[center][h2][sub][i][color=salmon]Fiona[/color] and [color=lightblue]Nicholas[/color][/i][/sub][/h2][/center]
[sub][sub][h3][i]Unknown Location - [color=green]500 HP[/color] - 3/6 Stamina (For Both)[/i][/h3][/sub][/sub]
[hr]
Fiona's spell faded away from her hand as she saw that the faceless being was simply absorbing it in its entirety. The magic had cost her no small amount of energy; driven by the rush of her last seeming victory, she'd enthusiastically pushed herself into the casting of it, and the gale of fire had been about as strong as she was capable of. It had no effect on the faceless, however, and Fiona was left breathless, sagging slightly through her legs. Its words cut deeply, as she could recognize the truth in them. How ignorant it had been of her, to assume her abilities would solve their problem with little difficulty. A foolish, childish notion.

She found herself rooted to the spot, both from the drain of the spell and from her despair at its pitiful lack of use, and the large black fist that came down towards her would've crushed her had something not hit her from the side first, taking her off her feet and leaving her momentarily weightless. Fiona hit the ground in no gentle way, on her side, barely keeping a grasp on her sword. She could feel an armored body on top of her, and turned to see Nicholas. Their limbs were somewhat awkwardly entangled, but Fiona hardly seemed to notice, her eyes instead finding the weapons that were conjured into the hands of the faceless monsters. Still, she seemed dazed, from her own failing more than any physical blow.

---

From Nicholas' perspective, the events didn't look much better: Just like Fiona, he had hoped that fire would be the solution, the weapon their enemy couldn't withstand and the only thing that kept him from adding his own magical power to the mix was that hint of doubt and years of experience to tell him never to put all his energy in one blow until he was out of options.

The outcome of her attack, however, was more catastrophic than he could have possibly predicted - The creature didn't just resist her flames but [i]absorbed[/i] them, used them to nurture himself and grow some of his mass into terrifying weapons... not before it took revenge for her attempt at destroying it, however. It was exactly what Nicholas had feared, finding the priestess unable to move due to exhaustion, fear or something else, and his body crashed into hers not a second too early. As intended, his weight carried both of them just out of range of the monstrosity's blow before they fell to the ground, the beast's limb slamming into the earth where she had stood with a thunderous wham.

Alarmed by its words and speed, Nicholas didn't dare try to run, didn't attempt to keep hold of his weapon. He did the only thing he possibly could, raising himself over the woman to shield her with his body, bracing himself for the second strike that would break his back. 
Only, it never came, and he watched as it returned to its posture and [i]grew[/i] weapons, changing its stance as if to prepare for an attack but not yet moving. Precious little time for them.

The mercenary searched for his sword sister's eyes and gently touched her face with a gloved hand, brushing aside a strand of red hair.
[color=lightblue]"Are you alright?"[/color]
Their position was exposed, their bodies entangled in a way that must have looked comical and should have been awkwardly erotic, but neither his facial features nor his voice acknowledged these circumstances, both radiating a calm he hoped she would absorb.

Fiona wasn't sure what she had done to inspire such a defense from a group member she had only recently met, someone she'd yet to have an actual conversation with. He was no Brother of the Burning Light, yet he stood over her with his shield presented to an enemy that had shown it could crush either of them. She was immensely thankful for the bravery and the selflessness, but she also felt a rather crippling guilt that she didn't deserve such a thing. The aggressiveness with her magic was her own mistake.

Then suddenly he'd touched her face, asking if she was alright. [color=salmon]"I'm..."[/color] she stammered, suddenly aware of the entanglement. Her sword was under them, and she tried to get it free, but the blade was too long, her arm too short, and Nicholas was still above her, insistent on being protective for some reason. Their legs were awkwardly tangled, and Fiona worked at squirming free, eyes constantly darting back to the faceless creature.

[color=salmon]"I'm fine,"[/color] she managed. [color=salmon]"We need to move."[/color] She didn't intend to attack again until she had the support of her allies, but they were hardly any use to the group down here, getting in each other's way.

She was right, of course, and he was glad that something in his words had shaken her out of her reverie, her paralysis far less grievous than he had feared. Something in her eyes, in the way she fought had spoken of method and knowledge but nothing more, enough so to make him suspect that this was one of her first fights against the horrors of the wild. She was certainly stronger than he had been the first time he had to fight for his life, a scared little boy then.

He quickly withdrew himself from between and on-top-of her legs, grabbing his sword as he rose and nonchalantly offering her his left hand to help her up. 

But his dark brown orbs had shifted away from her, darting to their, quite literally, biggest problem and, when the being didn't make any worrying movements, onwards to the fight that raged between their nearly bald companion and a survivor of the small faceless Nicholas hadn't even realized existed.
Something about this fight piqued his interest and glued his eyes to them as they traded blows.

[color=lightblue]"That creature... It's different from the others."[/color]

Fiona took his hand and pulled herself to her feet, releasing it and making some attempt to regain her composure, brushing off her pants and the short skirt of her white robe. It would be difficult to throw herself back into the fight, with her confidence shaken, especially considering that she didn't know how best to approach the attack now. She thought perhaps to wield her magic through her blade, and attempt to cut cleanly through the faceless creature's limbs or weapons... but with how her last magical attempt went, she wasn't sure that was a good idea.

She too noticed the fight still occurring between one of their number and the other faceless. Fiona thought perhaps to intervene, but she'd already made things worse once, and didn't want to get in the way again. He looked like he was quite capable with his blade, regardless. 

[color=salmon]"How so?"[/color] she asked, taking her blade in both hands and holding a ready stance, keeping her eyes locked upon the larger of the faceless. They didn't have long to figure something out, she knew, but any sort of idea was more than she had right now.

Nicholas didn't know how to answer her at first. His statement was based more on a gut feeling than hard evidence when he made it, and as he didn't want to push their luck, he nudged the woman's side and slowly, carefully backed away from the scimitar-wielding giant towards the illusion of safety their companions offered. But with every second he watched the fight, his feeling grew stronger until he could finally place it.

[color=lightblue]"It's actually [i]fighting[/i] him. The others... They [b]wanted[/b] to be defeated, they just didn't want to make it too easy right away."[/color]

If they hadn't cut off the faceless's heads, they wouldn't have been able to join themselves, would they? Didn't this thing seem more desperate than them, blocking attacks instead of accepting them like its brethren had? Maybe the key to ending this fight was destroying this one creature instead of wasting their efforts another that seemed truly without weakness - after all, the Red Ones had spoken of a test, so the solution could potentially be as simple as choosing the right opponent to defeat.
He could have been wrong, of course - maybe they had to end both of them and the larger one simply wouldn't go down easily. Or perhaps it had one but it was well-hidden, deep inside its mass. But if that was the case, the last thing they needed was splitting their forces.

[color=lightblue]"We should try and kill that thing first. Maybe that's all we need to do."[/color]

He nudged her again as he stopped so she'd turn her head and see the confident smile. Nicholas didn't know her name but he didn't have to to know that he trusted her with his life that day - not that either of them had a choice in the matter, really.
A cocky wink transformed it from an inspiring to a challenging gesture.

[color=lightblue]"Try to keep up, pretty girl."[/color]

Ignoring the quiet throbbing in his shoulder where he had hit the ground, first faint aches in his muscles and few drops of sweat on his forehead, the mercenary ran quickly towards Marcus, widening the gap between himself and the giant and looking to attack the head of their companion's enemy from behind - even if it could sense attacks at its back, he hoped that it would need to divide its attention.

But if the big one decided to punish this mad dash, he would do what he could to hold his ground.

Fiona wasn't entirely sure that killing the smaller one would somehow kill the larger one too, if that was what Nicholas was implying, but he seemed confident enough in the plan, and that was more than she had. It was something to work with, at least. Nicholas still seemed confident in everything, actually, though Fiona didn't know how. It was infectious, not enough to completely drown out the guilt of her failing and her uncertainty, but she did manage to return the smile, just a bit. It was a small, fragile thing, but it was there.

She steeled herself, ignoring the warnings of fatigue that were starting to loom, and followed swiftly behind Nicholas, though she kept her guard facing the larger of the faceless, so as to watch her ally's back while he moved. They could only intervene so much to assist their friend without getting in each other's way, and Fiona was much more intent on playing a reserved role for the remainder of the fight, if at all possible.