Del stared in wide-eyed utter horror at the actual hellbeast in front of them. She had smelled it well before the strange little trio had rounded the corner and seen it. It had taken several moments for her brain to register everything she was seeing. At the very first glance, it looked like a regular enough bin. Steel with a lid, but then one noticed the scent. It wasn't the normal garbage muck but the lingering coppery scent of old blood and the putrid tang of rotten meat. Next were the subtle movements of the shadows both on the ground and on the walls, giving lie to the illusions of negative space. The thing had tentacles and a lot of them. Finally, a very, very low, almost subsonic thrumming sound echoed from the shadows around the bin, something to draw the unwary's curiosity.

The thrumming sound, however, was quickly replaced by the deep bass rumble of Space's snarls as the hackles stood up along the phox's neck and shoulders. "Ancestors watching from among the stars, grant me your strength so that I may send this unholy creature back to where it came from. Lend me your grace that I might give the poor souls who suffered its wrath peace and justice. Give me thy insight to strike fast and true to protect those that still live. Let me be thy shield and weapon against the darkness."

For strangers, it was hard to remember that the easy-going, goofy male was also a dangerous warrior at times, but then he would do something like this, and suddenly people were reminded that the boy was a Threat. As if granting his prayer, the silver runes on his hammer and paladon began to glow with ethereal light as if imbuing him with the divinity of the stars.

"Here, love, mind keeping an eye on this for me?" Del tipped her head to slide her hat off, then placed her lute carefully beside Gucci as she readied her daggers, humming a single note as if tuning herself up for a song. A subtle glow had set up in her vivid eyes as the note stretched out longer and longer, rising and falling in pitch. Gucci would feel an odd sense of purpose and strength in themselves. What was this??

Knowing that the gig was up, the trashbeast let the illusion covering it fall to reveal a creature that reminded Del of a sea anemone with a central body made up of the steel bin and then flailing tentacle arms made of the trash, bones, and muck that filled the alley.

Releasing a roar of rage, Space leapt high, aiming to bring the glowing hammer down in the wiggling mass, right on the 'body' of the beast. The connection of the hammer to the steel made a mighty CRUNCH sound as the beast released a wailing scream, whacking away Space, throwing the male against the wall.

"STARLIGHT!!" Del yelped, then snarled viciously as she dove between the reaching tentacles and her downed mate, slashing at the reaching tentacle with her daggers. The monster 'wailed' again as it drew it's injured tentacle back towards it's body.

'So, those are more than just illusions.' Del thought to herself as she took a moment to check in with Space.

"Starlight?"

"I'm fine, love, it takes more than a wall to stop me. Think you can distract it long enough for me to strike again?"

"Of course." Humming another high note, Del began to sing.

"Follow the voice of the stars,
You and I sing together.
Rewrite the history,
plan it all out better.
Nothing could keep us apart,
Lyrics of eternity that will remember our names forever.
Song of the stars,
it's up to us to seize our fate,
strengthen what our love has made for us.
We found our start together,
stars shone so bright that night.
Through pain and tears we've weathered,
always by each other's sides.
You and I sing together,
May it always last forever.
The song of the Stars aligned,
Our names are scribed in fate,
Always together."
(Don't judge, I am shitty at poetry/song writing)

Once more, the runes on Space's armor and weapon glowed bright as he charged, aiming for the already weakened part of the beast's shell, while Del herself continued to hum, seizing her daggers once more to slice and dice any tentacles moving near her man.

This time, Space's strike when it connected punched through the now flimsy steel and crushed the monster between his wrath and the hard side of the rubbish bin behind it. The hellbeast gave an agonizing scream that made all those within hearing distance wince, a thin trickle of blood starting to steam from Space's ears, given how close he was to the sound. The was a great retching sound, like a backed-up sink suddenly sucking all the nasty water down as the tentacles recoiled into the now open lid that showed only darkness. Within seconds, the only things still 'living' in the alleyway were Space, Del, and Gucci.

Hurriedly wiping her dagger on her fur (she'd bathe when they got back to the inn), Del rushed to Space's side, frantically looking him over. "Starlight? Are you ok?"

"Huh? Sorry, love, can't hear you. Did I get it?" Bright blue eyes blinked at her as a dopey smile came to his face, the glow disappearing from his armor and weapon.

Del's shoulders slumped as a relieved but tired look crossed her face, "Aye, love, you got it."

"Woo! Go me!"

Shaking her head, Del headed to where she had left her hat and lute with Gucci. "Thank you for looking after these for me, and here is a bit of gold for your troubles. We must be going now. We have a ways to go to get back to the inn, but if you ever find yourself in need of us, don't hesitate to reach out through the guild." Putting her gear back on, Del slipped a few pieces of gold from her bag, placing them down for Gucci to pick up at their leisure.

With that done, she turned to start herding her himbo of a mate off. By the ancestors they stank, first stop was the bath house!

[Rolls for the Fight: Roll 1 | Roll 2 | Roll 3 | Roll 4]

(FWC: 1,037)