As the swordsman closed the gap toward the pillar of fire, Arvyria awaited the defining moment: was the creature friendly or hungry?

As Arvyria waited, a more pressing issue arose. A great, rumbling voice shook the ground beneath her feet, and from much, much closer. Whipping around to the side, she watched a mass of claws and wings unfurl itself before the slight form of a redheaded woman, unarmed and unprepared.

"<Get back!>" She dashed along the forest path, heart pounding with sympathy for the unarmed woman. That had been her, not so long ago: stranded domesticity, frozen against the wild violence of a world she'd never dreamed of confronting. The clank and creak of her armor with each step reminded her that she'd been given a second chance -- and third, fourth, fifth. As the creature drew itself up to full, tremendous stature, some part of her shouted back to herself, [i]Run! Run away, now![/i] Tears in her eyes, she imagined what the redhead must be thinking -- that fear spurred her faster, closer to the rising monster.

Self-preservation be damned, Arvyria threw her armored self between the two figures and stood her ground, wondering what the hell to do from here.
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