abraxaslogs | [ CLOSED ] into an ocean

At that cry, Claude's instinctively reaching for his bow to ready it with one hand going to rest on his quiver as he stares out into the trees. "I remember them from the hunting grounds. Nasty little ones, aren't they?"

Said with casualness which belies just how closely he's watching those eyes as they appear to stare back at them just as forebodingly, and which covers up that he's sizing up the distance while drawing an arrow to nock it. The odds - they aren't impossible but they aren't great, and when Istredd lights up the area he readies a shot. Instinct would have him letting it fly in practically the same instant, but what he's not ready for is what happens next.

Nanaue's roar makes his horse sidestep again, but Claude doesn't miss that it does the same to the Ceknias. Before he can take advantage of that, what happens next almost goes by too quick to register as one Ceknias is in the air, headless, and then launched right back. If it wasn't for the remaining predators rushing their way he might've stayed frozen in astonishment a bit longer, but instead the arrow at his bow finds its home in that third rushing Ceknias which screeches in response.

"Drive them back a bit if you can!" That's to whoever responds first when some habits of taking charge to organize a fight come up by instinct. If they could get a bit more space it'll help with staying on the defensive, and he's already reaching for another arrow to send flying with deadly aim towards one menacing Istredd. "And do that again, Nanaue!"

"Very nasty, and they don't give up easily. There also might be more than we think, being pack animals." Basically, they shouldn't let their guard down. The eyes are giving very good indicators of where and how many there are ... for now.

He almost wishes he didn't put a light spell though when he sees Nanaue rip the head off one. Istredd has a very weak stomach for gore but luckily the adrenaline of danger will keep him from focusing too much on that. He's gotten better at it after Lucifer ripped and tore bodies apart enough around him. It might be a gruesome attack, but Nanaue's impressive strength might make this less of a challenging fight, so they're lucky he's there.

"Brace yourselves!" Istredd can use a sword if he needs to, he's very good with them these days, but his instinct is battle magic always. Telekinesis is one of his strongest abilities so he slams his hands together and a burst of power slams from him to push several of them backwards as they try to run closer. It could catch Nanaue if he's not braced, although the shark is far sturdier than anyone else.

The Ceknias rear back and start circling them, playing it smart and attacking their Lunae friends instead of the three strangers. The fight shifts to the right, so they'll have to move to defend the rest of the party.

Edited 2024-02-08 03:39 (UTC)

Nanaue crunches down greedily on the skull in its hands and gives out another ground shaking roar in response to Claude's command.

He can take that as a solid 'okay'.

A blast of invisible energy slams into his side, upsetting his footing and sending him staggering into another unlucky beast. He simply opens his jaws and bites down, in the blink of an eye there's another headless Ceknias corpse in their midst.

In the blood and feeding frenzy his eyes have turned all black.

That roar is enough for Claude to direct his attention elsewhere what with taking that as confirmation - even before another Ceknias meets its end and the magic blasts between them. It's brutal all around, but Claude'll consider the implications of that later like all the other times post battle. For now this clears a path for him to direct his reluctant horse around some of the chaos in order to take one shot after another, enough to slow some of the onslaught as it forces the Ceknias back to regroup again.

Unfortunately, they choose to go against the Lunae once more rather than being dissuaded to focus on them. With a curse under his breath Claude fires another arrow then nudges his horse forward again, and this time with the reins in one hand and bow resting on the saddle so he can retrieve the collapsible sword stashed in the sash at his waist.

From there Claude swings and connects with the Ceknias looming over the nearest Lunae. An assist from his horse with a well timed kick clears enough of a path to defend where he's at until their traveling companions time to go on the offensive. That's enough for him to go back to disrupting whatever the Ceknias have planned, but not quite as much as someone else can.

"Istredd, hit them with that magic again if you can!" An arrow takes out one more which goes crashing to the ground in what he hopes is luck turning further to their side, and another forceful attack might just do it.

The roar is startling and frankly impressive, and he luckily is a master at concentration or he could get distracted. He is pointedly not looking at the head chomping, although somewhere in the back of his mind he has seen it and won't forget it.

The Lunae are used to fighting these creatures but perhaps not so many at once, given that they usually can get through this area peacefully. They are also focused on getting the wheel done and protecting the wagon, so the timely intervention by Claude is helpful.

"Everyone go as close to the wagon as you can." The horses and Lunae are already close and since he's unsure if Nanaue will listen to him, he reaches out with a hand and tugs him hard back toward them. That is the best he can do before he focuses his willpower on one of the strongest spells he knows in Academic Magic, his own Chaos too dangerous. A powerful shockwave pushes out to snap the creatures backward, scrambling their wits as well as so they seem dazed.

This makes them vulnerable and probably easier to pick off. "Now, while they're confused," he says, a little out of breath.

Nanaue's feeding frenzy has his mind clouded in red mist, he doesn't hear the warning and is startled to find himself being pulled back by some invisible force again, this time knocked on his ass. He rises next to one of the Lunae guards on his horse, snapping powerful jaws dangerously close to the beast's legs. The horse startles and nearly throws the poor rider.

His dark gaze lingers for a moment on the pair as they back off, and then he's launching himself back toward the Ceknias as they try to recover from the daze of the blast. He isn't just killing and moving on now - the beasts are smart enough not to charge him at this point and so his attention remains fixed on one meal at a time. Nanaue tears a chunk out of a Ceknias' ribcage and continues eating, its corpse disappears shockingly fast beneath his rows of teeth.

That Istredd sounds out of breath gets a sharp but momentary look of concern sent the mage's way and with it the fleeting thought of friends from home worn out from overuse of magic, but - now isn't the time

It takes but a second to make a decision: if the Ceknias won't go to Nanaue, then it's time to herd them that way. Back to his bow and arrow it is since there's less room to move on horseback and each swing of his sword will require more calculation than it's worth. Instead he takes aim, this time to (mostly) intentionally miss the creatures but with the arrows singing a silent warning to them to move.

The confusion Istredd's cast on them helps as they scramble away from the arrows to let Nanaue approach ever closer and take ever more bites with fearsomely sharp teeth. Their numbers are considerably less than those initial glowing eyes peering out at them, and the momentum's changed to be in their favor. "Give it everything you've got!" To who he's calling out to - all three of them, really, as he changes to swift shots meant to kill.

He's fine, it just takes willpower to protect the group of them while pushing external violent spells. If he was using pure Chaos it would be harder too, Academic Magic is far simpler, which is why he uses the two of them interchangeably during combat. Istredd is still pointedly trying to ignore the shark eating openly, he knows he has a weak stomach, this is the worst time to get distracted by that.

Guiding the Ceknias toward Nanaue is a good game play because they are clearly cowed by him, losing their bravery to a superior predator. The Lunae guards learn from Claude and do the same thing, attack them so they spring to the side and end up in his vicinity. Istredd shoots fire from his hands but they too are to scare them into the shark man.

Eventually they smarten up. While the beasts rarely back off prey without a kill, they seem to understand how few are left and are scared off by the sharkman ripping them to bits. After some skitters and snaps on the outskirts, the remaining two (only two left!) Ceknias rushes off. If they have more of a herd farther away, it's unknown, but they have lost this battle.

The Lunae are relieved and the one from before goes back to focusing on the wheel. Istredd intentionally keeps his eyes off Nanue still, looking at Claude. "I'm pretty sure I said I'm never letting you hear the end of it."

Nanaue does not react to the concerted effort around him, other than to continue messily consuming the beasts as they're herded within his significant reach. The sounds are no better than the sights, unfortunately for poor Istredd - the crunch of bone, the tearing of flesh, the death cries of the Ceknias as they're torn into more manageable pieces to be consumed.

He doesn't notice when it's all over, other than to sit down and more slowly eat his meal as its spread all around him in leftover pieces. It becomes less of a frenzy, and slightly more recognizable intelligence returns to his flat, black eyes - like the world's most grotesque toddler at the seat of its own tantrum.

It may be difficult to convince him to move for a little while - but there's still the wheel.

"Hey now, at least you'll never let me hear the end of our victory!" It's because it is a victory that it's easier to joke about: they're all in one piece if not in varying states of adrenaline from the sudden attack, and the Ceknias are most certainly not all thanks to Nanaue. Claude's vaguely aware of the Lunae exchanging a look off to the side though he doesn't check if it's out of relief or something like annoyance thanks to his cavalier attitude. "That counts for something, right? Let's take stock of what's going on here now that the Ceknias have... ah, departed."

That's first paired with looking towards Nanaue. The shark's seated which is something Claude takes as a good sign now that things have calmed down. Istredd seems okay as he looks to the mage next with a grin somewhere between pleased and sheepish, and it's reassuring to that brief worry he'd had about the use of that intense magic being too much. The Lunae also seem alright as one of them kneels down by the wagon, and that's all the encouragement Claude needs to get moving.

With one fluid motion he dismounts from his horse and ties the reins to the wagon to prevent her from wandering off, something she offers an unimpressed snort to as he pets her nose afterwards. "Unfortunately, I can't claim to be good at fixing anything except clocks and that's only because Viktor's taught me," is what he continues with while crouching down next to the wheel investigation and adjusting his gloves, "but I can gladly grab whatever's needed to help those who know what they're doing here."

Istredd knows the second he looks at Nanaue and the body parts he's chewing on, he'll get sick, so he's pointedly not observing any of that. The sounds he can't stop, but he tries to keep it in the back of his mind and focus on what they're doing instead. The Lunae are focusing on the wheel and figuring out next steps themselves; if they look unsettled at the shark a few times, they don't say anything about it. Probably for the best.

"It is a victory, they usually don't run away." Istredd's pretty certain they get stubborn about that, but survival still counts higher in a situation like this. He has gotten his wind back from exerting his willpower. The good thing about magic is that it refills in strength, for people who knows how to contain it well. He's hoping they won't end up with another conflict though.

Istredd has no ability to help with the wheel, but he does go to the wagon, looking concerned. "The enchantments are going to fade, they weren't set to last much longer than our expected time." He tests out the wards thoughtfully, considering in his head what would be needed. The Lunae use different spells than he does. "I can probably fix it."

"Will it hold until we get to our destination?" Though he'd been cheerfully kidding around mere moments ago as if this is the sort of thing which happens to all of them collectively or individually all the time, Istredd pointing this out immediately shifts Claude back to seriousness.

With a hand braced on the wheel to keep it from splintering while one of the Lunae goes to retrieve some tools since he can manage that much, he looks up to Istredd with concern he finds matched on the other man's face. A glance back over his shoulder to make sure Nanaue's still doing alright is next, but then it's back to business here at hand. With the tools and spare parts being set out - some of which he recognizes and some of which he doesn't, though now's no time to ask despite his curiosity - he shifts again to help slide the wheel out to give access to someone who does know what they're doing so they can get right to work.

That comes with the promise the fix isn't an elaborate one but that'll be enough to get them to where they need to go where a better repair can be done, so that's a relief. All that leaves is the other obstacle which is far more critical than the wheel.

"We've got this so you do what you need to do, Istredd. Hopefully we can get moving before too long and a bit faster at that, just to be safe."

"I'll make it hold." Istredd is not going to take any chance that it wears off before they get there. The bodies here are being escorted because they have potentially dangerous waste elements. Considering they know all too well how horrible the taint of the island can leave on people, on these corpses in particular, they can't run the risk.

He moves around the wagon as he thinks, waving one of the Lunae over that he knows has some magical knowledge. They talk quietly for a moment as Istredd makes certain he knows what the spell originated from and he nods. It won't match up entirely but that's fine, as his Academic Magic is powerful. This is not nearly as impressive a spell as a shockwave, although it requires just as much effort, the effect settling onto the wagon and securing it tightly. Istredd takes a deep breath in again, letting it out.

"Nanaue, we should be up and moving in a few minutes, do you want a ... towel or something to wash off ... all that?" No Istredd is not looking at him, he just knows.

Nanaue has mostly finished consuming the pile of carnage around him when Istredd asks tht question. He makes a hiccup-belch sound and pulls himself up, a Ceknias haunch in one hand that he's continuing to gnaw on, tearing flesh from bone and then crunching on the bone.

"I go," he declares, seemingly unbothered by the mess of blood and viscera down his front. He has a few bite wounds on his arms and shoulders - which he also seems to not care about. They don't appear to have pierced too far through his thick hide.

"Maybe the smell'll ward off more of 'em..." one of the guards suggests with an uncertain look.

Claude's supposed to be keeping an eye mainly on the wheel operation, but another chance to see Istredd's magic up close and without the blur of battle around them? Something he's not going to decline. His attention remains partially split throughout the spell's progress and in the process of handing over tools when requested - maybe having to be reminded once to hand over a tool by being asked twice - but fortunately, both parts seem to go smoothly.

Including, possibly, Nanaue's aftermath since the guards are likely onto something there.

"I think we could take all the warding away we could get to make sure we don't have any other surprise visitors," Claude adds since though he doesn't wince when he looks over towards the shark, it's certainly one of the gorier sights he's seen. The bite marks don't seem to slow Nanaue down at all, but for good measure and for what he'd do for anyone wounded, Claude summons up his own magic to send over a healing spell to hopefully relieve at least a couple of those bites.

"It'd probably be best if we take up posts around the wagon. Nanaue, what do you say you take one side? Istredd, you can take the other," with a gesture as the wagon's tall enough to block out some things as he jumps back into his horse's saddle before turning to the guards next, "you choose whether you'd prefer the front or the back, and I'll take what's left from there. That way we should be able to keep watch for anything else we might meet and keep moving to make it there in time."

Claude is a good friend putting them on opposite sides. Istredd really does not think it would do well for his position as of authority in Thorne if he gets sick at the very sight of Nananue right now. Although probably, it would be understandable. It's a point of pride. Also, no one likes getting sick. He gets back onto his horse.

Luckily for all of them, the ride from then on is bumpless. It could be Nanaue scaring off anything else or that the commotion kept other beasts away, but they make it to the meeting only an hour or so off from what they should have been. The bodies are very carefully handed over and they don't linger since the other Lunae need to handle them.

The way back is peaceful and while it does get naturally tense around the same place as before, a lesson has apparently been learned by the wildlife. When they make it back to their original meeting place, Istredd jumps off his horse and hands the reins away.

"Thank you for your help Claude, Nanaue." And yes he is still not looking at the shark. Out of sheer self-preservation.

Nanaue feels a tingling across his body, and manages to catch one of those bite marks vanishing from his hide.

"Maaagic...." he says in awe, and then stares at Claude. He nods, trotting over to the one side. The rest of the trip is uneventful for him. Just like before, as though they haven't been attacked by a mob of hungry beasts, he tends to wander back and forth from the caravan, coming back with rocks and things. Whenever he does hear something creeping in the undergrowth, he gives a snarl - and suddenly the sound vanishes.

As they get ready to part ways, Nanaue is hungry again - so luckily for Istredd, he's suddenly nowhere to be found.

This was a fun day!

[ CLOSED ] into an ocean

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cw for shark eating things and other gross stuff

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please skip the shark while the wheel is being fixed

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poor istredd is suffering

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You guys can do little ending taggers if you want or this is wrap!

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