Location: The Wilds of Attima When: Takes place after Lock & Key Setting: The Wilds of Attima as haunting as they are disgusting brilliant. Golden veins run along the ground that shine amongst the shadows. Trees of obsidian bark are capped with leaves of gold and diamond. Their long branches dotted with unyielding thorns. What grass that can be seen gleams like an emerald and feels hard to the touch. The entire environment is a disgusting recreation of earth's forest but made far "better". Everything is larger, more imposing, and any color that is used will be saturated to an obnoxious point.
How will this thread work: The party is going to be hunted by a myriad of beasts intent on killing them. These "Hunters" will have different approaches to their combat from fast, opportunistic strikes to pure, brute strength. All roleplayers are free to pick the creature they wish to fight and control them. This first set will be relatively easy for the party even in one versus on situations. Really, this thread is meant to be a fun way to let loose and show off each character's powers.
What to know about the Hunters: The Hunters are creations of Tiamat meant to test any soul that takes upon the challenge. These creatures do not fear death and will continue to fight to the very end. The first Hunter that reaches its prey will attack relentlessly while all other hunters will avoid the area. Running from them is possible but there is no escape. These creatures can sense one's very energy like a trail. They are unwavering and do not tire. There is a nigh indestructible core at the center of each one that can be ripped out. Ripping out the core will render the beast lifeless.
Also, these beasts are giant. They are meant to challenge full on dragons. So these things are the size of a bus.
Take control of them and defeat them as you see fit. No need to wait for me to approve of how the fight goes. Your character's Hunter is fully in your control.
Special Note: Given the party is so close together, the Hunters will try to drive them apart into various 1v1s. Let me know if you're looking to have your character get split entirely from the party.
Physical Attacks do work on all things in this realm even though it's a "spirit realm" While physical attacks work, none of Attima's inhabitants actually bleed. (Dragons, Hunters, and any others.)
The First Set Elemental Beasts
Icy Behemoth Details: A beast whose back and legs are covered in an icy armor. A chilling aura constantly radiates out of this creature as the very ground beneath its feet is chilled. It chooses to rush targets like a rhino with its heavy form. The underside is more vulnerable but still holds a thick hide. If one chooses to stay at range, the beast will whip its tail around and launch several frozen quills.
Lightning Spider Details: A creature that likes to create opportunities by staying at range and launching electrified webs at its target. It will lunge in when it believes that the target is vulnerable. A bite from this horrible arachnid will send a blindingly painful shock through anyone's system. It is fast but also frailer than its counterparts. Will try to set up traps.
Lava Serpent Details: This hunter is fast and durable. The heat radiating out from its body will burn up its prey if it is ever able to wrap them up. It has a ranged attack where it will vomit up lava towards its prey but this has a very obvious wind up. Opponents will find its rocky hide to be hard to break through.
Earthen Brute Details: The brute will rely on the very nature around the user to bring them down. When the brute slams its hands into the ground, it will take control of the environment. Trees will launch their thorns at the prey, roots will shoot up from the ground to grab them, and earth will tremble split underneath their feet. Getting in close is also terrifying as the brute has a thick hide and a powerful build.
Phoenix Details: The only elemental beast that can actually regenerate during combat. The phoenix will rely on a flame breath at range and quick, swooping tries to take out its prey. It can leave a trail of fire behind it and constantly radiates an oppressive heat. A solid strike to its head will be needed
『 It's in the air and it's all around 』xxxxx xxxxxxxxxx Location: Wilds of Attima xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Company: Zen, Levi, and Ed. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Internally: Can't even think straight! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Wearing: Fancy suit
Listen very closely and heed this warning for I will not repeat it. Squander your first century sympathizing with the vermin if you wish. Play pretend to your heart's content as they waste away right before your very eyes. Then let their insignificant lives serve a purpose in death by reminding you what you are. A dragon. After that, I will turn you into a son worthy of standing before Tiamat when you make the final trip to our home. No Isernia will be found wanting... Even you, boy.
Mephitis never truly understood those words when he was younger. It wasn't the part about him outliving those around him. That was a horrible fact that was drilled into every dragon child's head as soon as possible. It was the second part. What had his father meant by being worth and the final trip home? Typhon had said it in such a way as if those things were just common knowledge, but Mephitis was clueless. While the father would have refused to clarify, the son had been to afraid to ask anyways. It was only during his time at the Capitol that Mephitis learned the truth. Tiamat Clan did not see this world as their home. Not while the blight of humanity resided here as free men and women. They could only reach their true home upon death. Radiant, perfect Attima. Tiamat had named it herself. Everything a dragon did was for this promised paradise. The competitions amongst kin were a way to prepare for the trials of combat. The sacrifices of gold, blood, and magical items a small hope that the mother goddess would aid them or give them free passage. Your hoard, your lands, and your standing, all of it belonged to her. In return, she would grant you the privilege to bathe in her radiance... Quite literally.
"What the fu-" Mephitis coughed out after taking his first step into Attima. The world around him swimming around his eyes like an obsidian and golden blur while his hands and feet tore at the ground to keep himself moving. Why hadn't Aella experienced this torturous shift? Was it Tiamat's curse at play? No, that would mean Aella would have experienced this as well. It couldn't be because he was a pure-blooded dragon either given every dragon had to come here after death. The weave? It's the only thing that Mephitis could think of. Being so in tune with the magical energies around him was now... Detrimental? He wasn't sure if that was the right word. It was just different really. Sickening for now but he was adjusting slowly with every step that he took within this horrible, divine realm. Still, it wasn't the time for this bullshit when Aella was in danger.
All those that came after Mephitis could see their draconic party member still clawing at the ground and doing his best to get back up onto his feet. Those large, brilliant wings even pressing themselves into the ground below the man, trying to force him upwards. He was moving at the very least but not in the right direction. So thrown off by the forces around him that he was charging forward into a...
"Ah! ********> A tree. The poor fool was most certainly fine given he was in half-dragon form and scales made sure any thorns couldn't pierce into him. However, it most certainly hurt and felt absolutely humiliating when he realized what had happened. His head rearing back to gaze at the tree for a moment while his claw grasped onto it. Yep, it was real and he had just charged right into it like a damn idiot! Whatever. It could at least help him stand. Both hands grasped the tree before him and pulled the stumbling dragon back onto his feet. His head turning this way and that as he did his best to reorient himself. Unfortunately, his body was still adjusting to the world around him so his senses were in disarray and mind clouded. His eyes flashing a brilliant gold as he continued to scour the area around him.
Meanwhile, another Hunter had been roused to its eternal duty. The beast charging through the forest to greet the newest visitor.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxx 『 With a taste of a poison paradise 』
The Panda Samurai
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Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2025 11:34 pm
tab ❧ I'm the violence in the pouring rain.
Aella's side burned with every stride, the half healed wound tearing wider each time her heels struck the gleaming earth. The black mini dress clung to her slender form, still soaked at the hip where blood was beginning to dry on her skin, cold and sticky. Each breath scraped her ribs like fire and though she pressed her hand hard against the wound, it didn't seem to help much. Her strength leaked away with every pounding heartbeat, every desperate step. Why was she so damn tired??
Unfortunately, this strange land showed no mercy. Obsidian trees loomed like monoliths, their trunks veined with molten gold that pulsed as though the forest itself breathed. Diamond-edged leaves fractured the faint light into shards that stung her storm-bright eyes until tears blurred her vision, turning the world into a cruel shimmer. Even the grass betrayed her- emerald and gleaming, but sharp as stone beneath her heels. Nothing here was meant for her.
And still, it followed with a silence that was unbearable. A creature that size should have torn the forest apart, should have thundered through the trees with roars and splintered earth, but this did not. Its pursuit was soundless, wrong, a weight pressing against her back. When she dared a glance, nearly stumbling, her stomach dropped. It was closer than she had imagined, hulking and patient: a nightmare stitched from moss and jawbone, its massive frame bound in ivy that swayed with each silent step.
Panic clawed up her throat. She forced herself faster, snowy hair whipping into her face, teeth clenched against the scream tearing from her side. Branches lashed her bare arms, thorns raked her skin, but she didn’t slow, she couldn’t. Every tree was the same, every path curled back on itself, the golden veins in the soil winding her deeper into the maze. Her chest heaved in shallow sobs, her pulse hammering louder than her footsteps. With a sick drop in her gut, Aella realized she wasn’t simply fleeing- she was being herded. Her steps faltered with the realization, muscles quivering, knees threatening to buckle as her stormy eyes swam, vision glowing at the edges as though she were already half gone. She pressed her palm harder to her wound, fingers slick, crimson gleaming black under the golden light and the ground ended.
The frightened girl stumbled to a stop, breath ragged, staring wide at a sheer wall of obsidian rising before her that was smooth as glass, endless to either side, and too seamless to climb. Veins of gold pulsed faintly within it, mocking her for thinking there had ever been a way forward. <********> Aella turned, back pressed against the wall. Strands of snowy hair clung damp to her cheeks, her black dress torn and shining with blood. She was trembling, heels slipping slightly on the jagged earth, but she forced herself upright, hand clamped to her side.. Think Aella, think! But the beast emerged, blotting out the glow of the forest. She was out of time!
It coiled, muscles taut, and pounced. Aella’s breath caught and her instincts erupted. She dropped low, one hand still pressed to her wound, the other slamming into the golden-veined earth. The ground convulsed, molten cracks racing outward like lightning. With a deafening crack, the soil split and leapt skyward, three jagged walls of obsidian tearing upward and snapping together at their peaks. In an instant, she was entombed, sealed inside a misshapen pyramid of stone, its edges leaning inward like broken teeth. The beast crashed into her barrier, shaking the walls with thunderous force. Dust rained into her snowy hair, clung to her lashes. She dropped to her knees, slender frame trembling, her storm-lit eyes flashing in the dark. Claws raked the stone and the creature's roar bled through, rattling the pyramid to its base. Aella pressed her back against the far wall.
Had she made herself a shield?
...or a tomb?
Where: floor With: meph and errybody Doing: not dying Wearing:
Do not fall in love with people like me. I will take you to museums and parks and monuments and kiss you in every beautiful place, so that you can never go back to them without tasting me like blood in your mouth. I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible. And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people.
Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2025 9:20 am
﹄O, Death...Become my blade once more﹃
‘Thank you’… Those were the final words that the dragon said to him before they ventured past the mysterious veil between them and Tiamat’s draconic realm. What was said prior, the lethal warnings of trial and tribulation, didn’t remotely shake him… but those two words did. He didn’t want to be thanked by Mephitis. Rationally, Zenith was very well aware that the dragon pariah’s gratitude stemmed from him helping with this rescue mission given all that had transpired between them…but his irrational mind and wounded heart kept trying to persuade him that Meph was truly grateful for acquiescing after being a victim. Fu**, things would be so much easier if they just hated each other…if the same poison that polluted his thoughts swam in the veins under those brilliant blue scales. Zenith said nothing in return before walking into the portal.
There was a moment where the Sword Saint’s vision was stolen by a blinding white light, but it almost seemed like it faded just as quickly as it came. Additionally, there was a rough pulling sensation in the passage between realms, yanking him from the white void he was momentarily in and thrusting him into unfamiliar territory. Zenith’s feet crunched into emerald blades of grass that were more unyielding than what he was used to and he caught himself on a singular knee to brace himself during the abrasive dimensional transition. A slow, purging breath brought back some semblance of homeostasis as the swordsman’s sight returned to him. As blurred amorphous structures steadily regained their clarity, the opulent gardens of Attima were finally captured in those hazel eyes of his. It was stunning, but at the same time… it was disgusting.
A dense onyx colored forest where the light above refracted off the thin golden or diamond membrane of the leaves overhead…shimmering gilded veins that branched just above the soil and stone beneath as if this whole place was alive. All of it catered to the luxury and privilege that the dragons felt entitled to. Steadily, Zenith lifted himself to his feet, soaking in the remaining features around him as the other had…until his gaze settled on the thrashing form that was Mephitis. Those hazel eyes narrowed harshly as the dragon haphazardly clawed at the ground beneath him until he eventually lurched into a tree. Without a single word, the former assassin moved to the dragon’s side.
“I don’t understand what you're going through, but I need you to get it together as fast as possible,” Zenith stated plainly, “You need to understand that you are the only one here with a ‘connection’ to Aella that we can use to find her. So hurry and do what you need to ground yourself...” God he hated hearing those words coming out of his own mouth… speaking aloud just how critical this man was to Aella’s livelihood… speaking on how this ‘bond’ between them was important with everything going on. Zenith buried the volatile emotion that dared to bubble to the surfice…locked it and buried it deep. He didn’t have a choice. Either he let himself be seduced by stupid and self destructive anger or be carried by unfeeling efficiency. The choice was simple.
The sword saint’s eyes snapped away from the disoriented man as the cracking sound of bark splintering and the thudding vibrations beneath his footing indicated that something large was already rushing their position. Zenith had a feeling that this place wouldn’t spare them many moments of rest. “And I’ll handle anything else in the meantime. When you can, take the others…I’ll catch up.”
“GRAAAUUUHHHHHHH!” A deep deafening roar shook the glittering leaves on the trees as the mysterious creature was just barely visible through the dense trees. The colossus was massive, a beast with a hulking form that could crash through the solid trunks of the trees between it and its prey. But, in an instant, Zenith would steal the advantage. Zenith suddenly vanished from Mephitis’ side, leaving a small gust of wind in his wake as his sudden absence left a vacuum where the air flooded into…then-in the fractions of a second that occurred before one could even recognize some variable of change-Zenith warped right beside the beast mid charge. His posture was so calm and straight when compared to the feral monster beside him; He didn’t even look to size up his new target and kept his gaze looking past nature’s behemoth scouting for any additional enemies…and then…he simply touched the creature’s leg while it was still in motion.
Gone… the both were gone and the air was sucked into the space where they both vanished. “Graaah!” The earthen titan was suddenly several hundred feet in the air, looking over Tiamat’s gardens from a bird’s eye view before gravity quickly seized it. The large monster began to plummet…faster… and faster, flailing those dense arms. Its dull grey fur fluttered wildly as it spun out of control to the ground beneath. But the inevitable crash wasn’t the worst of its fate because Zenith was also falling beside it. Without feeling any danger or urgency, the sword saint steadily summoned his cursed blade to his hands…and then his foot seemingly found purchase on a small platform of air. It was a simple spell that allowed casters to spring on the sky for aerial mobility, but with Zenith’s newfound speed and dexterity in this new body of his it turned him into a much more lethal threat than he had ever been in the past. The ex-assasin sprung off of the invisible platform with blinding speed, cutting the beast across the neck in a flash of blinding steel that caught the light of this realm. After Zenith made his first pass, he teleported to another position and repeated the strikes over and over during the titan’s descent. If one looked up towards the falling beast-around 50 feet from where mephitis and the others were-they would see a large antlered beast surrounded by bright gleams of reflected light until it eventually was reunited with the earth.
The impact created a concussive boom that made the ground tremble nearby as dirt and splinters created a cloud of obscurity that cloaked the condition of brute…and then Zenith warped gracefully just outside the cloud’s radius…sword still drawn in his right hand. Those glimmering hazel eyes narrowed on the beast… replaying his coordinated attack in his mind as he looked down at his stainless blade before lifting his gaze to the settling curtain of debris. There was no blood…nothing that drained from the creature after each lethal cut was carved across presumed vital points across the large form.
“GRRAAAHHHHH!” The primal roar blasted away the last wisps of dust and revealed the earthen brute decorated in cut and gashes that spilled no bile or blood. It seemed unfazed by every single one of them-but Zen had already come to this conclusion. Thus, when it went on the offensive, slamming its massive claws into the ground to muster the aid from the nature around it, the swordsman wasn’t surprised. The trees launched their thorns and tendril-like roots erupted from the soil beneath the man to tangle him long enough to be skewered…but Zen was seemingly gone before the intent was even there. The sword saint reappeared further out, but still visible to the brute to ensure it didn’t try to pursue the others. This thing didn’t bleed…and thus Zen’s most lethal trait was neutralized… or at least that would have been true years ago.
In that moment…the faint sound of chains rattled across the realm…
“ha…hahahAHAHAHAHA,” the insidious laughter echoed in the confines of Zenith’s mind as he intentionally reached out to touch the demented magics that had taken root in his soul. “Go ahead, Keybearer. Become the messenger that delivers the Ocean unto the denizens of your realm! Let it strip flesh and marrow from those in your way until only the screams of their eternal agony are trapped in its tide!”
The dragons were very well acquainted with Destined death…a devastating curse that crippled their kind…but this aura taking root in their divine kingdom-while similar-was far worse than that. This malefic arcane presence was alive and malignant…seeping into the saintly soil of Attima and draining it of life and vibrancy. The adjacent trees began to wither and crack…the treasure-like leaves sapped their luster. From the splintering trunks of the obsidian trees…a viscous black bile began to drool out…and even more horrifying…was that those deep wounds delivered on the brute…also began to gush with that vile miasma. A vile green began to slither over the hazel of Zen’s right eye as he became the conduit of something truly wretched.
As the last of the men had stepped through, the last sight of their world could be seen through the door they had come through. A single Ofuda or sealing tag was held up by a thick pin, lodged into the wooden floor like a stake. It would shiver with energy, giving off small wisps of mana. It was the only connection to their world, keeping the portal open from the other side. Shingen joined the others by bringing up the rear only to be greeted by what he could only describe as a vivid dream. “Feels like I stepped into a painting....” He started as he looked around. Then when he noticed Mephitis transforming again, his tone changed. ”...or someone’s nightmare.”
There was still much that he didn’t understand about Mephitis even after all this time. In fact, it was safe to say he didn’t understand much of the man’s physiology at all but what he did grasp was his expertise and knowledge of where they were now. He was their best bet on finding Aella. Zenith quickly went to his side but it looked like there wasn’t much he could do. Shingen had never seen Mephitis this way and he seemed to fit in with the world they were now in. There was no time, however, since just as Zenith had reached him, something was fast approaching.
“He’s right. Let’s get after Aella. I can’t imagine she’s gone far.” Shingen said over to Mephitis before glancing over to Zenith who was already turning to readily face whatever was crashing through the uncanny foliage. Once they were on the move, Shingen looked back to see the battle unfolding, remembering Zenith’s lethal speed and technique. He must have been taking it easy on me back at the club...
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2025 9:52 pm
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Location: Attima With:The others Mood:Tense Condition:Good Current Outfit:[Outfit]
Édouard has stepped through and felt surges of different realities, though he wasn’t terribly sure just how to categorize what he was feeling, passing through him as he transitioned from the world he knew. His foot emerged on the other side and into this new world and firmly set upon the ground. The blonde man was there and now that he was in this strange place, he took stock of what he could. It was full of odd sensations and strange smells. He felt out of place there but that was hardly surprising. It was not a world meant of his kind and just the latent energy of the environment let him know his being here was an infection. That was why he was certain there would be a sort of immune response to them arriving soon.
He gazed over at the others and rested his eyes a moment on Meph and his struggles. He was taken by surprise to see the young dragon having such issues but then, he knew so little about any of them that who could say what the reason behind it was? Besides, it didn’t take too long for him to blunder into a tree, a feat that was more-or-less standard Meph. He found Shingen’s painting comment to be an apt description but the nightmare bit worked too. However, Zen was right. They were there to find Aella and Meph was the key to doing that. He was about to agree to the sentiment when the distant approach of something unfriendly sounding caught his attention. His eyes narrowed a bit as he glanced in the direction their dragon was now facing.
Just at the beast’s approach, the assassin again went about his work. Zen had vanished from the dragon’s side and preemptively engaged this enemy. Édouard watched as the massive brute was sent airborne and before it could respond was again set upon by the attacks of its foe. He made no commentary, verbally or otherwise, just made note of what Zen was doing. At last, the mighty creature came crashing down and was close enough that Édouard launched himself upwards to avoid getting caught by stray debris from the impact. Shingen was trying to assure them that Zen was right; they should leave the fight to him and find Aella. That was their primary objective and as he watched Zen begin sucking the life out of the very world around him, he was inclined to agree.
However, loitering just above the trees to watch this brawl had meant he had left the cover of the forest around them and was a very tempting target. He suddenly became aware of a creeping sensation running up his back. Something was watching him. He spun around, his cold eyes dancing over the mystical terrain to see if he could spot whoever or whatever had turned its focus to him. He was just about to head back to the ground below and to the rest of the group when he caught the glint of something just in his periphery. He instinctively dropped down so that his feet were grazing the tops of the trees as something shot above him where he’d been just a second before.
He didn’t stay stationary; moving left he kept trying to see who this mysterious opponent was but again from the dense foliage he could only catch a moment’s flash of light as he ducked out of the way of another airborne assault. This time, he dropped into the trees and as he did, the canopy was suddenly coated in a silvery substance that crackled and snapped with discharging electricity. He landed on the ground once and took a step back to examine it. It looked almost like a web had been up spun up in the treetops and he realized now that whatever had taken pot shots at him was likely spider-like and he had no doubt becoming ensnared in its web would be an electrifying experience. But it wasn’t upon him just yet. He was still close enough to the group to see them and the fight with the brute. He moved through the trees and returned to the scene to see the beast oozing the strange miasma. He wasn’t sure what was happening or what effect it would have on the creature but it reminded him a little of the stuff he’d encountered in the museum long ago. He shook his head a bit and looked toward Meph and Shin.“If we’re going to find Aella, we’d best get moving. He’s got a handle on that thing and it’s not alone. We’ll be surrounded if we stay here.” He said taking that moment to look toward the direction the webs had come from. He was certain it would be making its way in their direction just as he was certain it wouldn’t be t he only one to do so.
『 It's in the air and it's all around 』xxxxx xxxxxxxxxx Location: Wilds of Attima xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Company: Zen, Levi, and Ed. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Internally: Focus xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Wearing: Fancy suit
How blessed Mephitis had to be for him to experience the power of this realm before meeting his final day. Such a divine gift it was to be bathed in the Mother's radiance that any other dragon would have killed for the chance. However, it was truly maddening for the poor young man as he clung to the tree before him. He was already far too in-tune with the magical powers around him, and he now stood within a realm brimming with her aura. It was like that disgusting golden presence was poisoning the threads of his soul from afar. The well of infinite mana that poured out from him further tainted thanks to his draconic lineage. It called upon something more primal within him. Had it always been there? There was no time for this. Not when Aella's life was on the line.
Zen, “I don’t understand what you're going through, but I need you to get it together as fast as possible,” Shingen, “He’s right. Let’s get after Aella. I can’t imagine she’s gone far.”
"Do you not think I know that?" Mephitis hissed out with pure, venomous anger. Eyebrows knotting closer together and golden eyes narrowing as he cast an unfocused gaze in the party's direction. That harsh look waned as fast as it came though. They were all right and he was wasting precious seconds. Anger and panic had overtaken his heart thanks to the sudden, unexpected shift in energy, but he needed to push through that. So, he steady himself against the tree and took a deep breath. The tips of his claws raked across the tree he held as if to expel the anger and panic he felt in one last display. The center of his eyes slowly shifting back to that chaotic chromatic display as the gold receded towards the very edges of his irises. The dragon using his singular task and his connection to Aella to ground himself once more. However, that was difficult given everything else he could sense.
There were more Hunters. Distant for now but they were quickly approaching. If the legends were true, it would be one for each of them. However, that didn't provide any real comfort. The legends also said that simply killing one didn't end the trials. The longer they stayed in the wilds, the more dangerous things became. However, that wasn't what actually disrupted Mephitis from his task. It was something far more sickening. He could hear it so clearly. The sound of chains rattling... Then he felt it. An aura even more disgusting than Tiamat's radiance. It chilled him to his bones, churned his stomach until he wanted to puke, and made adrenaline rush through his veins as he felt like his life was in danger. A harsh, judging gaze locked itself upon Zenith in that moment. Draconic eyes staring at him as if he were the enemy for just a split second before turning away once more.
Ed, "We’ll be surrounded if we stay here.”
"Ed, I hate that you're always right. Even..." Mephitis let his words trail off as he refocused on his connection with Aella once more. A yearning from deep within his soul for something lost. It guided him whenever the two of them were just close enough and he actually took the time to focus in on it. The dragon wasn't graced with her exact location because of it, but it did give him direction. That was all he needed. "This way! Follow me and keep your eyes out. More Hunters are coming." The young man warned them before yelling out, " If you fight one, try to rip the core out of its body." He made sure to say it loud enough so that Zenith would hopefully hear him. The dragon had hoped that they wouldn't need this information, thinking that they would just grab Aella and get out. However, it was becoming clear that they were about to be in a fight for their lives as the Hunters were responding far too fast.
Mephitis' claws dug into crystalline grass that broke beneath his clawed feet and crashed through brush of golden leaves as he rushed through the forest. The world around him a blur of glittering, saturated colors. The young man relying purely on his speed rather than his own perception to escape any Hunters that might be laying in wait. The way he moved through the forest was unique given he'd occasionally leap into the air and use his wings to glide around various obstacles. Although, it also showed how frantic he was. There was no caution in his step as he was far too tunnel visioned on getting to Aella. He'd have to count himself lucky that he hadn't been caught off guard before reaching Aella's location or, perhaps, he'd have to thank his companions.
And then he saw it. The Hunter that had been stalking Aella from the very beginning. A hulking form that was covered in the deep green moss and vines, almost like a thick hide upon it's form. Gnarled branches brimming with razorsharp thorns rose up high from its back while some continued on to form a tail. Two molten eyes burning beneath the moss that covered its face. Through the greenery, there were glimpses of dark and dirtied bones. Was the beast incomplete or was that its real body beneath it all? It was impossible to tell from a quick glance and that was all Mephitis was going to really get right then. The beast was raking its massive claws over a huge spire of obsidian, trying to break it down to get to the girl within. The power of each strike shaking the earth beneath it as it continued its assault until a rampaging dragon finally caught its attention.
Mephitis had no idea that even before he had broken through the treeline, the beast knew that he was there. The dragon had not roared out to announce himself to this realm or even said another word to his party members. Instead, he had rushed in towards the horrific Hunter with clear intention of ramming into its side... Which was strange given Mephitis was a mage. Aella's knight in shining armor wouldn't get the chance in the end. His body crashed not into the mossy-covered Hunter but rather the ground below. The beast had whipped its body around with a speed that betrayed its size and swiped its front right claw down onto the dragon as he flew through the air. The man was pinned! Mephitis back and wings were locked down against the earth with a gigantic claw pressed down upon his stomach and legs. Sharp talons were digging into the earth on either side of Mephitis.
"Come on! Focus on me, a*****e! I'll rip that damn core out of you for even-" Mephitis' draconic eyes widened as he looked up at the beast above. The sound of breaking branches and snapping vines filled the area as the creature actually revealed its sharp, disgusting maw beneath it all. Each side of its jaw cracked upon and widened in this disgusting uneven manner as if it was fighting its own body to open its mouth. Suddenly, its head turned to one side with a snapping sound before diving down towards its newest prey. Mephitis had to thank the heavens for his luck as he was actually able to use his arms to stop the creature. The dragon reached out and grab onto the inside of the Hunter's mouth. His left hand taking the top part of its mouth while the right held back the bottom. His hands set between the monster's teeth so that he could hold it back but the sharp edges dug into the sides of his hands. Still, Mephitis forced the Hunter's maw to stay open. How long could he hold it back though?
TL: DR:
Mephitis hisses out at Zen and Shingen for pointing out he needs to focus up. He tries to lock in on Aella but Zenith's use of Destined Death distracts and sickens him. He tries focusing again and then runs off towards Aella. Warns the group about needing to rip out the monsters cores while doing so.
Mephitis reaches Aella's position and rushes in foolishly. Aella's Hunter slams him down to the earth, pins him, and tries to bite his head off.
