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 Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2023 9:08 pm
Connie was excited. She hoped she wasn’t being too obnoxious as she talked to Meninx about anything she could think of. The art she liked to do, the things she’d seen around the city, the crazy battle where there were aliens and scary looking Negaverse people.
They were on their way to try and locate where the dragon salesman was. They had his coconut fruit to try and trade him for something magical maybe. But mostly, Connie was just happy to get to talk to someone who didn’t look at her like she was crazy. She deserved to be looked at like she was crazy, she knew. She wasn’t the brightest, and things tended to get away from her because her thoughts were all over the place. But Meninx was patient and she appreciated it a lot.
She was just about to start talking to Meninx about how nice it was to be able to see the stars outside of the city when she felt a strange shift in the aura around them.
Someone -- two people with darker auras seemed to appear out of nowhere.
But that was okay! They were probably just out and about like they were.
“Hello! Are you looking for the dragon salesman too?” she smiled and waved at the two with long white hair popping out of the bushes. “Oh wow, make sure you check for ticks if you’re hiding in the trees like that. I know I will,” she frowned with concern and reached up to pat at her own hair. At first Arawn had frozen at the feel of two stronger auras so close to them. There was always the choice to jump back into the mirror, but he wasn’t a coward. He didn’t have to run from a fight.
He stayed in front of Laon and stepped out from the darkness, baring his teeth at the two people with their strangely sweet feeling auras. Too sweet. It made him feel sick.
One didn’t look like much of a threat, but his eyes were on the man with dark hair, and he snarled at him.
In fact, he didn’t think he wanted these two around, nor did he want them to get ideas about trying to hurt Laon. So he did the best thing he could think of. Which was -- “Intimidation--” -- use his magic. Quote: Sailor Scout Attack: Intimidation When opponents are within ten feet of Arawn, they will see the illusion of orange eyes peering out through the darkness at them and hear the loud growling of canines. As the eyes draw closer, the growling becomes softer. The illusion invokes and increases fear and horror. This could involve the magic causing shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, sweating, dizziness, or similar effects of a panic attack left up to the player, with the potential for lasting effects. The illusion causes the target’s mind to perceive the environment as ominous and Arawn as dark and foreboding, or even as a feral canine of death or monster himself. This will last for thirty seconds and has three uses.
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Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2023 9:18 pm
Most of the time that Connie spoke, Meninx nodded along. He didn’t always say much, but he was always listening, and asked questions when he had them, and made comments when he cared to. Overall, this was really one of the best nights he’d had in a while.
So, of course something would mess it up.
Connie greeted them before Meninx could assess who they were and what they were up to, but Dark Mirror Senshi really weren’t his forte. They were easier to deal with than the Negaverse–except when they weren’t.
Connie had done little more than say hello when they were attacking. Meninx couldn’t tell what their spheres were or what their magic could do so even if they were less powerful than he and Connie it didn’t mean they weren’t still a threat.
He’d only had the chance to take a step back before the effects of Arawn’s magic started to sink in.
Laon should have known that when pressed to pursue fight or flight, he’d choose to fight. He’d stepped out of the mirror after him, holding his hand, but it hadn’t been a good enough grip to pull Arawn back before they were noticed.
“Arawn!” he yelped, gripping his hand tightly. These two were stronger than they were, what was he thinking? They could have just slipped back through the mirror and gone somewhere with better lighting and–and looked for ticks or something!
He’d had enough of bugs already and the thought made him want to vomit, but he was too nervous that the Squires in front of them would get the upper hand and do some real damage. In his panic, he used his magic, too.
Meninx was already unnerved and alarmed from the growling surrounding he and Connie. He was dizzy, but that had been on and off all night so wasn’t anything new right now.
It was just really inopportune.
His heart rate had already increased and there was a strange, building panic when a demonic monster manifested right before them and began to spew a foul black liquid straight towards them.
Meninx didn’t want to admit that he was still sore from the creature earlier, and he really didn’t want to fight–but he also really didn’t want to be burned alive by acid or torn apart by wild hellhounds lurking in the shadows.
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2023 5:39 am
Connie yelped in surprise when all of a sudden everything felt like it was darker and there were creepy eyes staring out at them. She immediately took an unsteady step backwards and bumped into Meninx in the process, but she couldn’t even think about apologizing yet. Not when there was some monster suddenly spitting black tar or oil at them!
She grabbed for her little plant and held it out in front of her. She still wasn’t sure what it was capable of, but she was glad when a wall of plant life seemed to grow up in a barrier between them and the two angry Dark Mirror Senshi.
“Wait, we’re not trying to fight!” she tried to explain, but it was difficult to think when everything was so heavy and foreboding. Was this the magic? Was this just her, or did Meninx feel this way, too?
Whatever it was, she didn’t like it. She didn’t like crying in front of people, but she felt like she might, if this kept up! Squire Magic Channeling her magic causes a rush of floral growth from under her target’s feet. Roots and grass and saplings grow up and around where the magic is channeled, which she can use to either push her targets back, or to focus on building up a barrier. The plants can be cut down and are capable of burning with some effort. She can also use already existing flora to grow rapidly, such as low hanging branches sprouting an abundance of leaves. Total magic pool lasts for 40 seconds.
They didn’t seem all that tough, anyway.
The plants suddenly growing up to form some kind of wall was startling, and he instinctively took a step back, placing himself between the Squires and the demonic monster that he knew was Laon. Luckily for him, horrible smells and gunk didn’t make him feel too sick to function. He’d experienced worse in his life.
That was fine. If they were going to be using magic to attack them, Arawn didn’t have to rely on his.
Which was why he, with broken heart and great effort, pulled his hand away from Laon’s so he could lunge around the plants and go after the dark haired Squire. A good punch to the gut would guarantee these knights left them alone. He hoped.
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2023 7:23 am
Arawn’s hand slipping from his own was more frightening than any of the magic either of the Knights could have thrown at him. He groped blindly for his hand and missed all times, but he was too stunned to call his name. It felt like the water had turned to tar in his throat and he was choking on it. He wanted to call him back, wanted to beg him to stop.
In the rush of it all, he was certain he’d heard her say she didn’t want to fight.
But it was too late, they were already fighting. She’d used her magic on them.
And then, suddenly, there was fire, too.
Meninx hadn’t planned on using his magic; he’d wanted to save it in case that Merchant was more trouble than either of them knew. Instead, he slammed the half-staff into the ground and a fiery lotus exploded around the monster. Briefly, Laon registered heat, but he was too flustered by the crushing realization that he was failing Arawn. Failing Remarque. Failing everyone and everything, failing the Dark Mirror Court. What was he doing? –He couldn’t do this, this was a mistake.
He tried to put out the fire with his water, but–no, it wasn’t even real water, and–
Laon lost his nerve. He usually worked well under pressure but this was different. He couldn’t breathe. It felt like he was sinking, deeper and deeper into an endless lake. His muscles ached and it felt like he was being crushed. His eyes darted to Arawn, and he saw him make contact with the Knight with the fire but he couldn’t do anything about it.
He saw Arawn hit him in the stomach, saw the Knight curl into himself. Saw him swing his staff back at Arawn’s side.
He couldn’t see the other Knight, only the climbing wall of plants. It felt like it was growing taller, or maybe he was shrinking.
Remarque was going to regret inviting him to the Dark Mirror Court, so much. Arawn was going to regret sticking his neck out for him. He was going to regret choosing him, was going to regret loving him.
There was some part of him that knew he was panicking, that this was irrational, but maybe he’d just buried so many things so deep that once there was a fire under him, they were all bubbling up to the top.
He didn’t know how to make it stop.
Quote: Meninx hits the rod against the ground and an ethereal, fiery lotus blooms underneath a single target’s feet. The sensation of harsh judgment falls on their shoulders, as though they are being harshly criticized by those around them. They will become hyper aware of what they perceive their own flaws to be and will feel mounting pressure underneath the weight of it all. Players can interpret this however they like, but this may include feeling stressed or anxious, and they may feel like they need to prove themselves or defend against the criticisms. The fire is purely aesthetic and can only give the sensation of heat at their heels if the player likes. The magic can affect up to one target and follow them as long as Meninx can still see them; at this stage the magic lasts for 45 seconds.
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2023 7:37 am
Oh no. Oh no oh no, this wasn’t good! These Dark Mirror Senshi were really aggressive -- or at least one of them was -- and he was already attacking Meninx and. Well, she’d used her magic, but that was just to try and keep them from rushing at them! She didn’t know what those creepy eyes around them were going to do, but if she could help keep them safe, then that was a good thing, right?
She wasn’t doing a very good job. But Meninx’s magic was so cool. She wished she had fire flowers too, but her plants were pretty nice.
The Dark Mirror Senshi attacking Meninx was not nice, though.
“Stop, stop!” she cried, rushing over to grab hold of Meninx’s arm after he was done swinging his weapon at the Senshi, trying to drag him away, despite being bigger than her. But then again, most people were bigger than her.
“Let’s just go,” she begged, because she certainly didn’t want to fight them, and if they ran, maybe they wouldn’t be chased?The only reason why Arawn didn’t launch himself at the knight’s neck was because he’d been knocked to the ground with his damn staff. He spit out a string of curses and snarls, but his eyes had darted over to Laon to make sure he was okay.
But he did not look okay.
“What did you do to him?” an almost inhuman growl ripped from Arawn’s throat, but with the other knight grabbing hold of the dark haired one, Arawn was left to scramble back to Laon’s side.
He was pissed. He didn’t know what they did, and he couldn’t see any immediate wounds, but Laon’s breathing was erratic and heart racing.
And he was in Arawn’s arms before he had time to process being picked up.
As much as Arawn wanted to make sure those knights never messed with them, his priority was always Laon. He didn’t care if he ended up with bruises from where he was hit, as long as Laon was okay.
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2023 8:00 am
Meninx didn’t want to stop, not after that guy hit him. And yet, he didn’t fight when Connie started to pull him away. He hadn’t wanted to fight in the first place, and she seemed to have a cooler head than any of the boys there. He backed up when she pulled him away, but he didn’t take his eyes off of either of the Dark Mirror Senshi, just in case they were up to anything.
He didn’t like the idea of running. It wasn’t in his nature to run.
This wasn’t a pride thing, though. Physically? Yeah, sure. He and Connie probably could have taken out the Dark Mirror Senshi. But, to what end? There wasn’t anyone here that needed saving. What were they supposed to do, kill them now before they had a chance to hurt anyone?
He didn’t have murder in him, and he didn’t think Connie did either.
Meninx hadn’t wanted to fight them and he certainly didn’t want to fight her.
He let her lead him away without any protest.
There was no room for celebration, though. Even as the fire flickered and the magic faded, he was still left with an avalanche of paralyzing thoughts. As the Squires distanced themselves from himself and Arawn, the weight of the doubt lessened, but enough damage had been done that Laon was visibly struggling.
The monstrous form he hid behind flickered away, but he stood there in a hybrid state of fear and panic. Any movement he made would have just made thing worse, he knew it, so he stood there–rigid and unyielding, like he was waiting for an answer to pop up in front of him.
And, it did.
He was in Arawn’s arms before he even understood what was going on. His body had locked up and his mind was rapidly shutting down. The thoughts were too heavy, it was too much. The corners of his vision felt blurry and his heart was pounding so loudly, he was certain that his ribs were rattling around in his chest right now.
Arawn looked mad. At him, probably.
It was deserved. This wasn’t even the first time he’d messed up in a fight. He’d been just about useless against some bugs. Laon had some small successes in life, but he was so preoccupied with everything that was wrong with him, everything he’d ever done wrong, every mistake he’d ever made, that nothing logical was processing in his mind.
Usually, when he was overwhelmed, he’d just shut down and fall quiet and dissociate for a while until he had the strength to sort things out.
Instead, he panicked. Maybe it was from the lack of oxygen, or the emotions bubbling over, but his eyes were suddenly wet.
It was just another thing for Arawn to be disappointed about.
Well–no. He knew Arawn wouldn’t judge him.
He was just judging himself.
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