Fire Emblem: Wretched Whispers, Act 2: Warpath

[Ether]

(PSA: Not as applicable to this one, but this gets kinda bloody/gorey later on in the later instalments. If people want, I'll post an abridged version after all parts are up)

[spoiler=Zzzzzzzzzz]

Cold. The ground was cold, damp, yet somehow still hard on her back. Celestia groaned with disdain at the feeling... shuffling in her spot, desperate to fool her body into slipping back to it's slumber. Ah, that was a rock... a rather sharp one at that, poignantly jabbing itself into her side. If nothing else, the plot of ground was truly spiteful, scorning the knaves that would dare lay upon it as they grew tired from a long day's march.

Finally sitting up with a grimace, the thin blanket that barely acted as cover at all slipped off Celestia's frame, allowing the brunt of a cold wind to pierce through her relatively light clothing, leaving the woman shivering, gently holding herself to little avail. Ahh... the fire had gone out. That explained some things... the ashes left behind no longer even smoking, it seems she had been left to the cold for some time yet. Still, despite the whiteness of her breath against the air as she tried to stir the flames back to a short life, the templar's lips curled into a smile. They had made it this far, and something so petty as a doused flame and a cold night would not end be their end. As the flame sparked back to life at her fingertips, Celestia took a seat on slightly softer ground, and took in the warmth and glow for a time. She would be unlikely to fall back to sleep until she had warmed, after all.

"Achoo!" Mel was still awake. She couldn't sleep, once the fire had went out, and hadn't even bothered trying. She simply held herself and tried to ignore it. When Celestia shook herself awake and started poking the fire back to life, Mel squirmed over towards it and tried to get her hands warmer. "Sorry. I'm juste really cold..." Maybe she should've cuddled up to-- you know what, with it being this cold, pretenses be damned. Mel scooted her way over to Celestia and cuddled up for extra warmth, as the fire sprung back to life, albeit weakly. "I wish I 'ad zis anima under control... I would be able to 'elp wis ze fire." Mel sighed.

And that was a Melanie. Well, at least she was warm... and soft... and soft. Damn, she was soft. Celestia tried to push the thought out of her head, and responded to the dark mage.

"It's alright. It's better that you don't strain yourself, right? At least the fire is going now." Celestia replied with a smile, cuddling up a bit closer to Melanie. Damn, she was soft and warm... and soft. Celestia couldn't help to blush as she fell into her own mental trap.

The warmth of another body was doing its work, so she let up on the leaning and moved just a bit closer to the fire. She didn't want to bug Celestia, after all. Getting all up in her space probably wasn't the nicest thing. "Maybe, but I 'ave to get zis anima under control some time, non?" At least she was smiling, but, they were both still tired, that much was obvious. Mel felt a yawn sneak its way out, and rock her body, as she shook her head. "I wonder when we will get zere... We 'ave been walking for so long, and my legs are so tired..." Mel glanced over at their other traveling companion, Vale, curled up half asleep next to the fire. It was nice to have someone strong along with them... Someone who knew how to fight, up close.

Vale stared ahead into the woods, eyes half-closed, contemplating the small voids and pockets of darkness between the branches and trunks. The atmosphere hypnotized him, for a time. The trees almost appeared to be dancing in his drowsy stupor, the trunks bending at will first towards him and then away from him; as time passed the wind seemed to take a physical shape and appearance, the outline of it white but the rest of it an indescribable color--perhaps nonexistent. He watched the wind and the trees perform a duet, dancing hand in hand, swaying to and fro. A falling sensation--

Suddenly he was jolted back awake by a nearby sneeze. He grunted against the cold, muddy ground. "Mel... thatyou?" He muttered. "Are you all right over there?"

"Oui, Vale." It seemed he was awake now, entirely. He seemed really tired, though. Maybe all this walking had taken a lot out of him, as well. "Do not mind me. I am juste a bit cold, heh. Celestia 'as ze fire going zough, donc, I should be fine. I will warm up my 'ands and zen we can all get moving again." Get back on the road through these woods, and keep on walking. It probably wouldn't take them that much longer to get to where they were going to be.

"There's no need to move out so quickly, you two. We've been travelling for a long while without a break, we can at least rest the night..." Celestia replied with a smile, as the fire began roaring even greater, finally providing real heat, and illuminating the area nearby. The woods were kind of eerie, seen like this, she had to admit.

"Come on over, Vale. You must be cold, so far away. At least sit near the fire."

Vale pushed himself up off the ground with one arm. "Huh... hey, I never said anything about moving out yet," he responded to Celestia. "I was actually just about asleep..." He rubbed his eyes and looked over at the trees again before sitting up. "Didn't realize you guys were so far from where I am..." His voice was hoarse and his words slurred over a little.

He grasped his makeshift blanket--a tattered long cloak--and carried himself over nearer the other two.

"Oh... Alright." Mel contemplated resting against Celestia again. She had just been leaned against, so even if Mel didn't want to get too into her space... Flop. With a sigh, she slumped back against the girl and cuddled slightly, getting herself comfortable. The fire was going strong, now, so she didn't have to get very close to it. "Eef we can rest, zen I shall rest... Ze fire ees nice, and ze woods are pretty at night." Mel smiled, and rubbed her now rested head against Celestia's shoulder.

"Now if only the ground wasn't so... unwelcoming, here." Celestia added with a bit of a sigh, as Melanie gave her piece, and Vale brought himself closer to them, and the fire. The templar couldn't help but blush a bit at the cuddling and nuzzling coming from Melanie, and averted her head slightly, hoping that the redness in her cheeks would be mistaken for the glow of the fire.

"Eet's a bit cold... And a bit muddy, ben, we 'ave ze fire and we 'ave each ozzer... We will be fine." Mel said, sighing and melting further into sleep. "Aussi, eef we are sleeping, zen I am sleeping right 'ere... You are comfortable..." Mel made a bit of a grumbling noise, rested entirely against Celestia, and started to doze off.

"Melanie, hey, Melanie, c'mon, don't sleep on me." Celestia replied with a bit of a panic, lightly shaking the dark mage, in hopes of not being used as a pillow. There was no way she'd ever get to sleep if she was...

"But you are so comfyyy..." Melanie whined, as she had also been rather tired, and slid further against Celestia-- slid was the right term, as she ended up slipping off her shoulder and onto her lap, not really moving after that. "You are softer zan ze ground..."

Vale yawned and curled back up. The fire seemed to dance in a similar way the trees did. The light mesmerized him in his daze, his eyes still half-closed. He slept further from them because he wanted to be alert; he couldn't shake off that something was bothering him... a tiny concern pinched the back of his brain and wouldn't let go. But the girls' shenanigans behind him comforted him.

"Is it too cold for you guys to sleep?" He asked. "I could give up my cloak if you needed it. I think I could managewithout it."

And all of the sudden, a wild Melanie appeared, and used lay down on Celestia's lap! And let's be honest for a minute here, no one would believe us if we didn't admit that it was Super Effective... like, we're talking dry skin Parasect taking a specs!Reshiram Blue Flare in the sun kind of super effective. Oww, just... oww. As such, Celestia's face grew a bright red, and she could only thank the heavens for the glow of the fire obscuring her shame. Vale also made a note that he could lend his cloak, but he seemed t be a bit wary of coming too close to the fire regardless, and thus would need it more for his own warmth.

"I-it's fine, Vale. We'll be alright, as long as the fire is going... k-keep it for yourself." Celestia replied, with a bit of a stammer. Damn, if it wasn't impossible to concentrate on or even think about anything but Melanie's head nuzzled against her lap, her soft hair, her equally soft, plump cheeks... shaking her head, Celestia tried to clear her thoughts. This was going absolutely nowhere at an alarmingly fast rate.

No protests? No asking her to move? Melanie wasn't going to let this chance go. "Bonne nuit," she said, succinctly, nuzzling down onto that lap as quickly and comfortably as she could. She smiled, closed her eyes, and did her best to start drifting off. They all needed their rest, after all, so it'd be best if she got to sleep as quickly as she could without any other distractions. And as nice of Vale as it was, she didn't need a cloak on top of all this. Maybe he and Celestia could chat while Mel drifted off to dreamland...

Vale blinked. Celestia's stuttering wasn't convincing him, but he shrugged it off. "All right. I will say the fire is pretty nice right now... just worried about you two, is all." He paused. "If you need anything, just let me know, allright?"

He figured he wouldn't be getting any sleep at this point, so he sat back up cross-legged, cloak over his shoulders. He watched the billowing flames a bit longer."If you guys don't mind, I might just keep watch..." He yawned again. As if he couldn't be any more oblivious to the girls' cuddling in the background.

[Xinnidy]

"Oh, already?" Magali blinked. She knew Melanie was beyond excited to be in the library, and couldn't help speculate how odd it was for her to decide to return to the inn now. After a talk with Declan, no less. "Are you going to be fine? If you need it, I can go with you." Magali replied, "But if you want to go alone, it's fine. That is your choice." Despite the confusion and concern, Magali kept composure, not wishing to bring up something that could make Melanie uncomfortable. Edited April 13, 2015 by Xinnidy

[Nanami Touko]

"Oui," she said, succinctly. It wasn't something she needed to explain to Magali, both because she didn't want her worrying over her unnecessarily, and because she couldn't really spill out what Declan had just told her to someone he didn't trust enough to tell himself. Maybe one day the group would know all of what he'd said, but until then, Mel would do her best to keep it under wraps. It did feel rude to dump Magali here, but... "Well... You can come wis me eef you wish, to juste walk me back. I will probably lock myself up een zat room wis Celestia, and read while she sleeps, eheheh." It was... Sort of embarrassing to want to leave just to keep reading. Wait, why should it be? A part of her was confused, but she couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. Maybe she was getting used to all of this conversation. Was holing herself up to read suddenly something less enjoyable? Zat ees not good. Mel felt herself staring into space as she thought about it, finally tuning back into reality with a bit of a jump. "Ehm, oui! Yes. You can walk back wis me, eef you wish, Magali."

[Xinnidy]

"...Oh." Magali blinked again. For a moment, she didn't know what to think. She had brought Melanie to the library, only so she could be ditched after getting her books? Quickly, she reminded herself that Melanie did just speak to Declan, of course. Clearly something happened, and Melanie wasn't comfortable with sharing, like Magali assumed.

This had all happened in the fraction of a moment, Magali's face static. It did take her a bit to respond. "Um, yes. I will take you, Melanie, don't worry." She rose from her seat, holding her books under her arm. "I still plan to come back, but it's no matter. So, did you like the book ?"

Edited April 13, 2015 by Xinnidy

[Ether]

(PSA: Hey you remember the PSA from earlier? Yeah, this is the start of where it'll become applicable. More to come, next time, on PTSD Dream Z!)

[spoiler=Partie deux]

"Sure, no problem, Vale. Try to get some sleep too, though." Celestia replied, before the sound of the undergrowth rustling en masse cut through the air.

"W-what the hell... what kind of animal makes that much noise...?"

The rustling was a bit too much for Mel to ignore and keep resting, so she forced herself to sit up and clutched at her tome within her robes. "What was zat sound, Celestia?" It was probably some wild dog, or at worst, a bear, that had gotten itself too close to their light source, curious as to what was up. With two mages there, Melanie doubted that a wild animal would cause them much trouble.

Almost immediately, Vale shot up; he drew his sword so fluidly it was almost as if it magically drew itself, hilt clutched with both hands. "What now? He almost shouted, but managed to keep it to a whisper after the first tone. The panic slid from the back of his neck down his spine.

The rustling continued for a few moments, until the first indication of what was to come made itself known. The dead, uncaring eyes of a revenant, reflecting the fire's glow as it shambled forward towards the makeship camp, mouth agape, and saliva dribbling unchecked down it's jaw and neck. A guttural moan escaped from the foul creature, before it lunged forward, swiping at the swordsman who dared move, and bring himself to it's attention.

"Shit--" Vale interjected; he leapt backward in attempt to avoid the initial swipe, the creature's claws barely catching his cloak, which he then threw off of himself. It fell behind his feet, tainted with the revenant's drool. "Getback!" He shouted to the girls behind him, perhaps a little more loudly than was wise, but his mind flew too quickly. He lunged for the monster, aiming for its grotesque, asymmetrical head.

"Eek!" Mel shrieked, and clung to Celestia, as the undead came stumbling out of the bush and immediately took a swing at Vale. She fumbled for her tome, but wasn't about to take a shot with Vale right in front of the monster. "Vale, kill eet!" She yelped, hoping he'd be alright behind her show of fear. The last thing she'd been expecting that night was for anything like this to show up.

Celestia's reaction time was stifled a tad by Melanie clinging to her, but she still managed to reach for her tome and stand rather swiftly. Of course, the monster's head had been pierced by Vale's blade, and both the swordsman, as well as the ground beneath him, splattered with brains and blood as the beast was felled.

"Geez, what are the chances of-" Celestia stopped before she could finish her sentence, as more pairs of eyes, aglow with the light of the flame, peered through the darkness, low growls and snarling accompanying them, along with the continually heightened rustling. Ten, no, twenty... more?! Celestia's eyes darted to every bit of her surroundings where she still had vision, and through all, that lifeless, eerie stare met her own.

"T-the hell...?"

Mel calmed down considerably as the monster's head popped like a squished bug under Vale's blade, sighing and letting go of Celestia. She managed to get her tome out just in time to notice what Celestia had exclaimed about. "What ees ee--... Ah... Ahhh...!" A scream was rising in her throat, as the considerable pairs of eyes started to shine in the dark. Trembling with a new fear, she screamed, and tossed a flux spell off towards the woods, shutting her eyes and hoping it hit something.

Vale grimaced as the revenant's guts spilled across his tunic and jacket, some even in his hair. It had gotten too close. There was something almost... tactical about the way it moved.

He spun around to survey the scene before them. It took him a minute for his eyes to register the unnatural silhouettes, beady eyes all pinned directly towards the other three, unmoving. He didn't know what to do. "Celestia," he said, his stained blade readied in front of him, "I... I don't know how many there are. We mighthave to... target certain areas... each of us." His words came together oddly; he saw Mel already panicking and the surrounding mob beginning to approach them.

Vale had said... something. Most likely some sort of tactic, or input on their situation, but... it all came crashing down too damn fast. As Melanie threw out a flux spell in panic, the mass of darkness lobbed through the air, striking one of the revenants in the shoulder, melting through the already rotting flesh, with a grotesque hissing, the limb detaching and falling to the ground with a thump. With it came an agonized cry... a scream of war, a banshee's call that pierced the night, and with it, the horde crashed upon the makeshift camp like a tumultuous ocean's waves.

Within moments, the frenzy had begun. Celestia managed to return several of the beasts to their graves as they charged, bolts of light striking them through the head, the heart... so many times she had fought them, so many she had killed, that this was but clockwork to her now, as the bodies fell limp to the ground at her shots...

But there were just too goddamn many. As the first beast reached her, and lunged to strike her down, the templar dodged backward, a concentrated beam of light leaving her fingers, burning a path up the creature's frame, slicing the blasted thing clean in half as it went, but she felt something distinctly cold, unfeeling press to her back. The terror was soon replaced by pain as those distinctive, diseased jaws sunk into her upper arm, and though Celestia managed to tear away in haste, she felt some of her flesh torn away as she pulled off, pained scream caught in her throat as she grit her teeth and took off the beast's head, trying to staunch the wound.

"There's too damn many..." The templar cursed under her breath, as she scanned to see the state of her partners.

He couldn't contain himself--he yelled and cried at each blow he dealt, sometimes striking three at a time, once four. Guts and other questionable debris strewed themselves along the ground next to him, sometimes in neat lines and sometimes in sprays, and sometimes (a lot of times) all over him. The swordsman grunted loudly as one of the grimy limbs struck him in the abdomen with enough force to double him over. He swung his sword at the larger creature that assailed him, only for a bonewalker to charge towards him straight after. It sensed his moment of weakness.

The bonewalker immediately made at him with a blade of its own, presumably from a dead traveler somewhere. They must have made it so far already, Vale thought, but he had no time to think--he parried the walker's initial blow. "Mel, Celestia, where are you? Can you hear me?!" He nearly couldn't breathe. There were so many of them and the area was so small. Too small. And he was trying so hard.

Down crashed the wave. Mel kept screaming and launching flux after flux, finally holding her eyes open as the terror swept forward. Dark magic hit undead flesh, and it crackled and sizzled as it melted under the element. The group seemed to be holding their own, at least for the moment; no one had been hit too hard, they were all still standing.

That was until Mel watched Celestia's shoulder be torn open, nearly dropping her tome, and rushing over with her staff. "Celestia, are you okay!?" She could barely shout above the chaos, starting to sob, as she healed the woman-- that was her first, and only mistake. A mogall in the back, a crafty magical monster, launched its own dark magic spell. Mel's barrier took it, well enough that it didn't hurt her, but it knocked her over long enough for a nearby revenant to take advantage. It threw itself on her, and sunk its teeth into her flesh; cloth and robe provided little protection.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

If any noise could be heard above the chaos, it was Mel's gargled scream, as she frantically pressed her hands against the monster, kicking her legs; desperately trying, and failing, to move the hunk of flesh off of her body, as it bit again and again, digging deeper into her shoulder.

The shrill scream caused Vale a wave of strength that knocked the bonewalker nearly flying; he pushed it off of his blade long enough for him to make an escape through a hole in the sea of monsters.

Shit.

He called as loudly as he could through the foul screeches and growls. "Mel? MEL! Can you hear me?!" He repeated, trying to get a sense of her location. "Mel, say my name! Something!" He launched himself across another wave again, narrowly avoiding a dark bolt from somewhere to the right.

"Vale!" Celestia called back, at the sound of Vale's voice, desperate to try and regroup... the fire had been stomped out in the reckless charge, and the world about them had gone dark, and what had been so soon ago a rather effective small unit now seemed to scattered, so helpless. Melanie ran over in an attempt to heal Celestia's wound, and had left herself open. The templar felt her breath stop, her heart stop, as the dark mage was thrown to the ground, and several of the beasts piled atop the woman's small frame. Just that sight, that scream of terror, that moment, frozen in her mind... Celestia felt her blood boil, her mind give way, as a flash of light, much like a beam from the heavens, shot down onto the pile, forcibly melting away the beasts atop Melanie, searing their flesh, burning their eyes out their sockets, skin melting, drying, burning, catching aflame, roasted flesh falling from charred bone as a gurgled cry from the throat escaped them. Melanie was at the bottom, her barrier was strong it was not a problem not a problem, no-nothing was a problem, Melanie was fine, a little hot, perhaps singed, but alive, and no worse off than she had been.

"Melanie, Melanie, it's okay, it's okay." Celestia attempted to console her friend, pulling her closer, out of the line of fire. The monsters, foul beasts robbed of the grave, they seemingly grew almost wary. But there were still too many, and they were growing emboldened once again. Pulling out a tome from further in her bag, Celestia began an unfamiliar incantation.

'It's fine, it's going to be fine. Surely, by now it's not past my level, I can handle it now, I have to handle it now I have to have to have to have to have to haveto haveto haveto...' Celestia's mind raced, the unfamiliar burst of light illuminating the area as though the sun itself had risen for only them to behold, racing to the heaven's from Celestia's shaking frame, before returning to the ground with thunderous cacophony, spearing the beasts with no remorse, no pause, like fire of a mortar, raining from above and leaving nothing but death and scorched earth to all that were unfortunate enough to be caught within it. Celestia could finally see Vale now, the lights making him all too visible to her, and luckily unhit by her own wild barrage, all she could do was reach out to him while maintaining the spell, feeling a familiar pain in her head, splotches in her vision appearing as the pain grew.

'No I can handle this I can handle this it's not too much I have to handle this I will handle this handlethis handlethis handlethis handlethis handlethis handlethis handlethis handlethis...!'

"VALE!" Melanie managed to yelp out his name, as the pain subsided-- it subsided? The monsters melted from on top of her, as a near painful heat surged over her, stopping before any real harm could happen. She scrambled away, kicking at the ground to get away from the newly remade corpses. It took her a moment to figure out what had happened, finally locking eyes on Celestia casting a gigantic barrage of magic at the remaining horde. Mel knew what that would do.

"Celestia, STOP!" Mel managed to get to her feet, and stumbled over to her friend, shaking her shoulder to try and get her to stop. "STOP! STOOOOP! YOU ARE GOING TO KILL YOURSELF!" Mel frantically screamed at her, the tears streaming down her face. No one could handle that much magic, all at once, and if the monsters didn't get them, this would definitely do it. At the very least, it had given them a brief reprieve from the assault, Celestia's ridiculous show keeping them all at bay-- but for how long?

Vale pulled his blade out of the skull of another revenant when the light threw itself upon the tiny woods, the woods so long and winding but so small and so short of room, monster after monster screaming and disintegrating as the spell struck them. He threw himself just out of range of the light and caught sight of Celestia now--the light was coming all from her.

The pungent smell of scorching and charred undead flesh inflamed his nostrils so much that he gasped for air through his mouth now. He was desperate for some room for air. The light temporarily impaired his night vision and he searched somewhere for a tree trunk to lean on for at least a second, so blinded by the pure whiteness that he felt his consciousness fade for a moment. But he couldn't stop yet--the light couldn't catch all of them still. He pierced the socket of a smaller mogall and crushed it into the ground. A mosquito compared to some of the others; the larger ones must have been fried already. It made such a distinct splat noise. The ground was already softened so much from all the melted flesh and bone, he'd never forget some of the sounds it made.

It was then that another bonewalker charged him--no, wait, the same from before. He never finished it off; Mel's shriek caused him a dire lapse in his guard. It charged for him again and Vale then found he made yet another mistake: he wandered too far off from the light, the safe zone.

Then Mel's shrieking again. "Mel!" He shouted again, though it was stifled by the bonewalker's blow, which he parried again, though this time unsteadily. How is it capable of leaving no opening at all?! How--

His thoughts were interrupted then by a tug from behind. Something was tugging at his hair.

He whirled around and struck with full force at whatever it was, which was enough to make it let go. His hair must have fallen loose from out of his jacket. He didn't catch its appearance well except for its gnarled, reddish wings; he made a last-ditch roll away from his precarious position between the two monsters and struck the bonewalker again from its side, this time finally dislodging an arm. But this time the winged creature made for him, swooping from above and instantly grasping his hair again. It pulled with immense strength, almost as if to carry him from the ground by his hair. "Agh! Agh!!" He yowled in pain. It wouldn't stop pulling. He threw his sword aimlessly upward again and again in an attempt to distract the beast, but it persisted. "Celestia! Mel!" He screamed louder than he ever had in his life.

And the bonewalker from before still had its sword arm. It turned to face him again.

[Shin]

Orpheus still wasn't too sure about the gem, it still seemed like a con to him. Surely he was meant to find a penny or something on the ground? Even if it were to take time, how long would it be? The guy selling them didn't seem to know, or was he a cunning conman playing dumb? At the end of the day, it hadn't cost that much, but wasting money was always pretty lame.

It was strange, it had been a while since he'd felt like part of a collective group, rather than an individual amongst others. Some bizarre sense of belonging? Although it was more that the people here didn't seem to be particularly selfish or malicious. They were pretty weird though, quite a few of them seemed to have their own problems... but that was probably the case with everyone - nobody lived a perfect life. Magali and Melanie seemed normal enough though, as well as rather close. Were they family, linked somehow or...

"Oh no!" he exclaimed, amazed he hadn't seen it before. These people were certainly an unusual bunch, but there was more to life than the farm. It was probably a good idea to head back to the inn. After being blasted with magic, sleep sounded rather appealing.

Edited April 13, 2015 by Shin

[Nanami Touko]

Magali seemed disappointed. That made Mel's smile fade, but she didn't say anything until she was asked about the book. "Eet ees very interesting so far. I sink zat, after I finish eet, eef Sheikah or Celestia will watch, I could probablement cast ze Lightning spell... Ben, not at anyone, or very well. Juste, wissout blinding myself." At least that brought out a small laugh, but she had to tell Magali something, even if she didn't tell her the whole story. So after they'd left the library, she finally sighed to break the silence. "I am sorry... Juste, what Declan told me, eet was very... Eet was a lot. I am surprised zat 'e even told me, ben, 'e did, and 'ere we are. So I juste... Am not een ze mood to sit een ze library, after zat. I do 'ope zat you 'ave a good time wis your evening, zough, Magali. Ze books on magique, zey are very engrossing."

Edited April 13, 2015 by I have opinions

[Xinnidy]

"Well, I will be cheering for your success. When I catch up to my light magic training, the same offer stands." Magali replied, at least she could still offer the girl a hand, in some way. That said, when the girl confessed half-way through their walk, Magali was reassured. "I... see. Take your time, Melanie. I was just concerned... maybe you'd been threatened, or such. It might sound silly, but I have no way of knowing." Magali ruffled the girl's hair again, "Just make sure you're doing well. If you need help, I'm here for you, too."

Shortly after, they'd reached the inn's entrance. Magali stopping in her tracks there. "Have a good night with your friend, Melanie. I'll be sure to take the book on light magic when I come back~."

Edited April 14, 2015 by Xinnidy

[Nanami Touko]

"Non, non, zere was no sreats... Eet was juste... A lot of personal sings. Nossing for you to worry about. I will probably be a little bit awkward around Declan, zough. Juste letting you know, eheh... Zough, I feel like I understand 'im a lot more, now zat 'e 'as explained everysing." Mel brought her smile back as her hair was ruffled. It was some her mother used to do a lot, so it was nice when someone so caring did it. Not that she'd tell Magali. She felt the older woman might abuse that and then it would just get annoying. "I do not know 'ow much of a night I will be 'aving wis Celestia, hahah. She was quite asleep when I left. I feel eet ees safe to assume zat she ees still out like ze light, non?" It had been a rather harrowing fight, so Mel was sure Celestia was still asleep. If she wasn't, Mel would talk to her, for sure! But she needed her rest, so no waking her up if she was asleep.

Mel waved Magali off and went back into the inn, taking calm steps past Clara and quietly making her way back to the room. She put the key in ever so slightly, and opened the door, hoping to not make a creak... And she did, about halfway open, so she stopped opening it and slid her way in through the crack. Shutting the door about as quietly as she'd opened it, she made a tiny sigh, and set the key on the counter. Pulling the chair out, still trying to be quiet, she sat down and gently opened the book back up, going back to reading where she had been... But before that, she looked over at Celestia, who still seemed asleep. If she was awake, she certainly hadn't noticed Mel come in... Oh well. Time for more reading~

[Ether]

(PSA, this is where previous PSA really starts to kick in. You have been warned. If people want an abridged version, say so in the OoC topic and I'll write one tomorrow)

[spoiler=la tercera parte]

As the flare of light subsided, Celestia was left panting, catching her breath for a moment, as ever more beasts made themselves known... just how many of these damn things were there? At least the ones in the immediate vicinity had been thinned, but there seemed to be no end of them. As the ringing in her head began to fade, Melanie's cries replaced them in her ears, clearly filled with concern.

"I'll be fine, Melanie. I can handle this, I can... I can handle this..." Celestia replied, her breaths somewhat ragged as she continue to staunch her wound. Still, from what she could see, Vale had gotten himself into an altercation off to the side, and without assistance he'd soon find himself skewered.

"Vale, get down!" The templar shouted... it might not have been very effectual with his current condition, but it would atleast make him aware of the blast of light heading his way, as it speared through the bonewalker in multiple places, sending the undead clattering to the ground.

"B-Ben, Celestia, we 'a-ave to run, we can not win zis! Please!" Melanie begged her friend to stop fighting and simply flee, but Vale's renewed cries shot across their battlefield and brought her attention over to his plight. She reached for her tome-- she'd dropped it when the Mogall knocked her over! Celestia took a step over to cast a spell at the monster that was assailing Vale. Mel watched. It was all she could do.

Then she felt a cold hand place itself around her mouth. It was all bone. While Celestia had kept the monsters in front of them at bay, a group of them seemed to have snuck around. It was far too tactical for monsters, and there was nothing she could do. She tried to scream, but a sharp pain dulled her senses, and it got stuck in her throat. She glanced down, down at the sword protruding from her chest. Any strength she had left, was gone in an instant. She weakly tried to move away, but the monster's strength was too much for her to fight against, even if she'd been expecting it.

A weak, muffled cry left her lips, as she stared at Celestia and Vale. Was this it? Was this where they were going to die? A cold chill washed itself over her. It felt like she was going to die. Things were starting to go black, as blood began to pour out from around the sword. Help me. Save me... Please...! I don't... Want to die, here... She couldn't even speak. All she could do was wait.

He was an inch above the ground before finally first a burst of light nearly singed his sleeve, followed by a dark bolt; and suddenly he dropped hard to the ground, face first. His chin pressed against something slimy that burst under his weight, and he shuddered to think what it might have been.

But he also shuddered in pain. His head throbbed so much, and the excruciating pain reached as far as the back of his neck to his left shoulder. Something felt incredibly wrong deep in his gut. He couldn't move at first. Vale thought about just playing dead for a while, but realized undead creatures might be able to, well, tell the difference regardless.

So his first instinct was to roll over and push himself up off the remnants that used to be the forest floor. He was able to pick himself up by the right side of his body--he was in so much pain on the other side. Instinctively he felt his arm for injuries, then his shoulder, then to his neck, and then... his head.

His hair was gone.

Or at least the left side of it; the gargoyle pulled large chunks of it off when it dropped him. Loose indigo strands stuck to his face, his mouth, the palm of his hand, everything. He started to scream again. He couldn't even speak this time. It all had finally hit him now: half of his scalp was a bald, bloody mess.

He retched on the ground. Nearly all over himself.

When he was finally able to get back to his feet, he at last pressed himself against a dead tree. He knew it was dead because it just felt dead and he still was not. Blood dripped down the side of his face and into his eye; he wiped off his face and tried hard to search around him now, as it was only a matter of time he would be assaulted again. But he shook at the thought of half of his hair gone. Even if he survived this ordeal, how could he present himself in public? What would he do? How would it grow back? The tremor in his body rose with anger, with rage. He couldn't do this anymore. He scraped his sword along the ground and scouted ahead of him. He squinted his eyes.

He froze. His anger turned to horror. His voice was pure panic.

"CELESTIA! Mel is... !"

He sprinted forward. Had to reach her. His mind became a blur.

It looked like Vale had been injured, but Celestia's burst of light had stopped the assault before he had died... favourable to the alternative, but the swordsman was clearly not in the best shape, and there was still no end in sight to these beasts. All of the sudden, Vale's face turned. From rage to terror in an instant. A scream, a muffled cry at her side, Celestia turned just too late, as a walker came from behind Melanie, and thrust it's blade through her chest. The templar immediately felt her vision go black for a moment, a mix of panic, rage, fear, disgust... everything welled up through her stomach, chest, throat, out her lips, spilled out to the world in a feral scream.

Within an instant, the night was as bright as a summer's day. The monster that had skewered Melanie was the first to fall, disintegrated within moments, Celestia catching Melanie's body as she fell, the continual buffetting of the area with light scorching the ground, tearing into the flesh and bone of the undead monsters as they were blown to nothing, the aftermath of the blast clearing what must have been fifteen feet in diameter around the two women of any form of life.

'Do I take it out or do I leave it in? Take out, leave in? Takeout leavein Takeoutleavein? If I take it out she'll bleed out but I can't heal her if it's in but medicine won't fix this, but her staff is right there I only need to need to needto only need to...' Celestia's thoughts racing, incoherent within her own mind, she made a snap decision, ignoring the splotches growing in her vision, leaving the world half a blur as she pulled out the blade from Melanie's chest, grabbed the fallen staff, and immediately began forcing magic into it, at the same time applying medicine. She only had a few moments, they would close in again if she was too slow, Melanie would bleed out if she was too slow...!

"You're gonna be okay Melanie, it's gonna be okay, I've got you, I've got you, don't leave me now, you can't die, you can't, you won't, it's all gonna be okay." The templar recited, over and over and over, a chant probably meant more for herself than her patient. as despite the orb atop her borrowed staff's glow, Melanie's wounds were not closing at near rapid enough a rate, not even close to when she herself used it. The blood was pooling, pooling, the wound wasn't closing, Celestia felt her strength leaving her body, her muscles beginning to atrophy beneath the strain as she simply kept pouring more and more power and energy into Melanie through the healing staff.

"Please Melanie, please. You can't, you can't do this, you can't leave, not now, not now..." Celestia begged, pleaded with the dark mage, with any deity willing to listen, as she began to bawl, Melanie's head resting on her lap as she continued channelling everything she had into that stupid, worthless, defective piece of wood, for any hope that her efforts might not be in vain.

What was that sound? The world was really quiet. It was kinda peaceful. But something had been really loud, and the pain wasn't there anymore. It came back for a moment, but then left again, leaving Mel in a rather soothing place. There wasn't any pain. It was actually really pleasant. She couldn't see why, though. But she could feel healing magic washing over her, even if it was just a little bit. She smiled. "Merci," she mouthed, weakly trying to raise a hand to whoever was being so kind.

She couldn't really move her arm, so it shifted, and then fell flat. She closed her eyes. For some reason, she was really tired... That's why they made camp, right? To sleep? Maybe she should nap... Celestia and Vale would be there when she woke up, and they could keep going on their trip. Mel tried to open her eyes one more time to see who was there, but she still couldn't. Everything was black.

With a smile on her face, the light left her eyes, and she went limp, in Celestia's arms.

Vale only barely reached the two before he could tell what had happened. He failed them. The adrenaline rush dissipated and whatever kept him running left like a shadow of something separated from his body, and he fell back forward down to the ground. Hard. He groaned. He choked. He listened to Celestia's desperate pleading. He could almost feel when Mel's life left her.

"I'm sorry," he managed. He picked himself up but only halfway so that he was on his knees. He coughed something else up in front of him between his hands. "I'm sorry, I fucked up, I'm..."

He wanted his hair back. He wanted Mel back. He wanted to collapse and give up. He looked up at Celestia, his expression broken, his eyes hopeless.

Vale was saying something, Celestia wasn't sure what. It simply didn't register in her mind. All she knew was that the man had collapsed nearby, and that Melanie... Melanie had left them. The staff clattered to the ground, entirely useless, as it rolled away across the now hardened, baked soil. With Melanie still cradled in her lap, it was pure instinct that her arm shot out to her side, grasping the charging revenant by the throat. Her strength was gone, depleted, she was half blind, but... none of that pain, that weakness even began to cull her rage. Hand, fingers aglow as the searing light was channeled within them, her grip tightening on the beast's throat, it's flesh sizzling, cooking, burning beneath her chokehold. Feral screams, pained roars, none of it mattered to her, as the blood coated her hand, and evaporated away from the heat. She could feel her own skin begin to blister, her blood boil, her own flesh burn, but it didn't matter, as her grip tightened about the exposed oesophagus, the spine, crushing both within her iron grip as the revenant's head came clean from it's shoulders, as Celestia's fist closed where it's throat had once been.

Shoving the body aside, and looking straight at Vale as she gingerly removed Melanie's head from her lap, and placed in on the ground with a solemn smile, Celestia's expression grew soft for a moment, before etching itself permanently stern.

"Vale. Take her... run. Make sure she gets a proper burial, okay...? That... it's the least she deserves... she certainly... didn't deserve any of this. Get yourself to safety, get her to a priest... she'd want... want to be buried where her town used to stand, before it was burned." Celestia recited, ordered, with an almost eerie calmness and composure, though it was clear from her body language that she was enraged, livid, nearly boiling over. The grip on her tome so fierce that the bindings might snap beneath the weight upon them, and the pages scatter to the winds. Light swirling about her, the templar faced the horde, her half-blind eyes glaring daggers into each and every pair of beads returning her gaze. If but for a moment, her visage was intimidating enough to hold the whole of them back, give them pause. At their backs, the numbers were far fewer... if Vale hurried, he might break through, get to safety, they just needed a little luck.

"I... I'll catch up with you later on. After I give these... foul, worthless creatures... the punishment they deserve. Or at least as close to it as I'm able... no one, mortal or otherwise, could bestow on these things enough pain, to make amends. Now go... they won't pause for long." Celestia concluded, surprised that her body had not given out, that her legs had not fallen beneath her and sent her crumpling to the ground. Drained and wounded, battered and bloodied, and devoid of strength... yet now, she couldn't fall now. That would be unacceptable.

Mechanically, Vale scooped up Melanie's body without words. He wanted badly to say something to Celestia. He wanted to just stay there and die with her, as he doubted Celestia in her state would return to meet up with him. Putting more weight on the right side of his body, he sobbed once but managed to stand upright again, his back slightly slouched. However he brought himself to nod at the grieving templar, and spoke quietly. "All I canpromise is that I'll try my best."

He turned and ran then without looking back. He never glanced another moment at the girl behind him, nor at the monsters approaching her--nothing. He ran so fast it was as if he could outrun all of the pain he felt; the moment he stopped it would all catch back up to him and he couldn't have that, no, he couldn't have that now or then or ever again. Every now and then he glimpsed at his friend's lifeless frame limp in his arms but no, don't do that, keep your head up, pay attention to your surroundings, chin as high as you can, he couldn't make another mistake again, he'd already made so many. One distraction and he might lose balance and trip over and that was it. He wouldn't move after that. The moment he stopped would be his death. His death, just like--

His ear caught something familiar and instantly his stomach dropped down to his bowels. No, no, not again. Not the wings again. Not the god-damned wings again. There was nothing he could do now, his legs were caught in permanent motion. Perhaps it was just paranoia, he thought, of course. Just like he thought he kept hearing Mel's voice speaking to him, screaming at him in horror and in pain, begging him to keep moving, begging him not to let go. Her accent was so thick and so commanding. He missed her so much. He didn't even think about his hair anymore, he missed Mel so much. He saw her smiling at him but heard nothing but screaming. He stifled another sob but cried out to her. "What happened?!" He shouted to no one in particular. Felt like he was jogging now, he couldn't tell, he was still moving and it was all the same to him. "What happened to this world?! Whathave we done..." He gasped for air he was so out of breath. Stop shouting, you idiot, don't you see Mel is right there and all you do is need to run?

Swooping again, and it was coming closer. He clutched firmer onto the mage's body and exerted his body harder, as hard as he could possibly go. He would be damned if another one of those god damned flying bastards took the last important thing he had in his life. Numbness took over his entire body so he didn't know how hard he was crying now or how blurry his vision was. Everything looked the same anyway, dark and trees and bones and flying gargoyles, there was no point anymore in looking anywhere but forward.

How far could it have been? How far had he run by now? Surely he had to be close... the trip on its own wasn't a long one anyhow, so with all of this running he would have to reach some kind of haven soon. But something felt wrong again. The swooping only kept getting louder. Not only louder but a staccato of swoop, sw-sw-sw-oo-oo-oo--sw, like a bard's performance he heard once on the streets while staying somewhere with the rest of the group and he was actually quite good despite being a penny-pinching beggar. But he made the final mistake of his life and looked behind him. An entire swarm was chasing on him, and gaining.

He didn't feel himself moving slower but his right leg eventually gave in from the weight--he stumbled and Mel's body went flying from his arms as he tumbled forward into the dust. One of the gargoyles grabbed the man by the shoulders and forced him up into the air, its claws dug deep into Vale's sides while its kin waited behind it with spears and hungry eyes. He almost saw his reflection in the monster's gaze before he felt the first jolt of pain--one of the smaller gargoyles threw its spear into his ribcage and uttered a gargled cackle. Another impaled him through the chest, and yet another through his shoulder, and by now he couldn't see the creatures mocking him anymore, or anything else. He saw Mel again in a last fleeting thought. I'll go take you to see one of those bards someday, Mel, but it'll be a proper, professional one and not one of those street beggars, I promise you--

The larger gargoyle threw the man's body to the ground, where he lie still. One might have thought it looked as if he tried to reach for Melanie only a foot away from him.

It didn't take long. The sound of Vale's voice, clearly hallucinating, the cackling of the gargoyles, bodies hitting the ground with a thump... Celestia didn't want to look, but her own body's morbid curiousity got the better of her, and look she did. There it was... Vale had fallen as well, and now she was alone. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, it was hard... nigh on impossible to breathe, and she felt the circle about her tightening, just held at bay by the intimidating light... even these things had the basest enough intellect to realize the danger it held, but there were growing emboldened with their kill.

At that moment, Celestia snapped. She wasn't sure how long it went on, just that, from that moment, spell after spell fired out from her, culling the beasts in waves as they flew, maiming, searing, burning. The forest itself was soon ablaze from the concentrated light and heat, the templar constantly taking blows as the monstrous beasts got too close, she could feel claws rake across her flesh, speartips and blade leave gashes and other such wounds, but she didn't fall. Immovable as a mountain, and spewing burning light like a mounted cannon into the horde, Celestia knew she was doomed... there were just too damn many of them, but... at the very least she would end as many of these foul creatures as she could before she fell. But all stands come to an end, and in perhaps the cruelest twist of fate, Celestia watched her last tome burn away, it's magic spent, as had all the others before it, the horde's encirclement growing tighter, leering grins on their faces as she failed to produce another weapon.

'Is this the end?' Celestia'a mind finally processed it, as her entire body shook and shivered. She had no defense left, nothing left, nothing to... pain. Searing, burning pain, as the horde collapsed unto her. Until but a moment before she had been almost fully blinded, the overuse of light magic having taken what remained of her sight, but in a sudden, cruel clarity, she could see again, witness what was giving her this pain. A scream escaped her lips as she watched a revenant's hand dig into her stomach, through her flesh, muscle, snap the bone, tear out a section of intestine, take a bite as it was still attached! She couldn't even begin to describe the pain, her whole world red and black as she thrashed and writhed, as more and more bloodied hands dug into her soft belly and just began... eating. Her arms held down, finger bitten off one after another, limbs pulled away and apart and bitten into, flesh, blood torn away, devoured, their original owner still alive. She had no tears left, her throat too raw to scream any longer as they begun on her ribs, tearing them out the cage and biting into them for the marrow.

'Why? Why am I still alive this hurts so much hurts so much hurts to much hurtssomuch hurtssomuch hurtssomuch hurtssomuch!' Her mind screamed, as her mouth no longer could, cloth torn off her body in scraps as the horde closed in, looking to indulge in what remained unbitten. With each bite a new surge of pain as her chest, legs, shoulders, waist, all assailed, unable to avert her eyes as she watched her own flesh torn away, devoured. When would this end, when when when when when!?

Ah... there. The pain was almost relieving, as a pair of jaws closed about her throat, and tore it away in a single motion. Soon, over soon, over soon, over soon, a lung was next and then her heart... finally the world went black.

Light. Warmth... it was... a dream? Celestia jolted awake, quickly feeling herself, confirming that she was there... she was alive... and within moments, the templar began to bawl. Why now? Why, after so long, was she being haunted again, seeing the faces of her friends, like that-

Celestia barely held the bile back in her throat, as she began to shudder violently, falling off the bed and unto the floor, as she started to writhe, her frame racked by violent heaving as the tears flowed from her, with no indication of stopping.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Ether

[Nanami Touko]

Mel was quite certainly shocked out of her reading as she heard bawling and then a loud thud. She jumped out of her chair, and her surprised attention was brought straight to Celestia, sobbing and heaving in a pile on the floor. "C-Celes..." It took her a moment, but she recognized what was happening. Without rushing over or making any sudden movements, Mel calmly sat herself on her knees, next to the woman. "Celestia... Celestia, eet ees okay. I'm right 'ere..." She didn't try to touch her, not yet. Having gone through this herself... Having someone try to hug you while it was happening, tended not to help much. At least not in her case, so she didn't want to chance anything. But she couldn't say much else until Celestia managed to calm herself down enough to talk. "I'm right 'ere..." She repeated that, and made no plans to move. Maybe being there would help things.

Edited April 14, 2015 by I have opinions

[MRDRHAWK]

Declan felt words die in his throat continuously as Melanie tried to give him advice - he seemed to be getting a lot of advice from people he didn't expect over the last few days - and never spoke up again, even after Melanie had gone off to talk to Magali. Wordlessly leaving the library, Declan thought back to how he treated the mage girl when he'd first joined the Hallows - and it wasn't pleasant, but... not exactly fearful.

Even then, I seemed a bit more... eh, protective of her? Maybe she reminded me of Ari even back then...

Grumbling to himself, Declan wordlessly exited the library and headed to the boxing ring. He still had to make good on his promise to Louis, after all, and now seemed as good a time as any. Even if his mindset wasn't exactly... ideal.

[Ether]

"Mel... Mel, you're alive!" Celestia managed through her tears, and she buried her face in the dark mage's chest, and continued to bawl, trembling and shaking all the while. She was alive, she was solid, she wasn't impaled or bleeding or dead she was right there. It was all Celestia could do to hold Melanie in what equated to a near death grip, refusing to let go, lest she lose her anchor to the world of the living.

[Nanami Touko]

Well. Mel supposed hugging wasn't out of the question, as she was practically assaulted by one. She really hadn't been expecting that, and what Celestia said didn't register either. "Of course I am alive," she said, trying to sound calming, though there was probably a hint of confusion in her tone. Slowly, she hugged the templar back, gently rubbing her back. "Eet ees okay... Do not worry. I'm not going anywhere. Shh..." Why would she be so 'appy zat I was still alive? I juste went to ze bibliothèque... It took Mel a moment, but it did click. She furrowed her brow and gently rested her chin on top of Celestia's shaking head. She must 'ave dreamed me dying... I will not ask 'ow, mais... The panic made a lot more sense, if that really was the case, considering what Mel knew about her.

[Ether]

Celestia didn't have a legitimate response, per se. At least, not a worded one. Burying herself further against Melanie, as she continued to tremble and cry, her nails accidentally digging into the dark mage's back, from how hard she was squeezing her.

[Nanami Touko]

Mel cringed. Those nails were sharp. But it was fine. She'd sit there until Celestia was able to talk. She knew this would pass-- her own had, before. Not that she knew how long, but it was fine. If being there was helping, she wasn't about to leave.

[Ether]

"Mel, please... say something, anything... I need to hear you, please, please." Celestia managed, her voice shakey, as she continued to cling to Melanie. It was rather obvious that the templar was not taking this very well.

[Nanami Touko]

Anything, oui? But what to say? Well... There was her day. It was better than nothing. "...After I 'elped you up into ze room, I went to ze bib-- l-library," she said, trying to cut down on her language a bit, "wis Magali. I found a book on light magique. Eet ees very interesting, really. I might be able to cast ze spells soon, wissout any trouble." She managed a small giggle, holding onto the smile that came with it. "No more blinding myself... Eef you want to 'elp me wis eet, I would appreciate eet. I should be able to finish ze book soon." She kept rubbing her back in a circular motion, hoping it was helping to calm her down.

[Ether]

"You shouldn't... it's dangerous, you shouldn't do anything dangerous... I can't lose you..." Celestia replied, choking through tears, as she buried her face deeper into Melanie's bosom, leaving many a tear stain on the dark mage's shirt.

[Nanami Touko]

"You won't lose me. Eet ees not dangerous. Trust me." She pulled her head back a bit and stared down at Celestia, keeping that smile. "Nossing will go wrong, really. I will not rush eet, and I will 'ave your 'elp, and Sheikah, and now even Magali. I will be juste fine." She was sure she could handle the magic. Reading the book, the formulas for it were starting to make a lot more sense. She'd just put way too much magic into it the first time she tried to cast it, and things went wrong. She'd be careful. She had to be.

[Ether]

"Please... just be careful... I wish you wouldn't try this, it's not worth it... I don't want you to get hurt..." Celestia replied, still clinging tightly to Melanie.

[Nanami Touko]

"...I 'ave to," she said, not knowing if there really was another answer. "I 'ave to get stronger, you know? So I can keep all of you safe... So I can keep you safe, Celestia. I could get strong, wis juste dark magique, but..." She started gently stroking the templar's hair. "Eef zere ees somesing else I can do to get stronger... Zen I will do my best to get zere. And I will not 'urt myself doing so, not anymore. I 'ave people I care about now, oui?" Now she giggled, without losing her smile. It was far too happy, thinking about this group, for her not to. "I 'ave people to care about... Again." This time, Mel hugged Celestia tight, nuzzling her face into the templar's shoulder. "I will be safe. Do not worry..."

[Percivalé]

"Roland was..." Vale ended his thought there. He stared back down to the paper between his fingers, subconsciously reading the words at the edges over and over--there, happened, too, out. Then, suddenly, you, ready, for, him--

He double-checked the word order on the paper, startled now. What an... outstanding coincidence. "Yeah," he picked up again, obviously distracted. But he eventually got back on track. "I don't know how people cope, Sheikah, if I'm gonna be honest. Maybe it was just the way I lost him... and the others... that bothers me. I wasn't... well, awake... the entire time it happened. I don't know how I even still remember things." He rested his free hand against his forehead and played with his bangs a little. The pebble was in his other hand with the letter.

"Do you think anyone else would know?" He asked, suddenly. "About the flower, I mean."

Edited April 15, 2015 by Quote

[riariadne]

Acceptance

"It's not easy," Sheikah agreed. "Wounds heal with time... physical ones, along with mental ones. And some never heal at all. I'll never forget Isaiah, Chloe, Josie, anyone that I lost. It doesn't matter how you lose someone, one thing will always be the same, I think... it's hard."

The change of subject back to the flower came off as a bit of whiplash. "I don't know. I'm sure there's someone out there who could tell you, but if there are any flower experts among us I don't know who they are. Sorry..."

[MRDRHAWK]

Heading into the boxing arena, Declan sighed. Shit, I'm so not up for this today... Yet, still he pressed on, if only because of the promise he made to Louis earlier. Besides, it wasn't like he was going to go straight to the top circuit... He'd start small, then work his way up if he still felt up to it. And who knows? Maybe the others would come cheer him on or something. Moral support. Sure.

"Hey, uh. I'm looking to get into the Minor Circuit. How much is the entry fee, again?" Declan asked as he approached the counter to speak to who he assumed was the man organizing the whole thing. Maybe. How did these circuits work again?