 HP Frederick the Bear: 34 HP
thyPOPE
Mika_Yumi
Mika_Yumi rolled 1 6-sided dice:
2Total: 2 (1-6)
Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 2:09 am
Sylvia couldn’t keep herself from grinning at Ernst singing her name, despite the situation. She hadn’t realized she’d left enough of an impression for such a greeting, but it tickled her. She was pretty impressed with the hit that followed it as well – Ernst seemed to be getting a hold of his shield as well.
His response to her question made her look back at the seal with a frown of consideration. She noticed some shredded piece of something draping alongside one of its fins, where it seemed to be attached, as it struggled to get up again. At first, she’d thought it was a bit of seaweed, but she had already made a comment about how strange that would be given their location. Perhaps, then, it was some dirty, tattered clothing remnants, which would indicate that the seal was a Chosen – which would make a hell of a lot more sense than anything else. She looked back at Ernst and gave a nod, “That seems plausible.”
Mathilda’s compliment had Sylvia blinking, “Oh, is that what that’s called?” Still, a smile spread over her face and she nodded, shrugging her shoulder against her neck in a shy sort of gesture, “Well, thanks! I guess I do alright with this thing sometimes,” she looked over her shield, smile still on her face, eyes crinkled at the edges. She still wasn’t sure if it was a perfect fit, but she did like the way it felt when she made a solid hit with her tower shield.
She glanced up at Mathilda’s warning and tried to side-step, the seal catching her hip as she narrowly avoided getting bowled over by the thing. She swung around and tried to angle her shield so that it would hit the animal’s lower half without too much force. Unfortunately, it worked too well as it hardly touched the seal, sliding off harmlessly onto the ground. Sylvia scowled as took a few steps back to try and get resituated.
Character Name:Sylvia Owens Brief description of character: Sweet, optimistic, always trying to be helpful – even if it means bluntly telling you how stupid you’re being. Remains tentative about her new life as a Chosen, having never been a fighter…
Deity: Aphrodite Minicert: [none yet]
Mika_Yumi
Dapper Dabbler
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thyPOPE rolled 1 6-sided dice:
2Total: 2 (1-6)
thyPOPE
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 3:53 am
Ernst had to jolt at the almost-familiar sound of broken German coming from Mathilda - or maybe it was broken English, supplemented by German. "I think your idea of liking me and mine are different," he grinned, shaking his head even as that flipper came back at him. How was this thing just so...big? He hoped they didn't knock it out. Not that knocking it out would be a easy feat. More importantly, though...did it seem like she was enjoying this? Some chosen, he thought, before noticing the little Ares mark hanging on a clasp around her neck. Ah.
Ernst raked a hand through his hair - sticky again, he realized, from sweat and, well, swamp-dampness. "I can hardly imagine lugging this back to camp, though," he called over another bellow. He didn't want to think about the rhino. With any luck the seal would just get docile, and toddle over with them nicely and politely. That was a possibility, right? After they were trying to hit it right now? It's just self-defense! he thought. Mostly. Not like the ******** seal could hear his thoughts, anyway. "Have you two talked - to those kids in town?"
Hey, so they were busy, but they could still carry out conversation. And he wanted to know. Even if focusing on that thought made him forget to even try to hit the seal again.
Mathilda watched as the Chosen with the shields attempt to do damage without any success. Cursing to herself, she ran forward toward the seal and swiped her dagger along its front fin. Her eyes caught the sight of fabric stuck to the beast and she cursed out loud.
"Of course it would be a Chosen. Mein Gott, this is going to be harder than I thought." Making sure she had a good grip on her blade, she flipped back as the seal swiped its fin at her leg.
"Oi! Bad Seal! Nein!" She rounded back to Sylvia and Ernst, her grin still showing on her face.
"I so hope we can keep the Seebär! I call dibs on keeping him! I'll take him back by myself too!" Laughing, she shook her head at Ernst's question.
"Not yet, went to the Tea Shop earlier though."
Seeing the seal run at Ernst, she kept herself limber and loose, waiting for it to come at her again.
Mathilda: 35 HP Frederick the Bear: 26 HP
thyPOPE
Mika_Yumi
Glass Pomegranates
O.G. Trash
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Mika_Yumi rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 5:37 pm
Sylvia couldn’t help a light laugh at Ernst and Mathilda’s comments on taking the seal back to camp. She hadn’t yet fought a turned Chosen, so she wasn’t sure how easy or difficult it might be. Deciding to be hopeful, she responded, “Maybe it won’t be so bad. Maybe he – she? – it will just follow us back to camp, if we can make it tired enough and… try to get it to understand that we’re trying to help?” Her own suggestion made her realize that they hadn’t really tried to talk to the elephant seal yet. Should they?
She might have tried if Ernst hadn’t asked another question. Mathilda hadn’t yet been, but Sylvia reflected on her own excursions back to town. “I’ve tried to talk to them a bit, yeah.” She was distracted for a moment as she saw the elephant seal headed their way again. She angled herself to try and ram against the seal again, but it saw her coming as well and readied itself. In the end, she was able to get in a decent hit, but the beast glanced off her shield and rammed against her shoulder as it careened around the other side of her. Sylvia grunted and took a few steps back, rolling her shoulder a bit.
Character Name:Sylvia Owens Brief description of character: Sweet, optimistic, always trying to be helpful – even if it means bluntly telling you how stupid you’re being. Remains tentative about her new life as a Chosen, having never been a fighter…
Deity: Aphrodite Minicert: [none yet]
thyPOPE rolled 1 6-sided dice:
1Total: 1 (1-6)
Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 6:14 pm
"Well, if we've got you to bring it b - " Ernst began, but the seal was slapping its - flipper? Yeah, that. It was being swung at him. Ernst ducked to avoid it, but still took a fairly solid smack to his shoulder. By the time he was ready to talk again he'd already lost his previous train of thought. It wasn't, somehow, the only thing he had to talk about, though, because between the two women they'd mentioned something interesting: "What's in the tea shop? One of the kids - well, they're not very approachable, but I got a piece of a map out of one of them," he said, looking for an opening so that he could actually come in with his shield. He hadn't gotten a chance to check out much of the town other than the kids, and now that he had his map he felt a bit more concerned about figuring out where the hell to go from here.
He ran forward again to try to hit the seal in its - back? He couldn't really tell what part of its body was what. He just figured, you know, maybe the size of his tower shield would be intimidating?
Unfortunately he should maybe have been paying a bit more attention to the seal as he swung: somehow, Ernst managed to trip, and although he landed on his knees in a pretty recoverable position, his pants were destroyed now. Also, you know, he'd missed the seal. And he'd let out a pretty embarrassing squealing sound.
Mathilda's eyes widen at the noise that came from Ernst's mouth. Seconds later, she descended into giggles.
"Ernst? What was that?"
Helping the man up, still giggling, she dusted him off, before slamming her the back of her hand in the seal's head as it got close to her. Noticing the mans horror filed look when he saw his pants, Mathilda poked him in the shoulder.
"If there's a needle and thread in the camp, I may be able to help with any holes or rips. I'm pretty good at sewing, among other things."
As she finished talking, she heard the seal roar and charge toward her. Sighing, she turned toward it, and waited until the seal got in range before using her free hand to use the seals head as leverage to flip over the creature, lightly cutting the mammal on the upper part of this body. Her first blow had agitated the other wounds, so now it was just about weakening it more.
Landing on both feet, arms out to balance herself, she spun to face her group.
"That was close."
Mathilda: 30 HP Frederick the Bear: 13 (DONT KILL MY BEAR)
thyPOPE
Mika_Yumi
Mika_Yumi rolled 1 6-sided dice:
4Total: 4 (1-6)
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 8:39 pm
“You got a piece of map?!” Sylvia gawked slightly, impressed, and perhaps just a little bit jealous. She’d chatted with several of the teens around town, but had found out very little other than confirmation that ‘something was going on,’ and a small tidbit of information that the witch at the helm of it all may have released several of the animals they were now fighting, but she’d also kept several as her own ‘pets’. Which was something, but it wasn’t as good as a map. “H-how?”
Or, perhaps more importantly, “Do you recognize any of it?” Though, probably not. They had only just arrived a bit ago, and none of them (that she knew of) was familiar with the place. Still, he could have run across a landmark or something that happened to mirror his map. Maybe he’d gotten lucky.
Though if his luck lately was anything like his luck in this fight, perhaps it was all used up in his getting the piece of map in the first place. Sylvia winced as he slid to his knees, ruining his pants. At least he hadn’t landed too close to the elephant seal. Mathilda had just enough time to tease Ernst and offer to help him sew his pants before the elephant seal turned on her next. She seemed to deal with it effortlessly, springing over the seal in the process – which left it staring down Sylvia.
Clearly upset by Mathilda’s attack, the seal charged. Sylvia nearly tripped over herself trying to get out of the way, and thus didn’t entirely clear the seal’s path before it reached her, the beast barreling into her side and catching her ankle with its fin. Once she’d cleared her ankle, Sylvia turned to glare at the seal and lifted her shield, then brought its end down on the seal’s tail.
[ 307; 1306 total ]
HP: 36/56HP Weapon: Tower Shield [heavy defensive ; -15 init, base 10 dmg, -1 hit] DMG: (4 - 1 = 3; 50%) 5 Seal HP: 8/60 HP
thyPOPE
GUYS WE GOTTA BE CAREFUL; maybe let Mathilda try to subdue it so that Ernst doesn't suddenly Hulk out ; w;'
Glass Pomegranates
Though, if Mathilda hits too hard, he is also dead now... So... ; n; IDK.
Character Name:Sylvia Owens Brief description of character: Sweet, optimistic, always trying to be helpful – even if it means bluntly telling you how stupid you’re being. Remains tentative about her new life as a Chosen, having never been a fighter…
Deity: Aphrodite Minicert: [none yet]
Mika_Yumi
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thyPOPE
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2016 5:18 pm
Ernst had been hoping no one would mention it. "It was...a sound," he said, reluctant. "I make those sometimes, when I'm surprised." He let her help him up with a smile and a, "Thanks," though, and turned back to the elephant seal, which seemed to be eying their group - or at least Mathilda, who seemed a little more experienced with her weapon than either Sylvia or himself - much more warily. "I'm not sure if there's any point repairing these - " Ernst's pants! " - before we get back to Prytaneum itself," said Ernst, shaking his head. He'd liked these, but it looked like there were a lot more, well, wild animals to get tangled up with. Wild animals did not do too well at keeping clothes in pristine condition.
It took a bit for him to get back to Sylvia's question - he seemed to be checking his pockets for something. Yes, the map was still there, and so was - oh, his feather. He took that out. "Honestly - almost by chance," Ernst admitted. "There was a kid washing his makeup off in the bathroom, and I kind of talked at him. It's not very useful, though; all I can see is a winding path." With any luck someone else had gotten the full map - or a different piece of it, that he might put together with his own. Then he jabbed the feather dagger directly at the seal, hoping that'd help toward subdoing it without, you know, the overkill that might happen if he managed to hit it with his shield. To be fair, he'd have to hit, which hadn't been happening lately, but...
Hah. Better to think about how to retreat easily from close quarters, right now. He was pretty sure this seal could've just steamrolled them if it had been thinking about doing that.
Ernst HP: 31/56 Seal HP: 6/60
Mika_Yumi
Glass Pomegranates
Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 11:02 pm
Mathilda laughed and nodded, before turning back the angry seal. She could see it was slowing down, and that worried her. She wanted to keep the seal, damn it!
It was when Ernst pulled out a feather from the Alps that she knew that the could save the seal. Watching the man throw it at Frederick, she grinned and ran over to the her bag. Rummaging around while the seal was distracted, Mathilda let our a cheer when she found the container she was looking for. Poisonous poop! Ah, what a wonderful thing.
"Ernst, hit the deck!" Waiting a few moments, she launched the substance at the seal, jumping and cheering when it hit the seal.
"Woohoo! Gonna have my own pet seal really soon!"
Mathilda: 25 HP Frederick the Bear: 5 (DONT KILL MY BEAR)
Sylvia giggled at Ernst. Of course, she didn’t mean to – he shouldn’t be embarrassed by any noises he might make out of surprise. But she couldn’t help it; he was a bit cute when he was embarrassed. She had to agree about his pants, though. Her own dress was smeared with mud, and she was sure it had a rip somewhere that she didn’t even know about yet, and she knew it was going to get worse before they got back ‘home’; she wasn’t so sure that Ernst’s pants would stay repaired if he tried to fix them now.
“Nice,” Sylvia nodded at Ernst, even if he had obtained the bit of map ‘by chance’. “Still, that’s better than nothing. Maybe we’ll find some more pieces and be able to figure it out…” She shifted, eying the seal warily. It was slowing down, clearly just as tired as they were, if not more, but it still wasn’t giving them a terribly cheerful look. “Have you asked around to see if anyone else has found something like that?”
She was glad when Ernst pulled out a smaller dagger to throw at the seal rather than trying to hit it with his shield. She was honestly a little worried about trying to attack it again herself – it looked angry, but worn out, and if she or Ernst got lucky (or unlucky, given that they didn’t want to kill the beast) and hit it with their heavier shields, it could end badly. Mathilda seemed inspired by Ernst’s choice and ran to a bag that Sylvia hadn’t even noticed she’d brought with her. She rifled through it and pulled out a jar of – was that bird poop from the Alps? Oh, geeze. She only yelled at Ernst to duck, but Sylvia took a step back just to be safe.
And it hit! The seal seemed displeased with the hits it took, however small, and Sylvia couldn’t blame it – but it wasn’t making moves to retaliate. In fact, it looked incredibly tired, and more aware of the space it was in than it had looked the entire time they’d been fighting it. Sylvia smiled at Mathilda’s comment, then lowered her shield and cast a sorrowful glance at the beast. “Are you done now, hon’? Tired enough?” The seal gave a few groaning snorts, and while she wasn’t entirely sure it was an answer, she was going to take it as one. “Want to come back with us? We want to try and make sure you’re alright…”
[ 421; 1727 total ]
Weapon: Tower Shield [heavy defensive ; -15 init, base 10 dmg, -1 hit] Seal HP: 4/60 HP: 36/56HP
thyPOPE
Glass Pomegranates
Character Name:Sylvia Owens Brief description of character: Sweet, optimistic, always trying to be helpful – even if it means bluntly telling you how stupid you’re being. Remains tentative about her new life as a Chosen, having never been a fighter…
