Fire Emblem: Wretched Whispers, Act 2: Warpath

[MRDRHAWK]

Declan stayed in his stance and only let out a single sharp breath. He at least had enough stamina left in him for this, he figured, though he wondered just how effective this new method would be. Then again, he did train a champion boxer, so Declan shrugged it off; he was sure that Louis knew what he was going.

Declan shuffled forward, making sure to keep his stance. He tried to remember if any of his old bandit buddies had any tricks up their sleeves that they'd taught him, but there were none coming to mind. Then Declan remembered an old adage: "Cut off the head, and the body will die".

He thought it sounded stupid, so he aimed for the body instead. Clenching his fist, he threw a heavy body blow, hoping to connect, then he could follow it up with a 1-2 combo to the exposed head of the trainer. Nothing too powerful, but he figured it would be enough.

Except Louis was still standing tall and firm after Declan's combo. Alright, time for a new approach.

Declan stepped forward slightly and put as much weight as he could into a powerful haymaker, hoping to down his opponent. This time, he'd break them before they could break him.

All for you... Vale. I'm gonna destroy anyone in our way. Bank on that.

[scorri]

Taima was considering what Sierra had said about stories when she spotted the swordsman that had joined their group just recently coming into the inn. Waving to him, she called out, "Oh, welcome back Vale. Were you out shopping for the tournament or doing something else?"

[Nanami Touko]

Mel smiled. "I can try, I sink... Ben, eet would still be difficile, and I probablement would not enjoy eet. Sorry to say. Eet ees nice to know zat you care, zough!" The feeling was something she was starting to get used to, all these people who used to be strangers starting to care about how she felt. She wouldn't trade that for any magic... Maybe. Vale's comment about not going easy on them, though, that sort of solidified her thoughts on not continuing past the first round, or even just giving up there, depending on who she fought. She'd seen him swing that sword around; it was terrifying. Standing up to that was not on her to-do list.

But suddenly, he was off! "Oh! 'Ave fun, Vale!" Mel thought for a moment, but she couldn't remember what he had to do at the inn; had she missed that when they were all leaving? Perhaps! But if he had something to take care of, she wasn't about to stop him. "Ben, Celestia, c'est juste us, again. Shall we 'ead over to ze tournoi? I 'ave nossing else to do."

[Ether]

And along the way, Vale remembered something he had to do back at the inn, and parted ways with the pair of mages to go do said thing. Leaving just Celestia and Melanie to their own devices, once again.

"Hmm... I can't really think of anything else to do. Past basic living expenses, I only have enough gold to just pay my entry fee... so as nice as it might be to browse the shops for anything else that might help me out, nothing doing. Unless you can think of anything else to do first?"

[Nanami Touko]

"Non, me neizzer. I am in ze same boat avec ze money and ze expenses. Donc, let us go~ Allons-y!" Mel held Celestia's hand tight, and dragged her off towards the tournament, ready to wait and read if she had to, just to pass the time. Of course, conversation could always suffice, if Celestia wanted to talk.

[riariadne]

A Duel

Sierra waved at Vale when he entered. "Hey Vale! Did you do what you had to do to get ready and stuff? I'm ready whenever you are! Me and Taima and Sheikah had lots of fun telling stories. Actually, I'm the only one who told a story..." Her gaze shifted off to the side, and her expression somewhat puzzled.

A Brawl

Louis blocked Declan's initial two hits with calculated movements. "Nice try, son, but I'm not gonna fall for that one!" His uppercut too was blocked fairly well. "Ooh, that was a good one! Hit me with a few more, yeah?"

[scorri]

Taima ran a hand through her hair and chuckled somewhat apologetically. "Hah, yeah, guess you told us a couple stories and you didn't get any in return. Tell you what, I'll think hard and after the tournament, I'll give you a story, alright?"

[Percivalé]

Vale waved back over to Taima, then at Sierra. "I was just out shopping for scrolls with Mel and... Celestia." He'd still just gotten used to remembering their names--he hadn't been around the latter as often before. He sheepishly ran his right hand through his hair, sweeping it back away from his forehead.

"Yeah, I should be all ready now--I needed something to perk me up." He stretched his arms behind his back. The walking and socializing did the trick, but the scroll exhilarated him in a way he couldn't explain. "Didn't get the most restful sleep last night." He figured most everyone heard about what happened the day before already. "I'm ready now." He grinned, his dominant hand now resting on his hip. "Curious, though--what kinds of stories? If you're all interested in storytelling after the tournament, I've definitely got a few of them."

[MRDRHAWK]

Declan seemed almost dumbfounded at the fact that Louis was blocking his punches so easily, but then he remembered that he was dealing with an accomplished boxing trainer here. Of course he'd be able to take on an amateur like him. Still, Declan thought he may have had an idea to land a good shot in, but he'd need to be quick about it.

Aiming another calculated left hook at Louis' body, Declan reared his right arm back and, after the hook connected with something - whether it be belly or block - threw as much weight as he could into a powerful right haymaker. If nothing else, he figured he could hit hard.

I wonder if Vale would like seeing me sweat like this... Wait. What am I doing?! Declan tried to shake the thoughts from his head mid-punch. It wouldn't do to lose focus so soon.

[eclipse]

"Thank you!" Peter wasn't sure how else to respond, as he hadn't expected anything from Vacheres. "Just joined up? Any reason why you chose us?" he asked Orpheus.

[riariadne]

Stories!

"I was just telling Taima and Sheikah about how I got my rank, and how I met Mina," Sierra explained to Vale. "I would love to hear any stories you have after we're all done, though! And if you think of one, you too, Taima. Stories are so much fun! But, that comes after. Let's get started, then." She walked out of the inn, beckoning for him to follow, and readied her sword, holding it horizontally in front of her. "You can go first, okay?"

Spirited Competitor

Louis blocked his first hit well, but the second proved-well placed, striking him in the stomach and briefly causing him to stagger. He regained composure quickly still, smiling. "There's the spirit! Throw punches like that and you can match up with the best of 'em, you heard it from me!"

[MRDRHAWK]

Declan briefly bounced on his feet, trying to keep the circulation flowing to his arms and legs as much as possible. He'd managed to get at least one good shot in; that was something, he supposed. "I dunno about that, but I can at least hold my own with shots like that." The ranger replied back, almost unsure if he was the one with the strength behind that blow.

Really, Declan felt like the weakest one of the bunch - while everyone else seemed to have a firm reason for fighting the way they did, Declan was all over the place. At first he did it out of boredom and vanity, hoping to seize some sort of fame. Then it mostly became about staying alive, amidst all the rather... unusual shit that the group had to deal with. Now, he figured, it was for Vale, and so that he wouldn't lose him or anyone else again, not like Arietta.

Declan tried to throw some more body shots, mixing a few punches aimed at the head along with them, but regardless of if they hit or not, Declan felt like he was losing strength.

Maybe I'm not cut out for this sort of thing after all...

[Xinnidy]

"Your birthday?" Magali repeated with a raised brow, "Why, happy birthday to you, Mina~. It's wonderful that Sierra reminded you --it's only once a year, don't let such special dates slip by."

"Ah, but you must be quite busy. Well, at least, let's make a touching piece, to celebrate." Magali bowed. "Such a beautiful dress, indeed~. I agree we should keep it simpler. Hm..." She took a look around the practice room. "Would they allow me to use one of your instruments in a play? Maybe I could use a lute, or a harp, if small enough. With how beautiful you are dressed, the crowd would certainly enjoy you as the centerpiece of the dance, and I could provide support with a bit of both." One of the perks of her days in the church was that anthems always called for more than a choir, but her skills were only that of an artist, unlike the dance she learned to bond with magic so well.

"It would be a wonderful duet, in my opinion. Would you care to try?"

[Shin]

The advice seemed sound enough, and he'd gotten a pretty nice axe out of the deal. Still, Orpheus had a feeling he wasn't off the hook. Giving a boyish grin, Orpheus accepted the axe "This might give me a few more options, I'll definitely make use of it." he replied, hooking the weapon on his belt. "I joined up because it was something different. I mean, I'd get bored doing the same thing for the rest of my life, so I figured a change of pace was in order."

There was also the fact he'd taken a room key and baffled a few people, but Peter didn't need to hear that.

[eclipse]

Doing the same thing. . . Peter didn't know much outside of his life as a mercenary, nor was he interested. Yet it was enough for this guy to go out and enter a tournament where he'd be fighting at a disadvantage. . . "I've always been a mercenary, and it never really crossed my mind to do anything else," he said, once his thoughts were back in order. "Mind if I ask what your life was like before your change in careers?"

[Shin]

Orpheus was curious, he'd never had anyone ask about that before. "Spent the first sixteen years of my life as a farmer's child, just like the rest of my brothers and sisters. Everything from milking cows to herding sheep to harvesting wheat, the same thing year in year out. It's all well and good for the rest of them, they're content with a life of farming, but it's not for me." he replied, sitting himself down on a stool. He'd never really thought much about home since he head out, not too much after the first month or so. The family farm was probably still fine, they had more than enough help anyway.

"Life's all about doing what you want. If you don't want to do it, and you don't like it, you're not living your own life."

[eclipse]

Peter's breath caught in his throat at Orpheus' last sentence. I know mom wasn't happy when dad hit her, but yet she never left him. Why? Rather than burden the former farm helper with his musings, he cleared his throat. "Hm, a large family. It sounds. . .chaotic. But in a good way. I'm the only one my parents bothered to have. . .wonder what it would've been like with siblings. . .ah, never mind that. Sounds like you've got a pretty good life philosophy. Many of the people I've met haven't realized that. Or perhaps they didn't act on it. Then again, who likes cleaning up corpses from a city street?"

[Shin]

"No point making things complicated if you can make them simple." Orpheus answered, having not noticed Peter's hesitance. "Siblings are great and all, but as the youngest of six, it was kinda tough for people to take you seriously. Haha, it's probably why I played up all the time." Edited March 6, 2015 by Shin

[Percivalé]

"Hmm, all right." Vale never really liked having the first move--contrary to popular belief, he felt it put him at a disadvantage. It meant your opponent got the first glance at your style.

He studied Sierra's stance. She's incredibly confident. I knew she was confident before, but this... is... huh. He wouldn't say it was unbelievable, but he did envy the fire she seemed to have. A little. He readied himself, gripping the hilt of his blade with both hands. He'd have to make the first blow subtle. "All right, here goes," he muttered under his breath, and went for a direct swing at Sierra.

[eclipse]

"Not much different than being the rookie of a new group," Peter said with a light chuckle. "I've heard stories from other people with siblings. Some of 'em resented their kin, while others were close. But they almost always had one thing in common - complaints about hand-me-down clothes." Peter's mother (and father, when he hadn't wasted everything on booze) did their best to provide for the family, though he'd had his share of clothes that he permanently "borrowed" from someone else's clothesline.

[Shin]

"I might be new to this fighting business but I'm no rookie." Orpheus replied, somewhat annoyed by the comparison. "I didn't really get many hand-me-downs after I turned ten or so, I started growing a lot faster than the others... I actually had to give some of my clothes to them."

[riariadne]

Out-Punched

As Declan kept punching away at him, Louis blocked fairly easily, noticing Declan slowing down. "Think that's enough outta you for now, son. Go get rested up. Just come back before you're out of the city, and when you win your circuit, tell 'em Louis sent you! Hahaha." The trainer headed off towards the ring quickly, as the announcer signaled another of Mac's bouts was soon to begin.

The Show

"Thank you... you are too kind, Magali," Mina spoke to the other dancer, flushing lightly and bowing. "There are plenty of instruments available, yes... I am sure you playing one would be wonderful, if that is what you think is best. We still have a few moments- would you care to practice with me briefly?"

...

The Tournament

As noon approached, Vacheres lead the group to an old-looking arena. Many parts were damaged, but it was fixed up rather nicely in several other places as well. The seats were crammed full of people cheering, and the dragon rider walked to the middle of the arena, the Hollows following. Many others stood together as well- prominent among them a tan woman with bright red hair and a flame-pattern dress, and a mage who seemed to have glimmering robes.

"Greetings, ladies and gentleman! My name is Vacheres, here to welcome you to this tournament! Today, thirty-two fine warriors will compete to test their might. We will see who shall be the strongest in this glorious event!"

The crowd erupted into cheers, a guard approaching them and instructing all of the participants on their matchups. The first round seemed to pass by quickly for the Hollows- none of them were matched up against each other, and all emerged with a victory. The second round, however, naturally meant tougher opponents and some fighting within the group...

[Ether]

[spoiler= Sometime during round 3 since neither have notable matches beforehaaaand as far as plot goesssssss]

Well, this was it, Celestia told herself, as she tried to calm her nerves. She was facing someone else from the company, this time around, after two rounds of strangers. Lugos, she reminded herself... they hadn't really spoken more than a few words to one another, but the man was still a comrade. In the last match of the prior round, Melanie had surprised the general public by forfeiting against Taima... she had said she would do just that along the way though, so it hadn't been a surprise to the templar.

Perhaps she should do the same? No, what was the point in that? Besides, she barely knew her opponent, in contrast to Melanie and Taima, who at the very least had known each other longer than Celestia had. Stepping out into the arena, she caught the tome in the hands of her opponent... he was a mage, wasn't he? Doubt crawled into her mind, once again. Vague instances where she had caught herself within a blast of her own making... the searing pain that shot through her frame as it happened.

Monsters themselves were almost exclusively brutes, after all, Having never fought magi proper, Celestia knew that her own resistance to magic was... lacking, at best. Abysmal at worst was... likely a more accurate representation. Clutching her own tome tightly, her knuckles growing slightly white, she did her best to retain composure, bowing to the man across the field.

"Hello, Lugos. I suppose that running into someone else from the company was inevitable at some point, huh? Well, best of luck to you... let's have a good match."

So, it's finally come to this then, Lugos mumbled, snapping his tome shut. He would've preferred not to go up against anyone else from the company, even if he didn't know Celestia that well, but with how many of them their were in the tournament it was stupid to think that he'd get through the whole thing without clashing with at least one of them. He shook his head at his concern; it was merely a tournament, not a deathmatch.

He stepped out of the arena and immediately looked up, a slight smirk on his face. Sure enough, Kralle was up in the sky again, probably still upset that he was stuck up there, observing, while Lugos was down there fighting. Melanie was probably cheering for Celestia so it was nice to know Kralle was cheering for him, well as best a wyvern could cheer anyway. He returned his gaze to his opponent, Celestia, and returned her bow.

"Hello to you too, Celestia. Yes, there are many of us in this tournament so I'd have been very surprised if I didn't duel with at least one of us. Good luck to you as well. May the best mage win."

"Thanks, Lugos. Well, we shouldn't keep the crowd waiting, any longer!"

And that was it. Pleasantries were done with and the match was set to begin... Celestia wasn't going to lose the advantage of first strike, not in a match that already seemed to be somewhat stacked against her. Conjuring the shine spell to the best that she could muster, Celestia let loose, firing off a veritable volley of shots, each tightly packed ball of light an unstable grenade, waiting to go off on impact. She could feel the energy coursing through her... she hadn't perfected it yet, but she felt that at least half of those bombs had to have done it right... they'd cut through Lugos' magical resistance like a hot blade through soft butter, and...

Impact. Feeling a rush of pain as the thunderbolt struck her, Celestia held her ground... she had taken the first shot, she was still standing... was Lugos? She couldn't see through the smoke that her own assault had thrown up, but surely he was on his last legs, if he had managed to keep himself in this...? Readying another volley to be fired at a moment's notice, she could only wait...

As soon as Celestia had finished talking Lugos began casting his own spell. But Celestia was faster than he was and he was forced to stay in place and take the first volley lest he lose focus on his spell and risk it back firing on him. One of the down sides to fighting on foot was that Kralle wasn't there to keep him from being a stationary target. He winced, despite his relatively strong barrier, when the spell slammed into him but managed to keep enough focus to finish his spell. The second spell, however, nearly floored him when it hit him, his barrier doing much less than it had the first time.

What the hell was that, he thought as he clutched his tome, his breathing labored. He had no idea if he'd even managed to hit Celestia thanks to her spells and the smoke they caused but he was sure hurting. He had to end this in the next spell or he would certainly lose. He gave up on maintaining his barrier, if he was hit again it wouldn't be enough to keep him up anyway, and began casting his spell. Making use of his cover he drew a rune for empowerment in front of him before casting his spell. If it hit Lugos was sure to win, he only hoped Celestia hadn't move much from her spot...

Before Celestia could finish her next attack, a second, much larger bolt shot out from the smoke, and without time to evade or defend, all Celestia could do was fire what she had already conjured into the incoming shot in hopes of deflecting it... needless to say, it was unsuccessful, the naturally more powerful anima spell crushing through what resistance the templar had mustered, and striking her clean in the chest.

The only reaction her body had managed was a single scream, as the world went black. The only things Celestia's senses picked up before she fell to the ground being the sharp pain of the bolt that had ravaged her to the core, along with the taste of blood, and the repugnant stench of burning flesh, hair, and cloth.

By the time that her form lay writhing on the ground from the remaining charge, Celestia had already been relieved of consciousness.

Thanks to his spell cutting through the smoke Lugos was able to bear witness to everything that happened after he unleashed his spell. It all happened so fast he registered nothing; well, almost nothing. Celestia's scream sure registered and told him that he'd over done it, big time. He just stared on ahead, a blank expression on his face. FUCK. He tried to run over to Celestia but as soon as he took his first step his legs gave out and he tumbled to the ground. He tried to get up but his muscles wouldn't obey his commands. His last spell, the same one that did this to Celestia, had drained him of his strength and all he could do was watch as the woman's body writhed on the ground.

[Nanami Touko]

[spoiler=Such round 1 and 2 wao]Waiting around seemed like it would finally pay off. Melanie got to enjoy the entrance ceremony for this bizarre little tournament, and then it was round one! And it was... Well, terrifying. Fighting in a group, with people to watch her back, that was so much more comfortable than this. Squared off with whoever this guy was, she'd decided to use her contaminate spell because it hit more often than not, and getting through this as fast as she could meant sitting down and watching.

So she shot off a spell, and it hit him pretty good. He almost fell over. And he looked a little green-- Oh, gosh, zis ees ze poison tome! Mel had forgotten, in her worries, that this spell poisoned people. And this man, he didn't look very happy about that. He sure wasn't! His sword came crashing down into Mel's arm, shooting a sharp pain through her nerves. She collapsed from the shock and began to scramble back, readying another spell and launching it at him.

It missed entirely. But perhaps it had been a stroke of genius to use this tome, because the man seemed incredibly taken aback by the poison, wildly swinging his sword in her direction without much care for aim. He continued to miss, which gave her the time to take a moment and calm down, and send another spell straight at him, knocking him onto his ass. He didn't stand back up. Rather worried, Mel rushed over after collecting herself, and hit him with some healing, offering an apology and scurrying into the stands.

Her round two with Taima didn't happen. After that rather jarring experience, Mel didn't want to have it happen again, nor with someone she cared about. So she kindly explained that to the woman, and let her go on to the second round. Watching was much more pleasant. For now...

[spoiler=Round 3 sure changed that]It was so exciting, getting to watch all of these fights! The mercenaries were all so strong, and so where the other contestants. Mel was glad she'd given up early. She wouldn't have been able to sit and watch without any worries if she hadn't. And of course, she was cheering Celestia on~ Why wouldn't she? Getting to see her friend excel in a situation like this was exhilarating! Well... It was, for a while.

Mel wasn't expecting to see Celestia have to go up against anima magic, especially not from Lugos. He was pretty powerful... And Celestia didn't have much of a magical barrier. A festering worry started up in Mel, as they fought, spells clashing against each other. She will be juste fine... N-Nossing will go wrong, oui? Zey will 'ave zeir fight, and ze C-Celestia will come to ze stands. She can not win against zis magique, I do not sink--

A sharp sound resounded through the arena. Mel heard Celestia scream, and it sent a pain of a very different kind through her body. She stared at the dust as it started to settle. And there she was... Lying there, motionless. Mel shook. She didn't hesitate. She scrambled to the edge of the stands and fell right over, landing with her own little shout as she hit the ground. It wasn't the prettiest fall, and it was definitely not the safest landing, but that didn't matter. Not right now. She could still stand on her feet, so she did just that, and rushed over.

"Celestia! CELESTIA!" she shouted, helping her up into her arm, heal staff ready and working as quickly as she could pour magic through it. She spun her head towards Lugos. "QU'EST-CE QUE TU FAIT, CALICE!?" She quickly looked back at Celestia with a trembling smile, shaking her staff as if she was urging it to work faster. "C-Come on, Celestia, réveiller, oui? Y-You will be fine... P-Please, do not leave me 'ere... I-I 'ave already lost enough, donc, please! Wake up!" She started to cry. What if she didn't wake up? Was she going to lose someone else she cared about? She'd already lost her family, her home. She couldn't do this again. She'd done her best to keep those feelings tied up tight and neat inside, if she had to go through it all again...

[Oersted]

[spoiler=Well...]

Shit, was the only thought that went through Lugos' mind. By the time he felt the healing magic flowing into him Melanie had already jumped down from the stands, likely hurting herself in the process. Before he had the will to stand himself up, and maybe walk over to his two comrads, Melanie screamed at him. He didn't know what it meant, but it quickly killed any motivation to move whatsoever. Of course even more could go wrong though. Kralle, who had seen his master fall flat on his face and yet to get up and get screamed at in something even stranger than the words his master spoke, decided something bad had happened to his master and needed protection. He, essentially, landed on top of Lugos and growled at Melanie. Ugh... no Kralle I need you to help them, not me.

It prompted him to stand up at least, which he had to crawl out from under Kralle to do. He spent a little time ensuring Kralle was calm before he walked over to the unconscious Celestia and crying Melanie. Gods he felt terrible just doing that to Celestia, seeing and hearing Melanie, who was almost always happy or joyful in his interactions with her, crying made him feel lower than low; like he was actually some evil demon king or something like that. And what if he had actually killed Celestia? Thunder magic was dangerous in that it could mess with the human body. He couldn't bear to look at Melanie in tears anymore and looked down at his feet. "I'm... really sorry," was all he could say.