Blood on the Keys [Nayru/Remus]

[Remus]

Broodmothers. Giant baels, strong enough to rival dragons in power enough so to kill them? That was an equally absurd and terrifying notion. Dragons, which required mighty weapons wielded by heroic warriors and mastered magical practitioners, were killed by creatures living among them today. That thought alone gave him a tiny bit less incentive to leave the structure he slept within for the night. Then again, the city of heroes had really altered his perspective. There he had seen monsters which would be rightly detailed as "nightmares" come to life. Creatures that had the power to kill men without even trying, and literally crush them to death beneath their feet. Such monstrosities had been killed however..hadn't they? Mere men, and women, putting their lives on the line, had managed to beat these great shadows. So, could he really allow himself to slowly develop the growing dread that humanity would be doomed to these abominations.

The slight reflection also brought him to another. Where he had been, when he first met Nayru. How inexperienced had he been compared to this very moment? Not only as a healer. As a human. How much more would he learn in the coming months? In the coming years? He could only hope to better himself, to improve further and further, until he stood on the precipice of power where he could defend people from the creatures that plagued Elibe. So that people like Nayru, or Jya, and so many more, would not have to put their lives in harm so that they could shield him. Perhaps he could even return the gesture to them given dire enough circumstances.

He spoke up after a moment. "Actually..I don't mind in the slightest. Speaking with you seems to double as an informational medium in addition to generally seeming like a fun way to pass the time. Though I am glad to know that you are taking to hunting this creature, what ever it is, with such dedication. Though I've not met too many extraordinary individuals, I believe you are the most capable I have met. If anyone is capable of solving this, it is you for sure. "

He listened to her speak of the situation in Tuscana. It saddened him to hear of it however. Just knowing that there were people out there in so much trouble. Though...he could feel it before he heard it. Resonating within his mind. The chiding words of his older sister. "you don't solve all the world's problems. So don't try to. Solve the ones you run into. Let other people worry about the rest. If it gets bad enough, it'll reach you. If it doesn't? Someone fixed it." She was far more realistic of the two of them. She was also smart enough not to let herself get dragged into every possible situation involving helping others.

From the fairly small opening broken into the upper right part of the buildings roof, Remus felt the rush of air graze past them even as he entered the building with the elderly man he assisted. He moved with the man and eased him down. That was when he heard Nayru mentioning contacts. Her phrasing confused him for a moment. They were in trouble? The blue haired priest went to speak up before the abrupt sound of flapping wings caught his ear. No sooner that, than he heard the unique and distinct venomous sounds he'd heard only two other times. More gargoyles.

The priest quickly sprinted out the door, quietly holding a hand to indicate for Amelia and Owain, who had been sitting against a wall within the building, to stay put. Sure enough. There it was. Four of them. Four winged fiends making their way swiftly towards the building. Remus lifted his staff up a bit instinctively and looked to Nayru. "Four gargoyles. Their moving fast. What do we do? They have no where to go...we can't tell everyone to flee. And well..I can't fight them. "

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

"Well, don't read too far into it." She wasn't... exactly... happy to undercut her own stories, but a storyteller knew better than anyone the power that tall tales could hold, and how valuable a healthy sense of skepticism could be to telling truth from lies. Certainly she hadn't TRIED to mislead Remus, but parts of what she had said were based on conjecture or unverifiable claims from ancient literature. She spoke from personal experience as much as she could - but not even five centuries was anywhere near enough to speak with real authority to the events before the Scouring. "Rumors have a way of exaggerating reality, of painting a world in which every moment is but a step away from catastrophe. If a claim sounds too good, or too terrible, to be true - there's probably an element of hyperbole somewhere in there."

Nayru didn't really have an answer to Remus's ending comments, she was about as graceful at taking compliments as a bull in a china shop and likely to turn twice as red as the cloth that enraged the bull in the first place, so she kind of just cleared her throat and looked away and pretended to focus on the coming monsters rather than worrying too much about coming up with a response. Not really the most subtle reaction ever, but still a huge step up from actively getting flustered! And really, it wasn't exactly hard to pretend to pay attention, since it didn't take long at all to realize that when she had said 'closing fast' as a rough estimation, it had been pretty literal... half a dozen... ish. Fewer? It was hard to sense the exact number. She'd never exactly been as good as this magic monster sensing bullshit as Aerious.

Then again - she didn't really need magic sensing bullshit to hear the sound of leathery wings flapping, to see the simultaneously ungainly and yet deceptively graceful movements of the creatures... she didn't fear them per se, but now that she had the experience to recognize them for what they were, Nayru couldn't help but respect what they could do, though she still didn't understand, nor was she sure she wanted to understand, just how much more dangerous their pre-Scouring kin had been.

But the problem here wasn't what they had once been capable of - it was what these ones might be able to do, and what the humans here could do to stop them. Going by her past experience... not much. And that, in turn, led to the next question; how could she best handle the situation to keep these people safe? Trying to stop the creatures here, or leading them away on her own, were both dangerous propositions. She didn't know how intelligent the creatures were and how likely they would be to follow her - if she tried to lead them away it was possible one or two would double back for these people. On the other hand, if she stayed, it would be extremely difficult to protect everyone here while still fighting them off.

Not for the first time, Nayru wished she had a better understanding of these creatures, or of tactics in general, to be able to make a rational, informed decision that would lead to a flawless victory. But she didn't, and she couldn't. All she could do for now was try to keep these people safe... and even if some did turn back to attack the building, the remaining villagers might be able to fight off one or two. So really, it only stood to reason that she use herself as the distraction.

Nayru bit her lip for a second, trying desperately to think of a better plan, but came up dry. She was just gonna have to wing things from here and hope they worked out. Setting her mind to her task, she abruptly spoke up, her voice hard and set. "I'll draw them off. You should wait here with the children, it'll be safer." As if to accentuate her point, out came one kama, then the other, a bit of a flourish as she spun one a few revolutions trying to look competent and assuage Remus's worry. Truth was, she wasn't sure if she could take on the four of them at once, not after how close her last fight with just one or two had been, but the dragon could feel adrenaline already starting to flow through her - even if it wasn't guaranteed victory, she was finding herself eager to find out. By the Sky, she was turning into a battle maniac at this point. So much for being Nayru the peaceful dancing farmer-baker.

[Remus]

"Perhaps..but It's something to thing about. That's for sure. " His gaze shifted to the swiftly approaching monsters. He knew they were dangerous. However he was grateful because well...he'd seen a horde of them before. Seeing an army of them downplayed the impending doom that others likely felt simply seeing any at all. He lifted a hand to run it through the lapis strands messily splayed about his head even while he shook his head. The two motions were caused by separate inspirations, but in doing both Remus attempted to think of an actual solution. As Nayru explained her brilliant stratagem to the priest, Remus let his gaze dart to the flying demonkin once more. Digits coiled around the staff as he tapped the butt of it lightly to the ground. Dry dirt kicked up like a soft cloud from the gesture before the priest spoke his thoughts. "What if...we..well..okay. I'll make sure their safe..but I'm not leaving you to fight them alone. I'd be a pretty poor excuse of a "holy-man" if I let someone else fight demonic gargoyles while I sat next to children. Besides. Should anything go sour I'll be close by to help. "

She did have a point towards the children and ensuring they were okay. Remus conceded on that and looked back to shabbily reinforced looking building, which, when comparing to the threat they faced, seemed almost pointlessly feeble; knowing that he would have to at-least warn the children. That was when he briefly remembered that at-least two of the men from the town were still in fighting condition. While he didn't want to ask them to help Nayru and He, given they would probably get in the woman's way, the priest could potentially think of a way they could still be useful. Remus lifted a hand towards Nayru, index finger singularly pointing upwards as he motioned for her to wait. Clearly the gargoyles were far less patient, now soaring on an air current towards the town and preparing to descend. Remus spoke even as he turned on his heel and started rushing back into the wooden building. "Ah one moment! I'll still check on them!"

Remus sprinted into the building hurriedly, looking around swiftly until he saw the children sitting in a corner of the room...with...Dragon-Hero-Horse....what? Why. Why! What part about "Owain, Amelia Finish brushing Dragon-Hero-Horse, and guide him over there," Hadn't they understood? When he said there, he had pointed to the side of the building! How had they even gotten him in the house!? What? Wh-No. Now wasn't the time. Remus shook the disbelief from his face and ran over to the children. He spoke loud enough however that everyone could hear him. "The gargoyles are on their way. However I have a friend who is here to help. She is very strong and good at handling abstract threats like these monsters. I request that everyone remain here while I go assist her. Please, keep everyone safe." His final statement was directed at the two guards he looked to. Perhaps it was they were reluctant to fight the monsters, or perhaps they actually did trust him. Remus would've never had a way of telling, but either way he appreciated it. The priest crouched before looking to and speaking directly to Amelia and Owain.

"Under NO condition are you two..er...or Dragon-Hero-Horse, to leave this building. Unless the monsters are about to get in. Then you'll get on Dragon-Hero-Horse and run as fast as you can back to the camp, with or without me. Owain, I know you remember how to get back to camp. So please..both of you..just stay here. I mean it okay? No repeats of what happened in Ilia where you snuck after I left to follow me. There's no nice Mr. Flynn this time. Just mean monsters that would want to hurt you. " He lifted a hand to emphasize that they stay put, as if motioning to a dog to stay. However Remus suspiciously eyed the horse. He trusted the horse. He didn't trust them sitting idle with Dragon-Hero-Horse for long.

Remus turned around to return to Nayru's side, sprinting back and sliding along the dirt road as he lifted his staff. Ready to heal in-case it was needed. However as Remus looked, he saw the gargoyles had just dived down towards them. He spoke in a Nervous tone as he lifted his staff a bit higher. "Alright Nayru, I'm going to completely trust you on this one! I won't fall over and die though either. At-least..let's hope not." He felt his heart racing. Sure, he was still afraid. At any point they could kill him. One lucky swipe of their claws. If they got ahold of him they could just...drop him from a high place. However, he also knew that he could make things far easier for Nayru. Besides...it was only four. That wasn't like it was forty. Which was four tens. That was just wrong. The priest gazed and crouched a bit, ready to serve as bait. If he drew them closer by being the "easy target" then they were in range for Nayru to turn them into seeds to plant. He'd hope that would work. It was their best bet really.

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

"Don't worry," she returned with a bright smile designed to assuage all of Remus's fears and those of others nearby, almost as innocent as she wasn't. It was almost a little... suspiciously carefree and well-meaning given the situation, though it was more likely that she was simply trying to help. "I'm really good at handling conceptual threats."

Womp womp womp.

crap eating grin locked firmly in place, Nayru lightly punched the priest in the shoulder - kama blade held out, thank you very much, she wasn't actually trying to stab him this time, and ducked gracefully out of the shop before he could thwack her over the head with that murdering staff of his with a lithe ease that somewhat belied her demeanor of a moment before. Yeah, this was a serious issue, but going by the demeanor of the villagers cowering in the room, in Remus's desperate attempt to step up and prove something he didn't have to - it wasn't the most elegant way to defuse the tension, but there was a little more to her actions than just arbitrary immaturity. Even if she wasn't necessarily very good at expressing it as anything but these days.

Outside of being just a little overly pleased with herself for pulling that off without her expression betraying the trick too early, though, Nayru was deadly serious the instant she stepped into the open air. While it was true she had grown a great deal since her last meeting with gargoyles, the creatures were uncommonly crafty as a race, going by what she had read of monsters before the Scouring - and as monsters continued to multiply across Elibe, she had a sinking feeling that they might re-earn that reputation. She didn't fear them, but neither would she take them lightly; she had no intention of joining the ranks of dragons that had apparently fatally underestimated the creatures, and she didn't really want to have to haunt Veigue as a vengeful spirit until he had her exorcised.

But for now, eye on the money. Gargoyles. Whatever. Her flamboyant exit had certainly drawn their attention - hopefully enough to distract them from Remus, she wasn't exactly an expert in gargoyle psychology. Not for the first time Nayru experienced misgivings about her life choices and career path, but again not for the first time she simply pushed them aside with a wry smile and a shake of the head, a small physical jolt to keep her focus where it needed to be. The dragon was thoroughly aware that she still had a great deal more growing to do, particularly a great deal of learning to understand and utilize her newfound powers, and the most effective way to do that was to put her life on the line - to force her body, her spirit, to evolve or die.

Hopefully more the former than the latter.

She couldn't track all four of the gargoyles simultaneously, but Nayru could definitely see two of them banking for her from opposite angles, apparently not interested in negotiations or niceties. Hm. Last time she'd fought them she'd gotten a lucky kill right up front before they adapted their tactics to her abilities. Might as well give it a shot this time too. "Remus - they adapt quickly as a group." She stood still, tense but unable to do a whole lot while waiting for the creatures to reach her with what she suspected was a probing attack. "Don't expect the same tricks to work twice."

[Remus]

"I'm really good at handling conceptual threats."


Really...? Just...really? Remus couldn't. He had no words for Nayru. No amount of exasperation, mock or otherwise, could adequately convey his disbelief. There was nothing he would be able to say to assert his disappointment within Nayru. Yet she was grinning! Every facet of her was one of smugness. Here they were, probably about to die some horrible painful death..and she was just snickering away after a funny jab she'd made. Heavens above she was lucky she was funny or he'd..well..what could he do really? Give her a stern lecture and a finger waggling? Yeah..that'd be helpful no doubt. Really strike fear into the hearts of man with that one Remus. Great thinking.

The gusts now able to be felt from the gargoyles wing-beats snapped him out of his mental battle as to how devastating a firm scolding and talking to would register in reality for Nayru. However as the four winged monsters began to accept the "bait" of the healer and dual wielding, seed planting, wall punching, woman; he couldn't help but feel a bit of relief. It meant the others, and to him personally; most importantly Amelia and Owain were safe. Though with the four winged monsters floating around them, Remus felt a slight tension begin to wind. Two were predominantly gyrating in Nayru's general direction. Two in his. The blue haired priest nodded his head in response to Nayru's warning, nervously chuckling as he clasped his staff tightly. It was unnerving to have demonic monsters staring you down as if you were but the next meal of the day. "Err..right...got it! I don't think They'll have to worry about combat tactics from me...but duly noted. "


Were they trying to examine them? Gauge them? Waiting on them to make the first move? However Remus found his curiosities sadly sated a moment later. The two pairs of gargoyles flew forwards from different angles as if to end it decisively. In reality, the strike was swift, but designed to test. The creatures were probing them for threads and tactics. As the two flying for Remus rushed forwards, the Priest let out a startled yelp and lunged forwards. Perhaps his most graceful moment, as he collided with dry dirt road. Dust kicked up from the ground as the priest stumbled back upwards only to flounder backwards and fumble a bit as a tainted deadly claw swiped through the air where he had been. A few small blue hairs drifted downwards, Remus observing with almost gut wrenching terror as he realized that a moment later and it would've been part of his face falling to the ground. As the second gargoyle flew towards him, the priest tried to shield himself with his staff. The act of the staff-sheild actually helped as one of the monsters flew towards him as if to ram into him. The staff buffered it from actually getting ahold of his body and it knocked him aside. Falling with a rough "oof!" onto the ground, Remus panted while on all fours. So..that was it then. Monster hunting was not in his future. That too, would be duly noted. His gaze shifted to Nayru. Hopefully, and far more likely, she was faring much better.

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

Standing still was itself difficult, the instinctive urge to act - to attack, to defend, to do SOMETHING - almost overwhelming in the face of danger. But she didn't want to gargoyles too early to her plan, and so Nayru forcibly held herself back from doing anything save tightening her grip on her weapons, almost the very picture of an indecisive and uncertain fighter to the last possible moment. Perhaps ironically, the stress of trying to do it lent itself unexpectly well to the act, turning it into somewhat of a multi-level facade; while she suspected the creatures weren't entirely convinced, they seemed udneterred from their charge nonetheless.

It wasn't until they were close enough that she realized the one flaw in her plan; somewhere along the way, she wasn't sure exactly when, they had stagged their arrival times, the other either speeding up or slowing down while she had been trying to track each one. It was a moment of horrible realization, but the sudden burst of speed from the one on her left left the lady warrior with no time to feel particularly sorry for herself or even regret her foolhardy assumption that the creatures would both simply come crashing into her kill zone simultaneously. Regret was for those who survived, and she was yet to reach that point.

The moment it entered her range, Nayru exploded into motion, bringing her left kama up to hook its lance - as the armed one of the two she had been watching it more carefully anyways - and pivoted as she stepped into it, bringing her shoulder to bear as a battering ram of sorts that slammed into the creature's body with enough force to crush its momentum. She coudl feel the reverberation of the impact spread through her, gritted her teeth at the dull pain as she remembered how deceptively heavy the creatures were despite their seemingly slight frames, and tried to bring her right kama in for a killing blow.

But she had miscalculated slightly, the impact robbing her of her own ability to react instantly as well, and by the time the silver blade came slicing through the air, the slippery creature was already disengaging, dropping low, a frenzied mass of limbs and leathery flesh that was difficult to actually strike true.

Not that she really got a lot of time to worry about it before an impact akin to a ballista bolt crashed into her from behind, the other creature capitalizing on her momentary disarray with great prejudice and lifting her aloft in the wake of her failure to arrest its charge with her own strength. But it was already too late to do that; without her feet on the ground her temporary advantage there was almost entirely gone, and they were already a dozen feet off the ground and crashing through a building's storefront sign in an explosion of wooden splinters before she even managed to twist around enough to face it.

-And then its hand was already in her face, slamming her down into the roof of the building they were now traversing with a horrible screeching crash and a running impact that nearly knocked the sense and stupid alike right out of her from the impact. She was tough enough to survive the use as an impromptu battering ram without falling to pieces immediately, but the shockwaves of pain running through her body suggested that it wasn't exactly total invulnerability - not that her limited reinforcement had ever been anything akin to Aerious's mastery - and the thought of getting that much wood out of her hair was enough to send the dragon's temper off the deep end in about zero seconds flat.

"HRMPH GRMPH," came her triumphant(?) battle cry(?) slash muffled grumble, essence flowing through her as much as she could manage as the high-pitched whine of crackling electricity erupted, a flash of golden light erupting from the roof as she poured it into one major discharge to dislodge the creature and try to flip herself upright simultaneously. The first part worked, the second part went pretty poorly all things considered as she slammed into the low wall on the other side of the building sideways with a poisonously spat out curse that probably would have made Remus blush, and then Nayru was already charging back in the direction from whence she came, still a little dizzy but thoroughly pissed off and rapidly lapsing into her more bull-headed ways as she spotted the first one (was it the first one? she couldn't tell) charging her already, this time jumping off the roof to slam into it bodily and send them both spiraling back down into the ground.

[Remus]

Remus wasn't sure what had startled him more..The brief sight that Nayru had been lifted into the air...or the screeching guttural sound that threatened to embody pure terror to the priest at that moment. Remus felt the jarring impact as he landed on the ground, and firmly on his rear. He was unable to actually conjure up any solution in his mind. It was a moment where his breath hitched in his chest, his heart seemed to stop beating; time even seemed to slow down as the blue haired priest looked further towards the approaching gargoyle. What could he do? He...could try and shield himself but that wouldn't stop both. Not for more than a few moments. The priest shut his eyes. He couldn't stare this down. A frenzy of panic induced fear raced through his mind as the priest lifted an arm over his face to shield himself; before sweeping a hand towards the monster as if to swat it away. A moment prior. The only thought racing through his mind was a single prayer. Elimine Protect me. Elimine, protect me. With his eyes closed, he did not initially notice the faint build up of magical essence. As Remus swept his hand through the air, a luminous radiance began to gather to his fingers.

Flares of light pulsed from his palm as he swept his hand in fear, and an intense bolt of light fired outwards with a rushing hiss. It collided with the oncoming Gargoyle that had opted to dive towards him. Remus eased open a single eye in a mixture of fear and curiosity as the creature wailed in pain from the light magic that had punctured into its chest. Smoke trailed upwards and the monster squirmed in agony. The other which had been approaching quickly broke off and moved backwards in caution of the sight to light magic. Remus was slowly putting two and two together. Cogs turned in his mind as he looked to his hand which still had the faint radiance residue of light magic...and the flailing gargoyle. Slowly the priest stood up, attempting to comprehend what had just happened. Had he really managed it? All the times he had tried to use offensive magic in the past...why now? What about him changed? He couldn't understand it...but that was when he saw Nayru get knocked along the roof.

Remus turned his gaze back towards the gargoyles with narrowed brow. Though the priest's smile never left his face there was a slight hint of anger. This was new to him. Never before had he the ability to well..react? His emotions always sealed away under helplessness and the inability to act. Not here. Not now. At-least...hoping that it was not a one time occurrence. No. He wouldn't let doubt turn his mind. The priest lifted his hand and tried to replicate that sensation. Instead of protecting himself however. He tried to imagine protecting Amelia, and Owain. The unwounded gargoyle flapped its leathery wings and sped towards the priest. Remus let the unyielding desire to protect the two children absolutely crush all outside thoughts. Light began to gather around the priests body. Excess magical essence bleeding off of him at the unyielding resolve as he lifted his fist and clasped it before his chest. Fingers curled into the balled hand as he clenched it tightly, forearm shaking. Was this anger? Was that what it felt like? That other things would harm those two children. These creatures would do them harm...and he had the power to stop them. He almost felt an indignation towards the notion of them attempting to harm them. Remus leaned forwards and swept his hand. As he did, the energy released from his body, his blue robes billowing as if caught in a storm powered gale; the rushing of intense light almost forcing him to squint as it burst all around the gargoyle.

The sibling creature roared out before flailing. Did they have an averse reaction to light magic? He could believe it..given they were creatures of darkness. That however..was when the crashing of Nayru being sent along the roof reached his ears and he actually registered it. An intense burst of light and the thunderous crash from her end also caught his attention. As well as the two gargoyles Remus had been fighting. However he admittedly felt a slight distraction as the priest heard the stringing series of volatile words leaving what was surely Nayru's lips. The temporarily ferocious exterior and powerful moment Remus had been displaying crumbled at the sound of it. His old self resurfaced instantly; the priest fretting over minutia such as...if he could hear that then the children possibly could. He called out to Nayru while the monstrosities he battled sped towards the spot where lightning had just burst out a moment prior.

"Language!! "

Yes. He'd just seen, what was likely Nayru's doing at that, a huge burst of lightning blast two gargoyles. Nayru had just survived being used to break through several layers of wood but was healthy enough to retaliate, swear, and shoulder slam two gargoyles at once. Yet his first focus was her choice of verbal expression. That would probably be the single most defining moment of who Remus was. That display of priorities. If anyone would have asked "What is Remus like?" The display he'd just revealed was it.

As Nayru hit the two fiends she'd been fighting, they crashed into the two Remus had been fighting which had fled to aid their comrades. It was then that Remus ran to Nayru's side. However, his briefly fierce exterior returned as one of his two recovered faster than the others. While it flew through the air towards him, Remus took a more serious expression; smile on his face still present but lessened with his gaze locking onto the winged monster. He swept his hand, gripping the staff within it and sweeping it as if using it to guide and enhance his focus. He returned to the thought of protecting the children. Shielding them, by assailing this monster. Intense light blistered the creature as the blast flashed brightly before sending it flailing backwards with a hiss of pain at the holy magic. The priest kept his gaze on them as he spoke to Nayru. "They are er...very tough aren't they? "

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

"I'LL f**k**g KILL YOUR WHOLE FAMILY!"

Slightly incoherent as the anger she had only dimly realized was building up finally erupted, Nayru very nearly relished the jolt of pain as she slammed into the gargoyle, once again arresting its momentum and taking GREAT pleasure in the idea that it hadn't expected her to be stupid enough to pull the same trick twice. Er, smart. Wait, had it just called her stupid? Still thoroughly livid, she sat up still straddling its body, bringing up her right fist cocked for a blow, then sending it down with all the force she could manage. The sensation was exquisite; a slight tinge of pain in her hand at worst, but feeling the creature's jaw crack and shudder through their profane connection was divine.

Also... stress relief. A bit of her knew that this all wasn't ENTIRELY the gargoyle's fault, but it was the one thing dumb enough to set her off and unfortunate enough to be in her vicinity when it succeeded, so she didn't actually feel that bad about pummeling it with all the tact and grace of an angry teenager. Another strike, and another; she kept at it until they reached the ground with a shock that jolted her out of her momentary reverie.

...She was breathing harder than she realized. She'd been so caught up in the moment that everything that had happened only caught up to her after the fact. The violent emotion overcoming her, the light she had dimly registered while falling, even the scenario and setting, all came rushing back like an ocean after the damn holding it back finally gave way. Jeeze. It was all still there, the anger bubbling below the surface, but the realization of what had overtaken her left an unpleasant taste in her mouth. It reeked of her former issues with emotional control - less overwhelming and dangerous, but no better in concept.

Caught between her rage and her shame, Nayru brought her fist down one more time, pulverizing the creature's skull with a blow that sent small fissures rippling outward in the street and cratered the earth for a foot or two around where the head had been, the sigils in her right arm flaring up in a golden light of their own for a moment to match Remus's, and pushed herself upright with a groan, wiping a bit of goop off her chin and lips with her other hand as she rose. "Yeah." She wasn't - angry per se. The tone was a little sullen though, even vacant, as she struggled with her internal battle while simultaneously staying focused on the setting at hand. "Good thing the solution to violence is just more violence."

Remus had done something wonderful, hadn't he? She hadn't been paying a great deal of attention, something she was definitely starting to regret now that her actual curiosity was taking hold of her, but Nayru was pretty sure he had used light magic to wound one of the creatures. How intriguing. She didn't know as much about human magics as she might have liked, but was fairly certain that mages were generally limited to their preferred type of magic for a fairly long time, at least until they finally reached the precipice of mastery - and realized how much of the world of magic they had never even envisioned lay before them.

Honestly, it was similar enough to what had happened to her that even beyond simply being happy for Remus as a friend, she could feel a bit of a... warmth, an empathic bond of sorts, grow stronger for him in the wake of that realization. She knew all too well what it was like to finally reach that plateau, to climb that peak and glimpse the massive mountain that truly lay before her rather than the tiny molehill that she had once thought was her world. Certainly it wasn't the exact same thing, but there were similarities. "Seems like you've been doing some growing as well." Nayru would've thwacked him on the shoulder all friendly-like if her brain hadn't chimed in, for once in her life, with a bit of reasonable caution. That magic voodoo crap he was doing must take a fair bit of concentration, at least going by his face, and ruining that just for a weird bromance moment would probably kill the vibe pretty bad. And also, uh, possibly get them both killed. Which would be bad. "...But I don't think they're gonna let me get close again. Least not that easily."

[Remus]

Good thing the solution to violence is just more violence.

There was so much wrong with that statement. Was it a solution? Sure. Technically. It was not the solution. It was not a singular universal solution to violence like Nayru seemed to present it with her foul mouthed inclination-focus Remus! The gargoyles were less in number. However they were far more knowledgeable from their encounter as well. Remus lifted a single hand as it began to glow with a radiant light. He wasn't exactly holding the light of a thousand suns in his hand...but he couldn't help but feel a slight almost childish glee at the knowledge that this as his magic. Energy rushed around the priest, with illumination slowly gathering around him while he prepared the spell. He swung his hand, sweeping it at the air and sending out three brief bursts of light. The bolts sailed towards the group of gargoyles; flashing and combusting into dazzling displays of holy magic. All three creatures flailed in visible discomfort; but the attempt to spread out his spell and hit multiple targets had weakened it so drastically that it may has well have been a friendly shoulder nudge. It jostled them and little more. Remus spoke with a nervous smile as he tried to readjust and not get too bold. "Err..yes...but I don't think I grew enough to try what my confidence is telling me I can do. Carefully then..shall we?"

This time the priest tried to shift to an actual strategy. He quieted himself outwardly and focused on that sensation. Protecting Owain and Amelia. The energy condensed into his palm until he felt as if he was physically holding a mass of light. He gazed at the gargoyle he had wounded earlier, and swept his palm before launching a singular bolt. The blast sailed threw the air before bursting; the rushing sensation as the light magic blossomed into a small explosion as the light rushed inwards against the gargoyles already wounded chest. The creature flailed in agony before the energy fully blew up, actually managing to cripple the creature as it fell onto it's back. Leathery wings wildly flailed with its limbs jostling about in the air. Remus felt the slight strain of casting the light magic. It was no where near as draining as healing. Honestly? He felt like he could keep this up far longer than contentiously healing someone. Lifting his hand again he started gathering more energy as he spoke to Nayru. "I think that one will be out for a bit...er...at-least long enough for me to ...ah..kill it. If you can keep them away I can keep trying to hit them with magic. Or...you can wait till they strike to um..well..do what you did to the other." This was weird. He really wasn't used to fighting things himself. Much less killing them. Just saying it felt weird.

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

Huh. For some reason Remus didn't seem to agree with her profound statement on life. She couldn't understand why a holy priest and dedicated pacifistic healer could have a problem with the wanton application of violence as a solution to all of life's problems. Boggled the mind, it did. A small part of her, the immature and bratty and obnoxious teenage girl that had never actually grown up, wanted to make a snarky comment about how he had turned to violence as a solution as well, but wise beyond her looks, Nayru decided to spare herself the inevitable staff thwap to the noggin if she pushed him too much.

After all, it'd be pretty embarrassing to have her tombstone read something like 'made one too many bad jokes to Saint Remus and was smited for her insolence.' Not a great way to go, all things considered, especially since as a ghost she wouldn't be able to do much more than haunt him and maybe dye his robe pink or something... if that was something ghosts could do. She'd never actually gotten around to asking one about that.

Anyways, gargoyles. Seemed like Remus had the situation pretty well under control for now, he certainly had MUCH easier access to his new-found ranged abilities than she had with hers, which... admittedly grated at her a bit, though she couldn't exactly begrudge him that. It was just frustrating that even after all her practice she still couldn't manage more than one or two short bursts in close proximity to each other, at least as full breath attacks went... exuding electricity was easier and didn't cost much, but full on breath was hell on her body, pretty much tore up her throat bad enough to require recuperation. And given that it was more than just physical damage, as far as she could tell it literally damaged her body's magical circuits, that wasn't something Remus could really help with - they had to repair themselves on their own.

Also... using it would just raise questions she didn't really want to answer. So it was more of a last-ditch thing than a primary weapon. Which was fine. Not great, but fine - she needed to practice her melee combat skills anyways, right? Nayru smiled wryly at the realization of how she was trying to justify it. Really she just needed to keep working at everything. So much for having mastered the art of war, or even being all that phenomenal as a warrior just 'cuz she was a big scary dragon lady - what she had seen in Sacae had taught Nayru the hard way that human warriors could still be very, very scary, and that while she did have some advantages, she was quite vulnerable to getting wrecked if she underestimated them too much.

"Welp." No point in belaboring the point or bemoaning the past. She had growing to do, yada yada, might as well live in the present. Living in the past hadn't worked out very well for her anyways. "Every mage needs a meatshield, eh?" Chuckling a little dryly at her self-deprecating joke, Nayru spun both kama with a flourish, admittedly more to reassure Remus than any sort of attempt to intimidate the gargoyles or actually accomplish anything useful with a stupid party trick. "I'll distract 'em, you call down the wrath of the heavens on these guys. Just try not to hit me too much, 'm allergic to pain."

She turned, bringing up two fingers to her brow and flicking them out towards Remus as a sort of mock salute. Didn't really mean anything, really, just an acknowledgement. "And don't you die either. We need someone to reign Amelia in before she turns Elibe into a barren wasteland, and you're the dedicated nanny." Ok, yeah, there was the crap eating grin again, though not... entirely... at Remus's expense this time. With one last flourish and a bit of a pirouette for good measure, Nayru charged the remaining gargoyles at a dead run, noting with a mixture of grim satisfaction and slightly annoyance that neither of them seemed particularly interested in meeting her charge head on, the pair again separating with what she expected were plans of fighting at arm's length.

[Remus]

One gargoyle was out of commission thanks to the meat grinder known as Nayru. Quite simple to tell given it's lack of functioning body beyond the mid neck region. Another was flailing in pain, raw agony clearly filling it from the holy magic bolts that had pierced his chest. A moment after analyzing the situation, he heard Nayru chime in. Every mage needs a meatshield, eh? He chuckled a bit, realization dawning onto him that he could help them both. At-least..help her and by proxy and roundabout notions, himself. Remus lifted his staff upwards. Traces of light blue magic swirled upwards and around him as he eased his mind and focused. After a brief moment the ground around Nayru pulsed with a radiant blue aura; before the energy encircled her and took to pulsing around her figure as if a layer of skin tight light. The barrier magic was not as strong as if he were to dedicate to maintaining a defensive dome of energy, but it would at-least lessen the blows she might take.

The priest began taking slow strides to his right as the gargoyles attempted to keep Nayru at a greater distance. His fist coiled, balled and clenched digits turning pale a bit as Remus tapped into that fervor to protect once more. His gaze narrowed as his brow dipped; smile lessening to a soft grin while radiant holy magic manifested within his palm. The light swirled and built up, brightly shining before he lifted his hand and swept it. The discharge of magic fired three swift bolts that blazed through the air. His shots aimed for the right one, the two gargoyles trying to take advantage of numbers in their fight with the skilled female warrior. However this would work to their disadvantage. It made it easier for Remus to single them out. The first bolt struck the creatures side, and it flailed within the air. It's body briefly hung in suspended space; soon the other two bolts of light struck into its lower torso at the side. The creature wailed in pain as it floundered with large leathery wings flapping wildly in the air and its clawed hands sweeping the air harmlessly.

Remus took a few strides forwards, charging a second burst of light with his fist balled and inches from his own chest. He kept his staff lowered at his side so as not to disrupt his aim by fumble about with it. The priest responded to Nayru as he channeled the second volley. He was beginning to enjoy light magic in the aspect that it was far less of a strain on his body than healing. He even grinned a little bit at the notion of how quickly he was picking it up. "Oh come now. You'd be able to handle Amelia were I to perish; why, she'd have it no other way!" Was he really Remus? Making light of his own demise so calmly while fighting monsters? This felt different. He wasn't sure if he liked it just yet or not.

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

"I'd rather not replace Dragon Hero Horse as her majesty's dedicated mount," Nayru shouted back with light amusement, matching Remus in making light of the situation. And it was true, she didn't really want to be a beast of burden, less from some lofty dragon pride as that she had a feeling Amelia could actually run her into the ground. Hell hath no fury like a young girl scorned and all.

Not really accustomed to fighting alongside a magic user, much less one dedicated to the healing and bolstering arts like Remus, Nayru didn't really know how to react to the funky energy crap congealing around her. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was some sort of barrier, while her own reinforcement was much less visible it was a similar concept, but she simply had no idea how durable his gift was and what sort of damage it could take before breaking - or if she would need it at all with her own reinforcement.

...Man she needed to come up with a better name for it. Like that didn't even sound cool, just pragmatic. "Armor of the Gods" or "Essence of the Destroyer" or some fantastic sounding - oh right she was supposed to be fighting, as the gargoyle before her was helpful enough to kindly remind her of with an actually pretty impressive lance thrust that sent light tremors up her left arm as she intercepted it with her forearm, the offending implement withdrawn immediately before she could react in kind. Not a deadly attack per se, she thought calmly, finally focusing more on assessing the situation than coming up with new and ever more fantastic names for what was so reflexive for most dragons that they didn't even have to think about it much. Not deadly, but with the potential to be quite dangerous indeed if she let her guard down.

As ever, Nayru was acutely aware that while she did have some advantages over some of the dragons she had met so far, her natural durability in human form was vastly lower than theirs, heavily reliant on her senses and reactions to even come close to matching it. Parrying obvious attacks was one matter, but if one managed to slip in beneath her guard - well, she was only human. ...Which might have been an ironic choice of words in retrospect, she supposed. Another quick thrust, the creature clearly testing her defenses rather than going straight for the kill, abusing its superior range to do so in relative safety. Remus was apparently handling the other gargoyle, well, handily, and this one didn't seem capable of doing much to her.

...So why did she have such a bad feeling about this?

[Remus]

"But think of the fun you'd have giving her piggy back rides everywhere! I bet you could keep her on your shoulders farrr longer than I could. " He chuckled a bit before gazing towards the creatures with a wry grin. Nayru had a talent for lightening the mood that he didn't believe any could match. If they could...they were rare indeed. The priest chuckled even, despite the serious and impending nature of the situation. Which likely wasn't appropriate, nor very "priestly" of him. Nayru's bad influence no doubt.

Remus couldn't describe the elation he felt. Not that they were fighting gargoyles. That was a bad thing. Definitively bad and horrible. However, he was fighting gargoyles! He was finally fighting. Able to fight, and able to help! Every aspect of his inner frustrations towards helplessness was lessened. No longer would he sit helpless on the sidelines waiting for others to get wounded for him to have to contribute. No longer would he stand idly by wishing that he wouldn't have to help, as to worry towards others being injured. There was a satisfaction in the sight before him, one he drank in with a bit too much glee. As he launched another burst of light bolts towards the gargoyle, the monster that was already injured wailed in pain. At this point..he could have..maybe beating a dead horse, but it further ensured the monster wouldn't be a threat. However the smile on his lips, and one he usually had, was from not the usual pleasant thoughts he housed. It was from the knowledge, that he personally made the foul monster writhe. The burning wounds of purest magic were from his own hand. That unsettled him. The speed at which he embraced, or accepted the willingness to harm another living thing.

The priest felt a brief pause after the recent volley of light bolts, voluntary however, and shifted his staff in-front of him. He paused and moved his staff as he shifted his weight to his left leg. He began to quiet himself, and try to focus inwards further. The air still tense from the bolts of light that burst through it a moment prior, and the unsettling wailing sounds of the gargoyle squirming in pain to lay as testament to what he had done. Was the ground moving? He started getting dizzy. He felt as if he was falling in a spiraling descent. In reality, his body swayed slightly towards first then left, and then the right. He found his equilibrium dangling by a thread as he attempted to overcome the Nausea within him. He found his footing, and rooted his weight into his left foot as he leaned into his staff which pressed into the ground. Centered himself, steadied himself, and shook his head. In this entire moment; his saving grace was that Nayru was there to protect him. "Every mage needs a meatshield," indeed. He'd thank her, and discuss it later. He tried to "shelve" the feelings, knowing now was not the time. Protect the kids. That was the only motivation he needed. He just had to think of that. Repeat that mantra.

The priest squared his shoulders and stood up straighter while slowly beginning to harness light magic again. They were not out of the woods yet.

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

She didn't have to keep an eye on Remus per se to recognize the bright light of whatever light magic he was torturing the poor harmless gargoyle with like the monster he was; something about that train of thought had gone terribly wrong partway, and in the face of how absolutely ridiculous it was, Nayru couldn't help but snicker a bit to herself at the thought. What a twisted perception it would take to see the gentle holy man as the dastardly aggressor to the writhing horror on the ground - a diseased mind from which there was no escape.

Yup... sounded like her life. Still amused, Nayru met the gargoyle's gaze without flinching, having barely enough common decency to be mildly ashamed as its eyes glared askance at her strange reaction to the life or death battle, but not nearly enough to show or admit it to the beast.

Yet - for all her somewhat-forced frivolity, there was an undercurrent of danger she couldn't quite place and didn't quite understand. They were winning - it was only a matter of time before she finished off these last two over here as Remus did his thing. By all means, it was reasonable to be fairly light hearted. Getting careless would be stupid, sure, but she wasn't just sitting on her thumbs waiting for the gargoyle to kill her, she was parrying its probing assaults without much issue. Honestly, on the surface, it felt like she was overreacting, but some part of her refused to be convinced. Whether it was the overcautiousness of a coward, the eternal hesitance of a worrywart, the accurate sense of a warrior, or some sort of bullshit dragon magic, she didn't know.

Maybe that was the problem. She didn't know. She didn't understand it, she didn't know it, and thus she couldn't categorize it. The thought didn't really do a great deal to improve Nayru's mood, but it did help somewhat to try to look at things objectively, coherently. It kept her mind clear, her eyes wide, and her ears open - but it was only in reverse order that the truth descended on obsidian wings, the first hint a faint whistling that even her marginally improved and alert senses could barely note before she saw the plummeting meteor out of the corner of her eye, and only when it - they - were already nearing Remus that it finally registered.

"REMUS! UP!"

In a perfect world, time would have slowed down long enough for her to react, to pull off some great feat of derring-do, perhaps to instantly dispatch her pressing foes and make her way to Remus in time. Not realistically, of course - they were too far away and she was much too slow for that - but in a children's story, she would have already risen to the task and saved the day.

Reality was less accommodating, her momentary distraction enough of an opening for both of the creatures assaulting her to press the attack, blood-stained lances impaling the air where she had been - the second one where she was now, slamming into her iron skin with enough force to cajole a wince from the embattled dragon in its wake.

[Remus]

There was a certain irony within Nayru's warning. Perhaps it wasn't quite her warning that held the irony, or the result of it. Remus certainly turned to avert his gaze as she shouted for him to look up. The blue haired priest heard the urgency in her tone, but with his natural instinct being to look after others, the wiring in his brain simply dictated that urgency plus Nayru meant check on her. It was in this instant that he noticed that she was being attacked. Concern guided his hand as he lifted his palm upwards. The light radiating around his body flared as he refined and channeled the holy magic to his palm. He would prove how now he could finally defend his friends!

My that's an unpleasant shadow


The cogs within his head turned just fast enough to make the relevant coloration that shouting his name hadn't been the only word she muttered. Up. Yes. That was an important one word detail he'd ignored in his brief burst of worry over the brown haired woman. As the blue haired Etrurian looked to the skies he noticed the winged harbinger of death that was sailing towards him on leather flapping death. There...had to be better ways to think of that. If it wasn't for the instinctive yelp of panic while the priest lunged forwards suddenly, ducking and using his staff to push off the ground as if about to vault, he'd surely have been able to find a better word association. Nope. Leather flapping death would have to stick for now. No time for that. Busy surviving. The priest stumbled a few steps as the sound of a spear crashing into the dry ground could faintly be heard.

The priest shifted as he stumbled, bumbling with his gaze facing that of the winged fiend as he felt a sudden pressure to his back. As if he was leaning against a wall. Honestly the support was nice in such bad situations but there wasn't really a wall or anything around was ther- That was Nayru!? The priest, now back to back with the brown haired woman felt a stir of confusion. She felt solid enough to have been made of steel! She hadn't even budged when he bumped into her either. He knew that wasn't part of his barrier magic either..it just..shielded harm. Was it? He wasn't sure this situation had arisen often enough to really warrant any experience. His thoughts and gaze to his comrade were wrenched away as the screeching shriek wailed through the air to signal another bout from the newly arrived monster.

It was like the other gargoyles but...different. Darker. Alot darker toned. Larger by a bit too. He didn't like it. However he couldn't just stand there helplessly. Thankfully..he was passed that. Gazing squarely towards the monster, then towards the ones Nayru was fighting, Remus suddenly lifted his staff upwards. A faint blue pulse burst forth after a moment and began to configure to the priests shape similarly to that around Nayru. He...would need it far more likely than she. Remus began to refocus the light magic to his palm as he spoke out, pondering before looking to the newly arrived monster and then the other two that were weakened.

"Ah! So..um..what's the plan Nayru? Got one?"