Ursali

Though only unconscious for a few moments, the lizard dreamed. Or thought she was dreaming, at least. In the dream someone, a mage far out of even his league, had attacked Versaris and severely wounded him. She wasn't sure if he was alive or dead, but she was so consumed with rage that she let the voice take over with the promise of the strength it could give her. She'd charged at the mage that had hurt Versaris, but failed to land a killing blow. He'd been surprised at first, but it quickly turned to contempt and in the next second she was being seared by light magic. That was where the dream ended, interrupted by the sound of someone's voice and the familiar feeling of her wounds being tended to by magic. Why am I being healed? What happened--! "HaghH!?" She tried to quickly rise into a sitting position before she'd even opened her eyes, but was met with severe pain for her effort and collapsed back into the heap she now found herself in. Slowly, she opened her eyes; someone was over her, one of the people Celine had sent with them; the Ren that wasn't Renais. Carefully she angled her head to look down at her body, eyes widening as her clothes and skin had been seared by some form of magic. Had her dream actually happened? But why had she remembered it, this time? Every other time the voice took over she was left with a gap in her memories... "N, Need, to move..." That wasn't important now, though. She needed to see Versaris, needed to know that he was alive. An unfamiliar feeling gripped her as the uncertainty of the not-elf's life settled in, as though she were on a sinking ship in the middle of an ocean. She needed Versaris to be alive. "N, Need to see, V, Ver, saris..." Though her breathing had stabilized with Ren's healing, she wasn't about to try to move again; the pain was too much, even for her.

"RaARGH! DIE! DIE!" Alriana snarled at Luthier as the pair rolled across the ground, jaws snapping, trying to take a piece out of him as she struggled to get on top of him. She got her wish, finally on top of him, mouth opened and ready to clamp down on the man's shoulder when suddenly she was airborne. "RRAgghh...!" She let out a roar as her entire body screamed out in pain, skin seared and blackened by the blast of light magic that only propelled her further into the air; brightest light faded to deepest darkness before her body hit the ground, unconscious.

"Guess you die then." Alriana's pose dropped low, ready to lunge at the man holding Syndra hostage. She'd be on him in the blink of an eye, her dagger aimed for his neck; he was too massive to go for his heart and not leave herself completely defenseless. Her muscles tensed, ready to start the attack. The a harsh blast of light illuminated the room, magic in there air. Her eyes wandered to the source, falling on Versaris's seared body, time feeling as though it slowed down as she watched him crumple to the ground and slump over. Her gaze snapped to the source, the man who'd just walked in with Mikoto slung over his shoulder, the light fading from his hand. Rage. Hatred. Emotions she knew well exploded inside her, her mind taken with a fury unlike any she'd ever experienced. They were easy to focus on, giving clarity even as fear, doubt, and uncertainty clouded her mind. She should've been frozen with fear, or running to Versaris side, but the only thing on her mind was killing the one responsible. Do it. Kill them all. They hurt our Sari. Every one of them deserves to DIE! She felt herself slipping, as she had when they fought off the mercenaries and Lucille; however, she didn't black out like those previous instances. She saw and felt her body moving, the hulk now an afterthought as she barreled towards Luthier, dagger drawn and aimed at his heart. A blur of malevolent white crashed into Luthier, its dagger drove deep into his chest but missed the vital organs it had desperately wanted to destroy.

Versaris had swiftly dealt with the remaining guards beyond the door with enough ease that it was a little bit annoying; she grumbled and dusted herself off, spotless for now but only time would tell if she made it through the night unscathed. They hadn't been as stealthy as they hoped; as Versaris' explanation came to an end they were discovered, the man beginning to shout orders only to be silenced by the thunderous roar of gunfire. Two fell dead, the third issued orders to a man called Krauser while the wolf knight issued his own to Versaris. Versaris was quick to follow them, bounding into the courtyard as she kept up her stealthy approach. Only for, presumably, the man in question to come bursting from the room with Syndra tossed over his shoulder and making for the door Versaris had just kicked down. There wasn't time left for stealth, Alriana shooting off into a full sprint after the man. She wasn't fast enough to stop him from entering the courtyard like she wanted, but with her speed she still caught him as he turned south to make his escape. "RRAGGH!" She let out a loud growl as she lunged into his side, trying to take down the behemoth of a man. She collided with him at full speed; however, for the first time, her target didn't topple under the sheer force of the impact. She reeled back like she'd hit a somewhat elastic brick wall, her target meanwhile slid back a few feet but remained on his feet. She had his attention at least. "Drop or die." She flashed her teeth at him, both sets of her razor sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight. The lizard narrowed her eyes, glaring at the enemy before her, the malice in her expression almost palpable. Protect the Tigers, kill the enemy. Protect the Tigers, kill the enemy, kill the enemy, kill the enemy, kill, kill, kill...

"Mhm." The lizard let out a quiet noise of understanding, nodding her head on the chance it was lost in the growing din of battle. She moved quietly and quickly, arriving at the door without making a sound; at least, not one that would've been heard by the intruders on the other side. She bent forward, hands placed in front of her and her legs bent and taught behind her, like a coil winding up with tension. Her tail coiled itself up, resting against the ground and ready to serve as her initial bit of speed. She took a deep breath, dagger clenched tight in her fist. She was still panicking, still afraid even with Versaris right behind her. It made her frustrated, angry, emotions that the voice only encouraged. She was an expert at tuning it out, but it made a worrying amount of sense to listen. If she embraced it would it help her protect the Tigers? A crash in one of the rooms behind her roused her from her thoughts, there was no time to hesitate. With nary a sound, save from the thud against the door as she forced it nearly off its hinges, she sprang forth with enough speed that the cloaked man in her way on the other side didn't even have time to react before she crashed into him, sending the both of them into the air. He was dead by the time they hit the ground, her dagger stabbed into his heart with every ounce of malice Alriana could muster. She rose as quickly as she could, hoping Versaris had handled the two other guards she'd seen in the split second before the impact.

"Whew..." Daeran let out a sigh of relief as he got himself out of his helmet and out of his cockpit. He was pleased by his own performance, managing to down his fair share of machines and keep damage to his own low; his skill would hopefully be apparent to his fellow pilots, especially any of those that thought to run his name on Noodle. He wished he'd actually managed to rein in Kazue, or at least managed to pull her into anything resembling a collaborative effort. Speaking of, he spotted her beating a hasty retreat to the ready room on his trip down the wire. "Ensign Fujiwaru, wait up!" He called out to her once he was firmly on the hanger floor, hurrying to catch up and keep pace with her. "Nice fighting out there, karate girl. You blew some of us out of the water, you know?" It wasn't that inaccurate of a statement, at least in terms of number of enemy suits downed. She still seemed to be on edge, hopefully small talk would help her calm down before the Captain and Lieutenant Commander went over her performance...

Though she had struggled to fall asleep due to the insufferable heat and her skin's tendency to dry out from said heat, Alriana was quick to wake at the various sounds echoing throughout the compound they had been put up in. It was a first for her, waking with a start to the sound of glass breaking. A quick glance at their window revealed it wasn't theirs's, but it did little to ease the rush of emotions as she quickly reached for the set of daggers that Versaris had told her to keep on the night stand. "Versaris, wake up!" She yelled in as much of a whisper as she could, her tail slamming into the waking notelf's stomach with a thwap. "Something's happening. Very bad!" She wasn't sure how she knew that, but the feeling permeated through her being; she was absolutely certain something terrible was happening. She moved to jump off the bed, claw reaching for the door in a blatant attempt to throw it open. The sound of glass breaking stirred Versaris, keeping his motions slow until he could get an eye on-- "Ghahn!?" Aly's tail slammed into him, making him wake up proper, sitting up in bed and gasping for air in the shock of it all! "Aly, stop!" He kept his voice quiet but rushed, jumping off the bed and grabbing her, holding her back from the door. If she tried to stab him or break free, so be it. "If we rush out there, whatever's happening gets us caught up in it too... Patience. Slowly. The lights in here are still off. Our window isn't broken, the door is closed... We have the element of surprise, so we should use it. Now..." He let go of her and took a breath, nodding. "Quietly... Check around the door and see if our rooms are being watched." He fetched his sword and a shirt, throwing it over himself. "I'll be right behind you." "Rgghh!" Alriana let out a quiet, low growl as she was suddenly grabbed in a bear hug in her attempt to rush out of their room, struggling by instinct but not enough to break Versaris' grip. As he spoke and explained his reasoning she calmed down and stopped struggling. The sudden rush of adrenaline and the base urge to attack whatever was beyond her door subsided, if only slightly. "Right..." She answered in a whisper, dropping down to the floor and peaking under the door. There weren't people outside their door, or at least not that she could see. Slowly, quietly, she opened their door enough to peak through the slight crack, using her tail to maneuver herself get vantage points impossible for anyone else. Truly no one seemed to be outside their door. She looked to Versaris, waiting for his guidance.

The simulated battle was quickly coming to a close, Daeran watched as Leon moved to deliver the finishing touch to the Diver only for it to duck behind some convenient colony debris. It wasn't the first shot the Leon had missed as things were winding down, though rather than see it as a slight on the man's skill he chose find relief that even professional pilots like Leon don't hit every shot. Daeran to 9, 14, Autorifle Diver #1.

Whoever had decided that her skin should be hydrophobic, but also capable of drying out, deserved worse than she could describe with her limited knowledge. She started another groan in complaint; however, Iris's sudden squeak gave her all the warning she needed that a blast a refreshingly cool water was headed her way. "Mhhhnn... Thanks." She let out a contented noise as the water hit her, used to the feeling at this point. She didn't even mind being soaked, it would help prevent her skin from drying out and continue to cool her. "Yeah... You should do that." Iris was the first to respond, Alriana echoing her sister's sentim-- Alriana's eyes suddenly widened, a bluish undertone taking to her cheeks. How Iris knew about it was beyond her, Versaris had assured her no one should've even been awake... "Y, Yeah... Ask Ullr, to do that, if you want someone to bathe you..." She wasn't going to make the mistake of saying Iris could join them and the only other person in the Tigers that fit the bill, at least for the 'fun' Iris was talking about, was Ullr. Her sister and the wolf clouded were close like her and Versaris, though she didn't know if they'd taken that extra step... Thankfully before Iris had a chance to respond to their pair of redirections the unfamiliar voice from outside the wagons signaled that Marigold was back with whoever she was meeting with. Though she was loath to move, her curiosity at seeing the people they were going to work with was greater. And her now soaking clothes would be enough to keep her moderately cooled, at least for a while. Poking her head out of the wagon she glimpsed two unfamiliar humans and a new type of clouded. The sharp teeth were reminiscent of her own and she felt the urge to flash them back. She restrained herself, knowing that she herself had only ever done it as a hostile action.

Even with his urging her to stay back Kazue continued to rush into danger. He understood that it was a simulation, she likely did as well, but if this was going to be how she acted on the battlefield then she was only going to get herself hurt. Granted he'd been too preoccupied with trying to reign her in, for her safety, that he failed to see the opportunity to work together and eliminate Lightning #1, but that wasn't much of a revelation when she immediately rushed off to engage the final Lightning number. He sighed, shaking his head as he maneuvered his HEX into a position where he could strike at the enemy. Daeran to 13,14, blast Lightning #2 with Submachine gun.

Alriana had thought the journey to Cerezia was bad enough, but this journey into Islexia was bordering on hell on earth. In Hecatia Alvira had made buckets of ice for everyone at all hours of the day, or at least for her and her sister, and the temperature was more mild. Now, after the incident with the sword, Alvira's ice was no longer 'free'. Though she was glad that her friend had found her fire after having it stripped away, it did mean less ice to mitigate the insufferable heat. The dry heat only made it that much more terrible, Alriana's skin taking to it much worse than the heat that was present in Hecatia. As human volunteers were called to enter the town, Alriana didn't even bat an eye. Like before, she was spread out on the wagon floor, trying to keep as much of her sweat on her as possible. She wouldn't be moving from this spot until there was promise of some sort of means of cooling down, showers, baths... Anything as long as she could get some liquid, that wasn't her own, on her skin. She hadn't been much in the mood for conversation during their trip, the reason obvious, though she'd managed to make time to spend some with Miria. Versaris, of course, and Iris, were who she spent the majority of her time with, and Ullr whenever he was with Iris. Speaking of, her usually hyperactive sister hadn't even said a peep as they rolled into town. The heat was affecting her as well, but it was still a bit worrying. "Irissss... Are you, okay?"

Daeran was quite taken aback, by a multitude of things all at once. First and foremost was the state of the Dawn, as well as the overall flow of the battlefield. Nearly none of their machines were without damage, simulated or no, and the enemy still had their 'aces' up their sleeve; at least those that needed repairs were docking with the ship to receive them. Kazue's mood whiplash was almost disorienting as she reverted back to out of battle shyness, only for him to catch the determination in her eyes over the video comm she had initiated. "Ah, well, there's no shame in being eager, but restraint is an important part of teamwork. If you only ever rush in you'll find yourself quickly overwhelmed and your team too far behind to save you." There was another thought tied to the unexpected reveal, though it had no place on the battlefield and was quickly shuffled away for later as Leon, Iskra, and the Lieutenant Commander lit up the closest Javelin. "Well, I had been going to suggest we tag-team the nearest Javelin, but it seems like that is no longer an option. We could do the same to a different plane, but with the state your machine is in I strongly recommend you retreat, hold position, or reposition; if we push ahead we're likely going to be shot down by the enemy HEXes." He didn't his best to match her burning gaze, hoping she would listen. "Follow me if you want, but don't engage until the enemy's closer." 13,9 Autorifle Lightning #1.

Unlike the majority of his comrades that were disgruntled, to put it nicely, by Kazue's performance, those that had time to pay attention to it anyway, he was rather impressed by her performance. Sure, her tactics were completely nonexistant, but she could, theoretically, perform just as well with live ammunition. More so than that though, he appreciated the fact that there was another lunatic like himself that preferred close quarters combat in the era of missiles, beams, and bullets, even if he was still guilty of the lattermost. "Finally caught up to you, karate girl. I like the way you fight, but this is a teambuilding exercise, not a solo mission, yeah?" It wouldn't do to say more than that; he didn't want to over step his bounds, one way or the other. It was the Captain's, or the Lieutenant Commander's, job to admonish her reckless tactics and he wasn't about to dare approach encouraging her battlefield behavior. Daeran to 15,11 wait.

Alriana wasn't sure what signal she was waiting for, truly she was out of her element here, but she'd be damned if she wasn't going to help when the Tigers needed her, as barbaric as her one idea was. There seemed to be a shift in the morale of everyone involved in this struggle to release the blade, whatever force that was binding Alvira and Laniva to the blade seemed to be waning. Versaris noticed it first, but if this wasn't the opportunity she was waiting for than she didn't know what was. In about a second she went from crouched to flying through the air at Alvira and Laniva, hoping that her tackle would have enough force to finally remove them from the blade.

Alriana did her best to ignore Iris' comments as she devoured the breakfast that had been delivered by Ullr. It wasn't like her sister actually knew what they'd done, even if her method of ascertaining the truth was rather shame inducing. She watched as the group gathered around the knights from yesterday as they arrived at the inn, stolen sword in hand. A few of their group apparently had felt a pull from the sword yesterday; she barely recalled than Laniva had uncharacteristically reached for the sword, and even laid hands on it. It seemed now that those who had heard the call, and Alvira, were cueing up to take turns touching the sword. For the most part, things seemed to be going well? There some weird phenomena, like an indoor gust after Gean touched the blade, and some weird non-phenomena, like Miria mumbling things that she couldn't hear from over here, but everything seemed fine. Until it wasn't. Shortly after Alvira laid her hands on the blade a magical energy began to fill the room, strong enough that even she could feel it. It was, entirely foreign to her, hard to even describe as anything other than wrong, sinister, cold. Suddenly there a great commotion, people trying to pry Alvira and Laniva away from the blade despite the fact they weren't really holding on to it? Although she could lift Versaris like he was paper, the majority of her strength was in her legs and her tail. This line of people tugging and pulling didn't seem to be accomplishing anything, so she came up with a new idea. It wasn't easy to get an angle on the duo holding the blade, especially with the ever-growing line of people trying to remove the pair from the blade, but she managed to find a spot that would suffice and crouched down, readying herself to throw herself at Alvira and Laniva.

"Heh. It's all about the give and take." And this Satyr had taken far more than it had given. Iskra had left the machine barely operational and no one else had turned it into simulated space dust so he was all to glad to finish was the AI had started. 15, 7 Finish Satyr 5 with the shotgun.

Kazue was still rushing ahead of everyone, not even the Lieutenant Commander could keep up with her speed. It was truly impressive how hard she was able to push her machine, despite technically being a civilian and this being a simulation. Though with those hits she was taking it was very possible she had overextended herself. Bonner made quick work of the damaged fighter that Louise and Iskra had tag-teamed so all that was left was to advance to try and cover Kazue. 17, 5 Autorifle ready.

Alriana froze up as Iris' curiosity inevitably veered towards 'night activities'; she'd been so tired from how she'd spent the night that she hadn't even thought of any sort of deflection. So she sat there, awkwardly silent and staring straight ahead, until Ullr offered to get the both of them food. She gave the wolf boy a quick appreciative nod and watched as he moved to get there food, squirming some in place. Even just remembering the night was enough to make her squirm in place, a light tint of azure betraying her embarrassment. Ullr was quick to return with a mound of meat on both plates. She hadn't realized it until the food was in front of her, but she hadn't even eaten after the battle. Combined with all the after battle 'exercise' and she felt near starving; no matter how exaggerated that feeling was, her stomach still growled. "M, Maybe, I did!" She managed to get out with a huff, her stripes pulsing some with her embarrassment. "M, Maybe did, more..." Before she could say anything more, and before Iris could ask another question, she began to stuff her face with the breakfast Ullr had delivered.

"Why do you need to stalk Ullr, Iris?" Whatever her sister had actually been doing, describing it as such wasn't likely to build trust. She'd done it to all of the Tigers as they'd joined the company, silently following them and watching them to sate her curiosity. The reactions to doing so were generally not so friendly. Though Ullr and Miria didn't seem to mind as much. She pulled up her own chair as Iris gave them the rundown on how she'd acquired her new name, chest puffing out with a little pride with how pleased Iris was with her name. "I did not eat, at least." Though not addressed by Ullr she answered all the same, on the off chance that he was going to suggest that he bring Iris food. The events of yesterday had left her feeling quite sore. "Probably shouldn't have sat down."

Well, well, well... It seemed as though the senior office shared in his sentiment. "Aye, sir. Hopefully this mission is another building block on the cornerstone of peace." He didn't have the Lieutenant Commander's experience to further comment on what the future held in store for the crew and the ship, but that scowl did get him thinking. It doesn't make sense, sending such a green crew to act as diplomats. The newtypes, Leon, and Bonner I could see, but everyone else, myself included, don't have the experience for what we might run into... Even if it was just a simulation everyone, for the most part, was really getting into it. Louise fancied herself a junior commander, with good advice to boot, Kazue was a completely different person, Scylla as well, and everyone else... Well, they were about what he expected from how they'd behaved at the meeting. "Going 10 o'clock sharp, sir." Things to take note of for sure, but what he really wanted to know was how they all fought. Daeran to 22, 5.

Alriana slowly blinked into consciousness, the sun hitting her face finally enough to rouse her from her slumber. She could already tell from her internal clock that she had greatly overslept. The first thing that was readily apparent was that Versaris was gone, the incubus nowhere to be found; though he'd had the courtesy to put the blanket back over her when he left. It didn't hit her until she tried to move, but she was sore all over. "Stupid notelf..." She grumbled to herself, blaming Versaris for everything even if he wasn't responsible for everything. Slowly, groggily, she rolled herself out from under the covers, standing and stretching so hard her legs almost gave out. Her tail still slammed into the floor to stabilize herself, even if it wasn't necessary. She went about her morning in a haze, not bothering to fix her hair as she pulled on a fresh pair of clothes, barely remembering to check if her necklace was still on. It was, and thankfully undamaged even though it hadn't been taken off at all last night. She made her way downstairs, seeing that she somehow wasn't the last of the Tigers to arrive. Versaris was over by Tio, Marigold, and that one clouded beastgirl they'd picked up awhile ago, and it seemed like it was an at least somewhat important discussion. Glancing around the room she spotted Ullr and Miria, surprised that Iris wasn't with them until she saw her sister's eyes and tail poking out from the other side of the table. She walked over to her sister without a hint of subtlety, staring down at her. "What are you doing?"

Unlike the rest of his peers, Daeran was not in any particular hurry to reach the hangar. He kept his pace measured, eventually falling in line with the Lieutenant Commander. "Greetings, Sir." He addressed the senior officer with a salute even as he walked along side him, a respectful distance away. "If you don't mind my prodding, and a bit of a presumptuous question, what do you make of our measure? I don't mean to imply that anyone here is underqualified, just... Curious as to what someone as experienced as you makes of our situation." He wasn't expecting an answer, truth be told. Or at least none other than to mind his business.

It seemed like today would just not end! In the midst of her scolding of Versaris, Lani reached for the sword they'd gone through all the effort to retrieve and it started glowing. It lasted only a moment, but she was acting as though she'd moreso been compelled to touch the sword than wanted to. She spoke of something called 'Gaia", but this whole situation was already way over her head. But the day was still young. Whether Iris decided to take advantage of the extra bit of chaos Lani's blade touching had provided, or she just really wanted to kiss Ullr, the fact of the matter was that she did so very publicly. Alriana's tail slammed into the dirt, feeling her face heat up from a secondhand blush. Were she not restrai-- Holding Versaris, she probably would've elevated herself up to her sister to shake her shoulders. "Wh-What are you doing, Iris!? That stuff's supposed to be done in private!" She huffed, far more secondhand embarrassed than angry. It seemed there was talk of resting in the village for a while and that was all she needed at this point, carrying Versaris off ahead of everyone else.

Though Daeran kept his expression professionally neutral, it was somewhat amusing at how quickly Kazue had so quickly fled the meeting room after they were dismissed. Everyone else began to file out afterwards. Daeran stood, pushed in his chair, and gave his captain a salute. "Ma'am." He followed suite after everyone else, though he noticed an unfamiliar woman waiting to enter. If her labcoat was anything to base his impression off of, she must have been some sort of medical staff. He gave her a polite nod of his head but kept walking, having no business meddling in hers. He was fine with bringing up the rear of their little march to the hanger, more time to observe how everyone carried themselves. Proper introductions to his fellow pilots could wait until after the simulation, once they all had a feel for each other's capabilities.

So this was Lady Celine? It wasn't fair to the woman to say that Alriana was unimpressed, it was moreso that she just didn't really care. She only over here in the first place because Versaris clearly didn't know how to take care of himself... "Hey! Stop that!" She growled as his struggling to be free continued, wholly unconcerned about the fact that they were properly in the presence of the knights now. People quickly started to file over, first the green knight traveling with them, then Tio, then Mikoto, then Ullr, Iris, another knight, Laniva, and eventually a final knight emerged from the forest. It was quite the crowd gathered and Alriana felt the ever increasing urge to just walk away with Versaris. Especially so as she had caught him staring at Celine, who a lot of people were likening to their thief for some reason, but she knew he was important enough that he should probably be here. That didn't stop her from feeling the fires of jealousy flaring up after the observation, nor the urge to act on those feelings; however, she didn't want to smack Versaris in the middle of such a serious seeming situation. Then, Iris gave her the perfect outlet for those feelings, Versaris even giving her an unsure glance. "If he can try to escape then the notelf is fine," she echoed her sister in reassuring Ullr. "If he put half the effort that he puts into not taking care of himself into saving you he could've saved himself too."